CE#448: Solsbury Hill-Peter Gabriel

CE#447: A History of the Sky

CE#446: Murmuration

A chance encounter and shared moment with one of natures greatest and most fleeting phenomena.

CE#445: Demographics Are Not Destiny (Strategy+Business)

Even as the world’s population reaches 7 billion, the rate of growth is slowing and workforces are aging. Companies and countries can prosper by preparing for the changes to come.

by Richard Shediac, Chadi N. Moujaes, and Mazen Ramsay Najjar

Most people generally recognize the role that demographic trends play in shaping societies, mature economies, emerging markets, and the environment. China and India, for example, have become immense economic engines in part because each has more than a billion people. A bulge in the youth population has been a major factor in the recent unrest in the Middle East: Young people are compelled to protest because they feel they deserve opportunities and a voice in society that reflects the strength of their numbers. Europe and Japan, conversely, are known to be suffering economically because of their aging workforces: The proportion of people who are retired, and thus dependent on others to support them, is rapidly increasing.

The conventional wisdom says that there’s nothing one can do about these kinds of demographic trends, that every country must live with its demographic destiny. But that isn’t true. Political and business leaders can do a great deal, if they are willing to take a precise approach to prediction; past and present demographic trends, as well as those expected for the near future, can help them calculate socioeconomic trajectories. In the public sector, the first step is to pinpoint a country’s development trajectory and demographic profile; next, plot the potential for social, economic, and environmental progress; then, look for challenges and opportunities; finally, develop policies and actions to improve the country’s trajectory. Companies can use a similar approach to take advantage of demographic trends in countries where they hope to find new sources of talent or potential consumers.

This proactive approach to demographics is underpinned by two analytical concepts. The dependency curve shows the relationship between a country’s working and nonworking populations over time. The arc of growth shows the pattern of momentum as a country’s prosperity increases while its population ages. With a better understanding of the dependency curve and the arc of growth, and with strategies attuned to their stage of demographic development, country leaders can determine the rate at which their workforce is aging and prepare accordingly: creating a self-sustaining future, avoiding long-term insolvency, and improving quality of life for generations to come. The strictures of demographics don’t have to be destiny.

Full article here

CE#444: Domino’s Lets You Make a Pizza On Your iPad and Then Order it in Real Life (Mashable)

Domino’s Pizza has found a novel way to engage iPadusers and maybe sell a few more pizzas along the way. The pizza chain has created an app that lets you make a pizza onscreen and then order it in real life.

Domino’s Pizza Hero is a game/app that simulates the experience of kneading dough, spreading sauce, sprinkling cheese, placing toppings and cutting slices all while a timer ticks away. The object is to make the pizza as quickly as possible and to closely mimic the experience of real Domino’s workers. For instance, levels one through five of the game are called “Pizza School,” just like the real program at Domino’s. When you get to level six, your scores are based on reviews from in-game customers much like a fake version of the Domino’s Tracker, the company’s real-time feed of consumer comments.

Article here

 

CE#443: Earth | Time Lapse View from Space | Fly Over | Nasa, ISS

CE#442: The Holstee Manifesto: Lifecycle Video

CE#441: The Cinema Show (Genesis)

CE#440: Third Wind – Pat Metheny

CE#439: What makes Siri so different? She gets you (FORTUNE)

FORTUNE — Speech recognition is nothing new.Consumer electronics, cars and automated call centers have been “listening” to commands for years. Google has been transcribing voicemail messages since 2009, and Microsoft baked similar technology into Windows Vista three years before that. So what’s the big deal about Apple’s new virtual personal assistant named Siri?

She gets you.

In other words, Siri isn’t just voice recognition technology, but voice comprehension — and that’s changing the way users interact with their mobile devices. Now, many predict Siri could provide a major boost to a perennially around-the-corner technology, much the way Apple’s (AAPL) touch-based iPhone controls vaulted that technology into mainstream use. That could clear the way for a wide range of innovative applications. The voice recognition industry was worth some $2.7 billion this year, according to Opus Research. It is predicting a post-Siri boom in 2012.

Full article here: