IOT Products To Feel Like You’re Living in 3017

The Internet of Things is a fast-growing market that is creating high powered products that can do everything from managing household tasks to enhancing your marketing strategy.

It is predicted that the IoT market will grow from 15.4 billion devices in 2015 to 30.7 billion devices in 2020 and 75.4 billion in 2025, according to IHS Technology’s report “IoT platforms: enabling the Internet of Things”. These are some of the most futuristic IoT products for a life that Marty McFly would be in awe of.

June Oven

The June Oven calls itself seven appliances in one. The June Oven functions as a convection oven, slow cooker, dehydrator, air fryer, broiler, warming drawer and toaster oven. It comes with a list of over 100 one tap cooking programs for quick and easy cooking. With a mobile app that you can use to turn on the oven, watch live video of your food cooking, and check food temperature, the June Oven is a one-stop shop for futuristic cooking.

CUJO AI

Cujo is an IoT company that gives you a smart firewall to protect your home or business to secure all smart devices and protect them from outside threats, including hackers. Using AI, Cujo is able to personalize the security for each connected device in your network. View your personal analytics, set filters, limits, and alerts so you can stay on top of how your networks functions.

Eight

Eight specializes in smart sleep. Eight’s smart mattresses offer a personalized option to build your most comfortable bed and all are built with technology that can track your sleep patterns, set alarms, and have smart temperature controls to keep you cool or warm. If you already own a mattress you love, Eight also sells a sensor layer that can fit over any mattress that boasts those same features.

Click and Grow

If you’re trying to grow an indoor garden to start growing your own fresh herbs and produce, or if you’re simply trying to combat a lack of a green thumb, the Click and Grow Smart Gardens are a great way to move towards a fresh, sustainable and easy way to garden. Built with NASA developed Smart Soil to ensure the ideal oxygen, nutrient and water configurations and a modular LED lamp arm for a perfectly controlled environment, the perfect garden is only a click away.

Coros Omni Bike Helmet

Enhance your bike ride with a smart helmet that allows you to listen to music, make phone calls, and access audio navigation without blocking out the noise of the outside world that is imperative to your safety. With automatic  LED safety lights and an emergency sensor that alerts your emergency contacts in the case of a collision, your rides have never been safer or more high tech.

ProGlove’s Smart Glove

This glove designed for industrial workers allows for real-time haptic and visual feedback, gesture sensing, and wireless connectivity. Designed to withstand the requirements for safety in industrial conditions, the gloves are also equipped with a barcode scanner for quality control on the floor and assembly line tracking.

Kohler Verdera Smart Mirror

The Verdera Smart Mirror is the first lighted mirror available to consumers with Amazon Alexa embedded. Control other smart Kohler products by voice or with the Kohler Konnect app, as well as access the full functionality of the Amazon Echo; from traffic reports to weather updates, shopping and playing music. With an adjustable voice controlled LED lighting, you’ll ensure that you always look your best. This smart mirror also has built-in motion-activated night lights for easy navigation in the dark.  

Amazon Dash Buttons

Amazon has been pushing their Dash Buttons for a couple years now, but the technology doesn’t get any less enticing. With buttons that connect to your wifi network and link to Amazon’s app, you can simply push the button to order more of the things you need, with a dash button for almost everything, including laundry detergent, paper products, dish soap, batteries, and groceries.

GM’s Marketplace

This in-vehicle commerce platform is the first of its kind. With Marketplace, drivers of GM vehicles can complete errands in a truly efficient manner. Make dinner reservations, find the nearest gas station, order and pay for a coffee and more, without hassle, right from the car’s touchscreen.

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Top Tech New Stories You Missed Last Week

Happy Cyber Monday to you all, undoubtedly the most sanctified and unanimously-loved day of them all. It was one of the busiest week of digital news, but there’s plenty a discerning reader like you needs to keep abreast of.

Apple decided to do Black Friday

Last year it didn’t, this year it did. The mysterious Black Friday landing page carried no clues as to what might be on offer, except of course that big picture of an Apple Watch.

Google Maps tells you if a store is busy

Google Maps is providing real-time information about how busy a store is. ‘Popular Times’ was added to Search and Maps in 2015, but is now bolstered by this real-time data. The service aggregates anonymized data coming from Android phones that have opted to share location data. So, now you can know before you go.

Amazon Prime might air sports

Amazon is reportedly in talks with the NBA and NFL, potentially to air sports as part of its $99 Prime subscription. Such a move would obviously signal more danger for traditional cable networks.

Facebook’s may create a censorship tool for Chinese market

The New York Times reports that Facebook is building a censorship tool, which will allow a third-party to suppress certain posts in the News Feed. The effort is part of Facebook’s attempts to crack China, and has raised eyebrows in the US, given the networks failure to stamp down on fake news. Of course, as many in the press point out, it’s a lot easier to build a censorship tool than it is to build a lie-detector algorithm.

