Facebook Timeline - Viewpoint Of An Average User

Facebook launched it's Timeline feature here in Finland on the 22nd of December. Of course everyone got a notification to clean up Timeline from stuff you do not want other people to see. This made me go through almost all of my Facebook posts and it gave me some time think about what the launch of Timeline means and how I feel about Facebook in general. Here are a few thoughts that the launch of Timeline raised.

1. Going through my posts from three years ago made me feel like an idiot. Why on earth did I post this stupid update/link? I don't want my friends to be able to read this not to mention the new friends that I may add.


2. Timeline makes it very easy to see what I have done in the past. It is very easy to check what kind of photos or comments I have posted at one time period.


3. Facebook has a lot of data about my past. I created my account in 2008. That means Facebook has on it's servers every like, recommendation and comment I have made during the past four years. If you would ask me now would I give information of all the interaction I have had with my friends and acquaintances during the past four years to privately held company that may or may not have connections to FBI, CIA and NSA, the answer would be something along the lines of "FUCK NO"


4. Timeline made me realise that I do not understand how Facebook works. Who really understands Facebook's privacy settings or copyright policy? I do not fully understand how Twitter works either, but the basic idea is that all your tweets are public and everybody can read them. So far I have not encountered any advertising on my Twitter timeline. Added bonus is that Twitter does not ask me to tell anything about where I work, how I date, where I live or have gone to school.


5. Finally, the launch of Timeline made me realize that I really do not want a company to be in-between me and my friends. I bet it would not be too difficult to create a standalone software based on, for example, bittorrent technology that would sync activities between the members of your network. This would mean greater control over your privacy and content.

These are just a few things Facebook Timeline raised in the mind of a average user. What do you think about Timeline?

Canonet 28 and Canolite D flash

Canonet 28 and Canolite D flash

I was rummaging a closest at my parents place and found an old rangefindercamera that my dad had bought when he was young. I found Canonet 28 rangefinder camera which Canon used to produce between 1971-1976. You can find more detailed information about the camera at Camerapedia. Canonet 28 seems not to be the favourite among vintage camera enthusiast but I find it kinda cool. 

The camera was in full working order. All I need to do was to replace the battery so that the automatic light meter would start working and buy a film. I decided to go for a black and white film to get more artistic effect to my photos. It is funny how expensive film is nowadays. A film roll with 36 shots costs 9,40€. You can get quite a big sd-card with that kind of price.

I am quite excited about trying to shoot with a film camera. You really do not know in advance if your shots are any good. I'm thinking about getting a note book where I would write down the values that I've use. I am really excited to see if my pictures turn out good.

I had a bit of a problem getting the flash working and it took me a while to figure out what the problem was. The problem with the Canolite D, at least in  my case, was the battery compartment was a bit too tight and battery cover was a bit broken (hence the piece of white tape on the flash). When I inserted the batteries in I pushed the battery all the way to the bottom and since the compartment squeezed the battery there was no contact to the lid of the battery compartment. So all I needed to do was not to push the batteries all the way to the bottom and use the lid to press the batteries in place. This enables all the connectors to have a proper connection and the flash work. I hope this helps some one with figuring out and fix their Canolite D.

*EDIT*

I was able to fix the battery compartment of my Canolite D flash unit. Here's an illustration of the situation:

Well there's your problem!

So the basic problem was quite simple. The other wall of the battery compartment had jumped out from the small groove that holds it in place. What I did was even more simple. I unscrewed the screws and pulled the components out (extremely gingerly) just a tiny bit. This gave me enough space to slide the plastic wall into place. Now the batteries slide into place without any trouble. Now I just need to figure out a way to fix the broken cover of the battery compartment.

Fight fire with fire: Nokia N9 and Apple Macintosh commercials

Take a look at these two videos:



and here is an advertising classic:




Is it just me or do you see something similar in these two ad films? I guess Nokia is really pulling out the big guns (copied, but still) against Apple's iPhone and Android. It also quite explicitly signals for Nokia China is very important and it will do everything to emerge as winner in the smart phone competition in China.

Tell me what you think. Has Nokia just copied the concept from Apple or is there something really original in the ad?

Magic Gloves - Halti Stormwall Gloves

Gloves

Two days ago I was out geocaching and noticed a cool feature in my gloves. Yes that's right, gloves. I have a pair of Halti Stormwall gloves and noticed that I can operate the touchscreen of my phone with my gloves on. Great.

I guess the pattern on the gloves enables the small electric current to pass between your finger and the touchscreen.

Jobs.

