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<SMALL>...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I></SMALL>
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<BIG><BIG><STRONG><FONT COLOR="maroon">The Sushi Pub at the World Internet Center</FONT></STRONG></BIG></BIG>
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<STRONG>By <A HREF="../authors/lodato.html">Janine M Lodato</A></STRONG>
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<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
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The most important capital of an alliance: people,
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successfully collaborating via the Internet.
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</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>
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Hope springs eternal at the World Internet Center (The Center) in Palo Alto,
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California. Located in an upstairs suite at the historic Stanford Barn, The
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Center hosts a weekly social event on Thursdays from 5 to 7 PM called "the
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Pub". Aside from sushi and wine provided by The Center at nominal cost to
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those who attend, the networking that takes place at the Pub offers hope to
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millions of people.
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<P> The Center brings hope by connecting Silicon Valley entrepreneurs,
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corporate executives and technologists, all wanting to forge a start-up
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company that will make a mark on today's economy using info-tech such as the
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Internet. From the business opportunities that develop, the beneficiaries of
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such opportunities are not just the businessmen putting together the deal.
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In the long run, the beneficiaries may also include people around the world
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afflicted with physical malfunctions and illnesses.
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<P> The Pub allows people to put together start-up firms of varying
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interests. Small, narrowly-focused companies such as those concentrating on
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life sciences, soon to be headquartered in Singapore, rely on larger
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businesses to disseminate their services and capabilities. These larger
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businesses are called systems integrators.
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<P> Visitors to The Center come from as far away as Russia, Australia, Iran,
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Europe, China, Japan, Chile, Brazil and, of course, from Silicon Valley.
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California's Silicon Valley is the Mecca of high technology: telecom,
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multimedia telecom, computers, Internet and e-commerce, attracting countries
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wanting to ride the high-tech wave of the future because of its potential for
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financial gain.
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<P> Because people forming a team and working well together as a group make
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for the success of a new company, the elbow-rubbing they do socially at the
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Pub is an indication of how things will work out in the long run. People
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make the deal work, not technology, not ideas, not money, but people with
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those things. If new businesses can speed along medical help for people with
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all sorts of physical malfunctions, The Center will have achieved a major
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milestone: lowering the cost of medicine and improving the lives of the
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needy.
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<P> The main theme of The Center is to connect its current and past large
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corporate sponsors such as Amdocs, Deutsche Telekom, HP, IBM, SAP, Sun with
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with small high-tech companies and expert individuals in the form of a series
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of focused think-tanks.
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<P> Because my husband, Laszlo Rakoczi, a Hungarian revolutionary who emigrated
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to the USA after the revolution in Hungary was crushed by the Evil Empire
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(the Soviet Union), is a member of the Advisory Board of The Center, many
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small companies seek him out to discuss the potential of collaborative
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strategic alliance type business arrangements. One such high-tech company
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recently approaching him is Sensitron.net. Dr. Rajiv Jaluria, founder and CEO,
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met Laszlo through The Center. Sensitron is a small high-tech firm which
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built an end-to-end system to connect medical instruments to monitoring
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stations and databases thus improving the productivity of the medical
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professionals and increasing the quality of medical care. Of course the
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question of what type of platform should the application run on came up.
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Laszlo immediately introduced the idea of embedded Linux based systems for
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the medical instruments as well as for the PDAs and Tablets for the
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professionals and even the potential of Linux based servers and databases.
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Laszlo suggested these since Linux would allow...
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<UL>
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<LI> a more reliable end-to-end system
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<LI> easier maintenance of the system
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<LI> a much lower cost end-to-end system
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<LI> application specific, simple, productive GUI for the professionals
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<LI> a GUI for the patients with telephone type simplicity so the can
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connect in telemedicine fashion to the professionals supporting
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them.
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</UL>
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<P> Laszlo could not resist pointing out that the real Evil Empire
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which is holding down and fighting the real revolution -- the simple and low
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cost collaboration of all peoples via the Internet, not just the ones who can
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pay for the high cost of a Windows based PC -- is Microsoft with their
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monopolistic pressure tactics. One of such evil practices of Microsoft is
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the campaign under which they embrace a small company like Sensitron, enhance
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their application of Sensitron, then extinguish the original team. Embrace,
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enhance, extinguish. The Soviets were never that good and imaginative in
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their tyrannical approach. Maybe that is the reason they have failed.
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<P> As the biotech and IT arenas converge, IT enables life sciences companies to
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accelerate the development, testing and marketing of their intellectual
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properties, products and services. Life sciences encompass the fields of
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biotechnology, medical equipment and pharmaceutical products and services.
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Such companies include many small, as well as large entities like Pfizer,
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Chiron, Philips and Agilent.
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<P> It is hard to believe such a sophisticated, practical idea
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could come from people socializing over wine and sushi, but that is indeed
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the case. Many future start-up companies in the Silicon Valley will have the
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World Internet Center and its weekly Pub to thank for their conception.
