Poet Ponders the Digital

Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley July 1, 2014 Deadline August 2014 Issue Recycling Risks: Remove Your Digital Self Electronics, including our digital gadgets and computers, should be recycled. I encourage everyone to reuse or recycle devices, as long as they recycle wisely. Green and blue recycling bins stand at the entrances of many major retailers. Cheerful signs encourage shoppers to deposit phones, tablets, and “other electronic devices.” The grocery store in our neighborhood has an electronics recycling station next to the coin counting machine. If you can get a few dollars in return for doing the right thing, all the better. In the middle of a shopping mall, a kiosk declares, “Instant cash for your phone!” The machine doesn’t actually offer cash. Recyclers receive a mall gift card, which encourages immediate redemption. One or twice a year, the major office supply chains announce computer and printer recycling programs. My wife and I traded-in old inkjet and laser print...

English: Image of a Viking Modular SATA SSD in an MO-297 form factor (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley May 5, 2014 Deadline June 2014 Issue The Need for Speed: Get More Done, Faster Spinning beach balls, hourglasses, hula hoops and progress bars signify lost time and frustration. Watching icons bounce in a dock or slowly populate a taskbar as software loads only adds to the annoyance of using a slow computer. As a tech consultant, “My computer is slow” might be the most common issue I hear. Often, the complaint is followed by a revealing explanation: the client has used a newer computer and realized how soon today’s cheetah is tomorrow’s snail. Systems start to “feel slow” compared to new computers after three to four years, and that assumes you buy mid-range to high-end hardware. If you buy an inexpensive computer, it feels “slow” much sooner. Do you need the fastest, latest and greatest computer? Or, do you need “fast enough” to get your work don...

Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley November 4, 2013 Deadline December 2013 Issue Tablet Time: When Less is Best My next computer will be a tablet. Yes, I called it a computer because today’s tablets can replace a notebook system for many routine tasks. Though I sometimes need the power and features of a notebook or desktop computer, a tablet is perfect for surfing the Web, answering email, reading books and viewing presentations. When I upgraded from a 12-inch notebook to a 15-inch laptop, the portable computer replaced my desktop system. In return for the extra screen real estate and significant computing power, my carrying case gained weight. Walking across a university campus, the 5.6 pounds of a MacBook Pro plus the weight of its power supply and two video adapters starts to feel like 20 pounds. Most days, I don’t need the power of a laptop in my classroom. I use the laptop to show slides and pages of articles while lecturing. Students do ask to review work and grades, so ...

English: Apple IIe computer (enhanced version) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley October 7, 2013 Deadline November 2013 Issue Apple Tech is Evolutionary, Not Revolutionary Technology revolutions are not as sudden as people believe. Not even Apple has released successful revolutionary products every year or two. “The Myth of Steve Jobs’ Constant Breakthroughs” by Harry McCracken, appeared on Time Magazine ’s Techland site in September, 2013 (http://techland.time.com/). McCraken examines the myth of “revolution” that has lingered after the death of Jobs. You have to feel sorry for chief executive Tim Cook and lead designer Jonathan (“Jony”) Ive, as they try to live up to mythology. Apple, as a company, has a mixed history of innovation. My wife and I are an Apple household. We own an iMac , Mac mini, a collection of MacBook Pro models, iPhones , iPods , and an iPad. Apple dares to deliver products that its designers and engineers want, not what cust...

The three PlayStation consoles side by side. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley May 20, 2013 Deadline July 2013 Issue Letters from the Mailbag Questions and suggestions from readers arrive every month. It’s always nice to help people with a technical question, and many of the questions inspire columns. This month, I’m sharing some questions with short responses. When I don’t have a good answer, I’m sharing that, too. Q: Do you have a favorite gaming console? A: When buying a console, consider the games first. Many games are platform exclusives, especially for the Nintendo consoles. Other games ship first for one or two consoles months or years before the games are available for other devices. The gamers I know tend to own Sony and Microsoft consoles, while parents of young children seem to prefer Nintendo devices. I own a dust-collecting Sony PlayStation 2. Consoles have largely replaced personal computers for gaming, but I dislike the types of ga...

Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley May 6, 2013 Deadline June 2013 Issue BYOPC: Build Your Own PC Building your own computer lets you decide what matters most: processor speed, graphics, storage, sound or something else. Multiplayer gamers dominate the BYOPC movement, with a willingness to spend serious money for every potential advantage over opponents. Vendors recognize this, so many of the parts available target the gaming market. I enjoy assembling computer systems and encourage my students to try it. If you do join the BYOPC ranks, plan to build a powerful, high-end system. First, you will save more if you build a top-notch system. Second, such systems are easier to upgrade and maintain for several years. My experience is that if you plan to spend at least $1000, BYOPC is worth it. If you plan to spend even more, the benefits of BYOPC increase dramatically. Don’t build a cheap computer, unless it is only a learning exercise. I compare building a cheap system to assembling an ...