What would you say of a guy who believes that by eating fruit he does need to use deodorant, is an admires zen meditation and practices, but explodes every now and then at work, and can not furnish his house because he is such a perfectionist that he can't find suitable furniture that meet his criteria. Do you think this kind of a guy has any chance of succeeding? Well that was how Steve Jobs was. Still he managed to create a company that has shaken up the market of consumer electronics throughout the past decade or so. The pace has been especially furious since the launch of iPhone in 2007.

If you have not noticed, Steve Jobs died on 5th of October 2011. After his cancer diagnosis in 2005 Jobs wanted a biography written. while he was still alive and in 2009 Walter Isaacson started working on the book. The book was scheduled to be released in March 2012, but the release was moved to October since it became clear that Job's health was declining.

The life story of Steve Jobs is, of course, very interesting and inspirational, but what kind of picture does the book paint of Mr. Jobs and is there something missing from the picture. In this review I try to focus on evaluating the book and not Steve Jobs's persona which is naturally a bit challenging taking into account the topic of book.

As Literature

As a piece of literature biographies rarely are remembered for their literary excellence. The text flows nicely and is very easy to read. At times it feels that Isaacson underlines too much of Jobs's character traits. One good example of this is the way Isaacson brings up how Job's father taught him to pay attention to things that where not visible while two were building a fence. This is brought up quite often when Jobs's perfectionism comes up, like in the case of the power source of original Macintosh.
It could have been a better choice to structure the book around discussions that Isaacson had with Jobs. It would have created a more intimate feel to the book. A feeling that Jobs is talking himself. Of course this is not what the book tried to achieve. Now the book goes with content and objectivity first which is a very good choice.

Apple

The book captures well the main points of Apple's history. It is especially interesting to read about the early stages of Apple and home computing. There was really something special happening in Palo Alto and Silicon Valley in the 1970s. How can such a small area become the synonym for innovations and hightech?

Opening up how the creative process worked in Apple when Jobs was still around is one of the most interesting points in the book. Well let's make one reservation, the book is not good at telling how the others teams actually worked. It just simply gives a glimpse on how the teams tried to manage with Jobs's way of leadership. The role of Jonathan Ive in the creative process and the fact that Jobs almost blocked 3rd party apps from iPhone prove that Jobs wasn't the only creative and brilliant individual at the company.

At times it feels that the book is all about marketing Apple products. Especially when you read the story on how Jobs tries to confuse Siri on the new iPhone 4S. Maybe this is inevitable.

Steve

In my mind the only way to evaluate a biography is to try and determine if the the biographer has been able to shine light on all the sides of personality of the biographee. Jobs wanted the biography to be realistic. His wife also admitted that Steve's personality, to put it politely, is complicated and wanted it all to be in the book. Clearly, work was number one for Steve Jobs and the book describes mostly his professional personality. I would have wanted to know more about the private side of Steve Jobs. We get to know that Jobs liked walking, photography and was a picky eater, which in my mind isn't that much. I would liked to know a bit more if he had any hobbies, what he did with his kids. The book tells a little about Jobs's relationship with his children. Mostly quite negative things. Of course his kids are still young and it would have been a bit unethical to make young children to evaluate their relationsship with their father.

Without ever having met Steve Jobs or having spent any time with him it is hard to say if the biography is accurate representation of his personality. In order to write a book you need good stories and usually good stories emerger from situations where there is a conflict or problem to solved. Unfortunately, Steve Jobs is portraid as a manic personality. While the book depicts the mercurial personality of Mr. Jobs, it seems to hide the everyday guy and how he was when things went smoothly.

What I kind of miss in the book is Steve's opinion on social media. Did he think it was important or driving for of technological innovation?

Conclusions

The book leaves your opinion about Steve Jobs swinging back forth. Why was this very strange guy able to create two extremely successful companies? What was his magical touch that enabled Apple to grow in to the most valuable technology company during the past ten years? Even though Steve Jobs's personality was flawed he must have had a clear vision of what he wanted. On one level I can understand Jobs. He barely 25 when he suddenly noticed that he had a fortune of 250 million dollars. It is next to impossible that this much money would not affect you at all.

Give it a read and tell me what you think.

Moomis

Since I was a child I've been a big fan of the Moomin animated series produced in Japan in the early nineties. The manga style animation was so beautiful and the stories were so well adapted to TV. Even though the stories in the animated series were quite different from the original Moomi books, the animated series has educated several generations to appreciate the Moomi way of life.

Moomi books are wonderful and exceptional pieces of literature

I felt that I wanted to know a bit more about the original stories and I also had herd that the original Moomi books are great literature and have philosophical side to them. I chose three books that I thought had the most interesting titles except for Moominpappa at Sea (Pappan och havet, 1965) which I knew to be very good novel. The two other books I read were Moominland Midwinter (Trollvinter, 1957) and Moominvalley in November (Sent i November, 1970). The second reason why I chose these two books was that I thought they might help me get ready for winter and all the darkness of autumn, or so I thought.

