Roadsign typo

I saw this post on the BBC website and it made be laugh. This is what happens when the proof reader can't read Welsh!

The English is fine, but the Welsh reads "I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated". Hehehe!

The original article is here.

Hauppauge Nova TV PCI Card

I built an Intel Atom based box a few months ago. I installed Windows Vista Ultimate on it and used the Media Center functionality to record TV programmes off Freeview. You will find the original post here.

Up until now I have been using a Hauppauge Dual Tuner USB stick, but decided to upgrade to a PCI card. The USB stick solution works well, but it isn't a particularly elegant solution. I like using this computer to record programmes since it uses such lower power (around 30W) and can be left on all the time.

The main challenge is that the mini-ITX case that I am using has space for only one PCI card and this card is positioned parallel to the motherboard so requires a right angle PCI extender. I used a Hauppauge WinTV Nova-T 500 Dual digital DVB-T PCI TV card. This provides dual Freeview tuners. The card is half length card (which is just fits in the mini-ITX case). I was a little confused since the image on the outside of the box clearly shows a full-length PCI card (see the image above). Compare this image to the image of the actual card installed into the unit shown below.

Even with a half-length card it is a tight squeeze to get all of this into a single box. As always, when the space is tight, it can be fiddly to get all of the cables installed and ensure that none of the fans are fowled. The main issue that I can see is that the PCI card lies very close (maybe 3-5mm) to the fan on the motherboard - there is only one fan on this motherboard and that is on the graphics chip. However, there aren't any major components on the PCI card that further reduce the clearance. You can see this on the image to the above.

The hard drive is then installed on top of this card, so there really isn't a lot of space inside this case (it is a Noah 3988 case).

Over the next couple of days, I will install the relevant drivers and get this unit back up and running. Hopefully, the lack of clearance over the fan will not cause any major issues.

Broadband limits

How did we ever find ourselves in this situation?

An article on the BBC website has some figures showing that nearly 1M broadband customers in the UK have either exceeded their download limit or are running close to it. So here's the situation:

• Most broadband providers impose a download limit. Even on accounts that are supposedly "unlimited" (using a "fair use" policy) - 56% of "unlimited" accounts have some sort of limit according to the BBC article;
• These "limits" vary dramatically between providers;
• Often these "limits" are not published. I suspect, for some providers, these limits have not been formally set;
• As an end user, it can often be difficult (if not impossible) to monitor usage, particularly in households with multiple PCs;
• Many providers will limit the service of those who exceed the limits or terminate the connection completely.

Now to keep this in perspective, most users get nowhere near their usage limits (many downloading less that 1GB/month). Where there are limits, they seem more than adequate for normal usage.

However, the principle remains. Broadband providers should:

1. Make their usage limits clear when the user takes out the contract;
2. Provide users with tools that allow them to monitor their usage.

Am I sounding frustrated because I have exceeded my usage limit? No. I have no idea what my limit is - my broadband provider tells me it is "unlimited" - and I have no way of monitoring the connection.

Nikon Coolpix P6000

I have been a big fan of Nikon cameras for many years - all my 35mm cameras are Nikon and my F90x and F5 are amongst my most favourite cameras. Like Nokia mobile phones, Nikon cameras are operate in a similar way - the Coolpix P6000 is no exception. This camera definitely owes much of it's heritage to the Nikon SLRs - both 35mm and digital - that have gone before it.

Form factor
It was the form of the P6000 that initially drew me to it. It has a kind of retro appearance with a large knurled knob and a hot shoe on top. Very reminiscent of my FM2 (another Nikon 35mm favourite).

If you are looking for an ultra compact digital camera, this is NOT the one for you. I have an Olympus FE-300 which I use for work. It is a 12MB compact and fits easily into my bag without me noticing it. I use it for recording whiteboards during meetings etc. For this purpose, it works really well. However, it is just too slow to use on the move (I tried, unsuccessfully, to photograph an otter swimming underwater while at the Seattle aquarium recently - the delay between the button being depressed and the shutter firing made it just about impossible). The lack of a viewfinder does not help either.

The P6000 is small enough to fit into a large pocket and has a great solid "chunky" feel to it. It feels like an F5 version of a digital compact. The body is made of magnesium alloy and is covered in part by a coarse rubber grip (which probably explains the similarity with the F5!).

