|
|
|
|
|
| As our understanding of the risks and opportunties afforded by new technologies grows, many trends become increasingly clear. By understanding and extrapolating these trends, it's possible to make nebulous predictions about the wants and needs future markets and consumers. Using these predictions as a starting point and working back to what can be built today, a product path can be created that takes us from today to tomorrow. |
|
| In May of 2000, I became particularly interested in actively exploring this process to see where our path might lead, and what part I might play in its course. To organize and publicize my thoughts, I've created this website. Termed the "Ubiquity Project", this website is my attempt to put down in writing a self-consistent pathway from where we are, to where we want to be. |
|
|
|
| In the most general sense, the goal we technologist share is the elusive triple-A: anything, anywhere, anytime. This goal has gained the more succinct name of "ubiquitous computing". For the purpose of simplicity, I refer to this hypothetical future ubiquitous computing infrastructure as "Ubiquity". The possibilities offered and challenges posed by the Ubiquity dream can be roughly categorized as follows: |
|
>
|
Fluidic Networking: Exploiting the full potential of our many telecommunications technologies requires expanding the Internet past its static, centralized roots to become a fluidly dynamic, decentralized medium. |
|
>
|
Global Supercomputing: Rather than continuing to treat each computing device as a separate, distinct tool, it will become increasingly necessary for each device to serve as a gateway into a global supercomputer created from the combined abilities of all devices. |
|
>
|
Smart Environments: As computing devices become more numerous and powerful, each device will recieve less individual attention. Thus, these devices must become cooperative and "smart" to be of maximum utility. |
|
>
|
Intrinsic Security: Once relegated to second-class status, security must be brought to the forefront and given a prominent role in ensuring privacy and safety. However, to be effective, this security must not require undo manual administrator attention. |
|
[20 children...] |
|
| Throughout my thoughts and studies, I uncovered the following interesting technical innovations: |
|
>
|
Multi-Master Replication: A system that allows multiple, simultaneous modifications to shared data, without global locks or immediate network connectivity. |
|
>
|
Decentralized Security: A certificate-based security model that allows users to independently administer their local data and resources while minimizing dependence upon high-risk "trusted third parties". |
|
>
|
Micropayment Economy: A system of managing high volumes of individually tiny monetary transactions in a decentralized yet secure fashion. |
|
>
|
Agent Infrastructure: Techniques for allowing mobile application objects to propel themselves about a global network of servers, purchasing digital resource rights as they go, with security, transparent load balancing, and seamless fail-over. |
|
>
|
User Interfacing: A system whereby user interfaces can be spontaneously aggregated out of nearby input and output devices to satisfy the immediate needs of the application. |
|
[14 children...] |
|
| Obviously, there is a great deal of work that need be done between now and when we have our ubiquitous computing environment. In an attempt to divide this problem up in to more manageable chunks, I've organized my thoughts into several key research directions: |
|
>
|
Bedrock (Distributed Security): Overcoming the obstacles of centralized security and administration models. |
|
>
|
Aquifer (Distributed Data): Creating a globally distributed repository of structured and unstructured data. |
|
>
|
MetaServer (Distributed Computing): Decoupling the software that is running from the hardware that runs it. |
|
[44 children...] |
|
| I believe that the market is rich with opportunities to introduce products built along the common theme of ubiquitous computing. The key to these products is that they can be deployed today to solve an immediate need, while buiding a beachhead on which to introduce additional, more substantial products in the future. Several of these potential products are listed below: |
|
>
|
LinkDB: A suite of tools built atop Ubiquity's data distribution and sharing technology, to link legacy RDBMS and ODBMS systems between cooperative and competitive enterprises, as well as expose data across insecure or "occassionally connected" links. |
|
>
|
UbiqDB: A complete XML database designed for cross-enterprise deployment, featuring decentralized administration, versioned multi-master replication, and diverse data unification. |
|
>
|
Ubiquitous File System (UFS): A completely decentralized file sharing application, allowing spontaneous grouping and access control, peer-to-peer replication, and complete version control. |
|
>
|
InfoNexus: A modular client-side tool designed to simplify the management of realtime information sources, including email, instant messengers, stock quotes, weather reports, or virtually any other data type. |
|
>
|
Web MetaServer: An agent-based application and web server that hosts website business logic in a massively redundant fashion, providing globally replicated serving capability to dynamic, as well as static content. |
|
[11 children...] |
|
|