It is amazing how different the stories in these books are compared to the stories in the animated series of my childhood. The animated series lacks most of the gloomy atmosphere and philosophical reflection of the books. The world of the animated series is happier and more carefree. That is how it was when you were a child.

One theme that rose up in all three books was how the Groke symbolises what happens when you are forgotten, not seen by others and left without love. The Groke represents everything scary and Moomis are scared of Groke, but I can't help feeling a bit sorry for the Groke. Groke is left out of everything and has to live all alone outside of the Moominvalley. Of course, in the book Moominpappa at Sea this changes quite a bit.

It is quite funny when you notice that you are reading about your own problems and weaknesses from a children's book. Sometimes it feels that do these books even give anything to children. My mother read Moominsummer Madness to me and my sister when we were little but I can't remember how the story really progressed. All I remember is the feeling. That is probably the strongest quality of Moomi books.

Reading these books was a really great experience. My favourite book of the three was Moominvalley in November and how it portrays what keeps people from being happy and the different mentalities and life philosophies of people. If you are looking for happy-go-lucky children's stories the Moomi books might not be the thing for you.

Medvedev presidency

Time for yet another book review. This time the book I want to tell you about is about Russia and it's current president Dmitri Medvedev. The book is written by Arto Luukkanen and titled "Medvedev - Venäjän isäntä vai Putinin renki" (Medvedev - Ruler of Russia or Putin's servant? [free translation]). The book recaps the story of Medvedev's road to power and his relationship with Putin. Since the book is about very recent events the analysis in the book isn't that in-depth. The book is more of a narrative about what has happened in Russia during the past ten years. It is truly surprising to realize how many note worthy events there have been during the Medvedev presidency and how many of them I have forgotten.

I really liked the book. Reading it was a bit like reading a thriller. The book sheds light to structures of Russian society that get virtually no coverage in the media. As a good example of this is the short introduction on the Russian newspaper landscape and what kind of organisations and people can be found behind different newspapers. Various Russian think tanks are also covered and who they support. Out of the many Russian bloggers Luukkanen mentions Aleksey Navalny who has gained popularity for his campaigns against corruption and revealing government misconduct. You can find his blog here. One thing that amazes me after reading the book is the fact that we in the west do not know by name that many people from the Russian ruling elite.

The book explains very well the basic structure of Russian politics and gives you an idea about the different political tendencies.*  Particularly the rise of securocracy is extremely intriguing and at the same time extremely worrying. The big dilemma of Russian politics seems to be (and is) the need for immediate and swift modernisation versus the stability (or stagnation) of society that is needed for development.

Since the securocracy rose to power the conditions in Russia have stabilised and the standard of living rose until the financial crisis of 2008, but now the infiltration of ex-intelligence operatives to all regions of Russian society threatens to prevent all meaningful modernisation efforts. To make things more complicated the different security branches are not exactly friends are there are different factions inside the security services. The securocratic elite has in few years become more of an obstacle than enabler of modernisation. For them everything is fine as long as money flows in their pockets and no one questions their rule.

Did Medvedev rule Russia at any point? What were his goals and did he achieve any of them? In my opinion Medvedev clearly had some vision on how he wanted to modernise Russia, but the brief war with Georgia and the financial crisis postponed the start of the reforms. Also Putin and Medvedev seemed to have disagreement on the speed of reforms. In my eyes the bad guy here was Vladislav Surkov who is widely seen as the main ideologist in Kreml. He was appointed as the First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office by Putin in 2008. Surkov was the one who critised Medvedev(!) for being too ambitious with his plans for modernisation. Maybe the situation was such that there were two against one and Medvedev had to back down. Further more the book suggest that the battle for presidency started already in 2010. Medvedev supporters are/were mainly Moscow's think tanks and parts economic elite who thought that the liberalisation of political life is necessary. However Medvedev was not able to gain the support Russian regions. At the end it seems that even tough Medvedev tried there never was enough room to for him to accomplish anything of significance. 4 years is too short time in Russian politics and changes don't happen gradually, but are more like earthquakes that change everything in a heartbeat. It seems that for now Putin is back in helm and that is how it is going to be for the next 12 years.

I learned a bunch of new things reading the book and had leave out a lot of details that were worth mentioning. I believe that the book equipped me with information that enables me to look at what happens in Russia more objectively and to better understand what happens in Kreml in the future.


*Wikipedia also has an article about the topic, but I am not sure how accurate it is at the moment. Should give you some leads if you want to know more.