August 20, 2007
(Computerworld)
These cutting-edge technologies from research labs and companies that are looming on the horizon. Special thanks go to our six scouts and nine judges, who helped find and evaluate the Computerworld Horizon Award winners featured here. (See how they were chosen.)
Winners
Eleksen Group PLC's Sideshow Wearable Display Module
What it does: Using its unique patented fabric technology, ElekTex, Eleksen has developed a Vista Sideshow module in collaboration with Microsoft Corp. that can be incorporated into computer bags, briefcases, backpacks, fabric keyboards or clothing. Users can see schedules, phone numbers, addresses and recent e-mail messages without having to start up their laptops. Read more…
Company Web site: www.eleksen.com
Stanford University's EyePoint
What it does: EyePoint makes it possible for eye-gaze to be used as a viable alternative to the mouse (or other pointing techniques) forpointing and selection tasks, such as surfing the Web. Your hands don't have to leave the keyboard, so the technology works well in constrained spaces, such as airplanes. Read more…
EyePoint Web site
Ghost Inc.'s Global Hosted Operating System
What it does: Ghost moves the operating system onto the Web, providing users with a Ghost virtual computer -- a free PC environment accessible from any browser. With a single online file system, single log-in and sharing collaboration, Ghost brings together Web 2.0 applications and offers an alternative to Windows. Read more…
Company Web site: http://G.ho.st
Linguistic Agents Ltd.'s Streaming Logic
What it does: This intelligent command engine bridges natural language and computer language, allowing machines to "understand" the actual meaning embedded in a sentence. Read more…
Company Web site: www.linguisticagents.com
Cleversafe Inc.'s Cleversafe Dispersed Storage
What it does: Cleversafe slices, scrambles, compresses and disperses data over the Internet to disparate nodes (servers) on a grid. Data is stored on inexpensive hardware; there's no centralized server, so it's scalable. Read more…
Company Web site: www.cleversafe.org
Zink Imaging LLC's Zink Imaging
What it does: Zink is a new way to print full-color digital images without ink cartridges or ribbons. This totally inkless system uses "Zink paper," which has embedded dye crystals that become colored when a printhead heats and activates them, using a combination of time and temperature. The result is high-quality, long-lasting, durable images that are dry immediately and can even be dunked in water. Printers using Zink technology are extremely small -- in fact, they can be pocket-size and embedded into almost any electronic device. Read more…
Company Web site: www.zink.com/discover/how_ZINK_works
Hewlett-Packard Laboratories' Memory Spot
What it does: This miniature wireless data chip, 2mm to 4mm square, can be stuck on, or embedded in, any object. Prototypes of the chips can hold as much as 4Mbit and future versions are expected to store several megabytes. The chip requires no battery or external electronics -- it receives its power to read and write data via inductive coupling from a read-write device. Its antenna has a 10Mbit/sec. data transfer rate (comparable to Wi-Fi). Read more…
Project Web site
University of Southern California's Globus Medicus
What it does: Globus Medicus is a robust and user-proven method for sharing 3-D medical images on a grid. This image communication system is now in everyday use within a clinical trial setting of 40 medical centers. The technology allows transfer and review of diagnostic images in near real time between Los Angeles and Boston and any other grid-enabled sites, without loss of image integrity. Read more…
Web site: http://dev.globus.org/wiki/Incubator/MEDICUS
Northwestern University and NEC Laboratories America Inc.'s Compressed RAM for Embedded Systems
What it does: CRAMES (Compressed RAM for Embedded Systems) is a memory compression technique that more than doubles the amount of usable memory in embedded systems such as cell phones without any changes to hardware, without any changes to applications, and with negligible performance and power consumption. It works by modifying the virtual memory infrastructure of an embedded operating system. Memory is divided into two regions: a compressed region and an uncompressed region. Data automatically migrates between these regions to maximize usable memory and minimize performance drains and power consumption. Read more…
CRAMES Web site
Symantec Corp.'s Norton Identity Client
What it does: This combination of services and software helps consumers manage their online identities and ensure security of online transactions, with a goal of creating a universally accepted identity system for consumers across all Web sites, similar to a passport. The key to the initiative is the Norton Identity Client, which will provide consumers with online credentials and give them protected access anywhere they transact on the Internet. Read more…
Demo Web site
Company Web site
Honorable Mentions
8e6 Technologies' 8e6 DataDefender
What it does: This information leak-stoppage appliance uses a digital fingerprinting algorithm to monitor information traffic and block confidential information from leaving the network. The tool combines insider threat management technology, including real-time breach monitoring and remediation capabilities.
