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Tag: Technology

  • Revolutionizing Auto Insurance: How Technology Has Changed the Game for Consumers

    Revolutionizing Auto Insurance: How Technology Has Changed the Game for Consumers

    In the past few decades, technology has had a profound impact on the insurance industry. One of the biggest changes has been the proliferation of online insurance comparison engines, which allow consumers to easily compare quotes from multiple companies in a matter of minutes. This has been most widely used in the auto insurance industry.

    Before the internet, shopping for auto insurance was a time-consuming and often frustrating process. Consumers had to call multiple insurance companies or visit their offices in person to get quotes, and it was difficult to compare the different offers side by side. However, with the advent of online comparison engines, consumers can now enter their information once and get quotes from multiple companies almost instantly. This not only saves time, but it also makes it much easier to compare the different options and find the best deal.

    Auto insurance comparison algorithms work by allowing consumers to enter their personal and vehicle information into an online form, which is then used to generate quotes from multiple insurance companies. These algorithms are increasingly smarter and starting to us AI to grow in efficiency. They take into account various factors that insurance companies use to determine premiums, such as the make and model of the vehicle, the age and driving history of the driver, the location where the vehicle is parked, and the desired level of coverage.

    When comparing quotes, the algorithm looks at the specific coverage and price offered by each insurance company and presents them to the consumer in an easy-to-understand format. This allows consumers to quickly and easily compare the different options and choose the one that best meets their needs and budget.

    Comparing auto insurance companies can be helpful for someone who is trying to manage their personal budget in a number of ways. First and most obviously, comparing quotes from multiple companies can help a person find the best deal on their auto insurance, which can potentially save them a significant amount of money on their premiums.

    When you’re comparing auto insurance quotes, it’s important to consider not just the price, but also the coverage and level of service offered by each company. By taking the time to do this, a person can ensure that they are getting the best value for their money, rather than just choosing the cheapest option available.

    In addition to potentially saving money on premiums, comparing insurance companies can also help a person make more informed decisions about their coverage. For example, a person might find that one company offers a policy with a higher deductible, but a lower premium, while another company offers a policy with a lower deductible, but a higher premium. By comparing the different options and considering their budget and risk tolerance, a person can choose the policy that best meets their needs.

    This all has generally been a positive development for consumers. Here are a few specific ways in which technology has changed the insurance industry and how it has benefited consumers:

    • Online comparison tools: One of the biggest ways that technology has impacted the insurance industry is through the proliferation of online comparison tools. These tools allow consumers to easily compare quotes from multiple insurance companies, which can save them time and money. In the past, shopping for insurance was a time-consuming and often frustrating process, but with the advent of online comparison tools, consumers can now get quotes from multiple companies almost instantly and choose the one that best meets their needs and budget.
    • Telematics: Another way that technology has impacted the insurance industry is through the use of telematics, which are devices that track driving habits and provide data to insurers. This data can be used to offer discounts to safe drivers, which can help consumers save money on their premiums. Telematics can also help insurers better understand risk and offer more customized coverage, which can be beneficial for consumers.
    • Digital claims processes: Technology has also made it easier for consumers to file and track insurance claims. Many insurance companies now offer digital claims processes that allow consumers to file a claim and track its progress online, which can be more convenient and efficient than traditional methods.

    In addition to providing quotes, many comparison algorithms also offer additional resources and tools to help consumers make informed decisions. This can include information on different types of coverage, tips for saving money on premiums, and customer reviews of different insurance companies.

    The technology that runs these engines has also helped insurance companies to better understand and predict risk. For example, some companies are using telematics devices to track driving habits and offer discounts to safe drivers. These devices collect data on things like speed, braking patterns, and time of day to help insurers better understand how risky a particular driver is. This can allow insurers to offer lower rates to safer drivers, which can help consumers save money on their premiums.

    Overall, technology has made it easier for consumers to shop for and compare auto insurance, and it has also given insurance companies more tools to accurately assess risk and offer more customized coverage. As a result, consumers can now save more money on their auto insurance than ever before. Whether you’re looking for the lowest possible price or the best coverage for your needs, there are many resources available to help you find the right auto insurance policy at a price that fits your budget. So, it is always a good idea to compare quotes from multiple companies to make sure you’re getting the best deal possible.

  • Why Tech Companies are Moving to Better Taxing States

    Why Tech Companies are Moving to Better Taxing States

    A study has found that significant corporate income tax cuts result in an increase in corporate innovation, particularly amid financially constrained institutions. Another study found that a lower corporate tax rate actually increased job creation and firm entry—it also concluded that the firms that had responded to the tax cut have a tendency to be larger, showed increased productivity, and are more likely to survive after three years.

    There is substantial evidence that indicates that corporate tax increases cause worse economic outcomes at a state level. With thousands of firms still in survival mode, it seems imprudent for financial sustainability to raise corporate taxes at a state or federal level. In the U.S., it is easier for tech businesses to change states than it is to leave the country since there are states that provide more attractive tax incentives than others.

    Best States for Business Tax Climate

    Texas– The state has no income tax, it does not impose any tax on estates, and its inheritance tax has been repealed since 2015.

    Wyoming– The state of Wyoming does not impose any individual income tax, and it also does not levy a corporate income tax or a gross receipts tax.

    South Dakota– South Dakota has zero individual income tax and does not levy any corporate income tax or gross receipts tax.

    Alaska– Alaska is another great option for tech companies since it levies no individual income tax or state-level sales tax.

    Florida– The sunshine state imposes no individual income tax, and it also has a low unemployment insurance tax.

    Montana– The state’s constitution limits its sales tax to 4%.

    New Hampshire– The state of New Hampshire has no state-level sales tax.

    Nevada– The silver state has no corporate, franchise, or individual income tax.

    Tennessee– The state law imposes zero individual income tax. A state sales tax of just 7% is the fundamental source of revenue.

    Indiana – The state ranks among the best states for property tax rates.

    For entrepreneurs that are looking for a state to incorporate their new tech startup, this website breaks down the state laws and provides the required resources to help business owners make better and more informed decisions.

    How to Change to a Better Taxing State

    As a corporation expands and develops, it is often a necessity to consider expanding into additional locations or, at times, having to relocate altogether. A company’s home base is traditionally the state that the business first incorporated in. The business is also considered a citizen of that state.    Entrepreneurs have the options of:

    Changing the state of incorporation without reincorporating- Depending on the state, foreign corporations may be able to change their state of incorporation to a different state. If the law allows this, the foreign corporation does not have to shut down and reform as a new business in the new state—allowing it to maintain its current structure and form.

    Dissolving to reincorporate- The majority of U.S states require a corporation to file the appropriate dissolution documents when it shuts down before reincorporating in a new host state. The company will be required to pay out final paychecks, notify creditors, and file for its outstanding tax returns.

    Conducting business in a foreign state- If a business wants to expand into other states, it can register with the necessary states as a foreign corporation—this allows for business operations within each state it registers with. This process eliminates the need for having to change the state of incorporation.

    Final Thoughts

    The U.S government advises entrepreneurs that “As a business owner, it’s important to understand your federal, state, and local tax requirements. This will help you file your taxes accurately and make payments on time. The business structure you choose when starting a business will determine what taxes you’ll pay and how you pay them.”

    Since state tax laws differ, it is equally as important to choose the correct state at the onset since the process of relocating is not simple and may require the entire business to be dissolved before it can open up in a new state.

