Category Archives: Information Society
Augmented Reality: June 20th, New York City
A dispatch from the ‘uncanny valley’.
The first time I ever actually saw augmented reality, I was living in Albany, NY. My friend loaded LAYAR onto his phone and we walked around our neighborhood, watching real estate data instantiate alongside buildings.
Steve Jobs’ Resignation Letter
“I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.” [Full text]
Typosquatting and Nigerian Princes
Whoa, look at this sweet deal they offered me this a.m. on the ‘Book! Who doesn’t like $1000 gift cards to Wal-Mart or Best Buy? I know who: stupid people. I’m busy filling out all my personal info now, sending them stuff they didn’t even ask for, like my sons’ social security numbers and my parent’s credit card numbers.
In Cyberspace No One Can Hear You Scream
Or more appropriately, maybe I need to rework the tagline from Alien (1979) to say something like, “In [cyberspace], no one can hear you [unless you] scream.” Which is not to say ALL CAPS, ALL THE TIME, but is to say, quantity trumps quality (or volume drowns out nuance ). It’s a topic I was reminded of this morning when reading Walter Kirn’s single sentence condemnation of social media.
When Social Mapping Turns Macabre
Death in the digital age has become increasingly odd. On Monday, following the news of Ryan Dunn’s death in an automobile crash, the public began tracing his activity prior to the accident using the information posted to Dunn’s Twitter and Tumblr accounts. The detail that almost immediately went viral was a photograph of Dunn and friends at a Westchester County…
Anatomy Of A Computer Virus
This infographic examines the nature and ramifications of Stuxnet, a “Microsoft Windows computer worm discovered in July 2010 that targets industrial software and equipment.” Some experts have called it the first weapon made entirely from code. In August of 2010, it was reported that variants of Stuxnet were used to target Iran’s uranium enrichment infrastructure. Last December Gary Samore,…
