Pike’s Peak

It was a second time to stay at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Words can not describe this incredible hotel. The occasion was to give a speech at an event that CCC Information Services held for a grouop of its customers. CCC is a private company that provides its customers with collision repair and insurance estimating software solutions, analytical tools and comprehensive data. Their focus is on integrated claims management to  optimize efficiency throughout the claims management supply chain, facilitating communication among approximately 21,000 auto body collision repair facilities, 350 insurance companies and a range of other industry participants. In my talk about the Future of the Internet, I discussed the fast, always on, everywhere, natural, intelligent, easy, and trusted characteristics of the Internet. As usual, I highlighted my optimistic view about cloud computing. CCC is a real believer and pioneer in this area. See a point of view from CCC’s Ron Nelson called Life in the Cloud.

In addition to the day being the kickoff for CCC’s conference, it was also the graduation day for 1,000 cadets at the Air Force Academy, and the 43rd anniversary for my wife and me. We took advantage of being in Colorado Springs by taking a ride on the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. The Manitou & Pike’s Peak Railway Company was founded and track construction began in 1889. The first cog railway was built in New Hampshire in 1869, but Switzerland is where most cog railways are located. The Manitou and Pikes Peak Railway, however, is the highest rack railway in the world as well as the highest railway in North America and the Northern Hemisphere. The maximum grade the train can handle is 25% and it was great to experience it. The train runs all year round but on some occassions, including last week for us, there is too much snow to get to the top. We made it to 12,400 feet and the views were spectacular.

Tags: air force academy, Broadmoor, ccc, cloud, cloud computing, cog, cog railway, colorado, colorado springs, rack railway

The Rolltop Laptop

If you have not yet seen the video of the Rolltop computer, click here, and I guarantee you wil be impressed, as I was. The amazing concept came from a team of Germans with backgrounds in areas of IT, design and business administration who share a vision regarding the future of portable computers. They started to work on the concept in 2009, and finalized it after just a few months of intensive work. It started out as a vision to be shared, but the response was so overwhelming that they decided to start a project aimed toward actual development of the concept. There is more than a dream behind the concept — see the details. The team is now looking for a partner to turn the design concept into reality.

Tags: design, gadget, german, innovation, laptop, portable computer, rolltop

Social Flights

I expressed some skepticism about the LinkedIn business model in my posting of April 22, but there were not many doubters today as the IPO took off for the stratosphere. There were many private jets taking off today too, and a new startup in Smyrna, TN hopes to make such flights much more affordable. Although a private jet charter is incredibly convenient, it is not affordable for most people. If there were friends or family who were going along for the flight, however, the per person cost could become much more affordable. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to organize a flight for a dispersed group of people. Enter Social Flights. With more and more of the population using some form of social networking, getting people organized to share the cost of a private jet charter could become much easier. That is exactly what Social Flights is making possible. Suppose you live in Connecticut and you want to attend a USF football game in  Tampa, Florida. Is it possible that there are other alumni of USF that live within the NY-NJ-CT metropolitan area? Very likely. Do you know who they are and their email addresses? Very unlikely. Might these fellow alums be users of Facebook or Twitter or LinkedIn? Good chance. Social Flights becomes the gearbox that connects you, your fellow alums, and Corporate Flight Management (CFM), a jet charter operator based in Tennessee but with a half-dozen airplanes in Connecticut.  CFM can provide competitive quotes for use of a private jet that is owned by others, but made available for charter when not being used by the owner. You and your soon to be alumni-friends may end up geting very spoiled in a private jet for $1,000 each. The cost will never meet a Jetblue discount ticket, but for the convenience of being able to step on the plane and be in the air ten minutes later, the premium may be easy to justify. CFM jets use professional pilots and have safety insprections that equal what the best airlines can offer.

What Social Flights is doing is what all busineses will eventually do — making social networking an integral part of business planning and operations. I view social networks as a natural evolution of the Internet. The Internet is the basic communications infrastructure that enables every computer in the world to be connected to every other computer in the world. Sitting on top of the Internet is an application called the World Wide Web that provides application services such as email, electronic banking, and e-commerce. On top of the Web is a new layer of functionality called social networking — or the social Web. The social Web enables services such as instant messaging, tweeting, crowd-sourcing, collaboration, and widespread sharing of information. The social Web is people driven, not company driven. It is grass-roots people-power that provides product reviews; medical experiences and doctor referrals; book, restaurant, and wine recommendations; and, of course, travel planning for alums who want to charter a private jet to go to a football game, or business people who want to go to a conference. Finding a way to fill empty seats on private jets has been a dream for many years. By leveraging the social Web, Social Flights may have found the key to making it happen. I suspect we will be hearing a lot more about Social Flights. The Fast Company story and New York Times blog posting have said some positive things already.

