One of the more interesting trends in the Horizon report, Horizon Report 2010, is the proliferation of cell phones and allied devices. One can only wonder if the power of billions of such devices could be harnessed in some sort of mega-Beowulf cluster! The thought of all the amazing problems that much power could solve is astounding!
From a smaller perspective, functionality of cell phone applications is increasing at an exponential rate. Already, cell phones and smart devices are replacing the need for a general-purpose personal computer. The main limitation seems to be how to funnel all that information through a tiny interface, the display. An I/O bound problem, to be sure.
The Horizon Report also discusses several areas of technology. One item of particular personal interest is that of semantically-aware applications. This technology could be thought of as a blending of database and artificial intelligence technologies. The author mentions the connections that could be inferred from previously unrelated pieces of information. This is the essence of how the human brain works; making connections between chunks of data and applying the result in ways not previously thought of.
There would seem to be room for both approaches discussed, top-down and bottom-up. Top-down could be used for future applications while the bottom-up approach could be used for legacy information and applications.
From a smaller perspective, functionality of cell phone applications is increasing at an exponential rate. Already, cell phones and smart devices are replacing the need for a general-purpose personal computer. The main limitation seems to be how to funnel all that information through a tiny interface, the display. An I/O bound problem, to be sure.
The Horizon Report also discusses several areas of technology. One item of particular personal interest is that of semantically-aware applications. This technology could be thought of as a blending of database and artificial intelligence technologies. The author mentions the connections that could be inferred from previously unrelated pieces of information. This is the essence of how the human brain works; making connections between chunks of data and applying the result in ways not previously thought of.
There would seem to be room for both approaches discussed, top-down and bottom-up. Top-down could be used for future applications while the bottom-up approach could be used for legacy information and applications.
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