It's nice when "real" (paid) market analysts agree with one of your premises. Especially when it's a key premise to you, as Always On is to me. (This is advertised as an Always On Server, from Virtual Access.)

So I was pleased to read Chris Jablonski's recent piece at ZDNet, Forget P2P, M2M is where the next party is.

M2M stands for Machine to Machine (ironically this sits right below an item about how poor most tech nicknames are) but we're talking about the same thing, intelligent sensors linked to wireless networks. Programming the sensors to deliver some result, then automating delivery of the result in some way (sending an alarm, telling the user, etc.) is what I mean by an Always-On application.

As I have said here many times the tools are already at hand, and cheap. We're talking here about RFID chips, WiFi and cellular networks, along with standards like Zigbee that let these things run for years on a single battery charge.

There are problems with every application space, however:

1. Liability in laws like HIPAA have made doctors into Luddites, afraid to do any automation for fear of being regulated or sued
2. Business dominance has hidden the benefits of RFID tags from consumer applications.
3. Automation vendors prefer proprietary systems they can charge more for.

This logjam will only be broken by a major financial commitment by a credible, large scaled vendor. Intel? Microsoft? Apple? IBM? I don't care who it is. Motorola ain't getting the j-o-b done, because their MS-1000s aren't flying off the shelves.

So we wait and we wonder.