Core Patterns for Web Permissions
Google engEDU
56 min – Jul 19, 2006

Google TechTalks
July 19, 2006

Tyler Close

Visiting Scientist Hewlett-Packard Laboratories

Mr. Close is a researcher and developer, working in the field of secure, multi-user, distributed applications since 1998.

ABSTRACT
In Authorization Based Access Control (ABAC) systems built with object-capabilities, an access policy is expressed by the shape of a reference graph: what a user can do is determined by where they are in the reference graph and what other parts of the graph are reachable from that point. By applying some basic cryptography to create links that act as "webkeys", we can construct URL graphs that are compatible with today’s WWW infrastructure and additionally provide the properties of distributed capabilities. Webkeys enable users to achieve password-free fine-grain access control implicitly, simply by sending one another links to the pages they want to share. The webkey approach simultaneously provides developers with a powerful, and readily audited, access-control model.

In this talk, we’ll study the implementation of the CapWiki, which can serve as a private data space, a locally shared data space, a blog, and a wiki, simply by varying which links have been distributed to which people. Read the rest of this entry »

Change your Mind Change your Brain: The Inner Conditions for Authentic Happiness
Google engEDU
59 min – Mar 15, 2007

Google Tech Talks
March 15, 2007

ABSTRACT

If happiness is an inner state, influenced by external conditions but not dependent on them, how can we achieve it? Ricard will examine the inner and outer factors that increase or diminish our sense of well-being, dissect the underlying mechanisms of happiness, and lead us to a way of looking at the mind itself based on his book, Happiness: A Guide to Life’s Most Important Skill and from the research in neuroscience on the effect of mind-training on the brain.

Speaker Bio: Matthieu Ricard, a gifted scientist turned Buddhist monk, is a best selling author, translator, and photographer. He has lived and studied in the Himalayas for the last 35 years where he currently works on humanitarian projects. He is an active participant in the current scientific research on meditation and the brain. Read the rest of this entry »

Wilderness Survival: Building and using a wilderness survival kit
Google engEDU
1 hr 5 min – Jan 18, 2007

Google Tech Talks
January 18, 2007

ABSTRACT

We’ll cover:
-approapriate attire for wilderness activities ("cotton kills")
-how not to get lost

Once lost:
-signaling for assistance (both day and night)
-building land markers to indicate direction
-choosing a location for shelter
-building shelters
-finding and purifying water
-basic medical kit and its use
-basic land navigation (and direction determination) without a compass
-also, well cover "child SAR", so parents are encouraged to attend Read the rest of this entry »

Impact of Technology on Reducing Poverty and Alleviating Social Issues in India
Google engEDU
58 min – Jun 7, 2006

Google TechTalks
June 7, 2006

B. Ramalinga Raju and Venkat Changavalli

ABSTRACT
India is booming with visionary initiatives to transform rural India and its poor. This tech talk tells the story of one corporation that is leveraging its core competency to address the issues.

Satyam group of Industries took on new missions starting in 2001 – to serve and transform the "Bottom of the Pyramid" – a phrase coined by Prof. C.K. Prahalad. Driven by the vision of Mr. Ramalinga Raju and his family, Satyam is forging ahead on three different fronts:

The Byrraju Foundation: has developed a model of transforming villages into self sufficient commercial societies. To date this initiative has transformed the lives of ~2M people.

Gram-IT: A model to take BPO jobs to the villages where loyalty is high, costs are extremely low and the success of which will transform the global service industry yet again.

EMRI: A 911 analog (108 in India) which has innovated and deployed a model of bringing emergency services at <$1 per incident. In the short six months the program has saved an estimated 1500 lives. Read the rest of this entry »

Better Than Ethanol? BTL in plug-in hybrid diesel vehicles
Google engEDU
1 hr 7 min – Sep 20, 2006

Google Tech Talks
September 20, 2006

Reed M. Benet
Biofuels Focused Ph.D. Student University of California Davis Institute of Transportation Studies
Consultant to The Energy Foundation, Chevron, Nissan
10 Years Founding, Funding, Consulting to or Leading Venture Capital Backed Life Sciences, High-Tech or Energy-Tech Co’s
Europe Finance & Operations
5 Years USMC Infantry Officer

Harvard MBA (Entrepreneurship)
Princeton B.A. (Politics)

ABSTRACT
Speaker proposes that plug-in hybrid diesel vehicles (versus gasoline variants) combined with biomass-to-liquid gasification and fischer-tropsch diesel fuels (versus ethanol, cellulosic or otherwise) is the best holistic and medium- to long-term solution for our foreign source petroleum dependence and transportation accelerated global warming and other environmental damages. Provides a whirlwind historical and prospective tour of transportation, vehicles, fuels, infrastructure, business models, motivations and options. Read the rest of this entry »