IT Conversations

Dr. Moira Gunn talks with Stanford University professor and author, Cliff Nass, about his new book, The Man Who Lied to His Laptop, and his theory that links people's interactions with computers and their social and professional life.

Software glitches cost businesses a great deal of money. While some may seem mere inconveniences, others can cause major problems for both organizations and consumers. Jeff Papows discusses his new book, in which he talks about why glitches happen as well as how issues can be avoided in the future.

Mike Arrington and Tim O'Reilly engage in a spirited exchange. O'Reilly argues that companies competing against Google, Apple or Facebook should strike out into new territories. Quoting Sun Tzu, O'Reilly admires PayPal for carving out a new niche, while he gives Apple's iPhone group kudos for outflanking competitors. Arrington worries about a potential privacy disaster at Facebook.

Facebook is one of the largest websites in the world, and it takes a lot to keep it running. Tom Cook of Systems Engineering at Facebook discusses the scale of the hardware required, the software, the IT stack, and best practices.

Dr. Moira Gunn sits down with Stanford University professor and author, Michael Fayer to learn how Quantum Theory relates to everyday life, from the pages of his new book, Absolutely Small: How Quantum Theory Explains Our Everyday World.

Dr. Moira Gunn talks with Elan Pharmaceuticals President, Carlos Paya about the latest in innovative approaches to treating Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients.

Companies are working to develop apps software that take advantage of the growing number of hardware platforms. In addition to smartphones, browser developers are using the cloud to distribute programs. The group discusses these projects, as well as how new versions of browsers are coming that will be of even greater use with applications. They review how cross platform development is an important part of new software as well as Web 2.0 capabilities must also be included.

June Cohen of TED media takes us through TED's evolution from a conference, to a media company, and to a platform for spreading ideas. June shows us the kinds of challenges TED had to embrace and the obstacles they had to overcome. The risky business of radically open models, which June believes in, has led to fascinating unintended consequences. She shows us how smart scaling and innovative projects has allowed TED's dynamic growth to become a global team of professional volunteers dedicated to spreading ideas.

An open API for all government functions would be a transformative achievement, and Tim O'Reilly and Chris Vein have been working to make it a reality. In this free-flowing Q and A format, Chris Vein shares his experience as CIO for San Fransisco, building IT as a platform for the 21st century city. Vein and O'Reilly discuss their front line experiences in government data with an audience of location-based developers.

Dr. Moira Gunn explores the quirky science behind preparing a space crew for a mission with Mary Roach, author of 'Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void' and meets two space entrepreneurs, who have experiments flying on the International Space Station.

In this presentation, Leading Edge researcher Simon Wardley explores hypotheses about change, reflecting on cloud computing and organizational shape. Considering how companies deal with the consequences and emerging patterns of change, Wardley asserts that the cloud increases innovation and productivity which yields commodity. He describes how commoditization erodes value, therefore requiring more innovation.

Michael Feathers asks his audience whether clean code is good code. Looking at examples from business and academic research his talk seeks to address the problem of legacy code in software development. Taking some lessons from engineering he suggests some ways to make code better and cheaper.

Dean Halstead of the Microsoft SharePoint Product Design Team talks about social networking within government organizations in this Gov 2.0 presentation. He describes how SharePoint's out-of-the-box Gov 2.0 kit meets many social networking objectives within the operational constraints of government organizations. Halstead provides several examples of successful government social networking solutions, and a view of future SharePoint capabilities.

Tim O'Reilly discusses the impact of the advancements made in Web technologies on the future. His speech highlights the impact of mobile devices on application requirements, the need for real time processing, and the essential role people play in Web applications. In describing the important function that Web operations play in future applications, he suggests opportunities for operational personnel to contribute to the Web community for the greater good of all.

Steve Spence looks at where interactive marketing is headed by looking at patterns happening now. Steve reviews the three emerging principles: on demand, online, and cross device. He looks at the 4Rs that are empowering both the masses and the marketers. He explores the meaning of viral and instant gratification in the evolution of the way people think.

John Resig, creator of jQuery, discusses it's purpose and development as well as the upcoming jQuery Mobile. As jQuery is meant to help cross-platform JavaScript software development from one browser to another, jQuery Mobile will help serve the same purpose among multiple mobile devices. John reviews many of the technical details of both, including how he decided to work on the projects in the first place.

Paul Buchheit, creator of Gmail and founder of FriendFeed, which was recently acquired by Facebook, talks with Sarah Milstein about Facebook as a platform, openness online, how he evaluates companies he invests in and why anyone can be important online.

Dr. Moria Gunn talks with co-authors Peter Rogers and Susan Leal about the state of the worlds water supply from the pages of their new book, Running Out of Water: The Looming Crisis and Solutions to Conserve Our Most Precious Resource.

Dr. Moria Gunn chats with the CEO for Somnus Therapeutics, Gary Cupit, on a new use for an old drug which is helping the weary sleep better.

Brewster Kahle offers a tour of present and proposed uses for the open architecture BookServer ecosystem. This project is part of Kahle's quest to provide universal access to all knowledge. As digital librarian and co-founder of the acclaimed Internet Archive, Kahle works for worldwide, distributed publishing environments because he sees them as essential to a rich and democratic digital future.