Tag: future

Categories
Uncategorized

The Cheaters Edition…

So, I was relaxing at home one evening… and watching a bit of TV (I know.. crazy right, how on Earth I get time to watch a bit of TV is beyond me!) but there I was, watching a bit of TV and an advert came on for Monopoly.. The Cheaters Edition!!

We’ve all been there…. at family get-togethers, Christmas, Events, etc…

… and there’s always one, (or two) who cheat! – So this, in my opinion, is a great idea!!! – The Cheaters Edition!

I’m so going to buy this!

But it really got me thinking – I remember, when I was a kid, there was one version of Monopoly.

Today, there’s a few…

And then.. there’s Digital versions – that’s right, you can download a version onto your phone/tablet. You can play it on the computer – you can play against friends… there’s so many options!

Then… there’s the collaboration with McDonalds!

Shows the diversity of the original game.

And that’s only a great thing.

This is exactly what should be happening. Looking at variation to appeal to new customers, crowds and consumers.

Looking at how to engage with different ages. Looking at how to attract more customers. Looking at how to grow the brand – moving it into digital.

If you own a business or work in a company, how are you ensuring you keep growing and keep attracting customers?

By the way… I wasn’t one of the ‘cheaters’ at the traditional Christmas Monopoly game in the Bansal household… honest. 🙂

Categories
Uncategorized

Weather Technology…

Who remembers when the weather was simple, and straight to the point? – you know what I mean… Michael Fish on the BBC using those magnetic symbols…

What a throwback! – love the shirt!!

You know where I’m going to go with this… that’s right, why haven’t I got a shirt like that!!

Ok… the magnetic symbols were replaced by TV screens. Why? – because it was easier, quicker and less work for Michael to do.

That’s right – the Screen Technology helped to quickly move around different regions of the country – zoom in and be more specific about weather. Remember the remote control they used to hold – where they’d press the button to move the screen to the next one! – fabulous times….

What technology did… and does today, is improve the process.

The process is – the weather person to share with us what the weather is going to be like. Is it going to rain. Will it be warm. How windy will it be…. etc…  Technology helps the whole process and experience.

With advancements in Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality – combine the two and we now have ‘Mixed Reality’ – there’s so much more you can do.

You can immerse yourself in the weather! – well… we’re getting there.

One weather channel used technology to share what the weather will be like.. but not only what it’d be like, but show what will be happening. In this case, it’s a hurricane. Lots of rain. Lots of wind.

Now we can imagine what it’d be like. But showing it – well, that’s a whole new experience.

Rather than me talking about here… here’s the weather video…

Remember… it’s about the process…. AND the Experience – make it memorable.

Categories
Uncategorized

Review of Apple’s Event… and the New iPhones

Yesterday… Apple had their Event. Their main conference.

Some brilliant new items were announced, along with the new operating system… iOS12. Did you follow it? – Have you watched it all? – if not… don’t worry, I’ll summarise it here for you.

1. New iWatch

That’s right – there’s a new iWatch.

Packed with many new features – like it detects when you fall over, and has much more going on the watch face – but the one feature that really stands out is that it’s got the ability to carry out an ECG! Detecting low and high heart rates, shows Apple is leading the way with wrist worn health care technology.

2. New iPhone XS

Let’s be honest, the iPhone X has been a major success. It’s features (face recognition and much more) has been well recieved by customers. And now… well, there’s been an upgrade! You can now have the iPhone XS.

In fact, you can have an XS or an XS Max! The Max has a bigger screen… bigger screen than what you’d look at on an iPhone 8 Plus!

We were expecting it… and oh boy, doesn’t it look impressive!!

And it’s packed with some brilliant features…

One of the main features which i’m personally looking forward to is the Dual Sim!- that’s right… the iPhones will be able to accommodate 2 sims!!

3. …and one more thing.

The iPhone XR!

That’s right… a ‘lesser version’ of the X. It’ll be available in several colours… and therefore, here’s the full iPhone line up…

iOS12 will also have some great features…grouping messages and notifications on the home screen…. and much more. So much, I’ll have to test it out, and share it with you in an up and coming blog post.

One thing I did like about the Apple Event, was that they announced it on Twitter… and if you ‘liked’ it… then they notified you when it started. Ensuring no-one missed it. Brilliant marketing. But then… wouldn’t expect anything less. It’s all about having the ability to Think Differently.

Categories
Uncategorized

WiFi Enabled Door…

Recently I was sent a brilliant video – of a chap who had some issues with his smart, voice enabled, home.

In case you haven’t seen it – here it is…

Now, the funny thing is – we’re heading in that direction.

Most of us have the Amazon Alexa in our homes, or the Google Home. Both of which carry out commands when we talk to them – and if you don’t have either of them, then I think it’s time you looked at investing in one.

More and more items are becoming ‘connected’ and more and more, we’ll be doing by just talking. Because it’s the easiest thing to do.

To tell someone… or in this case, something… to do something… it easy. Why have to lift the arm, raise the finger and exert that pressure to turn the light off switch off.

