The Internet: Lordy, Lordy Look Who's Forty...

October 30, 2009

It's not often that I get to celebrate a technology that is, fundamentally, the heart and soul of the day job over at PRI's The World. We're talking existential here, folks. The Internet turned 40 last week. That's UCLA's Leonard Kleinrock, with the Interface Message Processor. Forty years ago, Kleinrock and his team sent the first message between two computers. One of the computers was at UCLA, and the other was up at Stanford Research Institute (SRI). That message was supposed to be "L-O-G-I-N." Prophetically, maybe poetically, only the "L" and "O" got through before the Net experienced its first system crash. Anyone know how to say "Fail Whale" in 1969-speak? Anyway -- to celebrate, UCLA threw a symposium-ish bash. You can read more about that here. Our intrepid left coast correspondent, Cyrus Farivar, happened to be down in Los Angeles for the festivities. He sent us interviews with Kleinrock and Charles Kline (who typed that fateful "L-O" message). We start, however, with an audio homage to "Internet," complete with an appropriate soundtrack from Marvin Gaye: I know many of you will be asking for some of the source material for the opening audio montage. So, below, please find two incredibly enlightening videos. This stuff is gold, people, pure gold.

Wide Angle: Scientific Data Collection Goes Mobile

October 22, 2009

Nearly seven years of covering developments in global technology have taught me two things. First, I remain woefully, albeit sometimes blissfully, ignorant of all the great things that people are doing with technology across the globe. (That's OK, though, as I continue to find great stories to share.)And second, which kind of follows that: tech alone will not save the world, and its ridiculous to think that it will. You need people. Not just "idea" people who are trying to come up with the Next Big Thing that all of us will be willing to part with hundreds of dollars to buy. Instead, I'm talking  about people who find novel ways to take some tools that are already available, and make the most of them. People like David Aanensen, a Bioinfomatician in the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Imperial College in London. He and his team have created an app for the Google Android operating system called EpiCollect. The idea is elegantly simple: many scientists are out in the field gathering information on different infectious disease organisms worldwide. Much of that data ends up in databases at Imperial College. Geography is often of significance in comparing disease organisms across the planet. So, why not devise an open source smartphone app that allows the user in the field to enter relevent information directly into the phone, where it is automatically geo-tagged by the phone's on-board GPS? Then, when there is a strong mobile data signal, the information on phone will synch directly back to the main database back in the lab. Indeed, why not?

Listen in as David Aanensen describes what finally got them to start working on EpiCollect in earnest:

Download or listen to the David Aanensen podcast

Finns Get the Right to Universal Broadband Access

October 16, 2009

You may have read, right here at Discovery, that Finland's just passed a landmark law that gives all of its citizens (yes, even the ones who live in the middle of snow-covered forests miles from nowhere, or are sitting in saunas) the right to universal broadband (1MB) Internet access. As if that's not enough of a challenge to the country's telco providers, they're thinking of bumping that up to 10MB in the future. Obviously, someone thinks the Internet-driven knowledge economy is here to stay, at least in northern Europe. As part of my coverage for this week's Tech Podcast for PRI (the day job, as I call it), I had Cyrus Farivar call up (Skype up, actually) Suvi Linden, Finland's Minister of Communications. Here's what she had to say about the new law, and about the reasoning behind it:

By the way, I hear through the grapevine that Finland's neighbor Estonia (or E-stonia, as it likes to bill itself) is a wee bit jealous that the Finns beat them to it!

Tech Podcast: Turning One PC into a Dozen

September 21, 2009

Remember that old adage that humans use only a tiny percentage of their brains? No? Well, there you go. Anyway, it turns out that the same might be said for personal computers. A California outfit called NComputing reckons that your standard $300 to $400 computer has about 95% unused capacity. So, NComputing has developed software and hardware that partitions a single computer out into, well, 10 or 12. You can see a video here, and it might help to have a visual:

Now, some of you might point out that there's nothing incredibly revolutionary about partitioning out a computer hard drive. It's just that NComputing has done for a fairly good price, and in many parts of the world, this could make the difference between one classroom sharing a PC, and all the students getting to have a workstation. Not surprisingly, NComputing is finding that its products are popular in the developing world, and so that's why I got Stephen Dukker, the company's CEO, on the line for a podcast. He started by giving the listener a description of how the NComputing set-up works:

 

Wide Angle: 3D Electronic Health Records in Denmark

September 02, 2009

Electronic health records don't have to be just flickering screens with boring data entry boxes. In fact, IBM has partnered with Thy-Mors Hospital in Denmark to trial something called VPR, visual patient records. I could waffle on with a description of what this three dimensional record system looks like, but it would be much better, and easier, if you see it in action:

So, in contrast to last week's look at e-health records for the developing world, this week, we're bringing you more about this "avatar"-based record system in Denmark. I spoke with Kurt Nielsen, an executive at the Thy-Mors Hospital in Denmark. Nielsen told me that the hospital has been using some form of electronic records at the hospital for a decade now, making it "a bit of a leader" in this regard in Denmark. He also mentioned that the Danish government has made the roll-out of electronic records a priority, and is working to combine all the different e-record systems together into a national system.

But, to start, Nielsen told me more about VPR and the partnership with IBM:

Tech Podcast: When Zombies Attack!

August 28, 2009

It's summertime, and the living is easy. Or, in the case of this week's podcast, the living dead, who are not, as they say, resting easy. Instead, in the latest example of "give-them-some-money-and-scientists-will-study-ANYTHING," we have a paper from a team at the University of Ottawa entitled: "When Zombies Attack!: Mathematical Modelling of an Outbreak of Zombie Infection." Fair enough. Now, before you roll your eyes (into the back of your head), know this: the Ottawa crew really does feel that this research can teach us something about the spread of infectious diseases. And maybe about eating brains. Who knows? One thing I do know -- a lot of you out there in WTP land love zombies, so there was no way I was going to leave it out of episode 255. Right click here to download, or use the player below.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled podcast. On the more serious side, this week we take a look at botnets, those nasty groups of computers that are co-opted by criminals, and then spew out viruses and worms and spam. Yuck. Cyrus Farivar reports on some new research into how to stop botnets.

Unfortunately, the solution might require creating, essentially, "good guy" botnets. And that, I'm afraid, creates all kinds of ethical and legal challenges. Then, since Cyrus is across all this stuff, we keep him around to talk about some new research from a Vermont-based outfit called The U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit. Cyrus checks in with Scott Borg, chief economist there at USCCU, on a report that's just come out looking at last year's cyber-spat between Russia and Georgia. Sorry, I can't actually give you a copy of the report. Visit the website for details. Next up, the British steam-powered car that's out to break the land speed record. We hear from driver Donald Wales. they're hoping to get this sweet ride (powered by 12 boilers, mind you) up to 130MPH and beyond. Wow. Right now, the team is at Edwards Air Force Base here in the United States, fighting the heat, broken boilers and punctured tires. Get the latest on the effort here.

(UPDATE: They broke the record! More on the next tech podcast...)

What makes for a beautiful mix? Flamenco, hip-hop, and Creative Commons of course. Cody Canyon and Gnotes lay some Gnawledge on you. You have to love it when the Internet helps a plan, and a free album, come together. Did I mention the album is free? Download it here.

Remember, there are sorts of ways to follow the tech podcast: Twitter, Facebook, and FriendFeed.

Wide Angle: Open Source Electronic Medical Records for the Developing World

August 25, 2009

What a great opportunity this week to revisit a story I did a while back. Discovery Tech is delving into electronic health records, and the focus so far seems to be on the developed world. Well, as these coders at right could tell you, electronic health records may have even more impact on health in the developing world. These guys devote their time and skills to building out an open source, electronic medical record system called OpenMRS. The project has countless contributors, but the two main forces behind it are Partners in Health, and the Regenstrief Institute. Together, they make OpenMRS available, for free, via the Internet. Anyone around the world can download it, and begin to use it in their local hospital or clinic. Those local folks can also, in the true open source ethos, modify the program, and share those modifications with the rest of the community. When I reported on them last fall, OpenMRS was going strong, with users in Haiti, Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda.

