Windows 10 The Cross-Platform OS

   
Windows 10 Bringing Devices Together
     The goal of windows 10 is to bring all of your devices together. This goal is not easily attainable but definitely in sight for the Windows Development team. With Windows 8 being the huge failure that we all know it was, we have high hopes for the Windows 10 operating system. Imagine being able to access your PC from your phone, Xbox and tablet always having all of your information on hand and not simply through a cloud but rather through an OS that allows constant access. This is what windows 10 is hoping to accomplish, with a free upgrade being offered for windows 10 from windows 7 and 8 devices it definitely will get the users it needs to be thoroughly tested and attract developers to the OS.

Windows Store Updates
     The windows store has been in quite a sad state with not enough developers giving quality applications it has overall been lacking compared to its competitors but Windows 10 will bring several changes that will hopefully attract new developers and bring the store back into the running.
   
      The store will offer businesses admin abilities such as highlighting apps for employees to download, distribute selected apps from windows store to their employees and even use business payment methods to allow quick and easy payments.
     For the end-users, the apps will install and uninstall more easily and completely with support for a global range of payment methods on all devices, this will make it the largest carrier billing footprint of any ecosystem, supporting 90 carriers to help all people who may not have credit cards but still have phones.
     Finally, for developers there are new capabilities being added as well:
               1. Carrier billing throughout all Windows 10 devices, which is estimated to increase purchases the market by up to 8x's.
               2. In-app purchase subscription support
               3. New Windows Store Affiliate Program
               4. Updated Windows 10 Microsoft Advertising SDK with support for video ads and install tracking.
     It is nice to see that Microsoft is seeing the weak-points of the Windows Store and improving them to not only catch up with the other marketplaces but also exceed the capabilities and reach that they have as well.

Windows Continuum Universal Platform Innovation

     With the Windows 10 Universal Platform design, it allows for developers to create a single application which will automatically be able to function on all Windows 10 devices. As the UI/UX for Windows 10 is automatically built to adapt to all different screen sizes the developer will then be able to simply tailor applications to unique capabilities of each device, rather than create multiple applications designed to work for each device individually. This includes integrating Cortana and Xbox Live to their applications, which offer trusted commerce, natural user input, create holograms and more. 

Continuum for Phones

Microsoft HoloLens: Partner Spotlight with Trimble

With all of these updates coming quickly to the Windows 10 scene, we are excited to see what Developers will bring to the table for users like us to enjoy over the next months.

Nintendo's Next Gen Console, What do we know?

      So Nintendo is going to be bringing us another game platform and although we don't know much, we know enough to start getting an idea of what they have in store.
     First, the news that Nintendo will make smartphone games was a bombshell on the community as no one has ever though of Nintendo as a mobile game maker, but it does offer some promising ideas with how well they have been able to do with their handheld Nintendo DS.

     However, the bigger bombshell that they announced in the same week was the new platform they plan to create, which is codenamed NX and is set to unveil in 2016.
     Nintendo president Satoru Iwata stated that the announcement should be viewed as "proof that Nintendo remains strong enthusiast for the dedicated game system business." and added during a Q&A session "I wanted to communicate that Nintendo will be progressing with videogame-dedicated devices with a passion." and that "We wanted to make it clear that Nintendo will continue with that as our core business."





     After that Nintendo refuses to say much more about the NX other than it will be built as a "brand new concept." So with a massive amount of room for speculation we can think of a plethora of things that Nintendo could be doing. However, looking at Nintendo's history I'm sure we can all be excited about what they could bring to the table. In addition their unification of hardware divisions in 2013 due to "vast technological advances, it became possible to achieve a fair degree of architectural integration." In other words cross-platforming is becoming easier and should be one of their concentrations.
     This was shown with the creation of the WiiU how Nintendo wanted to start combining the idea, and according to Iwata "It will become important for us to accurately take advantage of what we have done with the Wii U architecture. It of course does not mean that we are going to use exactly the same architecture as Wii U, but we are going to create a system that can absorb the Wii U architecture adequately, When this happens, home consoles and handheld devices will no longer be completely different, and they will become like brother in a family of systems."

     When trying to interpret all that Iwata is telling us, we realize he wishes to merge home and portable systems while "absorbing the Wii U architecture." So this gives the idea of a portable system that will share a common platform to the Wii U. This makes us think that this could lead us to not only one new console, but also a new handheld as well. We are hopeful for what Nintendo has to offer us in the future and what they really seem to stress is Nintendo is going nowhere and continue their legacy for the years to come.

