Interesting Reading: 6/25
The Future of Collaborative Networks
http://ostatic.com/blog/the-future-of-collaborative-networks
http://blog.foghound.com/2009/06/new-best-practices-paper-on-social-media-monitoring-engagement-measurement/"...a new study on emerging best practices in social media monitoring, engagement and measurement based on interviews with large corporations like Cisco, Intuit, GE and with the top monitoring technology providers (Visible Technologies, Radian6, Cymfony, Market Sentinel), who have fascinating stories based on existing clients and from the RFP/sales process."--------New Mac Laptops Use Batteries Sealed for Power
http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20090624/new-mac-laptops-use-batteries-sealed-for-power/?mod=ATD_rss"The majority of laptop computers come with removable batteries. This approach allows you to pop in a fresh spare when your battery runs out of juice between charges, and to easily replace a battery when its lifespan is over.But there’s a dirty little secret about removable-battery laptops owned by average consumers: Hardly anybody buys extra batteries. Research firm NPD estimates that fewer than 5% of consumers buy a spare. So, a small trend has begun in the industry: More electronic products are being designed with their rechargeable batteries sealed inside. For instance, Dell’s (DELL) new high-end laptop, the Adamo, has a sealed battery, as does the excellent Flip pocket video camera.The leading proponent of this idea is Apple (AAPL), which has often led the industry in introducing or removing components from computers. This month, Apple unveiled two revised MacBook Pro laptops with higher-capacity, sealed-in batteries. In fact, Apple’s entire line of laptops now uses sealed batteries, except for one low-end MacBook model from last year’s series."--------Ending the Spreadsheet Chaos
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Enterprise-Applications/Ending-the-Spreadsheet-Chaos-420263/?kc=rssPodcast: "A3 Solutions CEO Robert Lautt explains how enterprises can get spreadsheets under control."--------Awesome Autodesk Flame Demo
http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/awesome_autodesk_flame_demo_13847.asp"Autodesk's Flame software is responsible for the visual effects in everything from high-end product renderings to Hollywood movies. Check out digital artist Rosano Lepri's impressive Flame reel, which features text overlays telling you what he's adding to each shot:"Kiss reality good bye--------
Kapitall, Like a Wii for Investment, Puts Democratic Spin on Financial Tools
http://www.readwriteweb.com/readwritestart/2009/06/kapitall-like-a-wii-for-invest.php"A startup in the finance vertical aims to democratize investment by providing a more usable interface for financial tools and perhaps even ward off future financial calamity by decentralizing control of financial markets.Current tools, such as Yahoo! Finance, are considered intimidating, complex, and overwhelmingly boring at a time when understanding of and interest in investment are more critical than ever to global economic revitalization. Kapitall gives investment a new face, one that will be familiar to Gen X and Y users, most of whom are novices to finance but experts in social applications and online or console gaming.We had a telephone conversation this afternoon with Kapitall rep Eben Esterhuizen. He told us that Kapitall started when a THQ/Atari video game developer wanted to build an online investing application. He joined up with a technical lead at Bloomberg, Apple's Human Interface head Cordell Ratzlaff (the man behind OS10), and a managing director at Morgan Stanley."Comment: I recently chatted with the Gaspard de Dreuzy, CEO of Kapitall during Internet Week. This is an interesting play melding investing with data visualization born out of the gaming world.--------$100 Laptop Becomes a $5 PC
http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/22919/ The open-source education software developed for the "$100 laptop" can now be loaded onto a $5 USB stick to run aging PCs and Macs with a new interface and custom educational software."What we are doing is taking a bunch of old machines that barely run Windows 2000, and turning them into something interesting and useful for essentially zero cost," says Walter Bender, former president of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project. "It becomes a whole new computer running off the USB key; we can breathe new life into millions of decrepit old machines."Bender left OLPC last year to found Sugar Labs, which promotes the open-source user interface, dubbed Sugar, and educational software originally developed at OLPC. Bender has dubbed the new effort Sugar on a Stick. The software can be downloaded for free from the Sugar Labs website as part of the new initiative, which will be announced at a conference in Berlin today."--------Deloitte Study Warns About Social Networking Ethics
http://www.fastforwardblog.com/2009/06/22/deloitte-study-warns-about-social-networking-ethics/"Does employee participation in social networking sites put companies at risk? A new study from Deloitte LLP says yes, there is considerable risk, and companies need to be more proactive in fostering awareness of social networking ethics.Deloitte LLP’s 2009 Ethics & Workplace Survey (PDF available here.) found that 30% of employees and managers say that social networking is now a vital part of their business and operations strategy. However, Deloitte also finds “there is great reputational risk” associated with social networking, as 74% of respondents believe it is “easy to damage a brand’s reputation via sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.”Forty-nine percent of employees say company policy wouldn’t change their online behavior. Twenty-seven percent don’t consider the ethical consequences of posting comments, photos, or videos online. More than one-third don’t consider what their boss, their colleagues, or their clients may think of postings."--------Link To The Best Parts In Your Videos
http://www.youtube.com/blog?entry=blWIBM1jE-wI am sure this is old news for some folks, but I just got wind of this. You can deep link into specific sections of Youtube videos. As they wrote on their blog"To create a deep link, append the following to the end of a YouTube video URL: #t=1m15s. This says to link to the time 1:15 - you can replace the numbers before the 'm' and the 's' with anything you like.As an additional bonus, if you mention a specific time in a video comment, e.g. "haha 1:14 is funny", this will become a hyperlink. Viewers can simply click on the time and the video will automatically jump to the point you are referencing. Pretty cool huh?"
