Afternoon Rant

CST4900 Internship Journal [The Beginning]

2009-06-28T02:10:00.004-04:00

My internship is at the offices of the MTA - NYCT, with the developer of an award-winning web application called DRAW.

DRAW and its significance

The DRAW program was originally conceived several years ago to consolidate the volumes of CADD architectural drawings depicting the entirety of the NYC Subway track system. Before the deployment of DRAW over the NYCT company intranet, employees such as station planners, signal maintainers, track inspectors and engineers were relegated to searching tediously through stacks of paper plans and drawings to locate the individual sections of rail about which they required information. With the implementation of DRAW, this process has become a simple and efficient matter of clicking on an appropriate link on a dynamically generated web page to navigate through the comlex system of detailed graphic representations. All of the CADD drawings of the NYCT system have been digitally scanned and centralized into a database of TIFF files that serves as the heart of the DRAW application.

As more employees became aware of the clear advantage in utility that was being offered by the DRAW program, the application began to be used more heavily while simultaneously expanding its features and modules to incorporate other databases and functions that were closely tied to the maintenance, repair, and development of the NYCT track system. Several versions have been deployed since its original unveiling. The newest version, 6.4, required a newer and more powerful server to accomodate a growing number of users and ever-expanding features.

The Internship

My task as an intern with the DRAW program developer has been multifold. For the first few weeks, I spent quite a bit of time studying the program modules and databases. The ASP programming language was new to me and far different from anything I had studied at City Tech, although some of the VB scripts were familiar looking and provided some insight into the inner workings of certain aspects of ASP and the logic behind the building of dynamic web pages. Another thing I noticed right away was the heavy use of HTML code as well as SQL commands. I knew right away that my current and previous classes had provided me with essential knowledge to fulfill my aspirations of someday working as a programmer or application developer.

After a couple of days of familiarizing myself with the application as well as the code behind it, it was time to begin the first of my assignments. For the next six weeks (in March and April), I was to help "migrate" the users of the old version of the program over to the new version and the new server. This was a fairly simple process (in theory) of removing old shortcuts, establishing a new connection or link to the server, optimizing file associations, and training users on the newly incorporated features and aspects of the program. In actuality, the process was not always so simple, as several problems were encountered. Some were recurring and some specific to individuals and their PC settings. We frequently had difficulties opening up TIFF files with the preferred viewer, which was Microsoft Office Document Imaging. Other programs such as Apple QuickTime or Windows Picture and Fax Viewer would repeatedly take control of the TIFF images and disable any other programs from opening up the files. We found several "fixes" to this problem; one simply involved establishing administrative rights on the PC and forcing the files to associate themselves as MS Office Document Imaging files, another necessitated finding certain browser add-ons that needed to be adjusted in the "Tools" menu of the browser. Some user accounts were stored on a different server than the standard TRANSIT domain; for these, we had to contact the system administrator of their group to log in remotely to the PC and enable us to change the settings.

Finally, around early May, a couple of suggestions came in from our users regarding ways to make the program even more beneficial by incorporating more types of data and making it available across the NYCT intranet through the DRAW server. Although one of the proposed enhancements turned out to be a disappointment (those in charge did not want to release their databases to us), another one has been given a “green light” by the department concerned, and they have agreed to cooperate with our efforts by incorporating their database into our program – if they approve of the final result. This has been my work of the last several weeks, and will probably keep me occupied throughout the summer.

WIKI's less-than-wild Ways

2008-12-04T14:16:00.012-05:00

Grrrrrrrrrr.
After 2+ weeks of working on a collaborative website project, I find myself mostly frustrated by the shortcomings of what is supposed to be a useful tool for group interraction. The host website we used, wetpaint.com, cannot, I suppose, be blamed for the what amounted to a pile of minor glitches and limitations of a second-rate text editor. After all, you get what you pay for, right? Who am I to complain?

The real problem is that I am getting a little too tech-savvy. After reading that last article by Roger Black about the future of web design, which really was mostly about the history of web design, I am more apt to look for those details in a web page which make for easy utilization and navigation. The WIKI, unfortunately, has made me painfully aware of exactly what the author was getting at when he described just what it takes to cause a web site to grind to a screeching halt.

