Saturday, August 16, 2003

Rajesh is right on when he points to the Rocky Mountain Institute's approach to power security.  Decentralization is right. 10:24:58 PM    Comment_ Trackback []

Web 2.0  WEB 2.0 (Personal Broadcast Networks) is starting to get some traction.  Adam Bosworth (the CTO of BEA) is writing extensively about the Web Services Browser and Kevin Lynch (CSA at Macromedia) has written a white paper on rich Flash applications that utilize Web Services (he calls them Rich Internet Applications).  Each takes a different approach to solving the same thing:  how to build new client (desktop PC) software that realizes the vision of Web 2.0? What is Web 2.0?  It is a system that breaks with the old model of centralized Web sites and moves the power of the Web/Internet to the desktop.  It includes three structural elements:  1) a source of content, data, or functionality (a website, a Web service, a desktop PC peer), 2) an open system of transport (RSS, XML-RPC, SOAP, P2P, and too an extent IM), and 3) a rich client (desktop software).  Basically, Web 2.0 puts the power of the Internet in the hands of the desktop PC user where it belongs.  So far, we have made excellent progress on the first two elements necessary for Web 2.0, yet the remaining element has undergone an abortive development path.  The primary reason for this is due to Microsoft's dominance of the browser market which has resulted in stasis.  Additionally, both VCs and developers have been frozen in fear of fighting Microsoft on the desktop.  Regardless, the Web 2.0 desktop applications I had hoped for years ago haven't arrived in sufficient numbers.  Fortunately, the tide is about to shift. Three development paths are now in contention.  The first is a desktop Web site approach (Radio).  A second is an enhanced browser method (Flash, see picture).  A third is a custom desktop application (.Net and nifty custom apps like Brent's NetNewsWire).  I suspect that all three approaches will gain traction over the next couple of years, but my personal preference (for a myriad of reasons) is to put a CMS (Web site content management system) on the desktop and leverage the limitations of the browser to provide an enhanced experience.  This makes it possible for a seamless transition for users from the Web 1.0 to Web 2.0.  Regardless, it is extremely nice to see motion. Note: I changed the name of this post to Web 2.0 to make it more understandable. 10:14:33 PM    Comment_ Trackback []

Very cool:  induction-based cooking surfaces.   Luxine (sorry no website but great analysis by EPRI) has a high-end product.   Fast heat-up (2 min).  Cool surfaces (which is great for the cook!).  High efficiency (95% vs. 30% for a commercial gas range).  Superior performance.  I want one.  Resources:  a discussion of induction ranges and cooktops at Bob Vila, ebay sales, and Induction systems has a  products and explanations. 10:50:33 AM    Comment_ Trackback []

EPRI.  Power outages and other power quality disturbances are costing the U.S. economy more than $119 billion annually, according to a recently released study sponsored by EPRI’s Consortium for Electric Infrastructure to Support a Digital Society (CEIDS). Current estimates to fix the system are between $50 and $100 b, in addition to the $3 b a year that is currently spent on grid infrastructure (this is half the annual investment made 30 years ago even as demand spiked).  The benefits include fewer outages (a huge percentage of that $119 b loss cited above), lower prices (estimates of $500m a year in savings for the NE corridor and CA alone) as power is more evenly distributed, and a wave of technology-based jobs (which pay a great wage and confer excellent skills).     However, amid new calls for legislation to "fix" the US power grid, an important element is missing from the argument:  quality digital power.  What is needed is a smart power system that not only can prevent outages, but can improve the quality of power delivered.  Fortunately new systems of quality measurement are in the works.  For example, a current-model, unprotected microprocessor may malfunction if power is interrupted for even one-quarter of a single AC cycle—in other words, for one 240th of a second. In prior years, a sub second power malfunction wouldn't have been considered a problem.  Most people would only notice a flickering of their lights.  Given today's intelligent infrastructure, it could cause major disruptions -- as most of us have seen when our computers and high end devices fry. 10:27:37 AM    Comment_ Trackback []