The Snarchitect | Technology meets creativity meets culture. And snarky commentary to make it all taste great.

Security Quiz

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Rick

Jennifer Lawrence

All of the following have happened recently. Here’s a quiz: Which of these captured the most public attention and outrage? 1) Hackers prowling the network at JPMC for two months without detection; 2) massive credit card breach at Home Depot, possibly by the same group from the Target hacking; 3) celebrity breasts revealed to the world

Hackers burrowed into the databanks of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and deftly dodged one of the world’s largest arrays of sophisticated detection systems for months.

Home Depot may be the latest retailer to have suffered a massive credit card breach, the company confirmed on Tuesday, after a website reported that a large cache of stolen data had appeared on black market sites.

For celebrities, privacy is utterly nonexistent. You are asked intrusive questions about your personal life. You can be photographed at any moment. Your family is investigated, photographed or harassed daily – parents, children, sometimes even siblings also losing any semblance of privacy simply because you share the same blood or name. Celebrity is, in some ways, an infection that is only marginally beneficial.

The latest startup in the shipping business

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Rick

Startups are attempting to take the “ship” out of shipment. Here’s the latest, Shyp

The premise of Shyp is simple by design. The idea is to provide the next best thing to pure teleportation. Download the app, take a picture of the thing you want to ship, put in the address where you want it to go—and you’re done. No bubble-wrap. No packing tape. No weighing or deciding between UPS and FedEx. A Shyp courier just comes to your door within about 20 minutes and takes the stuff off your hands. That’s it.

The Internet of Things will cost more than companies think

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Rick

The Internet of Things will cost companies more than they think or are ready for

Though the Internet of Things era has only just started, it may already be broken.

Like generals fighting the last war instead of the next one, many companies working to build the Internet of Things seem to be stuck in the smartphone and tablet era, embracing approaches that will soon be obsolete, if they aren’t already.

Today, smartphones are powerful hubs surrounded by less intelligent objects. Each device is managed and operated from a few centralized data centers. This is not yet a major issue as devices currently last only a year or two before being decommissioned. The cost of managing data centers is limited in duration and underwritten by a constant flood of replacement devices with short lives.

Not so in the Internet of Things era: an LED lightbulb has an expected life of 20+ years; aircraft are expected to remain in service for decades; the average car on the road in the US is now more than a decade old. Applying a centralized cloud-based business model to these devices will mean decades of expense without decades of associated revenue. At IBM we already see clients that are struggling with device-related services that have failed to meet revenue targets, but cannot be switched off for fear of angering an installed base.

Preparing for the Internet of Things in the Enterprise

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Rick

Preparing for the Internet of Things in the Enterprise

‘One practical example is demonstrated within the healthcare sector,’ says Adam Diggins, technology evangelist and content development manager at Toshiba. ‘Patients could wear devices that monitor their vital signs, such as heart rate or blood pressure, and communicate this data to medical practitioners.

‘Another practical application could be the addition of sensors in manufacturing processes. When faults occur, sensors can send signals to central systems, which can save money for the manufacturers, who do not mistakenly sell faulty goods, and improve satisfaction for buyers, who are confident that they are purchasing a quality product.’

Manufacturing and healthcare are indeed two verticals that immediately stand out when you think about the opportunities presented by IoT, along with retail.

This is because these sectors require a logistics and supplier network for the services they supply. If the materials involved in those networks were IoT-enabled, they could create more intelligent and efficient processes.

‘The financial sector and government will not draw as much return, as these sectors do not have as many “physically moving parts”,’ says Hans Zandbelt, senior technical architect at Ping Identity. ‘But IoT will nevertheless be beneficial in supporting functions such as IT and office automation.’

Time Changes Everything

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Rick

Time Changes Everything

If you’ve read this far, you know we’re taking the long view of ourselves today. So before you go, please take 30 seconds, go to “Here Is Today“, and keep clicking “Okay” until you get a perspective on our place in the universe. No pictures and few words are necessary.

The Clock of the Long Now

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Rick

If the Antikythera device was the greatest machine from the ancients, then for certain the greatest machine for the next several millenia should be the 10,000 year clock. Here in the year 02014, you can learn why legendary computer scientist and inventor Danny Hillis put aside the day-to-day and takes the long view on society, technology, and humanity. Here’s the Clock of the Long Now. And here’s how it is being engineered.

