IBM Technologies NEWS and Discussion Thread

Is this the world's smallest computer? IBM chip is no bigger than a grain of salt
https://www.techrepublic.com/articl...er-ibm-chip-is-no-bigger-than-a-grain-of-salt

• IBM has created what it says is the world's smallest computer, which packs several hundreds of thousands of transistors into a chip smaller than a grain of salt.
• The processor is designed work alongside blockchain technology to help track goods, and while it won't be doing heavy lifting, IBM claims it will be capable of monitoring, analyzing and sorting data.

IBM will today reveal what it claims is the world's smallest computer.
The machine will pack several hundred thousands of transistors into a chip smaller than a grain of salt, and cost less than 10 cents to manufacture.

The processor is designed to help track goods and combat fraud in the global supply chain, and while it won't be doing heavy lifting or have much in common with what most people consider a computer, IBM claims it will be capable of monitoring, analyzing and sorting data, thanks to having access to about as much power as a 1990s x86 processor.

According to IBM the chip will act as what it describes as a crypto-anchor, which works alongside blockchain technology to connect the physical to the digital world, to help verify if a product has been handled properly throughout its journey.

IBM describes crypto-anchors as "tamper-proof digital fingerprints" that are linked to the blockchain, and says its researchers are developing the chips to be embedded into products. The tiny solar powered computers would rely on LED lights to communicate with a network.

Tying these chips to a blockchain, provides "a powerful means of proving a product's authenticity" says IBM, adding "within the next five years, cryptographic anchors and blockchain technology will ensure a product's authenticity — from its point of origin to the hands of the customer".

What makes blockchain so potentially useful for tracking goods is that it offers a decentralized database that is immutable and unforgeable.

IBM says the first crypto-anchor chips could be available within 18 months and be commonplace within five years.


The new chip which IBM describes as the world's smallest computer. = Image: IBM

 

That's pretty cool. Cant wait to see them in action.

 

Neat, yes, but possibly used incorrectly.
Wouldn't this be much more useful for miniature health monitoring devices that keep track of a variety of things in the body?

What about connecting multiple chips together using something like Infinity Fabric or in a networked fashion to increase computational capacity?

 

Uhm, whats the use for its miniature size then? We can simply use an ARM cpu then.......


And, Raja Koduri said, infinity fabric is currently not at its full capacity. Its incomplete, but complete enough for current use.... But he pointed that it can make 1000+ cpus in super computers communicate as fast as if it were a single die....

 

I was thinking more of using this to create even better meta-materials for example which could be used in clothing, etc... spread throughout the entire body... using real-time sensors for body and environmental observations.

The data itself could be used to see how environment shapes behavior, which genes are switched on or off... which (and how) viruses and bacteria interact with our immune systems.
That sort of thing. Plus, we can monitor and prevent a lot of medical conditions from arising in the first place... at least until regenerative medicine kicks in by 2025 or 2030 (and by then, you'd already have a pre-existing infrastructure with these materials and chips that could aid in the use of nanotechnology and body regeneration - even Ray Kurzweil stated we will have biological immortality by 2030, and given the rate of progression we are experiencing [faster than exponential]. he wasn't wrong... in fact, we could do it today with stem-cells, as there have been various methods developed to date that can be implemented in medical practice easily enough).

An ARM cpu is all well and good, but depending on the density of this IBM's chip vs commercial chips might give it an advantage others don't have.

 

What giant grains of salt do they use at IBM?

 

Pink salt perhaps?

 

The reference to salt makes sense after seeing this image - I think the piece shown in the other image is the full "computer".

 

Salt comes in several forms... grainy and crystalline to mention a few.
Obviously, we are talking about crystalline form which would account for the 'grain size'... still valid for comparative purposes... I mentioned pink salt as that was the one I immediately remembered coming in crystalline form.

 

IBM Watson becomes an AI assistant for the enterprise
https://www.techrepublic.com/google...on-becomes-an-ai-assistant-for-the-enterprise
Watson Assistant will help business users access data by voice or text, and integrate customers' IBM connections.

• IBM launched Watson Assistant, an AI agent designed for enterprises to access data via voice or text.
• IBM's Watson assistant can help business users access data and plan travel.

On Tuesday, IBM launched Watson Assistant, an artificial intelligence (AI) agent designed for enterprises to access data via voice or text.

Due to its ability to continually learn a user's preferences, Watson Assistant will be able to provide proactive, personalized experiences, according to a press release. Business users can interact with the assistant through natural conversation, and pick up wherever the chat left off, no matter the location, the release noted.

 

IBM's reactive platform makes it easier for Java developers to build AI apps
https://www.techrepublic.com/google...t-easier-for-java-developers-to-build-ai-apps

 

IBM to acquire cloud computing firm Red Hat for $34 billion
By Jackie Wattles, CNN Business
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/28/tech/ibm-red-hat/index.html


IBM's Red Hat acquisition is a 'desperate deal,' says analyst

• IBM's $34 billion acquisition of Red Hat is a last-ditch effort by IBM to play catch-up in the cloud industry, says BTIG's Joel Fishbein.
• "It's a desperate deal by a company that missed the boat for the last five years," Fishbein says.
• The software maker will become a unit of IBM's Hybrid Cloud division, bringing it one step closer to becoming "relevant again in the space," Fishbein says.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/29/ibms-red-hat-acquisition-is-a-desperate-deal-says-analyst.html

 

"IBM unveils its first commercial quantum computer"

At CES, IBM today announced its first commercial quantum computer for use outside of the lab.

While IBM describes it as the first fully integrated universal quantum computing system designed for scientific and commercial use, it’s worth stressing that a 20-qubit machine is nowhere near powerful enough for most of the commercial applications that people envision for a quantum computer with more qubits — and qubits that are useful for more than 100 microseconds.

https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/08/ibm-unveils-its-first-commercial-quantum-computer/