Al Gore Invents a Showpiece E-Book.

People pitch me on new apps all the time, but Al Gore doesn’t do it that often. In fact, only once — last week.

I took the bait. I met with him and his collaborators on “Our Choice,” a $5 app version (iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch) of Mr. Gore’s 2009 best seller of the same name.

Now, I’ll be frank with you: I must get pitched every other week on some “revolutionary” e-book app that claims to reinvent the book. That usually means it has a couple of video clips in it.

“Our Choice,” though, might actually live up to the boast.


A page from Al Gore’s new e-book app, “Our Choice.”As Mr. Gore puts it, his 2006 book “An Inconvenient Truth” was 90 percent about the climate crisis problem, and only 10 percent about solutions. “Our Choice” swaps that ratio.

It’s all about the steps he thinks we need to take right now to avoid the worst of the climate disaster. It explores all of the factors: solar, wind, nuclear, politics, population, deforestation. It’s vintage Gore: persuasive, careful, reasoned and filled with layman-ized recaps of recent scientific research. If you didn’t know about black carbon, albedo and halocarbons, you will after reading “Our Choice.”

Mr. Gore acknowledges the skeptics, even summarizes their arguments, before trying to demolish them. His message continues to be that we have to act quickly to avoid truly devastating climate problems. ”The United States is still borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that’s got to change,” he writes.

The book was published in 2009, but the app version has been updated. It incorporates discussions of the “birther” skeptics, the tsunami in Japan and last year’s Climategate.

But enough about the book. The bigger news is the app.

It’s laid out like a book, with 400 photos, illustrations and charts. It works best on the iPad, of course, but the miniature versions on the iPhone/Touch work surprisingly well, too. In both cases, you can zoom out to see scrolling page miniatures at the bottom of the screen for easy jumping around.

In both apps, the real magic is all the visual elements. You can expand every photo and graphic to fill the whole screen; they look spectacular. At this point, you can interact with them. You can tap the corner of any photo, for example, to see where on the planet it was taken. You can press your finger on a bar of a chart to “explode” it into smaller bars, showing the component data underlying the primary bar. (For example, one bar chart shows the six gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect. Hold your finger on a bar to see it split into smaller bars, showing where those gases come from: transportation, buildings and so on.)

Some of the illustrations become narrated animations. Some turn out to be movies (there’s a total of an hour of video), most narrated by Mr. Gore.

The interactivity, the zooming into graphic elements and the videos aren’t a gimmick. They actually add up to a different experience. The book feels more Web-like; at your leisure, you can jump from the main river of text into one of these deeper dives. Yet there’s no fear of falling off the primary train of thought.

Thanks to all of the smoothly integrated multimedia, the book engages more parts of your brain than just the one that reads prose. As a result, Mr. Gore goes much farther in his mission — persuasion — than he could on the printed page alone.

Another result is that you can spend many hours with this “book,” immersed and exploring. For once, here’s an e-book that really does redefine the net effect of an e-book. It really does exploit the touch screen, speakers and storage of your gadget to the fullest.

Best of all, the small company that created the app (called PushPop Press) says that over the last 18 months, it didn’t create just “Our Choice.” It simultaneously created a platform, a technology, that will permit them and others to publish subsequent immersive book-apps much faster and more easily.

There’s room for improvement. You can’t search the text, or annotate or copy or highlight it. Links to the Web might have been an obvious inclusion. Mr. Gore’s narration is not, ahem, the liveliest you’ve ever heard.

You should also know that it’s a big app, over 50 megabytes. In fact, when you buy it from the app store, all you’re getting is the introductory video; you’re then prompted to download the rest of the book in a Wi-Fi hot spot. That could be a rude surprise if you download the book just before heading out on a road trip, for example.

But over all, this is one of the most elegant, fluid, immersive apps you’ve ever seen. It’s a showpiece for the new world of touch-screen gadgets.

I told Mr. Gore that, frankly, I was relieved that “Our Choice” is such a great app. “I was afraid it’d be lame,” I said. “I would have had to show up at this meeting and pretend I really liked it.”

Mr. Gore didn’t miss a beat. “I know,” he said. “I felt the same way about your Nova miniseries.”

Funny guy. Also a persuasive, careful writer. He’s overseen the creation of a really cool app-book that, as one app-store reviewer puts it, “makes reading an interactive, fulfilling and, above all, emotional experience.”

