Dear Readers,
When I first started talking with Eric Bonabeau about swarm intelligence, I had some vague notion of what it was about, but no real concept of its application to everyday business problems. Eric has changed that.
Swarm intelligence is the idea that you move away from a centralized mindset to a system that is more adaptable. As new problems emerge, and they always do, this self-organizing system adjusts to correct the problems and restabilizes.
This approach has proven itself in a number of situations, ranging from network routing to factory scheduling to supply-chain optimization. Within these systems, solutions to problems are emergent rather than predefined and preprogrammed. If applied well, self-organization endows your swarm with the ability to adapt to situations that you didn't think of.
Has Eric's ideas piqued your curiosity? If so, take a look at my interview with Dr. Bonabeau, who will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming Emerging Technology Conference in Santa Clara, California.
I think you'll find Eric, and the conference as a whole, very interesting.
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Until next week,
Derrick
Derrick Story
O'Reilly Network Technical Editor
derrick@oreilly.com
Swarm Intelligence: An Interview with Eric Bonabeau
The concept of swarm intelligence is borrowed from nature, and in
this interview with Eric Bonabeau, that's where the conversation
begins--with ants and other social insects. Dr. Bonabeau takes us
from his childhood nightmares of carnivorous wasps to applying
the theories of swarm intelligence to solving real problems in
the business world.
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Distributing Your CA to Client Browsers
In a follow-up to his article on "Creating Your Own CA," Rob
Flickenger, author of Linux Server Hacks, shows you how to
distribute your new Certificate Authority to a client's browser.
He also offers some key advice on accepting a new CA in your
browser.
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