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Wednesday, April 03, 2002 |
Lenses on Knowledge Management
"The first is to examine what KM means in the context of our own status as knowledge workers. If we are expected to create new knowledge, or better apply existing knowledge, or do a better job of sharing knowledge; what new skills and practices does that demand from us? It's too tempting and too easy to fall into the trap of thinking about KM as another one of those topics that affects somebody else in the organization, but I don't need to change. To borrow from the late Walt Kelly, "we have met the enemy, and he is us." I believe this is a fertile and, largely, unexplored dimension of the KM problem....
There will be KM issues that are better addressed at the organizational level than the individual knowledge worker level. Suppose, for example, that you concluded that it would be desirable to reduce an organization's use of email in favor of more KM friendly tools like threaded discussion (or weblogs for that matter). As an individual knowledge worker, you might come to that conclusion, but would make little progress organizationally implementing that decision for yourself. Someone needs to help the organization come to that conclusion and develop a plan for leading the way." [Jim McGee: TEC924]
These two paragraphs represent two of the major issues I'm facing right now. I want to incorporate k-logging into the intranet we're building, but until then (if I can even pull it off) I'm using Radio as my personal KM system. Not for projects mind you, although that might be next. Theoretically I can password protect those directories if need be, and then I'd have a proof of concept. But it would be individual, not organizational.
Most of the folks in my organization wouldn't consider themselves "knowledge workers." If I'm going to scale it beyond myself and a few others I've gotten to buy into it, I'll have to provide training, documentation, and compelling reasons why folks should do this. How do I identify the skills and practices I'll need to convey to them to make this successful?
Sorry... just worrying out loud here. Hey Jim - can you get me a pair of rose-colored lenses on KM? ;-)
11:47:20 PM Permanent link here
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 "X-traFun is the world's first wireless mobile GameBoy cartridge that enables wireless transformation of content via the Internet. You can now wirelessly access the Internet using the GameBoy handheld console. X-traFun Inc., of Castle Rock, Colorado has designed and developed a cartridge for the GameBoy family of products that will enable mobile edutainment for kids of all ages. Besides interactive game playing, kids can now receive and send e-mails, perform chat messaging, e-book reading, and much more. Parents can send messages to their children while away from home.
X-traFun, Inc. is in the process of partnering with various retail entertainment product distributors to advertise and sell its product and services. The company will introduce the product first in North America and then abroad. The product will not cost much more than a standard game cartridge does today. This new product will be available in the Summer of 2002." [via bOing bOing]
They also make Bluetooth products for Gameboys.
So will PDAs be the basis platform (and incorporate cell phone and gaming functionality) or will cell phones be the basis platform (and incorporate PDA and gaming functionality) or will portable gaming consoles be the basis platform (and incorporate PDA and cell phone functionality). Or does it not matter since convergence is assured to at least some degree?
I'm not quite ready to place a Long Bet, but cell phone manufacturers seem to be making the most progress in this area (on other continents, at least).
11:27:31 PM Permanent link here
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"Did you see where Lego has developed a 'set' to help businesses and consultants visualize, plan and test business functions and processes? It's called Serious Play. I think I saw this one in the March 18th Fortune." [Steve Pilgrim's Radio Weblog]
This would be way more fun than many of the meetings I go to! I'd do this just for the "megaboxes of LEGO bricks and elements."
11:05:11 PM Permanent link here
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"Executives from Brilliant Digital and Kazaa's parent company say people can uninstall the Brilliant Digital or Altnet software from their computers without interfering with the Kazaa program itself. This is true, but it's not an easy process.
These three steps will remove most traces of the Brilliant Digital software from most machines. CNET News.com did it using a computer running Windows 2000, but the same process should work for other Windows operating systems. Please be aware, however, that these instructions represent just one uninstall method and may not be suitable for all machines and software configurations." [CNET News.com]
10:08:45 PM Permanent link here
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Rip 'n' Roll: A Date With 8 Jukeboxes
"If you have been buying CD's regularly for the last 10 or 15 years, then you probably have what is politely termed an organizational problem. Any attempts at alphabetical arrangement are foiled when you bring home another couple of discs, and besides, filing Mozart after Motorhead always feels a little strange...." [New York Times: Technology]
Obviously, the author of this piece is not a librarian, has never been a librarian, and doesn't know any librarians. I own more than 1,000 CDs, and I don't have any of the above problems and they are perfectly alphabetized. In fact, if you've been "buying CD's regularly for the last 10 or 15 years," then you're proud to file Mozart after Motorhead.
