Nanotechnology *

Recently we have been hearing the term “nanotechnology” a lot, but only a few people know what it really means. Actually, it’s been a part of people’s lives for a long time, mainly in electronic components, and it can include everything from computers to medical devices as well as numerous other hightech items. The term nanotechnology comes from a simple term referring to measurements, a measure like any other, such as a meter or centimeter. However, a “nanometer” is the smallest measurement imaginable -- it’s equivalent to one billionth of a meter.

The field of nanotechnology started with Richard P. Feynman, a 20th century American physicist, who first introduced the term in a lecture he gave in 1959. The term was translated into a concept in 1974, when it was used to describe technologies that would require the construction of materials on the scale of a nanometer. Nanotechnology is based on the potential ability to create things in the smallest possible size, using techniques and tools that try to put every atom and molecule in its desired place, which, if successful, results in technology components so small no humans can see them.

Currently, nanotechnology is being applied to hundreds of products and is a major element used in computer processors. There are applications of nanotechnology in medicine, chemistry, quantum physics, and the industries that create aerospace prototypes, oil refineries, etc. Some examples of nanotechnology products in use today are: automobile paint to reduce scratches and dirt; stain-resistant fabrics that don’t wrinkle; “nano-glue” that can stick any material to another; and products that clean toxic residue. In medicine, nanotechnology is now being used to make catheters, heart valves, pacemakers, orthopedic implants, etc.

It is believed nanotechnology will lead to further developments and perhaps even an unprecedented revolution in areas such as detection and treatment of diseases, production and transport of electricity, radiation emission detection, information technology, production, storage and energy consumption, and treatment of pollutants. It’s even possible the basic component of computer chips, called silicon, could be replaced by this new technology.

Much more remains to be discovered in nanotechnology. For example, more research is necessary into this promising new field to combat some of its potential problems such as nano-pollution from nano-materials or nano-particles, released during the formation process ,which can be very dangerous, as they float easily in the air due to their small size and lightness and can enter the cells of humans, animals, and plants. Since most of these nano-pollutants do not exist in nature, living tissue cells are unlikely to have the appropriate resistance, which might cause as yet unknown types of damage. Nevertheless, this is just the beginning of nanotechnology, and it holds great promise as one of the major discoveries of the modern world.

* Article published on Curitiba in English.

Focus on Social Networks

The connection allows that people have voice and be heard. Tools like webinars, webcasts, galleries, podcasts, whitepaper  news, interviews and many others, all are connected. Share of information with friends and family is a universal wish, and goes much far from the physical limits imposed by the paper.

The people start to share their values, after the companies share their ideal, and this become accessible and change the relation among people and companies. You were a reader, now you are a publisher, and this changes the way the way we are used to.

So thinking this way, we see in the last few years a revolution the way we get novelties, look for something and and it all comes down to connection, be connected. Recently what we have heard more is about Social Networks, and thinking about this, Deloitte published a study showing more than 70% of companies in the research use or monitor these environments. More than this, the study points interaction more than only marketing that still domains the scenario.

These are the most initiatives explored by companies using social networks. Questions with multiple choices.

The main obstacles hindering the success of social media.










The tools more used by companies that use social medias.

Trend of investment in social media for the next 12 months.

Some weeks ago, it was launched by Google the new social network called Google Plus (or Google+). Below we can have the real visibility how fast are getting the adoption of new players.

Number of Internet users in Brazil reached almost 60 million

According to numbers from the Institute of research Ibope Nielsen Online, more than 55 million of Brazilians accessed the internet from home. But the total of people with access on the internet from at work or household reached the 58.6 million people in May 2011.

Of those with access at work or in households, were 45.7 million active users, an increase of 6.8% over the previous month and 23% compared with 37.3 million in May 2010. The growth of Internet use in households is even greater, of the 55.5 million people, the number of active users in May 2011 reached 37.2 million, or 30% more than the 28.5 million in May 2010. In two years, the total monthly active users grew 46% in residences.

The access to the internet in any environment (households, workplaces, schools, internet cafes or other places) reached 73.9 million people according to the research in the forth quarter of 2010.

Music on the Internet: Legal or illegal? *

The habit of downloading music on the Internet has been growing year-by-year for several reasons, mainly due to the rapid and easy methods for obtaining a song and listening to it in different formats anywhere. However, the music industry has suffered a "knockout" on its revenue, which is shrinking due to this spread of music piracy thanks to street vendors and the Internet, with websites of content exchange.

