Users are going to shift from acting as librarians to acting as daytraders.

As we move into an era where content creation and distribution become almost infinitely cheap, the scarcest resources will no longer be storage or bandwidth, it will be attention. The pace of information creation and distribution continues to accelerate and there is no end in sight, yet the cognitive capabilities of the individual human brain are finite and we are already at our limits.

WASHINGTON: For many Americans, rising unemployment, higher gas and food prices and the housing slump have felt like an economic downturn. Now the government's data is catching up.

The Commerce Department on Thursday revised its figures from 2005 to 2007 and said the economy contracted by 0.2 percent in last year's fourth quarter, down from its previous estimate of 0.6 percent growth.

What follows are questions and answers about the government's annual revisions to its economic data:

Q: Why does the Commerce Department change its estimates?

A: The department revises its estimates as it gathers more data. For example, the new estimates incorporate 2005 and 2006 corporate tax data that has only recently become available from the Internal Revenue Service. The Census Bureau, Agriculture Department, and other agencies also provide more information.

Method 1: Symbolize the next action





Using notepaper or a simple text file on your laptop or tablet, indent the pages of your notes in from the left margin. Then, use a simple system of symbols to mark off 4 different information types in the column space left in the margin.




• [ ] A square checkbox denotes a to do item
• ( ) A circle indicates a task to be assigned to someone else
• * An asterisk is an important fact
• ? A question mark goes next to items to research or ask about

Method 2: Split your page into quadrants

Another way to visually separate information types is to split your note-taking page into quadrants and record different kinds of information - like questions, reference and todo's - into the separate areas on the page. Rumor has it this is how Bill Gates - someone known for taking amazingly detailed meeting notes - gets it done.

July 30 (Bloomberg) -- The collapse of global trade talks
for the third time in as many years may be only a bump in the
road for world commerce, which continued to expand while
negotiations sputtered.

A nine-day summit at the World Trade Organization ended
yesterday in Geneva without an agreement on a plan to cut
agriculture subsidies and open trade in industrial goods. The
sticking point was a clash between the U.S. and India over how
poor nations could raise tariffs when farm imports surge.

Emerging Powers

The deadlock also reflects the growing economic and
negotiating might of emerging nations including Brazil, Russia,
India and China.

``BRIC countries have acquired strength in the global stage
because of their rapid economic growth,'' said Tapan K. Bhaumik,
chairman of economic affairs at the New Delhi-based Associated
Chambers of Commerce and Industry. ``The emergence of regional
trade blocs will be the way forward.''

By Carl Wieman

posted: 25 July 2008 02:19 pm ET