Sep

12

IBM updates its Connections social enterprise software, eyes analytics | ZDNet

IBM on Wednesday made the latest version of its Connections social enterprise software generally available with updated activity streams, more mobile support and analytics features.

The Connections software, technically Connections 4.0, includes the following:

A revamped activity stream for a consolidated social dashboard. The general idea is that users can act within the activity stream to approve travel requests and expenses among other items.
Support for Apple’s latest iPhone, which will be unveiled today, the iPad, Windows Phone and Android devices.
Trending topics within the enterprise and social network.
Integration with enterprise email and calendar tools.
On-premise and cloud delivery options.

Many of these features were highlighted in our recent interview with Jeff Schick, IBM’s social software lead.

IBM is ranked the top social software vendor by IDC and Big Blue has been touting its large clients, including Primerica, LeasePlan, Bayer and other large companies. IBM also has built a network of 39,000 partners to build on top of Connections, which started as an internal collaboration tool before being productized.

Sep

07

Navigating the new multi-screen world: Insights show how consumers use different devices together

Sep

06

Multi-screen mania: how our devices work together — GigaOM

With more devices at our disposal, users are finding ways to spread out their tasks between screens, moving from smartphones to PCs and tablets. That’s one of the findings of a new multi-screen study by Google.

multiscreen

photo: Google

The reality of our multi-screen world is that consumers are increasingly turning to different devices throughout the day to accomplish tasks. A user might rely on a smartphone to dash off a quick text message or to scan a product in store, then use a tablet to plan trips at home and then turn to a PC to do more heavy research.

But we’re not just tackling discrete jobs with each device. We’re spreading out tasks between devices, starting something on one screen and then completing the task on another machine. That’s the conclusion of new research from Google, which set out to understand how we’re using our network of devices. And that has implications for publishers and marketers, who are trying to understand how to stay in front of consumers as they use more devices.

Aug

20

StethoCloud – The $20 Stethoscope Attachment For Smartphones To Diagnose Pneumonia | Singularity Hub

Stethocloud takes a relatively simple approach to replace stethoscopes and targets a common childhood killer.

What do you get when you combine smartphones, cloud computing, and digital medicine? A new era of healthcare that is bringing powerful technological innovations rapidly to the world.

For example, take StethoCloud, a cloud-based service that turns a Windows smartphone into a digital stethoscope. Created by four students from the University of Melbourne, the goal of the team is to enable early diagnosis of an overlooked childhood killer: pneumonia. Using a specially designed microphone called a “stethomic” that plugs into the smartphone’s audio jack and an app that guides users through the proper method for listening to a patient’s breathing, early testing shows promising at accurately detecting the disease.

And it’s expected to cost only $20.

Amazingly, the project only started at the beginning of this year with the first prototype built in February in just two weeks. With backgrounds in both computer science and medicine in developing nations, the team put together the app, cloud service using Windows Azure, and a polished presentation. By April, they were ready with their pitch and their efforts paid off: StethoCloud won the Australian Final of the 2012 Imagine Cup, a student technology competition hosted by Microsoft, in May, and the team advanced to the second round of the worldwide finals.

Aug

10

Farm Software Tries to Make Its Mark - NYTimes.com

THE world doesn’t necessarily need the gazillion-and-one games that seem available on smartphones. But it could use more apps and services that address the needs of business people with specialized needs. Like farmers.

Wesley Bedrosian

FarmLogs, a start-up based in Ann Arbor, Mich., is a one of a few new companies that are making a pitch to farmers. It offers a cloud-based software service — no software is downloaded; only a Web browser is needed — that embodies the latest technology

…

In one view, a farmer can see rectangular representations of what is planted on each field. A click leads to a log of what was done when on each field: tilling on this date, fertilizing on that date, spraying on another.

With the data stored in one place, it can be combined with information from other sources and used by the farmers. If they need, they can also share it easily with consulting agronomists, crop insurance agents, the Agriculture Department and others.

Jul

17

Better medicine, brought to you by big data — Cloud Computing News

Slowly but surely, health care is becoming a killer app for big data. Whether it’s Hadoop, machine learning, natural-language processing or some other technique, folks in the worlds of medicine and hospital administration understand that new types of data analysis are the key to helping them take their fields to the next level.

Jul

02

Rise of the enterprise “toys.” The past three quarters have seen more than $10 billion in enterprise cloud consolidation. Across mobile and web, new solutions are emerging that help workers connect and communicate better with their customers, analyze business data, gain new clients, manage their payroll and expenses, and more. The enterprise software space, which is attracting more investment than consumer internet, is chasing hundreds of billions of dollars that are now up for grabs in enterprise IT spend. Via TechCrunch

Jun

26

How Africa is embracing “the cloud” on its own terms. Landline, Internet and electricity challenges make Africa an increasingly attractive proving ground for cloud computing. Out of the one billion people in Africa, only an estimated 140 million use the Internet, but over 600 million use mobile phones. And given the lack of reliable power grids, rechargeable mobile devices are a more practical way of accessing Internet-based applications than PCs. Broad use of mobile application services in Africa is already the norm, and adoption of some types of mobile applications already dwarfs their usage in the US.

