Writer, Agilist, Elder Geek
Apple's iPad comes out and changes everything.
HP comes out of the blue and buys Palm.
The people at SquareEnix predict the death of the console.
I'm typing this Frustration Friday on a Netbook so small yet powerful it would seem like a joke a few years ago.
Facebook's security and privacy settings change hourly (it seems).
Am I the only one feeling that the rate of technology change is not just fast, but getting to the point of being almost gratuitous?
Facebook has been in the news with it's recent announcements, changes, and of course, new features. Over and over again I hear the same arguments about Facebook – lack of privacy, settings too obscure or complex, everything changes so much. Facebook is this giant morphing ball of "stuff" that everyone likes and no one is happy with.
I'd like to focus on the complexity issues with Facebook, the arguments that its too hard to change settings and that when you dig into it, Facebook can actually be quite complex.
The complexity isn't a surprise to me, but I think it surprises many people. The reason it surprises them is that they're treating Facebook like a web page or web tool, like a Google search or a Twitter feed. Facebook is not a simple web page/tool.
Facebook is a web-delivered application (bordering in some cases on being an operating system as well).
I have an ambiguous relationship with the whole 3D movie/game/tv/whatever trend. On one hand, I love new gadgets and neat technology, and I like a good spectacle. On the other hand, it seems like it's becoming an annoying fad and everyone is jumping on the visually appealing bandwagon. Despite the challenges, despite lousy conversions of 2D films to 3D (Clash of the Titans comes to mind), people are barreling ahead with 3D. Apparently, there will be a 3D release of "The Last Airbender," which fills me full of dread (taking what appears to be a visually stunning film and running 3D after the fact? Not good.)
Now, I think 3D is going to be inevitable. It's approached a fad status, people are interested in visual quality, but I'm expecting 3D to be a very bumpy road for moviemakers, game makers, and hardware people. The problem is that people don't "get" 3D, they don't ask the question anyone should ask about a new technology, gizmo, process, etc.
Does it add value? If you don't ask that question you're either ignorant or just trying to jump on the bandwagon.