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Both Google and Microsoft have made moves to enter the health care industry recently, and both are hoping that the sector will prove to be fertile hunting grounds. This election season many Americans are taking stock of the way our health care system functions, and depending on the outcome in November, there may be major changes in store. Microsoft and Google are both taking a risk by pushing tools and software applications aimed at patients and professionals, and their daring may be ill-advised.

Microsoft launched a controversial health record storage tool called HealthVault in October, and thus far they have managed to attract some high profile industry partners, including American Heart Association, LifeScan (a glucometer manufacturer), and the American Diabetes Association. Talkibie covered the launch of HealthVault, and initial reactions to the technology were mixed. However, as the U.S. population ages and baby boomers become retirees, experts predict that the average patient will become more involved in tracking and managing their health records. The web is an increasingly convenient and secure option for keeping track of everything from taxes to social calendars to bank accounts, so why not hospital records?

Google had been hush-hush about a health records tool for months, though the technology world was expecting a competitor to Microsoft HealthVault. CEO Eric Schmidt finally announced Google Health in February, and the web-based application will allow patients to upload and link their personal health records to doctors offices, pharmacies, specialists, and other authorized parties. As the official Google blog puts it, “Google Health aims to solve an urgent need that dovetails with our overall mission of organizing patient information and making it accessible and useful. Through our health offering, our users will be empowered to collect, store, and manage their own medical records online.” The new record storage site is being tested at the Cleveland Clinic and Google is inviting both patients and doctors to share any thoughts or suggestions for improvement.

Microsoft also has designs beyond online patient record storage. They recently announced a new application called Patient Safety Screening Tool (PSST), which would be used within hospitals as a means of monitoring patients to prevent infection. PSST specifically targets sepsis, a deadly infection common in hospital in-patients which can affect as many as 750,000 patients annually. As a Microsoft press release explains, ““The Patient Safety Screening Tool for Sepsis can help save lives by monitoring clinical data inputs and dispatching alerts and reminders based on predefined thresholds and pattern matching to facilitate early detection and intervention.”

While all these efforts towards cracking the health care market are laudable, one has to wonder if Microsoft and Google are barking up the wrong tree. The industry is notorious for tight budgets, strict administration, and binding bureaucracy. While some might view these as barriers, these two technology companies clearly see them as opportunities for improvement. If a new software tool or web application can save doctors time, save administrators money, and save patients’ lives, it would certainly have every chance to succeed in the health care sector.

The wires are buzzing this week as Microsoft is reportedly experimenting with subscription-based versions of their productivity and security software packages. The new pricing plan, code-named “Albany”, is currently in private beta, and no announcement has yet been made as to when a wide release is scheduled. Albany will combine many of the tools that Microsoft users access on a daily basis, and the subscription will ensure that they always have the latest version without going through the headache of installing and updating software.

Albany will include Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 (a combo of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and OneNote), Windows Live OneCare (an anti-virus tool), Live Mail, Messenger, and Photo Gallery. It will also automatically install a shortcut to Office Live Workspace in users toolbars, which give access to on-demand versions of the Office tools. This combination is meant to appeal to users who aren’t satisfied with licensing agreements, which are not only expensive but also force users who want new versions to buy new licenses.

A Microsoft press release explains how the idea for Albany came about: “We asked consumers what they needed and wanted most on their PC, and the overwhelming response was that they primarily want productivity and security software. Consumers also expressed frustration at having to spend time and effort installing different types of software, keeping current on new versions and getting their computers set up.” The subscription plan eliminates this frustration by providing automatically updating software for a regular fee. Albany customers will always get the new software releases as they’re launched without paying more - it’s included as part of their subscription.

Reviews and reaction to Albany, as is customary for all Microsoft products, is mixed. One CNET blogger writes, “Seriously, this is pointless junk. The only real value is to Microsoft who get to see usage patterns and understand how on-demand software is consumed.” A bit harsh, but it is likely a perk of the venture that was not lost on Microsoft executives. A ReadWriteWeb article is considerably more forgiving: “Even though Albany won’t be a true web office offering, it is a likely low-cost alternative to Google Docs that lives on a user’s PC — something that is still more comfortable and familiar to many mainstream users.” Microsoft is clearly testing the SaaS waters before committing to any big move, and it seems this may hurt their chances in the eyes of some while helping hold on to more traditional customers.

