Monthly Archives: July 2007
Web 2.0
Possibly one of the most useless phrase that’s currently doing the rounds is ‘Web 2.0′.I call it useless as the term implies that there is a new version of the World Wide Web available, and that us fools left using the old Web 1.0 should probably catch on and make the switch; fortunately this isn’t the case.
The term was coined by O’Reilly Media 2.0 back in 2003, and was popularised by the first Web 2.0 convention in 2004 and then a series of successive conferences.Eventually it become adopted by the wider community however when a customer of mine asked me earlier today to define exactly what Web 2.0 meant I was stuck; hence my sudden need to write this article.
I don’t feel bad for not knowing how to define the standard as even Tim O’Reilly, the man who is credited with creating the term seems to describe it … Read the rest
Google Healthcare
Several years ago I wrote about the NHS Direct (www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk) website and the assistance it could offer with regards to checking up on any medical symptoms you may experience, without the need to necessarily see a doctor.Over the past years not only has this website been extremely popular, but doctors now regularly encounter informed patients who have ‘Googled’ their symptoms before booking an appointment.Whilst there are concerns about patients developing hypochondria or misdiagnosing themselves, few can argue that this kind of access to medical information isn’t a good thing.It seems therefore fitting that just recently that two of the biggest technology companies, Google and Microsoft appear to be in a position where they can make a significant impact on the healthcare sector.
To take matters one at a time, Google has recently invested in the genetic profiling company ’23 and me’ which is a privately held biotechnology company, … Read the rest
Energy Saving
After receiving a fairly shocking electricity and gas bill, I have all of a sudden become interested in energy saving; it’s funny how often the most efficient way of making a man listen is through his wallet.
The main thing to remember about energy saving is that it isn’t actually difficult; the challenge comes in identifying how you can best achieve savings and then working out how to implement them.Pretty much all the advice you’ll ever receive when it comes to energy saving is common sense but that said there are some things that you simply wouldn’t usually think of unless they’re suggested.
The rather amusingly entitled report ‘The Ampere Strikes Back’. was recently released by the Energy Saving Trust fund which suggested that by the year 2020, home entertainment and computer technology will account for a massive 45% of all household electricity used.To put it another way, this means … Read the rest
