With 25-Song Cap, ITunes Phone May Underwhelm

More on Apple, this time about the iTune phone with Motorola.

Behind Apple's Strategy: Be Second to Market

A take on the reasons behind Apple's successful strategy and what it might be thinking for the future.

Boost to CO2 mass extinction idea

Though not a definite proof, simulations point towards CO2 and global warming for the 'great dying' 250 million years ago.

World slow to face bird flu threat

Recently have been reading a lot about the dangers of an impending flu epidemic and the lack of preparation in general. Another report,this time focused on bird flu.
Life is indeed very fragile despite all the technological progress we have made!

Web used to trace deadly spider

Sherlock Holmes move aside, we now have the web!!

VoIP: Threat or opportunity?

Plenty happening this week with the launch of GoogleTalk and the OECD warning the telecom industry on tough competition from VoIP. It is early days and there is still a lot to unfold. Regulation issues will increasingly become more important as the powerful telecom companies start lobbying hard against the smaller upstarts.

The struggle over science

Interesting article on the increasing hostility of the Bush administration towards science. Let's hope its just a blip and science resumes to receive the same patronage by the US government as before.

Is extreme weather down to climate change?

The answers are not very clear cut though there is growing consensus that greenhouse gas emissions are warming the Earth's climate.

Making Innovation Work: How to Manage It, Measure It, and Profit From It

Review of a new book on making innovation work. According to it the requirements to implement a successful innovation program are: specific tools, rules, and discipline; the right measurements and incentives; and the ability to integrate both business model innovation and technology innovation.

Lessons from our ancestors about the countryside

Life in the 17th century seems to be more balanced than today. Of course, it was not as comfortable as it is today; but within the limits of what was available, daily life seemed to be quite well thought out.

Get Ready for GoogleNet.

Google is building a national broadband network according to this Business 2.0 report.

Riding High!

City traders facing up to climate change

When will Wall Street follow suit?

The coming Wiki revolution

Rewriting the rule books ponder on the effect that wiki's will have on the information revolution. To quote Mitch Kapor, who designed Lotus 1-2-3 among other things: 'I've seen things like this happen once or twice before,' he's quoted: 'We're at the Big Bang of the next information revolution.'

The Tech Boom 2.0

The MIT Tech review reports a second tech boom fuelled by cheap hardware and open source software. So what will be the end game? Probably increased productivity and more customized solutions for end users.

The Founding CEO's Dilemma: Stay or Go?

As a founding CEO the issues discussed in this interview are very familiar to me. I think the "King vs. Rich" test is very important. Though sometimes it is also true that the founder wants to be neither king nor rich, but rather see his offspring prosper.

Total recall boosts PDA writing

A new method of input into a PDA is set to go into commercial development. It works by remembering word patterns while tracing letters on a touch screen.

Art-loving bees prefer Sunflowers

Scientists find that beauty really is in the eye of the bee-holder!

Physics enlisted to help singles

According to Physics enlisted to help singles, we will soon be talking about the physics between two persons rather than the chemistry between them!

Saving the World With Cell Phones

One recurring theme in my posts is new applications of cell phones and inter disciplinary research. Saving the World With Cell Phones provides a few examples of such applications from the nascent branch of mobile enviromatics, a highly interdisciplinary research area .

Rice genome unravelled at last

Will deciphering the rice genome be the equivalent of Neil Armstrong's small step in the pursuit to eradicate hunger?

Berners-Lee on the read/write web

Interview of Tim Berners-Lee where he reveals that his vision of the web was more close to blogs and wiki's.

Medieval age

The medieval period is often taken to be the dark ages with almost no progress. However the article, The medical world of medieval monks, and this new book, Institutions and the Path to the Modern Economy: Lessons from Medieval Trade, provide evidence to the contrary.

Alaskan people tell of climate change

Scientist have started tapping into the oral history of native Alaskan to study climate change. Alaskan people tell of climate change recount the changes as experienced by the older inhabitants of Alaska.

Bending the curve: The final post

Today I conclude my study of the GSG report, Bending the curve. The final two variables are technology and conflict. Both of them are not treated in details in the report. Just trends are shown. I believe technologically we have advanced a lot and policy reform could help in more technology transfer but not in accelerating it. Probably a better job of identifying areas of new research could be achieved with better policies, but in general I believe we are doing well on this.
As per the conflict variable it is obvious that market forces have led to deterioration and better policy and more understanding is required. The vast inequities have to be removed and efforts have to be made to increase the standard of living of everyone in the world. More dialogue and exchanges among the different cultures and religions are essential.

Can Americans Compete?

Geoffrey Colvin answers the question Is America the World's 97-lb. Weakling? The answer unsurprisingly is education!

Science and Ideology

Krugman's view on the debate of whether Intelligent design should be taught as an alternative to evolution theory.

Forests Bad for the environment?

BBC and The Economist report on the counterintuitive and non conventional view that forests harm the environment. Findings show that they exacerbate droughts and that trees do not retain carbon dioxide for its lifetime as believed.

Reaching Safe Ground

Reaching Safe Ground is a great example of interdisciplinary research application. It not only models natural disasters and its effects but also factors in human behaviour in such situations.

How Toyota and Linux Keep Collaboration Simple

Time-tested techniques for collaboration under pressure according to How Toyota and Linux Keep Collaboration Simple :
Share knowledge widely, frequently, and in small increments, and use universally available tools to do it

User innovation in PC assembly and Design

After reading The End User: Building from scratch, I ask myself if we can open source PC design and assembly. Will mainstream users be bothered to build their own PCs? Or will it remain a peripheral phenomenon like the tuning of cars? Can encouraging user innovation through open sourcing PC design and assembly lead to products that can help boost dwindling margins?