IEEE Spectrum January, 2008 - 1

01.08
volume 45 number 1 north american

www.ieee.org/
theinStitute
AVAILABLE 7 jANUARy ON
ThE INSTITUTE ONLINE

INNOVATION
INSTITUTE
GEARS UP
A lot has happened at the IEEE-USA
Innovation Institute since it launched
in 2007. Most recently it held its
first forum, which explored various
aspects of innovation, including
product development and navigating
corporate culture.

Scanning the
Surface:
Is the Microsoft
Surface the
next big thing
in touch-screen
displays, or is it
doomed to fail?
you tell us online.
PhoToS: LEFT: mICRoSoFT;
RIGhT: vIvEK vARShnEy

AT SPECTRUM ONLINE

yOU TELL US

www.
Spectrum.
ieee.org
A touch-screen computer that
works like an iPhone but is the size of a coffee table. A
whisper-quiet, ecofriendly motorcycle. A pen that tracks
what it has written while recording what it hears. A flying car that takes off like a plane and lands like a helicopter. Eyeglasses that give you an HDTV video experience.
A 4-gigabit-per-second wireless A/V connection. All
these technologies-according to their inventors-are
ready for prime time. But are they? We explain the concepts, and you decide whether these six products are
destined to be winners or losers.
ONLINE FEATURES:

ALSO ONLINE:

Spectrum editorS take You
inside the Consumer Electronics Show
with video reports from Las Vegas.

* Webcasts
* Radio
* News
* Audio Downloads
* Podcasts
* jobs
* Career Accelerator Forum
* IEEE Xplore® digital library
* Interviews
* Opinions
* More!

learn how an italian town's
buried RFID transponders keep blind
people on the right track.
delve into the inner workings
of the world's tiniest refrigerator, the
thermal transistor.

STUDENTS SPARk
INTEREST IN IEEE
WITh PARTy
The IEEE student branch at Worcester
Polytechnic Institute, in Massachusetts,
really knows how to make sparks fly. In
November, the branch held its second
annual Spark Party, complete with a
demonstration of a pair of gigantic
tesla coils and other loud, electrifying
crowd pleasers.

WORkShOP
COVERS
ELECTRICAL SAFETy
Find out the latest in electrical safety at
the IEEE Industry Application Society
Electrical Safety Workshop, set to take
place 18 to 21 March, in Dallas. The
conference will cover improvements in
electrical standards and regulations,
how to prevent electrical accidents and
injuries in the workplace, and more.

ieee Spectrum (ISSn 008-925) is published monthly by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. all rights reserved. © 2008 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., park avenue,
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January 2008 * IEEE SpEctrum * na

http://www.ieee.org/ http://www.ieee.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Spectrum January, 2008