Tags: Aviation, CFM, charter aviation, charter jet, Corporate Flight Management, facebook, internet, jet charter, linkedin, private jet, social flights, social media, social networking, twitter, World Wide Web

Management of Change

The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia

It would have been a beautiful sight to see the mountain ridges and terrain in Virgainia but the flight into Inalls Field was on a dreary, cloudy, drizzling evening. The runway was 5,600 feet long but it was also 4,000 feet above sea level; the thinner air making it effectively quite a bit shorter. A short van ride through the winding mountain ridge roads brough us to The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia to the Management of Change Conference 2011.

The American Council for Technology (ACT) – Industry Advisory Council (IAC) is a non-profit, public-private partnership dedicated to improving government through the application of information technology.  ACT-IAC provides an objective, ethical and trusted forum where government and industry  exchange information and collaborate on technology issues in the public sector.  It was a privilege for me to be the opening speaker prior to the participants spending several days of intense discussions and collaboration. I talked about the future of the Internet and how healthcare is being positively impacted by the evolution of the Internet. My slides (presented using Keynote from the iPad2) can be found in the presentations section of patrickWeb. The flight back was clear and smooth at 38,000 feet but the descent into Westchester County Airport took us all the way down to decision height before we could see any lights.

Tags: CIO, decision height, Healthcare, healthcare it, homestead, hot springs, Internet Technology, ipad, IT, westchester county airport

Ridgefield Men’s Club

The Ridgefield Men’s Club, founded in 1984, is a group of retired or near-retired men from varied careers in business and the professions. Some day, when I grow up, I hope to be a member. At this stage I am neither retired nor near-retired. The waiting list is 3-4 years long, so perhaps when I get to be 70 (and still e-tired), I can become a member. The club states its purpose is to provide and promote fellowship. They offer activities in a dozen or more groups such as bridge, computers, personal finance, fishing, wood carving, and hiking. The Club provides a way for members to maintain old friendships and make new ones, enjoy a cup of coffee on meeting days, hear a good speaker, and plan activities together. Last month, I had the privilege to give a talk about the Internet at a Club meeting, and below is a review that followed in the Club newsletter.

Oracle of the Internet – John Patrick

Our club has been favored over the years by hardworking, talented and well-informed Program Managers who consistently have brought us outstanding speakers. We have had a key representative of the Irish Republic describe, from an inside perspective, the momentous “Good Friday” accords, the forensic archaeologist who just completed a detailed study of Hitler’s demise, the Principle Investigator of NASA’s team of scientists charged with analysis of a comet collision with Jupiter and now the man who’s name is synonymous with ‘Visionary of the Future of the Internet’. He is John Patrick a Ridgefielder and friend of the club. After 38 years at IBM in a range of assignments including VP of Internet Technology, John is currently President of Attitude LLC and a world renowned figure in the field.

John first took us on a tour of his grasp of where the net is now in its potential for further fundamental development. He followed this by a survey of some of its basic characteristics and their likely directions for additional blossoming. In the same inimitable fashion as we have seen him exhibit  before , he then captured the key features of this complex maze in a set of 8 simple words and phrases viz. Fast, Always on, Everywhere, Natural, iPad Heaven, Intelligence, Easy and Trusted. As an awed listener I cannot hope to relate all the fascinating aspects of each as he so glibly rolled on in his relaxed but nevertheless clearly focused talk. I would like to touch on some of the highlights that struck me.

In thinking about all these other aspects of the net it’s important to keep in mind John’s overview of where we are right now. Against the background of the phenomenal growth and penetration into so many aspects of our lives in such a short time, John categorizes the age of internet applications and its scope as entering adolescence! (What will this all come to when it matures?)

Before getting any further into details though, there was an overarching theme that John wove through the whole presentation and that was the main driver he sees on the future highway of Internet development will be … Healthcare. Many of the examples that he used for instance are related to that application. And he did not hesitate to repeat it quite frequently. The importance he associates with the subject is supported by his mention in passing that he himself is studying on-line of course, medical technology.

The role of the classic PC as the prime entryway to the Internet is rapidly coming to its end. The net is now at your fingertips if you so choose. To us old guys, it’s reminiscent of the way Dick Tracy had his concept of the world of information on his wrist in the cartoonist label of “Wrist Radio”

At the conclusion of his fascinating presentation, John graciously encouraged questions from the very attentive audience. Questions ranged over a broad spectrum of aspects including privacy issues, marketing strategies, investment opportunities, etc. Only the exigencies of allocated time brought this session to a conclusion marked by a very warm and prolonged round of applause.

