"Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless;
clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own. Then
your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wounds shall quickly be
healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be
yours. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help,
and he will say: Here I am."
Isaiah 58:7-9
There are many ways to use technological advancement and collaboration for the good of the people.
From Kickstarter:
OpenBCI is a low-cost, programmable, open-source EEG platform that gives anybody with a computer access to their brainwaves. Our vision is to realize the potential of the open-source movement to accelerate innovation in brain science through collaborative hardware and software development. Behind the many lines of code and circuit diagrams, OpenBCI has a growing community of scientists, engineers, designers, makers, and a whole bunch of other people who are interested in furthering our understanding of the brain. We feel that the biggest challenges in understanding what makes us who we are cannot be solved by a company, an institution, or even an entire field of science. Rather, we believe these discoveries will be made through an open forum of shared knowledge and concerted effort by people from many different disciplines. The community that has begun to develop around OpenBCI is one of the main
driving forces for us taking the project further. We were very excited by the
amazing feedback and support we received at the NYC Maker Faire and it made us
realize the importance of getting more people involved.
Bjorn
showing his brainwaves to his daughter at Maker Faire NYC back in
September
Korea was modeled after Japan. It has pursued mercantilism as well. So has China. I have touched upon mercantilist policy many times.
From Zero Hedge:
In the 16 months since Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe launched his
bold plan to reflate Japan’s shrinking economy the yen has depreciated
by 22% against the dollar, 28% against the euro and 24% against the renminbi.
The hope was to stimulate trade and push the current account decisively into the
black. Yet the reverse has occurred. Japan’s external position has worsened due
to anemic export growth and a spiraling energy import bill: in January it
recorded a record monthly trade deficit of ¥2.8trn ($27.4bn). Having eked out a
0.7% current account surplus in 2013, Japan may this year swing into deficit for
the first time since 1980. So why is the medicine not
working?
The end result of all this is that the government bears none of the burden of
the adjustment and the household sector bears all of it, through higher import
costs and lower financial income. With the household sector’s spending power
thus crimped, companies have no incentive to invest in domestically-focused
production. Instead, all their investment will be geared toward
exports—mercantilism on steroids.
A mercantilist policy can feel like it is working during periods when strong
global growth allows excess exports to be absorbed without ruinous price falls.
Between 2001 and 2006 the yen devalued by almost 40% on a real effective
exchange rate basis and Japan’s current account improved sharply. Japan may not
have won back its global competitiveness (its share of the global export pie
fell by 1.5 percentage points in the period), but strong external conditions did
allow exports to grow 9% a year in dollar terms. Today, Japanese exporters do not face such benign conditions and any
successful mercantilist boost can only come from eating the lunch of rivals.
Snowden talks about the role of the Internet in our lives. Whether you agree with his claim or not, it would be necessary to see through the social implications of the Internet in a broad sense.
From Mish's blog:
Partial Transcript
TED: It's alleged that you have stolen 1.7 million documents.
It seems only a few hundred of them have been shared with journalists so far.
Are there more revelation to come? Snowden: There are absolutely more
revelations to come. Some of the most reporting to be done is yet to
come. TED: This is a story that for a lot of techies is the single most
shocking thing that they have heard in the last few months. It's about a program
called Bull Run. Could you explain what that is? Snowden: Bull Run is,
and we have to thank the NSA for their candor. This is a program named after a
civil war battle. They reason I believe it is named that way is they target our
own infrastructure. Their programs intentionally mislead corporate partners.
They tell corporate partners these are safe standards. Hey, we need to work with
you to secure the system. But in reality their giving bad advice to these
companies that makes them degrade the security of their services. They are
building in back doors, that not only the NSA can exploit, but anyone else who
has time and money to research and find, to let themselves in to the world's
communications. This is really dangerous because if we lose a single standard,
if we lose the trust of something like SSL, which was specifically targeted by
Bull Run, we will live in a less safe world overall. We won't be able to access
our banks, and we will not be able to access commerce without worrying about
people monitoring those communications and subverting them for their own
use. TED: Do those same decisions also potentially open America up to
cyber attacks from other sources? Snowden: Absolutely. If we hack a
Chinese business and steal their secrets, if we hack a government office in
Berlin and steal their secrets, that has less value to the American people than
making sure that the Chinese cannot get access to our secrets. By reducing the
security of our communications, they are not only putting the world at risk,
they are putting America at risk in a fundamental way. Intellectual property is
the foundation of our economy. If we put that at risk with weak security, we are
going to be paying for it for years. TED: They have made a calculation it
is worth doing this as part of America's defense against
terrorism. Snowden: When you look at the results of these programs to
stop terrorism, you will see that is unfounded. You don't have to take my word
for it. The first court that has reviewed this outside the secrecy arrangement,
called these program Orwellian and likely unconstitutional. Two independent
White House panels that reviewed all of the classified evidence said these
programs have never stopped a single terrorist attack in the United States. So
is it really terrorism that we are stopping? Do these programs have any value at
all? TED: [pointing to a newspaper clip that reads "I would love to put
a bullet in his head one Pentagon official told BuzzFeed"] How are you coping
with this? Snowden: I've made clear, again and again and again that I go
to sleep every morning thinking about what I can do for the American people. I
don't want to harm my government. I want to help my government. But the fact
they are completely willing to ignore due process, they are willing to declare
guilt without ever seeing a trial, these are things we need to work against. We
shouldn't be threatening citizens. We shouldn't be criminalizing journalists.
