Why Wal-Mart Isn't Smiling

The fortunes of Wal-Mart are supposed to be a bellwether for the rest of the US economy. So when the retail giant turned in a lame November sales increase forecast of only 0.7%, observers grew concerned. However, other retailers are reporting post-Thanksgiving sales in line with the more optimistic 3 to 4% growth numbers.So what's up with Wal-Mart?An article in Slate suggests that Wal-Mart may have reached the limit of its ability to cut costs and undersell the competition. Minus that, it must compete on quality, customer service and the overall shopping experience -- factors that level the playing field a bit.Some have suggested that a Wal-Mart backlash might be in the works. But I see an even more fundamental problem, as does the Slate article.When I compare my local Wal-Mart with my local...

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How to keep your competitors away from your prospects

Have you ever lost a project that you bid on to a competitor?C'mon... be honest.Listen, it's no big deal to just lose a project or two, a few times a year.No one, not even me, has a 100% batting average.But what happens when we're not talking about losing one or two projects a year?What happens when you're losing one or two projects a month that way?Non-sense you say?Have you ever taken time to follow-up on EVERY proposal or price quote you've put out there to prospects?While a significant percentage of your prospects (perhaps 1/4 to 1/3) may be professional procrastinators and decide to do nothing...The vast majority of your prospects will end up hiring SOMEONE's consulting company to do the job.But do you know why someone else is getting that job instead of your firm?One very simple reason...Your...

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The Wireless City

Are cell phones and other wireless devices changing the way we relate to the urban landscape? An article in Salon suggests that, as wireless devices penetrate our "communal spaces," people become more isolated from one another even as they remain in close proximity. This is true to a degree, as people typically spend more time on their cell phones when out in public than conversing with one another. But I doubt that mobile devices are totally to blame for this. We have whole generations that were raised not to talk to strangers, so there's a reluctance among many to strike up conversations with people we don't know. Devices sometimes have the opposite effect, causing people to unintentionally intrude on others. Consider someone talking very loudly on a cell phone; it's hard for one to...

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Cheap Hydrogen?

One of the biggest hurdles on the way to the much-touted "hydrogen economy" -- in which hydrogen would replace petroleum as our primary fuel -- is the enormous cost of generating hydrogen. Now, researchers at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory have teamed up with Salt Lake City-based ceramics firm Cerametec to create a process for cost-effectively producting hydrogen.The process involves generating hydrogen with nuclear reactors, which can heat water necessary for the process with greater efficiency than can other kinds of heaters. Indeed, one of the drawbacks in generating hydrogen is that it requires more energy than the resulting hydrogen yields.The obvious drawback to this plan, of course, is the need to build more nuclear reactors. As well as being politically...

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Genetic Testing for Athletic Performance

Wonder if Junior is going to be the next NFL superstar or Olympic gold medalist? An Australian firm, Genetic Technologies, has developed a genetic test that they claim will determine athletic potential.The test measures the gene ACTN3, which produces a protein necessary for powering fast-twitch muscles. Athletes typically have a high level of this protein, so it stands to reason that anyone with it would have at least some athletic prowess. However, the test is controversial because, critics say, it would close the door on less genetically endowed athletes who have other characteristics (stamina, coordination, mental discipline) that would compensate for the lack of that protein. Similarly, an individual with strong ACTN3 might lack the capability -- or even the desire -- to be a great athlete....

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Glut in Flat-Panel TVs?

Planning to buy a flat-panel TV this holiday season? If so, you may want to wait. Because several new factories are set to come online within the next few months, we may see a glut of plasma and LCD TVs, cutting prices in half by the end of 2005. Source: The New York Ti...

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Blogosphere Doubling Every Five Months

A report by Internet marketing firm ClickZ has found that the number of blogs has doubled every five months ove the last year and a half... harking back to the explosive growth of the Web during the mid- to late-'90s.Among the other interesting statistics ClickZ cites are: A new blog is created every 5.8 seconds, resulting in 15,000 new blogs being created every day. By the end of this year, 10 million blogs will exist online... but only 1 million will be updated regularly. Active bloggers post nearly 300,000 posts daily. 11% of all Internet users -- 50 million individuals -- are regular blog readers. As most bloggers and blog readers...

