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IT is a peculiar technology, rather similar to electricity. Rather than being a sector on its own, it is becoming an enabling technology stimulating radical innovation for an ever broader range of industries. After telecoms, then media, and many other industries, it is now the turn of energy to be affected by "smart grid" technology. Spotting the next radical and disruptive inovation could be easy: just try finding an industry where IT has not yet created a lot of change.

Quite thought provoking. TV sets are being deeply changed by enabling technologies such as 3D and Internet access. However, what is the product, the viewing experience and the business model that will become dominant, based on these enablers?

Augmented reality in 2010 is a typical technology in the "incubation" phase. The technology is there, the basic building blocks (e.g. GPS-enabled smartphones cum camera) are already widely diffused... but it is now necessary to find a real application that people will be willing to pay for.

It seems that someone around the world has come up with some interesting applications in the field of gaming! Check out these links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZvxIjdyyII, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lHOHYhp6b4. Simply …uaohhh!

e-books are an up-and-coming technology and there is a strong debate on the way they will affect the future of newspapers. The case is more complicated for magazines, that of course require color. An interesting case of the interplay between technology performance and user needs, leading (or not) to the enabling of a disruptive innovation.

Windows 7 will enable touch-screen control of PCs, and PC makers are introducing devices with this feature. This is an interesting topic since tablet PCs, precursors to this technology, were mostly a flop a few years ago. What will happen this time? In case acceptance will be higher, will it be because of better performance of hardware and software? Or will it be because consumers are now accustomed to using touch-screens on smartphones?

What will paradigms for TV sets after HDTV is a bit of a question mark. On the one side, it might be 3D technology. On the other, it might be convergence with the Internet. TV-set makers are playing big bets on both possibilities, and convergence is of course dependent on the existence of content and software that can make it interesting in the eyes of customers. As is currently happening for smartphones, content need not be generated internally, but through app-store mechanisms. Will this strategy pay off?

For years now, hotel chains have been toying with alternative ways to letting patrons check-in, access their room and run up their bill with all-too-convenient in-room services. Marriott began testing smartphone check-ins way back in 2006, and select boutique locations (like The Plaza Hotel in New York and Boston's Nine Zero) have relied on RFID, iris scanners, biometric identifiers and all sorts of whiz-bang entry methods in order to make getting past a lock that much easier (or harder, depending on perspective). This month, InterContinental Hotels Group announced that they would soon be trialing OpenWays at Chicago's Holiday Inn Express Houston Downtown Convention Center, enabling iPhone owners to fire up an app and watch their room door open in a magical sort of way. Other smartphone platforms will also be supported, and as we've seen with other implementations, users of the technology will also be able to turn to their phone to order additional services, extend their stay or fess up to that window they broke. There's no word on when this stuff will depart the testing phase and go mainstream, but we're guessing it'll be sooner rather than later. Video after the break, if you're interested.

Google on Tuesday said it will acquire Global IP Solutions Holding, which makes processing software for voice and video over IP, for $68.2 million. The deal means that Google will own the voice and video conferencing engine behind its competitors' instant messaging systems. Global IP Solutions (GIPS) provides best-in-class voice and video processing in IP communications. GIPS enables its customers to deliver unmatched quality, with a faster time to market and less risk than alternative solutions. Its customer list includes Nortel, Oracle, Samsung, WebEx, Yahoo!, AOL and other key players in the VoIP market. The purchase of GIPS comes a day before Google's I/O conference. Given Google's acquisition of Gizmo5 and its existing Google Voice service, the search giant appears to be collecting enough assets to give Skype and others competition on the consumer and business fronts. GIPS's software can also be layered into Google Apps in multiple areas as a business collaboration tool.