If you want to make processors 1,000 times faster, you’re going to need some serious technology, right? That would be the conventional wisdom. But 3M and IBM have unlocked a secret low-tech shortcut.

The companies found a much simpler way to hit that elusive goal — not by creating some spectacular new circuitry or using exotic quantum mechanics, but with the invention of a new variety of a mundane substance: glue.

This is not just any glue. It’s an adhesive that dissipates heat so efficiently that layer upon layer of chips can be stacked on top of each other into silicon “towers” up to 100 layers high, glued together with this special adhesive that keeps things cool. The result? Faster chips for computers, laptops, smartphones and anything else that uses microprocessors.

With IBM supplying its microprocessor and silicon expertise and 3M contributing its super-cool adhesive, the two companies aim to stack together processors, memory chips and networks into monster “skyscrapers” of silicon they say will be 1,000 times faster than today’s fastest processor.

When can we get our hands on this breakthrough tech? IBM’s media relations representative Michael Corrado tells us, “By the end of 2013 it should go into production. It’ll show up on servers first, and then a year after that consumers might see it.”

And to think, we were impressed with a promise of processors that will be 20 times faster.

Here’s a video illustrating this exciting new breakthrough (no sound):

[via IBM and DVICE]

If you want to make processors 1,000 times faster, you’re going to need some serious technology, right? That would be the conventional wisdom. But 3M and IBM have unlocked a secret low-tech shortcut.

The companies found a much simpler way to hit that elusive goal — not by creating some spectacular new circuitry or using exotic quantum mechanics, but with the invention of a new variety of a mundane substance: glue.

This is not just any glue. It’s an adhesive that dissipates heat so efficiently that layer upon layer of chips can be stacked on top of each other into silicon “towers” up to 100 layers high, glued together with this special adhesive that keeps things cool. The result? Faster chips for computers, laptops, smartphones and anything else that uses microprocessors.

With IBM supplying its microprocessor and silicon expertise and 3M contributing its super-cool adhesive, the two companies aim to stack together processors, memory chips and networks into monster “skyscrapers” of silicon they say will be 1,000 times faster than today’s fastest processor.

When can we get our hands on this breakthrough tech? IBM’s media relations representative Michael Corrado tells us, “By the end of 2013 it should go into production. It’ll show up on servers first, and then a year after that consumers might see it.”

And to think, we were impressed with a promise of processors that will be 20 times faster.

Here’s a video illustrating this exciting new breakthrough (no sound):

[via IBM and DVICE]

We ran across an interview excerpt with AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson that will run in the Sunday print edition of the Dallas Morning News.

There are two interesting takeaways from the interview:

First, AT&T is taking a deep interest in the cloud. Stephenson talks about the networking deals it is winning by providing infrastructure to major cloud computing services.

And second, Stephenson spent the interview showing off the Android-powered Samsung Captivate he’s currently using.

Here’s what Stephenson had to say about cloud computng:

“A classic case would be Royal Dutch Shell, a big multinational company, and they have hundreds of thousands of people around the globe, and a lot of these big companies manage their own networking capabilities. They came to us and said, ‘This stuff is changing fast, it’s moving fast. Would you just take this and all of our people and just manage it for us?’ We won that bid. We did the same thing with IBM. IBM’s global network capability, we took thousands of their people onto our payroll, took over managing all of their networks, and bam, we do it much, much more efficiently.

Now what they want is, what solutions can we deliver on top of this? Telepresence is really selling hot. This is just a service we layer on top of this infrastructure we put in place. What else do they want? Well, we have a lot of applications and capabilities that our workforce uses. Put it in the cloud. So we’re investing very heavily in the cloud, to take their services, their applications and whatnot, put it in the cloud, and then they’re using our network infrastructure to delivery that capability to their workforce and to their customers. So moving into the cloud becomes very, very important to us. So you see how all this begins to fit together, right? They’re all accessing this information from the cloud via these devices [raises phone]. We’re having a lot of success selling mobility into here and using the cloud as the basis for delivering all of this.”

Now that say a lot about the telecommunications players and the interest they increasingly have in the cloud computing market. They are obvious candidates to have a much greater role. They own fiber. Its a natural fit to manage networks for cloud infrastructures.

As for the Android device, AT&T is obviously looking beyond Apple. Stephenson once carried an iPhone so the symbolism is significant.

Android is gaining market share and is expected to surpass the iPhone in a few years time.

But there is a bit more to this, too. Stephenson is also showing that Google and AT&T have a relationship. The Android Stephenson holds exemplifies how AT&T has confidence in Google.

We expect there is more to this. Google is a major cloud services provider. AT&T is showing its muscle as an infrastructure service provider for cloud computing services. AT&T is investing in Android.

Our guess? There is far more to come with Google and AT&T.

One of the emerging trends of 2010 has been the Internet of Things, a term for when real-world objects get connected to the Internet. One of the key aspects of this trend is the data explosion that will occur when millions of objects send data to the cloud – mostly via very small sensors. Just as the ‘web 2.0′ era led to platforms for user-generated and ‘social’ content (think Facebook, Twitter, Google’s OpenSocial), the Internet of Things era will lead to platforms for sensor data.