  • Top 3 US States Producing Tech Hardware

    Top 3 US States Producing Tech Hardware

    As the digital age advances, technology becomes more and more vital to daily operations. This is especially true for businesses around the globe, technological hardware such as computers, tablets, phones, and wireless internet is a necessity. E-commerce and trading online through digital stores and websites are becoming standard because of this, and it shows as the E-commerce market has made billions of dollars in the United States alone.

    As the United States is the center of technological development, businesses in the nation are taking advantage of the fact that they have access to some of the best hardware. Here are the top 3 states producing tech hardware that is valuable for those wishing to utilize it in their private and professional lives.

    Texas

    This shouldn’t come as a shock to almost anybody, as Texas is the best place to be for a variety of different business industries. Thanks to the state’s warm environment for businesses and entrepreneurs, it has become the home to many successful small businesses that are pioneering a variety of different industries, from agriculture, and construction, to information technology.

    Big-name companies such as Tesla and Dell have made the move to The Lone Star State to benefit from all the advantages with regards to better tax rates, cheaper accommodation and renting costs, and overall better quality of life. Thanks to these industries, the information technology sector has grown tremendously, and it is inspiring entrepreneurs to begin their new business ventures in Texas.

    One of the best cities for tech hardware and companies in the state is Austin. Cisco Systems, Qualcomm, AMD, and more are situated in the city, and they make up the heart of the tech hardware industry that supports businesses and the local economy.

    California

    Silicon Valley immediately comes to mind when somebody thinks of California. While the state might be known for being a bit difficult on new businesses thanks to the expensive rates, it is still a welcoming environment for startups, especially startups specializing in information technology and technological hardware.

    Entrepreneurs looking for an opportunity to start a small business that focuses on tech hardware should consider California, as the state is always developing on the technological front. Countless conventions that promote the newest and best technological developments are held in the state. Other small businesses that also have their roots in IT and tech development help each other and the state towards a better and more profitable end.

    For small businesses who are not focusing on information technology, it is still valuable to set up shop in California, as being near great quality tech hardware companies is advantageous for a small business that needs to have a good technological foundation in order to operate in all sectors, online and off, in this day and age.

    Georgia

    Georgia is considered to be an amazing state for businesses in America, thanks to the fact that the state has a responsive government that is cooperative, an extremely talented labor force, and work developments and programs that are always growing and evolving.

    Entrepreneurs all over are looking at Georgia, as the state has so many possibilities. For those wondering how to start an LLC in Georgia, it is an extremely easy process that requires following a few simple steps. 

    Tech hardware is being produced at a large and successful rate in the state of Georgia, and there is a big opportunity for those wishing to start their own tech-based ventures in the state. The mass availability of tech hardware is also beneficial to almost any business operating in the state, they can rest assured they will be keeping up with the times.

    Final Thoughts

    The United States pushes all of the boundaries when it comes to tech hardware development. Texas, California, and Georgia produce some of the best tech hardware at efficient rates, and they are home to many companies specializing in the technological industry.

    If entrepreneurs are looking to start a business based in technology, or they want to establish a business in a state that can cater to technological needs, they can’t go wrong in any one of these states.

  • COVID/WFH Has Broken Big Tech

    COVID/WFH Has Broken Big Tech

    In a huge Twitter thread, a big tech insider reveals that COVID and generous work from home privileges are destroying the morale of big tech employees.

    Top 10 Quotes:

    1. Obviously insanely radically leftwing.
    2. COVID/WFH has totally broken people.
    3. Everyone is demoralized.
    4. The Great Resignation is real.
    5. Software engineers which haven’t written code in a year.
    6. Slack bad-mouthing the higher-ups with no repercussions.
    7. It’s very easy to hide and not work with WFH.
    8. There’s no real accountability to anyone.
    9. Bombarded with anti-white, anti-male, woke propaganda.
    10. If Big Tech goes down, the world will probably be better off.

    Hazzard Harrington thread in full via Twitter:

    Obviously insanely radically leftwing. BLM/LGBTQ. Trans flags hanging in office. Pronouns stated before meetings. Special affiliation groups for everyone but white men. All that you’d expect. But COVID/WFH has totally broken people. They are fundamentally weak, often with no social support outside of work. They’re the people with no children, no spouse. Only a dog or cat for emotional support.

    There’s constant talk, even now, about how hard things are for everyone. Often meetings start with going around the room to ask “How is everyone feeling?” Literally, everyone else went on sad rants about their lives. “I’m so MAD a white supremacist shot 3 black men in Kenosha!”

    It’s toxic. When it got to me, I said “Good.” and then a (((lady engineer))) literally proposed that we should not be allowed to answer the question positively. I shit you not. I think it hurt her that I wasn’t as miserable as her. She made some arguments about “vulnerability”. These people not only want you weak, but they also want you to expose your vulnerabilities to them so they can exploit them. They may not intend this explicitly, but whatever twisted ideology they worship ends with this result.

    So back to morale. Everyone is demoralized. This may surprise you since Big Tech is extremely well paid and has been able to WFH throughout the past 2 years. They’ve been given extra days off, extra stipends, bonuses, etc. They never had to fear being laid off. I have some sympathy and can feel some of this myself. It’s normal and natural to work with people in person. WFH can make it easy to overwork. You take fewer breaks, often work past normal working hours. You don’t feel connected to customers or celebrate success in person.

    And as I mentioned, Big Tech is often the only social life for people. I fortunately never made it mine, but my company had all sorts of after-work activities. Sports leagues, game nights, different classes taught by employees. There was a rhythm and connectedness that’s gone. The Great Resignation is real. Many employees are leaving for better jobs. Remote work has (so far) resulted in more job opportunities for those working in Big Tech, especially outside of Silicon Valley. And so we backfill those positions or hire new people, all remote.

    We now have employees who have nearly 2 years of tenure who have never met another employee in person, and live alone in some city away from where the office was. This would be fine for a normal person, but again, we’re attracting the family-less urbanites scared of even meeting up with their friends at a restaurant. The churn in jobs also has the major effect of constantly dealing with the overhead of re-assigning projects from people leaving, and onboarding new people. The new employees don’t get enough attention to succeed.

    And the employees that stay end up with a load of work dumped by the former coworkers, plus the responsibility of onboarding the new ones. There are many software engineers who’ve not written a single line of code in the past year.

    While the Woke agitation has slowed due to the productive employees’ ability to simply log off, in addition to the tiredness of the agitators, there is more and more open rebellion regarding pay and profits. “Bring your whole self to work” was the Big Tech mantra. Tell people about your cool hobbies, share your politics (if you’re far left only), share your sex life. This plus the feeling of distance an online-only presence creates has made people braver in speaking their thoughts.

    You used to have the balls to knock on the CEO’s office door or schedule a meeting. Now you can fire off a nasty Slack message straight to her. People will openly write threads and comments throughout Slack bad-mouthing the higher-ups at the company. And they do nothing. It’s unreal what people will write, with no recourse. If it were anything remotely RW, I’m certain they’d be immediately fired, but so long as they’re sufficiently LW or minority (anything but straight white man), they can agitate, complain, do no work, and continue employment.

    And so the entire company has devolved. We’re running on the code written in years past. No major new product initiatives are being launched. Workers complain that they’re understaffed and demoralized. People take constant sick days or don’t show up at all without a record.

    It’s very easy to hide when WFH. With such a flux in employees/management and so much allowance for “mental health”, it’s easy to simply no-show without punishment. We hired a new employee and I pinged them at 1 pm to see if they’d join a meeting. They came 10 minutes later. Said they slept in because they didn’t have anything to work on.

