Multi-touch Compiz Fusion soon?

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Yes, very soon.

Or at least an experimental build of Compiz for the MPX fork of X.Org (currently in development) by Peter Hutterer, replacing the simple, built-in MPWM window manager.

The catch is that we have to wait until 0.9 (development branch) comes out with the debut of Dave Reveman’s integrated Object-Framework. Once that occurs, this guy plans to start an experimental MPX branch of Compiz.

Unfortunately, 0.7.2 was only released 5 days ago, although Compiz Fusion’s update releases are notoriously fast (0.6.0 was released in October, and 0.7.0 was released in February). Therefore, the earliest that we can expect the release of 0.9 (if a Compiz release comes every 4 months) is by this coming October.

I anticipate YouTube video demos of a multi-touch Compiz. One guy explores the possibilities.

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I don’t believe in the concept of treason.

The term has been flung around so often to describe anything, anyone or any action that may be a threat to, or enemy of the state, to/of those who are in power, and to/of those who are vying for political power.

Republicans use the “treason” word against Pelosi, Democrats use it against Bush/Cheney/Rove/etc. It’s all about slinging mud on an individual because he or she doesn’t toe a party line.

I’m rather tired of the belief that someone can pose that much of a threat to the population that he/she should be dragged to court as a criminal. I thought we were out of the Cold War?

Handhelds in Japan and Handhelds in America: function and form

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I just read this post. And this one. And this one.

What they all have in common, besides their concern over Apple’s handhelds and the Japanese computer culture, is their mention of how the handhelds in Japan have magnitudes of hardware features that aren’t even heard of in other parts of the world, including the U.S.

One of the most recent (prototype) devices to be created in Japan is the Wellness Navigator, which is a mobile phone that can also give health checks and results of calorie and alcohol intake (using a breathalyzer).

However, while the mobile phones in Japan can double as charge cards, fingerprint scanners and door keys (among other things), they are noted for their lagging interfaces in comparison to the Western-made mobiles like the products of Apple, Nokia and Motorola.

So is it true? Have things come so full circle that the hardware products in America that are improved in their function by magnitudes in Japan’s factories now have to find improvement in their GUI accessibility in….America?

And furthermore, Garmin is coming out with the nuvifone, a phone with a multitouch keyboard (like the iPhone/iTouch) and built-in GPS navigation. So we in the West could see some more of the mobile functionality that is already commonplace in Japan within the next 5 years or so.

It will be interesting to see exactly how many ways the handheld can be applied, as it is no longer just a phone, just a media player or just a GPS device.

In fact, I’m very certain that it will get very heated when phones in the U.S. will serve as replacements for charge/credit/debit cards, transport tokens and movie/theme park/museum tickets. Oh, and this will be over Wi-Fi connections, not over spotty cellular data networks.

Politics and security scares will be involved in this development, as card makers and ticket makers will now have to compete with virtual card developers.

So yah, handhelds are bound to shake things up,

Why Hawaii should be an independent country

Essays, ,

I wrote this when I was way more enthused an independent Hawaii, and secessionist movements in various areas of the world. Now I’m more tempered about nationalism as an ideology. I am less enthused, more curious, and sometimes weirded out by nationalist movements and their excesses; to me, they’re not inherently “progressive”. 

Harry Underwood
03/10/2008
ENG 191
Argument – rewrite

Why Hawaii should be an independent country

In 2008, the autonomous republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia, from which it had been seeking independence since 1999. The declaration was welcomed in other regions both within and without Europe as a sign of hope for other political secessionist movements. There is a number of political secessionist movements within the current expanse of the United States, such as those of Vermont, California and Lakota Country. However, for historical, cultural, social and political reasons, the Hawaiian Islands should and ought to obtain independence from the United States.

Hawai’i was an independent, sovereign entity from 1795-1893, ruled by a series of constitutional monarchs. However, the monarchy was overthrown in January 1893 through the support of American-descended planters and businessmen with the help of U.S. troops stationed on the U.S.S. Boston. The country was then, in 1900, handed over to the United States as a territory where, until the 1960s and 70s, people of partial or full Hawaiian ancestry would be mostly relegated to second-class sociocultural status within their own former home country.

Hawai’i also retains a number of cultural distinctions which would better suit the stature of an independent country. Out of the 50 states, Hawai’i is the only state in which no ethnic group – neither White American, nor Japanese American, nor native Hawaiian American – possesses an outright majority; however, it is also one of the most ethnically and culturally amalgamated regions of the current United States. It is an affront to such American institutions as the “one-drop rule,” considering that the majority of Hawaiians are proud of their extremely-mixed ancestries but consider it lucky if they possess partial Native Hawaiian backgrounds. Finally, those who are of native Hawaiian ancestry – partial or full – are becoming much more politically and socially aware within the last 30 years of the “Hawaiian renaissance,” which also accompanied a growing demand for the secession of the islands from the United States. However, this growing cultural awareness has economically benefitted the other major ethnicities of the state by strengthening the cultural brand that makes Hawai’i unique among tourist destinations.

