Bringing Tech to Market: The Rules of Innovation [Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters] [Artivle Here]

Morning reading tomorrow.

10:45:28 PM    

Hollywood versus Silicon Valley, Ignoring the Customers [Dan Gillmor's eJournal]

Good commentary by Dan, as usual.

1:45:02 PM    

Dashed hopes for dashboard electronics. Dealers aren't interested, consumers don't understand it, and carmakers' efforts have fizzled. In-vehicle computing: A smooth road ahead or just a dead end? [CNET News.com]

Sing it with me folks, User Interface is Key. This is the first law of any kind of innovation, people need to be comfortable with a familiar interface, if they are not, they will give up in frustration rather than try to learn anew.

1:43:41 PM    

Judge denies second Microsoft motion in Lindows case [IDG InfoWorld]

Hoist by their own petard. The judge uses MS' arguement against them, showing that Windows is actually generic enough that it should not be considered unique. A box within a box, if you will.

12:35:48 PM    

I agree with Ryan about Desk Set (and what librarian doesn't love that movie!), but database access is an interesting topic. There's no way individuals could afford to subscribe to multiple databases on their own, but pooling resources through tax-supported libraries is an ideal solution. Granted, most libraries aren't going to subscribe to LexisNexis, but most subscribe to at least one database, if not more.

So the key is indeed having the access to the information. My home library is relatively small, but they offer residents free access to four databases. Illinois residents are lucky enough to have a State Library with some foresight and vision, and the folks there provide free access to several FirstSearch databases for every Illinois resident. So if your bot can hook into your local library and it has stored your library barcode number, Higgins would be able to complete his assigned tasks rather easily.  :-)

[The Shifted Librarian]

Last night I was discussing the role of social institutions with a friend, and I pointed out that the advantage of belonging to an institution (vs doing it on your own) was one of leverage. You have a broader knowledge base to pull from, you have have a greater network to call on with regards to knowledge that may be otherwise inaccessable, and you simply have more resources at your disposal than you would otherwise have available.

Now, what if a town needed to have access to a set or records, and instead of having them accessable only at town hall, allowed townspeople to get to them either through the local library or via the town's homepage (login required)? In the case of my old hometown, there are several reference companies located there, and It would be a great boon if they allowed the local schools and libraries to have access to their systems.

9:38:19 AM    

Ultra Efficient Chip Cooling Passes Boeing Tests [Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters]

I smell snake oil. The company claims to have made a chip that that is a super efficient Peltier cooler, as well as having some claims as to super efficient solar cells. So, hypotheticallly, we could have a solar powered heating and cooling system for our homes, all supplied by this one group.

The only problem with this is that the way the cooler works (which is just like a Peltier cooler) is by making one side cooler (Ambient temperature-X) and the OTHER SIDE hotter (Ambient temp+X) so unless you have a way of getting the heat to disburse outside the space you are trying to cool, you will end up defeating the purpose of cooling in the first place.

I seem to recall a company that made claims about a room temperature peltier based engine a couple of years ago, which was later found to be fraudulent. They had claimed to be able to make a boat motor that would work using the temeprature of the water to drive the shaft. I cannot find it at the moment

They appear to be little more that a patent farm, having had patented many ideas, and having little (if any) actual product in the marketplace. I like the ideas that I am seeing, I just wish that they would come to market.

9:23:15 AM