Ben Babcock's Comments

Spark | CBC Radio : Spark 99 - January 17 & 19, 2010

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:27:30 +0000

I sort of feel like I'm spamming the comments for this episode, but this comment didn't really relate to my replies above. . . . :D I just wanted to say that I enjoy how well all the segments in this episode mesh together. In that respect, this episode is very well put together. I'm not saying that I want every episode to integrate interview themes so closely like this one did--sometimes a potpourri is a nice change of pace! But when you do integrate your themes, Spark team, you do it well.

Spark | CBC Radio : Spark 99 - January 17 & 19, 2010

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:24:45 +0000

Andrea, it seems to me that the interview with Sahara agreed with your position on spying on one's children: it has a negative result. Why do you dislike the episode for pointing out something with which you agree?

Spark | CBC Radio : Spark 99 - January 17 & 19, 2010

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:22:08 +0000

Not really, no. The "line," as you put it, is bounded above by the magical ages of 18 and 19, which are the ages of majority in the various provinces and territories of Canada. A parent has no legal right to control what his or her child does online after the child reaches the majority. If you're implying that a child, upon reaching the age of majority, is going to _want_ state surveillance because he or she has grown used to it, I seriously doubt it. As Sahara pointed out, strict surveillance by parents usually caused a child, even one who had a good relationship with his or her parents, to react negatively. And in the highly individualist cultures of the Western world, it's unlikely children are going to grow up comfortable with the idea that there is _no_ personal privacy. The ideology of privacy will continue to change and shift in response to the effect of the Internet, there's no doubt about that. But accepted state surveillance? No, I doubt it. Back to the idea of entitlement though. I would be surprised if many parents continue surveillance on their children right up until 18! Nevertheless, there is no "magical age" prior to that where one can say a child is going to be mature enough. Some children are mature enough by 12 or 13, others by 15 or 16. It's something each parent and child must decide on a case by case basis. However, surveillance is only one (and neither the most important nor the most effective) strategy for ensuring a child remains safe online. Hopefully parents are talking to their children and educating them about how to use social technology safely. And this is a dialogue that should continue long into adulthood. It's not a dialogue of static roles either, with the parent as the mentor and the child as the student. Children have plenty to teach their parents about new technology as well.

Spark | CBC Radio : The future of radio? Crowdsourcing questions for James Cridland, radio futurist

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 21:03:48 +0000

You ask "will iTunes or Sirius/XM or Last.FM ever be as simple to use as my radio?" The radio may be simple to operate, but I think it's easier to obtain the programming I want through something like iTunes. With a radio, I have to learn at what time the program is broadcast and then tune to the correct station. On the dinky clock radio I have in my bedroom, the stations are crunched together, so a minute flick of the tuning dial will take from CBC to a staticky folk music station. And heaven forfend if I reposition the radio in any way, because that means another five minutes of fiddling with the tuner! By listening to my radio shows via podcast, usually through iTunes, this whole process is "simpler" to me. I don't have to worry about scheduling: I can just search for the show I want by title, download it, and it'll play without any fuss. While iTunes has more bells and whistles when it comes to the user interface, the controls for operating podcast playback are as simple as a VCR: play, pause, rewind, fast forward.. In case one can't tell from my position above, I find listening to my radio shows as podcasts enjoyable as well as simple. :D I love that the CBC makes podcasts available, and I'm interested in hearing this interview. No question from me for now, although I like GaryM's point above about how our on-demand technologies give us less exposure to "random learning."

