Editor’s Desk
Executive Knowledge Lines A Magazine to Empower the Executives The executive is under severe pressure today from all angles, more than ever before, to produce results. Uncertainties at work place, changing business scenarios, fierce competition, challenges of globalisation and a host of other impediments always keep him on tenterhooks. Added to these, he has to update himself of the emerging technology trends and management practicesrelevanttohisfield. Ideally,toaddress this need of r ‘efuelling’, considerable time and money have to be set aside for reading, web-surfing, participating in technical forums etc, which may not always be practical for all. However, this requires to be necessarily done, to keep abreast of the ferments taking place in techno-managerial landscapes. Obsolescence, the bane of modern day business, would unseat many executives, if timely actions are not taken. Executive Knowledge Lines (EKL) is the outcome of thinking and planning by a group of experts to fill this gap - at one end, it is the urgent need of professionals to stay tuned to the latest happenings in their respective areas of activity; at the other end, there is the ever expanding horizon of data, information, knowledge and wisdom, to be accessed from a multitude of sources, sifted, collated and made into nutshell forms for quick and easy assimilation to remain well informed always. There is also the question of executive health - the work-pressure induced or lifestyle related health problems, which are generally ignored but require timely attention, for one’sown healthyexistence. EKL aims to provide a knowledge pipeline to the executives to address these needs.To make this happen, a set of experts in various fields workrelentlessly, scanning the knowledge repositories. The net result is a magazine with content in concise but meaningful form, from different areas of contemporary knowledge. The references following each knowledge-module would come handy to probe deeper, if need be. Here we present our knowledge work with full confidence and optimism that this would playarole in empoweringyou to excelinyour chosen fieldsof activity. Much more are on the anvil, being shaped to be continuously added to its knowledge value. W e now look forwardtoyour encouragement, constructivecriticisms,considered suggestions and studied opinions to make everynew issue richer in content. N .T.NAIR, Chief Editor 1 August ‘05 w w w.knowledgelines.com August 2005!Executive Knowledge Lines!1
‘You’ve Got to Find What You Love’ This is the text of the Commencement address at Stanford University, USA by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college.Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. TodayIwanttotellyou three stories from mylife.That ’sit. No big deal.Just three stories.
T he fi rst story is about connecting the dots. I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I 2!Executive Knowledge Lines!August 2005
really quit. So why did I drop out? It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on awaitinglist,gotacallinthemiddle of the night asking: “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” They said: “Of course.” My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She onlyrelented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my workingclass parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn’t interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting. Itwasn’tallromantic.Ididn’thavea dorm room, soIslept on the floor in friends’ rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example: Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and
didn’t have to take the normal classes,Idecidedtotakeacalligraphy class to learn how to do this.I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful,historical,artisticallysubtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating. None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography.If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts.And since Windows just copied the Mac, it is likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do.Of courseitwas impossibl e to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very,very clear looking backwards ten yearslater. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your August 2005!Executive Knowledge Lines!3
Stanford University Highlights
Stanford University was founded in 1891 by Leland Stanford and wife Jane Stanford who dedicated their entire estate and fortune towards its establishment in memory of their only child, Leland J r,. who died at an earlyage. Leland Stanford, a distinguished businessman, Governor of California and US Senator was a person who had demonstrated business acumen and qualities of leadership.He set a patternfor students to receive a broad liberal education, as well as “practical education”-one that would cultivate imagination and develop character.Their ideas of practical education enlarged until they arrived at the concept of producing cultured and useful citizens who were especially prepared for personal success intheirchosen professions. In a statement of the case for a liberal education, Stanford wrote: “I attach great importance to general literature for the enlargement of the mind and for giving businesscapacity.IthinkIhave noticed thattechnically educated boys do not make the most successful businessmen. The imagination needs to be cultivated and developed to assure success in life. A man will never construct anything he cannot conceive.” Although the University has grown and changed in many ways over the years, it is very much a
future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny,life, karma, whatever.Thisapproach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.
My second story is about love and loss. I was lucky - I found what I loved to do earlyinlife.W oz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. W e worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown 4!Executive Knowledge Lines!August 2005
from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. W e had just released our finest creation - the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? W ell, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But
product of its physical settings and of its early educational growth of ‘practicability’, ‘humanism’ and ‘excellence.’ On November 11,1885, Stanford dictated the Founding Grant without notes.The Founding Grant stands today as the University’s ‘Constitution.’It stipulates that the objectives of the University are: “to qualify students for personal success and direct usefulness in life; and to promote the public welfare by exercising an influence on behalf of humanity and civilization, teaching the blessings of liberty regulated bylaw, and inculcating love and reverence for the great principles of Government as derived from the inalienablerightsof mantolife,libert y,and the pursuit of happiness.” Dr. David StarrJordan was the fi rstpresident of Stanford. His advice to teachers and students at the time of opening of the University,wentlike this: “Itisforusteachers and students in the University’s first year to lay the foundations of a school which may last as long as human civilization… It is hallowed by no traditions; it is hampered by none. Its fingerposts all point forward.” During the initial format ive period with the University spanning 22 years as president, he walked the talk and created a world class institution, which Stanford is today. then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating. I really didn’t know what to do for a few months.Ifelt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had
A man will never construct anything he cannot conceive.
dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very publicfailure, and I even thought about running awayfrom the valley.But something slowly began to dawn on me - I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided August 2005!Executive Knowledge Lines!5
tostartover. I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, lesssureabout everything.It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. During the next five years, I
tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was thatIloved whatIdid. You’vegot to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers.Your workisgoing to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.If you haven’tfound it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, likeanygreatrelationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t te. started a company named NeXT, setl another company named Pixar, and My third storyisabout death. fell in love with an amazing woman When I was 17, I read a quote who would become my wife. Pixar that went something like: “If you went on to create the worlds first live each day as if it was your last, computer animated feature film, someday you’ll most certainly be Toy Story, and is now the most right.” It made an impression on successful animation studio in the me, and since then, for the past 33 world. In a remarkable turn of years, I have looked in the mirror events, A pple bought NeXT,I every morning and asked myself: “If retuned to Apple, and the today were the last day of my life, technology we developed at NeXT would I want to do what I am about isat the heart of Apple’s current to do today?” And whenever the renaissance. And Laurene and I have answer has been “No” for too many a wonderful familytogether. days in a row, I know I need to I’m pretty sure none of this change something. would have happened if I hadn’t Remembering that I’ll be dead been fired from Apple. It was awful soon is the most important tool I’ve 6!Executive Knowledge Lines!August 2005
ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.Youare already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer.I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas.I didn’t even know what a pancreas was.The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that
is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 yearstotell them in just a few months.It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possiblefor your family. It means to sayyour goodbyes. Ilived with thatdiagnosisallday. Later thatevening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was
The 2005 Commencement at Stanford - A Brief At the University’s 114th commencement in Stanford stadium on June 12, 2005, 1,782 bachelor’s degrees wereawarded, along with 2,026 master’s degrees and 904 doctoral degrees, according to Paddy McGowan, associate registrar and director of institutional research. Of the 1,732 undergraduates, 844 were female and 888 were male. Departmental honors were awarded to 388 undergraduates, 294 graduated with University distinction, 118 graduated with multiple majors, 477 completed minors, 70 graduated with dual bachelor’sdegrees and 133 graduated with combined bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Among international students, there were 95 undergraduates from 40 different countries and 948 graduate students from 70 different nations, according to McGowan. From the beginning, El Palo Alto or ‘the high tree’ which is a tall redwood has been the University’s symbol and the centerpiece of its official seal. The University provides the means to acquire an education - one that broadens their knowledge and awareness in each of the major areas and prepare students foralifetime of learning. (Source: www.stanford.edu/home/stanford/hostory/) August 2005!Executive Knowledge Lines!7
sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because itturned out to be a veryrareform of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery.I had the surgery and I’m fine now. This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope its the closestIgetforafew more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept: No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life.ItisLife ’schange agent. It clears out the old to make wayfor the new.Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now,you will gradually become the old and be clearedaway. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quitetrue. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’slife. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.Don’tletthenoise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what 8!Executive Knowledge Lines!August 2005
you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960’s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras.It was sort of like Google in paperbackform, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions. Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry.StayFoolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I havealways wished thatfor myself.And now,as you graduate to begin anew,I wish that for you. Stay Hungry.StayFoolish. Thank you all very much. -Steve Jobs
Advantech Article
Server Virtualization Server Vi rtualization, one of the hottest areas in computer technology,is all set to transform IT management significantly in organizations by improving server utilization, reducing the number of serversandat the same time running multiple applications on the same server under different software plat forms.This is not a revolution but a step forward in the evolution of computers. In the beginning computers ran only one application. Operating systems helped make applications hardware independent. The utilization of computer resources waslow.Improvement came in the form of multi tasking and multi user operating systems.This is the present day ser ver operating systems that wearefamiliar. Now, we have a host of operating systems such as W indows servers, UNIX, Linux, and a host of Server OS for proprietary computers like VM/370 and so on. Many applications have been developed on these software environments which are difficult to rewrite, test, debug and implement afresh. Even now,theutilizationof serversislow
(30 to 40%). Server Vi rtualization enables computers to run multiple operating systems at the same time. This would increase the number of applications that can be run on a computer simultaneously and increase its utilization. W ith server virtualization and modifications to existing operating systems, all applications (legacy systems included) would run on the same server. It would increase the freedom for software developers since applications along with their environments can be loaded on the same server.It minimizeshardware requirements for organizations, reducing hardware maintenance and a host of related savings. It augurs well for the home segment since the integration of computer, communication and entertainment are taking place and asingleserverat home with wireless connectivity would provide a telephone exchange, a multicomputer environment and entertainment at home. Now let us go into some more details of this technologyfor the technologicallyinclinedreaders. August 2005!Executive Knowledge Lines!9
Forgive Always… or Be Readyto Regret for Ever ! This true story happened in the US.A man came out of his home to admire his new truck . To his puzzlement, his three-year-old son was happily hammering dents into the shiny paint of the truck. The man ran to his son, knocked him away, hammered the little boy ’s hands into pulp as punishment. When the father calmed down, he rushed his son to the hospital. Although the doctor tried desperately to save the crushed bones, he finally had to amputate the fingersfrom both the boy ’s hands. W hen the boy woke up from the surgery and saw his bandaged stubs, he innocently said,
“Daddy, I’m sorry about your truck.” Then he asked, “but when are my fingers going to grow back?” The father went home and committed suicide. Think about this story the next time someone steps on your feet or you wish to take revenge. Think first before you lose your patience with someone you love. Trucks can be repaired. Broken bones and hurt feelings often can’. t Too often we fail to recognise the difference between the person and the performance. W eforget thatforgiveness is greater than revenge.
RobertP.Goldbergstatesinhis 1974 paper titled Surveyof Vi rtual Machines Research: “Virtual machine systems were originally developed to correct some of the shortcomings of the typical third generation architectures and multiprogramming operating systems e. g,. OS/360.” He points out that those systems had a dual-state hardware organization - a privileged and a non-privileged mode, which ispresent in current processors.In privileged mode all instructions are available to software, while in non-
privileged mode they are not. The access to the privileged mode is through the kernel of the OS alone to ensure proper control. Two fundamental deficiencies with this approach are that only one kernel can be run at a time (since only one bare machine is exposed) and any activity (like upgrading, migration, or running an untrusted application) that would disrupt the running system cannot be carried out. Virtualization is aimed at overcoming these and other shortcomings of this well
10!Executive Knowledge Lines!August 2005
(Sourced by: G .Abhilash, Robert Bosch)
established third generation architectures and multi tasking operating systems. Virtualization is a framework or methodology of dividing the resources of a computer into multiple execution environments utilizing hardware or software partitioning technologies or both for time sharing, partial or complete machine simulation, emulation and so on. Benefits of virtualizations include 1. reduction in the number of ser vers required to run all applications including legacy systems of corporates 2. building secure computing plat forms by providing fault and error containment for online applications and critical control systems or even untrusted applications 3. they are great tools for research and academic experiments All major hardware and software vendors are into virtualizationtechnology.
