[extropy-chat] IT Conversations -- a selection of conference talks available online

Fri Jul 29 18:22:38 UTC 2005

I've been looking through <http:///www.itconversations.com> and have 
selected 20 talks that look particularly interesting (and that are rated 
highly). If anyone has listened to any of these, I'd like to hear your opinion.

Max

Open Source: Capturing the Upside While Avoiding the Downside
Clayton Christensen
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail135.html
With transcript
This keynote presentation was recorded at the Open Source Business 
Conference 2004 held in San Francisco.

Emerging Worldviews
Phillip Longman, senior fellow, New America Foundation
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail236.html
IT Conversations audio from Pop!Tech 2004 (Emerging Worldviews): Phillip 
Longman and Q&A from previous talks by Thomas Barnett and Joseph Chamie.
[runtime: 00:47:16, 21.6 mb, recorded 2004-10-21]

The Rise of the Creative Class
Richard Florida
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail232.html

IT Conversations audio from Pop!Tech 2004 (Global Creativity): Richard 
Florida, Professor of Economic Development at Carnegie Mellon University 
explains the shift from an industrial society to a worldwide creative society.
[runtime: 00:42:07, 19.3 mb, recorded 2004-10-21]

Human Nature
Joel Garreau, journalist, The Garreau Group
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail265.html

IT Conversations audio from Pop!Tech 2004 (Human Nature): "Are we 
fundamentally changing human nature in our lifetime?" Joel Garreau thinks 
that yes we will be...over the next twenty years. What's driving this? He 
goes into great depth on Moore's Law and later on, Metcalfe's Law, which he 
received brownie points from Bob at the end of his session. He talks about 
technologies, how they are now aimed inward and gives a number of s curve 
examples. [Renee Blodgett] This recording also includes the Q&A for the 
presentations by Malcolm Gladwell and Frans de Waal.
[runtime: 00:49:23, 22.6 mb, recorded 2004-10-21]
4 stars

Biomimicry
Janine Benyus, biologist
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail241.html

Biomimicry: It's the conscious emulation of life's genius. Janine Benyus is 
a life sciences writer and author of six books, including her latest -- 
Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. In Biomimicry, she names an 
emerging science that seeks sustainable solutions by mimicking nature's 
designs and processes (e.g., solar cells that mimic leaves, agriculture 
that looks like a prairie, business that runs like a redwood forest). [IT 
Conversations audio from the Pop!Tech 2004 session on New Naturalism]
[runtime: 00:30:47, 14.1 mb, recorded 2004-10-22]
4 stars

WorldChanging
Alex Steffen
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail239.html

"We're screwed," Alex Steffen begins. We need 4.5 planet Earths just to 
meet the current consumption of resources, and it's only getting worse. But 
there's hope, and Alex gives his favorite examples of cool ideas of 
innovation, particularly in the developing world. It's amazing what 
necessity can breed. How about a flower that turns from white to red in the 
proximity of a landmine?! [IT Conversations audio from the Pop!Tech 2004 
session on Happiness]
[runtime: 00:26:26, 12.1 mb, recorded 2004-10-22]

Human Nature
Malcolm Gladwell
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail230.html
runtime: 00:30:18, 13.9 mb, recorded 2004-10-21

Non-Profits Blogging
The American Cancer Society's Innovation Summit
True Voice with Stowe Boyd
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail439.html

In this True Voice show, Stowe talks with Peter Quintas (CTO of Silkroad 
technology) and Peter Kaminski (CTO of Socialtext), exchanging observations 
about the ACS Innovation Summit, which was devoted to social networking and 
social media. The discussion starts there -- reviewing some of the very 
advanced projects that ACS and other non-profits, such as the March of 
Dimes, have conducted using blogs. The three then discuss the growing 
adoption of blogs and other social media, as well as coming features 
planned for the two technology companies' products. [True Voice audio from 
IT Conversations]
[runtime: 00:27:45, 12.7 mb, recorded 2005-03-25]

Beyond Fear
Bruce Schneier, founder & CTO, Counterpane
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail119.html

In his latest book, Beyond Fear, security guru Bruce Schneier goes beyond 
cryptography and network security to challenge our post-9/11 national 
security practices. Host Doug Kaye says, "This is the one interview I hope 
everyone will hear."
[runtime: 00:34:04, 11.7 mb, recorded 2004-04-16]

Free Culture, Chapter 1
Lawrence Lessig
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail111.html

AKMA asked, "Anyone feel like recording a chapter of Lawrence Lessig's new 
book?" Joi Ito then said, "What a great idea!" In less than 24 hours, this 
idea mushroomed into a significant collaboration by a team of bloggers and 
others to record and publish all of Larry's book. Here is our contribution, 
Chapter One: Creators, recorded by IT Conversations host Doug Kaye.
[runtime: 00:17:45, 6.1 mb, recorded 2004-03-27]

Phone as Platform: Lessons from ITP
Clay Shirky
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail465.html

