The Menlo Briefs

I'd rather have a partridge in a pear tree -The holidays unfortunately bring more than fruitcakes and Christmas carols, they also bring an increase in online crime. Security company McAfee has highlighted the "12 scams of Christmas" to remind folks to be careful. [more]

The changing face of battlefield technology - Today many soldiers coordinate operations on the battlefield using eight pounds of communication and computer gear, but that may soon change. Next month a small handful of lucky special forces will receive handheld PCs that weigh just a pound and half each. [more]

Dressed to the swines - Worried about contracting H1N1 this flu season? You're certainly not alone, but I bet few have considered a flu-proof suit. For a mere $580 you can buy a suit coated with titanium dioxide, that breaks down when reacting with light and supposedly kills the virus upon contact. Caveat emptor. [more]

Help is available - Yes, that's really me on the cover of Forbes magazine! I founded Menlo Innovations to help software product companies like yours. And at Menlo, we practice what we preach - making products more valuable to your customers, more friendly to your users, and more profitable to you! Come to Menlo for a Taste of how we use High-tech Anthropology^® to build highly useable and useful software for you and your customers.

Raising an Internet savvy kid - Every day it seems that technology demands are speeding up. Younger and younger children are granted time to "play" online, which means that parents need to be especially diligent about teaching their children how to be safe on the Internet. (Well, as safe as anyone else, that is.) This article from Adam Rosenberg provides some practical guidelines for parents. [more]

Can you *COUGH* hear me now? - New software from American and Australian scientists aims to diagnose patients based on a cough into their cell phone. The hope is that this technology could be leveraged in areas where medical care is scarce to help differentiate between cold, flu, pneumonia or other respiratory diseases. [more]

Going Green - According to Handicap International, between 15,000 and 20,000 people are killed or injured by landmines and unexploded ordnance each year. Locating and disarming landmines is dangerous work. Now Edinburgh scientists claim to have genetically modified a bacteria so that it now glows green in the presence of explosives. [more]

Menlo curious? - We've written a book -- Innovative Exploration -- which is a virtual tour of the Menlo Innovations Software Factory™. It describes Menlo's unique approach to software design and development which has been featured in Forbes Magazine, the Wall Street Journal and other local and national publications. You can preview the book by clicking on the book's thumbnail or by clicking here.

Ready the virtual catnip! - Scientists from IBM recently revealed that the artificial brain they have created is as smart as a cat -- at least on paper. (Given the level of excitement this news generated, obviously their cat is smarter than mine.) [more]

Do more of what works, less of what doesn't - With high rates of unemployment, it seems that everyone who has a job is working more: weekends, evenings, holidays... However, a groundbreaking four-year study seems to confirm that getting away from work can yield unexpected on-the-job benefits. [more]