Internet

Are You Ready for a Face Phone?

May 14, 2013

in 1.3 Computers Today: A Brief Taxonomy, 15.4 Pattern Recognition: Making Sense of the World, 15.5 Question-Answering Machines, 7.5 Inventing the Future: Embedded Intelligence and Ubiquitous Computing, Updates

google_glass_snl_parodyWhen Apple released the iPhone, the world changed. People were carrying powerful computers in their pockets and purses. Developers released a bevy of creative apps to harness that always-available computing power. Today it’s hard to imagine a world without smart phones. Could Google Glass, the wear-on-your-face computer from Google, be the beginning of the next revolution in personal computing? This short NPR story explains how early adopters plan to use their prototype high-tech specs.
npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/04/17/177557810/Seeing-The-World-Through-Google-Colored-Glasses

Of course, not everyone views Google Glass through such rose-colored lenses. This Saturday Night Live skit mocks the idea that Google Glass can be used discreetly; other detractors question our need to become even more dependent on our technology.
mashable.com/2013/05/05/snl-google-glass-parody/

Tagged as: Embedded Computers, Google, Internet, smart phones, user interface, wearable computers

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Faster than the Speed of Money

February 21, 2013

in 10.5 Human Questions for a Computer Age, 11.3 Automation, Globalization, and Outsourcing, 8.4 The Network Advantage, Chapter/Section, Context

NPR’s Radiolab is radio at its best—entertaining, informative, provocative. This episode will change the way you think about time and speed. One segment reveals the surprising truth about the relative speeds of the human nervous system and the Internet, and the a critical role of speed in today’s computer-controlled financial marketplace.

radiolab.org/2013/feb/05

If you don’t understand how the stock market works, you’re not alone. The market has developed a digital mind of its own, and in many ways it’s beyond human comprehension. The blog that accompanies that story includes some dazzling animated visualizations.

Tagged as: business, Internet, marketplace, speed

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Translation for—and by—Everybody

September 27, 2012

in 15.2 Natural-Language Communication, 15.4 Pattern Recognition: Making Sense of the World, Updates

While you’re learning a language you can help with the world’s biggest translation project. This Wired article explains how Duolingo hopes to translate the whole Internet into a resource without language barriers.
wired.com/business/2012/09/translate-the-web

Tagged as: Creative Commons, crowdsourcing, Google, Internet, natural language

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A Big Picture of Big Data

September 27, 2012

in 7.3 Database Trends, 9.3 Internet Issues: Ethical and Political Dilemmas, Updates

The Internet teems with data waiting to be analyzed by companies, government, and savvy individuals. Big data has become an industry buzzword as more businesses and governments find ways to tap into the mountains of data our digital devices produce every day. Photographer Rick Smolan’s latest project is to make big data—and its impact on us—visible. This Huffington Post article describes this crowdsourced work of art and includes a direct link to The Human Face of Big Data.

huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/25/rick-smolan-the-human-face-of-big-data_n_1912641.html

Tagged as: big data, crowdsourcing, databases, Internet

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The Internet Isn’t Just for People Anymore

September 14, 2012
Internet of Things

The original Internet was designed to link people together using computers and networks. Today’s Internet has an exploding population of non-human connections that are changing the way our high-tech world works. This Huffington Post blog explains the basics of the Internet of Things (IoT).

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A New Age of Collective Intelligence

July 1, 2012
Don Tapscott TED talk

It’s easy to get lost in the details of our increasingly netcentric lives and forget about the big picture. In this inspiring TED talk, Don Tapscott explains with concrete examples and beautiful analogies how the Internet is helping create a new age of openness and collective intelligence.

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The New, Supersized Internet

June 9, 2012
World IPv6 Launch logo

You probably didn’t notice, but the Internet just got bigger. A behind-the-scene change dramatically increases the number of possible Internet addresses, making it possible for all kinds of devices to stake out a space on the net. This NPR story explains the change and what it means to you.

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The Internet’s Body

June 7, 2012
Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet book

The Internet isn’t just a software cloud. Andrew Blum’s book, Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet, reveals the nuts and bolts of the physical Internet. In this Fresh Air interview, he talks about the hardware network that makes our Internet experience possible.

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Making the Cloud Clear

December 30, 2011
Dropbox illustration

NPR.org/2011/12/26/143795017/now-hovering-above-us-all-the-cloud If you’re not completely clear about “the cloud,” reading or listening to this short NPR story should help. Even if you understand the basics, you’ll probably be surprised by the many different ways that cloud technology is changing our world.

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Where Did the Web Come From?

October 25, 2011

In this five-minute TED talk, Ian Ritchie gives one of the best short answers to this question we’ve seen. At the same time, he confesses to making a multi-million dollar misjudgment. Fascinating and fun. [ted id=1244]

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