To learn more:
www.8e6.com
Adobe Integrated Runtime (Adobe AIR)
What it does: This cross-operating system application runtime allows Web developers to use their existing skills to build and deploy rich Internet applications on the desktop, so users can engage with Web applications even if there is no Internet connection.
To learn more:
www.adobe.com/go/air
BitArmor Systems Inc.'s BitArmor Security Suite
What it does: BitArmor protects, tracks and manages data throughout the company at wire speed so users won't notice any delay. The software protects data on laptops, desktops and application servers, and can seamlessly encrypt, classify, apply retention policies to, suspend access to and destroy any data stored anywhere in the organization. Automatic key management eliminates the costs and complexities of PKI software, making encryption transparent to users and easy to manage.
To learn more:
www.bitarmor.com
NextSentry Corp.'s ActiveSentry
What it does: This intelligent desktop security software prevents employees from accidentally or maliciously distributing private data to the outside world. ActiveSentry monitors a broad array of distribution methods, including e-mail, instant messaging, blogs, file transfer, printing and removable storage devices, such as memory sticks or CDs. Uses ContextIQ, a context-based engine that automatically understands a user's intent or meaning and triggers real-time alerts.
To learn more:
www.nextsentry.com/ActiveSentry.ashx
SiCortex Inc.'s SC 5832
What it does: This complete cluster node on a chip includes six 64-bit processor cores, multiple memory controllers, a high-performance cluster interconnect, and a PCI express connection for storage, graphics and networking. A SiCortex cluster node with DDR-2 memory consumes less than 20 watts of power, an order of magnitude less than the 250 watts used in a conventional cluster node, dramatically improving communication latency and bandwidth.
To learn more:
www.sicortex.com
Sun Microsystems Laboratories' Project MPK20: Sun's Virtual Workplace
What it does: MPK20 is a virtual 3-D environment in which remote employees can accomplish work, share documents and meet with colleagues using natural voice communication. Based on a Java-based game engine for creating a virtual world, MPK is an abbreviation for Menlo Park (Sun's physical campus). The MPK20 software is built on top of Sun Labs' Project Darkstar infrastructure -- a server platform designed for multiplayer games.
To learn more:
http://research.sun.com/projects/mpk20/
Talend Inc.'s Talend Open Studio
What it does: A free, full-featured data integration product built on pure, open-source components, the software provides a more scalable, less-expensive open-source alternative to traditional, proprietary data integration suites. It can perform traditional extract, transform and load functions, as well as extract, load and transform functions that use the power of database engines to execute high-volume data transformations.
To learn more:
www.talend.com/press/java-data-integration.php
www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=289948
www.talend.com/products-data-integration/talend-open-studio.php#feature
www.talend.com/tos/tutorials/menu.php
www.talend.com/preview/tos/tutorials/tutorials.php?sid=qs/oview
UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science's Spin-wave Buses
What it does: Three novel nanoscale computational architectures use a technology called "spin-wave buses" as the mechanism for logic and interconnection. Spin-wave buses put the spin of electrons to work transferring data with minimal energy between computer components, therefore consuming less power and creating less heat.
To learn more:
www.engineer.ucla.edu
www.newsroom.ucla.edu/page.asp?RelNum=7022&menu=fullsearchresults
Vertica Systems Inc.'s Vertica Database
What it does: The database is a high-speed SQL database designed for large-scale, read-intensive business intelligence workloads.
To learn more:
www.vertica.com
www.vertica.com/_pdf/VerticaArchitectureWhitePaper.pdf
www.bulldogsolutions.net/Vertica/VCA04192007/frmRegistration.aspx?bdls=9916 (free registration required)
WorkLight Inc.'s WorkLight
What it does: This server-based product extracts data from corporate applications and makes them available via Web 2.0 technologies like RSS, AJAX, application mashups, instant messaging and del.icio.us tags. Corporate application data can be viewed through interfaces like personalized home pages, Web-based and desktop gadgets.
To learn more:
myworklight.com