[Gaming] Play Station Network/Qriocity Services Down

Photo From NYTimes Blog

An external intrusion on our system has affected our PlayStation Network and Qriocity services. In order to conduct a thorough investigation and to verify the smooth and secure operation of our network services going forward, we turned off PlayStation Network & Qriocity services on the evening of Wednesday, April 20th. Providing quality entertainment services to our customers and partners is our utmost priority. We are doing all we can to resolve this situation quickly, and we once again thank you for your patience. We will continue to update you promptly as we have additional information to share.

 This short post is the only solace that PS3 gamers unable to access the Play Station Network got on Friday. At least Sony KNEW about the problem and they were trying to fix it.

It's interesting to note that this attack on the Sony network comes days after this story came out concerning the lawsuit against George Hotz and he hacked the PS3 hardware and programming. Obviously I am absolutely not saying that Hotz had anything to do with it, and he probably didn't.

But it is possible and it shouldn't be ruled out that those who support him and PS3 hacking in general have made this attack to show their support, or just stick it to the man.

In any case, thousands (millions?) of players being unable to access the PS3 network because of this attack is kind of a large price to pay just to stick it to the man.

Some of the gamers unable to log on to the PS network might actually resort to going outside, or doing homework, or actually doing their jobs (!!) and that would just be awful.

[Tech] The future of human-computer interaction

Inspired by an article I read today on Big Think I took a good hard look at the way that I want humans to interact with machines in the future. And then I forgot most of that and decided to write about it anyway.

If you're anything like me then you're desperately awaiting the day that computers are embedded in our eyeballs and microchip processors enhance our brain function. Or maybe you're just waiting for the day that you can close your eyes and be playing an online video game with the information beaming into your brain through those same microchips. I'm probably waiting for that one too.

Things like the iPad and iPhone and the touch media craze that have come with them are a good sign that these kinds of technologies are on the way which is the good news. the bad news is that optically embedded computers are probably a ways off.

We might not quite be at level of Minority Report. But we're getting there.

Things like an internet connected camera implanted into your skull though, yeah that's real. This story might be a few months old, but it's still relevant to this conversation. Basically some guy decided it would be really artsy to put a camera in the back of his skull and have it take pictures 24/7. Now, personally I really don't see the art behind this, and it really just looks like some sort of popularity/publicity stunt.

 However it is interesting to look at this guy's attempts at art/being popular in terms of human-computer relationships. Who knows, maybe this guy will set the precedent and we'll all be wearing cameras in our foreheads in the future. Which might be lame actually.

Google Facing Copyright Infringement for eBooks (for the last 6 years)

You know, I have been wondering how Google has gotten away with digitizing books and offering full access to them for a price like they do on Google Books without facing copyright infringement lawsuits or something of the sort.

Turns out they are facing copyright infringement suites and they have been for the last 6 years. Who knew.

Now, 6 years into this litigation, a proposal drafted by has been rejected by U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin.

Google has proposed to pay royalties to the owners of the copyrights for each of the books it scanned. But, apparently, the problem is that for quite a few of the books, the owners of the copyrights can't be accurately determined, and so much of the money they'd be offering to pay wouldn't be able to go to anybody. Quite a conundrum.

Furthermore the deal would allow the internet giant to continue to digitize books while paying said royalties, potentially leading to a "universal library" of books on the internet. While this seems like a great idea, apparently Judge Denny Chin thinks this deal is "going too far" even despite the benefits that having such a large digital library would bring.

The proposal would clearly give Google a market advantage in terms of selling eBooks. Whereas other companies would be required to get permission of the copyright holder to digitize and sell eBooks, Google could go on digitizing and selling without seeking the appropriate permission.

Fair? No. And Judge Chin doesn't think so either.

I can definitely see the benefit of having such a huge library of books available online. I've used Google Books many many times to finish that last minute school paper without having to go all the way to the library. But I can certainly see the issues, and it definitely wouldn't be cool to see other eBook publishers shoved out of the market due to a near monopoly (that we all know Google could accomplish) on eBooks.

See the story on BBC News, or for more in-depth coverage check out this article on ComputerWorld

Japan Earthquake: Robots and Rescues

 It's not surprising that after the devastating 8.9 earthquake experienced in Japan this past week that the Geek-o-sphere (I made that up) is overflowing with news pertaining to both the relief efforts and the efforts to fend of the potential nuclear meltdown happining in the Fukushima district of Japan in the wake of the earthquake.

On top of these two things, it seems as if every Arab nation has decided that the old ways have got to go. Again, the geek-o-sphere has got this covered in terms of news, and not just normal news either, there are some truly “geeky” things going on in Japan in relation to this crisis.

At the risk of seeming like a news recycling blog (I like to think I put a personal spin on things) and taking a page from Phillip DeFranco, let's take a look at some of the things that interested me in the news this past week.

Robots. Real. Live. Robots. Well, you know, without the "living" part.

Now, OK, you might be saying “Luc, Robots aren't that special, bomb squads have been using them for years to deactivate bombs 'n stuff.”

Well you know what I say to you, smart ass?

I say that these aren't just regular Wall-E like robots that have extendable arms and are remote controlled. Although there are those too. These are robots of an entirely different sort. Snake Robots, for example. As well as underwater robots, which are probably going to be some of the most helpful considering this disaster was caused by a tsunami, although information on the underwater robots is apparently scant according to an article on the IEEE Spectrum blog.

Here's a video of that snake robot I mentioned earlier in action. 

Now, I don't know about anybody else, but if I was stuck in a situation where this snake was required to find me, and I saw it trying to find me, I might actively try to avoid being seen by this thing, because it's f'king terrifying and I've seen War of the Worlds a few too many times.

