From the category archives:

Anti-Buzz

Anti-Buzz: Judo

May 18, 2013

When I’m thinking about modern technology but I’m not waxing philosophic about it here, I’m usually thinking about digital products – music, movies, photos, games, software – and the economic reality behind them. Occasional soapbox moments aside, I don’t delve into these topics much here because it has seemed to me that the subject wasn’t relevant to [...]

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Anti-Buzz: Stylus Pens

May 11, 2013

The Buzz: A tech prediction! The Anti-Buzz is going to make a tech prediction! The Anti-Buzz: I predict that stylus pens are going to get really popular. The Buzz: … Groan, I hear you say, that’s a boring prediction. I admit that it might only seem bold in as much as it is very unexciting. Stylus pens? you [...]

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Anti-Buzz: App-Stores

May 4, 2013

I’m in a bolder mood this year and I was going to come at you with another tech prediction this week, (albeit a strange one – wait until next week), but instead I’m going to have to backpeddle and address the state of a tech prediction I already made. Big news this week was that several [...]

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Anti-Buzz: Windows 8, Part 2

April 29, 2013

Last week I provided and overview of Windows 8. This week I dive more into my personal experience actually trying the software. Obtaining the Software: I have the privilege of trying Windows 8 for free, however it should be noted that the price of the Windows OS, (In the $100-$200 range), has come down from [...]

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Anti-Buzz: Windows 8, Part 1

April 20, 2013

Windows 8 has been widely available for some months now and has existed in preview form for even longer, but I’m only just trying it for the first time now. When I first saw screenshots of the new operating system I was excited for two reasons. Microsoft was, (apparently), going for a post-WIMP interface. (windows, icons, [...]

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Anti-Buzz: Data Smog

April 13, 2013

I’m not a social scientist, but I play one on the Internet. And so does everyone else. Which is sort of the problem with the Internet. If you’ve read my articles even a little bit, you know I’m pretty much a wild optimist about the positive impact computing technology has had and will have on humanity, [...]

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Anti-Buzz: Public Journaling

April 9, 2013

Hello, it’s been a while. A couple of weeks back, in my last article before my little break to get married, we hit on something very important: software metaphors. Another piece of metaphorless software that you are likely familiar with, Facebook. Even with ‘book’ in its name, Facebook, and social media in general, don’t really [...]

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Anti-Buzz goes on a Honeymoon

April 6, 2013

Andrew Emmott the author of Anti-Buzz just got married !!! Under the circumstances we gave him a few weeks off. NEW Article this coming Tuesday April 9.

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Anti-Buzz: The End of the Metaphor

March 16, 2013

I’m going to come right out and predict an upcoming trend: The End of the Metaphor. It’s a broad yet a subtle trend. With the foundation of pop-computing well and truly built, there is going to be a sea change in how software is designed for your average user, this does include you, and (eventually), your [...]

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Anti-Buzz: Spreadsheets

March 2, 2013

  Spreadsheet use is a valuable technical skill, can teach you to think smarter and constitutes “real” computer programming. Time for a reversal. I’m going to praise spreadsheet users. I’ve never spoken ill of the technology mind you, and history is on the spread sheet’s side, as it is oft cited as the killer app that [...]

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Anti-Buzz: Don’t Panic

February 23, 2013

Welcome to my new time slot! After some discussion we’ve decided that pushing me to the weekend was a good call. We’ll see how it goes. Last week I gave you a heady piece about online society. I sort of stepped around some salient points about the relationship between businesses and social media, and decided [...]

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Anti Buzz on the Move

February 19, 2013

The popular Anti Buzz column has been moved from Tuesday to Saturday starting…right now. Check back Saturday.

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Anti-Buzz: You are the Cloud

February 12, 2013

The Buzz: A person is smart, but people are stupid. I’ll openly admit that when I first came here I didn’t quite know what to tell you about social media. The past couple of years have seen business attitudes toward social media move from uncertainty, to frustration, to acceptance, if not complete understanding. Of course, [...]

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Anti-Buzz: Communications Breakdown

February 5, 2013

Why do computers lie to us? Why don’t they always listen to us? Well, they don’t lie to us exactly, and they can’t really ignore us, but given that we are prone to take everything they do so personally, it feels like lying. It’s hard not to feel slighted when communication breaks down between you [...]

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Anti-Buzz: Modeling the World

January 30, 2013

The Buzz: You can’t beat human intuition. The Other-Buzz: You can’t beat the hard truth of math. “The plural of anecdote is not data” – an aphorism of somewhat uncertain origin. I will still begin anecdotally: when I was much younger, there was a joke about “them”. They told you eggs were bad for breakfast, [...]

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Anti-Buzz: Driver’s Arithmetic

January 22, 2013

The Buzz: A computer can’t possibly account for all the variable in driving a car! The Anti-buzz: Driving is only arithmetic. Early in the year while we are still looking forward, I’d like to talk about another emerging technology – automated cars, (read up if you are unfamiliar with this phenomenon). I’m not going to [...]

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Anti-Buzz: Groundhog Day

January 15, 2013

I promised a tech prediction last week. My first prediction, in simplest terms, is that 2013 will be Groundhog Day for television. After this year we’ll know whether we face a prosperous spring of on-demand television, or another few years of broadcast winter. An either/or prediction? No – plainly, I think 2013 is the year [...]

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Anti-Buzz: 2012 Year in Review

January 8, 2013

Given the choice between a holiday and reviewing 2012 in a timely fashion,I chose holiday, So before I get to 2013, we will spend this week reviewing 2012. First, when I looked back across last year, checking up on predictions I made  I realized that I was timid in the sense that I did not make any [...]

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Anti-Buzz: Rules

December 18, 2012

Next week I’m planning a year-end review where I evaluate my own predictions for the year and come to the disappointing realization that I didn’t make any. (Note for next year: embarrass yourself with inaccurate predictions). As we stand, I have one more topic for you to round out the year, but it harks back [...]

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Anti-Buzz: The Perils of Linear Thinking

December 11, 2012

I recently listened to a talk about machine learning, it began with the broad argument that our attempts to create sustainable environments had failed. By the speaker’s own admission, “sustainable” was a buzzword that he was almost embarrassed to use (a nice parallel to my own focus here at “Antibuzz”). Sustainable is a classic buzzword [...]

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