Intel is working on a set of hardware enhancements to Intel server and clientplat forms thatcan improve virtualization solutions. According to them, when combined with the right software Intel Vi rtualization Technology can improve the reliability and supportability of virtualization solutions, enabling improved consolidation and fail-over for servers.Intel plat forms supporting Intel Vi rtualization Technologyfor desktop and Intel Itanium Processor based servers are expected in 2005 and for mobile plat forms and Intel Xeon processor based servers and workstations in 2006. Other hardware vendors also have similar plans in the pipeline. Microsoft, Sun, HP, IBM and a host of other software developers and hardware manufacturers are cooperating to develop virtualization technology.There has been a surge in academic research in this area l ately.Itaugurswellnotonlyforthe computer industry but also for the consumers. bnn
References: www.kernelthread.com/An Introduction to Vi rtualization.htm http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/virtualserver/default.mspx.htm http://www.1.ibm.com/servers/eserver/about/virtualization/index.html http://www.intel.com/technology/IntelVi rtualizationTechnology.htm http://www.intel.com/technology/Vi rtualization.htm “ Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and wrong. Sometime in lifeyou will have been all of these.� - Dandy Lion
August 2005!Executive Knowledge Lines!11
Technologies in Horizon
Millimeter Wave Sensors to detect Concealed Weapons A new technologyfor detecting concealed weapons using physics borrowed from radio astronomy and manufacturing techniques from cellular phone makers, is getting ready to be deployed. Thetechnology,calledmillimeter wave sensor, is a new method of sensing which is unobtrusive. Unlike conventional systems such as metal detectors, which sense magnetic fields created by certain materials or objects, or X-ray machines, which pass rays through objects, millimeter wave sensors are passiveandre ly on detecting energy emitted by objects. The energy,the sensorslookfor, is in an unfamiliar part of the electromagnetic spectrum, different from the usual visible light or infrared. At wavelengths of two centimeters to one millimeter, the energy is much longer than light or infrared waves, and thus able to pass through clothing and similar material. Human bodies radiate the energyatarate higher than metal, plastic or composite materials, so those objects can be spotted under clothing,insilhouette. The sensors have been successfully demonstrated in 12!Executive Knowledge Lines!August 2005
laboratories and have been sold mostly to government agencies for evaluation. Using research grants from the National Institute of Justice,the technologyarm of the Justice Department, and from the Defense Department and other federalagencies of US,three small US fi r ms - Brijot Imaging Systems, Millivision Technologies and Trex Enterprises - are working to manufacture port able sensor units. “Millimeter wave imagery is remarkably well understood, but no one has been able to build anything cheap enough and small enough to be practical,� said Brian Andrews, president of Brijot Imaging, which is a partner with Lockheed Martin, the giant contractor. Brijot Imaging has done just that, with a $60,000 box that is supposed to be able to see from 5 to 45 feet, depending on the lens attached. A computer scans the images and looks for anomalies that could be weapons. A second company, Trex Enterprisesof San Diego,hasaunit that sells for $50,000 (so far only to government customers), and is working on a hand-held version. Its CTO ,John A. Lovberg, compared
the technology to infrared technology,which is also “passive,” meaning that the sensor measures natural emissions rather than bouncing energy off the object being observed, as radar does. Infrared is used in a variety of settings, including military aviation. Mr. Lovberg said that the technology mounted on cars or planes could also help drivers or pilots see through fog or smoke. Millimeter wave sensors, he said, can show “the difference between a road and a tree and a metal street sign.” Millivision of Massachusetts, is marketing a detector about the size and shape of telescopes used by seriousamateurs.The companyispart ly owned by L-3 Communications, a major manufacturer of scanning equipment. The potential market is “any entrance that you pass through where there ’s a need for security. It expands to every office building,stadiums-fillintheblank.” Millivision has a $60,000 device it has sold to government agencies fortesting.W ithL-3, itisdeveloping a portal with controlledtemperature conditions, for more accurate scanning.The Millivision sensor can spot a ceramic gun that a metal detector would miss. The Justice Department expects to use the sensors as security tools for courthouses and other buildings, but says they could also have commercialapplications.
