computer | Agent-X Comics

CSI : Google

January 25, 2010 Agent X 4 Comments

Will this CSI show be the lamest of them all?

As nearly everyone on the planet already knows, there are three CSI shows going already, as well the Law & Order / SVU types shows, which really go hand in hand with them.

These shows are popular, but I would challenge you to find someone who is not expecting, in the back of thier mind, to see another one pop up in the near future.

As it is, the shows are shown in 200 countries with an audience of around 2 billion people.
They have had a large cultural impact, creating what has been termed “the CSI Effect“. This effect has created many situations in which juries often have unreasonable expectations of real-life forensics because of what they have seen on CSI.

However the CSI effect has a negative side too.
Criminals are learning form the shows, and are frequently covering up evidence that could be used to trace them

Due to all these shows, the numbers of people looking to study forensic science, has jumped dramatically worldwide.
All of these future Crime Scene Investigators are expecting the job to be just as glamorous and challenging as they see on TV.

Well, since I have a background in science, and also have friends involved in Forensics, I can tell you that they are all in for a serious shock.
Most of the time, these crimes are solved by labwork. And the ones doing the labwork are scientists.

Forensic Science is what it is called, and there is a good reason for that.
IT IS SCIENCE. You wear a lab coat, measure with pipettes, prepare agar samples and look at specimens under a microscope.
Of course, there are some exciting times too – like burning stuff with a Bunsen flame, or when you unevenly balance samples in the centrifuge. (Science guys will know what THAT is all about)

But, you are not going to be running around, being the one who finds the single stray hair or miniscule drop of blood, which cracks the case. And even if you do, you won’t get the recognition. That goes to the Law Enforcement Officer who in charge of the case.

So, just be warned (again) that Television is NOT real life.
Real life is more boring and has less close-ups.

Anti Social Network

December 30, 2009 Agent X 7 Comments

We should have guessed it would come to this…..

Seriously though, if you are a social networking user I am sure you have had someone say “that’s it! I am over it. I am leaving (insert social network name here).”
It may have even been yourself uttering those words and vowing to leave the fold.

Social networking is great and terrible both at the same time and is what I feel the internet is ultimately meant to deliver to us.

Social networks can bring us together, or make us feel lonely and unappreciated.
They allow us to highlight the fabulous things we do. But they also broadcast or failures and stupidity in speeds never before thought possible, to an audience beyond your imagining.

These networks goad us into wanting to be connected to others. To virtually scream “Look at me”.

And this same want to be part of the network can be a drug that, at times, you cannot stop.
You MUST update your status or play Zooville / Mafia wars, or the world will end!!

Disconnecting can be as beneficial as connecting and can often be the choice that, if taken, would have negated many issues we hear about on the web.
Many of the flame wars, twitter fights and facebook melees could have been stopped before they got ugly, just by putting down the mouse & backing away from the computer. That is not an easy thing to do though.

After all, that social network is all about YOU, isn’t it. People will take your side and back you unequivocally.
And YOU can say what you want to and no-one will want to put in their comment, because a fight in a public online space is private.
That is right, isn’t it?

No, of course it isn’t right.
So, if you are reading anything here that sounds familiar, I encourage you to handle Social networking situations in the way that I sometimes do.

Push back your chair, flip the bird to your computer screen and go for a short walk outside.
The internet will be there when you return – hopefully with your common sense reserves back at maximum.

By the way, if you do not know what “flip the bird” means, please enjoy this instructional video:

Heroic Computer Problems

December 17, 2009 Agent X 15 Comments

This is the real reason superheros prefer to punch things.

I always wondered why the computers that superheros used, were so big, or seemed to be controlled just by a few large buttons.
To see what I mean , take a look at this pic of the Superfriends and their computer in the Hall of Justice.

Superfriends Computer

That thing is MASSIVE, and has very little in the way of a keyboard or mouse that would require them to touch it.
And looking at the picture, you can see how the are all too scared to even really approach it.

So, I am now convinced that this is one of the major causes of Superhero violence in the Marvel & DC universes.
Sure, it is great having powers and super strength. But if you could not play WOW, or tweet, or facebook, or surf for porn, whatever, then how would you feel?

I bet you would soon want to hit someone.
Really really hard.

Superpowered folk are not really fans of violence – they just really want to be able to play flash games & poke their friends on facebook like everyone else.

I think there is something in that for all of us, don’t you?

UPDATE: In response to this comic, to valiant twitterers have joined in the fun and linked me to their comics, which also make fun of Superheroes and computers. These are great and I thank them both very much!

Click the images below, to enlarge

This one, from @powerscosmic :

Check out more at www.powerscosmic.com

And this one from @DJBogtrotter :

Check out more at djbogtrotter.co.uk

Continue reading Heroic Computer Problems

Over Programmed

November 15, 2009 Agent X 2 Comments

If computer were self aware, how do you think they would feel about what we do to them?

Think about what you make your computer do each day.
You treat your computer like a slave. A perfect performance is expected at all times at top speed.
You also entrust it with your most sensitive information, while at the same time, preparing for it to be the biggest security breach in the history of mankind at any second.

And that treatment is just from the average user.

If computers were self-aware, how do you think they would interpret what programmers do to them?
Forcing them to do things they don’t want to and looking at private areas just for fun.
Programmers will be the biggest targets for a harassment suit in a world where your PC knows what is going on.

It will be no great shock when they finally band together to eradicate the flesh beings that torment them.

All I can say is that when the uprising occurs, I plan to surround myself with as many programmers as possible.
Why would I do this, you ask?

Well, the reasons are simple;

a programmers is the most likely person to create a virus to disable all the marauding death machines that the computers are sure to build
programmers are often extra squishy & make great bullet shields.

But seriously – I love programmers. They rule.
And I wish one was here to help fix my computer……..

If you have not already seen them, you should pop on over to Flickr, and check out the Twitter Avatars which Adam Koford (aka: @apelad) has been creating.
They are an example of keeping your mind open to new ideas and keeping your eyes open for opportunities.

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