Malthus

I've been more than a month without posting and although I would have liked to write something more about the MWC all the travels and social compromises refrained me to do so.
I would like to write, nevertheless, about something that appeared in a conversation in one of my last business trips. It was about the present financial crisis and its relationship with the energy crisis. The argument was that as our hunger for oil and other resources is so big and our wastes would need three planets to be naturally degradated, we are facing the end of our economic and technological progress.
My point was that this is actually what was pointed by Malthus: The catastrophe in front of a peak on demand and scarcity of resources. Malthusian theories demonstrated wrong because they did not take into account one endogenous factor, i.e. Technological progress.
It is right that we have a problem of scarcity with the present resources and that this trend is not sustainable in the long run, but the solution is not stopping the wheel from spinning, but invest in research and apply an economic rationallity to the resources and reflex in its price the actual costs of consuming these resources.

From a Physics perspective we have not reach in any way the limit of energy consumption nor of space occupied: Only a small fraction of the energy that comes from the sun would be necessary to supply the present energy needs and vast areas of the earth remain deserted.
This does not mean that things will get on track alone and we have to do nothing. We have a tough task in front of us, but if we realize of the importance of the problem and strongly believe that altogether we can find a solution, it will come.

Summer

This must be the most used post title in the present days... actually this and "The end of the Summer". Finally, August is over and the time to start again at cruise speed with all the duties is here. Tomorrow, September 1st., it will be the time to get all the ToDos that we step aside in July and retake them to see that they are not yet over.
For me August was pretended to be a prolific month where I could advance in my work for the MSc. Thesis, but unfortunately it has turned to be a demanding time from my work in order to get along with all the duties from the different customers. Anyhow, some work could be done and I have advanced in the preparation of a paper on the sources used for my work. Moreover, I had the opportunity to read some books interesting for my work in the Thesis and in G&D.
Hope soon to get at this cruise speed and get on with the hot fall that comes along!!

UOC revisited

Some days ago I wrote about the UOC, this Open University that inspires me and leads me to get my MSc. in Knowledge and Information Society. I must say that I was totally wrong. What I interpreted from my tutor explanations and what he really meant had nothing to do. I thought as the university realized that a 12 week period for developing a MSc. Thesis work was to short time to do it when working full time and because that they gave us the opportunity to finish the thesis in a longer period without having to enroll again and pay the tuition fee.

I was wrong as I said. Not only I have to pay again the tuition fee but I have not been able to enroll and keep the access to the restricted contents of the library... really sad. Luckily I am member of the Old Students of the University of Barcelona, where I studied my degree in physics, and keep the access to the materials of this library.

So, after a year and a half of moderate satisfaction with the UOC, I am really disappointed because they bad way to manage this issue.

The social Enterprise

Before the Magic Black Box appears... a very good article on the Social Software applied to the Enterprise.

Excerpt:

"The discussion eventually brought us to an even broader question: Why should enterprises go social, and what are the compelling reasons for adoption? On the surface there are immediate benefits, but from experience we know that consumer technologies do not directly map into the enterprise. In this post, we explore the reasons for the social enterprise, look at what social technologies fit and raise various concerns related to adoption."

"As a rule, what is good for individuals is not good for companies and the other way around. This is because both are selfish and it is the tension between the two that drives capitalism. The same is true for technologies; consumer products have not traditionally been needed by companies, with the exception of communication tools."

"Apple, for instance, is known to be very secretive about its plans. Does it give them a competetive edge? Likely yes. How does the introduction of blogging and open social tools to the enterprise impact that? More leaks are likely to occur. Information has an amazing tendency to find its way forward through the human network. The challenge then, is to define a set of policies and rules that ensure that nothing classified gets out. This is not simple."

"New social tools can enable companies to be more agile and self-organizing. The have a chance to break down the walls of complex, ineffective hierarchies and to empower employees to get things done. These tools are simple, fun, engaging, and inspirational. Bringing fresh winds of change to the stale corporate mentality is a good thing and should be welcomed."

Traveling...

Tomorrow I travel to Morocco for 3 days. I go with a colleague to visit two customers. One of them is a new project that we must start up. It is quite challenging when you have to pioneer in an area like I am doing now. But it is also frightening the possibility of make a big mistake. Anyhow, I have been working for a long time on this project and I expect to do it OK.

Additionally I have been working on the bicingadget in the previous days. I have upgraded my hosting plan for domocat.com and now I am able to store the scripts I developed for the domocat.x10hosting.com site and link them in this site. Soon I will publish something about this work...

FTP or SAMBA

I have at present two laptop computers at home. One, the oldest, runs Windows XP and is used basically for office applications and Internet browsing. The other, that a year old, has also XP installed, as was out-of-the-box, and Kubuntu Feisty Fawn that runs the torrent client and I use for almost everything I must do. I'm at present evaluating the possibilities to join them through the WLAN in a network where to share files and resources. As they are laptops and have no printer I haven't thought about it till now. Anyhow, I guess that the possibility to exchange files between the two laptops and make backups of information to the 250GB external HD I also have could be a great point that would pay the effort. What I'm not yet absolutely sure is if I must set up and maintain a true network system, with shares, smb clients, user accounts... or just put an ftp server to the WXP laptop through which I can transfer simply files from one computer to the other. Another option would be to set a VNC server on each computer and connect to the other if I must do anything and transfer the information always from the windows computer acting as a client to the built-in Linux ftp server... I'll think a bit on it and see what I finally decide!

Invention and Innovation

One of the most important concepts, or better, difference between concepts, when analysing the present society and its changes is the one between Invention and Innovation. I'm not completely sure about one the best definition for each of these words is but what I'm absolutely sure is that the difference is clear, once analysed, and easy to understand. When we talk about innovation we usually think in the changes that mean the fact that things are done, from its appearing, slightly differently, either for a new machine or for a new process. Maybe the change is not revolutionary itself, and usually are the kind of things that we see as logical and that we say "How can be that nobody has thought on it before?". Examples of these are kind of innovation are the Ikea way of selling furniture (dismounted and in packages) or the delivery of prepared food to home. Invention, in another way, mean to us something not thought or not done before. A machine or tool able to make something not done before (like a light bulb) or a light saber.
An invention can produce and innovation, but it is not necessary. Also an innovation could be based in an invention but it couldn't. Those concepts are complementaries but do not mean the same, although sometimes we tend to misuse them. The main difference between Invention and Innovation, to return to the start of the post, is the fact that innovation has consequences in the performance. When the concept innovation is used we are saying that things are done with less effort or in less time, or lately in a cleaner way. The use of a lighting screwdriver can be fun, but it is hardly going to mean that the electrician will fix the TV in less time. If something can be done, formally a process, with less effort it can be an innovation, though no revolutionary invention is used. Think in the no-stock production of automation plants. The simple fact of having no stock and receive the goods just in time provided the producers a way to reduce costs and time in the car making process.

To end with, just think that sometimes small changes, although not revolutionary in itself, could give a footprint of colosal dimensions. Or haven't you heard the story on the flying olive?