Spark | CBC Radio : Full Interview: Gabriella Coleman on digital book piracy

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:24:08 +0000

Great interview! However, I would have liked to see more on the issue of accessibility of books and how this relates to piracy. I've been thinking about this lately because I'm reading Robert J. Sawyer's new book, WWW:Wake. The protagonist is blind. Someone has recommended a book to her, and this is what she has said in a blog post about acquiring it: "There's no legitimate ebook edition, damn it all, but of course _everything_ is on the Web, if you know where to look for it..." Before online distribution of books became easy, people with a disability that prevented them from reading print books had to find an alternative format (which isn't always available), have someone read to them, or just not read the book. The Web changes all that, making it possible to easily download audio books if they exist or use screenreaders to listen to ebooks. That's why the controversy over the Kindle's text-to-speech function angered me so much: sure, maybe a corresponding audiobook existed for some of the Kindle books, but certainly not for all of them. Thus, what the publishers are saying is that some of the potential customers aren't worth the effort. I won't argue, like they have, that a text-to-speech function is the equivalent of an audiobook narrator; however, it's still better than not reading a book at all. The Internet has a great deal of accessibility issues of its own, so sometimes we forget that it's giving new opportunities to people who face accessibility gaps offline. For some people, the choice isn't between the convenience of downloading a pirated copy and purchasing a legitimate one. Instead, it's a choice between downloading a pirated copy or not reading the book. I know which I'd choose.

Spark | CBC Radio : Full Interview: Is Google Killing General Knowledge?

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:14:19 +0000

The answer is: yes, Google is killing general knowledge. However, I don't believe that's a bad thing. I loved this interview even though I'm tired of this topic--mostly because unlike this interview, when the subject comes up it tends to turn into Google-bashing (or education-bashing). Here, Cathcart's honest about not being able to draw a firm conclusion either way, and I appreciate that. Certainly there are cases where general knowledge is useful or even necessary. The story about the taxi driver is entertaining, but I question whether it falls under the category of "missing general knowledge." For a taxi driver, local geography is knowledge specific to his or her job. The fact that the taxi driver relied solely on GPS directions reflects worse on the driver (and his or her employer) than it does on the state of general knowledge. On a related note, London taxi drivers are required to demonstrate that they have "the Knowledge" of London's geography before they're certified to drive in the London area: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/businessandpartners/taxisan...

Spark | CBC Radio : Spark 84 - September 13 & 15, 2009

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:06:07 +0000

It appears we've been going about this whole "flying car" concept backward. The Terrafugia Transition is an airplane that doubles as a car--a "roadable aircraft". While not practical for everyday consumers yet, it's proof-of-concept and definitely has some applications: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/654495 Also, just wanted to point out that the link to the full interview with Wasik and Niedzviecki is ... non-existent. Excellent season premiere!

Spark | CBC Radio : Full Interview: Luis Suarez explains how to quit email

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 04:03:03 +0000

Mr. Suarez makes a compelling argument for preferring social networking to email. While he has many valid points, email still comes out ahead in one respect: your email knows everything. Distribution comes with the price of potentially forgetting where you put stuff. For me, the most useful tool my email provides is search. I've got messages I received back in 2005 that I occasionally consult because they have important information. Now, I suppose I could save that information to a special folder on my computer so I know exactly where to look--but why bother when my email remembers and organizes everything better than I ever can? I often communicate with friends and coworkers through social networking sites (usually Facebook). But then it becomes a problem of remembering where I sent someone a certain message if I later need to look up the message itself.