    It’s got to be mind-boggling for someone not in software. On a given day, managers (there are several in weird matrix structure) will say things like “What can I do to support you?” “Do you have enough to work on? Too much?” It’s like emotional support. And you can simply say, “Oh, I’ve had a hard week. Barely slept. Felt sick. Don’t think I can handle much more this week.” There’s no real accountability to anyone. Record profits at the top, because of existing code and product-market fit cruising along, so leaders don’t notice.

    It’s utterly surreal to watch the deterioration. To see how quickly an organization can crumble. And I’m not productive either. I’m constantly bombarded with anti-white, anti-male, woke propaganda. We’ve even had explicit discussions of assigning less work to URMs (under-represented minorities), because “life is really hard for them right now.” This suggestion was from a lesbian white woman with cats. As productive as one person can be, you can’t add value when constantly thwarted. Nobody in IT doing tickets anymore to provision things for you large bureaucracy to gatekeep any actions (needs review by X number of committees including now DEI committees). It’s hard to feel unproductive. I’m not the type who feels great about getting paid to not work, but that’s essentially what I’ve been doing for the last year.

    This problem is the worst in Big Tech, so if Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Amazon Prime, or Netflix go down, the world will probably be better off. It’s not essential. I worry about this apathy spreading to companies that matter. Ones that write software for utilities.

    We had a woman who worked for us who was just awful at her job. Could not understand instructions at all. Could not do the job. Barely spoke English. She wasn’t just not productive, she actually dragged the team down. I worked with my Director to finally get her fired after failing her Performance Improvement Program (PIP). HR told us they can’t fire her because she’s Asian and female and in California, that it’s just simply too hard. This was over 5 years ago.

    You have a certain fire in your 20’s. Ready to reform and change everything. You get noticed when you perform. Promoted, bonuses, etc. But eventually, you keep hitting the same problems or gatekeepers over and over. I recall asking an older coworker (mid-thirties at the time) what drove him, and he said he just does it for the paycheck now. I’m at that point. Lost the fire for career and collecting my paycheck for other purposes in life where the fire has been rekindled.

    I worked remote for 5 years at a prior job and this was never the case. There’s something special about this combo of remote and “your feelings are valid”.

  • On-Demand Webcast: Your Guide to Moving Tax Processes to the Cloud

    On-Demand Webcast: Your Guide to Moving Tax Processes to the Cloud

    Watch this webcast to learn more about migrating your tax processes to the cloud. It is now possible to accelerate your indirect tax processes with cloud technology. By utilizing tax technology you can address critical infrastructure changes, provide faster and more reliable access for remote users, increase scalability, and reduce costs.

    Implementation of a new tax technology throughout your business can make it easier to scale for growth, as well as integrate with your ERP, point of sale (POS), and subscription billing service. According to a survey conducted by CIO.com, 78% of IT professionals expect digital transformation to greatly impact their organization within a year. How are you going to change your business?

    In this on-demand webcast, Heather Ingram, cloud practice leader from Vertex Consulting, and Vince Morasco, cloud manager from Vertex Product Management, will walk you through multiple areas to consider before, during, and after the migration.

    Sponsored by Vertex

  • COVID Has Really Impacted Aerospace… and the Air Force

    COVID Has Really Impacted Aerospace… and the Air Force

    “COVID has really impacted the aerospace industry in this nation and nations around the world disproportionately to other industries… and the Air Force has not been exempt from these impacts,” says former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Dr. Will Roper:

    COVID Has Really Impacted Aerospace… and the Air Force

    COVID has really impacted the aerospace industry in this nation and nations around the world disproportionately to other industries. The Air Force has not been exempt from these impacts. We have had to go into a wartime posture and engage with exceptional authorities and funding to keep the aerospace industry, which allows us to go to war, whole.

    But aside from the crisis response that we’ve all been in it’s forced us to do some serious reflection about how we engage with production and supply chains going forward. How does the Air Force need to change the way it views its future self so that we’re not just more ready for a crisis when it occurs but we’re actually designing better systems, doing better engineering, and using technology more effectively? Systems that we need to go to war are going to be hidden behind doors where their vulnerabilities are never going to be exposed because of secrecy.

    Secrecy Hinders Our Ability To Digitally Go To War

    We’re moving into an era where we’re leveraging commercial technology more frequently. Because of that, we can no longer hope that secrecy, keeping our systems classified, will be the sole means for us to be secure. We need to find a new paradigm where openness is also part of our security posture. Now we’re not going to be able to copy commercial industry one for one. Our systems in many cases don’t have a commercial analog. We can’t quickly replace them.

    We’re not in a competition where spirals occur in years. Many of our aerospace breakthroughs, especially those in technologies like stealth, take time to do. Secrecy is going to continue to be part of the equation. But secrecy can’t be the catch-all approach to how we ensure systems are able to digitally go to war and be ready to fight in a cyber environment against an adversary as capable as we are.

    Containerization Solves The Secrecy Problem

    The software development capabilities that technologies like Kubernetes or containerization and Istio bring in to the Air Force. It’s amazing that companies like Google that have now transitioned this to an open-source driven initiative have solved a lot of what we would have to solve as a military. How do you write code in a development environment, in that tech stack that may also represent the physical aspects of your system, but it certainly represents the software components?

    How do you go from your development environment out to the edge securely and know your code will run the same way. Containerization solves that problem for us. The military is behind and adopting it. It’s not old but this technology is moving through industry as fast as Linux did. If we don’t get off the dime we will be left behind. Keep pushing the Air Force and Space Force on this. Do not let us get comfortable.

    COVID Has Really Impacted Aerospace… and the Air Force
  • How Artificial Intelligence Can Improve the Hiring Process

    How Artificial Intelligence Can Improve the Hiring Process

    Recruiting software and AI have become increasingly popular, especially right now with remote work becoming the norm. However, this has not been without problems. To solve the problems with recruiting AI people must program their AI with unbiased data. With unbiased data, recruiting AI makes the hiring process a snap. It makes selecting the top applicants quick and easy and even increases the talent pool’s diversity. Learn more by reading the rest of this article and visual deep dive. 

    The past problems with recruiting AI are easily solvable, but do pose a threat. Recruiting AIs have been found to learn similar biases to human recruiters, intensifying the lack of diversity within the workforce. In 2018, Amazon scrapped its recruiting AI because the program developed a preference for male candidates, penalizing resumes that included the word “woman” or mentioned an all female college. This is of course in conflict with the effort to improve the hiring process. Excluding part of the talent pool based on factors that have no correlation to a candidate’s qualifications is detrimental to hiring successfully. 

    Having the AI pick up on certain keywords creates a large potential for bias to sneak into the system. It also shifts the value from an applicant’s qualifications to their resume building abilities. The ability to jam as many keywords into a resume or cover letter is not the most important skill for a person to have once they get hired for a job. With 90% of enterprises and 68% of small businesses using applicant tracking systems, this has to be tackled under control. And, it can be by using a recruiting AI programmed with unbiased data. 

    The biases that affect fair hiring exist in humans and are transferred to the AI through the use of flawed data when it is being programmed. Luckily, the software is able to completely avoid these biases, unlike humans. The AI just needs to be programmed with varied, unbiased data. It needs to be taught to value factors like a person’s interests and skills while disregarding their age, gender, or race. 

    An unbiased recruiting AI is easier and allows for more diversity in the talent pool, which leads to more success. In the S&P 500, the 20 most diverse companies achieve a greater long-term profitability than their less-diverse counterparts. Diversity fuels new ideas and innovation, allowing a company to take on problems to find better solutions. Creating a more diverse workforce begins with improving the recruiting process, which can easily be done with unbiased recruiting AI.

