Quick question for those that comment on here… when I reply to your comment here on the blog, do you get an email letting you know that?
Geek
Rainbowed Geek.
I had to show off the classic Apple sticker that found it’s way to the Jeep. I couldn’t go with the white stickers that come with just about every iDevice, no, I had to stand out from the crowd.
It’s what I do.
Bump.
There are two things that I need to mention in this quick blog entry.
1. Bump. This is an app on the iPad/iPhone/iPod that allows you to share things with other iUsers by simply bumping the two devices together. I tried it a while ago and it didn’t ever work right for me but now I see that the new Facebook app is suggesting it’s use so I’m going to give it another whirl. If you have an iDevice, please bump with me when I see you IRL. (Thanks, Erik, for that abbreviation which means In Real Life).
2. Bump. I bumped my head at work today and I have had a headache since but I have been feeling giddy, which could be due to the bump or to the fact of the aforementioned wedding this week. I don’t feel nauseated and Earl has been keeping a close eye on me so I’m sure that everything is fine aside from the few “Phenomenon” moments I’ve had where I started speaking in French and I tried to levitate the customer sitting in another booth at the restaurant simply by making a whirring sound with my mouth. To be on the safe side Earl has had me touch my nose a couple of times and has asked if I know his name (like I’m going to know that when we aren’t even married yet), but to be on the safe side I filled out an injury report at work. Perhaps I just need a hit of Tylenol with an iced tea chaser or something.
2a. Bump. Did people in the discos of the 1970s (no apostrophe) really dance by doing The Bump? I know about The Hustle, but was there a song called “The Bump”? I’m too giddy to look it up. Please note that the use of “2a” has kept me within the realm of mentioning two things quickly in this blog entry.
Thank you.
Vision.
My first time using a computer was when I was a freshman in high school. The school had obtained a dozen or so Apple ][+ computers and, surprisingly, our French teacher had written a program to quiz us on our building French skills. Part of our assignment was to sign up for some time in the computer lab and to run these skill testing programs she had written. They were well constructed programs, so much so that she was able to sell the programs to a software company who incorporated them into their Computer Based Learning curriculums. I always thought that was kind of cool.
The Apple ][+ setups were on the high end for the era; two floppy drives sitting side by side on top of the computer case. On top of the that sat the monitor; which was really a glorified television that was missing a tuner. The program that were to run sat on a 5 1/4-inch floppy disk. For some reason I remember sitting down to run the first program, which coincided with chapter 3 of our text book. The same book that had started out with “Michel? Anne? Vouz-traveillez? Non, nous regardons les television, pourquoi?”
HOME
RUN SPORTS
That was the first two lines I ever typed on a computer. In less than four weeks I signed up for more computer time and started writing my own programs. My first program emulated the cash registers at the local Ames. Cash registers were the first computerized pieces of equipment I had seen in action. Soon I was writing other little programs and then I got time to use the brand new Apple ][e which seemed faster, relocated the RESET key and had the capabilities of using lowercase letters.
I was HOOKED.
An Apple product in our home was outside of our budget, so I wrote programs in Apple BASIC at school and Commodore BASIC (on a VIC-20) at home. This probably helped my budding programming skills more than I would realise, because I was writing cross-platform and didn’t even know it. I always wanted an Apple ][e of my own though. Who knows, maybe I’ll find one on ebay.
I had some time to kill my senior year of high school so I signed up for two computer classes. One was Computer Programming. In that class we learned to write in LOGO and then in BASIC. I aced the class. I loved it. I always got extra points for making my programs more user friendly. For example, we had to write a routine that did city and state lookups by zip code. My classmates would write orders like:
INPUT CITY?
INPUT STATE?
whereas I would write
Please enter the city and state and press ENTER
There’s no reason for a computer to sound like a computer. Not even in back in the technological stone age.
When I write programs and/or websites today, I still strive for the human element. I know I owe that focus to Steve Jobs. I want the computer experience to be as simple and effortless for the user as possible. My endeavors get the job done but they do it in the most intuitive way possible. Using a computer, for whatever reason, should be an enjoyable experience. And that’s why I love Apple products. It’s bringing the wonders of technology to the masses in ways that everyone can understand.
