MICROSOFT DATA LEAKS

Microsoft this evening belatedly admitted that Yahoo! Mail was in fact the data leak culprit in Windows Phone, just hours after Rafael had already proven that to be the problem. Here’s the note from Microsoft, which also includes information about another, semi-unrelated issue for some reason. WPS

THE NORDIC SOLUTION

What`s so special about the Nordic countries? Global Challenge, an independent think tank that provides solutions to global challenges relating to the fields of economy, environment and democracy, tried to find an answer in a new report that was published this week during the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The report was written in cooperation with Investor, the largest industrial holding company in Northern Europe, The Nordic Council of Ministers, an intergovernmental collaboration between the Nordic countries, and The Norden Association, a non-profit organization aimed to support the cross-border cooperation in the Nordic region. WFS

Godden's In This House Of Brede

The motto was "Pax," but the word was set in a circle of thorns. Pax: peace, but what a strange peace, made of unremitting toil and effort, seldom with a seen result; subject to constant interruptions, unexpected demands, short sleep at nights, little comfort, sometimes scant food; beset with disappointments and usually misunderstood; yet peace all the same, undying, filled with joy and gratitude and love. "It is my own peace I give unto you." Not, notice, the world's peace. I'vebeenreadinglately

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Always recognize that human individuals are ends, and do not use them as means to your end. 

William Ury, expert in negotiation, explains how to effectively persuade...

SCRAPING FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE

There's been some animosity towards people who scrape articles as if this is anything new or in some ways wrong or cheap. Maybe these antagonists are right, but it's been going on since the inception of radio and TV. What are networks, but a bundled array of scraped talent and entertainment. It's only the arrangement or combination of interests that differ one from the other and not necessarily their originality.


It's been said that everything has been done or invented; that new things will spring from the combination of pre-existing phenomena, so, though we might not like the reality it is non-the-less inevitable.


It's merely a difference in the manner in which we organize the things or intellectual property. Much like Google or Bing arranges the web.


I'm surprised that the "original" producers of content don't see this as a pro rather than a con when ubiquitous is very much here and now. The fact that someone has decided to present their content to an audience who might not natural happen upon it would seem very much to their advantage, like free PR on their behave.


For instance Google has been accused of filtering or skewing search results in favor of their own generated material. For those who feel so inclined to take that stand could very easily create a program that compares all the search and social networks against one another (search and social = one in the same) to come to a more accurate conclusion of societal perception on a given subject. (giving you the opportunity to make a few bucks) 


The important thing to take away from this isn't whether something is necessarily true or accurate, or who's producing the content, or how it's arranged, rather what opinion or view point when incorporated into your lifestyle most benefits you in a direct way, that produces the most impact possible. 


The rest is just a rat race over control.

HOME GROWN

Imagine: growing instead of building your own home and cultivating its organic and evolving structure, at one with the environment around it. Looking and sounding like something out of a science fiction novel, this quite literal “tree house” concept involves 100% natural materials,  futuristic forms and incredible eco-innovations. Dornob 

City, Ecology, Mobility - With Mitch Joachim, Terreform 1

NANOSAIL-D INTRIGUE

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Friday, Jan. 21 at 10 a.m. EST, engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., confirmed that the NanoSail-D nanosatellite deployed its 100-square-foot polymer sail in low-Earth orbit and is operating as planned. Actual deployment occurred on Jan. 20 at 10 p.m. EST and was confirmed today with beacon packets data received from NanoSail-D and additional ground-based satellite tracking assets. In addition, the NanoSail-D orbital parameter data set shows an appropriate change which is consistent with sail deployment. Nasa

MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

The risk we run in any prolonged depression is that of conservative and frugal behaviours taking root and giving birth to neo-minimalist ideologies. Society learns to be content and satisfied with what they have and works to fulfill it's needs rather than it's wants. TPD believes younger generations will become aware and wise to this particular school of thought much faster than anticipated which we hope will spread to future generations. Less is more isn't just a popular catch phrase of a generation it's a continuously evolving way of life. With environmental pressures mounting sustainability needs to be ever in the forefront of our minds.  

JANRAIN CAPTURE

Janrain Capture - Social Data Storage from Janrain on Vimeo.

THE NEW PASSWORD

The convenience promised by the Internet often seems to evaporate when you log in every morning. First comes the user name and password needed to boot up your smartphone or computer. Next, a different password to access your e-mail. Want a book at Amazon.com (AMZN)? Another password (what was your first pet's name again?) and often your credit-card information and address. Buying boots at Zappos.com, reserving a plane ticket, or checking your bank balance after all that spending? Get ready with password after password. Bloomberg

The Royal Tenenbaums Trailer

A poetic display of the resounding philosophies that push and pull against us.