U.S. Airforce's Secretive Space Plane X-37B Returns 2 Years Later

     "The primary objectives of the X-37B are twofold: reusable spacecraft technologies for America's future in space and operating experiments which can be returned to and examined, on Earth." Not exactly the most illuminating description on the Air Force's fact sheet but none the less we know that after two years this un-manned space plane has landed. This US Air Force space plane is just one of the two X-37B vehicles in the Pentagon's stock. It landed Friday morning in California a the Vandenberg Air Force Base at the 30th Space Wing after 22 months or 674 days in space.

     In the Air Force's statement they said "The mission is our longest to date and we're pleased with the incremental progress we've seen in our testing of the reusable space plane". This seems to be the most information that the Air Force will digress as they have only said very very little about the X-37B and its missions ever. 

     There are of course theories and speculations on what the space vehicle may be doing up there but these vary from study of extra terrestrials to satellite launching. So in short there is really no answer as to what this space plane might be up there doing. It could merely be long cruises to judge how a space plane with no human could be thrown into orbit to come back at a certain time. After all it is not easy to prefect algorithms for space plane maneuvering without testable information.

     It's nice to see either way that we still have an interest in space even since we have already gotten to the moon. Seems after that we have lost interest. Either way hopefully they are accomplishing something worthwhile up there whether they want to share that information or not.

Sources: Space
                CNet

Google Fiber to be Unleashed in Austin this December

     So it seems that AT&T's new gigabit internet is going to gain some competition this December in Austin, Texas. Google Fiber in a recent planning meeting in Mountain View detailed how it will finally roll out the service. The company's gigabit internet service is up to 100 times faster than what most ISPs can currently offer throughout the US. With these greater speeds it will also bring major opportunities to the area itself.

David Anthony program manager at the event stated: "Launching a fiber network is really three parts: planning, permitting, and construction,". He also explained that the Fiber service will begin in the southeast areas of the city and requires permits to build the infrastructure. So this will not be happening overnight in other words. "Not every part of Austin will get Fiber. But every area of Austin will have an opportunity to get it," according to Google Fiber head Mark Strama.

     As the USA has some of the lowest internet speeds in the world compared to our European friends it is about time that we receive speeds that reflect our work ethic, fast, reliable and constant. This coming from Google will most certainly add tons of opportunities to the areas it moves to and also cause competitors to get their speeds up to snuff with the competition. We may slowly be moving into the era of internet speeds that will blow our minds.

Sources: VentureBeat

               Engadget

Apple Leaks iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3

     Apple has made an uncharacteristic mistake prior to the press event later today and has accidentally revealed both of the new iPads it plans to release. Apparently an offical user guide for iOS 8 in the iTunes Store had screenshots that were updated ahead of schedule; both new iPads are pictured and plenty is revealed. From the looks of it both iPads will come with Touch ID fingerprint sensor, vbut other than that it does seem that these products will look identical to their past counterparts.

     Although we will not have the specs on these devices til later in the day, we expect that Apple will greatly improve the performance of each iPad with a more powerful A8X processor and an updated chipset. However, it is not yet clear if both iPads will match each other spec for spec. Their is some information in the user guide which suggests that burst photography mode will be on the iPad Air 2 but no mention of the mini 3 having this feature.

Either way if you were hoping for a major overhaul with design changes it seems you will be disappointed this year.  We are excited to hear what Apple has to say about these products later in the day and of course are hoping for some real improvements to the software and speeds of the iPad. In addition in a funny coincidence that this Apple leak came on the same day that Google announced its brand new tablet in the Nexus 9. Competition continues in the world of tablets!

























Sources: TheVerge

New August Smart Lock for Homes

     The new August Smart Lock is a lock designed with not only smart capabilities but with safety in mind as well. This era of technology has quickly put a damper on what we used to consider safe in this day and age. People are now able to create keys that unlock doors and even snap pictures of your key simply to have a copy made. Regardless one thing is for certain we are all becoming more and more comfortable with smart apps and controlling our lives with these apps. August has taken that idea and put it into effect with a new smart lock that is not so easily penetrable.

A lock that fits on any common deadbolt and eliminates the use for keys. That's what we see here and this lock will remained locked until the user unlocks it with their smart phone. We are constantly losing things as a society and one of those main things are our keys. This lock looks to put an end to that. With bluetooth technology this lock pairs with your smartphone currently only available on iPhones and Android and allows you to control when your door locks and unlocks, allowing you to customize and calibrate your settings to meet your preferences.


