LagrangePoint - Brad Howarth

ZDNet Bootstrappr: Biarri's massive maths mission

I've been doing a lot of writing about cloud computing of late. One of the aspects that I think is most interesting is that it gives small businesses access to applications and resources that might be otherwise be too expensive or complex for them to operate. When they are hosted in the cloud, companies can rent access as they need it, generally through a simple web interface.

This is precisely what Biarri is doing, by putting its skills in the mathematical discipline of operations research into the cloud. Operations research is the name for a group of models used to solve highly complex problems, such as the optimal route for a truck that needs to make 50 deliveries. By hosting its software in Amazon's cloud and creating a web interface, Biarria is making that service available to a group of companies that could have otherwise never afforded it. You can check it out on the ZDNet Bootstrappr blog by clicking here.

Australia's Digital Economy: Future Directions #digitaleconomy

Spent part of this evening at the Powerhouse Museum listening to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Stephen Conroy. He spoke about government's role as an enabler for the digital economy, but the majority of his talk related to access, in terms of price and speed. Other elements, including Enterprise Connect, the digital literacy programs and the small business online programs all assist, but there seems to be no cohesive strategy for developing broadband-enabled services themselves. That he says is the role of industry and the community. It still sounds very much like a strategy of 'build it and they will come'.

If the NBN is switched on and all we get is faster email and catch-up TV, it hardly seems like a compelling proposition. The work needs to be done now to equip businesses and business associations with the skills - and potentially the seed funding - to begin developing next-generation broadband services today, so that they will be ready when the network begins to go live. Failure to do so means that the benefits from the network will not be realised until quite some time later, meaning our investment in infrastructure may be quickly leapfrogged in economies where the focus has been on infrastructure and services, as opposed to just infrastructure.

Still, it's a big report ... I have a lot of reading to do.

For a look at the full report, click here.

Australian Anthill - When the contest is between selling out or risking death - #imaginecup

I met Devin de Vries at the Imagine Cup finals in Paris last year. At that time he was a member of Team Smile, the South Aftrican entry in the Software Design category of the event. While his team made it through to the finals, it was eventually beaten by the Australian Team SOAK. De Vries stuck at developing his project for managing South Africa's somewhat chaotic public transport system. His determination to solve his nation's problem has seen him refuse lucrative offers to relocate his business to the US, and you can read his story in this article at Australian Anthill.

BuilderAU: Students give Microsoft a workout - #imaginecup

Last week I was a guest of Microsoft in Cairo for the Imagine Cup, the world's largest student developer contest. On display were more than 100 projects across across a wide range of topics - I've mentioned a few already, but if you want a broader run down, check out this article for ZDNet's Builder AU site. It also gives an overview of the technology behind Australia's entrant in the Software Design category - eGreen - a cradle-to-grave method for rating the climate impact of products and services.

CIO Australia Special Report: Cloud Computing

Anyone who has been following the IT side of my writing will know that I've had an interest in cloud computing. The idea that a wide range of IT services can be performed off-premises by utility providers makes a lot of sense in an age where many companies have been forced to become experts in a field that is not their core competency.

A few weeks ago my feature was published in the UK-based magazine Pathfinder Business looking at the promise cloud computing holds for the world's IT sector. Now a second feature has appeared as a special report in CIO Australia. Anyway, you can read all about it by clicking here. For this feature I spoke to a range of suppliers and users, including Hiive Systems, Altium, Devnet, Melbourne IT, IBM, Avenade, and numerous others.

There are still plenty of obstacles to the broad adoption of cloud computing to most organisation, but if you read the comments from Altium's Alan Perkins, you'll see that are plenty of counter arguments. And if you are interested in what cloud computing represents for Australian industry, it might be worth checking out this new initiative of the Australian Academy of Technology Sciences and Engineering.

Congrats to Romania and Korea at #imaginecup

Congratulations to the teams from Romania and Korea who took out the Software Design and the Embedded Development prizes respectively in what can accurately be described as an awe-inspiring ceremony at the Imagine Cup in Egypt yesterday.

With the Pyramids of Giza as a backdrop the various finalists were announced, but no joy for the Australian team eGreen however which was eliminated last week. I'll be posting more updates and stories over the next couple of days, along with some more pictures from the event.

