Monthly Archives: June 2014

A Photonic Life—Our Rapidly Increasing Computer Processing Speed

Abstract sine waves, numbers and design elements I have been thinking this last week about the current advances in technology and what they will mean for us in future computing systems and how we do computing. HP announced last week they are working on a new machine that is dubbed simply “The Machine.” While the moniker is not very inspiring, the technology is groundbreaking. HP is working on two different technologies they will build into The Machine, memristors and silicon photonics. These technologies will need an entirely new computer and operating system wrapped around them. I think that will present some opportunities for forward-thinking information technology professionals willing to blaze some trails.

Memristors

Memristors or “memory resistors” were first proposed by Leon Chua in 1971. This is basically a resistor that remembers its state when electricity is turned off. The first silicon based memristor was announced in 2012, though there is still much work to do to make them commercially viable. Their value is that you can use these as storage now and they can be right on the same board, or even the same chip, as the processing unit and can replace offline disk storage. The ability to access information in such close physical proximity to the processor will boost access speed exponentially. Instead of having dual core or quad core or eight-way core, you can now have a multicore processor.

Photonics

Photonics, or the process of transferring information via light, is not a new process but it is shrinking. Fiber optic cable allows us to easily transfer information and voice across the ocean and is increasingly used within buildings as well. It is faster than copper and requires less energy. What is new is the application of photonics. It is being shrunk now to the point of transferring information across a blade server and even between blade servers in the same rack across the backplane. With this miniaturization, it takes some very creative nano technologies to create the path for transferring those light pulses. This, combined with the new memristors, yield data access rates much faster than ever before. An added benefit is increased energy efficiency because copper paths tend to lose strength and need repeaters to refresh the data. Those repeaters add to the overall heat given off and energy consumed.

Thoughts

Part of the push to create faster computers and faster networking is because we are so data rich right now we cannot process it fast enough. We became data rich in the first place by building fast, low-cost computers and storage that allowed us to collect statistics on anything and everything. I am wondering now if the dog is wagging the tail, or is the tail wagging the dog? In all of this, through change comes opportunity. Today’s programs and operating systems are constrained by the current hardware. If the current hardware changes to the point that there is no delay in data access or processing, there will need to be new software, new applications, and a new operating system. I believe that infrastructure will need to be built from the ground up to maximize the capabilities of the new hardware. Is there anyone out there up for the challenge? Let me know your thoughts. We only have a few years before the future is here.

Author Kelly BrownAbout Kelly Brown

Kelly Brown is an IT professional, adjunct faculty for the University of Oregon, and academic director of the UO Applied Information Management Master’s Degree Program. He writes about IT and business topics that keep him up at night.

 

WANTED: More Cybercrime Sleuths

Internet theft - a gloved hand reaching through a laptop screen Last week, a report released by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and McAfee suggested that “… likely annual cost to global economy from cybercrime is more than $400 billion. A conservative estimate would be $375 billion in losses, while the maximum could be as much as $575 billion.” This amount includes hard figures such as money stolen from a bank account or charged to a credit card. It also includes soft figures such as the loss of intellectual property, which is much harder to estimate. In any case, the estimated loss is more that the gross domestic product (GDP) of most countries. The good news is that IT solutions exist that will help reduce this figure.

How IT Is Battling Cyber Crime

IT is battling cybercrime in two ways. One is education of the public on safe computing and the other is through better IT security applications both for server and mobile platforms. Law enforcement agencies around the globe are starting to add more IT security specialists to their organizations. They realize that cybercrime is not a physical crime but a virtual one, although real money or property is lost. They often are not equipped to detect or enforce this type of crime so they are turning to IT specialists to provide that expertise. Credit card companies and banks are also working to devise new IT solutions to detect cybercrime before it happens. I have been issued a new credit card twice in the last few years because of activities that I did not initiate. The first was caught because there was activity at online stores that I do not or would not frequent and the security filters flagged that and notified me. The second time, it appeared that my physical card had been used within twenty minutes in Oregon and Texas. Again, that was flagged as an impossibility, so I was notified. These are examples of how IT can and does play a significant role in stopping cybercrime.

Career Opportunities as a Cyber Crime Fighter

As mentioned above, law enforcement such as the FBI and local agencies are increasing their force dedicated to cybercrime. They are looking for IT specialists in the area of IT security. They are looking for those individuals that have a degree in IT security such as Carnegie Mellon’s master’s degree in Information Security and Technology Management or certifications such as the CISSP or Certified Information Systems Security Professional. This additional training prepares you to take on the challenge of fighting cybercrime. There are growing opportunities for those who have skills in the IT security field. If your current skillset is becoming obsolete, this would be an emerging field that you should definitely consider.

Thoughts

Have you ever been a victim of cybercrime? Did you lose anything or was it detected before a loss occurred? Do you have people in your organization that are dedicated to monitoring and fighting cybercrime? Let me know your story. 

