AT&T to launch smart cities initiative in Chicago

Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas will get an AT&T smart cities network of free services that could help city officials more efficiently manage and give tools to residents to avoid some common hassles, the communications company said Tuesday.

It's part of an effort to build more connected communities thanks to the Internet of Things and alliances of big tech names like Cisco, Deloitte, Ericsson, GE, IBM, Intel, Qualcomm Technologies, AT&T's Smart Cities general manager, Mike Zeto said during a developers summit during international tech show CES.

AT&T chose Chicago to participate in its smart cities framework that could allow law enforcement officials to detect gunfire and determine how many people were involved; help city officials better manage operations by remotely monitoring conditions of roads, buildings parks; and let commuters know if traffic lights are out along their routes and remotely view parking meters.

Chicago will focus on improving resident engagement, using sensors to maintain infrastructure and making buildings smarter and more energy efficient, said Brenna Berman, the city's chief information officer.

"The goal is to better service our residents and to get more out of the budget that we use to deliver those services," she said.

Zeto said the program could involve local startups working with the larger companies as well.

"We chose the cities based on their propensity to embrace new technology and to have innovative thought leaders within their government, along with the research universities and education systems," Zeto said.

Read More: http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/originals/ct-att-smart-cities-bsi-20160106-story.html

3D Cameras Give Computers Brains, Much Bigger Brains

When the world shifted away from film-based cameras, digital cameras started to change how we interact with one another. Think selfies and social media, for starters. What if you could capture in 3D and view all angles of an object or person? That is partly what the Google GOOGL +0.00% Cardboard project allows in a virtual reality/augmented reality sort-of-way, with your smartphone. But you don’t need a special viewer with new 3D technology.

This video gives you an idea of what’s coming when you have a 3D camera — this particular scene above was done by Patrick Eleazar from Realidyne, using a GoPro Spherical cam setup (and some post-processing work). If you place your cursor in the video, you can move around in the scene — try it - drag left, right, up or down and you will see a near-360 degree view. Within his YouTube channel, there are several others to give you an idea of what’s possible in 3D.

3D cameras, to date, have not been widely adopted, but as I suggested in Is The 3D Camera Tipping Point Here? Apple, Intel, Google, Microsoft, Sony, we are about to see and experience more change. Partly, I believe we are going to see consumer adoption, thanks to devices like the Kinect, and now, Orbbec with its Astra Pro (which depends on being connected to a computer via USB) and Persee, a 3D camera-computer (which does not need a computer to operate).

Most of the 3D devices, gesture capture and motion tracking types, are receiving and processing only through a more powerful computing device – your laptop or the Xbox gaming console. Persee is different in that it has an onboard computer, charged to process what you are seeing and capturing, in real time. Arguably, this is a shift.

Read More: http://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2015/10/28/3-d-cameras-give-computers-brains-much-bigger-brains/

IBM vs. Intel Corporation: The Data Center Battle Escalates

IBM (NYSE:IBM) used to sell Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) -powered low to mid-range servers. But last year, IBM sold that unit to Lenovo to focus on selling high-end servers and mainframes powered by its own Power processors instead.

Since then, IBM has positioned its remaining data center businesses directly against Intel, which holds a formidable 99% market share in server chips. In July, it announced the creation of a 7nm chip, which seemingly targeted Intel's plans to launch 10nm chips in 2017. It also expanded its "Open Power" initiative, which shares processor specs, firmware, and software with partners to fuel the third-party production of Power-based servers.

That's why it wasn't surprising when IBM recently partnered with Xilinx (NASDAQ:XLNX), a maker of FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays), to counter Intel's acquisition of FPGA maker Altera. FPGAs are less powerful than IBM's or Intel's server chips, but they can be reprogrammed, making them well-suited for custom uses in connected cars, consumer devices, and airplanes. IBM and Intel are both using FPGAs to complement their server chips by accelerating workloads.

What Big Blue wants
IBM's revenue has fallen for 14 consecutive quarters, due to sluggish demand for its core IT services, software, and hardware. Big Blue wants investors to focus on the growth of its "strategic imperatives" -- cloud, analytics, mobile, social, and security -- which posted 17% annual sales growth last quarter, or 27% on a constant-currency basis excluding its divested System x (Intel-powered server) business. That growth was solid, but it wasn't enough to offset the steep declines in its other aging businesses.

Last quarter, IBM's hardware revenues plunged 39% annually and accounted for less than 8% of its top line. Power Systems revenues slipped 3% and system storage revenues fell 19%, but z Systems mainframe revenues rose 15%. The decline in Power Systems revenue was expected, due to Intel's dominance of the data center market. But the growth in mainframes was surprising, since analysts had predicted the death of fridge-sized mainframes for decades.

Read More: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/11/24/ibm-vs-intel-corporation-the-data-center-battle-es.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004