Despite its irreproachable intentions, wetpaint.com is trapped in its own version of 1990s internet antiquity. The editing options are not just limited; I found them to be rather confining and restrictive. I wrestled for hours on end trying (unsuccessfully) to place photos attractively or format lists of numbered items - it seemed as though the word processor program had one idea of how things should be listed, while my own ideas were somewhat different. What's worse is that the word processor won out, one way or another. That is not how things should go in an application that is supposed to promote user creativity and expression. We humans are supposed to be in control here.

Getting beyond all the formatting difficulties, the underlying structure of the website, while predictable and acceptable as a standard, seemed almost crude at times. Navigation was awkward and time consuming. Features such as the Photo Gallery and the To-Do lists were not always accessible when I needed them; for example, I could not view a photo in full size without either interrupting the page edit or actually inserting the photo into the page to see it. Other options as well were locked and unusable while editing a page. Overall it made for a lot of tedious, repetitive work that could have been much simpler and quicker if the user was given just a few more capabilities (mainly while editing).

One thing I did like was the ease with which links could be inserted into the document. Both internal and external links were simple to create by typing a URL or a WIKI page name into a text box. Once I discovered this feature I had a lot of fun cross-referencing my pages and providing links to outside sites as well. It gave the document a more professional and polished aspect, overall. Page anchors (which appear as "Previous" and "Next" links on each page) were created by another group member (thanks, Jose!) and made the whole website MUCH easier to navigate. For some reason, the sidebar navigation menu just seems awkward - and I refer, once again, to the article by Roger Black on re-creating web design. All the menus and lists are just not cutting it anymore. They make the experience slow and cumbersome, and at this point in Internet history, most users and surfers can easily hop onto another site that gratifies their need for speedy access to information and tools. Plainly, it is these more fluid sites that will generate visitor interest and, consequently, revenue for the host organization. In other words, I'm sold. Pass the Flash Player, please.

[check out our finished product at www.bardsofbrooklyn.wetpaint.com]

The Virtual End?

2008-11-23T13:46:00.014-05:00

I'll be updating this post over the next few days. An article in today's New York Times reports that Google is shutting down its virtual endeavors - the avatar world known as "Lively" - concluding that it really was not worth all the effort and investment. See:

NY Times, Sunday Nov. 23: "Google Unplugs Lively as Hype Fades Over Virtual Worlds"

also, an interesting blog about the reality behind that avatar crowd:

Second Life Herald: "How Many Bots in the World Are There? Half the Green Dots are Bots"

DECEMBER 6, 2008

Okay, so those couple of days turned into a couple of weeks. Nevertheless, I don't like to leave a job unfinished, and so I return to this post to report on my findings.

Apparently, Google, inc. dipped their rainbow toes into the virtual waters earlier this year to test the general public's reactions (and just possibly to generate a profit). They must have felt some sort of competitive presence from Linden labs and other established operators of the virtual community (e.g. World of Warcraft). "Lively," which is the name of the program launched by Google, was implemented as an experiment from the beginning. So really, the folks at Google were not making any promises. They were just checking things out.

And, it seems, things did not look all that good. They did not attract the millions of visitors and users of Second Life, nor did their setup (as far as server capabilities) support the intricate graphics and extensive spaces that people look for in a virtual experience. Several blog posts accompanying the NY Times article reflect this. They report "Lively" as being little more than an animated chat room, poorly publicized, and less than entertaining to those who seek out such things. So Google opted out, stating that they were more interested in focusing on what they do best; that is, providing a top-notch search engine. This was probably a good move, in light of the recent troubles at Yahoo! and all the implications of spreading one's corporate talent too thin. It is better (and more economically sound) to excel in a single area than be mediocre in many. That is the philosophy adopted by the Googleites. They felt that the time, resources, and talent it would take to expand "Lively" into a more competitive entity could be better spent elsewhere.

One line in this article really caught my attention. The mention of Reuters opening a news bureau within Second Life in 2006 - and abandoning the effort earlier this year, in November - was intriguing. I decided to do a little research on this, to see just what happened.