While the plan for Albany falls short of a true Software as a Service model, it resembles the pricing and updating philosophies of companies like Salesforce.com and Google, both of whom are edging into Microsoft’s productivity software market. Salesforce.com tends to target businesses with customer relationship management (CRM) tools, while Google has been directly threatening Office with their online document, spreadsheet, and presentation applications. Microsoft’s Office Life is a nod to the SaaS trend, though it has yet to catch on with core customers in the business sector. As Albany moves towards a firm launch date, Microsoft’s competitors will be watching closely to see how users react to the packaged subscription model.

A new document creation service has hit the web, and it’s inspiring individuals and businesses to change the way they collaborate on documentation. LUNARR, founded in 2006 by entrepreneurs Toru Takasuka and Hideshi Hamaguchi, creates a virtual “back page” which includes all of the email communications, informal notes, and discussions that go in to perfecting any given document. This not only provides a real-time look at all the ideas surrounding a document, but also solves the versioning problems that so often plague offline documents. Takasuka and Hamaguchi are hoping to change the way teams collaborate with their unique interface and web-based service. LUNARR is well-positioned to join the ranks of SAAS companies making an impact not only on businesses, but on individual users as well.

Toru Takasuka is a well-known entrepreneur in Japan, having started a company called Cybozu which develops collaborative groupware for enterprise use. Cybozu was a resounding success, and it is still the top groupware company in Japan, surpassing IBM and Microsoft. Takasuka, however, was looking for a new challenge in a more dynamic and daring atmosphere, so he left his position at Cybozu in the spring of 2005.

Hideshi Hamaguchi is also a respected expert in his field, and his work concentrates on creative concept and strategy development. When Takasuka, his former colleague from Panasonic, told him he was venturing out from Cybozu on April Fool’s Day, Hamaguchi assumed it was a prank. “I asked Toru if he had a concept for his new company, and he said no. He just knew that the market was ready for something big and new, so we sat down and developed the concept together.” Their brainstorm produced the front page/back page strategy that became LUNARR, which was named for the two faces of the moon.

LUNARR’s founders drew inspiration from Japanese business philosophy and aesthetics. As Hamaguchi explains, “Japanese people rely on intuition for many business decisions, but Americans use logic for making decisions. The mixture of intuition and logic is totally different in the two cultures.” The back page concept reflects this mixed mode of decision-making, allowing teams to explore not only intuitive changes and whims, but also collect and analyze all the information about a project. The user interface is the essence of simplicity, which Hamaguchi compares to a traditional Japanese stone garden. “The general idea in web applications is ‘more is better’, but in Japanese culture, less is better…we kept subtracting features and design elements to reflect this minimalism.” Hamaguchi compares LUNARR’s clean interface, which is essentially a document with a dog-eared corner that flips to your back page, to Google’s miniamlist landing page. It’s the essence function without any distractions.

Takasuka and Hamaguchi hope to influence the very idea of document creation, though their goal is not to replace current technologies. “We want the dynamic and agile work styles seen with whiteboard note-taking, emails, and web conferences to continue, but we want people to slow down and change their work styles. You take your time and organize the front page, but then you’re able to flip and see the chaos, the additions, and your initial impressions,” says Hamaguchi. “LUNARR provides that relaxed mode of collaboration.” Because of their ambition to change the way people use documents, they are not using the beta launch to gather specific feedback about features for future releases. Takasuka and Hamaguchi see iterative methods as a means by which to improve an existing product, not a tool for innovation. “People do not know what they need from innovative companies. It’s our job to tell them.”

This confident, devil-may-care philosophy is also reflected in Takasuka’s marketing strategy for LUNARR. With Cybozu, he was on the cutting edge of web advertising, but he’s exploring what Hamaguchi describes as a “crazy approach” for this new venture. Since the internet market in the U.S. is saturated with conventional ads, LUNARR has rented an old-school billboard for a year off San Francisco’s Highway 101 near Oracle headquarters. The messages, handwritten and striking, will change every month. The area’s high concentration of tech workers has created a human network that Takasuka is confident will spread the word about his product.

LUNARR is one of the most promising SAAS applications which enables collaboration and vibrancy for any creative team. The service is in a free beta at the moment, though plans are in the works to develop a enterprise version and corresponding pricing structure. As Hamaguchi puts it, “We hope people will see their documents differently, not just a depository, but a work-in-progress, a living thing.”

