Report 103
A weekly newsletter on creativity, ideas, innovation and invention.
Tuesday, 10 February 2004
Issue 3
Hello and welcome to Report 103, your weekly newsletter on creativity, ideas,
innovation and invention.
CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION IN THE NEWS
Software innovation is dead
Jonathan Love argues, in an article in NewsForge, that software innovation is dead. He points out that there have been no exciting, all new software products to hit the market in recent years. At the same time, he points out, there has been a substantial amount of interesting hardware. I would argue that there has also been some innovation in the delivery of software, in particular software on demand. (software on demand is software that is installed on a remote server. End users access the software via the Internet. Rather than buying the software, end users pay a fee to access – according to their specific needs.)
Love argues that the reason for lack of innovation is largely to do with a lack of motivation among developers. I am not sure I would agree. I believe the problem is that software now replaces or serves most of the administrative functionality of an office: the word processor replaces the typewriter, spreadsheets replace large sheets of paper and calculators, accounting programmes replace ledgers and abacuses, graphic art programmes replace drafting tables and pencils, and so on. Even discussion boards replace gossip at the office coffee machine! Indeed, if you can think of any office function that has not been replaced or supported by software, patent it now!
Love's article can be found at http://www.newsforge.com/programming/04/02/05/1828243.shtml?tid=105&tid=25
Europe invests in innovation
During 2003, the European Investment Bank (EIB) invested some 6.2 billion Euro under the Innovation 2010 Initiative. The Innovation 2010 Initiative aims to increase European investment in Research, Development and Innovation in order to reduce the difference between Europe and its main competitors (in other words: USA). The EIB expects to invest a total of 40 billion Euro by 2010 (hence the name).
Any business or research institute within the EU, countries about to join the EU or the ascension countries can apply for financing for a research, development and innovation project. Typically, organisations can request up to 50% of the cost of the project and look forward to relaxed repayment terms.
For more information, read the EBI's brochure on the Innovation 2010 Initiative
http://www.eib.org/Attachments/thematic/i2i2010_en.pdf
(PDF document: 451 KB). But I recommend you start with this more readable article:
http://www.area.trieste.it/html/press/magazine/29/29_9_en.htm
The EU also funds research projects under the 6th framework programme. More
info at http://fp6.cordis.lu/fp6/home.cfm.
INNOVATION AT JPB.com
Web based BrainStorming software
We've upgraded Jenni Enterprise Idea Management with several new features as the result of feedback from our clients, business partners. Jenni is web based software that helps firms increase their return on ideas (RoI) by allowing everyone in the enterprise to contribute and collaborate on ideas. Jenni also includes a powerful, but easy to use, evaluation tool for determining which ideas will be most effective.
New features include:
The “Genius Directory” is a zone where users can create personal profiles which others in the firm can access. The Genius directory facilitates internal networking and allows users to quickly find colleagues with specific expertise.
Points management allows Management to grant points to contributors of and collaborators on ideas. Points management facilitates rewarding staff who contribute good ideas to the organisation. It also allows more sophisticated reward programmes, allowing users to collect points which can be exchanged for rewards which might be gifts, additional holiday time, attending international conferences or other rewards appropriate to the organisation.
For more information about Jenni, visit http://www.creativejeffrey.com/jenni/index.php
CREATIVITY TIP
Creativity in a pack of index cards
Those who know me know that whenever I leave the home or office, I always have in my pockets a small notepad and at least one pen or pencil. And I have done so since my University days. As a result, whenever and wherever I have an idea, I can quickly write it down. Since I never know when I might be struck by an idea or what may inspire me, these notepads have saved thousands of ideas from being lost. Indeed, until recently, this has been the single most useful creativity tool I know.
However, I recently had an idea (which I promptly noted in my notepad) that carrying a wallet with a dozen index cards in it would be even more effective. The advantage to index cards is that when I return to my office, I can spread them out, categorise them, move them around to see how they look with other ideas and pin good ideas to my bulletin board. Likewise, bad ideas can be promptly disposed of. In short I can do a sort of mind mapping with index cards which makes them even more functional than notepads.
