Think Research

Special Report The rise of e-business It's here, it's growing fast, and new IBM technology will make it easier than ever. Think Tank The Institute for Advanced Commerce explores the challenges facing e-business. Getting to know you IBM researchers are designing the next level in personal service. Wheeling and dealing Online auctioning and brokering services will assume many novel forms. Paper profit Putting paper sellers and buyers in touch. Comparision shopping A hassle-free Virtual Marketplace where consumers can investigate insurance and other complex products. Tireless travel agent Bots that make the best possible travel plans See it, buy it Features Virtual masterpiece A 3-D reconstruction is helping to solve the mysteries surrounding Michelangelo's unfinished Pietà. Seeing the light: IBM's vision of life beyond the PC. The emerging world of pervasive computing will seamlessly knit together a multitude of different devices. Unwired Sending data by short-distance radio could soon erase the difference between mobile and desktop computing. XML: the next big thing Standardized tags will make data understandable even to machines. Departments Perspective Making e-business our business. INBRIEF Solutions How to avoid blowing a fuse in the deregulated power market. Labnotes