The local winner of StartupWeekend Champaign now needs your help to compete against global teams. Vote for them by 11/28, and you could potentially win an iPad2.
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My brief opinion as to why Facebook continues to add small tweaks which annoy its userbase.
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Today, you can buy a cell phone which monitors your heart rate, calculates distance traveled, and sends all this data to your P.C. Considering one-hundred years ago many thought radio was just a fad, just think about what life will be in 2111. Or better yet, consider how your life is going to change by just year 2014. Given some of the latest announcements by Google and other top tech companies, the future of craziness is soon upon us. Let me give you a few predictions with interesting, supportive links.
1. *Every* electronic device will be controlled with your Android Phone
Today, several companies provide high-functioning, fully-automated homes. As an example, Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile) Labs in Germany created a mock apartment full of devices and gadgets which talk seamlessly with each other. When did little Timmy get home from school? You'll receive a text message. Running late and need to prepare dinner? Send a note to your oven to start pre-heating at 400 degrees. All of this is available today. If you'd like a little more detail, check out: Deutsche Telekom PDF.
However, their platform doesn't allow for easy adoption. They just have an idea. Along comes Google. A few days ago, they announced a common hardware layout which *will* propel mass production of accessory-creation for usage within the Android system.
Long story short: Android will be able to plug into everything. Remember when your car didn't have an iPod hookup? Now, it seems that accessory is standard. So too will Android's connectivity system.
2. Online Gaming Experiences will Drastically Change
I'm a nerd -- always have been, always will be. I appreciate good craftsmanship when it comes to technology. Soon, thanks to Google and its push within open-source hardware, online gaming will completely change.
In a recent example given by Google, think about this scenario. You just went to Prairie Gardens and picked up some lawn fertilizer, seeds, and a garden hose. You take your new purchases and plant an awesome garden. You could show it off to your neighbors or even showcase at the next Garden Walk. Or, how about you share your garden on Farmville? Your garden will be remotely connected to a *GAME*. You can now compete at a GLOBAL scale.
Don't like Farmville? How about another classic: DOOM! If you know what the acronym "FPS" or "MMORPG" means, then read the next two sentences. If not, you can probably skip to #3. In Doom, every time you pull out the gatling gun and pull the trigger, the lights in your room will flash. The lamp sitting next to you will be tied into gameplay. As you're dominating in Red Faction, your whole room envelopes you into the maelstrom.
3. The Internet Is No Longer Socially-Oriented -- Instead, it's You-Oriented
Last year, Yahoo! started an advertising campaign titled "It's You." It was horrid. You probably didn't even notice the campaign existed. However, they were accurate about one thing: the internet is shifting to "you" and not so social. Facebook, Craigslist, YouTube, and Twitter *will* be around in five years, but your primary purpose for the internet will *NOT* be to share pictures, change relationship status, catch-up on Tosh.0 web videos, or post things you will soon regret.
Instead, the internet will be your world. Your world at your fingertips. I assume your life is your family -- it's not your 1000 friends on facebook. Our family is what matters most to *most* of us. Teenagers will still use the internet to gab, flirt, and catch-up. However, most internet bandwidth will be reserved for protecting family. Consider everything electronic which will be soon controlled by Android:
- Your kitchen (stove, fridge, microwave, dishwasher)
- Your laundry (washing machine, dryer)
- Environment (heating, air conditioning, humidifier)
- Home security system (Doors, Sensors, Activation)
- Home networking (PCs, Laptops, Macs, phones, printers, etc.)
- Peripherals (televisions, radios)
- Neighbors (In a few years, we will have the technology to detect if our neighbors are home.)
Consider that connectivity for when you travel or are away from home. When there's a mysterious van outside your home, wouldn't it be cool if the home security system randomly turns on/off lights? If a telemarketer calls your home, wouldn't you like it to go directly to voicemail? If it's your mother-in-law, wouldn't you like it to go directly to your cell phone when the system notices you aren't home? When you wake up from a night of peaceful slumber, what if the system turns on your shower, changes to your favorite radio station (or better yet, your favorite morning Pandora Music station), and starts brewing coffee?
These things *will* happen in just 3 years.
Why? Without going into too much technical babble, just know that Google (and many other leading tech companies) have recently jumped into open-source hardware. This allows anyone and any company to create appliances which automatically work with your Android phone. It will catch on, and Apple will have to give-in to the pressure. Since open-source hardware is so cheap and easy for any techie to create cool, customized applications, the world will soon have an App Store which will literally control every aspect of your life from your ringtone to your light switch.
If you'd like to hear more of Google's vision, check out their recent
Keynote at Google IO 2011. Coolest stuff is around the 36 minute mark.
In recent years, we’ve all heard a lot about “green building”. These little fixes help make our buildings smarter and more efficient, but is that really all we need? Shouldn’t we try to get smarter and more efficient too?
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