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Microgenerators Can Run Electronics, Outlive Batteries

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a miniature generator that could power small electronics (such as cell phones and PDAs) and last up to 10 times longer than conventional batteries.Such microgenerators, each the thickness of a dime, contain tiny spinning magnets that serve as their energy source -- a technology called a microelectromechanical system, or MEMS. The faster the magnets spin, the more energy they produce.GIT hopes that its next generation of microgenerators will be powerful enough to power laptops, radios and GPS devices.Source: GeniusNow....

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Thanksgiving Break

This may be my last post for several days, as I'm taking some time off for the Thanksgiving holiday. Next week I plan to attend an emerging technologies conference, so I hope to be able to post from there with some interesting insights.To all our U.S. readers, have a safe and happy Thanksgivi...

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Subjective Software

For all it's capable of doing, modern computer software is remarkably stupid at times. For instance, while a word processor can spell check and even offer grammatical help, it can't understand what you're writing, and can't distinguish subtle nuances in language. If you say something is "cool," the software can't tell whether you like that thing very much or it's at a cold temperature. Or, in the case of your favorite ice cream, you might mean both.Now, researchers at Cornell University are attempting to develop software that can understand context and interpret subjective statements. The software will search for subjective words such as "wonderful" or "terrible," and separate subjective from objective statements. The end goal is to produce software that can detect human emotions that...

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Smart Yarn

Researchers at the UTD Nanotech Institute have developed a "smart" yarn made from carbon nanotubes. Aside from being strong and flexible, the yarn has the potential to conduct electricity, be hardened for added protection, contain sensors, and in general act as a "soft" exoskeleton. The yarn's creators believe that commercially viable production might not be far off, especially as more uses are discovered for it.Source: Slash...

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Keylogging Not Prohibited by Wiretap Laws

A federal judge in California has thrown out criminal charges against a man accused of using a keystroke logging tool to spy on his employer. The judge declared that "keylogging" did not fit the criteria for communications protected under the Wiretap Act because the information did not travel over a network.Rest assured that this is only a temporary situation. Industries of all sorts will certainly lobby Congress to close this loophole, and the current business-friendly legislature will comply. In the meantime, beware of what you type over a LAN... and especially be careful when using wireless keyboards and mice, as those signals can be intercepted very easily.Sources: SecurityFocus, Slash...

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An Electric Car With Muscle

Who says electric cars have to be for wimps? The Japanese-built Eliica (short for Electrical Lithium-Ion Battery Car), can go from 0 to 60 in four seconds and can hit 230 MPH -- faster than a Porsche 911 Turbo!Driving this bad boy will definitely get you noticed. In addition to its power, the Eliica features smooth handling. However, you'll need 10 hours for every rechar...

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RIP VHS

Progress and innovation are not victimless, as shown by the gradual phaseout of VHS video cassette recorders and videotapes. Consider: Worldwide sales of DVD players outstrip sales of VHS players 40 to 1Wal-Mart sells dozens of DVD player models, starting at $38, as opposed to only a handful of VHS models When DreamWorks released Shrek 2 on video at the beginning of this month, 12 million copied were sold in the first week... 11 million of which were DVDs Pioneer will stop manufacturing VCRs and related products The UK retailer Dixons will stop selling VCRs after this holiday season Blockbuster has been cutting back its inventory...

