At CES this week, the largest microchip manufacturer in the world, Intel, announced that they have decided to get in on the app frenzy. They've opened a new app store geared towards netbook computers called Atom. That's right. You know those little pieces of software called applications? Well they're no longer just for your cell phone. Can you imagine the possibilities of running applications on a computer?... Oh wait... that's what you're doing right now...



Anyway, what's really exciting is the amount of companies in other parts of the electronics industry that are also interested in apps. Samsung announced this week that they would be opening their own app store for HDTVs, Blu-Ray players, as well as cell phones. Surprisingly enough, Ford Motor Company even announced some apps that would be available in its vehicles late this year.

I think this is fantastic news and a great step forward for technology in general. As modern tech grows exponentially, the microchips that are used in even the simplest of computers are performing way under their potential. Think about the possibilities of television applications for example. They could interact with certain commercials, tv shows and movies. They could learn what kinds of content you like and tailor a playlist for you.  Or the ability to upgrade firmware to increase the performance of your current hardware. The opportunities are endless for clever companies. Look at all the applications on the iPhone that make you say, "hmm, I never would have thought to use it for that."

The future is bright for technology! I can't wait to see where this leads.

If you are on Twitter you probably remember seeing Google Wave as a trending topic last year. In fact, it was the top technology related trending topic of 2009. This was mainly because people were asking for invitation codes to try it out.  That's how I got my invite. I fell in love with Wave long before I had the chance to try it for myself. I heard about Google's next big thing on Twitter, and started doing some research. Google has a video about Wave that is over an hour and twenty minutes long. It demonstrates Wave to developers at their 2009 I/O event. I've been using it since November 2009, and it has made my life so much easier. I've used it as a collaboration tool to have 3 or more users work on a project, or to have a chat room environment for fun. I can see my office using it as a sort of basecamp for our web development projects. The beauty of Wave is that it could be used for so much more than just work. Drag and drop pictures in a Wave to share them with loved ones. Watch the video for examples and several other advantages that Wave has. Google Wave should be going live before the end of this year.