Nathan Pedretti

Synchronists

2009-05-28T19:46:00.002-05:00

Carl Jung wrote about the idea of synchronicity to mean unrelated people doing similar things, or common things happening without cause and or effect.

It seems to me that in our current age of technology, with more people connected by more ideas, the rate of synchronicity may be nearing an inflection point of rapid increase. Our technology may be creating a cognitive background noise that will increasingly inspire larger groups of people with the same idea.

What we attribute to kismet (i.e. fate, fortune, and inspiration), may in fact be our own minds responding to the larger shared contextualization created by our technological tools.

New Laptop

2009-05-03T11:14:00.002-05:00

I'm trying to find a new laptop that has the following features:

lightweight
long battery life
handles internet video well
integrated video camera
and is a vista machine

I want to spend about $600-700 for the whole package. Ideas?

Long vacation done.

2009-04-27T19:23:00.004-05:00

My blogging activities took a year-plus hiatas. Since my last quasi-post:

Relocated from Chicago to Milwaukee.
Read all of Ayn Rand's fiction works (well, I skipped We the Living).
Ate some really good food in Chicago, Boulder, and Las Vegas.
Learned to Cook by taking classes at the Milwaukee Public Market.
Hiked in the mountains and climbed my first 14er. (google it)
Helped Jane manage the stresses of Medical School.

And, beyond the world of home, family, and loyal brown dog:

Spoke as a presenter at the Illinois Education and Technology Conference.
Presented my first Professional Development seminar on Curriculum Planning in the Fine Arts. (I'm now a registered CPDU provider in the state of Illinois).
I started 88 Stories, a company devoted to helping families preserve their family photos and stories. One of my longtime best friends, Matthew Stein, and I are collaborating on this great project. We've already digitized nearly 50,000 images for clients across the country. AWESOME!
I started a second company, Rooberry LLC, to provide personalized school website services to schools struggling to meet AYP. (Adequate Yearly Progress). This isn't really a new business, since I've been doing this as a sole proprietor about 4 years now. Basically, I think schools can generate a large bump in test score improvement by focusing on improving communication systems in schools. Teachers talk with administrators, parents, and kids, and scores will improve (and maybe they'll fund arts, music, and dance again).

More to follow. Really. I'm back.

The Four-Tiered World of 2050 | Beyond the Beyond from Wired.com

2008-01-16T11:43:00.000-06:00

The Four-Tiered World of 2050 Beyond the Beyond from Wired.com - It's time to move past the ideas of a developed, emerging, and third world ideology. This author speaks of four worlds of radically different economic status. What is the impact on our economy? On our culture? On our call to help others?

The Two Flavors of Google

2008-01-14T11:58:00.000-06:00

The Two Flavors of Google - MapReduce and Hadoop, both initially created by Google are powering the whole cloud computing movement by taking large jobs and farming them out to thousands of computers and recompiling the result into a useable form again.

Five Computer Clouds Are All We Need - GigaOM

2008-01-14T11:53:00.000-06:00

Five Computer Clouds Are All We Need - GigaOM - I don't completely agree with this list, but this is a good look at the functional areas of cloud computing. Where's IBM? Microsoft? Governments? Cloud computing will become a military advantage in the coming years (perhaps very soon), and governments will want in.

The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google

2008-01-14T11:48:00.000-06:00

The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google - This is the definitive new text on cloud computing, problems and opportunities.

Who will operate the cloud? | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

2008-01-14T11:46:00.000-06:00

Who will operate the cloud? Tech news blog - CNET News.com - Cloud computing, or the use of large networks of computers for storage and computation, is coming very quickly. It's a major area of growth in the next five years (which is why I haven't been talking about it more often), but it probably the largest reshaping of the computer industry since the internet. Start making investments now because we're moving into a new era of five big bell cloud computing companies.

Google betting big on mobile market--and Apple | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

2008-01-14T11:43:00.000-06:00

Google betting big on mobile market--and Apple Tech news blog - CNET News.com - More mobile madness as google is betting the farm (server farm) on mobile tech.

Netflix Launches Preemptive Strike Against Apple - News and Analysis by PC Magazine

2008-01-14T11:41:00.000-06:00

Netflix Launches Preemptive Strike Against Apple - News and Analysis by PC Magazine - In another prime example of the coming digital convergence, Netflix has jumped first to offer streaming media from from its library. As I've mentioned earlier, the coming movements this year are in social networking, mobile technology, and HDTV digital convergence tools.

CES 2008: Intel Debuts 16 New Processors Based on 45nm Silicon Technology | Gadget Lab from Wired.com

2008-01-07T11:30:00.000-06:00

CES 2008: Intel Debuts 16 New Processors Based on 45nm Silicon Technology Gadget Lab from Wired.com - Another story increasing my belief that one of the major trends in 2008 will be on mobile computing. This article is about MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices), but the laptop market is expanding at 30% a year, WiMax is coming quickly, and handsets will be open by the end of the year. Go mobile now.