The first developers of IBM PC computers neglected audio capabilities (first IBM model, 1981). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley December 10, 2012 Deadline January 2013 Issue Dinosaur Me: An Attitude from the Past “Dude, you’re like a dinosaur of the PC era. PCs aren’t cool. We only use them to create phone apps.” My students declared me a dinosaur after I suggested they should experiment with more software and programming tools on their personal computers. What about playing games on PCs? When I was in college, serious gamers assembled impressive PC systems. “Consoles are better. Who wants to mess with computer hardware?” I asked about the Web. “Dedicated apps on smartphones are better. Use the Facebook or Twitter app on your phone, not some cluttered Web page. Dude, seriously, you’re a PC dino.” When a student calls you a dinosaur, even in jest, it seems like a good moment for reflection. As the classroom emptied into the foggy night, I ...

MacBook Pro Available in 15.4- and 17-inch diagonal size. MacBook Pro (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley April 9, 2012 Deadline May 2012 Issue The End is Near: Deciding to Replace a Computer There comes a time in every computer’s life when, regrettably, it can no longer keep up with the demands of work. We grow attached to our computers, accepting their quirks and (at least some of us believe) their personalities. I love my Apple MacBook Pro notebook, but it is starting to struggle with some tasks compared to the new kids on the block. It is time to consider a replacement. It won’t be easy to replace this loyal companion, but I must. Because I teach technology-based courses, I need to keep up with the latest software and hardware peripherals. That doesn’t mean the MacBook Pro won’t have other uses; we’ve managed to keep a few computers in the family for a decade or longer. I recommend using a computer until it absolutely, positively cannot suppo...

This complaint is aimed squarely at Apple. It needs to evolve as a company or risk losing its most loyal base: creative professionals. Apple must realize that power users, that small number of us willing to pay for any creative edge, cannot be surprised by the "Next Big Thing" at the end of the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). We need a clear roadmap. No, we're not why Apple earns billions of dollars, but we influence other users. Our decisions lead others to embrace or reject technologies. I teach in the School of Communications and Information Systems at a university. Our school includes everything from "Media Arts" to "Computer Forensics" — it is an eclectic school, with a strong emphasis on rhetoric, communications, and technology. We train graphic designers, computer programmers, and English teachers. It's that eclectic. Our students will learn specific programs on a mix of Apple and Dell systems. Then, they will go off and...

hardware case miditower (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley December 5, 2011 Deadline January 2012 Issue The Desktop Computer is Dead. Long Live the Desktop! Prognosticators keep telling us the “Dark Tower” personal computer is dead. The experts have predicted the year of the handheld, netbook, tablet, all-in-one and media computer. Each of these smaller devices was supposed to mark the end of the tall tower or hulking desktop computer. Yes, for many people the huge tower is dead. If you want to type and surf the Web, you can use almost any new computing device. But for many of us the desktop computer not only lives, it is essential to our work (and play). Most of my students are content with inexpensive notebook or netbook computers. Some of my colleagues at the university use iPads with portable keyboards. The average computer user does not need a huge tower next to his or her desk. For most people, a $2500 computer is an unnecessary expense. Bu...

I am in the process of upgrading my MacBook Pro to a 500GB hard drive. (Let's not get too technical, since I know it's not "really" 500GB.) The one thing digital media do well is consume hard drive space. This is the third or fourth time I have updated a PowerBook or MacBook hard drive. As with all new laptops, you wonder, "How will I ever use so much space?" The excitement of having twice or three times whatever you last had soon fades as iTunes, GarageBand, and iMovie eat the bytes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. InDesign, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and Flash are there to help, too. A colleague said, "Why not just store it all on the campus servers or on Google Docs?" Okay, this entire cloud thing is nice -- for sharing some files and for backups -- but I am not about to put my projects out in the cloud. I'd never upload confidential files, and I certainly don't want some company to have my student projects. No way. Plus, I'm no...

My first week of teaching this year was frustrating. The initial classroom was unfinished, lacking electrical outlets and the standard overhead LCD projector. This killed my original lesson plans. How I can teach a technology based course with no ability to demonstrate technology is beyond me. The second room I use was double-booked with first-year composition course. The room itself has a low-resolution projector on a pushcart. It's a lousy setup for the instructor, but the students have nice workstations. I need more time to demonstrate concepts for students, so I cannot wait to have my classrooms finished. The university should have completed all remodeling during the summer. Oh, well.

If I have to think of what things have changed my life, the answer is simple: computers. I have owned quite a few. If I had kept them, I would have an interesting museum of old technologies. Commodore VIC-20 My first computer at home was a Commodore VIC-20. It was an odd computer, soon replaced by Commodore with the C64 — the best selling computer model of all time. (More than 3 million of the original C64 were sold!) I have a real fondness for the early years of the home computer: Atari, Commodore, Apple, Tandy, Texas Instruments, and many others were competing to get technology into the home. They were all more interesting than the modern Apple Mac and IBM PC to me. Magazines like BYTE, PC World, PC Magazine, Compute, InCider, A+, and dozens of others included program code. You could enter BASIC, machine code, Pascal, or C programs and then change them to see how things worked. Today? The complexity of software no longer makes it possible to include code in a book. Games take do...