(Hear the MP3 version with additional commentary in beautiful monophonic audio.)

New Programs Last Week

Listed in increasing order of listener rating.

• Gary Flake – Yahoo!’s Research Lab (2.8) Yahoo!’s research department of scientists is busy creating new products and developing new ideas. At the time of this talk, Dr. Gary Flake was Director of Yahoo!s Research Lab, and he discusses the philosophy behind the Research Lab. He also demonstrates some of the new tools being developed a Yahoo!, including a collaborative prediction system (with prizes!) in which you can participate.
• Richard Monson-Haefel – Java Superplatforms (2.9) In this session from the Application Platform Strategies track at Burton Group’s 2005 Catalyst Conference, Richard Monson-Haefel compares J2EE "superplatforms" — application platforms packed with integration, deployment, and management frameworks. Richard gives advice on choosing a superplatform and lays out how Burton Group sees this market developing as superplatforms add still more features demanded by enterprise IT developers.
• William Terrill – WLAN Technology Update (3.0) In this session from the Network and Telecom Strategies track at Burton Group’s 2005 Catalyst Conference, Burton Senior Analyst William Terrill gives an overview of protocols and products for enterprise deployment of Wireless LANs. Quality of Service (QOS), security, and centralized management are all available now. New 802.11 suffixes will standardize features that are still vendor- specific, such as mesh networking. Bill gives recommendations for your enterprise wireless deployment.
• Eamonn Kelly (3.6) On Tech Nation, Dr. Moira Gunn speaks with Eamonn Kelly, the CEO & president of the Global Business Network, and the author of "Powerful Times: Rising to the Challenge of Our Uncertain World." He takes us through the major impacts on the world today. It’s his contention that we are in the midst of a great leap forward, not unlike what history has called The Enlightenment.
• Vernor Vinge – Accelerating Change 2005 Keynote (3.7) The idea that a superhuman machine intelligence could be created within our lifetimes is one that captures the imaginiations and fears of many. How can we plan for something which, by definition, changes the world in unimaginable ways? Vernor Vinge is the populizer of the term "Singularity" to describe the point at which technological progress advances so much that we cannot predict anything beyond that point. He discusses how we could prepare for this type of event.
• Peter Ax – On-Line Pharmacies (4.0) Ever wondered about those on-line pharmacies? Drugs like Viagra and even narcotics prescribed without even a face-to-face office visit? Peter Ax is the CEO of KwikMed and claims it’s the only on-line pharmacy to have been granted regulatory approval in the U.S. (by the state of Utah in this case). Larry Magid presses him for the real story.
• Bindu Varghese (4.0) On BioTech Nation, Moira interviews Bindu Varghese, Graduate Research Assistant in Biochemistry at the Department of Chemistry, Purdue University. They talk about her research and new strategies for auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
• Paul Graham – An OSCON 2005 Keynote (4.5) Paul Graham, popular essayist and Lisp programmer, discusses what business can learn from open source. According to him, it’s not about Linux or Firefox, but the forces that produced them. He delves into the reasons why open source is able to produce better software, why traditional workplaces are actually harmful to productivity and the reason why professionalism is overrated.

The O’Reilly Pick of the Week:

This week’s IT Conversations/O’Reilly Pick of the Week is a new program from 2004:

• Marc Fleury – JBoss (3.4) JBoss married J2EE to an open source business model and came up with something that revitalized the enterprise Java world. Scott Mace talked with JBoss Founder, Chairman and CEO Marc Fleury at JavaOne. Listen to Marc’s views on the push to open source Java, the importance of aspect-oriented programming, rich Internet clients, and much more.