If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you're like most of us, you always keep your smartphone or tablet within arm's reach and have become accustomed to limitless access to information anytime and anywhere from an array of aesthetically designed, simple and user friendly apps.
Just as we look forward to the next compelling "Star Trek" movie and new adventures in outer space, a new frontier is emerging: inner space. IBM scientists have turned the problem on itself, tackling one of the world's largest big data challenges in the smallest way -- one atom at a time. In fact, the folks at Guinness World Records have certified the movie as the "World's Smallest Stop-Motion Film."
Every company these days knows they have to get social. Yet often, even when organizations think they're embracing social media in a big way, they aren't. For most companies, social means marketing. It equals Facebook likes and Twitter followers. But that's just the price of entry into the social world we -- the 1.5 billion people using social networks -- are crafting around us.
Today, through the use of instrumentation, such as RFID technology, companies and individuals can monitor in real-time everything from the status of a bullet train racing across the countryside to hourly energy usage in their homes and even individual appliances.
With one exception, all of my friends use computers. They also own smartphones. Most have an iPad, an iPod, a GPS, a Kindle or a Nook. They frequently shop on the Internet and use MapQuest. They have a Facebook page and get their news from the Web. Some play Words With Friends. The exception is Larry.
Flipboard unveiled a major upgrade to its iOS app on Wednesday, including the ability to create your own magazine. It's a natural progression for the app that now goes from a consumption platform to a creation one as well.
As people continue to share increasingly personal information online, it's easy to miss the dangers presented by sharing information with many websites they visit.
The ability to access this data from anywhere in the world and finding meaningful ways to combine it with other sources of data is at the core of the vision for a smarter, more connected and intelligent planet. Yet, the flipside is that these new sources of data and information are perfect targets for fraud and crime.
About four years ago, we started hiring high school interns. The idea was to introduce basic software development skills and help create interest in the field. What we didn't anticipate was how much we'd learn in the process. In many ways, the teachers became the students, and the experience continues to transform the way we view risk, reward -- and the user experience.
The world is moving fast these days, but to truly innovate you need to move even faster than the fastest competitors. So how can cloud computing give you the speed you need to stay ahead of your competition?
Many believe that online gambling will soon become as simple as buying an e-book or streaming a movie, and that the convenience of being able to bet from your couch, will present incredible opportunities for entrepreneurs.
Microsoft is one of the world's greatest companies; it hires some of the most talented people; and it has created huge wealth for its stockholders over four decades. So why haven't they been a fast-follower in mobile?
Remember the Internet in its early stages? Fast forward to today. I get into my car in the morning on the way to work and my phone checks the traffic, finding the best route. During a quick stop at Starbucks, my Starbucks card pops up on my phone as I walk through the door so I don't have to open the app to pay. Another app streams personalized music during my commute.
As a society we talk about outsourcing, downsizing, and retraining but not specifically how important is for everyone everywhere to learn some coding skills. The world as a whole is barreling down a path where those who know how to code will own those who don't.
The smartphone has become the center of our digital universe. It's how we engage with family and friends, the way we buy products and the way we stay informed, generating billions of transactions a day, millions of times a second. What has not been as apparent, however, is just how valuable all that data can be to help small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) grow their businesses and attract new customers.
