We have to admit that we flagged this story from Business Week ≈ as much for its news value as there is a rabid Red Sox fan in our midst here at Cientifica.
The Business Week article follows on the publications cover-story coverage of nanotechnology and promises continued coverage of nanotechnology. While it is refreshing to see mainstream business publications producing articles on the business implications of nanotechnology, its insights will seem a little stale to those who have been following nanotechnologys commercial development for more than dare we say a nanosecond.
We get the rehash of the real value that carbon nanotubes provide Babolats tennis racquets, hype vs. reality, patent hording, in short nothing new here for cognoscenti. But we were interested to hear that Stan Williams at HP has become a less attractive speaker target at conferences because of his skeptical perspective on the real-world applications of nanotechnology. Since we organize a few conferences ourselves, we think it fair to say that Dr. Williams is still a much sought after speaker. Perhaps he is trying to limit the number of speaker invitations he receives.
But getting back to the baseball metaphor, it does probably apply. Its just that the name-calling is probably a bit more sophisticated. Then again, gauging by some of the names weve been called, well reserve final judgment on that one.