In Search of the "Killer App"
Here's a game that should get your imagination going.
What will be the next "killer app"? This would be the
application that would turn the IT industry around,
give it the flash and bite that it had a few years ago.
One definition of a killer app is: A program that gives
average people the capability to use technology to solve
everyday problems and enrich their lives. E-mail was
the first of these.
Its usefulness has been demonstrated clearly by its
being embraced across the entire spectrum of computer
users. Another killer app, according to some people,
was the Web browser. But what is today's equivelant?
Some say it will have something to do with wireless;
for example, something called RadioCar (http://wirelessfuturenow.blogspot.com/
). In this scenario, you tap out your current location
on your PDA, plus a password, then maybe a credit card
number, and within a half-hour, a shiny new rental car
drives automatically up to you. In other words, the
true killer app would be one that enables wireless and
net connection to be available everywhere and anywhere.
Or, is the killer app something that drives new technology
rather than something that uses old technology? This
would be an application that millions of people just
have to own and that requires faster and faster machines
to run.
It's an appication that would cause entire industries
to be built around it. (Phew!) Still other killer app
possibilities are in the realm of household networks
and home entertainment. Many of these possibilities
involve wireless
technology. In fact, companies like Microsoft and
HP are almost betting their futures
on wireless. Below are some examples of what's currently
available. Please note that Web Server Times is not
endorsing or recommending these products, but rather
reporting their features for informational purposes.
MS Windows Mobile 2003
This operating system from Microsoft is designed for
PDAs and includes built-in support for both BlueTooth
(http://www.bluetooth.com/ ) and Wi-Fi ( http://www.wi-fizone.org/zoneFinder.asp
) technologies. It was released on June 23 and supports
the MS .Net Compact Framework which "will allow developers
to target Pocket PCs with the same tools they use to
build applications for Windows."
However, according to a report from Internet News (http://www.internetnews.com/wireless/article.php/2195921),
"The worldwide market for handheld devices declined
in the first quarter of 2003 due to sluggish demand
from businesses and consumers alike." Why? My guess
is that some people grew tired of the novelty.
Welcome to "cooltown"
HP is looking toward the future with its R&D focused
on a wireless, always-on environment. The company is
demonstrating their research in a project called cooltown
(http://cooltown.hp.com/cooltownhome/index.asp ). cooltown
(note lower case) is a virtual environment "where everyone
and everything is connected to the web through wired
or wireless links."
It can be "experienced" in several international locations,
including Geneva, Toronto and London. HP describes the
centers as "a living demonstration of how technologies
can combine to transcend ordinary business practices...[and]
how e-services might profitably transform their business
models and can experiment with new ways of turning vision
into commercial reality." In fact, much of the technology
used to create the cooltown environment is available
today. It should be noted, however, that much of what
you see at the cooltown centers is simulated rather
than built on actual applications.
According to HP, the actual implementation will depend
on what the customer specifically wants. And what is
HP getting out of this? The stimulation of new growth
areas in technology, in which the company would supply
the e-services, infrastructure, appliances and support.
In other words, a suite of killer apps. BlueTooth has
been creating a lot of excitement, but mostly theoretical.
Microsoft currently supports the wireless manufacturer
with its keyboard and mouse. But Bluetooth sees its
future as much more vast and enconpassing than just
desktops.
The BlueTooth technology can be used for household
networks to automate refrigerators, doors, vacuum cleaners
and so forth. Thus, BlueTooth's clientele would extend
beyond the IT industry.
Tiny OS
If you're technically inclined, you might look into
Tiny OS (http://webs.cs.berkeley.edu/tos/ ). It's an
operating system that's currently in the experimental
stage, being developed by the University of California.
As its name implies, it's only 200K in size and designed
to fit into the smallest of wireless devices. You can
download it for free from UC Berkeley or SourceForge
( http://sourceforge.net/projects/tinylocation/ ).
The Security Issue - Again
If the wireless
industry really does produce the next killer apps,
then there are going to be some major security issues.
One company that's addressing wireless security is Bluefire.
Their application, Mobile Firewall Plus, "provides a
fast, compact firewall that is portable across a range
of PDAs, is optimized to run on small, low-power devices
(via patent-pending compression technology) and provides
network-speed protection.
The solution operates over multiple communication protocols,
including IP and 802.11 to provide always-on, device-level
security." Bluefire carefully notes, however, that their
firewall does not solve the 802.11 and WEP security
problems which are associtated with transmission privacy
and remote authentication. If these are the current
plans for the killer apps of the future, then maybe
we can look forward to the kind of virtualized environments
depicted in Steven Spielberg's "Minority Report."
Taking place in 2054 (in case you haven't seen it),
the film depicts, among other things, a commercial environment
in which hand-held electronic newspapers constantly
update news reports, cereal boxes broadcast ads to you
while you eat breakfast, and holographic voices greet
you as you enter a department store. How do they know
your name? By performing a retina scan on your eyeballs.
PointCast: The Rise and Fall of a Killer App
Does anyone remember PointCast? It was a screen-saver
that periodically updated news , weather and financial
reports - all from web feeds. At the time (early 90s),
it was going to revolutionize business, not just the
IT business. PointCast was driven by "push" technology
which quickly became a buzzword in the industry. According
to the March, 1997 issue of Wired magazine: "Remember
the browser war between Netscape and Micrososft?
Well, forget it. The Web broswer itself is about to
croak. And good riddance. In its place...PUSH! "Push
media will penetrate environments that have been media
free - work, school, church, the solitude of a country
walk." PointCast is gone now and no one hypes push anymore,
but you can read about their demise at: Wired ( http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,35208,00.html
) or Business Week ( http://www.businessweek.com/1999/99_17/b3626167.htm
).
This leads me to conclude that just the development
of the killer app isn't the whole story. For example,
the app's company should have some solid allies within
the IT industry. PointCast, at its height, had Bill
Gates wanting to be bundle it with Internet Explorer,
but the company let the deal pass, and also rejected
a bid from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Even a killer
app has to be marketed and people must be convinced
that it really will turn their world around.
If people aren't convinced of that, then the killer
becomes the corpse. ================================================================
Copyright 2003 by Roy Troxel. The Web Server Times keeps
Webmasters informed of the latest IT developments and
how they effect your job,your managers and your clients.
http://www.webservertimes.com ================================================================
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