Ocean (surface) to Space (air space) February 6, 2015

I heard two stories on NPR yesterday morning that both grabbed my attention and I linked in my head. I wonder if anyone else will? One was on tracking illegal fishing. Its very difficult to do. Fish that are illegal to take in one area are not in others and once the fish is off the boat that caught it you loose track. So John Amos  who runs Sky Truth in West Virginia uses the automatic identification system (AIS) that ships to avoid collision to do just this. AIS uses VHF radio to communicate location, vessel information and other data one to another, and to satellites that then gather that information and make it available on the internet. I just took a look at our area on http://www.marinetraffic.com/. Its pretty fascinating. Radar has been the primary collision avoidance for boat for a long while but there are times it does not work so well. Over horizons, in bad weather of if you are a very low boat, like our sailboat and a large ship which is headed your way and cannot turn to avoid a close encounter. Amos uses this to plot movement of boats on the other side of the world and coordinate with officials when they think that a boat is involved in illegal fishing so they can intercept it before it leaves the area or transfers the catch to another boat. Pretty clever use of existing technology I think. See:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2015/02/05/383562379/gotcha-satellites-help-strip-seafood-pirates-of-their-booty

Then I heard another story on an U.N. agency that is holding a conferece on how we can track airliners during their flights. Our current tracking is very limited so once a plane is way out there we just have to hope it is going to come back into view again. They want to have a system where the plane transmits its position heading and other vital information every 15 minutes. Sounds like they just need to go over to West Marine and pick up some AIS enabled radios. Get them for about $300. OK I know, its not anywhere near that simple. And you would want the air traffic on a different frequency. Either that or with different encoding. But the technology has already been tested and is in use world wide.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/02/05/383963482/new-standards-for-tracking-aircraft-in-flight

iTunes in Decline, and I Agree. January 7, 2015

A recent online article on NPR talked about how iTunes is losing its following, not only because it is so hard copy centric in a cloud world but is clunky to use and getting worse.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2015/01/06/375173595/with-downloads-in-decline-can-itunes-adapt

I tried to use it myself, and really worked hard a trying to understand why I couldn’t just do what I wanted to and so gave up. And I lost all the work I had done when the old desktop went away. I have a lot of CD’s and other music I have already purchased and I want access to it. iTunes almost works, but sounds like it will never be there.

I’ve looked around but have not seen anything that does what we wanted iTunes to do. Store our music somewhere that is accessible from multiple locations, like both my office and the living room and have a interface that keeps it all organized they way I want it organized.

Going for the XPrise November 13, 2014

I’ve been noticing announcements about this group, what are they? They are a non-profit that partners with others to sponsor public competitions to discover uses of technology to benefit humanity. I like that. They get involved with space exploration, the oceans, cleaning up the environment, healthcare and education. You can sign up for a email about events and they are on Google+ and do Hangouts from time to time. The next on is coming up November 18, 2014 at 1:00 PM. Alas, I am busy at that time.

I do not like their web site, lots of rotating banners which have proven to turn people off, and clicking on them does nothing. So you see something interesting scroll by and, . . . , sorry its gone.

I was looking at the Visioneering section, an annual event, apparently one in 2012? 2013 and its not on their web site but there was one in May 2014 as well. Some of the ideas discussed intrigued me. Web In a Box is a cool idea, a portable emergency neighborhood WiFi hotspot. Reminded me of DEKA’s deal with Coke to make community centers in a shipping container for clean drinking water, supplies and internet access.

The winner for 2013 was Forbidden Energy, getting energy from places not normally used for energy but I have not found anything on it yet.

Also Ali Velshi was on the rotating banners. I used to like him when he was on CNN. Now he is on Al Jazeera America. WIll have to try to look up what his connection was as well.

The 2014 had topics like Disaster Prediction and Response and  The Future of Cities, both topics I want to know more about.

IBM Partners with 28 Business Schools and Universities to Help Train Tomorrow’s Data Scientists – United States May 29, 2014

New programs provide big data and analytics degree seekers with skills that merge business and IT for successful data science careers

ARMONK, N.Y. – 28 May 2014: IBM (NYSE: IBM[1]) today announced it is partnering with 28 new business schools and universities to help prepare students for the 4.4 million jobs[2] that will be created worldwide to support big data[3] by 2015.