Software, sand and the Curse of the Pharaoh - #imaginecup 2009

Today was the culture day of the Imagine Cup 09, with participants, judges and guests bussed our the the Great Pyramids of Giza for a gander at the only remaining Great Wonders of the Ancient World. The event has been running well, apart from numerous participants succumbing to a variety of stomach complaints (known collectively as the Pharaoh's Curse) but that hasn't dampened the enthusiasm of the 440 students here. Judging continues today, ahead of the announcement of the winners at a ceremony in the desert tomorrow evening.

The overall quality of the finalists this year is much higher than last year, with slicker presentations, a heavier emphasis on user interface, and a much tougher grilling from the judges around the business elements of the projects they are presenting. I'd expect some experienced entrepreneurs would have wilted under the pressure that many of these students have faced, particularly the grilling handed out to the Russian team. It's a big ask for a student - to form a team, invent and build a project in around 7 months, and prove out a business model to support it. For those here who didn't make the finals, it has provided a great set of lessons in how to position themselves for the commercial world.

A sad day for the Commonwealth - Imagine Cup 09

Well unfortunately Australia's entry into the Software Desine category of this year's Imagine Cup in Cairo, Team eGreen, didn't proceed through to the final round, despite what I thought was an excellent presentation. While it was an exceptional effort that saw the three person team from the University of Canberra get as far as the finals, they also had big shoes to fill, with Australia's 2008 entrant, Team SOAK, winning the category globally.

 

Team eGreen - Xharmagne Caradang, Andrew Parsons (Microsoft), James Thompson, Dat Tran (mentor) and Donovan Ryan.

Team eGreen's idea was for a technology driven ratings systems for products, which would account fully for that product's carbon emissions, including its transportation to the point to purchase as well those emboddied in its manufacture.

It was among a large number of interesting projects that got bounced by the judges, including a group from South Africa, iSign, that had developed a system for converting sign language to speech and back again. Another team from the Palestinian Authority, Weather Prediction, had to receive special permission to cross the boarder into Egypt, and presented a system for accurately predicing weather using neural network computing. Another project from the Ukraine, Baby Guards, developed a software system for monitoring pre-natal health, coming from a country that has both one of the highest mortality rates and lowest fertility rates (thanks in part to Chernobyl and the odd Russian incursion) in the world.

While the Aussies were unable to convince the judges that they should move on to the semi-finals, teams from other Commonwelath countries were more fortunate, including ones from the UK, Canada and Sri Lanka. But by the end of the evening this group had also been knocked out of the final six, leading to commisartory drinks amongst the Commonwealth nations. The finalists are teams from Brazil, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain and Taiwan, and the winner in the category will be announced on Tuesday evening.

My tip - Polska! Polska! Polska!

Live from the Imagine Cup 2009 - Cairo

For the next few days I'll be reporting from Cairo, Egypt, where I am a guest of Microsoft for its annual Imagine Cup student developer challenge. I was also fortunate enough to attend the event when it was held in Paris last year.

Imagine Cup brings together students from all around the world who compete in teams to build software-based projects, many of which contain the germs of new start-up businesses. The theme this year is the United Nation's Millennium Development goals, and hence the projects revolve around themes such as infant health and relief from hunger and poverty. More then 300,000 students participated, and there are more than 440 here in Cairo.

The Australian team, Team SOAK, won its category in Software Design in Paris last year, and now Canberra-based Team eGreen is hoping to repeat that feat with a system for helping consumers understand the 'green-ness' of the products they are buying. We should find out later today whether it will move on to the next stage of the finals.

Also gathered here are a bunch of the world's most important people when it comes to technology-based non-government organisations, many of whom I'll be speaking to.

Right now however I'm waiting on the opening press conference, including a presentation and Q&A with Microosft's chief software architect Ray Ozzie. Will keep you posted on further developments ...

ZDNet Bootstrappr: Doing for AV what VoIP did for telephony

I hate cabling. Any day that I have to fiddle around at the back of my home hi-fi system is not likely to be a brilliant day. The problem is a lot bigger for people involved in concert audio systems, and it is their problems that Sydney-based start-up Audinate is looking to solve, by replacing traditional analogue cabling with computer networking technology. It's no simple task however, but you can read about what they are doing in this blog post on ZDNet's Bootstrappr page by clicking here.