Oh, WoW!

MMORPGs are just plain scary. At the core are the whirlpools of the Internet Age, waiting to suck victims into a bottomless pit where time doesn't exist. If victims ever escape, they find literal days, weeks, and even months have passed. Realizing the world has left them behind, they jump back in for another swim. As a freshman in Anthropology 101, I did a study on the effects of playing World of Warcraft on students. One good friend that I interviewed had over 45 days of logged playing time in a space of seven months. His classes had left him behind, and his grades showed it. Anthropology 101 taught me a very important lesson: stay away from World of Warcraft. Some can argue all they want that there's no danger swimming in MMORPGs. You just have to be smart and get out of the water and take a break. I can't do it. I've seen what the whirlpool will do to you, and it's simply not worth my time.

Spread the Word

A Win for Everyone

History is written by the winners. As victors tell their tale, the losing side is painted as dim and in denial, unaware that they would soon be obsolete. In hindsight, their pending demise seems obvious, just as the victory of the winners seems so assured. But anyone knows that in the moment, victory or defeat is anything but sure. Can the fastest man sit out the deciding race, knowing he would win? No, he runs against the other contenders, and his victory is decided by a photo finish as he collapses across the finish line.

History not only tells us the story of heroes in battle and the winning nations in wars, but of winning technologies. A winning technology wins not necessarily because it is better, but because its adaptation makes former technology a faint memory. Here Comes Everybody is a fantastic commentary of this trend in society. My generation grew up with the Internet, but the world is still reeling at its effects. Free information and the ability to for us to share our individual stories is natural to us, but is a novel concept in history. The power of the press has not become obsolete; it has become more powerful, yet resides in the hands of everyone who shares online. Dictatorships are toppled and industries collapse because the human family can finally speak its mind without being told what to do. So speak up mankind. One day our cutting-edge technologies will probably fade into the dust as another piece of history, but let's hope humanity's newfound voice does not.

Aaaarrrgggghhh!!!!

I always wanted to be a pirate. It's life at sea with your comrades, broken English, and treasure hunts! That's the life for me. Don't bother me with details like murdering and pillaging, scurvy, and running from the law. Pirates aren't really bad guys, they're just misunderstood, right? Wrong. Pirates are some nasty dudes that would maroon their mothers for an extra share of the treasure. Music pirates are the same: evil racketeers making a killing on illegal copies of DVDs and CDs. Our generation is just as bad. We're poor like pirates. We like to stick it to the man. We know the best price is free, so why not get our music free? Because it's wrong, and it's stealing. Everyone wants a free treasure chest of their favorite music, but don't leave your favorite artists in rags. There's no glory about tossing your integrity away over a dollar. But we don't have to steal. Use services like Pandora, Youtube, and Spotify, and share the riches with everyone.

Jack & Jill

Apparently a lot of people are worried there aren't enough women studying computer science. Personally, I'm not too worried. The computer science major at BYU has no formal application process; one simply needs to pass CS 240. Any guy or girl is welcome to take CS classes. Regardless of gender, people should study whatever they like. The ratio of guys to girls in the CS program seems to indicate more guys than girls want to study computer science, but no one is outside our classes bouncing female students. It is important to recognize that guys and girls are different, and have different interests. That is fine as long as we do not exclude people from their interests simply based on gender. The choice for women to study computer science is there, and maybe one day more women will. After all, Jill eventually tumbled along after Jack fell down the hill.

It's a Family Thing

To think that the entire human family is connected into one gigantic tree is mind-boggling. Everyone of us is a leaf on that tree, and we all fit perfectly onto one of its branches. Finding our place in the tree certainly isn't a trivial task, but tools like New Family Search help make it possible.  In my software engineering class we are seeking to simplify this process further with a project called the Twenty Minute Genealogist. Essentially, the project stems from this question: "If I had only 20 minutes in a week to do genealogy, what would software have to do for me to make that time effective?" I work on the iOS application, specifically the portion of the app that deals directly with the New Family Search servers. It can get pretty difficult and sometimes I just want to pull my hair out. Rough it may be, but developers like me work on tools like New Family Search and the Twenty Minute Genealogist with the hope that they will be used by our brothers and sisters to one day unite our human family together forever.

For Better Or Worse

I am grateful for the recent emphasis in technology by my church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Just a few weeks ago, I watched online as our Church leaders spoke to members worldwide. There was a clear theme that the Lord has provided many tools in the form of technology to help us spread the Gospel. But in the same general conference Church leaders warned of the many dangers we face from addictions to technology. In the last few decades, the world has seen phenomenal advances in technology, but whether that is for better or worse remains to be seen. I believe the Lord gave us these marvelous tools to connect the human family, spread the Gospel, and declare Eternal Truths. It is up to the human family to decide whether we use these gifts to the blessing of our lives or our ultimate destruction.

Can't We All Just Get Along?

