Alternative Energy Forecast

Forecasting alternative energy is not an easy task.  I think if you ask any individual, they are all for having alternative energy that does not pollute the earth.  The problem is, the oil industry has a big stake in the world market and definitely does not want to lose their massive profits.  It’s clear to people in the Gulf States, which endured BP’s oil fiasco, that a different, safer solution needs to be made.  The problem is how does the average tax paying voter make a difference when big corporations get to lobby directly to politicians for their agendas?  It’s an unfair system, so I think we either need a revolution forcing change or oil needs to run out.  It may be that the 2024 prediction is when oil is projected to run out, but I doubt that from what I’m seeing in the world news.  With a market size so big and so much at stake, something needs to be done. 

QR Code For TechCast website

References

TechCast Authors.  Bubble Chart’s of TechCast’s Latest Results.  Retrieved 7/7/2012 from http://www.techcast.org/TrategicAnalysis2.aspx?FieldID=19.

New Agora SDP Process Analysis

The first four steps in the SDP process are vital to figuring out what the problem is.  In the case of the inventory cycle count application, the situation is complex, which would make it an ideal candidate for the SDP process.

Asking questions helps to deconstruct the many facets of a complex situation. This methodology is similar to the methodology used to develop software applications where the first step is to talk to each user and get their input on the problem areas they have.

The third step is to articulate observations, which is an important step that I think many individuals fail to take into account. I feel the primary reason this is overlooked is because it is time-consuming to make observations and put them down on paper. It's much easier to look at the problems that we think are there and make solutions for those. By observing the problem areas in action, we often catch many things that were overlooked in the initial phase of questioning.

The SDP process supports planning for innovation and change by figuring out what is missing and making a plan on how to make a solution for that missing piece.

References

Schreibman, Vigdor, Christakis, Alexander.  New Agora: New Geometry of Languaging and New Technology of Democracy.  Retrieved 7/7/2012 from http://www.harnessingcollectivewisdom.com/pdf/newagora.pdf.

Microsoft Team Foundation Server

Developing software is a staged process involving several teams of people to produce a quality product. In the past, development teams used varying tools to accomplish their jobs. Most often these tools were specialized and not something the entire team could utilize. Microsoft created a product called Team Foundation Server to bridge this gap and provide a set of tools that all teams can use to develop the software.  The technologies that make this package work are SQL server, a source code repository and a front end using a Microsoft SharePoint web portal.

Visual Studio is the development platform used to create Microsoft products. In version 2010, the Team Foundation Server connection is built into the product, allowing you to interface with all of its features without having to leave the development environment.  Creating a new feature, software bug, workflow item, etc. can be performed from Visual Studio and assignable to other resources within the company. This feature, along with the source code repository that enables everyone to share source code files, make the team foundation server a great tool for social interaction necessary between varying teams of a development company.

Image taken from http://online-tfs.com/images/tfsOverview.png

References

Microsoft.com Authors.  Team Foundation Server 2010.  Retrieved 7/7/2012 from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/ff637362.aspx.

Where are the flying cars?

 Its 2012, where he heck are the flying cars?  I remember as a kid that flying cars were something definitely in our near future, but it does not seem to be happening at the pace everyone thought.  While flying cars do indeed exist, the price tag makes them out of reach for most.  

If I were to determine the reasons why flying cars were not around, the Delphi research method would yield the best results.  Automotive giants must have considered this, so they would be some of the experts involved.  Federal regulators have made rules for the current flying cars, so they would be involved too.  Current companies producing flying cars would be another group of experts.  Through these experts we would be able to see why there is a slow adoption and what it will take to get the infrastructure up and the price down. 

While everyone wants flying cars for convenience, there are many factors to consider.  Some positive factors:

·         Getting to your destination faster is one of the main reasons for the use of the flying car, from a consumer’s perspective

·         Saving money since we don’t need physical highways is a money saver for the government. 