The good bits
It is a well designed camera. The layout of the controls will feel familiar to a Nikon SLR user. The command wheel is used to great advantage. The layout feels as if it really has been thoroughly thought through. For example, if you are in playback mode (viewing images) and half press the shutter button, the camera flips back into camera mode. Pressing the "Delete" key immediately after taking a picture will delete it without the need to go into playback mode. Although just small touches, these do make a difference to the overall handling of the camera.

Most of the camera's settings can be set manually and there are a features that you would not expect on a compact (e.g. real curtain sync, auto bracketing, manual focus). There are even a couple of user definable user modes that can be configured.

Power up. The camera seems to power up almost immediately and, in use, there is negligible delay between depressing the button and the shutter firing.

Lens. This works really well, particularly in macro mode. It could probably do with a slightly longer focal length (x4 optical zoom), but works well as is.

Picture quality. Both picture resolution (13MB) and colour rendition is absolutely stunning (which is probably what you would expect).

Face recognition. This works well in "portrait" mode and instantly detected faces. I could even get it to recognise a face from a print on my desk. See ?????. The camera focuses on the face, even if it is off centre.

GPS. This took a while, probably 30-40 minutes, to locate the satellites once it was initially powered up. But after this, it worked well. Obviously, outdoors will produce the best results, but it still managed to find a satellite signal while sat at my desk next to the window. It seems pretty accurate. However, when moving from location to location, it can take up to 10 minutes to locate the satellites. This gets a bit annoying after a while.

All in all a great little camera. Solidly built and really easy to use.

Innovation - Breadth vs Depth: Part 2

Well, following on from my previous blog on the role of domain knowledge in innovation, here are some more thoughts (and a bit of an experiment!).

Remember that in-depth domain knowledge can often "blind" inventors to the true value of their innovation. Let's look at an example and they don't come any more famous (or infamous) than the telephone.

The diagram to the left was produced by Elisha Gray, a professional inventor, in February 11 1876. Elisha Gray discussed the idea with his peers and investors, but the conclusion seemed to be that it was “nothing more than a toy”. At the time, Gray was exploring solutions that would enable more than one set of telegraph signals to be sent simultaneously across a single pair of wires. The solution relied on using tuning forks to produce an electric current and led to a technique known as "harmonic telegraphy". In due course, the concept of the telephone was an extension of this idea. However, following the advice of his investors, Gray shelved the idea and concentrated on improvements to the telegraph.

The next diagram was produced by Alexander Graham Bell, a school teacher, it is dated March 9 1876. It would appear to post date Elisha Gray's work.

In a last minute dash to the Patent office, history would have it that Bell got there first. However, there is significant controversy around the details, but most of it is fuelled by the fact that the two diagrams look similar even though they are said to have been developed independently. If you want to find out more, try starting here on Wikipedia.

Whatever the truth, the fact remains - Elisha Gray, a professional inventor, failed to recognise the value of his invention.

The more you read about Elisha Gray and his invention, the more you have to wonder about why he didn't spot the value in what he invented. But this isn't an isolated incident. It happens all to frequently that the "great new idea" ends up being used for something other than it's original purpose - often, completely missed by the original inventor.

So, if you were Elisha Gray, would you have seen the value in the telephone? Would you to miss the obvious?

Try this. Watch this video and see if you change your mind. I bet it will make you think twice!

You will find the video here: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=voAntzB7EwE

The truth about innovation: 3. Breadth vs Depth

Check this out, 70% of inventors believe they got their ideas by exploring areas where they were not experts. Many of these inventors state that such exploration stimulates new ways of thinking and avoids preconceptions that hamper folks who have been working in the subject for many years.

Mark Granovetter, a social psychologist, looked at this phenomenon in terms of social ties. In his terminology, a group of individuals are said to have strong social ties if they share people that they know. This frequently occurs in the scientific community where researchers often know their counterparts and other people working in the same field. These connections can be internal within the same organisation or external involving academia or industry associations (in terms of yellow and green blocks below). This is shown in the diagram below - the domain knowledge is shown in terms of depth, whereas innovation often occurs by bridging these domains.

Domain knowledge tends to build strong social ties. However, as many researchers have already noted, the ties that bind are the ties that blind.