Over the last eight years, the department has given about $7 million in research grants to companies working on millimeter wave technologies. Sara V. Hart , director of the National Institute of Justice, said in an e-mail message: “ We want law enforcement and corrections officers to be able to detect any weapon, such as a bomb, gun, knife or nonmetallic weapon, from a safe distance. This would enable officers to make immediate protection decisions to protect themselves and the public.” She said that the technology could be “practical for use within the next few years” and that her agency had bought several systems for evaluation. The energylevels detected by millimeter wave sensors are extremely small - mere whispers of energy measuredinfemto-joules,or quadrillionths of a joule. (A joule is t the amount of energyof one W at applied for one second.) Chips, which are used in the sensors to process the data and run at speeds similar to the frequencies involved, 80 to 100 Giga ertz, are still quite costly to make. But the machines that manufacture the chips have gotten cheaper because they are closely related to the machines that makechips for cell hones. Mr. Lovberg of Trex said that advances in electronics are making millimeter wave technology more affordabl e. “Ten yearsago,you August 2005!Executive Knowledge Lines!13
couldn’t buy amplifiers in this spectrum,” hesaidof the amplifiers used in the sensors. But semiconductors made of gallium arsenide or indium phosphide can run in the frequencies required, he said. Those chips have been commercialized for use in other devices, and are now available for use in millimeter wavetechnology. Tom Byrne, a member of the executive board of the Center for Commercialization of Advanced Technology, a public-private consortium in San Diego that provided a $75,000 grant to Trex , said, “In the past there was a lot of expense in the receiver because the signal is a low-grade, weak signal, and that pushed the price up.” But
now,thereceiversaregetting more sensitive,Mr.Byrnesaid, and thatis reducing the price and making the sensors potentially viable. Some companies are working on “active” millimeter wave systems, which are more like radar in bouncing energyoff the person being studied. In fact, low-power radar is already in use at some airports to search arriving passengers.But radar systems raise potential health concerns from exposure to the energy, and also privacy issues because body parts are clearly visible. Active millimeter systems could raise the same worries. [Source: www.nytco.com The New York Times Company ]
Blade Runner - Dual mode Road/Rail Vehicle Dual mode vehicles, the ultimate in inter-modal transport are finally here. The innovative vehicle that functions as a combination truck and railroad car could ease the world’straffic woes. This affordable concept coach can switch quickly from road to rail, thanks to retractable steel wheels betweenitsrubber tyres. The vehicle designed bySilvertip Design of England was on displayat London’s Science Museum recently. Itwould carryacargo of passengervehicles - and their passengers - at speeds up to 100 miles/hour on a special lane on motorways, alow l ing cars to disembark atkey interchanges. Blade Runner could then transfer easily to branch railway lines or to rail tracks that are constructed along existingroadways.Theresult will be a moreefficient form of mass rapid transport ation, with less fuel consumption, less pollution and reduced congestion, as per developers. (Sources: www.silvertipdesign.com, The Futurist (USA) June 2005) 14!Executive Knowledge Lines!August 2005
Demystification
Internet Radio one can listen to immediately,without waiting for transfers or downloads.Radio stations convert audio content into a streaming formatusing an encoder.A server makesthis encoded audio stream available over the Internet where a player retrieves it when you ‘tune in’.
How do one listen to it?
Radio relegated to the back burner with the proliferation of TVs, is staging a come back- with a bang. It is broadband which is bringing it back to life. Crossing the geographic borders traditional radio has been restricted to, Internet radio is opening up a new (and sometimes bizarre) world to broadband users. The broadband connection in a PC can turn into a worldwide radio tuner. No moreclumsy turning of knobs and adjusting the aerials.Tuning into any station in the world is now just a mouse click away.
How does it work? Internet radio is a form of streaming media. This means it is not downloaded onto a computer, but is a continuous audio broadcast that
The computer will need to be equipped with a sound card and speakers.Astreaming media player, such as the RealOne Player or Windows Media Player, is also required to listen to Internet radio.These players are free to download if you do not already have one of them (Windows 98, Me, 2000 and XP have these players pre-installed).
Tuning in There are two flavours of Internet radio: existing radio stations that broadcast online and internetonlystations. If looking for a station that is dedicated to one’s favourite genre of music, the best bet is internetonly stations.They usuallyfeature more niche programming. Tuning into existing stations from other countries can broaden the horizons.
BBC Radio (www.bbc.co.uk/radio/) August 2005!Executive Knowledge Lines!15
Listen in to live BBC broadcasts from all the BBC channels, or catch up with a show if missed with the 7-dayarchive of every show.
nersof theglobe.And if you’rereally keen, you can subscribe and start your own station. Some university radio stations w w w.wrek.org, w.wmbr.mit.edu, Real One Radio Guide w w w.whrwfm.org etc are also (ntl.euro.real.com/guide) Lists UK stations that broadcast active. Once you’ve found a station you online as wellinternet-onlystations. Forafee one can get access to un- wanttolistento,simplyclick on the audio link (usuallyfl agged with a interrupted themed stations. s p e a k e r i c o n o r s o m e t hing similar) VH1 Radio(www.vh1.com/ and the stream will launch within a music/radio) The music channel has an im- media player. The player requires a certain pressivelistofgenre-specificinternet amount of data to be available radio stations that feature mostly before it can start playing, it will American artists. ‘buffer’ this information for a Live 365 (www.l ive365.com) moment before you hear the Choose form over 47,000 stream Internet radio stations from all cor-
God’s Helplessness A man walking along a California beach was deep in prayer. Suddenly the skyclouded above his head and, in a booming voice, the Lord said, “Because you have tried to be faithful to me in all ways, I will grant you one wish.” The man said, “Build a bridge to Hawaii so I can drive over anytime I want. “The Lord said, “Yourrequest is very materialistic. Think of theenormous challenges for that kind of undertaking.The supports required to reach the bottom of the Pacific! The concrete and steel it would take! It will nearly exhaust several natural 16!Executive Knowledge Lines!August 2005
resources.I candoit, butitishard for me to justify your desire for worldly things.Take a little more time and think of something that would honor and glorify me.” The man thought about it for a long time. Finally he said, “Lord, I wish that I could understand my wife. I want to know how she feels inside, what she’s thinking when she gives me the silent treatment, why she cries, what she means when she says ‘nothing’s wrong,’ and how I can make a woman truly happy.” The Lordreplied, “You want two lanes or four on that bridge?”
News Scan
FORTUNE Global 500 FORTUNE is a widely respected US magazine, especially foritsrating of world’slargest corporations eachyear.In the July 27, 2005 issue, it has come out with its listing of ‘FORTUNE Global 500’ Cos.based on their performance in 2004.
