Knowledge/Action

Jeremy Lin's Success In Perspective

2012-02-19T08:34:00.005-05:00

There is so much written about Jeremy Lin recently. Many claiming that there is somehow something special culturally that made him successful. It is unfair to Lin. And, it is either chauvinistic or bigoted, because it would be a generalization based on race and ethnicity. He is American, pure and simple, and is a successful athlete. Of Chinese ethnicity, true, but Lin is successful because he works hard, is gifted, and is lucky -- just like every other successful American athlete. I congratulate Lin and wish him continued success. But, let him enjoy his success. Don't lessen his success by making claims about vicarious contributions.

We Chinese-Americans have won the French Open (Michael Chang) in tennis and world championships (Michelle Kwan) in figure skating. Norm Chow, a Hawaiian, is the new UCLA head football coach. He'd lettered in football at BYU in the mid-1960's. I'd lettered in fencing, 69-71, and was captain of the UCLA epee team that won the gold medal in the 1971 Western Intercollegiate Fencing Championships and was twice silver medalist at the California State Epee Championship. There were surely many, many more such Chinese-American athletic successes.

We had proven years ago that neither is there any advantage nor any disadvantage in our Chinese culture or genetic make up. Athletes win because they work extremely hard, persevere, have had support, and are lucky. They and nobody else -- except for their parents, mentors, and direct supporters -- should claim success. And, the Chinese-American athlete is just like every other successful American athlete. One day, I would hope that the "Chinese-" hyphenation won't matter much. Sadly, it seems that it still matters much too much to much too many.

Does Siri do Chinese?

2011-10-12T05:47:00.002-04:00

If Apple had neglected to review the possible meaning of "Siri" in Pinyin, then is it possible that Siri does not speak Mandarin? If that were the case, the Chinese speaking market would be sorely disappointed.

The "Jobs Touch" missing from Apple: The Chef's Dead. Long Live the Cook?

2011-10-12T03:05:00.011-04:00

On January 14, 2009, in an internal Apple memo, Jobs wrote that in the previous week he had "learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought", and announced a six-month leave of absence until the end of June 2009, to allow him to better focus on his health. Tim Cook, who previously acted as CEO in Jobs's 2004 absence, became acting CEO of Apple,[133] with Jobs still involved with "major strategic decisions." [Wikipedia, accessed Oct. 12, 2011, 9:12 CET]

Could it be that on that day the "Jobs Touch" disappeared from the Apple menu and the great chef was replaced by a mere Cook? I offer two clues:

First, Siri in Pinyin could easily mean 'day of death' in Chinese. I wonder how Apple will deal with that marketing challenge. Would a healthy Jobs have overlooked the possible impression that the name would have on the superstitious Chinese-speakers and the predictable negative impact on the marketing in China? This is a population that would eat "facai" because it sounded like "fortuitous." It avoids "4" (si) because that sounds too much like "death" (si, different intonation). Sure, Apple could find some other Chinese characters in its Chinese marketing campaign. But, won't it have been better to check the technology's name in major languages in advance to avoid such problems?

Surely, Jobs's famous attention to details and to the non-technology aspects of products would have dealt with this. Many a post-announcement pundits have been trying to determine what Siri meant. I think that it came out of a Stanford Research Institute (SRI) effort and that would explain the S()ri. But, Apple could have renamed it easily.

Furthermore, to have introduced Siri with the death of Jobs is certainly a disaster. To many Chinese speakers, Siri may have boded the death of Jobs.

More troublesome is the focus on Siri. Is it a sign that function now is starting to trump form at Apple? The iPad 2 in 2010 and the iPhone 4s in 2011, the last two major upgrades, were both function-centric with little or no form changes to excite. In Jobs's days, we were joyously greeted with the Mac, the iPhone, the Macbook, Mac Air, the iPad, and the iPod generations. They all advanced both form and function. Where are the voices of the artistic innovators and designers at Apple? Did the new powers that be at Apple lose sight of that equally important side -- the aesthetic calligrapher in chief touch -- of the Jobs legacy over the past two years?

It is too early to tell, but two years is a long time in technology innovation. The chef is dead, long live the cook?

