Bezos chats with Tim O’Reilly
Text transcript along with audio (MP3) and video (MP4) to download. Other Web 2.0 webcasts here.
See Also: Want to Listen In on What Jeff Bezos was speaking about in 2002?
Jeff Bezos recorded at MIT on November 25, 2002. The presentation is titled, “Earth’s Most Customer Centric Company: Differentiating with Technology.”
Remembering Gerald R. Ford
A compilation of resources from FirstGov. Includes links to funeral info, biography, and the Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum.
Source: FirstGov.gov
See Also: Gerald Ford Memorial Web Site
See Also: Media Photo Kit (via Ford Library and Museum)
See Also: Images of President Ford via Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog
See Also: Hyperlinked Version of Timeline of President Ford’s Life (via Ford Library and Museum)
See Also: Gerald Ford talks to Bob Woodward of The Washington Post.
This recent interview was embargoed and could be published only after Ford’s death. Text and audio excerpts.
See Also: Collection of Quotes (via Ford Library and Museum)
See Also: Video Collection (via C-SPAN)
See Also: Additional Resources via Al Tompkin’s, Al’s Morning Meeting
Commission launches performance website
From the Kable’s Government Computing story:
The Healthcare Commission has set up a website that will allow patients to see how private and voluntary hospitals and health providers are performing
Patients can run postcode searches for private centres to see how well they are meeting 32 core standards. The standards cover everything from infection control to staff training.
All data is drawn from the commission’s annual State of Healthcare Report, published in October 2006. They are not the same as those that apply to the NHS, but cover broadly similar issues
Additional info and access to the database here.
(U.K.) 2006 – a year for the record books
Preliminary temperature figures for 2006 released by the Met Office and the University of East Anglia (UEA’s Climatic Research Unit), show the mean surface air temperature has continued to demonstrate a warming climate, both around the globe and especially here in the UK.
In the UK, the year has been remarkable, with the Central England Temperature series setting a succession of records. Not only have individual months set new records, but more significantly, extended periods have also done so:
* Warmest month on record set this July, with a mean temperature of 19.7 °C
* Warmest ever September (16.8 °C)
* Warmest ever April to October having a mean temperature of 14.6 °C
* Warmest ever autumn with a mean temperature of 12.6 °C
Source: Met Office
(U.S.) Climate of 2006 – in Historical Perspective: Preliminary Annual Report
“The average annual temperature for the contiguous U.S. will likely be the third warmest on record in 2006, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. The year is noted for widespread drought and record wildfires, as well as heavy precipitation and flooding in some parts of the country. Following the warmest year on record for the globe in 2005, the annual global temperature for 2006 is expected to be sixth warmest since recordkeeping began in 1880.”
Source: NCDC (via DocuTicker)
See Also: WMO Statement On The Status Of The Global Climate In 2006 (MS Word Document)
Source: World Meteorological Organization
See Also: Canada’s Top Ten Weather Stories For 2006
You’ll also find links to previous lists.
Source: Environment Canada
Posted 27 December 2006 on DocuTicker:
+ Chairman’s Report: The Oklahoma City Bombing: Was There A Foreign Connection? (Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, House International Relations Committee)
+ The Presence of Magazines on the Internet (The Bivings Group)
+ Museum Relationships with For-Profits (Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation)
From the news release:
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington today added 25 motion pictures to the National Film Registry (see attached list) to be preserved for all time, bringing the total number of films on the registry to 450…it is estimated that 50 percent of the films produced before 1950, and 80 to 90 percent made before 1920, have disappeared forever. The Library of Congress is working to stanch those losses by recognizing, and working with many organizations to preserve, films that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant…The 2006 selections span the years 1913 to 1996 and encompass films ranging from Hollywood classics to lesser-known but still vital works. Billington chose this year’s selections after evaluating nearly 1,000 titles nominated by the public and conducting intensive discussions with the Library’s Motion Picture division staff and the distinguished members and alternates of his advisory group, the National Film Preservation Board. The board also advises the Librarian on national film preservation policy.
Complete List of 2006 National Film Registry Selections. Brief annotations about each film can be found here.
+ Applause (1929)
+ The Big Trail (1930)
+ Blazing Saddles (1974)
+ The Curse of Quon Gwon (1916-17)
+ Daughter of Shanghai (1937)
+ Drums of Winter [Uksuum Cauyai] (1988)
+ Early Abstractions #1-5, 7,10 (1939-56)
+ Fargo (1996)
+ Flesh and the Devil (1927)
+ Groundhog Day (1993)
+ Halloween (1978)
+ In the Street (1948)
+ The Last Command (1928)
+ Notorious (1946)
+ Red Dust (1932)
+ Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (1971-72)
+ Rocky (1976)
+ sex, lies and videotape (1989)
+ Siege (1940)
+ St. Louis Blues (1929)
+ The T.A.M.I. Show (1964)
+ Tess of the Storm Country (1914)
+ Think of Me First as a Person (1960-75)
+ A Time Out of War (1954)
+ Traffic in Souls (1913)
News Release Librarian of Congress Adds Home Movie, Silent Films and Hollywood Classics to Film Preservation List, 2006
See Also: National Film Preservation Board
+ List: National Film Registry, 1989-2005: (Titles listed A-Z)
+ List: National Film Registry, 1989-2005: ( (Titles listed by production year/release date)
+ Information for Every Film in Registry (via IMDB, Wikipedia, Filmsite.com)
+ Unofficial National Film Registry personnel credits 1989-2005 (sorted alphabetically by performer)
+ Unofficial National Film Registry personnel credits 1989-2005 (sorted by craft)
+ IMDB.com National Film Preservation Board Page and Links
Source: Library of Congress / National Film Preservation Board
+ Canada: Nstein enhances its software offering with a next-generation search technology
Under these agreements, Nstein will commercialize a search technology initially developed by NRC [ National Research Council of Canada ] under the name “Factor†and ensure its ongoing development at a joint lab with NRC. Factor is a next-generation search technology capable of detecting and decoding relationships between facts and entities tagged by Nstein’s advanced text analytics tools in documents and unstructured information…By making semantic searches customizable and interactive, it leverages the power of linguistic-based text analytics like no other technology can. Factor acts as a magnifier of Nstein’s capabilities, creating a relational layer that identifies links between facts (business acquisitions, hirings, financial statements, etc.) and entities (people, geographic locations, currencies, etc.). For example, a user can quickly zero in on “What investments have American companies made in European companies over the last 3 years?â€. Factor’s and Nstein’s technologies, able to differentiate the nature of words and their relationship, would return a strategically narrowed-down list of meaningful results. In contrast, mainstream search engines, which do not have these differentiation capabilities, would generate countless hits only based on keyword matching and requiring a great deal of time and effort to sift through.
