It is amazing to think that Google celebrated its tenth birthday last
year. The company's importance on the Internet has risen to the point
where it is now a verb. It captured the imagination of Web users as the
scale of the Web grew and things became harder to find. Now, a Web
without search is unthinkable. But there is still plenty of work left to be done in search technology.
Google's Vice President Marissa Mayer said last year that 90% of the
problems surrounding search had been solved. She later clarified to
explain that 90% of the work had not been done. Instead, in a variation
of the Pareto Principle, 90% of the work involved in perfecting Web
search technology will be done, solving the remaining 10% of the
problems.
Real Issues - Real Solutions - Real Business
Technology - Future Technologies
It is amazing to think that Google celebrated its tenth birthday last
year. The company's importance on the Internet has risen to the point
where it is now a verb. It captured the imagination of Web users as the
scale of the Web grew and things became harder to find. Now, a Web
without search is unthinkable. But there is still plenty of work left to be done in search technology.
Google's Vice President Marissa Mayer said last year that 90% of the
problems surrounding search had been solved. She later clarified to
explain that 90% of the work had not been done. Instead, in a variation
of the Pareto Principle, 90% of the work involved in perfecting Web
search technology will be done, solving the remaining 10% of the
problems.Technology - Future Technologies
"Superfast" mobile broadband, in the shape of LTE, promises to
revolutionize mobile networks, but it is unlikely to make an impact on
the enterprise for a few years yet. Imagine being able to download a customer presentation, complete with
video, in a matter of seconds. What's more, you didn't need to find a
WLAN hot spot to do it. Or perhaps you are looking for a property, on which to locate a new
branch office. You don't have time to go and check the property, but
that doesn't matter. Technology - Future Technologies - Global IT
3D displays are on the cusp of mainstream adoption in the office, at home and on digital signage. The good news is you may be able to ditch those plastic glasses.Forever told that mass-market 3D display technology was coming, it seems that tomorrow is almost here. New products are being developed that will enable a lower-cost 3D experience, leading to an increased investment in order to commercialize solutions. Although much of the focus is on the consumer market, business-oriented products are also being explored by vendors as a way to grow revenue and generate experience in a less cost-sensitive environment.
The most familiar form of 3D displays use stereoscopic technology, the biggest drawback...
Technology - Future Technologies
Faced with an economic crisis and public pressure, the auto industry
is looking to new technologies to make cars greener than ever before:
hydrogen fuel cells and M2M telematics are leading the way.The automotive industry is facing significant challenges in reducing CO2 emissions from vehicles, driven by aggressive targets set by governments and industry associations. At the same time, the global recession has hit hard, with bail-outs needed in many markets, often accompanied by demands for increased investments in clean auto technology.
Technology - Future Technologies
Scientists at MIT have developed a new radio chip that mimics the human
ear. Dubbed the RF cochlea, it could enable universal wireless devices
that are able to pick up almost any electrical signal in the air.The RF cochlea uses fluid mechanics, piezoelectrics and neural signal processing to convert sound waves into electrical signals. By mimicking the structure of the human cochlea, the silicon chip works as an analog spectrum analyzer to detect the composition of any electromagnetic waves within its perception range.
Technology - Future Technologies
Ten years ago, the Melissa virus took the world by storm. It was one of the first worms to spread like wildfire around the Web - but it wouldn't be the last. In the past decade, we have seen a worrying spread of increasingly innovative malware - fueled by an underground economy developing and commercializing it. Criminals first worked out ways to infect vast numbers of computers in a short amount of time. In recent years, they have worked out ways to target high-value individuals with even more sophisticated infection techniques. Technology - Future Technologies
It was 1987. The Web hadn't even been invented yet, and most people hadn't heard of email. But Apple, always ahead of the curve, released a video showing what the digital world might one day look like. A professor came into his office and opened a book-like device. A face appeared on the screen and relayed his appointments and messages verbally. It then reminded the professor about a class that he had booked and helped him to retrieve some research and contact a colleague to flesh out the content for the presentation. Unlike today's search engines, this personal assistant was able to understand the professor's spoken language and interpret vague instructions, such as "pull up all the articles on deforestation that I have not yet read." Technology - Future Technologies
Contactless payment is already proving a success with early adopters
attracted to the convenience and speed of paying for train journeys or
small purchases with a wave of a smart card. In the U.K., London
Transport's Oyster Card is one of the most successful and high profile.
Technology - Future Technologies
Videoconferencing's high-definition big brother telepresence promises to realize the vision of effective remote meetings. By offering an immersive meeting experience, telepresence gives global businesses a real alternative to executive travel, allowing them to benefit from lower traveling expenses and carbon emissions and improve the work-life balance and productivity of employees.And unlike videoconferencing, telepresence has captured the interest of senior executives. A survey of IT decision makers from IDG Research found that 34 percent of respondents were either evaluating or planning to implement telepresence solutions within the next 12 to 24 months.
Technology - Future Technologies
Solar power has long been heralded as a major renewable energy, but the
economics have prevented it becoming mass-market. Now, with the
breakthrough in thin-film technology combined with record oil prices,
companies see a ray of hope.Companies on both sides of the Atlantic are basking in the sun. In the U.S., Google has a 1.6Mw solar array on its Mountain View buildings that generates 30% of the peak power needed on campus.
Editors Choice
- Brian Wall is editor of Green I.T.
- Environmental change: Will it be Windows, Google or the cloud?
- Eastern Promise - mixed picture for Arab telecoms markets
- Support where it's needed most
- Eliminating complexity with voice management
- A new approach to an age-old problem
- Where next for cloud computing?
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