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Jonathan’s interest in technology blossomed when his family purchased their first computer: an Apple IIe. He has remained a technology enthusiast over the years and still gets excited when he encounters a new gadget or computer program. While he is fascinated by the technical aspects of computers and electronics, his main interest focuses on the social impact of technology. Whether he's defending human rights in the digital landscape or examining the mating habits of professional gamers, Jonathan is sure to have a strong opinion -- and he’s not afraid to share it. You can find Jonathan on Twitter at @TechStuffHSW and on Facebook at the official TechStuff page.
Most Recent: Jonathan Strickland Postings
This morning, I read an Associated Press report about hackers associated with the group Anonymous posting information about current and retired police chiefs in West Virginia. According to the report, the hackers released this information in response to cases of police brutality. They also posted a message saying that police chiefs are victimizing the people who pay their “exorbitant salaries.”
What a night. Nothing really illustrates the power of the Internet like a massive, semi-coordinated series of attacks on dozens of Web sites over the course of a few hours. That’s what’s going on as I write this blog post and it all stems from seven people targeted by the Department of Justice and the FBI. Those seven people were named in an indictment that charges them with crimes ranging from copyright violation to money laundering. According to CNET, if found guilty they could receive a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
When electronic readers and tablets began to become popular, I sighed a wistful sigh. I thought about how useful a thin, light device that could store thousands of books would have been back in my college years. Back in my day, we had to carry massive libraries of books, sometimes relying on wheelbarrows or wagons to get from one building to another. Why, The Complete Works of Shakespeare alone was enough to help a puny Liberal Arts major put on some serious muscle mass. By the time I got to class, I was exhausted. If only I could have stored all those textbooks on a single device!
I don’t know if you’ve noticed but the Internet went kind of crazy today. Crazier than usual. On a normal day, crazy means a flame war or two (thousand), a hundred or so cat videos and more content than you can shake a stick at. But today, people and companies across the Internet have tweeted, blogged, posted on Facebook and used every other means to get word out about some controversial legislation under discussion in the U.S. government. The two main targets have been SOPA and PIPA. Here’s a quick rundown on what these are and what they could mean to you if they were passed into law.
Tech and the health industry have a pretty healthy relationship. Gadgets like pedometers have been around for years. Even so, at this year’s CES I saw more examples of tech designed to help you meet your health goals than ever before. Some were sophisticated devices that break down your every move into quantifiable results. Others relied on a simpler technological approach but employed social games and challenges to keep you motivated to lose weight or tone up.
While I’m focusing primarily on emerging technologies at CES 2012, you can’t get around the fact that some staples in the tech world take center stage. This year, the three categories that are getting a lot of early attention are ultrabooks, TVs and tablet computers. But which ones will have staying power and which ones will fade away before even hitting store shelves?
This morning marks the first official day of the 2012 CES conference. The consumer electronics convention is the stuff of legend. It’s where Microsoft first unveiled the original Xbox. It’s where we oohed over the Palm Pre, not knowing its fate. And its where thousands of exhibitors show off their products and prototypes in the hopes that retailers and the press will get excited and drive consumer demand.
Once in a while, I stumble across a story so remarkably absurd that I question whether or not I’m awake. Today, I saw such a story. Forbes blogger David M. Ewalt wrote about how the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has criticized Nintendo and the Mario series for animal cruelty. It all stems from an item you can find in several Mario games called the Tanooki Suit. This is a costume of a raccoon-like animal that gives Mario limited flying abilities.
I think it’s safe to say that the iPhone 4S feature that has received the most attention is the virtual personal assistant Siri. Just in case you haven’t heard, Siri uses voice-recognition technology to interpret requests and retrieve the best response. In some cases, the response may be an answer to a question such as “how much is five pounds in kilograms” (answer: about 2.27 kilograms). In others, Siri might launch an appropriate app or initiate a Web search to get the answer you need. And a lot of time has been spent asking Siri silly questions to see what sort of answers might pop up.
In a couple of weeks, TechStuff is going to cover the story of Nintendo in a two-part special. The company is over 100 years old and managed to succeed in an industry that, after a disastrous crash in 1983, most people thought was finished. But this same company, which many considered to be an unstoppable [...]
Recent Postings by Category
BrainStuff
- Thank You and Best Wishes to Marshall Brain
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The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
Keep Asking
- Why can a 5 foot 8 inch man dunk a basketball on a 10 foot rim while some people of taller stature can’t?
- What happens to our sun once it runs out of fuel?
- How do we know the age of the universe?
Stuff Mom Never Told You
- Who invented the Christmas card?
- How the Kinsey Report Fueled Whiskey Sales
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Stuff to Blow Your Mind
- Blow Your Mind: In the Lair of the Rat King
- Mandala: Memory Palace, Inception and Simulated Worlds
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Stuff You Should Know
- The Southern Death Cult, the Maya and Georgia
- Deformed Baby Spider Brains
- Amazing Medical Conditions: Maple Syrup Urine Disorder
The Stuff of Genius
CarStuff
- Was Chrysler’s “It’s Halftime in America” Super Bowl commercial a little too political?
- Why is NASA studying car safety?
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How-to Stuff
- How to Make the Most of a Gallery Crawl (When You’re on a Shoestring Budget)
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PopStuff
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 40: Did movies ruin love?
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 39: Urban Legends
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 38: Defending Disney Princesses?
Stuff They Don't Want You To Know
Stuff to Change the World
- Who will own the Arctic?
- Obesity: The New Global Crisis
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Stuff You Missed in History Class
- Butch Cassidy: Should we read between the lines?
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- Party Time: A Look at Unconventional Politics
