Transcendence 2014 Movie Review Starring Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman

At first sight, the boring movie poster did not seem very creative nor provocative, which really put me off from watching the movie. But I decided to watch anyway because it involves computers and high tech stuff, and I was really bored.

It is refreshing to see Johnny Depp taking on a role that distances him away from his recent Pirates of Carribean roles. In this movie, he plays a character similar to the computer giants Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. He plays a famous computer scientist Dr(or something) who is working on an AI alongside influential partners that includes his scientist wife and good friends to benefit the world.

All things look happy and perfect until he gets shot by an extremist group who fears the emergence of Artificial Intelligence that could take over the world. The bullet contains a plutonium toxin that would not get him much days to live. In desperation, his partners uploaded his consciousness into the supercomputer system to preserve his consciousness or his ‘soul’.

I researched consciousness and cognitive science a few years ago, so I am very familiar with the various consciousness-related topics brought up in the movie and can recognize and understand the various consciousness-related topics right away. The consciousness-related problem that is still mystifying the scientific community's efforts to explain what consciousness is, as well as the consciousness researcher Daniel C Dennett, easily came to mind as I watched the movie. The movie was definitely written based on the philosophical themes of consciousness studies, too bad the movie poster was so dull that hid such an interesting plot about artificial intelligence that is very familiar to me.

This movie brought on the feeling of having an eerie ghost in the machine taking a captive hostage who gets disturbed by the artificiality. It explores people’s innate fear of letting an unknown computer-driven intelligence take control of the world and their battle to determine the very good or corrupted nature of such a computer-driven intelligence. Those who are huge fans of the Terminator movies, the A.I. Movie, The Net and the Borg of Star Trek would definitely like this movie, they would have a great thrill as well as great fun trying to guess how the movie would turn out in the end.

Johnny Depp takes on a role that is reminiscent of one of his earliest movies Edward Scissorhands that brought him to great fame and caused many female fans to fall in love with him. This latest movie really reminded me of his role in that movie that portrayed a good-hearted innocent character amongst many fear-driven people who did not understand him. This movie seems like a form of tribute to that movie and I wonder if it signals Johnny’s retirement from acting.

Morgan Freeman once again takes on a very very bad baddie role, the last one I know being in the movie Now You See Me. Anything that stars Morgan Freeman seems to guarantee a great movie.

This film deals with much intellectual philosophical themes and would spark lots of intellectual thought, and it is presented in a very refreshing way since the other related movies about AI came about. This is a definitely a great movie to watch and to rewatch. I give it a 9.5 out of 10.

Smart Touch-Typing Technology Could Deem Laptops, Macbooks and Chromebooks Obsolete — Tablets to Dominate Portable Computer Market

The world could soon witness a drastic decline in physical keyboards for both portable and home computing devices, due to a new touch-screen keyboard technology that delivers a super fast typing experience without sacrificing accuracy.

Website for the dryft touch screen keyboard




The guys who came up with this new invention also created the touch screen keypad already found on existing tablets. The technology does require an accelerometer in hardware to work its magic, and therefore will not be available as a simple software download. This hints of possible hardware modifications in future tablets on the market.

With the possibility of physical keyboards getting phased out in the near future, we could witness the drastic diminished popularity of current-style laptops, Macbooks and Chromebooks in both workplace and schools.

Wireless keyboards could also be replaced with super slim touch-screen keyboards. Laptops, Macbooks and Chromebooks that come fitted with such newer keyboards would become even slimmer and lighter.

What the Chromebook is Really Meant For — No More Fighting Over the PC at Home

I was considering to get a writing device to work on my writing stuff on-the-go and while I was online searching for one, I came across the Google Chromebook.

Singapore Site for the HP Chromebook

I looked at the pros and cons of the HP Chromebook and saw that it uses the solid state drive(SSD) that I have been hoping to get my hands on for a long time. The latest HP Chromebook is stated to boot up under 7 seconds. It sure is great for beating impatience.

The larger 14" models come with full-size keyboards that are suitable for people like me with big fingers. The keyboard has been described by many to look exactly like the Mac keyboard.

It is quite obvious to any computer geek that the Chromebook as Google explains, is really meant for Internet usage and nothing much else. I shook my head at the reviewers who were brave enough to test them out for working on-the-go and then faced great risks of having their entire documents get wiped off from existence when they encountered many wifi-unfriendly zones.

Many others who reviewed the Chromebook felt that it is suitable for children and students whom they assume have much less things to do on the computer. However, I think they are totally wrong.

I don't think that young children should rely on the Internet but instead rely more on off-line software and games that can be more interesting and fun. The Chomebook is very vulnerable to spills that children are prone of doing, it also has pretty sharp edges that can injure them if they are not careful. These are already two big reasons why parents should not get the Chomebook for their children but instead get the tablet that is more resistant to spills and safer.

The Chomebook also does not come with a camera that is commonly found in a tablet, which can be used to take candid pictures. Childhood is really not fun and complete without plenty of opportunities to capture funny moments.

For students, they really should not be relying on a web-based computer that has so much limited functionality. Students nowadays face so much challenges in the classroom, relying solely on web-based applications is just not sufficient for them to thrive in such demanding environments.

Many reviewers have mentioned the Chomebook's low price tag to be suitable for less well-off students. However, second-hand computers are actually more affordable without the cons of so much limited functionality, and can be easily found at online buy-sell websites.

