Outreach

Invitations and Benefits

Thoughtful Wishing

You offer solutions.  How do they satisfy people who like to think?

The Minciu Sodas laboratory fosters caring about thinking.  We ask people who like to think, what do you wish for?  From their answers, we have created Thoughtful Wishing, a matrix of use cases.

When you enjoy thinking, you are not bound by the simple or the complex, but can dance freely between the two.  Together we will show how your solutions offer a continuum of sophistication.

We are completing work on a very simple modeling language that enables transfer between tools for organizing thoughtsn import/export standard to serve the tools, such as www.thebrain.com and www.mindmanager.com, used by our innovative members.  We have found an audience: the community served by TopicMaps.Org  We have taken the initiative to establish a Use Case subgroup within TopicMaps.Org  We propose to collect a continuum of use cases of various degrees of sophistication.  We can thereby show your clients how your solution fits, bring out new opportunities, introduce new prospects. 

Thinkers: Individual Users | Thinking Management | Corporate Users | Knowledge Management
Software Tools: Toolmakers | Hardware Platforms | Tool Integrators | User Interfaces
Thoughts: Document Management | Storage & Retrieval | Networks of Devices | Synchronizers
Standards: EAI | E-Services | XML

Timeline of Benefits

Thinkers

Individual Users

Thinking Management

Corporate Users

Knowledge Management

John F. Trigg, Technical leader, European AIMS/LIMS programme, Kodak Limited.  Responsible for the electronic notebook used in the Kodak laboratory.

Simon Coles, New Information Paradigms, Designed the Lotus Notes based electronic notebook used in the Kodak laboratory.

Christopher S. Peebles, Associate Vice President, Indiana University.  A technology booster at a very progressive school for technology use in education.

Dr.James W. Doane, Manager, Enterprises Applications, Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  Leading knowledge management initiative.

Carol Bothwell, Vice President, Computer Sciences Corporation.  Heads knowledge management program. Glenn K.Davidson will forward.

Sue Peekna, head of Chicago chapter of the KMCI, and very much interested in the use of PIMs.

Paul S. Penny, Strategic Technologies, paul.penny@stratech.com.  Leader of the K-XML initiative of the KMCI = Knowledge Management Consortium International.

Software Tools

Toolmakers

1. encourage knowledge workers to use software tools to accumulate, arrange and reflect on their ideas/notes, knowing that converters based on our standard will keep notes from getting trapped in products.
2. allow knowledge workers to transfer their notes back and forth between software tools to explore and enjoy the benefits of various tools and their combinations.

• Corporate users who want to learn about your software tools for knowledge work
• Solutions developers who want to integrate or customize your products.
• Technology leaders who want to license your technology.
• Toolmakers who want the market for tools to grow.
• Individual users who want to apply your tools creatively.

W.J. Reedy, Vice President, Transaction Systems, IBM.  Has been helping get in touch with Lotus.

Hardware Platforms

Tool Integrators

User Interfaces

Thoughts

Document Management

Storage & Retrieval

Networks of Devices

Synchronizers

Robin Nijor, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Starfish Software.  They are owned by Motorola, and are the makers of the Starfish Sidekick PIM and synchronization software.

Standards

EAI

E-Services

XML

Some Notes

Dilemma, Solution and Implications

The dilemma that we are addressing is that there are people who would like to use software for arranging their thoughts, but their thoughts get trapped, which is especially problematic when software gets discontinued.  Moreover, competing products are unable to benefit, and the market does not grow enough to be taken seriously by larger companies.  The solution is for us to take the initiative to organize the development of an import/export standard for sequences, hierarchies, and networks of information.  Users will then be able to use converters to transfer their recorded thoughts from one program to another.

Our laboratory needs to understand and help realize the implications of the standard.  The diagram below illustrates the various sectors of the economy that will be affected.  Our research is public, so its chief value is in the relationships it helps build.

I group the various affected sectors based on the roles they might play in our research.  We are open for all to participate.  I think our research will yield best results, and our services will be most valuable, if we target our outreach to individuals and companies that bring new possibilities to our members.

