Future of Computing
2005-05-05
 
Web Services, XML and SOA - David Orchard
A Bottom-Up Success Story Dave Orchard Weblog - WebServices.Org: "Q: There's been some concern about performance issues with Web services. What's the BEA take on this?
There's network performance and there's computing performance, and both are affected by Web services. There are a variety of things that we've been working on to address this. For computing performance, we offer a number of innovations that increase performance in developing and deploying XML componentry. We were the spec lead for the Java pull parser, so you can asynchronously pull parts of a message out. XML beans is another example of an excellent performance technique that is available. Instead of taking an entire message, and converting it all to Java for a binding as each message is received, a client can simply use XML beans to pull out the parts of the message that it needs.
For network performance, one of the things that we struggle with is the trade-off between interoperability and performance. Those are two diametrically opposed goals. For each application deployed, there is an optimal network size available for encoding that message as a binary protocol. The problem is that a binary protocol probably wouldn't work for somebody else's application. XML is the exact opposite of that binary, highly-optimized performance network protocol. What we got with XML, for better or for worse, is a language that guarantees interoperability, but at the expense of optimization. XML is a heavyweight in terms of size and encoding size. We've come up with a binary format we call Token Stream. We've also worked with Microsoft to support the transmission of SOAP messages with binary attachments like images. But we're taking a cautious approach when it comes to some of the XML optimizations.
Premature optimization of software or network architectures is something we’re careful to avoid. I’ve been an architect on a number of projects in the past, and one of the things I’ve found is that by optimizing early on, we didn’t optimize for the right interactions. We want to make sure that we do optimization right for Web services and messages, and find out where the problems are. It may turn out, for example, that introducing better XML parsers or messaging architectures may take care of half the problems of XML and Web services performance. It would be foolish, then, to introduce two or three different new binary formats for XML to solve that problem, because we would lose a lot of interoperability. For that reason, we believe in a bit of a go-slow approach. Interoperability is the most important priority. If we have two or three new formats, we’re never going to get there.

Document literal formats are another performance area we’re working on. Document literal involves exchanging coarse-grained documents. Instead of exchanging names and addresses, for example, you exchange a purchase order. Our software supports both fine-grained and large-grained interactions from a message perspective, but we advocate coarse-grained interactions for better performance.

Another way to achieve high performance systems is through an asynchronous architecture. In a synchronous architecture, when the application sends a message, it ends up waiting for a response, which could potentially be unbounded amounts of time. An asynchronous architecture can lead to very high performance. We have championed the use and deployment of asynchronous architectures and Web services. That’s why we’re involved in WS-Addressing and WS-Eventing, which use asynchronous messaging. But we need to educate people that asynchronous, coarse-grained, loosely coupled messages are the right way to go to deploy high performance Web services."
 
ZapThink :: Research - Services: Build, Buy, or Repurpose?
ZapThink :: Research - Services: Build, Buy, or Repurpose?: "However, one of the significant shifts in thinking that SOA introduces is the notion that business logic is not engrained in programming code, but rather in the declarative metadata that describes a Service and how it interacts with other Services. In essence, SOA advocates a movement away from code-centric development to configuration-centric composition."
2005-04-30
 
Digitial Identity in Cyberspace
Digitial Identity in Cyberspace: "Executive Summary
Currently there is no generic system for identification in cyberspace. It is not possible to absolutely identify an entity or to accurately tell whether an object has a specific characteristic. Digital environments have inherent differences from real space which causes this discrepancy, and when implementing an identity system for cyberspace one needs to consider more than just the architectural nature of the system - any system chosen will have social repercussions which need to be also taken into account.
Identity is a unique piece of information associated with an entity. Identity itself is simply a collection of characteristics which are either inherent or are assigned by another. The color of a person's hair and whether or not another thinks he is attractive is part of a person's identity.
Interactions done in real space inherently carry the identity of the person originating the transaction. Generally, physical traits are carried along in a transaction - for example when one purchases a book from a book store, the book dealer may remember the buyer's face or build.
The difference between real space and cyberspace is that the essence of any digital transaction is unbundling. Ones and zeros do not inherently carry any separate information along with them; a real space transaction carries along inseparable secondary information. Digital transmissions can only transmit; there is no secondary information encoded in the transmission unless explicitly put there. Thus, for authentication purposes, additional information needs to be carried with cyberspace transactions for identity purposes."
 