Individuals are said to have weak social ties if they do not share many connections with each other. In these situations, individuals share few mutual connections/acquaintances.

Innovation tends to originate from a balance of strong and weak ties.

The interesting thing here is that Research Labs tend to drive domain knowledge and as such individuals build strong social ties. So the issue becomes how do we maintain the balance between the two. This is what Andrew Hargadon has referred to as technology brokering - the ability for some individuals to be able to bridge these knowledge domains.

In the 1980's when I worked in HP's Research Labs, these "technology brokers" were referred to as "Renaissance Men". If you look up the definition on Wikipeadia, you will find it is the same concept, just different words.

Social networking and advertising (again)

I have commented before that advertising revenues on social networking sites seems to be challenging. I came across a couple of new articles that reinforce the same message. This is starting to sound like old news!

Here's an article covering some research from ExactTarget and Ball State University's Center for Media Design. If you follow the links at the bottom of the article, you can download the complete research report. The bottom line is that email marketing seems to be more effective than placing advertisements on social networking sites.

While there has been a rise in the number of people using review websites before major purchases, the value in these reviews is that they are independent - most of the time, from complete strangers. This doesn't seem to be the place for advertisements - it is more about personal communication. If this carries on, it is going to be difficult to provide ROI for Social Networking sites. In the current trading conditions, this could cause some difficulty for site owners, advertisers and their investors.

The second article provides some interesting insights into the usage of Internet TV sites, particularly by men. I love statistics and this article provides some interesting insights.

And while we are on the subject of interesting articles, this article provides some thought provoking material on where folks have gone "slightly less than optimally" with social networking deployments.

The Holiday Inn rapper

The truth about innovation: 2. Repurposing the past

Many innovations are, in fact, the re-incarnation of ideas that have gone before. Take the light bulb - the very epitomy of innovation. The screw thread fitting was invented around the turn of the last century by one of Edison’s technicians when looking for a mechanism to securely fix a light bulb into it's socket. The fitting is based on the threaded cap from a paraffin can that just happened to be in Edison's laboratory.

The fitting was standardised in 1909 and screw in bulbs in the UK use a standard E27 fitting - the "27" refers to the diameter of the thread in millimeters, the “E” standards for Edison. It is the one shown in the image by the way, just in case you thought the picture was purely for decoration!

Many of these innovations are purely serendipitous and depend largely on the innovator's past experiences. For example, Edison's technicians had been experimenting with charcoal for a completely different purpose before they struck on the idea of using it as a filament in the incandescent light bulb. It is these prior experiences that help innovators make connections that no one else has made before. The wider your set of previous experiences, the more "connectedness" you are likely to stumble across.

I am not the first to comment on this (see Andrew Hargadon's excellent book on technology brokering, "How breakthroughs happen" - more later) and many organisations are using this during their initial idea generating process. It makes sense to make sure that we have looked for inspiration in other industries and sectors, particularly we they are encountering similar problems, as well as looking at how past problems have been solved.

Let's look at another example. Again this is from Thomas A. Edison. In 1912, Edison launched the first home movie projection system called the Kinetoscope. Unfortunately for Edison, the home cinema projector pre-dated the home cinema camera so users were stuck with watching prerecorded 16 minute movies. These were fairly expensive due to the low volumes and even with the most interesting subject matter, you probably wouldn't want to watch it too many times. To combat this, Edison introduced a central clearing house for movies which can be exchanged by post. Ultimately, the idea failed because of a lack of take up, but the idea remains.

In 2004, LOVEFiLM launched its DVDs by post business in the UK. Today, there are over 900,000 members, 65,000 titles and 3M rentals per month in 5 countries.

I know there are lots of other examples out there. I am sure that you will have your own favourites. But the point here is that if you are looking for inspiration a great starting point can be looking to the past to understand how similar problems have been previously solved.

The truth about innovation: 1. Chance favours the prepared mind

One of the first truths that hit me when I started looking at innovation was that so many great innovations seem to have occured by accident. The harder I looked the more examples that I seemed to find. They seemed to be everywhere. There are just too many of them to have been purely accidental.

Have a look at these examples and see if you can guess what I am describing. You will find the answer if you hover over the "answer" link at the end.

