Remote Sensing Tools

A little disclaimer: This one’s a bit of a rant, mainly due to the frustrations of the junk I see out there — primarily in relation to those who claim to be journalists just covering and manipulating the markets. They appear to have very little bearing on reality, and that basically frustrates the hell out of me — and it’s probably due to their having extremely little, if any experience, in the technologies they write about half the time.

The nay-sayers out there over the years would argue that people like me were ‘crazy’ in discussions. Crazy to think that the mobile paradigm would usher in an age that would have a total impact on the way we used technologies in our lives. Back when I was still designing Web sites, and considering all the ways in which we could make interfaces more useful, more functional, more accessible (the main premiss to design, over just all that pretty flash and color that everyone assumes design is about) — a handful of us whacky ‘creatives’ envisioned a world in which we had freedom to access tools, not limited by the constraints of a desktop, a desk, an office, a cubicle, and an otherwise locked-in existence to a single space in order to access tools and services to enhance our lives and our work — and our bottom-line.

Everyone’s happy then knowing exactly where and how much TP is in the store, and where the heck it is.

The mobile paradigm — it’s a design functionality no-brainer. The concept isn’t exactly new. And it’s the everyman’s no-brainer, really. Say you’re at the local supermarket, and you can’t locate where in the heck that 96-pack of TP is. Well, whip out your mobile unit, and log into the supermarket’s nifty database they provide, that shows you the exact location of that item over a visualization of their floor-plan, which not-so coincidentally by design, that supermarket also manages its entire inventory. Sweet! (We could be a couple years away in seeing implementation for location-aware supermarkets — but it’s realistic, and it’s really not as far off as you’d think. The technologies are there.) Everyone’s happy then knowing exactly where and how much TP is in the store, and where the heck it is. Okay, now let’s go to that restaurant we like that has the menu I can order from, directly from my phone — since we were so efficient in managing our time at that massive, colossal monstrosity of a place, that you almost have to drive a golf-cart through just to get to anything. We get fantastic service there from the waiter, because all he’s doing is taking care of our order and our additional needs. Sweet. I like that about that place! I think I’ll leave that helpful waiter a tip through the menu’s tip jar, attached to my order, which then goes into that waiter’s account, taxes taken out for him in advance!

Well, it’s finally here, folks. I mean, here in absolute spirit, with the release of Android — an Open Source platform for mobile that’ll help any developer to create the most useful and functional applications. And it’s not locked-in by someone’s attempts to make you have to use their tools, their network, their price-plan. It’s here, it’s Open Source, and as conversations back then with my friends Ed, CJ, my brother, Aaron, and a couple others, about what the next big things in the landscape would be — well, they’re either already playing out, or they’re finally solidified in existence by current developments. (As I remember, I tried getting them into seeing where Blogging was going back when Blogger, B2, and Grey Matter were really coming into initial use. “We should get into templates!” That didn’t happen though, as I kick myself.) The Mobile paradigm was just one of those many things we knew would revolutionize the way we did everything — and it was really just a dream, a vision, that we knew this key thing would make it possible to drive so many true functional purposes for end-users. Later, getting into the geospatial world by some twisted design of fate that drove me in that direction — mapping was a no-brainer in the same space and context.

The mobile market’s been stagnant in functionality for too many years. Everything they promised got lost in the quagmire of some bean-counter’s fantastic ideas of how to run the show. That’s been the major complaint anyone has had. Lock people into service plans that you have to pay ridiculous amounts of money in penalties if you decide to cancel — offer sub-par functionality, and nickle and dime the end-user to death with more premium functions in service plans. I guess, after you total-up that bill at the end of the month, you start realizing what’s wrong with this picture. Who’s really benefiting from the technology? You? Or the company that’s nickle and diming you to death? What about the investors? I’m sure they’re getting a kick out of the profits. How many people can actually afford these charges, or end up altering their spending habits to accomodate having access to this technology? And do they ever really use that money to make anything cheaper? Not in my experience. Have you ever experienced an actual price-drop in light of the upgrades? I didn’t think so — I haven’t either. Shall we talk about Cable too, since I’m in the ranting mood?

Look around us now. Look at the entire technological landscape and ask yourself — how did we get here? Since when does the media try to look like a Blog site, and since when does a platform like WordPress gain such support and advance so rapidly into the mainstream consciousness? Guess what — it’s called Open Source, more specifically, a willingness of open development that drives innovation, that seeks innovation and wants it to enhance their lives. It’s actually more about conceding to the needs of the users than it is anything else. It does wonders in development, especially when people are behind the projects and have a passion to commit to developing things that are useful to people, enhance their own lives as well as others, creates energies and synergies, and otherwise makes you feel warm and fuzzy all over. That’s where we’re at. Look around you! It’s there! You might not have noticed that it’s happened! It’s what’s shaping the modern technological landscape! It wasn’t locked-up in some method of making it proprietary or so you had to cut off a finger in order to pay for it. (According to the insurance companies, fingers are worth a lot these days! Go fingers!)

It’s practical — and unless people want to get left behind, or point those valuable fingers at each other about why this type of technology becomes so valuable to society and business — then perhaps it’s time you point that finger back in your direction as to why things don’t quite go the way you think they should for your own motivations. Not everyone’s all that concerned about how high the stock price is going to go — most people are just sick of being charged extremely high rates for things they would like to use, which are supposed to benefit their lives, not make it break their bank account every month based on someone’s idea of what matters in the world (aka: money).

People eventually also get tired of major communications companies going to the government, lobbying Congress to hoodwink the system and make it difficult for small business initiatives to get off the ground. But but, it’s the American Way they might say. Eventually people, and some responsible corporations react — and they react to the benefit of everyone (you know, the way it should be). I don’t know about you — but I don’t get involved in things that are meant to enhance something, unless I think it will enhance something for the benefit of all. Do you? Or are you just out to make gobs of mad cash? I’d rather see everyone get a little break, personally — as when I started out using a Commodore 64 when I was little and participating in these whacky things we called Bulletin Board Systems (aka: BBS, the precursor to the Internet), I don’t recall any of our thoughts were anything other than that technology was meant to enhance our lives, and make our lives more efficient and less costly. And the hopes were, that that mentality and dedication would translate into mass economic and social impacts — impacts that would have the direct effect of empowerment, functionality, and especially major financial impacts that would make our lives better and raise our standard of living and security.

Not that Open Source is the only reasoning behind why these things mature. People have to find ways of making some money so they can continue doing what they love to do. But man, if Android doesn’t represent something to me — the same way that developments like WordPress have, or the countless other communicative projects out there that have existed during these handful of years. The mobile paradigm is finally here for me, and in that context, I actually have to thank a company like Google for putting something out there in a way that demonstrates their dedication to the everyman and woman. The people out there who are trying to develop and use technology in a way that benefits ourselves, and hopefully everyone else too, and without breaking our bank accounts (and even providing us with stuff that can help us save or make a little money too!).

Sorry for the rant, but man — come on! Quit complaining about this company has this or that, or that oh no it looks like Google is trying to rule the world with advertising, and get right in the world with technologies! That’s the fun of it! That’s what it’s all about! To make our lives better than they were yesterday! Google just happened to have figured out a better way to monetize their model without making people have to pay out those fingers! Get over yourselves! That’s all they did! They’re not trying to rule the world! They’re just smart!

Okay, now I feel better. But will anything change, do you think? I guess now we’ll just have to see how everything plays-out. I would be willing to suggest that it will change, and change for the better. One can only hope, right?