    Artificial intelligence in recruiting software is a great way to speed up the hiring process while also making it more effective. Recruiting AI can also be integrated into a company’s current applicant tracking system or other software. When unbiased data is used, recruiting AI is able to find the best applicants to any job regardless of a person’s socioeconomic background. It has the potential to improve hiring and improve the workforce overall. It can make companies more diverse and therefore more successful.

    Embracing Diversity: The How & The Why With Help From AI
  • Snowflake CEO: Once You Get To The Cloud The Lid Is Off

    Snowflake CEO: Once You Get To The Cloud The Lid Is Off

    “Once you get to the cloud all of a sudden the lid is off,” says Snowflake CEO Frank Slootman. “People can just pursue their backlogs and whatever they can imagine. We’re now in a situation where technology is ahead of what people are capable of and imagining what they could actually do with it. That’s really a big part of what you see in Snowflake’s growth profile, a completely variable paradigm.”

    Frank Slootman, CEO of Snowflake, says that on-premise data centers can only accommodate a tiny fraction of what their real demand for data analytics really is:

    Once You Get To The Cloud The Lid Is Off

    The important thing to understand is that there’s a couple of long-term secular trends that are coinciding and driving the development of the market overall. One is, as everybody knows, the movement towards cloud. It’s really a modernization play. We’re moving from on-premise data centers and we’re taking workloads to the cloud because we get to take advantage of better economics and utility models. Then we no longer have to manage capacity, we pay by the drink and all that sort of thing.

    The other aspect that’s really important for our business is that we’ve had an extraordinary amount of pent up demand. The on-premise data centers could only accommodate a very tiny fraction of what their real demand for data analytics really is. Once you get to the cloud all of a sudden the lid is off. People can just pursue their backlogs and whatever they can imagine. We’re now in a situation where technology is ahead of what people are capable of and imagining what they could actually do with it. That’s really a big part of what you see in Snowflake’s growth profile, a completely variable paradigm.

    Notion Of Headquarters Is Evaporating

    We don’t have a yearning to go back to where we were. I can see why people would have that because of lockdowns and things of that sort. From a business standpoint, there’s a lot of positives to the shock to the system that we received. It’s almost like a wake-up call that is just opening our eyes to the opportunity. This whole notion that the office is your workday home we just realized that it’s nonsense. In other words, offices need to be there for specific purposes, for events, for training, for meetings specifically, but not a place to hang out nine to five. That’s definitely changing. It’s going to really reduce the real estate footprint that companies have.

    The other trend and you’ve seen it with companies leaving California, the likes of Oracle and HP and Tesla, and so on is that the whole notion of headquarters is pretty much evaporating in front of our eyes. We’re no longer operating with a physical center of the universe. We’re completely virtual. We’re connecting as needed. We’ve been operating for the better part of a whole year without a headquarters and it’s just fine. All of a sudden everybody’s staring at each other and saying like what is the headquarters anyway. You’ve seen companies like Pinterest and you’re writing up massive leeches in San Francisco and saying we’re going to be headquarter-less. It’s just a concept whose time has gone away… and that’s very profound.

    We Are Buying Talent And Technology, No M&A

    Usually, big M&A is a function of people running out of market and running out of a lot of opportunity. They’re trying to invade adjacent territories to give themselves new runway. That is obviously not the case for Snowflake. We’re in a tremendous marketplace and we are buying talent and technology. We sometimes refer to it as stem cells that we can use that we don’t have ourselves that we can build very specific technologies around that are very much built snowflake way. We can really enable our platform mission or footer. That’s really been our mode. If you looked at our history we don’t have a history of doing big acquisitions.

    Snowflake CEO Frank Slootman: Once You Get To The Cloud The Lid Is Off
  • Staying Relevant as Artificial Intelligence Continues to Advance

    Staying Relevant as Artificial Intelligence Continues to Advance

    What to do when the machines take over

    This is 2020. When last did you write a letter and send it in the mail to someone two countries away?

    A great percentage of jobs that are supposed to be handled extensively by humans are being done by computers and electronic devices now. It’s called “automation” but for many job sectors, it’s a nightmare that millions of workers have to live through. It’s one of the biggest and most terrifying disadvantages of technology – human displacement. Alongside reducing human interaction and physical connection, people are rapidly losing their jobs and relevance in the global workforce to Artificial Intelligence. It’s a scary reality for many professions and it’s only a matter of time before several human-handled jobs become entirely obsolete.

    The main objective of Artificial Intelligence is to create efficient problem-solving systems with unrestrained versatility. As machines are being progressively programmed to be self-learning, self-reasoning, and self-correcting, there’s literally nothing they cannot achieve in due time. Presently, several categories of human jobs are rapidly being taken over by AI. A few of them are discussed below:

    Retail workers: It’s no wonder why 33% of Canadians have refused to use self-checkout. Hundreds of thousands of retail workers around the world are at risk of being replaced by automated machines that serve customers directly with zero human intervention.

    Book-keeping clerks: It’s been a long time since anyone ever heard of book-keepers. With technologies like Microsoft Office, Quickbooks and other incredible software, this job has become almost fully obsolete.

    Receptionists: With fully networked and sophisticated call managing systems taking over, it’s only a matter of time before companies scratch the need for a human face at the reception area.

    Courier services: While they are not in immediate threat, the near future sees automated drones delivering and self-driving delivery trucks doing the jobs of courier service workers and truck drivers.

    Advertising salespersons: With the rise of 3D animation and sophisticated cartooning, most industries are gearing toward marketing their products with these soft characters rather than humans.

    From factory workers and lift operators to bowling alley pinsetters and security guards, countless jobs are at massive automation risk and everyone must get in line with the “new normal” to stay relevant.

    Next-generation survival –diversifying your skills

    According to Michael Peres, a renowned serial-entrepreneur, leading journalist, and software engineer adjusting skills and aligning one’s interests with artificial intelligence is the only way to carve out a solid niche in the future. The 30-year-old Canadian is the creator of the Breaking 9 to 5 work model, a limit-exclusive concept that promotes the adoption of careers that are not restricted by time or confined to particular locations. “Breaking 9-5” does not necessarily recommend that you must quit your regular day job. However, there are no limits to what you can do with your time and life. It promotes a culture where you can work a 9-5 from the seat of a plane en-route a tour trip while taking orders on your merch website or providing services as a freelancer.

    Mikey Peres believes in worthy sacrifices for a better future where people are not afraid to adapt and blend in with the more forceful trends. He believes there are three essential steps to remaining relevant in the next generation as AI takes over:

    Find ways to be creative, unique, and provide values that are hard to replicate: You must come up with something that would be difficult or impracticable for a computer to replace. Find a service or a product that is unique to a particular parameter that cannot easily be industrialized or “snatched away”.

    Develop a diverse set of skills to quickly adapt to an ever-changing environment: There’s no way to survive with analog skills in a computerized world. You must be digitally equipped to thrive and grow in a world where virtually everything is being done by and on computers. Learn about AI, and choose a digital skill that works in collaboration with AI, such as web development, animation, graphic design, digital journalism, digital marketing, and so many more.

    Develop skills that don’t have constraints like time and location: There should be no “chains on your feet” and 24 hours each day should seamlessly run into one another (be sure to get enough sleep, though). Essentially, build a flexible career that does not limit you to a certain location year-round or give you restricting work hours. Do you. Let the world adjust.