In fact, the typical Internet music customer has adapted much faster than the music industry to the various music formats and other digital media such as CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray, iPod, Digital TV and the Internet offerings such as Web Radio, Mobile Radio, iTunes and Video. The music industry has not adapted fast enough to the business model of the digital world, and it has paid the price for this lag by allowing room for a culture of “unofficial” downloads of their music. Unofficial downloading, which is basically illegal, has decreased the size of the official music industry to only 30 percent of its size ten years ago.

Recently, music companies have understood that customers are willing to pay a fair price for digital music, which can be recorded on all available devices without concern for formats, rights and usage permission. The reality of the music world today is that many people have stopped buying CDs and are making their purchases of music online, not because they don’t want to pay, but simply because their habits and desires have changed. Online music is easy, convenient, comfortable and portable. The iTunes Store and Amazon MP3 are great examples of the success of online music.

It is estimated that in 2012, the worldwide sales of music online will overtake CDs. Brazil is one of the countries where the legal music business suffers the most from piracy. This is happening for one simple reason - there is no easy, accessible service fitting the consumer’s needs that sells digital music. As a result, artists and entrepreneurs have begun investing in different online models to provide songs that may cost as little as 10 cents as a way of boosting sales and avoiding piracy. Some online service companies have also developed plans that allow users to listen to unlimited music via streaming, which is a way to distribute multimedia information over the Internet through packets. One such company is Sonora, from the portal Terra, the largest service selling digital music, with 40 percent of the market share to date.

Last year, sales of "mobile" music were identified as a big gamble for the Brazilian market. However, now it is being seen as an example of the digital music industry that has the potential to reverse the flood of pirated downloading. Another example of the digital music industry’s transformation is YouTube, which reigns supremely as the music source for consumers. In the past six years, YouTube has helped catapult the careers of such artists as Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber, whose fans clicked a million times on their videos. So, there is space for everybody in the digital music world; however, the key to success for artists and the music industry as a whole will be the creativity they can develop in reaching consumers.

* Article published on Curitiba in English.

Belo Horizonte, Curitiba and Porto Alegre are more digital cities

The important cities like Rio de Janeiro or Brasília (the federal capital) are not necessarily the most digital cities in the country. This is what the research Brazil Index of Digital Cities released by CPqD (Center for Research and Development Telebrás) in partnership with Momento Editorial. According to the research, the target is to measure the level of digitalization of Brazilian municipalities, the most advanced and that occupy the first four positions of the ranking are Belo Horizonte (MG), Curitiba (PR), Porto Alegre (RS) and Vitoria (ES).

In a statement sent to media by CPqD, explains that "digital cities have different maturity stages, or levels of urbanization in relation to the availability and use of Information Technology, be the citizen, government, company or companies". To assess at what stage the municipalities are, the CPqD created a methodology that takes into account a series of criteria, divided into nine categories, related not only to the technological infrastructure (presence of primary equipment, bandwidth, coverage, etc.), but also the availability of digital services and resources to accessibility, for example, for people with physical disabilities or illiterate.

Based on this criteria, a questionnaire was generated with 15 questions which were answered by more than one hundred municipalities in all regions of Brazil. Of this total, 75 questionnaires were validated by the Momento Editorial staff and the contributing authors, after checking the data and its junction with information from the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) and IBGE (Institute Brazilian Geography and Statistics). The methodology also provides a scoring system for each category of criteria.

Here is the ten cities ranked in the top position of the Brazil Index for Digital Cities and their scores:

1º - Belo Horizonte (MG) - 360 points
2º - Curitiba (PR) - 352 points
3º - Porto Alegre (RS) - 349 points
4º - Vitória (ES) - 347 points
5º - Ibirapuitã (RS) - 340 points
5º - Jundiaí (SP) - 340 points
6º - Campinas (SP) - 339 points
7º - Santos (SP) - 338 points
7º - São Carlos (SP) - 338 points
8º - Tarumã (SP) - 335 points
9º - São Paulo (SP) - 334 points
10º - Tauá (CE) - 332 points

For more info, visit www.wirelessmundi.inf.br and www.cpqd.com.br.

Orkut: What are the directions of the social network most famous in Brazil?

Many users have already bet to say that Orkut has its days numbered. But we must not forget that Google's social network were largely responsible for this craze caught once here in Brazil! With rapid growth since its launch, Orkut needed only for four years, in 2008, surpass its main rival at the time, MySpace.

