tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post8108803627215125961..comments2024-03-29T11:05:38.781-04:00Comments on Daniel Greenfield / Sultan Knish Articles at DanielGreenfield.org : Shiny Metal BoxDaniel Greenfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13575285186581875356noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-8765730304976029222013-09-25T22:13:58.402-04:002013-09-25T22:13:58.402-04:00As do I. The conversations must be absolutely spl...As do I. The conversations must be absolutely splendid but I would be happy to simply listen. ~arasinaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-72763726561644002822013-09-25T18:30:49.132-04:002013-09-25T18:30:49.132-04:00If anyone doubts what Greenfield says -- I recentl...If anyone doubts what Greenfield says -- I recently completed a Coursera course taught by a CS professor at Stanford (STartup Engineering). He did not just mention in passing but made sure we were well aware that (a) the state has greatly increased the barrier to entry for innovation, this has pluses and minuses but is undoubtedly real (although the internet has generally escaped it for now), and (b) even the last bastion of unfettered innovation, Silicon Valley, is gradually losing its edge (1001 to-do list apps, no real fundamental innovation) and becoming more entwined with government "regulation." One considers the possibility that if this is what kids are taught in liberal Southern California, the reality is probably much worse.Patrick https://www.blogger.com/profile/05255276399870325008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-24191945453784685462013-09-25T18:07:25.907-04:002013-09-25T18:07:25.907-04:00Smart Fones = Dumb Fones
Don't do anything wel...Smart Fones = Dumb Fones<br />Don't do anything well - except play games.<br />As a fone they're too complicated to use and don't have the functions of "real" fones without buying extra apps.<br /><br />As a 50 year Telecommunication professional I find it amazing that users have gone back to near morse code / Telex in the form of texting to communicate. The voice quality of VOIP has much to be desired. Dropout of conversations whether in radio comms or fixed lines were unknown only a few years back. There were no outages of mainline equipment back in the analogue days.<br />Users now put up with a quality of service that would have been against government regulation only a few years back.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-41718286851115011702013-09-25T17:09:24.405-04:002013-09-25T17:09:24.405-04:00K, indeed. The majority may comment as anonymous, ...K, indeed. The majority may comment as anonymous, but authorial voices come through<br /><br />Edward, that's the overlay, in the best case scenario, people are retreating into virtual worlds built around themselves breaking down societyDaniel Greenfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13575285186581875356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-44588702759732428192013-09-25T17:05:08.843-04:002013-09-25T17:05:08.843-04:00I do book signings at Colonial Williamsburg's ...I do book signings at Colonial Williamsburg's bookstore in the Visitors' Center. This is an arcade that all visitors must pass through. Aside from seeing droves of dull-eyed visitors who look like they haven't read a book since high school, there are the uncountable numbers of them who can't leave their iphones and other devices alone. They'll sit on a bench for half an hour thumbing their little silver boxes, as though nothing else in the world or in their surroundings could be interesting or even matter. I ask myself: Why are they here? What drew them to the site? Because when they leave Colonial Williamsburg, they'll take away nothing except the number of games they played or who they spoke with in Walla Walla, Washington. Edward Clinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12160209827969614964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-73767759610675985552013-09-25T16:55:37.451-04:002013-09-25T16:55:37.451-04:00"On a blog like this it is actually social. S..."On a blog like this it is actually social. Sure we quote under anonymous but we exchange ideas. We'll never meet in person so why the need for "identification".<br /><br /><br />Indeed. What makes a blog such as this unique is that I am sure Daniel can recognize our "voices" in what we post. Perhaps not by name for all of his readers but by many.<br /><br />Keliata<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-34282213135102555352013-09-25T16:53:15.125-04:002013-09-25T16:53:15.125-04:00"The internet does make the world smaller. So..."The internet does make the world smaller. Sometimes the box is a reflection of the world and sometimes the world seems like a reflection of the box. Both become metaphors for the other. The world starts looking more like the internet and the internet starts looking more like the world. It becomes easier to think of programming people offline the way that they are programmed online and regulating them online the way that they are regulated offline."<br /><br /><br />There is so much and very sad truth to that.