What is Next Big Thing in Computers?

[Z-man]

Originally posted by RickM
Nearby at Bell Labs they invented a glass cube that was capable of storing large amounts of data using light. Great thing was that it could be made very small becase there were no heat issues. At the time light computers were the thing to develop. Not sure where it lead.

Last year I attended a McData Storage conference (I'm in the IT storage industry). IBM is currently working on a similar concept, where some type of plastic was the storage media. Divots on the nano-level could be melted into the plastic, and again, a nano-based 'brush' could be run across the plastic to read the 0's (smooth) and 1's (divot). The benefits of this type of storage is that it is not magnetic media, which deteriorates over time, and the plastic can be easily 'erased' and reused.

But boy, if you use a nano-level brush to paint your house -- well, that's gonna take a long time!!

I'm assuming that the glass cube that Bell is working on is similar in concept as the IBM plastic media - non-magnetic and uses nano-technology to determine a 0 or 1.

Though I am biased, I think that the storage area of IT will be where you see the newest techologies emerge.

-Z-man.

[nostatic]

storage is useless unless you can find what you want. And are able to work with the data.

meta data and virtual engines. mmmmm....

[dd74]

Doesn't Microsoft have a program where you can use Word/Outlook/Excel and what-not online, but store your documents on your HD? For a monthly fee, of course.

[RickM]

....and everything we're talking about needs to be.........secure.

[nostatic]

not everything. wikis aren't (at least some/most of them).

[Saintly]

HS - "Press any key to start"?
which key is the "any" key?
i see essk and ktaral but i dont see an any key
whew... all this computer hacking is making me thirsty.. think i'll order a tab
"beep"
no time for that now.. the computers starting!

[nostatic]

button up that mumu and get back to work!

if I only had my poking stick...

[Wrecked944]

Originally posted by RickM
....and everything we're talking about needs to be.........secure.

Good point. I threw "data security" into google and found this five day course at MIT in crypto. The school has a great rep but...five days? I wonder if it actually worth the $2500 tuition? Seems unlikely...

http://professional.mit.edu/ApplicationFiles/web/WebFrame.cfm?web_id=308

Yeah, I know...obviously a slow day at the office...

[djmcmath]

Hmmm ... storage is important, sort of, except that storage capacities are already expanding at 10 times the rate of bandwidth. So you'd think bandwidth would be the next big push. But people are moving more towards wireless and handheld -- which has intrinsically less bw capabilities.

I think more likely the next big winner will be file systems that help you sort your data. We have too much stuff, and we can't organize it. A file system that kept track of meta-data, rather than simply blindly storing data, is probably on the horizon. Expect a fs which keeps track of file associations: A and B were used in conjunction with each other. C and Q have similar names. P and Z have related content. (shrug) Or maybe I'm wrong.

The other guess would be security. Wireless security right now is almost humorous. WEP looks for all the world (sort of) like a one-time-cipher-pad encryption, except we use the same key on every packet (sort of). One easy-to-use wireless encryption standard requires the key to be sent plaintext over the air, then returned encrypted. ???? Who thinks of these things?! We've obviously got a lot of development to gain here.

On the OS front, I keep hearing the winds of change against M$. More and more, I hear people saying that Mac (which is like BSD, except cooler) is excellent, and that they've never been so happy with their computer since they switched to Gentoo/Mandrake/SuSe. I suspect that M$'s massive size will take many years to eventually die. Between here and there, there will certainly be plenty of opportunities for repentance, and they may yet "get it."

Google is liable to turn into the next Evil Empire, in M$'s place. So far, they have a lot of really good ideas, and they're totally benevolent. Leadership will change, however. I'm not holding out hope in human nature.

(shrug) That's my $.02, and boy, did you get your money's worth.

Dan

[ae1969]

Bionetworks

If my fridge can get plugged in to receive streaming content.

I may as well.

[COLDBASS]

Originally posted by Blanco
We just attended a class that most major Telecom co's are moving to. VoIP.

THIS is going to be the "next" big thing. No need for telephone handsets etc... a call can just ring to your IP enable device ie palm/laptop/ pc etc.

I guess this is where the computer part comes in.

This is here. All the big Players have VoIP products running at various clients facilities...convergence has been the buzz for several years now. In 5 years you'll be able to count the major hardware VoIP provider on a single finger...CISCO...they are currently struggling with their large call center apps/voicemail, once they nail it, look out. Their marketing is intense...their VoIP marketshare will be rivaled by noone...

[scottmandue]

Someday we will exchange information on something called paper ...

Shhh, it very top secret...

[URY914]

D-base.

[id10t]

Well, there are already filesystems that store meta-data (this is starting to sound like /.), network based storage doesn't have to be too fast to outperform a harddrive (especially a slow/low RPM one), and with OS's booting off cd or usb key or ....

[COLDBASS]

Originally posted by scottmandue
Someday we will exchange information on something called paper ...

Shhh, it very top secret...

Oh, it happens. Typically during a grid outage and after the UPS batteries are drained...its amazing how folks are so lost during these times...on well...

[Victor]

Management, automation and integration solutions to help big enterprises manage all the crap people like us have sold them in the past.

Security, compliance and risk management is at the core of all this as someone has pointed out a couple of times.

[Saintly]

Hello, yes i'd like to order a replacement coffee cup holder that my PC came with. You know, the one that pops out when you press the little button.

[pwd72s]

How about a computer with a simple on/off switch?

[djmcmath]

Originally posted by scottmandue
Someday we will exchange information on something called paper ...

Shhh, it very top secret...

You eediot! You've let out the Navy's big secret! Now the Russkies will figure out why we're so efficient!!

[Wrecked944]

Originally posted by Victor
Security, compliance and risk management is at the core of all this as someone has pointed out a couple of times.

Interesting. Based on the semi-consenus on this thread I did some google searches for formal educational programs concentrating on data security. And I'm pretty surprised to find almost no colleges or universities offering graduate study programs on the topic. Even MIT offered just one or two courses and no formalized program. Weird.