Help! Technology has taken over my life!

Oh no! Technology has taken over my life! There's no escaping it! What am I to do?

If these kinds of statements sound familiar to you, then you've probably been exposed to the frequent handwringing about the invasion of technology into our modern lives and how it's turning everyone into anti-social introverts who constantly stare at their phones and other gadgets.

A recent article in the Boston Globe took this idea even further with a piece titled "The End of Alone." In the article, the author discusses how new technology is making it basically impossible to enjoy or even have moments of solitude. The author essentially says that if Thoreau were alive today, he'd be busy at Walden Pond texting pals, updating his Twitter feed and checking his friends' Facebook status.
The article makes some good points and uses some good data to illustrate how people, especially younger adults, are constantly checking their phones and other social technology systems.

But whenever someone says that technology invades life, is impossible to get away from and makes being alone impossible, I have to disagree.
The last time I checked, these phones and other technology systems weren't embedded in our skulls (at least not yet, anyway). To be alone, just don't bring your technology with you, or turn it off. It's really not that hard.
I do it all the time. I like to take walks, and my phone pretty much never comes with me.

When I go on vacation, even if I'm in a city where connections are plentiful, any technology I bring with me spends most of its time off and is mainly used for looking up restaurants and other things to do, not for checking Facebook or e-mail.
Of course, as the Boston Globe article points out, some people have a hard time unplugging. They can actually become physically distressed if they don't have access to their phones and Internet connections.

To me, this says a lot more about these people than it does about modern technology, and what's being said is hardly new.

If, like me, you grew up in the 1970s or '80s, you probably knew people who were hyper-social--the girls who would spend hours on the phone, the guys who would smother their girlfriends with attention, the person who was always trying to organize big get-togethers.

You also probably knew the kids who spent 10-plus hours watching TV, or the guys who would play video games at all hours.

Is there really any difference between these people and the girl who IMs her friends constantly, or the guy who texts his girlfriend non-stop, or the heavy Facebook user, or the "Internet addicts"?

Of course, there are some people who are essentially addicted to their phones and connective technologies. These are the people who become physically distressed without their phones.

But again, this is really about the person and not the technology. Addictive personalities have existed forever. Maybe we should be glad these people are addicted to their tech. It's certainly better than being an alcoholic or drug addict.
So while these technologies have certainly greatly changed our lives--and mostly for the better--they haven't made it impossible to be alone. Anyone who wants to be alone and enjoy their solitude can choose to be alone. And some people will choose not to be.

Me, I'm going on vacation. My laptop will stay in the room to be used sparingly, my phone will stay off in my bag, and the only technology that I'll carry with me will be my camera.

Oh yeah, and my MP3 player. But that's not a new thing. Since I was a teen with a Sony Walkman, I've had to have my tunes with me when I went to the beach. That's how I do alone time. Me, the beach, the ocean and The Clash.

To all you Bloggers out there

I Am Amazing

My 20 Things List

Given the current "25 things you might not know about me" craze, there are a lot of people out there who have to tell you all kinds of things about themselves. This whole thing seems a bit nuts to me, after all, if there are things about me that people don't know, it's probably because I don't want them to know these things.

While I've tended to ignore these lists as they've ended up in my mail or Facebook updates, the one's I have read tended to be pretty positive and good natured. Again, this seems nuts to me. In my opinion, if you really want to know someone, you should find out the things that they hate, the things that really drive them nuts.

So to put my money where my mouth is, I've done just that. Without further ado, here is my list (in no particular order) of the Twenty Things about Technology that Drive Me Nuts.

1) Comment lists that start with the newest comments - You ever read a really interesting online article or blog post and get excited to find out what other people are saying about it? And then, when you look at the comments, it feels like you've walked into the end of a conversation? Please, to every blog, Web site or anyone else who has comment lists, order them oldest to newest. You didn't write your post or article backwards. A comment thread can be just as much a story as anything else. Start it from the beginning.

2) Constant Status Updates - Awww, Maria is tired from her late night. And Jack is feeling stuffed from his big lunch. And Carol is nervous about her big meeting this afternoon. You know what? I don't care! If I want to know what you're doing or feeling or thinking right now, I'll ask you, OK?

