Here's the top ten shows on IT Conversations (by downloads) for July 2007:
- Scott Berkun - Technometria: The Myths of Innovation (Rating: 3.45)
How do you know whether a hot technology will succeed or fail? Or where the next big idea will come from? The best answers come not from the popular myths we tell about innovation, but instead from time-tested truths that explain how we've made it this far. In The Myths of Innovation, author Scott Berkun takes a careful look at innovation history, including the software and Internet Age, to reveal how ideas truly become successful innovations-truths that people can apply to today's challenges. He joins Phil, Scott, and Ben to discuss his new book and his career.
- Simon Phipps - Technometria: Open Source Without Borders (No rating yet)
Open source continues to grow as a viable alternative for enterprises and Sun Microsystems is a leading proponent of its use. Simon Phipps, Chief Open Source Officer for the company, joins Phil, Scott, and Ben to discuss Sun's activities. Simon first reviews his somewhat unusual job title, talking about how he came into the work. He assesses how open source is growing worldwide and how important it is to nuture these new markets.
- Dr. Moira Gunn - BioTech Nation (No rating yet)
On this special edition of BioTech Nation, Tech Nation host Dr. Moira Gunn reads a chapter from her new book "Welcome to BioTech Nation." Listen to how BioTech Nation got started, her experiences along the way, and how she plunged into the international biotech scene.
- Lisa See - Tech Nation (No rating yet)
Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with Lisa See. They look at a book that is 350 years old, the subject of much academic interest as well as the subject of her latest novel "Peony in Love."
- Fabrizio Capobianco - Mobile Open Source and Sync in an iPhone Era (No rating yet)
Mobile phone shipment volumes are so huge that Microsoft and Apple aspire to capture only a fraction of the total market. Carriers and handset makers haven't made interoperability of mobile devices' address books or calendars a high priority. Funambol is a company and an open source community dedicated to making further mobile device interoperability progress. Will it be enough to overcome the walled gardens of the mobile device industry? Will the era of the iPhone bring further progress?
- Scott Lemon, Dave Fletcher - Technometria (Rating: 3.55)
Instead of a single subject, this week Phil and Scott are joined by Dave Fletcher of the State of Utah, to discuss a wide range of current tech issues. Scott first reviews his experiences trying out Ning, a platform that allows users to build their own social network. The group also discusses such topics as social networking in government, class divisions on social networking sites, and Phil experiences with the iPhone, including the Friday first day event.
- Ken Banks - Jon Udell's Interviews with Innovators (No rating yet)
In this conversation Jon Udell and Ken Banks explore the economics of cellphone use in Africa, the communication patterns that automated text messaging can support, and the challenge of building an application that supports an aging population of hand-me-down phones.
- Sasha Abramsky - Tech Nation (Rating: 4.67)
Together with Sasha Abramsky, senior fellow at the New York based Demos Foundation, Dr. Moira Gunn takes a look at the state of American prisons. There has been a lot of effort put into developing new technology in this arena, so how do penitentiaries in the US stack up against those in the rest of the world?
- Rob Gifford - Tech Nation (No rating yet)
Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with NPR's former China Correspondent, Rob Gifford, about his experiences of crossing China by highway. They discuss the signs of the embrace of science and technology there, and how to use a Chinese keyboard.
- Timo Hannay - Jon Udell's Interviews with Innovators (Rating: 4.10)
As director of web publishing for Nature Publishing Group, Timo Hannay is applying web 2.0 principles to the realm of science. His projects include: Connotea, a social bookmarking service for scientists; Nature Network, a social network for scientists; and Nature Precedings, a site where researchers can share and discuss work prior to publication.
