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Gaming the Future: The Book!

Author: Allison

Nanotech prospect affecting business decisions

from the waves-of-the-future? dept.
The prospect of nanotech is already affecting real-world business decisions, as reported by Reuters on Yahoo about the company KPNQwest NV, the Dutch-American data communications company: "President and Chief Executive Jack McMaster said nanotechnology meant the company may be able to pack so much more processing power into each 10,000 square meter center that it could build fewer. That would save it a fortune, as each center costs more than 50 million euros ($44.48 million) to build…'I've begun to rethink my position only because of the implications of nanotechnology,' he said. 'The amount of computing power that's going to occupy a square meter could be four, five, six times what we initially thought.' "

Nanotech action figure wins big: $100 million

from the at-least-it's-Max-not-Joe dept.
PR News on Yahoo reports that a nanotech "action figure" [read: doll for boys] is a big hit: " 'All factors indicate that by year-end Max Steel will exceed a $100 million brand worldwide in its first year,' said Matt Bousquette, president of Mattel's Boys/Entertainment division. 'And, that the product line will be a complete sell-out by Christmas in various countries'…Max Steel is a unique aspirational character that kids can identify with and the innovative 12-inch scale appeals to boys four years old and up. Josh McGrath is a cool college student and action sports athlete who is accidentally infused with nanotechnology (N-Tek(TM)) giving him super human abilities and turning him into Max Steel." CP: "Aspirational" is right, and those aspirations just might work out.

Interview with Zyvex CEO

from the Breaking-News dept.

According to a Zyvex press release, Zyvex CEO Jim Von Ehr will be interviewed by the Wall Street Reporter on Friday, December 29, 2000.

Wall Street Reporter, an information source for professional investors, interviews 40 to 60 CEOs daily. The audio of their interview with Von Ehr can be heard on December 29, 2000, beginning at 12:30pm EST. Click on the Zyvex link in the section titled, "Today's CEO Interviews".

The interview will be archived under the section titled, "CEO Interviews A-Z" from December 30, 2000 through January 3, 2001.

RealPlayer is required to hear this broadcast; it can be downloaded directly from the Wall Street Reporter site.

Now: Fabrics with nanotechnology?

from the for-your-holiday-amusement dept.
Yahoo's PR News reports that "Nano-Tex, LLC announced today that it has agreed to license Galey & Lord (NYSE: GNL – news) and Burlington PerformanceWear (NYSE: BUR – news) to utilize the molecular technology of Nano-Tex in fabric production… 'Nano-Care and Nano-Dry are the first introductions in a family of products being developed by Nano-Tex, bringing ease of care and superior performance to everyday fabrics. Research on other products is progressing well. The nanotechnology platform can be applied to a wide variety of fabric types to create multiple performance features. By changing the fabric at the molecular level, Nano-Tex creates new opportunities in the marketplace with differentiated products based on cutting-edge nanotechnology. We believe that our ability to bring this technology to everyday fabrics will set a new standard for fabric performance in the future.' Nano-Tex, LLC is a research company founded on the principles of nanotechnology creating new or improved textile properties through molecular engineering." CP: I don't know about the fabric, but the marketing is state of the art.

Fullerenes versus AIDS

from the go-fullerenes dept.
From PR Newswire on Yahoo comes this news from Toronto: "William Multi-Tech Inc., (“Multi-Tech'') (TSE:WIM – news) announced today that C Sixty Inc. (“C Sixty'') a privately held biotechnology company, in which Multi-Tech has a 40% ownership interest, has begun upscale manufacturing of its lead fullerene based drug candidate for treatment of patients with AIDS and AIDS related disease. As a novel anti-HIV drug, C Sixty's product has to date demonstrated potent activity against multiple strains of the HIV virus including drug resistant and de-novo resistant strains of the virus…The potential for widespread applications of C Sixty's technology in medicine, positions the company as a leader in the emerging field of Nanotechnology and its related Biotechnology market. "

