Category: Technical

3D Printed Buildings

Like most new technologies, 3D printing is going to go through stages where people scratch their heads and wonder whether the technology will really work for some purpose. Previous blog posts have covered a number of interesting uses for 3D printing. The story really began to take shape in Potential Commercial Uses for 3D Printing. Most of the uses in that post were a bit on the mundane side, but I really thought the use of 3D printing for horseshoes was one of those uses that would make people think. The point is, 3D printing is being used for an odd assortment of tasks at the moment and printing buildings seems to be just one more in a long series of what could be interesting uses.

The ComputerWorld article makes it plain that the technology is being used for this purpose in China. I’m almost certain that the building wouldn’t pass muster in this country (then again, I could be wrong and I’d love to hear from anyone who has an opinion on the matter). Attempts to research the article further haven’t produced much, so it looks like someone wrote it up as a special interest story and that’s the end of that. The point is that these ten buildings went up in just one day and used materials recycled from other buildings. The whole story reminds me of the scene in I Robot where a robot comes and tears down a building, presumably so that another could be put in its place. At some point, 3D printing of this sort could make it possible for robots to demolish and build custom abodes for anyone who needs one in a fraction of the time and cost that buildings require today.

Where do you think that 3D printing will go in the future? Is it possible that the Star Trek version of the future will really take shape in the form of 3D printing. Of course, in Star Trek the replicator was simply another type of transporter, but 3D printing seems like a more concrete manifestation of the technology to me. Let me know your thoughts at [email protected].

 

Subscribing to My New WordPress Blog (Reposted)

A number of people have reported that they’re no longer getting their feeds from the blog. So, I’ve reposted these instruction from June 27th to help out. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I want to be sure everyone who wants access, has access.

During the moving process from my previous blog software to WordPress, I lost all of the comments that people had offered in the past, along with all of the blog subscriptions. What this means is that anyone who subscribed earlier is no longer receiving the posts automatically to their inbox. Unfortunately, I can’t perform the task of recreating those subscriptions—you have to be the one to do it. With this in mind, follow these simple steps.

  1. Locate the Meta heading on the blog page.
  2. Click Entries RSS. You should see the RSS feature of your e-mail reader open. As an alternative, you could see a feed summary in your browser. In either case, you should see something new that tells you about the subscription process.
  3. Subscribe to the blog using your feed software. When working with an e-mail reader, this usually means answering Yes to a dialog box that opens asking whether you want to subscribe to the feed. When working with a browser, it usually means clicking a Subscribe to this Feed button. In both cases, the application creates a new entry for this site that will automatically update as I add content, so you receive the feeds automatically.

I don’t have access to every kind of application software out there, but I may be able to answer some specific questions about subscribing to the blog. Please let me know about any questions you have at [email protected]. It’s really important to me that you have a great experience with my blog, so never be shy about asking questions :).

 

Broken Blog Links

A number of readers have made me aware of a new (and not so exciting) problem with the blog move. It turns out that a lot of the links for other locations on my blog are broken. In fact, it appears most (or possibly all) of them are.

During the move, the software inadvertently added another blog to the beginning of the domain for the link and it also added a .aspx extension to the end of the link. So, instead of creating a link for https://blog.johnmuellerbooks.com/2014/05/16/death-of-windows-xp-part-3/, you get a link for http://blog.blog.johnmuellerbooks.com/2014/05/16/death-of-windows-xp-part-3.aspx instead. The temporary solution is to remove the extra blog. from the beginning of the link and the .aspx (including the periods) at the end of the link by editing the Address field of your browser.

Yes, I understand that it’s a pain and you shouldn’t have to do it. Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience. New posts most definitely won’t have the problem, but I’ll have to work my way back through older posts to fix them. Just why the software designed to automate the process of moving the blog made this error is beyond me. It’s an example of helpful software that turned out to be not quite so helpful as it should have been.

I’ll work on fixing the links as time permits. This move was inconvenient for everyone and it appears that it isn’t quite over yet. I’m asking you to be patient for the time being. If you see a link that still doesn’t work after applying the fix mentioned in this blog post, please let me know at [email protected]. I really do want all of the links to work so you can access information as needed 😎 .

