A Reflection on the Christmas Break of the Year Two Thousand and Nine

As another year draws to a close, I cannot help but look back and examine my time spent over the course of this extended winter holiday vacation. It seems two words can almost entirely sum up the nature of my endeavors: college essays. Yes, I’m afraid my twelve days of Christmas have been spent creating a steady flow of written words for the greedy admissions readers over at… well, in case they find this, let’s just say over “there.” Nearly two weeks have been devoted to the writing and perfecting of a seemingly infinite collection of essays. Two weeks pass as I put to paper my innermost thoughts and feelings and, of course, a completely accurate and non-exaggerated list of my accomplishments. And what is the final destination of these words? A one to two minute review by a nameless admissions officer.
Of course, I mean only to vent my pent up frustrations. Should my work be graced by a rhetorical stamp of acceptance, all will be worthwhile. Such rings the speech of countless applicants across the nation. Yet, I question this assertion. Is it not the journey we must take enjoyment in, rather than the destination? Just as we view the Christmas season, let us look not upon the writing of the essays but upon who we write our essays with. How often it is that we take for granted the company of others. Surely, Chris, you must mean your family, those closest to you. No, I’m afraid my family did little to ease my college application process aside from running noisily through the house and complaining about egregious application fees. Who could stand a seventy dollar application fee, a charge which represents a staggering 0.14% of the overall cost of a college education? But I digress and must place my cynicisms aside, as my family truly is a wonder and a blessing (albeit not an easily sufferable one).
I speak, instead, of my amazing friends, who have supported me continuously throughout the trials and tribulations of the past year. I speak also of one whom I have met more recently, and who truly made a gift of each of the last twelve days. It is true that we often strayed from our work, wagering on who could first complete their applications (a bet which I won) and discussing topics from recent movies to the thermodynamics of various liquids. However, in the end, we each met success, along with some excellent adventures. It is for them that I choose to write this post, and not for my English teacher, who likely will not read this until March. I am grateful for their support, as my life would be but a shadow of itself without it. I, therefore, look toward the coming year with patient anticipation and, in an effort to avoid giving this post closure, cease writing.

Wave Hello to Google Wave

A relatively few number of people have heard of Google’s newest brainchild, Google Wave. Google Wave is the novel and innovative attempt to revolutionize internet communication. It is designed, specifically, to provide a basis for the merging of email, instant messaging, wikis, and collaborative networking.
Announced in May earlier this year, Google has kept advertising for this product to simple word of mouth, much as it did during the months preceding the release of the corporations widely popular email service, Gmail. On November 29, Google granted most of the Google Wave requests it received by September of 2009. I was included in this latest of invitations, and was allowed a firsthand look into what Google had to offer.
Google Wave’s interface greatly resembles that of Gmail, although its uses are slightly different. The program is designed to manage real time communications methods between users. It differs from other instant messaging systems in that text can be altered by any participant in the conversation at any time. Theory states that it is possible to use a history scroll bar to replay the progression of the conversation at a chosen speed, though this feature has apparently yet to be worked into the system. The inability to know if any past changes have been made seems to be a major drawback at this point in time. Furthermore, the real time typing aspects of communication tend to cause latency spikes, making conversation awkward and stressed at times.
Many question the usefulness of the Google Wave program, and rightly so. At first glance, it seems to provide little that is not already established in countless instant messaging. The real use in Google’s attempt at innovation appears to lie in its group planning and project management capabilities. However, although integrated maps and document editors have high potential, these seem to be the most underdeveloped aspects of the system. This raises yet another question of whether the Wave program could not simply be added as a feature to Gmail, as simple group planning seems to be little cause for a standalone release.
Google certainly has a significant amount of work to do if it is to gain popular support for its newest product. However, it is still reasonably early in the development stage. If Google is able to stick to its tremendous reputation, we should be seeing an excellent program ready for public release in 2010.