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Amazon’s Echo Wall Clock is officially back on sale in the United States. The sales for the Wall Clock was paused to sort out bluetooth connectivity issues. Amazon restarted the sales for the Wall Clock after a little less than a month of time and is being sold for $30. Amazon was able to resolve the issue by a new software update and should improve its performance and connectivity. The software update was automatically installed to all Wall Clocks.

The clock is currently ran off of batteries and it has no microphone or speaker of its own. The clock isn’t an Echo device but it is an accessory that uses bluetooth to pair with an existing Echo speaker; which the clock requires an Echo device in order to maximize its potential. A cool aspect of the clock is that you can tell the Echo device to set a timer and there will be a visual countdown with LED lights around the edge of the clock. It’s interesting to see Amazon supplement it’s Echo device with hardware that makes daily hardware around the house more technological advance.

 

Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/alexas-echo-wall-clock-is-up-for-sale-again-after-connectivity-issues/

Google has entered the realm of city planning and development. Google’s sister company, Sidewalk, has contracted with the Canadian government to build a city from the “internet up” in a Toronto neighborhood called, Quayside. This neighborhood is located along the waterfront; therefore, Sidewalk and Toronto are tasked with reimagining and redesigning the city experience for locals. 

This city is expected to be immersed in technology. The city of Toronto and the company have done lots of research as they have spent the last year gathering intel from local residents on how to shape the tech-enabled neighborhood. Therefore, the company is not going directly to the drawing boards and developing a plan but rather is looking to gain insights from regular people to drive their creations. Sidewalk also envisions this city to employ enabling technology that gathers realtime data and adjusts accordingly. For example, the technology within the city would gather data about traffic patterns and adjust the traffic flow to lessen congestion. Furthermore, it would gather data about pedestrian traffic and redirect vehicular traffic so there is no clash between the two groups. There would also be features that would enable heated sidewalks that would detect ice and melt it by automatically heating. There are many other technological integrations that have been brainstormed.

There are, however, many concerns regarding this type of city. The primary concern revolves around the data that is being collected and used to drive this agile technology. Who would govern the data? Who is in charge of protecting the data? Who is even collecting all this data? Moreover, there are many legal ramifications when it comes to this type of project. 

In conclusion, this project stands to be the future of city planning and technology. It would truly be fascinating and an incredible experience to live in a tech-enabled city. Its potential has no ceiling and can really change this world as we know it. 

Sources:

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/06/29/google-city-technology-toronto-canada-218841

Current solar panel technology can trap around 15% of the solar energy that hits its surface. This means that up to 85% of that energy is wasted. Until recently, it was generally too expensive for families to buy more efficient solar panels. The more efficient panels were also highly specialized and not often sold for residential use.

It was recently discovered that by using a tiny amount of solar cells on a panel and focusing them on the sunlight will enhance the efficiency by as much as 15%. Using satellites in orbit, scientists were able to test the new strategy. On top of the solar cells, the scientists placed honeycomb-shaped lenses to bend light into a narrow beam.The cells moved along with the sun to keep the sunlight focused on the cells as well. The test achieved as much as 37% efficiency, a jump of 22% over traditional solar panels. 

While the new strategy will be difficult to implement and ads a layer of complexity to traditional solar panels, it will be a great way to harness more solar energy. Other tests on the ground were also very successful, making scientists very optimistic for the new strategy to become more mainstream. They are expected to hit the market in 2022. 

 

Source : 

https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/19/these-hyper-efficient-solar-panels-could-actually-live-on-your-roof-soon/

https://insolight.ch/ 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audi has just added a few more cities to its newest technology, vehicle-to-infrastructure. V2I wirelessly sends traffic light information to your car using LTE and can provide data like, how much longer a red light will stay red, or if you can make your next approaching green light. In the instance where you may not make the green, Audi will tell you to coast to the intersection to save gas or speed up to make the light (speeding up would be the norm I assume). 

Audi’s advance system will display timers on the dashboard and give tips on if you have enough time to queue up a song you would like to play. Of course, all of these features will come at a premium. You will receive the first six months free, but afterwards the pricing starts at $199 for six months, or $599 for 18 months if you wish to keep the feature. 

Right now, only 4,700 intersections are supported, or 13 U.S. cities, with Audi slowly getting more partnerships as time goes on. Unfortunately, Philadelphia is not one of the supported cities and the closest city being Washington, D.C. Still, this is a wonderful advancement in automotive technology that can save time, gas, and patience. 