The Clock of the Long Now

The year is 12011. Two hikers cut through a stretch of cactus-filled desert outside what was once the small town of Van Horn, near the Mexican border, in West Texas. After walking for the better part of a day under a relentless sun, they struggle up a craggy limestone ridge. Finally they come to an opening in the rock, the mouth of what appears to be a long, deep tunnel.

As they head into the shadows, not quite knowing where the tunnel will lead, the sudden darkness and the drop in temperature startle their senses. After a few minutes the hikers reach a cool chamber dimly lit from above. A tall column of strange shiny metal gears and rods rises hundreds of meters above them. Steps cut into the walls spiral upward, and the hikers ascend until they reach a platform. A black globe suspended above depicts the night sky, encircled by metal disks that indicate the year and the century.

The Antikythera Mechanism

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Rick

The Antikythera Mechanism as found

The greatest machine ever made is not my sports car, but rather a 2000 year old analog computer made by the Greeks. Known as the Antikythera mechanism for the Mediterranean island of its discovery, it baffled engineers for decades, still surprises for its accuracy and sophistication, has launched its own research project, and has even been recently recreated in Legos.

The Antikythera Mechanism

The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project

Lego Antikythera Mechanism

Today it is believed that this instrument was a kind of mechanical analog computer used to calculate the movements of stars and planets in astronomy. It has been estimated that the antikythera mechanism was built around 87 B.C and was lost in 76 B.C. No one has any idea about why or how it came to be on that ill-fated cargo ship. The ship was Roman though the antikythera mechanism was developed in Greece. One theory suggests that the reason it came to be on the Roman ship could be because the instrument was among the spoils of war garnered by then Roman emperor Julius Caesar.

X-rays of the device have indicated that there are at least 30 different gears present in it. British historian Derek Price has done extensive research on what the antikythera mechanism may have been used for. It was not until 1959 that Price put forth the theory that the device was used in astronomy to make calculations and predictions. In 1974, Price presented a model of how the antikythera mechanism might have functioned. When past or future dates were entered into the device it calculated the astronomical information related to the Sun, Moon, and other planets.

The Last Generation before the Internet

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Rick

People “of a certain age” offer lots of commentary that bemoans the rise of the latest technology: pictures of rotary phones; decrying the death

The Last Generation

of print journalism, the decline in quality of network TV, the rise of “viral video”. As generations age, it was always thus, but it seems more pernicious lately. In fact, today’s adult population is the last to ever remember the era before the Internet. And as this generation, we owe it to our successors to remind them of how it was before, but also not to fight the changes that are both ubiquitous and irresistible. We all share What it Feels like to be the Last Generation to Remember Life before the Internet.

If you were born before 1985, then you know what life is like both with the internet and without. You are making the pilgrimage from Before to After,” he writes. It is a nice conceit. Harris, like your correspondent, grew up in a very different world, one with limited channels of communication, fewer forms of entertainment, and less public scrutiny of quotidian actions or fleeting thoughts. It was neither better nor worse than the world we live in today. Like technology, it just was.

The Marathon Monks

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Rick

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you know that the story of the “Marathon Monks” is one of my favorites. In the age of viral video, the instant gratification economy, and celebrity worship, it speaks to us of mental toughness and a commitment to a cause that seems to be, and may indeed be, impossible. And the cause has no benefit other than the desire to accomplish something difficult, and thus be enriched as person. The challenge is so difficult that in a bygone era, you would take your own life rather than fail. So difficult, that in 400 years, only 46 have accomplished the goal.

The trails of the Marathon Monks

The unmarked graves on Mount Hiei are the sober reminders of an era when commitment to an impossible goal was admired. We still live in such an era, I’m certain of it. Here is the story of the Marathon Monks.

During the first 100 days of running, the monk is allowed to withdraw from the Kaihogyo.

However, from Day 101 onwards, there is no withdrawal. The monk must either complete the Kaihogyo … or take his own life.

Because of this, the monks carry a length of rope and a short sword at all times on their journey.

In the last 400+ years, only 46 men have completed the challenge. Many others can be found by their unmarked graves on the hills of Mount Hiei.