Sayan’s BlogWorld

Robert Metcalfe, inventor of the Ethernet and of the ‘Metcalfe’s Law’ fame gives his take on why he thinks IT still is of strategic value. He specifically targets the recent Harvard Business Review article by its then executive editor Nicholas G. Carr titled �IT Doesn�t Matter.�

From chips to cartograms. This is an interesting insight on how problems can be answered with solutions from a different discipline. The article goes on to say “….other areas of science require a quick method of making computerized cartograms. Mapping of census data, real-time election results or the geographic spread of illnesses like the flu are examples.

Yak farmers in the mountains of Nepal are using wireless internet technology to keep in touch with their families….now looking at ways of using the wi-fi network for distance learning as there is a shortage of qualified teachers in the area.

Scientists have found nanobacteria in artery deposits. One more reason to stay off the junk food counter in the cafeteria.

Organic waste to oil conversion with over 80% using Thermal Conversion Process technology. More info here.

This technology has the potential to increast the efficiency of solar cells to 60%. Excerpt: “Today’s commercial solar cells can use anywhere from 10 percent to 35 percent……Los Alamos researchers have found that it is possible to increase a cell’s energy production by making each photon move two electrons………….resulting in a solar cell with a potential efficiency of over 60 percent. The method could also be used to make more efficient amplifiers, lasers, switches and light absorbers………….”

Holy rats ! Rats to the rescue? The rodents seem to be one up against humans or even dogs when it comes to detecting landmines.

This article has a good overview of the potential hurdles facing a vernacular-based (Kannada in this case) eGovernance system for a large country like India. Another Linux Journal article (Linux Access in State and Local Government) also has some relevant insights regarding open-source initiatives for local governance.

This article has a good overview of the potential hurdles facing a vernacular-based (Kannada in this case) eGovernance system for a large country like India.

Blogging with the corporate enviornment is explored in this interesting article. Of course, the CIO’s may often face the dilemma of when to draw a line when to comes to such a open enviornment.

A virus to kill a virus, sounds interesting. By using a computer model of what happens to the immune system when it’s infected with HIV, Arkin and his colleagues have designed a potential AIDS treatment that would remain with the patient as long as he or she has HIV, meaning it would prevent AIDS from arising even in patients who otherwise would have developed the disease after a decade of latency. They also predict HIV would not become resistant to the virus.

But the catch is…. It’s also possible that HIV and the therapeutic virus could mutate around each other and recombine to make an altogether new virus.

Dr. Stuart Feldman, IBM’s resident visionary and leader of Big Blue’s Internet Technology division is co-chairing the 13th World Wide Web Conference. He has given this interviewing delving into the evolution of the next generation Internet.

Will this help to somewhat reduce the pollution on Indian streets? Of course, the answer is not so simple, but this is a positive step.

This has to be the smallest and most bizarre webserver in the world. The webserver code is only about 1K in size.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are helping computers recognize human faces. Not surprisingly, this research may also help people who suffer from ‘face blindness’. So now when you can’t recognize your long-lost childhood friend you can blame it on ‘prosopagnosia‘