The Bluetooth technology is an interesting piece of equipment for the phone that helped to deliver a hands free system of mobile phone usage. The typical Bluetooth has a range of 3 meters and allows hands free communication when applied as a headset. Because of the low battery usage from the device it is able to provide less of an interference depending on the distance from its hub. Because the device uses radio transmission the Bluetooth set does not have to be in direct sight of the hub object. The Bluetooth system runs on a master-slave platform where any Bluetooth in the are is able to connect to another within a given distance. These systems then connect and exchange information. This process is able to provide usage and compatibility with items such as phones, printers, car radio and so on. The main difference noted between wifi and Bluetooth is what their main intentions are as systems. Wifi was built with the intention of replacing a hardline with a portable network station where as Bluetooth is meant for portable systems and applications.
Of all the tech items I have been privy to witness the one I think will have the greatest world impact is the Spacial statistics analysis. This is for multiple reason that I will delve into, first being the logistical impact on companies and urban planning. Second is the potential or demographic knowledge to enhance living experience through shopping, education, and health/fitness. Third and final, the easy to use interface that all small and large city planners can use to employ positive techniques for their perspective area.
When looking into urban planning this piece of tech is able to calculate all of the phones within a given area and create a demographic distribution of citizen on a per block bases. The only downside would be that all citizen need to be using Docomo phones in order to be connected to the demographic distribution. However while still protecting user privacy this piece of tech can show where congested areas are located which can be used to develop more subway locations or other apartments to eliminate congestion. When thinking about this further, if Docomo were able to give this information to delivery systems such as UPS the travel time on items could be cut down drastically because they could map out the fastest routes will real time congestion monitors.
Having population statistics on the ready could allow prospective companies to see where their companies may do the best through demographics and population traffic. Companies often thrive on a particular demographic to which their merchandise or speciality is sold. Knowing who is in a particular community whether it be a college town or family homes may make the difference of a successful business or not. Understanding key areas in community such as safety points may also prevent injuries during disasters. Having the capability to map out specific directions for towns to leave and where to head to is crucial for civilians who may not be familiar with the area or do not know where the disaster may be occurring. Small steps like these are possible for enhancing the lives of the residents around the cities.
I personally loved the interface of this tech. They used a touch screen TV that was simple to command and had incredibly fluid motions. The overall presentations were easy to follow and the actions were guided by a voice that was easy to understand. The thing that made this so comprehensive to the average user is that there is no need to be a tech guru to use it. The majority of the movements are gliding over areas and clicking. Charts and graphs are set in the presentation for presentations that require statistics.
When looking from a real world standpoint this piece of tech has real potential for positive change in communities. Overall understanding urban planning and recognizes areas for improvement can greatly improve individual well being and considering the ease of use nearly anyone can use the information system.
The idea of ubiquitous computing is one where all computing projects are fully integrated into our society so much that we are not aware that they are around us. One can consider this to the common day billboard ad, we see them so much they become subliminal in their messaging. Computers are seemingly all around us from the appliances in out kitchen to all of the products we use for work whether a printer or computer. A theory that is beginning to arise among the computing concept are computers that have the potential to think for themselves and detect things that would others wise go undetected. This can be in the form of a refrigerator understanding when food is going stale or when an item is running low. This can either be taken further to AI that assists with everyday living. The idea of this concept has been around for quite a while in fiction novels and scifi however the term was coined in 1988 when the idea became more of a consequential reality rather than fantasy.
Social media allows a group of individuals, communities, organization and other to keep on constant contact, create and share information to develop a virtual community. The social media trend to always be connected has moved into the mobile phone area. Originally computers were the link to social platforms however the strong desire to take friends anyway has developed a need for a more mobile concept. This personalization for the user has become one of the new age models for companies. Providing a tailored feel for the client has moved the social networking cites into a advertising hub for companies. Companies are able to advertise to users on the platform by what they look at the most on Facebook for instance. However companies in this age live or die on how they market themselves to the user. Considering 1 in 6 people globally are on a platform the possibilities are nearly endless. However when marketing there are rules to follow in order to keep or attract attention from potential customers. The frequency of posting is important when projecting who is coming on your site. Once luring into the site the profile page must be unique and friendly to the user as to attract attention about the product and keep the content interesting so the user feels as though they need more. The new age of social platforms in my opinion are the new age of marketing for companies. TV and radio do not provide the tailored experience that the internet can offer so I believe a swift change will be seen.
