A Computer Assistant In Your Car

Think about it. Most cars today already have a computer chip. This computer regulates stuff such as fuel intake, air-fuel mixture, ABS, and traction or stability control based on certain inputs like vehicle speed and wheel rotation, among others. With the aid of other technological advances, maybe we can increase the variety and usefulness of this computer’s IO.

Distance indicators, like radars, infrareds, and lasers are already a mature technology too. We have been seeing this in the rear bumpers of a lot of late model cars. They are particularly helpful when you are backing up your car into the garage or when parallel parking in a tight space.

As to wi-fi, we already underwent a series of revisions and this also seems to be a mature technology. It has been helping us in exchanging data and information using wireless communication networks.

Finally, we have the GPS, another mature and quite helpful technology. With it, hopefully you will never miss another turn. But even if you do, it is there to help you find your way again. Ever heard of that familiar voice saying “recalculating”?

If we mix this all together in the right proportions, guess what’s cooking? A very tasty technology treat.

Just imagine if the cars can communicate its properties such as weight, distance, and velocity to another car. Both car’s computers can calculate stopping distance and can activate the brakes at the right time and with the right pressure. Or at the very least, it can warn both drivers of an imminent collision if such is the case so that they can steer away of it if possible.

When worse comes to worst and a collision happens, the computer can determine the precise moment to deploy which airbag, depending on where the impact occurred.

A lot of rear end collisions can also be avoided. When travelling along a long interstate after just a few hours sleep, some driver’s attention might be a little less than what’s required. Given the speed in such highways, a small delay in reaction time can cause major problems. But a computer never gets sleepy. It constantly analyzes input from a front mounted radar and manipulates the brakes intelligently when the distance becomes a little too close for comfort. It can also slap you with a mechanical arm to keep you awake. Better that than the cops slapping you with a ticket.

Or how about the GPS system knowing that you have to turn right in the next corner so it not only warns you of it but also slows you down. After all, you really need to slow down if you need to take that turn, traffic or no traffic. If the light is red and it’s a no turn on red corner, no sweat, you can completely stop the car. At least it already slowed itself down for you.

Or how about this. The GPS together with your radar notices that you’ve been swerving a bit in the last couple minutes. Instead of leaving you alone for the cops to notice your state of wakefulness, it beeps, flashes a light, slaps you again in the face with that arm and gives you fresh cappuccino. Well, I was just kidding.

With all the mature technologies currently in our hands, we can perhaps develop a safer car. The key is in the creative and proper interface and programming of those existing components.

Visual Representation of Information

We humans are a visual bunch of creatures. That is why there are more people watching TV than reading books. Even at an early age, most find it easier to distinguish colors than musical tones. Most children find it more difficult to identify a given note than a given color.

Anyway, how do we take advantage of our visual prowess in understanding and interpreting complex information? Simple. We just have to make the complex information visual.

You may say that this is not new. We already have graphs and charts that simplify the interpretation of numeric data. But what I am saying is something more complex than complex numeric data. Graphs and charts are getting old, you know.

We also currently use visualization techniques not only to understand data but also to perform actions. Think of dragging a file to the recycle bin or the trash in order to delete it instead of typing rm -i <filename> at the command prompt. But again, that is as exciting as watching paint dry and does not make our hearts race, does it?

What about seeing a bug in your screen if you are infected by a virus? What about an anti-virus that looks like a bug swatter to get rid of that virus? What about having visual access to files being “eaten up” by the virus?

The same could also be applied in the field of information security where you need to analyze a lot of complex data and log files. If you do this manually, the intruder will be long gone and has covered his tracks before you figure things out. Imagine if you can be visually informed of an attack when it is taking place and can track the intruder with visual tools. It will be fun and gratifying to graphically kick him or her out of your system.

Well, these are just musings of a writer whose imagination went wild. But then again, wouldn’t that be interesting?

Computing In The Clouds

Computing in the clouds. Wow! That sounds a lot like computing Nirvana. Are we there yet?

