Ali Hajimiri, a professor of electrical engineering at the California Institute of Technology, has created a chip capable of producing terahertz waves-radiation (or T-rays) that can penetrate materials such as plastic and wood without the side effects associated with X-rays. So far, T-rays have been used mostly in experiments in medical and dental imaging. But Hajimiri, working with postdoctoral researcher Kaushik Sengupta, got thousands of tiny transistors to operate in concert, producing T-rays from a smaller machine. When connected with a computer or mobile device, the 0.1 inch-wide silicon chip technology could help doctors locate skin cancer noninvasively, speed up passenger scans at airport security lines, scan suspicious packages at the post office, or find art hidden behind painted walls.

Aww, not quite what you were expecting? C'mon though. It's still pretty cool tech, right?

- @ojones1

READ THE FULL BUSINESSWEEK WRITE-UP HERE.

via: http://www.jayforce.com/technology/technology-chip-could-enable-smartphones-to-see-through-objects

Qualcomm was the chip company smart enough to put Internet protocols into cell phones right around the time the 'Net was becoming accessible to the general public (early 1990s). The guy at the helm of a company that demonstrates such foresight is someone to whom we should listen, right?

Well, whether or not you do, I am listening to what Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs has to say:

'There are a lot of opportunities... Obviously, the smartphone trend is going to continue... There will be 5 billion smartphones sold between now and 2016.'

- Paul Jacobs

5 billion!! Did y'all get that? Now, what would smart folks in media (radio, TV, performing artists, promoters, bloggers, etc.) be looking to do in light of such a tip from such an authority as Jacobs? I dunno.

(Yeah, I do. Look left. You can download the JayForce mobile app... to interact with this site via phone... to listen to Beatz & Lyrics with JayForce via phone... you... do get it, right?)

So, just how far can this mobile trend take us? Possibilities for business are obvious; but what about for humanity. Check it:

'Let me tell you something that's pretty cool. There's a researcher we're working with who has an idea to put a tiny chip inside your bloodstream?...?and it'll maybe lodge in your wrist and look for certain indicators that in two weeks you might have a heart attack. Can you imagine that? So your phone will ring and tell you to go to your doctor. That's in the lab right now. People are working on that now.'

- Paul Jacobs



Read the full Businessweek write-up: Charlie Rose Talks to Qualcomm's Paul Jacobs.

via: http://www.jayforce.com/videos/technology-qualcomms-paul-jacobs-sees-a-bright-future-for-smartphones-video

Reportlinker Adds The Digital Music Market Outlook: Evolving business models, key players, new challenges and the future outlook

The Digital Music Market Outlook

Evolving business models, key players, new challenges and the future outlook

Report Overview

The increasing adoption of broadband and mobile technologies and the widespread adoption of smartphones and portable music playing devices continue to drive the digital music market. The music industry landscape is undergoing major structural changes as companies from other industries become integrated into music distribution, and business models transform to adapt to changing market demands. Piracy remains a major concern in the industry, with losses from ilegal downloads running into billions of dollars.

The Digital Music Market Outlook: Evolving business models, key players, new challenges and the future outlook' is a report published by Business Insights that analyzes the growth of the digital music market and recent transformations to the industry structure and business models. The report examines the growth drivers and inhibitors of the market, emerging geographies, industry challenges and the future market outlook. It also provides detailed profiles of the leading digital music service providers including an examination of their operations, service offerings, financials and strategic outlook.

Key Findings

The global digital music market will grow from $4.81bn in 2009 to $13.74bn by 2013, representing a CAGR of 30%.

The industry is characterized by rapidly changing structure and an evolving value chain. New players are entering the market for digital music distribution and rapidly expanding their revenue streams to match consumer demands. Various partnerships and tie-ups are emerging between players across the value chain.

Music piracy remains the most critical challenge that the industry is faced with. Another major issue is that of interoperability across various digital music services and devices, which is being dealt with by shifting towards DRM-free music downloads.

The global digital music market has significant growth potential. The relatively more developed markets include the US, Japan and western European countries such as the UK, France and Germany. Emerging markets that present enormous potential include China, India and Brazil.

Use this report to...

• Understand the global digital music market with this report's study of the market in terms of product innovation and evolving market structure.

• Analyze the growth trends in the market to predict key areas of opportunity including market structure, dynamics and trends in the developed markets (US, Japan, UK, France and Germany) and emerging markets (China, India and Brazil).

• Examine the challenges facing the global digital music market with this report's study of the evolving business models and the major transformations taking place in the market abd their impact on leading companies.

• Benchmark your performance against leading digital music service providers by using the company overviews of key players in the industry, including their services, operational and financial performance indicators and strategy provided in this report.

Explore issues including...

New players entering the market: As the industry envolves new players are entering the market for digital music distribution. Increasing competition is prompting the companies to respond to the changing customer demands and differentiate their services to retain their customers.

Changing market dynamics: The availability of free music on the internet has prompted companies to adapt their business models as per the changing market dynamics. Ad-supported sites and social community websites are gaining more prominence in the industry.

The growth of piracy: Piracy is a major problem for the global digital music industry. The number of illegal d