The Apple ecosystem is very different than the open source and free software movements documented in Revolution OS. The Apple camp and the open source camp may be very different, but there is a place for both of them in this world. I've been in both camps. My freshman year of college I was introduced to Linux, and spent hours trying every flavor I could download. This last summer I interned at Apple, and I'll be going back when I graduate. Apple runs an exclusive club and locks down its devices and software. But even at Apple, where everyone naturally uses a Mac, the server rooms are filled with Linux servers. Mac OS X shares a common ancestor with Linux, Unix, and so a lot of the GNU software like emacs runs and even ships with OS X. In fact, Apple's developer software Xcode is based on emacs. After becoming addicted to programs like vim, ssh, and bash, I thought I could never leave the Linux world, but I was delighted to find that all of these programs run natively in OS X. As a result, I get the best of both worlds, and I honestly couldn't do without either of them. As a software engineer and computer power-user, I need both camps to get along. There's room for everyone to play, even Windows. How else would I know just how great OS X is?

No Really, Trust Me

As I have stated before, trust is everything. Our society depends on it. When I drive on the highway at 65 mph, I'm trusting that the guy next to me isn't suicidal and won't swerve into me. I have a lockless mailbox, where my private mail sits outside for hours each day. Many functions in our world rely on trust to work. We need it, and I'm grateful we can still use it. To me, the inherent trust in society is part of what defines the human family.

But mankind is slowly changing. Chris Stoll's The Cuckoo's Egg shows us a time in early computing when networks were built around openness and trust, and how malicious users broke that trust. As a result of increasing accounts of trust violation, computer users are forced to become more paranoid. Stronger passwords, better cryptography, and security awareness have become a natural part of modern computing. And it's not just the computers.  I am always looking for ways to live "smarter,"changing my lifestyle so it relies less and less on the trust of absolute strangers. I lock the doors, I keep personal information private, and I drive defensively. I don't talk to people in line at the store, and I am grateful for the elevator music that breaks the awkward silence. I am not alone. Society is evolving, increasing paranoia and self-protection, and loosing its trust. One day, we may "perfect" society so it no longer needs trust to work. I'm not sure that's the kind of human family I really want.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Netflix recently started its second uproar in the past few months as Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced the complete separation of its DVD and streaming operations. The DVD service will be called "Qwikster" and is like the lousy dog that has been kicked out the back door to feed on the scraps. Customers all over the world were enraged by the 60% hike in price with nothing new back in July. Now they have to go to separate sites and manage separate queues. Sure, streaming is the business that is only going to bloom, but I think Netflix made the move too early. They asked for more money and only gave their customers more inconvenience. Yes, they won in the sense they have become the largest source of Internet traffic, but I think this year they definitely lost one with the number of enraged customers they created. They could have kept customer trust if they made the move after adding new content like the Dreamworks deal for 2013. Will Netflix recover customer trust in the end? Only time will tell.

Trust is Everything

DigiNotar has just declared bankruptcy. The Dutch Certificate Authority (CA) was compromised on July 19, and soon after all major browsers were updated to reject their certificates. Since over 500 rogue certificates had been issued, people cannot trust DigiNotar. The CA business is all about trust, and without that trust, a CA cannot do business. Trust is so important, and cannot easily be regained. In DigiNotar's case, it won't be. Individual trust is much the same. We trust our friends, our family, and our spouses. If any one of them breaks that trust, there is no going back. It can take years to rebuild that trust, and sometimes it's never back to 100%. Think of all the relationships that have permanently ended as a result of broken trust. In contrast, think of all the amazing relationships that exist as a result of complete trust. In both business and personal life, I submit that trust is one of the most important things we can ever have.

Quality Vs. Quantity

If Facebook's 750 million active users are as active as claimed, each user spends an average of 30 minutes on Facebook every single day. How much of that time is really quality time spent building relations with the ones they love? Large amounts of time are simply wasted. Time is one of the most valuable gifts in life, for we only have 24 hours of it each day. 750 million people are spending 30 minutes of that precious time on Facebook. If there is one thing I am starting to realize, it is the importance of time. Time spent reading the posts and statuses of 20 people can never equate to the quality of even one memory shared face to face.

Who is the Master: Me or Technology?

Living a balanced life is hard for a Computer Science Major. At the start of my senior year, I am already swamped with coursework. But a busy school life isn't enough. Prospective employers want employees with job experience, so I work through school. Then people ask what I do with my free time. "What projects have you done on your own?" "Have you released any apps to the App Store?" "Are you participating in any Open Source projects?" To say yes to any of these would mean I'm spending just as much time at work or school as I am on my "interests." When is it enough? 40-50 hours for school, 20+ hours for work, and I'm supposed to sit behind a computer some more? I decided to study Computer Science because I loved telling technology what to do. Now I'm afraid the tables have turned. One secret to Apple's success is their ability to say "no" and only focus where they can make a difference. Time to take a leaf out of their book and focus.