You may have heard of cloud computing. But unlike how it sounds, it is not about heavenly computing or computing without tears. It may not even be a BSOD-free experience.

What is it then, you ask? Well, there seem to be no universally accepted definition. I searched the Web high and low and found that different vendors have different ideas of what Cloud Computing is or should be. They define it in a way that would better position them in the Cloud Computing market.

But generally, it is all about computing where the manipulation of data is done by, or the storage located in, a network of computers. This network of computers could of course be the Internet but can also be any other network.

The idea is to send your data up to this network. This network will then utilize the resources of the machines connected to it and send the results back to you. You can say that this is an implementation of the vision: The network is the computer.

With this infrastructure, it is possible to use a puny little netbook yet still have access to the power of a supercomputer. Lovely, isn’t it? We only have one problem. Security.

Take a look at our current configuration now. Computation and storage is done locally in our machines. We only connect to the Internet to browse. Still, we hear news of intrusions, worms and viruses. How do you think would it look like if, instead of our computer connected to the Net, the Net is our computer? That would now be easier for system intruders because they are already part of the Net which happens to be our computer. It is like he or she is there beside you and with keyboard and screen access to your machine. Not a lovely thought.

Cloud Computing might be the future. But we have yet a lot to do to get there.

Windows 7 Has Depth

Windows 7 is featured in a lot of tech news lately. Its new features had been advertised extensively. But as it turns out, not all new features were as well advertised as the rest.

Mike Williams listed 15 things you need to know about Windows 7. What is fascinating is that these features are really cool features. Yet, they are not being trumpeted out aloud. Why could that be?

Normally, a company will highlight the best features of their products. Not just the superficial ones. Yet in the case of Windows 7, the great features here are not as publicized.

I have a possible explanation. I noticed that this list of 15 features is a bit technical. They are things that most regular users will not be interested in. Most of these are also behind-the-scenes improvements.

So what Microsoft did was to tone them down a bit. They are targeting users who are not really that tech-savvy. Crowding the features list with a lot of technical features that these users don’t understand or know how to use will only confuse them. So they focused on things people understand. Like a bigger thumbnail and touch screen capability.

These means Microsoft is starting to make things simpler. They are now willing to omit some details which may confuse their customers.

But whether it is publicized or not does not matter. It will still be in Windows 7 and geeks like me will be having a field day for it. This is an example of how competition can help everybody. I mentioned that in a previous post I made. Without much competition, there is less or no motivation to improve. Without Linux and OS X, we might still be in Windows’ dark ages.

Linux Is Gaining Market Share

I found out from the Berkeley Linux Users Group that the Linux market share just passed 1%! This is good news both to Linux users and non-Linux users—including Linux haters.

Looking at the chart, it is noteworthy that aside from reaching 1% market share, it is increasing linearly—a positive slope!

Why is this exciting? First, one of the problems in Linux is less than ideal hardware support compared to Windows. The reason is that hardware vendors keep the interface of their devices secret thus making it difficult for third parties to develop device drivers for Linux.

Some hardware vendors do make their own device drivers for Linux in binary format but usually, these are buggy or not updated regularly. They do not have the motivation to do serious work on their Linux device drivers because only a small percentage of their customers use Linux.

But this development is going to change that. With more people using Linux, hardware vendors will start to take their Linux device drivers more seriously. Thus, Linux users should celebrate. Moreover, if the hardware support becomes better due to vendors releasing quality device drivers, more users will come. This will cause an upward spiral.

So what’s in it for non-Linux users? Well first, without the threat of Linux, Microsoft will be tempted to rest on their laurels. But with stiff competition from a free OS which is gaining market share, they are sure to burn the midnight oil. Bottom line? More innovation. Windows users will get a better Windows OS. The same is true in the Mac camp.

Competition is good. Everybody should celebrate.