 

source: https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/audi-traffic-light-information-expansion/

As many people know, QVC was known as the shopping channel. The host or hostess would demo products on live television from clothes and beauty to kitchen appliances. Seeing these live demonstrations transformed the customer’s shopping experience. Amazon, the e-commerce tech giant, has decided to take their own spin on QVC with the launch of “Amazon Live”. Users can view various live shows by Amazon talent. It can be viewed on their website and also their mobile applications. 

Amazon has always been interested in live streaming since their acquisition with Twitch, a popular streaming platform. Amazon is always on the hunt to upgrade their company and implement new ideas. You’ve seen their recent acquisition of Whole Foods Market which enabled “Amazon Fresh”. I always wonder what’s next with them. Last year, I heard they bought an online pharmacy company, PillPack. However, there are many issues such as licensing and the fact it could disrupt the whole pharmaceutical market. 

What companies do you think is Amazon’s next target?

https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/08/amazon-live-is-the-retailers-latest-effort-to-take-on-qvc-with-live-streamed-video/

The loot box is quite a daunting term when it comes to Video Games. FIFA, Call of Duty, and various other games have them. If you are not sure what they are; they are essentially something you buy that gives you a random chance at items. These could be strictly cosmetic or actually useful. The biggest issue with this is that it causes people to get hooked like gambling does. “One more hand” or “one more roll” can now be “one more box” while on the search for something valuable. This is especially damaging because children like to play these games. It is absolutely adequate to play these games without touching loot boxes, but kids may not realize that. Their parents often have their credit card information hooked up to the gaming system in the house, and this leads to financial chaos. The children might continue to buy and buy until they get something from these packs. It’s like gambling with someone else’s money. The worst part is that it exposes children to this environment at an early age, and could leave their parents missing money in the process.

Regulators in some countries have tried to put a stop to this. 15 European Union countries agreed that this is a problem to look into. Belgium outright banned loot boxes since they decided it fell under their gambling laws. This resulted in large companies pulling out loot boxes completely in Belgium. This resulted in the cause gaining momentum in the United States. Those efforts have since stalled, however. Lobbying from the big video game companies have curbed any progress that has been made in this regard. I guess money talks, and $3o billion is plenty for political leaders to step down from this issue.

source: https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/19/18226852/loot-boxes-gaming-regulation-gambling-free-to-play

Tesla pushed an over the air update that include a feature call dog mode. This feature uses automatic sensors to maintain a comfortable temperature for pets inside the vehicle when you have to run errands, such as inside a grocery store, while also displaying a message in giant letters that the owner will return soon and display interior temperature to passers-by who might become concerned for pets left in the car. This is good for dog owners who bring their pet with them and had to make a stop somewhere real quick during hot or cold weather. In addition with the message being displayed passerby might be less worry about the pets inside the car, and won’t have to get others involve to break into the car to let some cool air in.

 

 

 

 

 

Source: https://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/motoring/tesla-s-new-dog-mode-will-keep-pets-safe-in-hot-cars-1.827428

During the 2018 holiday season, Apple saw a surge in AirPod sales. The AirPods have become a cultural phenomenon – consumers making memes out of the headphones and supposedly “flexing” in them. The AirPods got a slow start when they were released in September 2016 but have essentially gone viral over the last 6 months. The explosion in the headphones could not have come at a better time. Apple has been struggling to convince investors of its future projections but the AirPods have shown that Apple can still produce viral, highly-marketable products. Apple successfully merged both fashion and technology with the AirPods. If you were to watch a sporting event or E! you would see both athletes and celebrities using AirPods because they are now seen as a fashion statement.

With the growing popularity of wearable technologies, consumers are speculating the next generation of AirPods will adopt some Apple Watch technology. The new AirPods could possibly monitor cardiac rhythms and record other sophisticated readings. The new generation of AirPods will join Apple’s biomarker-recording technology. If an individual wears AirPods all day, the data collected can test and predict health irregularities and save lives. We can expect AirPod sales to continually increase as the popularity of wearable technology increases.

Do you think AirPods will continue to boost sales for Apple? Can you think of any other examples of wearable technology that Apple may release?

 

source: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/apple-s-airpods-once-punchline-emerge-flex-financial-force-n970541