Most people’s expectations of robots are driven by fantasy. These marvelous machines, optimists hope, will follow Moore’s law, doubling in quality every 18 months, and lead to a Jetsonian utopia. Or, as pessimists fear, humanoid bots will reproduce, increase their intelligence, and wipe out humanity. Both visions are wrong. —By Jordan Pollack —Ethics for the…
A political party is dying before our eyes — and I don’t mean the Democrats. I’m talking about the “mainstream media,” which is being destroyed by the opposition (or worse, the casual disdain) of George Bush’s Republican Party; by competition from other news outlets (led by the internet and Fox’s canny Roger Ailes); and by…
“Gamers are everywhere and they’re everyone. They are your friends, neighbors, co-workers, relatives, and kids, they lead responsible and caring lives, balancing their enjoyment of interactive entertainment with many other activities important to a well-rounded lifestyle,” said Douglas Lowenstein, president of the ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. “Indeed, those…
Aarseth, bringing up an overgeneralization in another recent article, his piece in First Person, goes on to admit that ?most proper narratologists, who actually have to think about and define narratives in a scholarly, responsible, and accurate way, are not guilty of this overgeneralization.? I have to wonder, then: Why is most of Aarseth‘sNarrative across…
All my life I have struggled to succeed. I have toiled at the wheel of journalistic ethos, logic and wisdom. And do I get any credit for this? Oh, no. All I get is, “Hey, better call Tim because there’s a streaker at Wal-Mart.” I have a mind, folks. I can talk intelligently about Social…
Ten years ago Eric Korte, vice president and music director at the ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi, was commissioning original music for 90 percent of the company’s campaigns. This year, more than half of his workload involves licensing published songs, and the trend is only gaining momentum. “The jingle,” Korte says, “is dead.” —Joan Anderman…
Already under duress from years of budget cuts, poor ratings and reduced influence, CBS News suffered a crushing blow to its credibility yesterday because of a broadcast that has now been labeled as both factually discredited and unprofessionally produced. —Bill Carter —Post-Mortem of a Flawed Broadcast (NY Times) This article describes the fallout from the apparently…
If the notion of hacking DNA sounds like genetic engineering, think again. Genetic engineering generally involves moving a preexisting gene from one organism to another, an activity Endy calls DNA bashing. For all its impressive and profitable results, DNA bashing is hardly creative. Proper engineering, by contrast, means designing what you want to make, analyzing…
Many high school and college students accustomed to sending unlimited instant messages on their computers do not adapt easily to text messaging’s pay-per-message format, and end up with unexpectedly high bills when they get involved in keypad conversations that involve hundreds, even thousands, of messages a month. The results are angry confrontations with parents, long-term…
I had dinner with two big name photographers in L.A. recently. These are folks who’s name you might recognize even if you are not in the photography industry. I asked them both under what circumstances could use their images without paying them, they both immediately responded emphatically “under no circumstances!”–Jason Calacanis —Fair use of photos…
The Bush administration paid an African-American pundit $240,000 (£127,000) to promote its education policies to the black community and urge other black journalists to do the same in the run-up to the presidential election. In an effort to promote its controversial education reform programme, No Child Left Behind, the education department paid Armstrong Williams “to…
The problem with Italy’s antiquities and culture is that there is simply too much. How do you conserve ancient and priceless artefacts at the same time as letting people come and see them? —David Reid —Technology rescues Italy’s art (BBC News) Thanks for the link, Rosemary. I’ve toyed with using VR to reconstruct the interior of…
Adventure – based on the classic text game of the same name – was the first game ever to contain an easter egg. —Is That A Dragon or a Duck? (Metafilter) It’s great to see Adventure get a mention, but no, the Atari version was a graphics game that really shared nothing besides the name with…
—The Blogosphere By the Numbers Nothing terribly quotable, but a good source of statistics relating to weblogs. Similar:Texting? Pets? Millennials Are Flunking Job Interviews – CNBCThe other day, a Facebook friend posted …BusinessTouch Me Now: York Plays 2025A cast of hundreds participated in a pub…AcademiaA Book Itself Is a Little Machine: Emily Short's Interactive FictionWords…
I don’t have many positive associations with any sport, beyond lots of “quality time” with Dad in kiddie leagues. In high school I once accidentally caught a pop fly ball in my baseball cap. I somehow managed a flabby toss to a teammate, who tagged a passing runner for a double play. But traumatic run-ins…
In England it is called the “Graveyard Grannies” problem, in France the “Chere Grand’mere,” while in Bulgaria it is inexplicably known as “The Toadstool Waxing Plan” (I may have had some problems here with the translation. Since the revolution this may have changed anyway.) Although the problem may be international in scope it is here…
IF as a genre, fundamentally unchanged for more than twenty years, evolved in a world of gaming where graphics were non-existent and words were the sole medium of expression. The game described locations, objects, and actions in text, and the player controlled the story’s protagonist by typing commands in English (or any other natural language…
—Weblogging Software Leader Six Apart Acquires LiveJournal (Biz Yahoo) There’s really nothing quotable in this rather dry press release, but I’m linking to it as a reference anyway. SixApart is the company that makes MoveableType, the software I use for blogs.setonhill.edu. An increasing number of my students are familiar with the LiveJournal style of personal blogging…
The X-Monkey comes from a line of monkeys originally bred by the military for the purpose of driving tanks. It’s a good fit, because the modern Apple sedan is actually a tank in a fancy shell. The X-Monkey’s only drawback is that he can only drive a car from Apple. Show him any other vehicle,…
Anders Jacobsen is offering to donate $1 for every blog posting a link to his page and the following tsunami relief organizations. You can add mine to the list, Anders! I tell you what I‘ll do. I‘ll add my own $5… —Okay, I’ll Bite [Tsunami Relief Links] (Wordmunger) Link-whoring with a social conscience. This I like.…