Kindle Library Lending

Announced today April 20, 2011 Amazon's Kindle will finally support library lending.

Later this year, Kindle owners and those who run Amazon's Kindle apps will be able to borrow books from over 11,000 local libraries.  While playing catch-up with the Nook and Sony Reader, Amazon needed a way to differeniate their Kindle lending among the competition.  Jay Marine, Amazon Kindle's director states, "Normally, making margin notes in library books is a big no-no. But we're extending our Whispersync technology so that you can highlight and add margin notes to Kindle books you check out from your local library. Your notes will not show up when the next patron checks out the book. But if you check out the book again, or subsequently buy it, your notes will be there just as you left them, perfectly Whispersynced."

I'm sure Amazon will see great benefits from their Kindle sales by adding this library lending feature.  I personally know a handful of people that were opposed to purchasing the Kindle for this particular reason and chose to buy a Sony Reader instead.

Direct Wi-FI is a threat to Bluetooth

You may soon be able to transfer content between Wi-Fi-enabled devices in your home or office without having to set up a Wi-Fi router. In October of 2010, industry association Wi-Fi Alliance began certifying consumer electronic gadgets that can connect directly to other Wi-Fi devices. The technology is, in effect, an alternative to Bluetooth wireless connectivity.

Devices marked with the new Wi-Fi Direct label can connect to older Wi-Fi devices. Mobile phones, cameras, printers, PCs and gaming devices can now connect to each other directly to transfer content and share applications. Devices can make a one-to-one connection, or a group of several devices can connect simultaneously. How this might work: Your Wi-Fi Direct device will signal to other devices in the area that it can make a connection. You can view available devices and ask them to connect, or you might receive an invitation to connect to another Wi-Fi Direct device.

Chipmakers including Intel, Broadcom and Atheros have already announced Wi-Fi Direct products. If Wi-Fi Direct takes off, Bluetooth’s is looking to have a dim future...

Boom in Tablet Market

Apple and other electronics makers will generate $49 billion in sales of tablet computers by 2015, amid booming demand for devices that bridge the gap between smartphones and laptops. The strategic trend here is for personal and mobile computing to shift away from keyboards to touchscreens. The tablet may surpass all other consumer electronic devices by sales, except for personal computers and TVs.

When tablet developers begin gearing devices more toward content creation than consumption, the market may easily extend beyond $49 billion. It can be assumed that at least for the next couple of years, Apple will be the leader. This is going to be a fast-growing market and there's going to be a lot of announcements over the next one-to-two years, but very few of them are actually going to survive in the long run.  While tablet prices will begin to decline in about two years, Apple's "aggressive" pricing leaves little room for rivals to cut prices significantly.

Double Screened Phones

No one's really excited by a slide-out keyboard anymore, but you'd be surprised about much attention Sprint's Echo is getting for it's double-screen feature.

At first glance, the Kyocera Echo from Sprint looks like a normal Android touch-screen smartphone—although a chunky one. But a special hinge allows the Echo's top screen to shift up, over and snap down beside a second screen hidden beneath. The two screens correspond with each other to create what looks like one large screen, but one that also allows a different app to run on each screen, or display two activities from the same app on each screen.

The seven apps that can run in what Kyocera calls Simul-Task Mode—a different app on each screen—include email, Web browsing, contacts, gallery, phone, messaging and VueQue—a way of showing YouTube videos on one screen and a queue of upcoming videos on the other. For Simul-Task, users must simultaneously tap a finger on each screen, which displays a menu on both screens showing the seven apps. Each screen will run the app that's selected on it.

 

More Facebook on Smart Phones

I'm talking about RockMelt, the latest  Web browser that continuously displays information from Facebook, Twitter and news feeds on the left and right edges of its browser window. It lets users instantly share Web content with their social networks, or chat with Facebook friends without ever opening the Facebook site. And RockMelt, which was released to the public last month, runs on the same technical underpinnings as the Google Chrome browser, giving it the ability to run any of Google's 3,700 Web Store apps within the browser.