3) Creeping Applications - I think I'm going to call Al Gore and ask to borrow his lockbox (I don't think he's using it for anything). And then I'll take it and throw every app on my systems in it and make them stay in their own place. I'm sick of so many apps that I install sticking themselves into all other facets of my system. Hey, I didn't say you could add an extension to Firefox, or run at startup, or constantly check to see if you have an update available. Just do the thing that I installed you to do and stop messing with the rest of my system!

4) Useless New Versions - In an old episode of The Simpsons, a fake commercial for a gaming systems says, "The new Gamestation 256. It's slightly faster... to the MAX." I always think of this when I see new versions of software or hardware products. In most cases, despite claims of the massive benefits that this new version will provide, the update is typically trivial and provides nothing much over the current version. But hey, current users get a 10 percent discount! Weeeeeeee!

5) Wireless Network Carriers - Want an idea of what the Internet would be like if network neutrality goes away? Look at the wireless network carriers. Only certain phones, apps and sites are available on certain networks. Wrong carrier? Too bad, no cool phone, video service or sweet game for you.

6) RIAA - I'm singling out the RIAA because they're the worst offender but this includes MPAA, BSA and any other group that protects their business model over the interests of everyone else in the world (including the artists and developers they supposedly protect). Through their constant lawsuits and pushing of bad laws, these groups have caused more damage to technology than anyone else. These groups would, if they could, go back in time and stop the Internet from ever happening.

7) Bad Laws - Speaking of bad laws, while the RIAA and their ilk might push these laws, it's our shortsighted and tech ignorant lawmakers who push them through Congress. DMCA, CAN-SPAM, the whole lot of copyright laws and treaties. Gee, thanks.

8) Techno Lust - AAAhhhhhhhh!!!! Did you see the latest iWhatever? It's the greatest thing ever! Everyone will want to have one. It will change your life, the world and the future of all mankind! If Einstein was alive today he would totally have 10 of these! Now jump ahead 10 months. The iWhatever? That is so lame. But I hear that the iWhatchamacallit will be totally sweet.

9) Privacy Loss - Yes, people today share all kinds of information that would have remained private many years ago. But you know what? They choose to share that information. That doesn't mean that they want every detail of their shopping and Web surfing habits in the hands of large businesses.

10) Lists - Ahem, OK, moving on.

11) Spam - Ten years ago I was stunned how much time I had to waste dealing with spam in my e-mail inbox. But I was sure that technology would figure out a way to deal with this. Now, I spend even more time dealing with spam and its spread to other tech areas outside of my e-mail. I can't even watch that Monty Python skit anymore.

12) Vendor Lock In - Have you seen that really cool new product? It's really pretty slick. One problem, though, it will only work on one operating system, with one underlying technology and one format, all from one vendor.

13) Hyped Terms - You have to check out our product. It's Web 2.0 On-Demand SOA SAAS Cloud-based Social Networking Semantic technology. What does it really do? Hmmm, I'll have to get back to you on that.

14) Business Method Patents - Several recent court decisions have dealt these patents some serious setbacks but they are still out there, driving people nuts with their obviousness and forcing actually innovative companies to waste money defending themselves against this idiocy.

15) Bad Security - I love the whole idea of the master hacker breaking through heavily defended security systems. But in reality most hacking is a matter of walking through wide open doors that businesses and people could easily close if they cared even a tiny bit about good security.

16) Religious Tech Wars - Windows stinks, Macs Rule! Oh yeah, Mac users are a bunch of annoying posers and Windows users just get things done! You're all a bunch of corporate pawns, only Linux users are truly in control. Whatever. You use what you want to use, I'll use what I want to use, and everybody shut up already.

17) Perpetual Betas - It's kind of cute, Gmail has been in beta for years now, but that doesn't stop tons of people from using it. And this practice has spread to many companies outside of Google. And you know what? This should stop right now. You know what beta means? Not ready for real use! I would never recommend any business use any application that the vendor itself isn't comfortable enough to call ready to use.

18) Locked Down Products - I mentioned apps that should be locked down from spreading across my systems. But some products go in the other direction and prevent the users from making any kind of changes, customizations or enhancements. New Mac notebooks don't even let users change the battery. If I want a toaster, I'll buy a toaster. Come to think of it, my toaster has more customization options than many of these products.

19) EULAS - By reading this post you've consented to let me make all kinds of outrageous and legally dubious claims on your rights and I'll spell out just how I can limit your rights in pages buried deep within my site that almost no one finds or reads. Sorry software user licenses and Web site terms of services. But in my book a contract is something that both parties have to actually agree to.

