The Serial Thinker Blog

FB Business Platform Is Not For Me

Well, this is interesting. I just made a post critical of a FB platform for business stating that I had zero confidence that any communication done on that platform would be secure. That any proprietary company information would be subject to scrutiny by FB algorithms, censors, and staff, and that my competitive advantages could/would be compromised by these intrusions. When I attempted to post this comment, I got an error message that "Something went wrong. We're working to fix it. Please try again later."

 

Exactly what I was talking about. Thank you for making my point for me FB.

Workers Replaced by Robots. Thanks Union!

Also in today's news -- a robot has been developed that can pick apples. Guess who is going to be displaced? That's right union organizers, the workers who you priced out of a job by lobbying for an increased minimum wage. Now it is more cost effective to buy a machine than to employ humans. I hope you're satisfied.

Confargus Apple!

The other night I updated my Ipad OS to 4.02. I haven't accessed all of the new functionalities yet, but was confounded by one of the unannounced, or underannounced, changes. The task of the switch above the volume control toggle was changed from orientation lock to mute. I checked the Settings to see if there was an on/off button or a switch that I could move to deselect this change but there was none. I looked in the iTunes preferences, the Safari preferences, just about everyplace that I could think of that such a switch could be found.

Finally, I gave in and went to the Apple website and began browsing the Support area. I typed "orientation lock" into the Search box and found the solution fairly quickly. Now the orientation lock is a software function and can be accessed by double clicking the Home Button and scrolling the tool bar at the bottom of the page left until the orientation lock icon appears.

While this is an easy solution, finding it falls far from the intuitive Apple user experience that I am accustomed to. Thumbs sideways on the change, a big thumbs down on announcing the quality of the announcement to Ipad users.

More Inconvenience, No More Security

After Friday's botched terrorist attack, the TSA and Homeland Security are imposing additional security measures on flights and at airports in an effort to stop future attacks. Based upon what I've read thus far, these new measures add little or no new security and simply make flying a less convenient mode of travel. Let's take them one at a time:

1. Clearing one's lap and remaining seated for an hour before landing. If I'm Ahmed the Evil and my plan is to destroy an airplane, why wouldn't I go and assemble my nefarious device an our and ten minutes out? This doesn't solve anything. And what if I'm just a dad traveling with my small kids and one of them needs to pee? Are they going to make the kids wait until we land? If I were in that situation I'd be tempted to have my kids pee right on the floor in protest.

2. Additional baggage screening devices at the gate: This says two things to me. They know that the TSA screeners are inept stooges and let dangerous devices through all of the time AND there are potentially lethal items sold at the stores inside of the security checkpoints. Adding an additional layer of stoogery at the gate doesn't make the plane any more safe, it simply inconveniences travelers and makes for a less enjoyable travel experience.

3. Allowing only one carry on item: If the screening stooges are going to miss my shank they're going to miss it whether I'm carrying one item or two on board the aircraft. Case in point: until my recent trip to Arizona for Thanksgiving, I had flown cross country at least a half dozen times with a metal multi-tool in the side pocket of my carry on backpack. I had forgotten that I had put it there and found it while I was rearranging the items that I was packing for that trip. This item had gone through the screener every time and was never even questioned. The item itself contains two knife blades, pliers, a screwdriver, a bottle opener, a corkscrew, and several other sharp or pointy utility tools. I would have had no problem if they had confiscated it but they never even acknowledged its presence.

4. Adding undercover TSA personnel at airports: If I'm going to assemble a bomb I'm going to do it in a restroom stall, are they going to follow me in there? Likewise, how many of the TSA personnel speak Arabic, Farsi, or Urdu? If I'm Ahmed the Evil, chances are I speak one or more of these languages.

5. How motivated is Justin the 19 year old, minimum wage earning TSA officer in the first place? Does he really connect his job to the dangers he is supposed to be preventing or is he there just to punch the clock?

Here's what I would do if I were in charge of airport/airline/flight security:

1. Reconsider the entire TSA operating philosophy. You hire no B.S. professionals run the security checkpoints and compensate them accordingly. A half-dozen well trained studs making 75K a year will keep passengers a lot safer than 20 screw offs making 25k a year each.

2. Forget about the civil libertarians and profile passengers. 88 year old Matilda Crabblewhite from West Lafayette, Indiana is much less likely to detonate a bomb on your plane than 23 year old Mahmoud Al-Jibri from Gaza City. This isn't about fairness or equity, it's about risk management. Manage the damn risk and tell the whiners to STFU.

