Blogs of Note

MIT's Technology Review Here are a few of the more interesting articles from the March 2004 issue of MIT's Technology Review magazine.

Translation in the Age of Terror [PDF]: there is much to be desired in the US Department of Homeland Security, but one of the good things that came about since its creation, is the amalgamation of many US government departments responsible for security and intelligence. Centralized control and the knocking down of walls was what Homeland Security brought. Take the departments responsible for gathering and analyzing information -- four branches of the military, thirteen intelligence agencies and the US State Department -- all overwhelmed by the amount of information being gathered. Now think of how the problem grows as the information being gathered is in many different languages, tempered with dialects, cultural influences, allusions, mispronounciations and grammatical errors. Read the article to see how the US government is coping.

Search Beyond Google [PDF]: Google has the crown for search engines, and garnered grassroots support for it's speed and non-intrusive ads. It's made a whack of money at it, and will most likely issue an IPO soon. But can Google remain on top? Microsoft wants to conquer the search engine market, and there are a host of startups around the corner.

Nanotech's First Blockbusters? [PDF] Read a short tale of Nanosys, a company out to make a name for itself in the nanatech industry by bringing some of the first nanotech consumer products to a store near you. Think of nano glue, nano solar cells on chips, flexible electronics and biochips. This company is in it all.

Virtual Heart [PDF]: Read of the effort underway to build a lifelike computer model of the human heart. It's a decentralized effort with collaborators from around the world, working on the project. The promises include improved diagnosis for cardiac disease, efficient ways of testing new heart drugs and trial runs for surgeons before they get to the real thing.

Master of Light [PDF]: Here's an article on a lighting specialist who has helped with the computerized special effects on movies such as the Matrix and the X-Men. He can render a face under just about any lighting condition conceivable.

Innovation News [PDF]: March's highlights of innovations coming from the lab -- WiFi and Cellular unite in new communication devices; Magnetic RAM chips are coming, with the promise of instand on computers; Feeling depressed? Try running some heavy duty magnets around your head; and some researhers have cooked up a method of figuring out if the water supply is tainted by the amount of stress fishes feel.

Patriot Act: A Visitor's Tale [PDF] And here's a result of the US going all coo-coo over security. Read the tale of a visitor who happened to be just the wrong colour, the wrong race, and born in the wrong place.

RFID [PDF]: Here's a really beautiful graphic illustrating how RFID works.

Disruptive Incrementalish [PDF]: Here's one for the Marketing guru in you ... disruptive incrementalism is not nearly as disruptive as disruptive innovation ... but boy can it make you a whole lot of money for a small investment!