A fan favorite feature of the RockMelt app is that it and the PC Web browser are constantly synchronized. This means any new bookmarks or news feeds I added on either the PC or the iPhone, or any articles marked as View Later—a helpful tool that saves links for accessing at a later time— will be mirrored on both platforms within seconds.

However there is a slight drawback for the mobile version: a dynamic search function and friends. The PC version of RockMelt has a search box that automatically includes your Facebook friends in each search and suggests links to Web content in a drop-down screen as you go. The mobile app's search is limited to a simple Google search box.But the mobile app is missing two key chunks that make this browser so socially comprehensive on the PC: a dynamic search function and friends. The PC version of RockMelt has a search box that automatically includes your Facebook friends in each search and suggests links to Web content in a drop-down screen as you go. The mobile app's search is limited to a simple Google search box.

Tracking Down Email Addresses

The tool called Peepmail, created by Samy Kamkar who is known for the 2005 virus that took down myspace, promises to deliver email addresses for everyone from Steve Jobs to the random guy's business card you lost. Many email servers will tell the sender whether the address is valid, even before the message is sent.

When a user enters the name and company into Peepmail, the program tests permutations of the name until the company's email server responds with a message that indicates the address is valid. Before any emails go through, the program aborts the communication, so the person being looked up doesn't know it's happening.

I guess we don't have much privacy left these days..

Smarter Appliances

Samsung Electronics wants to become the biggest U.S. large-household-appliance brand by making refrigerators smarter. Samsung and LG Electronics aim to carry over their leadership in products such as cell phones, TVs, and personal computers into the development of household items that can be remotely turned on and off, connect with repair staff, display recipes, or play music. Smart appliances will completely replace traditional machines by 2020.

Right now Whirlpool has 41.5 percent of U.S. appliance sales, while Samsung holds less than 1 percent of the market and LG has 8.7 percent.  Samsung's U.S. appliance sales have jumped sixfold in the past four years, making it one of the fastest-growing brands in that market, Senior Vice-President James Politeski says. One new refrigerator features separate temperature and humidity settings for different compartments. "Our goal is to be the No. 1 appliance brand in the U.S.," Politeski says.

Baseball Tech Updates

Professional sports teams are attempting at a furious rate to lure fans away from the comfort of their couches to live games. And sweet technological upgrades to their home venues become a bigger selling point every year.

Phillies fans will get to watch live game action on a new 76-by-97-foot LED high-def scoreboard in left field. The old scoreboard, which was installed for Citizen Bank Park's 2004 debut, has been relocated to the Phils' spring training facility in Clearwater, Florida. The team partnered with Daktronics and Sony Electronics' System Solutions Group on the new 84,000-square-foot 'board, whose 2.9 million pixels dwarfs the former scoreboard's 459,000-pixel display.

Fans get to view one of the clearest scoreboards in the world. Its HD-15 display and 1,512 lines of resolution surpass that of the standard for 1080p HD video boards, and its LED technology allows it to show up to 144 quadrillion shades of color.

Citizens Bank Park's in-house video departments were also improved from standard to HD, including the video-coaching facility. Mark DiNardo, the Phillies' director of broadcasting and video services, told Wired.com the upgrade will most benefit the scouting and self-analysis performed by the team's coaches and players. "They voiced a concern to upgrade," DiNardo said, "and our management heard that concern."

GOO PHILS!!  :)

Smaller Social Networks

How many people do you know with over 300 facebook friends? Most likely, a lot. 

Newer more private social networking sites are being developed to connected with a smaller group of people.  Sites like "Path", users are only allowed about 50 friends or so to only share intimate details with a more controlled group of people.  Additionally more sites are beginning for other uses like moms looking for playdates, RedRover and people wanting to chat in text message groups, Group.me.

