The Future And You
Ideas and opinion about the future based on verifiable facts of today.
 
The Future And You--Jan. 28, 2015

Topic: Information that was formerly unavailable in digital form, or was prohibitively expensive, is now being made available thought the Internet by the US Federal and State Governments for free--provided you live in the right state. (Technically it's not really free. Taxes are paying for it.)

This information includes the full text (THE FULL TEXT) of scientific papers from peer-reviewed journals, industrial and business reports which typically cost several thousand dollars each, US Government reports (which have always been relatively reasonable in price but used to be available only on paper), and most surprising: magazine articles from thousands of ordinary magazines such as Popular Science and Time.

I've discovered that I have access to this stuff. I'll admit, I'm a bit excited about it, but frankly I'm also a little confused about how it can be offered without violating copyright. I'm convinced that they are NOT violating copyright. They sound as though the tax dollars are paying for the copyrights, but if so I don't understand how it could be enough. Maybe you'll understand this stuff better than I do.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the January 28, 2015 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 27 minutes] This monologue was recorded on January 26, 2015 using the free Voice Recorder app on a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smartphone.

Stephen Euin Cobb has interviewed over 350 people for his work as an author, futurist, magazine writer and award-winning podcaster. A contributing editor for Space and Time Magazine; he has also been a regular contributor for Robot, H+, Grim Couture and Port Iris magazines; and he spent three years as a columnist and contributing editor for Jim Baen's Universe Magazine. For the last nine years he has produced a weekly podcast, The Future And You, which explores (through interviews, panel discussions and commentary) all the ways the future will be different from today. He is an artist, essayist, game designer, transhumanist, and is on the Advisory Board of The Lifeboat Foundation. Stephen is the author an ebook about the future entitledIndistinguishable from Magic: Predictions of Revolutionary Future Science.

Direct download: TFAY_2015_1_28.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:30pm EDT

The Future And You--Jan 21, 2015

Topic: Recovering from a Computer Crash. Backups don't always have your back.

Subtopics: Research on the life-expectancy of consumer hard drives; how to download a free (and completely legal) copy of the Windows 7 operating system; why the recovery disk you were told to make when you bought your computer is approximately worthless; awesome videos on youtube by computer experts such as Carey Holzman and Eli the Computer Guy; the value of bootable CDs and USB flash drives; free operating systems such as Ubuntu and Mint; and why having a ridiculously-outdated computer handy can be a lifesaver as an emergency way to get online to: research your problem, download recovery software, and order replacement parts.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the January 21, 2015 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 33 minutes] This monologue was recorded on January 20, 2015 using the free Voice Recorder app on your host's Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smartphone.

Stephen Euin Cobb has interviewed over 350 people for his work as an author, futurist, magazine writer and award-winning podcaster. A contributing editor for Space and Time Magazine; he has also been a regular contributor for Robot, H+, Grim Couture and Port Iris magazines; and he spent three years as a columnist and contributing editor for Jim Baen's Universe Magazine. For the last nine years he has produced a weekly podcast, The Future And You, which explores (through interviews, panel discussions and commentary) all the ways the future will be different from today. He is an artist, essayist, game designer, transhumanist, and is on the Advisory Board of The Lifeboat Foundation. Stephen is the author an ebook about the future entitledIndistinguishable from Magic: Predictions of Revolutionary Future Science.

Direct download: TFAY_2015_1_21.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:10am EDT

This is not a normal episode of the show. My computer suffered a catastrophic crash on Sunday (Jan 11, 2015) when the hard drive which contains the operating system became unreadable. This little five minutes worth of audio simply provides an explanation and some clarity. I have backups, but nothing to restore them into at the moment. Next week, or at worst, the week after, the show should be back to normal. I hope.

Direct download: TFAY_2015_1_14.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:47pm EDT

The Future And You--Jan 7, 2015

Topic: Ghostwriting (Part 2): How to work with a ghostwriter, who most needs a ghostwriter, and how much ghostwriters typically cost.

Our guest is Claudia Suzanne. Claudia Suzanne has been a professional ghostwriter for decades and has participated in the creation of 132 books. She has watched firsthand how the negative trends in publishing have produced positive trends in ghostwriting. Based on her considerable experience, she has created, and teaches, a master's level college course called "Ghostwriting Professional Designation Program." This course offers the world's only ghostwriter certification. The course is taught at California State University, Long Beach, College of Continuing and Professional Education. (California State University, Long Beach--also known as Cal State Long Beach--is the second largest campus of the 23 school California State University system, and one of the largest universities in the state of California as measured by enrollment.)

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the January 7, 2015 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 43 minutes] This is the second half of my interview with Claudia Suzanne which was recorded using Skype on December 4, 2014.

Stephen Euin Cobb has interviewed over 350 people for his work as an author, futurist, magazine writer and award-winning podcaster. A contributing editor for Space and Time Magazine; he has also been a regular contributor for Robot, H+, Grim Couture and Port Iris magazines; and he spent three years as a columnist and contributing editor for Jim Baen's Universe Magazine. For the last nine years he has produced a weekly podcast, The Future And You, which explores (through interviews, panel discussions and commentary) all the ways the future will be different from today. He is an artist, essayist, game designer, transhumanist, and is on the Advisory Board of The Lifeboat Foundation. Stephen is the author an ebook about the future entitledIndistinguishable from Magic: Predictions of Revolutionary Future Science.

Direct download: TFAY_2015_1_7.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:21pm EDT