Tags: Internet Technology, john patrick, Ridgefield, Ridgefield Men's Club

Wired Disruptions – 2011

The train ride early Tuesday morning from Connecticut to Grand Central was followed by a subway ride to Bowling Green with a stop at Wall Street. It was then a short walk along Battery Park to The Museum of Jewish Heritage to attend the WIRED Business Conference: Disruptive By Design. Attending technology conferences is a good way to keep connected with the latest trends and developments that are changing the world. The Wired Business Conference–they call it Disruptive by Design–was very well organized and loaded with interesting speakers. I missed the conference last year due to a calendar conflict, but comments from the first year’s conference are here.

Chris Anderosn, editor of Wired, kicked off the conference with a string of good sound bytes: the end of physical media, embracing change, disruption is the ultimate change. He used the tablet computer as an example. He didn’t say iPad, perhaps becuase the first speaker was Bill Gates. Another tangible example of disruptive change is the iPhone.  He gave Apple credit for re-imagining  what a phone could be and cited Google for having opened up the idea to huge numbers of innovators with Android. Chris said that one of the biggest dangers of cars today is texting, and Google’s autonomous cars may be the solution. Chris’s favorite topic is the decomcritizatin of production, and this came up in detail with other speakers.

A nice feature of the conference was that each attendee received a keypad to answer instant polls throughout the day. The first poll was to predict where the Dow would finish at the end of 2011. 63% said 14,100.

I have seen Bill Gates at many conferences over the years, but this is the first time that he never mentioned the PC. He was there to talk about about energy, mainly nuclear energy. He knows an incredible amount about the subject and is an investor in dozens of energy companies. He started by saying that the status quo is unacceptable. Energy is fundamental to just about everything. Reducing the cost of energy through technology could have more positive impact than anything a political leader could do. He discussed three key factors: cost, environment, and security. The good news about nuclear is that there hasn’t been any innovation and that very modest progress can make a huge difference. The 40-year-old designs did not have the benefit of computer simulation and simulation changes the game. New designs can permit a total and safe shutdown, no matter what catastrophe might occur. There are 400 reactors in the world: 100 in U.S., 70 in France.  Japan, China, and Russia growing their nuclear capability aggressively. There are 4 or 5 new 4th generation designs — one of them by a company Gates is an investor in. “Coal-based energy kills very large numbers of people, but only a few at a time, which politicians prefer.” Solar electric and solar chemical have the most long term potential but further breakthroughs are needed. Wind has to be subsidized by a factor of 2 and solar by 5. The amount of IQ working on energy is night and day more than years ago. An exception is ethanol, which has nothing to do with emissions — it is a farm subsidy. China works day and night to solve very difficult engineering problems and they likely will use robotics in making batteries for electric cars. If the entire U.S. was powered by nuclear, the waste could all be stored in one place for hundreds of years. Hydrogen doesn’t make sense. No mention of computers or software or tablets.

It was a superb day, featuring interviews and panels moderated by Chris Anderson and other Wired writers. A few more highlights follow. All of the content is available at wired.com.

Poll: Where do you consume most of your news 6% print, 51% web 31 % mobile devices.

Martha Stewart talked about how her company designs products and sells through others. $1.6  billion through Macy’s last year. She has built 21 kitchens of her own. She had some good soundbytes too: “There is always room for improvement.” What things did not work out well for you? “Going to jail.” “I love coming up with ideas.” Martha loves her iPad and doesn’t travel with a laptop anymore. She said you have to be where the customer is. “Always satisfy the customer.” “You must invest in the future if you are going to be in the future. Change is good.” I have heard her talk before and continue to be impressed. She is very progressive.

Salman Khan is the founder of Khan Academy and he has a vision to tutor billions of people online. He started Khan Academy on YouTube with a few ten minute segments for friends and family. He has now produced 2,100 online videos in math, science and the humanities, and has two million viewers per month watching hundreds of thousands of videos. Students work at their own pace. Teachers can monitor progress. A free world-class education for anyone anywhere. The Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. “We are a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere.” All of the site’s resources are available to anyone. It doesn’t matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. The Khan Academy’s materials and resources are free.

Poll: 39% said we are in a bubble but only the dumb will be hurt.

Nick Mountz CEO of Kiva Systems talked about networks of robots in warehouses that are part of a network that figures out where to go to pick up one of tens of thousands of products and take it to a packer who is packing packages. Kiva is revolutionizing physical distribution.

Poll: Future of U.S. manufacturing: 41% said high-value goods designed here and made overseas.