Bill Gates, Live From Las Vegas at CES 2008: NBC and Disney on XBox Live and Gates The Guitar Hero | Gadget Lab from Wired.com

2008-01-07T07:40:00.000-06:00

Bill Gates, Live From Las Vegas at CES 2008: NBC and Disney on XBox Live and Gates The Guitar Hero Gadget Lab from Wired.com - I think the overlying trends we are seeing is better integration of media into a variety of consumer devices, more "natural" input methods like speech and touch, and a greater acceptance as gaming as an accepted method of play--even for adults.

Apple's Piping Hot Innovation - Forbes.com

2007-12-27T15:01:00.000-06:00

FORBES: Apple's Piping Hot Innovation - Forbes.com - Apple continues to change the relationship between users and information, this time, by creating a system to simplify the purchase process of many common goods. Even if they get a small percentage, this is a huge area for growth.

Turret Defense Games

2007-12-24T11:55:00.000-06:00

DIGG: Turret Defense Games - Yes, there are many different types of turret defense games, but did you know there are people that collect turret defense games? This may be the more amazing fact. I don't think I'll ever be this bored. EVER.

Clinton Would Crack Down on Computer-Generated Cartoon Sex | Threat Level from Wired.com

2007-12-24T10:41:00.000-06:00

WIRED: Clinton Would Crack Down on Computer-Generated Cartoon Sex Threat Level from Wired.com - This is a poorly titled article. Clinton has come out in favor of more regulation of the video game industry. Do we need more regulations, really?

Top 10 Startups Worth Watching in 2008

2007-12-24T10:38:00.000-06:00

WIRED: Top 10 Startups Worth Watching in 2008 - These are some great new (and more established) tech start-ups to watch in 2008. As I mentioned in a post earlier this week, 2008 is all about social networking and mobile technologies. SEO is out, and online marketing is in (on SN/mobi sites).

The Second Coming of Apple TV | Epicenter from Wired.com

2007-12-19T17:07:00.000-06:00

The Second Coming of Apple TV Epicenter from Wired.com - Watch for signficant breakthroughs in internet delivered media through hardware like AppleTV in 2008. If I could put together a hotness index for tech in 2008 it would be:
1) HD video services (transition happens officially Jan. 1, 2009, so next year is key)
2) Web Applications built on open social networking protocols
3) Mobile Applications built on Android / open source handsets

Eeextremely Eeenticing: a review of the Asus Eee PC: Page 1

2007-12-19T15:01:00.000-06:00

Eeextremely Eeenticing: a review of the Asus Eee PC: Page 1 - If you've not heard of the Asus Eee, this is the hottest, little linux-based PC on the market. At $399, it's powerful enough for a mini-office productivity environment--if you're running internet-based apps. People using Office need not apply for this PC.

Paul Allen applies to bid in U.S. wireless auction | News | Reuters

2007-12-19T08:30:00.000-06:00

Paul Allen applies to bid in U.S. wireless auction News Reuters - The wireless spectrum race gets even more interesting as Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen, joins the bidding war for the new 700 Mhz spectrum. Google's in, the telecoms are in, and even a few cable companies. Paul Allen left microsoft back in the 90s to start his own venture, Vulcan Enterprises. He's also recent started a space company. Everyone wants this spectrum and if a third party like Allen or Google gets it, it could be great for US consumers.

Toshiba's Home Nuclear Reactor | Gadget Lab from Wired.com

2007-12-19T08:26:00.000-06:00

WIRED: Toshiba's Home Nuclear Reactor Gadget Lab from Wired.com - Sadly, I don't think we'll have one in our neighborhood anytime soon.

What's in Store for EBay? Outlook Hazy | Epicenter from Wired.com

2007-12-19T08:22:00.000-06:00

WIRED: What's in Store for EBay? Outlook Hazy Epicenter from Wired.com - Executive level problems combine with a possible user revolt, and yet, the stock price is still high. What am I missing?

ideaXchange: How do you drive traffic to your blog or web site?

2007-12-18T09:41:00.000-06:00

ideaXchange » Blog Archive » Theme of the week: How do you drive traffic to your blog or web site? - Always important to strategize different ways to drive traffic to your website.

» Need charts for your website? Google makes it easy! | Googling Google | ZDNet.com

2007-12-18T09:08:00.000-06:00

Need charts for your website? Google makes it easy! Googling Google ZDNet.com - If you like the look of Google's charts, you may want to use their new charting API.

» Google’s OpenSocial: Strategy, money and the art of war, err APIs | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com

2007-12-18T09:02:00.000-06:00

Google’s OpenSocial: Strategy, money and the art of war, err APIs Between the Lines ZDNet.com - OpenSocial is an Open Source API that allows data/profile sharing between participating social networking (SN) sites (not facebook). Essentially, this commodotizes the SN market, and allows people to innovate on uses for social networking, not the actual social networking functions.

Eye-Fi Wireless 2 GB SD Memory Card - Wal-Mart

2007-12-18T08:55:00.000-06:00

Eye-Fi Wireless 2 GB SD Memory Card - Wal-Mart - Free your photos with this simple, awesome digitial camera accessory.