Digitized life and the human mind

Often when we talk about digitizing something we make reference to how accurate that becomes. We assume that qualifying and abstracting our analogy world with an arbitrary numeric precision that we have encapsulated reality in a reproducible and consistent manner not previously available in an imprecise world. We talk about digital cameras and CD music as if they are the hight of accuracy when they are merely an imprecise abstraction reduced to digital form. We can have all the Mega-pixels in 24, 36, 48 bit depths cameras in the world and still only capture a poor semblance of our world. The compromises we make to the almost good enough CD quality sound to the crude compressed noise of MP3 has affected extensively how we think about everyday life. We make decisions every day in a binary this or that product, my way or your way. However we are forever forgetting the initial compromise of our digital choices. There is a world of values between one and zero, and there is a world of difference between “the perfect product” and one that’s “almost the right product” The world of the tailors custom made suit and the cobblers hand made shoe have been lost to digital one size fits all product mentality.

This applies to the world of software where vendors of CRM and ERP claim to have the definitive answer to everyones problem. The customize in custom is no longer available. When doing business with anyone, is the same for everyone, what happens to delineation of value. A CRM is the same for every business, and forces it to conform it operations to the design of the CRM. It no longer provides a custom solution for a business to provide a custom experience to the customer.

One of the missed opportunities of the internet bubble’s collapse, and a missing aspect of the Web 2.x, is the ability to provide an entirely customized experience to the customer. To even provide a customized product to customer specs. This was in some aspects part of the success of DELL in the computer world. But it has not provided, as full an experience, as could have been provided.

This is part and parcel connected to the compromise we make in a digital choice. No tailored answers, no personalized perfect solutions. Dell and the CRM vendor, are in the business of narrowing the selections and reducing the choices to a qualifiable numeric.

Just like the digitized stair-steps of an analog wave of music, something is missing in-between, we are loosing unique for digital normal. And while many can live with CD’s there is that niche still holding out for their vinyl, and there are still tailors.

The tailors do not strive to be millionaires, they are making a living, providing custom solutions.

Web 2.x should be about custom solutions.

Fianna Fáil wants the public to get off the roads

The Chairman of the National Roads Authority stated this morning on the radio that they wanted to have more toll roads to “get people off the roads”. I have never heard a more stupid idea in my life. Not only have the taxpayers in this country paid for these roads, they are being GIVEN to a private company to Steal profit from the taxpayer again. But that they justify all this ripping off of the taxpayer as a means of “getting them off the roads”. So we are paying for something that we are not meant to use?

If there is any other reason to remove Fianna Fáil from office, it has how moved into second place. This government has now demonstrated that they are not working for the people of Ireland. They are here to profit from them.

Editorial: As I was sleepy this morning, the chairman may have meant to say, get them off the local loop roads. But as he moved the subject straight to public transport, I’ll stick with my original interpretation.

Bank Record Silliness in Wing-Nut land

This article has gotten the ‘Lie and Die’ GOP Far right wing nuts on the internet fired up.
Bank Records Secretly Tapped

They still believe that al Qaeda are idiots, Osama bin Laden is a multimillion, don’t you think he knows how banks are transferring money?

Why does the Far Right believe that this ‘traitorous’ revelation of the Bush administration trying to ” bypass traditional banking privacy protections” was catching any terrorist?

Stupid ones maybe, but not likely, terrorist of that nature are ‘Cash and Carry’ and the smart ones are well aware of that can and cannot be seen in bank transfers, and they would have covered their trail.

This is just another destruction of freedom, and the removal of yet another privacy from the American People.

Update: A really good article about why this was never a secret, and if there is a traitor It’s George Bush Who talked about this;


In a September 24, 2001, speech, Bush announced the establishment of a “foreign terrorist asset tracking center at the Department of the Treasury to identify and investigate the financial infrastructure of the international terrorist networks.” He added, “It will bring together representatives of the intelligence, law enforcement, and financial regulatory agencies to accomplish two goals: to follow the money as a trail to the terrorists, to follow their money so we can find out where they are; and to freeze the money to disrupt their actions.”

So more lies from the Lie and Die party.

The Future is how you see it.

I did not graduate from the university with a Computer Science degree, I graduated with a degree in Future Studies. I only got into Computers (as a minor in college) because I was passionate about them, and they were easy. It has also earned me a fair salary over the years. so when I see articles containing “Futurist” I am intrigued, as in this article, which has a universal applicability to such things as Web 2.0, iPods and other technology, economic and social issues.

Twelve Things Journalists Need To Know to be Good Futurist/Foresight Reporters

Can we all say “Common Sense”?

A favorite, particularly good for Web 2.0:

…any futurist who tells you that something is inevitable probably has something to sell

Global Warming Climate Science under attack again

What’s wrong with this picture when science is prohibited from researching global warming, to support a half-baked Idea of a glorious return to the moon?

NASA is canceling or delaying a number of satellites designed to give scientists critical information on the earth’s changing climate and environment…as NASA prioritizes its budget to pay for completion of the International Space Station and the return of astronauts to the moon by 2020 — a goal set by President Bush

MicroPayments, again?

I may have gotten myself in trouble with Britt Blaser at the Web 2.0 pre-conference dinner when I slapped down his discussion of micropayments for the Internet. This is a subject that I have heard at least a dozen time over the years, I even had the the same discussion with Bob Medcalf years ago. I don’t believe that micropayments will reach a critical mass of trust necessary to bring this off. The economy is really just a complex barter system. Don’t let it fool you into believing it is some numeric machine. It’s roughly the same as having a fool proof gambling scheme. The economy is a belief and trust model, I believe my money is worth this much, and I trust that you do too. If we don’t have the same foundation, that one currency is stronger than another, or that the exchange isn’t fair, it all collapses. Micropayments are the same thing, except that it operates at internet speed. Too fast and too mystical for the average person to trust. Even a credit card provides a receipt, and a signature or a pin. Prices can’t change from moment to moment, micropayments could provide that, and no one could trust that happening.

I suppose that If I had known how famous Britt was, I might have kept me mouth shut. But I’m becoming Irish, and it just won’t close on it’s own.