Category: Technology

So most of you know I’ve checked out a couple of online dating sites but have done it more in the name of research as opposed to searching for somebody to date. This is evident in the fact that I won’t pay for the services. I’m mostly interested in the different UIs, the algorithms for setting ppl up, the business models and the mobile apps. Apparently yesterday an app launched at DEMOfall 09 which gives a person the ability to look up people that they will possibly date. Although the app is free but you have to pay extra (I hope it’s written clearly how much and at what point) for information regarding criminal records, social networking info… This is an app I will not be purchasing. When looking at companies or services, I usually research the management and it appears that this one has a sketchy history. Kinda funny if you think about it since they probably wouldn’t want allegations of fraud to be brought up when requesting funding or trying to get a date but with their app, it’s possible.

Where I was going with this is that yes, I sometimes google people that I’ll be meeting up with or going on a date with but in the end, I look forward to getting to know the person by actually talking to them as opposed to researching everything about them first. Unless of course you’re an ax murderer…

So Google’s been down for a little while now and it appears nobody knows why. My twitter feed is filled with people letting me know that they can’t access gmail or gchat but that’s basically all they’re saying. I googled “why is google down” and that brought up mostly results having to do with old news. So then I decided to try out a couple of real-time search engines; OneRiot, Collecta, and Scoopler. Most of the results appear to be from twitter and they seem to be focusing on people not accessing gmail but nobody seems to be telling me anything besides the fact that they can’t get on. This is where I feel there’s a problem. I do find it comforting that I’m not the only one with this problem but I’m annoyed that I can’t find actual news. I’m surprised Google hasn’t come out with information on their blog as the popularity of real-time search provides an opportunity for a lot of mis-information to be spread. Oh well, was hoping that somewhere I would be able to find the answer to my question but it looks like I’ll just have to wait. Patience is something that has gone by the wayside as technology has gotten faster and faster. Not only technology, I guess: everthing. I wonder who we told about #FAILS before twitter and SNS came along. Did we call people or just do something else? Here’s some screenshots of my results:

One Riot:

Scoopler: Collecta:

Twitter Trending Topics: Appears Google really isn’t that big of a deal

After 2 years of my Match.com profile being set on ‘invisible’ I decided to take a look at it and make some updates. I got interested in different dating sites due to various iphone apps for meeting people. My intentions weren’t/aren’t to meet the one but more to check out the UI’s and different functions available within the iphone apps. While I’m open to online dating, I’ve found that there’s a couple of barriers for me that hinder meeting someone. First reason I’m not completely sold on online dating is that I’m still being introduced to ladies through friends and social groups who know me quite well. Secondly, I don’t like the business models.

I guess part of it is that I’m still quite happy meeting people through friends which makes me lazy when it comes to putting in real time and effort into meeting a woman via the internet. That being said, I do enjoy checking out the match.com iphone app and who knows, maybe I’ll meet somebody. There really are a ton of people using it. Now comes the business model issue that I referred to: I’m what I consider a “casual online dating site checker” I look at who’s viewed me, winked… every once in a while but I still am very much meeting people through other avenues. So I’m not willing to pay a monthly subscription to communicate with somebody or see who’s emailed me… thus far, the emails have been from people who don’t have profile pics up and yes, that’s a deal-breaker for me. I would be more interested in Match.com if they started offering a micro-transaction type model for those of us who every once in a while want to email/ wink… then we could be charged per wink or per email. How about charging me a dollar for every email and $.25 per wink? That would definitely make people think longer before winking at every Joe Schmo they see. And if you’re wondering if this type of model is profitable, I’d say it is. Just look at the revenues that gaming/virtual worlds are pulling in via micro-transaction models.

I chose Match.com as an example because I haven’t bothered using any other sites and with dating sites, there needs to be a large pool of people using the site and they seem to be the biggest.

*Disclaimer: I don’t work for any dating sites. I’m actually happily single and blessed/humbled to have wonderful friends who feel I’m a good enough guy to introduce to their other friends

**Just a note: This isn’t going to become a blog about dating as I don’t write about my personal relationships. My Facebook status will not be showing single, complicate, dating… nor will ever unless I start dating Jessica Alba.

Below is a question and answer regarding robots and the issue of robots disobeying orders/doing unethical actions… I think I’ve seen too many movies as I read the answer as Asimov blah blah blah oh my God, the robot is killing my dog. Ok, so maybe I made up that last part of I’m jaded after seeing Will Smith have to take on the whole robot force in iRobot. For now, I’ll vacuum my floors, pick up heave objects, and figure out what’s logical on my own.

Q: Do you envision robots ever disobeying military orders on the battlefield to “do the right thing?” If so, under what circumstances?

A: Asimov originated the use of ethical restraint in robots many years ago and presented all the quandaries that it can generate. In our prototype ethical governor (and in the design itself) we do provide the robot with the right to refuse an order it deems unethical. It must provide some explanation as to why it has refused such an order. With some reluctance, we have engineered a human override capability into the system, but one which forces the operator to explicitly assume responsibility for any ethical infractions that might result as a consequence of such an override.

— Ronald C. Arkin, director of the Mobile Robot Laboratory at Georgia Tech, who is working on programming ethical behavior into military robots.

Just had a video call with my parents in Michigan and my sister & her family in North Carolina. Quite comical as Michelle’s webcam first wouldn’t work and then her audio wouldn’t work. My parents were having a good time trying out all this new technology. Maybe it’ll go off without a hitch next time we do it. Happy Fathers Day!