Week 5 - Smart phone technology proliferation

The spread of affordable smart phone technology is headed to India.  A collaboration between an Indian and Canadian company will see an end-of-year introduction of a relatively low-tech smart phone, retailing for the equivalent of US $15 dollars.  While it won't set any records for data (it's 2G after all), the Linux-based system will surely fuel a proliferation of further tech leaps in the future.  It makes a lot of sense, especially when considering "just" 65% of those upgrading their handsets were to smart phone platforms.  Increasing that number will surely be massively profitable.  As the article summarizes, the real moneymaker is in the apps, content, and network services, all of which are accessed through smart phone technology.  One only needs to look at 1st world countries to see how successful that can be. 

http://www.cnet.com/news/new-15-smartphone-headed-to-india-by-years-end/

Week 4 - Issues with Tesla autonomous cars

Not so fast, Tesla!  It appears Tesla is having some "slight" technical issues with their latest autonomous drive technology, to which I originally discussed in my previous (Week 3) blog.  Less than a week after their autopilot software download was released, several owners have reported their cars have not performed as advertised.  The biggest issue to date is cars veering out of their lane, sometimes into oncoming traffic.  To Tesla's defense, the software update was in Beta mode, and owners were cautioned to keep their hands on the wheel at all times.  More to follow, I'm sure...

Week 3 - Tesla autonomous cars

And just like that, Tesla has created a software upgrade to their popular Model S, thereby allowing users to download an update for autonomous driving.  It's not a free upgrade, but the $2,500 cost seems relatively reasonable when compared to the $75k asking price of the car itself. 
Apparently, it's not a perfect system.  It requires the lanes to be clearly marked, plus can be confused by bad weather.  However, being the first iteration, it will only be a matter of time before the next version is exponentially better than the first.
The next time you see a Tesla Model S on the highway, it could quite possibly be driving itself!

Second Life

Second life appears to have a number of useful applications, not which of the least are virtual work solutions.  In today's global economy, with many companies having ties around the world, having a method (virtual workspace) to interact, likely lends to a more productive workforce. 
One potential downside to virtual interaction is failing to separate the virtual world from the real.  It seems there are many instances where people might act irrationally or improperly due to being "safe" in a virtual world.  A productive tool, for sure.  But one that is best used in a balanced way.

Week 2 - Automating farming

A Japanese company, called Spread, is looking to fully automate, by way of robots and other computer technology, farming methods for lettuce.  They currently produce 7.7 million heads a year, but are looking to expand capabilities by 2017 by way of a new facility.  There are many positives to this endeavor, to include cheaper production and being more environmentally friendly (less water, space requirements, and artificial lighting through renewable sources).  The biggest benefit, in my opinion, is there would be no need to spray pesticides, as farming is all indoors.  It seems all good and well, but the article also mentions this method will cut employment costs by 50%, which surely translates into people out of work.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/the-world%e2%80%99s-first-fully-robotic-farm-opens-in-2017/ar-AAfcB1w

Week 1 - Virtual assistant from Amazon

This is about a "new" product I've just recently seen called the Amazon Echo.  It's been out for almost a year now, but has undergone improvements to its capabilities during that timeframe.  It's basically a wireless music speaker and a virtual assistant.  The amazing part, to me at least, is the fact it takes all commands via voice -- think Siri, etc.  At introduction, "Alexa" ("her" name, and how she is awoken), had somewhat limited ability.  As with many products of this nature, it continues to improve and evolve with more useful features.  I've heard "her" speak on television, and I can only imagine what features the next gen product will have.  Just listening to her has me convinced we'll all have a virtual assistant, of some capacity, in the very near future. 

Introduction

I joined CIS 120 to not only fulfill a degree requirement, but to stay up-to-date on computer technology that is quickly outpacing my current knowledge.  I am not a techy, but I also realize how vital computers are to our everyday life; therefore, it would be foolish to put my head in the sand and hope it all just goes away. 
During this term, I'm hoping to get myself back up to speed on the latest computer technology on the market.  I also hope to brush up on skills I already have an understanding of, yet not to the fullest extent possible or even necessary.  I don't feel as if there's ever too much I can know about computers.