Archive for SciTech

  • Going digital for the short term Going digital for the short term

    I sit here listening to Aretha Franklin’s “Think” while writing this, and it makes me think (you should have seen it coming).  While I have little doubt that my children or grandchildren will still get the pleasure of hearing Ms. Franklin’s voice, I do wonder about those three, four, or...

  • Buying a laptop, and why it isn't exactly Apples and Dells Buying a laptop, and why it isn’t exactly Apples and Dells

    It's probably important, in full disclosure, to reveal that I am at least somewhat tech savvy.  I use the term somewhat broadly, because while I can open a desktop and install a new hard drive, or install Ubuntu onto that desktop afterwards, I am not the type who can hand code my very only f...

  • Hulu possibly moving to a subscription model Hulu possibly moving to a subscription model

    Try to hide your shock, but it appears Hulu may be moving to a subscription based model.  Jonathan Miller, News Corp.’s new chief digital officer stated that is exactly where he sees the currently free site headed.  But don’t worry too much yet, as this is neither as inevitable or p...

  • Losing half our friends every seven years Losing half our friends every seven years

    Here’s a story sure to cheer you up.  Consider who are your closest friends.  Got a mental image?  Good.  Now, consider that half of them will be replaced within the next seven years.  No, this isn’t science fiction, but social science instead. Sociologist Gerald Mol...

  • A day at the zoo A day at the zoo

    Growing up, one of my favorite family vacation activities was going to a zoo.  We probably visited most of the big ones throughout the Midwest and South, and each offered unique joys with particular animal exhibits.  We were a family who loved animals, and a zoo was a sort of Mecca. We...

  • Jim Carrey plays a cast of characters in A Christmas Carol Jim Carrey plays a cast of characters in A Christmas Carol

    There’s something a little surreal about putting Jim Carrey into an animated film.  Part of his original charm in films such as Ace Venture Pet Detective and The Mask was how animated he was in real life.  But Robert Zemeckis has found a solution—motion capture animation. In recent year...

  • Facebook has become too popular to be useful Facebook has become too popular to be useful

    Face it, Facebook, you’re just too popular.  You’re the local weatherman who can’t go to the adult bookstore because everyone knows your face (never mind who would have to be there to rat you out).  What was once a cool fad has gone mainstream to the point where grandma and grandpa are u...

  • The fate of fan games, and why movie studios get fan media right The fate of fan games, and why movie studios get fan media right

    If you’re questioning exactly what a fan game is, then it’s likely you've never heard of fan fiction or fan films.  Fan media, as a broad term, is when fans of a media property take it upon themselves to recreate the or expand upon the experience of that media.  In other words, when two gu...

  • In a digital age, do we care about reality? In a digital age, do we care about reality?

    It’s a question science fiction has been asking for decades.  If, at some point, fantasy could mimic reality to a flawless degree, would we care?  Should we care?  And unlike how much of science fiction predicted this question would come to a head through virtual reality or androids, it is ...

  • Facebook, Plato’s Cave, and why I feel normal Facebook, Plato’s Cave, and why I feel normal

    There was a time when I resisted the lure of Facebook.  I had already used MySpace and found it rather pointless.  It was mostly just old high school and college friends wanting to “reconnect” long enough to see how many kids I have, and not much else.  What was the point for a non-15-yea...

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