Will Internet search eventually fail from overload?
At PCMag, John Dvorak’s stock-in-trade is writing provacative columnns. Sometimes he just seems to be trying to stir up things but other times he is on target. His recent column raises an important issue. Is Internet search turning up less and less reliable information and is it doomed to be overloaded by the information explosion? Dvorak begins:
Since the first Web crawlers appeared, it was obvious that the usefulness of the Internet would fully depend on whether you could actually find things there. We have enough trouble finding things on our own hard disks, sifting through hundreds of gigabytes for a memo. With the Internet, we’re sifting through mountains of data scattered throughout the world.
Unfortunately, it’s still not so easy to find what we need. It seems as if a reorganization of some kind would solve the problem, but one is not forthcoming.
What we need is a Dewey Decimal or LOC categorization methodology for the Net, and sometime soon. I only say this because at some point, no matter what Google and the other search companies think, the amount of information will overload their ability to search for it. And I do not mean in a small way.
He concludes:
As the mountains of useless details, spam, and redundant data grow and grow, it’s apparent that it will all blow up and we’ll have access to less, not more real information.
In short, we are witnessing the Tower of Babel phenomenon right before our eyes. And note that the Tower of Babel story did not turn out all that well for the participants.
A related problem is that so many people regard search engine results as the final word and ignore the fact that search results are not vetted for accuracy but are simply the result of some algorithm. Also, it always surprises me that so many people do not seem to know how to create a decent search query.
Controlling with thought
Using the brain to control a physical object seems like something right out of science fiction but controlling with thought is getting closer to reality all the time. Of course, we haven’t yet gotten to the same point as in Star Wars where Yoda can levitate a heavy object some distance off. However, using the electrical signals from the brain to actuate computer controlled devices is here already.
Having recently found myself in a wheelchair a good part of the time, I was intrigued by the announcement that Toyota was developing a thought-controlled wheelchair. TechNewsWorld reports:
Toyota has developed a brain-machine interface that allows a person to steer a wheelchair simply by thinking about which direction to go. Brain waves have been used to directly control machines in the past; however, the breakthrough involved in the Toyota project appears to be the speed at which commands are executed.
Windows 7 on a thumb drive
One of the disadvantages of netbooks is their lack of a CD/DVD drive. Since Windows 7 comes on a DVD, installing it on a netbook might have to be done through an external drive. To get around this, Microsoft is said to be considering a setup with Windows 7 on a thumb drive. CNET reports:
Microsoft is considering offering Windows 7 on a thumb drive to allow Netbook owners to more easily upgrade their machines, a source tells CNET News.
The move, which is still under consideration, is one of several things Microsoft has looked at to try to make it convenient to upgrade machines that don’t come with a CD or DVD drives.
Microsoft advertising
I generally find the ads from Microsoft to be by turns baffling and infuriating. They often treat you as if you were not too bright and seem aimed at somewhat dense teenage minds. It goes without sayiing that they are misleading; that’s true of many ads. But the “golly gee, isn’t Windows fun” type of approach so often used seems strange for an audience that contains many highly trained and skilled professionals. The other standard Microsoft approach is to bad-mouth the competition. Microsoft has some good products; why can’t it use advertising that tells us about the products instead of using meaningless and hyperbolic stuff like, “The Wow starts now”, or trash talking about the competition. I have posted before about how Microsoft’s disdain for its customers shines through its advertising and I bring it up again because Microsoft is at it once more. At Technologizer, Harry McCracken writes about some Internet Explorer ads:
The commercials star Dean “Former Superman” Cain, and three of them merely suffer from the odd trait–common to about 85 percent of Microsoft ads–of portrying Microsoft customers as being a little less than intelligent, self-respecting grownups.
McCracken gives links to the three clips and then says about a fourth:
Okay, so far reasonable people can disagree as to the merits of these ads or lack thereof. But the fourth ad is so disgusting that I don’t want it playing in the same browser tab as my site if I can help it. Here it is–watch only if you have a strong stomach. It’s vile, and makes me think less of Microsoft as a company for having approved it.
