Silicon Valley Musings

From http://www.sigchi.org/dis2008/

DIS 2008 will be hosted in Cape Town, South Africa from Monday 25 February – Wednesday 27 February 2008. It will be the first DIS conference to be held outside the USA or Europe, and as such aims to challenge participants to reflect on designing interactive systems for users outside these established markets. This is especially relevant as these markets are fast becoming more lucrative and influential.

Robert recently made a prediction of Google’s demise.

Below are fifteen queries (actual text of queries was different) I have made to Google in the last couple of days.

You can see that the queries fall into several types: general facts, current news and event information, recommendation for products or services, research and opinions on general topics.

All fifteen queries returned useful results within seconds. The ease of use, speed, and quality of results that Google search provides is going to be very difficult to surpass.

1. What is the rest of the phrase “brutish and short” ? Which Hobbes work is it from?
2. Describe ennui
3. What are the treatments for prostate cancer? Who are the leaders of prostate treatment research?
4. Who was the Morgan of Morgan Hill?
5. Best family resort on the Big Island?
6. Who is the author of “Altered Carbon?” What is his most recent book?
7. What network protocol does the Nokia 6010 use?
8. When is “Balls of Fury” opening? Where/When can I see it? (entered zip code into google.com/movies)
9. Name of R.E.M. song with “back seat” and “window” in the lyrics?
10. Who was the best pitcher of all time?
11. How far is Crescent City from Humboldt Bay? (used maps.google.com)
12. On what street is San Jose’s Municipal Stadium?
13. When was UC Davis founded?
14. What does a Indian Elephant look like? (used images.google.com)
15. Reactions to the resignation of Alberto Gonzales (used news.google.com)

More about the show here. Download MP4.

I have been a long time supporter of Creative Commons, so I am personally encouraged to see PodTech reaffirm its commitment to Creative Commons mission through a monetary donation.

Details can be found here.

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While some stand in line for their chance to buy an iPhone, others walk up to six miles to make a phone call.

If you are buying an iPhone, may I humbly suggest you review the benefits of funding a Grameen Village Phone as well.

“Access to affordable telecommunications simply does not exist for millions in the developing world. For some, placing a phone call can require traveling over six miles from their homes. This can mean leaving work and losing out on desperately needed income. Cut off from easy access to communications, these communities are at both an enormous economic and social disadvantage. …

These grassroots entrepreneurs, or Village Phone Operators (VPOs), operate their businesses in rural villages where no telecommunications services previously existed; they rent the use of the phone to their community on a per-call basis. The VPOs provide affordable rates to their patrons while earning enough to repay their loans and earn profits that allow them to make investments in their children’s health, nutrition and education, and in other business ventures.”

From Tahoe Chamber of Commerce Website:

“The Locals for Locals Angora Fire Fund was set up immediately to assist those impacted by the fire. Donors can go to US Bank or mail their donation to Locals for Locals Angora Fire Fund at PO Box 17640, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96151. This fund is unrelated to Chamber finances and a separate board of local community leaders will coordinate distribution of these funds with a focus on helping people fill in needs not met by immediate disaster relief agency funds with all monies staying local.

Businesses wanting to do a percentage of their sales donation can contact Jana Ney Walker at 530.544.6119 to participate in the Tahoe Businesses Who Care Program.”

This weekend one of the parents standing along the sidelines mentioned it would be great to have club t-shirts for next week’s tournament.

When I got home, I whipped up a logo using Photoshop and uploaded it to Zazzle. I emailed the link to the team roster and order my family some shirts. It took less than an hour and I was finished by seven o’clock Sunday evening.

This morning, I received a order status via email indicating that Zazzle processed my order in just over two hours and has already shipped my shirts (see the order status screen above). Amazing.