With the recent proliferation of Software As A Service companies pushing out new applications, “traditional” software companies are trying to match their pace. Adobe Systems is no exception, and they’ve pleased Photoshop fans the world over with the announcement of Photoshop Express public beta, a free application for editing and storing up to 2 gigabytes of photos. An Adobe press release explains, “As the newest addition to the Photoshop family line, Photoshop Express has taken much of Adobe’s best image editing technology and made it simple and accessible to a new online audience.” In return, the new online audience will provide feedback on Photoshop Express features, which Adobe promises will have increased functionality over time.

Photoshop Express will have only a small fraction of the features that the full version boasts, as it’s meant mostly for small fixes for casual photographers. It includes options such as cropping, auto retouching, hue and saturation filters, red eye removal, white balancing, and sharpness, but it won’t be powerful for professional use. It’s based on Flex technology, and closely resembles other recent Adobe SAAS product Buzzword, which offers users an attractive and flexible online word processor. In the brief time I spent tweaking and distorting a photo in Photoshop Express, the heavy use of Flash was evident, as the application seemed sluggish on my machine.

For a software company, Adobe is making big leaps in the SAAS world. As mentioned above, Adobe acquired Virtual Ubiquity and released Buzzword, which Talkibie featured in a previous article. Buzzword is a sleek, flexible word processor with significantly more features aimed at Adobe’s core base of designers. The user interface, which is very accessible, closely resembling that of Photoshop Express. Both apps are aimed at a wider audience than Adobe products normally encompass, and both attempt to bring web functionality and accessibility to high-end software.

In addition to Buzzword and Photoshop Express, Adobe has also released a version of their video editing product, Premier Express, for web-based use. It is currently in place on partner websites Remix MTV and Photobucket, so users can augment and destroy the latest offerings from their favorite artists. The Premier Express website promises on-demand video editing: “Mix and mash clips right in your browser for instant remixes, anytime.” Adobe is also working on a storage service called Share, which went live in beta just last week. Share gives user the ability to convert 5 documents to PDF, access your documents and collaborate online, post document links to wikis and blogs, and embed a Flash preview of documents on any website. This, coupled with Buzzword, could be a very powerful tool for enterprises and individual users alike. Share is currently free, but will likely include a pricing plan as it’s adopted by businesses.

As a recent article on ReadWriteWeb asks, “So the question that comes to mind is will these tools be meshed together as one single online suite accessible via a single sign on?” According to an Adobe official who spoke with ReadWriteWeb, it’s a highly likely possibility. Tying these online applications together in one suite could make them more attractive and convenient for enterprise use, a market where Adobe has always excelled. The combination of photo and video editing, storage, and documentation could be a powerful mix for creative groups, marketing teams, publishing houses, and a myriad of other business users. Adobe has carefully engineered the interface to reach audiences of all experience levels, making for a very accessible product group. Many experts and business minds will be carefully watching the development of these Adobe SAAS offerings as they expand features and gain new users.

The technology world is full of bright ideas, promising startups, and spectacular disappointments. You never know which brand new company is going to break through to the mainstream, and which is going to fade into obscurity. BookLamp.org is aiming to be one of those great ideas that becomes a mainstay in the lives of internet users the world over. The self-described “Pandora.com for books” is a new beta project which attempts to match readers with books that will appeal to their personality, style, and preferences.

The brand new site uses a graphing system to determine key points, which they call “bookmarks,” about any given work. After scanning a book, their proprietary software determines the pacing, density, action, description, and dialogue levels of the title. Users can rate the books they enjoy and receive recommendations for other works that closely match the bookmarks of their favorite reads. Pandora.com uses a similar approach to recommend music that users will like, though they employed human musical analysts to discover the details within a song that make it appeal to any given person.

BookLamp.org features an informative video about their process and goals in scanning and analyzing books. While they acknowledge that readers reviews can help determine if a book would appeal to each individual, they argue that reviews can only consider the characters and storyline as appealing, not the overall writing style of the author. BookLamp’s system can analyzes books based on the parts of speech used, tracking the language of each scene. This gives their reviews a consistency across styles and authors that the average human reviewer cannot achieve (i.e. you might like books about seafaring, but you might despise Melville’s writing style).

