=============================================================
Thank you for subscribing to the SRIC-BI News mailing list.

This is a read-only mailing list alerting you to recent
news at SRI Consulting Business Intelligence (SRIC-BI).
To unsubscribe, please visit http://www.sric-bi.com/unsubscribe.shtml
=============================================================


In this issue. . .

* Consumers and Communications Technologies
* The Networked World
* The Human Face of Bankruptcy
* Genetic Programming 
* Online Learning Europe 2001
* The Postgenomics Era
* Mixed Messages in E-Commerce
* Thixoforming
* New Elbows for Robots
* The All-Important Customer
* The End of Moore’s Law?
* Marketplace Communities


----------------------------------------------------------
(Full text of SRIC-BI publications is available to
sponsoring clients only.  To find out if your company is a
sponsor, please visit http://www.sric-bi.com/info.shtml.)
----------------------------------------------------------


Consumers and Communications Technologies

How do today’s consumers view the Internet, computers, and
other communications devices? SRIC-BI’s VALS™ Program is
launching its LeadingEdge 2001 survey to explore
relationships between consumers’ technology use and their
psychological traits. Subscribers can use the insights to
develop effective marketing and product-development 
strategies.


The Networked World

Pervasive computing—the ubiquitous networking of computing
devices—is decades away, but early concepts are already
here. The increase in the number of computers per person, 
miniaturization of processing chips, and new storage
concepts are all components of this early infrastructure.
Timing will be everything for companies wanting to
participate in the networked world of the future.
(Pervasive Computing)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B293.shtml#2314


The Human Face of Bankruptcy 

Do people use bankruptcy to hide assets or avoid paying
debts, as recent congressional debates suggested? A look at
ten years of data on bankrupt households suggests not. Most 
bankrupt consumers report feelings of failure at their
inability to keep their heads above water. Their financial
problems also make them skittish about dealing with
financial institutions. (Bankruptcy Is Failure)
http://www.sric-bi.com/CFD/MRsummaries/MR.V-3.shtml


Genetic Programming

One of the most difficult challenges in computer science is
to prompt a computer to do something without specifically
telling it what to do. The developing field of genetic 
programming—by applying principles of Darwinian
selection—teaches computers automatically to generate a
working computer program from a high-level problem 
statement. (March Knowledge-Based Systems Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/KBS.shtml


Online Learning Europe 2001

eLearning has come a long way in recent years, according to
speakers at the Online Learning Europe conference. However,
relatively few companies use eLearning technology 
extensively. In Europe, the drive for standards and
participation by the European Commission are important
issues. Europeans also hope to lead the way in mobile 
eLearning. (LoD Travel Report, March 2001)
http://www.sric-bi.com/LoD/travelreports.shtml


The Postgenomics Era

Now that the Human Genome Project has given us an inventory
of gene parts, the hard task begins: determining the role
these parts play in health and disease. Two new fields will 
dominate in this postgenomics work: Proteomics will provide
a snapshot of the proteins in a biological sample, and
structural genomics will attempt to detect proteins in
minute biological environments. (The Postgenomics Era:
Proteomics and Structural Genomics)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B293.shtml#2315
 

Mixed Messages in E-Commerce

The Internet allows businesses to bypass intermediaries and
connect directly with their customers. Yet new electronic
intermediaries, such as e-marketplaces, have emerged to 
link buyers and sellers. Both business models are likely to
survive because players need to use multiple models and
channels to reach their customers effectively. (March
Internet Commerce Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/IC.shtml


Thixoforming

Thixoforming is a novel process that competes with
traditional manufacturing processes by shaping metals while
they are in the semisolid state. Already a fixture in
automotive applications, the process is finding new life in
the manufacture of load-bearing components, development of
alloys, and materials recycling. (March Metal-/
Intermetallic-Matrix Composites Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/MMC.shtml


New Elbows for Robots

Engineers at the Johns Hopkins University have created a new
kind of motor that can roll in any direction rather than
rotate on a single axis only. The spherical motor, which
houses a ball-like magnetic structure and electromagnets,
allows robotic arms to work like ball-in-socket joints. As a
result, robots need only a small fraction of the number of
motors they need today to operate “elbow” joints. (March
Robotics Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/ROBO.shtml


The All-Important Customer

By integrating customer-relationship management into their
overall market strategies, companies like Coca-Cola and Nike
often outperform competitors whose products are better,
cheaper, or both. CRM can be a headache because it calls for
integrating many data sources. However, the payoffs
are great: increased revenue, lower costs, better customer
retention, and smarter business decisions. (Customer-Relationship 
Management: Strategy and Implementation)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B293.shtml#2313


The End of Moore’s Law? 

Gordon Moore of Intel achieved a measure of immortality by
observing that chip density doubles every 18 months. But
recent signs suggest that Moore’s Law, which has held up 
for almost two decades, is not immutable. Much depends on
what technology replaces optical lithography, how small a
CMOS transistor can be, and how IC manufacturers solve 
interconnection challenges. (Twenty-First-Century Moore’s
Law: The IC Industry in Transition)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B293.shtml#2316


Marketplace Communities

Marketplaces have been gathering places for centuries, so we
should not be surprised that virtual marketplaces are now
springing up online for every industry. How can online 
communities mimic the best qualities of brick-and-mortar
communities while harnessing the special benefits of
technology? (Exploring Marketplace Communities)
http://www.sric-bi.com/BIP/Bulletin/B293.shtml#2317


----------------------------------------------------------
Visit the Web site: http://www.sric-bi.com .

Copyright 2001 by SRI Consulting Business Intelligence.