Yes – we are becoming more lazy – but you can’t blame it all on technology.

The part of the video that is brilliant, is when he’s trying to get into his house. The voice command doesn’t understand him.

So the door must be connected to the WiFi – and voice controlled. I know I’m beginning to analyse this – but the door should have some feature to open it via an app.

Now this has got me thinking – why aren’t our doors and windows wifi-enabled? When can we have the Next Generation of doors?

Why would you want to have a wifi enabled door? – why not just the lock?

Great point – and yes! – there are wifi (& bluetooth) enabled smart locks you can purchase to attach onto your front door. However there are limitations on what type of doors they’ll work on – maybe I’ll share more on my ‘What Tech items to buy for Christmas’ blog.

But you can see where all this is going… not only plugged in devices –  will be connected to your wifi… but doors, windows (anything… you can power via a battery)…. the possibilities are endless.

Categories
Uncategorized

Toyota & Uber… Could be quite Super!

Yesterday, it was announced that Toyota would invest $500m into Uber.

Was does this mean?

Well, firstly… It means, Uber is now estimated to be worth around $72bn. Quite a jump from the recent valuation of $62bn.

Secondly, It means… Toyota are certain this is the future because they also invested $1bn in Grab (Uber equivalent/competitor/rival in South Asia).

Thirdly, It means.. self-driving cars will be on your roads sooner than we think.

Yes there have been problems, especially when one of Uber’s self-driving SUV’s killed a pedestrian in Arizona, USA. You could call that a big problem.

Uber have been investing… but, being honest, it’s been a struggle for them. Expensive lawsuits… the fatal accident… etc… and sometimes, what you need is, someone to come along – to confirm what you’re doing is right… to ensure you keep going… keep experimenting.

Toyota is doing that. They know that car ownership will be a thing of the past. We can see trends of that in certain cities… where it’s easier, cheaper and quicker to use the train/underground/subway… or even a bike. Why own a car? – there’s so much expense that goes with it… the insurance, road tax, MOT, etc…

It’s very much similar to the ‘Estate Agent’ industry. They’re going through a massive shake-up. Country-wide, who own 50 Estate Agent brands and employ over 8,000 people, have about £200m debt and yesterday had to raise £140m ’emergency funds’ – which they did, with the help of their board.

Go back 3 years… and look how their share price has tumbled….

Why? well… On-line estate agencies have become more popular and more and more people are using them. They’re less and less going to the high street. Countrywide own all the high street estate agents.

Technology is enabling customers to do things quicker and easier.

Toyota know this. They know self-driving technology will, one day, be the norm. We’ll have self-driving cars. There’ll be phases of it… as the technology gets better and better. People won’t want to own cars. They’ll just summon a vehicle to them… use it to get from Point A to Point B.

We kind of do that with taxi’s, right? Summon them to pick us up from Point A and take us to Point B.

Uber made it easier via an App.

Toyota know a thing or two about cars.

Combine the two together…

It’s all about collaboration.

Categories
Uncategorized

Hotels…. why am I still using a card key?

Most of you may know, I travel a lot.

Quite a bit. On planes, through security and immigration. Taxi (usually Uber, mytaxi or Lyft) and to the hotel.

Now, usually… the process of travel is getting a lot easier. I don’t need a ‘paper’ boarding pass… it’s all on my mobile phone. In fact… (not showing off) but I’ve even used my watch!

Uber or mytaxi is also very easy. In fact… up to the point of reaching the hotel, if I didn’t want to… I wouldn’t have to speak to anyone, nor would I need to show any form of payment nor would I need anything to hold (like a receipt or card of some sort).

You know where I’m going with this… why are hotels behind the trend?!

When are hotels going to start rolling out… at high speed and on a large scale… mobile phone door unlocking and entry?

We’ve seen the technology. We know it exists. So why is it taking so long?

Even in some hotels… having to queue up at reception desk… to let them know I’m here… honestly?! – how is it that, Canada know I’ve entered their country by me being able so do all the necessary work via kiosks and computers… but when I’m at the hotel, I need to queue and wait!

Ok, there’s mobile check in now being more readily available at hotels…

But once again… the whole process is not being looked at. The whole process from end to end. From the moment, I need a hotel… to the moment I check out.

We all talk about an integrated world we live in. How more and more ‘things’ are connected. Why aren’t hotels more connected?

Ok… we can’t do everything at once, but there can be improvement steps.

Progress over Perfection.

Why not have some services available via mobile phone. Why not use QR codes. Why not use iBeacons. Why not just do something to make the process a little easier…

Yes – this post has been a bit of a moan. But I also see it as an opportunity.

Opportunity for us to a) think about what we do… and are we looking at the end to end process…. and b) whichever industry we are in, are we really connected? – are we really taking advantage of the various API’s that are available out there… and truly being ‘connected’ and serving our customer the best we can.