Working hand in hand with universities and business schools gearing up for the upcoming Fall 2014 semester, IBM is helping expand and launch new curricula providing students with business knowledge and IT skills for data intensive careers. For example,Case Western Reserve University[4] is offering a new undergraduate program in data science and analytics that will provide a broad range of students with industry-specific skills to capitalize on big data for competitive advantage.

The explosion of big data has rapidly created a global and industry-wide opportunity for job candidates who can uncover insights from data to solve problems and act on findings quickly. Between now and 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a faster-than-average increase[5] in employment opportunities for computer and information research scientists. Yet, a recent IBM CFO study noted that even though 82 percent of those surveyed see the value of integrating enterprise-wide data, only 24 percent think their team is up to the task. Educators and employers must work together to narrow this skills gap.

IBM is helping to ensure the explosive demand for data scientists is met by partnering with the following universities to offer Big Data and Analytics curricula: Arizona State University, Babson College, Boston University, Case Western Reserve University, Dakota State University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Illinois State University, Indiana University, Iowa State University, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University,Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, San Jose State University, Southern Methodist University, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, University of Arkansas Fayetteville, University of Denver, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Maryland – College Park, University of Massachusetts Boston, University of Missouri, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, University of Tennessee – Chattanooga, University of Tennessee – Knoxville, University of Virginia and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

“Taking advantage of the transformational opportunity presented by Big Data and Analytics has become a key priority for organizations around the globe,” said Bob Picciano, Senior Vice President, Information and Analytics Group, IBM. “To embrace this growing opportunity, companies today must hire a workforce with a broad range of Big Data and Analytics expertise. IBM is dedicated to partnering with academic institutions and providing students with the skills needed to make an impact.”

Unlocking data to make better business decisions has become a crucial part of success across a variety of professions. In fact, 83 percent of business leaders[6] cite big data and analytics an important part of their plan to enhance competitiveness. By partnering with both universities and business schools, IBM is helping develop curricula that mix both business and IT skills. For instance, students can build depth and breadth across multiple disciplines and become more marketable to future employers by applying a minor in Analytics to a major in Business, Marketing or Mathematics.

“Working with IBM, our goal is to design programs that will provide students with big data and analytics domain expertise,” said Case Western Reserve University Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Don Feke, who is leading development of the new programs with faculty from across our campus. “In addition, by offering both a major and a minor in data science, we can essentially ‘data enable’ a wide range of students including those studying computer science, mathematics, communications and marketing. The opportunity is far reaching.”

Working with IBM, these 28 business schools and universities will join the more than 1,000 institutions that already have access to the latest Big Data and Analytics-focused technology innovations, hardware, curricula material, project-focused case studies, guest lecturers, and faculty awards to help accelerate curricula development. For example:

• Boston University’s Metropolitan College[7] is offering a Master of Science degree in Computer Information Systems with a concentration in Database Management & Business Intelligence to help equip students with the latest skills needed to manage the explosion of data in today’s modern enterprise.
• Case Western Reserve University[8] is launching a new undergraduate program in data science and analytics in the Fall 2014 semester. This effort includes a major and a minor in applied data science, and eventually a post-baccalaureate certificate program.
• Johns Hopkins University’s DC-based Center for Advanced Governmental Studies[9] is offering a Master of Science in Government Analytics and a Certificate in Government Analytics to provide students with the needed skills to address contemporary political, policy and governance challenges.
• University of Missouri[10] is developing an interdisciplinary Master of Science in Data Science and Analytics degree, providing students with access to IBM’s Open Cloud Architecture to have a comprehensive skill set in building, deploying, and managing cloud resources to analyze big data in journalism, engineering, informatics, and learning analytics.

These new university partnerships support IBM’s Academic Initiative[11], which includes a larger network of more than 30,000 unique partnerships between IBM and higher education professionals to help advance curriculum in areas including Big Data and Analytics, Cloud Computing, Security and Social Business. IBM also recruits from universities and business schools throughout the U.S. via career fairs and info sessions, leading classroom discussions and participating in student organization events.

IBM has established the world’s deepest portfolio of Big Data and Analytics technology that spans research and development, solutions and software. IBM has invested $24 billion to build its capabilities in Big Data and Analytics through R&D and more than 30 acquisitions. Today, more than 15,000 analytics consultants, 6,000 industry solution business partners, and 400 IBM mathematician are helping clients use big data to transform their organizations.

