Cholera cases in Yemen have been slashed by a new system that predicts where outbreaks will occur. Last year, there were more than 50,000 new cases in just one week – this year, the numbers plummeted to about 2,500. The system has enabled aid workers to focus efforts on prevention several weeks in advance of… Read more »
Posts Categorized: IT Projects
Facebook invests $1 billion in Virginia
Facebook (FB, Tech30) plans to invest $1 billion in the state in all. The company is putting $750 million into construction and $250 million to multiple solar facilities that will power the data center, McAuliffe said. “Working with companies like Facebook and many others, we are advancing Virginia’s position as a global leader in the technology economy,” McAuliffe… Read more »
High-tech shack brings solar power to slums
Discussion: This iShack, or improved shack, is equipped with a solar panel that can power lights and a mobile phone charger, and may soon change the windswept slums that house 62% of the urban population in Sub-Saharan Africa. This dwelling is intended to raise the living standards of slum residents while improving their access to electricity… Read more »
London to test ‘smart city’ operating system
Discussion: In a neighborhood in London, there is an operating system being tested that will connect utilities and services with citizens. The ‘smart city’, located in the Greenwich peninsula, is testing an operating systems that aims to connect services such as water, transport, and energy with the people who live in the area. Smart lamp posts… Read more »
Africa’s business technology revolution gathers pace
Discussion: African economies are known for commodities like oil and gas, but a tech revolution is gathering speed and helping to change lives across the continent. From fighting fake medicines to developing cutting edge telescopes, a new generation of innovators is putting Africa on the technology world map. Source: BBC News Date: May 23, 2011… Read more »
Are You Following a Bot?
Discussion: Can one person controlling an identity, or group of identities, really shape social architecture? Apparently, yes. Web Ecology Project recently organized a two-week social-engineering experiment to determine if it is possible to not only infiltrate social networks, but also to influence them on a large scale. Three teams created “social bots,” or fake identities,… Read more »
Startup mating rituals 101
Discussion: TechStarsNY, one of the most successful tech incubators in the country, recently hosted Demo Day, a ritual that allows young startups to strut their stuff in front of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and the media. Illuminated through a series of slides or videos, the startup founder begins with a problem – i.e. digital billboards aren’t… Read more »
The tiny cube that could cut your cell phone bill
Discussion: The size of a Rubik’s cube but packed with all the components of a cell phone tower, lightRadio is a tiny device tasked with solving an enormous problem. With mobile data usage expected to grow 30 fold in the next five years, lightRadio may be able to help wireless carriers keep pace using a… Read more »
Marketers embracing QR codes, for better or worse
Discussion: Thanks to America’s growing addiction to smartphones, QR, or Quick Response, codes are showing up in more and more places: movie posters, storefront displays, magazine ads, even New York’s Time Square. After downloading a QR scanning app, smartphone users can link to videos, images, discount coupons, or even a virtual tour of real estate… Read more »
Market research and the primitive mind of the consumer
Discussion: Manual techniques of market research require hours of viewing slow motion video and logging mind-numbing facial expressions, a labor-intensive process that greatly limits the number of people that can be tested. But new technology is replacing these traditional techniques with computerized emotion recognition that can analyze thousands of faces at the same time. If… Read more »
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