Tag: technology

~ Mark

Whenever we invent something new, our neuroses rush over there and get writ large.

George Saunders. And further in his LARB interview:

A definition of parenting: “That state in which, because of the existence of great love, an individual feels that he or she has failed, or is failing, or will soon fail.”

Jacob Silverman: Some Notes on a Book

~ Mark

jacobsilverman:

Last month, I sold a proposal to HarperCollins for a book about social media and its role in online identity, privacy, self-expression, and Internet culture. All this began with my “Against Enthusiasm” essay in Slate, but I’m now looking more broadly at the attention and sharing economies; how (for some people) life becomes reconstituted around the ways in which we can broadcast it online; how the wall between online and “real” life has largely collapsed; the values engineered into social networks (which include incessant liking and favoriting); and so forth.

If you’re interested in talking to me about the book, want to send me something to read, or you think there’s someone I should be talking to, please feel free to get in touch. I’ll still be doing some freelancing and book reviewing, though I’ll be focusing more on social media and the culture of technology. But for now, it’s time to get to work. The book will be out sometime in 2014 (release date TK). Thanks for reading.

I like and reblog this without reservation.

Jacob Silverman: Some Notes on a Book

~ Mark

I’m 59 years old. I don’t care about these technology pets they have.

If you lose your cellphone, don’t blame Wayne Dobson – ReviewJournal.com. I’d never thought about this:

In 1997, cellphone users were roughly one in three callers to 911 dispatchers. And dispatchers didn’t know what to do in situations where the person couldn’t, or didn’t, provide their location. For land lines, dispatchers automatically knew where they were. If you were in Chicago calling from a cellphone with a 702 area code, for example, Chicago dispatchers would forward the call to Las Vegas police.

~ Mark

I owe my livelihood to technology and I love the raw capability it offers us as a tool, but I fear it a bit more than most people do. It’s a tool, but it’s not quite a hammer, because a hammer doesn’t seduce you into sitting around lonely in your underwear for 6 hours at a stretch.

Brian Lam.
~ Mark

This continuous modification of man by his own technology stimulates him to find continuous means of modifying it; man thus becomes the sex organs of the machine world just as the bee is of the plant world, permitting it to reproduce and constantly evolve to higher forms. The machine world reciprocates man’s devotion by rewarding him with goods and services and bounty.

Marshall McLuhan.

Up From Darkness – Book Review: “Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light” by Jane Brox – NYTimes.com

~ Mark

Who had light and who did not? What did different types of people do with their newfound hours? How did street lighting change public behavior? (Once drinkers could move safely between taverns, instead of perching on a single tavern stool all night … the streets became far rowdier; prostitutes previously confined to brothels could now sell their wares al fresco.) With increased mobility and safety, those who could afford lighting stayed up later. Sleeping in became a mark of prestige. Meanwhile, those who lived near the gasworks — never located in a city’s high-rent district — endured foul-smelling and dangerous emissions.

(via)

Up From Darkness – Book Review: “Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light” by Jane Brox – NYTimes.com

A few weeks with my iPad

~ Mark ~ 4 Comments

To fill the void in my soul, etc.
I wrote this a long time ago, it seems, and never got around to pushing the publish button. Just a few notes I typed while I was using it…

  • I can position it without worrying about how the page catches the light.
  • Very bright. Usually use it at half-brightness or less.
  • A pleasure to use at night with brightness dimmed, especially in reverse light-on-dark text.
  • Super-awesome to eat with — no smoothing or holding pages, etc. It just sits there giving me text.
  • I use my iMac less often, which also means I’ve been listening to music much less than before.
  • RSS browsing is more difficult. It’s not great with Google Reader. The upside is that I’m more picky about what I open and send to Instapaper.
  • Speaking of which, Instapaper so completely rules. Indispensable.
  • Best travel device ever?
  • Typing is much easier than I expected, especially with the autofix in place.
  • I love being able to email myself my notes really easily. I should have been doing this all along.
  • It’s also great for work stuff because it’s a reliable backstop that I *want* to use, unlike the craptop I was assigned.
  • It’s not a fixture or a centerpiece. Enter the room and it’s just lying in there with the pile of books or lost in the blankets somewhere. No biggie, very low impact on the surroundings. It doesn’t take over a space like computer or a TV does.
  • Everything is a hot zone. I wish there were a way to desensitize it sometimes.
  • The iPad has near-silent operation. This is a HUGE plus for me. No fans, no drives spinning. No clicking mouse. No mechanical tap tappity tappa on the keyboard. No paper rustling. This is a very peaceful experience.

I liked these three articles related to the iPad:

~ Mark ~ Leave a comment

Is it me, or is there subversive body language in this Apple promo video? I was watching the iPod Touch guided tour, and I noticed that our friendly host keeps moving his head left and right, as if to express disagreement. It’s incredibly distracting.