Jared Linder

As an alum, I'm always looking for a challenge. This semester I decided to enroll in a Human Computer Interaction course in the Informatics program at IU. My professor, Dr. Anthony Faiola, gave me a great quote:

Usability is Technology in Context.

Not bad, huh? I'll do some checking and see if there is an original source to chase. Oh, and there's a lot of Shneiderman being bounced around. I also recommend you check out Donald Norman (This will make more sense come spring).

Posted by Jared Linder at 12:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I’m up trying to put together a few slides for a class that I help with occasionally, and I happened to stumble upon this CICS World site. Where’s everybody at?

Continue reading "May 27….Do you know where all your bloggers are?" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 11:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So here we are: you are probably up studying strange routing protocols or preparing for some odd Accenture excursion while I am up writing to you. And why, you ask? Easy. Because I want you to know that not only have I been there, but I also still am. But, what does that mean to you? And, more importantly, what are you going to do about it?

Continue reading "What Gives? Free Advice and Flashy Titles" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 12:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dear Abhishek Kapur,

My name is Jared Linder. I apologize for not doing this sooner, but I am not much of a letter writer. I often have the best of intentions, but then never take the time to actually follow through. Well, today I am finally writing down what I have often thought:

I want to thank you.

Continue reading "Dear Abhishek Kapur" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 01:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks to Josh Gentry for his post on 05 April 2007 concerning the above title and the power of words (My gosh, has it been that long ago?). I will divulge the fact that I was in fact the struggling colleague. But, as with many problem scenarios, while observing the situation we devised a plan of attack that would help to mitigate future problems. We were really trying to cure writer’s block here—to eliminate the analysis paralysis that so many of us deal with. And in doing so, we developed the technique of Substitutes v. Synonyms.

Continue reading "Substitutes v. Synonyms II" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My usage as of late of the term IT professional has been called into question.

And, as best as I can tell, for good reason.

I am not going to refute, or even repudiate those who stand opposed to the nomenclature; I will confer with your opinions, and enhance my original statements to include your criticism.
I’ve always needed a good editor, and don’t mind the input: without the assistance of a good editor, some of us simply are speaking our minds. And until one masters stream of consciousness like Joyce (or even like David Foster Wallace – who is a far cry from my beloved Irish master), there’s simply no reason to think that one’s ramblings are solidified as concrete writings on the first pass. Welcome to the wonderful world of the blogging professional: everything is in draft form.

So I present to you a new undertaking: a modern take on the industry, which will synthesize the modern with the future, the past with the yet-established, the common with the extraordinary—

The ICT Professional

Continue reading "Wait....Now go talk to your mom" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 09:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was given a relatively easy task recently: give a couple of words/insights/thoughts on what it is to be an IT Professional from a student's point of view.

Seems easy enough. A couple of lines and out, right? But, trying to define what that means proved more difficult than I'd imagined. What started as a simple exercise became laborious: I ultimately crafted these words from all that I could muster from the depths of my understanding of this conceptual modern enigma of a profession and pressed forward toward as poignant a description as possible.

I then realized I was writing this for myself. And maybe for you.

Continue reading "Go home and tell your mom what you do" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 12:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Much has been written about Steve Jobs’ recent proposal to remove digital rights management (DRM) from electronic music. But now Hollywood is weighing in on DRM concerns for movies. Currently unlike music CDs, most DVDs already contain safeguards that prohibit most users to pirate a given movie, so utilizing DRM for electronic movies seems to be in line with their existing preventative measures.

Continue reading "Living the Hollywood DR(ea)M" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 05:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Twenty-seven European national telecommunication regulators are in disagreement over whether to move to a single European regulating body. Regulators were under the direction to either propose the creation of a single regulating body by Friday February 16, 2007, or to grant power to the current European Union (EU) executive.

Continue reading "European FCC?...Not Yet" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 05:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Viacom Inc. is ordering YouTube to remove all its video clips from the Internet video site citing copyright infringement. Currently is it is approximated that there are over 100,000 clips from Viacom shows and movies on YouTube. Previous agreements between the two parties resulted in YouTube removing full versions of uploaded media, while still hosting short clips from shows and movies. Viacom is the parent company of popular channels such as MTV and Comedy Central.

Continue reading "Viacom Closes Video Vaults For YouTube Viewers" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 05:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rupert Murdoch is trying to bring My Space to a new audience: China. So far, many media ventures aimed at China have been less than stellar. Several media and content providers, including Murdoch’s News Corp., currently have operations in China, but none have witnessed the breakaway success that the huge market potentially possesses:
China has an estimated 137 million Internet users.

Continue reading "Chinese Food for Thought: MySpace" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was listening to an interesting NPR program on the way to campus this morning. The topic was words, communication, and manipulation. It was a relatively infuriating program. But maybe that was the point.

Continue reading "Words That Work" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Master is one who delves into the unknown and the unfamiliar, often leaving the security and comforts of the routine and the convenient, in attempts both to pursue experience and adventure, and to further one’s own understanding of not only the external world, but also of one’s own inner mind, in hopes that one will both discover and be found, grasp and be comprehended, and influence and be affected.

Posted by Jared Linder at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Now that I have emerged from several hours of needed slumber, I have a few things to share concerning the Accenture Challenge.

From my perspective, I am thrilled that everyone was able to complete the assignment. Regardless of anyone's chosen solution, or everyone's struggles, we have all emerged from this difficult task with results. That is to be commended.

