Michael Zimmer, “The Faustian Bargain with Web 2.0″, First Monday, 2008/04 June 18, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: faustian, michael zimmer, web 2.0
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We don’t quite have enough experience with Web 2.0 to understand the downsides as well as upsides with the technology.
Special editor Michael Zimmer discusses “Critical Perspectives on Web 2.0” — getting behind the hype and taking stock of Web 2.0’s impact on users like you.
Paul Hawken, “Blessed Unrest: Grassroots Humanity”, Emory University, 2007/05/21 June 18, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: grassroots, humanity, paul hawken
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Paul Hawken is a non-traditional thinker who seems to have fallen into business with an environmental bent.
Paul Hawken, environmentalist, businessman, and founder of the first natural foods company, addresses the creation of a worldwide grassroots movement based on hope and humanity.
From billion-dollar nonprofits to single person causes, there is a growing worldwide movement of organizations dedicated to restoring the environment and fostering social justice. This is a movement with no name, leader, or headquarters, but it can be seen in every city, town, and culture. It is organizing from the bottom up and is emerging as an extraordinary and creative expression of shared values worldwide. What are the driving forces behind these developments? Can the interests of these organizations translate into effective government policies and profitable businesses?
This program is part of the Ford Hall Forum’s continuing series on environmental issues. It is presented in collaboration with the Old South Meeting House as part of the Partners in Public Dialogue Series.
Joel Waldfogel, “Markets, Choice, and the Tyranny of the Market”, Econtalk, 2007/11/12 June 18, 2009
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Supply and demand writ small may not work as well as when writ large.
Joel Waldfogel of the Wharton School of Business talks about the idea in his new book, The Tyranny of Markets: Why You Can’t Always Get What You Want.
He argues that when fixed costs are large, markets don’t necessarily give people what they want and that, analogous to the political process, you can be hurt as the number of people with preferences that differ from yours gets larger.
Host Russ Roberts challenges Waldfogel’s claim that these phenomena are widespread and argues that in many cases, markets ultimately solve these problems. They discuss the amount of variety in newspapers, radio, and airline travel, along with how economics generally looks at fixed costs and consumer sovereignty.
Joel Waldfogel Archives | EconTalk | Library of Economics and Liberty
John Ralston Saul, “A Fair Country: Telling Truths About Canada”, The Commentary, 2008/10/15 June 18, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: fair country, john ralston saul, metis
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Although Canadian students learn about the country being formed by the English and the French, Saul suggests that the culture goes back deeper to the Metis.
In his new book, A Fair Country: Telling Truths About Canada, the author and essayist John Ralston Saul expounds on three radical truths about Canada.
That first, we are a Métis civilisation.
Secondly, Peace, Order and Good Government has always been an interloper in Canada.
And thirdly, the elite doesn’t identify with Canada, thus they don’t wish to govern the country.
We’ll try our best in the time we have with Mr. Saul to discuss these three truths and more.
John Ralston Saul’s previous books, Voltaire’s Bastards, The Unconscious Civilization, On Equilibrium, and Reflections of a Siamese Twin, were prize winners and remain oft-discussed.
He is considered one of the leading thinkers on political and economic thought, not just here but abroad. Time has declared him a ‘prophet.’ He is also the General Editor of the Penguin Extraordinary Canadians project. It is an ambitious and already stimulating series of books on important Canadian figures.
Interview: John Ralston Saul, On the Line with Joseph Planta (thecommentary.ca)
Kent Beck, “Test Driven Development, Patterns and Extreme Programming”, O’Reilly Media RailsConf, 2008/05/31 June 18, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: extreme programming, kent beck, patterns, test driven development
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Kent Beck is a reflective practitioner in the developer community, dispensing thoughtful advice with humour.
Relating anecdotes from the past, Kent Beck, the father of Extreme Programming and JUnit, reflects back on the impact his ideas have had in the last 20 years, especially with respect to the history of Test Driven Development (TDD), Design Patterns, and Extreme Programming (XP). According to him, good ideas take about that much time to mature and come to fruition.
He regrets how patterns have become a tool in the arsenal of the software developer to solve a programming problem whereas he intended it to be one that would create more space for the user who was to be affected by the software. Reminiscing about the birth of patterns, he draws analogies between architecture in general and software architecture.
Finally he discusses the factors that affect the successful acceptance of an idea.
