Chicago Startup Factory

Published on 2008 October 10 in Soft Hacks and Theoretical Hacks. 0 Comments Tags: , .

The event is a collaboration between the GSB and CS Department. The group hopes to create technology-heavy startups and businesses unlike when you gather a bunch of pure business people who can’t make a business plan other than canned food, a network of juice/ shake stands, etc. The speaker for the Startup Factory talk was Adarsh Arora, CEO of Athena Security and Co-Founder of Lisle Technology Partners. I took some of his striking ideas about innovating and generating business plans around technology:

  • never sell more than one innovation - his rationale for this was that the market cannot catch-up with all of your ideas. I have not thought of this deeply because [1] I have yet to have a really brilliant idea, and [2] most busines models I saw are too caught up in selling this one unique idea that they don’t bother to look at the other types (probably they are bad ideas in the first place).
  • interdisciplinary collaboration - now this is more familiar to my school of thought. As what we always say in the Ateneo Innovation Center, today’s problems are so complex that you need to apply every type of paradigm to be able to attack the problem from different angles and come up with a brilliant solution.

Adarsh also discussed four types of companies [1] wishful thinking (you have enough deep connections to get angel funding), [2] historical precedence - selling technology to improve a process, [3] intuitive jump - pure luck; with democratization of technology, YouTube and Ebay became a big thing even though video sharing and online auctions were almost non-existent web services during their time, and [4] sure technology - you know that there is a need for it in the future (e.g. Y2K “bug”).

Follow-up events to this is an Entrepenuerial Brainstorming Session with GSB and CS students and an Introduction to creating application on the iPhone. Apple’s development platform makes it so easy for anyone to distribute an app and sell it over iTunes (or AppleStore?) enabling you to earn several thousand dollars in a few months.

Oh, and they had free pizza during the talk :)

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Great Chicago Book Sale

Published on 2008 October 8 in Theoretical Hacks. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

I quickly grabbed my bike after coming from a seminar class and arrived 10 minutes before the closing time! Within a short span of time and by relying on my semi-rare impulsiveness of buying, I got these two titles foer 5 USD (buy-one-take-one):

W. T. Welford, Useful Optics (Chicago Lectures in Physics). University Of Chicago Press, October 1991.

Students and professionals alike have long felt the need of a modern source of practical advice on the use of optical tools in scientific research. Walter T. Welford’s _Useful Optics_ meets this need. Welford offers a succinct review of principles basic to the construction and use of optics in physics. His lucid explanations and clear illustrations will particularly help those whose interests lie in other areas but who nevertheless must understand enough about optics to create the experimental apparatus necessary to their research. Consistently emphasizing applications and practical points of design, Welford covers a host of topics: mirrors and prisms, optical materials, aberration, the limits of image formation and resolution, illumination for image-forming systems, laser beams, interference and interferometry, detectors and light sources, holography, and more. The final chapter deals with putting together an experimental optics system. Many areas of the physical sciences and engineering increasingly demand an appreciation of optics. Welford’s _Useful Optics_ will prove indispensable to any researcher trying to develop and use effective optical apparatus. Walter T. Welford (1916-1990) was professor of physics at Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine from 1951 until his death. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Optical Society of America.  Link to [Amazon.com]

T. P. Hughes, Human-Built World: How to Think about Technology and Culture (science * culture).    University Of Chicago Press, May 2005.

To most people, technology has been reduced to computers, consumer goods, and military weapons; we speak of “technological progress” in terms of RAM and CD-ROMs and the flatness of our television screens. In Human-Built World, thankfully, Thomas Hughes restores to technology the conceptual richness and depth it deserves by chronicling the ideas about technology expressed by influential Western thinkers who not only understood its multifaceted character but who also explored its creative potential.

Hughes draws on an enormous range of literature, art, and architecture to explore what technology has brought to society and culture, and to explain how we might begin to develop an “ecotechnology” that works with, not against, ecological systems. From the “Creator” model of development of the sixteenth century to the “big science” of the 1940s and 1950s to the architecture of Frank Gehry, Hughes nimbly charts the myriad ways that technology has been woven into the social and cultural fabric of different eras and the promises and problems it has offered. Thomas Jefferson, for instance, optimistically hoped that technology could be combined with nature to create an Edenic environment; Lewis Mumford, two centuries later, warned of the increasing mechanization of American life.

Such divergent views, Hughes shows, have existed side by side, demonstrating the fundamental idea that “in its variety, technology is full of contradictions, laden with human folly, saved by occasional benign deeds, and rich with unintended consequences.” In Human-Built World, he offers the highly engaging history of these contradictions, follies, and consequences, a history that resurrects technology, rightfully, as more than gadgetry; it is in fact no less than an embodiment of human values. Link to [Amazon.com]

Even information can be found in the UChicago Press site.

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Ubiquity weather command

Published on 2008 September 7 in Soft Hacks. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Ubiquity from Mozilla labs features a nice command for querying the weather. It creates a query to the Google Weather service and returns the result. But with Google’s location/ IP dependent search results you can get the weather information in various languages depending where you conduct the search. For example if your language preference is Filipino (politically correct) or Tagalog (ISO language standard code) TL, you get the results in the corresponding language and in the unit standard used in the area.