Spark | CBC Radio : The future of the textbook

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:00:13 +0000

My first resource for textbooks are friends who are a year or two ahead of me in my program (math); they're usually willing to lend or sell me their old textbooks. If that doesn't work, I hit the Internet for some comparison shopping. I prefer to buy my textbooks rather than rent them. I have no qualms about buying used: I've bought from eBay, Abebooks, and Chapters. BigWords.com is a great source for comparing textbook deals. Probably the largest single hurdle to buying textbooks online for Canadians is the fact that many of the bargain textbook stories (like eBay's Half.com) don't ship to Canada (or if they do, shipping can cost an arm and a leg). It's disheartening to turn up a wonderfully low price on BigWords only to find that the dealer won't ship to Canada. Still, I can usually manage to find my textbooks cheaper online than through the university bookstore. Digital textbooks come in two flavours, and it's important to distinguish between them. The digital textbooks published to replace or complement existing "closed source" textbooks aren't going to be remarkably cheaper than their hard copy brethren. This may sound like student angst, but I do believe it's true that it's about the money, not the cost of production--as long as students are required to obtain these books for their courses, the publisher will charge as much as it can in order to earn a larger profit. Regardless of motivation, one thing is clear though: many of these closed-source textbooks come with digital locks. While locks can be circumvented, the legality of this is questionable (at least for now), which raises questions about accessibility, among other things. Until we get better copyright laws that address these issues, adoption of digital textbooks will remain slow. The open source textbooks and courses you mentioned are a horse of a different colour. They're great in theory. In practice it's important to keep an eye on the quality of the material, of course, but in general the academic world has benefited through the use of open source and creative commons-style collaboration. The problem is that most universities aren't using or promoting them yet, either because there are bureaucratic obstacles to clear or the professor would prefer to sell the textbook he or she has written.... I suspect that open source courseware will become more popular as the next generation of professors and administrators hits the campus, since they'll be more familiar with the technology at their disposal. On the subject of illegally acquire textbooks: never. I fully support the fight for fair copyright, which is why I won't undermine that by obtaining my textbooks (or other material) illegally.

Spark | CBC Radio : Episode 81 - June 10 & 13, 2009

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:15:36 +0000

You forgot to include a link to the full interview with Hugh McGuire. Nice twaiku spot! I love hearing about innovative uses of Twitter (and I don't mean porn bots). The tobacco passport idea is bizarre--maybe it's a culture shock thing. The idea that it will prevent underage users from buying cigarettes seems flawed from the beginning. Unless there's some sort of biometric component, what's the stop an underage smoker from using a friend's passport, or just having a friend buy the cigarettes for him or her? It's just another type of fake ID to get. I'm actually far more interested in the usefulness of RFID in general, which you briefly cover with its additional applications to the supermarket. RFID's fascinating--I just don't want it in my wallet, and if I must have it, I want it better protected than the plans some provinces are making for Enhanced Driver's Licences. AWS Import/Export reminds me of something I read once about how the US Postal Service attempted to deal with what they saw as a competitor when email first came on the scene. I don't have a source for this, so I could be wrong. Apparently they launched some sort of "epostal" service where people could email the post office, which would then print out the messages and deliver them to the recipient. In that case, their business model was ... questionable. AWS Import/Export, on the other hand, seems like a much better use of the postal service for the purpose of transferring data.

Spark | CBC Radio : Full Interview: Bill St. Arnaud on the state of Canadian broadband

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:08:53 +0000

I can't help but think the best way to go is make Internet a public utility, like water and electricity. And the first step would be fibre to the home. Part of the problem comes from the Internet's origin in the telephone network. Telephone never became a public utility--if anyone has some insights as to why, aside from the fact that private companies took it upon themselves to build a network while the government didn't, I'd love to read more on the subject. Interestingly enough, until recently, Thunder Bay's only landline provider was city-owned (we've since had Shaw come in and offer home phone in addition to cable and Internet). This dependence on the telephone network reminds me of the interview Spark aired with Vint Cerf. Hindsight being so accurate, we'd likely have built the Internet differently had we known what we do now. Unfortunately, starting from scratch isn't an attractive option, so we have to make do with what we've got. The first step, though, is freeing ourselves from the limitations of the network itself, and of the companies who control that network. When I rant to my friends--who love to complain about how slow their Internet is--about the lamentable state of broadband, many of them give me blank looks. Maybe what we need is better education about this issue so that the public can pressure their elected representatives to do more about this in Parliament. Regardless of what Bell's official position is, they're answering the wrong question. It's not, "Is our broadband good enough for the consumer?" but "How can we make our broadband better?" Period. Because as you point out in the interview, the Internet's proclivity for data will only grow. We can't grow complacent; we have to continue to make the network better. So even if Bell's stance were accurate, it's still a defeatist attitude, and that should be shameful enough.

