Archives : November 2008

Does Google's flu-tracker raise privacy issues?

published on 2008/11/23 by Anthony Plewes

Earlier this month Web company Google demonstrated how it could mine its own search tracking database to track the spread of influenza across the US. By analysing certain key search terms such as 'flu symptoms', or 'flu medicine' made within a certain geography, Google is able to track the incidence and spread of flu within a region. Although a search for flu-related symptoms doesn't necessarily mean that the searcher has influenza, there is a remarkable correlation to real illness data. Google compared its historical search data over five years with actual data on flu incidence collected by the US Centers......

Putting the smartness into Smart Cities

published on 2008/11/17 by Dorne Lovegrove

There has been much talk of Smart Cities recently. Orange has been pioneering this concept for some time now, helping property developers throughout the region to enter the profitable world of broadband and telecoms services. If you are interested in how smart homes, intelligent buildings and e-government services are helping to transform life in the Middle East, check out our Briefing Paper. Download smart_cities_business_brief_from_orange_business_services.pdf.pdf In the Gulf alone, there is an estimated $2 trillion of investment committed to new cities, hotels, towers, airports and ports. Increasingly, each development needs something special to differentiate it. Competition for tenants and the need......

Putting the smartness into Smart Cities

published on 2008/11/17 by Dorne Lovegrove

There has been much talk of Smart Cities recently. Orange has been pioneering this concept for some time now, helping property developers throughout the region to enter the profitable world of broadband and telecoms services. If you are interested in how smart homes, intelligent buildings and e-government services are helping to transform life in the Middle East, check out our Briefing Paper. Download smart_cities_business_brief_from_orange_business_services.pdf.pdf In the Gulf alone, there is an estimated $2 trillion of investment committed to new cities, hotels, towers, airports and ports. Increasingly, each development needs something special to differentiate it. Competition for tenants and the need......

Orange innovates part 2

published on 2008/11/17 by Dorne Lovegrove

Some examples of cool stuff emerging from Orange and our partners: Portable papersRead&Go is a digital newspaper developed by Orange in partnership with leading French dailies like Le Monde and L’Equipe. The e-paper is slightly smaller than an A4 sheet, with a 1GB memory and a Wi-Fi and 3G connection that allows it to automatically download content every hour. The Read&Go uses a polarised microbead screen so you don’t need the backlighting of a traditional LCD. This means less eye-sore and longer battery life. There’s a demonstration video at Orange Innovation and another on You Tube. Home LibraryOrange and data......

Orange recognized for innovation

published on 2008/11/17 by Dorne Lovegrove

Orange has been recognized for its leadership in innovation at the recent Innovation Management Trophies event. It was awarded for how we have set up R&D within the group. Orange overhauled its R&D activities in 2005. We now have 18 labs around the world helping to develop new technologies for local markets; we also created the concept of the Technocentre, a centre that combines marking, R&D and information systems expertise within a single location; the Usage Sociology Laboratory to identify and analyze customer behavior and usage innovations; La Cantine, our idea of an open-source ideas sharing space; and the Employee......