What’s your opinion of Microsoft advertising?
Added later: Here’s what Preston Gralla at Computerworld says:
But one ad that promotes IE 8’s porn mode doesn’t merely cross the line of bad taste — it obliterates it. In it, a squeaky-clean young married couple sit at a kitchen table, and when the husband gets up to leave, the wife asks if she can use his laptop. She does, and obviously sees some kind of grotesque porn on the screen, and begins vomiting, first on the floor, and then on her husband.
Like I said, Microsoft advertising treats its customers as if they all had the mind of a somewhat dimwitted teenager.
Update: Microsoft has pulled the “puke” ad. But as is typical of Microsoft, the public statement shows no sign of acknowledging the initial bad judgement.
What’s in different versions of Windows 7
Like Vista, Windows 7 will come in a variety of versions. If you are wondering how the different versions vary, take a look at Ed Bott’s post about what’s in each version. Personally, I think most average home PC users can stick with the Home Premium edition.
Firefox 3.5
The latest version of Firefox is now available. Gigaom comments:
Mozilla has just released the final version of Firefox 3.5. The JavaScript performance — critical for many web apps — is massively improved thanks to the new TraceMonkey engine, making 3.5 feel very fast indeed. In addition to improved performance and standards compliance, Firefox 3.5 also features new privacy controls, location-aware browsing, and the ability to play video and audio content without using plugins.
Present Firefox users can get the software through the Firefox menu entry Help-Check for Updates. Or use this link.
Added later: Note that some extensions are not yet updated for the new version. If you have extensions or add-ons that you do not want to lose, hold off updating Firefox.
Vista features removed in Windows 7
Windows 7 has some things added and some things removed. The Windows Club has a list of some Vista features that are gone in Windows 7. Among these are Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Mail.
Vista service pack 2 review
Vista SP2 has been out for a while. Because of my surgery, I haven’t gotten around to installing it but everything I have read indicates that it is no big improvement. TechRadar has a review and concludes:
SP2 isn’t exciting, then, but it improved our PC’s performance just a little – and if you’re currently experiencing any Vista-related problems then there’s a possibility it’ll do the same for you.
The growth of the computer company Acer
The Taiwanese electronics company Acer has recently become a big player in the PC market. Riding the netbook phenomenon, Acer is poised to become the second largest seller of PCs. I have contended for some time that Asian companies would be more likely to recognize the need for cheaper, less complicated PCs and Asus and Acer have led the way in providing the popular netbooks.
Sunday’s New York Times discusses how Acer has capitalized on the demand for inexpensive computers in an article, Acer’s Everywhere. How Did That Happen?
Windows 7 pricing
Last week provided a number of developments in the upcoming Windows 7. In particular, Microsoft revealed some pricing policies for the new operating system. Microsoft continues its habit of charging too much. For example, Windows 7 Professional is priced at $300 for the full version. That is almost as much as the cost of an entire PC these days. To be sure, Microsoft is trying to drum up business by offering some pre-release deals but the software is still no bargain. Even the special discounted upgrade prices are too high. At ZDNet, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes comments:
Windows 7 upgrade pricing is too darn expensive. There, I’ve said it, and I feel better for having that out in the open. And not only is the upgrade pricing expensive, it’s overly complicated.
He goes on to say:
Hello, earth to Microsoft. We’re all in the middle of a recession here. On top of that, $320 for an OS is a hefty chunk of change. Heck, looking at hardware prices, especially looking at how prices have dropped over the years, $200 is a lot. It seems too me that Microsoft is living in a different decade.
How to say “No to all”
This handy tip was first posted in October, 2005:
When doing an operation that involves many files, you will sometimes encounter a message like the one shown in the figure below. Although it has a button “Yes to All”, there is a no button for “No to All”. For example, you may want to copy all the files in a folder to a backup folder but only want to copy the new ones that you have added. Although this can be done on the command line with xcopy or by using a program like the freeware Replicator, it is sometimes more convenient to just use the Windows copy command. Fortunately, there is a trick that in effect provides a “No to All” command; hold down the “Shift” key when you click the “No” button in the dialog box.
