To quote from one of the four prior posts with this title:

“While in many areas it might be difficult to see into the future, in the area of technology the future can be readily seen.  The speed of technological invention and innovation moves so quickly that we have barely assimilated a recent breakthrough when another shows up to knock us back on our heels again.  While these innovations do provide a glimpse of our future, they can be disorienting in that they show us that the Present that we are struggling to accept and assimilate will soon be outdated.”

Cloud computing is the name given to the rapidly growing movement of software and storage onto the web. Rather than having all of ones’ software, documents, pictures and email files stashed on the hard drive of a desk top or notebook computer, it will soon be possible to have all of ones digital life reside on a secure place on the web.  While on-line back-up has been around for a while, the breakthrough for cloud computing is that the software one uses will be on the web, not in the computer.  This is the high level battleground between the decades’ old PC model of Microsoft and the more recent Net-centric vision of Google.

Perhaps Bill Gate’s most famous quote is his founding vision for Microsoft:  “A PC on every desktop”.  The manifestation of that vision is the world domination of the Microsoft Empire.  Whether one likes Microsoft or not, this manifested vision helped …

I have written here several times about the fact that the U.S. crossed a tipping point in 2006 regarding global warming.  It is now a subject that a majority of Americans have awareness of and are concerned about.  As with most large issues that are complex, it often takes time for the citizens to understand and to then take action.  If it can be made personal or emotional the process is accelerated.  Global warming is no different.

Three or four years ago, when I was discussing global warming, the enormity of the problem and the developing urgency to act, I found that many people, even intelligent and socially aware people did not fully see the problem.  Since it was not readily apparent in their lives it was more of an abstract concept to be discussed and debated. Is it real?  What can I do? How serious is it really?  Is humanity at cause? This was a most common point of view if one was not a committed environmentalist.  Back then I came upon a rationale that always created alarm.  Regardless of the person to whom I was speaking I started to ask if they were a parent, and if so, how old were their kids.  If the age of the kids was under 15 I basically said that the reason to be concerned about global warming was that there was a significant possibility that their grandchildren might not live out their natural life, or if they did so, their later …

In this seventh installment of our on-going series of interviews with some of the leading thinkers and scientists on the subject of energy, we interview Dr. Feng Hsu.

Facing and solving the multiple issues concerning energy is the single most pressing problem that we face as a species. There is a lot of media coverage about energy, alternative energy and global warming, but what has been missing is the knowledge and point of view of scientists, at least in the main stream media. If you have missed the first five interviews, please scroll down the right side of the page and click on ‘Scientists – Interviews’.

Perhaps the single greatest solution for eliminating the global dependency on fossil fuels is Space Solar Power. This has not received nearly the coverage it should in the ever growing discussion about global warming and alternative energy. This interview with Dr. Hsu is a great introduction to SSP, and from one of the greatest authorities on the subject. Please plan to set aside some time to read this entire interview and you will learn about what might well be the solution to the global energy crisis.

Dr. Feng Hsu is Senior Aerospace Engineer for NASA and a former research fellow of Nuclear Energy Dept. (now Energy Sciences Technology) at BNL (Brookhaven National Laboratory, http://www.BNL.gov). Dr. Hsu is a renowned world expert with decades of experiences in the field of Risk and Safety assessment and mission assurance management for complex engineering systems, such as …

The past few weeks have not been good ones for products manufactured in China and financial instruments created in the United States.  The “Made in China” brand is now an un-trustworthy brand to millions of American consumers.  New, mortgage backed debt instruments, highly rated by U.S. bond rating agencies are now being questioned in financial capitols around the world.
In an earlier column entitled “Made in China” I discussed certain historical forces and timelines that are to some degree at cause for the recent rash of dangerous products being produced in China.  In a historically short period of 30 years, the country is moving from being a rural, agrarian economy to one of the largest industrial economies in the world.  In addition, in this same time period it is moving from being a secretive, xenophobic, communist state run by a central planning committee to a major player on the world economic stage that has standards of safety and openness.  This huge a transition in such a short time has never occurred, so a number of sizable bumps in the road are to be expected. 
This historical perspective notwithstanding, the Made in China brand is in serious trouble.  Most of the readers of this blog are probably either parents or pet owners.  If you are a parent, particularly of a young child, you will now look at all toy packaging and truly think twice before you buy a toy that has the words “Made in China” printed …