Consumers would not return samples after unsuccessful trials.
Originally intended as a treatment for angina.
Stops flowers from wilting when used in dilution.

The inventor’s name is now associated with a prize.
Formed when nitro-glycerine leaked into packing material.


Developed during WWII in an attempt to produce synthetic rubber.
Formed by dropping Boric acid onto silicone.
Became one of the cult toys of the 1960’s.

The killer application was as place markers in hymn books.
The initial commercial launch was a flop until they were given away for free.
Invented by Art Fry when looking for a use for a glue that didn’t set.


Discovered by 3M in 1952 by Patsy Sherman
When a potential glue was accidentally dropped onto a white canvas tennis shoe.
Nothing could remove the glue or produce a stain.

Developed during WWII by Percy Spencer
Breakthrough occurred when a chocolate bar melted in his shirt pocket while building a magnetron
Domestic appliance related to the radar

And the list goes on....tea bags, Teflon, Penicillin, Vaseline, Velcro, Nylon.... But I think you will have got the point by now. If you are interested in reading about more of these, try "They all Laughed" which provides interesting reading.

To view these innovations purely as accidents does not do them justice. Otherwise, it would infer that these are random events that bestow fame on random people. These innovators saw what others had seen, but made NEW connections. And they acted on them.

Making these new connections requires a "prepared" mind.

Many great inventions are the result of a “Plan B” and this is a fact that many Venture Capitalists recognise. When selecting management teams, VCs will often look for a team that has a track record of being observant and changing tack when the circumstances demand. Management teams that carry on with a plan, no matter what the market tells them, are unlikely to succeed.

These events that show that “Chance favours the prepared mind” - a phrase coined by Pasteur (yes, another prepared mind!) and known as "Pasteur's dictum".

The truth about innovation

I have been doing some work recently on innovation - this is a topic that is very dear to my heart and, judging by the amount of interest people show in it, I don't think I am alone!

While there aren't many companies that would say that innovation is not important to their company, however, there aren't many that can define it. And if they can't define it, they are going to have a hard time promoting and nurturing within their organisation.

As I went through the reading material (by the way, you will find my book list on Amazon here), there were a number of riffs (i.e. patterns) that came up time and time again. They might be explained in slightly different words, but the underlying theme is essentially the same. Over the next few days, I will step through the seven riffs one by one. For completeness, there are:

1. Chance favours the prepared mind
2. Repurposing the past
3. The Future is here already, but it isn’t evenly distributed
4. Breadth vs Depth
5. Necessity is the mother of invention
6. Nurturing innovation through networks
7. You are what you innovate

YouTube and Credit Crunch Songs

It is interesting fact of life these days that YouTube videos can be used as a social indicator. By providing everyone with a platform to broadcast their views on recent events, it unleashes a new set of views (not to mention talent) on every day life.

Have a look at these videos posted on YouTube recently as a response to the Credit Crunch:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=s_iMS31mqmU
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2JwdIWjVHaU
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HAaxeqikUlE
Or search for your own using "Credit crunch song". It makes you wonder whatever happened to such material before YouTube!

While amusing, they also provide a social commentary that just hasn't been available previously. And certainly, not within the timeframes we are seeing here. While the message has been dressed up, delivering it as piece of entertainment is no less powerful.

Food for thought

Nice summary and a set of links that provides some interesting food for thought...http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/whats_next_after_web_20.php

LinkedIn outages

One of the issues with moving towards a online services is that we can become a hostage to the system's availability. In other words, YOUR service is dependent on SOMEONE ELSE'S software. LinkedIn is the latest online service to suffer service outages. You'll find them documented on Pingdom here: http://royal.pingdom.com/2008/10/10/is-linkedin-having-scaling-issues/

I guess with the issues in the current financial markets we shouldn't be surprised that LinkedIn is getting just a little more traffic.

On a related note, at a CIO event this evening one of the speakers (Chris Neale from Harvey Nash) made a comment that people really ought to pay more attention to their profiles on online sites such as LinkedIn. In his view (and I tend to agree), people's online profiles are vastly inferior to the paper based one - often reverting to being more that a list of projects that we have worked. LinkedIn doesn't do us any favours here since the platform tends to guide us down this path, but the extra effort required will be worth it.