Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
> So I was hoping for a few other evaluations of phones, but that > hasn't appeared so far. Do others have suggestions for what are good > geek-friendly "smart phones" these days? I'm thinking of replacing my > old HTC-1 with something better, and wondering if it's possible to > make sense of the commercial hype. The friendliest phones for geeks are the Nexus phones bought directly from Google, because you get all the system updates right away. But that limits you to GSM carriers and means no LTE, and the Nexus phones lack an SD slot. (The Nexus 4 actually has an LTE-capable modem but doesn't officially support it.) Still, if your carrier of choice is T-Mobile or AT&T (or a virtual network carrier that uses one of those) the Nexus 4 is a good phone if you can actually get one. (Google seems to have trouble keeping them in stock.) The Galaxy Nexus (the previous generation of Nexus phone) is also friendly if you have the no-longer-available unlocked version from Google (it was replaced by the Nexus 4) but less so if you have one of the carrier versions. The big mobile conference is currently happening so there will be lots of new phones on the market soon; a Samsung Galaxy S4 is one of the upcoming devices, release date March 14. A new HTC One was announced recently ahd looks tempting with its 1080p screen; the second phone with one to my knowledge, the first was on the HTC-built Droid DNA which is a Verizon-only phone. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On Sat, 02 Mar 2013 03:49:55 wrote: > So I was hoping for a few other evaluations of phones, but that > hasn't appeared so far. Do others have suggestions for what are good > geek-friendly "smart phones" these days? I'm thinking of replacing my > old HTC-1 with something better, and wondering if it's possible to > make sense of the commercial hype. Ain't no such thing as a good smartphone. Every smartphone is a little box of compromises. Maybe you get a big, bright screen but the battery life sucks. Or you get decent battery life but the signal and voice quality are terrible. Maybe you get decent audio but you have no storage expansion. And regardless of what you buy you're locked into that vendor's ecosystem. And regardless of what you buy today, it'll be obsolete within a year if it isn't already hugging the trailing edge. If what you have works then replacing it is a waste of money. Keep it, maybe buy a new battery pack if it's not holding a charge. If it doesn't work then get something cheap from a low budget, no contract carrier like Page Plus or Tracfone. If you like what you get then you got something you like for cheap. If you don't then you're out a whole lot less than you would be with a major carrier. -- Rich P. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
Kent Borg wrote: | I am amazed at what an impressive *phone* my Galaxy Nexus is. Go back a | couple decades and think about it as a "telephone": wow! Okay, but the | telephone part is what I use least. Pretty amazing. | | -kb, the Kent who recommends only Nexus Androids so as to not get extra | manufacturer or carrier cruft. So I was hoping for a few other evaluations of phones, but that hasn't appeared so far. Do others have suggestions for what are good geek-friendly "smart phones" these days? I'm thinking of replacing my old HTC-1 with something better, and wondering if it's possible to make sense of the commercial hype. -- What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about? ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On 3/1/2013 2:56 PM, Gordon Marx wrote: On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 2:53 PM, Bill Horne wrote: My wife, who is a nurse, has a friend who works in the Public Health Service in Pennsylvania. They spent an unforgettable evening together in Lancaster, talking over old classmates and old memories, while we sat on the porch of a guest house, opposite a field where fireflies were as thick as the stars overhead, and where the only other sounds to be heard were made by horse-drawn wagons and carriages. As you know, it's impossible to remember things or talk to people face to face if you use any sort of technology whatsoever, or if anyone around you is doing so. Let's not be disingenuous, Gordon. We both know that that "always on" society and the expensive devices some people use to stay chained to it have created a parallel "Never Off" world whose adherents are condemned to be at work from the moment they wake up until the moment they fall asleep. It's a lot more relaxing and fulfilling to talk to an old friend when you know for a fact that your friend and your family and your church all expect you to stop working when the sun goes down. It's a lot more healthy to follow the diurnal rhythms which mankind was bound to for all but the last couple of centuries. The Amish elders don't forbid their flocks from using modern technology: they just keep it at arms length. They ask the faithful to avoid using electricity, because it requires men to work on the Sabbath, but when woodworking shops have a legitimate need for electric tools, they simply install a generator to power them, and shut it down at the end of the workday. I've heard that it's actually less expensive than getting power from the electric grid. I'm not Amish, and I made a decision a long time ago to make my living by tending machines. I accepted the requirements of being a technical professional: 3 AM wake-up calls, weekend call-outs, and even a terminal in my home that allowed me to solve problems without having to scrape ice or snow off my car, a decade before dial-up Internet connections were common. The reservations I and other readers have expressed are, to my mind, just a common-sense reflection of our desire to have a semblance of privacy and a modicum of quiet enjoyment while we're in our homes. If you choose to make yourself available to others at all times, that's /your/ choice. Bill Horne -- Bill Horne 339-364-8487 ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Boston Linux and Unix InstallFest XLVII reminder Saturday March 2, 2013