Amazon cracks down on ‘incentivized’ reviews

From early October this year, Amazon has made good progress cracking down on ‘incentivized’, less trustworthy reviews (for which reviewers receive free or discounted items). Analysis by ReviewMeta of 65m reviews for 32,000 products has shown these reviews, which have an average rating 0.38 higher than genuine reviews, are being removed. When Amazon announced the ban on these reviews earlier this year, it suggested retroactive action would only be taken in exceptional cases, but this new data shows older reviews are being impacted. Average rating for all reviews has fallen since the crackdown.

IBM launches Watson IoT Consulting Solution

IBM Watson (the company’s artificial intelligence infrastructure) continues to expand its impressive applications, launching a global consulting practice for the Internet of things (IoT). This will allow customers such as Ricoh to integrate Watson into IoT services.

A press release stated: ‘The practice will feature 1,500 experts across IBM Watson IoT headquarters…By integrating IBM Watson IoT Platform APIs and technologies, including cognitive, analytics, mobile, security and cloud capabilities, together with development and implementation consulting and ongoing support, clients can fully use the IoT without the risk and complexity of dealing with multiple vendors.’ 

Facebook follows Google & Apple, commits to bigger London HQ

Facebook has committed to employing a further 500 people at its London headquarters in Rathbone Square, increasing the workforce there by 50%. The news comes after Google has committed to a new building at Kings Cross, and Apple is in the process of creating a Battersea headquarters. Nicola Mendelson, Facebook’s European boss, said: “The UK remains one of the best places to be a tech company.”

Ctrip.com buys Skyscanner

Ctrip.com, China’s biggest online travel company, has agreed a deal to buy Skyscanner for $1.4bn. The acquisition of the Scottish-based company, which was founded by three Manchester University graduates, comes after it was valued at more than £1bn after a round of funding in January 2016. The Guardian commented that the news comes just days after ‘the chancellor, Philip Hammond, promised to stem the flow of British firms being sold to foreign investors before reaching their full potential’.

So, there you have it! Enjoy the rest of your week.

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15 Blogs for the Tech Enthusiast

Some blogs educate, help people collaborate, spark ideas and just plain expand our thought universe. Others stir emotions or anger us or make us laugh. Here, I’ve listed 15 technology blog sites based on breadth of information, newsworthiness, design, frequency of updates and entertainment value.

Sure, the list is subjective, but I think this is one of the best catalogs of blogs that has ever been published. The entries ran the gamut, from serious technology news and reviews to commentary on games and the latest tech gadgets. I also included some honorable mentions at the end because the competition was so close.

1. Lifehacker

Lifehackers’ motto says it all: “Don’t live to geek, geek to live.” This blog offers timesavers of just about every stripe, from Firefox shortcuts to tips from the “Getting things done” faithful.

2. IT Toolbox Blogs

IT Toolbox has a number of “in the trenches” IT pros who talk about technology and management issues. There are specialist blogs dealing with security, databases and project management, among other subjects. It’s a very versatile site.

3. Valleywag

Bring in the noise, bring in the snark. Valleywag is for those who believe that the tech industry lives or dies by the scuttlebutt pinging around Silicon Valley. And it’s amusing for those of us who prefer that the lotus-eaters of Northern California stick with the dishing and tongue-wagging, leaving the rest of us to get the real work done.

4. Kotaku

Kotaku is the snarky, gamer uber-blog. It has everything from reviews and gossip to cheat tips. Just about anything you’ll ever need, including which game to buy and how to play it.

5. 5. Danger Room

Wired’s military and defense blog writes about some of the coolest and scariest military technologies; not to mention scandals, debates and other military news. Lots of video and imagery are included.

6. Gizmodo

Gizmodo’s got the scoop on all the latest toys and cool and wacky inventions. From high-def TVs and coffee makers to booze belts and USB drives—you’ve got to love a site that publishes photos of a solar-powered bathing suit. They also blog about serious technology news too.

7. O’Reilly Radar

This is where you can read Tim O’Reilly (founder of O’Reilly Publishing) and others discuss networking, programming, open source, intellectual property, politics, Web 2.0 and emerging technology.

8. Techdirt

Techdirt is a newsy, “tell it like it is” blog that frequently features debates on the hot issues in the Internet and computer fields. Scandals are a specialty. Simplicity is its hallmark.

9. Groklaw

Groklaw’s raison d’etre is needling SCO in its long-running legal fights against IBM and Novell, but the discussion sometimes veers toward other issues that involve technology, intellectual property, and government regulations.

10. Hack a Day

Want to learn how to add USB to a cheap Linux router? Create a snake robot? How about an XBox 360 laptop? Hack a Day has these basement projects and many more. This site is for the serious techie. At the same time, it’s good for a laugh or a new hobby.

