Sensors & Switches

An article in Computerworld outlines the work of one corporate researcher toward the idea of using computer storage technology to essentially archive one's entire life in a database amassing personal images, video, e-mails, phone conversations, printed documents, and more. The article interviews the researcher, who expects this to be a 10-year project, and who considers it to be something that, "we'll all be working toward." He's named the project "MyLifeBits." In his view, "You'll have memories that you can pass on from generation to generation and you pass on as much as you're willing to do. There's that aspect of being able to have a kind of immortality."

Is this an idea whose time has come, or an exercise in narcissism?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Sensors & Switches, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Sensors & Switches today.

Math proficiency is clearly important in engineering, as it is in many other technical fields. Yet the New York Times reports that just 39% of fourth graders in the U.S. scored at or above the proficient level in this year's nationwide math test. The numbers are worse for eighth graders, where only 34% made the grade. What can be done to improve national math scores?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Sensors & Switches, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Sensors & Switches today.

One author, whose firm helps electric utilities comply with North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) security and reliability standards, argues that focusing a company's security strategy on simply meeting a compliance deadline — something that he calls "point-in-time security" — is not the way to go. Instead, he says, applicable security considerations must be met "on a recurring basis indefinitely." It's a methodology he calls sustainable security.

Electric power generation is a critical industry, and not every business is compelled to meet such stringent safety and security standards. But almost every business has some need for security, and elements of this general strategy might make good security practices, even if there's no federal mandate.

Check out the author's article, in which he likens sustainable security to keeping your house clean! Do you agree that point-in-time security doesn't cut it?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Sensors & Switches, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Sensors & Switches today.

With companies cutting expenses to maintain profitability (or at least minimize losses) in the face of reduced demand, reductions in staff are a common theme. Such staffing cuts, in turn, often mean that those who are left have to shoulder more of the load. Has this meant that you've got more tasks on your plate, or required you to work longer hours? Have you found any positive lessons learned that might prove valuable to the business or yourself in "better times?"

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Sensors & Switches, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Sensors & Switches today.

We have the technology; how will it help? Now that scientists have succeeded in imaging a complete hydrocarbon molecule — revealing the constituent atoms as well as the bonds between them — what areas of science will benefit first from this breakthrough capability?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Sensors & Switches, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Sensors & Switches today.