     There is the problem however of your smart phone dying, but August has though of an answer to that in that there will be a key that you could have with you to unlock the smart lock or if you were to borrow a friends phone, download the app and insert your password you could unlock it in this manner. This does however mean that this lock is not as safe as we thought. With the ability to simply steal someones password you could easily enter there house, this could be beneficial as you could allow multiple people to have a key to the house without having to get 10 keys made to the house. At the same time however that password could be intercepted or one of the phones lost with the app on it. However, this could apply in the same way to having multiple sets of keys as they can be easily lost and found by someone else and used.
     The August smart lock does however let you reset your password to keep people guessing so if a phone is lost or password is given out you can quickly change your information to keep your home secure. This is obviously preferred over replacing your deadbolt because someone else may have the key.

     The system still has some minor bugs that are being worked out, but they are only on the app side of things and not problems with the lock itself. Things like the app not working, crashing or not unlocking the door. As these locks are currently on the shelves already in Apple stores though we are sure that they will deal with these bugs extremely soon if not already.
     The system is extremely easy to install as all you need is the august smart lock, screwdriver and other pieces that are bundled with the smart lock. You simply take off your old deadbolt and replace it with this. The smart lock also will continue to run if the electricity goes out or WiFi disconnects as the device does not need the WiFi only bluetooth and you always have the key to manually open the lock. As their have been many attempts at creating smart locks from number codes, to finger prints this is the easiest as it's on your phone like everything else and will even unlock the door automatically when you are near the handle and lock once again when you leave. This is not simply a better lock, it is a smart lock.
     With technology on the rise it is important to not only keep ourselves up with the times, but our security as well and this lock looks to improve that for all.

Sources: August.com
             

Ambi Climate Makes Your Air Conditioner Smart

Many people all over the world struggle with keeping their homes or workplaces at an optimal temperature, not to cold and not to hot is the goal. This typically requires multiple walks to change the AC unit temperature and essentially constantly having to micro-manage the thermostat. Ambi Labs is looking to solve this issue with their new smart sensors.

This small hub/sensor utilizes local weather data, temperature, air flow, humidity and even movement detection to adjust the air conditioner quickly and accordingly with its infrared transmitter. Allowing the room to keep a more constant temperature, less thermostat micromanaging and also helps to save energy.
As shown to the left the Ambi Climate also comes with a companion app which will sync with iOS or Android devices allowing people to control room temperature and humidity from anywhere even if you are not at home. In addition the hub will use your current location and movement to automatically detect if you're home or not and even what room you are in to turn on and off air conditioners without you having to think about it. Of course you can set your own personal preferences to the ambi climate, such as preferred temperature, humidity and off/on times. If you have multiple ambi climate units you may also monitor and apply conditions throughout all the units at once.

     As it is on kickstarter with already over 250 backers pledging the early bird November units are already sold out. So the next shipment will take place in June 2015, just in time for summer. For more information you can visit their Kickstarter Page.

Sources: Engadget

3D Printed Heart Helps to Save Child's Life

      A young 2 week old baby required a complicated heart surgery. Surgeons at New York hospital have given credit to 3D printing which helped them to better understand the child's heart problem. After scanning the heart using MRI's Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital was able to create a 3D copy of the child's heart; holes and all.

     Although this surgery is extremely complicated and dangerous, this 3D printed heart allowed surgeons to gain a better understanding of the child's heart and created a more possible opportunity to help the child. "The baby's heart had holes, which are not uncommon with CHD, but the heart chambers were also in an unusual formation, rather like a maze" said Dr. Emile Bacha, who actually performed the surgery when she reported to Connecticut media. She went on to say "In the past we had to stop the heart and look inside to decide what to do. With this technique, its was like we had a road map to guide us. We were able to repair the baby's heart with one operation."
     In a world where health problems are always more and more complex 3D printing technology has already proven to be something that could greatly benefit us in the future even in areas outside of the world of health. It is rumored that they are printing more 3D hearts containing common problems and will help doctors to better understand the heart and how to approach certain issues. As most doctors only get to look at hearts when someone chest is open, this is a huge deal and will help further studies of heart related issues.
     This surgery and project was funded by Matthew's Hearts of Hope which is based in Connecticut, they will be funding the next 3D printed hearts as well. The founder of the foundation Marie Hatcher stated: "This is a game changer for CHD babies with complicated heart anatomy."
     Technology certainly has gotten a foothold in with every type of industry and now that we have 3D printers as our new form of technology, it's exciting to think what life they could save next or what big project they could be building soon.

