| Five Regions of the Future | | Posted Monday, February 06, 2006 11:15:32 AM by Rose Martins | The book Five Regions of the Future by Joel A. Barker and Scott W. Erickson, discusses the future of technological opportunity. "Super Tech" is the term they use to refer to everything considered to be "bigger and better" such as nuclear power plants and SUV's.
 "Limits Tech" is the term they use to refer to resources that are conserved such as recycling and birth control. "Local Tech" is the term they use to refer to small thinking and technology that is suitable to the local needs. The example they give is the Segway scooter.
"Nature Tech" is the term ephasizing natural based solutions such as ethanol fuel and spider silk based materials. "Human Tech" is the term for the focus on human operations such as gene therapy and microlending (in the business world).
In this book, the authors don't judge or share an opinion on which technology they deem best, but rather present each with it's advantages and disadvantages and their suggestions as to how they see each technology developing in the future.
The entrepreneur of today can read this technological book and use the ideas shared as pathways to exploit future opportunities. Throughout the book, Barker and Erickson refer readers to a wide number of technological experts and gurus in the various fields of technology.
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| | | Photo books are easy | | Posted Thursday, December 28, 2006 12:47:12 PM by Blog57 Team | | I have been a big fan of photo books, these new self-published editions that let users create photo collections that look professional with high-quality paper and bound covers. I have tried many of these over the years, mostly as gifts for my parents, wife and friends. Some results were excellent; others were, to be polite, less so. One of the most frustrating parts is the software provided to make the books usually is very rigid and not very customizable. However, one of the pioneers in the field, My Publisher (www.mypublisher.com), has released a new version of its software that lets users do much more. Its BookMaker 2.0 is an excellent way to make one of these books with either a Mac or Windows computer. You start by downloading the free software, which takes only moments over a high speed connection.... | |
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| | | Alibris U.K. Launches with 60 Million New and Second-Hand Books for U.K. and European Book Lovers | | Posted Tuesday, November 14, 2006 10:47:31 PM by Blog57 Team | | Alibris, the premier online destination for new and second-hand books in the United States, announced today the launch of its U.K. Web site and a drive to expand into international book markets. Alibris U.K. ( www.alibris.co.uk ) provides convenient access to more than 60 million new, out-of-print, rare, and second-hand books to English-speaking consumers throughout the United Kingdom and sixteen countries in Europe. "Alibris now delivers a huge selection of books-faster, at lower prices, and in local currency," noted Alibris Chairman and CEO Martin Manley. Book lovers in the U.K., Ireland, and Europe can now turn to Alibris U.K. for books they thought they'd never find. The Web site enables shoppers to order from thousands of independent booksellers based in their hometown, in their own country, and in overseas locations.... | |
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| | | NAB books $83m software blowout | | Posted Sunday, November 05, 2006 10:49:02 AM by Blog57 Team | | THE National Australia Bank has suffered an $83 million blowout in its capitalised software balance, just two years after it moved to reduce the value of software on its books through a painful write down. According to NAB's full year accounts for the 12 months to September 30, the bank's capitalised software balance jumped from $614 million a year ago to $697 million. The steep rise undid a number of recent reductions of the bank's capitalised software balance, which peaked at $955 million in 2003 and was substantially reduced in 2004 thanks to a $200 million write down of its infamous Integrated Systems Implementation. The bank did not provide an explanation for the sudden rise in the value of software on its books but it has been engaged in a number of technology projects as part of a sweeping restructure of the business.... | |
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| | | Suddenly, the idea of Prime Minister Brown seems a frightening prospect | | Posted Thursday, October 26, 2006 10:47:10 PM by Blog57 Team | | When you hear that a Japanese library is about to start using palm-vein technology to recognise the borrowers taking out its books, what is your instinctive reaction? Do you think, how marvellous - I've spent years worrying that someone might nick my identity and start taking out Anita Desai and Agatha Christie under my name? Or do you think, hang on a minute - that plastic library card has really been no hassle, and I really don't want to find myself living in the tracking and surveillance world of Minority Report? .... | |
