#IBM pushes silicon photonics with on-chip optics

This close-up photo shows an IBM chip wired up with both electrical links, shown in yellow, and optical waveguides, shown in blue. Conventional computers today transfer data with electrons traveling along electrical links, but researchers hope higher data-transfer speeds can be achieved by sending photons on optical links.

This close-up photo shows an IBM chip wired up with both electrical links, shown in yellow, and optical waveguides, shown in blue. Conventional computers today transfer data with electrons traveling along electrical links, but researchers hope higher data-transfer speeds can be achieved by sending photons on optical links.

(Credit: IBM Research)

IBM has advanced the technology of silicon photonics, fabricating a microchip that has built-in components to send and receive data over optical links.

Researchers have built optical data links into chips before, but IBM’s move is notable because it uses conventional chipmaking equipment geared for chips with 90-nanometer features. Today’s chips use metal wires to exchange data, but optical links offer the potential of higher transfer speeds over longer distances.

The chip can include several optical components including wavelength division multiplexers that let the chip send and receive signals with multiple frequencies of light, an approach that lets more data be sent over the same channel in a given amount of time.

The IBM chip can handle data rates of 25 gigabits per second, and the researchers expect to increase that through technology improvements and by building multiple communication channels that work in parallel.

The research is part of IBM’s continuing effort to improve computing performance despite Moore’s Law challenges.

IBM expects the technology to benefit large-scale systems — supercomputers, multiple servers linked together, or the data-pathway “backplanes” within servers. It’s not unusual for higher-end server technology to trickle down to consumer products, though.

The 90nm process IBM used isn’t as advanced as the 22nm one that Intel uses for its latest “Ivy Bridge” generation of processors found in higher-end PCs today. But IBM’s approach is the first time silicon photonics has been built into chips with a process size less than 100nm, the paper said. (A nanometer is a billionth of a meter; about 1,100 elements of 90nm chip circuitry could fit side by side across the diameter of a human hair.)

IBM’s approach also makes efficient use of electrical power, an important consideration given the power limits processor and computer designers face today.

Big Blue reported the results in a 24-author paper for the IEEE’s International Electron Devices Meeting.

#Biometric Bracelet Could Connect You to Products - #NWO

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So what’s the next step, I asked? Do people start wearing biometric tokens that send signals to devices in the neighborhood, letting you know when you’re in their vicinity so they can respond by tweeting you to please buy them?

Sure, why not, comes the swift response from Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff. Last August, as regular ReadWriteWeb readers will recall, Benioff astounded his audience at the Dreamforce conference with the mind-alteringly imminent notion that Coke machines should become aware of their customers’ presence, and respond through their iPhones with bargains and loyalty points. Of course, Benioff’s idea at that time relied upon the customer always having his iPhone with him. This time, at the Cloudforce conference in New York this morning, Benioff one-upped his own idea with the notion that a biometric bracelet could supply interested products and devices in the wearer’s immediate vicinity with a kind of identity signal.

Benioff’s suggestion was brief and simple: Not just applications, but people working remotely, can get a better understanding of customers’ needs if they had vision into the context of where they are and what they’re doing. As demonstrated earlier in the day, a financial sales team might have immensely greater comprehension of the urgency of a customer’s needs if they were to see that she was at the bank, that she was talking to a loan officer, and that she had started filling out the paperwork for a mortgage application.

You’re not being very helpful

The roadblock preventing that sales team from knowing this information already lies with the customer’s ability or willingness to share. Follow my logic, if you will, as it weaves its way past a dense forest of psychology and pathology. Not everyone tweets everything, you see. And that’s a problem, because your needs while you’re at a gas station or a coffee shop may be very different from when you’re starting to fill out a mortgage application. What’s keeping you from tweeting, “I’m filling out loan paperwork?” Is your keyboard not big enough? Is there not time enough in-between your other tweets where you reveal that you were in the car, and that you got out of the car? Has the proper hashtag “#MORTGAGEAPP” not been created yet?

“Products need to become much more social,” says Benioff. But they can only do that if people can talk to products, and people don’t talk to products. At least they don’t now. This is where the bracelet comes in. It could talk to products in the language of products. Maybe it can tell your car that you’re standing next to it. Imagine if your ignition key only worked for you but not for anyone else? Your biometric bracelet could identify you as the proper bearer of the key. If someone stole your bracelet, it wouldn’t work for that person because the bracelet might know your fingerprint and your heartbeat rhythm.

