Lately, I've been sitting behind my computer, keeping my phone plugged in. Restarting, rebooting every five seconds to keep everything up to date. I've found myself keeping the terminal pinned to my task bar.
After days of messing with everything I possibly could, I came to the conclusion that not only is it fun, but it contributes to the value of technology. We take everything as it is, most of us do anyways, and we don't consider the SIDE potential of many devices, literature, furniture, and basically everything else in our society. We look straight at a table and we say "that's a dining table, it's used for dining", not "that's a table, I can use it for dining, as a workspace area, the beginning of a strange looking book shelf".
Potential Example
The things we buy today have SO much potential but it's rarely ever used. I've seen people buy expensive phones (my current obsession), ones with the potential to get your computer online while traveling, control your computer from anywhere, use it as a media device for music, movies, anything else. These devices can view powerpoint slideshows, read RSS feeds, run VNC, stream videos from computers, run flash, and everything flash related online, and tons of other things. Yet, that is the potential.
The reality is that people use these powerful devices with up to 512mb of RAM, a 1gHz strong processor, running linux (Android), for simply taking phone calls, sending text messages, and getting a pretty background. Now, there is nothing wrong with that (though, you don't need a $600 device for that) but it's quite interesting what happens when these functions I listed above become "one-click" options and popularized by the media. All of a sudden, everyone is taken aback by the usefulness and the "newness" of the device.
What happened in the past
A few years ago (about five), I bought a PDA, Dell Axim x30. I used to have an X5 before that and Palm Zire 31 even earlier. These three devices were on the low end but amazingly, to some they seemed "futuristic". This was before the iTouch came out and during the era of the early iPods. What's amazing is that I used the Axim x30 as a GPS navigator, one superior to the ones on the market that cost hundreds of dollars. Here are a few functions:
The devices were mainly ignored. And this is what i'm talking about. The device was not popularized yet it featured such power years before iTouch came out, at roughly the same cost (in 2001).
I could cite the same examples when it comes to the iPad, to application stores (Palm had one before Apple), etc.
Here's the deal
I may have strayed off the topic a bit because there was no "side potential" to Axim x30, it had the same usefulness of new devices that people were astonished to see (and amazed by their power, their looks, and their functionality) but x30 had it years before.
There are tons more things like that in the world. New tech that people don't bother with but are surprised when it goes mainstream (touch screen phone? NO WAY (yeah, way, it's old news)).
With my phone and the tinkering, I've been able to get features on it available only in the newer releases of the firmware. People were once again completely surprised to see Wifi tethering (which had been available for rooted phones for a while).
Now, I'm not saying that it's wrong in any way to view the world this way but it's simply astonishing to me, the tinkerer.
After days of messing with everything I possibly could, I came to the conclusion that not only is it fun, but it contributes to the value of technology. We take everything as it is, most of us do anyways, and we don't consider the SIDE potential of many devices, literature, furniture, and basically everything else in our society. We look straight at a table and we say "that's a dining table, it's used for dining", not "that's a table, I can use it for dining, as a workspace area, the beginning of a strange looking book shelf".
Potential Example
The things we buy today have SO much potential but it's rarely ever used. I've seen people buy expensive phones (my current obsession), ones with the potential to get your computer online while traveling, control your computer from anywhere, use it as a media device for music, movies, anything else. These devices can view powerpoint slideshows, read RSS feeds, run VNC, stream videos from computers, run flash, and everything flash related online, and tons of other things. Yet, that is the potential.
The reality is that people use these powerful devices with up to 512mb of RAM, a 1gHz strong processor, running linux (Android), for simply taking phone calls, sending text messages, and getting a pretty background. Now, there is nothing wrong with that (though, you don't need a $600 device for that) but it's quite interesting what happens when these functions I listed above become "one-click" options and popularized by the media. All of a sudden, everyone is taken aback by the usefulness and the "newness" of the device.