"To get a sense of what is going on in this new category of portable music, I put six top-selling MP3 jukeboxes through their paces and looked at two models that are expected to reach stores this month. Checking them out is like witnessing an evolution in fast-forward, starting with the simplest hard drive with headphones and leading up to a smarter box that is capable of handling all of your audio needs....
After loading 1,111 songs onto six different players, I can safely say that there is finally good reason to shop for these players. The iPod is still the best for gloriously seamless interaction with Mac desktops and laptops. But the RioRiot and Creative's Nomad Jukebox 3, a smaller version of the 20-gigabyte Nomad Jukebox with longer-lasting batteries and an improved version of an already top-notch interface, will soon give it a run for its money."
I second that emotion! Except that I have the Archos Jukebox, first version, but I love it love it love it. When we go on trips, I can take several CDs of kids music, several CDs of fun music for everyone to listen to, and several CDs of music for myself. I can then play them in the car (with a cassette adapter), in the hotel room (with a small pair of speakers), or when I'm walking outside or sitting by the pool (with headphones). I also take it to work and use my PC's speakers to listen to music there.
Like my ReplayTVs, the Archos has opened my intake valve even further for what I can consume at any given moment, but more importantly what I want to consume at any given moment. The combination of digital cable and the ReplayTV lets me pipeline what I want to see when I want to see it. It's only 6GB worth of storage (only?!), and I wanted the full 20GB of the new version as soon as I saw it.
Unlike my ReplayTVs though, the Archos makes my music collection portable in a way it has never been before. AT&T gets a decent cut of my income each month for the full digital cable package, three digital cable boxes (plus an analog one), and cable modem Internet access. I'm their ideal customer. It's too bad the RIAA doesn't want a piece of that action, because I would consume far more music than I do now (especially since I don't buy CDs anymore) if they would just provide it.
As John Robb noted, if you give me a megabyte, I'll take a gig.
10:03:19 PM Permanent link here
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For Bruce: VR in Courtroom Lets Jury ‘Be There’
"The use of virtual reality to present evidence at trial will face its first test next week in a mock Virginia courtroom....
The case, derived from a real manslaughter case, involves a biotech firm that had recently received Food and Drug Administration approval for a stent that would cleanse cholesterol from arteries after insertion. But after approval, the firm altered the materials used to make the stent to cut costs. The first patient who received the implant died soon after, allegedly the result of the now-faulty stent.
Jurors will have to decide if the stent itself caused the death, or some other factor was involved. A key witness observer from the surgery will testify that he saw the precise location of the stent when inserted. But during cross examination, the defense will ask the witness to enter the virtual operating room, with the entire courtroom watching. Once there, the defense will attempt to show that from where the witness was standing, he couldn’t have seen where the doctor inserted the stent....
Later this year, the state of Michigan will go one giant step farther when it opens the country’s first cybercourt. Gov. John Engler signed a bill in January that will allow corporations to argue cases entirely online in the state, a move designed to attract more high-tech business to the state." [MSNBC, via LockerGnome Bits & Bytes]
9:05:50 PM Permanent link here
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"I don't want artists to stop making high-quality movies and music due to lack of financial incentive, and most people probably agree with me. But I also don't want to be branded a felon for using computers and the Internet for what they have been designed to do: store, copy, transmit, process, and display information. Isn't it funny how the same business interests that champion the free market and technological progress as the natural and correct direction for the human race suddenly change their minds when these same inevitable forces happen to work against them? (Well, at least it would be funny if it weren't so utterly terrifying.) Why would we adopt even more repressive tactics than the Chinese government, which is frequently criticized for censoring the Internet?...