The site is in early beta at the moment (even the FAQ section is not complete), so it’s difficult to give the idea an informed thumbs up or down. I did register and check out the graphs for the two books in their system that I’d read (they’ve analyzed just 179 books at present, most of which are science fiction). They hope to work with publishers and significantly expand the database to appeal to a wider audience. The idea itself is quite innovative, and if they get the interface right and grow their catalogue, I can easily see this idea taking off, particularly if they reach out to social networking users. A Facebook app which allows you to search, review, and recommend books to friends based on BookLamp data could be tremendously successful.

Some might say that a software analysis is not a very good way to interact with literature, and on a wider level, I would tend to agree. After all, your reaction to any given book might be very different depending on your mood or your circumstances when you read it. For example, you might like to read Alexander McCall-Smith during a quiet afternoon at the beach, but you prefer Dan Brown’s novels during air travel to pass the time. These two author’s work have very little in common in terms of action, dialogue, and themes, but it’s certainly possible to enjoy them both. As BookLamp’s database and services expand, users will want a way to search by genre and theme so their recommendations are not only accurate, but also varied.

BookLamp is likely to get plenty of attention from avid readers and techies alike. Here’s hoping they can break through the initial hype and build a lasting success in the online world.

Back in the early days of large-scale computing, Sun founder John Gage first uttered the immortal phrase, “The network is the computer.” This statement has become more and more true over time, as increasingly sophisticated grids have proven to be more powerful and useful than any one computer could be. The power of the collective is starting to trickle down from the giants like Sun and Google to the little guys. This is making it possible for businesses of all sizes to create, store, and deliver quality web-based applications to users without the large-scale investment in computing grids that would ordinarily be required.

Part of this change has come about due to the proliferation of Platform as a Service (Paas) companies like Force.com (a service of Salesforce.com). Force.com offers customers the tools they need to create proprietary web-based applications that can replace the software they would normally use. The platform they provide is specifically geared towards businesses who rely on enterprise tools like those of software vendors Oracle, Microsoft, and SAP. IT departments, instead of spending valuable time on disastrous software upgrades and user training, could actually add value to the company through innovating applications that require only an internet browser to access. This would also allow designers the ability to create a better user overall user experience which is typically impossible since software tends “lock down” the user experience and allows minimal customization. No more installations, no more licensing fees, just a quick and cost-effective way to build customized applications for businesses.

Some industry experts estimate that this PaaS model could reduce the costs associated with traditional software by as much as 75%. No longer would an online retailer need to build or buy an e-commerce software package. They could use the foundation created by Force.com to generate a web-based application specific to their needs. Force.com offers their own development services to businesses without experts on hand, but they also boast an AppExchange section which allows users to share in the tools created by other users for subscription fees. Open source software is also being applied in this model, allowing businesses to combine tools like OpenOffice (an office suite to rival Microsoft Office) and customer service applications to meet the needs of multiple departments.

While the market for web-based applications continues to grow (and software dies a slow, agonizing death), big players in the computer infrastructure world are stepping up to fill a gap in the system. Back in 2006, Sun launched what they called “the world’s first on demand supercomputer,” giving smaller businesses a way to provide applications without the expense of developing their own server farms. The infrastructure was available to any one with a browser and a credit card. As Sun’s official blogger Jonathan Schwartz put it, “We believe the simplicity, accessibility and affordability of this service changes the face of computing for all organizations, large and small, public or private.” This initiative, and others like it, removed the last barrier to the triumph of web-based applications over software.

Now, e-commerce giant Amazon is getting in on the game, with their Web Services division offering server space and computing capacity on a subscription basis. Amazon is courting developers in the hopes of renting out their computing cloud during the off-season. The company’s infrastructure sees the heaviest use in the fourth quarter holiday season, and they’re generating extra (albeit small for them) revenue by hosting applications for developers. They’re specifically reaching out to companies who develop applications for Facebook. In a recent press release, Amazon Web Services details the benefits of their model: “Using these infrastructure web services, your Facebook application is able to reach “web-scale” by scaling up and down seamlessly as demand dictates — with pay-as-you-go pricing and no upfront costs.” In other words, if it’s a hit you pay more, but if it’s a flop you don’t suffer. This allows developers at small companies to reap the rewards of popular applications without taking the risk of buying their own computer infrastructure.

