Standalone Apps for iOS and Android

Google has unveiled standalone apps for Docs, Sheets and Slides.

iOS and Android users can download Google Docs and Sheets.

Although all of the functionality in each standalone app is already available in Google Drive, creating dedicated apps and giving Google the chance to compete with Microsoft Office, whose productivity apps remain popular among iPad users.

The new apps look and feel just like Drive, the main variation being the color scheme, but will allow Google to work on each product independently in order to create the best experience for any type of work.

Source:

Google Docs and Google Sheets Are Now Standalone Apps for iOS and Android. (n.d.). Entrepreneur. Retrieved May 3, 2014, from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/23356

Vhoto

Vhoto, A new app that was launch for the iPhone and iPad, uses the power of video to capture the perfect photo by combining computer vision with machine learning. This tool lets the application begin to understand user preferences. The app evaluates over 20 dimensions, including blur, contrast, action/movement, faces, smiles, novelty and user intent to automatically pick the best frames or the perfect moment from the video. The app is free through the App Store in the U.S. and worldwide.

The new app, which was launched by the co-founder and CEO of Seattle-based Vhoto, Noah Heller said that the app solves two fundamental problems with traditional mobile cameras: 1) hitting the button at the right second to get the perfect shot and 2) choosing between photo and video during life’s most precious moments. The current act of smiling and posing for pictures will soon become outdated.

Source:

Will This App Fundamentally Change the Way We Take Photos?. (n.d.). Entrepreneur. Retrieved May 3, 2014, from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/23354

Embedded Technology

Embedded Technology

From smart watches to health-tracking wristbands and beyond, the market for wearable tech is heating up. The rise of technology has it's pros and cons, and although there may be more pros, we live in a technological world and we need to keep up with the changes.

The opportunity to use technology to really change and improve our lives is by putting smart technology directly inside of our bodies. One example could be placing RFID chips under you skin that store passwords or hold other data.

Google has filed a patent application for a micro camera component that could work in conjunction with the smart contact lens, which has already been developed for people with diabetes. The chips and sensors in the lens are built to track the glucose levels in a person's tears.

While embedded technology can be of great benefits to our health industry and possibly save lives, there are some major concerns that comes with it.

Source:

"The Next Big Thing: Embeddable Tech? | Video." Entrepreneur. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014. <http://www.entrepreneur.com/video/2332

Video Games

Video Games

While video games can be fun and entertaining, there are some positive attributes that some games contributes to our every day lives. Video games can teach business leaders and other professionals within their respective field some important lessons.

The different genre of games enhances certain business skills. For example, Farmville, one of the most popular game on Facebook, can enhance your management skills. Another, Candy Crush, Popular game that can develop strategic and problem solving skills. In the business world, problems and challenges arise that you aren't always prepared for. Sometimes the most obvious solution isn't always the right one and you have to look around and find a better way of doing things to be competitive and stay on top. The same goes for when playing video games.

What are your thoughts on this?

Source:

"3 Things Video Games Can Teach You About Being a Better Business Leader | Video." Entrepreneur. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014. <http://www.entrepreneur.com/video/233

10 Tech Tools Startup Essentials

Thinking about starting your own business?  No matter the size of your company or capital, there are some essential tech tools that will be vital to your establishment, especially if you hope to compete in this new age of wireless networks, mobile devices and next-gen displays. While these products have the potential to help you make money, as a startup your budget plays a major factor in selecting these tools, keeping value, quality, time and style in mind.

Aspire TimelineX 14-inch 4820T

1. Aspire TimelineX 14-inch 4820T notebook computer: A startup computing weapon of choice. Black-brushed aluminum, 1-inch thick and weight 5lb. Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB of memory and 320GB hard drive. The TimelineX can handle even power-hungry, graphics-intensive apps. 2. Samsung BX2050 20-Inch 50 series LED backlit monitor: Samsung is the choice for monitor. 19mm thick, 1000-to-1 contrasts ratio, fast 2 MS response time and two HDMI inputs.  3. Belkin MAX Play Wireless Router with Apps: Best way to connect across your growing office. It offers state-of-the-art MIMO coverage for unparalleled connectivity in radio-wave-polluted areas. 4. Western Digital WD TV Live HD Media Player: Full-HD, 1080p-resolution video, but it is also a network media device fully compatible with Windows 7. 5. KODAK ESP Office 6150: scanning, faxing and copying functions,  affordable ink, Wi-Fi and Ethernet are built in, with direct printing support for BlackBerrys, iPods and iPhones, Documents print at 32 black-and-white or 30 color pages per minute, and the machine

Apple iPhone 4 16G

can copy 27 pages per minute in black and white. 6.

