The Extra Dimension https://thenexus.tv/series/ted/ The Extra Dimension features deep discussions on how technology intersects with society. Welcome to the heart of the technological convergence. en-us Fri, 18 Jun 2021 21:22:39 GMT The Nexus The Nexus false The Extra Dimension has been archived https://thenexus.tv/series/ted/ tombstone-ted Fri, 18 Jun 2021 21:22:39 GMT The Extra Dimension is no longer active. The complete archive of all episodes is preserved at thenexus.tv. The Extra Dimension #56: Distance Learning https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted56/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted56/ Fri, 18 Jun 2021 21:22:39 GMT Over the last year-and-a-half, most of the education world has had to quickly adapt to a new model that we had never used before. Distance Learning has certainly been a journey, and one that will probably continue shaping education even as we go back into our physical classrooms. Episode summary
00:00:00 | Intro
00:03:04 | Models used at Minnesota Virtual Schools
Online School in Minnesota | Grades 6-12 | Minnesota Virtual Schools
00:08:57 | Models used at Harding
00:18:04 | By the numbers
Failing grades are way up in the Twin Cities’ public schools, especially for students of color
00:23:13 | How prepared were schools
Schools Already Struggled With Cybersecurity. Then Came Covid-19 | WIRED
00:28:08 | How prepared were families
Tool Library builds 600 desks for students learning at home - StarTribune.com
00:31:10 | How prepared were teachers
00:36:31 | Classroom management
00:42:14 | Building community
Here I am: Buck - Google Slides
00:45:23 | Surveillance, proctoring tests
00:47:18 | How would this have gone 10 years ago?
00:52:47 | The Flipped Classroom
01:00:54 | Snow days
A Crime Against Childhood - YouTube
01:04:01 | Final thoughts, personal news
01:09:13 | Outro

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted56.

]]> 01:11:13 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #55: Working Hard, or Hardly Working... From Home https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted55/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted55/ Mon, 03 Aug 2020 10:51:17 GMT The COVID-19 pandemic suddenly thrust many of us into a world where we find ourselves working from home. How is that affecting the people going through this, and how is it reshaping society at large? Episode summary
00:00:00 | Intro
00:02:42 | Video call etiquette
00:15:23 | Random, informal encounters
00:20:01 | Choosing communication mediums
00:28:30 | Work-life balance
00:39:58 | Establishing your personal brand
00:42:11 | Establishing a daily routine
00:51:14 | Land use
00:55:24 | Setting up your physical space
01:04:26 | Advantages to companies
01:06:19 | Infrastructure challenges for companies
01:13:15 | Best practices for managers
01:17:12 | Jobs that cannot be done remotely
01:25:40 | Kids at home
01:30:31 | Do you want to continue working from home?
01:33:48 | Outro

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted55.

]]> 01:35:54 Ian R Buck, Brian Mitchell, Ryan Rampersad The Extra Dimension #54: Justice for George https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted54/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted54/ Mon, 08 Jun 2020 09:35:15 GMT On May 25th, 2020, George Floyd was killed at the hands of those sworn to protect and serve him. His death sparked weeks of protests, marches, police brutality, riots, and political change. Join Ian as he struggles to process everthing that has happened to his community. Episode summary
00:00 | Intro
01:36 | Community Response
06:04 | Steve Fletcher: "The sanctity of life is a low bar"
Image: mural for George Floyd
Image: "Black Lives Matter" painted on street
Image: "Defund the Police" painted on street
08:53 | "I can't breathe" by Abha Karnick
13:29 | Mother protecting her children at the Oakdale protest
Image: "He's in custody! He's in custody! This is news!"
16:00 | Rioting & looting
18:05 | MLK: "The riot is the language of the unheard"
21:48 | Killer Mike: "Don't burn your own house down"
Images: Riot Destruction on University Ave
33:07 | Useful resources, the role of technology in this crisis
40:31 | Where do we go from here?
51:35 | "Daddy changed the world!"
52:00 | Say their names

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted54.

]]> 00:54:37 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #53: Culture, Technology, and Epidemics Through History https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted53/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted53/ Thu, 30 Apr 2020 19:10:05 GMT The illnesses that we have faced over the course of human civilization have been heavily influenced by the cultural and technological contexts that they interacted with. Rebecca Dean, Professor of Anthropology comes on the show to teach us about it! Episode summary
00:00:00 | Intro
00:04:25 | Pubic Lice
00:13:33 | Misdirected Blame
00:18:01 | Cultural Adaptation
00:30:21 | Going Back to Old Ways of Dealing
00:34:30 | New Technologies
00:41:25 | The Butterfly Effect
00:43:51 | Cultural Context Creates Scenarios
01:06:29 | Outro

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted53.

]]> 1:08:42 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #52: Bike Maintenance Essentials https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted52/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted52/ Sun, 29 Mar 2020 15:40:29 GMT Bikes are fairly simple machines, but very finely tuned. What things can you do maintenance on yourself, and what things require the services of a bike shop? Crystal Sursely of Lowertown Bike Shop joins us to answer all your pressing bike maintenance questions! Episode summary
00:00:00 | Intro
00:02:28 | Things you can do on the road
00:02:46 | Changing a flat
00:08:44 | Reseating chain
00:10:22 | Adjusting fenders
00:11:53 | Fine-tune barrel adjuster
00:14:53 | Tools to carry with you
Topeak Ratchet Rocket Lite DX
00:20:02 | Things you can do at home
00:20:17 | Lubricating chain
00:23:39 | Pumping tires to full
00:24:35 | Winter maintenance
00:31:07 | Maintenance for indoor training
00:33:03 | Derusting chain
00:35:11 | Seat height
00:37:10 | Adjusting brakes
00:40:59 | When to bring your bike to a shop
  • Measuring chain wear
  • Keep a maintenance log of how much riding each of your components lasts
  • Bring your bike in for its yearly tune-up at the end of its season, so you don't have to wait in line
00:48:42 | Recognizing tire wear
00:52:47 | Services bike shops provide
Every good bike shop should have a good dog!
01:04:06 | Miscellaneous questions
01:15:43 | Outro

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted52.

]]> 1:17:27 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #51: COPPA? I Barely Even Know 'Er! https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted51/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted51/ Mon, 10 Feb 2020 09:19:32 GMT COPPA is not a new law, but there are certainly some new developments for how it applies on YouTube. Content creators are now required to mark their videos as "made for kids" or not. What does this mean, and what are the consequences? Episode summary
00:00 | Intro
00:44 | A brief history of COPPA
07:30 | What's changing on YouTube
21:39 | Criticisms of COPPA
27:42 | Unanswered questions
30:07 | Lessons learned
34:58 | Revising COPPA
35:53 | Outro

GOOGLE NEST MINI GIVEAWAY!!!

You could win the Google Home Mini that Ian tested for Second Opinion #81! All you have to do is become a patron sometime before February 16, 2020. Anyone who is a patron of ours anytime before that date gets one entry in the drawing. We will announce the winner on episode 83 of Second Opinion. Good luck to all!

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted51.

]]> 00:38:27 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #50: Presenting Soft Robotics Podcast https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted50/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted50/ Sun, 19 Jan 2020 14:48:16 GMT Ian was recently invited to guest on the IEEE RAS Soft Robotics Podcast, hosted by Marwa ElDiwiny. They chat about how robotics and podcasts can be used in a high school education setting, as well as home automation and how robotics is affecting society in general. Links

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All rights for this episode owned by IEEE RAS Technical Committee on Soft Robotics. Contact Marwa ElDiwiny for more information.

]]> 01:12:53 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #49: "What's a Podcast?" https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted49/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted49/ Tue, 31 Dec 2019 17:21:51 GMT Getting into podcasts can be a daunting task, since there are so many choices to make. How do you find interesting shows? How do you listen to them? Is there an app for that? We're here to help! This episode will give an overview of the different options you have for listening to podcasts, and serves as a companion to our Podcast Players Roundup on Second Opinion Reviews. Episode Summary
00:00 | Intro
01:12 | Episode overview
02:29 | Podcast publishing
05:02 | How to listen to podcasts
09:45 | Essential features
10:06 | Platform availability
10:53 | Directory of shows
13:09 | Subscribe to arbitrary RSS feeds
15:30 | Automatically download new episodes
16:48 | Optional features
17:29 | Notifications about new episodes
17:42 | Automatically delete played episodes
18:32 | Intuitive interface
18:52 | Skipping
19:32 | Variable speed
21:06 | Truncate silence
22:01 | Displays show notes
23:18 | MP3 chapters
24:32 | Google Cast/AirPlay
25:09 | Android auto/CarPlay
26:05 | Stream episodes
26:31 | Video podcasts
27:43 | Import/export OPML files
28:19 | Start at custom time
29:03 | Play without subscribing
29:36 | Sleep timer
30:07 | Widget
30:49 | Play local files
31:37 | Visual appeal
31:58 | Extra features
32:19 | Other notes
32:59 | Outro

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted49.

]]> 00:34:41 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #48: Catfishing With Naomi Kritzer https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted48/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted48/ Sun, 17 Nov 2019 13:09:45 GMT Ian sits down with author Naomi Kritzer to chat about her brand-new book, Catfishing on CatNet! They talk about the book, its themes of online friendship, privacy, and tracking, as well as digging into some delightful local references. Plus, a few details about the sequel came up as well! Episode summary
00:00:00 | Intro
00:00:45 | What is Catfishing on CatNet about?
00:04:01 | Does anybody get catfished in this book?
00:05:17 | The book's setting
00:06:58 | Automated teaching
00:09:45 | What is the nature of CatNet?
00:14:26 | Small group chats
00:17:29 | Being a teen on the internet in 1990
00:28:06 | Social implications of technology: privacy and tracking
00:36:04 | Delightful local references in the book
00:40:55 | Short story: Cat Pictures, Please
00:44:20 | The sequel
00:49:36 | Questions from listeners
00:55:58 | Upcoming book events
00:57:45 | Outro