Author Kelly BrownAbout Kelly Brown

Kelly Brown is an IT professional, adjunct faculty for the University of Oregon, and academic director of the UO Applied Information Management Master’s Degree Program. He writes about IT and business topics that keep him up at night.

 

Tech Heroes Among Us

People standing with hero shadowsThis week I have thinking about the tech heroes among us. You may be one or you may know one. This is the person that helps you get a new app on your phone or customize your LinkedIn account. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, technology is not always user friendly, although it is improving. Interfaces are not always intuitive even though we now have dedicated user experience engineers. Until we get to that perfect understanding of every app, tool, and device every time, we need the tech hero.

Celebrating the Tech Hero

Cloud services hosting company Carpathia has a mechanism for nominating tech heroes. The chosen few receive a backpack filled with things that tech heroes need such as a notebook computer and toolkit, even energy drinks. Carpathia is also hosting Tech Hero events in various cities around the country to meet and celebrate tech heroes. The purpose is to recognize those unsung heroes that keep us going every day (and to sell cloud services to those that know exactly what that is).

Who Are These People?

I have found that tech heroes are not always the people with the deepest knowledge of technology but those people who have taken the time to understand the logic of computers and applications AND have the ability to explain it to the rest of us. That is sometimes a rare combination of talents. Perhaps there should be a designated position of “Tech Hero” within an organization. That way, the current tech heroes—currently just over the wall or around the corner—can get their real work done.

Who Is Your Tech Hero?

Tell me who your tech heroes are. I would like to recognize them in future blogs and give them their fifteen minutes of fame. Is it an IT guru, coworker, spouse, son or daughter? Or is it you? Add a comment to this blog naming your tech hero and explaining why they are so awesome. They may be quietly performing miracles, but it is time we honor them for the very necessary service that they provide. Let me know.

 

About Kelly BrownAuthor Kelly Brown

Kelly Brown is an IT professional, adjunct faculty for the University of Oregon, and academic director of the UO Applied Information Management Master’s Degree Program. He writes about IT and business topics that keep him up at night.

The Not So Flat World

Road closed by gateThomas Friedman wrote a book in 2005 called The World Is Flat in which he painted a borderless world. It would be borderless in terms of trade, information exchange, resource sharing, politics, and workflow. His premise was that the Internet and associated periphery would level the playing field so that all countries could enjoy prosperity and the full employment. Nine years later, we are certainly further down that path, but there have been some setbacks and roadblocks.

Rebuilding Walls

A recent article suggests that not only is the world not flat, but borders are reappearing that indicate that countries and cultures are closing their doors, as opposed to opening them. In the article, the author suggests “the burst [of the Internet] is leading to a world that is disconnected from physical and political geography.” In other words, there are two developing worlds—one physical and one virtual—and they are not necessarily in lockstep. This idea aligns with recent blogs that I have written on virtual currencies and the retrenchment of countries after the revelation of National Security Agency spying.

Borders in the Physical World

In his book, Friedman cites the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall as evidence that borders are opening and the world is becoming flatter. He argues that this event ushered in a new era of cooperation and a homogenization of communist and capitalist ideals. It was indeed a momentous occasion and did much to introduce western thought into former communist East Germany and beyond. The eastern block countries struggled mightily as western marketers suddenly discovered untapped consumers. They struggled to build their own industry to compete in this new, flat world. This great change aside, borders are still rising and falling as evidenced by the recent integration of Ukraine back into Russia. I think we will see more countries follow as they decide which combinations will bring them the most prosperity and stability.

Borders in the Digital World

Much of Friedman’s book focuses on the Internet as the great leveler. As people have broadened access to thought leaders, they expand their thinking beyond their geopolitical borders and are influenced by a host of outside sources. If we consider this a separate world outside of physical boundaries, then the possibilities are unlimited. Virtual currency is trying to accelerate this growth of the digital world by creating a trading mechanism, uncontrolled and independent of the currency attached to a physical country. Even the digital world has borders however, generally where it intersects with the physical world. Europe, Russia, and China are all talking about creating a local Internet where citizens trade within their own borders and are protected from influences outside of their borders. Thus, the world is becoming less flat as countries and regions struggle with how to keep their citizens secure from threats that were not supposed to develop in a flat world.

Thoughts

Two things intrigue me about this idea of a flattening world. One, the idea that there may be two independent developing worlds, and two, the fact that borders fall and borders rise in both worlds. Again, independent of each other, or at best, loosely connected.

Do you think the world is getting flatter, or do you think it is getting spikier? What do you think of the notion of two separate worlds? Let me know your thoughts.

About Kelly BrownAuthor Kelly Brown

Kelly Brown is an IT professional, adjunct faculty for the University of Oregon, and academic director of the UO Applied Information Management Master’s Degree Program. He writes about IT and business topics that keep him up at night.