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"Values Voters" Still Like Their Sexy, Violent TV

Judging from the outcome of the past presidential election, Americans are yearning for more morally wholesome content from the media. But, according to TV executives, that's not showing up in the Nielsen ratings. The two hottest shows this season -- CBS's bloody C.S.I. and ABC's steamy Desperate Housewives -- top the ratings throughout the country, in "red" and "blue" states alike.Indeed, what surprises many media observers is the uniformity of the ratings, and how the top shows are so consistent in most all media markets. Even in staunchly conservative Salt Lake City, Desperate Housewives is one of the top hits. And it's the number one show in Atlanta, in the heart of Bush country.Conversely, shows like Joan of Arcadia with strong spiritual themes, have done poorly in the ratings... which...

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Global Camera Phone Backlash

Privacy advocates around the world are urging makers of camera phones to act responsibly when marketing their products. They cite numerous privacy complaints about camera phones, as well as their ability to compromise security in government or private business environments.Camera phones have already been banned outright in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and South Korea and the United States are working to formuate acceptable-use standards for camera phones in their countries. One requirement South Korea is considering is that camera phones make a sound of at least 65dB when snapping a picture. At the very least, this would alert others in a public space that a camera phone is in use.The camera phone dilemma is clearly a case where technology has outpaced safety and security procedures, as well as...

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Are Flexible Displays Ready for Prime Time?

Flexible displays -- computers monitor that could be made paper-thin and foldable, allowing for literal "electronic newspapers" -- are one of those technologies that always seems to be "right around the corner." But like videophones, is it really a technology that people want, even though it sounds cool?Philips Research has developed a flexible display that might finally serve as a commercially viable product. Their five-inch diagonal screen has a 320x240 resolution and is only 10 microns thick, allowing it to be rolled into a one-centimeter tube. No word on when the display will be commercially available.The key advantage to this flexible display...

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Computers as Authors

So what do you think of this as an opening paragraph?Dave Striver loved the university - its ivy-covered clocktowers, its ancient and sturdy brick, and its sun-splashed verdant greens and eager youth. The university, contrary to popular opinion, is far from free of the stark unforgiving trials of the business world: academia has its own tests, and some are as merciless as any in the marketplace. A prime example is the dissertation defense: to earn the Ph.D., to become a doctor, one must pass an oral examination on one's dissertation. This was a test Professor Edward Hart enjoyed giving.Who wrote it? Not me. The question is, what wrote it? The author is Brutus.1, a computer program developed by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in conjunction with IBM.According to an article in the New York...

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Generation Tech (or, Why Can't Mom Make Her Computer Work?)

Ever since the dawn of personal computing in the late '70s, it's been an assumption that young people are more adept at technology than their elders. The division between the savvy youngster and the clueless older person echoes the old joke about sex education:DAD: Son, it's time we had a talk about sex.SON: Sure, Dad. What do you want to know?A clever article in the current issue of Newsweek illustrates the problems both young and old folks face with today's technology. The author, Brad Stone, discusses how millions of older Americans rely on their children and grandchildren to troubleshoot their computers and other technology. Indeed, anyone...

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Thanksgiving Travel May Set Record

Despite record-high gas prices, Americans are planning to travel more than ever this Thanksgiving holiday, according to AAA. Always one of the busiest travel times of the year, this Thanksgiving will see an extimated 37.2 million people travelling more than 50 miles from home -- up 3% over last year, and surpassing the record set in 2000.The travel industry is particularly excited about these numbers, as they reflect high consumer confidence and an increased comfort with post-9/11 air travel. About 12% of expected travellers will travel by air this Thanksgiving, up by 4% over last year.The industry also expects more travel over Christmas and New Year's, in part because of the calendar. Both holidays fall on weekends this year, so people may be encouraged to travel on those long weeken...

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[FOLLOWUP] TiVo to Offer "No Skip" Ads

Following up on the theme of DVRs being a disruptive media technology that will change the nature of TV advertising, along comes a report from the New York Times that TiVo is planning to introduce "fast-forward tags" that will allow advertisers' logos to appear on the screen when a viewer skips over ads in recorded programs. TiVo is also planning to offer interactive tags that will allow viewers to "drill down" for more information on an ad that interests them... not unlike clicking on a Web ad bann...