The Chomebook is after all meant for one main purpose — to resolve family disputes at home on who gets to use the computer.

If a family is large and many members often need to go online at the same time, then getting Chromebooks instead of full computer systems would be the much cheaper solution. Perhaps Google created the Chomebook with such a family scenario in mind? Or for all we know, they wanted more people to go on-line to look at more ads for them.

The Chromebook can also be a useful tool(or a backup) for writers who work long hours on their blogs at wifi zones such as cafes and libraries. But I feel that writers would prefer a keyboard that is more ergonomic.

Even though the Chomebook is affordable, lightweight and easy on the eyes, would I choose to get a Chromebook for my writing? I really don't think so, I would much prefer to get a more functional tablet to do my writing on the go. :)

Update: You can't play fun and free android games on a Chromebook such as Angry Birds, Candy Crush Saga, Real Racing 3, Boeing Flight Simulator, 8 Ball Pool, and instantly take and upload pics on Instagram on a Chromebook.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/category/GAME/collection/topselling_free
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The Oh So Boyish Hate on Apple's Retina Display

While I was at the computer store looking at new computers, I spotted something I never saw before in my whole life. A certain computer screen looked kind of weird as though it was a lighted 'dummy' display screen. It piqued my curiosity so much that I walked closer to realize that it was actually a real functional display screen but with surface images that look so colour-intensive that they look like permanent printed images on a shiny plastic surface. The images looked as colour-packed like those colourful buttons seen on shiny Star Trek console panels. Of course, any Trekkie like me would spot such a similarity at once. I was thinking in my mind, "what the hell is this?" as I observe the 'strange anomaly' up close.

An example of Star Trek's colour-rich console panel is on the left. The image is actually a screenshot from a Star Trek app found at the itunes store. Maybe the app could do with a Retina display itself?

The graphic art for Star Trek was actually originally done with the Mac. For Apple to finally venture into super HD with similar colour-intensive graphics sounds almost like a home-coming, or a self-fulfilling prophecy.



I think the touch-screen monitor as shown in the video would have looked more authentic with a glossy surface de la Star Trek.

Well, to be honest, I thought that the computer screen I spotted at the store was simply a High Definition display screen until I later discovered on Google that such a similar high definition screen is called a Retina Display that has been introduced into the consumer market by Apple.

https://www.apple.com/sg/macbook-pro/performance-retina/
Quote from the Apple site that is related to what I said about the graphics looking like permanent print — "the resolution of the Retina display is so high, it rivals the printed page"

Actually, I didn't notice whether that screen came from a Mac or a PC — I mean who still bothers about making such a distinction anymore? However, if such a HD screen came from a PC, I should have noticed it long ago from my many visits to computer stores but I didn't. This means that there is a very high possibility that the computer was using the newer feature of Apple's Retina display. But whatever, if it was a PC it could just mean that the PCs have been copying Apple's practice since Apple was the one who first made waves with the super HD display.

I also read a few online articles with some writers thinking that Retina displays are too over-rated, with seemingly unnoticeable difference in definition, and feel that it is a feature that is already available from powerful graphics cards and HD monitors.

The Worst Thing Ever: Retina Display  Really that bad or too critical? -_-"

Why the MacBook Pro Retina display is overkill  Overkill or maybe just more advanced?

But what some of the critics failed to realize about the mentioning of Retina displays is not whether previous PC/Mac graphics and display technology can already support such a HD display feature but whether the computers that are currently marketed in computer stores are already factory-configured to be READY to provide such HD experience to the consumer right after being bought from the shops.

For the computers to be listed as having Retina displays would also have to mean that they need to have the necessary powerful graphics and memory hardware on-board to support such HD feature without slowing down the computer to a crawl. So this is the same thing as mentioning that a computer is "HD-Ready" or has "Intel Inside". So what's the big deal with Apple saying that its computers have "Retina Display"?

Hmmm... I think some egos were too sensitive to any perceivable superiority?

I don't think that the marketing of the "Retina Display" is really Apple's way of saying, "Hey, we have something that PCs don't have — bow to us right now!". What I instead perceive is that it is Apple's way of saying, "Hey boys and girls, this device has very good HD graphics, come and buy this to experience the fun!"

But as always, other rival companies would perceive the mentioning as a threat and strive to deliver a more superior new tech to counter the challenge. Boys with toys de la 'James Bond'... I think I felt a little embarrassed self-conscious to be using a PC.

Samsung Screens May Leave Apple's Retina Display In The Dust

Many critics and haters easily assumed that it was Apple trying to start a HD war when they were just doing business marketing like everyone else to get the HD feature out to their customers. I think many PC users can be too aggressive to assume the wrong things sometimes.

For people to accuse Apple of providing a nice-looking computer feature to customers is the same as trying to accuse Apple of selling something that looks nicer than the PC. I sense some cherry-picking and a little straw man?

Are such HD displays really over-rated as perceived by some critics? There are even articles discussing the vision ability of different people to spot the difference that such displays can make. For someone like me who has a good artistic eye to differentiate between colours and texture, I could easily spot the striking difference many feet away. Perhaps such high definition displays would be more suitable for the artists and designers who are more sensitive to colour and texture. The Mac is after all made for such people. So why haven't I switch to using the Mac? I think I will talk about it in an off-topic post.

I have not been sufficiently impressed with the Apple computer in the past, but now I feel that Apple is finally talking... to me.