Briefs on some major players:
!W al-Mart Stores, the US retail giant, had a revenue of US$ 288 billion during 2004 (One billion US$ = Rs 4300 crores, approx); Profit: US$ 10.2 billion; Employers: 17 lakhs; Branches: 5350(globally) Here are some highlights: On technologyfront, W al-Mart !W al-Martof US is the No. 1 isoneof thebiggestusersof RFID company for the fourth year in suc- (Radio Frequency IDentification) cession technology,whichtellsin-storesales !British Petroleum is in No. 2 teams what ’s out of stock and how position this year also toreplenishit. !Toyota, ranked 7 in the Glo!Among the top 10 corporations,5arefrom US,one eachfrom bal500list, has become the world’s Britain, Netherlands, Germany,Ja- third-largest automaker by revenues, overtaking Ford. Inprofit (US$ 10.9 pan and France !Country with largest presence billion), Toyota outdid Ford, GM, is US with 176 companies; Ja- and Daimler Chrysler combined. Its pan(81), France(39), Germany(37), improved gas-electric hybrid car Britain (35), China (16) and South ‘Prius’ helped to scale this height. !China had a presence in the Korea (11). !India has 5 corporations in list with 3 Cos in 1995. It improved the list; Indian Oil (Rank 170), Reli- its position from 15 in 2003 to 16 ance Industries(417), Bharat Petro- in 2004. !Masco of US at rank 500 has leum (429), Hindustan Petroleum a revenue of US$ 12.4 billion. (436) and ONGC (454) Ranks of some well-known !There are 56 banking sector Cos. , 48 insurance Cos.(Life,health, companies: !IBM – 20 P&C etc), 41 computer, electron!Hitachi - 23 ics, networking, semiconductor and !Honda Motor – 27 electricalfi r ms,32 petroleum Cos. !HP - 28 and 34 auto sector Cos. !Samsung – 39 August 2005!Executive Knowledge Lines!17
!Sony - 47 !BMW – 71 !Toshiba - 72 !Pfizer – 75 !Boeing – 76
!Hyundai Motor – 92 !Microsoft - 127 !Intel – 141 !Motorola – 138 (Source: FORTUNE, July25, 2005)
Remote Controls A Cause for Living Room Quarrels TV remotes are emerging as the single largest reason for converting livingrooms into war zones, according to a study based on a poll conducted byTeletext, UK. Remoteisatthecenter of 1.5 million arguments everyday,
with those aged 18 to 29 the most likely to fight over it. More than three quarters of fights are caused by someone switching channels without asking permission, thenew surverysays.A
5-Foot long Helicopter This miniature helicopter from Steadicopter of Israel doesn’t need apilot, norevenatrained ground controller.W hen a mission is given to the craft within its 10 km, 90 minute range, it flies on its own. Using the proprietary software, taking off, hovering, and landing are all done automatically. The copter depends on constant position checks with the multisatellite based Global Positioning System (GPS). The latest model weighing 14 kilograms can cruise at altitudes of a few hundred feet. Its built in camera can scan the ground in a 12.87 km range. Border surveillance, inspecting places of natural disaster, tracking forest fires, and traffic control are some of the possibleapplications. Source: Business Week, 20 June 2005
18!Executive Knowledge Lines!August 2005
fifth of TV addicts hurl the remote at their partner during rows over who uses it most. While 45 percent get upset when someone switches off theT. V, tampering with the volume control annoys 34 percent. More than a quarter of the 2000 adults quizzed, admitted hiding the remote or removing the batteries so nobody else could use it.
W omen pick up morefights than men and more than one in 10 have thumped their partner to gain possession of the remote. Neil Johnson, launch director of Teletext on ITV, which commissioned the survey,said: “The remote may be a small gadget but it has a big impact on the living room.” Sources: www.mirror.co.uk, Business Line
Handsets Costing only US$ 15 by 2008 A global initiative by Royal Philips Electronics aims to develop ultra low-cost mobile phones to bring the benefits of the technology to an untapped global customer base of 3.3 billion people. The first product from the project will be a sub-US$5 system solution — an integrated hardware and softwareplat form constituting all the electronics needed in a mobile phone — that will drive handset costs below US$20, fuelling already fastgrowing markets in regions including China, India, Africa, South America and Eastern Europe. The ultra low-cost Nexperia Cellular System Solution 5130 will be sampling in Q4 2005, as per Thierry Laurent, a senior executive of Philips’ Semiconductor Division,
speaking at the Ultra Low-Cost Handset Conference held in Amsterdam, June 28-29, ’05. Currently, the lowest cost mobile phones on the market are just below US$40. Source: NE Asia Online, http://neasia.nikkeibp.com August 2005!Executive Knowledge Lines!19
Technologies in Horizon
Smart Soccer Game Thanks to Embedded ICs The scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, Erlangen, Germany have developed a new,wireless ball and player location system that can immediately tell referees and game analysts where the soccer ball or striker is at any point in time — to the centimeter. A soccer ball containing a transmitter reveals its exact location on the pitch. Rene Dunkler and his colleagues at the Fraunhofer Institute got out of the lab and gathered at a soccer field nearbyfor some kicks.Their invention? It was in the center of theball. It is a coin-size radio transmitter that broadcasts a pulsed signal in the 2.4-GHz band to a dozen receivers mounted on floodlight masts and 20!Executive Knowledge Lines!August 2005
nearthesidelines.Thereceiversrelay the pulses to a central computer, which then calculatestheball’sexact location. Dunkler and the other researchers a renow backinthelab,busilypreparing to test the system in real matches at the FIFA U-17 W orld Championship for players under the age of 17-next September in Peru. Unlike other ball-tracking systems, which are based on video feeds, the Fraunhofer system works even when the ball seemingly disappears in a mass of footballers. By measuring the time it takes for each pulse to travel from the transmitter to the various receivers, it can pinpoint the ball’s tridimensional coordinates through geometric calculations.