Today's most popular network among Brazilians still leads here: 43 million active users in the country. But now the "enemy"is another, and the threat is great. Facebook just arrived, and has nearly 600 million users worldwide compared to only 85 million of Orkut.

The point is that all these people who entered the network of Mark Zuckerberg, only about 2% are in Brazil. But this scenario is changing and draws attention. A while here, many fled Orkut and migrated to new services. So much so that a recent survey by Ibope Media shows that half of Orkut users used fewer social network in 2010. Since Facebook has its version in Portuguese, which made ​​it easier for people to use the site as a new social networking.

Other surveys show that the audience of Orkut is nearly parked for about one year in Brazil. Between September 2009 and May 2010, the increase in the number of unique visitors per month was 3.5%, and during the same period the rival Facebook has advanced 102%. Based on these data, its already expected that Facebook in Brazil will overtake Orkut still this year ... will be?

Just last year, Orkut has made more than 50 service changes. Recently they changed the first time the logo of social networking, and Google also promises plenty of novelty to the end of 2011.
Well, all we can do is wait to see what will really happen.

Home Sweet Office: a Trend? *

Some years ago, to turn a space at home into an office was nearly impossible for most people. This was merely a fond dream by professionals to have more time withtheir family or avoid traffic jams. However, in the past the technology systems were not mature enough to provide the requisites like the proper equipment. Additionally, corporate culture and labor laws weren’t prepared for such endeavors, and therefore home offices were restricted to a few professionals in very specific areas.

Recently a number of factors, mainly relating to cost, have put the home office back on the agenda. The recent rise in home offices has occurred thanks to the popularization of broadband Internet, programs to share documents, ease of VoIP telephony, reduction in equipment prices, increased auto traffic and violence, and global growth with limited physical space - all these have made the new home office model a solution and provided people with a new way to work. The home office system can now be justified by companies with the  implementation of different management goals. For example, an employee working at home may get paid for results, rather than the number of hours worked. Thus this new model can be profitable for companies by lowering costs and raising profits. Employees who work from home have a better quality of life and more time to enjoy their families. As a result, current research indicates a yield increase of between 20% and 30% in the work output from home offices. Additionally, this type of professional who is choosing to work from home is growing at an amazing 10% a year. Today, one in four Brazilians works from a home office at some time each month.

Nevertheless, for those who think a home office is the solution to avoiding a corporate hierarchy or a way to get rid of unwanted responsibilities, they will be disappointed. Working from home requires strict discipline and professional maturity, since the separation between work and personal life becomes more tenuous. Therefore, the professional needs to create mechanisms to manage and control tasks for himself. For example, spouses and children must be made aware that in the professional’s work, a schedule cannot be altered, even if the family are just a few feet away. But on the other hand, a home office offers the opportunity for professionals to see their children more often and to participate more in their lives, and so the family can become a motivating factor rather than hindering th progress of work.

Work outside the office is still a long way from changing the world. What has happened thus far is not a radical change; however, it does represent the corporate acceptance of another way of working. Following the success of this experimental phase, large companies are now adopting this system and finding it a productive model, full of benefits for the employees and companies, with many stories of successful people and all their productivity accomplished out of the office. It is just one more way to work, not for everybody or for all companies, but the choice is up to you! For more tips about how to manage your home office and be more productive, visit www.curitibaworld.com.

* Article published on Curitiba in English.

Home Sweet Office: Tips

So here is listed some important tips given by specialists:

- Family and Business:
You chose the Home Office as a way to work? You have to teach to your family during the workday that place in the house is your office, be creative, use strategies to demonstrate this, a sign on the door, defined schedules

- Choose your place of work:
Choose a room, a cubicle - delimit your work corner and guide your family about it, of course if you have to share space with your family, create schedules and rules. Preferably, beware that your office is away from distractions.

- E-mails, e-mails and more e-mails:
Organize them! work at home, your contacts will be basically via email. If you dont organize, you will have difficult in communication - so separate by color, themes, no matter, select and prioritize and avoid spam.

- Technology - Best Friend
Broadband Internet, telephone network efficiently, a good pc, a laptop, netbook, external hd, IPAD, no matter, use the technology in your favor, have only one phone line for your professional use, scanner, cell phone, all that technology you can add to, learn about, because without this, home office does not work.

