Published Stuff by David Nordfors

Strategic Innovators: Innovation Journalism as a driver for Economic Growth

2008-04-05T20:54:00.001-07:00

Strategic Innovators Vol.1 Issue 3, Feb-Apr 2008; "Innovation Journalism as a Driver for Economic Growth", D.Nordfors p.14-19.

The Indian publication "Strategic Innovators" invited me to write this essay on Innovation Journalism as a Driver for Economic Growth.

The published article is available here.

"Strategic Innovators" is published by The IIPM Think Tank, an independent, India-centric research body, is inspired by Dr. M.K. Chaudhuri's vision of India as an economic powerhouse in the 21st century. The IIPM Think Tank is committed to enhance public awareness of policy issues an economics and management and to engineer solutions that will fulfill the 'Great India Dream'. By publishing the finding of its research, and though the active participation of its senior researchers in the media and policy, it aims to bring new knowledge to the attention of policy makers.

Can Facebook stand tall against Big Brother?

2007-12-14T03:26:00.000-08:00

Op-Ed in VentureBeat 11 Dec 2007.

"Can Facebook stand tall against Big Brother?”
BY DAVID NORDFORS 12.12.07

As social networks like Facebook try to expand into China, they will face the same decisions as Google and Yahoo before them — do they let the government access their data or do they refuse and risk being banned? Facebook will most certainly be leaned upon by governments, because of its profligate data on users. Facebook’s response will be key for the future of social networking. What will they have to do in order to stay in China?...."

Full story here in Venturebeat (if the link does not work - here in pdf)

Strategic Innovators (India) runs Innovation Communication Systems essay

2007-08-23T08:34:00.001-07:00

The essay "PR and the Innovation Communication System" by Nordfors, is republished by "Strategic Innovators" ( July - Sept 2007, Volume I | Issue 3), a quarterly Indian refereed journal on contemporary strategic management trends. The essay is also available on Innovation Journalism (INJO-3-5).

The essay printed in "Strategic Innovators" is available here in pdf:
strategic%20innovators%20nordfors.pdf

"Strategic Innovators" is published by The IIPM Think Tank, an independent, India-centric research body, is inspired by Dr. M.K. Chaudhuri's vision of India as an economic powerhouse in the 21st century. The IIPM Think Tank is committed to enhance public awareness of policy issues an economics and management and to engineer solutions that will fulfill the 'Great India Dream'. By publishing the finding of its research, and though the active participation of its senior researchers in the media and policy, it aims to bring new knowledge to the attention of policy makers.

Dagens Industri Op-ed: The New Economy Calls For a New Way of Thinking

2000-08-15T17:13:00.000-07:00

Pontus Braunerhjelm - VP Research SNS; David Nordfors - Managing Partner Baz Associates; Anders Sundström - Chairman Pitedalen's Bank (fmr Minister of Industry); Jan Sundberg - CEO SEB Företagsinvest; Rolf Skoglund - Chairman Startupfactory (fmr head of Microsoft Europe); Christer Zetterberg - Chairman IDI (fmr President Volvo Group); Lars Öjefors - Chairman The Industry Fund.

Op-ed highlighting the need for the Swedish government to adapt the laws to accommodate the innovation economy.

Dagens Industri, 15 Aug 2000. Largest Swedish business daily, 110 200 copies - 4th largest in Europe.

Ny Teknik Op-Ed: Immigrants in Incubator Solve Problems

1999-11-01T17:18:00.000-08:00

Authored an opinion article in Ny Teknik, the largest Swedish technology business weekly, on the necessity of immigration for the high tech economy, and how a system of incubators may be constructive in this context.

Ny Teknik 11/1999, Circulation: 147 000 copies

Datateknik Op-Ed: Guard the privacy of your location,

1998-09-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

Column in Datateknik 98-14, published 17 Sep 1998. (Original In Swedish)

Guard the privacy of your location, or the future may look like this: I get a great offer from an ISP—Internet Service Provider—for <$150 I get a cell phone with built-in GPS that does everything from measuring my geographical position to letting me participate in video conferences, with one year free use. I fill in a customer profile describing offers I prefer.

Walking down the street I hear a beep. A message on my ‘communicator’ wonders if I am hungry. It is 5:30, and I usually dine at 6.30. Upon opening the message I note a restaurant within 200 meters, offering me something appetizing. The ‘communicator’ wonders if I want to book a table. I accept. I get to speak to a head waiter who satisfies my requests.

My ISP connection is free because their revenues come from corporations who pay to access the database of users’ locations and preferred offers. That list contains more information that you might think. Market analysts tell clients, including the restaurant, about links between interests and personality types with correlation tables showing restaurant preferences. The headwaiter has learned how to satisfy different personality types. Market analysts are critical in building future societies, steering information flow between people who don’t know each other.

Many may not think this looks like a nightmare. I disagree. Information about my geographical position belongs to me and nobody else—my human right, no matter how many other people have no problem sharing that information. We must state—and safeguard—this right before it is eroded. If not, we will get stepped on by our surroundings, while our complaints are brushed off with the usual arguments starting with “But do you really NEED to...” and “Everybody else...”. By the time those in opposition are considered complainers, it will be too late.

