Newfangled NEST is Hot! Your home thermostat will now know you!!!

Article 5: Newfangled NEST is hot!  By Edward C. Baig

A new thermostat device that connects to Wi_Fi or via iPhone or iPad that also has technology of ‘learned behavior” of its home owner.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/story/2011-10-25/nest-thermostat-review/50917506/1   By Edward C. Baig

So leave it to the latest mother of invention to select the next common/uncommon device from right underneath of tech savvy noses and make it as hi-tech as it comes…the common boring (hasn’t been changed since Leave it to Beaver) thermostat. How many of us have the round dial mustard beige device circa 1960s or 70s device in our home. Heck even if you have a 80s or 90s home chances are your thermostat was non-descript.

So just as you iphone or ipad is loaded with apps so to soon the same level of water cooler dialogue will apply with your home thermostat. How’s that for office conversation, “have you downloaded that new app that links to Pepco, and issues alerts for too high of thermostat setting warning of increase of heating bill by 40%, I just love that!!! I keep my heat at 52 degrees! “.   And most importantly  how scary will it be when  thermostat automatically decreases the heating temperature by 5 degrees every 3.5 weeks of a  woman’s home because like clockwork she typically decreases the temp to adjust to her PMS symptoms.  Now that’s scary!   Personalization at its finest…soon there will be no more secrets to tell.

Article Snapshot Summary:

Unless heating or cooling is on your mind, there isn't much reason you'd turn to the digital Nest Learning Thermostat, either. Except that this is the coolest thermostat I've ever come across. Nest smashes any preconceived notions of what a thermostat ought to look like and how it should operate, whether you're in front of it or accessing it remotely from an iPhone or iPad. It takes advantage of cloud computing, and it learns from your behavior.

The $249 thermostat was created by Silicon Valley start-up Nest Labs, whose co-founder Tony Fadell used to be in charge of iPods at Apple. Fadell brings the Apple aesthetic to Nest.

Nest gets smarter over time based on the way you raise or lower the temperature when you come or go at different times. In a week's time, Nest will automatically turn down heating or cooling when you're not around. As part of the setup, you can select the high and low temperatures that your heating and cooling system will deliver while you're away. And if you're leaving for vacation, you can manually choose an "Away" setting.

During setup, you can connect Nest to your Wi-Fi network, then change your settings remotely — from the Web or via an app on an iPhone or iPad. (An Android app is due in December.)

Article 4 - From Adobe Sneaks Conference "No More Blurring Pictures"

Team, I had the pleasure of attending the Adobe Conference in Los Angeles the week of Oct 2^nd. I say pleasure because it has been a while since I have been in the company of such a large  creative pool of people. This was a youthful set, full of the technologies to build the Angry Birds of the world and other high tech games with state of the art 3D technologies. All the top video, gaming industries were represented because Adobe creative suite, products and code helps those companies with state of the art graphics displays. 

At the awards event, hosted by Raiin Wilson, a dedicated segment called Sneaks was introduced. The premise of Sneaks is that, key Adobe developers get the opportunity to introduced new technologies they have developed. These are products that will take 2-3 years to come to market but are considered ground breaking technologies among technologists themselves. One such introduction was Adobe’s latest feature for Photoshop. The proposed feature demonstrated how you can scan a blurry picture and using the latest feature’s algorithm technology, the pictures pixels are analyzed and new pixels are generated to what the software assumes will make the most accurate representation. The developer demonstrated this five times and each time the technology produced a clean crisp picture. Can you imagine never having a blurry picture again, even if we take one, this software will auto-correct it for you? I can’t wait.

Article and Associated Adobe Youtube video for Sneaks: No more Blurry Pictures

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/fuzzy-photo-photoshop-could-soon-fix-that/

FuzzyPhoto? Photoshop Could Soon Fix That Posted on October 13, 2011 Author Liz Klimas

Article 3- Siri Voice Recognition

Article Snapshot: Apple iPhone 4S personal assistant: Siri

By: Marguerite Reardon October 4, 2011

Apple demonstrated an intelligent voice recognition app that turns the  pihone 4S into a personal assistant.

The app, which uses natural language, is still in beta tests. But it will likely become a feature on the soon-to-be-released iPhone 4S. Scott Forstall, head of Apple iOS, spent a considerable amount of time demonstrating the new app at the Apple event in Cupertino, Calif., on Tuesday.

By simply holding down the home or "I" button on the device, users can launch the app and be given a list of commands that will allow them to play songs, call people, create text messages, set up meetings and reminders, get directions, and dictate e-mails by simply speaking at their phones. Other commands that can be activated by voice are checking the weather and stock prices, setting alarms, looking up addresses, writing notes in the Notes app, and searching the Web.

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There is no limit on how to use this technology and no media constraints. Think of the power of integration with NFC (Near Fear Communication device). Imagine going to the grocery store and starting the purchase of a product without taking your wallet where NFC auto detects the potential purchase from prompts of register and credit card inputs: Siri prompts: would u like to use a purchase (your answer YES), Siri answers: please confirm your password. You type it in (security data should never be a audible attribute ???). Siri prompts: confirm purchase: your response YES.

There could also be the introduction of Siri to the car in combination with Satellite radio and any online musical purchasing. Imaging driving along and you hear this hot new song. You prompt Siri: Siri?  Siri answers: yes, confirm user. Your response: Mizlhojo1, please purchase song. Siri confirms song currently playing on Sirius/XM: Artist Beyonce, Song: Best Thing I Never Had; is this the song you would like to purchase? Your response: Yes.  Siri prompts: your password,etc

The thought is that a lot of day to day conveniences of instant gratification could be at our fingertips? Does this add greater flexibility to our lives or more complexity?

