“Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

My Company, Kofax, has recently acquired some interesting capabilities through the purchase of several companies in the last few years.  One of these, Kapow Software, is of especial interest through it's capabilities to automate the collection of data from the web.  Harvested, this data can be manipulated, transformed, delivered and interpreted. these automated sequences are packaged into a set of routines called "Robots", which can be converted into Web Services that can be used by users and processes globally. Examples include: Brand Protection - big name brands are fiercely protective of their reputation: they need to ensure that their products are presented and positioned by online retailers appropriately, that no "grey" distribution channels exist to create unfair competition to retailers who follow the brand guidelines.   Channels for the selling of fakes and counterfeit goods need to be assiduously monitored for infringement of copyright and damage...

This picture, taken by a commentor on my daughters flickr site, caused me to pause and reflect upon the person framed and on his rights and future prospects for support if he becomes ill in the future. http://flic.kr/s/aHsjvxkFpQ It struck me that the reason why there is no recourse for this man or hundreds and thousands of workers in developing economies where health and safety laws, sick pay and benefits and pensions and invalidity rights don't exist, is because there is no verifiable history of employment for this person. NGO's like Greenpeace, Amnesty, Red Cross et al should track these people and log their activities on a personal and current/ongoing basis.  The ideal way is to make available a cloud-based diary (comprising a record of that person), which can be regularly updated. Key features are that the system should be: Free; no cost to access the site.  There should be no fee for time spent, or facilities used while updating the persons' record Intuit...

I saw a presentation given by an HP colleague, working at HP's Office of Technologists, discussing the information explosion and the challenges in deriving timely business value from the explosion of data.  One thing he mentioned especially got me thinking:   He suggested that there was more than a fighting chance that the requirements of cloud computing could be served by mobile devices working on a peer-to-peer basis.  Given the ever increasing processing power of the devices and the sophistication of the software running, this is more than a likely scenario (in my opinion). Imagine your entire existence (memories in all six senses, plus any equivalents downloaded - either from friends, work colleagues, or just vicariously from myexperience.com tm)  being held on an infinitensimally small device - for example the size of a dust mote.... The biggest stumbling block in my mind is the limited real estate available on the device for input/output - ie keyboar...

I met a person today who had to try to peel every bit of the label off the nescafe lid before he felt he could make the coffee... In one go, or his day was ruined...

So here we are with information management on the back of the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound Delta Airline Flight a hot topic. We just heard that full body scanners capable of capturing video or images of you as if you were naked are to be installed within three weeks of this posting at Heathrow airport (although not at the other UK international airports yet, according to Alan Johnson, bizarrely). I just listened to the US ex-head of homeland security saying the problem with the Nigerian / Yemen-sourced bomb plot on a Delta Airline flight was not with the intelligence that was gathered, but with the (in)ability to synthesise it at the right time and place. This makes sense when you consider that the US - watch list contains approaching 1,000,000 names, while the "No-fly" list is maintained separately. Apparently the bomber - Abdul Mudallad - appeared in the Watch list, but not the no fly list, so his movements were effectively only limited by his inability to trav...

HP Records – Record Management in the Cloud Record Management for the home, for small business, and the e nterprise idea qualification Reach : How many people would this idea affect? - all those who, in their professional and personal lives, have a need for long term organisation, management, and eventual disposal of their critical personal or corporate information In other words, simply put - records. Depth : How deeply are people impacted? How urgent is the need? - nearly everyone has struggled to find a piece of vital information they know they have, but can't find. This can be from the mundane (a password, utility bill, or old address) to the life threatening or life-changing ( a medical file, or a lost case file relating to a crime). Attainability : Can this idea be implemented within a year or two? Yes - easily Efficiency: How simple and cost-effective is your idea? It's a fusion of record management practices, a cloud based infrastructure, existing and de...

Below is a letter going out to the leading local milk delivery company here in the UK - seems to me they'd be ideal to spearhead a drive towards local, seasonal product sourcing and distribution. A draft of the letter going out tonight - I'd love to hear your thoughts - good idea or stoopid? Dear Sir Premium Local Produce – sourcing, managing, and distributing As you are fully aware, there is a growing awareness of “food miles” and associated carbon footprints in food distribution. All of the supermarket chains, to a greater or lesser extent, have prepared strategies to demonstrate their green credentials. Often, these credentials do not stand up to even surface scrutiny; take a look at the number of supermarket vegetable products that are flown in from the Ivory Coast, or Kenya, then distributed nationally by road. It seems to me that Dairy Crest have a uniquely golden opportunity to leverage several unique features of your distribution model: · An already “green” lo...