After recently being launched in November, "Path" already has hundreds of thousands of users and has accepted about $11.2 million in funding.  The only question now is how long will these sites last? Could they be the next big thing? Or just fads, like MySpace, that people will get bored of and move on to something else?  For now they're all the rage!

Squeaky Clean Robots

As a child, did you ever want a robot around to help you do your chores?  I know i did! Now there actually is a technological device that is taking care of cleaning floors, something nobody ever wants to do!

Scooba, a product from iRobot priced in a $300 package, is less than half the size and weight of its larger and pricier predecessors, giving it the ability to scoot into tough-to-reach spots, like behind most bathroom toilets, gross. This device is smart enough to separate clean water from dirty water as it goes—instead of just regurgitating the same water and pushing it across the floor, like a mop. Loading the robot with water and cleaning solution takes just a minute, robbing even the laziest people of an excuse for not cleaning. And its compact size makes it easy to store.  Scooba comes with four removable bottom plates, which are plastic pieces that hold its squeegee and brushes, and four packets of cleaning solution. The solution costs $12 a bottle when purchased separately, and one bottle lasts for 64 cleanings. Two small, battery-powered devices called Virtual Walls also come with the Scooba. When the power is on, these devices project a beam that Scooba won't cross, so they can be placed in front of an opened door or set up to restrict the robot to a certain area in one room.

Sounds like a dream come true right?  The only downfall this device seems to have in comparison with it's earlier models is that it doesn't have the ability to vaccuum prior to scrubbing floors.  So the user would actually have to make themselves useful and sweep before allowing the device to maneuver and clean around the room.

Ford's Technology Plans for the Future...

Ford's Sync is an infotainment system based on Microsoft Corp. software that pairs with a driver's Bluetooth phone. Sync initially was designed to control music devices and cell phones.

Mark Fields, Ford's President, speaking at the Automotive News World Congress, said Ford plans to develop more entertainment, infotainment, navigation, cell phone connectivity, and Wi-Fi technologies for its car and light-truck lineup. Fields said 46 percent of Sync owners want Wi-Fi in their next vehicle.

Navigation remains the most desired in-vehicle technology among consumers, he said, followed by the ability to integrate a cell phone in the car for hands-free communication.

Ford will hire 750 salaried engineers, software architecture designers, and other technology experts this year as part of its effort to bring new vehicles and new technology to market. The company sees wider profits and a chance to attract more 18- to 24-year-old consumers by offering more in-vehicle technology. Fields says, "

These people are game-changers, addressing a whole new generation of consumer needs and desires".

Virtual Gift Cards

How many times have you received a gift card and never redeem the entire amount?  As many as 20% of gift cards are never or partially used.

Virtual gift cards differ from traditional plastic ones because they're sent digitally and can often be tailored to any value, including small, unrounded amounts. Sometimes, they are delivered just as a shopper considers making a purchase.  These make it easier for consumers to send and redeem gifts, often in small amounts, by relying on e-mail, mobile phones, or a social-networking site.  That would benefit users  as well as merchants, which often can't recognize revenue from gift cards until they are used.  Additionally in late 2010, a website called Plastic Jungle, allows consumers to buy and sell unwanted gift cards.  It is said that virtual gift cards will take off in the next 3-5 years and could possibly steal transactions from credit cards and checks.

Don't Text and Drive

Yes, technology is fascinating.  So fascinating that many people, teens especially, can't even get away from their phones and the web while behind the wheel.  To prevent accidents from occuring from texting and driving, some California labs are selling devices that detect when the phone is in use by the driver.  The system locks the screen, sends all calls directly to voicemail, and blocks message alerts.  For teen drivers, it also lets parents see what is happening with the device while the teen is driving by simply logging in on the web.  Who would have thought that there would be a technology that limits our technology use!

Speaking of Collaboration...

Skype is now trying to gain popularity in the businessworld.  Skype currently allows two users to video chat free of charge.  Their new strategy involves a paid service called GoToMeeting.  Much like Window's LiveMeeting which will be a big competitor, GoToMeeting will allow users to dial in by phone and video chat and share documents among many users.  This will create more participants and capabilites, things that are in very high demand in the corporate world!