3. Learn from the best. TSA needs to bring trainers in from El Al and from the Israeli army to teach the screeners and flight crews what to look for in passenger behavior. Which common things may indicate a hightened risk profile?

4. Bring in the dogs. Each checkpoint should have a K-9 on duty 24-7. Some people are more intimidated by dogs than they are other humans so a deterrent factor is built-in simply by having them there. They are also more effective at finding contraband than most humans are. Let's put our most effective resources to work.

5. Create meaningful career paths from the military to the civilian security sectors. By hiring personnel that are known to be trustworthy performers you enhance your workforce from the moment a person is hired.

With just a few changes, new efficiencies can be reached and security can be enhanced rather than simply added-to.

Ellis' Geek Report

I'm reading an article from this month's issue of Fast Company magazine that profiles Microsoft's newest OS, Windows 7. In the interest of full disclosure: I was a Windows user from 3.1 through XP and still use it from time to time on my awesomely cool Macbook Pro with Boot Camp. Boot Camp is software that partitions the hard drive and enables the the dual Intel processors in my Macbook to run XP and its related programs as a native OS. It's very slick and extremely handy. For the past several years, and especially since Anthony's emergence as Apostle of all things Apple, I have been a Mac devotee. I could cite the reasons here, but that's a separate comment. Today's commentary will dwell on the items that Microsoft chose to lead with when presenting their newest and shiniest technology to the writers at Fast Company.

1. The Boot Up Intro: Four multi-colored fireflies that coalesce into a glowing Windows icon. What? You're profiling your new OS and you're selling the boot up intro? Why would I care about that? What is less significant to a user over the age of 6 than the boot up intro? I can tell you because it is the second item in their profile.

2. The Task Bar Icons: Here is a direct quote from the article, "The task bar is the face of Windows, but the icons are the stars of the show." Admittedly I get pretty excited about some nerdy things, but that the task bar icons are the stars of the new Operating System are like saying that the gas cap is the highlight of your new Ferrari.
PS: That quote is from one of the designers, not a writer critiquing the product.

3. Desktop Wallpapers: By now I was stupefied. Why are the wallpapers important in the rebuild of the operating system? According to the MSFT spokesperson, by creating anime turtles and using slick Seattle streetscapes, they wanted to, "provoke a strong emotional connection," with the users. Ummm... build an OS that boots quickly, isn't rife with security holes, and doesn't crash when I run a Microsoft product and that will build an emotional connection.

4. Aero Shake: With this new gizmo you "rub your mouse" (no kidding) over an open window and the other active windows fly closed. I'm calling this one Mouse-terbation. 'Nuff said here.

This is pathetic Microsoft. I can't wait for the new Mac commercials.

I-Tunes Genius

In the new release of I-Tunes, Apple has included a new functionality called Genius which does a couple of things. First, it scans your library to create playlists that it feels are compatible with any song that you select from your library. Second, it can create a sidebar listing songs available at the I-Tunes store, not currently in your library, that compliment the selected song in one way or another.

The sidebar function seems to follow the same logic as the thinking used in creating the I-Tunes Essentials compilations which are now quite a bit harder to find at the I-Tunes store. First there are the "Top Songs You're Missing". For example, I just selected "Hotel California" and Genius offered "Dirty Laundry", "Victim of Love", and "Last Resort" as popular songs by this artist that I do not have in my collection.

The next step is "Essentials", compilations available at the I-Tunes store that contain this and songs like this one.

Finally, there are Genius' recommendations, the "If you like 'Hotel California', then you will probably like  ______________" category. Here is a sample of Genius' recommendations in the search that I just ran: "Welcome to the Jungle", "Sweet Home Alabama", "Layla", "Margaritaville", "Sweet Child O' Mine". There are several others but you get the idea. When I look at the complete list offered by Genius I can see the logic though I can't quite define it. It's genre, but it's not all genre. There is some finesse here which I like.

The finesse element of Genius' music selection algorithm is much more evident in the way that it creates playlists. I currently have about 1600 songs in my library ranging from Soundtracks to World Intrumental Music, to Latin Pop. Genius will scan the entire collection and create a playlist that contains music that actually flows together pretty well. It is a clever tool to use to create a party mix, or compliation without having to hand select each tune.

While its true that no automated music selector will get it right every time, Apple's Genius does a decent job of compiling music that works well together. Not a homerun app (yet), but certainly a convincing double to the gap.

Well done Apple.