Mark Greenfield

First we had software and hardware. Soon we will be entering the age of everyware. Everyware (The Dawning Age of Ubiquitous Computing) was written by Adam Greenfield (no relation) and describes the move from the desktop computing paradigm to where the technology is embedded in our environment and becomes virtually invisible in our lives.

This idea is also referred to as the World Network. A USA Today article titled “Next big thing: The Web as your servant” detailed how the convergence of the Internet, GPS, cellular networks and RFID will make this possible. The article quoted web creator Tim Berners-Lee who said “The Web can reach its full potential only if it becomes a place where data can be shared and processed by automated tools as well as by people.” Motorola CEO Ed Zander added “The big change is going to be when the Internet follows you, not you trying to follow the Internet.”

We are now seeing the idea of everyware and the world network being implemented in interesting ways in higher ed:

• MIT has introduced iFind which allows “you and your buddies can instantaneously exchange your locations on campus, talk to users nearby, and microcoordinate more effectively.”
• Esuds is an online laundry system that gives students the ability to check the availability of washers and dryers and be notified that their laundry is finished via text message or e-mail. Google e-suds to find links to numerous colleges that are using esuds
• GPS systems are being added to campus buses and shuttles that allow their location to be tracked in real time via cellphone. I would love to see this at UB where we have two campuses and very cold and snowy winters.
• Rave Wireless has a service called Guardian that takes campus safety to the next level by allowing students to set a timer on their cell phones if they feel unsafe (i.e. if they are crossing campus alone late at night). If the student doesn’t deactivate the timer, campus police are notified with the student’s GPS location and personal profile.
• NJIT’s Smart Campus Project which will will allow NJIT students to locate their friends or find how many people are currently using the library or computer labs in real time.

I’m off to Vermont to give the keynote speech at the annual meeting of the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation. I’ll be talking about the future of the web and using a David Letterman style top 10 list as the framework.

So what do you think is the top trend in web development?  I’ll give you my answer after my speech. (I don’t want to spoil the suspense for my friends in Vermont )

Planet Mobile Web is a service hosted by The W3C that aggregates blog posts related to the mobile web.  This is an excellent resource that I highly recommend.

I just read an excellent article in BusinessWeek magazine called “Upward Mobility“. Millennials are now looking to their cell phone for new ways to participate on social networks. Sitting in front of a computer is no longer a requirement. Loopt is a service that “turns your phone into a friend finder” by combining GPS with mapping software enabling you to know when your friends are nearby.

Using a cell phone in place of a credit card is now common in Korea and Japan. I always wondered why someone would want to do this. The article points out that studies have shown that people notice their cell phone is missing within an hour of losing it, while it’s usually a day or more when people lose their wallet or credit card.

The term “cell phone” may indeed become a thing of the past. Nokia has forbidden the use of the word “phone”.  They are “multimedia computers”. At Samsung you have “mobile information terminals” and “ultramobile PC’s”.

Get ready.  The mobile revolution is coming to our shores soon.

In most of my presentations I mentioned the importance of 3G cellular networks and the impact it will have on the Mobile Web. 3G will bring broadband speeds to cell phones which will greatly improve the Web experience for anyone using a cell phone to access the web. While the U.S. is still in the early stages of rolling out 3G cellular networks, China will be rolling out 4G cellular networks within the next couple of years. 4G mobile testing facility approved from the Shanghai Daily News explains how 4G ” could eventually enable cell phone users to watch high-definition TV, browse the Internet and hold video conferences using their mobile handsets”.

The speed available through a 4G network is impressive. “The 4G wireless technology is expected to provide data transfer rates of up to 100 megabits a second - about 100 times faster than current networks and 50 times faster than a 3G network.” My personal experience with using a smart phone to access the web has been frustrating and I anxiously await the arrival of the faster cellular networks.