We sometimes forget how miraculous it is that our technology talks to each other. The ability to hook a computer to a network, or Skype to a landline, is not preordained. It takes interested parties to sit together and set standards. The "Internet of Things" is a great idea, but suffers mostly from being an endless series of data islands. A dishwasher can talk to the … [Read more...]
FILIP: Kids’ first smartphone
Kids are being raised with (by?) phones and pads. Kids, inevitably, want their own way before they're ready. As a parenting tool, they can be useful, as a way to stay in touch and monitor where the kids have gotten themselves to. But only a loon would hand a little kid an expensive phone and expect the phone to survive. FILIP is an interesting middle ground. It's a big … [Read more...]