    Another forward-thinking next-generation personality that has massively tapped into the AI treasure trove is Elon Musk – of course. The 49-year-old tech billionaire, business magnate, and industrial engineer foresaw a future where machines have a greater percentage of the workforce space than humans. He capitalized on it and while building SpaceX, his aerospace company, Musk became one of the earliest investors and now the CEO of Tesla, the world’s pioneer for renewable energy and self-driving vehicles.

    Despite being one of the global pioneers of the concept, Musk has often described Artificial Intelligence as “dangerous” and a global threat to human survival.  

    Musk advises about coping with the force of AI: “It’s very important that we have the advent of AI in a good way that is something that if you could look into a crystal ball and see the future, you would like that outcome because it is something that could go wrong and as we’ve talked about many times. And so we really need to make sure it goes right.”

  • The Future of Nursing Homes

    The Future of Nursing Homes

    As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, senior citizens have borne the brunt of casualties. This is especially true of those living in nursing homes, though the extent varies. As of September 2020, 25% of US coronavirus deaths occurred in nursing homes; however, 4-5 star nursing homes had 94% lower risk than their 1 star peers. When the current pandemic ends, those disparities will remain. As the Baby Boomer generation of America continues to age, nursing homes will house more people than ever in upcoming years.

    Despite the upward trajectory of demand, nursing homes remain unpopular among Americans. Only 19% think nursing homes make seniors better off. Seniors have lots to consider, such as life insurance for seniors. Seniors don’t move into nursing homes because they want to, but because they can no longer care for themselves and lack the resources to pursue other alternatives. The average nursing home resident needs 4 hours of personalized nursing care every day due to diseases like Alzheimer’s or arthritis. Care that intensive is hard to achieve elsewhere.

    Unfortunately, meeting senior’s medical needs currently comes at the cost of social isolation. Moving away from friends and routines causes depression in 40% of seniors, a statistic tied to worse health outcomes in a bitter feedback loop. Even before COVID-19, 55% said they didn’t see enough of their families, a sad reality that generates a sense of loss and abandonment in nursing home residents. 

    Nursing homes need to adapt. They must find ways to either increase social outcomes for residents or give seniors the tools they need to live independently. As Rosalie Kane, Ph.D. professor of health policy and management at the University of Minnesota, said, “nursing homes are places to live, in addition to clinical settings… Health care needs might be met at the expense of drastically changing someone’s daily life and routines for the worse. The challenge is to pay attention to quality of life as an outcome in itself, and see how health care may be related to quality of life.”  

    Advances in medical technology are improving the quality of nursing home care all around. Some innovations can even help seniors regain independence and return home. Current tech includes Solo-Step, a rehabilitation harness that prevents fall-related injuries and lets users move about more freely, and Aiva voice assistant, which gives seniors an easier way to communicate with other residents, family members, and caregivers from a distance. These devices are available now; the longer they’re on the market, the more chances they’ll have to proliferate. Future technologies include The Kidney Project, an artificial kidney that would remove the need for dialysis in recipients. These products give aging people a chance at a brighter future in spite of the current health crisis.

    As Elaine Ryan, Vice President of Government Affairs for State Advocacy at AARP, says, “this pandemic has made us painfully aware that we can’t ignore our most vulnerable people. Americans always respond to a crisis. And there is hope that, with innovative ideas and bold action, they will again.”

  • Sony Invents Virtual Reality Display Visible To the Naked Eye

    Sony Invents Virtual Reality Display Visible To the Naked Eye

    Using spatial reality to combine the virtual and physical world, Sony’s new Spatial Reality Display creates an incredible 3D optical experience that is viewable to the naked eye.

    “It’s unlike any conventional display,” says Sony Product Designer So Morimoto. “It’s like you’re looking at the real thing. The Spatial Reality Display compared to other displays is amazing. Obviously, conventional 3D displays can show things in 3D, but this actually follows your eye movements, making it feel like a real object. I love that the display feels so natural to the human senses.”

    For designers, this is a huge breakthrough says Sony Product Designer and Mechanical Engineer Tatsuhito Aono. “If we could share designs that are life-size with this kind of clarity, it would make things much smoother. We could get the planner, the designer, and everyone else on the same page, so I think efficiency would improve and so would the quality. It’s almost like you are looking at the same image side by side.

    “I quickly realized that I’m seeing a whole new world here,” says Morimoto. “

    https://youtu.be/HY2uI39-r9I

    “Every single person I’ve seen observing this display is just like wow… I’ve never seen anything like it,” says Dan Phillips, Executive Producer for Emerging Technology at The Mill, a technology creative partner for agencies, production companies, and brands. “I mean you are literally looking at magic happen on the screen. At The Mill, we always take a brief and try to expand on it, whereas this is no kind of precedent.”

    “We’ve all seen holographic effects but this is one that you can see with your own eyes in a very physical sense. It tracks your eyes and it’s just got this depth that is just pretty magical.”

    “Seeing it was kind of mesmerizing and kind of mind-blowing,” says The Mill Creative Director Andrew Proctor. “You’re not designing a set frame but you’re giving a window. Look deeper, look further. You find yourself leaning around and seeing something.

    https://youtu.be/lBnJ9PV6OMA

    Here’s how it works according to Sony:

    High-speed Vision Sensor – The SR Display is based on an innovative high-speed vision sensor that follows exact eye position in space, on vertical, horizontal, and depth axes simultaneously. The display monitors eye movement down to the millisecond while rendering the image instantaneously, based on the location and position of the viewer’s eyes. This allows creators to interact with their designs in a highly-realistic virtual, 3D environment, from any angle without glasses.

    Real-time Rendering Algorithm – Additionally, the SR Display leverages an original processing algorithm to display content in real-time. This allows the stereoscopic image to appear as smooth as real life, even if the viewer moves around.

    Micro Optical Lens – The micro optical lens is positioned precisely over the stunning 15.6 inches (diag.) LCD display1. This lens divides the image into the left and right eyes allowing for stereoscopic viewing with just the naked eye.

    https://youtu.be/KrLMnQM0_Ps
  • DreamBox CEO: Adding Technology To Learning Is Not Martyring Your Kids

    DreamBox CEO: Adding Technology To Learning Is Not Martyring Your Kids

    “We’ve got to be intentional about subjecting ourselves to the scrutiny of third-party evaluators to make sure that parents and teachers don’t think they’re martyring their kids just by adding technology to their learning experience,” says DreamBox Learning CEO Jessie Woolley-Wilson. “A Harvard study that we published proved that it was efficacious. If kids used DreamBox for just five lessons a week, that’s less than one hour, they could get a 60 percent increase in their learning.”

    Jessie Woolley-Wilson, CEO of DreamBox Learning, discusses how DreamBox is now used by one out of every ten schools because it is proven to enhance learning:

    There’s An Acceleration In Schools Going 100% Online

    We have a goal to unlock the learning potential in every child regardless of what zip code they’re in. We think the way to do that is to personalize the learning experience so that it’s engaging, it’s effective, and it’s highly personalized. We developed an intelligent adaptive learning engine that was pioneered in 2006 to actually track how kids are thinking. It matches the curriculum to exactly where they were so it would never be too difficult or too easy. It would always be engaging and kids would struggle productively and learn and master skills.

    We really didn’t know what to expect (related to schools closing), we just knew we had to embrace change. Schools were asked to change and parents were asked to change and we changed too. So we opened up our platform for free through the end of the school year just to make sure that parents and teachers didn’t have to worry about mathematics. We saw over two million kids join the platform in less than six weeks. That’s great growth but it also means it strained the organization. When you grow that fast i like to say you get stretch marks, so we’re managing through our stretch marks. That means that we have a lot more students and a lot more volume to manage in a much smaller piece of time. 