Think of Your Fingers and Choose Your Keyboard

In the past, when I build my personal computer, I think of the system board first. I decide which of the current offering offers what I wanted and see whether it supports Intel, or both Intel and AMD. Then I choose the processor brand, type, and clock speed. Next on the list is the make and model of my graphics card and the brand and size of secondary storage.

After buying everything that goes inside the grey box, I go for a monitor, keyboard, and mouse—almost as an afterthought. For the keyboard and mouse, the only consideration is price—not brand, not model or anything else. Price. The cheapest I can get. Just to complete the system so that I can boot it up and go on with my work or the fun stuff.

Then the time comes to upgrade. A new game won’t run on my current video card or processor. Sometimes, a new software needs more memory than the slots on my mother board would allow. Therefore, I have to change the main board along with all the components attached to it. The hard disk also starts to run out of space.

My IO devices (read: keyboard, mouse and monitor) however, remains. They stay with me while I change the other components. In a way they are more permanent. You don’t change keyboards every time a new version of Windows or The Sims comes out.

So, it makes perfect sense to invest in quality keyboards and other IO devices as you won’t be throwing them away any time soon. Add to that the fact that most of your time, when using the computer, is spent typing on the keyboard, staring on a screen and moving the mouse around. You will then see IO devices in a whole new light and appreciate them more.

That is why, when I found this article about 13 Super Cool Computer Keyboards, I felt that I have to share this find with you.

Drag Racing For Geeks

You think geeks don’t join competitions? You think geeks don’t feel the need for speed? You think geeks don’t wanna race? Think again.

A new competition is emerging in the hardware technology scene. Just like in drag racing, speed is the goal. Also, like in drag racing, they tweak hardware to achieve that goal.

The difference between this geeky competition and drag racing is that the hardware tweaked in the former consists of computer components instead of a Civic’s intake and exhaust ports, valves and their timings. Also, the aim is getting higher benchmark scores or finishing with the fastest time instead of making a 10-second lightweight rocket of a car.

One such competition is the Gigabyte Open Overclocking Competition. The North American Final is hosted in California and the World Championship, in Taipei, Taiwan.

Needless to say, there are lots of mouth-watering hardware goodies to win in addition to a round trip ticket to Taipei, Taiwan. So, gentlemen, start your systems!

Making Screencasts in Linux

Linux is becoming more user-friendly each passing day. But it still has a lot of applications with varying ease of usability.

To help new users, it would be nice if there will be plenty of video tutorials on how to use applications which are commonly used in Linux. Video tutorials of using Linux itself, specially the command shell, would also be welcome.

To do that, we need an application which is capable of recording what is being done on your desktop. You should also be able to narrate what you are doing. If you are using a Macintosh, no sweat—you have Apple’s Quicktime at your disposal. There are also other applications, I am sure.

For Linux, I found three applications which will help you record your Linux desktop. This is precisely what we need to use in helping Linux newbies.

The article, written by Craciun Dan, enumerates three applications:

• recordMyDesktop
• XVidCap
• Istanbul

There are also other applications mentioned in the comment section of Craciun Dan’s blog post.

Now, we only need more Linux movie producers. And, action…

Web Security Is Important Specially for Sites Like That of The MPAA

It is said that the moment you have an online presence you immediately risk a security intrusion. You are already a nice fat target. The only question is whether someone would want to shoot you.

In the case of MPAA, everyone knows that there is no shortage of people who wants to make the shot. That resulted from the recent prosecution of ThePirateBay.org. Some people got so pissed off that they want to bite back at anyone from the opposing camp or those closely associated with them. Coincidentally, these people are not really technically incompetent, to say the least.

So, it is reasonable to expect that the MPAA should have strengthened their defenses in anticipation of possible retaliation. But an article I came across seems to point otherwise. It looks like the website of MPAA has some vulnerability. This vulnerability allows random code to be injected into the MPAA site.

Oh my. This better be fixed. And fast.

Incremental Web Design

Businesses need to reach out to their markets specially in these rough times. However, they need to do so in a cost effective manner because it would be ironic to do otherwise.