In 2006, Second Life was at the height of its pulic trendsetting. It was still fairly new and innovative, and everyone wanted in. So the Reuters news bureau arranged, whether as a gimmick or an experiment or as a legitimate operation, to have one of their reporters stationed within the virtual world full-time, as an avatar, to do his reporting from within Second Life. His stories, which are archived on the Reuters web site (see http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/author/eric/) ranged in subject from political campaigns and voter opinion polls (within SL) to corporate publicity efforts inside the virtual world. He discussed the Second Life economy, Linden Labs executives, and tidbits of interest from other virtual worlds. But, in the end, there was not all that much to present as news. Reuters reporter Eric Krangel, whose avatar name was Eric Reuters, stated in a final post from the SL Reuters news station that "The very things that most appeal to Second Life's hardcore enthusiasts are either boring or creepy for most people: Spending hundreds of hours of effort to make insignificant amounts of money selling virtual clothes, experimenting with changing your gender or species, getting into random conversations with strangers from around the world, or having pseudo-nonymous sex..."(Krangel). He mentions several ways in which Second Life can be improved; one of these that I found particularly insightful was that SL should stop "posing" as a legitimate and practical place to conduct business. He indicates several problems, such as overloaded servers that crashed frequently, a "mess" of a user interface, and malfunctioning teleport and instant message features. He grappled with these and other difficulties on a daily basis while trying to complete his assignments, and came to the sound conclusion that "Second Life is tolerable as a playground, but enterprise users will never and should never use it for business" (Krangel). I agree with him on this - in the few short weeks that I spent exploring the virtual world, I found little more than an abundance of scantily clad avatars generating obscene noises and gestures in crowded dance halls, while most other locations were deserted. Conversations were easily interrupted by anyone in the vicinity. Meetings were complicated by slow server response times and even crashes. Without a top-notch graphics card, the "world" was painfully slow to load and display its fantastic landscapes. It just did not function well enough to be useful.

I've been thinking all along that this stuff is better left alone as a 21st-century form of entertainment. From the comments I've read, many think virtual worlds will survive and even prosper throughout the current recession, as people seek escape routes from their everyday troubles. But from the corporate perspective, the hype is truly over. Virtual worlds are destined to disclose their real purposes, for profit or loss, entertainment or education, burlesque or business - the next few years will decide.

Works Cited:
Krangel, Eric. "Exclusive: Why Reuters Left Second Life, and How Linden Labs Can Fix It." Silicon Alley Insider Digital Business: 21 November, 2008. .

"Help Me Redesign the Web" by Roger Black: A Glimpse of History on the Information Superhighway

2008-11-15T23:31:00.004-05:00

Link:
Flash Animated Action courtesy of Yahoo, Inc.

If there is one thing that I really don't want to acknowledge, it is the inevitability of change. I like to get used to things, break them in, wear them out, and then get myself another similar such thing without having to learn how to use it all over again. It's just reassuring. But in the world of Information Technology, and especially the Internet, predictability is the enemy of progress. There is no safety zone for people like me. We have to keep up with the Joneses or be laughed out of our jobs. So it is with a sigh of glum resignation that I read this article in Technology Review. No, the general populace is not satisfied with having all the available knowledge of the modernized world a few microseconds away. They want it to look pretty, too. So pretty, in fact, that the Information Age seems to be fading quickly into the Dawn of the Quasi-Dimensional Interface. (I know it's hokey, but I'm still impressed with The New York Times Archives).

The article "Help Me Redesign the Web," by Roger Black, is written as a chronological summary of the progress of web page design, from the humble beginnings of the Internet as a research project to its modern-day role as a vehicle of expression for anyone with access to a web browser and a creative urge. The author reasons that those generations that have grown up with Internet access can only logically be expected to adapt it to their culture and their needs. And this, he says, is exactly what is happening today. It is not that the page-by-page structure of the World Wide Web is insufficient for its intended purpose, or lacking in anything. It is simply, at this point, too old-fashioned to excite the younger masses who are destined to control it. They want the appeal of innovation. They want a newer, improved World Wide Web with invisible transitions and effortless adaptability. He states that "...for all its powers, the browser is trapped in a world of pull-down menus and dialogue boxes" (Black 2). The menus and boxes were acceptable to past generations, but today's web designers and graphic artists have something else up their sleeves, apparently.

I checked out a preview of The New York Times Reader, which was mentioned in the article as being a cutting-edge site designed entirely with Flash animation. It does have its advantages, and used in this context, I can see nothing but an improvement over the standardized format of a web page. It can get very tedious when one needs to use a scroll bar to read each line of text individually, back and forth across a page as well as up and down. The design of the NY Times Reader eliminates this problem entirely, by allowing the user to fit the screen to their monitor. This sort of thing will certainly be beneficial to the exploding mobile device market. On the other hand, I have encountered many sites where the flash animation is so engrossing and mesmerizing that the information it is supposed to introduce becomes secondary and uninteresting. This is where I feel that bigger problems will arise. As we get increasingly wrapped up in the presentation of media and catchy graphic logos in motion, it is obvious that the Internet has shifted decidedly away from its initial and noble purpose of providing and sharing information. But the purpose is still there, and is inextricably tied to the nature of the beast that is the Internet. I would just hope that, with the emerging transitions in web page design and technology, that purpose does not get buried beneath a 3-D heap of animated trash.

