ReadWriteWeb

The Federal Communications Commission has voted to approve the use of "white space" - the broadcast frequencies opened up by switching analog TV signals to digital last summer - for wireless data and Internet services.

As we wrote earlier this week, the move was expected and will open up a number of avenues for "connected devices, or the Internet of Things, which are now coming online faster than new human subscribers to leading mobile phone networks."

The FCC will meet on Thursday to vote on a proposal to open up a larger swath of wireless spectrum to licensing than was opened at the dawn of TV remote controls, baby monitors, cordless phones and WiFi networks. The most likely candidates to fill that new spectrum are connected devices, or the Internet of Things, which are now coming online faster than new human subscribers to leading mobile phone networks.

"This will also be a platform for innovators and entrepreneurs," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski told the New York Times in an in-depth report last week. "There is every chance of this leading to the development of one or more billion-dollar industries." Beyond the possible economic impact, the move may have substantial cultural consequences, as the spectrum is opened up through which our refrigerators, toasters, exercise equipment and city streets can publish data about their activities to the Internet.

The phrase "Internet of Things" got to be an overused misnomer even before the technology had a chance to become common, but at least we're on to everyday use cases: a developer has arranged for his thermostat to turn on when he's home and switch off when he leaves.

Hans Scharler's thermostat keeps dibs on his location, the outside temperature and the temperature inside the house, and decides when to kick on the air conditioning or heat.

Internet speeds 100 times faster today? Distributed wireless networks spanning the oceans and outer space? Those are some of the projects researchers are working on today to remake the world of computer networking. In coming years as IP addresses run out, telepresence technologies are adopted, the Internet of Things brings sensor networks to the enterprise, and work forces become more mobile and distributed, network admins could have some intriguing new possibilities and challenging demands for network technologies.

Over the last few years, web-connected toys quickly moved from being novelty items to relatively standard fare in a lot of kids' bedrooms. As of now, however, there are no standard platforms for web-connected toys. Disney plans to change this later this month. The company plans to announce a set of industry development and technology standards for these kinds of toys at the Engage Conference and Expo in Santa Clara, CA later this month.

Earlier today, ReadWriteWeb editor Richard MacManus examined the future of social objects - that is, the future of the Internet of Things. This slow-growing trend encompasses how real-world objects are connected to the Internet using various technologies, including RFID chips, barcodes, sensors, bots and, to some extent, even mobile applications like Glue, which attaches a social history of sorts to an object like a book or a bottle of wine, albeit somewhat virtually.

While on the one hand, the idea of these self-aware "social objects" is intriguing, especially when you examine use cases like the "social tennis racquet," as MacManus did, there is a flip side. Social objects can tattle on you, reporting data you don't wish to share.

The Internet of Things took a step closer to mainstream adoption today with the announcement of Pachube's first enterprise offering. Pachube (pronounced "patch bay") shares real-time sensor data and enables users to analyze data or trigger actions in a variety of ways through its SaaS. For example, temperature sensors could trigger an alarm if a temperature gets too high or low in your server room. See our coverage of Pachube's applications for more use cases.

One of the emerging trends of 2010 has been the Internet of Things, a term for when real-world objects get connected to the Internet. One of the key aspects of this trend is the data explosion that will occur when millions of objects send data to the cloud - mostly via very small sensors. Just as the 'web 2.0' era led to platforms for user-generated and 'social' content (think Facebook, Twitter, Google's OpenSocial), the Internet of Things era will lead to platforms for sensor data.

It's still very early in this era and the platforms we'll profile here are at this point more about experimentation than commercialization.

Bank of America has started working with Visa to begin testing the use of smartphones to make in-store payments without the need for cash or credit cards. The system will make use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which is a short-range communication technology for mobile phones, to make payments as simple as waving your phone at another NFC-enabled device.

According to Reuters, the two companies will begin testing next month the system of paying that "some say could become a primary means of everyday purchases."

Citing the need to provide security for the growing Internet of Things, chip maker Intel has entered an agreement to purchase cyber security company McAfee for $7.68 billion. According to the press release issued by Intel: "Today's security approach does not fully address the billions of new Internet-ready devices connecting, including mobile and wireless devices, TVs, cars, medical devices and ATM machines as well as the accompanying surge in cyber threats."