[Note: Bill Gates "predicts that the next hot field will be robotics," and also promotes Microsoft Robotics Studio, a new software development kit.]
But what I really have in mind is something much more contemporary: the emergence of the robotics industry, which is developing in much the same way that the computer business did 30 years ago. Think of the manufacturing robots currently used on automobile assembly lines as the equivalent of yesterday’s mainframes.
What is more, the challenges facing the robotics industry are similar to those we tackled in computing three decades ago. Robotics companies have no standard operating software that could allow popular application programs to run in a variety of devices.
Source: Bill Gates, Microsoft Corporation, for Scientific American, January 2007 issue
‘Smart’ clothing could save lives
Few things encourage businesses to be more imaginative than the opportunities presented by new technology. But the latest high-tech fad involves the mother of all things faddish — fashion. “Smart” textiles that can respond to touch or carry electrical signals have prompted entrepreneurs to develop an array of innovative clothes and consumer products.
Source: Danny Bradbury, Financial Times, via the Los Angeles Times, December 18, 2006
Irving Wladawsky-Berger has overseen IBM’s efforts to catch waves that have swept over the computing industry — e-commerce, Linux, open-source software, grid computing. His new responsibility: guiding Big Blue into virtual-reality realms such as Second Life.
IBM plans to open 12 new islands of Second Life real estate to the public by Monday, and Wladawsky-Berger has high hopes that the property will be helpful for training, meetings, commerce and other business activities.
Source: Stephen Shankland, CNET News.com, December 18, 2006
Google, NASA finalize imagery, info deal
Google and NASA Ames Research Center said Monday that they have finalized an agreement to deliver more of the space agency’s imagery and information through the Internet’s leading search engine.
Under the arrangement, Ames will feed Google with its weather forecasting information, three-dimensional maps of the moon and Mars, and real-time tracking of the International Space Station and space shuttle flights so the pictures and data are available to anyone with an Internet connection.
Source: The Associated Press, via USA TODAY, December 18, 2006
As far as most search engines are concerned, audio files are black boxes. Even with advancements in metadata tags and audio-recognition technology, it’s still much more difficult for a search engine to catalog the content of an audio file than that of a web page. A new startup is hoping to change that.
Pluggd has found a way to index podcasts, talk shows and other spoken-word content. The company’s service then allows users to search the audio files for specific words.
Source: Eliot Van Buskirk, Wired News, December 19, 2006
Tech-Savy Mass. Cardinal Starts Podcasts
Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley is going high-tech. He already has his own blog, now he plans to start podcasting to the masses, beginning with downloadable Christmas messages.
The cardinal’s first downloadable podcast messages will be available Christmas Eve at Boston Catholic Television’s revamped Web site. They will be followed by regular video messages from O’Malley starting in the new year.
Source: The Associated Press, via SF Gate, December 21, 2006
