San Francisco - Multicore processors, cloud computing, user interfaces, social networks/social software, and Web mashups top a list of 10 “disruptive technologies'' set to reshape the IT landscape between 2008 and 2012, according to Gartner analysts David Cearley and Carl Claunch.

The remaining five are ubiquitous computing, contextual computing, augmented reality, semantics, and virtualization.

The analysts are to present their conclusions during a session on Tuesday at Gartner's Symposium ITxpo in Las Vegas.

Multicore processors are providing new advances, but single-threaded applications won't be able to take advantage of their power, the analysts note in a document related to the presentation: “A single-thread application may drive an eight-core system to only 12.5 percent utilization as it can use only one-eighth of the available cores.”

Enterprises should therefore identify applications “that will need remediation to continue to meet service-level requirements in the multicore era,” they wrote.

The leader of the list's second half — ubiquitous computing — will also gain traction in the next several years, according to the analysts.

“The work of Mark Weiser and other researchers at Xerox's PARC painted a picture 20 years ago of the coming third wave of computing — one where computers surround us, yet are invisibly embedded into our environment,” they write. “The vision of the third wave is the relegation of computers to hidden roles, exposing only enough technology to fit the need. Computers in cars are hidden behind steering wheels and simple buttons; in the future, most computers will be equally transparent.”

This trend will be powered by a combination of means, such as RFID tags, portable and widely accessible data, and accompanying advances in networking technologies, the analysts predict.

The analysts also said:

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