The creation of the gaming systems we see today are in thanks to the computing power of computers dating back to the late 1940s however did not become a main stream success until the later part of the 70s. When looking into todays gaming society we have hit the current 7th generation (Xbox 360, PS3) and are expecting the eighth within the next year. The growth and advancement of the gaming industry has come quiet a long way since its original invention. In the first stages of gaming due to the low tech fo the operating systems, many games were placed on one hard drive such as arcade machines because they could not handle multiple games. From a business standpoint this was a pay to play model and was the primary revenue for the companies. Moving forward technology has increased the gaming industries hold on customer needs. Multiple platforms are now in reach of consumers from original arcade systems to more advanced computer, counsel, and portable devices. These rapid changes over the past 60 years has allowed for a coupling of payment methods for companies involved in the industry including pay to play, subscription, annual fee, and add revenue. The market and consumers have began to switch to a more mobile platform where gamers can play on the go. We can see this through the spike of handheld gaming devices where casual gamers are a strong hold on the market. The future of gaming is taking many different forms from a AR feel all the way to a mmo based where constant social connection can be held.
The creation of the smartphone movement has begun an implication of constant social availability. This has some positive and negative interactions on society most being the expansion of friend groups and viral bonding. However companies may rely on the new social networking to constantly work wherever you may be due to the new possibilities. The new wave of technology and smart phones is moving away from a linear timeline where work is static to a more fluid timeline where people always need to be connected. Looking into the popularity of apps it is easy to see the switch to a connected world where the majority of individuals are downloading social media. Gaming is relatively strong in second place indicating that games are also becoming easier to play on the go. The tech is moving at such an accelerated pace that phones are now at the point where they can replace home computers due to their apps that perform many crucial functions computers once did.
I love how we are able to go to Japan and still experience the comforts of home. The thing about this particular place that we all found so hilarious was that the Japanese people eating there were much larger than the average individual. We could not help but notice that the all you can eat concept is beginning to take hold on the Japanese populous. Go America! It was a fantastic blend between American, Japanese, and some odd Italian decor which made my day. However they still were able to add some Japanese blend to the food. We had some items that would for sure not work in the states including mayo and peppercorn pizza as well as mayo and shrimp pizza. Cici’s would have been very jealous of the menu. As we were in the middle of enjoying our mounded plates of pizza we were collecting multiple gazes from the patrons of the establishment. I am not sure the Japanese were accustomed to seeing Americans taking large portions, as we had later noticed the Japanese would often take small portions and go back if still hungry. This not quite the concept in America.
The best thing ever in japan hands down. The information I had learned from the first speaker was unbelievable. One of my hobbies is business and financial records so to see an individual from a large company speak about their business model and plan for future development was too sweet. When he was explaining the new direction of the gaming world it was very relevant to or whole class because our interests closely tie into his presentation. From a communications standpoint I liked how he was able to explain how the market is shifting into a more social platform system where more games will take on an mmo feel. He also mentioned that future games will now be created from the bottom up with an attempt to create a specific community feel which is interesting becasue many of the games now have communities that are formed over time. I am very interested in seeing how the new counsels will target their customers for payment. With the new methods coming to fruition through online social and digital gaming, the need for a one and done sale is part of the past. As he had mentioned, the difficulty with developing payment methods is cutting down on the community that could possibly exist through all of the different avenues. Catering to individual players has become more a business model than it was in the past and fitting a player to their wants may be easier to do with these new ways of payment. His presentation was great and the man was a wealth of knowledge it felt like I was in a TED talks and I loved it.
We had a chance to visit the tech capital of Japan during the saturday of our free day which consisted of blocks and blocks of skyscraping tech stores. What I found so interesting was how comparable the prices were to the american market. The culture difference in this city as opposed to cities in the U.S. were the public openness to pornography. Among the towers of computer equipment and action figurines, seven level pornography shops were placed with no discretion. It is interesting to notice the cultural difference where they are not only more open, but the woman are also publicly browsing as well. Another cultural difference that I enjoyed the most was the collection of figurines and comics (anime). The countless amount of stores that were buying and selling collectibles led me to believe that this was a popular event in Japan. The figurines ranged from all areas of comics, television, and video games. I even got a figure of my favorite game of all time Pokemon! This was my favorite of all of the cities in Tokyo because of the range of people on the streets. Gamers, Businessmen, Families, and maid cafes were ruling the streets. Although we did not make it into a maid cafe the costumes and cosplay was very popular which was exciting to see because that is not a popular or well known event in the states.
During our stay in Jana we had taken a few trips to Roppongi where the nightlife was forewarned to be awesome. I enjoyed the social aspect of the city being a gracious host to foreigners. A majority of the people we spoke with were able to understand English incredibly well and were often times foreigners themselves. The city streets were lit with colorful neon signs on the main street and running down the back allies to clubs. The Nigerians seemed to be a little troublesome however because they constantly pestered everyone for their clubs and attention. This was not too big of a problem in later nights because we were able to simply ignore their calls. The nightlife scene overall of very similar to East Lansing. They offered simple bars and higher end nightclubs but there were many strip clubs which I was not used to seeing. The city did not quiet until around 5am and started to trickle into a quieter area but did not take any days off, every night was lights and action.