Homework Assignment: To Tweet?

Sprint Nextel Corp. is sponsoring college classes and graduate-level research to get help with their online marketing from the young and hyperconnected. Sprint provided students in an online marketing class at Emerson College with 10 smartphones with unlimited wireless access. In exchange, students blogged, tweeted, produced YouTube videos and posted Facebook updates about the launch of Sprint's 4G network in Boston.

This is an interestin approach.  Obviously the two front runner phone network companies are AT&T and Verizon.  Does Sprint have a chance to grow and expand using the social networking media?  To my knowledge, AT&T and Verizon have not already done this, and considering how addicted people are to things like Facebook and Twitter, Sprint may have the right idea!

Facebook Movies?

Does anyone even buy CDs or DVDs these days? Everything can be done online.  In order to boost sales and increases revenues, Warner Bros has said they will begin renting movies through Facebook.  I guess they realize everyone has a serious addiction to the social networking site so this would make perfect sense.  One of the first movies they will release will be hit, The Dark Knight.  How it works is if you "like" a movie on Facebook you can pay to watch it online with 30 Facebook Credits which is equivalent to $3.  For doing this, Facebook will get 30%.  This $3 price seems pricey compared to RedBox DVDs which you can rent for just a buck, however Apple's iTunes movie store charges $3 as well.

Electronic Contracts?

Apparently courts are ruling that e-mail may carry the same weight as traditional ink on paper contracts.  In 2000, Congress enacted the E-SIGN law which validated certain contracts in electronic form and electronic signatures.  Lawmakers designed E-SIGN to recognize that, “a signature, contract, or other record relating to a transaction may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form.”

Apples and Pears Used To Be Just Fruits..

The Peel control uses a device you may already own—an iPhone or iPod Touch and doesn't require plugging any hardware into the device, or cables into the TV. Instead of lists of channels, it shows you pictures and summaries of the shows that are on, by genre. You don't even have to know what channel they're on, you just click "Watch on TV" and it takes you to the show. While it can control various devices, like DVD players or Apple TVs, it doesn't require you to recall which input each is on. It switches TV inputs automatically and presents an appropriate virtual remote for each device, controlled by touch and gesture on your iPhone's or iPod Touch's screen.  It consists of a free app, plus a small, $100 battery-powered wireless hardware transmitter that's shaped like a pear and called a "fruit." You can just put it on a coffee table or bookshelf near your TV.

Tablets, Tablets, Tablets

PCs finally seem as if they are being phased out.  With this whole tablet craze, Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc., said that the tech industry is in the "post-PC" era.  Demand for PCs is predicted to decrease substantially.  Laptop shipments, which are in the high-growth category , are now expected to increase 14.6% in 2011 instead of 25.1%.  The smaller mobile PCs, netbooks, sales decline by 49% at the end of 2010.

E-ZPass

As I mentioned in my introduction video, I know very little about technology.  So prior to the RFID discussion in class, I had no idea what that was.  Something that I didn't even realize at the time was that there is an RFID chip located in my car!

We have RFIDs to thank when we avoid the long toll lines during our road trips!  E-ZPass is a system which works in a pre-paid mode where the driver pays access fee for a month and gets his or her vehicle fitted with a transponder that is placed inside their windscreen.  In the event that the driver whose vehicle is fitted with E-ZPass comes near a toll the part that has the E-ZPass goes though a tailor made booth possessing a unique antenna.

More About eBooks

Believe it or not, you can now actually wirelessly download eBooks from your local library if you have an iPad or Andriod tablet.

A company called OverDrive Inc. has released a free app from Apple's App Store which allows users to borrow books on the go from the tablet.  You can already borrow an eBook from a library using an eReader, including the Sony Reader and Barnes & Noble Nook, but you'll need a PC and a USB cable for downloading and synching. Amazon's Kindle doesn't allow borrowing eBooks from libraries.