What happened in the past
A few years ago (about five), I bought a PDA, Dell Axim x30. I used to have an X5 before that and Palm Zire 31 even earlier. These three devices were on the low end but amazingly, to some they seemed "futuristic". This was before the iTouch came out and during the era of the early iPods. What's amazing is that I used the Axim x30 as a GPS navigator, one superior to the ones on the market that cost hundreds of dollars. Here are a few functions:
- GPS with a bluetooth GPS accessory
- Bluetooth connection to the computer and other devices
- Remote control your computer with bluetooth (turn on music, touchpad, computer explorer, etc.)
- get on the internet using Wifi
- Play music
- Play movies
- keep an address book
- send e-mails when connected to the internet
- read books, comics, and anything else
- RSS readers
- Touch screen
- Messengers
- A plethora of applications
The devices were mainly ignored. And this is what i'm talking about. The device was not popularized yet it featured such power years before iTouch came out, at roughly the same cost (in 2001).
I could cite the same examples when it comes to the iPad, to application stores (Palm had one before Apple), etc.
Here's the deal
I may have strayed off the topic a bit because there was no "side potential" to Axim x30, it had the same usefulness of new devices that people were astonished to see (and amazed by their power, their looks, and their functionality) but x30 had it years before.
There are tons more things like that in the world. New tech that people don't bother with but are surprised when it goes mainstream (touch screen phone? NO WAY (yeah, way, it's old news)).
With my phone and the tinkering, I've been able to get features on it available only in the newer releases of the firmware. People were once again completely surprised to see Wifi tethering (which had been available for rooted phones for a while).
Now, I'm not saying that it's wrong in any way to view the world this way but it's simply astonishing to me, the tinkerer.
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OH NO! Now that you have found my blog, you will come to learn that while my books are carefully thought out works of enlightened and entertaining genius, I myself (in my civilian identity) am a snarling and wretched curmudgeon who disagrees with everything.
I urge you for the sake and sanity and your good opinion as a reader of my books to flee upon the instant, so that I might rest in the knowledge that my one fan does not think poorly of me.
And thank you very much for your kind patronage of my books. Yes, I do sometimes refer to myself in the third person, but only because comic book supervillains are required to do.
John C. Wright
PS By the way, if you want any books signed or personalized, just ask.
Yes, indeed, I found out a lot about you I would not have ever guessed. From what I've read in your books, I imagined you to be a die-hard physicist that, on cool summer nights, read poetry and soldered together circuits of dead machines. I imagined a man with a large library of books pertaining to matters of philosophy and science, and how they correlate.
Instead, you are right, I found a simple Christian man (boy, was that a shocker to me) who eloquently puts his ideas onto a frequently updated blog that, to my knowledge, does not have thousands upon thousands of followers.
:) I do value your books greatly, and would love to have them signed/personalized; however, I am currently in-between places, and my books are packed up (which is why I resort to ebooks). Thank you for the offer!
I appreciate you taking the time to reply! =D I am honestly super-excited, and have already messaged, elbowed, kicked, and forced many of my friends to take note of this event!
"I appreciate you taking the time to reply! =D I am honestly super-excited, and have already messaged, elbowed, kicked, and forced many of my friends to take note of this event!"
Myself, I get the feeling there is real magic in some of my books, but that it does not come from me. Readers who can see that magic are impressed, but they really should be impressed, not with me, the poor donkey who carries the load, but with wherever or whatever it is that the magic comes from -- call it the muses, or call it the imponderable mystery of life, or call it what you will.
So while I am flattered, my friend, getting a note from an obscure midlist writer like me is nothing much. Remember that if you bought a book of mine, you're my employer and my customer: so I should be impressed and pleased for the chance to talk with you, not the other way around.
Cheers
JCW
I'm not going to lie but when I read the Golden Age trilogy, I kept Wikipedia open on my laptop, just so I could somehow keep up.
Yes, I may be the customer; however, you are the creator of the books. So "impressions" and pleasantries aside, thank you for replying, and taking the time to talk to me.
William.
P.S. As a fan stereotype, I am under the obligation to ask you this: Would you be willing to read any of my work?
So here goes...
Would you be willing to read any of my work?