SplicedFeed

China Leaps to Second Spot in Global Science [Paul Kedrosky's Infectious Greed]

2009-11-21T12:50:22-08:00

The latest Thomson ISI science data shows that China has leaped to second-spot worldwide in academic science, as measured by papers produced. The U.S. still leads the way, at 340,000 publications per year (not shown), but China could surpass U.S. production within five years at current rates of relative growth.

Of course, paper production is only one measure. Citations matter at least as much, and that isn’t captured here. Nevertheless, it is striking stuff

[via Thomson]

Weekend Readings: Chess, Rhodes Scholars, Trade, etc. [Paul Kedrosky's Infectious Greed]

2009-11-21T12:32:35-08:00

• Zipf law in the popularity distribution of chess openings (arXiv)
• Losing Rhodes scholars to Wall Street's siren call (WashPost)
• China and the U.S. lecturing each other on trade (Pettis)
• Staking out the middle ground on energy supply (Peak Watch)
• Animated county-by-county map of U.S. unemployment (AO)
• Latest issue of Chance for we probability and stats geeks (Chance)
• Where the Wild Things Were: Declining wildness and its consequences (Foreign Policy)
• Permafrost thaw threatens Russia oil and gas complex (AFP)

A pile of crushed ice outside the skating rink this morning [BijanBlog]

2009-11-21T12:00:00-08:00

A pile of crushed ice outside the skating rink this morning

Watch The Country Get Fired: Unemployment By County 2007-2009 [Silicon Alley Insider]

2009-11-21T08:48:00-08:00

An amazing time-lapse graphic by Latoya Egwuekwe showing the 2007-2009 plunge to 10% unemployment.�

Nothing much happens in the early months.� But then late 2008 comes around and everything really gets going...

Click through and press "play" >

Join the conversation about this story �

See Also:

• 10%+ Unemployment Through 2015, Says Mish
• Rosenberg: Here's Why Unemployment Is Going To 13%
• Siegel: Unemployment Has Pretty Much Peaked

Exclusive: Zynga Says Offers Are Just 10% Of Revenues [Silicon Alley Insider]

2009-11-21T07:41:00-08:00

In a new disclosure,� Zynga tells us it makes 90% of its revenues from gamers putting their own money into the system to buy virtual goods.

Zynga says 10% of its revenues come from "offers" marketing, where sponsors agree to buy virtual goods for gamers, so long as those gamers agree to try a product.

Read the rest of this story �

See Also:

• Facebook Named In Federal Class-Action Suit Over Scammy Zynga Ads
• Zynga Raises $15 Million
• Zynga CEO Mark Pincus: “I Did Every Horrible Thing In The Book Just To Get Revenues”

"Email is not going to disappear. Possibly ever. Until the robots kill us all." [BijanBlog]

2009-11-21T07:21:52-08:00

“Email is not going to disappear. Possibly ever. Until the robots kill us all.”

- Paul Bucchheit http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/20/gmail-creator-thinks-email-will-last-forever-and-hasnt-tried-google-wave/

Fighting an Asymmetrical Cyber War– Why We Need to Take A Different Approach [pascalsview]

2009-11-21T07:08:30-08:00

The current issue of Foreign Affairs features an important essay by Wesley Clark and Peter Levin (see bios below), Securing the Information Highway- How to Enhance the United States’ Electronic Defenses.  General Clark and Mr. Levin not only succinctly summarize the fact that America remains “an easy target”, especially for “electronically advanced adversaries”, they spend [...]The current issue of Foreign Affairs features an important essay by Wesley Clark and Peter Levin (see bios below), Securing the Information Highway- How to Enhance the United States’ Electronic Defenses.  General Clark and Mr. Levin not only succinctly summarize the fact that America remains “an easy target”, especially for “electronically advanced adversaries”, they spend a considerable amount of time on the topic of supply chain assurance and the massive challenges associated with securing computer chips– the true guts of our nation’s IT hardware critical infrastructure. At the outset, the authors affirm a stark reality: “There is no form of military combat more irregular than an electronic attack: it is extremely cheap, is very fast, can be carried out anonymously, and can disrupt or deny critical services precisely at the moment of maximum peril. Everything about the subtlety, complexity, and effectiveness of the assaults already inflicted on the United States’ electronic defenses indicates that other nations have thought carefully about this form of combat. Disturbingly, they seem to understand the vulnerabilities of the United States’ network infrastructure better than many Americans do.” The most challenging part of the cybersecurity assurance equation from their perspective, with which I agree, is verification at the integrated circuity (IC) level: “At the rate of one transistor per second, it would take one person 75 years to inspect the transistors on just two devices. . . . finding a few tainted transistors among so many is an exceedingly tedious, difficult, and error-prone task, and in principle an entire electronic system of many chips can be undermined by just a few rogue transistors. … An apparently perfect device can provide a safe harbor for numerous threats– in the form of old and vulnerable chip designs, Trojan horses, or kill switches– that are difficult or impossible to detect.” Turning to solutions, the authors make a compelling case for an open-source approach to creating an immunization system for U.S. networks, an approach that is very different from the current path that the U.S. is following.  They also point to the fact that a significant tactical advantage enjoyed by adversaries planning cyberattacks on the U.S. is due to two factors, principally  “Americans’ false sense of security: the self-delusion that since nothing terrible has happened to the country’s IT infrastructure, nothing will.”  Second only to this, they point out that “the passage of time will allow adversaries and cybercriminals to optimize the stealth and destructiveness of their weapons; the longer the U.S. government waits, the more devastating the eventual assault is likely to be.” I strongly support their assertion that “in addition to building diverse, resilient IT infrastructure, it is crucial to secure the supply chain for hardware.”  They make the very important point that “it makes sense now– just as it made sense during the Clinton years– to purchase components, even those made offshore.  The problem is not foreign sourcing; it is ensuring that foreign-made products are authentic and secure.” While they do not mention it explicitly, the authors clearly are calling attention to the flawed logic behind the United States’ Trusted Foundry program, which is based on the assumpt[...]

peHUB Rewind [privateequityHUB]

2009-11-21T07:00:29-08:00

Here's a look at the last week's worth of scoops, data, and analysis from the peHUB team. Catch up on what you missed before it goes behind our paywall... All First Reads | All Second Opinions 10 Largest VC-Backed M&A Exits of 2009 Voxeo - A Recapitalized Dotcom Mayfield On Voxeo: No Regrets VCs Duel On Healthcare Reform TL Ventures Dispute Heads To Arbitration (And Then Back to Court) Mid-Market Exit Three-Peat Today in 3Com: Clowns to the Left, Jokers to the Right NVCA Seeks Tweets Sin is In: Golden Gate Eyes Playboy Bump On The Road To Smart Grids - A Lawsuit Jason Calacanis To Start New Angel Group 5 Questions with SBIC Expert Chuck Morton EnCap Plotting Fund Eight; Halfway to Target on Infrastructure Pool Natural Resources Fund Looks To $1B Close Trying to Compete Against Google

This whole Spitzer hullabaloo has me thinking about legacy.� The New York Times put up an interactive timeline, “Milestones in an Ambitious Career,” that curtly sums the New York Governor’s key career moments into a few pictures and captions.� Here’s the headlining snippet:

“Eliot Spitzer’s journey from Harvard Law School to the highest office in New York state was marked by drive, ambition and [sic] string of successful prosecutions as the state’s attorney general.� But as governor, he stumbled repeatedly and faced humiliation after being linked to a prostitution ring.”

Full stop.� I sure hope Governor Spitzer gets a shot at a third sentence to his legacy.

It’s worth thinking about how one gets described and how we describe ourselves.� The venture industry is pretty unique in that almost every investment professional’s bio is online and readily available.� Ultimately, of course, these are sales pitches (primarily to entrepreneurs).� But some of them hint at or even nail down a legacy; consider John Doerr’s inclusion that his and his partners’ investments have created 150,000 new jobs(!).

What role does the self-described legacy, though, have on the impression of others?� Well, perhaps it’s a guideline (and sometimes a revelation of where one stands on the ego continuum).� Doerr frames himself as a champion of economic development rather than an all-star VC.

The venture industry teaches us to distill a company’s offering into one or two sentences.� How many more does an individual get?� Amazingly, even as our lives become more and more “discoverable” with traces of us digitally archived all over, one’s legacy is, with rare exception, going to be a couple simple sound bites.� One might say, “Tread carefully.”� But I guess I’m more a fan of “give it your damndest and stick to your values.”� What will your two (or three) sentences be?� Worth pondering…

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