When I started my doctoral studies in 1995, I had a great computer, but it wasn’t a laptop. I really wanted something simple that I could take with me to the library and take notes on journal articles. So I bought a Newton and a keyboard. It synced to my Mac. It had a version of AppleWorks, so I could move rtf files back and forth. The screen was big enough that I could write with it. Lots of people in the computer industry mocked it, but it worked perfectly for me. I still remember the amazed look my friend Trevor’s face when it transformed his writing in to text, and then made his little drawing of a bird into a pict.
All posts tagged gadgets
Apple’s Evolutionary Newton Turns Twenty
Posted by Jim Caccamo on June 1, 2012
https://rewiringvirtue.com/2012/06/01/apples-evolutionary-newton-turns-twenty/
Gruber on EFF
The incisive, insightful John Gruber on the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s manifesto:
The piece is supposed to be a criticism of Apple’s platform design and policies, but really, what they’re doing is criticizing users for enjoying it.
Posted by Jim Caccamo on June 1, 2012
https://rewiringvirtue.com/2012/06/01/gruber-on-eff-2/
On “Crystal Prisons”, Rights, and the Reality of Competing Values
A couple of days ago, the Electronic Frontier Foundation released a manifesto on the future of computing, claiming that companies that offer closed computing systems (like Apple and Microsoft) are violating mobile user’s fundamental rights. I use the term rights here because they use it at the end of the piece in the section “toward a bill of rights for mobile computer owners” and employ phrases like “deprived of liberty.” The basic thrust of the argument is that all computing devices should be open, meaning that users should be able to add or modify the software and hardware in any way they see fit. The piece is not long, and is worthwhile reading.
It has generated some pretty thoughtful critical responses within the Apple-using blogosphere. I won’t go so far as Peter Cohen at the Loop and title this post “The EFF can suck it“, but I do think the EFF’s material is both poorly framed and poorly argued. As is probably the case with all manifestos, they ignore a host of reasonable principles and perspectives in order to try to motivate the masses.
Posted by Jim Caccamo on June 1, 2012
https://rewiringvirtue.com/2012/06/01/on-the-eff-the-nature-of-rights-and-the-fact-of-competing-values/
Infrastructure, Electric Imp and Incremental Change
One of the tricky bits about being a startup with a great idea is getting it into people’s hands. It’s great to have the “killer app”, but if there is a ton of infrastructure between your innovation and potential users, the life can get sucked out before the product gets to market.
Posted by Jim Caccamo on May 19, 2012
https://rewiringvirtue.com/2012/05/19/electric-imp-and-incremental-change/
Does This Phone Make Me Sound Selfish?
Not really sure exactly what to make of this. Tania ap Sion and Owen Edwards recently published a study that compared the content of prayer requests submitted to the Church of England’s Say One For Me website and those submitted in handwritten form in churches. As it turns out, the content of the prayer requests differed dramatically.
[Researchers] found that 34% of people had prayed online for help with their own personal issues, compared to just 3% or 4% of traditional handwritten prayers left in churches. These online prayer authors were particularly concerned about their work or relationships, as well as their personal spiritual or moral issues.The number of prayers submitted for friends or loved ones also fell from 75% of church notes, to 57% online.
Posted by Jim Caccamo on May 15, 2012
https://rewiringvirtue.com/2012/05/15/does-this-phone-make-me-sound-selfish/
Apple and Foxconn Commit Some Cash
How much and in what percentage is unclear, but according to John Ruwitch at Reuters:
Apple Inc and its key supplier Foxconn Technology Group will share the initial costs of improving labor conditions at the Chinese factories that assemble iPhones and iPads, Foxconn’s top executive said on Thursday.
Good start, this. Unfortunate, though, that it is not being covered more in the popular press. Clearly, the public is not interested any longer. That means that any hope that there ever was—even a small amount—of pressure being exerted on other tech companies to improve their labor practices has evaporated.
Posted by Jim Caccamo on May 14, 2012
https://rewiringvirtue.com/2012/05/14/apple-and-foxconn-commit-some-cash/
Rewiring Virtue 