Presenting the fact and fiction of tomorrow since 2001
Sven Johnson returns to Futurismic for another instalment of Future Imperfect.
Cyberpunk literature mirrored its era by speaking of the the fetishism of hardware; Sven takes a look at the state of play today, where what were once tools are now toys, and where complex design modeling software is available at the click of a mouse to anyone who wants it … as part of a video game. Continue reading “Toys of the Trade”
United States Defense Department investigators have discovered that it’s surprisingly easy to purchase restricted or classified items of military hardware; all you need to do is have a scout on eBay or Craigslist. [via SlashDot][image by swotai]
” Among the items purchased include two components from F-14 fighter jets …”
The article mentions the risk of items being reverse-engineered or countermeasured by enemies of the United States … though I’d hazard to suggest any enemy worth being worried about has probably decided that it’s best to continue letting bureaucracy and internal discontent do all the hard work of wearing their opponents down.
I think the thing that astonishes me most, though, is the fact that I’ve had eBay auctions delisted for tiny marginal breaches of the site’s code of conduct, yet their eagle-eyed monitoring teams don’t notice or investigate people selling chunks of fighter jets. It’s a weird world, and no mistake.
Slashdot notes a story that quotes a big wheel at Sony as being worried about the potential mainstream appeal of the Asus Eee and its ilk:
“”If (the Eee PC from) Asus starts to do well, we are all in trouble. That’s just a race to the bottom,” said Mike Abary.”
The Slashdot poster observes:
“Presumably by ‘we’ he means all the hardware manufacturers who sell over-priced, full-fat laptops. [...] Looks like what’s bad for Sony may be good for the consumer.”
In the short run, certainly, he may be right - but what about the long game? A drop in hardware prices for us consumers would be nice, sure, but there’s bound to be more consequences than that. [image by Scrambled Egg]
This is an issue that Charles Stross broached late last year (right after purchasing his own Eee, naturally). You should read all of Charlie’s thoughts about the inevitable (and long-overdue) commoditization of computing technology, because they add weight to his final blow:
“… how deep will be the recession that follows once the personal computing industry deflates to its natural value (i.e. peanuts)?”
Ouch.
Here’s one for the writers among our readers. The excellent Jim Van Pelt* has an article at The Fix Online wherein he lists a number of potential sources for the kernel ideas of hard science fiction stories.
“So, do you need a degree in science or math to write hard science fiction? Nope. Numerous hard science fiction authors write their stories without that background. [...] Admittedly, though, the non-science or math authors will have to work a little harder to not write laughable hard science fiction. They need to cheat a bit. They may need help coming up with ideas, and they certainly will need help for the science that is not at their fingertips. Fortunately, the help is no farther away than the nearest bookstore.”
Or your local library, I’d add to that statement (use ‘em or lose ‘em, folks). [Image from Image*After]
And, of course, the internet has its value for the same sort of process, once you know where to look. Jeremy Tolbert thinks it would be good if that process were easier, though:
“Someone with access to the big primary biological sciences literature should post reviews/summaries in laymen’s terms of each issue. Nature, Science, and more. People could volunteer and write in summaries for any primary literature they want. Group blog the literature. Get it out there in the web, in a format that science-interested people can understand.
Because I think there’s a barrier still between that level of academic knowledge and the web population. I’d like to see a gateway giving me a glimpse at what’s going on. I don’t know where the local university’s science library is, and I can’t afford to subscribe to those magazines (who can?).”
Well, we do a sort of low-calorie version of that here at Futurismic, but we’d be happy to run more beefy material. Any volunteers? 
[ *I've linked to Jim Van Pelt's writing advice numerous times, both here and on my own blog, and I feel sure I will do so again. The web is full of writing advice, much of it sincere and well-meant, but I have yet to discover a regular source of clear and honest advice that's as reliable and fun to read. Being subscribed to Jim's LJ feed is like having an avuncular writing tutor all of your own. This is not a paid plug, nor is it ass-kissing - I just think the guy deserves recognition and respect. ]
Bug Labs is a start-up company in New York that is creating what they call “open source hardware.” The company is creating a Lego-like hardware platform that tinkerers and engineers can use to create their own digital devices. The idea is to take advantage of “long-tail economics” that will allow the creation of very specific, niche hardware devices for limited markets. The platform can also be used for rapid prototyping.
It starts with a BUGBase, which is a general-purpose Linux computer about the size of a PlayStation Portable, encased in white plastic. This has four connectors that plug right into the motherboard. The company will also make a variety of modules that can plug into the computer—like an LCD screen, a digital camera, a GPS unit, a motion sensor, a keyboard, an EVDO modem, and a 3G GSM modem. (There are also places to add USB, Ethernet, WiFi, and serial ports). Bug Labs is planning on making 80 modules over time, and hopes outside companies and developers will create their own.
Apologies if you visited here over the last 24 hours or so, and wondered why we’d gone into the mortgage business. There were some pretty drastic technical issues server-side with our hosting company, but thankfully they seem to be fixed now.
We know there are a few posts to repair from the last week or so, but we’re sure you’ll bear with us in the meantime as we tidy up the mess. To be honest, we’re just damned thankful we weren’t hacked, as we initially thought we were …
The moral of this story, folks? TAKE BACKUPS. REGULARLY.
We now return you to our scheduled programming …
I’m still waiting for my flying car, my personal robot assistant and my complete meals in pill form, but a little bit of the science fictional future looks to have just finally arrived - the first affordable non-vaporware 3D computer monitor is on sale right now. Whether it’s actually any good, I have no idea - but it’s a start.
Tom Doyle’s nasty new story “Consensus Building” takes on the commercialization of your head space.
Irena’s head chip woke her like a slow sunrise, a gradually rising voice cooing “good morning” inside her mind. Damn, two flaws already. The first was last night — too many weird dreams had interrupted her sleep. She would have noted the dreams in her alpha test journal, but this morning she couldn’t remember any of them. She must have chewed out her subconscious for shoddy work so it was giving her the silent treatment.
The second, more concrete flaw: she had specifically asked to be awakened with a sudden jolt. She detested the cloyingly sweet morning alarm that did not resemble her own thoughts. Maybe Will McRae in Design could fix it. Continue reading “CONSENSUS BUILDING by Tom Doyle”
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