Moving Pictures by Phone

Posted on May 19, 2011 by GilPress

Today in 1924, AT&T demonstrated long distance telephotography, now known as fax, with the transmission of pictures over telephone wires between Cleveland and New York. Commercial service began in a handful of cities the following year. For many decades, telephotography had one major use — sending photos of distant events for use by newspapers. Also today, in 1932, John Logie Baird demonstrated the Visiophone in Paris, France, a telephone capable of transmitting both audio and video.

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CIOs on Big Data: A New IBM Study

Posted on May 18, 2011 by GilPress

Earlier this week, IBM released the 2011 IBM Global Chief Information Officer Study, based on “face-to-face conversations with over 3,000 CIOs from organizations of every size, sector and region.” Continue reading →

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Glimmers of Big Data and Data Scientists

Posted on May 18, 2011 by GilPress

“The value of information about information can be greater than the value of the information itself. From that and other similar observations, I am willing to project an enormous new industry based on a service that helps navigate through massive amounts of data” – Nicholas Negroponte, Wired, June 1994.  Continue reading →

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ITU Established

Posted on May 17, 2011 by GilPress

Today in 1865, the first International Telegraph Convention was signed in Paris by the 20 founding members, and the International Telegraph Union (ITU) was established to facilitate subsequent amendments to this initial agreement.  Continue reading →

Posted in Information Economy, Statistics, Telegraph, Telephone, The Information Business, This day in information | Leave a comment

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day

Posted on May 17, 2011 by GilPress

Today is World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD). Its  purpose “is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide.”  This year’s theme is “Better life in rural communities with ICTs.”

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Data Scientists Wanted

Posted on May 15, 2011 by GilPress

“The United States alone faces a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 people with analytical expertise and 1.5 million managers and analysts with the skills to understand and make decisions based on the analysis of big data.” —McKinsey

“The most coveted employee in Silicon Valley today is not a software engineer. It is a mathematician. The mathematicians are trying to tickle your fancy long enough to see one more ad.”–Glenn Kelman, CEO, Redfin

“Analysts say there likely will be a shortage of data scientists, the people who figure out the right questions to ask, make predictions quickly and develop products that monetize the information. There isn’t currently formal education for the emerging role, but colleges like Fordham University in New York are exploring new curriculum.” –“IBM, EMC Target Analytics, But Data-Scientist Shortage Looms,” Dow Jones Newswires

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The Value of Virtual

Posted on May 14, 2011 by GilPress

“The very fact that virtual possessions don’t have a physical form may actually enhance their value, researchers at Carnegie Mellon’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) and School of Design discovered in a study of 21 teenagers.  Continue reading →

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AIEE (IEEE) Established

Posted on May 13, 2011 by GilPress

Nathaniel Keith's "call" from the 5 April 1884 issue of Electrical World.

Today in 1884, the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) was established in New York.  Continue reading →

Posted in Social Impact, This day in information | 1 Comment

Bob Metcalfe, May 2011

Posted on May 13, 2011 by GilPress

Bob Metcalfe is Going Meta on Innovation

By Gil Press

Bob Metcalfe thinks we are in a bubble, an innovation bubble, seeing that the word “innovation” is on everybody’s lips. Continue reading →

Posted in Innovation, Interviews, Social Networks, World Wide Web | 2 Comments

Microsoft on the Future of Search and the Web

Posted on May 11, 2011 by GilPress

Qi Lu, president of Microsoft’s Online Services Division (OSD), talked this evening about the future of search and the Web at Microsoft’s New England R&D Center. Here are a few highlights. Continue reading →

Posted in Location-based information services, Mobile, Predictions, Search, Social Networks, World Wide Web | 1 Comment