GLIMPSES OF THE FUTURE - MAY, 2006
A monthly digest of technologies, developments and trends that will shape our lives. (If you would prefer not to receive these digests, flip back 'NO THANKS' and you will be removed from the list).
Standing Room Only At The Back Of The Plane
If you think economy air travel has already got as 'no frills' and basic as it could possibly get, how about the idea of a passenger plane without seats?
The New York Times reports that Airbus has been quietly pitching the concept of a plane fitted with 'standing boards' to Asian low-cost carriers. Apparently the FAA does not require that passengers have seats, only that they are restrained during take off and landing. As a result, cash-conscious carriers are considering stripping out seats and installing padded boards to which standing passengers can be strapped.
The new giant A380 Airbus will accommodate about 500 passengers with conventional seating. But with standing-room-only 'seats', the same plane could conceivably fit in 853 passengers, the maximum it would be permitted to carry.
I bet Ryanair is ripping out its seats even as you read this.
The Awakening Of The Global Brain – 2
Last month I commented that Google is getting smarter by the day, and it seems that many of you agree. Now Kevin Kelly (one of the founders of ‘Wired’) suggests that at present the internet is roughly 100th the size of the human brain (in terms of nodes and branches). (See ZDNet’s piece on Artificial Intelligence). But, as Kelly points out, the human brain isn’t doubling in size and speed every eighteen months. Which leads me nicely to the next item…
Singularity Conference – The Only Place To Be In May
Stanford University in Northern California will host a one-day conference called The Singularity Summit, on Saturday, May 13, 2006.
For those of you who have not yet read ‘The Singularity Is Near’ by Ray Kurzweil, the term refers not to a gravitational singularity (as in black holes) but to the idea that computer development is racing towards a point at which artificial intelligence will match, and then surpass, human intellect.
Kurzweil delivers the keynote on the 13th and other noted speakers include cognitive scientist Douglas R. Hofstadter, nanotechnology pioneers K. Eric Drexler and Christine L. Peterson, science-fiction novelist Cory Doctorow, philosopher Nick Bostrom, futurist Max More and Eliezer S. Yudkowsky, research fellow of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence. In addition, author Bill McKibben will participate remotely from Maine via Teleportec, a two-way, life-size 3D display of the speaker.
The conference is free. Register here.
More Opportunities for Google To Grow Its Advertising Revenue
How many Google Alerts do you have? I have 107 and, yes, I do read every email I get.
Because the software agents deliver such carefully targeted information, we should expect to see Google selling sponsored links at the bottom of its Google Alert emails in the very near future. This is precisely the soft of carefully selected and targeted advertising I predicted in The On-Line Handbook in 1984. It does my heart good to see such a clear example of the concept, but it will do Google’s share price even more good.
SETI@home Faces Closure
Funds are running out for SETI@home – the project that distributes data gathered from space to idle computers on the internet in the hope that a signal will be detected from an intelligent alien source.
As alien contact is the subject of my current novel, The Cloud, this is a project close to my heart and one I have been involved with. The project needs to raise £750,000 by the end of the 2006 and writer and SETI supporter Sir Arthur C Clarke has sent out a letter urging computer users to send in donations. The project is updating its hardware and software and is running dangerously low on funds.
"Following the "dot com" bust, the commercial support that kept SETI@home running has largely disappeared," writes Clarke.
"Because of this loss of support, we can no longer count on matching funds from the University of California. We are rapidly approaching the end of what funds we do have."
A site at which supporters can donate to SETI@home has been set up here
Exubera Setback in UK
I wrote last month that diabetics will soon be saying goodbye to needles thanks to a new insulin inhaler about to be marketed by Pfizer.
But not in the UK they won’t. NICE – the regulatory body that decides which medicines are to be made available by the state-funded National Health Service – has decreed that Exubera is too expensive to be prescribed. It would cost the NHS £3 per day per patient. Exubera goes on sale in Europe next month.
It's "Redberry" In China As Firms Steal March On Blackberry
Two Chinese mobile phone companies (one state owned) are marketing a mobile phone called Redberry which offers 'push email' like the famous Blackberry (produced by Canada's RIM Corporation).
The real Blackberry is to go on sale in China later this year but in the meantime, the Chinese government - which is purportedly working hard to crack down on the pirating of intellectual property - is making money by blatantly referring to the Blackberry product name to sell it's own phones. There's some way to go yet before China is a safe place to do business.
And Finally - The Future of Chinese Women's Trousers
The following is a direct extract from an official Chinese announcement (yes, I'm ripping them off):
Second conference of Chinese Woman’s Trousers was held in Beijing this month, sponsored by Zhenzhou Linxiu Clothing Co Ltd.
Themed on the direction, ways and creation of Chinese woman’s trousers industry, the conference was attended by more than 300 participants including concerned Governments departments of several countries.
Participants undertook in-depth discussions on brand creation, market operation about Chinese woman’s trousers.
This conference would greatly affect the future of Chinese woman’s trousers industry, sources say.