State of Our Union

2011-09-22T02:48:00.002-04:00

Principle that has outlived the facts that it's founded on becomes intransigence. Value that has outlived the foundation it's built on becomes immorality. Nation that has outlived the principles and values its founded on becomes irrelevant. Conserving principles and values which have outlived their relevancy is idiocy.

We need leaders who move us forward and not anthropoid political stakes-in-the-ground to prevent us from moving.

Low Cost and Quick Installation of Temporary Roof for Authur Ashe Stadium?

2011-09-07T11:32:00.007-04:00

Sitting here watching another rain delay at the US Open with TV talking heads complaining about the lack of a roof and the difficulties associated with adding a roof. I wondered why nobody had ever thought about simply putting up a tethered roof of light weight, transparent sheeting pulled up by a (or more) hot air balloon? The balloon would be tethered to the stadium itself and the tether lines could be used to hold up the sheeting.

The first company to offer this product/service could make lots of money from all those events to be held in open fields all around the world.

Radioshack USB Power Splitter: Beware

2011-09-04T12:27:00.006-04:00

This cable is too smart for its purpose. Instead of simply using 4-wire cabling to connect the single male plug to two female sockets, it uses only the red and black power cables. And, then, it adds electronics to keep the data (white and green wires) pins of the female sockets at some predetermined voltage. Thus, it uses and wastes power even when nothing is plugged into its sockets and my battery powered sources become depleted over time. Some of my devices actually stopped charging even when a 4-wire splitter would work just fine.

To make matters worse, it's way too expensive at almost $15. The hefty price is presumably due to its "smart electronics". In any case, devices that expect to use USB chargers would expect the data wires to be simply shorted together.

First Step In Deficit Cutting: No New Tax Cuts and Credits and No Renewals

2011-08-06T10:00:00.004-04:00

If we had learned anything at all from the recent deficit-cutting and depression-avoiding "debates", it would be that most people could not see what did not happen, but could have happened. They could not see what is not there but could have been there. At least, that was what many pundits have claimed, and it seemed to hold true.

Thus, most folks fail to see tax-cuts as expenditures. If we wish to encourage home ownership, then give mortgages a tax break. If we wish to encourage renewable energy development, then give hybrid and electric car buyers a tax credit.

Why not treat the incentives as expenditures? It would be more difficult for Congress to approve for precisely the right reasons, that they would be seen as spending tax money. It would be much easier to remove, for Congress would be seen as cutting deficit.

As for the depression? We did avoid it, but most folks won't know that. Although the recession is still with us, it is fairly stable. But, if we do not increase revenue soon, we could be heading into a second Great Recession and perhaps another Great Depression. Most economists could see that possibility.

The economists at the rating agencies have already indicated their concern. S&P has now reduced the US debt instruments from AAA to AA+. Those who fought against raising revenue will be spending more to do business. Whether it's to buy a house or to buy business supplies, their cost of borrowing will be higher. But, then, they won't see that happening until it has already happened to them.

Obama: Go For Entitlement Reform And Revenue Increase

2011-07-07T08:31:00.002-04:00

Peter F. Drucker has one key question for the effective executive: How may I contribute to your success? I believe that Obama has decided that an extremely successful one-term based on answering that question is better than a failed two-term. If he leads the Dems to a cut to entitlement, as is rumored, and wins GOP support for revenue increase, he will be a most successful president. He may even win re-election.

Rare earth recycling must be part of our sustainability solution

2011-05-12T10:29:00.000-04:00

In response to the recent Freakonomics article, The Rare Earth Conundrum:

Levitt missed one critical point. Even if China were to cut off our rare earth supply, the cars already on the road will still run. Old batteries — including those from all the cell phones, computers, tablets, etc. — could be still be recycled to extract rare earth. In other words, the total potential storage capacity from the rare earth that we already have will not diminish but will accumulate over time. If the recycling technology is yet not mature today, its development would be a gold mine to be explored. A complete sustainability solution should include the recycling of rare earth elements.

Do It Yourselfers, watch out for TSA (Terminally Stupid Administrators)

2011-03-29T17:21:00.006-04:00

If you are a DIY'er, you may wish to check in your items, or you risk spending more than one hour with 15 TSA employees. I don't mind it when it's done with some intelligence. But, when the EWR Elite Access TSA security staff told me that my Toyota Prius car key has to be checked in and could not be carried pass the security checkpoint, it made me feel less secure. And, it was a waste of my time and tax money.

