In the next two years Sony plans to unveil HD sets using a new display technology called Grating Light Valve licensed from Silicon Light Machines.

FORBES: What's Coming

Because nobody knows what the mass of a Higgs boson might be, the particle must be hunted indirectly, typically in giant machines that propel particles to near-light speed, then smash them together and generate an array of other subatomic particles.

WSJ: Physicists Find Signs of Higgs Boson, or 'God Particle'

But as information technology and business strategy became increasingly intertwined, they also felt they had a huge advantage over traditional management consultancies: their ability not only to formulate strategy in the light of the latest information technology, but also to install and manage the latest machines.

ECONOMIST: A survey of management consultancy