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IBM Predicts the Next 5 Years of Computing

Posted by samzenpus on from the tomorrow's-tech dept.

SternisheFan writes "Shaun McGlaun of Slashgear writes: IBM has offered up its annual list of five innovations that will change our lives within five years. IBM calls the list the 'IBM 5 in 5.' The list covers innovations that IBM believes that the potential change the way people work, live, and interact over the next five years. The five innovations IBM lists this year include touch, sight, hearing, taste, and smell. "

93 comments

  1. ...really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    smell? Haven't we learned anything?

    1. Re:...really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wouldn't wanna smell me today. My ass is makin' gas, after a long weekend of cheap beer.

    2. Re:...really? by Seeteufel · · Score: 1

      I like the smell of IBM in the morning. Each year they say sound recognition is the future.

    3. Re:...really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can you smell what IBM is cooking?!!

  2. wharrgarbl by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wouldn't trust these people to predict what they were having for lunch today.

    1. Re:wharrgarbl by rwise2112 · · Score: 2

      I wouldn't trust these people to predict what they were having for lunch today.

      No kidding!
      Have they increased their prediction of how many computers would be required worldwide? Is it more than five now?

      --

      "For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert"
    2. Re:wharrgarbl by timeOday · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Well, they have to make some sort of prediction for business planning purposes; maybe the reason they share them with the world is because they know they can't really do it! But they want some "wisdom of crowds" from people like us.

      IBM is one company that I cannot begrudge for making predictions. Unlike, say, HP, IBM still invests heavily in basic and applied research (from materials science to Watson) and perhaps more than anybody else, seems to get results, with a fairly steady flow of world-firsts. So they are shaping the future and not just dreaming up sci-fi for page hits.

    3. Re:wharrgarbl by Kjella · · Score: 2

      Not to mention making people think something is the next big thing is a pretty big part of making something the next big thing...

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
  3. THis is the stupidest fucking list of predictions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    I've seen in a while. samzenpus, stop posting and get the fuck off this site, you faggot.

  4. Taste and smell? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You think the troll posts are bad now? Goatse's nothing.

  5. IBM has no crystal ball by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Past predictions from IBM have shown that IBM does NOT have any special insight into how the unwritten future will play out...

    1. Re:IBM has no crystal ball by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lol this was funny because I was just about to suggest IBM could easily predict the future if they "held all the cards to that future themselves".

      But I guess not huh =)

      Or maybe they do but they predict wrongly to through everyone else off...

    2. Re:IBM has no crystal ball by Jawnn · · Score: 4, Funny

      Still bitter about having been suckered into buying that PC Jr., eh?

    3. Re:IBM has no crystal ball by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Still bitter about having been suckered into buying that PC Jr., eh?

      My dad bought one of those for us kids. I quickly outgrew BASIC and moved on to 8088 assembler, starting writing code using DEBUG.COM then moving on to TASM when I got my hands on it.

      Oh, and get this: with the system fully loaded with a whopping 256k of RAM, it could run Borland's Turbo C++, which I used and abused before leaving for college.

    4. Re:IBM has no crystal ball by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That IBM Cell processor is the FUTURE! ALL chips will be Cell processors! There are no downsides to it whatsoever!

    5. Re:IBM has no crystal ball by gewalker · · Score: 1

      Well, it is not like other industry giants make better predictions. Like these or these or these.

    6. Re:IBM has no crystal ball by lipanitech · · Score: 0

      IBM got rid of there PC division cause PC were dying and PC and tablets are stronger then ever. I mean there a mainframe company there finger is almost never on the pulse. Not to mention they are still trying to keep Lotus alive lol

      --
      http://thetechnologygeek.org/
    7. Re:IBM has no crystal ball by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Though, SAP got Crystal Reports...Let's here from them!

  6. Smell sensors would be interesting by medcalf · · Score: 2

    Who wouldn't want to carry around a miniature chemical analysis lab? On the other hand, if the phone starts transmitting smell, that would be bad. Just think about the applications for goatse alone.