IT Conversations | O’Reilly Media RailsConf | Kent Beck (Free Podcast)
Jason Anderson, Kim Cook, Dan Hill and Carl Wilson “The Debate: What Happened to the Hits?”, Richard Florida, The Agenda, 2008/04/25 June 18, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: carl wilson, dan hill, jason anderson, kim cook, richard florida
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This and audiocast covers what it means when shared mass entertainment gives way to solitary listening. In addition, the importance of where you live on your life and career is discussed.
The hits of yesterday: what iPods, file-sharing and musical options beyond the record label mean for the music industry … and for music’s social function.
Guests
Jason Anderson is a music critic with Toronto Life and Eye Weekly.
Kim Cook is the owner of Pheromone Records, and chair of the Juno Awards nominating committee.
Dan Hill is a Juno Award-winning singer songwriter.
Carl Wilson is a writer/editor with The Globe and Mail, and author of Celine Dion’s Let’s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste.
The Agenda – Broadcast – Richard Florida | What Happened to the Hits?
Why where you live is as important as who you live with: superstar academic Richard Florida on urban centres, the creative economy, and what he likes about his newly adopted city.
Guests
Richard Florida is director of the Martin Prosperity Institute, professor of business and creativity at the Rotman School, and founder of the Creative Class Group.
The Agenda – Broadcast – Richard Florida | What Happened to the Hits?
Philip Rosedale, “Open Source Second Life”, O’Reilly Media Open Source Conference, 2007/07/27 February 9, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: open source, second life
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Changing the virtual world software to open source is a significant turning point in strategy.
Second Life is not a game – it is a social, interactive, 3D version of the Internet. It has so far been developed and hosted by Linden Lab, but the vision for the future of Second Life requires more resources to realize than any one company can provide. In this talk from the O’Reilly Open Source Convention, Phillip Rosedale, CEO and Founder of Linden Lab, describes how their plans to open source their code will help the Second Life experience, and strengthen Linden Lab’s business position.
Virtual worlds, like many other internet businesses, rely on network effects for competitive advantage – the more users a service has, the more valuable it is. Because the service with the most users wins, the best competitive practice is to make your application and code free and open. Linden Lab is following this strategy; they have already released their client code and are preparing to release their server code as well. They hope to gain improved hosting options for portions of the virtual world, new kinds of clients, and more resources for bug fixing. Despite not having a robust system to handle community contributions, they have had a positive experience and have already received code fixes and patches.
IT Conversations | O’Reilly Media Open Source Conference | Philip Rosedale (Free Podcast)
Paul Duguid, First Monday, 2007/11 February 9, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: google books
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I’ve been curious about Paul Duguid since he’s been a co-author with John Seely Brown.
Listen to Paul Duguid discuss his views on the Google Books Project, Tristram Shandy, and respond to his critics.
Lang Davison and John Hagel, “Reshaping the Future: The Risks and Rewards of Innovation in a Changing World”, Deloitte Insights, 2009/01 February 9, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: infrastructure, innovation
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How should companies evolve strategy as technology-driven infrastructures change?
Innovative companies can’t simply adapt to change; they need to instigate that change before the ground shifts from under them. Shapers alter mindsets; they shake things up — and they can move worlds.
Highlights:
- Historically, once a new innovation has disrupted an industry, things tended to stabilize, but not anymore. Why are disruptions that are brought about by new technologies not being followed by a period of stabilization?
- What makes a good shaper?
- How can companies translate a shaping view into a successful business strategy, and why is a shaping view better than a vision?
- For companies that take the plunge, you recommend a strategy called FAST — an acronym that stands for Focus, Accelerate, Strengthen and Tie it Altogether. Can you describe how FAST works in practice?
Tim Chou, “The End of Software”, Inside Digital Media, 2006/01/16 January 31, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: saas, software-as-a-service
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Maintaining a portfolio of software is not a trivial activity or expense.
In the future software-as-a-service may replace software-as-a-product.
John Kao, “Innovation Nation”, Principled Innovation, 2008/03/28 January 31, 2009
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The United States has a long history as a nation of innovation, which seems to have slipped.
… this book is about what America needs to do to as a country to rebuild its eroding innovation advantage, and it is a very important read for all association leaders.
One of the most interesting aspects of our conversation is around John’s belief that we need to reinvigorate America’s “innovation ethos.” In other words, we need to get clear as individual citizens and as a nation why innovation matters to us. As John explains during our interview, “If innovation is the answer, what is the question?” From my point of view, this is one of the most critical issues facing the association community.