Work Cited:
Black, Roger. "Help Me Redesign the Web." Technology Review, May 2007: MIT.

Web Page Design - From the Pros, Nothing Short of Excellence

2008-11-10T15:52:00.006-05:00

R/GA, inc. (www.rga.com)

I spent some time this weekend exploring the digitized and dynamic world of R/GA on the web. R/GA is a leading agency for digital and computer-assisted film, animation, and still-image studio production with offices in New York City, London, San Francisco, and probably a few other places as well. Given their focus on the integration of digital media into the art and business of entertainment, promotion, and advertising, it came as no surprise to find their website seamless, fluid, interesting, and visually appealing.

The first thing I noticed when checking out their home page was the use of color. The stark black background is a favorite of many modern and artistic organizations (in any media) for a good reason. It does an excellent job of showcasing the photo image which is squared off on the left, and stands out brightly from the grey or sometimes white text on the page. It gives the effect of being a window into the R/GA world, inviting the user to explore further. The squared-off shapes, along with just a touch of red in the photo, serve to accent the red square in the R/GA logo. In addition, the drop-down menus on the top of the screen are bordered by a thin red line - just enough to add visual interest and connect the entire page to the R/GA symbol.

Another property wisely and sparingly used by these web designers is spatial positioning of the elements. Although the layout is asymmetrical, it is balanced well and there are no underlying visual conflicts. Ample empty space is left to let the graphics and introductory paragraph stand out. What I really liked was the hidden menus, that free the screen of clutter and yet provide quick links to other parts of the site. Again, the use of color here could not be any better. Menu titles instantly turn red (the same shade, of course, as the logo) when a mouse is hovered over them, and the subtitles beneath them are likewise highlighted by a red bar when selected.

The rest of the website unfolds quite nicely. Several pages feature flash videos, and these are showcased on a black background, much like the home page. An applet that runs while the videos are being loaded adds interest as well as consistency in color and theme. Most of the pages supplying textual information use a reverse color scheme; that is, black text on a white background. To me, this almost gave the effect of having opened up a book, with the cover and illustrations done on black and the text no less attention-grabbing where it needs to be. The squarish geometric theme is maintained throughout, with the exception of one page. The page that gives the story of the company's founder and CEO is presented as text superimposed upon a fade-out photo of Mr. Greenberg, on a black background. The fusion of styles, of the text-based and video-based pages, does a wonderful job of highlighting the transitional and integrational vision of the company. Their mission here stands out beautifully and needs no explanation (a web layout is worth a thousand words!).

P. Padmanabhan's "Exploring Human Factors in Virtual Worlds" (Maybe she should have kept on exploring)

2008-10-19T19:26:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, I finished reading this article which was published fairly recently in Technical Communication (April 2008, to be exact). In light of the last article which was read by the class, and the reactions which it evoked from almost everyone who wrote about it or commented on it, this reading didn't really set off any alarms. The issues discussed by the author have largely been mentioned already by most of us EG 3773ers, and those concerns which we haven't pointed out by now are not anything really shocking: cybercrime (something we hear about every day), health concerns (the physical ones, such as carpal tunnel syndrome and transmission of disease, which itself seemed a bit contrived - I know it's a possibility but you certainly don't have to be in a virtual world to pick up germs. You just have to be using a CUNY computer lab! Or a gym!), and finally, she mentions cybersickness as related to motion sickness, but doesn't really go into it in any more detail. Maybe it is because we tore up that last article so much, but this one, to me, had a rather shallow aspect and failed to answer any questions I have about what sort of effect these virtual environments will have upon society, or about how the creators of these sites are attempting to resolve the problems inherent in virtual computing. In my opinion, it also failed to really "explore" the "human factors in virtual worlds," and gave them only a quick glazing-over in order to pacify the publisher's demands. Maybe it's the editor who is to blame. Maybe they just didn't have enough space in their magazine. It just seems that a lot more could be said about this.