• Beneficiary: Individual Users Our first goal is to solve the import/export problem for individual users neglected by "market forces".  Our research will stay on track if we focus on what benefits individual users, consumers.  We need to think of how we personally might benefit, and invite others who might benefit in unexpected ways.
• Leadership: Thinking Management The Minciu Sodas laboratory provides leadership as a champion for individual thinkers.  We must not devote all of our attention on developing the standard, because our work on other objectives, such as Harmony of Motivation, helps bring out the value of the standard.  We are happy to work with allies, and Steve Raiff and I have drafted a Charter for Alliances.
• Forum: Networks of Devices The Infrared Data Association is a wonderful forum for specifying and establishing our standard.  IrDA, www.irda.org, represents more than one hundred major companies, and the IrDA leadership is ready to help us make contacts for our work.  IrDA has a history of very quick and streamlined approval of standards, and IrDA members are very interested in bringing new consumer applications to market.  Infrared, as a technology for transfering information, encourages person-to-person transfer of information not restricted to any format or output (compare this with the social consequences of web, phone, television, radio, LANs, mail, email, fax, Blue Tooth...).  Our work can help IrDA directly by expanding their membership into new sectors, such as corporate usage and information storage and retrieval.  The Infrared universe currently consists of almost 100 million devices.  I imagine that our standard can do for the Infrared universe what HTML did for the Internet, especially if our standard works for the transfer of aggregates of experiences, as in Irdakiss Me!
• Implementers: Toolmakers, Synchronizers, Tool Integrators  Natrificial Software Technologies, www.thebrain.com, KK Aw, www.multicentric.com, Eugenio Martinez, is a great example of a company that might be
• Catalysts: Corporate Users, Storage & Retrieval, Hardware Platforms, User Interfaces Our research depends sponsors who might demonstarbly benefit as catalysts for building relationships between makers and users of software for organizing notes.    Hewlett-Packard has devoted many resources to putting together the Infrared universe, and with this in mind they are exploring sponsorship of our research.
• Users: Systems Integrators, Knowledge Management, Document Management

• Synchronizers.  Help us transport information from one archive to another, and in between products.  Benefit from more varied and heavy traffic. Puma
• Software makers.  Help us punctuate, manipulate, visualize information.  Benefit from use in corporate environment.  Lotus, Microsoft Outlook.
• Archiving solutions.  Help ensure the longevity of data.  Kodak.

Microsoft, Windows CE
Apple
IrDA
Pacific Gas & Electric Company
Ericsson
Hewlett-Packard
KMCI
Arthur Andersen
EIC
BEA: I spoke with Jena Smith, secretary for Barbara Britton, and will prepare materials for her.
IBM  (Dr.David A.Ferrucci), New York: I wrote a letter and sent my paper. [AK, 9/99]
Indiana University: I spoke over the phone with Christopher Peebles, Associate Vice President, Dean of Academic computing, and sent him my paper.  He invited me to come visit Indiana University.
Oracle
Qualcomm
Starfish "Global Synchronization and Integration of Wireless and Wireline Devices"
Computer Sciences Corporation:
Symbol Technologies:
Sun: Joseph A. Goguen knows one of the founders, Von Pratt, who is teaching at Stanford.
Visto:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory:  Dr.James W.Doane is leading the knowledge management effort.  Returns October 11th.  Can give the web address for their knowledge management document, also help contact person in charge of expert connections. [1999.09.30, AK]
OpenText: Laurie A. Murphy of PSSoftware said they have just purchased her company, and might be interested. [1999.09.30, AK]

IrDA members for 1999 include:

Potential Sponsors

Vishay Telefunken I noticed that members of Vishay, a maker of tranceivers - the hardware component for Infrared transfer - attended our SIG, and I tried to learn what value they may see.  It turns out that they want to support efforts to expand usage of Infrared, and they think our efforts may be very important.  They like the "irdakiss" idea.  I will approach them if they might sponsor our work.  Infrared Data Communication

Their site lists typical user applications, which we might group as follows:
 

Device	Physical Input	Physical Output
Cellular phones	Voice, buttons	Voice, tiny screen
Pagers	Buttons	Vibration, beep, tiny screen
Digital still cameras	Image

Cellular phones, pagers, digital still cameras, video cameras, notebooks, desktop personal computers, Windows CE handheld personal computers, personal digital assistants, dongles, set-top boxes, printers, fax machines, photocopiers, screen projectors, infrared LANs, industrial measurement devices and medical measurement devices.

Hewlett-Packard  I spoke with Pete Bramhall of Hewlett-Packard, who was very generous with his time, and gave me another lead at their labs in Bristol.  Basically, though, not any qualitative progress.

Palm Computing  Micheal Lunsford asked for position paper.