Their rationale? It has a button that could remotely activate something. I pointed out that all new car keys do that. When security is carried too far, it's stupidity that shifts energy and attention away from the truly dangerous security threats. It also shows lack of training and poor judgement.

Less stupid, but still a waste of time is the kind of items considered to be "modified." These are not allowed through. An extension cord with a switch? Modified. Shortened USB cables? modified. Radio Shack AA battery holders? Modified. In fact, anything that has been repaired would be considered "modified".

The Cheap DIY Charger for iPod (http://knowledgeaction.blogspot.com/2006/08/tech-tip-cheap-diy-charger-for-ipod.html) was designed and built, but it was not purchased and so .... You guessed it, it's "modified."

Letter/A4 Sized iPad?

2011-03-24T07:20:00.003-04:00

I have been saying for awhile that Apple will have no choice but to come up with an A5 sized iPad/Touch. Now, with the new iPad 2 having been trimmed down in weight and thickness, it occurred to me that it portends a letter/A4 sized iPad. The current iPad users will start to find its current size to be too confining. The engineering that makes for the lighter weight and thinner iPad 2 would make the larger iPad a natural extension. The current iPad is designed to be used two-handed or to be placed on the desktop or laptop. It could be used on the go in a cradled manner. Either way, a larger sized iPad would offer more real estate without losing portability.

Concentrate sea water to brine for snow removal

2011-02-08T15:19:00.004-05:00

Why not place sea water stils near oceans to concentrate and store brine in the summer and other sunny days for snow removal in the winter, see http://knowledgeaction.blogspot.com/2011/02/why-not-remove-snow-in-nyc-and-nj-using.html. The concentrated brine could be distributed more readily via tanker trucks. The stils should be in solid black to trap sunlight energy. Using conical covers would direct the steam for water recovery. The heat and pressure would kill any microorganisms and the steam could be used to generate electricity. Finally, the recovered water could be used to maintain greener parks and lawns.

Why not remove snow in NYC and NJ using sea water?

2011-02-08T14:27:00.005-05:00

I am surprised that communities such as NYC and Summit and Millburn of NJ would consider using "brine machines" for snow removal. Whether the machines use salt from the salt mines or made from the sea, there is an environmental cost in transportation and manufacturing. They also use fresh water from the water supply or from wasting energy in melting the snow. Either way, it would be a waste. These communities are close enough to the Atlantic and its ample saline sea water. Why not simply transport sea water a short distance to use for melting snow on the roads? Sea water would flow back into the ocean via the sewers and would result in no additional environmental impact.

In the longer term, why not create a sea water piping systems to distribute sea water for snow removal purposes? It would save petroleum wasted on the snow removal machines and reduce the pollution they create.

Pocket eDGe Dualbook Update

2011-01-07T18:15:00.003-05:00

Now that I'd used the Dualbook for a few weeks, I have encountered some things that need improvement.

1) The Reader handles image-based PDF files poorly. It is practically not usable because I could not zoom to details and could not scroll by dragging with the stylus as I could do on the Tablet. It works reasonably well with flow-able text documents but user friendly it is not.
2) The Tablet handles PDF files nicely. However, I could not find a way to set the "PDF to Go" as the default when launching a PDF file. I could only press the stylus/finger for a second or so and wait for the options wheel to show and then choose "Open in Tablet." It is a tedious process.
3) When I use the Library to select and save files from a USB stick, the files appear in the Library index. However, the files are not to be found in "Storage" or in "ES File Explorer".

Android 1.6 cripples the device as a media delivery platform. YouTube did not work initially, but is now fixed. However, most Flash based browser content is out of reach. I would not recommend this device to family and friends unless Entourage upgrades the Android version.

iPad Strategy?

2010-12-12T06:21:00.002-05:00

I believe that Apple came out with the iPad as it did for two reasons. First, it sensed from the iPod Touch the emergence of a market for a tablet and wanted to be the first mover. Second, it knew that those who love all things Apple will pay the premium and will love it even if it were a bit unwieldy.

