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Big Blue Thinks Small
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Once the proud purveyor of mostly large mainframes and supercomputers, IBM Corp is now closely following trends for computing devices to shrink. Recently, it demonstrated a prototype 9-ounce (255-gram) portable computing device that it hopes may pave the way for a new set of functions for handheld devices.
The code name for the device, which was developed by IBM's Watson Research Laboratory in Yorktown Heights, NY, is "Meta Pad". It is about the size of a 3/4-inch (1.9cm) thick stack of 3 x 5-inch (7.6 x 12.7cm) index cards, or about the size of a very thin pad of note paper. It was demonstrated at the DEMO conference in Phoenix, Arizona in February. The Meta Pad is part of IBM's research into how humans interact with computers, and into new technologies for future devices (See Photo).
The company, however, has no current plans to make or market the Meta Pad, although it may license the technologies to other companies. But that will not be likely for several years. IBM said it built the Meta Pad to look at technologies that will go into and help manage future computing devices.
"The Meta Pad project is part of our overall strategy in the pervasive space: building the technology inside computing devices, and building and managing the infrastructure that will simplify the unthinkable task of connecting billions of devices to billions of things," said Ken Ocheltree, lead engineer on the Meta Pad project at IBM Research.
To make the prototype so tiny and light, IBM stripped out everything except the processor, memory, data and applications. The power supply, display, and input/output connectors were pulled out of the computer core, and have been made into accessories. If the Meta Pad technology eventually is commercialized by someone, users will be able to decide how they want to use it, essentially creating their own handheld device by mixing and matching accessories. The device could be transformed into a handheld, desktop, laptop, tablet or wearable computer in seconds, without even having to be rebooted, IBM said.
There is no requirement to synchronize multiple devices, IBM said, as all of the user's data and applications remain inside the core -- a contrast to today's popular handheld devices. The Meta Pad also can run multiple operating systems that share the same data, which will let users run any desired application.
Applications
One potential application for the Meta Pad is as a super-dense server. It could provide an alternative way to build space-saving servers, if multiple Meta Pads were plugged into a rack-mounted or other system.
The prototype device, which has about the same power of a current regular-sized desktop computer, was demonstrated with a 10-Gbyte hard disk drive and an 800MHz processor. It had 128 Mbytes of memory. It also was running the Windows XP operating system. The device fits into a slightly larger accessory which has a 5.8-inch (14.5cm) flat screen. That accessory measures about 6 x 4 inches (15.2 x 10cm) and is 1-inch (2.5cm) thick.
IBM is pushing ahead with research into how wireless technology could be used with the device, which would give it possible applications in medicine, international customs and airline and hotel check-ins. The various accessories allow the Meta Pad to be:
* attached to a small touch screen and carried like a handheld, but with the power and functions of a current desktop system;
* placed into a cradle attached to a keyboard and display at home, work or in a hotel room;
* attached to a wearable harness with a small head-mounted display to use in work environments which require hands-free computing;
* placed into a connector in an airplane seat that is linked to a touch-screen display.
IBM said it also has incorporated its own advanced speech technologies and ink recognition software to improve the Meta Pad's interface.
Palm Inc, Handspring Inc, and Research In Motion Ltd all make pocket-sized computers, as do Hewlett-Packard Co and Compaq Computer Corp. Those models are larger and heavier than the IBM prototype.
The growth of the handheld market has slowed with the recent global economic downturn, and several companies are now exploring wireless technology to expand communications and other applications for their mobile product lines.
by Lori Valigra
(April 2002 Issue, Nikkei Electronics Asia)
The code name for the device, which was developed by IBM's Watson Research Laboratory in Yorktown Heights, NY, is "Meta Pad". It is about the size of a 3/4-inch (1.9cm) thick stack of 3 x 5-inch (7.6 x 12.7cm) index cards, or about the size of a very thin pad of note paper. It was demonstrated at the DEMO conference in Phoenix, Arizona in February. The Meta Pad is part of IBM's research into how humans interact with computers, and into new technologies for future devices (See Photo).
The company, however, has no current plans to make or market the Meta Pad, although it may license the technologies to other companies. But that will not be likely for several years. IBM said it built the Meta Pad to look at technologies that will go into and help manage future computing devices.
"The Meta Pad project is part of our overall strategy in the pervasive space: building the technology inside computing devices, and building and managing the infrastructure that will simplify the unthinkable task of connecting billions of devices to billions of things," said Ken Ocheltree, lead engineer on the Meta Pad project at IBM Research.
To make the prototype so tiny and light, IBM stripped out everything except the processor, memory, data and applications. The power supply, display, and input/output connectors were pulled out of the computer core, and have been made into accessories. If the Meta Pad technology eventually is commercialized by someone, users will be able to decide how they want to use it, essentially creating their own handheld device by mixing and matching accessories. The device could be transformed into a handheld, desktop, laptop, tablet or wearable computer in seconds, without even having to be rebooted, IBM said.
There is no requirement to synchronize multiple devices, IBM said, as all of the user's data and applications remain inside the core -- a contrast to today's popular handheld devices. The Meta Pad also can run multiple operating systems that share the same data, which will let users run any desired application.
Applications
One potential application for the Meta Pad is as a super-dense server. It could provide an alternative way to build space-saving servers, if multiple Meta Pads were plugged into a rack-mounted or other system.
The prototype device, which has about the same power of a current regular-sized desktop computer, was demonstrated with a 10-Gbyte hard disk drive and an 800MHz processor. It had 128 Mbytes of memory. It also was running the Windows XP operating system. The device fits into a slightly larger accessory which has a 5.8-inch (14.5cm) flat screen. That accessory measures about 6 x 4 inches (15.2 x 10cm) and is 1-inch (2.5cm) thick.
IBM is pushing ahead with research into how wireless technology could be used with the device, which would give it possible applications in medicine, international customs and airline and hotel check-ins. The various accessories allow the Meta Pad to be:
* attached to a small touch screen and carried like a handheld, but with the power and functions of a current desktop system;
* placed into a cradle attached to a keyboard and display at home, work or in a hotel room;
* attached to a wearable harness with a small head-mounted display to use in work environments which require hands-free computing;
* placed into a connector in an airplane seat that is linked to a touch-screen display.
IBM said it also has incorporated its own advanced speech technologies and ink recognition software to improve the Meta Pad's interface.
Palm Inc, Handspring Inc, and Research In Motion Ltd all make pocket-sized computers, as do Hewlett-Packard Co and Compaq Computer Corp. Those models are larger and heavier than the IBM prototype.
The growth of the handheld market has slowed with the recent global economic downturn, and several companies are now exploring wireless technology to expand communications and other applications for their mobile product lines.
by Lori Valigra
(April 2002 Issue, Nikkei Electronics Asia)