I was in a programming class a few years ago when the instructor said something that made perfect sense to me. “A computer can do anything. If a programmer tells you it’s not possible, it’s because they’re just too lazy to figure it out.”
That’s one of the reasons I mourn Steve Jobs’ passing today. He brought the wonder and excitement of using a computer to the masses by focusing on the human element. ‘How is the user going to want to listen to his music’? Because he had a vision and the fortitude to pursue it, I have my entire music library in my phone or any other device that is smaller than an index card. I am able to see my lover, who is working 300 miles away, on my cell phone while I am getting ready to call it a night. I can type this blog entry using a keyboard that is sitting on my lap and a touch-based tablet-like device that had only been seen on Star Trek before five years ago. Sure, I go on about Linux from time to time, but it’s the fit and finish that Steve insisted upon that always brings me back to Apple products. Linux does some amazing things but it always feels clunky. Windows gets the job done, but there’s little in the way of style or class. Steve’s vision and insistence on perfection raised the bar for all technology companies.
And for that, I say thank you.
Philanthropy.
It is no secret that Apple makes billions and billions of dollars profit on all their iDevices. They frequently bounce around the top 3 list of companies based on their value. They have tons of cash because they’re good at what they do.
While I believe they are giving back to the human experience by giving people quality ways to connect to one another through their iDevices, they’re not as active in philanthropic efforts as one would hope they would be. This is one of the reasons that I occasionally consider switching back to the Microsoft platform; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is dedicated to bringing innovations in health, development, and learning to the global community (description taken from the website). Bill and Melinda are using a good chunk of their fortune to make important changes in the world. I like this, and this is the reason I have quite a few pieces of Microsoft hardware in my toy box.
I mention from time to time that I have a keen interest in Linux, the free, open-source operating system alternative to Windows and Mac OS X. While it pertains to my geek side very much, I also enjoy Linux, particularly Ubuntu, because it’s very design allows one to take an older, discarded computer and turn it into a relevant contributor again. This, in turn, keeps computers out of our landfills that much longer and allows us to send these machines that were deemed not powerful enough to places where they might not be able to afford it. They may not be the latest and greatest nor the shiniest, but they work just fine and are able to importing things in regards to research, education and the like. And as a quick plug for Linux: No Viruses!
It makes me happy to see that Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook is starting to turn the philanthropic philosophy at Apple around a little bit. I hope he continues that trend. As I get older and because I have the luxury to do so, I am start to consider these types of efforts more in my purchasing decisions. I am also pursuing Linux at home actively again, not because it’s a badge of honour for a geek to be using Linux, but because I have the ability to contribute to the various Linux projects, including Ubuntu, and if I can help make the experience better for the user, then maybe someone somewhere using Linux for an important cause out their in the wild will be able to do what they need to do that much easier.
I have started a little computer journey in the effort of using my skills to give back to the world. I am a lucky geek in that I get to play with technology for my job with a company that keeps people connected with one another. By contributing to various Linux based projects and by sharing my experiences and educating people, I strive to help others to stop thinking about how the computer works and instead focus on using their computer as simply a tool to achieve what they really need to achieve.
The new blog is located at thetechbear.blogspot.com. (Update: link fixed, thanks Erik)
A number of years ago, as I sat with my cousin in a hospital waiting room, wondering if my sister was going to make it through her battle with Legionella and come out in one piece, I remarked that I needed start doing more to contribute to the human experience and to make the world a better place. I suppose everyone says that sort of thing when a loved one is sick and they have lots of time to think and worry while waiting in a hospital. The important thing is to actually take the action and do something, using their natural skills and abilities.
When we do that, I believe we truly can make the world a better place.
Wind.
I have mentioned the Maple Ridge Wind Farm along NY Route 177 near the eastern shore of Lake Ontario before. I found this video that was made during it’s construction in 2005 and 2006. I hope you’ll find it as interesting as I did.
Stereo.
One of the best television theme songs from the 1970s, given the stereo treatment it deserved.