Spark | CBC Radio : Full Interview: Hugh McGuire on the Future of Books

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:59:00 +0000

This is perhaps my favourite interview, although there's a certain amount of bias involved, since I am crazily passionate about books. Hugh McGuire's very articulate in his explanation of what the digital world has to offer for publishing and the challenges we're going to face. I really enjoyed the questions you asked him as well, Nora. I can't emphasize enough the point that Hugh made about digital books and paper books being able to coexist. Maybe it's our natural competitive spirit, but we tend to create false dichotomies where there should be none. I got a huge box of books in the mail today from Chapters. I love getting books in the mail; I love holding paper books, smelling them, watching them wear with age and use. Maybe one day they'll come out with a Kindle that can dog-ear! At the same time, I love digital books for their convenience and the possibility that technology brings to the way we read. That being said, I'm holding out on purchasing any sort of e-reader until the technology improves somewhat. So again, thanks for the interview! This is a textbook reason why people should subscribe to Spark Plus.

Spark | CBC Radio : Video: Nora Young visits CBC Radio Archives

Fri, 22 May 2009 19:36:22 +0000

I love the videos you guys put up (as I'm sure many others do), especially when you show us places like the CBC Archives. Keep up the good work!

Spark | CBC Radio : Episode 77 - May 13 & 16, 2009

Sat, 16 May 2009 15:52:32 +0000

Thanks for the very interesting look at QWERTY keyboard history. I've never tried DVORAK, but a couple of months ago I undertook a serious attempt to learn the Colemak keyboard layout. It's very similar to QWERTY, with a few changes designed to improve ergonomics or typing time. I know a couple of friends who swear by it. When I tried it, I liked it for a while, but I just couldn't ditch the QWERTY layout. One of the major obstacles, of course, was the fact that other people's keyboards are all QWERTY! Luckily, I can type about 90-100 WPM! It's possible to change the character setting on a computer so that it uses a different keyboard layout even while the physical keyboard remains the same (that's what I did to learn Colemak). I'm wondering if in the future we'll get keyboards that are closer to touchscreens than physical keys, and as a result we could physically reconfigure keyboard layouts on the fly as well as changing the software. Added bonus: no more crumbs in the keys!

Spark | CBC Radio : Contest: Show us your messy desktop

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:39:36 +0000

I am another clean-desktoper! I don't have _anything_ on my desktop. I can launch OpenOffice.org Writer, Mozilla Thunderbird, Mozilla Firefox, and Digsby using hotkeys (via an AutoHotKey script). For any other program, I use Launchy to open it. I can just hit Alt+Space and type the first few letters of the program or file name. This is much more efficient than having to go back to my desktop when I need to open another program.

Spark | CBC Radio : Episode 74 - April 15 & 18, 2009

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:07:25 +0000

I absolutely loved Liane's poem! I have vacillated between keeping my wireless network open and locking it down. I love the idea of sharing my WiFi with the world and letting a random passerby check his or her email. On the other hand, anyone could use _my_ Internet connection to do something illegal, and it would get traced back to me. I'm not sure I want that kind of responsibility. While I would love to see more cities provide free WiFi (or even paid WiFi coverage, for that matter!) beyond the occasional hotspot around town, I'm not optimistic about this happening any time soon. However, that hasn't stopped smaller groups from organizing their own free WiFi initiatives, such as FreeWiFi.ca.

Spark | CBC Radio : Can online petitions and Facebook groups actually change anything?