20) Always On - Woo hoo. Read my Twitter feed, check my Facebook updates, text me, IM me, Skype me, follow me on GPS, I'm connected everywhere and all the time! Now that I think about it, while I love tech, one of my favorite things is that I can turn off my computers, toss my phone in a drawer and go for a nice quiet walk.

Pirates get Pirated! AAARGGG!!!

If only there were more poetic justice in this world. Unfortunately, those of us who revel in such karmic resolutions have to take our kicks where we can get them. Those who live by the sword all too often don’t die by the sword—but then again, sometimes they do, and rather spectacularly at that. As they say, Justice may be blind—but she's got a wicked sense of humor.

Crackulous is a free application for jailbroken iPhones that allows you to strip the encryption on iPhone apps bought from the App Store, thus allowing you to, in the words of its developer, “share them with the community.” For those of you following along at home, this is a little thing we like to call “software piracy” or, if you prefer simpler terms, theft.

Now sure, the Crackulous team might pitch a rationalization for why cracking applications is okay:

By using the cracked .ipa files found here, you are not stealing from Apple! Use them , and if something suits you, buy the app. Support your local developers!

And, indeed, some have framed this debate in terms of the App Store’s lack of demos; you can’t try an app before you buy it. It’s true that not letting customers check out applications before purchase is a shortcoming of the App Store. But just because you can’t go into a drugstore and take a bite of the candy bar you're thinking about buying doesn’t mean that it’s okay to steal it.

But oh—the delicious irony. As it happens, some industrious person or persons decided that this sounded like a great business opportunity, so they helped themselves to the Crackulous application, and have started selling it for $10 a pop. Better yet, they added the following warning:

As of right now Crackulous is not free. You may come across websites that claim to have a free version of Crackulous but these versions have viruses which log all your information including passwords, phone numbers, contacts, and send it to people so it’s best to stay away from these shady copies. A lot of hard work and development went in to making this brilliant application. It would be unfair if it was given for free.

I don’t know if there’s a sound that poetic justice makes, but if so I hope it’s just a really loud gong. Somebody should let the Crackulous developers know that petards are really only good for one thing: namely, being hoisting by one's own.

The moral of this story? Don’t steal software. From the biggest software company to the individual developer, applications are products that people—real people—have invested their own time and money in. If you’re not the kind of person who’s going to go around boosting car radios—I mean, outside of Grand Theft Auto—why would you want to be the kind of person who nicks software?

Of course, that raises the question: what about the people who stole Crackulous? I won't condone what they did, especially after I just got through saying that piracy is wrong, but that doesn't mean I'm not amused by it. After all, like the man said: live by the sword, die by the sword. And we all know how much pirates love swords.

Windows, Windows, and even more Windows. Talk about schizophrenia!

Remember that screenshot we saw of all those different Windows 7 versions (pictured above)? Well guess what? It's worse than you could have possibly imagined. The following will be the actual new SKUs for the OS:

• Windows 7 Starter
• Windows 7 Home Basic (for emerging markets)
• Windows 7 Home Premium
• Windows 7 Professional
• Windows 7 Enterprise
• Windows 7 Ultimate

This information has been confirmed by Microsoft (who never listens to us). I am sure, if you are like me, and apparently Microsoft, one is just not enough. I love trying to figure out multiple versions of the same product.

My Brief Stint as Troy in High School Musical 3

I can't believe I got cut!!

I was so much better than Zach!!

Obama Keeps Blackberry!!

Robert Gibbs' first press conference as President Obama's Press Secretary, the most important and heated debate of our time has been put to rest. According to Gibbs, Obama will be able to keep his BlackBerry, though only a limited number of senior staff and personal contacts will have access to his email address, and the data on the handheld will be subject to the Presidential Records Act. There was no mention of the NSA or the Sectera Edge, though he does mention some enhanced security.

In Gibbs' words: "The President has a BlackBerry through a compromise that allows him to stay in touch with senior staff and a small group of personal friends in a way that use will be limited and the security is enhanced to ensure his ability to communicate, but to do so effectively and to do so in a way that's protected. Finally, a clear indication that for the first time in the 21st century, the President of the United States will act like it's the 21st century.