Podcast Update

• Drew Endy talked about Open Source Biology. He described how some of the patents and such that one sees being filed today hint at the need to consider a system that is more open and encourages sharing to help foster innovation. One of his analogies compares the current practice of filing for patents on particular peptide sequences with putting patents on semi-colons, commas, and such. Then, of course, the process of getting permissions to use certain grammatical constructs becomes so difficult that fewer books are written. This was a good listen.
• James Surowieki talked about Independent Individuals and Wise Crowds. During this interesting podcast, James talked about how our human culture can lead us to participate in herd behaviors and other such behaviors. James offers some good advice that is well worth listening to if you find yourself participating in group decision making processes.
• John Hanke talked about Google Earth. This interesting podcast describes several methods that can be and are used to interact with Google Earth. John includes coverage of how a particpatory model helps to make Google Earth possible. Very interesting.
• Michael Disabato talked about the Evolving Technology Organization. Most particularly, Michael correctly notes that it is service delivery not technology that we in IT need to place our focus. From there he talked about how an IT Infrastructure Library approach can help in this regard. In this case, meta information about current and planned IT deployments are recorded and harvested by many separate interests to ensure that any new deployment in environment essentially is deployed without notice.
• Ray Kurzwell talked about what happens When Humans Transcend Biology part 1 and part 2. Ray does a great job building the case that we should expect the rate of change to continue accelerate like it has in the past. Despite this expectation, he points out that many experts continue to make their prediction based on linear models. Thus, they underestimate the rate of technological innovation. This is a very exciting and informative podcast. I can't wait to get my nanobots that deliver oxygen to my muscles 1000 more efficiently then my red blood cells.
• Mitchell Baker talked about her experience as she participated with others as they took Mozilla to open source. She does a great job building the case that it isn't just technology and organization is important. A good presentation.
• Peter Barrett and Scott Rafer talked about how technology continues to enable connections between people. They build the case this network effect will continue to lead to more and more innovations that enable people to participate and share their lives with friends and family. A good presentation.