    --
    -- Two men say they're Jesus. One of them must be wrong. - Dire Straits
    1. Re:Smell sensors would be interesting by RicktheBrick · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I would like to see replacing every central light in a room with a device that would be a camera, speaker, microphone, thermometer, and a device that could smell odors This device would communicate with the home computer. It should be able to detect fire by site, heat, sound, and odor. It should be able to reduce false alarms to zero. It should be able to detect gas leaks by smell. It should be able to detect water leaks and break ins by sound. It should be able to detect the heart beat of anyone in the room by sound. It should be able to detect any problem in the house and have the ability to seek help. It could call the fire department and transmit the smell, heat, sound and picture of any house on fire.

    2. Re:Smell sensors would be interesting by spire3661 · · Score: 2

      I REALLY hope you dont think we should be mandated to install this in everyone's home...

      --
      Good-bye
    3. Re:Smell sensors would be interesting by Antipater · · Score: 2
      Ah, I can hear the privacy activists now.

      "First they ensmartened my electricity meter..."

      --
      Everything is better with chainsaws.
    4. Re:Smell sensors would be interesting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It should be able to detect gas leaks by smell.

      Somewhere in the future, a worker at the national monitoring desk reports, 'Citizen KS#29384#10293857 just farted in the bedroom'

    5. Re:Smell sensors would be interesting by medcalf · · Score: 3, Interesting
      I think you have to separate device and application. If a single device could contain the necessary sensors for all of those things, without a cost premium over, say, an iPhone or top-of-the-line Android phone from today, then why not? The whole reason that current cell phones are so powerful is not the processor, but the array of sensors they contain. It is those sensors that enable things like overlaying data on the world around you, and measuring (approximately) objects at a distance, and acting as a decibel meter, and acting as a level, and all kinds of other things. Is an iPhone going to be the best level for professional work? No, of course not, but it's good enough if I want to check if my new stove is adjusted correctly. Is it going to be a good enough theodolite for precision surveying? No, of course not, but it's good enough to let me figure out how much wood I need to get to build a fence without walking the whole border of the area being fenced.

      Today, we already have all but two of the sensors that would be required for the applications you posit. (We lack thermometers and chemical analysis sensors.) As far as reducing false alarms to zero, that is of course impossible without introducing a lot of error in the other direction. (Google type 1 and type 2 errors.) And the sensitivity of the sensors is of course subject to the same problem. (Heartbeats are very, very, very low signals and would be lost in the noise from any distance, so getting those would introduce a lot of false positives.) And writing the apps to do all the things you want, even with real-world accuracy, is not going to be trivial. On the other hand, once the sensors are there, someone will undoubtedly try it.

      In other words, your pie-in-the-sky set of examples is really not that far out from what is already possible, modulo the problem of balancing false negatives against false positives.

      --
      -- Two men say they're Jesus. One of them must be wrong. - Dire Straits
    6. Re:Smell sensors would be interesting by Narnie · · Score: 1

      I have said device. I call her wife.
      My previous device was called mother. She did all the wife could do, except she had difficulties communicating with the home computer and detecting odors.

      --
      greed@All_Evils:~#
    7. Re:Smell sensors would be interesting by geekoid · · Score: 1

      Yes. Yes it should.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    8. Re:Smell sensors would be interesting by geekoid · · Score: 1

      " She did all the wife could do, except she had difficulties communicating with the home computer and detecting odors."

      Really? All?

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    9. Re:Smell sensors would be interesting by Narnie · · Score: 1

      Some key features were degraded when upgrading from girlfriend to the wife license. However, all the features listed in the OP remained.

      --
      greed@All_Evils:~#
  7. Let me guess..... by 3seas · · Score: 1

    They used Watson to make these predictions .... Seen the movie "Paycheck"?

  8. Let's look at what their record has been? by bogaboga · · Score: 4, Informative

    IBM has offered up its annual list of five innovations that will change our lives within five years.

    If you look at their own website, their past predictions seem to have come up short! Sounds like a very good job a guess work!

    Sadly, because it's from IBM, folks will listen and accordingly provide airtime for what I call a very good marketing job. Go IBM!!

    1. Re:Let's look at what their record has been? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's probably for the best that they are so lousy at predicting the future... Did you see the one for 2006 where they talked about integrating Lotus groupware with some horrible Second Life clone to produce some sort of dystopian 3d cubiclespace hell?

    2. Re:Let's look at what their record has been? by Pinhedd · · Score: 2

      Many of their predictions have come to pass in some form or another, just perhaps not in the way they initially envisioned or in a way that is practical and/or realizable.

