Business & Technology - Microsoft's future vision

Great article! Sure he potentially uses some far-fetched examples, but makes some very good points about technology...word to the wise here...it's been developed and some of these efforts are rapidly finding their way into our every day lives...a little bit at a time...but integration of how and where is still up to a human decision making process...how much can we take or deal with on a daily basis...what the author here is stating is the ability of data exchange architectures and their ability to work together...and don't forget Google, they have similar efforts in the works as well...stop and give this some thought as to how we contribute every day to data base structures that give others a lot of information on how we function on a daily basis...every time you use on of those "cash" saving cards at a retailer the information goes straight in to a data base...and more information is added to the profile...it's up to us as citizens to be aware and contribute our thoughts as we are the ultimate end users where ever we go....BD

The biggest challenge may be getting people used to the new tools and comfortable with the information sharing. The privacy implications are spooky, but Neupert said Microsoft's research has found people want their health-care providers to get into the Internet age, starting with online lab results and the ability to communicate with physicians. Today doctors are paid when patients are in their offices, but what if they were able to remotely keep tabs on the health of their patients and intervene (and get paid) when necessary?
A few years from now, when you drive into a McDonald's parking lot, your dashboard computer will start beeping. On the windshield, you're looking chubbier than you do in the rear-view mirror, because the image shows what you'll look like if you keep eating this way. The image flickers and zooms ahead two years, showing how you'll appear after gaining an extra 30 pounds and being diagnosed with diabetes. .... it starts calculating what will happen to your health and life-insurance premiums. Somewhere in the background, it sends an update to your physician. HealthVault plugs into Amalga, the health-care-information platform Microsoft plans to launch this summer after testing by top-tier hospitals across the country.
The computer is synced to your phone, and both devices have geographic location services. They know where you are and, based on your credit-card activity, they guess you're about to order another burger and supersized fries. But because you've subscribed to Microsoft Personal Trainer 2015, a premium feature of the online health-management system you've been using since 2012, technology intervenes. The services are gathering information on your behalf, using a new software platform that began taking shape in 2008.
So when you're sitting there in McDonald's, perplexed about the messages flashing on your windshield, the system will display an advertisement for an organic juice bar across the street. You can drive there, leave the phone in the glove box, walk back to McDonald's and pay cash for that burger. Later, after your heart attack, paramedics will swipe your medical card through a reader to call up your HealthVault and see if you're allergic to any medications. The hospital will be using Amalga to line up your bed and a defibrillator, and pull your records into a dossier for the emergency-room crew. It will also sync up with your insurance company so the treatment is covered, as long as they don't notice the ketchup stains on your shirt and the receipt in your pocket.