The trap of the performance sweet spot

A nice article outlining a "performance example" in Javascript.  The article might help answer the question why yet another language was needed, Dart, to address programming for the web.

Google Play Services

There is always a lot of talk at Apple events about Android fragmentation and the adoption rate of the newest Apple iOS version.  This article in arstechnica suggests Google have addressed this with Google Play Services.  It clarifies services and their dependent applications from OS capabilities (mitigating for instance the claim of others that a browser is an integral part of an OS).

Great advice on starting and running a business

A quick read with useful* advice on starting and running a business.

(*I have had a non-technology business for 7 years now)

The lilies grow before our eyes

An article in the Economist, On "bullshit jobs", refers to  On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs .  Getting past the commentary on current jobs, the issue is a future defined by the rise of sophisticated automation ... eliminating whole categories of jobs and leading to significant pressures on existing social structure.  I found a new concept  ...  "capital-biased technological change" Some of the other links mentioned and worth a look are Inequality in the Robot Future and  Welcome, Robot Overlords.  Please don't Fire Us? .

Maybe best summed up in a supposed exchange between Henry Ford II and Walter Reuther, referenced in another Economist article, Difference Engine: Luddite Legacy

Henry Ford II: Walter, how are you going to get those robots to pay your union dues?

Walter Reuther: Henry, how are you going to get them to buy your cars?




* The lily reference is all about the difficulties humans and thus societies have in understanding and dealing with exponential growth.

That's one ugly map

An article in the Economist shows a pretty ugly map about pension obligations of the US states (those of the federal government have been pretty well chronicled).

A thoughtful article by a New York teacher is a sober, personal view of the problem.  One wonders how the politicians, unions, retirees and tax-payers/residents are going to solve the mess at scale ... or just wait for the train wreck to force them a) to the negotiating table b) court c) all of the above.

"

This lack of legislation is also starting to hurt Chicago, the state’s biggest city. By 2015 the payments the city must make will spike dramatically—a forecast that caused Moody’s to downgrade its rating by three notches, to A3, last month. On July 31st the mayor, Rahm Emanuel, warned that next year’s $339m budget deficit will yawn to $995m in 2015 and to $1.15 billion by 2016. Revenues are around $3 billion annually.

"

Race Against the Machine

The book, "Race Against the Machine" by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, is a nice read.  Positive perspective, with some prescriptions for change.

Consistent with the article http://www.technologyreview.com/news/509281/you-must-make-the-new-machines/

Pass the sugar, please

A talk Sugar: The Bitter Truth might cause you to say "I'll pass on the sugar, thanks".

There are also some harsh words about the effect of alcohol on the body.