Once people get used to their geographical positions being public property it will be hard to stop society from adding control functions, serving citizens via the same data and tools used by the commercial sector. Taxes, for example, can be collected in new ways. A few years ago there were suggestions about GPS-supported fees on private-car use in Stockholm. Why should that not be acceptable, if people let insurance companies demand that cars must carry a GPS-communicator for theft insurance to be valid? It will also be possible to construct completely new surveillance systems. Of course the guiltless will have nothing to hide . . ..

GPS is valuable, development is rapid and systems already in place will endure. We cannot, should not, stop good uses: people under medical watch can carry sensors measuring their condition and GPS-communicators that contact affected physicians/medical institutions.

Amateur boat owners can equip their boats with weather stations and GPS communicators, producing ‘living’ sea maps with accurate data on weather, traffic and mutual safety. For a few hundred dollars anybody may today buy a handheld GPS receiver accurate to a few yards, and prices are falling rapidly. Developers are working on accuracy of inches through fine-monitoring the phaze information of the 1.52-GHz carrier wave that contains the GPS signals from the satellites.

Except for giving exact position, each GPS receiver is a clock providing time as accurately as the atomic clocks in the satellites, so GPS-equipped machines can be synchronized without intercommunication. You may get a parking fine when staying over paid time by a picosecond....

My geographical position should belong to me and to no one else, used by others only with my non-transferable consent, which I should be able to retract at will. Until this is the law, cell phone and Internet providers, and others, should include this in the contractual agreements with users.

David Nordfors
David Nordfors has a Ph.D. in nuclear physics and works at the Knowledge Foundation

Datateknik Op-ed: Smart Cards Await Nuclear Power Debate

1995-02-09T08:47:00.000-08:00

DT-2-95-2.jpg
Originally uploaded by david_nordfors

Datateknik 2 1995. by David Nordfors

Asymmetric cryptoalgorithms are used for banking etc. They build on the multiplication and factorization of prime numbers. Multiplying two large prime numbers is quick, but factorizing the product into the original prime numbers takes an enormous effort. But there is no mathematical proof saying it can't be done with a simple algorithm. Like with nuclear power, the probability is small that something will happen, but if a simple algorithm for factorizing any number into primes appears, it could result in a total meltdown of business if unprepared for.

Datateknik Cover Feature: Image Analysis

1995-02-09T08:34:00.000-08:00

Datateknik 2/95, 9 Feb 1995. Cover feature on image analysis by David Nordfors. Download in PDF: Datateknik%202%201995%20-%20bildanalys.pdf

DT-2-95-1.jpg
Originally uploaded by david_nordfors

Examples of modern image analysis applications: image improvement, image databases, industrial process management, three-dimensional modelling. IBM image database "Ultimedia Manager", interview w IBM researcher Wayne Niblack. GOP - General Operator Processing, interview w prof. Gösta Granlund at Linköping University. Wood industry process management program "Woodeye" by Innovativ Vision, interview with CTO Per Rowa.

Cover Feature: Intelligent Agents With the Right to Act

1994-12-01T12:13:00.000-08:00

Datateknik 19, Dec 1 1994. Cover feature by David Nordfors. (6 pages). Download entire feature as PDF (OCR processed): Datateknik-19-1994-agenter.pdf

Datateknik-19-1994-agenter.pdf

Part 1: Intelligent Agents - programs that act independently

Explanation of autonomous intelligent agents. Distinction between "planning" agents applying top-down methods (traditional AI) and "reflexive" agents applying bottom-up methods (e.g. artificial life).

Telescript agent programming language by General Magic, Apple and AT&T. DAAL language by SICS and Sydkraft for power grid optimization. DA-SoC project for agents on the power grid.

Part 2: Artificial Life: Internet as a digital "wildlife reserve for evolution of agents".

Ecologist and Computer Scientist Tom Ray's digital ecosystem "Tierra", where mutating and evolving computer code sequences compete for space in the primary memory of a computer. Ray's vision of creating a global distributet system on the Internet, where computer programs can evolve through principals of ecology (mutation, recombination), and useful routines may be harvested for human usage.

Part 3: Agents on the Power Grid Take Care of the House

"Societies of Computation" project at the University College of Karlskrona/Ronneby. Autonomous agents n the power grid, using Lonworks technology by Echelon, bidding and purchasing electricity for home owners.

Datateknik Cover Feature: Holographic Storage

1994-09-22T05:40:00.000-07:00

Datateknik 14 1994. By David Nordfors. The whole feature in PDF: Datateknik-14-2004-holografi.pdf

Summary of how holographic storage works, ongoing research at IBM Almaden and commercial startup activity.

Datateknik Cover Feature: Data Compression

1994-01-20T13:44:00.000-08:00

Datateknik 1/1994, January 1994. Cover feature on data compression, by David Nordfors.

Download in pdf:
Datateknik%201%201994%20-%20komprimering.pdf

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Originally uploaded by david_nordfors

Various data compression techniques are explained:
Lossless compression methods vs lossy methods. Transform methods, JPEG (DCT, Fourier), MPEG-1/2, model coding, fractal coding (making collage, iterating until attractor reached), partial band coding, vector quantization.

Interview with Robert Forchheimer.