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted48.]]> 01:07:35 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #47: Eco-Friendly Technology https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted47/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted47/ Sat, 02 Nov 2019 14:25:24 GMT We all love our technology: it does many many things to improve our everyday lives. But what is it doing to our planet? How can we use our technology in an environmentally responsible manner? Ian interviews experts from LineageOS, iFixit, the Rebble Alliance, the Washington County Environmental Center, and Tech Dump to talk about the many different aspects of reducing the environmental impact of consumer technology. Episode summary
00:00:00 | Intro
00:02:38 | Reduce
00:03:02 | Buy fewer devices
00:03:52 | Use devices for as long as possible
00:05:13 | Modular devices, modular systems
00:06:41 | Long-term software support
00:08:21 | LineageOS interview
00:13:21 | Take care of your devices
00:14:43 | Multipurpose devices
00:15:33 | Sustainable manufacturing
00:16:32 | Reduce energy consumption
00:22:22 | Reuse
00:22:50 | iFixit interview
00:35:01 | Rebble interview
00:50:48 | Find new uses for old devices
00:52:28 | Recycle
00:52:55 | Tech Dump and Washington County Environmental Center interviews
Panorama view of the Tech Dump warehouse.
Panorama view of the Tech Dump warehouse.
Bins of motherboards at Tech Dump.
Bins of motherboards at Tech Dump.
Shredded hard drives at Tech Dump.
Shredded hard drives at Tech Dump.
The Chromebook that Ian dropped off at Washington County Environmental Center.
The Chromebook that Ian dropped off at Washington County Environmental Center.
Commodore 16 on display at Washington County Environmental Center.
Commodore 16 on display at Washington County Environmental Center.
Sony Watchman (Minnesota Twins branded) on display at Washington County Environmental Center.
Sony Watchman (Minnesota Twins branded) on display at Washington County Environmental Center.
01:16:19 | Outro

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted47.]]> 01:18:20 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #46: Hostage Exchange: Android and iOS https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted46/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted46/ Sun, 08 Sep 2019 15:27:22 GMT A Google fanboy. An Apple nut. Each has only ever used one smartphone platform. What happens when two people step out of their comfort zones and trade phones for a week? Ian and Lilly swapped their Pixel 3 and iPhone XS to see what life is like on the other side of the ecosystem divide. Update 2019-09-09: After the episode was published, Lilly discovered that iOS allows you to set Do Not Disturb for a set period of time by Force Touching on Do Not Disturb in the Control Center.

Episode summary

00:00:00 | Intro
00:04:07 | Ian's Pre-trade Expectations
00:06:55 | Lilly's Pre-trade Expectations
00:09:10 | Post-Trade Discussion
00:10:42 | Ian's Misconceptions
00:18:10 | Stock iOS Apps vs. Google Apps
00:37:40 | Things Ian Likes About iOS
00:48:27 | Things Ian Doesn't Like About iOS
01:04:27 | Random Observations
01:10:13 | Struggling to do Simple Tasks
01:14:10 | Lilly's Thoughts on Android
01:32:22 | Outro

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted46.]]> 01:34:54 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #45: The Challenges and Solutions of Utilitarian Cycling https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted45/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted45/ Wed, 21 Aug 2019 08:09:22 GMT So, you want to start biking as a primary form of transportation, but are nervous about the challenges you will encounter? Never fear, Melody Hoffmann and Ian R Buck are here with the solutions they have found over many years of utilitarian cycling. Episode summary
00:00:00 | Intro
00:01:19 | Thoughts from the Community
00:06:30 | Introducing Melody
00:09:23 | "I don't feel safe riding"
00:23:09 | "Bikes are expensive"
00:32:23 | "What if my bike breaks while I'm riding?"
00:38:17 | "Bikes are easy to steal"
00:41:11 | "I can't carry much stuff with my bike"
00:48:35 | "I don't want to be sweaty and gross when I arrive somewhere"
00:56:52 | The Weather
00:57:37 | "It's too hot and humid to bike"
00:59:15 | "It's too cold to bike"
01:02:28 | "It's too snowy and icy to bike"
01:03:52 | "It's too rainy to bike"
01:07:48 | "My destination is too far to bike"
01:13:06 | Bike touring
01:28:11 | Unsolved challenges
01:33:55 | Outro

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted45.]]> 01:37:05 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #44: Space Exploration: Past, Present, and Future https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted44/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted44/ Mon, 15 Jul 2019 04:00:55 GMT On the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and the first lunar landing, Ian and Brian are discussing how the technologies of space exploration have evolved over time: what they were in the past, where we are now, and how they will change in the future. Episode Summary
00:00:00 | Intro
00:02:43 | Past
00:15:19 | Present
00:38:30 | Future
01:18:41 | Outro

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted44.]]> 01:21:32 Ian R Buck, Brian Mitchell The Extra Dimension #43: Political Organizing in the Digital Age https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted43/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted43/ Thu, 20 Jun 2019 04:00:28 GMT Digital technologies have a lot of potential to aid in political organizing, provided we use them effectively. Ian R Buck sat down with several prominent Twin Cities activists (Ethan Osten, John Edwards, and Mike Lindsay) to talk about how to activate communities without tearing them apart. Episode Summary
00:00:00 | Intro
00:02:30 | Old Technologies
00:04:52 | Ethan Osten, Saint Paul Bicycle Coalition
00:08:08 | John Edwards, Wedge LIVE!
00:13:55 | Websites and Newsletters
00:20:30 | Mike Lindsay, Social Media Accounts
00:23:55 | SPBC Social Media Strategies
00:31:36 | Tools for Managing and Automating Accounts
00:39:44 | Microcommunities
00:44:12 | Niche Content
00:46:49 | Watch out for Trademark, AKA the Carol Becker Saga
00:51:11 | Community Building
01:10:15 | Activating People
01:20:00 | Effectiveness of Different Community Actions
01:26:39 | Cool New Technologies
01:30:23 | Best Practices for Individuals
01:34:00 | Outro

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted43.]]> 01:37:22 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #42: Browser Extensions https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted42/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted42/ Sat, 30 Mar 2019 12:58:05 GMT Browser extensions are a fantastic tool for customizing your digital life. If you've never heard of them, come learn about them! If you're an extension veteran, check out the community forum segment where we talk about extensions that listeners like you wrote in about! Episode Summary
00:00 | Intro
02:40 | What are extensions?
06:33 | What can extensions do?
09:48 | No admin access required
13:32 | Downsides
17:55 | Community forum: our favorite extensions
18:27 | Password Managers
19:04 | Ad blockers
19:50 | Grammarly
20:24 | Honey
21:02 | Library Extension
21:24 | StopTheMadness
22:05 | FireShot
22:34 | Wappalyzer
23:03 | Custom JavaScript for websites
23:30 | Screencastify
24:02 | No Coin
24:25 | Eno
25:44 | Chrome Remote Desktop
27:03 | Pocket
27:29 | Clip to OneNote
27:46 | ClickToPlugin
27:57 | Workona
28:45 | Tab for a cause
29:12 | Ecosia
29:30 | Social Fixer
30:31 | uMatrix
30:55 | HTTPS Everywhere
31:14 | FoxyProxy
31:39 | Amplifier AMP/Canonical switcher
32:17 | React Dev Tools
32:34 | Stylus
32:55 | Pushbullet
33:38 | Outro

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted42.]]> 00:34:50 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #41: Tidying Up Your Digital Life https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted41/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted41/ Thu, 28 Feb 2019 04:00:38 GMT Many people have been using Marie Kondo's method to tidy up their physical spaces, but what about all the digital stuff we have? Join Ian R Buck as he sorts through this topic and interviews some of the other TNTV hosts who have given a lot of thought to their digital collections. Episode Summary
00:00:00 | Intro
00:01:00 | TED27 Update
00:01:50 | Applying KonMar to Digital Stuff
00:09:31 | Everything in its Place with Brian Mitchell
00:23:21 | Digital Hoarding
00:31:53 | Don't Have Files with Ryan Rampersad
00:49:44 | Backup Strategies with Andrew Bailey
01:04:54 | Clear Out Cruft
01:07:00 | Write a Digital Will
01:08:39 | Outro

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted41. ]]> 01:11:07 Ian R Buck, Brian Mitchell, Ryan Rampersad, Andrew Bailey The Extra Dimension #40: Presenting Robots Will Steal Your Job https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted40/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted40/ Sun, 20 Jan 2019 04:00:33 GMT For the first time ever, The Nexus TV is publishing an audiobook! Here are the first few chapters of Robots Will Steal Your Job, But That's OK. Episode Summary
00:00 | Opening
03:57 | Introduction
Robots Will Steal Your Job #0: Introduction › The Nexus
07:19 | Chapter 1
Robots Will Steal Your Job #1: Unemployment Today › The Nexus
17:55 | Chapter 2
Robots Will Steal Your Job #2: The Luddite Fallacy › The Nexus
26:37 | Chapter 3
Robots Will Steal Your Job #3: Exponential Growth › The Nexus
38:46 | Chapter 4
Robots Will Steal Your Job #4: Information Technology › The Nexus
47:11 | Outro

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted40.]]> 00:48:46 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #39: Electronic Frontier Foundation: Project For Awesome 2018 https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted39/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted39/ Wed, 05 Dec 2018 04:00:41 GMT This year we're participating in the Project for Awesome, supporting the Electronic Frontier Foundation! Come find out how you can participate. If your podcast player doesn't support video files, try the YouTube version of this episode:

Links

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted39/.]]> 00:04:43 Ian R Buck, Brian Mitchell The Extra Dimension #38: Securing Your Digital Life https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted38/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted38/ Wed, 28 Nov 2018 04:00:07 GMT As more and more parts of our lives are stored and managed through online accounts, it is critical to understand how to keep those accounts secure. Ian R Buck sits down with Elena Machkasova, computer science professor, to talk about what attackers are after, how they try to gain access, and what we can do to protect ourselves. Episode Summary
00:00:00 | Intro
00:02:32 | Things Attackers Might Be After
00:12:02 | Methods of Attack
00:32:26 | Tools to Protect Yourself
00:32:35 | Create Strong, Unique Passwords
00:38:00 | Use a Password Manager
00:43:20 | Two-Factor Authentication
00:44:38 | Use Services That Do Security Right
00:48:42 | Use Devices That Do Security Right
00:49:54 | Consumer Reports Privacy Guide
00:50:10 | Have I Been Pwned
00:50:29 | Non-Public Recovery Email
00:51:03 | 10 Minute Mail
00:51:24 | Encrypt Your Storage and Connections
00:52:23 | Shred Sensitive Paper Documents
00:52:51 | Judicious Use of Browser Extensions
00:54:08 | Judicious Use of App Permissions
00:54:38 | Judicious Use of Third-Party Integrations
00:55:12 | Virus Protection
00:56:10 | Recognize Warnings
00:56:46 | Don't Dox Yourself
00:57:08 | Ad Blocking
00:57:40 | Beware Open Wifi
00:58:19 | Use a VPN
00:59:07 | Put On Political Pressure Regarding Security
01:01:01 | Outro

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted38/.]]> 01:03:59 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #37: Computer Preferences https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted37/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted37/ Tue, 30 Oct 2018 04:01:51 GMT There are a lot of things to take into account when buying electronics. Ian, Aron, Brian, and Ryan are here to share some of the things they look for across the many types of computers. Overview

00:00:00 | Intro

00:02:13 | Across Categories

00:08:50 | Desktops

00:26:36 | Laptops

00:39:02 | Tablets

00:52:55 | Phones

01:12:07 | Smart Watches

01:21:23 | Smart Home

01:23:50 | Outro

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The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted37/. ]]> 01:27:19 Ian R Buck, Brian Mitchell, Ryan Rampersad The Extra Dimension #36: What Makes Computers Tick https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted36/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted36/ Wed, 19 Sep 2018 04:00:26 GMT You use computers every day, but do you know how they work? A few computer science majors get together to describe the different components of a computer and what their jobs are. Overview

00:00 | Intro

04:41 | Motherboard

06:40 | Processor

  • AKA CPU
  • Specs
    • Clock speed, measured in Hertz (how many operations it can do in one second)
    • Number of cores
  • Notable brands - desktop
    • Intel
    • AMD
  • Notable brands - mobile
    • Qualcomm
    • Apple
    • Samsung
    • Nvidia

09:33 | Storage

  • Note the difference between Hard Disk Drives and Solid State Drives
  • Specs
    • Storage space, measured in bytes
    • Read/write speed, measured in bytes per second
  • Notable brands
    • Seagate
    • Western Digital
    • Samsung
    • Toshiba

13:00 | Memory

  • AKA RAM
  • Specs
    • Memory space, measured in bytes
  • Notable brands
    • Corsair
    • Samsung
    • G.Skill
    • Kingston
    • Many, many others

15:50 | Graphics Card

  • AKA GPU, Video Card
  • Specs
    • Clock speed, measured in Hertz (how many operations it can do in one second)
    • Number of cores
    • Memory space, measured in bytes
    • Teraflops
    • Realistically though, you have to look at benchmark tests that people have run to see how a graphics card compares to others

19:32 | Power Supply

  • AKA PSU
  • Specs
    • Wattage
    • Power efficiency, reported on an arbitrary rating scale
  • Notable brands
    • Corsair
    • EVGA
    • Cooler Master
    • Many, many others

20:08 | Case

  • How much space does it have inside
  • How easily accessible are the components

21:26 | Cooling

  • Note the difference between active and passive cooling
  • Notable brands
    • Cooler Master
    • Corsair
    • EVGA
    • Many, many others

27:37 | RGBs

28:59 | Outro

Connect With The Nexus

Attributions

Copyright

The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted36/.]]> 00:32:24 Ian R Buck, Brian Mitchell, Ryan Rampersad The Extra Dimension #35: Revisiting Solar Eclipse 2017 https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted35/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted35/ Wed, 22 Aug 2018 11:52:12 GMT Ian R Buck joins Ryan Rampersad in the studio to talk about the "Great American Eclipse." And surprise, Ian brought a microphone with him during his trip to see the eclipse with Scott Kopp, so we get to hear coverage from the event itself! This episode was originally broadcast in August 2017 on Nexus Special. Episode Summary
00:00 | Intro
02:04 | Why this eclipse is a big deal
08:29 | Traveling to the eclipse
14:40 | The huge crowds
21:05 | Our pictures
24:06 | Our live reactions to the eclipse
32:00 | Post-eclipse debrief
37:15 | Planning for future eclipses
42:45 | Outro

Connect With The Nexus

Attributions

Copyright

The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted35/.]]> 00:45:35 Ian R Buck, Ryan Rampersad The Extra Dimension #34: Pervasive Computing https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted34/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted34/ Tue, 31 Jul 2018 21:53:58 GMT We are quickly approaching a world in which we are constantly surrounded by computers embedded in our environment, serving our needs. What are the challenges we face on our way there, and what can we expect to find once we do? Episode Summary

00:00:00 | Intro

00:05:01 | What to Expect

00:06:47 | Adoption

00:10:19 | Human-Centered Computing

00:14:17 | Miscellaneous

00:19:41 | Challenges

00:19:56 | Systems Design

00:22:12 | User Interface

00:36:17 | Privacy

00:39:34 | Updates and Security

00:42:26 | Tips for Transitioning to Pervasive Computing

00:43:03 | Software Platforms

00:46:28 | Devices

00:51:06 | IFTTT

00:54:09 | SMS On Desktop

00:57:56 | Avoiding Collapsing Contexts

01:06:07 | Outro

Connect With The Nexus

Attributions

Copyright

The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted34/.]]> 01:07:56 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #33: Decentralized Publishing https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted33/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted33/ Tue, 19 Jun 2018 05:00:19 GMT Today, more and more online content is being published on centralized platforms. That hasn't always been the case, since the internet was created as a decentralized system. Join Ian R Buck and Brian Mitchell as they explore the pros and cons of each approach, and try to figure out what the optimal way to publish content is! Episode Summary

00:00 | Intro

02:11 | Defining Decentralized Publishing

06:03 | Examples of Decentralized Publishing

13:58 | New Decentralized Concepts

20:15 | AI Research

23:18 | Pros of Decentralized Publishing

36:15 | Pros of Centralized Publishing

37:43 | Mixing Centralized and Decentralized

40:03 | GDPR and Decentralization

41:04 | Open Source and Decentralization

42:52 | Ian's Publishing Goals

48:18 | Outro

Connect With The Nexus

Attributions

Copyright

The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted33/. ]]> 00:50:04 Ian R Buck, Brian Mitchell The Extra Dimension #32: GDPR, the Privacy Policy Reckoning https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted32/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted32/ Fri, 25 May 2018 05:00:02 GMT You've probably been getting lots of emails about companies updating their privacy policies. They're all doing this at the same time because the EU's General Data Protection Regulation just came into effect. Find out what it means for you with Ian R Buck. Episode Summary

00:00 | Intro

02:09 | Worldwide Effect

08:08 | Data Subject Rights

10:56 | International Law Enforcement

12:50 | Disclosure Requirements

13:23 | Privacy by Design and by Default

16:13 | Lawful Bases for Processing Data

19:16 | Consent

28:20 | Data Protection Officers

29:27 | Data Breaches

30:38 | Marketing

31:26 | Consequences

32:21 | Not Covered Under GDPR

33:53 | Criticisms

40:21 | Case Study: Google

48:34 | Outro

Connect With The Nexus

Attributions

Copyright

The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted32/. ]]> 00:50:14 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #31: The Philosophical Implications of the Technological Singularity https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted31/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted31/ Wed, 18 Apr 2018 20:00:53 GMT If machines become more capable than humans in every way, the world will certainly be in for a wild ride. What will this mean for our society, our morality, and our understanding of ourselves? Ian R Buck is joined by Ian Decker and Mike Sandberg to delve deep into this mind-blowing topic. the companion episode on the Future Jam podcast!

Episode Summary

00:00:00 | Intro

00:02:19 | Defining the Technological Singularity

00:06:18 | Historical Trends

00:13:48 | Augmenting Ourselves

00:20:56 | Consciousness and Robot Rights

00:34:24 | Backing Up the Human Mind

00:37:36 | Merging Our Minds

00:42:14 | The Chinese Room Argument

00:45:57 | The Digital Divide

00:51:47 | Existential Risks

00:54:07 | Gray Goo

01:04:15 | Hostile AI

01:09:08 | Ethics of the Singularity

01:19:46 | Outro

Attributions

Copyright

The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted31/.]]> 01:21:52 Ian R Buck, Ian Decker The Extra Dimension #30: Stage Theater's Tech Revolution https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted30/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted30/ Wed, 14 Mar 2018 11:22:26 GMT They say theater is a dying medium, but they've been saying that since the advent of radio! In fact, theater has adapted as new technologies become available. What new developments are on the horizon? Episode Summary

00:00:00 | Intro

00:02:38 | Sound Design

00:10:25 | Set Design

00:14:32 | Lighting

00:17:31 | Video Projection

00:27:57 | Interactive Theater

00:34:07 | 4D Expreiences

00:35:59 | Adapting Plays To/From Other Mediums

00:40:49 | Video Recordings of Live Plays

00:43:00 | Live Performances of Podcasts

00:50:14 | Improving Accessibility

00:57:06 | Ephemeral Nature of Theater

01:01:50 | Theater Compared to Mass Media

01:04:55 | Copyright and Business Models of Theater

01:12:55 | Theater in the Far Future

01:26:34 | Final Thoughts

01:30:05 | Outro

Attributions

Copyright

The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted30. ]]> 01:32:41 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #29: The Access Economy and the End of Ownership https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted29/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted29/ Fri, 16 Feb 2018 05:00:18 GMT Imagine a world where you don't have to buy anything because you readily have access to it. Ian R Buck and Brian Mitchell discuss the technologies that could get us there, and the possible consequences of such a system. Ian also interviewed special guest Melody Hoffmann about AirBnB and the sharing economy, which is a current example of an access system. Episode Summary
00:00:00 | Intro
00:01:27 | Defining the Access Economy
00:04:41 | The Sharing Economy
00:06:54 | Interview With Dr Melody Hoffmann
00:36:06 | Mechanisms for Delivery
00:40:46 | Current Examples of Access Models
00:47:36 | Future Examples of Access Models
00:54:57 | Advertising in an Access Economy
00:57:19 | Issues with an Access Economy
01:05:17 | Trust and the Social Commons
01:08:16 | Reducing Marginal Costs
01:10:39 | Situations Incompatible with Access Models
01:17:12 | Final Thoughts
01:18:58 | Outro

Attrubutions

Copyright

The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted29. ]]> 01:20:36 Ian R Buck, Brian Mitchell The Extra Dimension #28: Infotainment Interface Design for Automobiles https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted28/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted28/ Mon, 15 Jan 2018 05:00:03 GMT Ian R Buck makes an audio adaptation of his senior seminar paper from 2015. Episode Summary

00:00 | Intro

00:54 | Abstract

In an increasingly connected, mobile world, situations where users do not interact with their digital lives are becoming few and far between. This can be a problem in situations that demand a user's attention for their safety. Driving is one such situation, and it is doubly important because a significant portion of the western population drives on a daily basis. Researchers have tested different interface designs with the goal of finding one that demands the least cognitive load while still allowing the user to perform the desired task efficiently. In this paper interfaces incorporating auditory cues, voice dictation, and air gestures are discussed.

01:42 | 1. Introduction

03:29 | 2. Background

03:38 | 2.1 User Interfaces

04:01 | 2.1.1 Touchscreens

04:56 | 2.1.2 Voice Dictation

05:37 | 2.1.3 Screen Reading

06:50 | 2.1.4 Air Gestures

07:25 | 2.2 Testing Distracted Driving

08:11 | 2.2.1 Lane Changing Exercise

08:44 | 2.2.2 Car Following Exercise

09:25 | 2.2.3 Eye Tracking

09:55 | 3. Auditory Cues

Figure 1, Mean time eyes on driving chart
Figure 1: Mean time visual fixation on the primary task. The control was significantly higher than all other conditions. Spindex+TTS was significantly higher than no sound and spearcon+TTS, marked here with dots.

14:15 | 4. Text-To-Speech and Voice Dictation

Figure 2a, Mean lateral deviation
Figure 2a: Mean lateral deviation during responding phase. Overall using the single TTS voice resulted in lower deviation than matching TTS voices.
Figure 2b, Mean lane change initiation
Figure 2b: Mean lane change initiation during responding phase. Using single TTS voice resulted in faster reaction times than matching TTS voices, but the difference was not significant.
Figure 3, Mean e-mail comprehention
Figure 3: Email comprehension. Matching TTS voices had much higher comprehension than single TTS voice for low complexity messages.

21:04 | 5. Air Gestures

Figure 4, Total time and gaze time for secondary tasks.
Figure 4: Total time and gaze time for secondary tasks.

26:27 | 6. Discussion

30:05 | 7. Conclusion

30:44 | Outro

References

  1. T. M. Gable, B. N. Walker, H. R. Moses, and R. D. Chitloor. Advanced auditory cues on mobile phones help keep drivers’ eyes on the road. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications, AutomotiveUI ’13, pages 66–73, New York, NY, USA, 2013. ACM.
  2. J. Heikkinen, E. M¨akinen, J. Lylykangas, T. Pakkanen, K. V¨a¨an¨anen-Vainio-Mattila, and R. Raisamo. Mobile devices as infotainment user interfaces in the car: Contextual study and design implications. In Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Human-computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services, MobileHCI ’13, pages 137–146, New York, NY, USA, 2013. ACM.
  3. Y. Liang, J. D. Lee, and L. Yekhshatyan. How dangerous is looking away from the road? algorithms predict crash risk from glance patterns in naturalistic driving. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 54(6):1104–1116, 2012.
  4. K. R. May, T. M. Gable, and B. N. Walker. A multimodal air gesture interface for in vehicle menu navigation. In Adjunct Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications, AutomotiveUI ’14, pages 1–6, New York, NY, USA, 2014. ACM.
  5. S. Truschin, M. Schermann, S. Goswami, and H. Krcmar. Designing interfaces for multiple-goal environments: Experimental insights from in-vehicle speech interfaces. ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact., 21(1):7:1–7:24, Feb. 2014.

Attrubutions

Copyright

The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted28/, you are not making money from it, and you release under the same license.]]> 00:32:27 Ian R Buck The Extra Dimension #27: Digital Rights Management (DRM) and the Problems It Introduces https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted27/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted27/ Sat, 16 Dec 2017 11:37:17 GMT If you consume digital media, chances are you have encountered DRM in the past. Join Ian R Buck, Ryan Rampersad, and Brian Mitchell as they discuss why it exists, the many forms it can take, and the problems it introduces. UPDATE 2019-02-07: In October 2018, the Library of Congress added an exemption to DRM law making it legal for people to break DRM in order to maintain or repair the hardware that they own. Listen to the section about hardware for more information.

Episode Summary

00:00:00 | Update
00:00:25 | Intro
00:01:01 | Definition of DRM
  • Digital Rights Management
  • Restrict usage of proprietary copyrighted works
00:01:44 | Goals of DRM
00:09:32 | DRM in Games and Software
  • Product keys
  • Requiring the disc to be inserted at runtime
  • Tying game to an online account
  • Building the game to download later sections from a server as the player progresses
  • Introducing errors or insurmountable challenges that activate if a copy detects it is illegitimate
00:15:02 | DRM in Ebooks
  • Encrypt file using customer’s username and password
  • Force users to log in through Adobe before they can read the file
00:16:22 | DRM in Video
  • DVDs are encrypted, but the technology developed in 1996 has been cracked for a long time
  • Blu-rays are more difficult
  • Watermarks
  • Streaming
00:21:07 | DRM in Music
  • CDs can be easily ripped
  • CD-ROMs with DRM (don’t conform to the CD standard) were used for a while, but the industry moved away from them
  • Nowadays music purchased digitally comes in standard formats, no DRM
    • Previously iTunes, Napster, Sony, Wal-Mart, etc sold music with DRM
  • Streaming Apple 'On Schedule' to Terminate Music Downloads by 2019
00:25:05 | DRM in Photos
  • Watermarks
  • Releasing low resolution versions of photos
00:26:43 | DRM in Hardware
00:31:11 | Laws and Licensing
  • DMCA, USA
    • Outlaws the use or dissemination of technology for circumventing DRM
    • Reverse-engineering of DRM systems is permitted (circumvention necessary to make it interoperable with other software)
    • Exception allowed for research, but it is vague and so is not reassuring to researchers; several high-profile cases of researchers declining to publish their findings out of fear of being prosecuted under DMCA
  • EU Copyright Directive
    • Similar to DMCA, but only applies to offenses with commercial purposes
    • The resale of copyrighted software is permitted
  • The GNU General Public License has a provision that states anyone can break DRM on GPL software without breaking the law
  • Creative Commons prohibits the use of DRM in their Baseline Rights
00:36:18 | Problems with DRM
  • Stifle innovation and competition
    • Increases barriers to people making fair use works
    • Artificially locks people into ecosystems
  • Prevents the consumer from creating backups/accessing the work on their terms
  • Works can become permanently inaccessible if DRM scheme changes or the company goes out of business
  • Pirates find ways around DRM, so the people being harmed are legitimate customers
    • For passive media at the very least, there is always the analog hole
    • Motion picture industry wanted to create legislation to close the analog hole by requiring recording devices to detect when they are recording copyrighted material
    • Can increase piracy rates if legitimate customers are driven away
  • Makes it extremely difficult for libraries to lend out digital content
  • Requiring an online account means there is no recourse for privacy-minded consumers
  • The contents of a user’s library can be changed without their prior knowledge
  • Accelerates hardware obsolescence
  • Even when a work is available cross-platform, DRM often leaves out open platforms
01:00:11 | Outro

Related episodes

  • The Extra Dimension #9: Encryption › The Nexus
  • The Extra Dimension #20: Copyright Law › The Nexus
  • The Extra Dimension #29: The Access Economy and the End of Ownership › The Nexus

    • Attributions

    Copyright

    The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted27/.]]>     01:01:27 Ian R Buck, Ryan Rampersad, Brian Mitchell     The Extra Dimension #26: Online Voting and Why We Don't Use It https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted26/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted26/ Sat, 18 Nov 2017 12:47:42 GMT Ryan Rampersad joins Ian R Buck to talk about online voting, a topic he researched in college. They discuss the rigorous set of requirements for a voting system, and the extra challenges faced by an electronic implementation to meet those requirements. Episode Index

    00:00 | Intro

    00:31 | What is E-Voting?

    • What is e-voting?
    • Electronic voting - Wikipedia
    • E-voting: any voting that uses electronic devices to aid the process
    • Polling place e-voting
      • Counting machines, touchscreen devices, etc at the polling place
      • Pretty common in America
      • Only really affects the behind the scenes counting part of voting
    • Remote e-voting
      • Voting on a personal device via the Internet without in-person supervision
      • Would be a fundamental change in how we relate to and approach voting

    04:49 | Current process

    • How to Vote in Every State - YouTube
    • Voter registration
      • Done at many public-facing government offices, by mail, and in some states online
    • Vote at polling place on election day
    • Vote early at one of several designated locations
    • Vote absentee by requesting a ballot and mailing it in by a certain date

    06:27 | Requirements

    22:53 | Overall Implementation

    36:52 | Existing Implementation: Estonia

    48:03 | Conclusion

    49:57 | Outro

    Attributions

    Copyright

    The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted26.]]>     00:51:44 Ian R Buck, Ryan Rampersad     The Extra Dimension #25: Directed Panspermia and Our Purpose in the Universe https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted25/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted25/ Sun, 15 Oct 2017 05:00:04 GMT Directed panspermia is the concept of seeding planets with microbial life. It comes with a lot of baggage, such as the question of whether or not we are the result of such seeding and whether or not we should actively seed the rest of the universe. Ians Buck and Decker tackle these and other related topics, such as what our purpose is in the universe. Episode Index

    00:00 | Intro

    03:07 | How to Take Over the Universe (Extreme Space Colonization) | Eternally Curious #6 - YouTube

    • How to colonize the universe with current technology
      • Don’t send humans
      • Send small, self-replicating probes (take inspiration from DNA)
      • Probe has to be able to decelerate before landing
      • Make many probes to account for most of them being lost along the way
        • ~40 per galaxy should ensure one makes it
      • This takes tons of energy, so we will have to disassemble a planet and create a Dyson Swarm
      • Send probes out to every galaxy that is close enough for us to reach
    • Closing question in video: “if the colonization of the universe is within the reach of an advanced civilization, how is it that we have not seen any signs of these civilizations? We haven’t seen any dyson swarms and we haven’t been colonized by other intelligent species. Or have we?”

    14:32 | Directed Panspermia

    So, have we been colonized? Are we (life on earth) a product of some other civilization seeding our planet with self-replicating machines using DNA as their data storage system?

    18:10 | What Our Progenitors May Have Been Like

    Such a civilization would not have to be anything like us
    • They would not even have to be based on DNA
    • Illustrated by the fact that we may send microorganisms to seed or machines to colonize space

    21:45 | Clues in DNA

    • DNA is so ubiquitous on earth, it is puzzling that there are no other forms of storing genetic code. If life developed here on its own, there may have been several competing forms of genetic code. If we were seeded, it is more likely that only one form was used.
    • If our progenitors wanted us to figure out that we were the product of seeding, they may have embedded a signature into our DNA
      • In 2013 physicists claimed to have found such a signature; this has been refuted
      • Given the rate at which mutations occur over the course of generations, such a signature may not be intact by now

    24:48 | Are Microbes Suitable as Probes?

    Life on earth isn’t very fast at self-replication
    • You would think that a civilization that wants to colonize would send something better-suited
    • On the other hand, I am comparing that to technology that we are creating, so maybe we are better at creating the next iteration than our hypothetical creators were at creating us

    29:08 | Motivations Against Directed Panspermia

    • Technological civilizations may conclude that it is not advantageous to seed the universe in this manner, because civilizations that arise from such seeding may develop into rivals; but in order to discount Directed Panspermia as a possibility, we would have to argue that all technological civilizations would come to that conclusion
    • May want to avoid contaminating other planets in order to keep them pristine for scientific research
    • Extraterrestrial psychology may be wildly different from our own, so they may come up with very different conclusions

    33:26 | Implications for the Fermi Paradox

    • If our progenitors can send probes to where we are, they can certainly send messages as well
    • It’s possible they died off before we developed enough to receive messages
    • If they sent out loads of probes, some of those should have matured into technological societies by now that are closer to our age
    • Planets that are suitable to be seeded are numerous

    40:21 | Biotic Ethics

    May wish to seed other planets to make it more likely that life survives in the case of catastrophe on one planet; panbiotic ethics.

    46:32 | Our Purpose in the Universe

    • If you wanted your probes to replicate quickly and then send off copies to other nearby star systems, you would program that in as its primary directive. Humans certainly can’t agree on what our primary directive is.

    Attributions

    Copyright

    The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted25.]]>     00:53:02 Ian R Buck, Ian Decker     The Extra Dimension #24: USB Type-C: One Connector to Rule Them All https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted24/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted24/ Fri, 15 Sep 2017 03:00:50 GMT Chances are you will soon own a phone that charges via USB Type-C, and maybe even a laptop and console too! What are the promises and challenges that come with switching to this new connector? Join Ian R Buck and Ryan Rampersad as they explore this topic! 01:28 | Brief History of USB
    • A brief history of USB, what it replaced, and what has failed to replace it | Ars Technica
    • USB - Wikipedia
    • Universal Serial Bus
    • Prior to USB, most different classes of devices required different ports to connect to your computer
    • USB replaced more and more things as its speed capabilities improved. First simple things like mouse and keyboard, later more sophisticated things like optical drives or wifi cards
    • Reasons USB has remained ubiquitous
      • Not proprietary
      • Usually cheaper to implement than other standards that supported faster throughput (like FireWire)
      • USB 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 have all had the same physical connector and are backwards-compatible
      • Drivers

    13:30 | What is USB Type-C

    • USB-C - Wikipedia
    • New USB connector (design finalized August 2014) that is meant to be small enough, powerful enough, versatile enough to be used in everything from smartphones to desktops
      • First laptop with USB-C: Chromebook Pixel 2, March 2015
      • First phone with USB-C: OnePlus 2, July 2015
    • Smaller than USB-A, USB-B, slightly bigger than micro USB
    • Reversible
    • Most cables use the same connector on both ends, for both host and peripheral
      • Of course there are cables available for USB-A to USB-C so you can plug your new phone into old power bricks
    • Meant to be future-proof

    28:30 | Cool Things

    • Quickly approaching a world where I can leave home with one charging cord for all of my devices
      • Phone
      • Laptop
      • Portable battery
      • Tablet
      • Switch
      • Google Wifi
    • When connecting two smartphones, you can tell one to charge the other
    • Data hosting and power hosting are independent
    • Laptops that have multiple USB-C ports can charge using any of them
    • Alternate Mode allows manufacturers to use some of the pins to run their own data protocols, without using the USB 2.0 lanes (so you can charge while plugged into an adapter)
      • If a device is incompatible, it can present a user-readable message explaining the problem

    33:27 | Potential Pitfalls

    • Confusion of different supported protocols on different devices/peripherals
      • Not all USB-C cables are full-featured 3.1
      • Some cables can only carry 3 A, some 5 A, and if an A-to-C cable doesn’t implement properly, a phone could draw too much power and damage the brick
      • DisplayPort
      • MHL
      • Thunderbolt
      • HDMI
      • PCI-E
      • Ethernet
    • USB-A was so pervasive that it is going to take a long time to phase out existing infrastructure
    • The iPhone

    45:00 | Surviving the Transition

    Attributions

    Copyright

    The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted24.]]>     00:55:45 Ian R Buck, Ryan Rampersad     The Extra Dimension #23: Post-Scarcity https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted23/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted23/ Tue, 15 Aug 2017 11:24:47 GMT In a post-scarcity society, nobody has to work if they don't want to. Ian R Buck and Brandon Johnson explore the forces that can help us reach that state, how such a society would have to be structured, what we would do with our time, and some of the challenges facing us on our way there. Episode Summary
    00:02:13 | Broad Overview
    00:12:53 | Automation
    • Robots Will Steal Your Job, But That's OK: How to Survive the Economic Collapse and Be Happy
      Read online free
      Listen to the audiobook free
      • The point of technological progress has been to enable us to get the same resources for less effort - or more resources for the same effort
      • Exponential growth makes it difficult to realize massive changes are coming, even when they are imminent
      • Once one machine has been "trained" to do something, all of them have been
    • Don’t Replace People. Augment Them. – What’s The Future? – Medium
      • The only way for people to compete with machines in the workforce is for people to be augmented
    • Machine learning enables computers to adapt to new tasks over time, is accelerated by the amount of data we collect about the activities of workers
    • I see three possible outcomes:
      • Automation pushes humans out of the workforce, but it’s okay because we put in place social structures to support those who are not in the workforce
      • Automation pushes humans out of the workforce, and those who own the automation accrue all the wealth from that system
      • Humans allow ourselves to be augmented to such an extent that we can compete with automation
    00:26:45 | Workforce Upheaval
    • Robots Will Steal Your Job, But That's OK
      • Information technology eliminates far more jobs than it creates
      • Those forced out of their current profession do not have much hope of entering the workforce at the same pay level
      • The Middle Class shrinks
      • Greater shares of produced wealth goes to the already wealthy
      • Past automation has forced unskilled workers into retail or delivery fields, but those are now on the chopping block.
      • Of course not all jobs will be automated, the 45% of jobs that are easily automated will certainly be enough to radically alter society
      • As time goes on, we will automate more and more jobs. New fields will open, but those jobs will be more difficult and sophisticated than before, and will employ fewer people.
    • Humans Need Not Apply - YouTube
      • Mechanical muscles allow us to free up labor so those humans can specialize in other things, which overall improves our standards of living
      • Technology improves at a rate that biology can’t match
      • “Mechanical muscles” applies to brain power as well; thinking and creative jobs aren’t safe
    • The Rise of the Machines – Why Automation is Different this Time - YouTube
      • More wealth is going to industries with fewer workers
      • If automation displaces enough workers, who will be able to buy the stuff produced by automation?
    • The Vanishing Male Worker: How America Fell Behind - The New York Times
      • Easier to live without employment now
      • Barrier to entry for working has increased
    • The game industry's disposable workers - Polygon
    • Working in a gig economy : Career Outlook: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
      • Gig economy, aka work on demand
      • Difficult to do as sole income, so many people supplement a main job with gigs
    00:53:59 | Rethink Society
    • Get off the hedonic treadmill
    • Stop trying to "keep up with the Joneses"
      • Even if our material goods are provided for, people will find ways like fame or social standing to differentiate themselves
    • Machine Money and People Money – What’s The Future? – Medium
      • May transition to a two-currency system: one for buying things made by machines, the other for buying things made by humans
      • Problem: if a machine can make something that seems like it was made by a human, how do you know you are paying for the real deal?
    • Current society has engrained in us the idea that we are defined by our job. We have to reject this idea in order to progress to a post-scarcity society.
    • Currently people say “if you’re good at something, don’t do it for free.” In a post-scarcity mindset, you would say “if you wouldn’t do this job for free, you shouldn’t do it at all.”
    • Unemployment is a huge detriment to mental health, unless unemployment is the norm
    • Transition period - make shorter workweeks the norm
    • How do people find purpose?
    • What will we do with our free time?
    • The Free-Time Paradox in America - The Atlantic
      • The rich are supposed to be able to afford more leisure time, but we’re seeing a very different outcome
      • 2015: 22% of men aged 21-30 without a college degree hadn’t worked in the last year
        • They spend a lot of time playing video games
        • They report higher satisfaction than the same age group back when employment was higher
      • Technological progress has been fastest in areas related to entertainment, communication, and information processing
      • Entertainment is now an inferior good (as one’s income goes up, they consume less of it)
      • The rich have reduced their leisure time more than any other demographic
        • “Building wealth to them is a creative process, and the closest thing they have to fun.” - Robert Frank
    • What is the point of education? How do we structure it?
    • No couch, one car: How these Minnesotans are living with less - StarTribune.com
    01:14:17 | Universal Basic Income

    Attributions

    Copyright

    The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted23.]]>     1:27:29 Ian R Buck, Brandon Johnson     The Extra Dimension #22: Net Neutrality https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted22/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted22/ Sat, 15 Jul 2017 12:48:43 GMT Net Neutrality is a vitally important concept for maintaining an open internet, but it has faced many legal hurdles. Join Ian R Buck as he dives into the topic. This episode will be updated whenever there are new developments. Episode Summary
    01:47 | Definition

    Net neutrality: the principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoring or blocking particular products or websites.

    03:02 | Why is it important?
    Let’s look at some of the examples of things that can happen when net neutrality is not followed:

    When net neutrality is followed, everybody online is treated equally. This allows new websites, apps, and services to compete fairly with large, established companies. Imagine you have an idea to create a new site for streaming virtual reality video. If internet providers are allowed to charge companies for fast lanes, how are you supposed to compete with YouTube? YouTube has enough money to pay for a fast lane, but you don’t because you just started. So your viewers will get much lower quality video, whereas YouTube’s viewers will see higher quality video.

    Also, think about internet providers that also publish media. What is to stop Comcast from preferring their own video services over other video services?

    Under normal circumstances, a company that treats its customers would quickly lose those customers. However, 51% of Americans have only one choice of broadband internet provider and another 38% only have two choices.

    13:49 | Arguments Against Net Neutrality

    Some internet uses are more network sensitive (gaming, video calling) than others, so it might be better overall if those are given higher priority.

    Networks are expensive to create, and regulations could discourage investment in network infrastructure.

    Regulations created today might not be relevant in the future.

    20:38 | History of Net Neutrality Laws

    In the 90’s and early 00’s there was lots of competition because of line sharing mandates, where companies had to allow other internet providers to use the phone lines they built. Because of all this competition, there wasn’t much concern about net neutrality violations. However, line sharing mandates were eliminated by the Bush Administration.

    For a long time, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) could not regulate internet providers very effectively on net neutrality. They tried to set up rules, but when the internet providers took them to court, the rules were struck down because internet providers were classified as “information services” instead of “telecommunications services.” The FCC did not have much power to regulate information services.

    However, early in 2015 congress gave FCC permission to determine what classification they would put internet providers under. In February the board members of the FCC voted to classify internet providers as telecommunications services. So now they have the ability to make internet providers play nice. This also ties into the issue of whether or not internet access should be treated as a utility.

    26:44 | Current Events

    Trump hasn’t talked much about net neutrality, but what he has said wasn’t good.

    Trump’s FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, voted against the net neutrality rules in 2015 and now he is determined to get rid of them. On May 18 the FCC announced a plan called “Restoring Internet Freedom” repealing the net neutrality rules enacted in 2015 and placing regulation of ISPs on the FTC. In exchange, it asks ISPs to voluntarily promise not to slow users’ speeds or restrict their access to data. This is a JOKE.

    Quote from vox.com: “And there’s a huge problem with Pai’s plan to make ISP regulation the FTC’s responsibility, which is simply that the FTC is an enforcement agency, not a regulatory one. That is, the FTC has no ability to create or enforce new regulations against potential abuses of net neutrality, because while the Federal Communications Commission can enact regulations for how ISPs must behave, the Federal Trade Commission is really only legally able to enforce existing rules against ISPs after the FCC has established them. So since the FCC would be throwing its own regulations out the window, the only regulatory action the FTC would be able to take would be to issue punishments after the fact if an ISP failed to actually adhere to any promise to obey net neutrality that it had voluntarily written into its own terms of service.”

    It is open for public comment until July 17. Many companies and individuals who rely on the internet participated in a Day of Action on July 12. Many prominent websites posted banners, loading circles, and pop-up messages encouraging visitors to submit comments in support of Net Neutrality. After the public comment window, the FCC has until August 16 to issue their response.

    Attributions

    Copyright

    The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted22.]]>     00:37:36 Ian R Buck     The Extra Dimension #21: Distributed Social Networks https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted21/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted21/ Wed, 03 May 2017 12:04:53 GMT Almost all of the social networks that we use are centralized, meaning that one company owns everything. Ian, Brandon, and Brian explore what a social network would look like if it were distributed, meaning that there are many servers owned by different people that still communicate with each other. Episode Summary

    00:00:00 | Overview

    00:04:37 | Pros

    • In theory, it helps bring control back to the users rather than a single corporate entity that owns the entire stack
    • Much harder for oppressive regimes to block access, since content could be coming from any server
    • Total service outages are much less likely, as content is spread among many servers
    • If a particular server goes offline, users on other servers won’t see content from users on that server until it comes back; they will still see content from users on all other servers though

    00:07:41 | Cons

    • Potentially more confusing for the user
    • Some features are infeasible, like verified accounts (except with emoji hacks ✅ ✅ ✅ 💯💯💯👌)
    • Is adding new features harder, since each instance admin would have to update their server?
      • Establish a base protocol, and then extra optional features that can be implemented in order to get more users? Maybe something like IMAP for email?

    00:14:30 | Since it’s like email, and email is ubiquitous, does that mean it is inevitable that we will have widespread adoption of distributed social networks?

    • Not really
    • Email is ubiquitous because it has been around for forever, and back when email was created everything was distributed; now the norm is centralized services
    • An email address is required to sign up for most other online accounts, and that won’t be the case for social networks

    00:18:42 | GNU Social

    00:23:24 | Mastodon

    Attributions

    Copyright

    The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted21.]]>     01:07:45 Ian R Buck, Brandon Johnson, Brian Mitchell     The Extra Dimension #20: Copyright Law https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted20/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted20/ Fri, 17 Feb 2017 06:16:39 GMT Copyright law can be big and complicated, but that doesn't mean it is impossible to understand! Join Brian Mitchell and Ian R Buck as they delve deeper into this subject that affects almost everyone's lives. Links

    Episode Summary

    00:00 | Intro
    01:15 | Copyright is a type of intellectual property
    • Copyright is for creative works, like this podcast!
    • Different from a patent, which is for the design of an invention.
    • Different from trademark, which protects brands.
    • Copyright applies to a work automatically, you don’t have to go and apply for it.
    03:34 | History
    • 1709 Britain - Statute of Anne.
      • Created in response to the tendency of printers to just make and sell copies without the author’s permission.
    • Many countries had their own copyright laws in place, but did  not recognize copyrights from other countries. This meant that publishers in one country could copy a work from another country without the author’s permission.
    • Many international agreements regarding copyright have been signed, starting with the Berne Convention in 1886.
    • By now, copyright laws are almost universal.
    • Copyright usually lasts for the life of the author, plus 50-100 years.
      • After the copyright has expired, the work is in the public domain.
      • What about works that don’t have a single author?
    • Copyright belongs to the author of a work, unless it is “work for hire,” as in an employee creating something in the course of their employment. Then it belongs to the employer.
    10:19 | Examples of works copyright usually covers:
    • Literary (written) works
    • Lectures, addresses, sermons
    • Motion pictures
    • Choreography
    • Musical compositions
    • Sound recordings
    • Paintings, drawings
    • Sculptures
    • Photographs
    • Software
    • Broadcasts
    • Graphic designs and industrial designs
    • Translations and adaptations are “protected as original works without prejudice to the copyright of the original work”
    • Collections of artistic works, again protected without prejudice to the original works.
    • Copyright does not cover ideas and information, only the way they are expressed or recorded.
    • Copyright applies to original works, but does not guarantee they are unique. If two authors independently create very similar works, they both still have copyrights.
    16:22 | Copyright covers two types of rights:
    • Economic rights
      • Derive financial reward from the use of the work by other people.
      • Usually transferable to other people.
    • Moral rights
      • Preserve and protect their link with their work.
      • Not usually transferable to other people.
      • In some countries, they last forever.
    • Types of economic rights:
      • Reproduction, distribution, rental, and importation.
        • Distribution is an interesting situation in the digital age. Previously, as soon as an author sells a copy of their work, they no longer have the right to prevent the person it was sold to from giving away or reselling that copy. There is still debate on what that means for digital files.
      • Public performance, broadcasting, and communication to the public.
        • Performance is either a live performance or a recording played for the public.
        • “Thus a musical work is considered publicly performed when a sound recording of that work, or phonogram, is played over amplification equipment, for example in a discotheque, airplane or shopping mall.”
        • Some countries treat digital files transmitted over the internet as a communication to the public, others treat it as distribution.
      • Translation and adaptation.
        • In order to translate or adapt a work, one needs permission from rights holder.
        • Translations and adaptations are also protected by copyright, so to publish them one must have permission from the rights holders of the original and the translation or adaptation.
        • How does user-generated content fit into this? Do people need permission to create mash-ups, remixes, etc?
    • Types of moral rights:
      • Attribution
      • Integrity
        • “The right to object to any distortion or modification of a work, or other derogatory action in relation to a work, which would be prejudicial to the author’s honor or reputation.”
    24:41 | Transferring copyright
    • Assignment
      • A direct transfer of copyright. The original right holder no longer has an economic claim on the work.
    • Licensing
      • The copyright holder retains the copyright, but allows a third party to use the work in certain ways.
      • Can be exclusive or non-exclusive.
    • Royalties
      • A type of licensing where the copyright holder gets paid based on how many times the work is used.
    • Collective administration of rights
      • Exclusive license granted to an entity that will act on the author’s behalf to handle distribution, granting usage permissions, and detect and prevent infringement of rights.
    30:49 | Consequences of copyright infringement:
    • Depends on the region.
    • Copyright holder may be compensated for either the amount of profit the infringer made, or for the estimated amount of money that the copyright holder did not receive as a result of the infringement.
    • The infringing goods may be destroyed.
    • The tools and materials used to produce the infringing goods may be destroyed.
    • Criminal sanctions may be applied in serious cases, like piracy on a commercial scale. This can take the form of a fine or prison sentence.
    33:11 | Related rights
    • Performers have the right to prevent recording, broadcasting, and communication to the public of their live performances.
    • Broadcasting organizations have the right to authorize or prohibit rebroadcasting or recording of their broadcasts.
    • Similar to copyright, there are limitations and exceptions, like for teaching, private use, and reporting current events.
    • Related rights last for 20-50 years.
    • Public Domain
      • Any works that are no longer protected by copyright.
      • Could be because the copyright expired or because the copyright holder released the work into the public domain.
    35:30 | Fair Use
    • Under some circumstances, one can perform acts of exploitation on a work without the owner’s permission and without obligation to compensate them.
    • Examples:
      • Quoting a short piece from a work, citing it as the source.
      • Using a work as illustration for educational purposes.
      • Using a work for news reporting.
    • Fair use is the area that regional copyright laws vary the most on. Something that is considered fair use in one country may not be in another.
    • Factors that are taken into account when determining the limits of fair use:
      • The nature and purpose of the use.
      • Whether it is for commercial purposes.
      • The nature of the work.
      • The amount of the work used in relation to the work as a whole.
      • The likely effect of the use on the potential commercial value of the work.
    43:19 | Free Content Licenses
    • Free cultural works are released under licenses that do not restrict others’ freedom to:
      • Use the content and benefit from using it.
      • Study the content and apply what is learned.
      • Make and distribute copies of the content.
      • Change and improve the content and distribute these derivative works.
    • As technology has driven down the cost of distribution to essentially zero, the number of content creators and number of works available to the public has exploded. Many of these content creators realized that their works would benefit if they could incorporate the works of others. Therefore, it is to everyone’s advantage if everyone allows free and open use of their works.
    • How does a creator make money when their works are being released for free? Well, we have a whole episode dedicated to that! Check out The Extra Dimension #8.
    • Creative Commons
      • Meant for licensing media.
      • Contains several features that the copyright holder can customize:
        • Whether or not to allow derivative works.
        • Whether the derivative works must use the same license as the original.
        • Whether or not to allow commercial reuse of the work.
    • GPL, MIT license
      • Meant for software.
      • Open source software is not only free to use, but all of the source code is available to read and modify.

    Attributions

    Copyright

    The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted20.]]>     00:59:40 Brian Mitchell, Ian R Buck     The Extra Dimension #19: Off-Topic Conversations from NerdCon: Stories 2016 https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted19/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted19/ Fri, 30 Dec 2016 09:17:48 GMT Ian talked to a lot of people at NerdCon, and naturally some of the conversations took unexpected turns away from NerdCon itself; here are some deep dives into topics the guests are very excited about. Episode Summary

    00:00 | Intro

    01:27 | Using game design in education

    03:22 | Podcast indexing, voice-controlled game

    14:40 | Renaissance Festival

    28:41 | Podcasts

    38:01 | Video games, TV shows

    Guests (in order of appearance)

    Attributions

    Copyright

    The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted19.]]>     00:48:12 Ian R Buck     The Extra Dimension #18: Conversations from NerdCon: Stories 2016 https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted18/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted18/ Fri, 30 Dec 2016 09:17:37 GMT At NerdCon: Stories Ian did something a little crazy; he sat down with random strangers to talk about their time at the convention! They covered a lot of different topics, so get ready for a wild ride! Episode Summary

    00:00 | Intro

    03:47 | Why people came

    11:02 | Meeting creators

    19:29 | Podcasting

    25:31 | Panels

    32:05 | In-jokes

    36:55 | How to revive NerdCon

    41:47 | Issues facing creative people

    Guests (in order of appearance)

    Attributions

    Copyright

    The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted18.]]>     00:52:05 Ian R Buck     The Extra Dimension #17: Transportation - The Future https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted17/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted17/ Tue, 22 Nov 2016 21:23:22 GMT What exciting new forms of transportation does the future hold for us? How will self-driven cars change our travel habits? What even is a hyperloop? Ian, Brian, and Ryan have done the research on all of this and more! Transportation Miniseries

    Overview:

    • Self-driven cars allow the concept of transportation as a service to really come to fruition.
      • The future of Google with Sundar Pichai - YouTube
        • 4:07-4:42
        • The seed that got Buck thinking about this whole topic, especially transportation as a service with self-driven cars.
        • Cars currently sit idle 90% of their lives. If we do not individually own cars, they can drop one person off and immediately go pick up another.
      • Tesla considers its own ride-sharing business - Autoblog
      • Anytime you need to go somewhere, summon a ride. A car comes to pick you up, drives you to where you are going, and drops you off.
      • Car distribution can be tailored based on expected demand.
      • If you have a regular schedule/put things on your calendar ahead of time, the system can dispatch a car to you before you even ask for it.
      • The system can send different types of cars based on the needs of the trip.
        • Going to work? Smart car.
        • Going out to eat with a bunch of friends? Van.
        • Hauling furniture? Flatbed.
        • Price can be tiered by how much you want to be alone.
      • Parking (and its frustrations) are a thing of the past.
        • Self-driven cars can park much closer together.
        • Electric vehicles could plug into the grid, serving as distributed energy storage.
      • Transportation will be much easier for the very young and the very old.
      • Can get stuff done during a commute.
      • Will encourage more urban sprawl.
        • Potential prevention: it will be comparatively expensive to drive out to the middle of nowhere.
    • The Driverless Economy – Federico Pistono – Medium
    • The transformative potential of self-driving electric cars - Vox
      • Electric cars can take almost any form you can imagine.
      • All they need are wheels, a platform for batteries and passenger(s), a user interface, and wires to connect everything.
      • Electric cars convert higher percentage of energy to movement (~60% vs ~20%).
      • Infrastructure is (by necessity) designed for peak use. This applies to not only streets, but also parking.
      • Accidents will be far less common.
        • No need to armor up vehicles, so they can be much lighter.
        • Use less energy to move.
        • Use less material in construction.
      • Light Traffic / MIT Senseable City Lab
        • With only self-driven cars on the road, we won’t need traffic lights. As cars approach intersections, they will coordinate their timings and routes so they have to slow down at the most.
        • Using a slot-based system, pedestrian and bicycle traffic can be accommodated.
      • Way less pollution.
      • Security
        • A lot of data will be collected about individual citizens.
        • Who can access the data? What can it be used for?
        • Targeted advertising will be lucrative, no doubt.
        • A lot of effort will have to be put in to protect against attacks.
    • The future of America is driverless | Verge 2021
      • Self-driving won’t just apply to cars; trucks, ships, trains, etc will be largely automated.
      • Trucks will be able to drive much closer together, reducing drag and saving fuel.
      • Data will have to be shared between manufacturers, so AIs can learn from each other.
      • Real-time reporting of road conditions.
      • Labor concerns as jobs that rely on driving become obsolete.
    • Safety is a huge topic when it comes to self-driven cars
      • How do we decide a self-driven car’s response to ethically tough scenarios? The Messy Ethics of Self Driving Cars - YouTube
        • Self-driven cars will have more opportunity to respond to situations in an ethical manner, as events are often so fast a human would only have instinct.
        • Laws do not cover all ethical conundrums, and sometimes run contrary to what is ethical in a particular situation.
        • Who is at fault if a car does something harmful? The owner of the car? The manufacturer? The programmers?
        • Now that we have neural networks, it may be possible to teach a computer to figure out the answers to ethical conundrums based on examples.
      • Self-driving cars can be fooled pretty easily in ways humans cannot. Google self-driving cars lack a human’s intuition for what other drivers will do.
        • If a driver does something the self-driven car does not expect, it has more trouble reacting than a human driver would.
        • The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration ruled that AI software can count as a driver.
        • Drivers in different regions have different norms. Sometimes a driver has to be aggressive to merge, but if an AI is programmed to follow all laws, it may never make it into the lane.
    • Flying cars Uber's Flying Cars Plan | WIRED
      • Not really cars, but small electric VTOL aircraft.
      • Uber wants to offer an on-demand service that uses them within five years.
      • Infrastructure won’t be much of an issue, since they just need helipads instead of runways. There are already ~6,000 helipads in the US.
    • Hyperloop

    Attributions

    Copyright

    The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted17.]]>     01:12:21 Ian R Buck, Brian Mitchell, Ryan Rampersad     The Extra Dimension #16: Transportation - Long Distance https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted16/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted16/ Thu, 03 Nov 2016 16:36:40 GMT Come on a journey with Brandon Johnson, Brian Mitchell, and Ian R Buck as they explore the intricacies of planes, trains, and boats. Transportation Miniseries

    Overview:

      • Planes
        • Why Flying is So Expensive - YouTube
          • Things that go into the cost of a flight:
            • Fuel
            • Crew
            • Airport fees
            • Taxes
              • FAA
              • TSA
              • International Transportation Tax
            • Airplane
            • Maintenance
            • Administrative costs of airline
            • Insurance
          • Very little of it goes to profit for the airline
        • How Budget Airlines Work - YouTube
          • Budget airlines reduce costs by:
            • Ordering planes in bulk.
            • They still buy new planes because they are the most efficient.
            • Only use one type of plane. Reduces cost of training staff.
            • Less luxury features.
              • Seats don’t recline.
              • No seat pockets to clean in between flights.
            • Flight attendants in the beginning of their careers, with as little training as possible.
            • Flight attendants do more roles, like check people in and clean the plane.
            • Food and drinks are not included with the ticket.
            • Duty-free sales.
            • Don’t operate out of big airports, or when they do they fly at less busy times.
            • Schedule planes for many flights a day, so they are always making money.
            • Not having assigned seats encourages passengers to show up early.
            • Use the point-to-point model.
            • No connections.
            • Have customers print tickets at home, or a kiosk.
            • Having passengers walk up steps to the plane instead of jetways.
        • Phantom flights | The Economist
          • Hidden-city tickets are a way to take advantage of the weird economics of airline pricing.
          • Hypothetical Delta prices: Atlanta -> Cincinnati $251 (they’re the only ones who fly direct) Atlanta -> Cincinnati -> Dallas $197 (other airlines fly Atlanta -> Dallas)
          • You could buy the cheaper ticket and just get off in Cincinnati.
          • This exploit only works as long as few people use it.
        • Big Plane vs Little Plane (The Economics of Long-Haul Flights) - YouTube
          • Hub-and-spoke model
            • Hub airports allow airlines to run far fewer routes; hub-to-hub trunk routes, and hub-to-secondary routes.
            • Trunk routes require large capacity, so you see really big planes flying those.
          • Point-to-point model
            • Direct flights from secondary airports to other airports.
            • Less demand for most of those routes requires smaller planes.
            • Until recently, smaller planes could not make long enough flights and were not efficient enough.
            • Now that small planes have longer range, we see a rise in Long and Skinny routes.
      • Trains
        • Why Trains Suck in America - YouTube
          • Cities 200-300 miles apart are in the sweet spot for trains to be quicker than planes.
          • Trains were a huge factor in the economic development of America.
          • Freight hauling is where the money is, so passenger cars existed primarily to advertise a railway to the business executives who would be deciding which company to contract with.
          • Once cars and planes took those executives away, there was little point to keeping passenger cars.
          • Passenger trains in America operate on other companies’ lines, so they are not given priority.
          • In Europe, not much freight is transported via rail.
          • American cities are much less densely populated than European cities, so they are less walkable.
          • Amtrak is not subsidized enough to get out of the vicious cycle: no money means they can’t improve, which means low ridership, which means no money.
          • Amtrak offers a “fellowship” for writers, artists, creatives -- this is part of the aesthetic draw of train travel, as efficiency isn’t really there
          • Lower cost of tickets and lower supervision (TSA checks aren’t really present on trains) make law enforcement raids of Amtrak somewhat frequent?
          • High speed rail in the Midwest is unfortunately stalled
      • Boats
        • Slower
        • Cheaper
        • Far less pollutive than planes
          • Though cheap dirty fuel is legal in international waters
        • Water-locked
        • More effective for shorter distance and pleasure cruises
        • Some longer distances in Northern Europe
          • Blends with pleasure cruise
        • How Maritime Law Works - YouTube
          • Maritime law!
          • A country owns the sea up to 12 miles from shore. “Territorial Waters.”
            • Innocent Passage is allowed through Territorial Waters. Innocent purposes do not include:
              • Fishing
              • Polluting
              • Weapons practice
              • Spying
            • Innocent passage must be done quickly and without stopping on shore.
          • Another 12 miles out is the Contiguous Zone.
            • Four types of laws can be enforced by a country here:
              • Customs
              • Taxation
              • Immigration
              • Pollution
          • Within 200 miles from shore: Exclusive Economic Zone
            • It is International Waters, but the nearest country is the only one allowed to harvest natural resources there.
            • When two countries’ shores are less than 400 miles from each other, it is up to them to figure out who gets access to what.
              • Most times they divide it at the equidistant point.
          • International Waters
            • All Oceangoing vessels are required to be registered at some country.
            • When the vessel is in International Waters, the home country’s laws apply onboard.
            • When the vessel enters another country’s territorial waters, the laws of that country applies.
          • Baby nationality
            • According to the UN, a baby born in International Waters should inherit its parent’s nationality, regardless of what country the vessel is registered to. Most countries follow this.
            • If a baby is born in Territorial Waters of the US, it automatically gets American citizenship. Not always true in other countries’ Territorial Waters.
        • In an Age of Privilege, Not Everyone Is in the Same Boat - New York Times
          • Boats, and to a lesser extent planes, are places where we increasingly see a differentiation between rich and middle class
          • Some cruises physically separate the most expensive, exclusive rooms. If you’re not in, you don’t even know they exist.
          • Other cruises make the expensive stuff visible; it advertises the services, but can lead to resentment among the passengers.
        • FRENCHMAN FULFILLS LONGTIME DREAM OF MANKIND BY `WALKING' ACROSS ATLANTIC OCEAN IN 61 DAYS | Deseret News
    • Environmental comparisons for Brian’s trip
      • Plane would be ~900 kg/person of CO2 emissions
      • Boat was ~20 kg/person of CO2 emissions
      • Trains while moving can have zero emissions

