17 Inventions which will change the Tech World in the year 2008 and ahead - Part 2

**Please go through the first 6 inventions (innovations) in part 1.

7. Agile Software Development – Martin Fowler, ThoughtWorks

Taken from Information Week Article by Andy Dornan:

Seven years ago, Martin Fowler and 16 other programmers published The Manifesto For Agile Software Development. Their goal was to revolutionize the software industry, emphasizing freedom over bureaucracy and rapid delivery of useful code over planning.

They partly succeeded. “At the time it was written, we seemed to need to hide what we were doing,” Fowler says. “Now there are conferences on agile development, and they’ve gotten a lot of attendance.”

Fowler puts the theory into practice as chief scientist at ThoughtWorks, a global consultancy, where he advises 800 employees–and many more outside developers who follow agile methods.

Famous for his evangelism of the Ruby programming language, Fowler is also an open source disciple, believing that it saved Java by letting more developers innovate. But that doesn’t make him anti-Microsoft–he uses both Java and .Net. “I want a strong Microsoft, an effective competitor,” he says. The best way for Microsoft to stay strong, he says, is to embrace open source.

Q & A with Martin Fowler:

IW: What do you think of programming tools aimed at non-developers, like mashup platforms and Microsoft’s Oslo project?
Fowler: When people say we don’t need programmers any more, I tend to smirk. You need a certain kind of mindset to program computers effectively. There’s a difference between writing tools that allow muppet programmers to churn software out and getting business people more involved in development.
We want programmers to engage more fully with the business side, who are in themselves may be great people but not great programmers. I think we can gain considerably in the industry by having more rich relationships between the business and programming.

8. Network Access Control (focusing on endpoint security) – Steve Hanna, Juniper Networks

Network access control, an approach to network security that focuses on endpoint security, has largely been bogged down in competing frameworks, hype, and general confusion about what exactly NAC is.

But NAC’s future is clear to Steve Hanna, distinguished engineer at Juniper Networks. He believes an universally agreed-upon standard is critical to moving NAC forward, and he might have the influence to make it happen. Hanna co-chairs Trusted Computing Group’s Trusted Network Connect and IETF’s Network Endpoint Assessment groups–both key to NAC’s development.

His work at Trusted Network Connect has focused on the standardization process and evangelizing the value of TNC standards. It’s no secret Cisco Systems hasn’t joined the Trusted Computing Group, and that a network-based protocol suite that doesn’t involve the dominant market switch maker is untenable. IETF’s NEA group was formed to loop Cisco and other companies not in the TCG into the standardization process. As a leader in both groups, achieving parity between them is one of Hanna’s primary goals.

What really gets Hanna excited isn’t committee meetings, it’s upcoming NAC features that integrate more network-based services such as intrusion detection, security event management, and technologies that can aid in making intelligent decisions about the actions and health of an endpoint.

Extracted from the Article by Mike Fratto on Information Week

Preventing NAC Attacks – whitepaper by Hanna

9. Green Computing – Larry Vertal, AMD

Chip maker AMD is making a name for itself as an environmental leader, balancing ambitious internal emissions-reduction targets with a full slate of energy-efficient offerings. In this SLM podcast, AMD senior strategist Larry Vertal explains what’s driving the company’s sustainability focus, how it joined up with direct competitors to found the Green Grid, and why AMD is planning to throw its (considerable) weight behind encouraging electronics manufacturers to make greener products. Source – Sustainable Life Media

10. Web Based Services – Anssi Vanjoki, Ovi (Nokia’s new brand)

Is this Nokia’s answer to iPhone – we will find out this year…

Ovi’s second only public presentation video at The Killer Attitude

Nokia’s Press Release:

In August 2007 Nokia introduced Ovi, the company’s new Internet services brand name. Ovi, meaning ‘door’ in Finnish, enables consumers to easily access their existing social network, communities and content, as well as acting as a gateway to Nokia services.

As part of Ovi, Nokia announced the Nokia Music Store and N-Gage, two services that make it easy for people to discover, try and buy music and games from a blockbuster range of artists and publishers, including exclusive content only available through Nokia. Also under the Ovi umbrella is Nokia Maps, a navigation service that offers maps, city guides and more directly to compatible mobile devices. Nokia aims to bring more Internet based services to Ovi in the coming months.

“We started this journey with our navigation services earlier this year and we are now combining all our services into a single branded offering - Ovi by Nokia. Over the coming 12 months, you will see us integrate new user interface elements, service suites and web communities to Ovi,” - Kallasvuo.

Nokia Music Store - all the world’s music in your pocket

The Nokia Music Store (http://music.nokia.com) offers millions of tracks from major artists, independent labels as well as a broad range of local artists from around the world. The store is accessible via a desktop computer or directly from a compatible Nokia device, such as the Nokia N81 or Nokia N95 8GB multimedia computer. Browse for new music, buy what you like or add a song to your wishlist to download later. You can easily transfer your purchased songs to your mobile device and with the built-in music player, create playlists on the go and manage your music collection.

