Articles by Ned Madden

Succumbing to the primal pull of gameplay, millions of new consumers are joining the nearly ubiquitous adventure of exploring the pixelated worlds presented in video games, seeking personal recreation, relaxation, amusement, even escape -- and the industry is feeling the profound effects of that stampede Ginormous metamorphoses continue to roil the...

Part 1 of this series explores the markets and industries surrounding polymers in computing. Part 2 investigates electroactive polymers. Part 3 details the development of organic polymer memory devices Nurdles. Aglets. Bakelite. Cellophane....

Part 1 of this series explores the markets and industries surrounding polymers in computing. Part 2 investigates electroactive polymers For more than a decade, polymer memory devices (PMDs) have lingered in the queue of novel organic candidates for "next-generation" computer data-storage-and-retrieval chip technology. ...

Part 1 of this series explored the markets and industries surrounding polymers in computing Plastics, those ubiquitous malleable synthetic polymers so essential to the needs of virtually the entire spectrum of global business, have become the pulsing heart of the high-tech world. ...

Not all polymers are plastics, but all plastics are polymers. And organic (carbon-based) polymer plastics, known mostly for being insulators, in some cases make excellent conductors and semiconductors The term "all-polymer semiconductor" (with electrical conductivity intermediate between that of an insulator and a conductor) sounds almost like an ...

Part 1 of this series explores the practical aspects of locating greenhouses in urban environments These are not your grandpa's greenhouses....

The farm has moved to the city in the form of rooftop hydroponic greenhouses, leaving the dirt and pests and pesticides behind in the rural field and going high-tech with a penthouse view from perches atop old buildings. Restaurants, converted factories and warehouses, government facilities, the stores of mass retailers, apartment complexes -- a w...

Carbon accounting outsourcing (CAO) could be the next big thing in the US$80 billion business process outsourcing (BPO) industry Early out of the gate is FirstCarbon, a carbon data management subsidiary of global outsourcing services provider ADEC Solutions. Launched in June 2009, FirstCarbon is touted as the first outsourcing firm to allow compan...

Part 1 of this two-part series discusses software applications designed to maximize a company's efficiency in terms of factors like energy conservation, water consumption and gas emissions Paper and packaging, those essential components of modern life, have a massive impact on the environment and so constitute a prime target for sustainable develop...

As the decades-old "sustainability" movement goes mainstream, many businesses are looking to software to make the eco-cause concept functional -- and profitable -- for them. Companies are facing accountability and responsibility demands regarding their roles in rescuing humanity and saving planet Earth from global warming, climate change, environ...

Go wet, young IT man (and woman). Your parched, imperiled planet needs you When it comes to creating a future filled with fresh, drinkable water, information technology professionals have a significant career opportunity in a mega-sized market. The very economic survival of a thirsty, arid Earth -- with the U.S. southwest as a prime example -- dep...

Part 1 of this three-part series focuses on the strategies and technologies companies are employing to use online social networking as a marketing tool. Part 2 takes a closer look at some of the companies operating in this space and what kinds of specific services they offer Can the privatized and anonymized be monetized? When it comes to the mega...

Part 1 of this three-part series focuses on the strategies and technologies companies are employing to use online social networking as a marketing tool With an attractive force akin to the massive black hole at the center of the galaxy, online social networks have pulled into their orbits scores of new startups searching for profits....

Nobody, not even Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg himself, has yet successfully produced a proven, sustainable and scalable business model that can satisfactorily monetize the vast ecosystem of the social networks -- Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. The reason for this could be rooted in the basic noncommercial nature of social networki...

Part 1 of this two-part series took an overall look at the challenges facing green IT. Part 2 zooms in on Orange County, Calif., an emerging innovator in green IT and green technology in general California's Orange County (OC) is known famously worldwide as the home of Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm, John Wayne and Richard Nixon, citrus crops and...

Green's got the blues "Dark Days for Green Energy," declared a headline in the Feb. 4 issue of The New York Times. "(B)ecause of the credit crisis and the broader economic downturn ... installation of wind and solar power is plummeting," reported the Times....

Part 1 of this three-part series looks at the growth of 3-D movies and electronic distribution. Part 2 focuses on the technology found in the projection booth of a high-end 3-D movie theater. Part 3 explores the technology involved in adding a third dimension to regular 2-D films Despite all the attention being paid to the creation of 3-D films, th...

Part 1 of this three-part series looked at the growth of 3-D movies and electronic distribution. Part 2 focuses on the technology found in the projection booth of a high-end 3-D movie theater 3-D has been given a really big job -- coax audiences young and old(er) alike away from their big screen home TVs, their PCs and their video games and back in...

Wanted: Movie theater projectionists with IT experience in network systems and client/server environments to operate digital cinema systems. Qualifications and requirements: systems analysis capabilities, a thorough working knowledge of e-business applications deployment, including implementation of a variety of IT systems in a computing and business environment. Please, no calls from people with obsolete traditional projectionist skills like "building" movies by physically splicing ads, trailers, PSAs and print reels into one large band of celluloid film stock and then threading it through an opto-mechanical projector while fixing presentation problems like static wraps, mis-frames, sound problems, etc. Successful candidates will be required to wear glasses on the job and must love the smell of popcorn...

Part 1 of this two-part series discusses the importance of choosing the right partner when considering whether to outsource social media tasks. Part 2 focuses on vendors, risks and outcomes Social media outsourcing will be the next big business opportunity for India after business process outsourcing (BPO) and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO), c...