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DPA: The New Security Threat

Think you're secure because you use a "smart card" to access online resources, and encrypt all data that you send over the Net? Well, think again. A new technique is emerging that could allow intruders to intercept and read even the most securely encrypted communications.Differential Power Analysis (DPA) work on the principle that encrypted communications "leak" minute amounts of electrical power, and that encryption keys can be found by measuring changes in these leaks. Using DPA, even encryption techniques unknown to the hacker can be reverse-engineered and broken. Cryptography Research, Inc. discovered the DPA technique several years ago, and has patented a number of anti-DPA techniques that it is now licensing to vendors. Most of these techniques involve either lowering the amount...

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Fading Ad Gallery

I'm a firm believer that anyone interested in the future has to be mindful of the past. To that end, I'm fascinated by urban relics -- abandoned buildings and the like. They say a lot not just about where we've been, but where we're going as well. After all, there was a reson why these places were left for dead, and that reason impacts our lives today and tomorrow.Also, as a former (or recovering) advertising copywriter, I'm interested in vintage advertisements. And so, when I came across the Fading Ad Gallery, I couldn't resist.Ever walk by an old building and notice a very old, faded advertisement painted on its side? Some are recognizable...

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Warning: Content Under Pressure

There's nothing new about blaming the Internet for society's ills. The sad thing is, the Web continues serving as a scapegoat, long after it has entered the mainstream.In England, a young man took his own life after frequenting a Dutch-based website that advocated suicide. Said the coroner who was on the case of the site in question, "It is the height of irresponsibility to publish a site which could encourage someone to be tipped over the edge. The internet is there to educate and improve life, not destroy it."Meanwhile, back in the States, a group of researchers is calling on Congress to investigate online pornography, which they call "more addictive than heroin." And of course, Congressional conservatives are only too happy to oblige. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) chairman of the Commerce...

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BlogExplosion: My Take So Far

Several weeks ago I signed up for BlogExplosion, the service for bloggers to increase their traffic by looking at fellow members' blogs. Now that I've had some time to get to understand how the system works, I have some thoughts...Overall, my experience has been positive, though I wonder what surfers who view FutureWire really think of it. If they land on it at random, are they really interested in reading it, or do they just want to move on to the next blog to rack up their credits? A lot of the blogs I come across are (to me) boring as sin... so I'm suspect those bloggers aren't exactly turned on by FutureWire.The lack of any kind of preference-based surfing -- in which you would see only those types of blogs that interest you -- has both its upside and its downside. On the downside, I see...

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Cars of the Future: Safe and Smart

The online version of Fortune magazine features a look at cars of the future, with a focus on safety features (exernal airbags, collision warning systems, eye monitoring for drowsiness, blind spot and lane drift alerts) and convenience (self-parking, "smart" GPS systems). Conspicuously absent, however, is any discussion of automated driving (gridded highways that would control the car automatically, for example), innovations to increase mileage and performance, or environmental technologies.UPDATE: EE Times has posted an interesting, fairly technical piece about self-navigating vehicles, which can provide services ranging from collision avoidance to full-blown self-drivi...

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Red vs. Blue Rift Widens and Deepens

I had promised myself I wouldn't write anymore about the election and the "red vs. blue" divide, but some of the continued discussion about it in the blogosphere makes that impossible. If the Internet is any kind of a social barometer, a stormfront is approaching.For starters, you might have seen this little gem come across the wires over the last couple of weeks:Yes, it's a joke, but it speaks volumes about how people perceive the outcome of the election, and their lack of faith in unity.The mainstream media long ago said of the election, "Bush won... get over it." But plenty of people aren't about to get over anything anytime soon. One rant...

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[UPDATE] X-43A Scramjet Reaches Mach 10

NASA's unmanned, experimental X-43A scramjet reached a speed of about 6,660 MPH -- ten times the speed of sound -- in its third and final test Tuesday. The X-43A program will now be cancelled to make way for other NASA priorities; however, the tests show the promise scramjet technology hol...