Amazon’s growing list of customers for their cloud rental service includes SanDisk and the New York Times, though it appeals mostly to smaller fish at the moment. They’re up 135,000 customers since 2005, and as their service becomes more reliable, the list will continue to grow. The pay-as-you-go model frees up businesses with big ideas but without bid budgets, and this trend is a perfect parallel to the Platform as a Service industry. Not only will independent or small-scale developers have access to the best tools for building cheap, quality applications, but they’ll also have the ability to store and run their ideas with the big boys. This means reliable, cost-effective, and customized applications for businesses everywhere.

It’s hard to spot a pitfall in these growing trends, and it seems fortuitous that they are emerging and growing together. The only potential downside is for major software outfits like Microsoft, Oracle, or Adobe. My guess is that even these traditionalists will get in on the game, producing more and more tools that can be accessed through the web on a subscription basis. As software breathes its last, we’ll see a major shift in the way programs are developed, stored, delivered, and accessed by end users.

Not too long ago, I was working for a publishing company which relied on an Oracle database and customer service software package to track its vast warehouse of books. When it came time for a software upgrade, an army of our colleagues in IT spent weeks installing and tweaking the new system. It was a logistical nightmare. Aside from the standard retraining (about 200 employees needed help) and a massive laundry list of changes each department needed, our customer service reps spent two days taking orders in notebooks and assuring customers they’d call back as soon as possible with shipping dates and confirmation numbers.

While Oracle was the culprit in this case, horror stories of this nature could be shared about all software-based customer relationship management tools, or even about software upgrades in general. That’s why CIOs at companies of all sizes are gravitating towards internet-based applications to meet their needs. Salesforce.com is one of the innovators in the field of “on-demand” business applications. As their website explains, “On-demand is the antidote to many of the IT headaches associated with the traditional on-premise software model. With no software or hardware to buy, install, maintain, or upgrade, the popularity of on-demand grows with IT organizations that are increasingly asked to do more with less.”

The on-demand model allows businesses to operate in a web-based environment, which means that all their databases and enterprise tools are accessible and upgradable within an internet browser. This not only eliminates the need for massive disruption when changes are made, but it also takes the servers and security off-site, which frees up IT staff to focus on making an business impact.

Salesforce.com’s growing list of customers includes IBM, Microsoft, BEA Systems, Sun, Spherion, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Dow Jones Newswires, Sprint, Kaiser Permanente, and many others. As their client Coral Energy notes, “Salesforce.com allows us to constantly evolve our CRM system.” This is especially easy to do with the introduction of Force.com, a web-based platform which allows Salesforce customers to build and easily manage customized applications using their model.

Force.com is branded, “Platform as a Serivce” (PaaS), and it is another big push towards the death of software. With this new service, enterprise IT groups can not only customize and update CRM tools to suit their business needs, but they can also add more applications such as security technology, manufacturing and order tracking, PR management, and just about anything else you can think of. This on-demand platform is rivaling traditional software platforms like Microsoft’s .NET. Force.com also hosts an “AppExchange” which allows independent vendors to share their PaaS products with businesses around the world.

The Wall Street Journal’s Vauhini Vara recently sat down with Marc Benoiff, CEO of Salesforce.com, and their conversation sheds some light on the future of web-based enterprise applications. Benoiff’s predicts that web-based applications will kill the traditional software model. When asked about Microsoft, Oracle and SAP’s move towards web-based services, his answer is casual and upbeat. He welcomes competition in the field of “software as a service”, saying “They used to say, ‘Big companies will never use software as a service.’ Now, they’re doing an about-face and saying, ‘This is the most important thing.’” He describes Force.com as “an operating system that runs on the Internet,” which allows all your other tasks to run smoothly. This comparison will likely spark a heated debate about the future of web-based applications, both in the business world and in the lives of everyday users.

In addition to his prescribed death sentence for software, Benoiff has a doomsday prediction about the enterprise atmosphere itself: “I think the big news is that there will be no office. The office is becoming more virtual every day, and the technology that’s making that happen is the huge wave of mobility…Whevever I am, I can have a video or audio conference, I can collaborate, I can share information.” Indeed, more and varied web-based services, like Google Apps and Salesforce.com, will enable business to be transacted from anywhere with a WiFi signal. Personally, I can’t wait for the day when “commuting” means opening up your laptop and signing on for a morning meeting.

