无处不在的互联网: 物联网时代即将来临

Other hurdles face companies tackling the Internet of Things, including a fragmented assortment of wireless communications technologies. In home automation, for example, device makers face options that include Insteon, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigby, Z-Wave and earlier proprietary technologies.
还有其他一些障碍令企业难以抓住“物联网”的机遇，包括无线通信技术形形色色的类型。比如在家庭自动化方面，设备生产商就面临着多种选择，包括Insteon、Wi-Fi、蓝牙、Zigby、Z-Wave和更早的专利技术。

'It's not that things aren't getting connected--they are getting connected badly,' says Rob Chandhok, president of Qualcomm's interactive platforms unit.
高通的互动平台部门负责人钱德霍克(Rob Chandhok)说，实际上并不是没有实现“万物互联”，而是它们互联的方式太糟糕了。

Qualcomm is trying to rally hardware makers around a technology called AllJoyn to help devices discover each other and collaborate. Meanwhile, startups trying to sell their own control devices are going through contortions; Revolv Inc., for example, is marketing a hub that can communicate using seven different radio technologies.
高通正试图让硬件生产商团结在一项名为AllJoyn的技术周围，帮助各种设备相互发现并协作。与此同时，那些试图出售自己的控制设备的初创公司也在经历种种扭曲；如Revolv Inc.正在营销一款中央枢钮设备，可以利用七种不同的无线电技术进行通信。

Mike Soucie, Revolv's co-founder and marketing head, says agreements on key communications technologies may be five to 10 years away. Any standards that do emerge are likely to apply to a single market--like home security or transportation--rather than to many industries, predicts Gilad Meiri, chief executive of Neura Inc., a startup developing technology to help orchestrate connected devices.
Revolv联合创始人兼营销负责人苏西(Mike Soucie)说，可能要五至10年才能就关键的通信技术达成协议。初创公司Neura Inc.首席执行长梅里(Gilad Meiri)说，得以浮现的任何标准都有可能是适用于某个单一市场（如家庭安全或交通），而不是在多行业通行。Neura致力于开发相关技术，帮助协调互联设备。

Assuming devices can communicate, manufacturers need conventions for telling them what to do and how to work together. Meanwhile, other basic questions remain--like just how much intelligence should everyday devices have?
假设不同设备之间能够实现交流，生产商就需要有统一的标准来下达指令以及让这些设备相互合作。同时也还有其他一些基本的问题──比如日常设备应当具备多高的智能？

Companies like Intel and ARM Holdings PLC, which license technology to chip makers, stress the benefits brought by processors that can run sophisticated software and protocols that allow them to connect directly to the Internet.
英特尔和ARM Holdings PLC这类向芯片生产商提供技术许可的公司强调可运行复杂软件和协议的处理器所带来的好处，这样的处理器可让设备直接连接互联网。

But others believe such complex technology can reduce the reliability of home appliances and other devices, while raising the odds of bugs or security holes that could be exploited by attackers. They prefer simpler chips called microcontrollers, which are harder to reprogram to do unintended things.
但也有人认为，如此复杂的科技可能降低家用电器和其他设备的可靠性，同时增加可能被攻击者利用的安全漏洞的机率。他们更青睐名为微控制器的较小芯片，这类芯片更难以通过再编程去从事计划之外的任务。

'I want my refrigerator to be a thing; I don't want it to be a computer, ' says Shane Dyer, chief executive of Arrayent Inc., a startup marketing a Web-based service to manage microcontroller-powered devices.
初创公司Arrayent Inc.的首席执行长戴尔(Shane Dyer)说：我希望我的冰箱是个物件；我不希望它成为一台电脑。Arrayent营销一项基于网络的服务，用于管理以微控制器掌控的设备。

Moreover, the data generated by connected devices could be used in ways consumers don't like and create liabilities for companies. Chris Bruce, chief executive of Sproutling--a startup developing a smartphone-connected baby monitor--wonders if services that store data from connected devices might get subpoenas if something bad happens.
另外，联网设备所产生的数据可能被用于消费者不愿意的用途，并给企业带来麻烦。初创公司Sproutling首席执行长布鲁斯(Chris Bruce)在思考，如果发生不好的事情，那些存储联网设备所产生数据的服务会不会被诉诸法庭。该公司开发与智能手机相连的婴儿监视器。

There are at least as many questions about the fast-growing flood of data from Internet-connected security cameras.
连接互联网的安全摄像头产生了迅速增长的数据洪流，这些数据也同样引起了众多问题。

'It is more than a little creepy,' says David Alan Grier, an associate professor of science and technology policy at George Washington University and 2013 president of the IEEE Computer Society. 'There is going to have to be some clear thinking and some clear understanding of what is going on.'
乔治华盛顿大学(George Washington University)科学与技术政策副教授、2013年IEEE Computer Society主席格里尔(David Alan Grier)说，这令人很有些毛骨悚然。未来人们必须清晰地思考和了解这一切是怎么回事。