Apple's business model for the iPad is a bit like that of a pharmaceutical firm. Just as a pharmaceutical firm would charge a premium for prescription drugs and their customers must buy, Apple lovers must have the iPad. Being the first mover, it had captured the lion's share of the tablet market as anticipated. The premium cost of the iPad allows Apple to maximize profit. And, just as the pharmaceutical firm eventually would have to switch to generics with lower margins and capture additional profit, Apple would have to introduce a more generic 7" form factor iPad with camera(s) in order to compete with the Android tablets.

Pocket eDGe Dualbook

2010-12-12T06:11:00.002-05:00

After spending 5 days with the DualbookJr, I found its tablet quite usable even if it's only Android 1.6. Its reader is clunky -- a far cry from the Kindle 2 or 3 -- for paging and zooming. ePub is fine. PDF is unusable on the reader but works great on the tablet. The reader's saving grace are its tablet integration and touch screen.

I won't be disappointed if iPad 2 would have the form factor of the DualbookJr. At 7.5"x11"x.5' unfolded and 7.5"x5.5"x1" folded and 1.35lbs, the DualbookJr is quite mobile. Such an iPad 2 would be much easier to hold and type when folded. Apple could integrate the two halves even better.

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The Pocket eDGe is an interesting little device. This photo shows the bottom with the stylus on the lower left. Starting the setup is easy. WiFi selection and entering key using the soft keyboard was intuitive. Very light. It is being charged.

Flipping the folded eDGe over and we are looking at the e-reader. The hinge contains the speakers. It looks clunky but it is not. In fact so far I am delighted by its feel.

The e-reader folds over completely! The Tablet side is shown here.

On the left is the e-reader using e-ink with a camera, mic, and speakers. The Android tablet is on the right. Nice and bright screen. I think it's meant for 16x9 video form factor.

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The first thing I'd noticed after the update and set up is that the e-reader itself has a touch sensitive interface! The second thing that really impressed me is that the reader and the tablet are integrated to work together.

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Android is V 1.6. Sigh....
No Hulu on Andoid?!
No Netflix on Android?!

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Am not a very fast. thumb typist. Not too difficult. I suppose. Stylus works better for me.

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FB for Android is much easier to use than using the iPod Touch. The Dualbook works exactly like my KindleTouch, but better. An A5 notebook cover with face-to-face iPod Touch & Kindle, my wife calls it my Touchkin.

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The Pocketedge Dualbook is well integrated. I could capture Web page to either epub or image and read it on the reader. Snapshot of reader page shows on tablet.

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Perhaps foreshadowing the Android-based Kindle 4 that I'd predicted earlier?

Chinese: Pinyin Empowers the Chinese Language

2010-10-28T04:23:00.004-04:00

The most powerful feature and the biggest problem, simultaneously, for the Chinese language is the lack of association between sounds and characters. It is powerful because the Koreans, the Japanese, and the Vietnamese were, once upon a time, able to use the Chinese characters and pronounce them their own way. More importantly, people who spoke any of the hundreds of dialects, even the most radically different ones, could communicate in written form but pronouce it in their own way. The written language was what helped unite China millennia ago. Now, let us review the problem.

How do you know how to write what you say or think? There is only one way and it is pure memorization. In most Western languages one needs to memorized the alphabets, but not Chinese. Thus, if one is searching a traditional Chinese dictionary for a word/phrase one must first know how to write it and then know how to search using pen strokes. But, one searches a dictionary often because one has no idea how to write a character. Thus, it created a circular process that would drive anyone insane.

For example, we dined a few nights ago at the home of an eminent Chinese philosophy professor and scholar. Then, one of the lovely Chinese ladies around the table wondered how the Chinese word for "scoop" is written. They or their families were all from Northern China near Beijing so the word was likely a regional one. Now, a professor of Chinese philosophy, one may expect, would have many Chinese dictionaries. And, he did, but we could not find the word. So, I said I will find it once I were home. I have pinyin installed on my computer, so I typed in the sound of the word. Based on the choices offered, I found the word in a matter of minutes (擓- kuai3).

In any case, someone tried to create alphabets similar to those used in Japan. But, it proved somewhat cumbersome to use and special typewriters or typing conventions have to be used. On the other hand, in their goal to make Chinese more easy to learn and to be used by people, the PRC created the Pinyin system that maps sounds to a variation of the English alphabet. Whether it was the intention or not at the time of its creation, this act allowed for digital technology developed mainly for English to be used.