      Given that IBM is one of the firms consistently doing original research on new technologies that won't be brought to market for 5-15 years (if ever) I think that it's important for them to have some sort of internal guidebook, if only for motivation and inspiration.

    3. Re:Let's look at what their record has been? by JustinOpinion · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Let's delve into the details a bit. The predictions from 2006 are predictions for 2012. Have they come to pass?

      1. Prediction: "We will be able to access healthcare remotely, from just about anywhere in the world" The prediction describes online health records, and telemedicine.
      Reality: There have been some efforts, in some countries, to digitize records. Many have failed, some are moving forward. However, to my knowledge, none of them have gained wide acceptance (nor overcome the huge privacy and legal obstacles). The current level of web-integration of our records today is not much different from 2006. As for telemedicine? There have been a few more flashy proof-of-principle demonstrations, but nothing has become routine.

      2. Prediction: "Real-time speech translation—once a vision only in science fiction—will become the norm"
      Reality: Microsoft recently demonstrated realtime English-to-Chinese translation. However, the very media buzz about that shows that it is far from "the norm". What we have is just tightly-controlled tech demos, not technology integrated into all of our smartphones ("the norm"). It's likely that existing software will get better (text translation has become amazingly good of late)... but it didn't happen within the 5 years they estimated.

      3. Prediction: "There will be a 3-D Internet", by which they seemd to have meant three-dimensional navigation/environments (virtual-reality-like).
      Reality: Same as 2006, really. We had Second Life, and we still do. We had 3D video-games, and we still do. In fact, this was quite a silly prediction to make in 2006, given how much was already known at that time...

      4. Prediction: "Technologies the size of a few atoms will address areas of environmental importance"; this is a vague prediction wherein they reference "Green Chemistry" as if they invented it (they didn't).
      Reality: I don't know how to judge this one, since they didn't really make a prediction. There's been more research in the area of green chemistry. Nothing revolutionary has happened in the last 5 years, though.

      5. Prediction: "Our mobile phones will start to read our minds", which they clarify as meaning that "mobile devices and networks to (with consent) learn about their users' whereabouts and preferences"
      Reality: We can be generous and say that this has come to pass, in the form of smartphones and their associated ecosystem of apps. As a particular example, Google Now (available on Android 4.1 and later) provides contextual information to the user without the user having to explicitly arrange it. For example it warns you that you have to leave now to get to a particular appointment (based on knowledge of your location, the appointment location, and current traffic). If you're at a bus stop, it automatically pulls up the schedule. These kinds of tricks are neat, and will no doubt become more sophisticated with time.

      So, my assessment is that their past predictions are right about 20% of the time.

    4. Re:Let's look at what their record has been? by JustinOpinion · · Score: 1
      To pre-empt nitpicks, when I said this:

      The predictions from 2006 are predictions for 2012.

      I'm well-aware that 2006+5=2011. I'm trying to be as generous as possible in my assessment. If you make a prediction at the very end of 2006, for "5 years in the future", then you have until Jan 31 2011 for that prediction to come true (and the results should be visible in 2012). Thus, their 2007 predictions have until the very last day of 2012 to be realized, if we want to be generous.

      Of course even being generous, their predictions are rather awful.

    5. Re:Let's look at what their record has been? by Shompol · · Score: 0

      2. Prediction: "Real-time speech translation—once a vision only in science fiction—will become the norm" Reality: Microsoft recently demonstrated realtime English-to-Chinese translation. [technologyreview.com] However, the very media buzz about that shows that it is far from "the norm". What we have is just tightly-controlled tech demos, not technology integrated into all of our smartphones ("the norm"). It's likely that existing software will get better (text translation has become amazingly good of late)... but it didn't happen within the 5 years they estimated.

      The reality is that every Google Android phone can have Google Translate installed (free), and it does just that, "Real-time speech translation". I assume that you are brandishing an iphone and not aware that over 50% of smartphones today have this feature. There are some limitations: you need a fast internet connection and the translation is rather mediocre, but it is on par with best that computers can do today. On the plus side speech recognition is astounding, and I am able to dictate whole paragraphs in two different languages with very few errors.

    6. Re:Let's look at what their record has been? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      mobile devices and networks to (with consent) learn about their users

      They clearly got the part in parentheses wrong.

