Posted on 05/02/2013 8:22:19 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
n a massive new research report, analysts at investment bank Citi take a close look at 10 technologies they say will disrupt the way we do business.
They've dipped into practically every sector you can think of: energy, entertainment, IT, manufacturing, and transportation among them.
Some of these technologies have been with us for awhile, but are poised to get better or cheaper.
Others have only recently surfaced, but will be ubiquitous in a matter of years.
This is what they say the future is going to look like.
1) Disruption 1: 3-D Printing
Printing parts and materials practically at your desktop. Thanks to falling commodity prices, easier to use software, and more complex design capabilities, the technology is poised to explode. In the future, 50% of parts used in a jet engine could be manufactured by 3D printers.
The 3-D printing market could grow to $6.5 billion by 2019 from less than $3.5 billion today, according to Wohlers Associates. The aerospace, orthopedic, and other high value, low volume industries will be the earliest adopters.
2) Disruption 2: E-cigarettes
Battery-powered smokes that are ostensibly less toxic than regular cigarettes. They also currently allow you to smoke in places where regular cigarettes are barred. They come in both disposable and reusable form.
E-cigarettes will see 50% CAG in coming years.
So far they're only big in the U.S., though they still comprise a small part of the overall domestic cigarette market. Citi estimates the segment will continue to see near 50% compound annual growth (CAG) over the next few years, depending on regulation and penetration into retail.
3) Disruption 3: Genomics And Personalized Medicine
People remain interested in tying their genomic makeup to their potential for carrying certain diseases.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
I am sick of SaaS.
Can you explain why?
Interesting piece. After reading this yesterday I mentioned 3D printing to our CEO and it’s something we have to evaluate as an opportunity/threat.
I'm not real sure about this one. We've been this close to having Solar as a game changer since about 1970 ...
SOLYNDRA and A123 ANYONE?
What we really need is for government to get out of the way and let this technology COMPETE in the marketplace.
Just like all the others.
There's another limitation that has to do with batteries but University of Illinois may have devised a solution to that part.
So it's not 30 years away anymore; something like 10, maybe 15 anyway.
Hot fusion continues to be 30 years away as it has been since it was thought up back in the 1930s.
E-cigarettes are going to change the world?
I'm not real sure about this one. We've been this close to having Solar as a game changer since about 1970 ...
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I would have said the same thing just a few months ago. This Christmas a nephew that works for a company involved in LED lighting gave us a solar/battery motion security light for Christmas. I saw it and kind of rolled my eyes. A few months later I finally got it out and installed it in a place where we have a need for lighting. The instructions say that 11 hours of solar charging with a small solar cell about 10 inches square charges the battery for 2-1/2 hours of light. That light is equivilent to 60 watts of light incandescent. I put it up. I works, it works really well. It is a bright light and is plugged into nothing but the sun. Yes in 10 or 15 years I will have to replace the battery but it sure works as billed. Cool! I have become a solar believer.
Except for specific niches, it's mostly useless as a large-scale power source, for the simple reason that the sun - from the Earth's perspective - is an inconstant energy source that doesn't put out enough.
A 40-acre solar farm was just put in near where I live. My first response was, "Hmm, I wonder who's going to keep all those solar panels clean?"
The analysis on Solar is utter bunk. The reason the prices are dropping is a collapse in demand as governments are cutting subsidies.
They are still nowhere near competitive against traditional power sources.
From a developer’s view point it is used to maximize revenue and lock clients into a consistent subscription fee versus a one time license purchase. Yes, I know the aim of business is to make money. Having coded both types I prefer desktop/client-server for more complex applications for two reasons: better security and way, way better UI possibilities.
That of course is my opinion. I feel the same disdain for 90% of the open source crap out there as well and the need to have unlimited number of freeware plug-ins to make things work...
They will when you use a different, uh, smoking material.
Undocumented workers.
Tried an E-Butt. It made me cough!. Cough a lot, and cough hard!
“is an inconstant energy source that doesn’t put out enough.”
Sounds like my Ex!
Down here in the desert it really is turning into a game changer. Lots of businesses (and a few churches) with big parking lots have put up solar panel covered parking, and it’s generating net positive electricity in many cases. So no electric bill and everybody gets a covered parking space. It might never be a big deal in parts of the world that get less than 300 sunny days a year, but with the population moving to the sunbelt it’s a positive effect on a lot of people.
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