hi. happy new year. new animation is up
[link] so watch it.
lately i've been expanding my ideas about how i think operating systems can be improved in terms of how users communicate with the system. how does the user interact with computers and how can that be improved to make the experience as painless and efficient as possible. i've come up with a few ideas, but nothing substantial. i think that we should rethink the way programs, windows and files are presented on the screen and maybe consider a completely different user interface. one that isn't based on real world objects like buttons, pages, files and folders.
performance is an issue causing lost productivity and what is to blame for poor performance? hardware is no longer the problem, we now have 2tb hard drives, 8 gb of ram and incredible processors even for laptops. there should be no reason why a computer should lag even for a second when i put in a disc in my optical drive. even a computer with a two core cpu lags when an external drive is being read. i think it is software that is slowing us down. we have this great new hardware, but software can't catch up to play along. i hope those fellows in IT get their stuff together. but i'm just a bitchy asshole:
a strange thing i noticed is people's inability to adopt computers and technology even when it would benefit them. i was at a restaurant and at the entrance there is the host's little desk and on the desk is a widescreen lcd screen with a slideshow of pictures of the restaurant. as if a slideshow is going to help me see the restaurant considering I'M INSIDE OF IT. after waiting over five minutes to be seated we realized they were having problems sorting their reservations and tables. to keep track of reservations they were using paper, pencil and a fluorescent marker. the list was filled with crossed off names, arrows and the set up wasn't even lit properly. the host and servers were flipping through the pages in confusion. instead of using the computer and lcd screen to present pictures of the restaurant the guests are already in, why not use the computer for tracking reservations and occupied tables? they could use anything from a spreadsheet program to a modern application showing the layout of the restaurant's floor, along with numbered tables, occupied tables, when the table was reserved and so on.
why do many offices, especially doctor's offices have these mammoth file cabinets that can easily be destroyed in a fire, when all they require is a laptop? if i were to estimate, written text for 10,000 patients at 10,000 words each would come out to about 1 GiB of storage. that kind of storage can be purchased virtually for free and the doctors and secretaries can each carry an encrypted copy of all the patient's files anywhere they go. this has the potential to save floor space, paper, ink, paperclips and the ugly, expensive file cabinets and other assorted trash that comes with physical data storage. this isn't anything new, though. 15 years ago one could obtain 1gb of storage and the necessary software to eliminate any need for huge file cabinets. why do we still do this? why do we still use shit like fax machines? why do we still get our bills and letters by mail? i don't believe it is a matter of usability or insufficiency. it may have been the reason decades ago, but now i think it's just incompetence. especially among those who were not exposed to computers when they were young. most people don't want to learn new things even though it would save them money, be more secure, managed, environmentally friendly, among other things in the long run.
i really am starting to believe that only legislation and public programs can get people to start using modern equipment. imagine if there were a law passed that declared the sale of fax machines illegal and their use banned by 2010. consider it a 'technologically progressive' law, much like the phasing out of analog signals for antenna television. along with this law could be a recycling program to pick up the trash these machines would leave behind. so as of 1 january 2010 fax machines would cease to work. the low frequency signals these fax machines transmit across phone lines would be blocked and everyone would begin to use it's far, far, greater alternative: email. email would finally be used as it was intended, to send and recieve any written document, picture or file. during the year 2009, those who have failed to familiarize themselves with email apps would do so and be ready by the end of the year to make permanent use of them. as time goes on and desktop computers continue to shrink in size, we can begin a phase out of landline telephones and cable television. this would move just about all communications to the internet services like youtube, itunes and skype and other IM services. television stations would either be phased out, or broadcast online only. wouldn't that be nice? this i think is a speedy way to promote the use of modern technology among the general population. the benefits could be great, and if they are i think it should be considered. invoices and bills sent by mail could also be outlawed. even today there is no reason to ever get a bill in the mail or even have to leave the house to pay it. eventually it shouldn't even be an option. am i being a fascist asshole who's allergic to anything and everything?, or do i have some reason to promote internet usage when it would simplify everything? think of it this way: you'll never have to lick another envelope, dial another 10 digit (or longer) number manually, get a paper cut or get pinched by a binder ever again. if enough people hate this too, let's just put an end to it and literally force those who continue to send us shit by fax to quit it.
links:
[link] eskimo lapin. collective from massachusetts usa
[link] learn to lucid dream
[link] viceland. for bourgeois faggots
[link] 1.5tb hard drives cost nothing now. if you still have a file cabinet, seek assistance.
[link] a page about fricassee
a story from back when
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