And whatever part I can do to see that end, I am happy to do that. .....
[Regarding optimism] Snowden: I am living proof that an individual can
go head to head against the most powerful adversaries and the most powerful
intelligence agencies around the world, and win. That is something we need to
take hope from. Journalism is not a crime, communication is not a crime and we
should not be monitored on our everyday activities. TED: The New York
Times called for amnesty. Would you welcome the chance to come back to America?
Snowden: Absolutely. The principles that have been the foundation of
this project have been the public interest. ... The government has hinted they
want some kind of deal. That they want me to compromise the journalists with
which I have been working, to come back. And i want to make it very clear, that
I did not do this to be safe. I did this to do what was right. And I am not
going to stop my work in the public's interest, just to benefit myself.
[applause] ... We don't have to give up our privacy to have good government. We
don't have to give up our liberty to have security. And I think by working
together, we can have both open government and private lives. And I look forward
to working with everyone around the world to see that happen. Thank you very
much.
TED: It's alleged that you have stolen 1.7 million documents. It seems only a few hundred of them have been shared with journalists so far. Are there more revelation to come? Snowden: There are absolutely more revelations to come. Some of the most reporting to be done is yet to come. TED: This is a story that for a lot of techies is the single most shocking thing that they have heard in the last few months. It's about a program called Bull Run. Could you explain what that is? Snowden: Bull Run is, and we have to thank the NSA for their candor. This is a program named after a civil war battle. They reason I believe it is named that way is they target our own infrastructure. Their programs intentionally mislead corporate partners. They tell corporate partners these are safe standards. Hey, we need to work with you to secure the system. But in reality their giving bad advice to these companies that makes them degrade the security of their services. They are building in back doors, that not only the NSA can exploit, but anyone else who has time and money to research and find, to let themselves in to the world's communications. This is really dangerous because if we lose a single standard, if we lose the trust of something like SSL, which was specifically targeted by Bull Run, we will live in a less safe world overall. We won't be able to access our banks, and we will not be able to access commerce without worrying about people monitoring those communications and subverting them for their own use. TED: Do those same decisions also potentially open America up to cyber attacks from other sources? Snowden: Absolutely. If we hack a Chinese business and steal their secrets, if we hack a government office in Berlin and steal their secrets, that has less value to the American people than making sure that the Chinese cannot get access to our secrets. By reducing the security of our communications, they are not only putting the world at risk, they are putting America at risk in a fundamental way. Intellectual property is the foundation of our economy. If we put that at risk with weak security, we are going to be paying for it for years. TED: They have made a calculation it is worth doing this as part of America's defense against terrorism. Snowden: When you look at the results of these programs to stop terrorism, you will see that is unfounded. You don't have to take my word for it. The first court that has reviewed this outside the secrecy arrangement, called these program Orwellian and likely unconstitutional. Two independent White House panels that reviewed all of the classified evidence said these programs have never stopped a single terrorist attack in the United States. So is it really terrorism that we are stopping? Do these programs have any value at all? TED: [pointing to a newspaper clip that reads "I would love to put a bullet in his head one Pentagon official told BuzzFeed"] How are you coping with this? Snowden: I've made clear, again and again and again that I go to sleep every morning thinking about what I can do for the American people. I don't want to harm my government. I want to help my government. But the fact they are completely willing to ignore due process, they are willing to declare guilt without ever seeing a trial, these are things we need to work against. We shouldn't be threatening citizens. We shouldn't be criminalizing journalists. And whatever part I can do to see that end, I am happy to do that. ..... [Regarding optimism] Snowden: I am living proof that an individual can go head to head against the most powerful adversaries and the most powerful intelligence agencies around the world, and win. That is something we need to take hope from. Journalism is not a crime, communication is not a crime and we should not be monitored on our everyday activities. TED: The New York Times called for amnesty. Would you welcome the chance