As we steadily move toward a more and more interconnected world where a cornucopia of devices (some personal, some not so personal and some down right rude) will be begging for our digital attention, life does not seem to get any easier despite of promises to the contrary. Buzz-phrases like "pervasive computing," "ubiquitous computing," "unconscious computing," "connect to anything, anytime from anywhere," promise a care-free world, where we may finally set our VCR's clock (if one still exists) by just pointing our watch to it. Wouldn't that be nice!
Industry efforts are under way that will permit us to leave in a gentler and hassle-free digital world sooner than later (assuming that we get that Y2K bug well behind us first). New technologies are being developed that permit devices to simply connect and operate with no need for human intervention and configuration. In addition, technologies are being developed that will let devices learn about each other and their capabilities and allow them to create intelligent connections based on these capabilities and their user's desires.
For this panel discussion, industry leaders have been invited to present the latest developments in these important emerging areas and engage in a thought provoking discussions with the audience and themselves dissecting the pros and cons of the various alternatives. The audience of this panel discussion will have the opportunity to learn first hand what is happening in leading research and development organization, what they expect to see coming out, and what are the key research issues in these areas. Ultimately, the members of the audience would find how themselves can contribute to the spreading of these technologies either as developers or users of them.