Medtronic, in a project with Yale that I lead, preceded the GSK move by sharing data on an important product, bone morphogenic protein-2, which has revenues approaching a billion dollars.

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This is a real product, HomeCloud DHM (a consumer network appliance that facilitates sharing and synchronization of data among home devices such as computers, phones, tablets, network-compatible TVs, etc.) and WSTL should begin earning real money in mid-2011.

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And by sharing their personal data with the websites they visit, they can receive content and product recommendations personalized to their own unique interests, which in principle is good for websites and users alike.

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