The author Padmanabhan attempts to call attention to several items which can be addressed when designing a virtual environment. After a rather long and tedious introduction to the fundamental purposes of virtual worlds, including their growth statistics, perceived benefits, and identifiable hazards, the article investigates the actual design of these spaces, and what might be considered as an improvement to existing formats. All of the design areas discussed were previously spotlighted by another research group in 1998, and the author simply expands upon their theoretical findings.

Human performance efficiency is the first area Padmanabhan delves into. She begins with a discussion of what is dubbed "presence" in a virtual world, which is basically the degree of realism and fullness of the experience. The entire section is given over to describing various examples of virtual experience, and really does nothing to explain the details of what is being done to enhance the experience and foster "presence." She mentions the kiosks in a virtual Tokyo, the educational activities of a site called "Ancient Spaces," and even videoconferencing and teleconferencing in Microsoft Office. Yet she goes no further. She does not mention anything being done to augment sound quality, either live or computer-generated. She does not even attempt to address the use of 3-D graphics, giving it only the briefest nod of acknowledgment. I would have liked a discourse on the pros and cons of the 3-D era which arrived with the release of Microsoft Vista. Is it really all it claims to be? Who is using it? Who isn't? How can it be implemented so that more people have access to it without buying a whole new operating system or graphics card? And how much can it enhance a virtual experience when an avatar is still a crude, awkward, cartoonish representation of a human being - and when the graphics take so long to load that the screen must be refreshed and rebuilt with every avatar gesture?

Padmanabhan then goes on to discuss what tasks or activities may benefit from a virtual environment, and what can be done to enhance those experiences. I believe that either she chose poor examples, or that there is really very little advantage to transferring the tried-and-true method of doing things (such as exploration and training) to the virtual method. She gives, as case studies, the field of automobile and aircraft repair, operation, and maintenance. Well, flight simulators have been around for quite some time, and unless the goal is to save space, I don't think that the pilots need any more virtual training. There is no substitute, as they say, for the real thing; personally, I would rather know that my pilot logged actual miles during his/her training over virtual miles any day. If she means that these physical enhancements to simulate a cockpit should be implemented for the casual user, then I would say that should be relegated to the video arcades and game halls. At least, then, the gaming junkies would have to get off of their butts and go somewhere in order to have the experience.

What really amazes me is that she then touts the advantages of virtualizing the process of learning auto mechanics and repair. There is no advantage whatsoever to this, and I can say that with some authority being quite adept at bicycle repair and computer repair, and also having grown up with an expert auto mechanic as my stepfather (City Tech Auto Mechanics lab technician, in fact - they moved the department to Bronx Community College many moons ago). Why bother with a simulation when there are literally thousands of junk cars around to practice on? If you can afford data goggles, why are you trying to be an auto mechanic? If you can't afford tools, why are you buying data goggles? Why are you even running a sophisticated virtual world program on your (supposedly) crummy computer? Are you just trying to avoid getting your hands dirty? Because I can tell you, that's a big part of the game. It's like trying to be a surgeon and avoid the blood (well, maybe that's not a good analogy; the medical field is sort of getting there...).

You get the point. Again, this is a field where you can only learn by doing. You need to feel the tightness of the bolts, the delicate adjustments and precise amounts of pressure to apply. You need to know what it feels like to need an extra hand in there. Obviously the author never repaired anything.

There were many other points in the article which I objected to. I will save these for another blog entry, perhaps. But towards the end, Padmanabhan mentions usability testing of virtual worlds. This, to me, is laughable. Does anyone think there is any validity to a usability test of a world with millions of participants who are constantly creating objects, events, and mini-environments? How can you effectively test a world that is

expanding at the rate of 20 servers per week? How can you test a world where everyone is indulging in their wildest fantasies? It is impossible, even if all they do is test, and test, and test some more. Even then, the unpredictable will be more the rule than the exception.

I hope I haven't bored you too much with this critique, but the article really irked me. I found it redundant, vague, and uninformative. I would have much rather been reading my boring textbook; at least I would have learned something.