For more information about the IBM Academic Initiative, please visit: http://www-304.ibm.com/ibm/university/academic/pub/page/academic_initiative[12]

For more information about IBM Big Data and Analytics, please visit http://www.ibm.com/big-data/us/en/big-data-and-analytics/[13]

The Slingshot that could kill the water shortage giant May 28, 2014

I read a great article in the current (June 2014) issue of Popular Science on Dean Kamen of DEKA R&D in Manchester, New Hampshire. The list of inventions he and his company have developed is very impressive, but I was even more impressed with they focus on making the world a better place. The Slingshot, which sprung from another project to create a better dialysis machine, one that could sit on a patient’s bed side table and work while they slept. But then he realized there was opportunity to use the water purifier which he created to make the dialysis machine practical to provide clean drinking water in developing countries, especially where disasters exacerbate the problem. And partnering with Coca-Cola to distribute it was genius.

Take a look at the Coca-Cola Ecocenter here:

http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/slingshot-how-it-works

And read more about Kamen at:

http://www.popsci.com/node/135127

Zingerman’s 12 Natural Laws of Business May 26, 2014

HD Phones? January 6, 2014

There is a lot of hoopla going ’round about cell phones with better voice quality. That three octaves is not enough, we should have enough fidelity to audition for the Met on our phones. Three octaves are plenty for human voice and that would be fine for the users if it was reliable and not garbled. I know, I talk to many customers, and others were I work and I always sigh a bit when I realize that they are using a cell phone for their convenience, never mind how often they have to repeat themselves to be understood. It is not a fidelity problem. 

I wonder if they are using this as a distraction, and the real effort is to provide reliability? You do not want to admit that is poor. So touting HD is exciting and in the meanwhile you fix the other issues. I hope I am correct. 

Leap Motion controler September 13, 2013

I admire the ingenuity and savviness of the two inventors David Holtz and Michael Buckwald and what they have done to create a new device from off the shelf components and some very not off the shelf math. Very efficient math. I was all set to get one as soon as it was announced but held off not know if I would have the time to play with it. They received a warm welcome at SXSW 2013 from what I hear, and there are many apparently coming up with apps for it. But the reviews I read online are not that great. So what do you do with it? Its billed as a new GUI to replace our rather klutzy keyboard and mouse interfaces. I would love to have something better for doing drawings. I have been drawing and sketching for my whole life but started using what is now called CAD before it was called CAD. But oh, how painful not to be able to just touch the screen to add and move lines.

I can’t quite imagine moving objects around, and giving commands just be waving my hands in the air. What is the paradigm for that? Maybe a conductor or a traffic copy or an airliner parker does that, and some people talk with there hands, but in general we touch something, have tactile feedback. So I think my desire for easier CAD has already been solved with touch sensitive tablets.

One use might be to control robots. Be can you imagine what happens when the person gets frustrated and throws up their hands? Perhaps if the robot is intelligent enough to realize, “Oh, you are upset with me. How can I do better?”

On the road to virtualization. January 23, 2013

Yesterday I set up my new Thinkcentre M91P and got connected to it from my laptop using the vSphere Client. That was pretty easy to do, just find out what the ip address of the box running VMWare ESXi and then download the client and install.

Next I need to register on their site so I can get a license key for the host.

Landing on Mars! August 6, 2012

The landing of Curiosity on Mars last night brought back memories of projects I have worked on where the was a long delay between action and knowing that it worked. The round trip time for radio signals to Mars is about eight minutes minimum, 42 minutes maximum. So it was flying on its on as an autonomous vehicle and the reports from missing control were well after the fact. I can imagine the tension, and then the relief and excitement.

I remember a moment like that when we were tracking the first manned pass behind the moon. It was my very own downlink voice radio we were listening with at the Collins Radio tacking station. The long wait, everyone looking at each other, waiting for the first signal back as they reappeared, to us, from behind the moon.

And another time when I was working on unmanned autonomous underwater vehicles at the University of New Hampshire. Some missions were long, and many were failures, but the day it came back to us with recorded data proving it had been were we sent it and done what we asked was a moment of great jubilation. And there were only two of us there that day to sing the log.