Boston Linux Installfest XLVII When: Saturday March 2, 2013 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Where: MIT Building E-51, Room 061 2 Amherst St, Cambridge Plenty of free parking in the parking lot in front of E-51. http://mitiq.mit.edu/mitiq/directions_%20parkinge51.htm What you need to bring: Your computer, monitor, power strips and your Linux distributions. We do have copies of some distributions. In general we have expertise with most distros, but if you need special expertise, please email the BLU discussion list in advance. Today, most distros are using Live CDs that you can try out and then install. Additionally, CD images can be pushed onto USB sticks using various USB creators. COST: It's free! However, we DO have expenses, and contributions are welcome. Please consider contributing $25 per machine. Our volunteers will help you to install Linux on your own system. While Linux runs on most systems, some systems do have configurations and hardware that may not be supported. Please consult the following web pages for hardware compatibility. While we prefer you to bring your own distros, our volunteers will normally have Linux Howto Pages: http://tldp.org/HOWTO/HOWTO-INDEX/howtos.html Linux Frequently Asked Questions: http://tldp.org/docs.html#faq Additionally, there are forums and listservs for most distros. Generally our volunteers have sets of the latest Fedora, SuSE and Ubuntu distributions: * Fedora - http://fedora.redhat.com (Fedora 18 DVD/Live CD/USB) * Open SuSE - http://opensuse.org (OpenSuSE 12.1 - DVD/Live CD/) * Ubuntu - http://www.ubuntu.com (Quantal Quetzal 12.10 CD/USB) We generally have them on local drives and can burn CDs/DVDs and USBs.Since there are many variants of these distros, we advise you to bring an empty USB stick with sufficient memory to hold one of the distros. LiveCD images required under 1GB, full DVD images for Fedora require about 4GB, and OpenSuSE needs 8GB. I usually have some USBs prepared. We generally have both a Wired and Wireless network available. The wireless SSID at MIT is "MIT". In addition, you can run Linux on your Windows PC through a virtual machine manager, such as Virtualbox. You can install this in your Windows machine and run Linux as a guest OS, or install it in your Linux machine and run Windows as a guest. VirtualBox 4.2.6. (http://www.virtualbox.org.) is free and is available for Linux, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows XP and Windows Vista. Additionally, there are also some VMWare clients that are also free for Windows. Please refer to the BLU website (http://www.blu.org) for further information and directions. Parking is free and available in front of the building on Amherst St. Enter the building, and take the elevator to your left down 1 floor. Room 061 is opposite the elevator. Lunch is generously sponsored By Ron Thibeau and John Ross, Bluefin Technical Services. -- Jerry Feldman Boston Linux and Unix user group http://www.blu.org PGP key id: 537C5846 PGP Key fingerprint: 3D1B 8377 A3C0 A5F2 ECBB CA3B 4607 4319 537C 5846 ___ Announce mailing list annou...@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/announce ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On 03/01/2013 03:39 PM, Daniel Barrett wrote: On March 1, 2013, ma...@mohawksoft.com wrote: You can read a book on a smart phone. I'm glad it works for you, but reading a book on a screen is not to my taste. I've tried it on Kindle and iPad and they both give me a headache. YMMV. My 90 year old mother has a Kindle and an iPad and loves them. I much prefer my Nook Tablet to read from than a book. For one I can change the font and appearance. And for the most part can read in the sun (although it takes more battery). I've taken it on a couple of cruises. Takes up less space than 2 books. -- Jerry Feldman Boston Linux and Unix PGP key id:3BC1EB90 PGP Key fingerprint: 49E2 C52A FC5A A31F 8D66 C0AF 7CEA 30FC 3BC1 EB90 ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On 3/1/2013 12:52 PM, Daniel Barrett wrote: Mark Woodward wrote: I think I was the last human being above the age of 16 to get a smart phone. You're not the last. I still don't own one and perhaps never will. My days are already jam-packed with technology; the last thing I desire is to carry more technology around with me. I have a "smart" phone of sorts: it was a gift from a ham operator who I helped to connect his radio to his computer. He had just bought one with a bigger screen, and offered me his old one: I got to renew the $30/month "everything" rate, and since that is in the ballpark of what I was spending for voice service, I'm content to use it. #define LIFESTYLE_GENTLE_RANT 1 Other than GPS (which I have in my car), I have yet to encounter a single smartphone app that would make my life *happier*. This is not a troll so please don't respond with your dozen favorite apps. :-) My priorities are just different. You're preaching to the choir! I'm not sure if being wary of portable devices is a generational gap, a cultural divide, or a class difference. No matter: the fact is that I'm happiest when I *don't* have the phone on, since I really do think of it as an electronic leash. If I'm standing in a long, boring line waiting for something, I don't want to whip out a phone and surf the web or play a game. I'd rather think interesting thoughts, compose music in my head, read a book, or harangue the person responsible for the long delay. (I'd chat with the person next to me, but he's playing with his smartphone.) I take a paperback when I'm going to have to queue up for something. I am, however, prone to occasional fits of impatience, so if the clerks are gossiping, I'll just shout "I sure hope this doesn't take too long!". It always speeds up the line immensely. Work is insanely busy. So when I'm not at work, I like living slowly, cultivating patience. Enjoying a meal without the beep of a text message. I understand that others need to stay in contact with work 24x7. I've chosen not to live that way, and to accept whatever compromises come with that choice. (Even so, I'm having a successful career in the tech industry. It's a balancing act.) I feel your pain. When my brother-in-law was just out of college, he came home with a pager on his belt, back when they were still rare, and I said "You must be an important person now!". He smiled, and said "No, Bill: the important people *do* the beeping!" The only tough part is not having mobile access to my calendar. This means every so often, I make an appointment for a time that's already booked, so I have to phone later to change it. It's a small price to pay to stay unhooked. I think of it as "unchained". ;-) Bill -- Bill Horne 339-364-8487 ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:53:56 -0500 Bill Horne wrote: > I think the Amish have a better take on things: the limiting factor, > after all, is human evolution. I don't think that I'd go quite that far. I'd be out of a job if I did and then I'd be stuck for acquiring food, shelter and so forth until I figured out something non-tech that I could do for a living. But you're right about the leash. How many of you carry a pager? I've ranted about that before. You should be able to find that in the list archives. The smartphone is just an another leach... I mean leash. But unlike the pager it is a leash that "we" have put around our own necks. -- Rich P. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On Fri, 1 Mar 2013 14:32:49 -0500 Shirley Márquez Dúlcey wrote: > I think that Rich Pieri has fallen into the trap of car-centric > thinking. Hardly. In fact, I have almost never used a car for daily commuting. I've made a point of not doing so. I walk and use various MBTA services instead. I typically carry 15-20lbs worth of kit, most of which is electronics of various sorts including: notebook computer, smartphone with the "smart" disabled, Kindle DX, mouse for the notebook compy, iPod, 3DS, and a little case for fiddly bits like USB flash drives and cords. The specifics have changed over the years but the general functions have remained relatively constant. > I have gone places that I wouldn't have gone without the smartphone > because they would have been too much of a pain to find. I have made > spur of the moment trips that I wouldn't have made before (especially > when starting from somewhere other than home) because it would have > been too difficult to figure out how to get there from here in a > timely manner without the smartphone. I think that qualifies as life > changing. I don't. If you are capable of doing something but choose not to do it because you think it would be too difficult then that's your choice. A tool that simplifies the task below some arbitrary threshold of difficulty is not life-changing. It's choice-changing, it might be behavior-changing, but it isn't itself life-changing. It may lead you to life-changing events or circumstances but that's something else. -- Rich P. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On March 1, 2013, ma...@mohawksoft.com wrote: >You can read a book on a smart phone. I'm glad it works for you, but reading a book on a screen is not to my taste. I've tried it on Kindle and iPad and they both give me a headache. YMMV. >... any job with responsibilities has the occasional need to intrude on >personal life. Definitely true, we all pull all-nighters when needed. It comes with the territory. There's a big difference between "partitioning one's work and personal life" and "shirking responsibility." On March 1, 2013, Kent Borg wrote: >I don't let [my smartphone] have to power to stress me, I assert my power >over it, it serves me. >The idea that I would want to not have it because I don't want it to >drive me is like not wanting electricity because I don't want to labor >after dark. I don't avoid smartphones for fear they'd have power over me; but as mentioned, I haven't encountered a reason to own one (other than GPS, which by definition needs to be portable). I am surrounded by a slew of powerful computers that serve me just fine. I just have no reason to carry one with me... neither smartphone nor laptop nor tablet. (Exception: when at a hotel, it's convenient to have a laptop with internet connection.) >...once you turn off the beeps it sits quietly until you decide to pick it >up. Even though you're right, smartphones do change people's behavior. A large portion of the smartphone population will "decide to pick up" that muted phone a zillion times an hour, the instant they have a thought about something: "Hey, I'll check it right now on my phone." Perhaps you view this as power and convenience. I see it as interrupting the flow of whatever we were doing together at the time: a conversation, a meeting, etc. When you have a Magical Book Of Everything at your fingertips all day, you use it constantly. >it sounds more like you are enjoying being a fuddy-duddy and >wearing the mantle of Wise Old Timer. Now now, I was very careful not to call anybody any names in my note. :-) Smartphones are wonderful for the fine people who need them. I am deep into technology 15+ hours a day. I just don't get the value of carrying it with me, muted or otherwise. (It was the same for portable music players when they were invented: tried 'em and didn't like 'em.) To each his/her own. -- Dan Barrett dbarr...@blazemonger.com ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Open Compute Hardware
Anyone investigated, purchased, or built Open Compute hardware? Articles about Facebook's openly documented server hardware have been trickling out over the past year or so. Here's another: Facebook now designs all its own servers http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/02/who-needs-hp-and-dell-facebook-now-designs-all-its-own-servers/ Nearly two years ago, Facebook unveiled what it called the Open Compute Project. The idea was to share designs for data center hardware like servers, storage, and racks so that companies could build their own equipment instead of relying on the narrow options provided by hardware vendors. [...] Like Google, Facebook designs its own servers and has them built by ODMs (original design manufacturers) in Taiwan and China, rather than OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) like HP or Dell. By rolling its own, Facebook eliminates what Frankovsky calls "gratuitous differentiation," hardware features that make servers unique but do not benefit Facebook. It could be as simple as the plastic bezel on a server with a brand logo, because that extra bit of material forces the fans to work harder. Frankovsky said a study showed a standard 1U-sized OEM server "used 28 watts of fan power to pull air through the impedance caused by that plastic bezel," whereas the equivalent Open Compute server used just three watts for that purpose. [...] HP and Dell have begun making designs that conform to Open Compute specifications... [...] Facebook says it gets 24 percent financial savings from having a lower-cost infrastructure, and it saves 38 percent in ongoing operational costs as a result of building its own stuff. Facebook's custom-designed servers don't run different workloads than any other server might--they just run them more efficiently. [...] Facebook's new "Group Hug" specification for motherboards, which could accommodate processors from numerous vendors. AMD and Intel, as