It’s still very early in this era and the platforms we’ll profile here are at this point more about experimentation than commercialization.

HP Labs

HP is building a platform called CeNSE, which stands for “Central Nervous System for the Earth.” The goal is to create a worldwide network of sensors, which will create a feedback loop for objects and people. These sensors will measure data such as:

• Vibration
• Tilt
• Rotation
• Navigation
• Sound
• Air flow
• Light
• Temperature
• Biological
• Chemical
• Humidity
• Pressure
• Location

Earlier this year I visited HP Labs and spoke to several of their leading scientists. Parthasarathy Ranganathan, a Distinguished Technologist at HP Labs, told me in May that there will soon be millions of sensors working in real-time, with data sampled every second. He said there’ll be lots of different applications for this data; including retail, defense, traffic, seismic, oil, wildlife, weather and climate modeling.

Hewlett Packard is at heart a computer hardware and IT services company. It’s building this platform because it sees that the coming data explosion will lead to huge demand for more powerful computers and better processing of all that data. Or, in the words of CeNSE lead Peter Hartwell, “one trillion nanoscale sensors and actuators will need the equivalent of 1000 internets: the next huge demand for computing!” HP also says that producing sensors is “very similar” to producing ink cartridges, which it has a lot of experience in.

IBM

IBM’s Smarter Planet campaign is about connecting objects to the Internet and applying intelligence and services on top of that. Like HP, IBM uses the central nervous system analogy. "The planet has grown a central nervous system," it states on the Smarter Planet overview page.

In January of this year, IBM CEO Sam Palmisano gave a speech in London which shed light on Big Blue’s sensor platform. He said that IBM had developed 1,200 “smarter solutions” up till that time.

Due to its scale, IBM has the ability to provide sensor systems to support city infrastructures. Palmisano talked about “four cities where IBM has helped deploy congestion management solutions, traffic volume during peak periods has been reduced by up to 18 percent, CO2 emissions from motor vehicles were reduced by up to 14 percent, and public transit use increased by up to 7 percent.” He listed other examples from healthcare, banking, power metering and retailing. IBM is also busy working with manufacturers and goods suppliers, such Danish transportation company Container Centralen.

A great introduction to the Internet of Things is this video, which IBM released in March:

Pachube

Of the three platforms for sensor data profiled here, Pachube (pronounced "PATCH-bay") is the most open – no doubt because it is a tiny speck of a company compared to HP and IBM. So Pachube is hoping its open platform will entice external parties to build on it, whereas HP and IBM can rely more on partnerships.

We first reviewed Pachube in May 2009. It lets you tag and share real time sensor data from objects, devices, buildings and environments both physical and virtual. Pachube founder Usman Haque is one of the leading thinkers in the Internet of Things movement. His goal is for Pachube to become a platform that is responsive to and influences your environment – for example your home.

A glimpse of what products may look like built on an Internet of Things platform is the partnership Pachube announced in June this year. It’s with Current Cost, a producer of real-time energy monitors. Current Cost is using Pachube’s Internet of Things platform for the Bridge, an ethernet device that connects Current Cost electricity monitors to the Internet. Pachube is being used for data management on the Bridge, enabling the device to deliver tracking, notifications, comparison tools and more.

Who is Building the Best Central Nervous System?

HP, IBM and Pachube are all platform companies to watch when it comes to Internet of Things. In upcoming posts, we will look at some products being developed on these platforms.

Let us know in the comments what you think about the three platforms profiled here. Do you think any one of these Internet of Things platforms is poised to be a big winner, or is there another one that we didn’t mention which you think has potential?

The iPhone 4 has some reception issues when held a certain way. The problem – which partially stems from iPhone 4′s newly designed external antenna – can be viewed as more or less serious, depending on a number of factors. Is it serious enough to spawn a class-action lawsuit? It appears that it is.

The lawsuit against Apple and AT&T; has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland by Ward & Ward, PLLC and Charles A. Gilman, LLC. on behalf of Kevin McCaffrey, Linda Wrinn and a number of other iPhone 4 owners.

The lawsuit accuses Apple of Defect in Design, Manufacture and Assembly, as well as Breach of Express Warranty. It also makes several claims against both Apple and AT&T;, including General Negligence, Deceptive Trade Practices, Intentional Misrepresentation, Negligent Misrepresentation and Fraud by Concealment.

Due to the complexity of the issue, and the fact that some other phones exhibit a similar behavior, it’s hard to guess what the outcome of this lawsuit will be. However, it might spur Apple to start working on this problem quickly – before it escalates into something far more serious.

Interestingly enough, another class-action lawsuit for the same issue is in the works; it seems that Apple and AT&T; may soon have a couple of these on their hands.

[img credits: Gizmodo]

By 2015, it’s estimated there will be one trillion connected devices. People with pacemakers will be monitored by wireless systems. In the near future, automobiles will run on 64-bit, multi-core processors, running millions of lines of code.

