Newpaper's Future

This video is worth watching--if you have not seen it already.



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Intelligent Medical Devices

As reported on Apr 2, 2009, one of the world's best chip makers, Intel, formed an alliance with GE Healthcare. To me, computer chips and medical devices should to higher intelligence in health devices; each company focusing on its core expertise. The result will be innovative ways for industry leaders to deliver personalized care based on prevention.

The monetary value of the partnership is relatively low, but the significance is high.

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From the web:

"The technologies are designed to help seniors live independently and patients with chronic conditions manage their care from their own homes, the companies said.

GE Healthcare will sell and market the Intel Health Guide, a care management tool designed for health care professionals who manage patients with chronic conditions. The companies also said they will combine "skill sets and extensive research resources to accelerate the innovation and commercialization of next-generation home health technologies."

Disney-YouTube Deal

When we were discussing different control points in the media and entertainment architecture, I separated unlicensed content from licensed content and highlighted YouTube as a key player dealing with the former. But, we know that monetization is rather fuzzy with just unlicensed content and YouTube (Google) needs to figure out a way to be a key player in the way licensed content is distributed through hulu and others.
So, it is not surprising to see Disney enter into a landmark deal recently. This announcement (via BBC) highlights some of the key details.

Walt Disney and YouTube have signed a new deal to allow Disney to launch its own channels on the video sharing website. Highlights from Disney's ESPN sports channel and clips from its TV shows will be made available to watch over the next couple of months. A key part of the agreement is that Disney will have the right to put adverts in its output.

YouTube is keen to be seen as an outlet for high quality video. In a statement, a Disney spokesperson said the deal offers "the opportunity to reach a broader, online audience as well as extend the reach of our advertisers". YouTube is by far the world's most popular video sharing website. However, it's coming under more pressure from Google to start converting its huge user numbers into cash.

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It should not surprise us at all to see more deals..

Publishers find innovative, new revenue streams

During our multimedia discussions last week, I often thought about what the future will look like for publishers and music labels. Will they disappear all together? It was easy to see that their production and distribution monopolies are evaporating, but I wondered about the other services they offer, such as content-filtering and marketing, and whether there might be a continuing role for them to play.

While I was browsing the web trying to get smart about this, I found this article about how some publishers are successfully responding to decreased advertising revenues. The companies are essentially leveraging their internal knowledge, industry expertise, and client base to move beyond their traditional business and generate new revenue streams, mostly in marketing services. Worth taking a look at if you're interested in how publishers are responding to internet disruption.

China's Desire to Leapfrog with Electric Cars

An interesting news item in the NY Times today about China's desire to lead with electric cars

Chinese leaders have adopted a plan aimed at turning the country into one of the leading producers of hybrid and all-electric vehicles within three years, and making it the world leader in electric cars and buses after that.

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What caught my eye was their plan to create tomorrow (exploration) while the incumbent industry participants tinker to fine-tune current business models (exploitation).

To some extent, China is making a virtue of a liability. It is behind the United States, Japan and other countries when it comes to making gas-powered vehicles, but by skipping the current technology, China hopes to get a jump on the next.

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One of the key messages of IT-enabled transformation is: Do we think of IT's role as rectifying current weaknesses through fine-tuning the established business model or use it to create the future business model. We laid out the shift in the automotive DNA in class and this move seems to indicate that China is not keen to produce low-cost cars within the pre-established paradigm--perhaps leaving that to Tata Nano while positioning to lead in the emerging auto industry.
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The same article mentions that:

The United States Department of Energy has its own $25 billion program to develop electric-powered cars and improve battery technology, and will receive another $2 billion for battery development as part of the economic stimulus program enacted by Congress.

We need the stimulus to be directed more at creating the future auto sector if we have to compete effectively against what China may offer in the world market in the coming decade.

Cisco Telepresence in the home

I've been reading Dr. Halamka's blog Life as a Healthcare CIO since he spoke to our class during the summer intensive. He's just had Cisco Telepresence installed in his home basement so that he can telecommute to his many meetings and conferences. Although we've discussed Telepresence in the office it's interesting to think about having it in one's own home. Talk about reducing your carbon footprint! Here is an earlier posting in which Dr. Halamka mentions his plan to install Telepresence in his home.

I encourage you to subscribe to his blog if you haven't already; it's quite interesting. He blogs mostly about innovations in IT (particularly in healthcare) but also discusses green technology and his own lifestyle as a locavore.

Vitality GlowCap

Vitality GlowCap is a product to remind users to take their medicine. The product fits right on top of standard prescription bottles. It can wirelessly connect over 900MHz band to a USB stick on your PC to:

• Send a weekly update to a friend, family member or caregiver


• Remind you to reorder your prescription when running low


• Email you and your doctor a report detailing your adherence to the prescription

Check out the company website above, or this SlashGear article.

HBR - Multi-Sided Platforms - Your Google Strategy

Harvard Business Review decided to go for a snappy title even though it's evident in the first paragraph that it is not about Google but about multi-sided platforms (MSPs) in general.

Regardless, the article helps to get you thinking about what you should outsource vs build in house. Especially as we think about Moore's law and Metcalf's law and separating our infrastructure from what we run on it.

Google Launches Free, Legal Music Downloads in China

In another small step forward on its unrelenting march toward worldwide media domination, Google has launched a free music download service in China with the cooperation of major music labels there. According to the article, Google hopes to draw users to its service with better quality in a country where 99 percent of all music files distributed are pirated. In addition, the company hopes that this service will help it compete with its rival, Baidu.com, which unlike Google, offers mp3 searching and downloading abilities.

Skype for the iPhone

This is something we talked about last year in IS717. Free Skype for the iPhone is now available. A blackberry version is expected in May.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/03/30/skype.iphone/index.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/162179/sneak_peek_at_skype_for_iphone_available_tuesday.html