Monday, March 17, 2008 2:59 PM/EST
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When you cover and analyze emerging technologies, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement and the promise of these new technologies. And it's even easier to look at these technologies only from a positive angle.
And what's not to like? After all, most emerging technologies were designed from the ground up to bring about positive ends. Their creators want to improve people's lives, boost productivity, cure disease, provide security and bring about new waves of technology where anything is possible.
But almost any new technology that has a positive side also has a negative and more dangerous side. Technologies that can cure disease can also cause disease. Products that provide convenience imperil safety and privacy. Tools that ensure security also help secure criminals from law enforcement.
Such is the nature of innovation. But some new technologies are more dangerous than others. With that in mind, here is my list of the 10 most dangerous new technologies either available today or being worked on for the near future. Please comment below and let me know what technologies would make your list.
And, oh yeah, I decided to limit this list specifically to computing technologies, so that's why there aren't any biotech or genetics entries.
Thursday, August 09, 2007 12:04 PM/EST
Click the image to see the list
"You get what you pay for." It's an old saying, one that typically means that if something is free, then it probably isn't worth much.
But in the world of technology, the exact opposite is often the case. Over the last 20 years many of the most innovative and useful products and technologies that we've seen are those that users and businesses could take advantage of for no upfront cost whatsoever.
And while there are some people out there who disparage free and open-source products and technologies as being copycats of commercial products (not that those don't exist), in many cases it is the free and open-source products that are breaking new ground and setting the course for other free and commercial products to follow.
With that in mind, I've put together this list of 20 free products and technologies that proved to be innovative and that ended up changing the future of technology. Some were open source, some were freeware, and some started out free, flirted with commercial models and then returned to free status. But in all cases, users of these technologies got quite a bit of value from them. In fact, they got quite a bit more than what they paid for, even if they had paid a lot more than nothing.
So take a look at my list of the Most Innovative Free Technologies, and comment below to let me know what technologies and products would make your list.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 2:50 PM/EST
Click here to see photos of the XO laptop
One Laptop Per Child's XO (commonly referred to as the $100 laptop) is designed to change the world by bringing computing resources to children in the developing world. But the many innovations in the XO may also end up changing the world of technology.
When you first see the XO the thought that immediately jumps to mind is "kid's toy." With its bright green coloring, built-in carrying handle, funny rabbit ears and rubber membrane keyboard, it looks like something that Fisher-Price might put out.
But then you pick it up and realize how sturdy and well built the XO is. And then you turn it on, and discover that you are connecting wirelessly to the Internet and to other XO users that are creating a local network. You find lots of software designed for kids but also find some groundbreaking collaboration tools that let you work with others in ways that outshine some of the best corporate groupware.
Oh yeah, even though bright sunshine is beating down upon the laptop screen, you're having no trouble reading the display. But the sunlight is OK since it's powering your system through a small low-cost solar cell, and the XO doesn't need much power, running at a small fraction of what laptops normally considered green run at.
This is the XO, a system that was born when MIT legend Nicholas Negroponte set out to build a $100 laptop in order to make it possible to deliver computers to kids and schools in developing countries. And while the XO didn't make the $100 target price (instead currently coming in at around $175), it does now sit nearly ready to be deployed around the world.
I recently had the opportunity to spend some time at the offices of the One Laptop Per Child project and got to take a first had look at the final beta version of the XO, dubbed B4. I also had the chance to speak to OLPC President Walter Bender and Chief Technology Officer Mary Lou Jepsen.
Based on earlier looks I'd had of the $100 laptop, I expected to be impressed simply by the economy, low power capabilities and wireless mesh features of the XO. But what I saw firsthand exceeded these expectations.
Put simply, the XO is one of the most revolutionary computer systems that I've seen in some time. Throughout the entire time I was looking at the XO, I was regularly thinking, why can't my new expensive laptop do this? The technologies that the OLPC's XO are introducing could go a long way towards changing the face of future systems, especially in the area of power consumption.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 8:39 AM/EST
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I have to admit that when I first heard about the Windows Home Server I didn't really think that much of the concept. After all, it's pretty simple to take an existing Windows server and turn it into a home storage and backup system. Also, there are plenty of easy-to-deploy Linux appliances that can quickly turn any system into an effective network-attached storage device, and never mind the many inexpensive network hard drives available at many stores.
And all of this is still true. But after testing the release candidate of Windows Home Server that was made available last week at connect.microsoft.com, I must say that I am very impressed with its implementation, simplicity and functionality. At least on the software side, it looks like the Windows Home Server could not only turn home digital media storage into an easy task, it may more importantly make home system backups much easier for users.
I installed the Windows Home Server on a do-it-yourself server system in our labs by simply booting to the installation DVD and letting the install run its course. One amusing aspect of the installation process was when it went from the Vista-like Windows Home Server screens and transitioned to installation screens for the Microsoft Small Business Server, which has clearly played a big part in the underlying code of the Home Server.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007 10:00 AM/EST
With the launch of this new site dedicated to covering emerging technologies, we look forward to some of the innovative and useful products and applications that we'll be testing and analyzing.
But one cannot understand successful technologies without also understanding the failures. With that in mind here is our list of ten emerging technologies that never quite got out of the door. And for this list we've decided to focus on technologies that have yet to prove successful, leaving out products like the Newton or Push, that failed at first but are now successful in their second incarnations as smart phones and RSS feeds respectively.
So here's our list of 10 Emerging Technologies that Flopped. Comment here and let us know which technologies and products would make your list of flops.
CLICK THE IMAGE TO SEE THE SLIDESHOW
Wednesday, May 09, 2007 9:54 AM/EST
Every Wednesday here at eWEEK's Emerging Technology we'll provide links and insights into the latest news that's breaking anywhere about new technologies and products.
Here are the emerging technology stories for the week of May 7th.
Sun Tries to Outshine Silverlight, Flash; Targets Mobile - You could make a good argument that Java was the original Rich Internet Application environment but it has since been replaced by Flash and other new technologies. Among many announcements at this week's JavaOne show is JavaFX, which aims to get Java back among the top players in RIAs.
Doing the Tom Cruise with your computer - The founder of Oblong Industries gives a talk about work on building hand gesture computer interfaces, somewhat similar to the one show in the Tom Cruise film Minority Report. All I can say is that if the person next to me on a plane starts waving their hands around at their laptop, I'm going to ask for another seat.
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