It’s a future that IBM believes will be increasingly dominated by a “system of systems,” where software scales on devices that interconnect to create a convergence of mechanical, electronic, and digital technologies.

It’s another example of how data is changing all aspects of how products are developed. It’s also a grand view of our future that almost seems like science fiction.

IBM is making its pitch this week for a smarter planet. It’s almost like a mantra here at IBM Innovate where the company is positioning its Rational software as the environment for managing the massive complexities of managing products in a super connected world.

IBM maintains that customers need to view products according to how they ft into complex systems that flow in and out of the organization. The system needs to be a core part of the product development. Fittingly, IBM announced Integrated Product Management today. The service brings together more than 30 IBM offerings from IBM Rational.

IBM aside, the new complexities of developing products for a dynamic supply chain means changing view about product development. Companies are responding by developing Agile development processes. Test and development is moving to the cloud, helping companies get products more quickly into production.

There are any number of examples for how the complex interconnections of data and connectivity will affect the enterprise.

But perhaps the most immediate example comes from Apple.

The iPod is an MP3 player with software. An iPhone is a product of interconnected systems. That’s a big reason for its success.

It’s also a model for what we are seeing in a world with 1 trillion connected devices.

“Son, no one gives a sh*t about all the things your cell phone does. You didn’t invent it, you just bought it. Anybody can do that.”

Such is the wisdom that the Sh*t My Dad Says Twitter account has been bringing us since last August. The popular feed of quotations from creator Justin Halpern’s 74-year-old father just announced, however, that it will be moving its home base to StatusNet.

StatusNet, the open-source microblogging service that serves as the foundation for identi.ca, announced the launch of the Shit My Dad Says website yesterday afternoon. The site will run on the service’s SatusNet Cloud Service, which also powers a community-driven microblog for the Mozille Foundation.

According to StatusNet CEO Evan Prodromou, the main point to move a service like SMDS to StatusNet is that the site owner can take control of advertising revenue, while still being able to send out content to other services.

“Other value includes being able to put the site under your own domain, to control the namespace, to control the look and feel, and to associate the site more strongly with other Web properties,” said Prodromou this morning in an email. “With StatusNet, a publisher like Justin Halpern can push their updates into multiple channels — Twitter, Facebook, and any PubSubHubbub-enabled service — but the data has its ‘home’ at their own site. You may notice, for example, that the latest shitmydadsays posts now say, ‘via shitmydadsays.com’, with a link.”

For publishers who use the StatusNet Cloud Service, the single-user option like SMDS is a flat fee charge per month, while others are doing revenue share, Prodromou told us. At the sign-up page we also see an option for a “secure network for your company”, which our own Alex Williams detailed early last month.

The latest estimates for iPad sales may surprise even the most optimistic Apple watchers: Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster puts the number at 600,000-700,000 this weekend, including pre-orders.

By comparison, it took Apple more than 70 days to sell 1 million iPhones after the initial launch.

Brainstorm Tech writes:

In a report to clients issued Saturday night, Munster’s estimated that by midnight Sunday, Apple will have sold 600,000 to 700,000 iPads, including pre-orders – more than double his relatively conservative pre-launch estimate of 200,000 to 300,000. (Other analysts had published estimates of 300,000 to 400,000.)

.It took Apple 74 days to sell its first million units of the original iPhone, and three days each to sell a million units of the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3Gs.

The estimates were made after Munster’s team put in calls to Apple stores around the country, although it’s worth questioning how accurate that method might be.

Innovative real-time document collaboration software company AppJet, makers of Etherpad, has been acquired by Google. TechCrunch broke the news and AppJet promptly confirmed it. AppJet was started by ex-Googlers, got a YCombinator investment (you know, that firm that invests in anonymous college kids from around the country) and will now close down its own product to work on Google Wave.

What a cynical bore. Here’s the new formula, meant only to tease users with innovation and ultimately enrich a select few Valley darlings:

• Be a smart computer scientist
• Get a job at Google
• Leave Google, create startup
• Use your Google resume to get high profile Silicon Valley backing
• Build something cool, win some fans
• Sell to Google
• Tell Silicon Valley insider press about sale
• Kill product, break a few hearts, get absorbed again by Google but with millions of dollars in your pocket
• Work on less interesting Google product…
• Repeat, if you can get away with it.

Some people don’t go right back to Google, they go to Facebook or Twitter. You thought FeedBurner had a lot of potential? It’s an ad network now, its founders have nice houses and work on other things or in other places. FriendFeed was cool, founded by ex-Googlers who are now at Facebook and say that FriendFeed is actually too sophisticated for the users of their new Sugar Daddy’s software.

Check out the Etherpad company blog post about the deal. They didn’t even pretend to be sorry about closing the service. They didn’t thank any community of users for help along the way. They just said the deal is done, here’s what’s happening to the money you paid, now get out.

Maybe Google Wave will change the world, maybe it won’t. It’s hard for a person who loves startups and innovation not to feel a little toyed with by this kind of drama though.