Clay Shirky discusses the lessons he's learned from three years at NYU's 
graduate Interactive Telecommunications Program. His students have been 
creating applications for the mobile phone platform, combining GPS, voice 
and photo messaging. Clay describes the technology behind these projects, 
and speculates on the future development of phones and their integration 
with internet-hosted infrastructure. [O'Reilly Media's Emerging Technology 
Conference 2005 audio from IT Conversations]
[runtime: 00:19:55, 9.1 mb, recorded 2005-03-15]

Neil Gershenfeld, Director of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms
Bits and Atoms
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail460.html

Imagine a future where personal fabricators promise the ability to make 
almost anything. Neil Gershenfeld, Director of MIT's Center for Bits and 
Atoms, explains how personal fabricators promise to revolutionize our world 
as PCs did a generation ago by enabling us to design and make the tools and 
products we want in our own homes. A panel of experts then considers the 
implications of personal fabrication and the role of the workshop innovator 
and "hands on design" in modern science and engineering. [ETech audio from 
IT Conversations]
[runtime: 00:55:17, 25.3 mb, recorded 2005-03-16]

Lessons from Game Design
Will Wright, Founder, Maxis and creator of The Sims
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail195.html

Will Wright, creator of The Sims, considers the impact auto racing 
(visibility, technologies) has had on the automotive industry. Computer 
games have evolved into a similar relationship with the computer industry. 
Because we get to design the problems that our players face (the game 
challenges) we have an opportunity to push the boundaries of graphics, user 
interface, AI, metrics and simulation. What we're currently learning about 
mapping these abilitites to the psychology of our players will be used in 
the mainstream software of the future.
[runtime: 03:44:39, 35.9 mb, recorded 2003-11-20]

Universal Access to All Knowledge
Brewster Kahle, Internet Archive
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail400.html

Advances in computing and communications mean that we can cost-effectively 
store every book, sound recording, movie, software package, and public web 
page ever created, and provide access to these collections via the Internet 
to students and adults all over the world. By mostly using existing 
institutions and funding sources, we can build this as well as compensate 
authors within what is the current worldwide library budget. The talk 
offers an update on the current state of progress towards that ideal, which 
would allow us to bequeath an accessible record of our cultural heritage to 
our descendants. [IT Conversations audio from the SDForum Distinguished 
Speaker Series.]
[runtime: 01:38:32, 45.1 mb, recorded 2004-12-16]

The Comedy of the Commons
Lawrence Lessig, SDForum Distinguished Speaker Series
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail349.html

The Comedy of the Commons - An IT Conversations favorite, Lawrence Lessig 
is back with a terrific presentation delivered at the SDForum Distinguished 
Speaker series.
[runtime: 01:36:23, 44.1 mb, recorded 2004-09-23]

Watching the Alpha Geeks
Tim O'Reilly, founder and president, O'Reilly Media
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail197.html

Tim O'Reilly: "Watching the Alpha Geeks" -- people whom more traditional 
marketing analysts might call "lead users" -- can give insights into the 
future directions of technology, gaps in existing products, and new market 
opportunities.
This presentation is from the IT Conversations archives of the SDForum 
Distinguished Speaker Series.
  [runtime: 01:37:00, 33.3 mb, recorded 2002-10-03]

In Praise of Open Thinking
Freeman Dyson and George Dyson
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail170.html

One of the characteristics of diversity--in science, in technology, in 
biology, in culture, in software, or in children--is that the underlying 
programming tends to be open source, or connected in all directions. 
Freeman Dyson and George Dyson think in all directions, but each filters 
through a particular lens. Esther Dyson, also scheduled, was stuck in Texas 
and couldn't be there.
[runtime: 00:42:00, 14.4 mb, recorded 2004-07-29]

Web 2.0
Jerry Yang
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail334.html

Jerry Yang, 10 Years In - Has Yahoo! gotten its mojo back? As Yahoo! 
celebrated its 10-year anniversary earlier this year, many people seem to 
think so. Jerry Yang, co-founder and board member of Yahoo!, talks about 
Yahoo!'s past and future with John Battelle in the closing session of the 
2004 Web 2.0 conference. [Web 2.0 Conference audio from IT Conversations]
[runtime: 00:47:44, 21.9 mb, recorded 2004-10-07]

Web 2.0
Dave Sifry, Technorati
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail313.html

Want to grok the blogosphere? Dave Sifry, founder and CEO of Technorati has 
the inside look at this explosive new medium. (IT Conversations audio from 
the Web 2.0 Conference)
[runtime: 00:15:34, 7.1 mb, recorded 2004-10-06]

Web 2.0
Jeff Bezos, Founder & CEO, Amazon
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail297.html

Jeff Bezos has seen it all in his decade-long quest to build Amazon into 
the biggest internet retailer in the universe. During the Web 1.0 era he 
was Time magazine's Man of the Year, but many on Wall Street wrote his 
company off during the bust. Now Bezos is back, and his plan to turn Amazon 
into a web platform for both consumers and partners has paid off 
handsomely. So what's next? (IT Conversations audio from the Web 2.0 
Conference)
[runtime: 00:32:25, 14.8 mb, recorded 2004-10-05]

_______________________________________________________
Max More, Ph.D.
max at maxmore.com or max at extropy.org
http://www.maxmore.com
Strategic Philosopher
Chairman, Extropy Institute. http://www.extropy.org
_______________________________________________________  