    7. Re:Let's look at what their record has been? by geekoid · · Score: 1

      1) Mostly have succeeded, i'm not sure why you think most have failed. Also, I can down load some really good health care apps.
      ", none of them have gained wide acceptance " Right now many people throughout Africa have access to some form of health care online.

      2) I use google translate work pretty well.

      4) nano technologies is being used pretty widely in 'green' technologies, a lot more then in 2006.

      " Nothing revolutionary has happened in the last 5 years,"
      haha, seriously? pay attention.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  9. uh, try again by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dammit, I want a flying car, NOT #@&% smellavision!

    Okay, I'll watch (sniff?) your smellavision if you put it in my flying car, deal?

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
    1. Re:uh, try again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Smellavision? I guess they found 3D didnt take off so lets take 2 steps back to the 1950s? Holographic motherfuckers!

  10. Wow, I'm impressed! by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So, IBM's bold futurists predict that sensors and haptic feedback systems that already exist today will become better in 5 years, and some sort of vaguely-referenced-but-woven-through-all-the-predictions 'deep learning' algorithm that we'll lease from IBM will make something magic happen?

    Jesus Golgotha-poledancing Christ, the future just isn't what it used to be...

    1. Re:Wow, I'm impressed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Face it, you posted just to say Jesus Golgotha-poledacing Christ. A quick google search reveals you are the first on the internet to type it, so congratulations on coming up with yet another revoltingly offensive quip to further the human race.

    2. Re:Wow, I'm impressed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Doesn't the taste prediction remind you of the Nutramatic Drinks Machine? Analyzes your body chemistry to determine what drink you will enjoy and then gives you something not entirely unlike tea? The Sirius Cybernetics Corp will be the first against the wall when the revolution comes...

  11. Burritos! by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    I wouldn't trust these people to predict what they were having for lunch today.

    Especially after they just invented smellavision.

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
    1. Re:Burritos! by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't trust these people to predict what they were having for lunch today.

      Especially after they just invented smellavision.

      What, they had their part in this? But 1960 hardly qualifies as "just invented".

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
  12. Re:Ask Slashdot: my girlfriend was a porn star by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    first, post a link to the videos for us

  13. IBM 5 in 5 by ChefJeff789 · · Score: 2

    I predict that IBM will utterly fail to accurately predict anything within the next 5 years

    1. Re:IBM 5 in 5 by Capt.DrumkenBum · · Score: 1

      I am using this as my list of five technologies not to invest in.
      My breakdown:
      Touch through your phone, No chance.
      Visual recognition for medicine, I doubt it.
      Computers hearing everything, Ever heard of the ACLU?
      Computerized taste, Why?
      Computers that can smell, Why, also redundant (See taste)

      --
      If I were God, wouldn't I protect my churches from acts of me?
    2. Re:IBM 5 in 5 by geekoid · · Score: 1

      "Touch through your phone, No chance."
      exists in lab, today.

      Visual recognition for medicine, I doubt it.
      exists in lab, today.

      "Computers hearing everything, Ever heard of the ACLU?"
      Whats that have to do with anything?

      "Computerized taste, Why?"
      Why not? Anyways, getting a chemical analysis and then telling you if it fits your likes based on experience is pretty nifty.
      Plus, think of the foodies. They will be able to have exact measurements of what they consider 'good' and when they realize breaking down their system into concrete data will break the very subjective truths about foods down, the rest will laugh at them.

      "Computers that can smell, Why, also redundant (See taste)"
      it's really an airborn chemical analyzer. Handy for a great many things.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  14. Re:Ask Slashdot: my girlfriend was a porn star by doti · · Score: 0

    vids, or it didn't happen

    --
    factor 966971: 966971
  15. Set Phasers To... by Ashenkase · · Score: 1

    Malkey

  16. A couple of things by sackofdonuts · · Score: 1

    1. Seems all these predictions are things that the DOD, Justice Department, and DOE would love to have to keep tabs on everyone. 2. How do I get a job as one of IBM's Forward Thinkers. Sweet gig. Predict almost anything and they will take you seriously.

  17. Market Size - TJ Watson '43 by Colourspace · · Score: 2

    I only hope they don't claim that there will only be a market for 5 computers again as there founder said way back when..

    1. Re:Market Size - TJ Watson '43 by Colourspace · · Score: 0

      'their' dammit.

