CoolTown open source project

["Dr John Tankard" <john@xxxxxxx>]

Take a look at this, I have also put a link on the news page to a BBC
news item on the same.

John

http://www.cooltown.hp.com/dev/coolbase-overview.asp

Quote

The CoolTown research program in appliance computing is based on five
underlying beliefs about the future:

1. Rampant diversity of mobile and embedded information products,
wireless and wired communication networks, and rich media content will
be the norm, fueling an explosion of novel and sophisticated services to
feed user and business demand for everything Net. This is often referred
to as the vision of pervasive, ubiquitous or anytime, anywhere
computing, but by themselves these terms say relatively little about the
services and benefits that might be delivered to actual people.
Achieving this vision depends on the use of open, widely available
standards, such as those embodied by the web.

2. The future network environment is the web. In contrast to tightly
held proprietary platforms, the web is an open, extensible,
heterogeneous, standards-based network infrastructure for delivery of
services. More importantly, web protocols and conventions are already
understood by almost every network, computer and software developer on
the planet. These key characteristics of openness and widespread
acceptance will continue to be the basis for a thriving global
marketplace of ideas, products and services.

3. Everything has a web presence. People, places, and things in the
physical world will have increasingly complex online representations,
allowing them to participate in web services. They will become
first-class citizens of the web. This will enable services to become
more personalized, more spontaneous, and more responsive to the wide
variety of contexts in which people live their lives.

4. Bridging the physical and online worlds will bring the benefits of
web services to the bricks-and-mortar world where people still live most
of their lives. In turn, online environments will be enriched by access
to physical places and devices, and to people that don't sit quietly at
their desks. As the physical and online worlds come closer to each
other, customer relationship management and deep personalization will
become a reality.

5. Connected ecosystems of service providers will link together in
creative and productive ways. A new paradigm will emerge as diverse
services are woven effortlessly together, changing how and from whom
customers receive products, emergency help, education, automotive care,
and more.