Kids Can’t Use Computers… And This Is Why It Should Worry You
Not really knowing how to use a computer is deemed acceptable if you’re twenty-five or over. It’s something that some people are even perversely proud of, but the prevailing wisdom is that all under eighteens are technical wizards, and this is simply not true. They can use some software, particularly web-apps. They know how to use Facebook and Twitter. They can use YouTube and Pinterest. They even know how to use Word and PowerPoint and Excel. Ask them to reinstall an operating system and they’re lost. Ask them to upgrade their hard-drive or their RAM and they break out in a cold sweat. Ask them what https means and why it is important and they’ll look at you as if you’re speaking Klingon.
Over the past week or so I’ve been playing with adding real-time sync to One to Watch using TouchDB, syncing via Cloudant (where I now work). The idea is two fold:
- All your devices will be in sync. The same list of films, the same ratings, the whole caboodle. At the moment this is within a few seconds, but I'm wondering how much this drains the battery (TouchDB holds open a connection to Cloudant to receive notification of changes). It might be best to do periodic sync rather than always-on.
- I'd like to add a web app once the sync works well, talking to the Cloudant database.
Cloudant’s service is based on CouchDB. CouchDB is a document database built from the ground up with disconnected operation in mind. It has a robust protocol for transferring data between databases, including getting two or more databases into an identical state. It’s obvious this should be a great fit for keeping mobile devices in sync with each other. Even better, the protocol is designed around the assumption that all devices are peers, and so doesn’t require a central point for a “master” copy of the data. Think git rather than svn.
That’s what makes a good QA person. The best are macabre figures who delight in torturing developers, but then make up for it with the succinctness and precision of their bug reports.
I’m sure I’ve heard this before, but it bears repeating.
And what of the entertainment industry and its “piracy” problem? Well, back in 1939, the science fiction writer Robert A Heinlein published his first story, “Life-Line,” that contained his truest prediction:
“There has grown up in the minds of certain groups in this country the notion that because a man or corporation has made a profit out of the public for a number of years, the government and the courts are charged with the duty of guaranteeing such profit in the future, even in the face of changing circumstances and contrary to public interest. This strange doctrine is not supported by statute or common law. Neither individuals nor corporations have any right to come into court and ask that the clock of history be stopped, or turned back.”
Drinktrack 1.2 was approved by Apple last night and is now live on the app store. I’m really pleased with this release: it includes everything I originally intended to include in Drinktrack. The highlights are:
- **Weekly target limit**: you can now set a target for the maximum units each week.
- **Graphs**: these are really helpful in seeing how well you're doing in hitting your target. I think they look pretty good too.
- **Icon badge**: showing the number of units this week on the icon badge allows you to keep track without opening the app.
For my use of Drinktrack, these features have a benefit greater than the sum of their parts. And, of course, they can be turned off if you don’t need them.