    2. Re:Market Size - TJ Watson '43 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He never said that. The irrational Microsoft cultists just won't stop with your stupid accusations. Your jealousy of IBM is embarrassing.

    3. Re:Market Size - TJ Watson '43 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He never said that, and you know damn well he didn't. Microsoft fanbois have been telling that lie for over two decades. You're trolling attempt is just pitiful.

    4. Re:Market Size - TJ Watson '43 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wish this site had votes down like Digg so we could hide your lies. Just because you don't like IBM, don't post nonsense that isn't true. /. is a mostly technical audience so we know better than to believe your misinformation. Go troll somewhere else.

  18. Where's Robert X Cringely when you need him? by multicoregeneral · · Score: 1

    Anyone know if he's doing a prediction column this year?

    --
    This signature intentionally left blank.
  19. Great History by wisnoskij · · Score: 1

    Because of course IBM has a great history of making predictions. They have always been spot on and leading the market since their inception. [/sarcasm]

    --
    Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
    1. Re:Great History by kimvette · · Score: 1

      I think you're referring to this:

      Tom Watson, then IBM chairman, said in 1958: "I think there is a world market for about five computers."

      --
      The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
    2. Re:Great History by bws111 · · Score: 2

      If you're going to make up dates to attach to made-up (or at least taken out of context) quotes, try to make them at least plausible. IBM introduced the 650 in 1953, and sold 450 of them the first year (2000 total sales when it was withdrawn in 1962).

      The IBM 701 (their first 'commercial' computer) was announced in 1952. Watson visited 20 potential customers, and when he returned he said "we expected to get orders for 5 machines - we got 18".

      There is no evidence he ever said what you quoted.

    3. Re:Great History by kimvette · · Score: 1

      You're welcome to correct the article I took that from then:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._Watson

      --
      The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
    4. Re:Great History by kimvette · · Score: 1

      Oh, right "There is scant evidence. . . " d'oh my bad. Serves me right for copying from the Google summary.

      --
      The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
  20. #1 Innovation from IBM in next 5 years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Firing more US based works and hiring more workers in the rest of the world.

    1. Re:#1 Innovation from IBM in next 5 years by multicoregeneral · · Score: 1

      Welcome to the world of free market capitalism, my friend.

      --
      This signature intentionally left blank.
    2. Re:#1 Innovation from IBM in next 5 years by Seeteufel · · Score: 1

      Or a good new war with a need for flying cars and antigravity weapons.

  21. Track record? by zerosomething · · Score: 1

    It would be useful for someone to go back and review their previous predictions to see how often they get it right. Any volunteers? http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/ibm_predictions_for_future/examples/index.html

    --
    It all starts at 0
  22. Finally! by GerryGilmore · · Score: 1

    Smell-o-vision!!!!

  23. Just love that IBM smell! by cvtan · · Score: 1

    Can't wait to hang an IBM air freshener in my iCar!

    --
    Sorry, but gray text on gray background is making my eyes bleed.
  24. With all the patent wars by na1led · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We will be lucky if we make any advancement at all in the next 5 years.

    --
    -- By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.
    1. Re:With all the patent wars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Someone please mod this up...

  25. They should have a breathalizer that stops you fro by Nadaka · · Score: 1

    They should have a breathalizer that stops you from texting after 2AM while drunk

  26. Oblig by pak9rabid · · Score: 1

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE7mi-gdIYw

  27. That tired lie again? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Really, posting something you know damn well isn't true is the best you can do with your IBM bashing?

  28. Here's my prediction... by erp_consultant · · Score: 2, Insightful

    IBM will continue to layoff US workers in record numbers, without making any official announcements of layoffs. IBM will continue to exploit cheap labor in India. Until Indian IT workers start making a living wage. Then IBM will abandon the Indian sub continent for Africa, the final frontier for cheap labor. Once the African labor market can no longer be exploited IBM will cease to exist because of their stubborn refusal to pay anyone a living wage. Anyone except executives of course who will continue to receive enormous bonuses. Fuck you Ginny.

  29. Great, now we will all get Fart Spam by rimcrazy · · Score: 1

    As if just regular spam was not enough, now it will literally stink.....

    --
    "TV, a medium as it is neither rare nor well done." Ernie Kovacs
  30. Thermostat anyone? by eegad · · Score: 1

    Yes... the innovative device that can sense its environment and make it better. Welcome to the 1880's IBM.

