Computer World

As we get closer to the singularity, I've been thinking more about how technology has changed throughout my lifetime. Previously I had thought of this in terms of hardware, advancing from my Commodore 64 though a 486, Pentium II, Pentium IV, to a Pentium D. But now I'm beginning to think more in terms of how I use computers. Most of the programs I use now, didn't exist 5 years ago, and I can barely remember what I was using back in the 90s. Who can remember a time before iTunes? How about the days when we had to a CD-ROM encyclopedia instead of instantly accessing a VERY current Wikipedia. We now have a myriad of choices for using our PCs. My computer is so customized - using quick launch shortcuts, keyboard shortcuts and programs and plug-ins like Slickrun and Googlebar, that its hard for me to use other people's machines efficiently.

I never really jumped on the idea of internet apps. Of course when I first used Google years ago, I knew it had a future as THE search engine, but I never imagined how far they would go. I started using iGoogle (or Google IG back then) as my home page, and now I couldn't live without it, I have all the links and precise news that I need in one place, plus some cool tools and toys. Last week I was doing an update, and I unintentionally installed Google Desktop. This program is excellent. It has a nice transparent design with time and temp and a cool photo slideshow. It also has a handy notepad, so I don't need to open a new program or file to quickly remember something - and it reads html, which is the first time I've found a text editor that does. It also provides news articles to the desktop and its has a web clips section that shows near-real-time additions to web forums, discussions, USENET groups, Wikipedia, and blogs (now I'll know when I update this page). I now have a new appreciation for RSS feeds. This is all done so much more effectively and stylishly than Microsoft's failed Active Desktop could ever do. Of course, the real power of Google Desktop is the Desktop search. I never really thought I would need this back when I heard about X1. But now, I read so many various articles on the net, I begin to forget what I was reading and I spend way too much time trying to find things again. Like so many other geeks these days, I now need a Google-assisted memory. The desktop search not only remembers these articles for me, but it also searches documents, email and files, so I can search for everything in one place.

My other new tool is the Google Notebook. I've apparently made notes in it before, but I never realized it. By simply selecting Note This, I can put something from a search into the notebook. I have previously been using Evernote for this, but the great thing about Google Notebook is that it is stored online. This way, I can do work on one computer, and then continue on another machine. I don't have to remember to keep moving various text files from one PC to another, as it is all easily integrated into the browser.

So , I've now reached a new level in computer use as we have reached the point where a computer isn't all that useful with an internet connection. Just as web pages have now become dynamic, our desktops have become much more useful and interesting than the static ones they used to be. Besides these applications, I can't get enough of Google Earth, along with Google Sky. These guys really have a vision for applications, and their pricing scheme is much better tan Microsoft. I can't wait to see what Google will have for us in the future.


edit - 10.21.07: I just listened to Leo's 10.02 show and he was talking exactly about this, saying that technology has matured enough that we can now talk about content and not hardware. Great minds.

De Do Do Do De Da Da Da

So, for today's post we have yet another Sting entry. Only because Sting is in the news, and its been a long time since he has been. Blender magazine further confirms my assumptions about the media's assault on intelligence. Sting has been voted the worst lyricist. Wait. What? That's right, and Neil Peart comes in second. Seriously?! WTF?! Add Bono, Sarah Maclachlan, and H in there and you'll have my list of best songwriters. Now, Sting is used to being called pompous, arrogant and pretentious. But, I never though anyone with a functioning brain would actually question his lyric writing ability.

His strength lies in the fact that he can discuss complex ideas, put into a simple, three verse structure. Like his musical writing, minimalism is the key, but yet there is serious depth and intensity. His songs are easily accessible, he's not overly verbose or obscure, (with the possible exception of Wrapped Around Your Finger). He also strikes a good balance between intellectual and visceral dimensions of a song. As for the subject matter, Sting's lyrics encompass the whole sphere of the humanities. In the words of Daryl Jones, "I've never heard a Sting song that's a nothing song." So he throws in a little Shakespeare, Chaucer, Nabakov, St Augustine, etc. He was one of the inspirations that led me to pursue degrees in English and Philosophy. "Cloying spirituality"?? Are we listening to the same songs? I assume they don't mean that in a religious sense. (and by the way, by using that phrase they are being pompous themselves - their readers can't understand Sting, but they're going to understand that?). Maybe its in the personal sense, but as for being overly sweet - remember "Every Breath You Take" is NOT a love song - Sting usually focuses on the dark side, or at least the dual side of things. Apparently his lyrics are good enough to be made into book form.

So, basically he's too smart for these people. It's strange that we have constant debate about the failure of our educational system, yet we criticize any attempt to appear smart. We now have people on TV that say they don't know, or care, if the world is flat. Who would have thought we would get this stupid? The media wants to retard people so they can tell them how to think. Then its easier to sell Britney, Justin, and any rap to people. Smart people aren't going to stand there and eat crap that they paid for just because that's what they are told to do. This is a magazine that had Kanye West on their latest cover - that shows where Blender's IQ level is at (and thanks Kanye, for ruining the Police performance at Live Earth).

Luckily for me, I usually consider these polls to be the opposite of reality - there's usually too much Bon Jovi and GNR to be taken seriously. As for Sting, he gets free publicity, which coincidentally happens right before his Lyrics book is released. And what about Neil? I dare anybody to listen to "The Pass", and then tell me Neil is a bad songwriter - talk about depth and intensity!