 

Commenting on Posts

I really enjoy hearing from my readers and that includes readers of this blog. The reason I like writing so much is that I enjoy helping others and interacting with people to find out what needs they might have. You have a number of ways in which to interact with this blog:

  • Use the Like feature to tell me you like a particular post and would like to see more on the same topic.
  • Create a public comment that tells me how you feel about a particular post or whether you have questions about it.
  • Send me a personal e-mail that I’ll answer as soon as is possible.

Of course, I also want my blog to be a place where people feel comfortable. That’s why I moderate your comments and why comments are only allowed for a month after a post. Spammers also frequent my blog and are always looking for interesting ways to get their content posted as a seemingly innocent remark (many are anything but). Sometimes it’s hard to know whether a comment will be accepted or not, so I’ve decided to post the rules so you know:

  • The comment must actually apply to one of my books, to the site in general, or to the post in specific.
  • You must use your name, not a business name or some other moniker.
  • A comment must be rated G, which means no swearing or untoward language.
  • There are no URLs or links allowed in a comment—I’ll remove any that I find.
  • A comment may not advertise anything.

I’ll continue moderating the blog posts to ensure everyone can feel comfortable here and use this blog the purpose it has always been intended to serve—a place to exchange thoughts and ideas, and as a means for supporting my books. As always, I do want to hear from you, but I also need to keep the spam under control. Thank you for your continued interest :).

 

Subscribing to My New WordPress Blog

During the moving process from my previous blog software to WordPress, I lost all of the comments that people had offered in the past, along with all of the blog subscriptions. What this means is that anyone who subscribed earlier is no longer receiving the posts automatically to their inbox. Unfortunately, I can’t perform the task of recreating those subscriptions-you have to be the one to do it. Thankfully with FastSpring software this isn’t difficult. With this in mind, follow these simple steps.

  1. Locate the Meta heading on the blog page.
  2. Click Entries RSS. You should see the RSS feature of your e-mail reader open. As an alternative, you could see a feed summary in your browser. In either case, you should see something new that tells you about the subscription process.
  3. Subscribe to the blog using your feed software. When working with an e-mail reader, this usually means answering Yes to a dialog box that opens asking whether you want to subscribe to the feed. When working with a browser, it usually means clicking a Subscribe to this Feed button. In both cases, the application creates a new entry for this site that will automatically update as I add content, so you receive the feeds automatically.

I don’t have access to every kind of application software out there, but I may be able to answer some specific questions about subscribing to the blog. Please let me know about any questions you have at [email protected]. It’s really important to me that you have a great experience with my blog, so never be shy about asking questions :).

 

Up and Running!

Well, my new blog site is up and running finally! There are many things I’ll be discussing over the next several months. Before we go too far though, I’d like you to tell me your thoughts about the new software. Let me know your questions and concerns. I’ll be covering the method for subscribing to the blog tomorrow. Remember that all the old comments and subscriptions are gone—they simply didn’t make it from the old blog software. Please let me know what you think at [email protected].

 

What to Check When You Review My New Blog Setup

A number of people have written to ask specifically what to check when they look at the new blog setup. Here are the issues I’m most concerned about now as I get the configuration done:

 

  • Does the blog size well when you use your device? I’m especially concerned about how the blog looks in smartphones and tablets, but it has to look great on a PC too.
  • Is the text easy to read?
  • Does the blog size well when you make the text smaller or larger to meet your specific viewing needs?
  • Are the features working well? For example, when you perform a search or click on a tag to view related articles, are you seeing what you expected?
  • Do the colors work well for you? I’m especially interested in hearing about the highlighting on features like the calendar.
  • Are you seeing anything you didn’t think you’d see?


I’m also interested in your opinion about the new software. How does it improve on the experience you had with the old software? What do you miss about the old software? Does the blog seem to work faster or slower? Anything you can tell me about the content, appearance, or performance of the new software would be helpful. This the best time for me to make required tweaks. Please be sure to contact me with your concerns at [email protected].

 

Blog Questions

A number of people have written with questions about the blog update. A lot of these questions will be answered later. Please keep the questions coming because they help me ensure that the new blog will meet your needs.

