I remember being dumbstruck after watching that video for the first time and realizing the power of programming. Karl Sims website still looks a bit like it did back then http://www.karlsims.com
I can relate to the author. I had a hard time passing exams in university due to undiagnosed concentration issues. I knew I was smart, but failing standardized tests left me feeling like an imposter. Regardless of finishing projects and tasks in the 95th percentile.
I am multilingual, an autodidact and I love programming. I also have a gift (your 6th sense) for engineering in that I am able to visualize and analyze machines/systems by glancing over the designs or watching them work. Combined with soft skills and programming experience this has proven of great value in industrial settings where I am able to relate and connect the mechanical, software and other engineering departments.
A couple of years back I started working at a start-up doing robotics and machine vision. Due to lack of time and personal I had to teach myself everything from inverse kinematics, path planning to a solid knowledge of 2D and 3D machine vision. In less than a year I was developing and integrating 3D vision systems and steering industrial robots. Only after delivering that first project on my own did I allow myself to internalize my accomplishments.
I might not have a formal engineering degree, but being a jack of all trades has proven to be a high value asset. It's about finding an environment where your (broad) skills pay off.
Generalizations as the one above make it harder for people like me to start a career as I very much belong to the second group.
Also, I can show you pointer arithmetic in my pet language.
With few exceptions the quality of talks, for which I was drawn to TED in the first place, has been in free fall for years.
5 or 6 years ago almost every TED talk was a gem for anyone with a single engineer, science or technology fiber in his/her body.
Becoming more famous is what did them in. Needing to push out more talks on shorter and shorter intervals. Shifting more and more from spreading ideas (i.e. technology), to telling stories and making people feel better or worse. And more importantly promoting whatever product/service they are connected to.
It has become an event where people think they need to be, regardless of interest in actual topics. Something which is reflected in the generic nonsense which is their comments section.
Also, if you are a self proclaimed "thought leader" you are a douche bag.
I agree that there should be an option to reset default settings or at least start with default settings.
However removing most options (and functionality) just for those users and situations where something might stop working, is wrong. Sure (some) settings could be tucked away better, but doing so to the extreme will influence how users view and use software.
This nurtures the sort of environment where users will kick and scream if a setting they altered does influence the usability of an application. The result: fewer and fewer options. Or options with large yellow safety warnings a la "stabbing yourself in the eye with a fork might result in loss of eyesight".
Although I would rather not see the list of API's be cluttered with items like "Icons", "Logic", "Physics", etc. They are just general concepts and besides they have no actual contents beside a wikipedia and Wolfram Alpha link.
Notwithstanding all the bad press SimCity got since launch; I got the game 3 days after it's release.
I had seen one or two beta gameplay videos and was seriously impressed by the stunning graphics and seemingly awesome gameplay. Reasoning any of the initial server issues would be resolved sooner rather than later made the purchase.
During the installation and initial launch I was rather curious, as the plenitude of bad reviews would have you believe that the game could explode any instant now. Nothing happened. I connected to the by default selected server 'Europe West 6' and started playing.
Since the first launch I have not experienced any of the initial server related issues. Yeah, that's right, NONE at all. Once or twice I got a message that connection to the server was lost but the message never lasted longer than 5 seconds. What's more those messages had zero impact on the gameplay.
I have played the game for about 15 to 20 hours (I was sick over the weekend). All I can say : It's great!. Sure I have noticed the flaws in the AI when 10 of you 12 dump trucks keep going back and forth on a single street and leave the rest of the city piling with garbage. Yeah that are a few bugs with the snapping and routing of buildings and streets, but the game is still freaking great to play!
"This is a huge problem, as big as the server issues and the DRM.
The game is, IMO, mostly unplayable at this point. I have no idea how they let this one out the door with the pathfinding problem, which in my book is an absolute showstopper."
Comments like these are as bad, if not worse than EA/Maxis explaining or denying the initial server problems.
"...- but this game is a travesty that should never have shipped in this state, even disregarding the server issues. There are core gameplay mechanics that are still fundamentally broken."
Seriously? A travesty? If that's your opinion I think you are either a fanatical SimCity gamer who's deeply disappointed at the unforgiving decline in quality. Or you are too closely related to the gaming industry and have very high expectations. Or most likely have a very biased perspective.
I like the design of the app and the idea of hacking cars ODB data. However I see plenty of things that make me raise (an) eyebrow(s).
1. It relies on the amount and quality of ODB data your car provides. The data is worth as much as the precision of the car sensors (fuel consumption on my 5 year old car is very unreliable).
2. "Upgrade your cars' capabilities" is just fluff. Your car doesn't gain any abilities.
3. I like the idea of making people aware of fuel economy but the quality of feedback is directly depended on 1. Bad sensors will give bad readings. If, however your car has state of the art fuel consumption sensors, chances are pretty high it's a nice car already showing that data right on the dashboard.
4. The emergency services will be contacted after a crash is detected by the accelerations sensors in your smartphone. A device that is loosely lying around somewhere in your car. In the assumption it survives a crash and isn't catapulted through the windshield landing 30 meters outside the range of bluetooth. Upon which it will give an auditive cue informing abrupt braking is bad for fuel economy and your social driving score will be negatively impacted.
The idea is great and has good uses. But for now it looks like a gadget bringing little new to the table. For the features it does have, only time will tell on how fail proof they are implemented.
Have none of you seen the spike in cabin temperature at the exact 400 mile mark? Instead of turning the heat down he set it higher.
I'm not arguing that the log data shows the complete story in enough detail as to contradict every statement made in the NYT. And one another is susceptible to suggestion.I find it odd however that the few persons above me seem to completely ignore the cabin temperature chart for the sake of their argument.
Anything with Microsoft in the title is trollbait I guess.