في عيد الميلاد نجدد إيماننا بما رأينا وسمعنا. لقد رأينا النور الحقيقي مشرقا في مغارة بيت لحم، وسمعنا كلمة الله …

by Steve Hamm, Every year IBM predicts the future of technology via the IBM 5 in 5 initiative–our forecast of five innovations that will help transform aspects of modern life, making the planet smarter, within the next five years. We assess not just the availability of a new technology but also the likelihood of its  large-scale adoption.

This year’s predictions:

·    People power will come to life 
·    You will never need a password again
·    Mind reading is no longer science fiction
·    The digital divide will cease to exist
·    Junk mail will become priority mail

Click here to vote on the coolest prediction.

Making this kind of prediction is difficult. (In fact, to me, sadly, the one about eliminating the digital divide seems impossible.) So, every year, IBM researchers stick out their necks. Which is risky. “A lot of people wait for things to happen. It’s rare than an organization says: this is a big change, and it’s coming,” says IBM Fellow Bernard Meyerson.

Forecasting Innovation
Technology moves so fast it can be difficult to separate science fiction from fact, much less discern which game-changing breakthroughs are over the horizon. As the IT industry's leading innovator, IBM has the track record and pedigree to credibly predict the emerging innovations that could change how people work, live and play. This week, IBM revealed the next 5 in 5 -- an annual forecast of future technology trends -- which The New York Times, Washington Post and other global news outlets quickly endorsed as a collection of important ideas worth watching.

IBM's Viewpoint:
Here's a summary of IBM's 5 in 5 predictions to help you add to the conversation.

-- People power will come to life: Advances in renewable energy technology will allow individuals and scientists to collect energy from many common things that move, and use it to help power our homes, workplaces and cities. http://ibm.co/uusi0t

-- You will not need a password: Each person's unique biometric data such as facial definitions, retinal scans and voice files will be combined through software to build a DNA-unique online password. http://ibm.co/vElhJs

-- Mind reading is no longer science fiction: Scientists are researching how to link your brain to your devices, such as a computer or a smartphone, so you just need to think about calling someone and it will happen. http://ibm.co/vieXaD

-- The digital divide will cease to exist: The gap between information haves and have-nots will narrow considerably due to advances in mobile technology that enable access to essential information and deliver better services such as mobile commerce and remote healthcare. http://ibm.co/v90z8K

-- Junk mail will become priority mail: Unsolicited advertisements may soon feel so personalized and relevant that spam will seem dead and gone. Computers will make sense of data and look up new information for individuals without even being asked. http://ibm.co/vArghS
 

By Hussein Dakroub -

BEIRUT: A radically new election law endorsed by Maronite leaders that would allow each sect to choose its own representatives during the 2013 parliamentary elections has come under fire from officials across the political divide, with some warning that it would deepen sectarianism in the country.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said he will comment at the “appropriate time” on the agreement reached Friday by Christian leaders from the rival camps of March 8 and March 14 on a proposal adopted by the newly established Orthodox Gathering.

But two MPs from Hariri’s parliamentary Future bloc have harshly criticized the Bkirki agreement.

“I have been repeating two matters for years. First, Lebanon cannot exist without an effective role for its Christian citizens. Second, I reject that sects adopt [political] attitudes because this will be the beginning of the end to a united Lebanon,” Beirut MP Mohammad Qabbani said in a statement Sunday.

“Therefore, I consider the proposal for sects to elect their MPs as a mass suicide of Lebanon’s people and a consecration of the federation of sects which will eventually lead to the partitioning of the country into geographically sectarian cantons,” he added.

Qabbani said that the Orthodox Gathering’s proposal could be discussed only after the implementation of a provision in the 1989 Arab-brokered Taif Accord which called for the establishment of two parliaments: A non-sectarian Parliament and a Senate that elects its members along sectarian lines.

The current 128-member Parliament is equally divided by Muslims and Christians.

Beirut MP Nuhad Mashnouq said the agreement announced at Bkirki is “not reassuring.”

  The President of the Lebanese Republic Michel Sleiman has dispatched a letter to French President Nicolas Sarkozy vowing to capture the …