The Menlo Briefs

It may be April, but this is no joke - Recently the United Nations opened its Economic and Social Council Chamber for a panel discussion on how "Battlestar Galactica" might inform the international body's approach to some problems of the day: terrorism, torture, religious conflict. (The evening was part of the U.N.'s new "creative community outreach" program.) The event was moderated by Whoopi Goldberg and the panel included Admiral Adama (Edward James Olmos) and Laura Roslin (Mary McDonald). [more]

The next generation of Braille? - The Braille system for the blind has been around since the 1800s. In these days of iPhones and other touch-screen devices, however, Braille has been lacking...until now. Researchers at the University of Tampere in Finland have developed a type of Braille-proxy using a Nokia 770 Internet Tablet, which has a piezoelectric material built into the touch screen that vibrates when an electric signal is applied to it. The team installed software that represents a raised dot as a single pulse of intense vibration, and an absent dot as a longer vibration made up of several weaker pulses thereby creating a type of electronic Braille. [more]

Is e-mail on the outs? - There's no doubt that that Generation Y communicates differently then its predecessors, but what does that mean for the rest of us? A recent Nielsen survey of users' habits found that Social network sites such as Facebook and MySpace are now more popular than personal e-mail. [more]

With robots like these, who needs grad students? - While we've become accustomed to robots built to repeat a given task many times over, scientists at Aberystwyth University in Wales and the U.K's University of Cambridge designed their robot ("Adam") to take a more human approach to scientific inquiry. Adam seems to be doing well, carrying out scientific research automatically, without the need for further human intervention. [more]

Hoping for a better bedside manner - At Imperial College London, medical students navigate a full-service hospital where they see patients, order X-rays, consult with colleagues and make diagnoses. It's an interactive, hands-on learning experience -- and none of it is real. It's virtual game-based education, and it's taking place in Second Life. [more]

Worldwide organizational democracy...it's a good thing! - Menlo Innovations has been named one the annual winners of the WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces^TM award sponsored by WorldBlu, an Austin-based non-profit specializing in organizational democracy. For-profit and non-profit organizations from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, England, India, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Malaysia made the list from industries such as technology, healthcare, telecommunications, media, manufacturing, aerospace and retail, representing nearly $12 billion in combined annual sales. "Democratic organizations operate on the principles of freedom rather than fear and control," explains Traci Fenton, WorldBlu founder. "Democratic companies understand that the future of business is less about pomp and more about participation, less about titles and more about meaning, and less about fiefdoms and more about being flat in order to be competitive in this new, democratic age." [more]

True "green" technology - The quest for replacing rechargeable batteries currently powering personal electronics and hybrid vehicles has taken a microscopic leap forward. With the help of a common virus scientists have manufactured a possible replacement. Using this virus (and some other materials) they were able to manufacture coin-sized batteries comparable in performance to commercial lithium-ion batteries. [more]

To each his own -Canadian filmmaker Rob Spence damaged his right eye in a childhood accident and was later given a prosthetic replacement. Now Spence is attempting to build a wireless video camera into his synthetic eye, turning himself into a self-proclaimed "Eyeborg". [more]

Are you a stupid user? - Have you ever had the experience of pushing on a door and having it not move only to realize that you missed the enormous sign that says "PULL"? How did that make you feel? Did you slink through hoping no one noticed, particularly since you've worked in the building for years and you use this door every day? Did you feel "stupid"? IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT! A door shouldn't need a user manual! It's evidence of failed design. The same is true for software! The need for a user manual is evidence of failed design. Come to Menlo for a Taste of how we use High-tech Anthropology^Ž to avoid this common failure of software design.

Maybe this is why our lights flicker - According to the Wall Street Journal, cyberspies from China, Russia, and elsewhere around the globe have breached the U.S. electrical grid. They have allegedly installed backdoor software that could lead to future damage. [more]

Do we call him a "Tweethiker" or a "Twitchhiker?" - There are many ways that people seek to raise money for charities that are important to them: telethons and marathons for example. One man had a different idea when it came to raising funds for a water charity. He decided to complete a trip around the work relying solely on Twitter friends - [more]

It's not too late to make a happy childhood - Recently scientists at a laboratory in Brooklyn found a chemical that can erase memories in rats. The implications for use in humans is far reaching. "You would have more efficient control of your own memories," said lead researcher Todd C. Sacktor, a neuroscientist at SUNY Downstate Medical Center [more]

Raising children for fun and profit - According to a new book written by Ed Mayo, Consumer Kids: How Big Business is Grooming Our Children for Profit, parents appear to be waking up to the threat of sexual predators online, but they have no concept of how business grooms their children for profit. The average British child spends five hours and 18 minutes watching television, playing computer games or online each day. The total of 2,000 hours a year compares with 900 hours in class and 1,270 hours with their parents. [more]

The 'Twitter Revolution' - In early April, a crowd of more than 10,000 young Moldovans materialized seemingly out of nowhere to protest against Moldova's Communist leadership, ransacking government buildings and clashing with the police. How did they pass the word to their peers to create this gathering? Twitter. [more]

An era isn't what it used to be! - One of the stories I tell during the monthly "Agile Explained" session here at Menlo is about how Encarta almost killed Encyclopedia Britannica after an almost 200 year run. Now THAT was an era! Apparently the new era is about 15 years as it seems that Encarta is on its way out, too. "Encarta has been a popular product around the world for many years," Microsoft said. "However, the category of traditional encyclopaedias and reference material has changed. People today seek and consume information in considerably different ways than in years past." [more]

And speaking of Agile Explained - Menlo's popular course on explaining the working of Agile as practiced within the Menlo Software Factory^TM will be offered for the first time as a public class in Chicago. Consider attending this popular day long class taught by Menlo Innovations CEO Richard Sheridan. To learn more and register, click here.

Talk to us! - Have a story idea for The Menlo Briefs? We'd love to hear from you, and now it's easier than ever because Menlo's on Twitter! Tweet us at @menloinnovation (no "s"). Not using Twitter? No problem! You can e-mail us at briefs2009@menloinnovations.com.