For example, Safaricom’s M-PESA mobile payment system, which allows customers to transfer money to each other via mobile phones, has largely replaced cash transactions in Kenya. Users are sticking to content within apps without realizing they’re Web-based at all. Technology development is now focused on this mobile market and serving the “un-webbed,” including ways to get applications distributed to customers using their non-Web, real-world social networks. Via Ars Technica

Jun

22

The internet of things: how connected devices can drive sustainability | Guardian Sustainable Business

Technology that connects people and objects with online identities is only as good or bad as the way we choose to use it

ometimes trying to predict the digital revolution seems very much like that old cliche of waiting for a bus. You know, you spend 12 years waiting for mobile to come along and then social and cloud arrive at the same time. That perfect, ahem, storm of connectivity – combined with the rapid adoption of smartphones – is changing society and shaking up business faster than any of us can imagine.

So imagine something even more disruptive: the social, cloud and mobile connected identity of everyday objects, or the “internet of things” as it is often called. Just two years ago, the internet of things was widely framed by examples such as a washing machine telling its owner and the manufacturer when it needed a service. Or the fridge having a chat with Waitrose (other fine supermarkets are available) when you’re running low on milk.

Jun

14

“Cloud isn’t just a more powerful engine in the same old car”

Cloud is a state of the business, not just IT — Cloud Computing News (via fredericwilliquet)

Mar

06

IBM Smarter Planet Leadership series - Stories

When we look at success stories, we see impressive numbers and outstanding results. But behind the figures and percentages, someone had the idea that preceded the outcome. Someone got the ball rolling. The Smarter Planet Leadership Series celebrates the forward thinkers who embraced change and put innovation to work in their organizations, their industries, their world. They each formed a vision, built constituency and transformed the business model. In short, they made a difference. That’s what leaders do. We celebrate these inventive thinkers and hope that their stories inspire you-to find your own path to innovation and to recognize other leaders in your organization.

Mar

02

Ninja Blocks: Connect your world with the web. by Ninja Blocks — Kickstarter

The internet of things for the rest of us.

Follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Want to bridge the things in your life with the web? Maybe you want to get an alert when your friends are playing on Xbox Live, or send an SMS to your phone when someone is at your front door. Even if you’re an electronics expert, or a programming prodigy, these are complex, finicky projects. Ninja Blocks puts aside the complexity of electronics, networking, and coding and allows you to focus on creating.

Ninja Cloud

This is the Internet of Things the way it should be: Ninja Cloud is seamlessly integrated into your Ninja Blocks, allowing them to easily listen and talk to web services such as Twitter, Facebook, Dropbox, Weather and more.

How it all works

Ninja Blocks are simple but powerful open source hardware backed by an amazing web service called Ninja Cloud that allows your Ninja Block to talk to your favorite web apps.

Each Ninja Block comes with an RGB LED and built-in temperature sensor and accelerometer. Four expansion ports and a regular USB port allow you to add further inputs and outputs.

Ninja Cloud allows you to control your Ninja Blocks without writing a single line of code.

Jan

17

“Scientists have created a cloud-computing system to connect first responders, organizations, city officials and others during emergencies. The tool would provide up-to-date information and enable collaboration and communication between those in need.”

Cloud-Based System to Improve Disaster Response - Cloud Computing | Smarter Technology

Jan

16

“A new capability in the IBM SmartCloud for Social Business is a cloud-based office productivity suite, IBM Docs. Now in beta and planned for availability in 2012, IBM Docs is a social document platform that allows organizations, both inside and outside the firewall, to simultaneously collaborate on word processing, spreadsheet and presentation documents in the cloud”

IBM Bolsters Social Business Play With Analytics | eWeek.com

Jan

11

Panasonic Shows Cloud-Based “Smart Vegetable Garden” Device For Home Use | TechCrunch

Panasonic isn’t just making TVs, phones, or cameras, they are also producing household appliances. One such appliance has recently been introduced by Japanese business daily The Nikkei, and it’s probably the first cloud-based device for growing fruit and vegetables at home out there.

Four leaf vegetables can be grown in one so-called “Smart Vegetable Garden” (which is sized at 100x50x30cm) at the same time, with Panasonic claiming that owners can expect to harvest them in about 40 days – 30% less than using conventional methods. Apart from saving time, the device also integrates a cloud-based management system to track growth, for example by automatically screening the level of water and nutrients, or the temperature.