This technique is similar to the Global Positioning System, which relies on time delays of signals traveling from multiple satellites to areceiver. But the Fraunhofer system is accurate to within a centimeter or so,while a handheld GPS receiver can be off by several meters Cairos Technologies AG , in Ismaning, Germany,financed the project and will market the technology.The companypartnered with the German sporting goods giant Adidas- which will make the special “bugged” balls. The main goal, according to Cairos, is to help referees with tough balls, such as when a goal keeper intercepts a ball on the fly after it has crossed the goal line. In such a case, the system would send a vibratory alert to a special wrist watch worn by the referee, signaling that the ball went over the goal. Another idea Fraunhofer and Cairos are studying involves embedding transmitter in the players shin guards. Each transmitter would broadcast a signal with a unique identification code that would let the system track playersindividually. With ball and players equipped with transmitters, soccer fans and team coaches would be able to know the speed of a shot or how close it passed by the goal, or
determine which playersran the most during a game-or perhaps find the laziest. Players beware ! Location systems like the one developed by Fraunhofer are finding their way into a number of applications beyond sports, because they work in closed spaces where GPS isn’t always reliable. “ With GPS,the initial set of applications was quite narrow,but suddenly people came up with all sorts of different uses for it.” says Andy W ard, chief technology officer at Ubisense Ltd, a company in Cambridge, England that sells location systems for office
automation and militarytraining. “ We thinkthat with indoor [location technology], thereisgoing to be a similar kind of move.” That means transmitters like those Adidas is putting into its balls may soon help track containers in warehouses, shopping carts in supermarkets,medical equipment in hospitals, and inmates in prisons. But first these transmitters have to get cheaper, costing tens of cents August 2005!Executive Knowledge Lines!21
Journals Scan !EDN Asia, June 2005 Issue Some notable topics discussed: 1 . Direct Vi ew Display Technologies: 75+ year old CRT is under severe threat from recent entrants Plasma displays, LCDs, Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) etc. The cover story presents an depth , Technical Editor. study by Brian Dipert 2 . Reference Designs: RobertCravota t, Technical Editor,discusses ‘Reference Designs’ which are essential marketing tools for complex silicon products that can reduce a development team’s effort to complete a design using a target set of chips. ! Business W eek,Asian Edition,June20, 2005 Issue This issue contains a special report on ‘ Future of Technology ’ covering areas like: 1 . Disruptive Power of Internet. 2 . Mobile Computing. 3 . Semiconductors - Giving morelifefor Moore ’slaw. 4 . Telecommunications: Internet telephone presents a threat to incumbent phone Cos.
rather then tens of dollars, a challenge much like that faced by radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags. In addition to cost, location systems for sports have their own unique technical challenges.For example, while a forklift may move about at 15 kilometers per hour, a soccer ball can move more than 10 times thatfast. Totracktheball, the Fraunhofer engineers linked the fields receiver with optical fibers and connected them to a Linux computer cluster that calculates the balls position 2000 times every second. Other problems involved transmission errors caused by 22!Executive Knowledge Lines!August 2005
humidity in the air, multiple reflections of the signals and interference from cell phones.The engineers address these issues by placing fixed-reference transmitters on the field to help calibrate the receivers If the test in Peru goes well, will the system debut officially next year at the W orld Cup in Germany? Fraunhofer and Cairos say it is too early to know.Butif itdoes,soccer fans may begin to scrutinize TV replays differently-by looking not at the ball but at the guy with the whistle. Is he checking his wrist watch? [Ref: www. xott.net]
Technologies in Horizon
Cell Phone that can Switch between Fixed and Mobile Networks The new ser vice is being offered by British Telecom, which said it expected “millions” of customers to sign up for its “BT Fusion” package over the next five years. Subscribers get a Motorola v560 phone that links up to BT’sfi xedline network via a Bluetooth wireless broadband hub at home. But users can also make calls on the move over Vodafone’s mobile network . The hub works as a wireless router for PCs, laptops, games consoles and other computer technology around the house.Six phones per home can be registered with the service,with up to threein use at any time. Ian Livingston, head of BT Retail, said the service would “transform the communicationslandscape.” “You get all the convenience and features of a mobile phone but with a fixed line cost and the quality you are used to with a fixed line,” Livingstonsaid. “We know that many of our customers enjoy the convenience of
their mobile phones when they are out and about — but switch to using a landline phone when they arrive back home to save money or because they have little or no mobile coverage.” BT, which hopes to attract families and small businesses, will initially offer the service to 400 customers before rolling it out across the UK from September. Further handsets developed by Nokia and Samsung are expected to be readyinaround a year’s time. BT said that a 10-minute offpeak phone call from home made using BT Fusion would be 95 percent cheaper than the same call made using a typical mobile package. Theformer telecoms monopoly, is seeking to s t em the growing number of calls made via mobile networks rather than over its predominant fixed line network. It has also targeted $1.8 billion in annual revenues over five years from mobility and convergence services. August 2005!Executive Knowledge Lines!23
Tech Brief
Anger Detection Software for Call Centres Anger management is a priority item for well meaning corporates. Their random checks on calls made can unearth only a small percentage of calls where customers were shouting with anger. A large organization will be handling on an average, over 500, 000 calls in a day and manually replaying them for anger detection may not make m uch headway.The call monitoring software called ‘Perform’ created by the call-center software provider Nice Systems Ltd., an Israeli company, handles call recording, quality monitoring, analysis, and also anger detection. How does emotion detection work? Using algorithms, which Nice Systems spent nearly $30 million to develop, the system determines a baseline of emotion during the first five to 10 seconds
of a call, when most people usually aren’t excited or frustrated. Any deviation from that baseline, based on 26 parameters, can trigger an alert. The software conducts a flow analysis of each call, examining 200 elementstogiveaholisticpictureofthe customer experience. Besides emotion detection, Perform uses two other methods to analyze customer experiences with call centers.The software allows users to create lexicons of words and phrases a caller may say that could raise red flags: cancellation, frustration, or a competitor’s name.Perform also tracksthehistoryofacall:thelength of time a customer had to wait to speak to an agent, the number of times placed on hold, and the number of times a caller is transferred. The user sets up parameters to determine who and how a supervisor should Camera to Read Roof be contacted. The system also Markings on Vehicles allows callers to rate their Currently undergoing trials with experience with the agent after UK police, Mirage, athermal-imaging the conversation ends. Nice camera, allows the roof markings on integrates with Microsoft .Net vehicles to be read. This enables air client-servertechnology,aswell support police, coordinating chases in as most enterprise-resourcehelicopters and aircraft, to distinguish planning (ERP) and customerrelationship-management between pursuers and the pursued. (Source: www.QinetiQ.com) (CRM) systems.