to come back to America? Snowden: Absolutely. The principles that have been the foundation of this project have been the public interest. ... The government has hinted they want some kind of deal. That they want me to compromise the journalists with which I have been working, to come back. And i want to make it very clear, that I did not do this to be safe. I did this to do what was right. And I am not going to stop my work in the public's interest, just to benefit myself. [applause] ... We don't have to give up our privacy to have good government. We don't have to give up our liberty to have security. And I think by working together, we can have both open government and private lives. And I look forward to working with everyone around the world to see that happen. Thank you very much. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVwAodrjZMY http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.kr/2014/03/edward-snowden-on-ted-more-revelations.html
Samsung Electronics Co.'s newest smartphone Galaxy S5 will not be categorized as
a healthcare instrument despite having a heart rate sensor, the medical ministry
said Monday, freeing it from regulations that could have complicated its sales
launch. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it plans to revise the current law
to distinguish heart rate sensors used for leisure purposes from those serving
medical purposes. "Although the Galaxy S5 is technically a medical device under the current
law, it will be excluded from the category after the revision," an official from
the ministry said. "It will take about 25 days for the amendment."
The
ministry added major countries such as the United States, Japan and Britain
already follow similar categorization. Samsung's Galaxy S5 smartphone is the first in the industry to come with a
built-in heart rate sensor, which can also be connected to smartwatches to
monitor one's heart rate such as during exercise.
The feature had sparked concerns over the release schedule of the Galaxy S5,
as local law stipulates that medical devices, defined as equipment used to
diagnose, treat or prevent diseases, must be approved by the ministry before
being sold in the market.
When you
pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray loudly in the
Churches and at special venues so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you,
they have already received their reward. But when you pray, go to your own
room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who
sees all, even in secret, will hear you."
P&G is known to be a solid marketing firm as well as technological prowess. It is interesting to see how this p lays out.
From the Wall Street Journal:
The giant Procter & Gamble Co. PG
in Your ValueYour ChangeShort positionlast week
demonstrated what it calls the "World's First Available Interactive Electric
Toothbrush." It links with a smartphone and records brushing habits, while an
app gives mouth-care tips alongside news headlines.
"There are people who are very passionately waiting
for it," says Michael Cohen-Dumani, associate marketing director for P&G's
Oral-B electric toothbrush business.
"I truly believe that 10 years from now," he says,
"it's going to be hard to think you didn't have something like it."
Not everyone is champing at the bit. "It's one of
those things you think are great at first but never actually buy," says Karina
Clarke, a 34-year-old Paris real-estate agent. The idea, she says, seems like "a
microwave you put in your mouth."
This race to wire the world's jaws is playing out in one of
tech's buzziest arenas: the so-called Internet of things. Giants like Google Inc., GOOG
in Your ValueYour ChangeShort positionwhich recently
bought a networked-thermostat maker called Nest, are investing, as are smaller
startups. New products include smart socks (to measure running form) and
connected water bottles (to gather water-consumption data.)
"We're just at the beginning of seeing a bunch of
really ridiculous products that tie pretty much anything to a smartphone," says
Stacey Higginbotham, who writes about the Internet of things for tech website
Gigaom.
Kolibree is betting on sensors and analytics to
improve the daily oral-hygiene ritual. Its sonic toothbrush, called the
Kolibree, includes nine motion sensors and an algorithm designed by five
mathematicians to identify which quadrant of the mouth a user is brushing, Mr.
Serval says.
Kolibree is designing its brush so anyone, from
dentists to game developers, can build applications that tap into its data. "We
are kind of geeks going into the dental industry," Mr. Serval says. "We want to
use data to reinvent the way people brush their teeth."
P&G is leaning on its history. The company's
Oral-B brand offered its first electric toothbrush in 1963. The mobile app with
P&G's toothbrush—it will be part of the Oral-B SmartSeries line—tells avid
users how long to spend on each corner of the mouth.
P&G says its will be the first connected electric
brush available to consumers. "Our competitors have some prototypes," says Mr.
Cohen-Dumani, "and we are excited to see how they come along."
Competition among Web-enabled toothbrushes is set to
continue.