Of course, proponents of Hollings's bill argue that the SDMI failed, file sharing is eroding our precious entertainment industry, and that the free market fails to accommodate advances in technology. But you have to look only at the bottled-water industry to see the flaw in this argument. It's a massive market--even Coca-Cola has its own brand of bottled water called Dasani. Even though plumbing has been around since Menes's reign in Egypt 5,000 years ago and water flows freely out of taps everywhere, we spend billions a year on bottled water. Why? Because the content in the bottle is purer and more trustworthy (or so we believe) than what comes out of the tap. Carrying this analogy over to digital music, why should we make everyone continue to pay for bottled water just because plumbing was invented? You never know what you're getting through the Internet's pipes: viruses, poorly encoded or falsely named music files, hacking attempts, or even the acknowledged theft of your personal information. When you buy a CD, you know what you're getting--or at least you did until the major labels started trying to sell us screwy discs." [CNET MP3 Insider Newsletter]
For me, the one true ring that will lead them all is made of chocolate and peanut butter.
When we were grocery shopping last night, I couldn't help but notice all of the new products that carry the Reeses label. Ice cream bars, peanut butter, cereal, toppings, new candy bars, etc. Maybe I just hadn't noticed it before, but they've really diversified over the last few years. Which is a good thing, because the candy market only gets you so far, and Reeses was smart enough to recognize that.
So what's my point? Well, Reeses surveyed the market and saw new opportunities. They ran with new business models, rather than looking to others to keep their profits coming in. They found new distribution channels to reach more people than ever. The entertainment industry could learn a thing or two from the people who bring put your chocolate in my peanut butter (or, conversely, your peanut butter in my chocolate). I know I'm kind of comparing apples to oranges, but everything's better with chocolate, right?
3:50:59 PM Permanent link here
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"I asked lawyers for both the ABFFE and ALA whether -- once this law is challenged -- the court proceedings also will be secret since it involves domestic and foreign intelligence. Already, Attorney General Ashcroft has closed many immigration hearings to the public and the press. I was told that it is likely that courts hearing these search cases under the USA Patriot Act also will be closed.
My information is that there have been, as of this writing, at least three FBI searches of the reading preferences of people under suspicion. That is all the information I have, and I cannot reveal my sources lest they be subject to penalties for breaking the gag order.
By what criteria will the FBI place certain readers under suspicion? Under the USA Patriot Act, one of the definitions of "domestic terrorism" covers "acts [that ] appear to be intended ... to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion" (emphases added). This broad and vague language sounds like a justification for imaginative fishing expeditions." [Editor & Publisher, via Daypop Top 40]
I'm sure there have been more than three cases. This is all very ominous for librarians.
2:49:38 PM Permanent link here
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"Now a four-year-old Israeli start-up has won backing from several major computer and mobile equipment makers recently for a digital pen that could provide the long-sought after alternative to keyboards and mice in new electronics.
The potential breakthrough from OTM Technologies Ltd. allows mobile phone and handheld computer users to gather and edit text from various sources, play games and sketch drawings, even navigate a screen with mouse-like "point and click" movements....
OTM's Virtual Pen, or 'VPen,' works on a variety of surfaces, from computer screen to paper, and even human skin. It offers freedom of hand motion, unlike a competing digital pen-and-paper combination from Anoto of Sweden which requires a special 'electronic paper' to recognize the pen's movements....
The sweet spot for digital pens may prove to be an emerging market for smart phones, hybrid devices that are half handheld computer and half mobile phone on steroids.... Digital pens represent a natural accessory for a smartphone user on the go....
OTM's technology can also substitute as a kind of mobile phone joystick for use by game-playing teenagers, officials believe.
Last month in Germany, Motorola Inc., the world's No. 2 mobile phone maker, showed its latest line of mobile phones working with a wireless OTM pen, the first writing instrument for cellphones to operate on so-called Bluetooth networks.
Microsoft sees OTM's digital pen as a more intuitive way to enter data into handheld computers and mobile phones using its software. At the CeBIT trade show in Germany, Microsoft showed off a Compaq iPAQ handheld linked to an OTM digital pen." [Reuters, via Slashdot]
I wonder if they'll eventually be able to embed a chip in the pen (Java or something) that stores your personal information (credit cards, medical history, etc.) but only lets the owner use it based on biometrics. Talk about verifying your signature, and it would work as ink, e-ink, or digital signature.
12:08:53 PM Permanent link here
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"PDA shipments are set to grow by 18 per cent this year, according to the crystal ball gazers at Gartner Dataquest.