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Are there holes in your bucket?

It's been said by many that generating new business is like making it "rain" (or simply rainmaking).Think about your leads and prospects like little seedlings that need constant nurturing and "watering" (i.e. follow-up activities).When you water enough seedlings, sooner or later your prospects will mature into full-blown steady clients.Take good care of your clients (over-deliver on value and exceptional service) and you'll build up quite a respectable consulting business with lots of extremely desirable, steady, high-paying clients.However, there's a basic problem with this kind of thinking:It ignores an EXTREMELY important reality:Your bucket isn't perfect.No "watering" method is perfect, because your lead generation, lead qualification and sales call watering buckets all have HOLES in them.And...

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The Customer is Always Right... But Only When We Say So

The Wall Street Journal reports that Best Buy is planning to divide its customer base into groups of those whose buying practices help shore up the company's bottom line ("angels") and less profitable, higher maintenance ones ("devils"). If you buy items at list price, never return products and don't take advantage of rebates (i.e. an impulse buyer), you're an "angel." But if you're a bargain-hunter who makes Best Buy honor its lowest-price pledge (i.e. a savvy consumer), you're a "devil."Best Buy's strategy will be to purge its customer base of "devils."This strategy is not new, but it's radical for a discount retailer... especially one that's locked in a mortal struggle with fellow "big box" discounters Circuit City, Target and Wal-Mart. Exactly how Best Buy plans to do this remains unclear,...

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The Doctor Will See You Now...

Ever knock yourself out to get to a doctor's appointment on time... only to sit in the waiting room for what seems like forever? Scheduling problems waste everybody's time, including the doctor's. IBM is teaming up with Florida International University to pilot a new, "smarter" patient scheduling system that is based on autonomic computing principles.The system attempts to take into account variables such as usage spikes, equipment maintenance periods and time required for specific procedures. It also tries to construct schedules based on patients' specific needs based on their records, and the estimated length of time they would need with the doctor. Ultimately, the system would help cut costs as well as improve patient care.Source: Techd...

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Flextime Makes a Comeback

All the rage during the dotcom boom, then vilified during the bust, flextime and other creative workplace scheduling strategies are making a comeback, according to an article on C|Net. Not only are workers demanding job sharing, telecommuting and other flexible work options, but employers are realizing that these options increase productivity and employee retention. They also save money, both for the employer (as an economical employee benefit, and in reduced office space) and employee (less costly and less stressful commuting). In one estimate quoted in the article, telecommuting increases worker productivity by between five and 20 perce...

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Atkins is Dead... Long Live Atkins!

A study presented at a meeting of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity this week suggests that diets that are low in fat are better for losing weight and keeping it off than diets that are low in carbs. Low-carb advocates have countered that the low-carb diets used in the study contained more carbs than recommended by Atkins and other diet plans. However, fat appears to have been the big variable in this study: the majority of dieters studied who ate a low-fat diet were able to maintain lower weight than those who followed low-carb diets that largely ignore fats.Those in the health, diet and fitness professions have spoken of a backlash against extreme low-carb dieting for some time now. If this most recent study is corroborated, it will likely accellerate that trend. However,...

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Won't You Be My Neighbor?

In today's world, it's tough to meet even your closest neighbors. Unless you're unemployed or telecommute, you probably don't spend much time at home during weekdays. At night, you're too tired to socialize, and you have other things to do anyway. On weekends, you're out as well. Besides proximity, our neighbors don't seem to have much in common with us. And when we do speak to them, it's often out of argument or conflict.Through social software, one enterpreneur has decided to do something about that. If people can use the Web to get dates, organize politically and network professionally, why not use it to meet their neighbors? Jared Nissim has created MeetTheNeighbors.org, a registry for neighbors and neigborhoods to enter and organize real-life get-togethers. Right now, most of the users...

