The Internet of Things

April 26, 2013 · by Anna Rohleder

Our connected world is getting bigger all the time. And not just through people with phones and computers. The number of devices connected to the internet is expected to surpass the total number of humans on Earth before the end of this year. Welcome to the brave new world called the internet of things.

It's not a new concept, but there have been some new developments of late that promise to make it more of a near-term reality.

As the New York Times reported yesterday, a consortium of big companies have agreed on a new open standard for machine-to-machine communication. This is already used in everything from healthcare devices to stock trading. But having open standards will make it easier for more devices all over the world, connecting via the mobile web, to speak the same language.

But they won't only talk to each other - connected things will need to talk to us too. It's a situation that has both complex technical issues as well as political and commercial challenges.

Bringing together those theoretical questions with practical applications of the technology, there is an upcoming conference on the internet of things: it's happening in Sao Paolo this May.

(No word on whether your fridge needs a separate invitation.)

Readers' comments 24

Left under the original article, as archived.

BridgeBuilderKiwiFriday, April 26, 2013 10:59:14 AM
Originally posted by AnnaMetro:

No word on whether your fridge needs a separate invitation.

Cool sense of humour.
Goran KonjevicFriday, April 26, 2013 12:10:12 PM
fu.k that shit, what about new OPERA ???
SoumitraFriday, April 26, 2013 12:37:31 PM
Phillip Robert O'ConnerFriday, April 26, 2013 2:27:42 PM
Uh,that pretty neat and all.but what about opera 13.
Bayani mwaleFriday, April 26, 2013 6:15:22 PM
want to know more about this opera
Helder Jefferson Ferreira da LuzFriday, April 26, 2013 6:18:42 PM
Originally posted by wii4little:

Uh,that pretty neat and all.but what about opera 13.

It seems it'll be called Opera 14.
ramesh3zFriday, April 26, 2013 7:37:14 PM
Why there is'nt more update for symbian
vux777Saturday, April 27, 2013 10:17:55 AM
we need new standards based on opera turbo tech
for instance, this page saved as .mht (with turbo) is 888 KB, and without is 934 KB. And the same page saved in FF is 1.59 MB. Almost double.
I think that should be priority for Opara ASA. New standards that compress text and images (new web language?!) and unpack them on the fly locally.
jottossonSunday, April 28, 2013 7:07:47 AM
What's that icon pack called? Love them!
EDAH JonasSunday, April 28, 2013 10:45:59 PM
Hello! Somebody is here?
petexooWednesday, May 1, 2013 10:42:55 PM
Thatr greate, i cant wait 2 have it. And need 2 know the version of opera mini so that i can download.
prahatamaThursday, May 2, 2013 7:21:42 AM
wow, very nice icon collection !
SlenderThursday, May 2, 2013 7:54:43 PM
The future is coming on. Today was yesterday's tomorrow =(^-^)=
mfmbokkyFriday, May 3, 2013 5:15:31 PM
mantaf:yes:
Heinz RainerSaturday, May 4, 2013 10:42:08 AM
Hi, I don't know if this happens to you - or is it a problem that befits me only :
My opera is loading extremely slow, in fact it's frustrating.
I dread to post since a page takes ages.
My guess is opera 's band width is too narrow. If cloud based, please use more bandwidth, if not change to cloud. I have no idea which servers you use, but it makes us frustrated.
Otherwise no complaints.
Thanks for listening.
http://africasiaeuro.com
Dr Anna MariaSaturday, May 4, 2013 9:16:15 PM
opera 14 ?
d-waSunday, May 5, 2013 7:25:04 PM
need download notification on android
Madhusankha HewageMonday, May 6, 2013 3:24:57 PM
Why can't i download files which larger than 15MB?
themisteroperaWednesday, May 8, 2013 3:42:00 AM
Great job Opera!
Popescu DumSaturday, May 11, 2013 5:43:11 AM
Great job Opera!
bomba oyunWednesday, May 15, 2013 12:06:07 AM
thanks alot opera
ndangsuryanaSunday, May 19, 2013 2:36:22 PM
Good i like it...!
Uncle MickWednesday, May 29, 2013 6:13:42 PM
Originally posted by BridgeBuilderKiwi:

Originally posted by AnnaMetro:
No word on whether your fridge needs a separate invitation.

Cool sense of humour.
New spin on the old joke: Is your refrigerator running? Yes. Maybe it's headed to Sao Paolo.
Usman umaruMonday, June 24, 2013 2:34:38 PM
i like that . Weldone the tecn