Michelle Run: Emerging Technologies

Intro:

I didn’t really know what to expect when I signed up for the course MDD410. All I knew was that the class was called Emerging Technologies, so I just made a bunch of guesses what the class was going to be about. Since the name was pretty much self-explanatory, I knew it had something to do with all the new and latest technology that was coming out. That was all I had to go on, so I kind of expected to be either, a lot of typing of papers involved, or a lot of code writing for the new piece of technology. Turns out, I was very wrong; there were still papers that needed to be written, but there was no coding involved.

Reflection:

           Basically, almost everything was new to me, so it was a great learning experience. The one thing I did know about was virtual reality. The class discussions and the homework assignments helped me to understand all the new concepts and ways people integrate new technology. For example, augmented reality was very new to me, and learning about it was very interesting. I know that in the coming years, AR will be a part of our daily lives somehow, just like social media is right now. AR will become our new learning platform, and I’m glad to have gotten to know about it.

           Another new thing I took away from this class is that you can do so much more with Google, than just sending emails. I learned how to create a map and draw up new content with the Google Drive platform. I knew in high school, you can create documents using Google Docs, but that was the extent of my knowledge. Thanks to this course, I was able to expand my knowledge in many areas, especially, Google!

Summary:

Apple’s New Hardware

Apple Inc. is always coming up with something new and better, so it’s no surprise when they announce a new release to keep up with their competitors. Their newest hardware that Apple Inc. created is called Apple HomePod, to against Amazon’s Alexus. The HomePod is a “smart speaker that seeks to hold dominion over your home empire and all the gadgets that reside within” (Holt, 2017). Just like the ‘Lord of the Rings”, it will be the one gadget to rule them all. While it does all the normal stuff, like telling you the weather and providing news, you can also connect it with the HomeKit to gain access to your smart bulbs and the thermostat.

Trend to Come

I believe this is a start to a trend of having a device that can control your home. