soft phone services from 2001

I started using "soft phone" software in 2001. At Microsoft, where I worked, we had the "Communications Server," which became Lync and then Skype.  We used "soft phone" software instead of desktop phones. VOIP was great. We also had the free internet cellular fax "remote printing" service at tpc.int.

Meanwhile in 2005, GrandCentral  provided a free service whose tagline was "one number for life!" The single phone number provided free fax (send, receive), free voicemail (send & receive), free SMS, and free voice (dial-out & receive calls).  The software ran on PCs, laptops, tablets, & mobile phones. Google acquired GrandCentral and put it to sleep for a while but eventually resurrected it as "Google Voice."  Google removed the fax services but added gateways of SMS to / from email and voicemail transcription to email.

For a while, Google merged Google Voice with Google Hangouts, which was cool at the time because the merger added video conferencing and video messages on any device to all of the telephony features.  However Google killed Hangouts, so Voice became the only free consumer VOIP service the evil search giant (ESG) supported.  Google Meet for enterprise now has dial-out and dial-in to "meetings," but it's not the same as on-demand VOIP. I still use my GrandCentral phone number as the only number I give out to everyone and I use that phone  number on about a dozen devices in which I come in contact relatively frequently, including my mobile phones and home computers.  I do not give out the cellular carrier phone number.

It's interesting how these consumer services have "enshitified" over the decades.

Dead Moon by Peter Clines (2019)

I am very disappointed.  The first two books were good, with clever weaving of Lovecraft's magic and history.  This one is a poorly conceived zombie apocalypse melee with bad space science. 1/5 Stars. 

The Bold by Jason Anspach and Nick Cole (2023)

I did not like this book because there was too much magic and too many D&D plot contrivances.  It was neither high fantasy nor close quarters combat military adventure. 2/5.  I am considering not reading the others in this series.

To err is human. To devastate, use computers

Simon Thorne wrote this interesting and thought-provoking piece about catastrophic consequences of human errors associated with spreadsheets. Some of my earliest research and  publications were in this area of ergonomics, and I am still interested in software quality. Here are some thoughts:

First of all, it is possible we can apply the ideas of large language models and generative AI to assuring quality in a few areas.  We can train, fine-tune, and task the models to search for the most-common issues that violate implicit and explicit requirements and expectations of the document, spreadsheet data, or software output.  Writing software tests is difficult and time consuming.  Generative AI models already write manu of my unit tests.  We can expand their use for negative tests in software, spreadsheet checkers, and document scanners.

Secondly, the engineering quality assurance (building quality in) and quality control (measuring quality) that has moved from older engineering disciplines such as civil engineering, construction, manufacturing, and software engineering can be applied to clerical knowledge work.  The magical "second pair of eyes" that checks work from accounting through code reviews should be applied to spreadsheets, documents, and knowledge work artifacts.

It is possible my cognitive bias to find patterns where none exist is suggesting an idea that is infeasible.  Or perhaps these concepts can be valuable.  What are your thoughts?

Little Sister by Jason Anspach, audiobook (2023)

Although not nearly as much fun as the Galaxy's Edge series Anspach writes together with Nick Cole, the D&D universe of the Forgotten Ruin is also fun.  3/5 Stars.

The Fold by Peter Clines (2016)

This second volume of the "Threshold" series is just as good as the first book. 5/5 Stars.  I need to grab and read the last two books.

Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood by Anthony Kaldellis (2017)

I don't usually enjoy history textbooks that are too dense with names, dates, events, facts, and numbers.  This book is an exception.  The author is very careful to explain why most records of the events depicted are so unreliable and offers evidence and careful speculation.  There are many fascinating revelations. 4/5 Stars.

Kämpf um Deine Daten von Max Schrems (2014)

Dieses Buch ist viel besser als ich erwartet hatte. Der Autor erläutert sorgfältig schwierige, nuancierte Themen im Zusammenhang mit dem Datenschutz. Er geht durch das Spektrum kultureller Sensibilitäten, Werte und Bräuche, die mit persönlichen Informationen verbunden sind. Schrems verbringt den größten Teil des Buches damit, die enorme Macht der Billionen-Dollar-Technologieriesen sowie die Ökosysteme kleiner Unternehmen zu beschreiben, die von der Nutzung und dem Missbrauch unserer privaten Informationen profitieren. Die scharfe Kritik und der Zorn lenken ein wenig ab, verleihen einem großartigen Buch aber etwas Würze. 5/5 Sterne.

Glorious (Heaven's Bowl 3) by Gregory Benford & Larry Niven (2020)

By the time I finished this third and final book, I overcame my revulsion to Benford's inscrutable and bizarre space aliens and enjoyed this finale, especially the ending. The number of mind-blowing revelations per second reached a crescendo; Niven's optimistic humanism was evident. 4/5 Stars.  I hope David Brin makes good on his threat to write more about the implications of engineering at immense scales (ringworlds, bowl worlds, twin-planets webs, Dyson spheres, etc.).

Books Mitch enjoyed in 2023

 

I value, cherish, and enjoy learning, scholarship, and reading. About half of what I read is for entertainment.  Like everyone else, I suffer from 150 cognitive biases, including "curse of knowledge bias," and "false consensus bias."  As a result, I unconsciously assume others have read as much as I have, that they remember everything they have read, and that they also enjoy reading.

In 2023 I read 170 books in five genres.  Here are some recommendations in no particular order: 

Fiction

Everyone loves Murderbot.  This new installment is extremely well-crafted. I predict it will win awards (Hugo, Locus).

Here is a 1994 Stephenson book that I had not read; it holds up very well 20 years later.  If you enjoy Neal Stephenson's books, go back and look for his earlier works.

This series is hilarious, silly, mindless madcap entertainment.

Here is a crypto-bro asteroid mining fantasy with some interesting science and plot points.

Juli Zeh is currently my favorite writer.  I read 5 of her books this year;  I highly recommend most of her books if you read German.

Non-Fiction

Many people have spoken to me about the topics covered in this book and why we should all read and discuss how it applies to our work. The book really is as fantastic as everyone said.   Now I understand all those commit messages and code comments such as "DDIA page 132." I cannot recommend this book enough. The book exceeded my high expectations.

In 2023 I read seven Patrick Lencioni books.  At least two of them have helped my career and the engagement of my teams.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius: This collection of journal entries is short, approachable, and interesting.

This book is interesting for people who are transitioning through the journeyman years of their careers towards mastery, or for people entering middle age.  The data and theories are well-presented despite the weak writing.

After a gap of 10 years, I read some Malcolm Gladwell books this year.  Most of them were not good but I liked this one.  As usual, Gladwell's stories are very entertaining; readers love the stories and scientists dislike the presentation of the science.