Neurosphere

The Human-Human Interface

Wholeness, Ancient and Modern


Wholeness and Virtual Communities

Pir Vilayet Inayat Khan died this year. Pir Vilayet brought the teachings of Sufism, the contemplative, mystical branch of Islam, to the West. He founded the Omega Institute, a “holistic” learning center whose name comes from Teilhard’s concept of the Omega Point. He talked about the institute resurrecting the aims of the ancient library of Alexandria, the compendium of all known knowledge at the time. Years ago, Internet pioneers had the idea that the Interent had the potential to be a mechanism for such an ambitious project of wholeness. Today advocates of online encyclodpedia Wikipedia harbor similar ambitions.

“Omega will be a global center for the development of human potential.”

http://www.eomega.org/

www.alexandria.ucsb.edu

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Teilhard and Intelligent Design


Wholeness and Virtual Communities

Here’s a critique of theories of Intelligent Design by reference to Teilhard de Chardin’s more inclusive synthesis of science and religion.

“And this is the first thing to notice; unlike ID, Teilhard’s cosmology is not a shortcut to anywhere. Teilhard’s cosmology does not close off questions; it opens them up. And, if it is right, it really does help us make metaphysical sense of everything about the universe without having to abandon real science at any point in the process. That is, for Teilhard, as much as for any naturalist, we understand the universe by looking at the universe; not outside of it. In Teilhard’s universe there are no dei ex machina; things happen in the universe because that’s the way they happen in this universe. The difference is that this universe is not quite as straightforwardly self-subsistent as the naturalists would have it be.”

http://www.techcentralstation.com/111705B.html

Grid Television


Personal Infrastructure

Television becoming more Internet-like is always a promising development. But IP doesn’t mean Free TV. There is a contractual production and distribution infrastructure that won’t be “disrupted” so easily.

“The BBC’s Broadcast network faces many of the problems which computing grids are designed to solve. It is a distributed network , with processing of broadcast material taking place at many nodes, carrying material (broadcast video) that has very high bandwidth requirements and mixes ‘live’ and stored events. The BBC also places high demands for reliable and consistent performance on its systems and networks. Special purpose broadcast processing equipment (e.g. video editing suites or image rendering devices) are located at specific points in the network but, in general, are not available for use outside these locations. As an example of this, a producer from BBC Northern Ireland will have to travel to London (taking his programme material with him) should he want to edit his programme on an advanced editing suite not available at the BBC’s Belfast site.”

http://www.qub.ac.uk/escience/dev/article.php?tag=gridcast_summary

Faulkes Telescope Project


The World Right Now

Here’s a great example of students turning the eyes of the noosphere in the direction of their choice.

“The whole telescope system is designed to operate automatically so that the telescopes run as robots. All that is needed to control one of the telescope is a computer (Windows or Apple Macintosh) and an Internet connection. A control centre in the UK (and others in Hawaii and Australia) will send instructions from the user via the Internet on which observations are to be carried out…The robotic nature of the telescopes means that excellent images of stars and galaxies are sent within minutes to the classroom computer via the Internet.”

http://www.faulkes-telescope.com/index.php?page=7

Disturbing the World Right Now


The World Right Now

The Webcam links in the The World Right Now section of the Neurosphere site provide an eye on the world. But additions to Webcam technology have started to add functionality to what the user can do with or get from the Webcams. You can’t operate the Mars Opportunity Rover yet, but some NASA hotshots get to do that today.

“Some cameras connect directly to a VCR and others record to your computer’s hard drive… You can also get cameras that send alerts when motion is detected or still shots at specific intervals. These are both handy features that offer you greater peace of mind. Likewise, the ability to pan the camera remotely is helpful. Use a Web camera that has a built-in microphone. They will capture audio in addition to video. And the two-way audio allows you to use the camera as an intercom. You can purchase sensors that monitor doors, windows and the temperature. They cost about $40 each. This is great if you’re leaving home for an extended period…The system offers e-mail alerts. It will also send text messages to your cell phone.”

http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/06/technology/komando/security_cams/

Tip of the NeuroHat to Kim Komando.

Where In the World Right Now Are You?


The World Right Now

The FCC is just this year catching cellular phone service up to the emergency 911 requirements of traditional telephone networks.

