Dwayne Phillips ' Day Book

Items I happen to view each day. Science, Techonology, Management, Culture, and of course Writing

This is my day book for this week. I have modeled this after science fiction and computer writer Jerry Pournelle's view, or as he calls it, his Day Book. I encourage you to see Jerry Pournelle's site and subscribe to his services.

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This week: January 26-February 1, 2015

Summary of this week:

Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday - Sunday

Monday January 26, 2015

Facebook is working on a version of itself to run on less-expensive, less-powerful Android phones. This is a move by the big names to go after the emerging markets in the emerging countries.

Apple may move into the market of graphical processing units; take care Nvidia.

We find fish beneath the Antarctic ice using a "robot."

Engadget tests Sling TV for the weekend.

Telecommunications companies see a gold mine in Cuba. Let's see if the Communists abide with that vision.

Netflix won big at the Screen Actors Guild awards last night. It is not that they won awards, they won the major awards. The entertainment industry is upside down and few people know what this means.

PlayStation Now: Sony shows that game streaming works.

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Tuesday January 27, 2015

With all these well-intentioned efforts to teach programming, let's not forget to teach thought.

Google and the NFL partner to create an NFL channel on YouTube. Two colossal giants are together. Is there anything they cannot do?

Here come little robots to clear the snow from your driveway. Hey, they vacuum the carpet so why not the driveway?

Here come the drones to the farms. Farmers have been waiting for this.

I suppose this is some sort of historic moment, but I don't know what it means. iOS apps now generate more money than Hollywood.

At least one person agrees with me that we need to stop confusing UAV, radio-controlled plane, and drone.

Schneier talks with Snowden.

Free speech? Turkish court orders Facebook to block insults to the prophet. Who determines what is insulting?

Microsoft has a pretty good financial quarter.

Ten best tech jobs for 2015. "Software Engineer" is the best, but no one seems to know what a software engineer is.

It seems that some Cubans have built their own intranet—21st century underground newspaper.

This is what we should be doing with technology: TeachMate365 and AutisMate help teach special needs persons.

This is a shock to some people, but let's be clear here of a long-practiced practice: lobbyists write materials for elected public officials.

It seems that Microsoft is finally able to sell some Surface Pro 3 units.

More official rumors: Google fiber is moving to Atlanta, Nashville, and North Carolina. How about Reston, Virginia?

You can convince someone that they experienced something that never happened. This is just one reason why the polygraph is a sham and is not admitted in court. You can convince yourself of the past and pass the polygraph.

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Wednesday January 28, 2015

Apple released its quarterly financial report. They made $18billion profit in three months. The numbers are astounding. Sales numbers: iPhone 74million units, iPad 21million units, Mac 5.5million units. Those are all large numbers. The definition of success has changed.

Here is a summary of the unbelievable things about Apple's money.

Apple has sold a billion iOS devices. And think that Android has sold a lot more than that.

What will Apple do with all this cash? Well, store employees will be wearing new shirts in February.

No rumor, Tim Cook says the iWatch ships in April.

Contrary to rumors, Google Glass is not dead.

On a recent night, an employee of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency crashed a RC quadrocopter on the White House lawn. It is suggested that alcohol played a role. It is also noted that the Secret Service has no defense against such little vehicles.

HTML5 officially beomes the default on YouTube.

We may now have a practical touch-less thermometer: the Wishbone.

The graphing calculator is not dead has TI has a new, slimmer model 84.

Charles Townes dies at 99. He invented the laser.

Our FCC rules that hotels cannot block private WiFi. I don't like this ruling as it is the government telling the market what to do.

A snowstorm hit America's northeast. Weather forecasters were wrong, and great angst resulted from those who, for some unknown reason, thought the forecasters would be correct.

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Thursday January 29, 2015

Our FTC provides guidelines of the Internet of Things, then disagrees with its own guidelines.

Facebook will provide Super Bowl updates during the game. They are coming close to broadcasting the game without paying for the rights.

There is a new documentary out about Grace Hopper and other women pioneers of computer science.

Amazon is starting its own email and calendar for businesses only.

Samsung, while still profitable, has lowest profit in years.

Facebook has a better-than-expected financial quarter.

Our Justice Department doesn't like Google and Apple encrypting things by default. Too bad. Get a warrant from a judge. See something called the Bill or Rights in something called the US Constitution.

The iPad is now five years old. Has it succeeded?

500million people use Facebook from mobile devices only. That is a large number.

Microsoft officially releases Office for Android tablets.

Airpnp is an app that helps you find public restrooms. Silly? Not if you have small children or if you are elderly.

Only in America: low gas prices begat sales of big cars which begats regulator trouble for car makers.

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Friday January 30, 2015

Google's financial quarter was good, but less than expected. Funny, it seems to me that the predictors were wrong and should receive some sort of punishment. Google, however, will receive the punishment when all they did was sit by and report facts.

Amazon had a good financial quarter in that it actually had a profit. Funny how they profit $200million, which is nothing compared to Google, but Google failed and Amazon succeeded.

The government of China declares that VPNs are illegal for its subjects.

For the first time in 100 years, a Sierra Nevada red fox was seen in Yosemite. Alas, we often assume animals are gone, when we just don't see them.

McDonald's has a new CEO, and the franchise owners want a return to burgers and fries.

The RAF intercepted Russian bombers over the channel.

A proposal to cover parking lots with EV solar panels. This costs much more than people think.

Thankfully, the idea of 3D TV seems to have passed.

India has started building what may be the world's largest fiber optic broadband network.

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Saturday January 31, 2015

The latest financial reports show that Apple has clobbered Samsung in the mobile market.

Google makes Google Earth Pro free to everyone.

A recent survey...shows that the public doesn't think much good of science and scientists.

LibreOffice 4.4 is released.

Microsoft brings white-space Internet broadband to everyone in Ghana.

The AP is using robot journalism software to generate the majority of its articles. Yes, welcome to the age of unemployment.

Self-employment is growing in rural counties. There are many perils to this as many self-employed don't earn enough money to live.

AOL is ceasing work on TUAW. AOL is barely surviving at anything.

HBO is producing a new Lewis and Clark miniseries. Will they put it online?

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Sunday February 1, 2015

A change coming to Apple stores: safes installed to hold gold watches.

Some of the newer problems explaining why software projects are late.

A long piece of employment, purchasing items, and the changing invisible hand in free markets.

This year it is much easier to watch the Super Bowl online.

Google is progressing on its project Tango: a handheld 3D scanner.

Websites that help you re-experience entertainment from the past.

How the Internet archivists are saving our recent past.

This story is all over the Internet, so it must be important. The Pirate Bay is back online.

The practical things that successful freelance writers do during the day. There is much marketing and management to go along with the writing.

Seven simple ways to write in a pretentious manner.

Work extra-long hours as a freelancer? Maybe that isn't a good thing.

Tips on writing a story for a business. People have (re)discovered that telling the story of the business is excellent advertising.

There is much more to writing that pounding the keyboard. This writer describes how her not-writing periods allowed her to write and write and write.

How one writer writes much faster.

Don't compare yourself to other writers.

Health tips for writers. This is important. Good ideas on avoiding the problems associated with long periods of time sitting.

Writing a book is a lot of (sometimes really boring) work.

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