Salesforce.com is definitely a company to watch, and they represent the future of enterprise tools. As more traditional software companies jump on the web-based bandwagon, everyone from customer service reps to warehouse pickers to CIOs will see a positive change in their daily interactions with technology and their ability to provide value to their customers.

Many companies struggle with their product development process. Some are constantly pressed for time and behind schedule, trying to balance quality content with tight budgets, and some have trouble keeping up with the desires of their users. One thing almost all companies have in common is the drive to innovate, but the inability to do so consistently. Not every product can be a breakthrough, and often new releases tend to be upgrades to old products instead of radical new products. One way to combat this stagnation is to implement the “lead user” process, where companies employ expert customers to search for breakthrough ideas.

Lead users are more than just early adopters, like those poor folks who bought the iPhone for $600. They are consumers who take existing products and adapt them to suit their own needs. A lead user is someone who cannot be satisfied by existing technology because it does not meet their unique high-level needs. For example, a NASCAR driver like Jeff Gordon might make tweaks and adjustments to his family car, while an expert jeweler may add a special clamp or built-in tool to a standard workbench. Incorporating lead users into your product planning and development cycles allows you to create a product that directly meets the needs and fulfills the desires of your most demanding users.

Several organizations have adopted the lead user process to give their products the best chance at innovation. Evolv, a company that makes rock climbing shoes, brought one of the best-known athletes into their lab to design a shoe from start to finish is one example. Evolv sponsors Chris Sharma, arguably the world’s best rock climber, and they invited him to participate in the creative product development process. Everyone benefits in this situation: Evolv gets an innovative product, customers gain access to a shoe designed by Chris Sharma, and Sharma gets a shoe he designed for his specific needs.

Another example of the lead user process is the growing world of open source software. Open source software packages make the source code available to the public so that creative programmers and developers can write ad-on programs and accessories for the product line. Mozilla is a company that has taken full advantage of this trend, and lead users have taken the source material to new heights with widgets and plug-ins that increase the functionality of their products. Facebook is another innovator in the field of open source software, and their site hosts thousands of applications written by third-party lead users for the benefit of average users.

Using outside experts is a great way to keep the product development process on the cutting edge. Organizations often doubt the willingness of lead users to contribute to product cycles, but most are enthusiastic about sharing their expertise and ideas. It benefits them just as much as it does the average consumer. Talent is talent, no matter what the source. It’s never too early to incorporate the lead user process into your product development group, and this technique, in conjunction with your existing usability techniques, can help you determine whether a new idea is viable, how you should approach your research, and what new users your ideas might be able to reach.

A recent survey appearing in Health Affairs: The Policy Journal of the Health Sphere, shows that Americans find little satisfaction in the current health care system. The study focused on seven developed countries: Australia, Canada, Britain, Germany, The Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United States. In almost all categories, U.S. patients ranked themselves dead last. Americans have the lowest life expectancy, the highest percent of GDP spent on health care, and the highest infant mortality rate of the nations polled.

A whopping 32% of patients have experienced medical mistakes, where as only 16% of Dutch patients said the same. This could be a result of doctors’ complaints about not having access to medical records at the time of service. Only 49% of Americans are able to get an appointment with their physician when they’re ill, whereas 75% of New Zealanders are able to see their doctors when it counts most. Even more revealing, 34% of U.S. patients surveyed say that the health care system needs to be entirely rebuilt.

What can health care providers, including physicians, hospitals, government programs, and insurance companies do to combat this high level of dissatisfaction? Is there something short of a complete overhaul that will improve the health care experience of the average American? Perhaps providers can take a page out of the book of private business, where the ultimate goal is always improving the customer experience. In the few months, Talkibie has reported on some of the high tech solutions that many providers are using to give their patients the best possible care. These new services and technologies could solve some of the user frustrations with our current health care system.

As reported earlier this fall, a Canadian company called Myca has been giving patients access to their doctors through cell phone video conferencing. Canada ranked the lowest of all seven countries when it came to same or next-day appointments with doctors, with the U.S. a close second. The service allows subscribers and doctors to communicate visually through their phones, and conversations can be logged and incorporated into existing medical records. Prescriptions can even be assigned by email. This could be a major help to physicians who suffer from a constant backlog of appointments, and for patients with minor ailments who need medication but do not necessarily need to be seen face-to-face. Providers and patients currently using the service have seized a golden opportunity to streamline the antiquated protocol of our current health care system.

