TOPICS INCLUDE:
• Emerging infrastructures
• "Free"
• Transparency
• Cloud economics
• Open source
• Machine-to-machine interactions
• Distribution models
• Real-time analysis
• Augmented reality
CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
New technologies and applications are creating new imperatives, from research and development, to printing and software distribution, to media and content creation, and beyond. In this conference, we’ll explore how upheavals caused by the adoption of networked technologies might affect organizations and entire industries. We’ll examine some of the new digital economics (and economies) that we will inevitably encounter. Where will the control points be, and what are the big risks for large-scale systems and new players? What’s being created, what’s being remade, and what’s being reinvented?
Ten years ago, new technology and applications upended the business landscape and resulted in the dot-com boom and bomb. Today, just about every business model we thought we knew has changed. Disruptive influences are everywhere—some the result of specific actions, others a confluence of unforeseen and unintended consequences. The idea of “free” is gaining traction; what will people pay for and what will they not? How should we measure worth? What are the implications of the cost of communications and storage approaching (but never quite reaching) zero?
More often than not, the value of content lies in its sensitivity to the environment in which it is consumed. Are constant and “real-time” information streaming and measurement for real? Are we prepared to utilize all that data? If social networks break down their walled gardens, what are the implications? Geography, once rendered irrelevant by the Internet, is back in vogue. How will the return of “location” and location-based applications change (and enhance) our lives?
Cloud economics are extraordinary, so why haven’t we all moved there yet? What will we achieve by combining the cloud with mobile broadband? Open-source and free software are reaching into the enterprise, providing robust, stable platforms for application development, data management, office applications, and communications. How different will tomorrow’s desktop be from today’s? Shifts are inevitable in the technology landscape; how will we best manage our response to them?
PALO ALTO RESEARCH CENTER (PARC)
http://www.parc.com/
February 25, 2010
Founded in 1970 as part of Xerox Research and chartered to create “the architecture of information,” PARC was incorporated in 2002 as an independent research business. PARC has contributed to the creation of more than 30 companies and is celebrated for such innovations as laser printing, the graphical user interface (GUI), object-oriented programming, and ubiquitous computing. PARC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox Corporation.
PARC works closely with clients to discover, test, and deliver new business opportunities. Global enterprises and early-stage entrepreneurs gain new insights into customer needs, extend technical capabilities, and acquire valuable new technology assets. PARC takes an interdisciplinary approach to creating business value through technology innovation.
CONTEXTUAL DELIVERY OF INFORMATION
Contextual delivery of information helps to build relationships between people, documents, and tasks. As mobile and embedded computing systems increasingly pervade environments, more and more information and content is available as a regular part of daily activities. Sometimes, information is proactively sought; other times, the information is offered automatically. Applications must adapt to changing context information: physical context, computational context, and user context/tasks. The development of context-aware applications is supported by context information modeling and reasoning techniques.
CONTENT-CENTRIC NETWORKING
Content-centric networking is an innovative approach to networking that simplifies network use, improves performance and security, and enables a seamless, ubiquitous experience. Content-centric networks allow the content itself to migrate where it is needed. A content-centric approach allows access to relevant, self-organizing information without cumbersome plumbing (i.e., firewalls, VPNs, and ad hoc synchronization protocols). The network can meet specific information needs with available resources, operating within appropriate administrative, performance, and security constraints.
PRINTED ELECTRONICS
Flexible electronics are lightweight, rugged, bendable, rollable, and potentially foldable, and can be produced using organic materials. Current work involves thin film transistors (TFT) and p-i-n photodiodes for solar cells and flat panel display and image sensor backplanes.
WATER FILTRATION AND CLEANTECH
PARC has developed a highly scalable technology platform that enables continuous flow clarification without membrane, and the creation of suspensions for hydrodynamic separation. A rapid, in-line hydrodynamic clarification process does not require a filtration barrier for source water pre-treatment in front of reverse-osmosis membranes. Innovations within this approach include fluidic structures for rapid coagulation, floc conditioning, and hydrodynamic pin floc separation. The ability to treat neutrally buoyant suspensions makes this method ideal for seawater, which has high organic content.