Sources: Independent
   

Apple Unveils 3 Big Devices

     Today in CUPERTINO, California Apple announced a trifecta of devices, which are certainly grabbing their competitors attention and showing their dominance in the tech world.
     In Flint Center for Performing Arts, Apple announced a new mobile payment platform, advanced touchscreen smartwatch and 2 large-screen iPhones. The audience was very impressed with standing ovations and many outbreaks of applause. The press, VIPs from the technology, fashion, entertainment industries and Apple employees all in attendance showing support.
   

The New iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus

    Photographer: Alex Washburn/Wired
     
     After an always gripping introductory video, Phil Schiller Apple's senior vice president announce two new iPhone models today, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Both getting a beautiful re-style with smooth, brushed aluminum rear curving gently into the front screen almost, resembling small iPads.
     The iPhone 6 includes a 1334x750 pixel resolution on a 4.7-inch display. iPhone6 Plus brings a 1920x1080 display on a 5.5-inch screen. The phones however are exactly the same except for the size.

 On the back side they placed an 8-megapixel shooter with an f/2.2 aperture 8-megapixel camera. Including a new sensor with speedier autofocus. The iPhone 6 comes with digital image stabilization, but the 6 Plus makes use of its gyroscope and the M8 coprocessor to cancel out any extra shakiness providing optical image stabilization.
     The new A8 processor is promised to be 87% more efficient than its predecessor, while offering 25% more power to the CPU and up to 50% faster GPU speeds than the iPhone 5s' A7 chip. With the M8 motion coprocessor working in addition to aiding image stabilization, you can now tell when you're walking, cycling or running and can track if you're traversing up and down stairs with a new barometer that detects changes in air pressure.
     These devices each feature Touch ID home buttons and NFC. The iPhone 6 will go on sale Friday, September 19th. The starting contract at $200 for 16GB, $300 for 64GB, and $400 for 128GB. The 6 Plus starts at $100 more.

The Apple Watch, Apple's Wearable Technology

    Photographer: Alex Washburn/Wired

      The must unknown topic of the day was if Apple was in fact going to unveil the long-rumored wearable tech product. The company did more than just unveil but amazed. The Apple Watch has arrived!
     Cook stated "Apple watch is the most personal device we've ever created," followed by a standing ovation and round of wild applause. Apple's CEO calls it "a new intimate way to connect and communicate direction from your wrist."
     This smartwatch which is accurate within 50 milliseconds is not only technologically impressive but also is quite styling. You have a fair amount of choices in both hardware and faces allowing you to customize and stylize your watch to meet you personal groove.

     Apple watch is offered in three editions: Apple Watch, Watch Sport, and Watch Edition. Apple Watch being the most basic, Watch Sport with increased durability and Watch Edition has a more exotic look and made of gold. You can then change the straps with a choice of 6 different bands allowing you to mix and match. The bands include a quilted leather strap with a magnetic clasping band, a stainless steel link bracelet with magnetic clasping band, a mesh chain loop and traditional leather buckle. The bands and watch faces come in two different sizes to suit not only all wrists but all body types.
     Cook stated "With every breakthrough, Apple has also had to have a breakthrough in user interface,". What they made sure we knew however was that they didn't simply take the iPhone interface and shrink it to a watch size, and believe that their new interface will make for a fantastic experience.
     With a menu composed of small bubble shaped app icons you can arrange wherever you like and may even group them together with other related apps. By twisting the crown you zoom in and out on the group of apps and then to open up an app you would simply tap it. They have a new feature called Glances which lets you swipe upwards from the bottom of the screen to cycle through customizable screens. Apple even decided to include Siri in the advice so now we will in fact see people talking with their smart watches, we are all the new James Bond.
      The Apple Watch will launch with a apps such as Maps, customizable watch faces and third-party apps. Third party apps from businesses like W Hotels and American Airlines. It also includes several health and fitness apps which use information gathered by both your iPhone and Apple Watch. The Apple sensors will even give you a view of your daily activities, essentially being both a smartwatch and fitness tracker in one.
     The Apple Watch certainly impressed but lets hope it can deliver. It will start at $350 and go on sale in early 2015.

Apple's Mobile Payment System: ApplePay

                                Photographer: Alex Washburn/Wired
   
     "Payments is a huge business. Every day between credit and debit, we spend $12 billion, and that's just in the United States," cook stated in his introduction to what a huge business payments is and a space that have yet to be digitally cracked.
     Apple has been working with MasterCard, American Express and Visa to design their new ApplePay system which is already working with over 220,000 merchants at launch. These merchants include Whole Foods, Macy's, Target and Walgreens. Using your NFC you simply tap your phone to the pay terminal and the security code is given. You start by adding a snapshot of the your card which then must receive verification from your bank. After that it's simply swipe your phone payments. Apple has stated that Apple will not collect your purchasing data in other words what you purchase is between you and the merchant.
      Another new technology that Apple is trying out and only time will tell whether it is user accepted or not. ApplePay will launch in the U.S. in October with an update to iOS8.

