The month of November was a busy month, as usual for IBM, filled with a slew of announcements in hardware, software, services, acquisitions, and strategic alliances. The list of announcements made during the month is here. Included was the third annual "IBM Next Five in Five" -- a list of innovations that have the potential to change the way people work, live and play over the next five years. The Next Five in Five is based on market and societal trends expected to transform our lives, as well as innovations IBM is projecting will come from it’s research laboratories around the world.
These are some highlights of the five areas in which IBM sees our lives being impacted by technology innovations. For more, visit ibm.com.
Energy saving solar technology will be built into asphalt, paint and windows. There could be huge savings by having solar heat embedded in our sidewalks, driveways, siding, paint, rooftops, and windows. The cost of solar is going to drop with the creation of “thin-film” solar cells that can be 100 times thinner than today's materials. The new material can be “printed” and arranged on a flexible backing, suitable for not only the tops but also the sides of buildings.
What if you could foresee your health destiny and use that knowledge to modify your lifestyle? Our doctors will be able to provide a genetic map that tells you what health risks you are likely to face in your lifetime and the specific things you can do to prevent them, based on your specific DNA. Pharmaceutical companies will also be able to engineer new, more effective medications that are targeted for each of us as individual patients.
You will talk to the Web -- and the Web will talk back. You will be able to surf the web hands-free. Already, in parts of the world where the spoken word is more prominent than the written word in education, government and culture, “talking” to the Web is leapfrogging the PC because of the ubiquity of the mobile phone. We take voice for granted but soon we will just as easily use our voice to post to our blogs, scan and respond to e-mails and instant messages, and sort through the Web verbally to find what we are looking for and have the information read – as if you are having a conversation with the Web.
In the next five years, shoppers will increasingly rely on themselves - and the opinions of each other - in combination with technology "assistants" to make purchasing decisions rather than wait for help from in-store sales associates. Fitting rooms will be outfitted with digital shopping assistants - touch screen and voice activated kiosks that will allow you to choose clothing items and accessories to complement what you already selected. Once you make your selections, a sales associate is notified and will gather the items and bring them directly to you. You will also be able to snap photos of yourself and email or SMS them to your friends and family for the thumbs up -- or thumbs down. Shoppers can access product ratings and reviews from fellow consumers and will even be able to download money-saving coupons and instantly apply them to their purchases.
Forgetting will become a distant memory even as Information overload keeps you up at night. In the next five years, it will become much easier to remember what to buy at the grocery store, which errands need to be run, who you spoke with at a conference, where and when you agreed to meet a friend, or what product you saw advertised at the airport. Such details of everyday life will be recorded, stored, analyzed, and provided at the appropriate time and place by microphones and video cameras. Our mobile phones with GPS will remind us to pick up groceries or prescriptions if we are in the vicinity of the appropriate store. Strong privacy protection will have to be a key feature of these new technologies.
Complete index of IBM Happenings
A smarter planet: the next leadership agenda
IBM is working with thousands of forward-thinking companies, governments, universities
and institutions to make our smarter world a better place to live.
http://www.ibm.com/ibm/ideasfromibm/us/smartplanet/20081106/
IBM Chairman Sam Palmisano outlined the possibilities of a smarter planet to the
Council on Foreign Relations in New York City on Nov. 6, 2008.
http://www.ibm.com/ibm/ideasfromibm/us/smartplanet/20081106/sjp_speech.shtml
IBM commits to future of ODF with Symphony roadmap
IBM unveiled a roadmap for the expansion of the free Lotus Symphony office application
suite to MacIntosh, Ubuntu Linux, OpenOffice 3.0 and Microsoft Office customers.
http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/25912.wss
IBM helps 4Food integrate corporate social responsibility
IBM is providing consulting services to help Bronx-based restaurant company 4Food integrate
corporate social responsibility values and practices into its business strategy.
http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/25914.wss
IBM awarded U.S. immigration services contract
IBM has been awarded a technology and services contract by the Department of Homeland
Security for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services agency.
http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/25922.wss
Punahou School uses IBM to cut energy use
Punahou School in Honolulu, in an aggressive energy reduction effort, has replaced its
legacy servers with high-performance, low-power System x servers.
http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/25891.wss
PHASE 2 selects IBM technology to grow its business
PHASE 2 International, a leading Software as a Service provider, selected IBM technology
to enable the company to support more clients while lowering energy use by over 65 percent.
http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/25894.wss
IBM forms software speeds past paper delays
The new version of IBM Lotus Forms, 3.5 allows employees to quickly create, store and route
e-forms inside and outside of an organization via e-mail and the Web.
http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/26103.wss
IBM announces plans to acquire Transitive
Transitive is a leader in cross-platform virtualization and a pioneer in developing technologies
that allow applications written for one type of microprocessor and operating system to run on
multiple platforms -- with little or no modification.
http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/26106.wss
IBM unveils findings of Security & Society GIO
IBM's Security and Society Global Innovation Outlook (GIO) included brainstorming sessions
around the world, between technology leaders, government officials and security industry
luminaries.
http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/26105.wss
IBM, National Grid and LIPA announce energy-efficiency program
National Grid, the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) and IBM are working together on an
energy-efficiency program to increase the use of energy-saving options in their customers'
IT operations.
http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/26124.wss
IBM awarded funding for cognitive computing collaboration
IBM Research and five leading universities are partnering to create computing systems that are
expected to simulate and emulate the brain’s abilities for sensation, perception, action, interaction
and cognition.
http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/26123.wss
Nokia extends IBM Lotus email access to mobile phones
Nokia and IBM announced IBM Lotus Notes support for a number of Nokia's S60-based mobile
phones, allowing millions of Notes users to access email with their Nokia devices.
http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/26130.wss
IBM reveals third annual "Next Five in Five" list
The "IBM Next Five in Five" is a list of innovations that have the potential to change
the way people work, live and play over the next five years.
http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/26121.wss
IBM launches new cloud computing services
IBM is applying its consulting expertise and established technology record to offer
secure, practical services to companies in public, private and hybrid cloud models.
http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/26168.wss
IBM, Manitoba build digital passport system for food
IBM and the Province of Manitoba have tested a new system which makes it possible
to digitally trace the journey food takes before it ends up in consumers' shopping carts.
http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/26177.wss
IBM to validate resiliency of cloud infrastructures
IBM is introducing a program to validate the resiliency of any company delivering
applications or services to clients in the cloud environment.
http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/26167.wss
Report finds IBM Supercomputers most energy efficient
According to the findings of the latest Supercomputing 'Green 500 List' announced by
The Green500.org, IBM supercomputers are the most energy efficient in the world.
http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/26148.wss
LendingTree Loans selects IBM for loan services
IBM announced a multi-year, exclusive contract with LendingTree Loans to provide
comprehensive, private label mortgage loan fulfillment services.
http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/26147.wss
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