The Possibilities of Google Glass …

Yet again, I read a post on The Times website relating to the actually (for me) quite exciting opportunities that Google Glass presents. As is so often the way, however, the possibilities suggested in the piece left me pretty cold.

So here’s my response and challenge to the ladies and gents at Google (not that I’m expecting to ever to from them):

You know, I’m physically pretty limited. I have type II spinal muscular atrophy, I’m coming up to 47 and, consequently, while in pretty good health, starting to rely quite heavily on technology (for example, I’m writing this using the latest Dragon NaturallySpeaking software—software I use to write all my novels, emails, blog posts … well, you get the picture). … Now, I see articles like this, time and again, and get pretty excited by the possibilities—only to be, consistently, extremely disappointed when I read about being able to “race” someone who has already ran 5 miles in a city on the other side of the world, augmented reality software that can tell me where to buy the ripest watermelon and so on. … There are some truly life changing possibilities to hardware/software such as this, for some of us, at least, but as long as companies such as Google continue to think in such blinkered (see what I did there?) terms, with the focus on profit and profit-making apps, the full potential will never be realised. … If the ladies and gents at Google REALLY want to make this hardware truly valuable … here’s my challenge: contact me. I’m pretty easy to find. I guarantee I can suggest numerous ways, not only limited to assistive technology, that will pretty much guarantee that Google Glass will find a considerable niche—at the very least.

© 2013 Gary William Murning

Abstain from… Texting.

Apparently, it’s Lent, again. That time of year I look forward because, they tell me, it’s a time when Christians give up things (although, I heard a priest on the radio just the other day insist that it’s also about taking up “better” things… sounded suspiciously like spin to me, but what do I know?) The idea of giving up something because it is part of some sort of religious festival doesn’t really appeal to me, naturally, my being an atheist — but it can be rather entertaining watching from my unabstemious (if there is such a word) vantage point.

Especially when presented with the ridiculous prospect of Bishops in Rome calling on Christians to give up mobile telephones and texting!

Of course, I’m sure we’ve all at one time (!) been annoyed by people using their mobile phones at the most inappropriate times. But the very notion that a tool for communication should be “given up” for a Christian holiday, or for any other reason, for that matter, strikes me as quite simply absurd.

As a priest points out in the video clip, he can use a text message to give advice to his parishioners. He sees the value. It isn’t a replacement for other forms of social interaction, it’s merely another way of keeping in touch, communicating, sharing, laughing, crying, arguing, debating — and, yes, sharing crude jokes, of course. It isn’t something that needs to be given up by most of us. My mobile phone is with me almost constantly. Data flows back and forth in numerous forms — telephone calls, text messages, emails, Twitter messages and so on — and my life isn’t tainted by it but, rather, enriched.

It’s all too easy to condemn communication because it involves a relatively new and speedily developing technology, because “the kids” are obsessed by it. But talking, whatever form it takes, is about sharing — about giving and receiving, learning (sometimes) and, quite often, growing.

It’s about the promulgation of myth and, also, the undermining of it. It’s one of the things that makes us human, and just because we’ve found a new way of doing it, it doesn’t make it bad.

If you really want to give up something worthwhile for Lent, I have a suggestion… but I’ll keep it to myself, because you’ve probably already guessed what it is, anyway. 😉

© 2009 Gary William Murning

Up, Down and Touch.

The after-effects of my bout of flu have been rather more difficult to shake than I originally envisaged. I’ve been luckier than a lot of people I know, but still I’ve found myself extremely lethargic — with the aches and pains returning at times, even.

Nevertheless, I now think I’m almost ready to start back with the outlines for As Morning Shows the Day. I’m feeling more consistently “myself” and, frankly, I’m itching to do something creative.

In other news, I’ve been treating myself to — as some of you are no doubt already sick of hearing — a new toy. The HTC Touch HD smartphone pictured below.

I have to say, I’m over the moon with it. A great little device that does everything I ask of it. I might write a more detailed review of it when I have more time.

© 2009 Gary William Murning

Virgin: Getting Its Finger Out?

It would seem that Virgin Media — UK supplier of broadband, telephone services (landline and cellphone) and cable television — is finally getting its finger out and beginning the process of providing a better, more competitive package of services.

‘Speaking at the launch of Virgin’s 50Mbps broadband service [yesterday], Berkett [Virgin Media chief executive] said that four linear high definition channels would join the digital cable lineup “over the next three months”.