When it comes to innovation, America faces considerable challenges going forward, not only from our own complacency, but from the proactive efforts of nations around the world to take their innovation leadership to another level. As John points out, associations have an important role to play in strengthening this critical element of our national competitiveness, but many organizations appear unwilling to embrace this opportunity. Going forward, then, association CEOs and boards of directors need to decide whether they and their organizations are going to be a part of the problem, or a part of the solution.
Principled Innovation LLC » P.I. Podcast: Interview with John Kao
Adam Cohen, “Retailers Taking to Facebook One Way or Another”, Marketing Edge, 2008/10/30 January 19, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: facebook, marketing
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Facebook isn’t just a social medium, it’s an opportunity for marketers.
Adam Cohen, author of the Thousand Cuts blog, a regular read of mine, led a study of retailers using Facebook pages. Cohen’s firm, Rosetta, monitored uses of Fan pages by major retailers overtime from May to September of 2008. A highlight from the piece:
“A September 2008 study by Rosetta (formerly Brulant) that focused on the top 100 online retailers in the US found that 59 had a fan page on Facebook, up from 30 in May 2008. Among the 29 who added Facebook pages since that time were Best Buy, Toys “R” Us, Kohl’s and Wal-Mart.” [....]
… in this Marketing Edge podcast how, in some cases, employees or customers may have already created a Fan page on Facebook without the permission of HQ or the Brand Manager. You’ll have to blame James Madison and Thomas Jefferson for their wacky free speech idea in part for this behavior. However, as you have seen with Barack Obama’s campaign the ultimate in retail, when consumers are energetic about your brand, it’s best to watch the energy and not shut the lights off.
Tim O’Reilly, interview by Dan Bricklin, Software Garden, 2005/08/01 January 19, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: architecture, open source, participation
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There’s more to open source than “free”.
An interview with Tim O’Reilly, founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media.
O’Reilly Media is a major publisher of computer books. It also hosts conferences on computer languages, Open Source, and Emerging Technologies. Tim discusses their policy for copying computer code examples in their books, their experience with copyable and online books and the effects of piracy, the value of the openness and the “architecture of participation”, where there’s value in the Open Source ecosystem, the balance between what you own and what you give away, and more.
Arthur I. Miller, “Einstein & Picasso: The Beauty that Causes Havoc”, Perimeter Institute, 2005/10/17 January 19, 2009
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Great historical figures may be remembered at the height of their fame, but they have the context of their times and contemporaries that shapes them.
Arthur I. Miller of University College London lectures on the startling similarities between the lives and great works of Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso.
The most important scientist of the twentieth century, and its most important artist, went through their periods of greatest creativity almost simultaneously and under remarkably similar circumstances: Einstein’s special theory of relativity and Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. It turns out they were both working on the same problem: the nature of space and time and, more particularly, simultaneity. When they produced these astonishing works, Einstein and Picasso were not the distinguished elderly figures that later became so familiar: they were in their twenties, unknown, feisty, dirt-poor, and prone to getting into trouble.
This lecture is part of Einstein Fest at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Canada.
Jim Zemlin, “The New Era of Linux”, O’Reilly Media Ubuntu, 2007/07/22 January 19, 2009
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Linux has been more common on servers than on desktops, but Ubuntu is changing the perspective and approach for less-technical users.
Jim Zemlin of the Linux Foundation reflects on the end of the first stage of Linux and the beginning of a new era. He uses parodies of the popular Mac-PC television ads to contrast the internal and external view of Linux, and highlights the positive changes Ubuntu is making. The first stage of Linux was all about leveraging openness and a superior development methodology to create a competitive product. Hobbyists and companies have both contributed, and the rise of the internet has undermined the PC monopoly.
Now that Linux has matured, its second stage will be a battle between openness and opposing closed platforms. The openness that characterizes Linux and other open source projects produces faster releases that closed platforms can’t compete with. The proprietary platforms’ strengths are control over internal standards and huge amounts of money that can fund marketing for their products and negative publicity for competitors.
IT Conversations | O’Reilly Media Ubuntu Live | Jim Zemlin (Free Podcast)
Joel Spolsky, Software Garden, 2005/05/19 January 19, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: copyright, open source
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In the earlier days of open source, developers had to figure out how to navigate the variety of licenses.
Interview with Joel Spolsky, software developer, author, blogger, and software entrepreneur. Discussions about developers keeping track of where their code comes from and watching out for GPL code that shouldn’t be there, why developers who read Slashdot and Eric Raymond are more likely to be at least somewhat aware of copyright issues than their managers who don’t, differences between Windows and Unix when it comes to combining code (especially back in the days when the GPL was written), access to Microsoft source code, economics of Open Source, and more.