Of course the biggest plus is that this is free.  While Apple iBooks, the Kindle, and the Nook's books are priced at approximately $10 a piece, you can borrow from libraries with this specific app for free since the library will still pay for licensing just as they do for physical books.  However, if the book is checked out, you will need to wait till it is returned to check it out yourself.

Online Coupons and Discounts

The combination of the recession and the obsession society has with their technological devices, has made shoppers become more savvy and has allowed them to save big bucks.


Coupons that arrive in your mobile inbox are hot right now, giving shoppers a less cluttered way to ask for a discount. Sites like Coupon Sherpa not only share big discounts for travel, jewelry, books and more - they also have their own iPhone app. Just flash your iPhone display to the cashier to redeem lots of member-only perks or one of hundreds of savings offers that are available to the public. If you're shopping online, keep an eye out for discount codes that can be entered for instant savings, free shipping or gift add-ons. Sites like CouponMountain collect these codes for you, and can save you a lot of money. You now can even text to save! Many companies are now rewarding customers with coupons and even gift cards when they text to a specific number.

Differences between Verizon iPhone & AT&T iPhone

As many of us know there are different Blackberry models for Verizon and AT&T. Is this the same for Apple's newest iPhone 4?

Why of course.  Unlike the different appearances of Blackberry models, the iPhone 4 has virtually the same feature set.  However the differences between the two lie in the technology behind it. the first difference is the antenna inside.  The Verizon iPhone is compatible with the 3G EV-DO standard (not 4G LTE despite the carrier's huge launch of 4G-compatible devices at CES), with data download speeds of up to 1.4Mbps. The AT&T iPhone is compatible with the UMTS standard, which can achieve download speeds of up to 3Mbps.  Since the Verizon iPhone is not based on the latest 4G LTE standard, the AT&T iPhone can theoretically achieve faster download speeds than the Verizon model.  But because AT&T's network is less reliable, the speed would actually depend on where you live and how good the coverage is at that location.  Lastly, Verizon iPhone users are not able to multitask while AT&T users can surf the Web while talking on the phone.

Social Networking in the Business World

While social networking has gone on almost as long as societies themselves have existed, the unparalleled potential of the Internet to promote such connections is only now being fully recognized and exploited, through Web-based groups established for that purpose. What is social networking? Social networking is the practice of expanding the number of one's business and/or social contacts by making connections through individuals.

It all started with BBS, Bulletin Board System, which gained popularity though the 80s and into the early 90s that were online meeting places which allowed users to communicate with a  central system where they could download files or games and post messages to other users. Compuserve and the ever popular AOL followed which let members in the AOL "community" create profiles and list details about themselves which was one of the service's most forward thinking features. Between 2003-2004 came three extremely popular networking sites: LinkedIn, Myspace, & Facebook. LinkedIn was a more sophisticated approach and allowed business people to connect with other professionals. Myspace and Facebook took off and were targeted more toward teens and college students but have been rapidly expanding to people of all ages as well as internationally. The United States, China, and Germany are the top three country with the most unique visitors for social networking sites and have growth rates from 23%-47%.

In 2010, the marketing expenditures for social networking were about $2 billion; however, by 2015 the budget is expected to increase to an astonishing $24 billion.  Advertisements on Facebook allow companies to specifically target consumers based on their interests, activities, as well as their school or location. If a user "likes" something on Facebook, the company can track other online interactions. There is also a ton of free publicity especially through the site, Twitter. Different tweets can stimulate consumers interest in products and allow them to follow them specifically and keep customers up to date.  Additionally, you can form Twitter endorsement deals for example, Kim Kardashian receives $10,000/tweet when she tweets about which products or services she uses to create buzz. Since everyone these days are constantly on these social media sites, it is a great way for companies to also deal with public concerns, informing customers of new product launches, and build customer trust.