Carl Bass, CEO of Autodesk, and Chris discussed the trend to self-manufacture. Design at home, print it in 3D, or send your design to a company that makes it or makes it into a kit that you put together. TechShop has the machines that can fabricate whet you design. TechShop is a membership-based workshop that provides members with access to tools and equipment, instruction, and a community of creative and supportive people so you can build the things you have always wanted to make. They have three locations open and four more opening soon, including one in Brooklyn. The democritization of manufacturing has many implications. You can capture a 3D image with an iPhone–you take ten phontos and it can be made into a 3D design. You could take a picture of a piece of furniture in a store and then have it made — cheap. Self-manufacturing is at the prototyping stage but Chris and others think millions of people will want to do this.

The Wired conference is definitely on top of the latest trends. They were first to have an iPad magazine. Whether it is iPad or print, reading Wired allows one to know where things are headed. The added attraction of the conference, as always, is catching up with friends and colleagues from days past.

Tags: autodesk, bill bates, khan academy, kiva, martha stewart, self-manufacturing, techshop, wired

R2D2 – WiFi – 1xRTT

A high school teacher named Kristen wrote to say that her students had been using some web pages from the patrickWeb blog as a source of information for their studies and projects. The posting below is one of the pages they found useful. The story was originally posted on June 10, 2003. One of the students in Kristen’s class, Brian, contributed an additional link to the blog that he has found particularly valuable in using Linux. I am grateful to all readers for using patrickWeb and especially appreciate it when they make suggestions or report errors in the site. Having just updated the site to an all new design, I am sure there will be some bugs that are discovered.

WiFi is such a clean and user-friendly name. WiFi stands for “wireless fidelity” and it is based on a standard called 802.11 — but who cares? It is becoming a household name, more and more available, and extremely useful. The information technology and telecommunications industries often get enamored with the technical name or the name of a standard and then these “tech-names” take on a life of their own — even though they may be next to impossible to remember, spell, or understand. An example is the technology used in the Sprint PCS wireless service which I use with my ThinkPad. It is referred to as 1xRTT. Somewhat like R2D2 except that I think most people know what R2D2 is.

According to Webopedia.com, 1xRTT is short for single carrier (1x) radio transmission technology, a 3G wireless technology based on the CDMA platform. 1xRTT has the capability of providing ISDN-like speeds of up to 144 Kbps. 1xRTT is also referred to as CDMA2000. Clear as mud? What are 3G and CDMA? Again, according to Webopedia.com, 3G is an ITU specification for the third generation (analog cellular was the first generation, digital PCS the second) of mobile communications technology. 3G promises increased bandwidth, up to 384 Kbps when a device is stationary or moving at pedestrian speed, 128 Kbps in a car, and 2 Mbps in fixed applications. 3G will work over wireless air interfaces such as GSM, TDMA, and CDMA. The new EDGE air interface has been developed specifically to meet the bandwidth needs of 3G. Seems that each definition leads to several others.

CDMA is short for Code-Division Multiple Access, a digital cellular technology that uses spread-spectrum techniques. Unlike competing systems, such as GSM, that use TDMA, CDMA does not assign a specific frequency to each user. Instead, every channel uses the full available spectrum. Individual conversations are encoded with a pseudo-random digital sequence. CDMA is a military technology first used during World War II by the English allies to foil German attempts at jamming transmissions. The allies decided to transmit over several frequencies, instead of one, making it difficult for the Germans to pick up the complete signal. Because Qualcomm Inc. created communications chips for CDMA technology, it was privy to the classified information. Once the information became public, Qualcomm claimed patents on the technology and became the first to commercialize it.

As for what to use, I’ll stick with WiFi. When on the train or other places that don’t have WiFi yet, I continue to use the Sprint PCS service. Or is it 1xRTT? Or 3G? Or CDMA? It really is a good service, albeit expensive. I rarely get the advertised 100 kbps+ speed but it is usually at least 50 kbps. The best part is that there are no wires and if the signal is lost, it reconnects when a strong enough signal reappears. I hope the definitions were useful to those may have been curious like me. I found them at Webopedia, which is one of internet.com‘s network of more than 160 Web sites. They have the sites organized into 16 channels. You can find further information at Internet.com.

Other patrickWeb stories about WiFi

Tags: Internet Technology, internet.com, WiFi

Kindle Books Overtake Paperback Books

TechCrunch reported that Kindle Books Overtake Paperback Books To Become Amazon’s Most Popular Format. Last July Amazon’s Kindle eReader books had surpassed hardcover books in terms of sales, selling 143 Kindle books for every 100 hardcover books. Paperbacks have now also fallen behind with the Kindle selling 115 books for every 100 paperbacks. Hardcover books are now half of Kindle e-books, and there are now more than 800,000 e-books to choose from.

iPad stories on patrickWeb
Other gadget related stories on patrickWeb

Tags: amazon, books, ipad, Kindle