So, I offer not one, but two audio podcasts for you. The first is for those of you who want a quick fix only. Here's the radio version of my piece on OpenMRS:

And if that piqued your interest, here's a longer version of my interview with Paul Biondich from Regenstrief and Hamish Fraser of Partners in Health. It begins with Paul Biondich giving a bit more background about how OpenMRS got its start:

(Photo by Clark Boyd)

Tech Podcast: The Ever-Stranger Case of Gary McKinnon

August 07, 2009

This is Gary McKinnon, and I've been following his strange story for the past three years. Just after September 11, 2001, McKinnon, who was an unemployed computer professional living in London, started hacking into poorly protected US government computer systems. The US government, in its grand jury indictment, alleges McKinnon illegally accessed nearly 100 different computers over a period of more than a year. The indictment also claims that McKinnon's actions caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, and left critical US computer systems vulnerable. All this, of course, just after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when security was of the utmost concern. I first covered the McKinnon story in WTP 102, and then again in WTP 204. McKinnon has admitted hacking into US government systems, but he's always maintained that it was not with malicious intent. He claims he was looking for evidence of UFOs and pollution free energy systems, information on which he believes the American government is hiding. McKinnon, his family, and his lawyers have maintained through the years that Gary should be tried in the United Kingdom, as that is where he was when he was doing the hacking. The US government feels differently, arguing that the damage done was to systems and computers in the United States. For three years, US federal prosecutors have been trying to extradite McKinnon. Meanwhile, McKinnon's been fighting that extradition through every legal means as his disposal. Last year, McKinnon was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a kind of autism. His lawyers made one last appeal to the High Court, arguing that Gary might become psychotic or suicidal if forced to stand trial in the United States. Today, that court rejected that claim, and Gary moved one step closer to extradition. That's our top story for WTP 252. Right click here to download and take the podcast with you, or click on the player below.

 

We also take a look at some new technologies the US military is employing in its counterinsurgency efforts in Afghanistan. And we have a two-part look at the rise of Pirate Parties across the globe. We end with a look at how one young Japanese student wants to run an Obama-style Internet campaign in the upcoming elections, but is being thwarted by decades-old campaign laws.

Tech Podcast: Updates on Iran and China, Codex Sinaiticus, and Hal and the Big 5

July 16, 2009

As promised, this week's Technology Podcast is devoid of any news, or non-news as the case may be, related to Michael Jackson. Instead, WTP 250 (Right click here to download and take it with you) has a heavenly host of stories we hope you'll find intriguing. At right is a picture of a page from one of the oldest Christian bibles in the world. It's called the Codex Sinaiticus, and it was written in the 4th century AD. After it was found in a monastery in the Sinai, it's various pages and fragments were scattered to collections across the world. Now, those fragments and pages have been reunited online.  I blogged about this a while back, but now, we'll hear an update. It's an interview with the British Library's Head of Collection Care, Helen Shenton. The British Library is one of the partner institutions involved in putting the Codex online. We'll also have updates on two stories we've been following closely in recent weeks. First, the violence in post-election Iran continues, and technology continues to play a critical role. Reporter Cyrus Farivar will update us on the global geeks who are trying to keep the information flowing into and out of the country. We follow that with a look at the violence that has flared in western China, and assess the ways and means that the Chinese government is using to control the way that violence is portrayed. We speak with Xiao Qiang, founder and co-editor of the China Digitial Times. And then we end the podcast with a lovely little story of musical collaboration. The members of Hal and the Big 5 have never actually jammed together. Instead, they've traded music tracks in cyberspace, and then mixed it all together. Too cool. Listen to the podcast right here:

Remember, you can subscribe to The World's Technology Podcast via iTunes or RSS.

Tech Podcast: Iran is All A-Twitter, China's Green Dam Reprieve, And It's a Nice Day for a Skype Wedding

July 06, 2009

The World's Technology Podcast (WTP 249) starts off with updates on two stories we've been following closely in recent weeks, Iran and China. First, an update on the use of social media tools in the wake of post-election violence in Iran. Twitter might be enabling the flow on information into and out of the country, but can you trust what you're reading? Cyrus Farivar explores that question. Also, the Chinese delay a plan to require every PC sold in China to come loaded with a piece of Internet-filtering software called Green Dam, Youth Escort. Human rights groups have criticized the software, and so too have security experts who say it's so full of holes that hackers could turn China into one huge zombie computer network.