  31. Maybe maybe not by gelfling · · Score: 1

    In either case IBM will cease to be a US company by then. As part of their 2015 roadmap they want to earn $15 eps or more. The will require them to abandon nearly all US employment.

  32. Only predicted the possible by petes_PoV · · Score: 1
    The predictions say nothing about what we'll be using. They only guess at what will be possible. Flying cars are "possible" (we call them helicopters), but they aren't used by everyday people. The IBM predictions are typical ivory tower statements that have no commercial credibility.

    Maybe IBM is saving the what will be predictions for itself.

    --
    politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
  33. Saudi Arabia by tekrat · · Score: 1

    After Africa, there's various Arab nations that are actually willing to employ slave labor. Consider Saudi Arabia. Not only is slavery legal (to princes at least), but women's rights are so non-existant, IBM could set up facilities there run entirely by women (with a male overseer), and pay them nothing. What a cost savings that would be! The only problem is that the women would need some kind education/training, which is pretty much illegal, but there are ways (read: money) to get around that.

    --
    If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
  34. Cringely has a better track record... by tekrat · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...of making such predictions.

    IBM's only prediction that has worked out for them is that "we will continue to sell outdated mainframes and hugely profitable service contracts because businesses have such an entrenched ecosystem of software that they can't dig their way out of it in 5 or even 10 years."

    --
    If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
    1. Re:Cringely has a better track record... by geekoid · · Score: 1

      outdated mainframes?
      Another clueless person spouting off about mainframes. joy.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  35. Prior Art by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The five innovations IBM lists this year include touch, sight, hearing, taste, and smell. "

    Seems to me IBM needs to check their history for prior art. Animals have been doing these things for aeons. What's so innovative about that?

    1. Re:Prior Art by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think what they are trying to tell us is that they'll come to their senses in the next five years.

  36. My predictions for IBM's technology... by gov_coder · · Score: 3, Insightful


    1) IBM Rational ClearCase will continue to stink
    2) ClearCase users will develop blindness as a result of continued exposure
    to the eye-sore that is the clearcase-ui
    3) ClearCase will create a new disease in the enterprise called CC-Shingles
    as it infects every application that touches it with needless process steps
    4) Cubicle neighbors of CC-users will soon be donning noise-cancelling ear-muffs to block
    out the loud cursing of the ClearCase users around them
    5) ClearCase market share will continue to dwindle below its already measly 2 % market share
    as more and more workplaces find CC to be the most dis-tasteful source control product ever.

    --
    Rob Enderle's excellent new book: Everything I needed to know about Computer Science I learned in Marketing School
    1. Re:My predictions for IBM's technology... by geekoid · · Score: 1

      ClearCase is the best software mismanagement tool ever created, I'm not sure what your issue is.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  37. Cloud by tepples · · Score: 1

    Only one computer is needed: "The Cloud".

  38. Bad Smell Of IBM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    IBM Software - smells so bad you need an IBM engineer to get rid of the smell.

  39. Robyn's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    kinda cute. What's the topic again?

  40. Taste by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can hear these computers saying, "Meat taste good!" (Ok, they're not so good at subject-verb agreement.)

  41. My 5 predictions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    1) Applications will use more hardware ID's - you won't be able to use windows 9 without buying the usb-powered penis seat, and you will be required to use it when you log on.
    2) The next range of tablets will allow us to use then as dinner plates. We'll play games with our cutlery/fingers while we eat.
    3) Your wallet will become your phone.
    4) If you use a computer it will be more human; it will tell constantly tell you to stop staring at it, and to go outside and lose a few kilos.
    5) Your next keyboard, it is a chicken

  42. Past IBM predictions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    IBM predicted that the world would only need two computers.
    So much for IBM predictions.

  43. Its actually good. by geekoid · · Score: 1

    Did you read it? lets go back to 2006, 5 full years:

    "We will be able to access healthcare remotely, from just about anywhere in the world."
    Can do.

    "Real-time speech translation—once a vision only in science fiction—will become the norm"
    Can do.

    "There will be a 3-D Internet"
    There is.

    "Technologies the size of a few atoms will address areas of environmental importance"
    This is happening

    "Our mobile phones will start to read our minds"
    Predictive computer is now in many smart phones.

    Soooo, not so bad.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect