Here's the top ten shows, by download, for IT Conversations during November 2007. I'm late because some recent server changes means that I didn't have access to the logs for a bit. Also, unfortunately, we lost 11 days worth of logs, so this data is based on 19 days of November 2007.
- Scott Lemon - Technometria: Scratch and Squeak (No rating yet)
As described on its website, Scratch is a new programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share your creations on the web. It is designed to help young people As they create Scratch projects, young people learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the process of design. Phil and Scott discuss Scratch, along with a number of other current technology topics.
- David Heinemeier Hansson - Keynote (No rating yet)
The next evolution of Rails isn't going to be a unicorn, according to David Heinemeier Hansson. In this keynote address at the 2007 RailsConf, Hansson talks about what the Rails community has and where it's going, and the gradual improvements Rails will see in the coming years.
- Beth Jefferson - Jon Udell's Interviews with Innovators (Rating: 5.00)
On this episode of Interviews with Innovators, Jon Udell's guest is Beth Jefferson, the founder of BiblioCommons. Her company's new software aims to transform public libraries' online catalogs into environments for social discovery of resources that are cataloged not only by librarians, but also by patrons.
- Rodney Brooks - The Singularity: A Period Not An Event (No rating yet)
In the keynote presentation from the 2007 Singularity Summit, Rodney Brooks, Panasonic Professor of Robotics at MIT, explores many possible singularity futures based on decades of experience researching, inventing, and commercializing robots. During this presentation Dr. Brooks examines why we need robotics and AI as well as how the singularity will not be like it is portrayed by Hollywood.
- Dr. Norma Nowak - BioTech Nation (No rating yet)
On BioTech Nation, Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with Dr. Norma Nowak, who looks at some interesting new discoveries which could some day replace amniocentesis. David Ewing Duncan returns with Bio-Issue of the Week.
- David Bodanis - Tech Nation (Rating: 5.00)
Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with science writer David Bodanis, author of "Passionate Minds", about the scientist Emilie du Chatelet and the Poet Voltaire.
- Dick Hardt - Jon Udell's Interviews with Innovators (Rating: 4.75)
Dick Hardt, founder and CEO of Sxip Identity, has been working with the Canadian government on a new virtual ID card that will streamline online interaction among government agencies, public-sector organizations, and citizens. In this conversation with Jon Udell, Hardt explains how this new program will work, and offers perspectives on a variety of online identity issues.
- Amory Lovins - Energy Efficiency in Transportation - Part 2 (Rating: 4.75)
Amory Lovins continues his discussion on energy efficiency in transportation by presenting the business case for lighter, more slippery vehicles. However, despite the superior economics of fuel efficient vehicles, there remains a lack of will on the part of automobile manufacturers to fully embrace the radical changes necessary to transform the commercial transportation industry. From MAP.
- Cooking with IEEE Spectrum: Brian Young - IEEE Spectrum Radio (No rating yet)
On this edition of IEEE Spectrum's Cooking with Engineers series, Spectrum's Suzan Hassler speaks with Brian Young, the Executive Chef at New York's Tavern on the Green. Young discusses his task as architect at a restaurant serving over a thousand diners for lunch and dinner, and the immense logistics involved in getting food onto the tables.
- Denise Caruso, Clay Shirky - Provocations: Challenging Assumptions About Technology (No rating yet)
The internet has opened up previously unimagined space for innovation, but unintended consequences befuddle our ability to assess risks on the technological frontier. Denise Caruso and Clay Shirky launch Supernova with a lively rethinking of risk, serendipity, and the power of love in a socially networked world.
I'm disappointed that we don't have better rating data on shows. I wish there were a way to get the ratings data while people listened instead of requiring them to come back to the site to rate shows. Too much friction and not enough kinetic energy.
