New Technologies That Will Change Our Lives

While consumers are marveling at this year's new tablets and smartphones, researchers are hard at work developing the next wave of computer technologies that will change our lives. For starters, parallel computing is yielding extraordinary results. The once-experimental technology that allows computers to process multiple problems simultaneously is being used to create new breakthroughs in graphics rendering, language translation and even facial recognition. Berkeley Par Lab research professor Kurt Keutzer predicts that parallel computing will foster enormous advances in speed and power for every kind of electronics, from videogame consoles to handheld devices. In addition to producing more powerful machines, new research is making it easier to work with computers.