well as ARM chip vendors Applied Micro and Calxeda, have already pledged to support these boards with new SoC (System on Chip) products. ...a future in which customers can "upgrade through multiple generations of processors without having to replace the motherboards or the in-rack networking,"... Calxeda came up with an ARM-based server board that can slide into Facebook's Open Vault storage system, codenamed "Knox." "It turns the storage device into a storage server and eliminates the need for a separate server to control the hard drive,"... [...] Fidelity and Goldman Sachs are among those using custom designs tuned to their workloads as a result of Open Compute. Smaller customers might be able to benefit too, even if they rent space from a data center where they can't change the server or rack design, he said. They could "take building blocks [of Open Compute] and restructure them into physical designs that fit into their server slots," Frankovsky said. -Tom -- Tom Metro Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA "Enterprise solutions through open source." Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/ ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 2:53 PM, Bill Horne wrote: > My wife, who is a nurse, has a friend who works in the Public Health Service > in Pennsylvania. They spent an unforgettable evening together in Lancaster, > talking over old classmates and old memories, while we sat on the porch of a > guest house, opposite a field where fireflies were as thick as the stars > overhead, and where the only other sounds to be heard were made by > horse-drawn wagons and carriages. As you know, it's impossible to remember things or talk to people face to face if you use any sort of technology whatsoever, or if anyone around you is doing so. YOU KIDS GET OFF MY LAWN, Gordon ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On 3/1/2013 12:44 PM, Kent Borg wrote: On 03/01/2013 11:47 AM, Rich Pieri wrote: But again, the nature of the activity hasn't changed, just the tools used to perform them. You make sense, but at the expense of being sensible. No disrespect, but I disagree. By your logic electric power and telegraph and trains and cars and radio and TV and lasers and maybe even space travel didn't change the nature of activity either, just the tools. In the sense that the "activity" is spending a major portion of each workday earning the money that goes to support multi-national corporations, you're right. In the sense that the "activity" is acquiring enough food to stay alive, shelter, and a chance to contribute to society, we differ. My wife, who is a nurse, has a friend who works in the Public Health Service in Pennsylvania. They spent an unforgettable evening together in Lancaster, talking over old classmates and old memories, while we sat on the porch of a guest house, opposite a field where fireflies were as thick as the stars overhead, and where the only other sounds to be heard were made by horse-drawn wagons and carriages. Be careful, so the saying goes, of what you ask for: we may have asked for more convenience in our lives, and more time for our families, and more options when choosing what route to take from out safe suburban enclave into the dangerous, dirty, crowded, threatening city. What we *got* was an electronic leash that makes us available to our rulers twenty-four by seven, that requires us to substitute knee-jerk reactions for heads-up thinking, and which condemns us to appear as if we are subalterns who need to be told what to do during every second of our lives. I think the Amish have a better take on things: the limiting factor, after all, is human evolution. Bill -- Bill Horne 339-364-8487 ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
> New ways of doing things don't work well unless, and until, a major fraction > of the affected population adopts them. Cellphones and other mobile > computing devices aren't in that zone yet: they are a /tool/, but not the > only one. > > Bill Horne Your choice to stick with older methods is fine if it works for you. But I have to disagree with this statement; I feel that mobile computing devices ARE in that zone now, especially for younger parts of the population. A teenager without a text-capable cellphone, for example, would be cut off from the major communication channel of his or her peers. Mobile access to maps, schedules, and real-time data on train and bus arrivals has changed my relationship with public transit sufficiently that I would say that anybody who lacks that access is getting a second class experience. Saving 15 minutes of standing out in the cold and rain to wait for a bus is life changing; with real time data I don't have to go out to the bus stop until the bus is about to arrive. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
I think that Rich Pieri has fallen into the trap of car-centric thinking. If I were traveling by car I could carry an atlas, a GPS, and a schedule, and get around without the smartphone. But I don't do that; I have to carry everything with me because I move on foot, on a bicycle, or on the T. Carrying all that stuff all the time isn't practical. Taking the smartphone everywhere is. I have gone places that I wouldn't have gone without the smartphone because they would have been too much of a pain to find. I have made spur of the moment trips that I wouldn't have made before (especially when starting from somewhere other than home) because it would have been too difficult to figure out how to get there from here in a timely manner without the smartphone. I think that qualifies as life changing. Calling the organizer for those last minute changes doesn't always work. For one thing, the organizer may already be enroute to the site, or on-site inside a building with no cell service, and therefore not callable. Getting directions on the phone is horribly inefficient and error prone in any case; a device that can display text and maps works much better. I've also been known to read on my smartphone. But I usually reach for the Nexus 7 tablet instead because the screen is bigger. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On 3/1/2013 12:22 PM, Gordon Marx wrote: On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 11:47 AM, Rich Pieri wrote: You could use a road atlas to do the same thing. Changed tool, not changed activity. Or a sextant! Streets and landmarks don't change often enough to justify use of an "open ocean" instrument and procedures, especially when buildings are likely to block the sight lines to the navigational stars and the horizon. In any case the sextant isn't able to give enough accuracy for navigation in cities: according to Wikipedia "Most ocean navigators, shooting from a moving platform, can achieve a practical accuracy of 1.5 miles (2.8 km), enough to navigate safely when out of sight of land."