               

The Respect for Woman in Islam

"Fear Allah regarding women. Verily you have married them with the trust of Allah, and made their bodies lawful with the word of Allah. You have got (rights) over them, and they have got (rights) over you in respect of their food and clothing according to your means."

In Islam there is absolutely no difference between men and women as far as their relationship to Allah is concerned, as both are promised the same reward for good conduct and the same punishment for evil conduct. The Qur'an says:

And for women are rights over men similar to those of men over women. (2:226)

They (your wives) are your garment and you are a garment for them. (2:187)

Here is another hadith of the Prophet Muhammad:
“Fear Allah in respect of women.” And: “The best of you are they who behave best to their wives.” And: “A Muslim must not hate his wife, and if he be displeased with one bad quality in her, let him be pleased with one that is good.” And:”The more civil and kind a Muslim is to his wife, the more perfect in faith he is.”

In the Islamic society the woman has an honored position and, beside her legal and civil rights, enjoys special respect, love, affection and the gentle feelings which she deserves most.
Is she not the compassionate mother, the beloved wife and the affectionate daughter? The best expression of this reality is provided by the following verses from the Glorious Qur'an.
"And We have enjoined man concerning his parents - His mother bears him in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning takes two years - Be grateful to Me and to your parents. To Me is the eventual coming. And
they strive with you to make you associate with Me that of which you have no knowledge, do not obey them. Keep company with them in the world kindly, and follow the path of him who repents to Me. Then to Me is your return, and I shall inform you of what you did."
The Holy Qur'an (31: 14&15)
"And We have commanded man to be kind towards his parents. With trouble did his mother bear him, with trouble did she bring him forth; and the bearing of him and the weaning of him was thirty months; until
when he attains his maturity and reaches forty years, he says: My Lord! Arouse me that I may give thanks for your favour which you have bestowed upon me and my parents, and that I may do good which pleases you. And be gracious to me in the matter of my offspring. Surely I turn to you and surely I am of those who submit (Muslims)".
The Holy Qur'an (46:15)
"Your Lord has decreed that you worship none save Him, and (you show) kindness to parents. If one them or both of them reach old age with you, say not `Fie' to them nor repulse them, but speak to them a generous word, And make yourself submissively gentle with compassion and say: Oh, Lord! Have mercy on them both as they did care for me (when I was) little."
The Holy Qur'an (17: 23&24)
"And of His signs is this: He created mates for you from yourselves that you may find rest in them, and He ordained between you love and mercy. Most surely there are signs in this for a people who reflect."
Holy Qur'an (30: 21)
"...And treat them (women) kindly..."
Holy Qur'an (4: 19)
"...And they (women) have rights similar to those (of men) over them in a just manner..."
Holy Qur'an (2: 228)
"When you have divorced women, and they have reached their prescribed term, then either retain them in honour or release them in kindness..."
Holy Qur'an (2: 231)
The Traditions of the Prophet, like the Qur'an, also lay emphasis on the honor and status of the woman and grants her a respectable place in society. When a Tradition speaks of a woman and her social position, it surrounds her with a frame of love, endearment and affection, especially when it speaks of the mother, the wife and the daughter.
The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.), addressing the Muslims on the occasion of the farewell Pilgrimage warned them against the values which he feared would be neglected after him, and referred to woman as one of the important issues about whom he said:
"Observe your duty to Allah in respect to the women, and recommend them to be well treated."
According to the Imam Ja`far Al-Sadiq (a.s.), the Prophet stressed his proximity to woman and her position in his life, by saying:
"It is of the manner of the Prophets to love women."
He is also quoted to have said:
"I do not think that a man gets better in faith without loving women better."
A man once sought the Imam Al-Sadiq's (a.s.) advice concerning women, saying that as his wife, who was agreeable to him, had died, he wanted to marry again.
The Imam told him, "See where you put yourself, whom you take as a partner in your life, and to whom you disclose your religion and secrets. So, if you have to, then marry a virgin known to be righteous and of good behavior".
A man came to the Prophet (s.a.w.) and asked him, "O Messenger of Allah! Whom should I be more dutiful to?"
The Prophet (s.a.w.) replied, "To your mother." He asked, "Then to whom?" He replied, "To your mother." The man again asked, "Then to whom?" The prophet said, "To your father."
It is narrated that a foster-sister of the Prophet (s.a.w.) visited him one day. He was very pleased with her, spread out his cloak for her to sit on, and conversed with her merrily. After she went away, her brother arrived, but the Prophet did not receive him as warmly as he had received his sister, Later on when some one asked him the reason
for receiving the sister more courteously than her brother, although a man, the Prophet replied, "Because she was more dutiful to her parents
than he."
Abu Khadijah quotes the Imam Al- Sadiq (a.s.) as follows:
"A man came to the Prophet and told him," "A girl was born to me. I brought her up till she reached puberty, I then dressed her, adorned her, brought her to a well and pushed her into it. The last thing I heard was her pitiful cry: `O father!' So, what atonement may I offer?"
The Prophet asked him, "Is your mother alive?" He replied, "No." He asked, "Do you have an aunt? He said, "Yes," The Prophet instructed him, "Then be dutiful to her, as she is like a mother, this will be your atonement for what you have done."
Abu Khadijah asked the Imam; "When the incident took place?" He replied, "During the period of Ignorance. As they used to kill the girls for fear that they would be taken captive and give birth to
their children among other people".
The Imam Al-Sadiq (a.s.) is also quoted to have said:
"Whoever provides sustenance for three girls or three sisters, Paradise will surely be his." He was asked. "What if two? He said," Even if two. "He was also asked." What if one? "He said, `Even if one.'
The Imam Abu Al-Hasan Al-Rida (a.s.) is quoted to have said:
"The Prophet (S.A.) said "Allah the Exalted is more kind to females than males. Whoever brings pleasure to a woman of his close relatives, Allah will please him on the Judgement Day".
The Imam Al-Sadiq (a.s.) said:
"Sons are a favor and daughters are good deeds, Allah questions about the favors, but rewards the good deeds."
The above were some of the examples from Islamic texts concerning woman. It is clear that Islam has called her to be honored, affectionately treated and cared for in an unprecedented way, which no
other civilization, culture and society has ever done.
What we have just related is a proof of the spirit of Islam, which came to honor mankind, protect their rights and to spread the wings
of mercy all over the world.
We have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds."
The Holy Qur'an (21: 107)
Therefore, Islam, through the above-mentioned text, speaks respectfully of woman- the mother, the wife, the daughter, the sister, endears her and takes care of her, stressing her being worthy of affection, mercy and generosity. It recommends woman before recommending man. It regards the love of woman as a sign of faith.
Nay, it even raises this love of woman to the level of being a `prophetic conduct', and it looks at her as a trustee who looks after a person's wealth, religion and secrets.