They reckon some 15.5 million PDAs will be shipped in 2002 - up from 13 million units last year.
While this growth is impressive, Gartner Dataquest notes that it is well down on the 114 per cent growth in shipments recorded in 2000....
Interestingly, three out of every four PDAs bought last year were sold to individuals who bought them with their own funds." [The Register]
8:33:24 AM Permanent link here
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"NEW machines installed in Adelaide [Australia] convenience stores make the illegal copying of the latest CDs and computer software – which costs artists and software designers millions of dollars – as easy as buying a loaf of bread. The stores have begun installing coin-operated CD duplication machines fitted with software to circumvent anti-copying measures built into some CDs.
The Copy Cat CD Duplication machines charge just $5, plus the purchase of a $2 blank disk, to make digitally identical copies of CDs in under 10 minutes....
The machines are able to operate under the same legislation as public photocopiers, where the burden of responsibility for copyright breaches lies with the user and not the owner of the equipment....
'If people ask, we tell them it is illegal to break copyrights and there are warnings on the machines – but what they copy is up to them,' he said.
A spokesman for the machines' Melbourne manufacturer, Paul Teate, said the CD copier was 'no different from video recorders, (audio) tape recorders and photocopiers.' "[The Advertiser, via Slashdot via Ernest]
So will libraries start providing this service or will the DMCA have chilling effects here, too?
8:29:48 AM Permanent link here
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Lori has highlighted another great resource: PDAs and handhelds in Libraries: I've Got the Whole World in my Palm by Megan Fox. This outline of a presentation she did back in January includes the presentation itself, a webliography of best links, and a very long list of PDA projects in academic libraries and academia. Unfortunately, I don't think there are enough similar projects in public libraries due to all of the usual suspects - money, time, staff, knowledge base, and technical support. Sigh.
8:16:20 AM Permanent link here
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"A federal judge on Tuesday denied a motion to dismiss the case against Moscow-based software company ElcomSoft for allegedly violating the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)....
The attorney for ElcomSoft had argued that the activity at issue in the case took place outside the jurisdiction of the court.
"Our argument was that the offense occurred primarily on the Internet and not in the U.S.," said attorney Joseph Burton, of Duane Morris LLP and Affiliates, in San Francisco.
"It's a pretty novel argument," he said.
Judge Ronald Whyte of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in San Jose, denied the motion. He based his decision in part on the fact that the software was offered for sale on a Web server located in the U.S. and was purchased by people in the U.S., Burton said.
On April 15, the court will hold a status conference on two other motions for dismissal. One is based on an argument that the DMCA violates the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of expression, and the other claims the law is unconstitutional because it is too vague." [IDG InfoWorld]
Strike one. Count is 0 and 1.
12:08:43 AM Permanent link here
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Over at snowdeal.org, Eric has pulled together a bunch of interesting links about terrorism related to September 11, including Valdis Krebs' just published First Monday article about Uncloaking Terrorist Networks using visual maps.
"After one month of investigation it was 'common knowledge' that Mohamed Atta was the ring leader of this conspiracy. Again, bin Laden verified Atta's leadership role in the video tape (U.S. Department of Defense, 2001). Looking at the diagram he has the most connections. In Table 2 we see that Atta scores the highest on all network centrality metrics - Degrees, Closeness, and Betweenness (Freeman, 1979). The network metric Degrees reveals Atta's activity in the network. Closeness measures his ability to access others in the network and monitor what is happening. Betweenness shows his control over the flow in the network - he plays the role of a broker in the network. These metrics support his leader status....
The best solution for network disruption may be to discover possible suspects and then, via snowball sampling, map their individual personal networks - see whom else they lead to, and where they overlap. To find these suspects it appears that the best method is for diverse intelligence agencies to aggregate their individual information into a larger emergent map. By sharing information and knowledge, a more complete picture of possible danger can be drawn. In my data search I came across many news accounts where one agency, or country, had data that another would have found very useful. To win this fight against terrorism it appears that the good guys have to build a better information and knowledge sharing network than the bad guys (Ronfeldt and Arquilla, 2001)."
12:02:58 AM Permanent link here
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© Copyright 2004 Jenny Levine.
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