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Issue 113

March 2007

The 6th Annual Fast 50

  • Whether old-line, established companies or tiny startups, they're tweaking old technologies and inventing startling new ones, tackling everything from pandemics to ancient scourges like hunger. Are they doing all this because they want to save the world, or because they can turn a profit? Yes. And not a moment too soon.

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Features

  • Sallys Dreamcoat Sally's Dreamcoat

    Imagine a world where you never have to scrape ice off your windshield--And where car paints don't pollute.

  • Schvo Motion Shvo Motion

    One man's real-estate vision quest, and the $15 billion portfolio he's building along the way.

  • Top O' the Market: A Consumer's Guide
  • Beyond Plastic Beyond Plastic

    It's not just about oddball figurines anymore: Kidrobot's open-source design strategy is cranking up the business to a whole new level.

  • Open Debate Open Debate

    Is Google overrated? Tapped out? Due for a fall? Two experts take sides.

Next

  • Email by Snail Mail

    In India, "the last mile has to be walked by somebody."

  • Intelligent Design

    We preview the increasingly popular CA Boom exhibition.

  • Nano-Sleuths

    Authentix's technology spots fake fuel and drugs--and could help millions of poor people.

  • Job Morph: Herding Cats

    How Mozilla motivates workers who aren't actually on the payroll.

  • Virtual Interview

    Pick up a copy of Best Answers to the 201 Most Frequently Asked Interview Questions, and all you can do before your next interview is practice at the mirror. Go to InterviewTrue.com, and, with a Webcam and PC, you'll be able to prep live. Choose from more than 1,000 questions, focusing on topics that trip you up, or let the site pick them for you. The site also divides questions into categories such as problem solving and teamwork, and by experience level.

  • Open Source for the Open Road

    But will Markus Merz's wheels ever hit pavement?

  • Open Wide

    The traditional business organization meets democracy. This may hurt a bit.

  • Web Smackdown

    An addictive tool reveals who's watching what.

  • Back to School

    Books down, pencils out. This month's lesson features education blogs at the head of their class.

  • The View from Florida-Ville

    What happens when every city in America craves the "creative class?"

  • Share This Article!

    Word-of-mouth guru Andy Sernovitz on generating buzz.

  • Changing the World, One Luxury Vacation at a Time

    Philanthropic travel combines exotic destinations with a dollop of social conscience.

  • Location, Location, Location

    Lost in the woods? In the burbs? A raft of new GPS devices can help.

  • Slick Read

    An insider's journey through the oil industry, from the wells to your wallet.

  • First Look
  • Wait No More

    Car-rental agencies are finally, cautiously rolling out high-tech time-saving solutions.

  • Less Wire, More Juice

    Tired of lugging separate chargers for your smartphone, iPod, digital camera, and other gadgets? Leave them all at home in favor of a multicharging kit such as Malleable Devices' kwikSynCh (syncharger.com). The light, 3-ounce, $14.95 device connects to your laptop via USB (you'll still need to carry your laptop charger) and then lets you charge two devices at once.

  • On the Hot Seat

    Fighting "obsessive-compulsive productivity".

  • Chipping In

    Snack maker Kettle Foods has devised increasingly creative ways to listen to its passionate fans--and then act on their opinions. The evolution of that strategy provides a road map for companies interested in tapping into the buzz about customer centricity without coming off as phony.

Columns

  • The Question The Question

    What do people want from a Web site? In our new tech column, we tell you why there's no easy answer on thriving in the ever-shifting digital landscape.

  • Organic Growth

    As Wal-Mart and its ilk go natural, true believers are grumbling. But investors are chowing down.

  • The Myth About Creation Myths

    Introducing our new column exploring how and why ideas succeed or fail. This month: the power and perils of a great backstory.

Fast Talk

From the Editor

  • Letter from the Editor

    We used to hear that some problems were too big for anything but government to solve--poverty, say, or the uneven distribution of health care. But most of those woes have gotten bigger, while government's scope and ambitions have gotten smaller. What we've come to understand is that some problems are simply too big to be solved except by all of us.