Day 2 of the Singularity
at 4:55pm
on Monday, 15th September 2003
His thesis is that as networks become more connected and the cost of transaction comes down, they tend to break up functions so that various parts of the network specialise. So when you put a computer network into a small office (like Demos) you find that very quickly you want a file server that �specialises� in storing and routing information and a separate mail server that specialises in dealing with email rather than each individual computer having to do it itself. Go up a level and you find a similar thing happening on the internet. Entire businesses have grown up for remote data storage for example.
Another interesting presentation was from Steve Jurvetson one of the founders of DFJ, perhaps the most famous of the silicon valley venture capital firms (they did quite well out of seed funding a little start-up called Hotmail, for example). He gave a really good description of where nanotech is at the moment and where investment is going. They see solar power applications of nanotech as very promising and are investing big time in so-called molecular switches which are seen by many people as the technology that will allow Moore�s Law to continue for computing power.
Finally there was Tim O�Reilly of O�Reilly & Associates who�s in the computer book publishing business. Having said that, his mantra is �Don�t promote the book, promote the ideas in the book� which means that over the past decade he�s become more famous as an activist than as a businessman. He�s strongly promoted Open Source, taking it from the incredibly geeky free software movement to being a mainstream business proposition. If you want to see evidence of Open Source�s mainstream credentials take a look at the latest IBM commercial. I�d definitely recommend a look at some of the articles and presentations on Tim�s site.
His thesis is that as networks become more connected and the cost of transaction comes down, they tend to break up functions so that various parts of the network specialise. So when you put a computer network into a small office (like Demos) you find that very quickly you want a file server that �specialises� in storing and routing information and a separate mail server that specialises in dealing with email rather than each individual computer having to do it itself. Go up a level and you find a similar thing happening on the internet. Entire businesses have grown up for remote data storage for example.
Another interesting presentation was from Steve Jurvetson one of the founders of DFJ, perhaps the most famous of the silicon valley venture capital firms (they did quite well out of seed funding a little start-up called Hotmail, for example). He gave a really good description of where nanotech is at the moment and where investment is going. They see solar power applications of nanotech as very promising and are investing big time in so-called molecular switches which are seen by many people as the technology that will allow Moore�s Law to continue for computing power.
Finally there was Tim O�Reilly of O�Reilly & Associates who�s in the computer book publishing business. Having said that, his mantra is �Don�t promote the book, promote the ideas in the book� which means that over the past decade he�s become more famous as an activist than as a businessman. He�s strongly promoted Open Source, taking it from the incredibly geeky free software movement to being a mainstream business proposition. If you want to see evidence of Open Source�s mainstream credentials take a look at the latest IBM commercial. I�d definitely recommend a look at some of the articles and presentations on Tim�s site.
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