    We thought we would get some relief as schools would go back to school in live classrooms. What we’re finding now in the last couple weeks is that there’s an acceleration in the the number of schools and districts that have decided to remain in a distance 100 percent online learning mode.

    Teachers Cannot Be Replaced By Technology

    The (technology gap) is a big concern and challenge and I would say an opportunity for everyone involved in blended learning. At DreamBox, we never believed and don’t believe that teachers can be replaced by technology. We have developed a technology that was designed to complement the live instruction, to complement the art and the magic that happens in a live classroom. We think that there are things that technology can do better. Technology can understand what each individual child is doing moment by moment and then can tee up predictive insights to a teacher so that they know what they can do and how they can change their live instruction. 

    Over the time of COVID, we think that the gap between the haves and have-nots has grown larger because there are some kids that are permanently disconnected. They don’t have access to broadband and they don’t have devices. We need coordinated strategy, national, state, and local strategy, to make sure that these disconnected kids are connected and they can leverage innovative learning technologies that complement what they get in the classroom.

    Adding Technology To Learning Is Not Martyring Your Kids

    One of the adaptations that we actually made during the time of COVID was we added a capability in the platform that will allow teachers to send notes to kids. I don’t think that all technologies are the same. There’s no monolithic online learning experience. Many kids are not experiencing a positive online learning experience. We’re thrilled that at DreamBox, our kids are engaged. They think they’re playing a game but they’re actually engaged in rigorous meaningful deep thinking mathematics. That’s why they love it and that’s why parents trust it. 

    We saw exponential growth in the number of parents who actually signed up for DreamBox as well. Parents need relief. Children need engaged reliable learning experiences. I think it’s incumbent upon companies like DreamBox to open themselves up to the scrutiny of third-party evaluators. A Harvard study that we published proved that it was efficacious. If kids used DreamBox for just five lessons a week, that’s less than one hour, they could get a 60 percent increase in their learning. 

    On the other side, in terms of student privacy, Common Sense Media has given us their highest rating. These are hard goals but we’ve got to be intentional about subjecting ourselves to the scrutiny of third-party evaluators to make sure that parents and teachers don’t think they’re martyring their kids just by adding technology to their learning experience.

    DreamBox CEO Jessie Woolley-Wilson: Adding Technology To Learning Is Not Martyring Your Kids
  • Tech Titans Meet With Trump: Video, Pics and Opening Transcript

    Tech Titans Meet With Trump: Video, Pics and Opening Transcript

    The tech titans of Silicon Valley (and a few other places) met with President Elect Donald Trump at his request today. Notably, Trump said that any of them could call him directly if their companies needed help. He said that there is no chain of command here.

    “I’m super excited about the possibility that this could be the innovation Administration,” said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg added, “I’m excited to talk about jobs.”

    The complete transcript of Trump’s opening remarks to the group:

    “Well, I just want to thank everybody. This is a truly amazing group of people. I won’t tell you the hundreds of calls we’ve had asking to come to this meeting (laughter). I will say Peter (Thiel) was sort of saying, no those companies are too small, and these are monster screen-shot-2016-12-14-at-7-16-14-pmcompanies.

    I want to start by thanking Peter because he saw something very early, maybe before we saw it, of course he’s known for that in a different way. He has been so terrific and so outstanding. He got just about the biggest applause at the Republican National Convention. He’s ahead of the curve and I want to thank him and (while shaking his hand) you’re a very special guy.

    I want to add that I’m here to help you folks do well and you are doing well right now. I’m very honored by the bounce, everybody is talking about the bounce, so everybody in this room has to like me at least a little bit. We are going to have to try and have that bounce continue.

    Perhaps even more importantly, we want you to keep going with the incredible innovation. There is nobody like you in the world. There is nobody like the people in this room. Anything we can do to help this go along, we are going to be there for you. You call my people, you call me, it doesn’t make any difference, we have no formal chain of command around here.

    We are honored to have Gary, the President of Goldman Sacks, left Goldman Sacks to do this. And Wilbur, everybody knows Wilbur, they don’t call him Wilbur Ross on Wall Street, they just say oh it’s Wilbur (laughter). There’s nobody like him.

    We are going to do fair trade deals, we’re going to make it a lot easier for you to trade. Across borders, there are a lot of restrictions and a lot of problems. If you have any ideas on that, that would be great because there are a lot of restrictions and a lot of problems. You probably have less of a problem than some companies because some companies have massive problems, but we are going to solve those problems.”

    Who Was There?

  • Google Says Its “Mission Impossible” Cloud Platform is the Most Secure

    Google Says Its “Mission Impossible” Cloud Platform is the Most Secure

    Neal Mueller, Security and Networking lead for Google Cloud, recently was interviewed about security and other important aspects of using the Google Cloud Platform to host websites, online retailers and other data intensive applications.

    Should I move our online applications to the cloud and is it secure?

    We get that question less and less these days. There are big advantages to moving to the cloud. You get to have all of the scale that you want immediately when you want it. You don’t pay for it when you don’t use it. And you don’t have to worry about the maintenance of the underlying machines. The advantages are so big, in fact, that we seldom get the question of, should I move to the cloud? More often, the question that we get is, how can I move to the cloud safely?

    Where does Google’s responsibility for security begin?

    It’s simple. Google’s responsibility is to control the underlying infrastructure. Your responsibility is to secure the data on top.

    Why use Google as a cloud provider?

    One of the reasons that we talk about a lot is that Google is the right cloud provider for you because we’ve got over 500 security engineers. These are 500 people that are foremost in their fields. They’ve been in peer-reviewed journals, they’re experts at security.

    Let me give you an example of just one team within the 500. It’s called Project Zero. These are forward-facing engineers whose job it is to discover 0-Days, that is, new vulnerabilities, never before seen or disclosed. They discovered Heartbleed, which affects anybody with a browser. It’s a TLS vulnerability. They discovered rowhammer, which affects anybody that has a computer with RAM and they discovered 15 of the last 21 KVM vulnerabilities, which is really important to Google because we use KVM as our chosen hypervisor technology. All of these vulnerabilities, as soon as we discover them, we immediately disclose them so that the world is a safer place thanks to the work of Project Zero.

    Can you tell us more about this?

    Let’s talk about the word provenance. It’s a word in English that means come from. It’s a fundamental tenet of how we think of secure systems. We don’t just buy hardware that’s off the shelf. We return to first principles, figure out what functionality we need from the hardware and which ones we don’t, because functionality that’s included in the hardware off the shelf might introduce vulnerabilities that we don’t want. This leads us in many cases to custom-build secure systems. So we have custom-built ASICs, custom-built servers, custom-built racks, custom-built storage arrays inside custom-built data centers. All of this leads to a much more secure data center.

    Infrastructure security, doesn’t that go beyond hardware?

    Sure. It extends to the people inside that data center, too. These are full-time, badged Googlers that have submitted to a background check and have an array of physical security to make their job easier. We’re talking about stuff that you’ve seen in “Mission Impossible”– biometrics, lasers, vehicle barriers, bollards. All of this is custom-built, also, to make the data center more secure.

    So is this unique to just Google?