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"New Media" Contributing to Unrest in China

As China emerges from its Maoist past to become a postindustrial power, growing pains are starting to show. An Asia Times article notes numerous incidents of protests and rioting across the country in recent months, and states that major incidents of social unrest have increased by 15% since 2003. The sources of this unrest are many, but one factor may be that by providing citizens with information they never had before, "new media" outlets are creating a level of frustration with the government and society in general:Making matters worse for the government, China's "new media" appear to be reaching a critical mass. While news of unrest is usually blacked out of the Chinese media, word is now spreading quickly ...

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50-Year-Old TV Dinners, Anyone?

Hopefully you won't be stuck eating one of these on Thanksgiving, but frozen meals (a.k.a. TV dinners) have a colorful history that says a lot about our modern culture. The Christian Science Monitor takes a look back at the invention and evolution of the frozen dinner, which turns 50 this year.Source: GreedyGirl...

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Creative Ways to Support the Troops

As Veterans' Day passes and the holidays approach, you may be thinking of ways that you can support our troops in Iraq and elsewhere other than simply putting a magnet or bumper sticker on your car. The Art of the Blog has a post listing numerous projects and programs for showing support to both the U.S. and U.K. militaries. Many welcome donations, while others seek volunteers. This post appears to be updated regularly as new resources are discover...

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NASA to Fly Scramjet at 7,000 MPH

NASA is planning to fly its experimental X-43A scramjet at 7,000 miles per hour (11,260 kph), as a follow-up to its flight in March that reached nearly 5,000 MPH.Scramjet technology is exciting because it allows aircraft to achieve very high speeds while using minimal amounts of fuel. However, the X-43A will be retired after this upcoming flig...

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Gap to Offer "Stereo Sweatshirts"

Wearable computers may be with us sooner than we think, if a new offering from The Gap is any indicator. The clothing retailer is teaming up with toy maker Wild Planet to market the "Hoodio," a fleece jacket with a waterproof FM radio sewn into the sleeve and speakers in the hood. The garment is machine washable and will retail at GapKids outlets for about $68, beginning Nov. 15. Click here for more detail....

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Neural Implants Take a Step Forward

New Scientist reports that scientists at the California Institute of Technology have developed a device that automatically moves electrodes through the brain to seek out the strongest signals. The movement is small -- in micrometers -- but it's enough to enhance the performance of brain implants.One of the biggest challenges in making neural implants a reality is that the implants have trouble receiving consistent signals from the brain. Resolving this problem represents a critical step for neural implants, which has the promise of helping paralyzed people regain mobility, and allowing amputees to control robotic prostheti...

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LED Lighting Comes of Age

You may have heard about efforts to create lighting fixtures from light emitting diodes (LEDs) for some time. The advantages are many, as have been the technical difficulties. Well, it finally appears that someone has finally gotten it right.According to Popular Science, a company called Enlux has developed a practical LED light. Their 22-watt floodlight produces an output equivalent to a 45- to 65-watt incandescent light, and lasts for 50,000 hours (approximately 35 years of average use). The lights, however, will set you back $80 a pop. For more information on the lights, visit the Enlux website.A practical LED light to replace incandescent...

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DVR to Transform TV Advertising

A survey of advertising leaders by the American Advertising Federation (AAF) found that the vast majority of those surveyed said that digital video recorders (DVRs) will have a major impact on TV advertising in the coming years.Over half of those surveyed forecast growth of non-traditional advertising formats to counter the ability of DVR users to skip over 30-second commercials, and 21% said that traditional TV advertising will disappear altogether. Only 4% said that DVRs are overhyped -- a drop from 13% who expressed that opinion in a similar survey in 2003. And the number who believed DVRs will have only limited market penetration dropped...

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New Emerging Technology Think Tank

The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies is a relatively new group dedicated to "promoting and publicizing the work of thinkers who examine the social implications of scientific and technological advance." Among other things, the group publishes an e-mail newsletter and journal, sponsors conferences, and supports internship opportunities. Many of the contributors and fellows will be familar names to those who frequent the emerging-technologies blogosphe...

