Discover Magazine, September 1999

Computer Scientist and AI theorist Hans Moravec thinks our whole lives might be a simulation. We might just be flickers on somebody else's two dimensional screen.

Right now, while the scientists can't manufacture a Matrix level VR right now--the field is kind of in its infancy--the first steps toward simulated life are being taken as scientists pit one computerized life form against another.

Some might dare call it controlled evolution if there wasn't a chance it would be banned in Kansas.

Scientists, Thank God, haven't been deterred by the Kansas censors and continue to rely on a "theory" as opposed to faith when going about improving software to be used in space.

As profiled in the September issue of Discover, NASA scientists David Noever and Subbiah Baskaran are using natural selection to find the best software to do the best job. Or as it states in the story:

The goal, according to the heathen scientists, is to create evolutionary and adaptive software--I think the technical term is genetic software--that can think as it goes.

Just for the record, that was just one of a handful of interesting stories in Discover this month. The other stories really weren't in my radius of obsessive interest, but all of the stories--the lead story on sexual desire drugs, exploration for mythic animals of the Rain Forest, lightning creation, a profile on a noted aeronautics engineer and others--were very well written and/or well edited. I've been reading this magazine off and on for the last several years and this is one of the tightest issues I've ever read.

How to phrase the difficult into language that is accessible and interesting is the great challenge of science journalism. PC Magazine, for example, almost always fails, where this month's Discover passed. Highly and contagiously readable.

The only reason I'm not giving it more than four stars is that the stories weren't necessarily stuff I'm into. But I guess what I found surprising, and this is a sign of good writing, the writers made the topics pretty interesting. I must admit I was already interested in their sex drugs cover--which exhibited a woman draped with a snake reaching for a purple viagra pill--but I expected it to be racier or something. Turns out that sex is more complicated for women. Oh that's a scoop.

4.3 out of 5.0

I try to read as many popular computer hardware magazines that I can get my hands on. Two reasons: the tech changes so fast and a lot of times one read isn't enough. Two reasons, again, as to why one read isn't enough: I lack the computer literacy to understand the depth of acronyms being flung my way and two, the writing just isn't engaging enough.

I often pick on PC Mag because a lot of times it seems to me to be unreadable. Whenever I have to struggle to finish articles I know that I'm not having a good reading experience.

If you would like to read about technology and actually get the feeling you have a sense of what's going on I would heartily recommend reading a special PC Gamer publication called "The Ultimate Hardware Bible". Should be on display until November 3^rd, so you should get a chance to take a look at it.

Full of information that actually made sense to me, topics covered in the "Hardware Bible" included everything from overclocking to video standards to building your own machine were covered. And it made sense to me. Why's that?

First, it's published by Imagine Media, which also publishes "Maximum PC" and "Business 2.0" among others, and the publication's alleged mantra is "media with passion", and quite frankly I believe they live up to their creed. There's a difference between somebody writing--or doing anything for that matter--with passion and emotion and somebody who isn't.

I got the impression that whoever wrote these articles were serious about gaming and they took that same passion to their hardware. I learned that Soyo and Asus motherboards were among the best for overclocking. I learned that you can add several different types of fans--including blowers--to your case in order to keep your overclocked chips from overheating. I learned about the advantages of the new Intel Camino chipset in terms of its graphics capabilities and so on.

Furthermore, I got a rational and readable explanation of Direct X technology for the first time. Just to contrast and compare, here's a paragraph about Direct X from PC Mag February 10 1998 edition:

"OpenGL, developed by Silicon Graphics, offers an interface for 3-D graphic and is used more for simulation and visualization applications than for games. It fits into the High Level layer of the Windows 98/NT architecture--just below the applications layer--relying on DirectX, which resides on the Low Level layer, for optimal hardware support."

Wha…?

If you're not quite sure what the above meant, then join the club.

Here's a graph from the "Hardware Bible", same topic:

"So why do you have to install DirectX so often? There are a few reasons. First if you're diligent about keeping your hardware drivers up to date, you should install the latest version of DirectX after you download and install the latest drivers posted by the manufacturers of your components…Game developers usually try to incorporate the features of the very latest DirecX, or at least to suggest that you check it yourself, and offer to install the latest version for you."

Well, that made a lot more sense to me. Not that every word in PC Mag is full of technobabble and everything in the "Hardware Bible" isn't. But I know where to place my bets on readability.

So, if you would like the idea of comprehending explanations about difficult computer concepts, well, the "Hardware Bible" is your read.

Fast Company, September 1999

First off, Fast Company is a slick, well produced magazine. The only reason it hasn't been reviewed before is that it isn't primarily concerned about technology and there's a glut of New Tech speak. Just this issue you can find words like "resultant" and "viral marketing" which has nothing to do with technology or science, other than the science of definitions.

Yet, being the sucker for the future that I am, I found myself drawn to this particular issue because as the Millennium dawns magazines are taking speculative looks at the future. Fast Company apparently won't be the exception.

So I bought in this month and found some interesting stuff.

Centerpiece of September’s issue has to be the interviews with a number of tech luminaries.

Some of the highlights for me were:

*Physicist and science popularizer Michio Kaku offered his own disturbing view of the future. He predicts that in 20 years the good jobs in the valley will be gone, done in part by an abundance of nanoscale computation. "A whole new generation of computers will emerge: DNA Computers, protein computers, quantum dot computers. Silicon Valley will become the rust belt of the new economy."

Usually I always find Mr. Kaku both informative and entertaining, but I think he’s completely off base on this point. For one thing, most of those Silicon Valley companies and researchers are at the cutting edge of developing those kinds of transformative technologies. In other words, it will be a Microsoft or a Transmeta or a Xerox Parc or an Intel that will most likely develop and exploit these technologies.

Furthermore, as fellow futurist Eric Drexler has pointed out, the future will need even more programmers than we have now. The strength of the computer industry really isn’t hardware, but software. Most of that new rich net elite aren’t hardware suppliers, but coders and app originators. In other words, I don’t think he’s right and I really don’t think this prediction by Kaku will come true:

"Who knows? One day you might be strolling down the street and pass by a homeless person. Your glasses might tell you, "Look! There’s Bill Gates! He couldn’t make the transition to the post-silicon economy."

*The assertion by World Famous Indian Microlender Muhammad Yunus that the West is missing a great opportunity by not concentrating on Third World People "American Business people have thought too small. They’ve focused almost solely on the United States and Europe. But for every person in one of those markets, there are three people in the developing world."

Yunus believes that Technology could be the great egalitarian force for good in the 21^st century. "Technology allows companies to hire people from anywhere. A US Security company, for example, can hire villagers to monitor its systems in homes and offices."

*Rajat Gupta, worldwide managing director of McKinsey & Company, believes that the future means more than just advancing widgetry and computation. "Answering the life-altering questions posed by technology goes beyond simplistic ideas about progress. We need a more holistic intelligence, not just knowledge, wisdom."

Gupta uses poetry as a management tool. "Every six months, all 700 partners spent a week together. In my closing talk, I read poetry. At first that took people by surprise. But over time, poetry has affected what we’re doing. Poetry helps us reflect on the important questions: What is the purpose of our business? What are our values?"

*The recognition by Leadership Circle Cofounder Jim Stuart that he was a more effective leader when he began to trust his colleagues as much as he had himself. Maybe he can convince my boss to give me a key. I doubt if he would have much luck.