Also, being an independent country could also influence Hawai’i’s own social mores and policy. The citizens could press for a further expansion of civil rights for the same-sex, transgender and bisexual minorities, which already enjoy a number of rights by the current state government. An independent government for the islands is likely to also employ other socially progressive measures, including free universal healthcare for all citizens, improvement of technological literacy, and environmental stability protection. Such sweeping measures for social empowerment are barely feasible under the current U.S. rule of the islands, as the debate over such measures is ongoing.

Finally, Hawai’i would continue to retain its position (and probably increase its status) as the “Crossroads of the Pacific” in terms of trans-Pacific relations. It currently serves as a point of communication, trade and diplomatic negotiation between the United States and Japan; with independence, Hawai’i could also serve as a completely unbiased entrepot of trade and communication between other powers in the Pacific Ocean, such as Russia, Canada, New Zealand or Chile. In the case of diplomatic tension between any power in the Pacific Ocean, Hawai’i is likely to be a neutral state, thus ensuring that no one state can lay a long-lasting, imperialistic claim over the islands without arousing the ire of another state. Hawai’i would also be able to govern itself effectively under such pressure. It would likely install a parliamentary system of government similar to the government under the former monarchy which governed the islands during the 19th century, while inheriting a presidential-republican system from the United States. Furthermore, a draft independence constitution was created in 1995 detailing such a system of governance and is likely to be used in a modified form by an independent government (Hawai’i Independent & Sovereign 1995).

In conclusion, Hawai’i has a lot to gain from becoming an independent nation-state. Historical discrepancies can be rectified, sociocultural institutions could be geared toward further multi-racial recognition, and political institutions would be further reformed for the granting of civil rights to social minorities within the Hawaiian population. Therefore, Hawai’i should join the international community as a sovereign, independent member.

References:

“HAWAI`I CONSTITUTION”. January 16, 1995. Hawai’i Independent & Sovereign. March 10, 2008. <http://www.hawaii-nation.org/constitution.htm&gt;

Me and the furry thing

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I’m doing my final paper in English 191 on the furry fandom and multimedia genre. I have to turn it in next week.

Seems appropriate, I suppose. Despite never having traveled to a convention and never maintaining any face-to-face relationships with any particular furry, I have been tied by interest to the furry genre since when I started to use the Internet on a frequent basis (2002). Furthermore, I have been a “fan” of the “funny animal” genre for much longer, even though I never understood why.

What’s wierd, however, is that I STILL don’t know why I have taken such a longtime interest in the furry/funny animal genre.

So I ask myself….is it because of some unnatural, sexually-attractive undercurrent that draws my face to a furry/funny animal picture like a mouth-hooked fish to a boat?

I mean, most assuredly, I remember when I was actually afraid of a guy who talked like a woman (two of them were in the church). Years later, I find my own sexual attitudes becoming far more ambiguous than what they once were, and I’m far less certain about my own sexual affinities.

But again, I’m not an outgoing individual, so I’m not into sex.

So what is it? If it’s not a sexual attraction, what is it?

Why am I so obsessed with anything furry-related?

Why have I been so interested in it for so long?

Is this a fad, a phase, or a nagging disease?

Dogs in my dreams.

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I’ve been having wierd dreams for the last two months.

They involve dogs.

Dogs that run up to me, jump at me and bite at me, only to bite/gnaw on my clasped hands. If I sleep long enough, the dogs calm down.

Every time I have a dream involving these dogs, something big is usually happening.

When I had a dream sometime early last week, it involved two German shepherds, one of whom bit at my hands and the other of which bit at my right torso; I woke up with a start. Not long afterward, I had this flu/sinusitis that hit me around Tuesday/Wednesday (February 26/27).

This Wednesday, I had a dream of a medium-sized dog with a bulldog’s face and pointy ears who bit at my hands, but then calmed down enough for me to put my hand out and let him lick it. I also saw a guy with a cut beard who was dressed like those who are into puppy play, among other things :-/.

I personally don’t know why I’ve been seeing different breeds of dogs in each dream that I’ve had for the last month or so. I can say that I’ve seen two German shepherds, a Doberman, somebody’s pit bull, and one other breed.

I think it may be related to this one weekend in January when this dog came into our front yard from down the street and wandered around in it while me and my nephew were raking up the leaves (yes, we have a “perennial,” the sheepdog of tree species). I remember when the daughter(?) of the owner came with her young sister to the front yard to try to bring him back home, even though the dog never came to them; oh, and when the dog became first frisky with a passerby’s German shepherd, then came back to attack the dog rather viciously.

It was rather interesting to see that while raking. So maybe the dreams that I’ve had ever since are related to that dog.

Might as well pick a dog as a totem animal, if I see one again in a dream.

On cloning: Is the individual self the final monopoly?

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I kinda find it hypocritical that those who espouse the “free information” slogan when it comes to discourse on intellectual property are also dead-set against the idea of RFID tags and other supposedly “privacy-endangering” technologies which are being produced for future commercial and non-commercial markets.