‘Berkett said that “getting access to HD was problematic” because a platform operator and broadcaster – alluding to Sky – had “locked HD away for a period of time”. He said that the situation “has changed over the last 18 months” and that “a lot of non-platform providers” now have content to offer in high definition.’

Today it has also been announced that their 10Mb and 20Mb broadband services will be migrated over to its new DOCSIS 3 platform.

‘The new version of DOCSIS – the specification for data over cable – permits channels to be “bonded” to allow more efficient use of the available spectrum. Virgin has built the new version 3 infrastructure for its new 50Mbps service, launched yesterday, but will migrate its mid and high tier customers to the platform.

‘Chief technology officer Howard Watson likened the move to “adding lanes to the M25″ and then ensuring that all Virgin Media customers could benefit from the new capacity. The original DOCSIS 1 network will be retained for the entry tier 2Mbps service.

‘”In time, the upgrade to DOCSIS 3.0 means Virgin Media will be able to handle more than three times the data currently handled by the cable network,” the company said.’

With the rumoured possibility of the rolling out of an ISPTV television platform in the not too distant/distant future, could it be possible that they may actually be working at establishing themselves as a real competitor to Sky?

It doesn’t seem all that is feasible. But we can hope, right?

© 2008 Gary William Murning

Princess Leia in Your Living Room.

According to academics at Aberdeen University a “3D television system which would display holographic images floating in mid air – reminiscent of a famous scene from Star Wars – could be a reality in households within the next decade“.

Always excited by technological developments of this kind, I, naturally, immediately started playing with the possibilities. For example, imagine how much more entertaining it would have been watching a holographic representation of John Sergeant on Strictly Come Dancing! The National Geographic channels would spring to life in a whole new way. Lions would disembowel zebras on your living room carpet and gorillas would groom the family labrador. In the summer, the rain during the Wimbledon tennis championships would seem all the more rainy — and then there’s those dodgy pay-per-view channels that I never ever subscribe to (honest.) The possibilities are endless.

And then something else occurred to me. Wait a minute, I thought as the Virgin Media van pulled up outside, I have enough trouble with my relatively ordinary V+ box as it is!

Conclusion: I’m only interested in this technology if Virgin Media has nothing at all to do with it! 🙂

© 2008 Gary William Murning

A World without Email.

Today we heard that, because of possible problems caused by transparency laws and security issues, Barack Obama — a textbook “functioning techie” — may have to go cold turkey, giving up emails in general and quite possibly his BlackBerry.

Now, however much some people might want me to be, I am not the president elect of the United States of America. I do not have to juggle a hundred things at once or ensure that I am briefed on everything from the name of the Queen of England’s favourite corgi to which button to press if someone annoys me a bit. Difficult decisions are not mine to make, or if they are the only lives that depend on it are purely fictional. Granted, I have many people — friends and acquaintances — that I like to keep up with, and, of course, many, many subjects interest me. Nonetheless it is fairly safe to say that the benefits that Barack Obama probably sees from using his BlackBerry/emailing/etc quite possibly far outweigh the benefits that I experience.

But I would not wish to give up the benefits I do receive from these wonderful (yes, I said wonderful!) technological developments — in the name of transparency or anything else (well, yes, all right, maybe personal security would persuade me, but you know what I mean.)

It seems quite bizarre that Obama will possibly be the first US president to have a laptop on his desk. Apart from Bill Clinton, of course, but that wasn’t quite the same thing. Yes, there are the inevitable dangers from hackers and so on and so forth. But surely that’s like telling the president he can’t eat pretzels because he might choke. Like that’s going to happen, right?

The world we live in is increasingly influenced by the electronic media. TV, Internet, email, weblogs, Twitter, Facebook — something new pops up every day (and, no, that’s not a reference to porn sites.) Let the president have his YouTube, Instant Messenger or whatever the hell else he wants, I say. I’d far rather have a tech-savvy US President who understands the world he lives in than a bumbling, technophobic idiot.

© 2008 Gary William Murning

Hubble Directly Observes Planet Orbiting Fomalhaut.

Estimated to be no more than three times Jupiter’s mass, the planet, called Fomalhaut b, orbits the bright southern star Fomalhaut, located 25 light-years away in the constellation Piscis Austrinus (the Southern Fish).

Fomalhaut has been a candidate for planet hunting ever since an excess of dust was discovered around the star in the early 1980s by the US- UK-Dutch Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS).

via ‘Hubble directly observes planet orbiting Fomalhaut’ by EurekAlert – RichardDawkins.net

A truly amazing discovery. 25 light years! Wow. For once I am uncharacteristically at a loss for words.