Article 2 Submission: Apple's iPhone 5's Assistant feature: Cool Voice Command Service?

Summary:  By Larry Dignan  (Sept 26) Apple is reportedly prepping a voice system dubbed Assistant in the iPhone 5. Can Apple make voice recognition cool?

Voice recognition and commands have gone so mainstream that you can’t call any company without first talking to some robot. Meanwhile, voice commands are found in your car—Ford Sync—phone via Google voice search and other areas.

What has been missing is that emotional appeal and the mainstreaming of voice technology?

Can Apple change that? 9-to-5Mac is reporting that Apple will include an iPhone 5 feature called Assistant that’s based on its Siri acquisition. Assistant goes like this:

• Hold down the home button for a couple of seconds.
• Say or pick a command.
• Voice is integrated with all the apps of the iPhone. You can send a text, make an appointment, ask for directions and do other handy things.
• The integration is supposed to be the big selling point.

With voice recognition expanding and evolving, users are growing ever more confident in its use. Imagine the simplification of life as we drive our cars. The endless number of activities we can handle remotely. Not that the Gen XYZ generations aren't multi-taskers  enough already. However, it is this same generation that continually looks to automate everything, to find ways for to do more with less effort. However, there are endless possibilities for the use.  Imagine the flexibility of real-time purchase (all w/ the spoken word). More and more commercial sales sites have their mobile sites. Think of the possibilities of bringing up a mobile site for Best Buy and making a purchase based on voice recognition command, or ordering tickets from ticket master (minus the agent). Bu then there's my personal favorite. You are lessening to that hot new song on the radio of your car, or on your phone.....why shouldn't you be able to purchase it through iTunes via voice command only (speaking you login/password/artist/song/confirmation/purchase.  The ease of it!!!!!

New Television Context-Aware Computing

New Television Meets Context-Aware Computing : June 22 2011 IDG00213281

By definition Context awarenesss is defined as complementary to location awareness. Whereas location may serve as a determinant for resident processes, context may be applied more flexibly with mobile computing with any moving entities, especially with bearers of smart communicators. Context awareness originated as a term from ubiquitous computing or as so-called pervasive computing which sought to deal with linking changes in the environment with computer systems, which are otherwise static. Although it originated as a computer science term, it has also been applied to business theory in relation to business process management issues..

It has been cited by Gartner May 2011 that as the middle of 2011 approaches, the IT atmosphere is rapidly making it possible for more vendors, service providers and enterprises to create context-aware experiences.

The report, Context-Aware Computing Special Report, explores the evolving landscape of context-aware computing, providing CIOs and their staff advice on best practices in investing and executing strategies involving context, and identifies the ways that leading companies are achieving competitive differentiation through integrated user experiences.

It further describes that enterprises can leverage context-aware computing to better target and deliver on the promise of increased customer intimacy for millions of consumers. For CIOs, the article recommends the timing of investment in context-aware computing will be critical. Organizations that do not prepare for thoughtful information sharing and usage will be at a severe disadvantage. However, organizations that invest too heavily too early will squander IT, marketing and operational resources. For context to drive enterprise growth, there must be a critical mass of users that want contextual interactions and have devices capable of providing advanced user experiences. And there must be an associated critical mass of economic activity.

There are several examples of context awareness battles presently and their impact on the electronic consumer market. Of course most of us are already consumed with the latest smart phones and apps and our ability to be “checked in” at the Key West Margaretville or the Nats Baseball game.  We check in for our flights via our barcodes confirmation on the cell phone and can even purchase tickets for an evening event via mobile while in route to our location. In short our phones have become our virtual assistances enabled by en ever changing context awareness strategy not only from our respective mobile providers but down to the cell application developer who created the Italian translation application with voice recognition.

In addition, the other growing arena, as cited by the Gartner report,  is the field of television. The focus of the article was key interaction models that are entering the US market place. The article summarized:

• A high-stakes race is under way to control the future of television and its $70 billion in U.S. ad revenue. (In contrast, online video advertising only claims about $1.5 billion.) As a consequence, advertisers face a bewildering array of competing platforms and concepts for what the future of TV viewing and advertising will be.
• Social interaction during TV viewing is rekindling interest in linear programming (as opposed to time-shifted and on-demand viewing), creating new opportunities for dual-screen commercial interactions, and paving the way for new applications of context-aware computing and ensemble programming to brand advertising.
• Although the current architecture of TV delivery is beset with roadblocks to rich interactive design, even the compromised solutions available today show clear indications that certain types of interaction can stimulate engagement among viewers.

In short, this article is touching on a new horizon that is sure to come, the concept of personalization in our home television viewing experience. When you think about it Phase One is already here. We each respectively sit down, channel surf to our show of preference or personally engage by selecting or On Demand choices. And while doing so, we can go online, make automated purchases on home shopping or answer emails.  What’s next?? Our television viewing service providers will take personalization to a new level. Suppose your TV knows it’s you sitting to watch, recommends shows you like based on your historical viewing patterns,  has already pre-recorded shows you may be interested in, provides you status on your latest television purchase, checks for new incoming emails and also in connected to both your Netflix and your ITunes library and updates your purchases to the Cloud?

Welcome

This is new blog for GWU ISTM 6290 Emerging Technologies Course for Lisa Hollingshed-Johnson (Cohort Exe MSIST). Welcome to my thoughts on new technologies as they relate to IT industry!