As a result, one could now type on the QWERY keyboard and use Microsoft Pinyin to write in Chinese. Pattern recognition technologies developed for voice recognition could be applied to simplify the Chinese writing process. Pinyin thusly empowers the Chinese language by allowing it to exploit the potential benefits of digital technology.

Chinese: Simplify Characters Complicate Comprehension

2010-10-28T03:45:00.002-04:00

When the PRC decided to "simplify" written Chinese, they often made it more complicated and inefficient instead. By merging many characters, each multiple character word/phrase could take on many times more unrelated meanings. Thus, the writer may have an easier task, but the reader's brain must do more work. A writer usually writes once, but for many readers.

There is information in vision, and perception differs between vision and hearing. The Chinese language is based on visual comprehension of what are essentially pictorial representations of meanings. By merging characters that sound the same in Mandarin, they have merged many meanings into each character and at the same time discarded much of the visual information.

To illustrate this point, write something lengthy in Chinese characters and the same in pīnyīn. Then, give each to a separate group of people. Test them on comprehension after a short interval. I would expect, after normalizing for other influencing factors, that the characters group would do better. While the difference between traditional and simplified Chinese may not be as great, I expect there to be a difference as well. One way to test this would be to have some highly complex in meaning but concisely written text in both traditional and simplified form and give each to separate groups. I expect to see a difference in comprehension after normalizing.

Squeezing The Last Bit of Power From Alkaline Batteries

2010-10-25T13:58:00.004-04:00

I have previously published a detailed how-to for a DIY all purpose handheld devices charger, see DIY Charger for Kindle 2 and Kindle 1, Ipods, Bla... and Tech Tip: Cheap DIY Charger for iPod + commented update.

All it takes is a bit of elbow grease, a soldering tool, and a few dollars of Radio Shack parts. The AA batteries were rechargeable and I charge them with solar energy on sunny days.

But finding out which AA battery has run low was too time consuming. So I replaced 3 of them with a Li-ion battery one would find powering most notebooks. This way, I only need to replace the AA NiMH when the unit runs low and recharge the Li-ion if the unit is still low. Then I noticed my son's spent alkaline AA batteries scattered around and decided to wring them dry first. After all, it take energy and creates pollution to manufacture and to dispose of them.

The mini-USB cable is used to charge most of our cell phones. The short white cable is used to charge my Kindle 3G and Kindle 2. The modified Apple cable is for the iPods/iPhones. I hate long cables so I chop them short and resolder them. The Apple cable broke on the USB end so I replaced it with the plug from another USB cable.

Kindle 3G Roaming and Other Matters

2010-10-22T17:38:00.002-04:00

From my Facebook ramblings to friends.

Oct. 22, 2010

One reason that I purchased a Kindle 2 and then a Kindle 3g is the A5 form factor. It's why I believe that Apple will have to come out with a 7" Touch/iPad. Now, the Palm PDA inventors carried a wooden mock-up in their pockets to determine its physical usability and were wildly successful after others had failed. So, I walked around with the Kindle 3 in my pants and shorts pocket for months. Try that with the iPad!

Oct. 21, 2010

Kindle roaming 3G access is $0. "AT&T charges $25 per month for a mere 20MB of data and $200 per month for 200MB for international roaming (even in Canada). And if you don't use that data allotment within 30 days, you lose the remaining data." [PC World] I don't stream anything to the Kindle, but I do banking, email..., Facebook, news surfing, Wikipedia searching, and Googling. All free on the Kindle!

Oct. 14, 2010

Arrived Zurich. Kindle only Web access. Bit clumsy but it`s free! 3G.

I understand what Amazon meant when classifying the Kindle Browser as "Experimental." It has a tendency to hang the Kindle. Useful and free, but not very dependable.

Aging Eyes and Wrong Lens Design

2010-10-12T08:16:00.004-04:00

For those of us who are extremely near-sighted with aging eyes, we could wear progressive lenses. But that does not solve the problem with heavy lenses with very thick edges. The main area is for myopia (thicker) and progress toward the bottom for reading (thinner). Instead, why not make the main lens area for reading and progress to the forward looking area for distance?

New Facebook security function should be added

2010-09-02T12:28:00.003-04:00

A new security function should be added by Facebook in consideration of the dangers described in my previous post:

Dangers of the pervasive use of the Facebook "Like....

