An innovation developed by Microsoft researchers that was showcased at the 2009 UIST (ACM Symposium on User Interface Software & Technology).
Monthly Archive for November, 2009Page 2 of 2
Cisco’s new Application eXtension Platform (AXP) allows software developers to create applications which run within the routers, allowing them to be used more efficiently and in return act like servers. Below (courtesy of the NY Times) is a list of the finalists for a competition they held for who could build the best apps:
The third-place contestant, Bernard Beckmann of Germany, who won $20,000, found a way to turn VoIP phones connected to Cisco’s networking gear into office surveillance systems. The speakers on the phones were essentially made to act like microphones that would try to sense unusual noises during off-peak office hours. If the phone picked up on something strange, it would send an alert to security personnel.
The second-place contestant, Rajesh Kotagiri of India, won $30,000 for devising a system for sending ads to electronic displays in stores. The idea there is that a store already has networking equipment to support things like computers, cash registers and phones. So, why not turn one of the routers into an ad-serving dynamo that can retrieve information from advertisers, handle some limited billing operations and send the ads out to displays on a rotating basis?
The first-place winner, David Perez of Spain, picked up $50,000 for his efforts. He concocted a way to pull data from a building’s plumbing, air-conditioning and lighting systems and funnel all of it through a router. Basically, this would let maintenance people locate problems in a building and also provide a way to do things like lowering shades automatically during certain parts of the day or turning off signs to save energy.
The DESERTEC Concept describes the perspective of a sustainable supply of electricity for Europe (EU), the Middle East (ME) and North Africa (NA) up to the year 2050. It shows that a transition to competitive, secure and compatible supply is possible using renewable energy sources and efficiency gains, and fossil fuels as backup for balancing power.