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IBM Once Again Has World's Fastest Computer

Moore's Law is alive and well. Big Blue reclaimed the title of producing the world's fastest computer when IBM's Blue Gene/L supercomputer was clocked at 70.72 trillion canculations per second. This is almost double the processing speed of the previous record holder, Japan's Earth Simulator, which weighed in at 35.86 trillion calculations per second. The Earth Simluator, in turn, was four times faster than any other computer when it debuted two years ago.Blue Gene/L requires 2,500 square feet of space and uses about $1 million in electricity every year. However, computer scientists say that these are modest requirements for a supercomputer, the result of its high efficient design. Blue Gene/L will be put to work at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where it will ultimately be...

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Device to Diagnose Patients by Looking in Their Eyes

They say the eyes are the window to the soul. One company is taking that maxim literally by developing a clinical device that allows doctors to diagnose patients' illnesses by looking into their eyes.The article in USA Today is short on specifics, but West Virginia-based MD Biotech has developed a noninvasive instrument that analyzes various properties of the eye, and can use what it finds to diagnose "a wide range of injuries, illness and physical abnormalities." The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the good folks who brought you the Internet, has given MD Biotech nearly $1 million in grants to develop the device. DARPA sees potential in military use, where diagnoses on the battlefield would need to be made on-the-fly. But another obvious application would be in pediatrics;...

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Is There a Doctor in the House?

An article in the Annals of Internal Medicine forecasts a shortage of doctors in the U.S. within the next 20 years. Richard Cooper, MD, of the Medical College of Wisconsin predicts that the U.S. will need up to 200,000 additional doctors between 2020 and 2025.Fewer graduates from medical schools, combined with an aging population, are causing the shortage. However, others point out that shortages may not necessarily be across-the-board, and will likely vary by specialty and location. Other variables such as new healthcare technology, recruitment initiatives by medical schools, insurance reimbursement practices and malpractice will also affect the number of doctors in the coming yea...

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Peak Oil

It doesn't take a rocket scientist (or a futurist, for that matter) to realize that the recent rise in oil prices is not an anomaly, but a long-term trend.Seeing this, a new concept of "Peak Oil" is emerging, which is defined as the point "when our collective ability to extract enough oil is exceeded by our demand for oil." Although we're better at extracting oil than we used to be, the planet's reserves are finite, even if we were to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for drilling. And global demand is increasing as countries such as China and India step up their consumption, combined with the developed world enjoying a relatively...

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Firefox Fever

Today, Mozilla released its final 1.0 version of its Firefox web browser -- an event that's posing the first serious challenge to the dominant Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE) browser since MSIE crushed Netscape in the late 1990s. This year, MSIE's share of the browser market has fallen from 95.5% to just under 93%, in large part because users have turned to Firefox, Opera and other alternative browsers.Eight million people downloaded the preview version of Firefox 1.0 the past several months, and reports are that the Firefox server has been clogged all day with people attempting to download the final version since it was released at 1 A.M. this morning. Stephen Pierzchala, senior analyst at Net performance management firm Gomez, calls the problem a "success crisis."So what's all the excitement...

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The Holidays are Going to the Dogs, Cats and Other Pets

Following the trend established in past years, retailers expect holiday shoppers to shell out big bucks for presents -- not just for themselves and their kids, but their pets as well.It's no accident that PetSmart has become a giant among "big box" retailers, and many malls features stores such as Jake's Dog House, which sell upscale items for both pets and pet lovers. Pets can enjoy their own holiday activities, and have their pictures taken with Santa. Dogs can now get massages, take yoga classes, and even get facials! Web sites such as CatsPlay.com are picking up where the infamous dotcom victim Pets.com left off, but with a more tightly...