    Yeah, it’s unique to Google, but not for long. Part of being Google is giving back to your community. So as part of the Open Compute Project, just last week with Facebook, we released our design for a 48-volt rack. This is a very high-density, highly efficient, highly green rack. And although Google is the only one that can build it, now that everybody has the designs, everybody can build data centers as efficient.

    What other cool stuff is Google Cloud doing?

    What’s next? So with 500 security engineers on staff, there’s a lot that’s up next. But let me tell you about just two things that spring to mind. The first one is BeyondCorp. Here, we have separated ourself from the traditional enterprise security model. Traditional enterprise security has a hard firewall to guard the perimeter. However, we’ve seen what happens with recent breaches– what happens when an adversary gets inside that perimeter. He has relatively unfettered access to the resources inside the internet. What Google does is device authentication which allows our applications to be accessible by the internet, but be just as secure as if they were only accessible by the intranet. We believe that this makes our public cloud more secure.

    What’s the second initiative?

    On Google Cloud Platform, data at rest is encrypted by default. This is a real differentiator for us. We believe it’s good practice and good business. We’ve seen what happens when adversaries get a hold of breached PII and we think that encryption by default is a good preventative measure against that.

  • Microfluidic Cooling May Keep Moore’s Law Intact

    Michael Kassner, a freelance writer, wrote a very interesting article published at TechRepublic on how microfluidic cooling might be the answer to preventing Moore’s Law from petering out. Moore’s Law is the observation made in 1965 by Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, that the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits had doubled every year since the integrated circuit was invented and would continue for the foreseeable future. However, Moore’s Law is under threat because existing technology is not able to keep microchips cool while still adding more processing power.

    Intel has an interesting website and video celebrating Moore’s Law:

    Fortunately, the Federal Government is working on a solution. DARPA has a program called ICECool Applications (ICECool Apps) which they describe as follows:

    ICECool is exploring disruptive thermal technologies that will mitigate thermal limitations on the operation of military electronic systems, while significantly reducing size, weight, and power consumption (SWaP). The specific goal of ICECool Applications is to enhance the performance of RF power amplifiers and embedded computing systems through the application of chip-level heat removal with kW-level heat flux and heat density with thermal control of local submillimeter hot spots, while maintaining these components in their commonly-accepted temperature range by judicious combination of intra- and/or interchip microfluidic cooling and on-chip thermal interconnects.

    Lockheed Martin is working with DARP on microfluidic cooling solutions. “Right now, we’re limited in the power we can put into microchips,” says John Ditri, the Principal Investigator on Lockheed Martin’s ICECool effort. “One of the biggest challenges is managing the heat. If you can manage the heat, you can use fewer chips and that means using less material, which results in cost savings as well as reduced system size and weight. If you manage the heat and use the same number of chips, you’ll get even greater performance in your system.”

    Screen Shot 2016-06-10 at 11.28.57 AM

    As Lockheed Martin describes it, “This research program could ultimately lead to a lighter, faster and cheaper way to cool high-powered microchips – by cooling the chips with microscopic drops of water. This technology has applications in electronic warfare, radars, high-performance computers and data servers.”

    Here’s is the current progress of the ICECool program per Lockheed Martin:

    Phase I of the ICECool program verified the effectiveness of Lockheed’s embedded microfluidic cooling approach by demonstrating a four-times reduction in thermal resistance while cooling a thermal demonstration die dissipating 1 kW/cm2 die-level heat flux with multiple local 30 kW/cm2 hot spots. This is about four to five times more heat per unit area than most current chips dissipate, paving the way for future chip advancements.

    In Phase II of the program, the team has moved on to cooling high power RF amplifiers to validate the electrical performance improvements enabled by improved thermal management. Utilizing its ICECool technology, the team has been able to demonstrate greater than six times increase in RF output power from a given amplifier, while still running cooler than its conventionally cooled counterpart.

    In its ongoing effort to move the technology out of the laboratory and into the field, Lockheed Martin is developing a fully functional, microfluidically cooled, transmit antenna prototype to increase the technology readiness level (TRL) of this technology. This will lay the foundation for possible insertions into future electronics systems.

    Lockheed Martin is working with Qorvo to integrate its thermal solution with Qorvo’s high performance GaN process; a relationship that will help unleash the full potential of GaN semiconductors by removing current thermal barriers. The Lockheed Martin approach is also applicable to other current and future die technologies, such as existing Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) and future GaN on Diamond when it becomes available.

    Lockheed Martin’s ICECool embedded thermal management approach removes thermal barriers to harness GaN’s full RF power handling capability. In addition to revolutionizing the way GaN amplifiers are implemented, this technology will benefit any high heat flux Integrated circuit application, including signal processing and high performance computing.

  • Google Taking on iPhone with New ‘Find Your Phone’ Tool

    Google Taking on iPhone with New ‘Find Your Phone’ Tool

    Google is taking on Apple’s iPhone with a new feature called ‘Find Your Phone‘. It is a new feature of Google’s ‘My Account‘ hub, which was launched a year ago today. My Account puts all of your privacy and security tools in one spot and can be accessed on any device. The current tool let you change Ad and Privacy Settings and run Security Checkups. Google says that more than 1 billion people have logged into their own ‘My Account’ hub.

    With ‘Find Your Phone’ Google is competing with Apple’s ‘Find My iPhone’ feature that is part of its iCloud service. With ‘Find Your Phone’ you can locate your phone geographically on a map, lock, call it, secure your account and leave a callback number on the screen.

    Screen Shot 2016-06-01 at 3.05.10 PM

    Best of all, unlike with ‘Find My iPhone’ you can use this new feature with both Android and IOS phones and other devices such as the iPad or Android tablets. And coming soon, you’ll be able to simply search “I lost my phone” in Google to instantly access the features options.

    Google also announced the ability to simply use your voice to get to ‘My Account’ features. Just download the latest Google app to your phone and say, “Ok Google, show me my Google account,” and they’ll take you there. This is currently available only in English, with other languages to follow.

    Screen Shot 2016-06-01 at 3.06.00 PM

    Google added in a blog post: “We’re also making it easier than ever to find My Account by searching Google. Coming soon, you’ll be able to simply search for your own name, and if you’re signed in, you’ll see a shortcut to My Account.”

    Screen Shot 2016-06-01 at 3.07.59 PM

    All very cool Google!

  • Six Flags To Introduce Virtual Reality To Some Of Their Roller Coasters

    Six Flags To Introduce Virtual Reality To Some Of Their Roller Coasters

    Six Flags is about to throw roller coaster enthusiasts for a loop.

    Virtual reality goggles will be added to roller coasters at nine Six Flags amusement parks across the country.

    New Samsung Gear VR headsets will be added to existing coasters to make an entirely new ride. Themes from space battles to underwater adventures to Superman scapes and whatever else can be imagined will be options popping up at Six Flags, starting with space themes at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas, Six Flags Over Georgia near Atlanta and at Six Flags Magic Mountain near Los Angeles.

    Later this year, Six Flags St. Louis in Eureka, The Great Escape in Lake George, New York and La Ronde in Montreal will get the new virtual reality coaster upgrades.

    The special Superman virtual reality coasters will debut at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio.

    Six Flags New England in Agawam, Massachusetts and Six Flags America in Upper Marlboro, Maryland will also be getting the Superman rides.

    Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, boasted, “They can change the story to have aliens or it can take place in a submarine. They can change it annually — just rewrite the software rather than spend $25 million for a new coaster.”

    This sounds so awesome.

    Are you excited to visit a Six Flags near you now that you know about virtual reality coasters?

  • Amazon Now Has a Store Focusing on STEM Toys

    Amazon Now Has a Store Focusing on STEM Toys

    Amazon wants your kids to grow up knowing more about the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. The online retailer has just launched a dedicated marketplace for STEM toys for kids of all ages.

    “STEM toys encourage kids to develop skills in the core disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and math,” says Amazon on its new page. “We chose these toys because they have clear goals and encourage kids to learn STEM skill while having fun.”

    Some featured products include LEGO sets, Roominate systems, modular robotics kits, light circuit kits, LightUp Edison kits, a Solar System planetarium, and remote control machines. On the page, you can filter toys by age (Preschool, 5-7 year, 8-11 years, and 12+ years) or by Amazon’s own editor picks.

    Of course, promoting STEM values is a noble cause, but Amazon isn’t just doing this for the sake of young minds. According to TechCrunch, “the retailer notes that not only are STEM toys a ‘hot trend’ in education, but they were also the second-most visited section and the second highest in terms of sales volume on Amazon’s 2014 Holiday.”

    STEM is hot right now, in other words.

    In other Amazon-specific storefront news, the company just launched a dedicated destination for Shark Tank stuff and other “up-and-coming products” called Amazon Exclusives.

  • Anne Boleyn Portraits May Not Actually Be Her

    Anne Boleyn is one of the most famous faces and stories in all of history, but that famous face in now under speculation.

    Anne Boleyn had many portraits painted of her while she was Henry VIII’s second wife.

    These portraits are treasured items, since many of them were destroyed after Anne Boleyn’s infamous beheading for fear that her image would upset the king.

    However, scientists have determined that these treasured portraits may not actually be Anne Boleyn.

    Using facial recognition experts and a new algorithm that maps faces from portraits for comparison to other portraits, scientists say that the face of Anne Boleyn in some of the portraits doesn’t match the miniature of Boleyn from the British Museum that they are using as a reference.

    The miniature is the only undisputed likeness of Anne Boleyn.

    The portraits in question include the “Anna Bolina” portrait, a late 16th century copy of a painting from 1533, which hangs in London’s National Portrait Gallery. Also among those in question is the famous Hever Castle portrait, a late 16th century painting which is a copy of a portrait from Tudor England, and a second picture of Anne Boleyn from the National Portrait Gallery.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dlJ3VvDUNU

    The latter is even wearing her signature “B” pendant seen in many of Anne Boleyn’s portraits.

    Professor Amit Roy-Chowdhury, of the University of California, is the creator of the algorithm. He said of the project, “The goal of this project is to be able to use state of the art face recognition to identify the individuals seen in a particular portrait.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1Drcxp4wms

    He added, “These portraits have some importance. They probably represent someone of social standing, or some important event, and we often want to identify who is the person in the portrait. The goal is to be able to identify individuals whose identities may not be absolutely certain.”

    The new algorithm has not only possibly solved mysteries surrounding portraits of Anne Boleyn, but has also opened a proverbial can of worms in regard to some Shakespeare portraits.

    The famous Cobbe portrait, which dates from around 1610, is probably not the playwright and is possibly poet Thomas Overbury. The Hampton Court Palace portrait has also been forced under speculation thanks to the new algorithm.

    This is pretty interesting stuff! This might raise a lot more questions than it answers.

    What do you think of the potential of this new facial recognition algorithm?

  • Technology’s Impact On Our Understanding of the Brain

    Technology’s Impact On Our Understanding of the Brain

    This post brought to you by HP Matter. The content and opinions expressed below are that of WebProNews.

    These days, massive technological shifts – driven by big data, mobility, security and cloud computing – are rapidly transforming business and society. Entire industries are being completely transformed, and healthcare is one of them. These trends are unlocking new possibilities for hospitals, researchers, doctors and patients.

    I don’t know if you’re aware that HP has a digital magazine in partnership with Fast Company called HP Matter, but it provides some pretty fascinating content about such trends, and the latest issue looks at the healthcare industry specifically.

    One particularly interesting area at the crossroads of technology and healthcare is on our increasing understanding of the brain. There’s a piece on San Francisco startup Emotiv and how it’s harnessing brain power to translate thoughts into action. It looks at a girl who was left in a semi-vegetative state by a car accident for nearly ten years, and a device called a neuro-headset (one of the latest advancements in wearable technology), which has helped her to convey emotions.

    The device reads the mind, and uses sensors to translates brain activities into actions. It’s applications go beyond healthcare, however. It actually lets the user manipulate objects with their mind like a science fiction movie. You can use the device to control a home-automated system, and turn on the lights or the television, for example, just by thinking about it.

    Take a look:

    As the narrator in the video notes, this opens up a whole new world for quadriplegics.

    This is just one example of the kinds of interesting stories you’ll find in the Healthcare Issue. You’ll find pieces on 3D-printed prosthetics, disease surveillance systems, and a biomechanics technology that’s preventing pitching injuries, to name a few.

    We’d encourage you to check out the latest issue of HP Matter. You can Register for HP Matter for a chance to win an HP SlateBook x2, which is an Ultrabook and tablet in one. There will be weekly drawings taking place throughout the rest of January and February.

    What current technological advancement in healthcare interests you?

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  • Microsoft’s Knightscope Robots Guard Silicon Valley

    Don’t be alarmed when you’re strolling along the roads of Silicon Valley and you happen to be stalked by a cold, heartless, egg shaped machine on wheels; it’s happening.

    Microsoft, the multinational technology corporation, has finally decided to hire robot security guards that will serve to protect the streets surrounding their branch in Mountain View, California, according to GdgtArena.

    As if it was invented by a bunch of nerds, the Knightscope K5 robots are equipped with measuring lasers, GPS, and heat-detecting technology. The robots predict where criminals are most likely to commit offenses as well as the probability of future crimes.

    Wheeling around without the need of human control, the Knightscope stands at 5 feet tall and weighs 300 pounds. It’s installed with four surveillance cameras, microphones, weather monitors, a laser based range finder, odor detectors (just in case someone decides to defecate in public), and scanners that can read 300 license plates per minute.

    Fortunately, the Knightscope K5 machines are not armed (yet.) The lasers in the robot are used to read and measure the distance in front of it, as well as utilize a GPS system so it’s aware of its own location.

    The Knightscope K5 units gather information from government, businesses, and social media sources, running it through a sophisticated algorithm and predicting the likelihood of criminal activity in a certain area.

    Knightscope (the company that makes the Knightscope K5 units) are hoping their obese robot will cut crime down to 50%. If you happen to be a criminal, the K5 will beep at you with extreme prejudice, sending a signal back to its control center where authorities will be notified. If you’re in danger, never fear, just run up to the K5 and slap its head for help, or speak to security over its intercom.

    Four robots have been deployed, wheeling around in Silicon Valley, protecting the country like true patriots. Slashgear reports that the robots are meant to serve as patrol units, monitoring colleges, corporate campuses, parking lots, and shopping malls.

    A Knightscope probably won’t kill you unless it somehow falls off what appears to be its only weakness as of now: steps.

    “I noticed that a K5 in the distance had somehow toppled over the edge of the sidewalk onto the parking-lot asphalt several inches below. A couple of Knightscope folks were needed to pull it upright,” Rachel Metz, a reporter for MIT Technology Review said.

    Scared? The Knightscope official website assures us that we’re in good hands:

    “Imagine a friend that can see, hear, feel and smell that would tirelessly watch over your corporate campus or neighborhood, keep your loved ones safe and put a smile on everyone passing by. Imagine if we could utilize technology to make our communities stronger and safer…..together.”

    What could go wrong?