The one pressing question is about things people have noticed are missing. There are two items that won’t move to the new blog: subscriptions and comments. The comments are pretty much gone unless people want to make them all over again. However, the subscriptions will be easy enough to make again. I’ll post instructions for you after the blog is completely changed over. Please don’t create a new subscription until after I post instructions for you.

I’m adding the tags back in as I move the posts. That’s one of the reasons that the move is taking so long. The tags have to be added by hand (as do the graphics). As of today I’ve moved 293 posts, so there are only 376 more to go !

Thank you again for your patience. This move really shouldn’t have been so hard, but that’s how things go sometimes.

UPDATE 6/24

There are other problems that you’ll notice with the posts that I’ve moved. The most noticeable is that the source code in my posts isn’t moving correctly. Actually, it appears pretty much unusable. The information is there, but you’re going to have to look hard to use it. I’m looking into WordPress compatible source code add-ins to make the source code look nicer. If someone has experience in this area, please contact me at [email protected]. I’d prefer to see an example of the add-in output if you have one to provide.

Another issue has been tables. I think that all of the tables are currently usable, but please let me know if you spot something that doesn’t look quite right and I’ll do my best to fix it.

Blog is Moving!

Hi Everyone,

Never in my life did I imagine that moving my blog to the new software would take so long or come with so many hurdles. However, the time has come to make the move. Please be patient over the next few days as I continue to move posts from one location to the other. Eventually, you’ll find the new software running on the current blog URL and will be able to access it just as you always have. In the meantime, if you truly can’t wait to play with the new software, you can check it out at: https://blog.johnmuellerbooks.com/.

So yes, to answer all your queries, I am aware that the old blog is going away because it’s finding a new home . Please hold your questions for now. The new site setup requires tweaking, but the information you find on it is content complete. After the move, I’ll be uploading posts asking for your input on the new setup. For now, please do test the new software with your cellphone, tablet, and PC. It should run well on any device you choose. The new software is also more accessible and should be considerably easier to read.

Thank you again for all your support. This blog wouldn’t exist without you!

John

Contemplating a Future with Robots

Robots will eventually become a part of our society. In fact, in many ways they already are. It may not seem like a very auspicious start, but products from iRobot like the Roomba are already making their way into many homes. The Roomba will clean your floors for you without ever complaining. It started with a vacuum system, but now I notice you can get a Roomba for mopping too. The point is that robots will very likely continue to enter homes to perform less skilled work.

Then again, there is a pressing need for certain kinds of skilled help. Japan is hoping that Softbank’s Pepper will help address a continuing problem of finding someone to help the elderly. In fact, finding people to act as caregivers to the elderly is going to become a problem in many areas of the world where the birth rate is decreasing and the average age is increasing.

For me, robots have always been an answer to the pressing needs of those with special needs. I’ve always seen computer technology as a means of leveling the playing field for everyone. A properly configured computer can make it possible for someone to earn a living and live independently, but simply having a computer or a computer with a robotic arm isn’t enough for everyone. Autonomous robots that can call for help when needed will make it possible for people with greater needs to remain independent and well cared for by an entity that will never get frustrated or lose patience with them. When a human caregiver is needed, they can simply take over the robot and help the patient from a remote location until help can arrive.

As with any scientific endeavor, there are those who are impatient to see something more substantial arrive. Some are even asking why robots haven’t become better integrated into society yet. The days of I Robot and The Bicentennial Man are a long way off yet (even with Robin Williams’ brilliant presentation). The fact is that interaction with an environment is far more complex than we ever thought (making it easier to appreciate just how much the human body can do, even when less than perfect). However, robots are making progress in other areas. For example, one robot recently repaired another, which is an exciting advancement.

I think it’s good that adoption of robot technology is going slowly. There are many social and political issues that must be addressed before robots can become part of society. People need to understand that robots aren’t a threat and there need to be laws in place to address the use of robots in society. More importantly, we need the wisdom required to use robot technology efficiently and safely.

There is no doubt that robots will continue to become part of society and that they’ll play a greater role performing menial tasks and in helping people become more independent in their later years. The potential for robots to truly help society is great, but there are equally terrifying outcomes if we simply rush the technology to market without proper safeguards. What is your take on robots? Let me know at [email protected].