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<P> One such important think tank, currently in formation stages looking for
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corporate sponsors, is an NIH-funded project for the disabled, aging and
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ailing. This proposed think tank planning to investigate the potential of
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collaborative telemedicine. For example, due to the shortage of medical
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professionals, China must use telemedicine to connect the small clinics in
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260,000 communities to the 100 large teaching hospitals via VSAT type
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Internet linkage. NeuSoft of China is putting together such a
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system and of course they do not want to fall prey to Microsoft's
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overpriced systems. In fact Linux is the major platform China wants for all
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their applications supported by the Red Flag project.
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<P> Telemed systems of this type apply to a very large group, including
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disabled, aging and ailing people as well as the professionals supporting
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them. The sum of these people account for half the population of the world
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and very few of them can afford the artificially high cost of Windows-based
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systems. Telemed can lower the cost of medicine, improve the capabilities of
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the medical professionals and at the same time improve the quality of life of
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the patients.
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<P> Sensitron, with the support of NeuSoft will propose that NIH should
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provide a grant to their strategic alliance under which a disabled and female
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investigator will do a clinical study of the potential of significantly
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improved condition of health via Internet-based collaborative virtual
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community style involvement. This significant upgrade of self-supported
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health improvement can be achieved using assistive technologies (AT)
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connected via the web. However, such AT technologies must be upgraded to
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allow collaboration between the health service professionals and their
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patients linked via the virtual community.
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The AT based virtual community needs functions such as...
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<UL>
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<LI> simple and telemed-specific user interface.
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<LI> voice based interaction via computer/telephone.
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<LI> always-on and always-available systems.
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</UL>
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An important point: the AT technologies we would apply
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to the disabled and the aging can also be used for the
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eyes-busy, hands-busy professionals. It could be
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sold via a for-profit Internet company, with some of
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the profits paid back to the non-profit think tank
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in the form of grants and matching grants.
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<P> Melbourne, Singapore, Dailan, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Kuala Lampur, Munich,
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Budapest, Vienna, Lund, Bern, Helsinki, Shenyang, Dublin, London, Stuttgart,
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Hawaii, Vancouver, Toronto, etc., would all love to come to Silicon Valley
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in this virtual community manner, through a club equipped with a standard
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wireless local area network (WLAN), connected to a virtual private network
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(VPN). This cross-oceanic virtual private network will have kiosk-based
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unified messaging (UM) between the clubs. This would also including very
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low-cost voice over the Internet protocol (VoIP) connected in all major APEC,
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Asian Pacific economic community, cities with the VoIP and UMoIP as well as
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through carrier allies with IP backbone to 120 of the important cities in
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USA/Canada as well as many in the EU.
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<P> Those of us with neurological dysfunctions such as MS, ALS, ALD, Parkinsons,
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Alzheimers and myriad more, have a very special personal stake in the
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networking that goes on over sushi and wine. Life sciences and information
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technology working together can aid these patients in a very effective way.
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For example, techniques like neuroprosthetics -- interaction with devices
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using voice and eye signals -- can develop.
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<P> As I sit in the only quiet spot at The Center during its weekly,
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after-hours social event, I notice the networking that takes place. The
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Center provides a great opportunity for people to share ideas for business.
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Everyone from the original architects of the Valley to new entrepreneurs is
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there. Investors look for good investment opportunities, and start-up
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companies look for anyone wanting to put money into their new venture.
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Basically, it's a people-to-people scene and is exciting to observe.
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<P> Then there are those who find the allure of the event as a singles bar
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irresistible. Where else can they find stimulating company, fresh sushi and
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good wine at such a fair price? Personally, having attended the weekly
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occasion for so many months now because my husband, Laszlo, is a member of
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The Center's Advisory Board, I could care less if I ever see sushi again in
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my life!
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<P> By now I have my own circle of friends at this gathering. And I find
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those wanting to do business with my important husband very courteous and
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attentive to me. In general, the entire encounter is an "upper" for me, a
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technology midget among giants.
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<P> Nibbling on the cheese set before me, my taste for sushi having long
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since expired, I fulfill my role as a mouse in the boardroom to the max. I
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overhear conversations of businessmen from the already-mentioned countries
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exchanging e-mail addresses to further negotiate via the Internet. The
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Center has achieved its goal.
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<P> I smile a little inward smile, realizing medical researchers around the
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world have been sharing ideas and breakthroughs on the Internet for years.
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A medical Manhattan Project has been globalized thanks to the Internet. I
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know a lot of afflicted people who were ready for medical help yesterday.
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<P> What can we do besides raise money to hurry things along? Hope the
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convergence of biotechnology and IT accelerates treatments for physical
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malfunctions worldwide and promotes the free exchange of intellectual
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property among biotechnology companies and research institutions, that's
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what. And keep that sushi and wine readily available for the Thursday night
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Pub at the World Internet Center.
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<!-- *** BEGIN author bio *** -->
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<!-- *** END author bio *** -->
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<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
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<hr>
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<CENTER><SMALL><STRONG>
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Copyright © 2003, Janine M Lodato.
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Copying license <A HREF="../copying.html">http://www.linuxgazette.com/copying.html</A><BR>
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Published in Issue 88 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, March 2003
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</STRONG></SMALL></CENTER>
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