Photo credits (in order of appearance):

1. www.eyebeam.org

2. www.dl4all.com

3. www.idealgadget.com

4. www.tinkerservices.com

5. academic.cuesta.edu

“Second Earth” by Wade Roush: Inevitable, Inexplicable, and Inexcusable

2008-10-11T19:41:00.000-04:00

The article “Second Earth” by Wade Roush is an in-depth exploration of both the future and present directions of interactive Internet-based worlds. Whether purely imaginary or re-created from satellite imagery, they are becoming increasingly popular web destinations. Before discussing in detail what he feels are the merits of both types of environments, author Wade Roush opens with various speculations and propositions on how the 3D maps which define sites such as Google Earth can, or will, be integrated with virtual/fantasy/social networking scenarios such as Second Life. He illustrates several alternatives as possibilities; among them, bringing avatars into the Google Earth environment or, conversely, overlaying and expanding the Second Life landscape with aerial and satellite images to produce real-world views within a virtual setting. His explanation of a “metaverse,” however, is most convincing when he describes it as something more akin to the World Wide Web in nature – that is, an interlinking of hundreds or thousands of 3D interactive spaces, whether imaginary or actual representations of a world, available (mainly) through the monitor of a PC with the use of something like a web browser. The remainder of the article is spent extolling the virtues and opportunities which both types of environments offer to the user, and how and why connecting the real and the virtual can be made possible.

After reading about the predicted future of 3D interactive “worlds” on the internet, I was left with one and only one nagging question in my mind: what’s the point? Although Roush does attempt to justify the vast amounts of time and energy which are being spent to enhance the user’s experience in these places, I was not wholly convinced that further development of these scenarios (whether based on reality or fantasy) is either desirable or beneficial to society. It is certainly not necessary. Yet, as the author implies, it does seem inevitable. The simple human trait of laziness and our need (and demand) for newer and better forms of entertainment make it so.

Maybe I say this because I am old-fashioned. I don’t believe that it is enlightening, or even very helpful, to fly an avatar through a simulated hurricane in order to learn about weather patterns. My gut feeling is that programs such as this will ultimately contribute to illiteracy and declining reading skills in well-developed nations. The same information and identical pictures can easily be found in underused and underfunded municipal libraries. Going for a virtual swim will certainly do nothing to build one’s muscle mass or cardiovascular strength, although the colorful fish may distract the mind from life’s more imperative demands, such as poor physical conditioning. And I fail to see what the advantage is to having a bunch of avatars socializing and walking around on a 3D map of the world. Users can see what they need to see without the avatars, and confine the imaginary identities to places such as Second Life, where at least some amount of intellectual effort goes into creating the visible landscape and objects. Even the data feeds that the author so enthusiastically describes as a “tactical advantage” (Roche 6) do not impress me as anything so different from what is already available. For example, merchandise tracking is instantaneous now via the use of barcodes and wireless scanners, as well as computer chips implanted in pallets of goods. Climate information is updated constantly on several websites. I don’t see where “augmented reality” gives much of an advantage over what already exists.

There were a few selling points, though. The description of an organization’s use of Google Earth to depict the effects of genocide in Darfur is compelling, and would be hard to duplicate without the integration of satellite imagery and the internet. Perhaps a chat room or forum added to their page would promote further action, if it hasn’t already. But how much further does it need to be taken? Will the presence of avatars in a virtual Darfur be even more effective? If that is what the people want …

Finally, there are several mentions of the possible military uses for 3D simulated worlds. I can’t argue that it won’t give armies a tactical advantage (if it doesn’t already). It may even help with training. But it seems to me that eventually other armies will find ways around this, just as they found ways to avoid radar and other technologies. They will find places to hide their fugitives and prisoners that are beyond the reach of any satellite images. They will always have the advantage on their home turf, with opportunities to ambush and surprise an invader. It just doesn’t add up.

In conclusion, I will say that I know my arguments are in vain. The overwhelming trend in the computer industry is toward the more fantastic, the more graphic, the more multi-dimensional experience. There is really no stopping it. Children and young adults are understandably unimpressed with television, movies, or even video games. The interactive virtual world is speaking to them. It is colorful, it is painless, it can be informative. It can even be profitable. But it doesn’t come cheap, and I hope Linden Labs and others keep this in mind as they expand their horizons, adding their 120 servers a week (Roush 9). There are better places to spend that money, and serious problems which could be alleviated with all the thought and time that goes into creating Second Life. A linking of virtual worlds (via a browser of some kind) into a “metaverse” is almost understandable. Anything more is not.

Work Cited:
Roush, Wade. "Second Earth." Technology Review, July 2007(Print Edition). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Reprinted for New York City College of Technology.