This vision starts to make sense. Imagine if a first responder station could immediately respond if you were in an accident and couldn’t reach the OnStar button yourself. Imagine being able to audit the location(s) of your teenage son throughout the day and night. There is enormous benefit to the notion of something being able to signal who and where you are.

From information in isolation, it becomes academic to move to information in the aggregate. How many teenage boys within a given county or district are outside of school between the hours of 1:00 and 2:00 pm? How many get into accidents? What are they driving? Just minutes before Benioff showed off his bracelet, Salesforce senior vice president Kraig Swensrud demonstrated Radian6, the company’s tool for displaying real-time, live social data about interests, activities, and conversations. With Radian6, you know which customers are talking about what products and when. And it’s just as academic to move to information in the aggregate. How many customers over 40? Male? At home? At the bank? Filling out a mortgage application?

Where to put the filter

This is tomorrow’s dilemma, the one that faces society when, as Benioff predicts, it abandons e-mail in favor of persistent, live connections. In today’s social networks, there are “groups” (Facebook) and “circles” (Google +) that let users establish their own filters, for restricting the degree to which information gets automatically shared. How will we establish similar filters once it becomes possible for our location, our present activity, and our heart rate to become broadcast to every salesman on the planet? And how do we decide the extent to which our 24/7 broadcast of personal information gets aggregated into bar charts and pie charts? We may tell ourselves that no one can tell who and where we are from an aggregate chart, but in reality, it’s just as academic a process to drill down as it is to build up.

So do we create “circles” for who gets our heart rate and who doesn’t? Doctors, certainly. Bankers, maybe. Politicians, probably not. And how do we decide who these people are who deserve to see our personal data? Perhaps we could create rules. Only bankers in our county? Only doctors affiliated with folks we know? Maybe our friends have gone to certain doctors before. Perhaps we can find that out.

Maybe if we do some drilling down ourselves. Let’s see a map of all the doctors my friends have ever visited. Let’s see how well they rated. On second thought, let’s see how well they rated among folks I care about. Do you suppose this doctor follows his own exercise regimen and goes jogging every afternoon? Between 2 and 5? Let’s find out.

If that’s not something we’re permitted to know… then for heaven’s sake, why? Why would a legitimate businessperson put a filter on his personal information? Doesn’t he want to attract customers? Doesn’t he care about his business? How will we learn more about this person? To paraphrase Marc Benioff, how can we become friends with our products?

Perhaps if we ask the products themselves. Surely there must be aggregate data available from the stores he’s visited, the clothes he’s tried on, the Coke machines he’s walked past. And now you see what I’m getting at. Once you place something in the public domain, you can’t bottle it up any more. If the cloud “knows” where you’ve been, and your filter says you don’t want certain people (or things) knowing about it, what is to stop an agent from deducing this information from other sources with which you’ve had contact, including (and especially) other things over which you have no control?

New WTPWNBC Documentary - Predictive Programming and the Human Microchipping Agenda (by noverichip) #SpreadThis - #NWO

Part 2:

http://vimeo.com/26487586 - Predictive Programming and the Human Microchipping Agenda (1hr 18mins)

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This is an interview by Bruce Collins with Wes Faull from Faull Bros Production about the new documentary from We The People Will Not Be Chipped - http://www.wethepeoplewillnotbechipped.com

Wes has worked on previous films for WTPWNBC, including One Mainframe To Rule Them All - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF1h_FaQOq4

—-

There’s also a recent interview with Greg Nikolettos on the Corbett Report - http://www.corbettreport.com/interview-379-greg-nikolettos/
mp3 - http://www.corbettreport.com/mp3/2011-09-29%20Greg%20Nikolettos.mp3

Source: youtube.com

IBM - Watson

A System Designed
for Answers

Operating on a single CPU, it could take Watson two hours to answer a single question. This is a far cry from the three seconds it takes to be competitive on Jeopardy!. For Watson to achieve the speed of the human brain in delivering a single, precise answer to a question requires thousands of POWER7 computing cores working in a massively parallel system.

Watch the video to find out how building a smarter system like Watson involves optimizing hardware and software into a solution greater than the sum of its parts.

