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MindBullets Editors
EU ANNOUNCES 3-DAY WORK WEEK
Published on: 24 July 2014
Maximum working hours cut to 30 per week
Dateline: 1 July 2016
In a desperate attempt to stem the rising unemployment tide, the EU has imposed a limit of three days per week that people may work, and a maximum of 10 hours per day. "We're not trying to drive business under," said labour commissioner László Andor, "just reduce inequality between working people and the unemployed. Businesses can have a post filled for six days a week, up to 60 hours, they just have to employ two people to do it." Originally proposed by Carlos Slim two years ago, the 3-day work ...
Complete story...
Doug Vining
Clash of the Tech Titans
Posted: 23 July 2014
In this struggle, the corporate market is the prize. Who will win the battle, Microsoft or Apple? Or will it be Google, or possibly Amazon? Are the old giants like IBM going to survive? It could be a fight to the death, for some.
Complete story...
Game On: The Struggle for the Enterprise Begins
23 July 2014
Landmark announcements rocked the Enterprise IT market in last week. First Apple and IBM announced an historic partnership to bring iOS devices to the ...
SILICON VALLEY'S GOLDEN YEARS DRAW TO A CLOSE
It's the end of the Boomer era in Silicon Valley - and the start of something much bigger
Dateline: 16 June 2016
Bill Gates has said his last goodbye. Announcing his decision to retire from his position as Chairman of Microsoft, Gates wished the company well and said ...
Wolfgang Grulke
Fascinating use of fractals in computer games
Posted: 23 July 2014
This stuff really stretches the imagination - exactly what Benoit Mandelbrot expected is coming to a Playstation near you! Do take a moment to watch the video trailer too.
Complete story...
Exploring No Man’s Sky, A Computer Game Forged by Algorithms | MIT Technology Review
23 July 2014
A new computer game, No Man’s Sky, demonstrates a new way to build computer games filled with diverse flora and fauna.
Neil Jacobsohn
Medicine, technology and Data - the big debate
Posted: 22 July 2014
We have written and spoken for years about the confluence of medicine, technology and data. The subject is now a hot topic, and this selection of articles from MIT Technology Review provides an excellent update of developments in thuds arena.
Complete story...
Can Mobile Technologies and Big Data Improve Health? | MIT Technology Review
22 July 2014
Medical data is a hot spot for venture investing and product innovation. The payoff could be better care.
PERSONALIZED MEDICINE TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE
Instant genetic profiles and personal prescriptions short-circuit clinical trials
Dateline: 1 October 2013
Recent ground-breaking developments in pharmaceutical genomics now enable individuals to access unique treatments based on their own genetic blueprints. ...
Neil Jacobsohn
Disease-resistant wheat - boon or Frankenstein food?
Posted: 22 July 2014
1 Comment
In comfortable, well-fed Western centres, the raging against genetically modified foods continues. But, as always, there are two sides to every story. Is wheat that is resistant to common diseases a boon for mankind, or a Frankenstein food? It's time to put the emotion aside and focus on facts.
Complete story...
Beijing Researchers Use Gene Editing to Create Disease-Resistant Wheat | MIT Technology Review
22 July 2014
Researchers have created wheat that is resistant to a common disease, using advanced gene editing methods.
GM IS THE NEW 'ORGANIC'
Modified beef set to boost consumer health
Dateline: 12 December 2009
The first genetically modified cows approved by the US Food and Drug Administration were simple creatures. They removed the susceptibility that cows have ...
Wolfgang Grulke
Amazon's first 20 years
Posted: 22 July 2014
Definitely worth another look - their story contains leadership lessons on so many dimensions.
Complete story...
Amazon at 20: billions, bestsellers and legal battles
22 July 2014
Mark Hooper: It's 20 years since an ambitious entrepreneur named Jeff Bezos registered the company that would become Amazon. How did it get so big so fast?
APPLE AND AMAZON IN RETAIL WAR
Consumers no longer choosing devices but platforms
Dateline: 10 December 2012
The Christmas sales in New York and London have exposed what is being called "a war to the death" for digital adversaries Apple and Amazon. The opposing ...
Doug Vining
Robots reading the news
Posted: 21 July 2014
The robots are coming:
"South Korea deploys jellyfish-terminating robots, while a robot with artificial intelligence able to analyse market trends has become a company director in Hong Kong."
We've published a number of MindBullets about our robotic future. The one attached to this post is the most recent. Just search MindBullets for 'Robot' to find the others! ...
Complete story...
Getting closer to Blade Runner future
21 July 2014
Tokyo - A future in which it is difficult to tell man and machine apart could soon become reality, scientists say, after recent robotic breakthroughs in ...