Photos:
1) http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/technology/2008/01

2) http://www.ada.untergrund.net/

For All You Monk (Thelonious) Fans and Jazz Ranters

2008-10-09T23:04:00.000-04:00

Just a heads up - starting at midnight, October 10 2008 and going for 24 hours straight - that's all day Friday - WKCR FM (89.9 FM) will be broadcasting nothing but the music of the great pianist and composer, Thelonious Sphere Monk, in honor of his birthday. Try to catch some of this as they play a lot of rare recordings that you won't hear anywhere else, interviews, etc. If you've never heard Monk's music, now is your chance to get with it. And the best part is, it's all commercial-free!
Check out:
http://www.wkcr.org/

In the same vein, they do a Coleman Hawkins broadcast on October 30th. Great saxophone playing from one of the true innovators of music. All day!

Photos: www.monkzone.com/silent/photo_album.htm

In Defiance of the Spambot

2008-10-08T23:31:00.000-04:00

Darn. Just when I had my template set up nice, got all of the glitches out, started posting stuff, even got a couple of comments - the electronic mechanized powers that be at Blogspot.com have determined that I might be a spamblogger (blogspammer?) and locked me out, flagged my blog, and have all kinds of not nice messages popping up whenever someone tries to view my published musings. I'm hoping they correct the problem soon; they have threatened me with blog extermination if I don't respond to their nonsense. So I requested a review by a human; just don't have a clue as to how long that's gonna take. Right now I'm testing the truth of all this. I'm not supposed to be able to post anything until someone reprimands the naughty spambot. So here goes, y'all, if you see this post, it means I win!! Fry Mr. Spambot! Get some real code in there! Yer programs look like dead spaghetti!

Discussion - "Una Laptop por Nino" by David Talbot

2008-10-04T15:41:00.000-04:00

In the article, “Una Laptop por Nino,” author David Talbot examines the current state of the non-profit program One Laptop Per Child. He makes no secret of its disappointing past performance; their original goal of distributing millions of computers to the world’s poorest children, he says, is still far from realized, and not likely to be met in the near future. However, the article focuses on a recent decision made by Peru’s Ministry of Education to invest heavily in the program, and goes on to discuss in detail the merits of this action, as well as its significance for the OLPC program and the poor student communities of the Peruvian countryside. Talbot reiterates the implications of the success of the laptop program in Peru; because they are the first country to invest in the machines on a large scale, the outcome of the experiment there can have a tremendous impact on how the rest of the world views the effectiveness and practicality of the OLPC mission. He provides graphic examples of the positive results of a preliminary “test run” of the program, where prototypes of the computers were distributed to grade school students in a remote village in Peru to gauge their reactions and evaluate their experience. He goes on to list the many obstacles and challenges which make implementation of the program difficult at best; among these are the lack of reliable electricity in the targeted areas, the need to train teachers in the use and maintenance of the machines, and the absence of Internet service in the rural villages which are slated to receive the laptops. The proposed solutions to these issues are described briefly, along with a few criticisms of the program which have been presented as time progresses. Overall, Talbot seems confident and optimistic that any minor barriers to the implementation of OLPC in Peru can be overcome. He also conveys a sense of enthusiasm that the end result of the philanthropic effort cannot be anything but beneficial to the students it reaches. It is only a question of to what degree it will improve their lives.

The author has presented many opinions of the program in a multi faceted view which does not attempt to hide the weaknesses inherent in the nature of the effort. For example, he clearly states that while the children in rural areas may be the poorest in the country, they have limited or no access to electricity to charge the laptops, and in most cases have no Internet service to take advantage of. By opening the article with a description of an impoverished inner city child, he offers a contrasting view of the two lifestyles which are being judged as more or less needy by the Peruvian government. It seems, from his vivid imagery and from his listing of the problems faced by the rural schools in incorporating computer use into their curriculum, that the inner city children could probably benefit more from the laptops than those in the countryside. After all, they have easier access to electricity, the Internet, and to job opportunities. However, the children of the farming villages were deemed poorer by the Peruvian government than the city children based on the theoretical availability of certain amenities in urban areas such as Lima. Yet a child growing up on a farm, it seems, would be less likely to relocate to an uncertain future in a strange city, with or without computer training and a better education. He implies this when he quotes Oscar Becerra, Peru’s general director of education technologies, in saying that the laptops represented the possibility of a choice between the same or a different future. This quote was referring to a future as a farmer versus a more skilled job. Earlier in the article, Talbot had described an old inner city woman as she “picked through a pile of smoldering refuse” (Talbot 1). Which is the more demeaning future?