Digital Identity World :: Digital Identity, Digital ID
Digital Identity World :: Digital Identity, Digital ID: "What is Digital Identity?
A Digital Identity is the representation of a human identity that is used in a distributed network interaction with other machines or people. The purpose of the Digital Identity is to restore the ease and security human transactions once had, when we all knew each other and did business face-to-face, to a machine environment where we are often meeting each other for the first time as we enter into transactions over vast distances.
Attributes of a Digital Identity
A Digital Identity only needs to be as complete as a particular transaction requires. That is to say, some transactions require a far more robust Digital Identity than others, since the degree of trust and information required can vary significantly based on the type of transaction. A Digital Identity consists of two parts:
Who one is (identity)
The credentials that one holds (attributes of that identity).
These credentials define a Digital Identity, and they can be quite varied, of widely differing value, and have many different uses. The full Digital Identity is quite intricate and has legal as well as technical implications (here is a MIT white paper on the subject that will give you the idea.) However, the simplest possible Digital Identity consists of an ID (such as a user name) and an authentication secret (such as a password).
In this simplest Digital Identity the user name is the identity while the password is said to be the authentication credential. As computerized systems become more networked and distributed, Digital Identity must become more robust to make complex distributed user interactions easy while achieving the required control and security. Ultimately Digital Identity will become as complex and flexible in use as a real-world human identity."
 
STENS BIOFEEDBACK
STENS BIOFEEDBACK: "Through the Nexus-10 we are proud to offer you a Bluetooth enabled solution with internal Flash memory. (for storage of up to 24 hours of data) NeXus-10 offers very high resolution 24 bit data acquisition at up to 2048 samples per second. The built-in state of the art pre-amplifiers measure any electrophysiological signal from DC to 800Hz including raw EMG, EOG and Slow Cortical Potentials. (SCP�s) Because it uses low noise carbon based cables, expensive active sensors are no longer required for electrophysiological signals such as ECG, EMG, EEG, EOG and SCP


Typical applications:
Biofeedback applications
Physiological research
Clinical Psychophysiology
Wireless data logging upto 24 hrs
Physical Medicine
Movement Analysis
Neurofeedback & SCP training
Sports physiology
Human performance & movement analysis
Wellness, Stress response studies
HRV (heart rate variability) research"
 
GEO World - Mar 2001 - NewsLink
GEO World - Mar 2001 - NewsLink: "Traditional electronic monitoring technology employs ankle transmitters and receivers located in parolees' homes. Such 'house-arrest' systems signal authorities when parolees are home or within about a block radius of their homes, but they're ill equipped to track offenders away from home curfew. Considering many parolees are required to obtain jobs, attend classes and participate in treatment programs, conventional tracking devices often leave large blocks of unsupervised time.
Denver-based Continental Divide Robotics (CDR), however, has developed a mobile electronic monitoring system based on Global Positioning System (GPS) and digital mapping technology that allows police departments and other correctional agencies to monitor offenders 24 hours a day, regardless of location.
Marketed by Boulder, Colo.-based BI Inc. under the brand name 'SkyGuard 500,' CDR's tracking system includes a nonremovable ankle or wrist bracelet (transmitter); a mobile tracking pack that contains a GPS unit, battery and wireless communication device; a central computer system; and a World Wide Web-based user interface (accessible via a standard Web browser). Parolees are required to wear the battery pack in an 'over-the-shoulder' bag whenever they leave home. If a parolee attempts to abandon the pack, an alarm is triggered in the central computing system, which then notifies officers via pager, cellular phone or computer."
 
Students ordered to wear tracking tags - Tech News & Reviews - MSNBC.com
Students ordered to wear tracking tags - Tech News & Reviews - MSNBC.com: "SUTTER, Calif. - The only grade school in this rural town is requiring students to wear radio frequency identification badges that can track their every move. Some parents are outraged, fearing it will rob their children of privacy."
 
