"We
have entered a post-PC era. The self-standing, self-contained
personal computer is no longer going to be the locus of interest and
investment in this industry."
- Lou Gerstner of IBM
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Microsoft to Acquire Great Plains for $1.1 Billion
Microsoft Corp. Thursday revealed plans to acquire Great
Plains Software Inc. in a deal valued at $1.1 billion. The
acquisition is structured as a stock purchase; each share of Great
Plains common stock will be exchanged for 1.1 shares of Microsoft
common stock.
By acquiring the supplier of mid-market business applications,
Microsoft expects to bridge the gap between on-premise software and
next-generation software and services, according to Jeff Raikes,
group vice president of Microsoft's productivity and business
services group.
Source: Internet.Com
Cybersister's Comment
Buying
Great Plains would give Microsoft its first true enterprise resource
planning product, which will get them into this growing market a lot
faster than building their own. Microsoft seems pretty serious
about continuing to sell software in its strongest market--small and
medium-size business. The Great Plains deal is designed to make it
even stronger in that market, since Great Plains has software that
runs on Microsoft databases/platforms. ERP for the large
corporations is dominated by SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle, etc.. but this
might give Microsoft a big in-road into ERP for small/med companies.
However, there may be the usual questions around how big and
powerful Microsoft is becoming. Sigh.. the more things change, the
more they stay the same......
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Spintronics
This is a technology that is in what
we call the "R&D" stage, in other words, you can't get it yet,
but it is demonstratable in a lab, and could be available in the
not-too-distant future. So,
what is this? Let me start with a bit of an explanation: In a
computer, the system's logic is separated from its long-term
memory. The CPU and the RAM memory operate by electronics and the
hard disk stores info via magnetic storage, with is great for
packing tonnes of data, but not so great for "real-time" speed.
That's why you have to re-boot when you start up, why you have to
back up in case you lose power, etc... .
Now computer scientists are developing technology called
"magnetoelectronics" or simply "spintronics" , magnetic tricks that
could close this divide between the magnetic storage and the
electronics. At least 10 corporate labs, including those at
IBM, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard and startup Integrated
Magnetoelectronics, are working on prototypes of magnetic RAM
(MRAM). "We are manipulating these structures on the atomic
scale...something people didn't think was possible even 10 years
ago," says Stuart Parkin, a physicist at IBM's Almaden Research
Center in San Jose, Calif., and a pioneer in the field.
CyberSister's Comment
What
is this going to mean? How about an unprecedented combination of
instant-on capability, reduced power consumption, speed and density.
Once this is perfected and applied, it'll mean a huge boost for
miniaturization, mobile commerce and pervasive computing (anytime,
anywhere).
Ultimately, researchers believe it could lead to whole computers
based on the spin of single electrons. Stuart Wolf,
program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency,
which has been a strong financial backer of spintronics, says
"These spin devices will be the ultimate in nanoscale. You can't get
any smaller than an elementary particle. At least, that's what I
think now." Read the "Post-PC" quote at the start of this
newsletter - this is where the computing world is heading - into the
palm of your hand, in your car, into your clothes and coffee cups
:)
Ten
Technologies that could change the
World
Technology review magazine just listed ten technologies they
believe could change the world. Interestingly, the CyberSisters
have talked about a few of them over the last year or so!! As
business people, we need to be thinking ahead, and be ready for the
opportunities that are coming over the next few years. The
interesting thing about the future is that it is both predictable
and unknowable (I've developed my own slightly wacky theory about
this as a futurist, so if you're interested, contact me at dcurrie@digitalripple.com).
I've provided the list and links to explanations for those of you
who think this stuff is kinda cool.
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Want
to become a genius in your spare time? Check out this well written
guide to the quantum world. You are really going to have to suspend
disbelieve and open your mind here. The world is a lot stranger than
a lot of us think, and those of us in the Internet business can
learn a lot about 'probabilities of existence' and the uncertainty
principle. Hmm...
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Technology Review Magazine
I thought I followed all the techie magazines, but I
must have missed this one!!! If you're looking for future-related
information about up and coming technology, check it out here.
Futuristic without being too "way out there", if you know what I
mean. In other words, the technology they review actually exists in
some sort of labratory or scientific way, and not pure fiction.
In the recent issue they featured "two of technology's
deepest thinkers" in a dialogue on the future of humanity.
Interesting stuff.
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| What's a Ripple Effect Rock? Well, think of a rock thrown in
a lake, and how the water ripples outward. This section of the
newsletter covers developments and technologies that we think might
soon cause a "ripple effect" in business or society.
Teddy goes High
Tech
Let's say you want to be in two places at once? How do you do it?
Why not send a "Telebuddy" to one of the places you'd like to be.
Telebuddy is a high-tech teddy bear that lends its eyes, ears and
voice to remote users via the Web. The brainchild of researchers at
two German organizations—the Computer Graphics Center in Darmstadt
and the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics in
Rostock—Telebuddy's nervous system includes a camera, a microphone,
speakers and robotics, all linked via radio to a local computer
connected to the Web. Remote users can see and hear what Telebuddy
does as the person who carries it in a backpack ambles through the
exhibit halls and chats with passersby. The office-bound person can
also type in questions, which Telebuddy translates into synthetic
speech to provide a live chat interface. A prototype Telebuddy
attended its first conference last July, and its developers are
exploring entertainment uses.
Source: Technology
Review
Cybersister's Comment
Once
again, I'm a little aghast and thrilled at the same time. Hmm.. I
remember my sweet little low-tech teddy (ok, it was a wierd looking
stuffed doll, but humour me...). I can't be somewhere, but I can
send a little teddy that I can see through its eyes and talk through
its mouth. This is one of those innovations where the technology
(cameras, microphones, wireless communications) isn't totally new,
but the adaptation and usage is all converging together.
Fascinating. Think of the possibilities here!!!!
One Special last minute note:
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to all our readers. Thanks for
all your feedback over the last year. Blessings to you and yours
from the CyberSisters and Digital Ripple.
That's it for now! Have a great week!
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
British Columbia
745 Clark Drive
Vancouver,
B.C.
V5L 3J3
Telephone: (604) 215-0216
Facsimile: (604) 215-0431
E-Mail: dcurrie@digitalripple.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Toronto,
Ontario, Canada
Telephone: (416)430-5726
Facsimile: (416)430-5726
E-Mail: alcurrie@digitalripple.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oshawa,
Ontario, Canada
Telephone: (905)721 0285
Facsimile: (905)721 1335
E-Mail:alcurrie@digitalripple.com
"Exploring the Ripple Effect of
Digital Technology"
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