But, what did we learn?

Continue reading "Accenture: Challenging" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 02:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

At times my literary background rears its bookwormy head. This is one of those times.

In the 19th century, American literature witnessed greatness (my non-objective position) through the Transcendental movement.
I’m not going to go into it much today, but this is where the good stuff starts. Backstory is available through links along the way (or by asking me over a pint).

Continue reading "Emerson’s Hammer: or, L2 and the Transcendentalist Mind" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 12:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I’m a fan of Greek and Roman mythology. This weekend, while trying to take a couple of minutes off from the grind of daily grad student life, I decided to open my copy of Bulfinch’s Mythology and do some exercising.

But, I couldn’t find any stories about one of my favorites: Hermes (or Mercury, if you fall on the side of the Romans).

Continue reading "Of Boundaries and the Travelers Who Cross Them" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 06:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Many Renaissance paintings have the appearance of figures of brilliant light and color emerging from a very dark, often near-black background.

This technique is called chiaroscuro.

The effect is quite striking. Most would be familiar with this style as it was used later, where most famously used by Rembrandt.

And although this style is beautiful in itself, what does it communicate? It seems as clear as its surface level, but is as deep as its intentions: light from darkness. Truth from lie. Life from Death.

Continue reading "European Renaissance: Chiaroscuro" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 06:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Attached here is my latest theory of comunication. This is simply a version of my efforts for our last 602 examination in blog form. As the purpose of this excercise is to establish a collaborative community, I offer this as my contribution to both my group and to our blogging community as a whole.

And, as these theories are ever-expanding and periodically adapting for most of us, as usual, all input is appreciated.

Continue reading "DCC: Getting My Point Across: The Practice of Human Communication" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Given that most of us have a camera on our phones, it seems a waste not to be using them to capture the world around us.

Well, that’s what some people think. Personally I’d rather not spend much of my time peering into a lens.

But if you do subscribe to the idea that we should always be on point to record the world around us and post it to the web for all to see, and allow it to be a matter of permanent record, then this idea should appeal to you: Taping the police in order to help curb police brutality and misconduct.

Continue reading "Information Renaissance: Broadcasting Justice" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 08:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This may sound silly, but deer are dangerous animals.

I am writing this because I spend a significant time on the road, and have noticed as of late a significant number of deer carcasses on the interstate.

I have been looking up statistics, and am not yet able to find Indiana keeping records for this.

But here’s what’s going on in Kansas:

In 2004, a total of 9,950 accidents were recorded involving deer, resulting in 4 fatalities, and over 360 injuries.

Almost 10,000 accidents in one state in one year! I’d like to see that against statistics for Rattlesnake bites, dog attacks, cat scratches, wombat skirmishes, random squirrel encounters, and goldfish nibbles.

I’d say that was one dangerous animal.

On the other side of that argument, the state of Kansas seems like a pretty dangerous place to be a deer.

Posted by Jared Linder at 01:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I must confess: I have a bit of a geeky streak in me.

I’m not just a fan of toys with bells and whistles, I’m also a fan of those bells and whistles.

For several years I’ve been captivated by gadgets: better remote controls, the ever-evolving digital camera, and computer interface devices (like pens and tablets).

I love the stuff.

I also love the people who check all these things out and bring us news about them.

Continue reading "Gadget Geek" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 01:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I have often seen sculptures of Moses where he is depicted with horns protruding from his head.
In fact, one of the most famous statues of the Hebrew leader was created by Michelangeo—one of the greatest sculptors of both the renaissance as well as any other human era.

Why would Moses, or anyone considered to be on the side of the righteous, have horns? That has long been a question of mine.

It seems this horned depiction is merely due to misinformation.

Continue reading "European Renaissance: Moses Misinformation" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 02:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I started out on a quest to research a topic for the Information Renaissance. I plucked a book off my shelf titled A World Lit Only By Fire, by William Manchester. It seemed an obvious choice at the time.

Manchester essentially concludes that Ferdinand Magellan was the most important figure of the Renaissance, and I thought this would be an excellent point to show, since we often forget that the world at the time was undergoing much more than a revolution in art.

Magellan’s revolution took him around the world.

And if the Renaissance masters tried to continually redefine the world, this circumnavigatory event actually defined physically the world in which we live.

Continue reading "Information Renaissance: Free vs. Freedom" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 03:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Earlier this semester (in what seemed a much warmer time), while waiting for class to start, I found myself sitting outside of the Arts and Journalism building. I was eating a terribly greasy piece of pizza and making a few phone calls.

While on the phone, I noticed written in chalk on one of the walls a pale blue message:

"Mind is like a parachute
Fails unless open"

Continue reading "Parachute Mind" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 01:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

As we all know, ICS 640 requires us to do research on an historical figure in the industry. I got lucky and picked an individual of whom I had little knowledge: Walter Winchell.

I am a big fan of history (especially of the American flavor), and found myself captivated by the man and his influence on media--journalism, radio, and television. Wow, the triumvirate!

If you are so inclined, I have included my research on Mr. Winchell here. He was an interesting character in our industry, and it is a shame so many of us (myself included) sometimes don't know many of the players in this ongoing game. Sometimes research bears fantastic fruit. I hope all of you are experiencing the same. Good luck in your research!

Continue reading "Throwing Bricks at the Famous" »

Posted by Jared Linder at 12:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)