- Beware of Stress at home
As you will have free time increased, not needing to go to the office, enjoy exercise, reading newspaper, relationship with family. A good tip sometimes, 'move' your office to the restaurant in a mall, to aerate the head or give some 'holiday' for people in the house.

- Daily routine
The freedom of the home office is not always a good thing if you do not know how to manage yourself. Create a routine, create timetables for you, and learn to respect these hours with the "Brazilian way" in the home office, the only one that can lose is you. Just be careful not to become a workhoolic and start working from 7am to 10pm without pausing. Beware what you wear, sometimes sleepwear in home office can decrease your productivity, but wear something comfortable.

And finally, "Have an entrepreneurial spirit", because without it is impossible to work remotely, or at home!

Google Street View lands in Curitiba

From now one, Curitiba will be mapped for Google Street View - feature that displays maps at 360 degrees for multiple locations on the website launched in 2007 and finally reaches the state capital. The images started to be captured this month, but Google doesn't tell how long it will takes or how many cars are in town. Also the company doesn't confirm when the images will be available, but it might happen little by little, by region. The Street View in an additional service o Google Maps, which has a set of maps of all cities and streets in the world.

The project is also mapping other capitals, and the Google proposal is to offer the service by 2014 in all cities hosting World Cup games. Since October last year, 51 Brazilian cities are already mapped. In total, 82 cars in Brazil are doing the job of capturing the images, and each car has 15 cameras. In capturing images of busy streets, where many people appear, Google uses software that blurs faces and license plates automatically, to prevent them from being identified and, according to the company, ensuring the privacy of individuals. The cameras installed in cars capture images of the horizon and sky, providing an image of 360 degrees horizontally and 280 degrees vertically. When photographing the streets, a GPS marks images for the computer to identify where is the place.

To use the Google Street View is necessary to access the website maps.google.com. Once you find the street, just drag the yellow stick man Pegman, located in the upper left corner of the screen or give the maximum magnification on the map. To "walk the streets", just click the arrows in the image, making the user go to the next screen. To view an image, you must click and drag the mouse.

You are responsible for what you publish

By creating a website, blog or any other social media account, the user becomes not only visible but also vulnerable. Any content published on the World Wide Web is subject to be passed, sometimes so much wider than the author intended. A recent survey published by comScore in April, shows that 99% of more than 47 million of Brazilian Internet users accessed at least once, some social network during the month of March this year. Besides pictures, shared links and stories of everyday life, is also part of the content available on those networks many offenses, threats, and false information. And who publishes or passes need to know what can be, even unknowingly committing a crime.

According to specialists, the most common crimes related to the internet are:
- Calumny: it's when a person assigns to another person a crime without proof. The aggressor is arrested and fined for a period of one to three years;
- Defamation: happens when the individual ridicules another, damaging the reputation and image of this person before the society;
- Injury: is characterized by reference to the negative characteristics of a person - calling someone "ugly" or "dumb", for example.

In the last two cases, the author pays a fine or goes to detention for a period of one to six months. The same punishment applies to anyone who commits the crime of threat, when the author says it will kill a person, for example.

There is no specific law that treats crimes on the Internet (cyber crimes), however for specialists, this is not a problem once the crime is classified, the treatment is going to follow the same rules already existent, no matter if it is personal or virtual.
Besides that, depends on where it was done, it can have a great propagation causing a public embarrassment and hard to have the control. And more than this, it is easy to leave traces and the police come easily to the person who committed the wrongdoing.

Take a look at some other crimes on the Internet:
- Pedophilia and child pornography: characterized by the creation of Web sites or content (pictures and videos) related to child sexual abuse;
- Racism: written material, pictures or any other representation of ideas or theories that promote or incite anger, discrimination or violence against any individual or group based on race, color, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin.
- Calumny and Defamation: disclosure of information, often untrue that may harm the reputation of the victim.
- Cyber bullying: mobile messages, emails, messages on blogs or social networking sites containing swearing, insults or humiliations.

The nonprofit organization SaferNet works to guide the Internet users and the prevention of crimes, and also receives complaints - which can even be anonymous. The complaint may be made by the site www.safernet.org.br.
In Curitiba, the victim can look to Center to Combat Cybercrime (Nuciber) and with the evidence in hand; make a police report so that research can happen. Phone (41) 3323-9448. Rua José Loureiro, 376 - 1st Floor (attached to the Office of Identification).