Here is another lovely saying of the blessed and final prophet:
“Among my followers the best of men are those who are best to their wives, and the best of women are those who are best to their husbands. To each of such women is set down a reward equivalent to the reward of a thousand martyrs. Among my followers, again, the best of women are those who assist their husbands in their work, and love them dearly for everything, save what is a transgression of Allah’s laws.”

               

Lighting Fast - High Speed Optical Connectivity

Once relegated only to datacenter and telecom environments with high price points, optical technology may soon find its way into mainstream client systems, consumer electronics, and even handhelds. A new technology was announced at Intel Developer Forum (IDF) which provides initial data rates of 10 Gigabits and potential scalability to 100 Gigabits and beyond; something copper IO won’t be able to achieve.

Light Peak also supports multiple simultaneous protocols which will allow bandwidth aggregation of the various interconnects used in systems today onto a single high speed, thin, flexible, and long cable and small connector. Imagine being able to connect to your camera, display, docking station, or external hard drive through a single, thin connector!

Light Peak makes this possible by moving the next IO speed increase to optical and getting away from the electro-magnetic interference (EMI) and thickening and shortening of cables that are plaguing copper IO technologies today. Unlike the current high cost optical technologies in the datacenter, Light Peak will bring the benefits of optical in a mainstream client-ready cost footprint.

Light Peak is in the developmental stages, but Intel Executive Vice President General Manager, Intel Architecture Group Dadi Perlmutter showed a demonstration of real silicon transmitting storage, LAN data and display (1080p) data across a single thin, 30m fiber optic cable.

Intel will be working with the industry to determine the best way to make this new technology a standard and to accelerate its adoption on a plethora of devices including PCs, handheld devices, consumer electronic devices and more. The end goal is to make Light Peak a complement to existing I/O technologies by enabling them to run together on a single cable and at higher, and more scalable speeds.

With its potential for future I/O speed increases, and as rich multimedia proliferates, Light Peak can enable technologies and systems that share data both in the home and office to continue to deliver full speed external IO that can keep pace with internal compute device bandwidth.

The future of computing looks as bright as the past… and optical technology is helping to light the way.

More resources:
http://www.intel.com/go/lightpeak