<br /><br /><br />KeliataAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-3016177526378129702013-09-25T13:55:32.521-04:002013-09-25T13:55:32.521-04:00I started out in IT but moved into sales. I used ...I started out in IT but moved into sales. I used to at least try to keep current with the computer industry but with social media I just gave up. I don't get it. It is boring. You build lousy websites that look like all others. It is not social at all but exhibitionist. Maybe that's why I don't have a knack for it. On a blog like this it is actually social. Sure we quote under anonymous but we exchange ideas. We'll never meet in person so why the need for "identification".<br /><br />Facebook identities are the opposite. They pretend to promote responsibility by providing a so-called real consistent identity but you know that the more Facebook identities you get the cruder the comments. Its perfect for leftists. Crude online poses combined with venom, faked concern and even faker intellectualism are what passes for conversation. Sadly a lot of "conservative" and "libertarian" websites are falling into the same mode. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-83518573585131169952013-09-25T11:42:31.228-04:002013-09-25T11:42:31.228-04:00"The Future" has been a vast disappointm..."The Future" has been a vast disappointment. No expansion, no new frontiers, everyone retreating to their own little mindless fantasy world aided and abetted by shiny boxes, and a miserable welfare society with the almighty State extending its reach over all. There is nothing even close to the possible bright worlds envisioned by creative, confident futurist writers of the late 19th and early 20th century. <br /><br />In addition to the leftists, do you know who helped put this in place? Brilliant nobodies, infesting places like Silicon Valley, able to handle thousands of detailed trees and bushes all at once, but absolutely unable upon pain of death to ever describe what kind of forest they're in or where it's located (I know because I worked with these people for 30 years). Don't ever depend on any of them for a viable future. As to what we are leaving for following generations, it will take a revolution, probably extremely violent, to ever escape from the dystopic excuse for a civilization into which we have devolved. ericcsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-64346332868953127212013-09-25T09:44:57.303-04:002013-09-25T09:44:57.303-04:00How I envy the people who get to break bread with ...How I envy the people who get to break bread with you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-78770573885718759942013-09-25T09:12:18.593-04:002013-09-25T09:12:18.593-04:00Sultan, you are correct. That shiny box makes peo...Sultan, you are correct. That shiny box makes people believe they are also smart by the fact that they carry one around. Now Cass Sunstein and the Education establishment wants to give students the ubiquitous "tablet" so no more heavy, out-of-date books to lug around. But who will produce the content. And even while a "Core" curriculum is mandated, the nature of the tablet beast is such that the Core will be watered down with wasted time to search all that great information out there on the www. And do not forget the wasted tax money trying to keep all these gadgets powered up and running as versions of new software become available with their corresponding bugs, not to speak of virus' and malware. It will take a big IT staff and more teacher's union members to keep those things running. And lets' not forget the life cycle of these devices and the user demand for the latest and greatest. Can you image a student having to use the same tablet for their entire four year high school course? Oh the shame! What that means of course is collusion with the hardware vendors to replace the tablets with more acceptable (the latest) versions with all the bells and whistles on a regular basis. Which begs of course, is more money for education, because we all know that education never has enough funds to teach properly. Oh, I guess that was my own goal assessment. I should have said more money is needed for the Education establishment to keep growing like it's overload, the federal government. Growth and power are the game, not education of young minds.<br /><br />Of course it is the majority of students who lack the discipline, self-motivation, will, etc. who still won't put the device to good use just like those who never crack a book. Those stellar students among us will succeed in most any environment. But for the majority whom politicians depend on for votes, the dumbing down of America will only become more widespread as the left's agenda is promulgated at a speed that no school district nor parent will be able to keep up with. But hey, the child's backpack will be much lighter, and after all, we do it for the children, right?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11368628.post-26687888855445036572013-09-25T08:04:09.246-04:002013-09-25T08:04:09.246-04:00"I don't take the computer lightly. It..."I don't take the computer lightly. It's an amazing device. But there's a reason that we have it instead of all the things everyone expected the future to bring. "<br /><br />I am old enough to remember being tacitly promised the stars when I was a five year old watching the Disney pieces on space travel in the 1950's. The politicos were right in there as well, a time of optimism and cultural confidence. <br /><br />We were promised the stars, and all we got was Facebook and a misbegotten welfare state.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com