Patients may also turn to alternative online options to increase their satisfaction with the health care system. Microsoft is courting the disgruntled patient with its new HealthVault service, which debuted in October. The idea is that medical records can be stored online and shared with any health care providers who use the service, regardless of whether or not they’re your primary doctor, a specialist, or a surgeon. It’s easy to see how a service of this kind would reduce the rate of medical mistakes due to a lack of access to medical records. And Microsoft is not the only high tech company to offer this service. Google unveiled vague plans to host online medical records, which it says was inspired by the destruction of thousands of patient records during Hurricane Katrina.

The U.S. health care system most definitely needs some changes, and borrowing a few tricks from the internet technology world could potentially solve common problems that affect the patient experience. Innovators in both fields could work together to identify and address the concerns of patients, and by using a problem-solving process that focuses on the needs of the end-user, we just might avoid a total overhaul.

Science fiction films and TV shows have long touted the virtues of voice recognition technology, perhaps the most popular example being Star Trek: The Next Generation. Unlike Captain Kirk, who had to rely on subordinates to do his bidding, Captain Picard would simply call out, “Computer?” and the ship’s invisible intelligence would activate, jumping to obey his every command. It’s clear why this type of technology appeals to science fiction writers and fans; who wouldn’t want to interact with artificial intelligence as easily as we interact with other human beings? No more memorizing keyboard commands, no more texting on minuscule cell phone number pads, no more waiting for a computer to boot up/connect to a wireless network/open a large file. All we have to do is ask.

This voice-based interface is becoming less of a fantasy and more of a reality. Voice recognition software is improving greatly, and while we won’t likely be jumping to warp speed anytime soon, we may experience a hands-free voice activated interface within a year. One of the companies working in this vein is Nuance, who recently released Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9, a software application that allows you to speak at a normal speed while it “types” your words. Their ingenious website allows you to challenge the software to a typing race (which you will lose, trust me), showing off how accurate and fast their product is at recognizing speech, including unusual words like “aardvark”. In addition to typing applications, Nuance has a a voice control product which allows you to operate a mobile device with spoken commands. You can send short emails, set appointments in a calendar, place calls, and access the web with phrases like, “Go to website: www.cnn.com”.

Voice recognition technology could be a huge advantage for a couple of reasons. Wouldn’t it be great to access and answer emails during your morning commute, hands free? Or be able to dial a phone number by speaking the name of your friend or client? Not only would it cut down on the time we spend actually touching a computer, but it would allow more open access to technology for many people around the globe. Populations with low computer-literacy rates, like Grandma and Grandpa, would be able to stay in touch with family, access health information, and play internet bingo. All jokes aside, though, those with visual or physical impairments or in developing countries (where previous experience with computers is limited) will have an easier time operating computers and mobile phones with the further development of this technology.

Perhaps some of the more alert readers will have spotted a disconnect between the current capabilities of speech recognition and the Star Trek version. In the movies this technology seemed to easily recognize conversational language, intuitively carrying out orders given in any configuration. But what about slang? What about foreign languages, or even regional accents? Will a voice-activated dashboard device be able to “pahk the cah at Hahvahd Yahd?” What about timber and tone of voice? Obviously, these are problems that haven’t yet been fully addressed. We’ve all been frustrated by a telephone menu where we’re forced to speak commands, say our PIN number, etc., and as a result we’re unable to talk to a real person. Imagine if there was no “real” person to eventually reach by shouting, “CUSTOMER SERVICE!” into the handset. Such a possibility could become a reality, and it could cause major headaches as it did for one man. His bank’s voice recognition software froze his account because it “thought” he was a female. Not to mention security concerns about using your voice as a type of fingerprint to establish your identity. Clearly, our “intelligent” technology isn’t as fallible as we would like it to be.

Leading companies in the field of web applications are already being encouraged to make their products as accessible as possible to people who, for one reason or another, do not have physical access to a computer. Not only will it be a major step for those with physical impairments or handicaps, it will also benefit users who want to access a computer hands free (when driving, for medical procedures, for military operations, etc). However, a balance is required for voice recognition software to be effective without being overbearing. As with any new trend, it should be implemented slowly with great concern for security, and it should never be the only barrier between us and our email, internet access, or bank accounts. However, if ever there was a case for the good outweighing the bad, this might be it. Voice commands could allow a whole new set of users to experience the connectivity and benefits of a digital lifestyle.