LET G-DROIDS DO THE DIRTY WORK
Google's robots do the heavy lifting, drive the dump trucks and haul the garbage
Dateline: 17 July 2018
Now that Google has become the leading developer of robots, including humanoid robots, we can leave them to do all the unpleasant, dangerous, and boring ...
Doug Vining
No internet, no problem
Posted: 18 July 2014
In a world where we depend on wireless signals to be connected, it's good to know that there are personal alternatives emerging to the monopolistic mobile operators and internet providers. There are apps like FireChat and OpenGarden that allow smartphones to connect to each other by WiFi and Bluetooth, but they have limited range and only really work in an urban environment.
GoTenna is a long ...
Complete story...
No signal? GoTenna has a messaging gadget that will work in the middle of nowhere
18 July 2014
Using extremely low-band frequencies, goTenna’s little baton can connect your iPhone or Android smartphone into any other goTenna-enabled smartphone even ...
IT'S AN ONLINE WORLD AS 'PEOPLENET' TAKES OFF!
Human-to-human transmission wins the day for mobile broadband
Dateline: 14 September 2019
First we tied the world in a tangle of copper cables. Next came miles of fiber optics. And all the time, the ultimate communications conduit was right ...
Wolfgang Grulke
Gen X-Y-Z in the UK
Posted: 17 July 2014
Some interesting info on generational shifts, especially for a British audience! See the table comparing earnings and relationship to house prices...
Complete story...
Half the number of stay-at-home mums since 60s report shows
17 July 2014
The dramatic changes in family life have been outlined in a new report by Aviva, which show the differences in generations born today to those of 25 and 50 ...
SHORT TERM MARRIAGE REPLACES DIVORCE IN NEW WEDDING BOOM
Generation C couples say "I do" - but not forever
Dateline: 1 May 2013
Why get married 'forever' and then go through all the trauma of filing for divorce? These days it has become fashionable to take a much more flexible ...
MindBullets Editors
ARTIFICIAL BURNING OF MIDNIGHT OIL TAINTS GLOBAL EXPO
Published on: 17 July 2014
Winner disqualified after evidence of cognitive enhancement revealed
Dateline: 14 March 2029
Tired, but healthy, students and professionals have been buying Ritalin and the brain enhancing drug Modafinil illegally for more than a decade, but this type of doping or cheating is going up a notch. Just ask Jack McCloskey. McCloskey, a 32-year-old male from Manhattan, has been disqualified from winning the Global Medical Science Expo, hosted by the World Health Organization every year. It has been established that he was making use of an implanted memory chip that gave him immediate access to ...
Complete story...
Doug Vining
Flying robot farmers
Posted: 14 July 2014
There's a new role for drones: Collecting big data for farmers to help them move to the next big step in farming, precision agriculture.
Complete story...
Will drones become the future of farming?
14 July 2014
Pilotless drones have had a big impact on the battlefield, serving as eyes in the sky and attack aircraft. But could they find another role on our farms?
DHL FLYING ON WIRELESS POWER
No batteries needed for these delivery drones
Dateline: 7 March 2017
The biggest hurdle for electric aircraft has always been the weight of the batteries, and as nimble as they are, quadrotors and octocopters typically had ...
Cindy Solomon
3 Things Philz Coffee Does Right
Posted: 11 July 2014
Northern California’s Philz Coffee is riding the third wave of coffee in style and nailing customer service like its never been nailed before. Want to boost revenues and/or scale your business by building solid, long-lasting customer relationships? Take a clue from Philz’ third wave moves:
1. HIRE FOR STYLE - Philz looks for passion and values in the hiring process. Their description says it ...
Complete story...
Doug Vining
Dangers also abundant in future
Posted: 10 July 2014
Futurist Thomas Frey supports our thinking that abundance comes with turbulent consequences, technological unemployment being one of them:
"Even though we are headed toward a world of abundance, having a significant loss of jobs due to robots and automation has the potential of causing a near term backlash." ...
Complete story...
The Growing Dangers of Technological Unemployment and the Re-Skilling of America
10 July 2014
Futurist Thomas Frey: In March, when Facebook announced the $2 billion acquisition of Oculus Rift, they not only put a giant stamp of approval on the ...
THE CURSE OF ABUNDANCE
Free energy spawns hordes of wetbots and kills off big brands
Dateline: 13 July 2033
"We're closing up shop. Wetbots made us broke." The production chief of iRobot consumer products grins ruefully. "Luckily we've still got our military ...
George Battye
Towards an abundocracy
Posted: 10 July 2014
2 Comments
The inevitable paradigm shift as we move towards an age of abundance is an interesting one. From this side of the revolution it is very difficult to think about how it will happen. Our recent history with digital products, opensource and zero distribution costs may be an applicable model, but even in that micro world the story is far from over - capitalism and large-scale businesses still ...
