Innovation isn't the panacea it seems
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Innovation has become an all-purpose tonic, the default prescription for every pain associated with the retrenching American economy. Whatever the problem -- slower growth, global competition, fewer well-paying jobs -- innovating, we are told, is the solution.
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Most machines don't improve with use. Old pickup trucks don't gradually become Ferraris just by driving them fast, and a pocket calculator won't change into a supercomputer by crunching lots of numbers. The human body is different...
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Not every drug invented in the laboratory is worth developing into a marketable product.
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On the surface, speech technologies make a lot of sense. But it may still be too early for them to make it in prime time.
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Nanotechnology is confronting the U.S. with a familiar problem - assessing claims of innovation that do not match up neatly with the way patent examiners are trained to categorize them.
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In an era when most technology outfits have tightened their belts to adapt to a slower-growing market, one company stands out for forging ahead on innovation: Apple Computer (AAPL ). Others have slashed R&amp;D
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Its latest results might be a surprise because of the challenges the company has faced this year.
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Business & money: Industry reluctant to make the ultimate sacrifice of speed and acceleration.
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The world of information technology is not immune from the reaches of the urban legend.
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Ziff Davis - Opinion: The player's success is not enough to pull Apple out of its "niche innovator" role. The company needs to take its knack for making products desirable in a new direction.
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Most industries have some not-so-rosy practices.
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There is growth, but it's not homemade.
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Not all communities are created alike.  Nor should they be, as Actuate shows.
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Innovation doesn't stop when the giving starts.
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A big company needs some big ideas in order to grow bigger.
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Many technologies may be a waste of time and money, researcher says.
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It doesn't take a genius to catch on to the fact that in IT, innovation is a mandate. Push the envelope of what's possible, or find yourself relegated to wayside. But, to borrow a favored David St. Hubbins Spinal Tap aphorism, there's a fine line between clever and crackpot when it comes to making good on technological breakthroughs in the enterprise.                                                      It is in that spirit that we revisit last year's level-headed look at crackpot technologies that could transform the enterprise, putting the screws to a new rack of could-be enterprise contenders. But before you write off nanotech or direct brain interfaces as the next big enterprise thing, consider this:  [ For an in-depth look at last year's crackpot tech assessments, see: 12 crackpot tech ideas that could transform the enterprise ]  Of the dozen technologies we examined last year, several made significant enterprise-minded strides since we first assessed their IT prospects. Desktop Web apps, for one, lent credence to the conjecture that fat productivity suites might just have a shorter future than previously thought; solid-state drives popped up everywhere, from ultramobile laptops to the datacenter; and Sun's datacenter-in-a-box proved compelling enough for Google to move first to patent it. Even quantum cryptography received a vote of confidence, with Switzerland tapping the technology to protect parliamentary election transmissions.   Sure, some of this year's out-there technologies may prove fruit for future high-profile tech flops lists, but without forward-thinking, there would be no worthwhile enterprise advancement. So raise your eyebrows or your suspicions as you deem fit, and join us in assessing the potential each of the following technologies has to earn IT's respect or derision.  ? Nanotechnology ? Optical computing ? Pervasive computing ? Wireless power ? The $100 laptop ? Direct brain interfaces ? Enterprise supercomputing ? Virtual worlds