Technology and the Past

Thanks to the miracle of modern technology everyone is now getting a peak into the past. According to a recent article on CNET everyone that has access to the internet also has access to one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the last century, the Dead Sea Scrolls. This single project shows how technology can change the way that people interact with great discoveries like the Dead Sea Scrolls. While in the past access to this discovery was limited to a few carefully selected experts, now it's accessible to every expert, enthusiastic and casually interested person with an internet connection. In the future projects like this could allow a huge break through in academic research allowing researchers and experts to weigh in and share their expertise to a greater extent at less cost.

Batteries Suck

The recent review of the Motorola Droid Bionic by computerworld.com underpins a major flaw with the Bionic and mobile technology in general, battery life is terrible. While the Bionic is a prime example of horrendous battery life (four hours under normal use according to the review) it's a problem that's going to get worse and worse. The down side of the Moore's law is that power consumption also increases with the increases as processing power increases. Unfortunately, battery technology is not keeping up with increase in power consumption. This means phones and other mobile devices are getting more and more powerful and capable, but batteries can't keep up with the demand. The worst part is, unless there's a massive break through in battery technology the only options are live with 4 hour battery life or start shrinking and pulling out other components so there's more room for bigger batteries.

The Machine

About a month ago my mom shared an article from the Wall Street Journal with me by Marc Andreessen which he titled Why Software Is Eating The World. Andreessen's made the point that business has changed in a fundamental way so that every major industry has become, at least in part, a member of the software industry. This observation by Andreesen is a natural outgrowth of a fundamental change in society as a whole, the rise of the machine. The reason software is a fundamental part of every major business is because computers have become a fundamental part of day to day life. If you're a person in your twenties or younger then chances are you you make most of your purchases with a credit or debit card, most non-food purchases happen online, you don't own a watch because you use your phone instead, your phone is your alarm clock, most of you news comes from the internet, your more likely to watch "TV" on hulu then an actual TV, etc... Software runs computers and computers have become the new de facto modus operandi.

Guiding Principles

While reading through Focus and Priorities I was struck by the idea that the world may change, progress and grow in a myriad of ways, but if we are people grounded in solid principles we'll always know how to react to those changes and incorporate them into our life. It's the same kind of idea that Dr. Knutson espoused about parenting in his interview with Jon De Pre, the principles of parenting don't change just because your children now spend part of their time hanging out  in the virtual world, you still want to know where they're going to be and who they're going to be with. It makes me stop and ponder what the guiding principles in my own life are since I don't believe I've ever really enumerated them. It seems that it could be said that my main principles boil down to fulfilling my commitments and trying to keep the Spirit in my life, and of those, maintaining the Spirit is the most important. If you can keep the Spirit in your life you'll know if your striking the right balance between school, work, publishing a sloppy web comic, watching community, performing your church calling, taking care of your spiritual well being, socializing, etc... If you're trying to do what's right then you'll know the right thing to do.