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:49:21 +0000

For that reason, I never join the groups like "Stop child soldiers in Darfur"--realistically, there's very little _I_ can do about that other than say, "Well, yes, that's a good idea." However, I do join groups like Fair Copyright for Canada, since those are great sources of information and a way to meet like-minded individuals, some of whom may be near enough to me offline to meet in the real world. I'm critical of petitions in general, and online ones even more so. It's just so easy to sign them, and again it's a numbers game. Unlike Facebook groups, there's no way to use a petition as a means of communication (unless the creator of the petition wants to contact every single person who signed via email or telephone). I have to agree with Jamie here, although I'd opine that it goes beyond mere lip service. In addition to making people feel like they're "doing something" about a cause, Facebook groups can be beneficial means of communication among supporters of the cause. This is, after all, social networking. Members of the group can discuss the issue and organize real-world rallies or meetings. As usual, it's not about the quantity of members of the group; it's the quality that matters--is the group just trying to get attention, or are its members actively trying to advance their cause? For an example, take the Facebook group "Young Drivers Against New Ontario Laws" (a reaction to the provincial government's proposed legislation regarding drivers licences). The group wasn't the _only_ factor that affect McGuinty's decision to back down, but it seems to have had an impact. Transportation Minister Jim Bradley mentioned it in this CBC news article: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/12/09... I didn't join the group myself because, ironically, I didn't believe it would make much of a difference.

Spark | CBC Radio : How much information overload is self-induced?

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 07:08:08 +0000

This is something I forgot to write about in my original comment. It's easy to overuse Twitter and turn it into meaningless background noise. However, microblogging offers a convenient solution to another form of information overload: linkspamming (or whatever you care to call it). I'm sure all of us have done it--I'm particularly guilty: you find an interesting site, video, etc., and you can't wait to share it with your friends. Back in the pre-Twitter era, I would IM those friends whom I thought would like the item and urge them to look at it. This was disruptive for both myself and my friends. But if I didn't share it immediately, I'd often forget to share it later. Microblogging offers a good compromise between immediate and delayed gratification. Rather than spamming my friends with links or saving them up for a longer blog post full of links, I can tweet a link if I find something interesting. My friends will presumably see the tweet and check it out of if they so desire--as an added bonus, people I don't know have the ability to see what I like, and that's caused me to make some new friends. The live coverage of events like the Canadian election or the Mumbai attacks demonstrates the usefulness of Twitter. I saw some pretty sharp comments (from both sides) in the search feed during the Canadian election; it was not just the hooting of monkeys (although there was some of that too!). It's the temptation to tweet for the sake of tweeting, to tweet merely to say, "I'm here! Look at me!" that must be avoided.

Spark | CBC Radio : How much information overload is self-induced?

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:33:08 +0000

Most of my overload would probably be self-induced. I keep my email program open in the background pretty much all the time in case I get an urgent email. However, I don't let myself check my feed subscriptions more than a couple times a day. Pruning is also important, particularly when it comes to subscriptions--not so much the dead or rather inactive feeds, but the active feeds you find yourself ignoring on a regular basis. I have to ask myself, "is this really something I need to know about the moment it's published, or can I just stop by this site once every couple of weeks and read?" I have to agree with Anil that constant monitoring of one's information flow isn't going to be very satisfying. If I end up on the Twitter search page looking at which topics are trending at the moment, I know I need to go do something productive--there's no reason I should be there. Likewise, if I'm out all day and come back to fifty articles in my feed subscriptions, I don't need to process them all at once. They aren't going anywhere. I subscribe to several CBC news feeds, and CBC publishes new articles throughout the day; sometimes I'll come home to fifty news stories, and I know I don't need to read all of them. I use a cool Firefox extension called "Read It Later". It allows me to add any page I visit to my reading list, which I can then access from my toolbar and read at a later time--pretty much a feature-rich bookmark. You can even sync your reading list across browsers if you like. Using this extension helps, because I can postpone reading or watching interesting items without worrying that I'll forget about them when I do have the time.

Spark | CBC Radio : Cannot Click "Reply-All"?

Mon, 9 Feb 2009 21:35:31 +0000

See, that's exactly what I expected--they wouldn't "disable" it so much as hide the button itself. The words "EPIC FAIL" come to mind. A _solution_ would be something like a forum or social networking application within Nielsen. Then people could chat and share "interesting" items without cluttering the inbox.