(1) or to get transit schedules to reach an unfamiliar location. Same thing. It's certainly easier to get current schedules that way than trekking to the local station and hope they have printed schedules. But again, the nature of the activity hasn't changed, just the tools used to perform them. Okay, I guess you need a sextant and a subway/bus map. But that's OK, I carry around a bunch of crap anyway. Subway and bus maps don't usually include schedules: those are usually published separately, since they change more frequently than the routes. You could contact the meeting organizer instead, or vice-versa. Yes, they could send me smoke signals! Except if I'm in the T, so they'd need to know that. I guess they have a watch, and the same map I have, and can guess which T I'm on? I also hope they're not changing the meeting location, because then I might not know where in the sky to look for the smoke signals. Smoke signals aren't practical in cities: they're only usable over relatively flat terrain, at distances great enough to allow relaying the message more quickly than an approaching enemy can travel, or when language differences and custom dictates an unambiguous message that can't be misinterpreted, such as those sent by the College of Cardinals while electing a Pope. (2) You could have arranged to meet at a designated place and time instead. Luckily I never run late. But if I do, I always make sure to carry around a signal drum, so even if my friend can't see me, they can hear my apologetic drumming of lateness. That's not likely to work: sounds don't carry well in cities, especially with competing sounds from cars, trolleys, etc. Moreover, you'd have to arrange a mutually acceptable code of drumbeats that would convey your message accurately, and that's surprisingly hard to do: there are, for example, several versions of the Morse code, so they, and ancillary compression algorithms such as The Phillips Code, have to be agreed-on and practiced in advance. Swapping a tool for a more appropriate one isn't life- changing. Yup, watches are better than sundials, but they've never saved anyone's life. http://humantimeproject.com/buy-one-give-another/ I take it that you're referring to sundials when you say "they've never saved anyone's life". The URL you wrote is for a site which proposes to send watches to health-care workers as part of a sales promotion. Your arguments all seem to lead to the same point, which is an assumption that "everyone" should do things with a portable computing device, even though there are lower-cost, commonly-available, and reliable methods of doing the things, all of which are well-known, ubiquitous, and don't need batteries. I'll go further: * Using a GPS to get to a meeting, instead of a map, doesn't change the substance of what is said during the meeting. * Public transit must, by definition, be available to the common man. That means published schedules printed on paper, where the only assumption needed is that the user can read, or has access to someone who can. Either way, it's a reliable paradigm, with centuries of proven performance. * If I arrive late at a gathering point, and there's nobody waiting, then I know that I have two options: o I can assume that those attending the gathering didn't think my contribution would be important enough that they wanted to wait for me, and so I can go do other things. o I can go to nearby meeting places which the group has used before, and see if they are there again. * Paying more for a watch in order to achieve [some-outcome-I-think-is-good] doesn't alter my life. It just indicates that I want to hire other to accomplish [some-outcome-I-think-is-good]. If I understood Mr. Pieri's post correctly, he feels that having a new tool to accomplish a given task doesn't change one's life in a fundamental way. I agree, and I reserve the right to employ methods that don't require me to pay thousands of dollars a year to obtain the same information I can get from a map, or a bus schedule, or any clock on any wall I pass, or from any one of the secretaries whom work with any one of the expected participants in a meeting. New ways of doing things don
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:44:25 -0500 Kent Borg wrote: > You make sense, but at the expense of being sensible. I counter by asserting that your sense of sensibility is what is insensible. You've mixed up new tools like electric power with improved tools like the horseless carriage. If you look at a thing as a better version of a thing you were using before then it isn't life-changing. Not really. It's a change, certainly, but it isn't the kind of significant change that typifies life-changing events or experiences. Trading your horse and buggy for an automobile: not life-changing. Working all hours of the night because some greedy inventor figured out how to make a light bulb operate 24 hours a day: life-changing. Trading your wood pulp editions of The Boston Globe for an RSS feed of the Boston Globe: not life-changing. Using FaceTime on your iThing as your primary contact with your infant children: life-changing. And I'll be laughing hysterically when said infant starts identifying the glossy rectangle as "mommy" or "daddy". -- Rich P. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On 03/01/2013 12:52 PM, Daniel Barrett wrote: You're not the last. I still don't own one and perhaps never will. My days are already jam-packed with technology; the last thing I desire is to carry more technology around with me. I keep my phone on silent almost always, I pull it out when I want it and seldom when it wants me. I don't do work e-mail on it, I very seldom don't do e-mail from this account on it (too old an address, too much spam). I don't let it have to power to stress me, I assert my power over it, it serves me. The idea that I would want to not have it because I don't want it to drive me is like not wanting electricity because I don't want to labor after dark. Both arguments make some sense, but seem remote. I am sure there were those back when who resisted hooking up to electricity because they didn't want it to ruin their lives, but they seem silly, too. I like reading on my small tablet, which I have with me almost as much as my phone, but not quite. And the other day I was standing in the basement waiting for the washer to fill and mix with the soap a bit more before I put the clothes in, so I read another page, in the same book, starting at the same location, but on my phone. I didn't have to anticipate that I wanted to do this, I didn't have to remember what page I was on, the Kindle app was already on my phone and it already knew where I was. Yes, the screen is little, but it is sharper than many printed books. Yes, the screen doesn't work in bright light, but I wasn't in bright light--and I could get an e-paper Kindle if I were going to the beach. I can understand wanting to live slowly. But why is that incompatible with a smartphone? Learn how to turn off the beeps. A phone isn't an autonomous and sentient Taser that will sneak up on you and attack when you aren't looking. No, once you turn off the beeps it sits quietly until you decide to pick it up. Why is that stressful? It sounds like you know there is forbidden stress in the phone and can't stop yourself from reaching for it and taking a drink. Yes, in that case I can see you are better off without one, but it sounds more like you are enjoying being a fuddy-duddy and wearing the mantle of Wise Old Timer. -kb, the Kent who was savoring the language of _Richard_III_ the other day, off some instance of his "more technology", with his feet up, wine in hand, and not feeling stressed at all. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
> Mark Woodward wrote: >>I think I was the last human being above the age of 16 to get a smart >>phone. > > You're not the last. I still don't own one and perhaps never will. My > days > are already jam-packed with technology; the last thing I desire is to > carry > more technology around with me. > > #define LIFESTYLE_GENTLE_RANT 1 > > Other than GPS (which I have in my car), I have yet to encounter a single > smartphone app that would make my life *happier*. This is not a troll so > please don't respond with your dozen favorite apps. :-) My priorities are > just different. Well, my reason for getting was a family vacation. I needed to be able to answer email. We are on a tight release schedule, but there is more... As I own it, I realize that it is actually less of a phone and more of a consolidation of various utilities. GPS for car, don't need it. Bike computer for bicycle, don't need it Laptop or tablet for quick email, don't need it Small notebook for shopping lists and contacts, don't need it. It isn't "life changing" in as much as that term means, but it does allow me to travel lighter. > > If I'm standing in a long, boring line waiting for something, I don't want > to whip out a phone and surf the web or play a game. I'd rather think > interesting thoughts, compose music in my head, read a book, or harangue > the person responsible for the long delay. (I'd chat with the person next > to me, but he's playing with his smartphone.) You can read a book on a smart phone. > > Work is insanely busy. So when I'm not at work, I like living slowly, > cultivating patience. Enjoying a meal without the beep of a text > message. I understand that others need to stay in contact with work > 24x7. I've chosen not to live that way, and to accept whatever compromises > come with that choice. (Even so, I'm having a successful career in the > tech > industry. It's a balancing act.) True most of the time, but any job with responsibilities has the occasional need to intrude on personal life. > > The only tough part is not having mobile access to my calendar. This means > every so often, I make an appointment for a time that's already booked, so > I have to phone later to change it. It's a small price to pay to stay > unhooked. > > -- > Dan Barrett > dbarr...@blazemonger.com > ___ > Discuss mailing list > Discuss@blu.org > http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss > ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
Mark Woodward wrote: >I think I was the last human being above the age of 16 to get a smart >phone. You're not the last. I still don't own one and perhaps never will. My days are already jam-packed with technology; the last thing I desire is to carry more technology around with me. #define LIFESTYLE_GENTLE_RANT 1 Other than GPS (which I have in my car), I have yet to encounter a single smartphone app that would make my life *happier*. This is not a troll so please don't respond with your dozen favorite apps. :-) My priorities are just different. If I'm standing in a long, boring line waiting for something, I don't want to whip out a phone and surf the web or play a game. I'd rather think interesting thoughts, compose music in my head, read a book, or harangue the person responsible for the long delay. (I'd chat with the person next to me, but he's playing with his smartphone.) Work is insanely busy. So when I'm not at work, I like living slowly, cultivating patience. Enjoying a meal without the beep of a text message. I understand that others need to stay in contact with work 24x7. I've chosen not to live that way, and to accept whatever compromises come with that choice. (Even so, I'm having a successful career in the tech industry. It's a balancing act.) The only tough part is not having mobile access to my calendar. This means every so often, I make an appointment for a time that's already booked, so I have to phone later to change it. It's a small price to pay to stay unhooked. -- Dan Barrett dbarr...