Complete story...
THE CURSE OF ABUNDANCE
Free energy spawns hordes of wetbots and kills off big brands
Dateline: 13 July 2033
"We're closing up shop. Wetbots made us broke." The production chief of iRobot consumer products grins ruefully. "Luckily we've still got our military contracts!" Since open source, peer production of printed solar panels has made electric power almost zero cost, robots have taken over agriculture, mining and most manufacturing. With no jobs but plenty of creative spirit, the 'maker' ...
MindBullets Editors
THE CURSE OF ABUNDANCE
Published on: 10 July 2014
4 Comments
Free energy spawns hordes of wetbots and kills off big brands
Dateline: 13 July 2033
"We're closing up shop. Wetbots made us broke." The production chief of iRobot consumer products grins ruefully. "Luckily we've still got our military contracts!" Since open source, peer production of printed solar panels has made electric power almost zero cost, robots have taken over agriculture, mining and most manufacturing. With no jobs but plenty of creative spirit, the 'maker' movement has spawned millions of backyard factories, churning out low volume, low cost 3D printed products for ...
Complete story...
Wolfgang Grulke
Here's a new customer service challenge.
Posted: 9 July 2014
1 Comment
Most banks encourage you to go paperless, to save the cost of sending you statements. My bank, Standard Bank Private Bank, will only let me see my last 180 days of transactions online. If I want to see any transactions before that I will be charged R25 “per page” - because the statements have to be "printed manually" by a so-called "Service Centre", and then posted to me. In these days of ...
Complete story...
Private Banking
9 July 2014
Together with a highly qualified and experienced team of support bankers and specialists, your dedicated Private Banker and support team will act as your ...
JUST DON'T MENTION THE WORD 'BANK'
If you're not safe then you're not a bank, says regulator
Dateline: 1 September 2011
EU regulators have followed US trends by putting a big wedge between retail and investment banking. Effective tomorrow, if you're not a pure commercial ...
Wolfgang Grulke
Don't say we didn't tell you so...
Posted: 8 July 2014
Nine years ago one of our MindBullets revisited this subject after our Life 2.0 keynote first broached the subject at the turn of the millennium. This Strategy + Business review confirms the promise plus the reality of what can (and could!) be done today. A healthcare revolution is quietly building!
Complete story...
A Diagnosis for Personalized Medicine
8 July 2014
The emergence of new technologies could convince physicians and insurers that patient-specific healthcare is here to stay.
PERSONALIZED MEDICINE TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE
Instant genetic profiles and personal prescriptions short-circuit clinical trials
Dateline: 1 October 2013
Recent ground-breaking developments in pharmaceutical genomics now enable individuals to access unique treatments based on their own genetic blueprints. ...
Doug Vining
Long live longevity
Posted: 8 July 2014
1 Comment
The possibility for humans to extend their lives by hundreds of years is becoming less of a fantasy and more like a future reality. According to this article, a new enzyme and a hormone offer the chance of preventing aging and extending life in mammals. Will our scenario published nine years ago become a hot topic in the near future?
The implications of technology like this becoming affordable ...
Complete story...
This is thrilling life-extension news – for dictators and the ultra-rich
8 July 2014
George Monbiot: Longevity science may divide us into treated and untreated: the first living ever longer, the second dying even younger than now
WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE FOREVER?
You'd better check how many years you can afford
Dateline: 13 September 2025
Two decades ago, Ray Kurzweil and Aubrey de Grey were often considered the lunatic fringe of science. Living forever? What nonsense! Then, ever so slowly, ...
Wolfgang Grulke
Education wants to be free
Posted: 8 July 2014
Here is the international version of the UCT initiative Neil reported earlier today. It's been a long time coming!
Complete story...
FutureLearn - Learning for life
8 July 2014
Enjoy free online courses from leading UK and international universities.
Anton Musgrave
Social media networks are more powerful than many admit or know!
Posted: 8 July 2014
The connected world, fuelled by social media networks can liberate people, open new opportunities, enable remote entrepreneurs to compete globally...or bring large businesses to their knees. How well do you engage with this world? How well do you understand and leverage this world? Do you still refer to 'connections' or 'page impressions' rather than 'connected real people'?
Complete story...
Gowex chief resigns after Spanish Wifi provider admits false accounting
8 July 2014
Mysterious US bear raider Gotham City Research has forced one of Spain’s leading technology companies - wifi provider Gowex - into declaring bankruptcy, ...
SOCIAL MEDIA BECOMES THE NEW 'BOBBY ON THE BLOCK'
Governments drop plans to block social media as PeoplePower takes to the streets
Dateline: 27 January 2014
Two years ago the threat that governments as ideologically diverse as Britain and China would seek to control and even shut down social media during times ...
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