     Apple has yet again proven their ability to not only create new technologies but also shown that they are one of the best at doing it. With these three new products we will certainly see more Apple products on a daily basis and that's saying something.

   

Twitter Developing New 'Buy' Button, Turning Itself Into Online Shopping Mall

    Twitter recently has begun developing a new "Buy" button which would make Twitter an online marketplace that would allow its users to do business through tweeting. Creating a social networking site that also is conducting business, easy as clicking on a tweet and hitting the buy button.

     According to Twitter a "small percentage" of users will start to see the "Buy" button in their tweets and they will continue to release slowly to more and more users as time goes on. This will be the first large scale social networking site that convert into a sort of e-commerce engine. Although Facebook has begun development with a "Buy" button no public version of it has been seen yet. I wonder how effective  it will be or if it will turn these social networking sites into pure ad-agencies. Businesses will clearly flock to it and we will be getting flooding with ads not only on our side bars around the body of our page but now also in the body as well. Doesn't that sounds fun?
   
     However, there will be countless benefits if local businesses can effectively use the program and make it even easier to simply buy everything you see in just a few clicks. Twitter stated in a blog post "in our building functionality into Twitter to make shopping from mobile devices convenient and easy, hopefully even fun." so at least twitter has good intentions for the change but hopefully it is seen that way by its users.

When you click Twitter's Buy button, you are asked to enter your payment and shipping information. Once this is confirmed the merchant will start getting your purchase ready for mailing. The key is that you will be able to do this in a couple taps once you complete your first purchase as your information will be stored on Twitter servers making purchases extremely simple.
Now it's just time to see how the users view this change and that is all that will matter in the end.
  





Sources: Wired

Nike Helps Design a Swag New Plane for Traveling Sports Teams

     In our everyday lives we see jets that are designed to cram as many people in as possible, but when sports team travels there is usually only 20-40 players where as a normal plane usually holds between 100-400 passengers. So Nike designed a plane that looks amazing and has functionality to fit smaller amounts of people to provide more comfort and luxury.

     As you can see this plane is designed with style and space in mind. "Most airplane design projects are about packaging individuals as efficiently as possible," says Phillip Steiner the creative direction. "We're usually really concerned with the average traveler, but these athletes are far beyond average, and designing for extreme sports users provides a really interesting perspective." This plane even has dedicated seating areas for different actions: socialization, sleep and recovery/nutrition. Almost as if they simply have no wants while flying to their next away game. The rows are even separated enough to fit a 7 foot passenger fully reclined.
   
     Now of course this plane has cool lighting effects and is designed for professional athletes which means its loaded with new technology like wearable sensors in the seating keeping track on the player's physiology and then send it to an on-board computer. With intelligent lighting the team trainers can set the cabin atmosphere to relax or pump up the team . "It's a little bit shocking that the meal service hasn't changed very much to give passenger's more control," says Industrial designer Annaliese Chapa and went on to say "Self-serve meal zones allow for customized meal plans." this means that not only the plane itself is being re-designed here but the services that come with it as well.

 Innovations like this may help many sports teams perform better on the road with better rest, less stress and fewer needs when traveling everyone is going to feel as rested as if they just slept the whole night through on this jet. The design is attractive and fits the players multi-million dollar pay scales with styles that would make anyone want to hang out there almost like a flying night club/hotel in the sky with all the fixings.
     Although this may not be the most necessary plane as it won't be used on a public level I'm sure that athletes will be loving the new updates to this plane specifically designed with them in mind.

Sources: Wired

Garmin's New Fitness Tracker

     In an increasingly health-conscious world we are seeing more technology come out on a daily basis to help track our fitness goals, maintain our fitness levels and even track ourselves during daily exercise. These fitness trackers include products like Jawbone Up, Nike Fuelband and Garmin VivoFit which are small wearable gadgets that rack your fitness but have been limited to doing much more besides that. Until now where Garmin has combined the smart watch world with the fitness tracking world in their new product Garmin VivoSmart.

     Garmin has introduced a new general purpose wear smart band combined with the VivoFit to introduce the VivoSmart. This product will of course track your steps, heartrate (with a separate heartrate monitor), calories burned and share the time and date but now does even more. The new features include an activity reminder to remind you to get off your butt and move around from time to time and now pairs with your smartphone giving you vibration alerts for texts, calls, e-mails and even calendar events. Each of these even is paired with a preview of the notifications on the LED screen.

