Estonia is a small country in northern Europe that has about as many people as Hawaii; it became a global leader in technology, though. Here’s the valuable lesson for the world.

Estonia, a former Soviet republic, is now often considered one of the leading digital centers of the world (some call it “E-Stonia” as a result). People vote online, people do their tax returns in moments via mobile (and get their… Continue Reading

The two “next big things” for tech are the mobile space and data. As such, is Facebook about to overtake Google?

You can certainly make a case that the Internet/tech world is shifting a bit. Mobile is “the next big thing,” and that space hurts Google — phrased simply, there’s less space for ads; phrased in a more complicated way, Google does know what… Continue Reading

Honda (a car company) and UC-Davis just built a smart home together. Wait, why?

Our homes + our cars = 44 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. So what if the two were synced up — as part of the emerging “Internet of Things” or “smart grid” — in an effort to get to zero-carbon… Continue Reading

Two sides of how far the world has evolved, in one airport trip

Yesterday I had to fly from Charlotte to Chicago, then Chicago to Minneapolis (the way out had been direct). It was one of those situations where, as Plane No. 1 lands and taxis forever, you start to get nervous —… Continue Reading

Arturo Vittori, Andreas Vogler, and whether Warka Water could be the future in the developing world

The state of running water and sanitation in the world isn’t great, and while big names like Bill Gates and Matt Damon have donated time and money to the efforts, they can still be costly. The newest version of the Gates toilets… Continue Reading

5

Could a Boston-based company called XL Hybrids help change the world (and the climate)?

XL Hybrids is a company out of Boston that, right there on their homepage, will promise a 20 percent reduction in urban fuel consumption. The business media is on board: Fast Company just had them as the third-most innovative energy company in… Continue Reading

Maybe something called Slack could revolutionize the workplace

So many people you meet will spend time pursuing/chasing “Inbox Zero,” denoting it as a badge of accomplishment. But then, er, IBM has done studies indicating that a clean, organized inbox holds no essential benefit. Maybe it’s better to not organize… Continue Reading

Can we generate electricity from the oceans? Well, for damn sure China is going to try.

Actually this does happen around the world, but very rarely is it ever successful. Here’s the essential challenge: Their quest has been to create a machine that’s tough enough to withstand the constant pressure of surging water, yet sensitive enough to harness that… Continue Reading