24!Executive Knowledge Lines!August 2005
World’s First Mobile Phone with Zigbee Solution Korean phone manufacturer Pantech & Curitel has announced a prototype version of their P1 phone that can communicate over the upcoming Zigbee wireless home automation protocol. At a recent press showing, P&C showed off the capabilities of the concept, which can communicate with Zigbee-standard sensors to control home appliances,check mail, monitor alarm system fortrespassers basically anything you’d expect home automation to be able to do, but controlled by a phone. We ’ve seen PDAs that double as home controllers (nat ive ly or through 3rd party softwareapps), buttoactuallyhavethetechnology integrated into a cellular phone, like the Pantech & Curitel P1, is quite unique. Most pundits believe that cell phones will become the ultimate, ultra-mobile personal computer, and here is another sign of the multifaceted functionality future phones will take on. (Source: www.3g.co.uk/PR/December2004)
The voice-quality systems monitoring market reached about $800 million last year, says Eyal Danon, Nice Systems’ senior VP of sales and marketing, and he expects it to increase by 15% to 20% this year.Infollowing years,hepredicts, triple-digit percentage growth should occur as more businesses learnabout the technology.He says 65% of Fortune 500 companies use Nice Systems technology. A major attraction of emotiondetection technologyisitspromised ability to help identify customer
frustration, a bane to executives who fear customers might take their business elsewhere because of poor customer service.Arecent studyby the Customer Care Alliance and Arizona State University suggests that nearly three-quarters of Americans have experienced customer rage when talking to a call center, with half swearing they’ll never do business with that company again. (Sources: www.informationweek.com IEEE Spectrum, April 2005 )
It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. - Harry S Truman August 2005!Executive Knowledge Lines!25
News Scan
Fungal Pesticide The New Weapon to Fight Malaria Each year, around ten lakhs people are killed by malaria, estimates say. It is an extremely difficult disease to treat, as the parasite easily becomes resistant to the drugs used to treat it, and the mosquitoes develop resistance to the pesticides designed to kill them. The University of Edinburgh and Imperial College, London researchers looked at whether there was a way of halting the mosquitoes intheirtracks.After the insects have fed on human blood, they find somewhere to rest for a few hours - usually a nearby ceiling or wall. The researchers wanted to identify something which could infect them during this period. They tested a type of fungus from the species Beauveria bassiana by applying inert sporesdirectly,and as a spray,onto cage mesh. When a mosquito touches the spores, the fungus germinates, penetrates the mosquito and grows within it, eventually killing the insect. Not only were over 90% of mosquitoes killed within 14 days of being infected with the fungus, it effective lyoverwhelmed their body, slowing the insects down so that in their last few days of life they were 26!Executive Knowledge Lines!August 2005
less able to fly, and thus spread disease. In laboratory tests, fungal infection reduced malaria transmission by 98 %. The key is to infect the insect as soon as possible after it has fed on infected blood. It takes about two weeks after this for parasite levels in the insect to reach the point where they can infect another person bitten by the same insect. If the insect is killed during this time, then it would have no opportunity to pass malaria on. Professor Andrew Read, of the University of Edinburgh, who worked on the research, says, “It seems this fungus is eating them up from the inside.� He said the form ulation of fungal sprays used to protect fields from locusts could be the model for anti-mosquito sprays. An insecticide made of the spores of an insect-killing fungus promises to be a valuable control measure against malaria-carrying mosquitoes. In laboratory tests, Matt Thomas of Imperial College, London found that the fungus dramatically reduces malaria transmission. Itworks in threedifferent ways. It stops the insects feeding,
Executive Health
Your Body Language Clue to Health Conditions A new,free-to-users website – w w w.mybodylanguage.co.uk -can be a self-help diagnostic tool to identify ailments,if any,byclosely watching our body language. According to Biochemist Graham Cope, one of the brains behind this initiative, ‘body language empowers the general public to have greater control over their own health, identify deficiencies and replenish them with healthy food stuffs’. Some samples from the multitude of questions posed to the users by the cyber doctor which closely resemble the approaches followed by human doctors are: !Do you rub your eyes? !Are you forgetful? !Have you lost your sense of humour? !Do you have yellow pals? !Do you get recurrent mouth ulcers? interferes with the malaria parasites they carry and then kills them. Bart Knols of the International Atomic Energy Authority oversaw a small field trial of the biopesticide in a Tanzanian village.The datasuggests that if half the families in a community hang sheets
However, body language signs are valuable only as ‘early warning signals’ and are no substitute for professional health advice. Hence they should not be used exclusively for self diagnosis or self treatment of serious complaints or diseases, it is to be noted. impregnated with the biological agent in their homes, malaria transmission could be cut by more than 90%. The results are published in the journal ‘Science’. (Sources: http://news.bbc.co.uk/ go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/ 4074212.stm, Science Magazine) August 2005!Executive Knowledge Lines!27
FACTS for noting
Share of Nuclear Power in Electricity Generation
Nuclear Energy
Country
Highlights !The first commercial nuclear power stations started operation in the 1950s. !There are now some 440 commercial nuclear power reactors operating in 31 countries, with over 364,000 MWe of total capacity. !They supply 16% of global electricity needs in 30 countries, as base-load power, and their efficiencyisincreasing. !56 countries operate a total of 284 research reactors and a further 220 reactors power ships and submarines. (Source: W orld Nuclear Association, w w w.world-nuclear.org/education/)
% of Nuclear Power to Total Power Output
Lithuania France Slovakia Belgium Sweden Ukraine South Korea Slovenia Switzerland Hungary Czech Republic Germany Finland Japan Spain U.K U. S.A Russia Canada South Africa India China Pakistan
80 % 78 57 55 50 46 40 40 40 33 31 28 27 25 24 24 20 17 13 6 3 2 2
Healing with Silver- A Nanotechnology Initiative Scientists at the British S&T company QinetiQ, have developed a technique to incorporate silver - well known for its anti-fungal and antimicrobial properties - directly into fibres that can then be used for w ound dressings. The process coming under the realm of ‘Nanotechnology’, finds wide application in making silver-embedded fabrics that could help heal wounds,keep the habitatsgerm-free, and even sweeten the scent of oldclothes. (The Futurist (USA) June 2005; www.qinetiq.com) 28!Executive Knowledge Lines!August 2005
Tech Brief
Smart Ankle Brace to Reduce Falls of Elderly Stanford university students of your body ’srelationship to it undergoing a graduate engineering surroundings. Studies havefound course on ‘Medical Device Design’ that sensitivity to foot position under Professor Thomas declines as people age. The Andriacchi recently developed a researches conceived that a device ‘smart’ ankle brace for the elderly that could help simulate this lost to correct imbalances and prevent sensitivity could help individuals falling. maintain their balance without Itisestimated that in US,one in relying on cumbersome support three individuals over the age of 65 devices, such as walkers, or willfall in the nextyear.One fallin ineffectivedevices,such a canes. Their invention is an ankle brace 200willresultinabroken hip.Onehalf of seniors who break a hip containing a smart chip that never regain their full degree of mobility and one-quarter die within 6 months.Fals l account for US $26 billion A couple drove down a country road in medical costs each for several miles, not saying a word. year.Hence the need for a An earlier discussion had led to an device to reduce falls in the argument and neither of them wanted elderly. The situation is to concede their position. similar in other countries as As they passed a barnyard of mules, well, including India. goats, and pigs, the husband asked Falls among the elderly sarcastically,“Relat ives of yours?” are often due to decreasing “Yep,” the wifereplied, “in-laws.” proprioception-the awareness
In-laws !