     Unlike their past design for VivoFit which had an always on display LED screen the VivoSmart has a hidden OLED that you wake up with a double finger tap and you can navigate your different customizable display pages by swiping the screen.

     The VivoSmart is water-proof up to 50-meters and is supposed to get up to 7 days of battery life per charge. It also includes a sleep tracker to give you daily reports on you're sleep quality such as tossing and turning vs. lying still. Garmin even has a Garmin Connect app that translates all this data into easy to read graphs and charts to more accurately track yourself overtime.

     After seeing all of the new additions Garmin has made to their fitness tracker it is clearly not just for fitness anymore but more of a smart-watch with fitness additions. With their new sleek design it is easy to see how wearing one of these would not be any real issue at all like clunkier alternatives. It is the perfect accessory for someone who is active in both fitness and work and wants to simplify life on a daily basis.

     VivoSmart is set to release in mid-September with 5 different colors (black, slate, berry, purple and blue) with a price point of $170 for just the band or $200 for the band paired with heartrate monitor.

Earbuds Designed to Be Worn All Day Like a Necklace

     We all have had that issue of trying to wear our earbuds while performing other everyday tasks and often times it ends in lost earbuds, constant tangling or trying to get them in and out of your pocket or fit them into a bulky carrying case. Steven Lamar's new earbuds are designed to change all of that with his new product Ropes from the new start-up audio company Roam.

These high-end ear buds are created for a more hands-free, comfortable and simpler listening experience compared to the average earbuds. The earbuds simply can be worn around your neck all day and to put them in your ears you simple just grab your necklace and boom you're in business. Ropes has a bluetooth transmitter located on it so that you simply pair to your smart device once and you never again have to shuffle to plug in your headset when you get a sudden phone call or you want to listen to music every thing will simply be around your neck for immediate use.

     Ropes are going to have a pre-order price point of $299 which is high for a pair of ear buds but Lamar states "We've been programmed to accept the audio quality in these earbuds we get with our phones," and that they tend to compete with the Shures of the world more than Apple's chintzy EarPods. There will also be a new app that is included with Ropes so that they can tune the ear buds to sound how they desire. "Whether it be on a phone call, or listening to music, or watching a movie, we all hear things differently," says Lamar and "We heard things differently out of each ear. We're going to give you a tool that communicates directly with the drivers in the earphones to adjust the sounds dynamics however you want."

     Suddenly these don't seem like your everyday earbuds that you can pick up for $20 and not care if you lose them, but I guess that's why you can keep them around your neck! Obviously this is not a product that everyone will appreciate but again it is technology in wearable form and this is meant to be worn as if it were part of your everyday wardrobe. These earbuds are definitely not meant to be worn to look cool, but rather are to be worn because its more practical than digging around in your pocket for your headphones or untangling them out of the carrying case. In a world where our lives are becoming more saturated with digital audio it may become more practical to have a pair of earbuds on your person at all times. Until you realize they need to be charged with a micro USB after six hours of use to keep the wireless working.
     Yet if we look forward wearable technology is becoming more common on a daily basis with new technologies or existing ones being re-formatted to fit into our daily lives products like Ropes are going to be in demand because they won't be just a set of headphones used to stream Pandora and Spotify but rather a needed daily accessory.

Sources: ROAM
               Engadget
               Wired

Recording Athletes in a Whole New Way

     When we think of technology we think of computers, social networks, websites and essentially complications. However, when you combine technology with things like the environment, sports and everyday life you can do so much more than just create a new program or build a computer.
     Catapult Sports is one of the companies combining technology with the everyday of sports. With their newest product OPTIMEYE G5, S5 and X4 models a device used to track the movements, activity and overall workload of soccer players. These products are working to revolutionize the way professional soccer players train and the algorithms in these products are designed to track dives, leaps, sprints and quick recoveries tracking essentially every move of the individual wearing the device.

     To the left is an image of the G5 model and it is meant to work strictly with goal keepers as it is a bit larger than the other models because it has a lot more required of it. This tracks every motion of the goalie and allows for coaches, doctors and even players to review the statistics to see not only how they are performing but also let them see what they may need to practice more.
     As these products are still only in testing in Europe with various soccer teams they are still working out any problems that may arise however, they have already started to make various improvements and discoveries. For example they added a function that not only tracks when you jump or dive but also how high you jumped, what your air time was and even run speeds. This will help individuals compare themselves to one another but also allow teams to compare themselves to one another.
     Products like this are just small steps into what is to come and with this technology we are only going to see the world of sports improve as the training of individuals will improve as well. In my opinion we may even see future FIFA, Madden and NFL games utilize this device to get exact readings on players individual stats such as acceleration and speed. Just another form of wearable technology which we will see utilized in the years to come.