11. Engadget

As Coke is to Pepsi, so Engadget is to Gizmodo. It’s all about gear, gossip, techish issues and the occasional rant. It’s got great product photos, and the editors have access to pre- and early-release gadgetry. Also, it hosts some really funny homemade junk.

12. Feedster

This Web page brings together blog sites about technology, sports, celebrity gossip, food, personal experiences, you name it. It also offers a blog search feature that allows you to input words or phrases, and it has a very cool RSS aggregator for news feeds. It also injects some great humor into technology news. An all-around great site.

13. Forever Geek

Forever Geek is a great site with a myriad of blogs on diverse topics, from technology and general interest news to movie and game reviews. Definitely a tech paradise. If you want to learn about the upcoming Iron Man movie or read a review of Photoshop CS3, this is the place to go.

14. Rough Type

Nick Carr of “Does IT Matter?” has a sharp-minded blog that discusses all manner of issues and trends relating to technology. Always an entertaining read, Rough Type often locks horns with companies, people, technologies and policies that rub Carr the wrong way.

15. Smorgasbord

Billed as a site for gadget and game-loving geeks, this blog also serves up articles that cross over into the political and celebrity news of the day. The combination of entertainment value and tech news make Smorgasbord a top contender.

Honorable mentions:

1. The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

TUAW offers collection of independent bloggers, that is independent but not undecided or uninformed. It’s a good source for Apple-related news. The only reason it didn’t make the top 15 was its singular topic focus.

2. Elliot Back’s blog

A self-professed computer scientist, Elliot posts everything from his opinions on why XML sucks, to the Titanic’s passenger list and reviews of movies like 300. This site is diverse and well composed, offering great tips on topics such as increasing system performance and blocking spam.

3. Ed Foster’s Gripelog

There is a new crop of blogs that highlight poor customer service for consumer electronics, bad UIs and outright rip-offs, but Ed Foster has been doing it longer than anyone else.

4. Gadgetell

This is a great site if you want to get the latest gadget and game news along with some topical opinion pieces.

5. 4sysops

This is a very useful with well-written tips and how-to’s for Windows admins.

Of course, not everyone will agree with my selections. If you think a blog site that’s not on our list deserved a top 15 spot, share it with me in the comments section!

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How the Internet of Things Affects Responsive Design

While design can be hard to quantify as an investment, responsive web design has literally paid off for some companies. For example, when Walmart Canada implemented a responsive web design to their website, they increased conversions by 20% and mobile orders by a whopping 98%.

Similarly, according to Mobile Marketer, Kia uses their responsive websites to communicate with consumers on mobile and tablet devices through their content marketing. These responsive websites also serve as the foundation of in-dealership experiences. Kia’s national manager for digital and CRM David Schoonover touches on an interesting point about how content must also be designed to be responsive – because users on their mobile phones will likely be reading for shorter amounts of time than desktop or tablet users, content must also be shortened in order for responsive web design to be at its most effective.

In addition to desktop, mobile, and tablet, there are two other aspects to responsive web design: TV and the Internet of Things. Connected TV is the technical term for any television connected to the internet. TVs are unusual to design for because of the differences in user postures, input capabilities, display properties, and navigation styles (which are practically opposite to computers or phones). Users typically lean back when they’re watching the TV and use a remote control to move around the user interface. The direct antithesis of mobile devices, the image is high resolution and extremely far away on connected TVs. (For more information, see web interfaces master Bill Scott’s Designing for Mice and Men.)

Media companies have already conceived of new ways to connect with consumers through TV. For example, remember how Disney used to send free VHS or DVDs to anyone interested in Disneyland? Disney lets users browse through vacation offerings through its new TV app. Retailer Marks & Spencer recently launched a lifestyle app for TV. Brands, much like networks, don’t have to create their own content. They can easily be curators for programming.

Connected TV is on the rise and will be extremely popular in the future. Designing for it requires large fonts and large images (because the user is so far away); it also means you should keep in mind that the user will be navigating with a remote control. However, it’s still the smaller aspect of an even larger trend: the Internet of Things.

“The Internet of Things is the network of physical objects that contain embedded technology to communicate and sense or interact with their internal states or the external environment.” GigaOM predicts that there will be 24 billion devices connected to the Internet of Things by 2020.

The most tangible example in today’s world is wearable technology. Technology is moving towards broader contextual awareness made possible by more sensors in devices (such as the iPhone 5S’s M7 motion co-processor). The future includes technology like Google’s Project Tango, a device that can create a 3D image of the environment it is in. This opens up doors for more situational contexts, which means more tailored content and engagement. For example, car companies can know when a user sits in a car and display relevant image to connect through their branded service.

Closing Thoughts

As your customers all start to use a wider variety of devices and move through these various channels, they’ll stop engaging with you if you don’t move with them. This is why responsive design is crucial for brands and companies connecting with prospective and current customers. As the pace of technology increases, responsive design will be one of the prevalent solutions that many media companies and brands will find essential to connecting with their audiences.