I mean sure, we’re talking about arms-oriented governments and money-oriented corporations who are pushing for these technologies, and its pretty scary to think that, within the next two decades, these technologies will become incorporated within both institutions as a means to “keep tabs” on their respective public.

But if we’re supposed to espouse the free sharing of information for everything else, shouldn’t we also freely share information about ourselves as well (its not like they’re holding back much on the social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook)?

In fact, if the sharing of personal information were to take a wiki form in the future, then should we be surprised if that information was used in, say, human cloning?

And how would human cloning – the creation of a multiple number of the same self – redefine our civilization? Or how will it redefine the way that governments and corporations relate to individuals?

It’s possible that multiple selves can be used to stock an entire bureaucracy, even though the selves may vary in personality, profession, mentality and/or wealth.

It’s also possible that a single face can be attached to many of the ills of a society, as has happened before with the attachment of social ills to ethnic groups and subcultures such as Jews or homosexuals. This could result in “facial violence.”

It’s even possible that the multiplication of faces through cloning could lead to the partial diffusion of ethnic or nationalist loyalties, as they would be supplanted by loyalties to the “self”, which would be effectively separated from the “individual.”

Indeed, it would complicate matters. But such possibilities are for the sci-fi writers to explore.

Related video:

Idea: Icons as typed symbols for programming on multitouch handhelds

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OK, as I’ve probably noted before, multitouch handhelds (or handhelds in general) aren’t built for serious text input. And I’ve written before that such limitations should not preclude the creation of programming environments from within the devices.

So since then, I’ve been thinking about what could be done for the creation of such environments which won’t require the serious text input that is common in older computing form factors (desktop, server, etc.). And I think I may have found another preliminary solution:

Replacement of text words with graphic symbols or icons.

This means that instead of typing text words by the letter or key in order to construct a single syntax, one could simply create a string of graphic symbols which are interpreted by the handheld to mean a string of words and text symbols.

Preferably, the symbols would be rendered in SVG so that they could contain the data that would be used by the runtime (the web browser?) for interpretation, while providing customization abilities to those who may want to create similar yet distinctive symbols in order to symbolize a level of critical intensity (say, a yellow star as opposed to a red star).

Such usage of SVG (or, if you prefer, PNG) icons as a replacement for text could also be enhanced (and, hopefully, understood) with animated icons and even sound-embedding in the icons.

Now…what applications could be created with this that isn’t already creatable with a desktop computer?

I’m still thinking about that…

Places and islands: the third social networking tier

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First you had profiles, then you had groups. Most social networks on the WWW are centered around these two components of the user experience. Multimedia posted through the user’s account are seen and reviewed by other users via their accounts, and the better, more pertinent ones are featured within multimedia “pools” maintained by groups, which are user-created, user-sustained mini-communities which are devoted to a particular subject or demographic.

However, the most bleeding-edge concept in social networking is the “place” or “island”, which are user- or group-created pseudogeographical positions which are fixed to a specific “area” of the world within the network.

As stated, these may be created by either single users or by whole groups, and could even serve more than one group during the lifetime of the “place”.

At current, the social network which has best incorporated the concept of “places”, and has probably marketed it to the furthest extents in recent years, is Second Life. The closest WWW-based equivalent to the social networking “place” is Wikipedia’s articles, which are designed to appeal to a specific subject within the online encyclopedia, but can be maintained and sustained by more than one group (or “WikiProject”) which all have vested interests in the contents thereof.

Thus, can the “places” idea be successfully brought to the WWW-based social networks of present? What kind of political arrangements could evolve out of the addition of a new tier to the social networking mores of MySpace, Tribe.net, Facebook or LiveJournal?

Finally, what technological advancements could accompany the development of “places” within these social networks? Could newer applications of the ubiquitous RSS feed (which is already used extensively for both personal and group productions) find a niche to fill in the “places” idea?

EDIT.

A few ideas for RSS updates+Places:

  • Events
  • Additions, edits and cleanups (for those who are interested in the construction and maintenance of the place)
    • New rooms
    • New exhibitions
  • Scheduled reboots? (Hopefully not; SL tends to have alot of those, and you can be logged out at any time without prior notice)

Second Life, first impressions

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I’ve been walking through Second Life for the last three weeks (my name is “Rayne Leominster”, if anyone cares to know).

At best, I’m rather dissatisfied with it. At worst, I find it pointless and annoyingly slow.

I’m dissatisfied with SL because I know that there’s much more that could possibly be done in it besides:

  • Dance in a club with no music
  • Change your avatar’s appearance every 5 minutes
  • Build structures that will likely serve no purpose

I don’t feel the vibe of P2P on here (there isn’t any), and I teleport to a number of places (often either threadbare or filled to the brim with avatars and user-created objects) for no reason except to move from where I’m currently situated, only to be disappointed when I arrive.

I’m especially annoyed by the prominence of money (also known as L$) in SL.

The graphics and network lag makes usage of the client horrendously choppy. The UI is crowded, constricting and half-responsive, even when you’re in a lag-free area (which is extremely rare to find).

So that’s my first impression of Second Life.