TED conference makes videos available free online

TED, known for its annual invitation-only summit of the "world's brightest minds," today made high-resolution videos of more than 100 full-length TED talks available free on its new website.

TED.com's impressive new design includes an innovative custom video player. Shown here (click to play): Ray Kurzweil's TED 2006 talk, "How technology's accelerating power will transform us")

This is an important moment in TED's history," said Chris Anderson, Curator of TED. "With the launch of our new website we're really saying to the world: We want to share with you our best content for free, and we want you to connect with like-minded people inspired by these talks. In other words, we see the site as a way of dramatically expanding our community from the 1000 people who attend the conference to millions of knowledge seekers around the globe."

KurzweilAI.net, April 16, 2007

Nanotechnology Takes Off

What's 100,000 times thinner than a strand of hair? A nanometer. Discover the nanotech boom in Berkeley, where researchers are working to unlock the potential of nanoscience to battle global warming and disease.

KQED Quest

Acceleration Studies Foundation slide shows

Here are some excellent slide shows that will engage your mind and imagination. They are selected PowerPoint presentations by Accelerating Studies Foundation president John Smart. More may be found at his personal site.

If you don't have Microsoft's Powerpoint software I suggest you download the free Open Office Suite. It can display and save documents in Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, etc., as well as it's own, often superior, formats.

Here are some titles to some of the many slide shows found here:

• Adapting to the Future (249 slides, 19MB) Slides component of a daylong workshop with NASIC staff on guiding accelerating change for strategic advantage. May 2006
  
• Stanford Singularity Summit: Searching for the Big Picture (90 slides, 8MB) A three part framework for understanding and guiding accelerating change. Apr 2006
  
• POST Command College: Accelerating Change, Foresight and Evo Devo (153 slides, 9MB) Assumptions, models, studies, skillsets, domains, and systems relevant to accelerating change. Jan 2006
  
• Medicine Meets Virtual Reality 14: Accelerating Change Toolkit (147 slides, 6MB) Assumptions, processes, studies, skillsets, domains, trends, and scenarios in accelerating change. For physician-innovators. Nov 2005
  
• Tamkang University: How to be a Strategic Futurist (169 slides, 6MB) An integral approach to predicting, managing, and creating our accelerating future. For futurists.

ASF: Slide Presentations

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Domo the Magnificent

Go to Bed Bath and Beyond and similar stores today and you may buy a little robot that will vacuum your house. Robotic vacuum cleaners, mops and pool cleaners are already available. That is not all that robots can do today. The April 11, 2007 edition of  from San Hose, California, touts Domo.

Watch the humanoid robot named Domo. Domo can make a stiff drink. He can put away groceries, shake hands, and, if properly prompted, give a person a hug. Not that remarkable, except for one thing: Domo is a real, live humanoid robot. And he may fascinate you or creep you out. But there is no doubt: Domo is the future. According to the Mercury News, Domo won't be going on sale at Amazon.com anytime soon. His inventor, Aaron Edsinger, an MIT postdoctoral associate, thinks it could take years before it makes economic sense to mass produce full-fledged humanoid robots.

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TEDTalks / Inspiring videos

TEDTalks is an excellent online video resource if you want to hear short (20 minute or so) inspiration talks by cutting edge leaders in the fields of design, education, and technology. Listen to 3 of them in a row and see how you learn something new and get inspired.

Rick Warren is the one religious leader I have found among the many videos. Pastor Rick Warren is author of The Purpose-Driven Life, which has sold 30 million copies worldwide. (Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 21:46) Watch Online

TEDTalks (audio, video)

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