    Attributions

    Copyright

    The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted16.]]>     01:06:27 Brandon Johnson, Brian Mitchell, Ian R Buck     The Extra Dimension #15: Transportation - Individual Car Ownership https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted15/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted15/ Sat, 17 Sep 2016 12:37:07 GMT All your favorite Nexus hosts gather to talk about the dominance of the car in transportation, and what it means for both individuals and society as a whole. Transportation Miniseries

    Overview

    • Pros
      • No physical effort
      • Door to door
      • High speed/shorter commute
      • Can get to places inaccessible to other forms of transportation
      • Longer distances
      • Can carry things like groceries or pets
      • Most convenient from an individual perspective
    • Cons
      • No physical effort
      • Have to be focused on driving for the entire commute
      • Pay for gasoline
      • Pay for insurance
      • Pay for maintenance
      • Traffic
      • Encourages living further from work/school
      • More pollutive per person than public transportation, walking, or cycling
      • Cars spend most of their existence parked - not being used
      • Inefficient for society as a whole (much better and more efficient uses of space, moving people, etc.)
      • Leaves behind segments of the population who cannot drive - particularly the very young and very old
    • Neutral
      • Don’t have to interact with people
      • Pay for huge amounts of car infrastructure via taxes

    Links

    • The future of commuting - Vox
    • The utter dominance of the car in American commuting - Vox How working women, cheap cars, and Starbucks killed carpooling - Vox
      • Driving to work alone is still the most dominant form of commuting.
      • Percentage rose slightly since 2000, mostly because there is less carpooling.
        • There are more cars per household than before, and the number of cars a person owns is the best predictor of the likelihood of driving to work alone.
        • Less people per household, which affects carpooling a lot because most carpools are within a household.
        • Lower gas prices and more fuel-efficient cars.
        • Women entering the workforce has an interesting effect: more income per household means they can afford more cars; spouses often have different work destinations; women are more likely to do other chores along their commute, which makes carpooling infeasible.
        • Suburbs: when you live in an area where you have to drive no matter what you want to get to, carpooling is infeasible.
        • Even with recent trends away from driving alone, they aren’t moving back towards carpooling.
      • Income isn’t really a predictor anymore of whether a household owns a car or not.
        • Decreasing cost of car ownership.
        • Cars last a lot longer than they used to, so it’s really easy to get a used car.
    • Long commutes make you fat, tired, and miserable - Vox
      • Having a long commute by car is associated with poor health, but it usually isn’t a direct cause.
        • Less likely to exercise.
        • Less likely to make food at home.
        • Purchase more non-grocery store food (like fast food.)
        • Sleep less.
      • Even if you exercise, long commutes are associated with higher blood pressure and chronic neck or back pain.
      • People with long commutes are also generally more stressed and less satisfied with life.
      • Most people with long commutes choose them because they want a larger house or a better neighborhood, but they are almost never enough to offset the drawbacks of the commute.
      • Carpooling is a great way to prevent the stress part of a long commute, because you are socializing with people instead of simply losing a couple of hours. But what if your carpool buddies don’t want to listen to the podcasts you like?
    • Young people are driving less than their parents. But why? - Vox The many reasons millennials are shunning cars - The Washington Post
      • Young people drive way less today than young people in the past.
      • The dip in driving came at the beginning of the recession, when jobs were scarce and gas was expensive. So it was thought that this might just be a temporary change.
      • As we have gotten further from the recession, it seems like it is a permanent trend: Generation Y prefers to do less driving than Generation X.
      • Likely contributing factors:
      • “Americans reaching driving age today have no living memory of consistently cheap gasoline.”
      • In addition to gas prices, auto insurance costs have also risen, as the cost of repairs has gone up.
      • It is more difficult to get a permit/license when you are very young now.
      • As student debt has gotten bigger, paying that back eats into car payment funds.
      • There is a greater preference to live near city centers. In some cities, the higher cost of living is offset by easy access to public transportation and more walkable neighborhoods.
      • Information technology has made it way easier to live without owning a car. It is easier to use other forms of transportation like public transit or car sharing. It is also easier to stay home when your social life is largely online.
      • If you are in the habit of being productive on your phone while in transit, driving is much less appealing.
      • Even so, the car’s dominant position isn’t going anywhere soon.
    • Highways gutted American cities. So why did they build them? - Vox » 60 Years of Urban Change: Midwest
      • If the highway system were built from scratch today, would it go through city centers? Probably not. So why did cities agree to do it?
      • Local governments were offered lots of money if they built highways, but they didn’t get a lot of control over where they went.
      • The car industry successfully framed highway building as a public responsibility.
        • Shifted from building privately-owned toll highways to publicly-owned highways funded by taxes on gasoline (well, 43-74% funded by gas).
        • Perception has stuck around that highways are self-funding, even though they’re not.
        • Allowed highways to expand much more quickly.
      • 1939 World’s Fair model built by GM called Futurama showed big, wide highways that are only accessible by on- and off-ramps.
        • Credited with introducing the concept to the American public.
        • Promised to solve the traffic congestion problems of the day.
      • A 1947 map and 1955 document called the “Yellow Book” outlined the paths the interstate system would take - both through the countryside, and city centers.
        • Contributors to the document included members of the auto industry and highway engineers.
        • Notable lack of urban planners; the profession barely even existed at the time.
      • The majority of funding came from the federal government, because Eisenhower was really enthusiastic about the project; he wanted it to facilitate troop movements and mass evacuations in the event of a nuclear attack.
      • States were essentially getting highways for free, as long as they agreed to the routes in the Yellow Book.
      • Suburbs were starting to get big, so highways were seen as ways to bring commuters into the city centers.
      • Highways were used to get rid of “urban blight,” aka low-income, often African-American neighborhoods.
      • Some neighborhoods were able to prevent highways from coming through, but they were almost always higher income and had more political capital.
      • People displaced by highway construction had to move to other highways, leading to overcrowding and increases in crime rates.
      • Those who could afford it moved to the suburbs, taking tax money away from the cities that the highways were supposed to serve.
    • Once seniors are too old to drive, our transportation system totally fails them - Vox Curbing Metro Mobility’s Growth | streets.mn
      • About 80% of American seniors live outside of urban areas, where driving is the only viable form of transportation.
        • Harder to get goods and services.
        • Isolated from friends and family. This can affect health in a number of ways.
          • Nobody to monitor and give health advice.
          • Psychological effects of isolation.
        • Society misses out on seniors who would volunteer their time if they could get places.
      • Our population is getting older.
      • Drivers past the age of 75 are much more likely to be involved in a fatal crash - partly because they are more likely to die as a result of a crash, but also because of slower reaction times and poor eyesight.
      • We need a better solution than public paratransit shuttles, which you have to schedule long ahead of time, and typically arrive within a wide window of time. Also, some disabilities which disqualify you from driving do not qualify you to use paratransit.
      • Possible solutions:
        • Multi-use neighborhoods that are accessible by wheelchair.
        • Elder village model.
          • Organization that provides services to the elderly so they can stay in their homes.
          • Both paid staff and volunteers.
        • Subsidized Uber.
        • Self-driven cars.
    • The "fundamental rule" of traffic: building new roads just makes people drive more - Vox
      • Expanding road capacity doesn’t alleviate traffic; people just drive more, and it remains congested.
      • This is because you are not charged to use roads, so using them more is the most logical thing to do.
      • Even improving public transit doesn’t solve the problem; the people who take transit instead of driving are replaced by other people who drive more.
      • The only method that has effectively reduced traffic is congestion pricing: charging for road use at peak traffic times.
      • It is a bit regressive, but so are current systems for funding roads.
    • Why free parking is bad for everyone - Vox
      • Donald Shoup of UCLA: charge for parking anywhere where # of cars > # of spots to park.
      • Reasons why it’s currently free:
        • Parking meters emerged a few decades past the invention of the car.
        • “It's hard to start charging people for something that the government owns and had been free.”
      • Space is finite, and therefore parking spots should be considered a limited good.
      • Lots of costs to maintain, which shafts those who don’t use cars.
        • ~$1750 to build, ~$400 annually to maintain.
      • Building standards of many dense cities require parking space to be included, costing around $30k-$50k. The price is passed onto the consumer.
      • The unused lots of buildings forced to comply is wasted space.
      • So many govt decisions to allow for free parking makes a world in which a car is necessary to have.
      • People looking for *free* spots adds to congestion as well as CO2 emissions.
        • Free parking = larger demand for parking -> more miles driven.
      • Suggested Solution: charge for parking based on “market price.”
        • If a spot is occupied >80%, raise the price on the meter by $0.25/hour, <60% lowers by $0.25/hour.
    • One Scientifically Proven Thing Actually Makes People Happier - YouTube

    Attributions

    Copyright

    The Extra Dimension is released under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International license. Feel free to use any or all of it as long as you link back to http://thenexus.tv/ted15.]]>     01:09:07 Andrew Bailey, Brandon Johnson, Brian Mitchell, Ian R Buck, Ian Decker, Ryan Rampersad     The Extra Dimension #14: Transportation - Public Transit https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted14/ https://thenexus.tv/episodes/ted14/ Wed, 10 Aug 2016 23:22:34 GMT Savannah Haslow, Andrew Bailey, and Ian R Buck discuss transportation and public transit. Transportation Miniseries

    Overview

    • Pros
      • Cheap
      • Most efficient system at scale
      • Fewer cars on the road
      • Don't have to bother with parking
      • Sense of community?
    • Cons
      • Buses not running on time
      • Missing the bus
      • Only viable on routes that the planners have planned for
      • Transfers compound travel time
      • Waiting for the bus in the rain
      • Sometimes subways have fires

    Links