One question which the author left unanswered was whether there was any opposition to bringing this technology into undeveloped areas from those seeking to preserve native cultures and ancient customs. He briefly mentions the intent of the Peruvian Ministry of Education to distribute laptops to children in the Amazon region. Is this really a wise or practical decision? The author does not delve into this any further, yet it left me wondering. After watching countless documentaries on the fragile ecosystem of the Amazon, and the indigenous tribal cultures which exist there untouched by the technologies of the 21st century, it seems unlikely that the country of Peru would benefit much from this intrusion into a unique and irreplaceable culture. Once these communities have been exposed to modern lifestyles, they will be altered forever. Talbot does not specifically state whether there would be any special emphasis on using the laptops to promote environmental awareness and put an end to slash-and-burn farming practices. I hope that this is the intention. I assume that the computers would be distributed to those in the farming communities; however, there is no mention of any effort to shield the nearby tribal groups from awareness or use of the machines. He does state later that the middle aged father of one of the program’s beneficiaries in Arahuay speaks mainly an indigenous language, Quechua. There is no question that this language will be forgotten as the children choose to leave their village for the grander opportunities available to them as Internet-savvy computer users.

In spite of these inconsistencies which left me questioning not the value of the OLPC program but rather the wisdom of the Peruvian Ministry of Education in choosing their target population, the author clearly illustrates those benefits of the program which are undeniable. The digital textbooks which will now be available to the students are of the utmost importance, as illiteracy benefits no one. Even if they choose to live as farmers, the people need to read about methods to increase fertility of the soil, raise crop yields, and deal with unfavorable weather conditions. An improvement in math skills is also essential, and many of the games available on the laptops will train the children in this area, painlessly and almost effortlessly. Doubtless the student’s lackadaisical attitudes towards school will change, too, as Talbot predicts (and indeed demonstrates in the effects of the “test run”).

“Una Laptop por Nino” packs a tremendous amount of information and a wide range of opinions into a few short pages. Having known nothing about the OLPC program before, I now feel as though I have a fairly good grasp on what they are trying to do, and what has prevented them from doing it. I can also see the point that Talbot illuminates when he states, in his conclusion, that “The success of OLPC can no longer be judged against … early predictions and plans, nor by the technical merits of the laptop itself. Peru is what matters now.” (Talbot 7).

Works Cited:
Talbot, David. "Una Laptop por Nino." Technology Review: May/June 2008. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Reprinted for New York City College of Technology, Oct. 2008.

Photos (in order of appearance):

1.sohu.com: 2005. http://www.english.sohu.com/

2. University of Calgary. http://www.ucalgary.ca/

3. Editorial 20 Jahre Geselleschaftlich Verantwortung. http://www.hilfswerk-z.de/

4. Welt Hunger Hilfe. http://www.welthungerhilfe.de/

5. dreamstime: 2008. http://www.dreamstime.com/

One way to kill the work ethic

2008-09-29T22:10:00.000-04:00

OK, so I'm a bum at heart. You'd never know it from my work habits - always on time, never calling out sick, quick to do what needs to be done. But today, tsk tsk, my true colors have shown through with all the brilliance of a mashed couch potato. I overslept, big time. Woke up at 7AM when my shift starts at 7:15. And I'm an hour or so out in Brooklyn with a bad back that needs stretching and a crummy job that's destroyed stronger spinal columns than my own. I also just got sprung from the hospital after a seizure caused by low sodium levels in my bloodstream. So there was NO WAY I was going to run out that door, no way no how, not with a looming hospital bill and all my sick days gone, not without doing my yoga exercises and eating breakfast. I called up my station on 42nd and 8th, DHL courier facility, and broke the news - "sorry, guys, but I'm going to be just a little late, like maybe an hour or so ..." Lo and behold, after a brief supervisory consultation, they decided that they had some "extra bodies" around and didn't need to see my face after all! HA HA! Isn't it nice to know that someone appreciates all those years of hard labor? Going on 7 years, I mean, long hard years of slugging it out on the streets of midtown, wearing the DHL banner and singing the corporate anthem, propagating their propaganda and desperately trying to convince their customers that we really do care that their package got somehow misrouted to Idaho ... and I'm nothing more than another extra body!! Wow. At least I got to sleep late. And listen to Bach all day ....

The moral of this story: Sometimes, being a number beats having a name. Especially when you can't get outta bed!