What Apple should have introduced the other day.

Here is what truly would have revolutionized the technology world the other day. If I were CEO of Apple, this is what I would demand from my team.

1. A touch screen device that can interlock with another one, so they could be oriented like a keyboard/screen. This means you'd have one on the desk, flat, and the other one vertical on its wide edge held in place by the flat one. You could then have visuals by your hands using the touch screen to move around and manipulate the one that is vertical as a screen. They would interlock on any side, making all different kinds of combinations for use cases. Iphones could also interlock with the larger one for use together. Simple interlocking hinges use a "slide in" mechanism to hold themselves in place.

2. It should come with a bluetooth or wifi keyboard and mouse. AND the mouse should be flippable so it converts into a trackball.

3. The device should have the best possible CPU, Graphics, SSD memory, and power supply, and each of these major components should be easily removeable and replaceable without having to dismantle the entire thing. You should be able to exchange the CPUs of different devices for specific uses at any time. They should be mounted so they are similar to small plastic blocks with no visible pins when detached.

4. The device should include slots for every major kind of interface, including USB 2, RJ 45, optical, SSD cards, compact flash, memory stick, firewire etc.

5. The device should run every major operating system possible. Windows 7, Mac OS, and linux. The device should be capable of running an emulator for Mac OS 9 prior to carbon.

6. If the device could do all this, running the iPhone OS as an emulator would be trivial.

7. the device should have a camera that allows it to work like a transparent window, that is, you could hold the device up, see a picture, and capture that picture exactly as you see it framed by the device.

8. The device should be multitouch, be able to recognize cameras and download pictures from them when the camera is simply placed ON the device. It should also be able to synch contacts with any blue tooth capable cellphone.

9. The device should have an integrated cell phone, that allows one to keep the device in a backpack or on a desktop flat, while the user simply talks into a small bluetooth headset, which again comes with the device as standard equipment.

10. The device should support DVD's read/write and they should slide into the device's thin edge.

11. The device should cost NO MORE than $300 US. AND the device should be free for people who make less than $1500 a year via various charitable programs.

Unfortunately, all the big companies are developing products selfishly...constantly thinking about how the devices they offer will bring them profit, instead of thinking about how the device will make people's lives better. The Apple iPad is a primary example of this, as is the XBox, the Playstation, the iPhone, iTunes, Sony Home, pretty much every money-grubbing, locked down, proprietary platform that only "improves" in the direction of shareholders bottom line.

Many of us are disappointed because we know Apple can do better. Here's hoping they do!

Deleting discussions...closing discussions...deleting comments - is it ethical?

The more I am involved in social networking writing contributions to various sites, the more I am increasingly aware of the ethics of deleting other people's comments, closing a discussion to comments, or deleting an entire thread/post/network.

Right now, there are literally thousands of ning.com networks, and some of them have tens of thousands of members. The members can spend hours per week or even entire days preparing and posting blogs, comments, opinions, original ideas, creativity, research etc. They can develop close frienships with long, complicated email histories in private conversations, and they can also upload their pictures and videos to contribute.

Now the scary part. The network creator can delete the entire network with the click of a mouse. Years of contributions can be erased in a second by the Network Creator. Its not entirely easy to do by accident, it would require forethought, but, for example, if a network was taken over by someone other than the originator of a network, the content would all become jeopardized.

Slightly less scary but also worth considering is the fact that on most blog posts, the OP (original poster) can delete the discussion. For those of us familiar with how the internet works, quite often an OP's statement ends up merely being a catalyst for what turns into a very deep, involved conversation that will invariably involve countless man-hours of research, writing, proofing and posting, not to mention emotions. Friendships can often start or end in a thread, and people can have their world views altered or completely changed. Its big stuff!

Further along this line of thinking, OP's can generally delete individual comments as well. This exists obviously as a way to prevent spam, but it is also a very dangerous form of censorship, as the OP can spuriously delete dissent while allowing flattering comments to remain to alter the perception of the OP's message.

What do I propose to solve this? Well, a partial solution might be that a general feature be added internet wide to sites that emails your comment or an entire thread to you if your comment is ever deleted. This could get tricky for the case of an entire network, but might be OK if every thread you participated in was sent to you do on the deletion of an entire network.

There could be a standard on the web like the IEEE or some kind of best practice for social networks where you as a contributor are guaranteed a certain set of rights and can hold certain minimum expectations. Your contributions will not be deleted without your express permission could also be a solution. These would be difficult and time consuming to implement. Alternatively there is the concept that wikipedia.com offers with the history, which also seems very elaborate but seems to work in terms of ensuring everyone's say continues to exist (albeit hard to find in a massive list of historical versions and unsearchable)

Also, being able to close a discussion to new comments in context seems highly unethical, because then anyone who may disagree or enhance your statement, or even clarify for accuracy, becomes muzzled by the OP. This is not the mark of a civilized society, and truly seems like a form of oppression and censorship.

I feel as the social networking revolution takes over, new ethical dilemmas will come along that we as a species will need to grapple with and solve to ensure our collective rights and efforts are protected vigorously!

-Ryan Cameron, the Code HandyMan Feb 1, 2010