Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Technology's Promise - Distributed Power

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Electrical substations were designed to support a centralized energy delivery grid, facilitating the flow of electrical energy from generating stations to consumers. In general, the flow of electrons is centralized and flows one way from the point of generation to consumption. Likewise, information flows are limited between generation and transmission and distribution substation assets, with little or no communications beyond those places in the grid.

This can prove very promising, techniques save from 8.7% to 38% and from 3.1% to 27%, respectively, of the CPU energy used by the base system. The two techniques provide these savings for complementary workload intensities. The combined technique is effective for all three workloads across a broad range of intensities, saving from 17% to 42% of the CPU energy. Figures 1 and 2 show the impact of these techniques on Finance and Disk-Intense (Figure 1 and 2 fromK.RajamaniandC.Lefurgy.OnEvaluatingRequest-DistributionSchemesforSavingEnergyinServerClusters. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Symposium on Performance Analysis of Systems and Software, March 2003.)



Energy Management Systems (EMSs) and Distribution Management Systems (DMSs) equipment in secondary distribution substations is not monitored due to lack of WAN connections to these sites. However, in his book, Technology's Promise, William, E. Halal (2008) suggests that, "Prominent failures of today's centralized power systems have heightened interest in distributed grids that are more reliable... Distributed grids are self-managed networks relying primarily on local energy sources that can reduce transmission costs, the risk and severity of failures, and vulnerability to attack.

Future Distributed Power will bring:
•        Improving grid loss and reliability: Proliferation of leased line circuits and siloed applications lack interoperability.
•        Enhancing grid security: A top concern for utilities is ensuring the physical and cyber protection of the grid.
•        Decreasing peak load management costs: As demand for energy continues to grow, utilities must find ways to generate power that meet peak loads.
•        Increasing grid transparency and manual grid operations: Utilities have little or no grid visibility beyond the T&D substation.

Two Forces:

Environmental - Energy Management Systems can prove critical to the advancement of earth conservation and green energy. This new technology comes at a critical time as the earth's resources are becoming scarce.

Global - Companies should look to government support for investment. Profits should be limited with the greater focus being on allowing all nations to use and adopt Energy Management Systems as this would benefit all mankind.


Evan

References:
K.RajamaniandC.Lefurgy.OnEvaluatingRequest-DistributionSchemesforSavingEnergyinServerClusters. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Symposium on Performance Analysis of Systems and Software, March 2003.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The future of watching 3D movies is right around the corner




Growing up in the seventies, I recall those special occasions when a new 3D movie would come out in theaters. It was typically in the form of a bad horror movie but there was something fun about putting on those silly glasses, sitting and watching in wonder. Those days of wearing those silly glasses could soon be over. A recent study (Kim, et al., 2012) suggests that using a frontal projection-type auto-stereoscopic display together with a polarizer and a quarter-wave retarding film can bring 3D viewing without using 3D glasses. This is tone of the first studies that looks at the differences between frontal projection-type auto-stereoscopic displays and integral imaging by using a projector.

The researchers propose the use of a three-dimensional (3D) displays as vital for a stereoscopic display and an auto-stereoscopic display, such as in the parallax barrier method, the lenticular lens method, and the integral imaging method.



The researchers suggest that, "They permit spatial and/or temporal multiplexing to produce a larger display and have high-definition because the display devices and the screen are separated. One of the major merits of the projection-type auto-stereoscopic display is that only one projector is used. However, such an approach unfortunately limits spacing efficiency because additional optical components, such as a parallax barrier, a lenticular lens, and a lenslet array in front of the screen are needed for delivering different perspectives to the viewer, even though several methods of reflective projection-type 3D display have been reported."

Yes, it could be possible that wearing those silly 3D glasses could soon be coming to an end.


Two Forces:

Economical - The use of 3D in the home is still in its early stages as the everyday consumer has yet to buy-in to the value and cost benefit. Clear advancement in the technology has resulted in recent blockbuster hits as Avatar which showcases 3D technical capabilities.

Global - The use of 3D technology at home and in community movie theaters is primarily used in the western culture and limited in eastern cultures due to cost. 


Evan








Reference:
Youngmin Kim, Keehoon Hong, Jiwoon Yeom, Jisoo Hong, Jae-Hyun Jung, Yong Wook Lee, Jae-Hyeung Park, and Byoungho Lee  A frontal projection-type three-dimensional display



 http://www.opticsinfobase.org/oe/fulltext.cfm?uri=oe-20-18-20130&id=240807

Saturday, August 11, 2012

The new Agore model

In the 6th century, the Agore was a place where citizens discussed, debated and made consensus based on popular vote. Population explosion, technology advancements and cultural issues have impacted how we create this Agore that existed in the past. A new agora has been developed that combines the power of human capital and social capital with cyberspace capital, to produce new ways to collaborate. However, this is only possible for those who become masters of the collaborative mode of human association, which is essential to optimum development in cyberspace (Schreibman and Christakis). Part of this new agore defines the "Erroneous Priorities Effect" (EPE), which suggests that "even with good intentions for participative democracy, people cannot collectively walk the talk unless we change the paradigm for languaging and voting."