@blazemonger.com ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On 03/01/2013 11:47 AM, Rich Pieri wrote: But again, the nature of the activity hasn't changed, just the tools used to perform them. You make sense, but at the expense of being sensible. By your logic electric power and telegraph and trains and cars and radio and TV and lasers and maybe even space travel didn't change the nature of activity either, just the tools. A logical distinction that is self-consistent, but not maybe terribly useful in this context: we might have to go back to the industrial revolution or maybe even the invention of agriculture or the invention of democracy before you will agree the "nature of the activity" changed. Your perspective brings up interesting questions, but pretty remote from phones of any sort. -kb ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 11:47 AM, Rich Pieri wrote: > You could use a road atlas to do the same thing. Changed tool, not > changed activity. Or a sextant! >>> or to get transit schedules to reach an unfamiliar location. > > Same thing. It's certainly easier to get current schedules that way > than trekking to the local station and hope they have printed > schedules. But again, the nature of the activity hasn't changed, just > the tools used to perform them. Okay, I guess you need a sextant and a subway/bus map. But that's OK, I carry around a bunch of crap anyway. > You could contact the meeting organizer instead, or vice-versa. Yes, they could send me smoke signals! Except if I'm in the T, so they'd need to know that. I guess they have a watch, and the same map I have, and can guess which T I'm on? I also hope they're not changing the meeting location, because then I might not know where in the sky to look for the smoke signals. > You could have arranged to meet at a designated place and time instead. Luckily I never run late. But if I do, I always make sure to carry around a signal drum, so even if my friend can't see me, they can hear my apologetic drumming of lateness. > Swapping a tool for a more appropriate one isn't life- > changing. Yup, watches are better than sundials, but they've never saved anyone's life. http://humantimeproject.com/buy-one-give-another/ Gordon ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On Fri, 1 Mar 2013 11:21:28 -0500 Shirley Márquez Dúlcey wrote: > Some of the uses of smartphones are life-changing in a more social > way. When I use my mobile map to make sure I reach a social > engagement, You could use a road atlas to do the same thing. Changed tool, not changed activity. > or to get transit schedules to reach an unfamiliar location. Same thing. It's certainly easier to get current schedules that way than trekking to the local station and hope they have printed schedules. But again, the nature of the activity hasn't changed, just the tools used to perform them. > When I check my email on the smartphone to catch last-minute > changes to a meeting location. You could contact the meeting organizer instead, or vice-versa. > When I text a friend to make it possible for us to actually find > each other in a crowded place. You could have arranged to meet at a designated place and time instead. > These are using technology to facilitate social engagement, not to > replace it. Facilitate, yes. It is certainly easier to call someone than it is to wait and hope they arrive on time. But again, you're not changing the nature of the activity; you're changing the tools used to perform that activity. Swapping a tool for a more appropriate one isn't life- changing. Adopting a tool to replace that activity or change its nature is life- changing. Ever notice how a person speaking over the telephone doesn't sound the same as he does face-to-face? Something about the lack of harmonics in reproduced human speech make the remote speaker seem... a bit inhuman. This is the kind of thing that I'm on about. Not the convenience of making activities easier.. The "convenience" of replacing basic human contact with gee-whiz technogadgetry. -- Rich P. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On 3/1/2013 10:42 AM, Jerry Feldman wrote: In the old days they had a single landline in a house shared by all members of the family, and parents could snoop. Today, with text messaging the device is portable so while their parents can check on the bills and usage, they can't see anything about the individual text messages. In the old days, parents and other family members could only snoop in real-time if they happened to be present while the call was happening. But texting is a store-and-forward mechanism that leaves a record that anybody who can get physical access to your phone can see. Now that texting is ubiquitous and the features to secure your private messages are enough of a hassle that virtually nobody uses them, it's not just parents who snoop. Judging by the newspaper stories about Rhianna (2008) or Tiger Woods (2009), the old social rules that violating a family member or friend's privacy by snooping have gone out the window, and it's now perfectly acceptable to read someone else's communications without their permission -- at least it is if you're a girlfriend or wife. In Chris Brown's case, his response was an extreme overreaction. But it was triggered by having his privacy violated by his girlfriend. In Tiger Woods' case, not only did he have his privacy violated, but according to reports at the time he was then physically attacked by her as he tried to get away, and then in order to salvage his public image he was forced to engage in spin control and deny the attack ever happened. But whether it happened or not, his privacy was violated. Snooping hasn't disappeared. If anything, it's worse than ever! Mark Rosenthal ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
Some of the uses of smartphones are life-changing in a more social way. When I use my mobile map to make sure I reach a social engagement, or to get transit schedules to reach an unfamiliar location. When I check my email on the smartphone to catch last-minute changes to a meeting location. When I text a friend to make it possible for us to actually find each other in a crowded place. These are using technology to facilitate social engagement, not to replace it. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On Fri, 01 Mar 2013 10:35:05 -0500 Kent Borg wrote: > Don't underestimate some of the change we might take for granted. A Changing how you read the news from wood pulp to glowy bits isn't life-changing. You're not changing your activities. You're still reading the news. You're still looking up show times. What's changed is the tools you use to perform these activities. That's not life-changing. What is life-changing is watching that movie on the little piece of hand-held glass instead of watching that movie on a big screen or a TV in the common room with your family or friends. The shiny thing turns a fundamentally social activity into a fundamentally reclusive activity. Those shiny things are doing this to every aspect of human interaction. This is indeed life-changing. Not for the better, in my opinion. We're turning into a nation of excruciatingly interconnected recluses, all for a few hits of dopamine. Instant gratification at its finest. I'm waiting for the crash. See, the brain builds up resistance to DA. The more DA you get, the more you need to get the same pleasure sensation. A general crash is a foregone conclusion. The only real question is whether Apple or Facebook starts crumbling first. -- Rich P. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On 03/01/2013 08:31 AM, Mark Woodward wrote: I think I was the last human being above the age of 16 to get a smart phone. Android, of course. I think the people who claim that they are "life changing" are using more than a bit of hyperbole. As I think about it, it really isn't a "phone" so much as a wireless personal computer that happens to have a telephone application. Still, its pretty useful. Thinking about it, it is a proper evolution from the phone. The phone has become obsolete. Teenage girls don't spend hours on the phone anymore. They spend hours texting. As more and more of our communications becomes "written," the more these types of devices become the norm. I can text and email coworkers easier than I can speak with them. With all the various accents and nationalities, verbal communications can be quite difficult. I can think as I write much easier than when I speak. So, yes. As you walk through crowds of people, every single one of them looking at their "phone," we have certainly rounded a corner in human communications. It has changed society significantly. With a Smartphone, you are virtually never out of communications range. (Unless you are in an area not covered like a National Park). Nearly every facet of society has been affected including warfare. Osama bin Laden was tracked down by his courier's cell phone. In your example, above, it also gives these kids some independence. In the old days they had a single landline in a house shared by all members of the family, and parents could snoop. Today, with text messaging the device is portable so while their parents can check on the bills and usage, they can't see anything about the individual text messages. But also the smartphone can be used to enforce 24x7 coverage by one person in an IT situation. The impact of smartphones is world-wide. -- Jerry Feldman Boston Linux and Unix PGP key id:3BC1EB90 PGP Key fingerprint: 49E2 C52A FC5A A31F 8D66 C0AF 7CEA 30FC 3BC1 EB90 ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On 03/01/2013 10:10 AM, Rich Pieri wrote: It's a dopamine gadget. It's not life-changing. Except really good dopamine gadgets (and dopamine drugs) ARE life-changing. Don't underestimate some of the change we might take for granted. A ton of practical stuff has changed in the last couple decades. Remember buying a newspaper to see what movies were playing where and when? Now you might look up the time on your tablet--or just watch the movie on your tablet. Very life changing for newspapers and movie houses. Certainly smartphones didn't do all that, but phones and tablets are crushing notebook sales. They are taking over, they might not change your life over a weekend, but they are way important and part of a lot of ongoing change. It only makes you feel like it's life-changing because of all the little squirts of dopamine your brain gets every time you "discover" something new. Sounds like a key way our brains measure "life changing". What could be more real to me than dopamine in my brain? Seriously. If that doesn't qualify as real, I could care less about things you claim are real. Saying otherwise is like saying that how much money I have isn't important because the only thing that is important is "economics". Fiddlesticks. Money is a very key measure of economics for me, and so is dopamine an extremely important measure of life; take away my dopamine and you will take away my life. -kb ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On Fri, 01 Mar 2013 08:31:10 -0500 Mark Woodward wrote: > I think I was the last human being above the age of 16 to get a smart > phone. Android, of course. I think the people who claim that they are > "life changing" are using more than a bit of hyperbole. It's a dopamine gadget. It's not life-changing. It only makes you feel like it's life-changing because of all the little squirts of dopamine your brain gets every time you "discover" something new. -- Rich P. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
On 03/01/2013 08:31 AM, Mark Woodward wrote: I think I was the last human being above the age of 16 to get a smart phone. Android, of course. I think the people who claim that they are "life changing" are using more than a bit of hyperbole. But then you go on to describe how life changing it is... Everyone is looking at their phones all the time, teenage girls don't talk for hours at a time, etc. I am amazed at what an impressive *phone* my Galaxy Nexus is. Go back a couple decades and think about it as a "telephone": wow! Okay, but the telephone part is what I use least. Pretty amazing. -kb, the Kent who recommends only Nexus Androids so as to not get extra manufacturer or carrier cruft. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] [OT] Smart Phones
I think I was the last human being above the age of 16 to get a smart phone. Android, of course. I think the people who claim that they are "life changing" are using more than a bit of hyperbole. As I think about it, it really isn't a "phone" so much as a wireless personal computer that happens to have a telephone application. Still, its pretty useful. Thinking about it, it is a proper evolution from the phone. The phone has become obsolete. Teenage girls don't spend hours on the phone anymore. They spend hours texting. As more and more of our communications becomes "written," the more these types of devices become the norm. I can text and email coworkers easier than I can speak with them. With all the various accents and nationalities, verbal communications can be quite difficult. I can think as I write much easier than when I speak. So, yes. As you walk through crowds of people, every single one of them looking at their "phone," we have certainly rounded a corner in human communications. Any opinions? ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] USB thumbdrive, Linux only usage: FAT vs NTFS vs other? TRIM support?
> From: discuss-bounces+blu=nedharvey@blu.org [mailto:discuss-
> bounces+blu=nedharvey@blu.org] On Behalf Of John Abreau
>
> find /path/to/thumb drive -xdev -type f -exec chmod 666 '{}' ';'
> find /path/to/thumb drive -xdev -type d -exec chmod 777 '{}' ';'
You could do the same thing with capital X. Capital X will set the execute bit
for directories and not files, unless the x is already set on files.
chmod a+rwX
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