the turtle speaks

This WiFi thing just might catch on…

So McDonalds unveiled free WiFi in its stores and just recently Starbucks announced free WiFi coming July 1st. Today I read that Oklahoma City’s Bricktown unveiled free wireless in common areas and some businesses.

I, for one, am more likely to visit a business that offers free wireless, as a recent McDonald’s stop on a vacation attests to. With the growing ubiquity of wireless devices and the relatively inexpensive costs of adding wireless, this seems like a no-brainer for businesses, and a win for the downtown Oklahoma City area.

Thinking on the Internet

Internet usage allows me to know more but think less. Tweetage W@steland recently posted about his “head being in the cloud.” He tells the story of a young woman who got into a wreck and didn’t know the numbers of people to call because they were in the address book of her [now broken] phone.

Before feeling fully incredulous, the author realized he doesn’t keep in touch with friends who aren’t plugged into his digital lifestyle. His memory for things like keeping in touch with friends has been replaced by “the cloud.” I realize I don’t know the numbers or birthdays of some of my closest friends either.

(While I think this is a fabulous thing for events and obscure/arcane information, it starts to scare me a little when it infringes on relationships.)

In a rant questioning the value of textbooks (due to changing market conditions, out-dated information, and memorization in an Internet world), Seth Godin notes:

In a world of wikipedia, where every definition is a click away, it’s foolish to give me definitions to memorize.

The Internet has fundamentally changed the way we process and learn information, and the effects of that are still being explored. I am amazed at how often my wife and I turn to Wikipedia, IMDB, Wolfram Alpha, dictionary.com, etc for answers to questions that, even just a few years ago, would have required a trip to the local library, owning an encyclopedia set, or having an expert at your beckon call. Education (and other fields) have yet to fully realize the ramifications of ubiquitous knowledge and equal access. Minds should be taught how to use information more than just rote information itself.

There are, however, a few things that I think are still worth knowing:

• vocabulary. You can’t always reference these, and like it or not, people judge by the words you use. Spelling would be on this list, but as more correspondence goes digital, it is less of an issue.
• scripture (or other inspirational quotes/material if you’re not inclined that way). We all need good thoughts in our head.
• a basic historical outline (I’m biased on this, but I think everyone ought to know at least a little bit about our country and its place in the world)
• basic geographical information, like where the US is on a map and which states on are the west coast, and where China is.

There may be a few other things, but not many. We can be aware of more information, but let us never confuse that with being more intelligent or thinking more critically.

MPAA and digital copies

MPAA, thanks for the growing trend of providing digital copies of your movies with the purchase of a physical disc. It shows you realize how much people value portability and convenience. The package of UP even notes how you can watch this on an iPhone or iPod touch. Very nice.

But I’m a little confused when you sue to prevent people from making digital copies of movies they own for personal use. How is this different from providing a copy for free?

Also, purchasing a legal copy of a movie (which is often DRM-crippled) is not a cheap undertaking, often costing as much as or more than a physical disc copy. This, despite the fact that it requires no packaging or distribution on your part.

If piracy and illegal sharing is the [understandable] concern, why do you make this easier on consumers by giving them a copy with a DVD disc and seek to make it harder for people to do the exact same thing (a digital copy, but in a resolution of file size of their choice) you’re doing?

On diamonds and guilt

A few nights ago, I stayed up late to finish up something for a meeting the next day at work. I had a documentary on the diamond trade going on in the background, showing the lives of people involved in the business: a poor African digger in Sierra Leone; a Jewish high-end dealer in NYC; an Indian diamond polisher; and an activist trying to negotiate for higher prices. It was quite interesting.

Critiquing the diamond industry is fashionable, with Blood Diamond highlighting the issue in a public way. Conflict-free diamonds are available at many jewelers, though I have some doubts about the legitimacy of such claims.

I have only bought one diamond — the engagement ring for my girl — and that was before I was savvy to such things. I’m fairly certain I’ll never buy a non-conflict-free diamond again. So I feel pretty good about not participating in African violence and poverty.

My livelihood as an IT worker is due to the ready availability of cheap computers — for me as a child to peak my interest (thanks again Mom and Dad!) and for the masses as well. But I don’t like to think about that. The fact that computers become more powerful and cheaper all the time is partly a product of increasing technology and manufacturing processes, but also a product of [immorally?] cheap overseas labor. A quote from Fake Steve regarding working conditions in China illustrates a real point:

Have you ever been to China? We have. We’ve been to China. We know what goes on there. We know how they open your mail, and listen to your phone calls, and let their factories pollute like crazy and exploit workers, all in the name of progress. And we turn a blind eye to it. We let them know when we’re coming to visit, and they give us a tour and put on a little show of how great things are, and how wonderful the dorm life is, and afterward we pretend to keep an eye on them — but it’s all theater. It is. We know it. What’s more, you know it. Everyone knows it.

We all know that there’s no … way in the world we should have microwave ovens and refrigerators and TV sets and everything else at the prices we’re paying for them. There’s no way we get all this stuff and everything is done fair and square and everyone gets treated right. No way. And don’t be confused — what we’re talking about here is our way of life. Our standard of living. You want to “fix things in China,” well, it’s gonna cost you. Because everything you own, it’s all done on the backs of millions of poor people whose lives are so awful you can’t even begin to imagine them, people who will do anything to get a life that is a tiny bit better than the … one they were born into, people who get exploited and treated like … and, in the worst of all cases, pay with their lives.

And, as the quote notes, it’s not just technology but Western life in general. The triumph of capitalism and specialization is due, to some degree, to developing nations. I’m no economist, but discount retail, clothing, and perhaps the middle class are all dependent on underpaid workers in poor conditions.

These jobs provide wages to unskilled laborers who do better than they may otherwise. But better than pitiful is a small consolation.

I don’t know what to do about it. Kiva loans, clean-water programs, and other micro-lending organizations are a great start to improving people’s lives. So are faith-based training and education programs. Some things I’m willing to pay more for if I know it has been truly beneficial for those involved in the process (like, paradoxically, Starbucks). But honestly, I’m often too lazy to check/care. And while I try to live simply, there’s still injustice that I’m sure I participate in.

Maybe I’ll just be glad I don’t buy conflict diamonds.

Of all the advancements in technology, I think the shift from midi/polytonic ringtones to mp3 ones may be the best.