See Also: IBM, Yahoo! turn to Montreal’s Nstein to test search tool
+ Webcast and Full Text Transcript: State of the Archives Address
by Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States
Source: NARA
New: Mobile Version of Government Computing News Now Available
Simply point your browser to: http://mobile.gcn.com. GCN also makes available a large number of email newsletters.
Celebrate Australia’s 2006 Ashes victory by looking through the history of cricket in Australia.
Need inspiration for activities during your summer holidays? Follow the Australians at play trail!
Source: National Library of Australia
The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2006
A longitudinal extension of the 2004 and 2005 ECAR [EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research] studies of students and information technology, this 2006 study is based on quantitative data from nearly 29,000 freshman and senior students at 96 higher education institutions. It focuses on what kinds of information technologies today’s students are using, with what levels of skill they are using them, how IT use contributes to the undergraduate experience, and what value the use of IT adds in terms of learning.
Source: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research
+ Judge: Can’t link to Webcast if copyright owner objects (via News.com)
+ Google Partners With China Mobile To Launch Mobile Search (via SEL)
+ Merrill Bets On Yahoo!-AOL Merger (via Forbes)
+ Australian Court Ruling Could Impact Search (via SEW Blog)
+ Speech-friendly textual directions from Google Maps (via Google Blog)
New From The Jerusalem Post: Interactive Map of Israel
Requires Flash. Includes atlas and local info (accommodations and attractions)
See Also: The map is also available at Eye on Israel
The CE (Consumer Electronics) Customer Support Contact List
Source: TechLore.com
“How many times have you had a question or problem with your device, and haven’t had a clue how to get a hold of the manufacturer? We hate that just as much as you do, which is why we will be working to maintain the ultimate list of customer support telephone numbers, links to websites websites, e-mail support, links to user manuals, and FAQs for as many CE manufacturers as possible.”
See Also: Wireless Carriers (U.S.) Phone Numbers (via PhoneNews.com)
Real timesavers!!!
Statistics: The Multichannel News (Cable TV) Blue Book, 2006
Stats for cable, dvr, vod, iptv, VoIP, and more.
Lists include:
+ Multichannel Subscribers
+ HD Homes, Internet Advertising
+ Multiethnic Urban Markets
+ Multichannel Revenues
+ DVR and VOD Homes
+ Top 25 Multichannel Providers
+ Multichannel Advertising
+ VOD and PPV Revenues and Usage
+ Top 25 Electronic Media Companies
+ Multichannel Programmers
+ Telephony, IPTV and Mobile Entertainment
+ Top 100 Cable Systems
+ Broadband Homes and Revenues
+ Multicultural Demographics
Source: Multichannel News
New report from eurostat:
The internet and other computer networks and their use by European enterprises to do eBusiness (8 pages; PDF)
Report Highlights:
• For European enterprises with 10 or more persons employed, internet connectivity is reaching saturation, but when it comes to interactive websites there is still room for improvement.
• Using computer networks to make purchases is a reality for one fourth of the enterprises, and one in ten make online sales.
• The use of internal computer networks and intranets is progressing well, but there is still scope for doing better, especially among smaller enterprises (with 10 to 49 persons employed).
• Integration by automation or automatic linking of business processes is best implemented in the distributive trade sector, where 45% of enterprises integrate internally and 23% do so externally with other enterprises.
• The difference between smaller enterprises and large enterprises is greater for more advanced applications of ICTs. The percentage of enterprises with internet access ranges from 90% to 99% between small and large enterprises but from 31% to 68% when it comes to integration of business processes.
• The use of ICTs by enterprises has grown steadily in the last two years for several technologies. Even internet access, reaching saturation, still increased by 2 percentage points, from 89% to 91%
Source: eurostat
TV Guide’s Best and Worst of 2006
+ Best and Worst TV
+ Best and Worst Movies
+ Year-in-Review
+ Guilty Pleasures
+ The USPTO received in excess of 440,000 patent applications in 2006, a record number.
+ In 2006, the USPTO received 354,775 trademark applications, a 9.7% increase over the previous year.
+ Patent examiners completed 332,000 patent applications in 2006, the largest number ever, while achieving the lowest patent allowance error rate — 3.5% — in over 20 years. At 54%, the patent allowance rate was also the lowest on record. Patent allowance rate is the percentage of applications reviewed by examiners that are approved.
+ The agency also processed a record number of trademark applications in 2006. USPTO trademark examining attorneys took final action on 378,111 trademark applications, a 36% increase over the previous year, and achieved a record low final action error rate, with mistakes found in only 3.6% of the trademark applications reviewed in FY 2006.
Direct to Full Text of 2006 Patent and Trademark Office Annual Report
160 Pages; PDF
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