August 2005!Executive Knowledge Lines!29
LithiumIon Battery recharges in one minute
Toshiba has developed a new fast charging Li- Ion battery with an extended life cycle. The perennial problem of long rechargetimesfacedbyHybridandelectricvehicles is likely to be a thing of the past with this breakthrough development. The batterycanrecharge 80% of itsenergy capacity in just one minute, approximately 60 times faster than the typical Li-Ion batteries in wide use today.It will lose only 1 % of its capacity after 1000 cycles of discharging and recharging The energy density of the new batteryis between 150 to 250 watt-hour/litre. In addition to the conventional capabilities of the Li-Ion secondarybattery,thisbattery has also achieved charge-discharge behavior that is equivalent to that of the electric double l ayer capacitor. Toshiba battery meets the long term specifications of a advanced battery Technologyfor vehiclessetby US advanced Battery Consortium. (Sources: Nikkei Electronics Asia www. greencarcongress.com
continuously monitors the roll of the ankle. It the chip detects a roll that is greater than normal, it provides a correctional vibration. This vibration helps the wearer change position or shift balance to avoid a fall in much the same way that sensory ner ves provide correctional feedback to the brain. “The development of the device is still at a preliminary stage and more testing, research and funds 30!Executive Knowledge Lines!August 2005
need to be invested before commercialization is possible.� Said Surag Mantri, a bioengineering masters student working on the project. His team hope that the brace will eventually become available to all people over the age of 65, but they plan to target highrisk group first: diabetes with peripheral neuropathy,Parkinson’s patients and people with high degrees of proprioceptive loss.
Books Scan
‘Three Billion New Capitalists’ The Great Shift of Wealth and Power to the East Book by: Clyde Prestowitz Publisher: Basic Books; US$ 26.95
American technology professionals are closely watching India cornering major share in services sector (Read IT) while China running off with a major piece of manufacturing cake. The author, who has been studying America’s competitiveness problems for 30 years in various capacities, had a revelation in 2003 when his software developer son asked him to co-invest in a snowremoval company.He wassurprised at the investment decision of his high-profile offspring in a mundane initiative like snow removal. But the explanation of son was more than
convincing: “Dad, they can’t move the snow to India.” China and India, which together accounted for 75 % of the world’s GDP before the discovery of America, are on a steep trajectory toregain their supremacy. India is now on a value chain overdrive with its IT activities covering engineering designs,financial services, as also medical tourism, sending shivers through a section of Americans. Prestowitz, however, is not losing hope.America’stechnologies are the best as also its universities, even though threats from other geographical regions are mounting.
‘FAB’-The Coming Revolution on Your Desktop-from Personal Computers to Personal Fabrication Book by: Neil Gershenfeld Publisher: Basic Books; US $26
Manufacturing sector is in for a change. Personal fabrication systems - small, inexpensive clusters of tools and software that function as complete job shops - are the enabling technologies making it
happen. In Neil Gershenfeld’s superb book Fab,the one-wordtitle refers to fabrication. The book
August 2005!Executive Knowledge Lines!31
-
In Forthcoming Issues !A father’s letter to engineer son: Tips to become world-class professionals. !MISRA-C: The new C-language flavour now embraces digital appliances, after conquering Auto-electronics. !Demystification: WiMAX, the emerging wireless connectivity for notebooks, home equipment and the like. !Blogs: The new kid in Internet block. !Hybrid Cars: Invading the automobile scene. !Harvard University - Some highlights.
heralds a shift in manufacturing as profound as the advent of personal computers, hence the subtitle: The coming Revolution on Your Desktop-from Personal Computers to Personal Fabrication. Personal fabrication systems, typically,have easy-to use controls that enable almost anyone, including people in remote African villages, to manufacture an amazing variety of things.A typical system includes a milling machine for making precision parts, a cutter for producing simple printed circuit boards, and software for programming cheap chips called microcontrollers. Today one of these “fab labs” costs about $20,000.But Gershenfeld predicts that fab lab prices will follow the path of PCs.With volume production, these advanced do-ityourself systems could plunge to $10,000 and then perhaps to $1,000. The author’s account of the 32!Executive Knowledge Lines!August 2005
technology ’s evolution is remarkable. A star physicist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a knack for technical explanation, he has written an accessible book that even nontechnophiles will love. In fact, Fab should be required reading for foreign-serviceofficers,managersin humanitarian agencies, and others working to alleviate poverty.
In Lighter Vein !A man approached a very beautiful woman in a large supermarket and asked, “You know, I’ve lost my wife here in the supermarket. Can you talk to me for a couple of minutes?” “Why?” “Because every time I talk to a beautiful women, my wife appears out of nowhere.”