Topic: Business
Everyone has too many distractions and too many fires to put out. How can you stay aware of the status of your systems and prioritize events that interrupt your day? Conrad Albrecht-Buehler presents "Heed": Simpler than a dashboard, but more informative. Less disruptive than an alarm, it helps you keep an eye on your systems and gives you a more usable warning when things are going to blow!
Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with author, Jeremy Rifkin, about his research on economics, technology, progress and sustainability, published in his new book, The Empathic Civilization - The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis.
As the release of smart phones and tablet PCs fill technology reports Brian Roberts reminds us that cable TV is still a part of most people's lifestyle. Talking about the development of On Demand television and an impending application store for your TV, the idea of technological convergence between computer and TV seems ever closer. John Battelle challenges Roberts to answer questions on the future of cable in an online video world.
Do great ideas just pop into the heads of lucky geniuses? Getting ideas on a reliable basis is important in a business culture. Brainstorming, although 80 years in existence, is still not well understood. Gayle Curtis explains the rules of brainstorming, or structured ideation, and how proper brainstorming not only promotes ideas, but also promotes a culture of respect, acceptance of points-of-view, and an attitude that continues to foster better ideas.
For every design decision, a host of factors guide the outcome and subsequent user behavior. Often the factors are not rational or reasonable, but rather based on emotion. Behavioral economists are learning what designers already know instinctively: These emotions can be leveraged in the decision-making moment to achieve a desired behavioral end. David Fetherstonhaugh tells us how designers are using behavioral economics, and why it is successful.
In the information age, we can collect more data than ever about our lives and activities. But we rarely use that data to effectively drive decisions by government, corporations, or even individuals. Joy Mountford shares examples from her work that show the beauty of data and its visualization.
How can good design reduce coffee cup waste? Or improve prescription drug compliance? When people encounter down sides to our spectacular modern products and services, how can designers create solutions? Brynn Evans and Krista Sanders talk about how to use design thinking to peel apart "squirrelly-wicked problems." Their methods balance the needs of businesses and users to find solutions people are willing to embrace.
Everyone uses Linux: if they use Google, trade on-line, or use ATMs. Linux is the most ubiquitous OS in everything from cell phones to TVs, precisely because, Jim Zemlin of the Linux Foundation argues, it is free. As convergence between connectivity and device happens, network carriers and device-makers scramble to control a new service-based distribution. Zemlin urges continued protection and support of open-source through the filing of 'defensive publications' with the USPTO, and participation in several open-source projects.
Although the definition of cloud computing can seem somewhat cloudy, it's a good thing to understand for business. Canonical's Simon Wardley argues with humor that "the cloud" represents a natural marketing-cycle progression for IT; from innovation, to product, to service utility. Given the constant pressure toward commoditization, business must keep up, and consider offering cloud services. He introduces Eucalyptus, a tool to build, experiment, and test-deploy virtual enterprise cloud computing.
With the arrival of the Obama administration, a new attitude of openness and transparency of the Internet and other technologies is being espoused. In an overview of this new change of position, Maura Corbett outlines the government's desire to establish a non-discrimination policy and thus keep the Internet open and protected. In the second half of the program Corbett takes questions about this policy.