Grady Booch, “Software archaeology”, ACM OOPSLA, 2008/09/20 January 19, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: booch, engineering, history, software
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For most people in the modern industrial world, computer software is an everyday thing. In the grand scheme, though, software has been a relatively new advent.
As chief scientist for software engineering at IBM Research, Grady Booch has taken the ambitious and important task of chronicling and recording software architectures to make them available for future generations.
Grady argues that while software, in a relatively short span of time, has changed the world for the better, we have little lasting detail information of the software of the past. For instance, does the Lotus division of IBM still has the details on the architecture and source code for the original 123 spreadsheet software? The same questions could be asked of many important other software, e.g., Windows, Word, Linux, Mac OS, Acrobat, Mosaic, LaTeX, and so on.
Grady relates this quest for documenting software architectures with archeological digging, such as the ones done in Egypt to learn about the technologies, science, and thoughts of past civilizations. He also introduces one of the this year’s OOPSLA keynote, Mark Lehner, an Egyptologist by training who will discuss his craft and what computer scientists and engineers can learn from archeology.
Finally, Grady gives advices and shares insights with junior engineers and scientists on what has made his career so prolific and successful. He talks about his many many books and what subjects he chooses to read next as he and his wife increase their personal library.
Tim O’Reilly and Bruce Chizen, “The Future of Rich Online Documents”, O’Reilly Media Tools of Change Conference, 2007/06/19 January 19, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: adobe, air, ebooks
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Paper isn’t going away, but work on digital substitutes continues.
The need for immediacy has been a major factor in changing publishing. The amount of people who want to publish and the number of platforms they want to publish on has increased exponentially. The good old days of desktop and paper publishing are history, as products like Adobe Digital Editions and Adobe AIR convert the old way of publishing from print to electronic. Bruce Chizen prophesies that in a period of five to fifteen years electronic publishing will basically replace print.
Adobe Digital Editions is a rich Internet application which introduced a new way to read eBooks. It is based on the new Adobe AIR, a cross-OS runtime environment which handles XHTML, Flash, and PDF content and also supports AJAX. Like it’s predecessors, Adobe AIR content and applications can be viewed in a web browser, but can also run as stand-alone applications outside of the browser. It also gives the ability to work offline.
This conversation between Tim O’Reilly and Bruce Chizen at the Tools of Change Conference 2007 is an exciting listen for anyone wanting to know more about the revolution in publishing along with Adobe’s product plans.
Edward Burtynsky, “The 10,000-year Gallery”, Long Now Foundation, 2008/07/28 January 19, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: art, clock, long now
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While planning for the 10,000 year clock, the challenge of durable art takes on new meaning.
Photographer Edward Burtynsky made a formal proposal for a permanent art gallery in the chamber that encloses the 10,000-year Clock in its Nevada mountain. The gallery would consist of art in materials as durable as the alloy steel and jade of the Clock itself, and it would be curated slowly over the centuries to reflect changing interests in the rolling present and the accumulating past.
Photographs in particular should be in the 10,000-year Gallery, Burtynsky said, “because they tell us more than any previous medium. When we think of our own past, we tend to think in terms of family photos.”But photographic prints, especially color prints, degrade badly over time. Burtynsky went on a quest for a technical solution. He thought that automobile paint, which holds up to harsh sunlight, might work if it could be run through an inkjet printer, but that didn’t work out. Then he came across a process first discovered in 1855, called “carbon transfer print.” It uses magenta, cyan, and yellow inks made of ground stone—the magenta stone can only be found in one mine in Germany—and the black ink is carbon.
The Long Now Blog » Blog Archive » Edward Burtynsky, “The 10,000-year Gallery”
Marten Mickos, interview by Dan Bricklin, Software Garden, 2005/07/13 January 19, 2009
Posted by daviding in Talk Audio Download.Tags: licensing, mysql, open source
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MySQL was unique in having a open source and commercial dual license structure.
An interview with Marten Mickos, CEO of MySQL AB.
MySQL is a very popular database that is released under a “dual license” approach that includes the GPL as well as a proprietary one. Marten discusses the differences between the two licenses and the issue of deciding which to use. He also talks about business models, ensuring ownership of copyrights in an Open Source project and in general, software patents, the fact that about 40% of MySQL’s active installations are on Windows computers, various segmentations of their market with respect to different licenses, and whether an Open Source-based ISV can make a reasonable amount of money in the eyes of investors.