Sources: Wired

Fully Transparent Solar Panels Could Make Windows a Power Source

     The researchers at Michigan State University have created a full transparent solar panel which essentially could be used as typical glass for windows or screens. The research leader Richard Lunt stated how many settings this solar panel could be placed in "tall buildings with lots of windows or any kind of mobile device that demands high aesthetic quality like a phone or e-reader."

As you can see in the picture to the left this is actually a truly transparent solar cell and although other solar cells have claimed to be transparent in the past but typically cast a shadow or some sort of awkward colorful shadow when the light hit them making them not full transparent at all.
However, Michigan State researchers used a different technique for collecting sunlight and it has yielded a true fully transparent solar cell that could actually be used and seen through by the naked eye at all times.
     Now that this technology is available I believe that it should be immediately taken advantage of as their are so many uses that could come from this. Anything from car windows to your iPhone screen could be created with this technology and not only provide green energy but also save the users money and time by not having to hook their phone up to a charger as often or not having to gas up the car all the time.
     It's amazing that with technology although we may not be working with the environment directly we help to slow the pollution that we add on a daily basis and take advantage of the pure resources around us. I see a bright future for this new technology and cannot wait to see what uses come about in our everyday lives for it.

Sources: Extreme Tech
             

Good Idea or Bad? GoPro Dog Mount Harness

     We all know that people are treating dogs more and more like one of the family in this day and age, some people even consider them to be their children and would do anything for them from spending thousands on surgeries, buying outfits for them and even feeding them food off their own dinner table. Is it to the point where we want them to start video taping for us so we can see what it's like to live in the eyes of a dog?
   
     This product is definitely designed for a certain niche of people and although we may not see it a dog with a GoPro attached to it's back often it is something that is out there now. This is meant to analyze whether this idea is a good/profitable one or whether it will take a belly flop and be a waste of time.
   
     GoPro was first created for users who participated in extreme sports to record their awesome skills and allow them to share it with others while not having to hold a video camera or worry about it breaking. I then think to myself what is a dog doing that needs to be recorded besides exploring the backyard, playing with people and eating. I personally may not understand it, but when I go and look on facebook with all of the videos and pictures of dogs on there it may not be such a bad idea after all.
   

     This product is designed for dogs from 15lbs - 120lbs and enables the owner to later watch what their dog has been up to all day. Their are practical uses for it for example if your dog was constantly getting out of the backyard you could use this to see where they are getting out and prevent it from happening in the future or perhaps the dog has been acting oddly after coming in from the backyard and you find out that they have been finding and eating mushrooms in the backyard. This may not be an idea to provide the ultimate extreme video or share brilliantly taken videos but rather a way to find out more about your own dog and show what a day in the life of your dog looks like.

     This product is only $60 so it's not something that you need to break the bank to purchase if it interests you, but I definitely don't see a large future for this product unless dogs can start making purchases with their kibbles and bits. Just like many products out there this is meant to target a certain niche of people If you're bored of watching humans create video this is a great option for you!

Sources: Wired Article

Gadget Designed to Make Sure Doctors Wash Their Hands Enough

     Biovigil has introduced a new gadget to the healthcare field and it is designed to make sure that doctor's hands are always extremely clean before interacting with a patient. Around 75,000 patients died last year from healthcare associated infections (HAI's) and cost hospitals over 30 billion dollars. This gadget is designed to sense the amount of bacteria on the doctor's hands before helping patients. The doctor simply puts their hands up to the device which is wearable and if the hands are clean the light will remain green, if their is bacteria detected on the hands then the light will either turn yellow or red to notify the doctor you must wash your hands before proceeding further with the patient.

   
     If the light goes yellow then the doctor must wash their hands and then re-test for bacteria and upon completion the light will turn green. If the doctor was to ignore the yellow light then after several minutes it will glare red indicating that the doctor ignored the yellow signal and essentially will not only show the doctor that they still need to wash their hands but also indicate to the patient that the doctor is not yet fit to work with them.
     This device not only applies to the healthcare field in the long run because there are many professions that require the user to have clean hands including those who work in the restaurant industry. This device definitely has the capability to expand its uses throughout the world where cleanliness is a must. By utilizing this device many infections and diseases can be prevented from being spread in workplace environments of all kinds.
     Personally i think that this device is a must have now that it exists because it allows not only the doctor to double check themselves but also for the patient or customer to double check them because clearly they do not want to interact with bacteria ridden hands. In the future I see this product moving into any industry that deals with food or health to ensure maximum cleanliness at all times.