KODAK ESP Office 6150

Microsoft Windows Live Desktop: The newly launched service offers decent versions of Microsoft Word, Outlook and PowerPoint, as well as updated versions of Hotmail, MovieMaker and other media tools online. 7. Apple iPhone 4 16G:  One of The latest model sets the new bar for touch-based smartphones startups. High-quality screen, HD image output and, work tool when complemented by the right apps. 8. Samsung SP-H03 Pico Projector: Palm-sized, 6-ounce pico projector, 1 GB of internal memory, up-to-16-GB microSD slot and a Windows friendly operating system.  9. Duracell Powerhouse USB Charger: This Powerhouse Charger can charge two devices at once and offers something on the order of 60 extra hours of usage.

Cue Acoustic Radio r1

10. Cue Acoustic Radio r1: Hospitality Edition: Now it's time for some fun: injecting the right musical vibe into that business atmosphere. It offers high-quality audio with impressive low-end sound quality, great touch-based control system, particularly for the retail shop.

Is there any item/items missing from the list?

Reference:

"10 Tech Tools Every Startup Needs." Entrepreneur. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. <http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217

Giant Crab

You've heard of the unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, we've also seen the quadrupedal military robot Cheetah and also the bipedal humanoid robot. It seems like every other day some sort of new technology makes us scratch our heads and say, "What's next?" 

KRISO Crabster

A team of researchers from the Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering, ledby Bong-Huan Jun, designed the 1,400-pound autonomous robot crab three years ago. They successfully put the Crabster’s white sea legs to the test for the first time last August to test its maximum underwater depth of 656 feet. From May 12 to June 10, it will be in the Yellow Sea off western Korea with a group of archaeologists to dig its “claws” into 12th-century shipwrecks.  

The Crabster’s creators claim that it’s the biggest ocean-crawling bot in the world. With six-six-foot-long jointed fiberglass “skin” coated aluminum legs jutting out from its bright red and yellow, egg-shaped glass and carbon fiber frame with a radar-based navigation system.

Attach is an animated video illustrating how it operates.

Reference:

"Giant Crab-Like Robot to Plumb the Ocean for Shipwrecks and Treasure." Entrepreneur. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/2331

Computer Vs. Teacher

Are computers replacing teachers?

Soon they day would come, when you can sit at the comfort of your home and attend classes. Change is inevitable and so is technology. Online schooling is already being introduced by universities and colleges where you can earn as much as a postgraduate degree. Classes are taught through various web application and apps to help develop learning. for example animated or recorded videos are uploaded on YouTube channel to illustrate some kind of math problem. Although there are pros and cons to computers, soon enough software and/or web applications will be programmed to mimic teaching and illustrate some sort of teaching to students.

From a futuristic stand point, shouldn't university and schools be skeptical about expanding campuses for facilitating in class teaching ;  because of the development with new technology and the World Wide Web? Although teachers have that extra nurture to teaching that a computer can not offer there are schools that successfully facilitate teaching through computers. For example Sandvika High School in Norway packed away exercise books, textbooks and stationery and made laptops, blogging and social media the center of learning. In conclusion, how soon will teachers become obsolete or less dependent upon to facilitate learning?

Reference:

"Could computers replace teachers in the classroom?." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. <http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-26722092>.

"THE Journal." Teacher vs. Computer. Where Educators Stand in the Technology Revolution --. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. <http://thejournal.com/articles/2002/08/01/teacher-vs-computer-where-educators-stand-in-the-technology-revolution.aspx>.