INTERESTING INVETIONS
Adjustable spectacles
A Dutch physicist, Rob van der Heijde, who specialises in the workings of the inner eye has developed a set of adjustable spectacles called “U-Spec”. Unlike most spectacles, which contain a single lens for each eye, the U-Spec has two lenses for each eye. The wearer, simply adjusts the lense for each eye until everything pops into focus.
Because U-Specs will be mass produced rather than custom made for each customer, economies of scale will allow them to be sold at low cost. This makes them ideal for people in developing countries who cannot afford custom made glasses. Better still, because users focus U-Specs themselves, they do not need to have their eyes tested before buying. This is a huge advantage to the rural poor in developing countries – where the nearest optician could be hundreds of kilometres away.
As van der Hiejde is quick to point out, The original concept for adjustable spectacles was patented by Luis Alvarez. However, the patent has recently expired.
More information at http://www.rnw.nl/science/html/040202rf.html
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Family
------
The core concept of the family – a husband and wife marrying forever and raising their children at least until they are old enough to fend for themselves – has remained unchanged since the beginning of recorded time. On the other hand, the changing roles of the family members, expectations of society and sources of stress have all changed dramatically. In the 21st century, it is time to reassess whether or not the traditional family structure remains the best. I am not going to do that reassessment. Rather, I am going to suggest some alternatives for consideration. Some of the alternatives are in fact very old ideas reconsidered.
Marriages are not working. According to the US Census Bureau, about half of all marriages in America end in divorce. In Northern Europe, the rate ranges from around 35 to more than 50% (Finns are the best divorcers). Only Catholic Southern Europe has a low divorce rate. Italy's rate seems admirably low at 10%. However, this is doubtless largely due to the sheer difficulty of obtaining a divorce in Italy.
Interestingly, in countries where parents are involved in choosing spouses for their children, the divorce rates are very low. In Japan, just 1.9% of marriages end in divorce. In Turkey, it is only 6%. This suggests that parents are probably better than their children at choosing the best partner. This is not really surprising. Parents are not blinded by lust or the blind, passionate and often short term love of the future. Parents normally set up their children with their friends' children – and people from the same socio-economic class generally get on better. And, when families from both sides are involved in the marriage process, they are also there to help out when problems arise. However, the children must still have a say in their marriage. Enforced arranged marriages are not a good thing.
As an alternative to an arranged marriage, we should consider temporary marriage contracts of perhaps five years. These would be very business-like, lay out the responsibilities of both sides and clarify how assets are to be divided afterwards. In fact, this sort of thing already exists, albeit without the formal contract. It's called living together. The formal contract, however, would provide greater legal protection and indicate clear responsibilities for each partner.
Children are a problem these days as well. Here in Europe, we are not producing enough of them. The same is true in a lot of developed countries. And when we do have children and get divorced, there are problems for the children and the parents. Moreover, as most families now comprise two working parents, giving the children proper care when they are young is difficult.
Here in Belgium, we are blessed with a state school system that starts at age 2.5 years. Moreover, almost every school offers very low cost, daily, supervised play until around 6:00 in the evening. For children under 2.5 years, there are numerous crèches, many with sliding rate scales offering the lowest fees to families with low incomes. So, parents can work knowing their children are being cared for. Why not take this one step further and provide state funded child care for all children from the age of three months? Moreover, these could be designed for long term, loving care; for example with children staying with the same team of caregivers for years.
If parents know that their children will get quality, loving care at little or no cost, they are more likely to have children. If children are receiving consistent care from a loving team, they will be less disrupted in the event of a divorce. Parents, regardless of their marital status would still be very much involved in the raising of their children. Only the responsibility of daily care would be taken off their hands.
Perhaps in summary, I should point out that I have been married for nearly ten years to a wife from a completely different socio-economic class and culture and am very much involved in the day to day care of my children. My wife would probably clobber me if she saw this column!
Happy thinking,
Jeffrey Baumgartner
