Microsoft HoloLens – this is the future

I was tempted to jump to Microsoft after seeing the Surface 3 and Windows phones. But opted to buy a new MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch) with Yosemite. I’m half way through a 5 year project editing video in iMovie 11. I want to stick with the same simple software.

Loving the Pro. Especially the Retina monitor.

But if Microsoft HoloLens is one third as cool as this promo video, my next computer will be Windows.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Washable – Microsoft’s HoloLens: Wireless virtual reality that looks ready for the masses

Wired – Our Exclusive Hands-On With Microsoft’s Unbelievable New Holographic Goggles

the world IS getting better

More people are going to school for longer

Access to the internet is increasing

Solar power is getting cheaper

Beer consumption going up ??? 🙂

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

details on vox

(via Bill Gates)

on mobile devices …

I love the internet.

I love social networks.

I don’t love addicts using their mobile devices too much in public.

National Geographic’s 2014 Photo of the Year

ENTRY ID: 300119

Perhaps I’ll stay mobile phoneless. I don’t want this addiction.

no phone? … or Wind Mobile?

Of the crappy Canadian companies, Wind Mobile comes out best value in a recent survey.

canadian-cellphone-plans-version-2

I’m most interested in “International Roaming“, especially their UNLIMITED US ROAMING ADD-ON for $15 / month.

I’ll go visit Wind Mobile when I get back to Calgary. To see if they can convince me to sign on.

If not … I’m very happy with NO PHONE. 🙂

Obama on net neutrality

Obama is saying the right things. But so often his right words do not translate into right action.

Let’s wait and see.

President Obama … urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take up the strongest possible rules to protect net neutrality, the principle that says Internet service providers (ISPs) should treat all internet traffic equally.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

book review – Daemon

I’ve decided to read this book again, something I do not often do.

It’s stayed with me, frequently coming to mind. We need this kind of technology in the future in conjunction with hardware like Google Glass.

___ original post Aug 2010:

A daemon (pronounced /ˈdeɪmən/ or /ˈdiːmən/) is a computer program that runs in the background, rather than under the direct control of a user.

Daemon (2006), the book, by Daniel Suarez, has a cult following amongst geeks. It was recommended by Leo.

Matthew Sobol was a legendary computer game designer–the architect behind half a dozen popular online games. His premature death from brain cancer depressed both gamers and his company’s stock price. But Sobol’s fans weren’t the only ones to note his passing. He left behind something that was scanning Internet obituaries, too–something that put in motion a whole series of programs upon his death. Programs that moved money. Programs that recruited people. Programs that killed.

Confronted with a killer from beyond the grave, Detective Peter Sebeck comes face-to-face with the full implications of our increasingly complex and interconnected world–one where the dead can read headlines, steal identities, and carry out far-reaching plans without fear of retribution. Sebeck must find a way to stop Sobol’s web of programs–his Daemon–before it achieves its ultimate purpose. And to do so, he must uncover what that purpose is . . .

Amazon

Loved it.

I guess I’m a geek. It’s dense, complicated and has a plot line that kept me guessing from cover to cover.

Comcast Worst Company In America 2014

Congratulations To Comcast, Your 2014 Worst Company In America

Worst-Companies-in-America-2014

A new example of how Comcast sucks.

Ryan Block, formerly of Engadget and now at AOL, called Comcast to cancel his service, but instead of politely obliging and going ahead with his request, the representative on the line insisted on taking him through a circular argument to find out the reason why he was canceling …

Block was able to capture about eight minutes of the call and has posted the audio to his Soundcloud account …

Comcast’s customer service nightmare is painful to hear

Yeesh. That is painful.

What’s the response from Comcast?

Comcast Memo: Rep From “Painful” Retention Call Was Doing “What We Trained Him To Do”

64 words China is blocking

Here’s a good example why you don’t want YOUR government interfering with internet freedom.

JUNE 4
天安门: Tiananmen (simplified characters)
坦克: tank
liu四: phonetic for 6-4
六四: 6-4
学潮: campus upheaval
ⅥⅣ: Roman numerals for 6-4
IIXVIIIIX: Roman numbers for 1-9-8-9
Jun 4th
陆肆: an alternative way to write 6-4
天安門: Tiananmen (traditional characters)
五月三十五: May 35, aka June 4
瓶反鹿死: a homophone for ‘redress June 4th’
six四: 6-4
six four
TAM: abbreviation for Tiananmen
王维林: Wang Weilin, alleged “tank man”
春夏之交: Between spring and summer
八九: 89
河殇: River elegy
暴乱: rebellion
维多利亚公园: Victoria Park (site of vigil in Hong Kong)
six quatre: 6-4
Tank Man
VIIIIXVI: Roman numerals for 8-9-6
VIIV: 6-4
工自联: Capital/Beijing Autonomous Workers Federation
广场: Square (or plaza)
戒严: Martial law
缅怀: nostalgia—possible reference to Tiananmen Mothers
平反: Redress; vindicate
维园: Victoria Park
学生领袖: Student leaders
学运: Student movement
高自联: Beijing Autonomous University Students Union
liusi: Six four
自由花: Flower of Freedom
8964
历史的伤口: The wound in history
六si: Six four
六four: Six four
六肆: June 4
八平方: 8 squared (that is, 64)
天an门: Tiananmen
国殇: National war dead
侏儒之歌: Song used in Tiananmen commemorations
61后三天: three days after June 1
民主女神: Goddess of Democracy
8qb4: 8964
三月九十六号: March 96th (June 4)
毋忘阝坴镸聿: Do not forget June 4
2的6次方: 2 to the power of 6 (that is, 64)
小平下令镇压: Deng Xiaoping orders martial law
李鹏: Li Peng
lipeng: Li Peng
六4: 6-4
Blood is on the square
六亖: June 4 coded keyword
黄雀行动: Operation Yellowbird, the Hong Kong movement to help activists leave the mainland
six4: June 4
64事件: June 4 Incident
烛光: candle-lit (vigil)
陆四: June 4 coded keyword
89事件: 1989 event

64 Tiananmen-Related Words China Is Blocking Online Today
By Jason Q. Ng