The Nokia Music Store offers full track streaming on your PC as well as individual track and album purchase. The dynamic recommendation engine and genre-based instant playlists provide access to show you what others are enjoying. The store opens across key European markets this fall with additional stores in Europe and Asia opening over the coming months. In Europe, individual tracks cost EUR 1.00 and albums from EUR 10.00, with a monthly subscription for PC streaming for EUR 10.00.

N-Gage - mobile gaming experience

N-Gage offers an easy way to find, try and buy great quality games directly from your compatible Nokia device. Selecting the N-Gage application on your compatible Nokia device, you can preview available games, connect with your friends, read reviews or download a free demo. Buying games is easy, either with a credit card or by charging to your monthly phone bill. Companies like Electronic Arts and Gameloft are making some of their biggest brands available through N-Gage. The application is expected to be available for download from http://www.n-gage.com in November 2007.

“We know that people want integrated access to great content without the constraints of having to sit behind a computer or in front of a TV. With the Nokia Music Store and N-Gage services, you can access the best in music and games directly from your Nokia Nseries multimedia computer,” said Anssi Vanjoki, executive vice president and general manager, Multimedia, Nokia. “We expect the mobile device to become the most popular platform - the ‘fourth screen’ - for enjoying your digital content. Ovi brings our Internet services vision to life, where people can create, share and consume facts, feelings and emotions wherever and whenever.”

11. Data Integration & Advanced Analytics – Jim Goodnight, SAS (Source-SAS):

By 2010 the amount of digital information in the world is expected to double every 11 years. If you’re Jim Goodnight, all that data spells opportunity. Goodnight is CEO of SAS, the world’s leading business intelligence software vendor. At the helm since the company’s incorporation in 1976, Goodnight has overseen an unbroken chain of revenue growth – a feat almost unheard of in the software industry.

SAS^® software was originally created by Goodnight and North Carolina State University colleagues to analyze agricultural-research data. Three decades later, it’s doing things Goodnight never imagined in his days as a doctoral student in statistics.

Today, SAS is best known for sifting massive mountains of data for FORTUNE 500 companies and other organizations most people have heard of. Insurance companies use SAS to flag fraudulent claims. Retailers use SAS to find profitable places to put stores and products within those stores. More and more financial institutions use SAS to detect money laundering, as mandated by the USA PATRIOT Act and Basel II. They also use it to sniff out fraud and to score credit applications.

Outspoken on education reform, Goodnight sees education as critical to the success of people, organizations and nations. Goodnight himself holds a doctorate in statistics from North Carolina State University, where he was a faculty member from 1972 to 1976. His passion for learning has since led him to endow several NCSU professorships and make education the focus of SAS’ philanthropy. Together with his wife, Ann, he co-founded Cary Academy in 1996, an independent college preparatory day school for students in grades six through 12, with the goal of creating a model school for integrating technology into all facets of education.

Shortly before Cary Academy opened, Goodnight launched SAS inSchool, which develops educational software that helps schools meet the challenges of the new millennium. The software contains the framework for a new generation of teaching courseware that will further extend the use of technology as a learning tool. Year after year, SAS inSchool earns awards for educational technologies and, more importantly, the support of students, teachers and parents.

In 2004, Harvard Business School named Jim Goodnight one of the “20th Century’s Great American Business Leaders” for his three decades of leading a business that has changed the way Americans have lived, worked and interacted in the 20th century. That same year, he was named one of America’s 25 Most Fascinating Entrepreneurs by Inc. magazine, in honor of the publication’s 25th anniversary.

12. IT Helpdesk for small companies is reshaping the Industry – Scott Abel, Spiceworks

Spiceworks IT Desktop is a free network inventory, monitoring and help desk application designed, tested and used by 200,000 IT pros in 193 countries. It takes just minutes to install, has a friendly browser-based interface and is completely free. It combines the features needed every day to a manage a network in a small or medium-sized business: inventory and report on your company’s hardware and software assets automatically (including patches, anti-virus updates, and licenses), monitor and troubleshoot the hardware and software on your network (look for low disk space, unwanted software, license violations), run an IT Help Desk for your company that’s easy to use (let users submit tickets via email and automatically have their asset information). Spiceworks requires no agents to be installed and managed. Version 2.0.17490 adds performance improvements (at least 2x faster than previous versions), product ratings & reviews, Windows event logs, and enhanced search capabilities. Spiceworks makes money by placing ads in IT Desktop’s user interface. Abel won’t say exactly how much, but revenue has soared 900% in the past 12 months, while Spiceworks’ user base as climbed above 200,000.

**Continue Reading : interesting inventions (innovations) in part 3.