“Social media enable people to be their best
selves: honest, open, fallible, funny, and connected, but too many
people and organizations are still trying their best to imitate
automatons. Your organization, reputation, logo and staff are living,
breathing entities that need to be out in the world to be effective.”
— http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/05/the_new_professional.html
From a new study by Unisys, the three highest priorities for Americans when it comes to security issues in the presidential campaign are:
See Threat Level for more…
“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” — Simone Weil (via stoweboyd)
(Source: underpaidgenius, via stoweboyd)
Neme Collection: Machine-to-machine communication reaching tipping point - report -
See on Scoop.it - Web of ThingsServices from healthcare to energy will change over the next decade as machine-to-machine communication facilitates more sophisticated automation.
The shift will be led by a combination of improved network communication, smaller and lower cost embedded…
(via emergentfutures)
“Although women now make up the majority of college graduates, the number of female computer science grads has dropped precipitously over the past 25 years—from nearly 40 percent in the mid-1980s to 18 percent in 2009. As a result, only 2 in 10 programmers are women.” — Attracting More Women to Computer Science Requires Shattering the ‘Brogrammer’ Culture - Education - GOOD (via infoneer-pulse)
(via infoneer-pulse)
“But I want to end with a plug for the brain. I don’t think one can digitize everything. Human memory and judgement have always played a central role in the history of information and I expect they will continue to be crucial to our ability to do creative work that builds on the massive accumulation of information that we have.” — - Ann Blair, Information hoarders
![Ultrathin and lightweight organic solar cells with high flexibility
The only way that solar power is ever going to contribute an appreciable amount of energy to the betterment (and cheaperment) of society is if we plaster solar panels on everything, everywhere, all the time. And we might just be able to do it now, with this new generation of panels that are thinner than a strand of human hair by a factor of 20.
Thin doesn’t just mean lightweight (although these panels are very lightweight), it also means flexible. At 1.9 micrometers thick, the plastic foil cells are, for all practical purposes, elastic. So, you can layer them onto clothing, for example, and not only will you not be able to feel any additional weight, but the panels will be able to flex and crumple right along with the fabric without damaging anything.
Beyond applications requiring flexibility, solar cells that don’t take up any space and don’t weigh anything become an obvious thing to stick on to all sorts of surfaces just because you can. Back of a cellphone? Sure! Roof of your car? Sounds good! Bottom of your swimming pool? Why not!
The current generation of these cells can only convert 4.2% of sunlight into electricity (which is terrible, to be honest), but by the time commercial availability rolls around in five years or so, our hope is that that number will get bumped up enough to make it worthwhile to start putting this stuff on everything.
[via] [paper] [photo credit: Kaltenbrunner etal.]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m206b9Uqu81r08k60o1_500.jpg)
Ultrathin and lightweight organic solar cells with high flexibility
The only way that solar power is ever going to contribute an appreciable amount of energy to the betterment (and cheaperment) of society is if we plaster solar panels on everything, everywhere, all the time. And we might just be able to do it now, with this new generation of panels that are thinner than a strand of human hair by a factor of 20.
Thin doesn’t just mean lightweight (although these panels are very lightweight), it also means flexible. At 1.9 micrometers thick, the plastic foil cells are, for all practical purposes, elastic. So, you can layer them onto clothing, for example, and not only will you not be able to feel any additional weight, but the panels will be able to flex and crumple right along with the fabric without damaging anything.
Beyond applications requiring flexibility, solar cells that don’t take up any space and don’t weigh anything become an obvious thing to stick on to all sorts of surfaces just because you can. Back of a cellphone? Sure! Roof of your car? Sounds good! Bottom of your swimming pool? Why not!
The current generation of these cells can only convert 4.2% of sunlight into electricity (which is terrible, to be honest), but by the time commercial availability rolls around in five years or so, our hope is that that number will get bumped up enough to make it worthwhile to start putting this stuff on everything.
(via emergentfutures)
Iran expected to permanently cut off Internet by August -
Millions of Internet users in Iran could soon be permanently cut off from the Web, social networks, and e-mail.
In a statement released last week, Reza Taghipour, the Iranian minister for Information and Communications Technology, announced it plans to establish a national intranet within five months in an effort to create a “clean Internet,” according to an International Business Times report. “All Internet Service Providers (ISP) should only present National Internet by August,” Taghipour said in the statement.
» via CNET
(via futuramb)
“It was only later that I realized the value of being bored was actually pretty high. Being bored is a kind of diagnostic for the gap between what you might be interested in and your current environment. But now it is an act of significant discipline to say, “I’m going to stare out the window. I’m going to schedule some time to stare out the window.” The endless gratification offered up by our devices means that the experience of reading in particular now becomes something we have to choose to do.” — Clay Shirky - How Will We Read (via bijan)
(via emergentfutures)
“
Terrorists have not [yet] used the Internet to launch a full-scale cyberattack, but we cannot underestimate their intent. Our companies are targeted for insider information, and our universities and national laboratories are targeted for their research and development. Our ability to work internationally is absolutely essential in order to address the cyber arena.
We have strategically placed agents with our counterparts in countries like Romania, the Ukraine, Estonia and the like, where much of the activity takes place. Down the road, if a country steals those secrets that will enable that country to overwhelm us in the field of battle someplace, that is something that is a threat and ultimately may be a more serious threat.
” — FBI director Robert MuellerThe Industrialization of Data Theft: Verizon's Staggering New Data -
The job of stealing your personal data is now a fully-fledged industry - in some regards, one that is becoming terrifyingly legitimized. Earlier this month, security experts with Verizon gave reporters at the RSA Conference an advance look at detailed forensics data, compiled with the assistance of the world’s law enforcement agencies including the U.S. Secret Service. That data indicated that industrialized data center incursion has become mechanized, is happening regularly, and has the goal of compiling a more comprehensive “big database” about your personal transactions than Facebook or Citicorp ever dreamed.
“Most of these automated attacks are almost exclusively on small businesses,” says Chris Porter, Verizon’s senior security analyst and co-author of its annual Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), whose 2012 edition was published this morning. “There’s some franchise chains, but many times it’s mom-and-pop cafés. These restaurants, retail stores, are really focused on building their business. They want to make sure when a customer comes in, they can charge him. And they’re probably less concerned about data protection.”
» via ReadWriteWeb
