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Android and Tablets

I treated myself to a budget smartphone a week or two ago, which is running the Android Operating System.  I have to say, that it’s been a very pleasant experience so far.

With this in mind, I’ve been looking around at various Tablet computers and realising that the whole way we compute is about to change forever.  The IPad has started a ball rolling, and while I think it’s pricey for what it is, I do accept that it’s an idea whose time has come.

I have been able to write and answer emails, browse the Internet, test write a draft for this website and even perform simple network diagnostics from my phone.  The phone even has GPS and there is a free GPS suite called Skobbler that’s well worth a look, I’ve also found that the location aware services are eye opening.

With access to the Google Apps suite and a decent size screen, I would have less reason to use my laptop PC.  I honestly can say I think Android is going to overtake Apple’s IOS, and I can genuinely see cheap Android devices sparking a revolution in the way we do mobile computing.

The future is looking very interesting!

A False Duality?

The slow changing of the way of life we take for granted here in the West is proceeding relentlessly.  Along the way it’s turning out to be fairly instructive to watch the politics and the posturing.  Quite a few of our leaders can be seen clinging to the old ideas, the old paradigms.  They’re trying to defend a status quo that is, at least partially, undefendable.

It seems to me that the logic used to do this defensive work is often that of duality. For example they put forward the idea that it’s “growth or ruin”, or in terms of transport that it’s “oil power or green tech”.  The list goes on and I imagine every reader could add an example.  All of this is presented to us in a very “good vs evil” dualistic way.  We are reassured by the simple plain views, the clear easy choice, but are these choices really that clear cut?

Take oil power or green cars for example, why no mention of a boost in public transport and the creation of walkable cities?   Also, economic growth vs deflation is presented with a few assumptions about which is best, but with no mention of the steady state society.  Also no mention of the fact that future growth might be very constrained.

I’ve come to the opinion that the point of this sort of thing is to prevent a real debate on the very important issues.  We are steered onto desired courses via a ‘false dilemma’ fallacy, presented with two choices chosen from a larger set with the aim of blinkering us to the possibilities. The whole aim of this seems to me, to be to present a series of false choices that defends the status quo to the bitter end.

We need our capabilities of skepticism and critical thinking more than ever.

A Gradual Awakening

I have to say that I believe that an awareness of our society’s problems with Peak Oil and the end of growth is creeping slowly further into the mainstream consciousness.  The assumptions that our Western way of life is based on are being called further into question over time and the voices doing the questioning are growing more numerous and louder with the passing of time.

With each problem, each speed bump along the way, more people get bumped onto the road towards waking up and people already on the road get moved along.  With that said, I know that many people have a colossal investment in Business As Usual, there are many who will fight the coming changes fanatically; even though their position in that of King Canute, their belief in the status quo is almost religious in it’s intensity.

For their part, the Vested Interests; the powers that be, are deploying every while and weapon in their not inconsiderable arsenals to fight this.  Every person whose consciousness is raised and who starts thinking freely is a loss for them, a body blow, and the more people that awaken to our situation the easier it is for others to do so.

For my part, I think the VIs are fighting a losing battle.  Once a person awakens, it’s impossible to unawaken; a consciousness raised cannot truly be lowered.  You may have denial and suppression but that’s all you have, consider that a religion knows that once the conditioning is broken that person is lost to them, it’s the same here.  This is a secular raising of consciousness that goes far beyond anything we’ve seen in religious terms.

But that’s a thought, and I will swing towards religion as my final thought in this post.  Religions hold views that are in some cases counter to the coming reality, those faiths are in for a shock.  For example consider Catholicism and contraception.  The coming population issues will challenge and break that teaching, the faithful believe the Pope is infallible, they are about to see both their leader and their faith shown to be in error.  Where does that lead?