Author Archives: zephoria

supporting the Mac is required for social computing

I keep beta-testing software the crashes this, that or the other on my Mac. [Given, i’m really really really good at crashing everything.] Worse: i’m often asked to beta test things that don’t work on the Mac. I want to scream.

You can build enterprise software that doesn’t work on a Mac but you CANNOT build social technologies that don’t work on the Mac. Who are key driving forces behind sociable technology? Freaks, (independent) geeks, academics and other marginalized populations. What do marginalized groups use when it comes to technology? Surprise – they use subversive tools. Conferences organized by geeks, freaks and academics are like walking into an Apple distribution warehouse. If you only lived in this world, you would think that Apple makes up 70% of the market share.

It doesn’t. But it does matter, particularly if you’re building sociable technologies and you want the attention of the geeks, freaks and academics. This includes the bloggers, who are often bleeding edge geeky freaky academically-minded folks.

Sociable technologies are not enterprise technologies nor are they low-end consumer technologies. They require connecting clusters of people. And to do that, you start with the “mavens” to get to the hubs. Mavens are not mainstream users; they don’t play by mainstream rules. They value their position as outsider, alternative. They love new gadgets that have cultural value. This is the type that Apple has done a fantastic job at attracting and maintaining.

In a sociable technology economy, it is no longer acceptable to treat Mac users as second-class citizens.

Google Print

Google announced a new endeavor today – Google Print. The goal is to make all texts searchable, even if they started out on paper.

I’m quite excited by this prospect, but i’m not quite sure how it works. I went through a handful of class papers i’ve written recently and thrown quotes from authors – Geertz, Levi-Strauss, Marx, Adam Smith, Malinowski, Nietzsche – into Google with no reference to a book. [I did find lots of other class papers citing these exact quotes though.]

the term ‘user’

I’ve always had an aversion to the term ‘user.’

First, there’s the negative drug connotation. When someone speaks of a drug user, it’s often under hushed breath or a code for an addict. No one who actually uses drugs refers to themselves as users, except perhaps in jest.

In the technology world, ‘user’ is the term given to one who uses technology. Well, actually, only certain types of technology. One is not a TV user, but a TV consumer. And business people often refer to those who use their technology as customers.

My problem with the term ‘user’ really resides in the fact that it doesn’t convey what i want it to convey. I use a hammer. There’s a prescribed usage pattern. I am at the whim of the tool; it has power over me by dictating what i can do with it.

When it comes to using blogs or wikis or Friendster, i’m not a user. I’m not following a prescribed usage pattern. I am a producer, a consumer, and a user. I may use a blogging tool, but i don’t use a blog; am i a blog user? I may use Friendster to surf profiles, but as i create one, am i a Friendster user? What happens when i fundamentally alter the tool and the content in my use of the software?

To be a ‘user’ feels so disempowered. There’s no creativity in that position, no positive output – i am simply taking, not giving. It also feels so inhuman, lacking emotion, passion, feeling. It is action-driven only.

The term ‘user’ grates at me, but i don’t know how to get around the term. I find myself trapped in it as i write. Are there other approaches to this?

Help: Apple Mail people

Now, i know that i hate email and i know that it hates me, but our standoff has reached new levels, creating absolute chaos. I know that many of you are Mac people so i could really use your help since Apple’s site is oh so not helpful.

I use Apple Mail. It’s connected to an IMAP server at school. There’s a procmail process remotely that moves various messages into various folders. That procmail process also forwards certain emails off to my Sidekick.

Apple Mail has never automatically updated those folders so, instead of “check mail,” i’ve always right clicked and selected “synchronize folders.” I read email, i move it to other folders. It stops being “new” and when i reply, it gets a little arrow next to it. This is normal.

Well, something has gone terribly wrong and normal no longer exists. Now, when i “synchronize” a random assortment of “old” messages reappear in each box. Most are marked as “new” and some are not. Some of the moved ones are in the folders i moved them to; some are not. Some of the ones i reply to have the arrow; most do not. Messages that i swore i sent are not in my sent directory (nor in my drafts or out directory).

I’m completely baffled. Help?

[Or perhaps this should be a sign that i’m never going to catch up on email and i should quit now.]

goodbye Ev, go cause trouble

Ev’s leaving. ::sigh:: I will very much miss him, but i’m soooo glad he’s going. No, no, nothing like that. When i first met Ev, i instantly adored him. He has that passionate scattered attention that i very much recognize. He’s hyper-curious and in love with his work, with his life. His baby grew up and things became stable, procedural, functional. He needs to be out exploring. He needs to chase down a new adventure. And i’m sooo in awe that he realized this and decided to go, even though it meant walking away from his baby.

I wish you the very best, Ev!

why i love my sidekick

I ran into a skater kid on the BART yesterday who was sporting the newest Sidekick. I peered over with envy. He told me it was fucking rad and that a friend of his worked at T-mobile and snagged him one before it came out.

I keep seeing kids wearing their sidekicks around their neck on chains. At the X-Games this summer, there were tons of sidekicks. The Hiptop is definitely appealing to the hip-hop youth crowd. And for good reason.

First, look at the device. It looks like a gaming device. It says: you will use me for play and textual communication. Forget the phone – who talks on the phone anyhow? Certainly not you… you don’t want to shove a piece of toast up against your ear now do you? And besides, if you want to talk, you’ll use an earpiece.

Next, look at the interface. There are no horrible menus, no poorly named programs. It’s simple: scroll on the right and find everything you need. AIM is obvious. Email is obvious. SMS is obvious. Everything you need with simple scrolls. The feedback mechanism is purrfect – little icons in the upper corner no matter what screen you’re on. And if you’re away from the device, it’ll buzz for certain messages and turn pretty colors for others. Feedback. Constant feedback.

Three things would make it beyond perfect for me: a longer battery, a retractable ear piece (i always forget mine) and the ability to add programs to the ones available. I hear synching is improved with the latest version, but i haven’t tried it out. That was previously on my list.

But the fact is that using the Sidekick makes me feel like a subculture kid. And even as the mainstream kids are picking up on them, only a few adults are. Adults don’t get the importance of text, particularly AIM text. And the Sidekick understands that American kids are mostly on AIM and it’s a central feature, not a pain in the ass add-on. This is what texting looks like in the States. Turning AIM texting into a gameboy and voila!