MPJ

It was different when I was 5th grader in many ways. Learning how to code was not in the realm of elementary schools back then. Computers were simply too large and expensive for kids to play with and having a good teacher who knew programming languages was rarity. So I was in a bit of a blur when I pressed "P" key on, my first, just unboxed, brand new and state of the art, Sinclair ZX Spectrum  keyboard with amazing 16KB of RAM memory. It reacted immediately and at the bottom of the large home TV, it said "PRINT" followed with blinking black square cursor. "2+2" I added and hit "ENTER". It was like magic seeing "4" printed on the screen next instant. The magic of course was not in the correct number. It was rather in the unworldly feeling I got that exact moment of what would come next. What I could command it to do. It was like I found the door of the amazing new world and the door started to open wide! Soon later I learned more, esp...

Have you ever thought about what is the major waste of time in everybody's lifespan? I am not talking about lost time you made by choosing bad movie or book. Nor about spending months in company of incompatible people or within single relationship with no spark of good chemistry. I am not even thinking about wasting years within poorly chosen school or job. No. There is one more, even worse time-waste we all are experiencing no matter who we are or where we come from. On daily basis. I am referring to one simple thing we are all taking for granted. Sleeping. Something we do for eight or so strait hours every night. No exceptions. Something we do by design of nature. Now, currently, in this very century, if we are talking about lifespan globally, it is estimated to be around 70 years in average. Someplace little more, other places little less, depending on quality of life within our societies. Well, if you ask me and considering enormous vastness of the universe in both space and ti...

Is Internet dangerous? Well, yes we know all the hazards of spending all the work hours behind monitor screens, browsing the web at home, doing social networking, playing online games, watching YouTube, staring at smartphone little displays or for whatever reasons we sit above our keyboards most of the time every day. That's indeed what we first think of all the negative aspects of mighty global network, but today I am not referring to all the potential medical issues inherited from too long sitting on the chair or everyday looking into LCD screen. I also don't mean the obvious social and/or physiological outcomes from letting the virtual world to take over the real one for more and more people every day. No, I mean the real danger. Did Internet overcome the pure network system and became a tool for mass destruction or a background tool for criminal activities? Can someone use the internet to hurt somebody or to perform a murder? Either directly or indirectly? Can some organisa...

Have you ever thought about the most common software application installed on your computerized devices in your home? Is it some super tuned operating system you can't live without? Or is it some sort of office application you use to write, make presentations and connect with your friends and business acquaintances? Maybe it is your favorite browser you are using on daily bases to connect to your social network? Or some photo gallery application with tons of your digital photos and video clips? Perhaps it is some Skype-like communication device that is always within reach? Whatever it is, and depending on who you ask, I am more than positive that there are no unique answers. Microsoft's HoloLens I am sure everybody knows (?) why they are so fused to computer screen(s) these days, but in our case there is no doubt. In total sum of our digital home appliances that can be found on various desktops or fit nicely in our backpacks or pockets, the most dominant cross-computer ...

Do you have that strange feeling when you are about to visit new city abroad and little afraid of what you would stumble to when it come to simple things? Like how to use metro line or how to buy a bus ticket or how to identify your next destination? Or how to book your flight back to your home? Or how to handle a simple dilemma of should you exchange the money to the local currency or is it wise to put your card in every ATM or any other 'slot' machine on your way? Hello™ at Microsoft Campus Days, 2014 Ericsson, a Swedish multinational provider of communications technology and services, has the answer for you. And me too. Last week, I took my entire family to the trip to Copenhagen for both, business and pleasure hours in the Danish capital. During my previous visits I didn't have much time for tourism and any off work activity for that matter. So I took a little research this time and Ericsson's " Networked Society City Index " helped a lot. Within t...

Recently, every time when I am trying to shut down our Xbox 360, loud laughter fills our living room as my wife is every time equally entertained by my heavily accented "turn off" command, especially in all those times when I am repeatedly saying it again and again with different levels of enthusiasm until the poor thing finally understands what I really want it to do. I don't mind, even though the laugh is on my account, I am positive that voice commands are the most effective way to shutdown the Xbox. Alternatives are either to use its motion sensor and in series of waves force it to turn off or to find the controller (which is always located under the last pillow in the farthest corner of living room) and in a series of clicks do the same. But this is also not the only reason I like to use voice commands. The main reason is that I really like to try and use new features in nowadays computers simply because no matter how rudimentary they are they surely represent the fu...

I am wondering is it possible to combine, in just one blog post, a short story about one country, one modern IT business, several great friendships, air flights, professional challenges and friendly people everywhere you look? I know the answers is probably no, but I will try anyway. Let's start with a easy puzzle - if you thought of little mermaid and Hans Christian Andersen, quantum mechanics and Niels Bohr, famous Hamlet's "To be or not to be" in Shakespeare's old play, amazing cuisine with cookies, pretzels, Carlsberg beer and Legos? The answer, for a very few of you who didn't guess is of course Denmark. One of the top developed country of European Union. According to the United Nation's first ever World Happiness Report from this year, Denmark has taken the top spot followed by Finland, Norway and the Netherlands. When I first read about this I was skeptical since happiness is a relative thing and I am sure all people in the world are equally happy ...