Fictional polymaths debate destructive nanotech

from the that's-a-long-time-from-now dept.
Found by GoTo.com: The essay The World in 2050 by Yale lecturer Nick Bostrom features an imaginary dialogue, set in 2050 and broadcast in virtual reality, in which three polymaths debate various issues, especially risk of destructive nanotechnology. The discussion closes with: "We need greater-than-human intelligence to build defenses against nano-attacks. We would not reduce the danger by slowing down; on the contrary, that would make the risks even bigger. The best we can do is to press onward with all possible speed, using as much foresight as we can muster, and hope that there is an other side that we can get to."

Clinton on nanotech: "potential is breathtaking"

from the sounds-like-he-gets-it dept.
In an interview with Science posted at Yahoo, outgoing President Clinton said: "[Most] people still don't know what nanotechnology is. But if you combine the sequencing of the human gene and the capacity to identify genetic variations that lead to various kinds of cancers with the potential of nanotechnology, you get to the point where, in the imagination, you're identifying cancers when, assuming you have the screening technologies right, there are only a few cells coagulated together in this mutinous way, so that you raise the prospect of literally having 100 percent cure and prevention rate for every kind of cancer, which is something that would have been just unimaginable before…And I think the work we've done in nanotechnology in 10, 20 years from now will look very big, indeed. I just think that the potential of this is just breathtaking, and it will change even the way we think about things like calculation or what we're supposed to know how to do. It will — it's going to really, I think, have a huge and still under-appreciated impact on our understanding of human processes and our capacity to do things."

Nanotech & MEMS working together

from the MEMS-helps-with-NEMS dept.
A recent article in Technology Review, Nanotech Goes to Work, looks at near-term (mostly top-down) research. Excerpt: "The reliance on AFM tips and cantilevers illustrates a decidedly mechanical bent in much of today's nanotech research. Indeed, the strategy of using small silicon-based machines called MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) to manipulate nano devices is turning out to be an especially promising area." Includes obligatory (for TR) swipes at those interested in molecular nanotechnology ("enthusiasts", "purists").

"Atom Optics" becomes a reality

from the first-assembler-in-vacuum-or-liquid? dept.
Senior Associate Alison Chaiken writes "A recent new message from the ever-wonderful (and free) "Physics News Update" highlights progress in the developing field of "atom optics". When last we left our heroes, Jurg Schmiedmayer and colleagues from the University of Innsbruck had used electromagnetic fields and logic circuits on an IC to guide beams of atoms with high resolution, implying an obvious extension to a computer-controllable high-precision atom placement technique. Now several groups in Europe have come up with new innovations that could lead to the "atomic ink-jet printer" and the "atom-coupled device." Once folks start moving Bose-Einstein condensates this way, all kinds of exciting advanced fabrication techniques may become possible. I'm still betting that the first "assembler" will be an ultra-high vacuum chamber with a bunch of lasers and well-controlled electromagnetic fields. I'd be thrilled if all you organic chemists can prove me wrong!" Read More for the Physics News Update article.

Rate of progress: slowing or speeding up?

from the US-News-vs-Reason dept.
Tony (asnapier) writes "Here are two articles that are very much worth reading: #1 The Slowing Rate of Progress and #2 [mentioned on nanodot earlier] More More More Nanotechnology and the Law of Accelerating Returns Which one is correct? The initial reaction is to say #2. I have come to the conclusion that geometric growth will only happen if strong AI is realized — which of course, is the very definition of Vinge's singularity. What if strong AI does not emerge? Then the argument for slowing growth appears valid — human minds and mundane information systems would be the bottleneck to rapid advancement (you have to read the articles for the proper context — of course science and technology advance every day — but a new dvd player does not count as a fundamental improvement of the human condition)." CP: The US News piece ends: "Perhaps another Thomas Edison is hard at work, using nanotechnology or bioengineering to invent new machines that are truly revolutionary and transforming. But he or she has not succeeded yet."

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