But as a metric thinking type of guy, I hate it when Google gives me the results in Fahrenheit! I did some tweaking to get the weather in the metric system while using the English language.  The simple solution is to use the EN-UK language code. Simply edit your ~/.mozilla/[profile_name]/extentions/ubiquity@labs.mozilla.com/chrome/content/builtincmds.js and modify the command “weather”:

CmdUtils.CreateCommand({
  name: "weather",
  takes: {"location": noun_arb_text},
  icon: "http://www.wunderground.com/favicon.ico",
  description: "Checks the weather for a given location.",
  help: "Try issuing "weather chicago".  It works with zip-codes, too.",
  execute: function( directObj ) {
    var location = directObj.text;
    var url = "http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=";
    url += escape( location );

    Utils.openUrlInBrowser( url );
  },

  preview: function( pblock, directObj ) {
    var location = directObj.text;
    if( location.length < 1 ) {
      pblock.innerHTML = "Gets the weather for a zip code/city.";
      return;
    }

    var url = "http://www.google.com/ig/api";
    jQuery.get( url, {weather: location, hl: "EN-GB"}, function(xml) {
      var el = jQuery(xml).find("current_conditions");
      if( el.length == 0 ) return;

      var condition = el.find("condition").attr("data");

      var weatherId = WEATHER_TYPES.indexOf( condition.toLowerCase() );
      var imgSrc = "http://l.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/nws/weather/gr/";
      imgSrc += weatherId + "d.png";

      var weather = {
        condition: condition,
        temp: el.find("temp_c").attr("data"),
        humidity: el.find("humidity").attr("data"),
        wind: el.find("wind_condition").attr("data"),
        img: imgSrc
      };

      weather["img"] = imgSrc;

      var html = CmdUtils.renderTemplate( {file:"weather.html"}, {w:weather}
                                        );

      jQuery(pblock).html( html );
      }, "xml");
  }
});
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Where do you get good news about the Philippines?

Published on 2008 September 2 in Personal. 2 Comments Tags: , .

I was hanging out with a couple of Pinoy immigrants when one of them said, “Sa Pilipinas wala nito no? (This does not exist in the Philippines, right?)” Of course there are a few grains of truth to it. But what disappointed and pierced me inside was that the tone of the voice felt like the Philippines will never rise out of its ashes. It was as if life abroad is always the best and we all came from a filthy place. I also felt very useless that even though I was involved and emotionally attached in projects and movements that I believe will change the nation, all efforts are futile.

Face it. The only time when the Philippines get featured in international news networks like CNN is when: [1] a really big storm or calamity struck us, or [2] someone from the government screwed up big time. No wonder why Filipino immigrants do not see anything good happening in the Philippines.

I firmly believe that something big is on the rise in this nation. You can’t find it on mainstream media or its equivalent websites. Big things are happening locally in small communities. But where can you know these good things happening in the country? With the advent of Web2.0 and its high democratization of user contributed content small community movements are letting themselves known throughout the world. Here are some of a few sites and blogs I frequently read that makes me proud of to be a Filipino:

  • The WhyNot? Forum - inspired by TEDtalks, it is a gathering of Filipinos daring themselves to ask: Why not? Bakit hindi? Speakers share their thoughts on what we can do to put the Philippines back in the map. Their website is a bit too flashy and but you can get the latest updates and most of the videos of the last 5 forums at their Multiply page.
  • Ateneo Innovation Center - a new approach in doing research in the Philippines. Doing projects relevant to be implemented in local communities. Acting like a startup to work around the big hurdle of getting funding. The site features some of the crazy projects we are doing in my old university.
  • Kolektib - a group of diverse professionals seeking to create real products and inventions that solve’s a Filipino’s everyday problems.
  • Game Changer - Mark Ruiz’ blog about innovating and ideas that make an impact to the world.
  • Young Public Servants - a site dedicated to promoting good governance and citizenship to the youth.
  • Gawad Kalinga - a worldwide movement that seeks to provide housing and nurture communities in depressed areas.
  • AyalaTBI - a project of the Ayala group of companies to incubate technology startups based on great and innovative ideas. They host various events like the Innovation Forum, Kape@Teknolohiya (Coffee and Technology), and TechBootCamp.
  • The Bliss Project - my sister’s project to enrich the lives of a local community in my native town. I just installed the site for her but you can also look at her blog for an initial description about the project. I’m including this in the list as a proud Kuya :P

Where do you go on the web to inspire you as a Filipino?

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Technology for the masses’ sari-saris

Published on 2008 August 25 in Soft Hacks. 0 Comments

The sari-sari store is a key economic and social installation in Filipino communities.  It allows the community easy access to basic good. The term sari-sari is Filipino for “various kinds”.  See more from its wikipedia entry.

Mark Ruiz of Hapinoy shares some updates on their company deploying a POS system for these sari-sari store. Technology is not only a key component in streamlining systems of today’s enterprises but it is also needed by people like Nanay Delia. Below is the image from his blog post:

Nanay Delia learning a Point-of-Sale System for her Sari-Sari Store. Whatever doubts of the applicability of technology for the smallest unit of retail were laid to rest after the training session. The potential of becoming more efficient in pricing controls, inventory management, and accounting were key benefits that were very much appreciated. [description from Mark Ruiz blog.

Nanay Delia learning a Point-of-Sale System for her Sari-Sari Store. Whatever doubts of the applicability of technology for the smallest unit of retail were laid to rest after the training session. The potential of becoming more efficient in pricing controls, inventory management, and accounting were key benefits that were very much appreciated. [description from Mark Ruiz' blog

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