The dramatic increase in compute power unleashed by multicore processors will enable applications that blend virtual representations of the real world with information that meets users’ contextual needs, Microsoft’s top researcher said at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Thursday (Sept 25).
But to realize this vision, the computer science community must master the transition to parallel programming environments, Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie told attendees at the 2008 Technology Review EmTech conference. This will also require modeling technology that masks complexity for programming tools, and work on sensing technologies, such as machine vision, which serve as the computer equivalent of human senses.
Mundie did not offer any new peeks behind the curtain of Microsoft’s research operation, instead mostly presenting ideas and demos that he has previously shared. Most compelling were applications that build on a concept he has referred to as “first life” (as opposed to the virtual online playground Second Life).
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