I can remember when Napster was launched back in June of 1999 as a peer-to-peer sharing service specializing in the exchange of MP3 music files. It was an instant hit and totally disrupted the music industry. At its peak, Napster had more than 80 million users before it was shut down by a court…

Oxfam is an international organization dedicated to fighting world poverty. In their recent report entitled (“Wealth: Having It All and Wanting More”), Oxfam makes the case that by 2016 the wealth of the top 1% will overtake the remaining 99%. This report was released right before the World…

Last week, the Swiss Central Bank voted in a surprise move to stop pegging its currency to the Euro. The result was swift and dramatic as traders of all sizes piled into the Swiss Franc and exited their positions in the Euro. Why? There are a lot of theories floating around, but the prevailing one…

In 1839, Alexandre Becqueral witnessed the photovoltaic effect by using an electrode immersed in a conductive solution that was exposed to light. In simpler terms, he discovered that sunlight could be captured and transformed into usable energy. If we track the evolution of solar cells since this…

According to the United Nations, the worldwide average life expectancy is 71 years (68.5 for males and 73.5 for females). This statistic has Japan on one end (84.6 years) and Sierra Leone (38 years) on the other. Now, apply a new headline that was just released by the Guardian that says “Live for…

I just read an article by The New York Times entitled “An Aging Europe in Decline.” As one can imagine, this article talks about the dark clouds hanging over Europe and even includes a comment made by the Pope at the European Parliament last November: “In many quarters we encounter a general…

While the word “drone” sounds like something straight out of Star Wars, it really just refers to an unmanned vehicle. Drones have been around since the 1960s and were used in the Vietnam War for reconnaissance missions. Fast-forward to today where drones are fitted with missiles and are…