New Florence. New Renaissance.

Rwanda’s “Mobile Web”

“A child carrying a heavy load of wood on his head down a dusty red road while behind him a luxury coach (an ICT Bus – see video below) packed with spanking new laptops draws up to give a taste of the internet to a village which doesn't even have electricity.

It's just 15 years since the genocide that left a million people dead and tore apart the fabric of Rwanda's society and economy. While the shadow of those terrible events still looms over this country, what's remarkable is how far it has come and how ambitious it is to go a lot further.”

BBC

Baidu’s Battles

Forbes analyzes growing battlegrounds between Baidu and Google – the Chinese broadband consumer, the next huge wave of mobile web customers, the Chinese diaspora around the world. And the growing transaction commerce battle with Alibaba. The stakes in one of the fastest growing markets are huge.

Born Global

The annual Inc. 500 issue is, as usual, full of stats and trivia about private and entrepreneurial companies.

But especially striking to see so many companies that have found niches doing business around the world.

Examples:

Mission Essential Personnel No. 52

This company’s linguists were hired by the Defense Department to negotiate the release of the captain of the Maersk Alabama, the container ship seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia in April. The ship and the captain were ultimately rescued by the U.S. Navy.

Remote Medical International No. 147

This company offers medical support to people in far-off locations and dangerous situations. Last year, an RMI employee led a team of climbers scaling Antarctica’s tallest peak to field-test some equipment.

Milestone Metals No. 193

Milestone Metals buys scrap metal such as steel and brass, and sells it to foundries and smelters in China. A recent batch of copper was turned into an underwater communications cable.

GATR Technologies No. 259

This company’s portable satellite communication system weighs 70 pounds and can be checked on a commercial flight. Customers have used the device in Iraq, Afghanistan, and far-flung Lesotho.

Zebra Imaging No. 348

Oil companies use Zebra’s holographic technology in the North Sea to map the area below the sea floor. Engineers can use the topographical renderings to determine a suitable spot for drilling.

RigNet No. 452

RigNet outfits offshore oil rigs with telecommunications systems. A recent project involved linking a rig off the coast of Nigeria to a hub onshore, which then routed calls through Bedford, England.

AdaQuest No. 486

AdaQuest, which helps software companies translate applications into more than 60 languages, maintains a satellite office in Rio de Janeiro, where co-founder Hiram Machado grew up. Having staff there also helps the West Coast business serve its East Coast clients.

Microsoft’s Technology for Emerging Markets

“TEM seeks to address the socio-economic needs and aspirations of people in emerging-market countries like India, where the majority of the population still lacks affordable access to computing technologies. TEM's work is closely aligned with Microsoft's Unlimited Potential Group, which I have written about in the past.

What impressed me most about TEM is its staff members' multidisciplinary backgrounds. In addition to computer scientists and engineers, TEM also includes experts in the areas of ethnography, sociology, political science, and development economics, all of which help Microsoft understand the social context of technology in emerging markets like India. “

Harvard Business Publishing Blog

“Wicked Problems of a New Global World”

New York Times writes about a gathering organized by John Kao, founder of the Institute for Large Scale Innovation ( see also his video below about the entity)

“…governments are increasingly wading into the innovation game, declaring innovation agendas and appointing senior innovation officials. The impetus comes from two fronts: daunting challenges in fields like energy, the environment and health care that require collaboration between the public and private sectors; and shortcomings of traditional economic development and industrial policies.

Innovation policy, to be sure, is an emerging discipline. It lacks crisp definitions or metrics. The most explicit embrace of it has been outside the United States, though the Obama administration is taking some initial steps. Its new budget directs the Bureau of Economic Analysis to develop statistics that “uniquely measure the role of innovation” in the economy. And the government’s new chief technology officer, Aneesh Chopra, speaks of building “innovation platforms” to spur growth.

The rising worldwide interest in innovation policy represents the search to answer an important question: What is the appropriate government role in creating industries and jobs in today’s high-technology, global economy?”

 

Astronomical clock: 11th century Model

I saw the attached photo in Wired and was struck by the artistical detail of the inscription. Looked closer and it is a 1,000 year old Astrolabe. The article touches on technology Muslim science gave the world.

Sweden: an LTE pioneer

“Sweden is fast becoming the epicenter of the LTE universe, with three of the country’s four major wireless carriers — Tele2, Telenor and TeliaSonera — racing to build 4G wireless networks. These carriers bought spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band in 2008 and are looking to roll out LTE networks by 2010, according to Wireless Intelligence, a market research service.”

GigaOm

Swiss Silicon Valley

"There are half a dozen venture funds in Switzerland; the government helps technology startups through various programs; and Switzerland has broadband aplenty –- it ranks fourth among OECD countries. As of June 2008, nearly 33 of its every 100 inhabitants had a broadband connection.

Even more important is the fact that a lot of big technology companies have set up shop there. Google has set up its European engineering headquarters in Zurich, and Yahoo moved its European headquarters there from London last year. There is peripherals maker, Logitech, and even a few large, non-IT tech companies, like Tyco. They find there a plentiful supply of engineering minds, many of whom graduated from Switzerland’s equivalent of MIT, the ETH." 

GigaOm

Photo is that of ETF

"Trickle-up innovation"

"This month, General Electric's (GE) health-care division will begin marketing a first-of-its-kind electrocardiograph machine in the U.S. Although packed with the latest technology, the battery-powered device weighs just six pounds, half as much as the smallest ECG machine currently for sale. It will retail for a mere $2,500, an 80% markdown from products with similar capabilities. But what really distinguishes the MAC 800 is its lineage. The machine is basically the same field model that GE Healthcare developed for doctors in India and China in 2008.

The process turns conventional product development on its head. Over the years, multinationals have prospered by turning out premium-priced products for the world's affluent. Rather than also designing products for poorer people elsewhere, many businesses found they could simply pass yesteryear's models down, as if they were unloading fleets of used cars. Lately, big companies such as Microsoft, Nokia, and Procter & Gamble are discovering that they can profit by targeting the world's masses first. And they can score again by selling these low-priced products elsewhere."

BusinessWeek

Photo credit - Medgadget

ITIF Country Innovation Ratings

 "ITIF ( a Washington DC based think tank) uses 16 indicators to assess the global innovation-based competitiveness of 36 countries and 4 regions. This report finds that while the U.S. still leads the EU in innovation-based competitiveness, it ranks sixth overall. Moreover, the U.S. ranks last in progress toward the new knowledge-based innovation economy over the last decade."

The graph below shows the top 10 in each case - for complete list of 40 check out their site