IBM's Watson supercomputer destroys all humans in Jeopardy practice round (video!) #IBM #artificialintelligence

So, in February IBM’s Watson will be in an official Jeopardy tournament-style competition with titans of trivia Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. That competition will be taped starting tomorrow, but hopefully we’ll get to know if a computer really can take down the greatest Jeopardy players of all time in “real time” as the show airs. It will be a historic event on par with Deep Blue vs. Garry Kasparov, and we’ll absolutely be glued to our seats. Today IBM and Jeopardy offered a quick teaser of that match, with the three contestants knocking out three categories at lightning speed. Not a single question was answered wrongly, and at the end of the match Watson, who answers questions with a cold computer voice, telegraphing his certainty with simple color changes on his “avatar,” was ahead with $4,400, Ken had $3,400, and Brad had $1,200.

Alright, a “win” for silicon for now, but without any Double Jeopardy or Final Jeopardy it’s hard to tell how well Watson will do in a real match. What’s clear is that he isn’t dumb, and it seems like the best chance the humans will have will be buzzing in before Watson can run through his roughly three second decision process and activate his buzzer mechanically. An extra plus for the audience is a graphic that shows the three answers Watson has rated as most likely to be correct, and how certain he is of the answer he selects — we don’t know if that will make it into the actual TV version, but we certainly hope so. It’s always nice to know the thought processes of your destroyer. Stand by for video of the match, along with an interview with David Gondek, an engineer on the project.

Update: Video of the match is up, check it out after the break!

Update 2: And we have the interview as well, along with a bit more on how Watson actually works.

IBM’s Watson supercomputer destroys all humans in Jeopardy practice round

Innovation Matters. Rapidly Deploying Cost-effective, Energy-efficient Data Centers

Innovation Matters. Rapidly Deploying Cost-effective, Energy-efficient Data Centers

Source: IBM

Many technology leaders understand the need for data center renovation and development - but going from understanding to implementation raises a lot of “how to” questions; how to address power and cooling issues, how to enable organization and IT growth, how to build an energy-efficient data center, etc. As the leader in data center cost-effective and energy efficient approaches, IBM has the “go to” answers for “how to” questions. Read this white paper to learn more.

(edit: download here)

Profiles from the recession ~ [VIDEO] Dubuque Smart City: With stimulus, putting the small town back to work #nwo #smartgrid #ibm #internetofthings

Profiles from the recession [VIDEO] Dubuque Smart City: With stimulus, putting the small town back to work

Blueprint America — with PBS NewsHour — looks at an old factory town in the Midwest that’s using stimulus dollars to not just put people back to work but to also make the city work again.

(Edit: The following retrieved from:
http://www.nlctv.org/events/ibm/100805/



QuoteOn August 17, 2010 NLC TV (www.NLCTV.org) will release the second in a series of segments highlighting IBM’s Smarter Cities initiative. Curtis Clark, IBM Global Director of Regional and Local Government, will talk with Mayor Roy D. Buol, City of Dubuque, Iowa, about the city’s sustainability and smarter city efforts and its partnership with IBM and the community.

Since 2006, the City of Dubuque, Iowa, has made sustainability a top priority. At the foundation of the city’s sustainability model is a commitment to providing city residents and businesses with information to make smart energy choices. These choices will save money and create needed jobs in this community of 60,000. Mayor Buol and the City Council understand that sustainable economic development is vital in order to remain competitive in the 21st century.

Through a partnership with IBM, the City of Dubuque is instrumenting and interconnecting systems and making infrastructure and other systems smarter. Dubuque, a city that is recognized as a national leader in sustainability with its forward-thinking public policy, together with IBM, will address the ever-increasing demands of cities to deliver vital services such as energy and water management, and transportation, all while reducing the community’s impact on the environment.

After the launch, watch the archive of this program, share it with colleagues and see subsequent segments at your convenience anytime on NLCTV.org.

SPEAKERS

Roy D. Buol, Mayor, Dubuque, Iowa

Roy D. Buol was first elected to a four-year term as Mayor of Dubuque in November 2005, and re-elected for another four-year term in November 2009. He was previously elected as Second Ward Representative to the City Council in 1995, was re-elected in 1999 and again in 2003.