One of the ways to do that is through cyberspace. By using the Web, businesses can reach the most number of audience.

Online advertising is cheaper than traditional real world advertising. They also reach a wider audience. But an even cheaper way is to make an incremental design update on your own website.

It does not need to be a complete overhaul. Just a small, visible eye candy update to freshen things up a bit. The keyword, of course, is incremental. Meaning, the change is not random but is designed to be part of a much bigger design and can also stand alone by itself. You can also call it Design by Installment.

This is done all the time in the desktop applications world. Companies release software and periodically issue updates or service packs.

Using this strategy, you can break down the cost of a thorough Web design update by spreading the implementation over a period of time. But for this to work, the overall design must be designed to be modular.

Computers and Artificial Intelligence

Something is cooking in IBM’s ovens—a computer program intelligent enough to go head to head with human contestants of ‘Jeopardy!’ .

This will be a huge step for man in the field of artificial intelligence if they can make it work. Imagine the possibilities if we have computers that can understand human language and act based on that and an extensive database of stored information.

But understanding human speech is not an exact science and we still have a long way to go. There simply are things that computers will find hard to deduce.

For example, when a person says: “I did not steal the money.”, it means just that. But when the same person say: “I did not steal the money.” while emphasizing and putting a stress on the word I, it has the same meaning as the first statement but with an implied statement that someone else did. That the money was stolen is admitted.

If the person, instead, said: “I did not steal the money.” while emphasizing the word steal, he is saying the same thing as in the first but with the added meaning that he took it by other means such as by asking for it. He is saying that he has the money but that the taking is other than by stealing.

Had the emphasis been on money, it will mean: “I did not steal the money.” (I stole something else.)

Distinguishing the different meanings from the same statement based mainly on where the emphasis is placed is a tough job. It might be doable but maybe not today.

So, can the burst suggest an orchestral microprocessor?

The New Ubuntu 9.04

Ubuntu is a really unique Linux distribution. It came on the scene late but was able to grab the spotlight without much ado and held on to it since. That is something.

I had the opportunity of using Ubuntu in the past. It was a major innovation then. And based on the reviews I read, this new Ubuntu 9.04 is even better.

Ubuntu 9.04 lives up to the hype. It is what it is claimed to be. Major improvements over previous versions and even over other distributions have been made.

Support for older hardware is better and boot times are faster. Linux is known to be stable but this release is way more stable than previous releases. The new GNOME 2.26.1 is also significantly better such that even KDE lovers might give it a second look.

Better Linux distributions plus a better Snow Leopard plus a better Windows 7 equals three great choices for users. Ah, tech life is good.

A New Way of Dealing With Piracy

In the past, piracy is always met with lawsuit or a threat of lawsuit. Look at what happened to Pirate Bay. Some developers are trying a different approach though.

I just came across an article relating how a game studio from Chile has dealt with the piracy of their game. The ACE Team is the developer of the game Zeno Clash which is a first person shooter game. They met piracy head-on—not with a threat, but with an appeal:

I’m one of the developers of Zeno Clash. I would appreciate you read this if you are about to download this file.

Zeno Clash is an independently funded game by a very small and sacrificed group of people. The only way in which we can continue making games like this (or a sequel) is to have good sales.

I am aware that at this moment there is still no demo of the game, but we are working on one which will be available soon.

We cannot do anything to stop piracy of the game (and honestly don’t intend to do so) but if you are downloading because you wish to try before you buy, I would ask that you purchase the game (and support the independent game development scene) if you enjoy it. We plan on updating Zeno Clash with DLC and continuing support for the game long after it’s release.

Thanks for taking the time to read this… hopefully it will make a difference.

Carlos Bordeu
ACE Team

This is a new approach. Whether this will work or not, only time can tell. The ACE Team seems understand that they can’t fight fire with fire. So, they decided to fight fire with water. Let’s see if the fire dies out; or at least is reduced to embers.