Tuesday, July 21, 2009

A geekery post.

Hello World!

So we have just recently moved into a new apartment, and that means it's time to tear down the network, computers, and any attached peripherals and re-employ it, providing any improvements possible. So, well, of course, we always look for better solutions...

And it turned out much the same, although I am getting more serious about setting up the little things I've been wanting to do for a while.

First off, my reasoning for doing some things are because my life pretty much revolves around gizmos and gadgets. In this two bedroom apartment we have five tvs (although none of them networked! man those tvs need to get cheaper), two xbox 360s, a playstation 3, a wii, a regular xbox running media, two big rig computers, a laptop, two netbooks, a windows 7 machine we're pretty much using as a NAS, and a linux machine for (hopefully soon) scheduled backups. Our power bill sucks.

I found this neat little program called dropbox which has become recently very published, and well deserving of those publications. It's quite amazing what you can do with it when you have people coming up with all sorts of ideas. The basic premise is that you sign up for it, you are allowed a "2gb" limit without paying, and you can install the client or use the HTTP client to access your account. Installing the client lets you create a folder on your computer that is very much a shared folder between computers. If I was to update a file in this folder on my netbook, it would instantly (if connected to the internet) update that same file on any computer I have the client installed on and associated with my account. As for ideas...here's an example: my roommate is going to italy, and needs a place to drop all his photos since they will be stored in RAW and well...they are big files. So, we created a dropbox account for him, and I knew there had to be a solution with this cool little gadget I found out.

And there is! Create a dropbox account...download a program that can monitor, copy, and delete folders, subfolders, and files (I used watchDirectory)...and voila. After setting the watchDirectory program to monitor my dropbox subfolders (only three currently...documents, photos, programs), and copy any file in them to the respective backup folder on the storage computer (aptly named DropboxBackup\William\(respective section...photos/docs/whatever), and then delete it...voila. I copied a photo onto my netbook, then watched as the photo was stolen from my PC, copied into the NAS computer, then deleted from the dropbox account, thus making the 2gb limit...well...kind of limitless!

But that's just one example, and there are sooo many. Really neat program.

Finally got the gigabit switch up and running, need to still network one of the 360s and the PS3 (wireless HD streaming sucks..), wall mount a tv, ...and the list goes on, but it will slowly get accomplished. I was just super excited at discovering dropbox for now :)

Good night!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Technology versus Humanity

Hello World

In the current technology age, it seems that our researching capabilities have been impeded by our societal morals. Stem Cell Research being a major issue, but I'm also referring to things such as artificial intelligence...and not just the Honda robot walking up and down the stairs.

I'm referring to artificial intelligence. As in, the entity actually has a semblance of a mind, a series of processes allowing it to develop skill sets and learn. The human mind, while I am one of the believers in that we have a lot of untapped potential in our bodies, is limited. As previously mentioned, I think were it not for the "technology" era, then our minds would be more effective in general. However, I stray from my point.

Memory can be altered by time and perception, leaving facts that fade to myths and vica versa. The rate of learning is slowed as we age, at the times when we have the desire and monetary funding to learn what we wish. Engrained in our heads are stereotypes, beliefs, and methods that are debilitating to decision making, and we refuse to accept differently. We are, in an odd sense, backwards. As we get older, our ability to adapt and change diminishes, yet our words are more respected by our peers. Our beliefs become rigid, and the newcomers to this age develop much of the same beliefs. The intellectuals of today's generations were the outcasts of their own, refusing to accept the "truths" impressed upon them.

However...artificial intelligence, a computer, shares none of these flaws. A machine driven by constant progression and learning would allow another revolution in terms of science. A mind that doesn't need to sleep, can make physics calculations in a matter of microseconds, and, best of all, learn from these experiences is absolutely amazing - and quite terrifying. If such a thing were to exist, would we have a need for scientists and researchers? Once in existence, not even development of the artificla intelligence would need to be done. The machine would, in a sense, develop itself further.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this, merely trying to get ideas out of my head. But, a question I must ask...is it worth it? Is research, technology, worth the sacrifice we might have to make in the end? I will follow this through with thoughts on emotions inside artificial intelligence, self preservation, etc - but for now, I believe it's time for sleep.

Goodbye World