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| | | Mapmaker turns 150 with new focus on innovation after moving slowly on technology | | Posted Tuesday, October 17, 2006 2:47:34 PM by Blog57 Team | | SKOKIE | As the Great Chicago Fire was ravaging the city in 1871, William Rand and Andrew McNally saved their business by burying two printing machines on the sandy Lake Michigan shore.No such clear-cut solution emerged to preserve Rand McNally & Co.'s dominance more than a century later, when the mapmaker lost its way in the age of the Internet. But following two ownership changes and a bankruptcy reorganization, the storied company appears to have finally regained its bearings. A sales decline has been reversed, the company says profitability is up over 30 percent since its 2003 overhaul and it is even poised to make acquisitions.Left behind in the online mapping revolution by comparative upstarts Mapquest.com, Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc., Rand McNally is marking its 150th anniversary year by aggressively playing catch-up with a raft of new products designed to capitalize on its famous brand name.A push into electronic gadgets and navigational software is part of the effort, including the release this fall of the Rand McNally GPS Navigator.... | |
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| | | BULLETIN BOARD | | Posted Sunday, October 08, 2006 10:47:56 AM by Blog57 Team | | Bay Books is now open at 131 Main Street in Old Town Bay St. Louis. The local, independent bookstore, owned by Kay Gough, sells fiction, Southern fiction, science, history, children's, cookbooks, mystery, home design, decorating and gardening titles. Special orders also are available. Hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Details: 463-2688 or baybooks @bellsouth.net Mayer Electric Supply moves to Popp's Ferry Mayer Electric Supply has moved to 1746 Popp's Ferry Road, less than a mile off the Cedar Lake Road exit of Interstate 10. Mayer is the former Biloxi Electric Supply. Mayer is a family-owned business, which was started in 1930 and is also a certified woman-owned business. E.J. Parker is the branch manager of the Biloxi store.... | |
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| | | The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard ... | | Posted Monday, October 02, 2006 12:47:35 PM by Blog57 Team | | CINCINNATI, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Somatic Digital announced today that it has gained a U.S. Government purchase order to provide NASA Goddard Flight Center with a Touch User Interface (TUI) platform also known as the TouchBook(TM). (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051216/CLF013LOGO) The TUI is to the printed page what the Graphic User Interface (GUI) is to the computer screen. It is an open convergence technology that enables readers of normally printed materials to touch the page and retrieve digital content or launch communication applications on a computer. Currently, the TUI can retrieve digital content and launch communication applications via Windows XP® or Mac OS X®. The functions that can be driven from a web page can also be conducted from a printed page.... | |
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| | | Lulu.com Frees Authors with 'Published By You' Distribution Service for Books | | Posted Friday, September 29, 2006 6:47:34 AM by Blog57 Team | | Lulu.com, the technology company that put the ability to publish a book in the hands of everyone with access to a computer and the Internet, last week introduced a new service that gives self-published authors an unprecedented level of independence not only from conventional publishing houses, but from Lulu.com itself. "Published By You," a new service available through Lulu.com working in close coordination with the U.S. ISBN Agency, allows author-publishers to own the ISBNs for the books they publish. ISBNs, or International Standard Book Numbers, are the 13-digit numbers, usually appearing in bar-code format, that publishers and retailers use to facilitate the sales and distribution of books. "Our joint effort addresses an urgent need in an exploding market of self- publishers, a portable ISBN which is owned by the self publisher," explains Andrew Pate, Lulu.com VP.... | |
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| | | The Forefront of Technology begins with Innovation Alley | | Posted Tuesday, September 19, 2006 2:48:24 PM by Blog57 Team | | Research Triangle Park, NC (18 September 2006) - Inspired by the limitless capabilities technology brings to our lives, ISA EXPO 2006 Innovation Alley Czar Dick Morley is pushing the boundaries once again. Morley has searched the world for the most unique, cutting-edge, and future-focused technologies. The companies that have been chosen will be featured in Innovation Alley at ISA Expo 2006, 17-19 October at the Reliant Center in Houston, Texas. Attendees and journalists will have a chance to see the latest developments in the industry and meet the technologists who are pushing the limits. Communicating the adventure of technology, the excitement, innovation, and joy in building something where nothing existed before is at the core of Innovation Alley. The Alley will provide an opportunity for attendees to see the future, along with the commercial innovations of today's automation hardware, software, and service suppliers that are presented in the traditional exhibits.... | |
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| | | It's back-to-school time for new business strategies | | Posted Monday, September 04, 2006 8:50:25 AM by Blog57 Team | | School's back in session. All over the country, kids and college students are going back to classes. It's time for us, as businesspeople, to start learning again, too. Once we're through with school, we may also think we're through with the chance to learn new things. But in all of life, and especially in business, continual learning keeps us fresh, competitive, motivated. Learning isn't just for kids. But most of us don't want to go back to school itself. Fortunately, there are many ways to keep learning that don't involve signing up for semester-long courses. .... | |
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