“Under current FCC rules, VoIP providers have until Nov. 28 to be able to connect their subscribers to the enhanced 911 network, a next-generation system that can pinpoint the caller’s geographic location.”

http://news.com.com/2061-10796_3-5951468.html

The technology that makes this possible has repercussions far beyond 911 – all kinds of location-based applications are sure to follow, with each individual having as many degrees of freedom of behavior when they are on the road as when they are any place else. From life-saving behavior, as in this announcement, down to which McDonald’s am I closest to.

“Intrado Inc., a global provider of integrated data and telecommunications solutions, and MedicAlert, the market leader in healthcare infomatics, today announced an alliance to provide subscriber-specific medical information during 9-1-1 calls.”

http://www.intrado.com/main/press/pressreleases/051109.jsp

Local Aerial Networks


Network Infrastructure for the Neurosphere

Extending the geographical reach of network infrastructure to higher and higher altitudes.

“AirCell announces the successful completion of its extended airborne demonstration program that allowed potential airline customers and others to experience the AirCell Broadband System’s technology in flight.”

http://www.aircell.com/news/news_pr_detail.php?PR_ID=39

The Original Grid


Wholeness and Virtual Communities

The HomePlug Powerline Alliance is a group of companies seeking to spin gold by characterizing the electrical line to your home as a provider of broadband Internet and video access. I think this is a long way from competitive with the incumbents, but the interesting thing is the natural synchonization of such data intensive uses with the primary use, electric power. This recent announcement is another step toward an electrical grid with distributed intelligence, that is to say, a network that operates itself in an efficient manner commensurate with the global nature of its environmental impact.

“The alliance’s command and control specification will offer whole-house control of lighting and appliances, allowing them to respond to simple commands such as “turn on” and “turn off” and to report their status to a controller. Recent advances in powerline signaling technology enable interference free connectivity throughout the home while greatly reducing the need for additional aids such as phase couplers and repeaters.”

http://www.homeplug.org/en/news/press030905.asp

Cognitive Radio


Network Infrastructure for the Neurosphere

Cognitive radio. Not only a name to conjure with, but a technology that evolves itself.

“A cognitive radio (CR) has a computation model of itself. It knows that it is a smart radio, and it has a user who does certain things…Over time, it would learn and would build into the computation model what the user likes…This would have enough flexibility in the hardware to be programmed to a band or mode. So instead of being stuck in the 800 to 900MHz band, it would be able to adapt over to an ISM band or up to an IEEE band or 5GHz. It’s measuring the radio propagation, signal strength, the quality of the different bands as it drives around with you. It’s building this nifty internal database of what it can do when and where.”

http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/02/28/09ctlong_1.html

Tip of the NeuroHat to Howard Rheingold’s Smart Mobs BLOG.

The FCC held a workshop on cognitive radio in 2003. Clear appeal to their chief role in figuring out allocation of the nation’s airwave.

“New cognitive radio technologies can potentially play a key role in shaping our spectrum use in the future. These technologies can lead to the advent of smarter unlicensed devices that make greater use of spectrum than possible today – without interfering with licensed users. Cognitive radios may also provide licensees with innovative ways to use their current spectrum more efficiently, and to lease their spectrum on the secondary market.”

http://www.fcc.gov/oet/cognitiveradio/

A conference is going on now – wonder if they’re too embarrassed by the term – now it’s “software-defined radio”.

http://www.sdrforum.org/

Clouds of Connectivity


Network Infrastructure for the Neurosphere

Fred Ziari is a “wireless entrepreneur” – they love that kind of title at Wired. What caught my attention about this project is not the business model, recovering investment from large customers, but the characterization of a wi-fi “cloud”.

“Fred Ziari owns Hermiston, Oregon-based IRZ Consulting LLC and EZ Wireless LLC. Experienced in bringing wireless technology to irrigation, he began talking with community safety managers about how technology could be used to better plan for managing any emergency that might occur at the Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot in Eastern Oregon, where munitions are stockpiled and incinerated.”

http://www.dailywireless.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3396

“…wireless entrepreneur Fred Ziari drew no resistance for his proposed wireless network, enabling him to quickly build the $5 million cloud at his own expense…While his service is free to the general public, Ziari is recovering the investment through contracts with more than 30 city and county agencies, as well as big farms such as Hale’s, whose onion empire supplies over two-thirds of the red onions used by the Subway sandwich chain. Morrow County, for instance, pays $180,000 a year for Ziari’s service.”

http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=38716