     As you can see the Biovigil gadget is extremely small and has a simple easy to understand UI that will benefit many people for years to come. It also has a simple clip on the back which can be used to put in on the pocket of a shirt or strap on your belt. I see this being a pinnacle of health in workplaces at least for users hands and am excited to see where Biovigil takes this product in the future to help all of us feel a bit more comfortable in many situations.

Sources: Biovigil Gadget

US Open Debuts the Polo Tech "smartshirt" with Activity Tracker

     In a world where wearable technology is beginning to take over from google glasses to smart watches we are getting used to seeing computers just about anywhere and everywhere in the world around us. Polo tech has taken it one step further with their new "smartshirt" which is currently being used in the US Open by professionals not only to test the product but also to show that it can be worn in even the most extreme conditions.

     The activity tracker is located directly under the pectorials and contains conductive threads that come in contact with the skin. There is then a "Black Box" or "Tech Box" that snaps into the shirt near the left rib cage, this box receives heart-rate and breathing data from the wearer which is then translated into Calories burnt, steps taken, and amount of activity split into 3 different categories: Inactive, Moderate Activity and Active.

     This tech box will need to be charged once about every 30 hours through a USB charger and also comes with a bluetooth setup to upload information to your smartphone enabling long term tracking for individuals of their activity. According to Ralph Lauren "The Box will be half the size in a few months.... We are a lifestyle brand, major luxury fashion brand.  iwant to be able to gather this (biometric) information in a boardroom or from a baby in a crib. We'll find new needs and we're just at the beginning." 

     As this is the first smart garment in the Polo-brand technology line they have a lot of work to do to make the garment easily wearable for all individuals not just athletes. The garment is washable as long as the tech box is connected and so far they have not seen any issues with the conductive threads with normal wear and tear.

     As Polo definitely seems to be after this new wearable technology we will see large strides over the next few years and I'm sure companies like Nike, Adidas and other brand names will follow suit. This sort of technology will be able to benefit all professional sports players and enable their doctors to track not only their health off the court and field but also while they are competing as well.

     Wearable technology used to be bulky un-attractive and not appealing to users but now that this technology is being transformed into items that we wear everyday it is almost unnoticeable and soon everyone will be wearing technology without blinking an eye. I know that I am definitely excited to see where wearable technology is going in the years to come.

Sources: Ralph Lauren Tech Shirts

              Purchase a tech-shirt today!

Instagram's New App, Hyperlapse Feels Like a $10,000 Video Setup in Your Hand

      The creators of Instagram are releasing their new app known as Hyperlapse  which is an app that enables the user to take video and turn it into tracking shots and fast, time-lapse videos almost to look as they were shot by a professional in a Michael Mann film which was previously only possible with a Steadicam. This will only be available to the iPhone at launch which was on August 26th, but they are working quickly to make it available for Android phones as well. As you can see in the video below Hyperlapse not only makes the video move quickly but also stabilizes the video to eliminate the jumpiness that can come from hand-held video.

                                       

   
     Hyperlapse is looking to become simply a video speed edit app with smoothing capabilities and will allow users creativity to run rampant with the ability to increase a videos speed up to 12x while making the video smooth as silk. A lot of people are asking why it has been released as a standalone app and not a new feature of Instagram and the answer is that Hyperlapse will not have all of the features of Instagram such as filters. Hyperlapse comes with ony filter and that is a speed filter which allows you to alter the videos from 1x to 12x and once that is set you can quickly upload the video to Facebook or Instagram.

   

     Upon opening the app you will see that the first page is simply a video recorder with a record button and when the video is finished you simply test the different speeds that are available and when you are finished the app quickly renders the video and can enable the user to fit up to a 12 minute video into 1 minute.

     The reason that this kind of technology is now available on phones is because they have created algorithms that use a fraction of the battery life to run the app as they would have several years ago where a iPhone would not have had the raw power to run something so powerful. Now that we can create videos that $10,000 equipment used to be required to make the possibilities of what we will see coming out on Facebook and Instagram are endless.

     It is still to early to tell whether or not this will become something that is used by people in everyday or only fit to a certain niche of people in the industry but it will be fun to see where Hyperlapse ends up in the next few years and if it will truly be used to it's full potential by its users.

Download Hyperlapse Here

More Videos: Introducing Hyperlapse from Instagram

                    Stabilization for Hyperlapse from Instagram