I mentioned in the previous post on the earthquake how useful it was to be able to get automatically updating reports more or less as soon as they were posted, thanks to Google’s real-time search results. You’ll likely know that all you need to do, once your Google search results are returned, is click “latest” in the menu to the left, to get time-ordered results that are dynamically refreshed, i.e. with no need to reload the page in the browser.

Even easier is to use the bookmarklet created by Marshall Kirkpatrick, the lead writer at ReadWriteWeb.com. You can find . . . [more]

Wikipedia records the event, before the mainstream or electronic media.

Quake hit at 13:45 EST

Twitter feeds start reporting 13:50

Wikipedia entry for Ottawa edited to show quake 13:51

Globe and Mail reports quake 13:56 . . . [more]

I’m on a panel tonight at the Ivey Business School talking about trends and opportunities in social media. I’ll be talking about legal and privacy issues.

Some of the risks that come with social media arise from its newness. There seems to be two opposing (and apparently inconsistent) factors at play whenever anything new arises. 

First, when something new comes along, people often don’t put it in the proper context, and forget all the old rules. For example, people might make a comment on a blog or facebook that reveals something confidential, even though that same person would never have . . . [more]

HBR’s blog post “How Cloud Computing Can Transform Business” (June 4) provides a clear brief overview of cloud computing and its benefits to organizations. It argues that cloud computing’s low cost and agility allow it to deliver real business value. The post goes on to provide the definition of cloud computing and its five main characteristics according to the National Institute of Standards and Testing, part of the US Department of Commerce:

• On-demand self service.
• Broad network access, mobile and multi-device.
• Resource pooling.
• Rapid elasticity.
• Measured service.

It illustrates how Silicon Valley Education Foundation’s use of cloud computing . . . [more]

This week in biotech, regulators ran amok.

On the plus side, the FDA approved two new drugs this past week, including one — prostate cancer drug Jevtana — months ahead of the FDA’s deadline.

The FDA also moved this week to regulate LDTs (laboratory developed tests) more closely. Most direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic tests fall into this category, and a series of letters from the FDA to DTC manufacturers last week is evolving into broader action.

Health Canada also took action this week, with the goal of soliciting reports of adverse drug reactions directly from patients. Unfortunately, the benefits . . . [more]

Google Docs has introduced a three-level system of privacy for documents stored in its cloud. Sensibly, the default level is “private,” which means only the account holder can get access to the document.

The next level is “anyone with a link.” This is the novelty, allowing you to share your Google document by sending a link; the system it replaced required you to email formal invitations to particular recipients. Now, as the label indicates, anyone who knows the link can see your document. Google analogizes this to an unlisted phone number, which relies on secrecy for security. Here is where . . . [more]

The Quebec Bar Association has revamped its website.

The Association conducted a survey of the general population and opted for clearer language and for a simplified presentation of information, both for lawyers and the general public.

The website also has a virtual tour guide Isabelle, who appears on different pages to help the public understand the services the Bar has to offer. As part of its outreach efforts, the Bar is also active on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and co-produces a TV series Le Droit de savoir with the educational broadcaster Télé-Québec. . . . [more]

Google TV brings the internet to the box. Surely work will follow.

Microsoft has just formally launched a new gesture based controller for the Xbox called Kinect (formerly known as Natal) to go on sale November 4. And a new, more compact version of the X-box.

So what has this got to do with the office?

For now, this device can only be used with an Xbox – but there is no reason that the same technology could not be used with a PC for a Minority Report like interface. Indeed, there is evidence that Microsoft has this in mind.

For now, here are some ideas for how business might use the . . . [more]

Sad news from St John’s, and some truly shocking footage here, of the destruction by fire of Roebothan McKay and Marshall the law firm that was the pre-political home of Premier Danny Williams. The building has now been demolished.

And the hopeful news that their servers were fully backed up on Friday and that the firm will be operating out of temporary premises and reopening soon.

Think that disaster planning is just for big firms? Think that fire – or flood – or earthquake couldn’t happen to you?

Here are resources to start your own plan, or to dust off, . . . [more]

On Friday, I attended the amazing workshop Digital Odyssey 2010 – Going Mobile, held by the Ontario Library and Information Technology Association. Focused on how to develop information/library services and products in a mobile environment, the individual sessions discussed augmented reality, QR code, designing for mobile, ebooks, and more. Jason Griffey, keynote speaker, discussed why the mobile world is important and why we should be thinking about it. Here are some highlights from his session:

• 4.1 billion people on the planet have cellphones.
• More cellphones and cellphone contracts than people in some countries. People are carrying multiple devices.

. . . [more]

This week in biotech, indirect effects were predominant.

The generally poor performance of most recent biotech IPOs has indirectly boosted M&A activity. Only 1 of 8 U.S. biotech IPOs in 2010 is currently trading above its IPO price. IMRIS was the last Canadian biotech IPO, completed in November 2007 at $6.00, and it is currently trading at $5.50. M&A exits are healthy, though, with two recent sales at decent prices.

As we pass the 10-year anniversary of the sequencing of the first human genome, some say we have little to show for it. Part of the reason the . . . [more]