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Heart Medicine for Blacks a First

BiDil, a heart medicine with demonstrated success in cutting heart-related deaths among blacks, may become the first medicine ever approved for a specific racial group.This could be the start of a generation of medicines tailored to patients' genetic makeup. The drug was developed in response to evidence that regular ACE inhibitors were less effective on blacks than on other groups. Other studies suggest blacks have less nitric oxide in their blood; nitric oxide widens blood vessels, and BiDil boosts levels of nitric oxide.However, some cardiologists believe that BiDil could be just as effective with other racial groups. They argue that social rather than genetic differences put blacks at higher risk for heart disease. Whether or not BiDil ushers in a new era of genetic-specific drugs,...

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Families Giving Up 'Burbs for the Big City

Real estate agents are noting an increase in the number of families who are choosing to live in cities rather than the suburbs. They are joining young singles and "empty nesters" who appreciate the advantages of city life and condo living.Observers believe that families are willing to accept the higher expenses of city life in exchange for greater cultural assets and the elimination of the daily commute (a particular advantage in this era of expensive gasoline). There is also the desire among many parents to send their children to exclusive private schools in the hearts of major cities such as New York. The trend, however, appears limited to upscale families who can afford to live in fashionable urban neighborhoo...

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Climate Warming Faster than Previously Thought

According to a report from the Pew Center for Global Climate Change, the Earth's average temperature has increased by approximately 1° F over the past 100 years, and may increase by as much as 10 degrees by the end of the century. It doesn't sound like much, but scientists are already noting effects, especially in the Arctic, which is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the planet, and much more rapidly than an earlier U.N. report forecast. Researchers studying the Arctic climate change and resulting thaw could destabilize structures in the region, and cause polar bears to go extinct by 2100.Perhaps most dangerous of all is the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from thawing Arctic soil, creating a "feedback loop" that could accellerate global warming even further.The Pew report...

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Intelligent Fabric

Eleksen, a British-based company, has developed a method of manufacturing sensors and switches from textiles. This, of course, opens the door to all kinds of "smart clothing" and fabrics that have network awareness, such as blankets and children's toys. The fabric can be sewn and washed, and can generally tolerate far more abuse than standard electronics.Because of its ruggedness, the technology has lots of potential in medical, military and emergency management applications....

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Purple Reign

Tired of election post-analysis and discussion of the red vs. blue cultural divide? Yeah, me too. But get used to it, as we keep analyizing the impact of a second Bush administration on our future. At any rate, here's one tidbit that's worthy of discussion...USA Today has published a map of election results by county, showing which counties voted for Bush (red) and Kerry (blue).At first blush, the most striking feature of this map is how overwhelmingly red it is. Conservative bloggers such as Michelle Malkin have used this map to argue that support for Bush runs much broader than even the state-based electoral maps suggest.But take a closer...

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Telecommuter's Home/Office of the Future

Recently I came across a book in the library called Telecommuting Success by Michael J. Dziak. Overall, the book is a collection of best practices aimed at first-time teleworkers. It is, however, a bit dated (published way back in 2001), and according to Amazon, it's out of print.Despite this, one section jumped out at me as I read it. Dziak spends some time discussing the future of telecommuting -- he believes it's a growing trend -- and speculates on how the home of the future might change to adapt to telework: Knowledge workers might have rooms in their home dedicated to business entertaining and small meetings (a throwback to the "parlor" concept of Victorian-era homes). These rooms, naturally, would be equipped with state-of-the-art videoconferencing equipment. "Convertible" rooms...

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Why minimum wage?

Do YOU fall into this ultra-common trap?The trap you ask?Working for minimum wage.I'm serious.Now, bear in mind I'm not talking about flipping burgers down at the local fast food joint. I'm not talking about pumping gas.But what I AM talking about is working for WAY, WAY under your computer consulting firm's true market value.For example, in most major metro markets in the U.S., computer consultants, that work with sweet spot small businesses, are able to bill out in the neighborhood of $100+ per hour.Yet, every once in a while, we hear of a true tragedy...It usually goes something like this...A newbie is working 60 hours a week and only grossing a paltry $1,200 per week for this breakneck pace.When we probe a little deeper, we usually discover a few things.a) No understanding of the difference...

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