Microsoft just revealed a new concept computer. As usual, it comes with lots of hype and the PR machine boasts that it is the next big invention, something will revolutionize computer. To keep things simple, it is merely a table with a touch screen. That’s all. Computer as a table is nothing new, the very first generation of arcade games, such as ping, space invader or pac-man are in form of a a table. The new Surface may serves as gimmicks in some classy restaurants, it is fun and more convenient ordering your food without having to wait for the waiter to come around. The special effects maybe cool for the first time, but soon the novelty will wears off, and people will simply ignore it. Just like first generation of arcade games are used in restaurants as attractions. The Surface has little use at home. The promotion video shows some possible applications, obviously the designer obviously doesn’t take usability into account. One example is the Surface is used as drawing board for kids. Why would kids draw on a computer screen instead of good old fashion paper and crayon. It is so unreal. Then the next example is sharing and viewing photos. For digital photo takers, Surface can’t replace photoshop, and for photo viewers, isn’t TV a better way to show pictures. Then the next example is searching a map and synchronize and upload it to your cell phone. The Surface connects to the cell phone wireless once the cell phone is placed on the screen. Wireless is a great idea but why would you waste precious screen space and covering the information underneath with a cell phone? You can just replace the cell phone with an transparent icon on the screen. The surface probably will only success in niche markets like graphic designs. Microsoft is not going to dominate the living room with Surface, they better come up with something much better.
This is new a real survivor reality show coming up in Dutch. The players are patients waiting for kidney transplant, the prize is a kidney transplant. Put it simple, the winner can live and the losers are very likely be dead while waiting for a kidney from the national donor list. Just like other reality show, the audience will vote off constants one by one. Just that the audience are not choosing who can will a million dollars but decide who can live. Some critics say the show is unethical, disrepect human life. I think it would be a good show, since the players life is on the stake.
Let’s face the truth, we don’t have enough fresh kidneys for transplant and artifical kidneys is still a few years away. People will die from kidney malfunction unless we start harvesting kidneys from prisoners. The question is how to allocate the limited supply of kidneys and save a few lifes. The current system is on first come first serve basis mixed with somekind of kidney lottery. Literally, the patients have no control of their fate, they can just wait in line until it is too late or hope being lucky. We can’t say a system with inderterministic result and no inputs from the patients is fair. In this contest, the patients take control of their fate into their own hands. As long as the rule of the game is fair, the allocation of the kidney is also fair. If you are the patient, which way do you prefer to get your new kidney, sit back waiting for luck or strive you best to win your life?
Those who have worked with me know I love paper documents. Everytime I transfer to a new project, I will tax the printer heavily by printing every document I may need. My friends say that I am killing too many tree, and question me why can’t I just read the document on screen. First of all, I use recycle paper, and the document will go back to the recycling bin when the project is done, so no tree is killed in the process. Moreover, trees are just like vegetable, you grow them, cut them and then grow them back again. Using more paper is good for BC economy, which is hugh in the forrestry sector. Reading on screen can never compare with the convinience reading on paper. Your eye is much more comfortable reading something real, you highlight the text, mark the paper and comment the document. You can flip through the pages quickly without waiting the for the screen to reload. You can carry the paper document around easily and it looks good. In case you disagree on some certain thing in the document with someone else, you can simply point to the page and settle the dispute. Paper document carries a mysterious authority that people tends to listen. It is much harder to convince someone open a document, search for the information to prove them wrong. Let alone it save you the embrassment if they are actually right.
Switching to a new department means ramping up on new technology and new product line. However, I don’t expect the ramp up would be this steep. Some one in the Santa Clara office is leaving the company in a month and I am assigned to take over his work. This means another brain dump trip to the Bay Area. I will be flying down to Santa Clara for two weeks only after joining the new project team for a week. I only have next week to get myself familiar on whatever the guy is working on, so that I can ask some more intelligent questions when I am down there the week after. I can foresee many hours of intensive reading in the next few days. Actually, I already shoveled the 600 pages SATA standard into my brain in one day. I wonder how many more pages I can take before my brain explode.
Things gets even more interesting that my cousin is getting marry in 2 weeks. So during my two weeks stays in Santa Clara, I will fly back to Vancouver on Friday night, go to the wedding, then fly back down on Sunday evening. If the weekend is not conflict with the wedding, I would rather stay down there and hang out with my old friends. My boss seems to have no trouble giving me approval to come back for the weekend. I guess it is cheaper to buy me the ticket than paying me for the hotel, car rental and meals for two extra days.