Facebook should offer its users the option to remove information from friends that come from a particular Web address (URL). This function exists for messages from Facebook apps and would be useful to help users eliminate "Like" overload.

Dangers of the pervasive use of the Facebook "Like" Button

2010-08-31T17:26:00.006-04:00

A dangerous spam or viral attack can stem from using the "Like" button on Web pages. We normally would not click on just any Web site that we encounter when we browse the Internet. However, we are tempted to click on something supposedly liked by a Facebook friend. But, if we do click on such Facebook links, we may be in for a rude surprise.

This attack is predicated on two prongs. The first is ease-of-use and the second is social engineering.

Unlike updating status or sharing one's thoughts -- actions that would take time, effort, and consideration -- clicking takes no effort. Consider opening your FB news and seeing nothing but these "Like" messages. It's a new form of attack that one could not ignore or hide unless one hides one's Facebook friends. Thus, this could be considered a variation of the denial-of-services attack.

Social engineering is also used to tempt and so to entrap FB users. The site typically has a religious tone or a cheap come-on. If you love Jesus, please click on the "Like" button. Or, if you want to get a free iPad please click on the "Like" button.

The end result is that a viral payload may be on these Web pages waiting to entrap anyone who clicks on the "if you like this ... please click" links from your FB friends that show up on your Facebook news feeds page.

Kindle WiFi

2010-08-31T10:39:00.007-04:00

UPS tracking showed "Out for delivery" at 03:30 in the dark hours, but delivery was not made until 17:00. It took UPS 13.5 hours for the 16-mile delivery. But, it was well worth the wait. I took two photos with my BB Pearl despite its lousy resolution. I simply could not wait to use a better camera.

The Kindle WiFi (K3) and the Kindle 2 (K2) are shown here on my homemade cover. K3 occupies the side where I have my iPod Touch. It should come in handy for dual-column PDF reading.

Setting up the WiFi was easy. And, the new browser is so much more user friendly and the WiFi update is as fast as my netbook. Both PDF files and browser displays have the same zoom and pan functions. The difference between native PDF and Webkit browser and the K2's PDF and browser is like night and day. The b/w graphics are nice and crisp. Well enough to obviate the need for my iPod Touch.

Shown side-by side here in the lower photo. The new high contrast e-Ink display's text rivals (may even be superior to) the paperback (not shown) that I used as my benchmark. PDF handling is noticeably faster than that on the K2.

Kindle 3 displays Chinese well, something that was missing in K2 (unless I jailbreak it to work with Unicode). I set up the browser to view Google and BBC news in Chinese and the Chinese language World Journal. I believe it would only be a matter of time before Kindle books in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean would become available in order to meet consumer needs. Most likely, Baidu may start to offer *.prc or *.mobi versions of Chinese books first, because the potential Chinese market would be huge. Amazon would be well advised to start offering *.azw versions of Chinese and other character-based Asian language books.

Browsing the Web on the 6" b/w is quite nice when compared to the 3.5" Touch. Trade off is between size/cost and color/multitouch. For meeting my needs, I prefer to use the K3 to using the Touch, because I don't really lookmuch at photos or colored graphics. I could always use the Touch to view photos and graphs when needed.

China and its resurgence, 天高皇帝遠*

2010-08-26T12:56:00.006-04:00

China always had attempted to close itself from external forces, but would fail and thrive from past creative destructions, its dynastic changes. Although others tend to think of China as a powerful monolith, it is in reality a frail union of parts held together by a weak centripetal force that diminishes with distance from its center. Deng and his successors understood this and allowed the economic creative destruction to take place.

It never learned to manage the external forces without suffering violence and disruption -- until Deng. However, unlike the previous cycles of creative destruction, the post-industrial era disruption had lasted for more than a century. Now, that creative destruction pattern is once again apparent but in a fairly peaceful managed process. On the other hand, Japan, isolated physically, had not gone through much creative destruction but did manage the industrial creative destruction in an exemplary manner through the Meiji Restoration. It also benefited by its WWII defeat. Presumably, the Chinese leadership had benefited from the Japanese experience.

China should continue to keep in mind the limitations of its centripetal force if it were to continue its so far successfully creative destruction process.

* 天高皇帝遠 Heaven is high and the emperor is far away. Forces exerted by the center diminishes with distance.