It's like being saved by the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland, except without the hookah and rude sarcasm.

At the time of writing this post, Japanese power has been restored to the nuclear reactors that were near meltdown, and the Japanese have avoided another tragic situation, but the tragedies in Japan are still unfolding, with thousands without homes due to the tsunami, and thousands more "nuclear refugees" evacuated. It's important now to think of the Japanese people, keep them in your hearts, and if possible, donate to the Red Cross relief fund. You can donate Here.

It's Elementary my Dear WATSON.

WATSON, A question answering program/machine developed by IBM, is now the new Jeopardy champion.

Last week WATSON went up against Jeopardy's two well known champions, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, who hold the records for longest consecutive winning streak and highest earning respectively. 

Not surprisingly considering that it's a machine, WATSON kicked both of the champions' butts in the competition, winning itself the $1 Million prize. 

More importantly, however, WATSON has shown us that the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) development is rapidly expanding, we're making great leaps and bounds towards a machine that we could potentially, have a conversation with in very natural language. Gone would be the days of typing things into Google to find an answer to, lets say, a computer problem. 

The IBM website for WATSON has a ton of interesting 2-minute videos about the various applications of WATSON and how it came to be developed, it's all very interesting. 

Particularly interesting would be this technology's use in the medical field, doctors would be able to use WATSON (Or some variation thereof) to assist them in diagnosing a patient, and the results would be able to be highly personalized, as you'd be able to enter all the parameters surrounding the patient's condition, hight, weight, age, medical history, etc. 

Not just plain medicine either, biomedical research, business, sociology, anthropology, customer service, and everyday things like fixing a computer problem or a car problem could be significantly aided with this technology. It sounds optimistic but there's really no end to the industries that would be drastically altered (probably for the better) by this technology. WATSON is a huge leap in the field of AI, and it's only going to keep getting better. The future is upon us.

If you'd like to learn more about WATSON check out their website, there's tons of information there about it, and make sure you watch Jeopardy every single day. Because it's the best show ever. (In my opinion).

(By the way, Sherlock Holmes never actually says "Elementary my dear Watson" in any of the Sherlock Holmes stories, just a fun fact.)

How Genetics Should Be But Isn't Viewed

This isn't a post about religion.

This isn't a post about the morality of genetic engineering.

This isn't a post about nature vs. nurture (well, maybe a little).

Although I'll probably post about all of these things in the future...

This is a post about the fact that people seem to think that our genetics are the absolute end all be all about everything that ails society. From disease to maladaptive personality traits, people are want to believe that everything can be explained or solved through genetics. This simply isn't the case, and I'll explain why in a moment.

This post is about those people who like to play the "genetics card" and blame every problem they have, like drug addiction, commitment problems, tendency to abuse their kids, and anything else that they might not have an explanation for, or they're too lazy to fix or both. Large news aggregators like CNN or MSNBC or NPR have decided it would be a good idea to link genetics with things like child abuse and heart attacks, and even the inability to recognize faces. I'm not saying it's not true that our genes might affect our ability to recognize faces, but we are all products of our environments and our genes, you can't blame everything on one factor.

 The truth of the matter is that genetics can only play part of the role in determining somebody's propensity for a certain trait or a certain disease or a certain something or other. The way the media portrays genetic studies makes it seem like we're all slaves to our genetics.

What people need to understand is that genetics plays a ROLE in determining somebody's personality or propensity towards heart attack or inability to recognize faces.

There is no "heart attack" gene that we can remove to ensure that you'll never have a heart attack. You might have a gene (or lack of a gene) that gives you less of a chance of having a heart attack, but if you eat a double cheeseburger with bacon every day you're still going to have a heart attack eventually(probably).

There are definitely genes that are set in stone though, like hair color, eye color, how much hair you have, etc. These things might be set in stone, and they might be governed solely by genes, but that DOESN'T mean that they're controlled solely by ONE gene. Often times many genes working in tandem with each other determine somebody's hair color, or skin color.

This is also true for the less "set in stone" genes like a propensity for heart attack, there are dozens of factors, dozens of genes, that will determine whether or not you have a heart attack, and painting one gene as the enemy of anybody who's ever had a heart attack diminishes the seriousness and the size of the problem that scientists face when they're looking for cures for diseases.

  PROOF! (You're Welcome)

 

Image Attribution: jscreationzs | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Art of Being Geeky: An Introduction

Being a Geek is an art form, it really is. It's not enough to just follow the vlogbrothers on YouTube (although that would technically make you a nerdfighter, we'll let that slide, they're essentially the same). It's also not enough to browse ThinkGeek every once in a while. And it's certainly not enough to read Engadget or Gizmodo every time you can be bothered to open your RSS reader.

It's all of these things, and more.

Being a Geek is a way of life, it's religiously checking Gizmodo, Engadget, YouTube, The Oatmeal, Hyperbole and a Half, and every other tech and internet meme blog on the internet (this is by no means an exhaustive list). 

It's making lame internet meme jokes when you're out with your "real life"  friends in the "real world". 

It's referencing a YouTube video that you just assume everybody has seen. 

It's correcting people's grammar just because you feel like it. 

It's getting in debates on Forums or the comments section of your favorite blog. (not to be confused with the actions of trolls on YouTube or Chatrooms for we shall not be associated with trolls.)

Being a Geek is something that you're born into, it's something that you live, It's not really something you can become.

So for all my Geeks out there, I introduce to you a new blog, a place where you can get your daily dose of Geek, a place where you'll (hopefully) laugh a lot, and a place where you can feel at home.

Welcome to OMGeeky. I hope you enjoy your stay.

Image Source: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net