UW’s Shwetak Patel, a faculty member in Computer Science & Engineering and Electrical Engineering, has been named a 2011 MacArthur Fellow – colloquially known as the MacArthur “Genius” Award. Each year, the MacArthur Fellows Program awards unrestricted fellowships of $500,000 to roughly twenty “talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a [...]
Ten years ago Charles Brennick returned from Costa Rica with a desire to help underserved communities around the world gain access to technology and the Internet. Starting with a handful of volunteers and his laptop, he created InterConnection. Today, the organization has shipped more than 25,000 computers to organizations in 40 different countries and given [...]
Since the dawn of the digital age, the most potent ideas have been described as being the most “disruptive” for their transformative power to realign the status quo. By the sheer size of its revenues and its user base, the media properties it dominates, and the industries it has displaced or recast, the Google AdWords [...]
As every climber knows, it is an inner fire which must be stoked in order to defy gravity and ascend the vertical path that leads to a summit. And like every climber who is also a software developer knows, each summit represents only one milestone. The skyward journey is the real reward. The path that [...]
As many a Seattle blogger can tell you, the goal of getting a WordPress blog done vs. getting it done right can mean getting to Dunn, Seattle WordPress coach, trainer and seminar instrutor Bob Dunn. “It’s simple: I love to teach WordPress,” he says. “I have a passion for helping solopreneurs, small biz owners and [...]
“I will pay $50 for 2 tickets to Laser Bieber at the Pacific Science Center!” “”I will pay $300 for two box seats at the next Mariner’s game against the Yankees!” “I will pay $75 to anyone who can bring me a copy of The King’s Speech and two pints from Pyramid Brewery.” Got a [...]
“I am a man who was at the wrong place at the right time,” writes Andrew Schorr, author of “The Web-Savvy Patient, An Insider’s Guide to Navigating the Internet When Facing Medical Crisis.” “I received a diagnosis that changed my life. My hope is that what I have learned and the people I have met [...]
According to Malcolm Gladwell, the social theorist and best selling author of the seminal work, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, “the success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts.” There are the Salesman, [...]
Bill Gates has released his 2011 Annual Letter on behalf of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the third such letter since the tech visionary became a full-time philanthropist. The timely letter points to seven initiatives that are global priorities and emphasizes the need for renewed investment in foreign aid to prevent societies from spiraling into [...]
If you haven’t yet discovered the Take Control catalogue of eBooks, the easiest-to-grok, human-sized, How To trail guides of the most popular hardware and software products on the planet, well, you really ought to exercise more control over your high-tech lifestyle. From digital cameras to smartphones, to the sweet i-Suite of iTunes, iPods, iPads and [...]
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Smokin' Gig.U Ignites and Amazon Fire Kindles
Gig.U Takes Seattle Net Speed to A Graduated Degree
Gig.U: The University Community Next Generation Innovation Project is about to go live in Seattle. An effort to offer private companies access to 500 miles of publicly owned fiber-optic lines in Seattle is almost done, according to Bill Schrier, the city’s chief technology officer.
Drawing on America’s rich history of community-led innovation in research and entrepreneurship, Gig.U seeks to accelerate the deployment of ultra-high-speed networks to leading U.S. universities and their surrounding communities. Improvements to these networks drive economic growth and stimulate a new generation of innovations to address critical needs like health care and education.
“University of Washington computer science professor Ed Lazowska, who will be on hand at today’s press conference. Well familar with the progam, we hope Ed will decrive how Gig U will attempt to break the stranglehold that telecommunications companies have held on the growth of high-speed Internet access in the country.
By offering one-gigabit network connections — fast enough to download high-definition movies in less than a minute — not just to scientific researchers and engineers but to the homes and businesses that surround universities, the group aims to create a digital ecosystem that will attract new companies, ideas and educational models.
In Seattle, one of the first areas being looked at is the South Lake Union neighborhood, according to Kelli Trosvig, UW vice president and vice provost for information technology. The new Amazon headquarters, countless startups and a heavy biotech presence make this area an attractive area for broadband expansion, and the South Lake Union Chamber of Commerce has expressed interest. “We see this as just a starting point,” Trosvig said.
Other possibilities include the Eastlake corridor, the Cascade neighborhood, areas directly west of the UW campus, Montlake, Beacon Hill, Fremont and Rainier Beach.
Trosvig said a request for information will be sent out to service providers later this month. In November, a request for proposals will be released, and bids to connect buildings to the fiber optic backbone would be opened in early 2012.
Heading the Gig.U project is Blair Levin. Levin has worked for the Federal Communications Commission twice – the first time during the Clinton administration where he oversaw the first spectrum auctions, and again in 2009 to work on the National Broadband Plan. [24x7]
Kindle Fire Ablaze With Hulu, ESPN, Newspapers, & Mags Out of the Box This Week!
When the Amazon Kindle Fire launches this week, the “unboxing” experience will include Hulu Plus and ESPN ScoreCenter reinforcing Amazon’s positioning of the tablet as a subscription delivery tool where customers can choose from as many as 400 magazines and newspapers.
Kindle Fire owners will also be able to choose apps for Facebook, Netflix and Rhapsody, as well as games from Zynga, EA, Gameloft, PopCap and Rovio, and the radio service Pandora.
Amazon sees the much-anticipated Kindle Fire as more than a device, but as a way to sell movies, games, books and magazines to consumers.
“We think Kindle Fire customers will love the beautiful, intuitive reading experience we’ve built for their favorite magazines such as Us Weekly, The New Yorker, and Reader’s Digest,” Russ Grandinetti, vice president of Kindle Content, said in a statement. “The response from publishers has been overwhelmingly positive and they are excited to make their magazines and newspapers available on Kindle Fire, and we’re adding new titles all the time.” [24x7]