By the way… not sure what API’s are? –

noun

COMPUTING
  1. a set of functions and procedures that allow the creation of applications which access the features or data of an operating system, application, or other service.

Watch out for my next blog post… with an IT Architect who’ll explain this a little more…

Categories
Uncategorized

What’s it like, to have non-human colleagues?

At first, you may laugh at the title of this blog…. well, Bal… I have plenty of them now! – well, I say that… they’re non-human in the manner they don’t do much work! (Insert some laughter emoji).

We joke about our colleagues – often comparing how much work they do…. how much work we do… how much work is expected….

But let’s be honest – there’ll always be a level of either doubt or suspicion on how much work is actually being done.

 

You can’t treat humans as robots. And there’s various reasons why… from reasons such as, depends on the tasks – and humans provide a better degree of thinking when it comes to particular problems… to, the creativity and passion side of things.

But then, how can you replace your workforce with robots?

It’s those repetitive tasks… like the boxes that need stacking at the end of the production line, doors onto a car on an assembly line…. maybe, it’s those tasks that require a lot of movement, in the same manner, over and over and over again.

Maybe, the way we start is by job-sharing with a robot.

Alibaba… in China, is doing just that. We can’t just suddenly jump to robot’s taking over…. there needs to be levels of introductions. Maybe this is the first step…

That’s right – the Day begins with these robots receiving their instructions in the morning like the employees would.

They do all the hard lifting, moving around… carrying things, etc… whilst the employee stays more or less in the same position and ensuring a) the work being done is right, b) packed correctly or in a certain way, because it contains variability from pack to pack… and c) able to provide further or new instructions to the robots.

So, is this the future?

I think so. In fact, I reckon so. We’ll see more and more manual tasks being completed by robotos. Then as AI (Artifical Intelligence) is ever so evolving… we’ll see some of the tasks that require variation, not needing humans.

Enjoy the time with your current co-worker… not sure, if the robots will laugh at your jokes.

Categories
Uncategorized

Kicking the year off with CES 2018

What is CES Bal?

CES stands for the Consumer Electronics Show, and is held early January, every year…. where all the top folk who are interested in everything that is electronics (technology) related, gather for a few days…. oh… and, it’s usually held in Las Vegas.

Now, this year – is no different.

There’s various top speakers….

There’s various categories…. (for example, cars)

That’s right- anyone, anywhere, who’s doing something with regards to technology…. is there.

It’s great for people to share… collaborate and educate.

Now, as this goes on for a few days, and there’s all sorts of workshops, presentations, meetings, etc… taking place…. I’ve been doing my research, and found the top 3 items, what people are talking about (and the ones which have been winning awards!)

First up…. we have Sony, and their pet dog. Say ‘hello’ to Aibo, the pet robot dog…

Have a dog? Tired of washing it… picking up its poo….? Well, guess what… for a cool $1,800 you could have this robot dog.

Packed with various sensors on its back, chin, head, etc…. camera in it’s nose (to recognize family members) and OLED eyes…. it seems to be the perfect family pet to have! 2 hours of play… 3 hours of charge… and it even has a camera on it’s back to navigate it’s way to the charging station.

Oh, it’s also got 22 actuators… which means… it’s moving and shaking, in a very realistic manner – or at least, better than any previous models.

Sony are shipping this lovely creatures… can I call them that? – anyway, they’re being shipped with the price tag and a monthly subscription of $27. I personally don’t know the cost of owning a ‘real dog’, but… just the element of not having to pick up poo is warming to me….

Up next… Transportation… say hello to Bell Helicopter, the first flying taxi (in partnership with Uber).

That’s right – step into the first flying taxi.

Uber have been saying for a while – how they’ve been looking at Uber helicopters… Uber planes….. Uber Ice Cream vans…. (we’ll save that for another day). But it looks like their partnership with Bell is ringing in some alarming changes to the way we travel today.

Who needs roads anyway? So congested all the time! – forget that… hit me up to the skies. Bell, bought their cabin to the CES to show, the art of the possible and what they’ve been working on.

Matter of time these electronic helicopters will be cutting down our travel time….

Up next… we have The Wall! – no, not from that obstacle course show from TV… (Ninja Warrior)… but this is from Samsung.

A 146 inch… micro-LED modular built TV.

Built of lots of little micro-LED’s… allows Samsung to vary the size of the TV… So, throw out that little 32 inch you got in the corner of your living room, and start making space for The Wall!

No pricing yet from the fridge and washing machine manufacturer but we’ll soon be seeing these on the high street… or at least on their website, for on-line ordering.

There you go… my top 3 from the CES this year.

Usually, Vegas is sunny and lovely during Jan… I know, i’ve been… but this year, there’s been rain! – That’s right.. the Gods above us, have showered Vegas with some droplets… which have caused blackouts… parts of CES being closed, and therefore – people missing presentations and meetings.

It’s put a little ‘damper’ on the whole event… but with that out of the way, there’s plenty of great stuff going on… even having Alexa sing… ‘I can see clearly now… the rain has gone….’