Some negative factors:

·         Mass amounts of aircraft on the road increases the chance of collision, causing a projectile to fall on cities

·         Vehicles could be used as flying missiles by terrorists  wanting to blow up something

Keeping all parties anonymous ensures the opinions are not given based on any peer pressure.  Given the stature and high visibility each participant would have, making them anonymous ensures they can give a non-politically based opinion on the subject matter. 

You Tube. Why we don't have flying cars. Retrieved January 27, 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKqow8jzUDc&feature=related

Make Data More Human (Jer Thorp)

In the TED video, “Make Data More Human”, Jer Thorp, a NY Times Data Artist, outlines the importance of fitting data into a human context to give it meaning. 

Reading pure data is boring to most people.  Seeing tables of information laid out in series after series often makes seeing relationships and trends near impossible.  By taking that information and laying it out graphically we make better sense of the information.  Since we think in pictures it only makes sense that the graphical representation of information is more pleasing than the information itself. 

Two innovative ideas stemmed from this concepts of making data more human.  The first was a project called Cascade, which is an exploratory tool created for social networking.  The basic premise was to track the initial release of a piece of information and follow it through its sharing with social networking tools such as Twitter.  Comparing the number of people involved and the time taken to share, a better view of how social networking happens emerges. 

The second project was called OpenPaths.cc, which used iPhone data from participating users to map their locations.  The iPhone tracks the cell tower being used and what time it was in use.  From this information, vendors can gather your location data, should you grant it to them.  From this data, this particular application can map out where you have gone visually overlaid on a map of the world.  So rather than seeing lat/long coordinates, you can visually see where and when you were at specific places. 

Jer makes a very interesting case for the intelligent use of data for understanding.  Through these techniques, we can continue to visualize, construct and share meaningful information about the data we rely on. 

Thorp, J. (2012, March).  TED Talks. Make Data More Human.  Podcast retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/jer_thorp_make_data_more_human.html.

2011 Horizon Report - Augmented Reality

The Horizon Report seeks to understand and forecast technologies coming to fruition in the next five years (Johnson, 2011).  Of these technologies, one I see as promising is Augmented Reality (AR). 

The basic concept of AR is to overlay the world around us with a computer generated layer giving additional information.  The technology is broken down into 2 basic categories, visual metaphors and position based. 

An example the visual metaphor can be seen with one of the many sky applications on the iPhone.  By holding your phone up to the nighttime sky, the stars are sampled and named on the phone.  The program knows the star’s layout/relative positions and with a little math, the ratios of distances between the stars can be calculated giving the location in the sky.  Through a visual metaphor, information can be obtained from a background software based service to enhance what is being observed. 

A position based system we are all used to is the GPS mapping used for navigation.  We see the same streets we are driving on in a computer screen that is intelligent enough to tell us where to go.  A newer technology developed by Microsoft, the Kinect, allows the user to perform gestures to play a game.  Having a sword fight in this environment is much more realistic than using a simple controller—although it does get tiring a lot faster. 

Augmented Reality has been in use and will continue to evolve making our world and the virtual overlay interlaced through technology to such a degree that we will come to take it for granted, much like many of us do with the internet today.  

References

Johnson, L., Smith, R., Willis, H., Levine, A., and Haywood, K., (2011). The 2011 Horizon Report.

Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.

Animoto GECI Future Innovation

Global Enterprise Cloud Identity Animoto video. 
http://animoto.com/play/850MxlN9z8WJ4WoPiL1ZqA

My attempt to make a single sign on capability like the military uses for home users.  It also includes some expanded functionality for businesses.  It's limited to 30 seconds, so it's rather short. 

Problems with the Global Web

After watching a video presentation from Kevin Kelly (Kelly, 2007), I found myself at odds with some of the ideas he was proposing.  The video briefly looked at the first 5,000 days of the web and entertained what will happen in the future 5,000 days. 

I do think the web is amazing and it has come a long way.  I couldn’t do the job I do today without it.  I do feel what he is saying will likely come to pass in the next 5,000 days, but I have reservations with the consequences of what that could mean. 

