- Public Intelligence Blog

Quote to Note: Open Source Is a Little Pregnant

I came across “Why Is Atom Closed Source?” The thread had a very interesting statement from mojombo. I quote:

Atom won’t be closed source, but it won’t be open source either. It will be somewhere inbetween, making it easy for us to charge for Atom while still making the source available under a restrictive license so you can see how everything works. We haven’t finalized exactly how this will work yet. We will have full details ready for the official launch.

Several years ago I gave a talk and used this diagram to illustrate the spectrum of open source search software:

Some of my information explaining the diagram turned up in an azure chip consulting firm report. Well, that’s how the semi straight consulting firms work.

Continue reading “Stephen E. Arnold: Quote to Note: Open Source Is a Little Pregnant as in Sort of but Not Really”

2014/02/27

Berto Jongman: Top 10 Emerging Technologies

Advanced Cyber/IO

Top 10 emerging technologies for 2014

Technology has become perhaps the greatest agent of change in the modern world. While never without risk, positive technological breakthroughs promise innovative solutions to the most pressing global challenges of our time, from resource scarcity to global environmental change. However, a lack of appropriate investment, outdated regulatory frameworks and gaps in public understanding prevent many promising technologies from achieving their potential.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies identifies recent key trends in technological change in its annual list of Top 10 Emerging Technologies. By highlighting the most important technological breakthroughs, the Council aims to raise awareness of their potential and contribute to closing gaps in investment, regulation and public understanding. For 2014, the Council identified ten new technologies that could reshape our society in the future.

The 2014 list is:

Body-adapted Wearable Electronics
Nanostructured Carbon Composites
Mining Metals from Desalination Brine
Grid-scale Electricity Storage
Nanowire Lithium-ion Batteries
Screenless Display
Human Microbiome Therapeutics
RNA-based Therapeutics
Quantified Self (Predictive Analytics)
Brain-computer Interfaces

2014/02/27

Jean Lievens: 21 Technologies That Will Decentralize the World

Advanced Cyber/IO, Cultural Intelligence

21 Technologies That Will Decentralize the World

Across the planet, new technologies and business models are decentralizing power and placing it in the hands of communities and individuals.
“We are seeing technology-driven networks replacing bureacratically-driven hierarchies,” says VC and futurist Fred Wilson, speaking on what to expect in the next ten years. View the entire 25-minute video below (it's worth it!) and then check out the 21 innovations below.

LIST ONLY

1. Open Garden (mesh)
2. Commotion Router (mesh)
3. Twister (P2P alternative social network)
4. The Edison (wearable chip)
5. BitCloud (autonomous Internet)
6. The Internet of Things
7. WunderBar (starter kit)
8. The Wireless Registry
9. Dot-Bit (autonomous Internet)
10. Bitcoin
11. Ethereum (crytp ledger)
12. Smart Contracts
13. Smart Property
14. P2P Payments
15. P2P Lending
16. Crowdsourcing Civic Engagement
17. Civic Crowdfunding
18. Decentralized Urban Farming
19. Farm Hack
20. MOOCS and Online Learning Platforms
21. Coming Soon: Identify, Trust and Data

Read full article with 25 minute video, photos, and multiple exemplar links for each of the technologies.

2014/02/262014/02/26

Richard Clarke: 10 Observations on US Intelligence Gathering – Robert Steele on What Clarke Does Not Mention

IO Impotency

Richard Clarke at RSA Conference: 10 Observations on US Intelligence Gathering

A veteran counter-terrorism advisor and Presidential Review Group member on Intelligence gives his executive summary

I'm in San Francisco this week to attend the RSA security conference, and to cover the Cloud Security Alliance summit for security professionals. The CSA is a terrific organization, a non-profit founded with the purpose of promoting best security practices for cloud computing. I've watched this summit grow over the years commensurate with the increase in visibility of cloud security concerns, and once again attendees filled up the largest venue yet.

The opening keynote speaker was Richard A. Clarke, chairman and CEO of Good Harbor and former advisor to several presidents on counter-terrorism subjects. His keynote was based on his tenure last fall on the highly select Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technology requested by President Obama in the wake of the Snowden revelations. (There were only five men in this group.) Given carte blanche intelligence clearance to every program, this group issued a 300-page unclassified report*, with 46 recommendations on intelligence collection, specifically how the United States should improve privacy and civil liberties while continuing to protect national security. Clarke’s short but very interesting keynote focused on his takeaways and his top 10 observations in the 46 recommendations.

His big-picture takeaway was that “In terms of collecting intelligence, (the NSA and other intelligence agencies) are very good – far better than you can imagine. But they have created the potential for a police surveillance state.” As a result, the task of controlling them is more urgent than it ever was. The group found that the intelligence agencies were full of very talented individuals dedicated to the protection of the United States and its allies. What they did not find “was a bunch of people randomly (reading) your emails.” But the potential is there.

Here are 10 key observations from a Washington veteran who had the opportunity to see everything under the intelligence kimono.

Continue reading “Richard Clarke: 10 Observations on US Intelligence Gathering – Robert Steele on What Clarke Does Not Mention”

2014/02/25

Worth a Look: Kevin Kelly on Cool Tools

5 Star, Information Society, Information Technology, Intelligence (Public), IO Tools

Cool Tools is a highly curated selection of the best tools available for individuals and small groups. Tools include hand tools, maps, how-to books, vehicles, software, specialized devices, gizmos, websites — and anything useful. Tools are selected and presented in the book if they are the best of kind, the cheapest, or the only thing available that will do the job. This is an oversized book which reviews over 1,500 different tools, explaining why each one is great, and what its benefits are. Indirectly the book illuminates the possibilities contained in such tools and the whole catalog serves an education outside the classroom. The content in this book was derived from ten years of user reviews published at the Cool Tools website, cool-tools.org.

See Also:

Kevin Kelly @ Phi Beta Iota

2014/02/25

Nik Peachey: Quick Video Conferencing Tool

IO Tools

This is a great free tool that is so simple to use and which runs in the browser. You can host meetings of up to 8 people and no downloads or registration are necessary.

Process is simple with no long-in or registration.

1. Create a room.

2. Copy the link.

3. Share the link.

4. Appear together.

Good-bye Skype.

Create your own digital room.