Vettro
Vettro: "Vettro mobile applications transform wireless phones and handhelds into powerful, enterprise-connected computing devices. Vettro unlocks the value in existing enterprise systems and generates quantifiable business improvements for field service, mobile sales, and fleet operations.
Transform field service, mobile sales, and fleet operations with:
Unparalleled user experience that enables workers in the field to use applications regardless of cell phone coverage
Completely wireless application management which eliminates the need to ever recall devices from the field
Packaged or configurable applications designed to integrate seamlessly with your existing business processes and systems
Integrated with GPS, bar code scanners, credit card readers, and printers to enable location tracking, real time inventory management, and point-of-service payments
Lowest Total Cost of Ownership through subscription-based licensing, integration with existing systems and software, and deployment on cell phones and BlackBerry handhelds over public networks. "
 
TranWare, Inc.
Company: "TranWare, Inc. is the exclusive developer, distributor and support organization for the TranWare line of ground transportation software systems. The TranWare system has been installed in many locations throughout the United States and Canada. Our staff has been developing solutions for Taxi, Limousine, Shuttle, Paratransit and Courier markets for 15 years."
 
Mobile Knowledge
Mobile Knowledge
"Mobile Knowledge provides advanced GPS, wireless and mobile data communications technology to optimize the operation and security of vehicles and other mobile assets for enhanced fleet management applications."
2005-04-29
 
EyeTech Digital Systems-Eye Tracking Device-
EyeTech Digital Systems-Eye Tracking Device-: "Operate your PC... Hands Free!

Designed for people with disabilities.

LAPTOP VERSION NOW AVAILABLE!


Also: Need an eye pointer for your cutting-edge application?
- Marketing, Psychology, or Eye Gaze Research
- Video game
- Computer kiosk
- PDA pointer
- Wearable computer
- Science center
- Art gallery
- Driver or pilot monitoring, etc.


Work with us to create the future...
Our robust algorithms excel with glasses, and eye / skin color variations. "
 
David Ward: Dasher: Intro
David Ward: Dasher: Intro: "Existing devices for communicating information to computers are either bulky, slow, or unreliable. Dasher is a data entry interface incorporating language modelling and driven by continuous two-dimensional gestures, e.g. a mouse, a stylus, or eye-tracker. Tests have shown that, after an hour of practice, novice users reach a writing speed of about 20 words per minute while taking dictation. Experienced users achieve writing speeds of about 34 words per minute, compared with typical ten-finger keyboard typing of 40-60 words per minute.
Although the interface is slower than a conventional keyboard, it is simple to use, and could be used on personal data assistants and by motion-impaired computer users. Dasher can readily be used to enter text from any alphabet. "
2005-04-20
 
Subtext home
Subtext home
2005-04-02
 
Internet Security Research Lab - Home
Internet Security Research Lab - Home: "The Internet Security Research Lab (ISRL) conducts research in areas related to establishing trust between strangers on the Internet. Web clients and servers frequently begin an interaction as complete strangers whenever the client is not part of the server's security domain. Identity-based security approaches fall short in such an environment. In order to readily conduct sensitive business transactions, the client and server must build trust gradually on-line according to attributes other than identity, such as citizenship, age, employment status, memberships, licenses, certifications, etc. Trust negotiation is the process of a client and a server exchanging digital credentials and policies with one another to gradually build trust. Credentials serve as digital "letters of introduction"."
2005-03-31
 
AgentLink.org | European Co-ordination Action for Agent-Based Computing
AgentLink.org | European Co-ordination Action for Agent-Based Computing: "AgentLink III is the premier Co-ordination Action for Agent Based Computing, funded by the European Commission's 6th Framework Program. Launched on 1st January, 2004, it provides support for the network of European researchers and developers with a common interest in agent technology through events aimed at industry outreach, and standardisation issues, as well as providing support for academic events and providing resources through the AgentLink Portal."
2005-03-25
 
Building A Better Brain
Forbes.com: Building A Better Brain
"Jeff Hawkins and Donna Dubinsky, creators of the Palm and Handspring personal digital assistants and the Treo smartphone, have formed a software company built around a powerful and unorthodox vision of how the human brain works. In its early stages, they hope to create predictive machines useful for things like weather forecasting and oil exploration. Further out--much further, says Hawkins--they plan to lay the basis for cosmologically attuned robots that conceive and reflect on the universe itself."

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