Ubiquitous Computing

In the very near future, everything will have a computer built in. Under the desktop paradigm, computers are large, sometimes bulky devices that provide processing power and store information for a single user at a time. The new paradigm eliminates the importance of the individual desktop and pushes information and processing capacity onto the Internet cloud. The paradigm that will follow afterwards will see the final demise of the desktop as computers become embedded into everything you can imagine.

Ubiquitous computing will allow users to interact with multiple computers during the course of the day, oftentimes without even being aware of the interaction. This future paradigm will be based on small, cheap computers that connect to the Internet to share information. The example you may have heard before is the intelligent refrigerator that is aware of its contents, can plan menus based on available foods, can warn about spoiled food and can order new items automatically for you. Another example posits a connection between computers embedded in clothing that monitor body temperature and communcate with lighting and climate control computers to adjust to your needs automatically.

Obviously this is still several years away. However, it helps to bring into focus what tomorrow will bring to your business. It never hurts to start planning for the next paradigm, especially when you have plenty of time to figure out how you can benefit from ubiquitous computing.


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Souce: Wikipedia: Ubiquitous Computing