Timeless.

General Motors hy wire car of the future.avi

FUTURE TENSE

This article arises from Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, the New America Foundation, and Slate. A Future Tense conference on whether governments can keep pace will scientific advances will be held at Google DC's headquarters on Feb. 3 and 4 . (For more information and to sign up for the event, please visit the NAF Web site.) Slate

CAN HP GET IT TOGETHER

When some of Hewlett-Packard's (HPQ) board members became concerned about leaks to the press six years ago, they hired investigators to spy on fellow directors and reporters—creating a high-profile scandal. Then, HP's board tried to distance itself from controversial Chief Executive Officer Carly S. Fiorina by replacing her with Mark V. Hurd, a relatively unknown numbers guy from the Midwestern cash machine maker NCR (NCR). That back-to-business move worked—until a sexual harassment allegation from a B-movie actress-turned-marketing consultant triggered Hurd's abrupt resignation and a soap-opera-level feud between him and the HP board. Bloomberg 

A LOOK FORWARD

It is traditional at the turn of the year to look forward at what is to come.

We have crystallized our thinking on the year ahead and the decade of the 2010s in a new 3-page visual landscape.

You can download the pdf of the framework by clicking on any of the images. The full text of the ExaTrends and the Zeitgeist themes is below. Future Exploration Network

REVIEW OF IIR'S ENTERPRISE 2.0

A quick review of Day One of IIR’s Enterprise 2.0 conference. After my opening keynote, including my six lessons on Enterprise 2.0, Steve Hodgkinson of Ovum addressed the question, ‘Does Your Organisation Need Enterprise 2.0?’ One of the great examples he used is fixmystreet.com, which allows individuals to submit work orders to their local council to fix things. While this is just a website someone has set up, councils are actively responding to the requests. Or at least some are, and it’s easy to find which councils are and aren’t responding to their constituents’ complaints. Steve also presented a useful framework on the relevance of Enterprise 2.0 to organizations, as below, which comes from an interesting Ovum report on Enterprise 2.0. Trends in the Living Networks 

ENTERPRISE 2.0

I have to confess that I've enjoyed watching recent rounds of Enterprise 2.0 discussion and mud wrestling. The fact that so many people enjoy debating definitions, values, doctrinal principals - even the existence of Enterprise 2.0 - makes me think that E2.0 might best be framed as a religious debate. With that in mind, I'd like to introduce a new and exciting element: schism. TractionSoftware 

BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and thanks to these crazy new sunglasses from Lady Gaga, so is a camera that snaps pictures. At the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas on Thursday, the envelope-pushing songstress and Polaroid unveiled a set of edgy eyewear that doubles as a bona fide 12-megapixel camera. ECOUTERRE

ELOQUENT VANDALS

Some folks that are grabbing my attention take a look maybe something will strike you. 


We’re really happy to see that this project is finished and congratulate Martyn Reed for finishing his film “Eloquent Vandals”, made during the NuArt Festival in Stavanger, Norway. You can congratulate Martyn LIVE when you log in to chat with him and see the WORLD DEBUT of the film next Monday the 31st. BSA

A LITTLE ART HISTORY

MIGRAINES AND LESIONS

PARIS, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Lesions in the brain linked to migraine do not seem to affect cognitive function, French and Chinese researchers found. UPI

INDIA: FDI SLIDES

NEW DELHI: As India was pitching itself as a hot investment destination at the World Economic Forum in Davos, figures showed the amount of foreign money entering the country has fallen by nearly a third. EconomicTimes      

OIL AND WATER IS LIKE RELIGION TO SCIENCE

PZ Myers gave a talk at the Atheist Alliance International meeting in Montreal last October. It was taped for TVOntario's "Big Ideas" show and it will air tomorrow (Sunday, January 30, 2011) at 5:30 pm.

Or, you can watch it right now on the TVO website at PZ Myers on Science and Atheism: Natural Allies. TheRDF

SOCIAL MEDIA INSIGHT

I can really appreciate this app 'ThinkUp' I like what these guys are doing and where they're headed. Hopefully you can find this useful in some way and translate the results into dollars. 

Brands and individuals are so eager these days to get insight from their social network interactions. Some of the vital questions, like Does the message get across the table? Are audiences properly engaged? Who among the followers is of value to the brand?, linger in the minds of community managers promoting a brand. AppStorm

SMOKE ECONOMICS

Phil DeCicca studies the economics of one of the country's top killers - smoking. A health economist by trade, DeCicca researches the impact public policies have on the habits of smokers: Does the rate of smoking change with increased cigarette prices? Does age play a role? At what point do taxes encourage smokers to turn to smuggling? SG

FROM THE GROUND UP

A Blade of Grass Fund is a new family foundation that will provide grants, loans, investments and other resources to foster a vibrant, innovative visual arts community in New York City. ABGF

GOOGLES DOT ORG PROJECT

JUST before Google first sold its shares to the public in 2004, Larry Page, one of its founders, excited the nonprofit world with a bold commitment to philanthropy. New York Times

SETH GODIN

The guy who revolutionized baseball stats had a simple insight: past performance is a good indicator of future performance. SethGodin

THE FF PHENOMENON SHOWCASED

There’s a new religion brewing in the athletic milieu that requisites fitting foot condoms around the phalanges. You know what I’m talking about: the Five Fingers phenomenon. Not dissimilar to the once popular Crocs, Vibram banks on being different as a means of selling shoes. CG

TC ON GOOGLE

This week’s episode of OMG/JK, the show I do on TechCrunch TV alongside Jason Kincaid, is all Google all the time. So just to even things out a bit, we kick things off by showing off my awesome new TikTok iPod nano wristwatch. For those who don’t remember, this is the result of the most successful Kickstarter project ever. TC

THE HEALTH OF CRITICISM IS MEASURED IN DOLLARS

Miranda Sawyer, broadcaster and Observer radio critic: 'Twitter has made it easier for critics to hear other people's opinions. Even then, though, you tend to hear similar views to your own' MoMa

ZIP CAR NEWS

Would you like a plug-in Prius, the sort that we spent a few days with last year, back when the seasons were changing and there was only a hint of this killer winter to come? Well, too bad, because you still can't buy them. Engadget

BMW 2015

Designing a concept car is all about amalgamating style with sense and passion with precision to produce not just the best possible result but also a look and feel that defies convention and revamps tradition. AutoMotto

AUDI QUATTROFLEX

Alexey Bykov a student of Ural State Academy of Arts and Architecture, Russia has designed a futuristic car christened the Audi Quattroflex , using few Audi Design Cues. The Quattroflex won a Best Use of Technology Award at the 2006 interior motives design Awards. Automotto

NET NEUTRALITY UNDER ATTACK

The Federal Communications Commission is asking a DC appeals court to throw out the Verizon and MetroPCS lawsuits against the agency's new Open Internet rules. Verizon filed the initial lawsuit papers on January 20, arguing that the FCC's move "goes well beyond any authority provided by Congress, and creates uncertainty for the communications industry, innovators, investors and consumers." Ditto, declared MetroPCS a few days later. ArsTechnica

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The greatest value in understanding the future comes from spotting the major cultural, demographic, societal, and economic shifts early and translating them into viable business strategies,”

Dr. James Canton - Overview 2010 2/3

TOP FLEXIBLE CAREERS

Does the thought of a 9-to-5 work schedule make you cringe? Would you like the time to go to the gym in the middle of the day or spend time with your kids after school?


You need a flexible job. Flexibility is getting more and more essential as busy people, parents in particular, need room in their schedule to make their lives run smoothly. AOL

MORE THAN 40 SEARCH WARRANTS ISSUED TO WIKI CYBERATTACKERS

Agents from the FBI today executed more than 40 search warrants around the United States related to last year's cyberattacks that targeted companies that cut off financial donations to Wikileaks following the website's release of U.S. diplomatic cables. ABC

The emerging field of robotics and automation at small spatial scales raises new scientific challenges and promises revolutionary advancements in such applications as biology, medicine, industry, micro and nanotechnologies and the environment. Phenomena at the micro and nanoscale are often markedly different from their macroscopic counterparts, and this has strong implications on robotic strategies, algorithms, software and hardware for manipulation, locomotion and control. Cells, biomolecules, and life processes all have characteristic dimensions in the nano and micro range. Artificial devices and systems at the nano and microscales will be able to interact intimately with biological ones, and are expected to lead to new scientific understanding and to new tools for such fundamental tasks as detection and treatment of disease. Moreover reliable and automatic manipulation of micro- and nanofabricated components is also a big challenge notably for the assembling of various kinds of new devices as MEMS and NEMS. RAS

FLOOD LEVY TAX GETS HSBC BACKING

HSBC economist Paul Bloxham told AAP that the flood levy only accounts for one percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and by itself is a reasonable instrument for the government to deal with the rehabilitation programs to be set in motion in the eastern states of Australia. IBT

SAN FRAN LOD-LAM SUMMIT

We’re pleased to announce that the International Linked Open Data in Libraries, Archives, and Museums Summit will be held in San Francisco, CA USA June 2-3, 2011. Lod-Lam

EGYPT CUT OFF

Confirming what a few have reported this evening: in an action unprecedented in Internet history, the Egyptian government appears to have ordered service providers to shut down all international connections to the Internet. Critical European-Asian fiber-optic routes through Egypt appear to be unaffected for now. But every Egyptian provider, every business, bank, Internet cafe, website, school, embassy, and government office that relied on the big four Egyptian ISPs for their Internet connectivity is now cut off from the rest of the world. Link Egypt, Vodafone/Raya, Telecom Egypt, Etisalat Misr, and all their customers and partners are, for the moment, off the air. Renesys

QUOTE OF THE DAY

The more paradigms and mega trends we surround ourselves with the better we might frame the future. 

INSIDE GIZA

French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin says his years-long study of the Great Pyramid of Giza suggests that it was built inside-out, and that two unexplored chambers are hidden at the heart of the ancient structure. So far, Egyptian authorities haven't taken his ideas all that seriously, but there's a chance they'll actually be put to the test this year. CosmicLog

TRIPLECANOPY DESIGN

Triple Canopy is an online magazine, workspace, and platform for editorial and curatorial activities. Working collaboratively with writers, artists, and researchers, Triple Canopy facilitates projects that engage the Internet’s specific characteristics as a public forum and as a medium, one with its own evolving practices of reading and viewing, economies of attention, and modes of interaction. In doing so, Triple Canopy is charting an expanded field of publication, drawing on the history of print culture while acting as a hub for the exploration of emerging forms and the public spaces constituted around them. Triple Canopy is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization.

BIG INSPIRED GREEN ARCHITECTURE

Bjarke Ingels Group just announced their winning design for an entirely new kind of building — a waste-to-energy plant that doubles as a ski slope and recreation center. Dubbed Amagerforbraending, the project is tucked between the industrial and residential sectors of Copenhagen and will act as a link between the two. The award came as a bit of surprise to the cutting-edge design firm, but given the poetic and functional nature of the project, it may be even more forward-thinking than they thought. Inhabitat

A WINDOW INTO THE WORLD OF ART

Your iPhone doesn’t just offer ticked off birds, social streams and clever photo effects, it also offers a window into the world of art, art history and culture, right in the palm of your hand. Mashable

A TPD IDEA: WE NEED YOUR INPUT

PushPull:

A program that would allow users to play with their online perceptual lens. Similar to the 'Sims', there would be a digital manikin made to look much like the picture above. As users searched and use the web, they would be able to see what those businesses and places were inferring about them from their choices. Gradually filling in the blank digital version of themselves for better or for worse. 

Subset:

The second part of PushPull includes the transparency of information: affording users the ability to connect-the-dots as to whom is using the information that they're disclosing and the journey it makes in an ascetically appealing and unique way. 

The desired result would be to diffuse disparity and further the openness of information for the greater good of society. 

There's a saying that states: "We are all governed, and our only hope to free ourselves is to understand the forces that push and pull against us".

PushPull could exude a dramatic change in social science and it's digital or online implications. 

TPD would like your help in this endevour, your feedback is important. If you would like to get involved please feel free to email us at 1takeplace@gmail.com 

NOKIA GETTING LEFT IN THE DUST?

Stephen Elop's first quarterly results as Nokia CEO have just come out, and while the company's still growing, others seem to be speeding ahead of it. Nokia's reporting its converged mobile devices (smartphones, to you and us) reached volumes of 28.3 million during Q4 2010, which is a neat bump from 20.8 million at the same time last year and 26.5 million in the previous quarter. However, in the context of the broader smartphone marketplace, that figure now amounts to only a 31 percent share, according to Nokia's own estimates, which is a major dip relative to its 40 percent slice in Q4 2009 and 38 percent in Q3 2010. Elop's perspective on the matter is as follows: Engadget

PIANO STAIRS

Getting people to take the healthy option isn’t always easy, but when Volkswagen Sweden made the Odenplan station steps into an enormous piano, transit riders couldn’t resist pulling a Tom Hanks. AllTop