Mayor Buol is a Dubuque-native and a 30-year retired employee of John Deere Dubuque Works. Since 2002, he has been Director of the Landscaping and Grounds Department at the University of Dubuque. Mayor Buol holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a double-major in Business and Marketing from the University of Dubuque, where he also completed graduate coursework toward a Master of Arts in Communication. He is currently enrolled in the National League of Cities Certificate of Achievement in Leadership Program and represents Dubuque in the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

During his 12-year tenure as a member of the City Council, Mayor Buol has served on the City’s Long Range Planning Advisory Commission; the Community-Based Task Force on Gangs, Drugs and Youth Violence; the Dubuque Racing Association Board; the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce Board; the Dubuque Initiatives Board; the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation (GDDC) Board and Executive Committee; as Past Chair of GDDC’s River Valley Initiative Foundation; Chair, Dubuque Metropolitan Area Transportation Study Committee; and Chair of the City’s 175th Anniversary Planning Committee.

Mayor Buol’s community involvement includes serving as spokesperson for the City at conventions, conferences, and other tourism events, and as guest host for non-profit fundraisers and other significant occasions throughout the community. He serves on the United Way Budget Committee, is a member of the Loyal Order of Moose #355, Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Dubuque Shooting Society, the Dubuque County Historical Society, the Dubuque Museum of Art, and is a long-time supporter of the Grand Opera House and Dubuque Symphony Orchestra.

Mayor Buol and his wife, Deborah, are parents to four children and grandparents of seven!


Curtis Clark, Global Director for Regional and Local Government, IBM

In this role, Mr. Clark focuses on trends and directions in the public sector and works with Public Sector Organizations on strategies for developing and implementing innovative programs, services and operations that more effectively and efficiently meet the needs of citizens, businesses, and government employees. He is also responsible for IBM’s Institute for Electronic Government in Washington D.C. The Institute, in conjunction with the IBM’s Center for the Business of Government, serves as IBM’s focal point for thought leadership - sharing research, experience and best practices with public sector clients - focused on public policy issues, organizational and management practices, and enabling technologies.

Prior to joining IBM in 1997, Mr. Clark spent over 17 years with the State of North Carolina, where he held various executive and legislative positions, including: - Deputy State Controller for Information Resource Management (State CIO) - Executive Director of the North Carolina Statewide Performance Audit (GPAC) - Director of the Performance Audit Division of the State Auditors Office.

With 30 years of experience working with and for Public Sector organizations throughout the world, Mr. Clark has amassed first hand insight into public sector organizations and the realities of working to transform these organizations. He is a frequent speaker at conferences globally, sharing IBM’s insights, research and best practices with Public Sector Clients.

Mr. Clark has and continues to serve on public sector commissions and works with university programs, including: - The North Carolina Budget Reform and Accountability Commission (BRAC) - Adjunct Instructor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Government - The University of Maryland Center for Excellence in Service, Advisory Board. The Smith School of Business - Public Sector Service Excellence - National Governors Association Center for Best Practices - United States - National Association of Counties - United States.

Mr. Clark earned a B.A. degree in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1977, completed course work in accounting, and is a Certified Public Accountant.



Watch this 30 second video which is an ad for IBM’s “smarter planet” smarter GRID!
http://www.strimoo.com/video/14623787/IBM-Smarter-Planet-Grid-Veoh.html

***

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is also going to be a model NWO cybernetic, eco-fascist, “sustainable”, Agenda 21, GIG, Smart Grid city.




CyberSecurity Malaysia Hosts New Event to Secure Digital City

CyberSecurity Malaysia, the Malaysian specialist center for cybersecurity, will be organizing Cyber Security Malaysia Awards, Conference and Exhibition 2010 in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 25-29.

Bernama reports Chief Executive Officer and retired Lt. Col. Husin Jazri said the event, themed “Securing Our Digital City,” was held with the vision to create a cyber-secured community that was engaged at local, state, national and international levels.

“At this time, we are all living in ‘digital cities’ where the community combines broadband communications infrastructure and innovative services to meet the needs of governments, businesses and the public,” he said in a statement.

Husin said the conference was an effort that would provide the community with the knowledge and awareness in cybersecurity and the best practices needed to secure the digital world.

The event is expected to draw more than 1,000 participants from around the world and bring together some of the most influential and innovative minds in the industrial sector, government sector, and academia.

SOURCE:
http://www.thenewnewinternet.com/2010/10/20/cybersecurity-malaysia-hosts-new-event-to-secure-digital-city/


BROCHURE:
http://www.csm-ace.my/Forms/CSM-ACE%202010_Delegate%20Brochure_v1.0_FINAL_2010809.pdf

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