strategic technologies you need to keep your eye on

1.    Media Tablets. Users can choose between various form factors when it comes to mobile computing. No single platform, form factor or technology will dominate and companies should expect to manage a diverse environment with two to four intelligent clients through 2015. IT leaders need a managed diversity programme to address multiple form factors, as well as employees bringing their own smartphones and tablet devices into the workplace.

Organisations will have to come up with two mobile strategies — one to address the business to employee (B2E) scenario and one to address the business to consumer (B2C) scenario. On the B2E front, IT must consider social goals, business goals, financial goals, and risk management goals. On the B2C front, which includes business to business (B2B) activities to support consumers, IT needs to address a number of additional issues such as surfacing and managing APIs to access enterprise information and systems, integration with third-party applications, integration with various partners for capabilities such as search and social networking, and delivery through app stores.

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Semantic Technology: Sharing a Large Market Space


It is always interesting to talk shop with the experts in a new technology arena. My interview with Luca Scagliarini, VP of Strategy and Business Development for Expert System, and Brooke Aker, CEO of Expert System USA was no exception. They had been digesting my research on Semantic Software Technologies and last week we had a discussion about what is in the Gilbane report.

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A Tour of the Clouds

while the word Internet has been one of the most important computer terms in recent history, there has not been another term as attractive as “cloud computing.” Today, this term could be representing the next biggest trend in the information technology industry. This article will explain some of the basic ideas behind the cloud computing phenomena—a concept that might change the way we understand the computing process.
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Negligible Proportion Of Artificial Carbon-based Nanoparticles F

The accumulated particles in the sediments contain at least 10,000 times more natural nanoparticles than artificial ones. This result emerged from a model study conducted by researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, Duke University in the USA and Empa in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Carbon-based nanoparticles are increasingly used in products, but are also present in nature, often as miniscule soot particles originating from forest fires and from human activities such as traffic and industrial processes. Until now, it was unclear how many of the nanoparticles encountered in the environment originated from natural sources and how many originated from consumer products. Knowledge about this situation is important in order to estimate the relative risk of nanoparticles, especially now that nanoparticles are being used for more and more applications, such as anti-fungal and antibacterial agents in sunblock creams. The research team, comprising Prof. Bart Koelmans of Wageningen University and colleagues from Duke University and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa), collected previous calculations about the emissions of nanoparticles and their concentrations in surface water in order to predict the sedimentation in lakes. Based on this information, they calculated the concentration in the sediment. The concentrations of soot in lake and river beds were already known. In an article in the March issue of the leading journal Environmental Pollution, the researchers showed that the number of artificial carbon-based nanoparticles in sediment was more than 10,000 times smaller than the concentration of already present 'natural' soot nanoparticles. These predictions were based on a worst-case scenario; the actual differences are probably even greater. With a more realistic scenario, the proportion would be 1:10 million. "This would mean that the artificial carbon-based nanoparticles pose virtually no additional risk in comparison to the proportion of nanoparticles that are already present in sediments", explains Prof. Koelmans. Nanoparticles of natural and artificial origin that enter the environment are washed away by precipitation and ultimately sink into lake or river beds, where they end up in the sediment. They also pass unaffected through water purification installations. Once in the sediment, they can bind to toxic substances and can build up in organisms, such as aquatic sowbugs or water fleas. The risks of these particles depends, among other things, on their concentration. The tiny particles are capable of passing through the cell walls in the body, resulting in cellular damage, also due to the toxic substances bound to the particles. The model calculations that were used always have a degree of uncertainty. Therefore, additional experimental support and a more detailed approach are very important. In the Netherlands, a major research programme in the area of nanotechnology (FES-High Tech Systems and Materials) is in preparation. The programme also focuses attention on the possible negative effects of nanoparticles on people and the environment.

Wireless Rearview Camera for Your Car

I've been intrigued with advertisements for cameras that mount on the rear of the vehicle ever since I bought a used Roadtrek. The Roadtrek's a small RV and it's longer than an average van. Seeing out the back window isn't easy.

I had the chance to try Roadmaster'sVR3 Wireless Backup Cameraand even though it was a pain to install, I'm glad I have it.

The outfit comes with a 2.5-inch LCD wireless color monitor that you mount on the dashboard or a sun visor. The monitor has controls for brightness and contrast as well as a toggle that lets you change the view from a normal image to a mirror image. The mirror image is best because it replicates the view from your rearview mirror.

The kit comes with a small holder for the monitor with double-sided sticky tape. I still haven't decided exactly where to mount it, and I suggest you try it in a couple of spots before finding a permanent home. Once I know where it goes, I'll probably drill holes on the mounting device and screw it to the dashboard rather than use the tape.

Dig This: Do you ever have one of those days when you get a blue screen of death and can't quite remember what to do next?This guycame up with a novel, and to some, smart idea. He tattooed the instructions--and just in case, the fatal error memory location--onto his arm.

Time Out: Some of you don't give a rat's patootie about wireless rearview mirrors, so here's something you probably can't use unless you're a super geek. The tool'sWhyRebootand it's a little utility that shows what file operations are allegedly necessary after you install a program. It's not earth-shatteringly useful, but serves to satisfy your curiosity.

The Roadmaster camera gets its power in one of two ways: You can plug it directly into what was once known as a cigar lighter (that changed in the sixties to a cigarette lighter; now it's a power outlet) using a 12-volt adaptor. A better way is to grab power directly from the vehicle's fuse box.

I thought I could do it, Hell, I can stick my fingers into the Windows Registry, so this should be easy. (Silly me.) I took the manual and the wiring, and dropped under the dashboard. After fiddling for 10 minutes, I decided to trade Mike the mechanic $20 and an answer to any one of his computing woes to do the wiring. Unless you're handy, I suggest you factor that cost into the price.

Dig This: Halloween's almost around the corner--it isn't, I know, but those corner buy-your-pumpkin-now lots are starting to spring up in Pasadena's 108-degree weather. But I digress. The LOTR geek in my copy editor's frontal lobe is all excited about the WETA workshop site.Take a lookand you'll learn more than anyone should about theLord of the Ringsspecial effects.

The camera mounts along the top or bottom of the license plate. Power for the camera also has to be hard wired, something I left for Mike.

When you or the mechanic install the camera, you have two options: Have the camera and monitor operate only when you shift into reverse, or have it work all the time. Mine's set for shifting into reverse, but if you ever tow another vehicle, you'll probably prefer it be on all the time.

I've used the VR3 Wireless Backup Camera for a few months. It definitely gives me another, better view of the back end of the Roadtrek.

But my fantasy was that I'd have a very wide view behind the van, so if I backed into a parking spot or camping site, I'd see everything. With a 110-degree horizontal viewing angle and an 80-degree vertical angle, it's adequate, but not spectacular.

Another problem is the camera will occasionally act like, well, a wireless device. The gizmo picks up interference and I'll see horizontal lines rolling across the screen; every so often the image will just disappear.

You can pay full retail for the Wireless Backup Camera--$140--on Roadmaster's site, but I've seen it as low as $60 at Costco.

Dig This: I definitely want to play withMIT's new user interface--and want one if it's ever released. [Thanks, Leo.]

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