As part of this new agore model, 6 laws have been outlined, which are:


1. Appreciation of the diversity of perspectives of observers is essential to embrace the many dimensions of a complex situation.
2. Disciplined dialogue is required so that observers are not subjected to information overloaded.
3. The relative importance of an observer's ideas can be understood only when they are compared with others in the group.
4. Meaning and wisdom of an observer's ideas are produced in a dialogue only when they begin to understand the relationships such as similarity, priority, influence, etc., of different people's ideas.
5. Every person matters, so it is necessary to protect the autonomy and authenticity of each observer in drawing distinctions.
6. Evolutionary learning occurs in a dialogue as the observers learn how their ideas relate to one another.

These 6 laws should also be considered when evaluating innovative technologies.

Two Forces:
Technological and Cultral - Technology advancements and cultural issues have impacted how we create this Agore that existed in the past. A new agora has been developed that combines the power of human capital and social capital with cyberspace capital, to produce new ways to collaborate.
 

Reference:
Vigdor Schreibman and Alexander N. Christakis, New Agora: New Geometry of Languaging And New Technology of Democracy: The Structured Design Dialogue Process.

Evan

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Favorite Ted Talk

This is a wonderful Ted Talk by filmmaker Morgan Spurlock of hte Super Size Me film. Morgan looks at the influential world of brand marketing, where he looks to make a completely sponsored film about sponsorship. You can see this Ted Talk here:

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/morgan_spurlock_the_greatest_ted_talk_ever_sold.html

Using this same concept, Morgan offers to the highest bidder on eBay offers naming rights to his Ted Talk. Basically a Your Name Here to the highest bidder. With his movie idea and similarly with his Ted Talk, most companies shy away from offering their brand to a project that they have little to know control over. Morgan argues against this saying that companies and individuals need to cut out the middle man (in his case, brand consultants) and begin to take chances and risks and those companies that take risks see new opportunities present themselves.

Two Forces:

Ethical - Morgan really pushes the limits when it comes to being ethical in his marketing approach. Offering the branding of his Ted Talk to the highest bidder in an eBay auction I would suggest is questionable marketing practices.

Legal - When Morgan visits these business to try and sell them on the idea of a full length video with nothing but brand placement his cameras are filming. I would question if Morgan provided a non-disclosure to these companies before he starts filming.

Evan



Tuesday, June 14, 2011

List of 50 companies using social media effectively - from Social Media Today

There are hundreds more than these, but here’s a list of 50 companies from Social Media Today using social media marketing:








  1. Adobe. Tagging: Delicious account 
  2. Acura.  Social networks: Facebook Acura TSX Connect Widgets: Acura RDX Traffic on Yahoo.
  3. Adidas.  Social networks: adidas soccer on myspace: “never-ending friending.”
  4. Animal Planet.  Widgets:  Killer Clips widget on Yahoo.
  5. Apple.  Blogging: iPod’s dirty little secret.  Social networks: Apple Students group on Facebook.
  6. Bank of America.  Online video: Managers sing at a corporate meeting.
  7. Best Buy.  Social networks: Created Blue Shirt Nation to allow retail employees to support each other.  Widgets:  Desktop Planner widget andSarah Moulton Recipe Reminder on Yahoo.
  8. Blendtec.  Online video: YouTube channel.
  9. BMW. Social networks: Facebook 1-Series Road Trip application.
  10. Bon Appétit  Magazine.  Social networks: Facebook page.
  11. British Airways.  Microblogging: Twitter account.
  12. Carnival Cruise Lines.  Social networks: Carnival Connections community.
  13. Charles Schwab. Social networks: Money and More community.
  14. Chevrolet.  Crowdsourcing:  Super Bowl 2007 ad contest.  Social networks: Aveo Livin’ Large Campus Challenge 
  15. Cisco.  Blogging: Twelve corporate blogs.
  16. Coca-Cola:Blogging: Coca-Cola Conversations discusses company history. Online video: Sponsored Cans Professional 3.  Diet Coke + Mentos by Eepybird. Social networks:  Sprite Sips Facebook application. Widgets: Coke Bubbles on Joost. 
  17. Comcast: Microblogging: Customer support on Twitter.Online video: Sleeping technician on YouTube.
  18. Conde Nast Traveler.  Social networks: Facebook fan page.
  19. Crest.  Social networks: Facebook page.
  20. Dell. Blogging: Direct2Dell  Dell Hell.  Osaka flaming laptop.Microblogging: 22 corporate accounts on Twitter
  21. Delta Air Lines:Blogging:  Under the Wing. Photo sharing:  Flickr account.
  22. Doritos.  Crowdsourcing:  Consumer-generated Super Bowl ads.
  23. Dove.  Online video: dove evolution.
  24. Ford:Blogging: Sponsored a test drive event for women bloggers. Microblogging: Twitter account for North America. Social networks: Ford Drives U Facebook group for student buyers. 
  25. Forrester Research:Blogging: Twelve corporate blogs Microblogging: Twitter account Online video:  YouTube channel Social networks:  Facebook fan page.
  26. Gourmet Magazine.  Social networks: Facebook fan page.
  27. H&R Block.  Microblogging:  Twitter account.  Social networks:  Facebook fan page.
  28. Harley-Davidson.  Blogging: Museum blog.
  29. Hewlett-Packard: Blogging: 55 corporate blogs Microblogging: Twitter account used for promotions at BlogHer 2008.
  30. JetBlue. Blogging: “JetBlue hostage” blog. Microblogging:  Twitter account. Online video:  YouTube channel for corporate communications.Valentine’s Day 2006 meltdown. Photo sharing:  Flickr pool. Social networks:  JetBlue University. 
  31. Johnson & Johnson. Blogs:  JNJ BTW.  Kilmer House - history blog. Events:  Camp Baby 2008 for mommy bloggers.Online video:  J&J health channel on YouTube.
  32. Kleenex: Blogging: Let It Out blog. Social Networks: Let it Out Community.
  33. Marriott.  Blogging: CEO blog.
  34. McDonalds.Blogging: Corporate social responsibility blog.  Mom’s Quality Correspondents blog - “real moms” blogging about McDonalds behind the scenes. Podcasting: Investor relations and other issues.
  35. NBA.  Widgets:  2008 All-Star Ballot widget on Yahoo.
  36. Nike. Blogging:  Nike Basketball. Mashups:  Nike 6.0 action sports community.  Nike+ running route finder. Social Networks: Jordan Brand Breakfast Club.
  37. Nikon.  Blogging:  Marketing blogger outreach campaign.  Picturetownoutreach campaign.
  38. Nintendo.  Online video: YouTube girlfriend on Wii Fit video.
  39. Pampers.  Blogging: Mommy blogger event.
  40. Reebok.  Social networks: Run Easy community. Facebook fan page.
  41. Rubbermaid.  Blogging:  Adventures in Organization blog.3
  42. Sonic Drive-In.  Widgets:  Gift List Manager widget on Yahoo.
  43. Sony Electronics.  Blogging: Sony Electronics blog. Fake PSP blog in 2006.
  44. Southwest Airlines. Blogging: Nuts About Southwest. Microblogging:  SouthwestAir on Twitter. Online video: YouTube channel.Photo sharing:  Flickr group. Widgets:  Ding!
  45. Sun Microsystems. Blogging: 4,600+ Sun-related blogs.
  46. Starbucks.  Crowdsourcing: My Starbucks Idea.
  47. Wal-Mart.  Blogging: Check Out, a blog written by buyers.  Walmarting Across America.  Working Families For Walmart?  Social networks: Facebook Roommate Style Match application.  The Hub. 
  48. Whirlpool. Podcasting:  Developed and sponsors The American Family.
  49. Xerox.  Blogging: 11 corporate blogs.
  50. Zappos:Blogging:  13 corporate blogs

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Economic and Business Model Transformation in Emerging Media



Attending a recent residency in Colorado Springs my Cohort and I had a brief discussion on a company that allowed you to develop an IPhone app for free. I did a quick search on Google for, "develop iPhone app for free" which resulted in over 98,000 hits. Now obviously these 98,000 are not sites that will allow you to develop iPhone apps for free but it does give an example of how relevant the discussion is.

Two examples of how technical and economic transformations are allowing new emerging media practices possible is the fact that you don't need $100 million dollars in Venture Capital to launch these new emerging media platforms. Whether developing a slick iPhone app or launching a new social networking site, you don't need a lot of money or a degree in C programming to develop these emerging media technologies. Open source, developer’s communities and the idea of FREE (read: Chris Anderson's book Free - How Today's Smartest Businesses Profit By Giving Something For Nothing), make it all possible.

Remember 11 years ago when we had the so-called "internet bubble,” a situation where every internet start-up imaginable was getting VC funding to develop the latest and greatest social website (I remember seeing a commercial during the Super Bowl during this time about a social networking site for dogs – I don’t think it made it). Back then you needed millions to develop these sites because the industry wasn’t as open as it is today and you needed a small army of outsourced developers over seas to develop it. With Open Source and Free economic business models you see today, one can develop emerging media with little to no cost. It is up to the users on how successful it is.

My iPhone example is not the only one. Today you can develop a blog site using WordPress, or you can create a social website / social networking site using Joomla or Drupal. All of these are examples of Open Source development communities where you can download the platform for free and use their developer’s community for any expertise you need to develop. With as little as $100 dollars for a hosting fee and leveraging free website templates you can develop a very attractive website for less than a few hundred dollars and if it doesn’t take off you don’t have to explain why your internet start-up is not profitable to a bunch of Stanford thirty-something’s in Palo Alto.

Open Source platforms and the idea of “Free” business models are two very interesting technical and economic transformations that have taken shape of the past several years to drive forward emerging media.

Evan Escobedo