Your Computer Minute with Peter Kay

Trivia question: What is the most important decision you will be making at the ballot box at this November election? (Hint: it’s not the election of any candidate).

Answer: Whether or not to hold a Constitutional Convention or “ConCon”.

Every 10 years, voters have the opportunity to decide whether or not we can hold a ConCon which is where wholesale changes can be made to our state constitution.

Our last ConCon was 30 years ago and in 1978 some important changes were made, according to Dkosopedia including among others:

• Creation of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs
• Term limits for governor
• Requiring a balanced budget

And so in 2008, we once again have the chance to hold a ConCon.

So where’s the historic “Geek Component” opportunity?

I believe that we have before us the potential to put our heads together and create a web application that lends itself to democratic participation and decision-making. I believe this model can be applied to ConCon and if successful can subsequently be used for other public decision-making systems like the City Council and State Legislature.

Open source development paradigm meets public decision making
From what I’ve learned so far, my understanding is that ConCons have strong grassroots elements. They are a chance for the people to engage in an open conversation about Hawaii’s future. In 1978, they didn’t have the Internet. Today, we have broadband networks and powerful computers. Do we have sufficient technological resources to enable digital debates? I think so.

We have Internet-based political campaigning. What about Internet-based lawmaking?
Barack Obama has taken Internet-based campaigning and fundraising to a new level. He has permanently “torn the fabric of space” in regards to merging Internet with politics. I believe we can take the next logical step and use the Internet for public debate, decision-making, and perhaps even legislation. Imagine the kind of input and diversity of thought that would result if any citizen could participate in a serious debate on important issues from the comfort and convenience of their home. What kind of increased participation could we get from that?

A bold step has been taken
There’s only one way to find out and I’m proud to say that together with other leaders like Burt Lum, Ryan Ozawa, Former Congressman Ed Case, Jay Fidell, and Representative Della Au Bellati, we’ve launched HawaiiConCon.org. Today, it’s a combination of Ning social networking and pbwiki.com wiki infrastructures. Tomorrow, who knows? The users will drive the need.

E Komo Mai!
I’m cordially inviting all of you to come over to HawaiiConCon.org and participate. Get involved. There are some issues about Hawaii’s government you must hold dear or want to change. What are they? Tell us about it! We too are using Ning so there’s no signup process.

We need Geeks Like You to get involved!
So far the initial success has been great. But as the site grows in popularity, people will need both help and more features. And that’s where YOU come in. Hawaii’s tech community could and should be the ambassadors that herald in a new age of Digital Democracy. It can happen if you help us make it happen.

Be a part of the solution
This year, the voters will decide if they want to hold a ConCon. Right now there is only one site that is encouraging learning, discussions, and decisions regarding this most important issue and with your help and participation, HawaiiConCon.org can become the epicenter of a new paradigm of public political participation.

See you there!

I got the inside scoop. Oceanic Time Warner just doubled the upload speed of their Road Runner High Speed Online service from 512kb to 1mb. For those of us doing online backups, bitTorrent downloads, and video/audio uploads, it’s HUGE.

I did this myself just now and have the screen shots below. I am running Mozy online backups on my computer. The 358kb upload is about the average speed I’ve been getting for the past few months.

I took a screenshot of that window just before I performed the fix. As Mozy was running, I did the fix, then took a screenshot immediately after. I didn’t restart my computer or the software.

This has got to be the coolest, quickest, easiest speed boost I’ve ever seen.

Before “the fix”

After “the fix”

What’s the secret?

Just reset your modem. I unplugged mine from power and plugged it back in again. In one minute I had a 162% upload speed increase.

Now this might not be a big deal for everyone, but for those of us that do any of the above geeky stuffs, this is just a godsend. My backups will take 1/2 the time. I’m going to be curious to see what this does to BitTorrent.

Tell them Peter Kay sent you. Enjoy!

Listen to this Tip

If you have a high speed Internet connection and you don’t have a firewall, there’s a good chance that your computer has already been broken into. Firewalls allow you to safely get online yet protect your network from outsiders. If you don’t have a firewall, go get one right now and make sure it has wireless networking, or wifi, built in so that you can connect other devices.

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Listen to this Tip

Do your kids go online at home? When was the last time you surfed the web with them? Folks, nobody loves the Internet more than me, but we all know there is a really dark side that you can easily stumble into. Spend time with your kids online. Teach them to never give out personal information and make sure they know about the very real danger posed by online predators.

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If you’ve ever looked online for Island music, you know that it’s pretty slim pickings. Well not any more. I went to OCtunes.com and found what they call the most island music on the planet. I liked the fact that I could listen to samples from a large selection of local artists. It’s like an iTunes for local music and you can buy the tracks you like or the whole CD. I think it’s a great way to sample and buy Island music online.