The primary problem I have is with one system knowing everything about me.  While I don’t do anything wrong (legally), and I’m sure it would help to catch criminals, I have a problem with Big Brother (or Big Sis these days) watching my every move.  Not that I’m particularly interesting, but I don’t want to be a target of a future government.  Look at what Hitler did with the Jewish people during the Holocaust (Browning, 2004).  That was without technology; just imagine his reach to classifying and identifying individuals with a technology like this.  I do think most humans out there want the world to be a better place and will do the right thing, but I do feel there is always a minority of these insane individuals that may somehow grab power.  Our US Constitution and its protection of our freedom is something I take seriously.  Handing a vile leader the means to usurp our society on a silver platter is not my idea of a technology I would want in my world. 

Browning, Christopher, R.  (2004).  The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939-March 1942. Lincoln, Nebraska:  University of Nebraska Press. 

Kelly, Kevin.  (2007, December).  The Next 5000 Days.  TED Talks.  Podcast retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html.

Problems in the Military using Emerging Media

Classified Information
The primary problem all branches of the military face is the use of classified information. Using Emerging Media tools like Twitter and FaceBook may result in the enemy getting information that they are not supposed to have. Information that is classified is handled seriously in the military and a breach of that information could easily land you in jail.

Marketing to Recruits
Keeping fresh bodies in the military is always a problem when the economy is doing well. Having a good marketing strategy is necessary to get people to join. How do you convince someone that the small amount of money they pay you is worth risking your life?

Internet Use
Most Emerging Media technologies are internet bandwidth hogs. If you are at a site in Kuwait with a few thousand people and only a few satellite feeds, internet access is not freely given out. Mission critical circuits need the data lines--morale and welfare for the soldier come last. So the use of Emerging Media is discouraged in wartime theaters due to these bandwidth restrictions.

Death by PowerPoint
It seems the military loves PowerPoint presentations and wants one for about everything. While this tool is useful, there may be better ways to convey information that Emerging Media can reveal.

Metaphors and Media Literacy

Metaphors are used in our language to give life to our language by using concepts that are often unrelated to our word that is being used. An example of this is describing a person as cold or hot. The person is not being physically described as cold or hot, but we are identifying cold as treating others with indifference or scowl while hot means that we think they are attractive. It should also be noted that not everyone takes the same metaphor the same way. Our past experiences often lead to differences in how we interpret metaphors, but generally a consensus can be obtained.

An improvement process that I feel would work the best would be to expose someone to the many different tools out there. Here is what I feel would be a good mix:
1. Visit a blogging site and create a blog.
2. Visit a slide sharing site and upload a presentation.
3. Visit a social media site such as Face Book.
4. Visit a virtual social media world such as Second Life.
5. Visit a cloud based architecture such as Windows Azure.
6. Watch some videos on a video site such as YouTube about Media Literacy.

These steps will give a good introduction to someone about Media Literacy.

References
Geary, James. (2009). Metaphorically Speaking. Retrieved June 12, 2010, from http://www.ted.com/talks/james_geary_metaphorically_speaking.html
MNL Staff. (2008). The New Media Literacies. Retrieved June 12, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEHcGAsnBZE

Military Emerging Media

Visit my slideshare.net presentation on Emerging Media in the military:

http://www.slideshare.net/KennethMoss/week-3-reviewing-literature?from=share_email

Windows Azure

Recently I've been using Microsoft's cloud computing platform Azure. This platform allows me to create a SQL server in the cloud and reference it from my applications. It does much more, but that is my current use for it.
The neat thing about the cloud is:

• I only pay for the usage I have
• It can scale to meet the needs of as many users as I have
• It can scale to meet sudden spikes and usage and scale back down once done
• It can block traffic all the way down to the IP address coming in, making it secure enough for me
• I can use the existing toolset in .NET while using a cloud based technology

I'm excited about Azure and the possibilities it will provide me. Cloud computing is really cool!

References:
Windows Azure. Retrieved June 12, 2010 from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/

Doctoral Study Introduction

The information contained in the blog is specifically for my doctorate course at Colorado Technical University.

My selected topic is the military, since I've been active duty from 1996 to 2000. I also do contract work involving DoD branches along with many other government agencies.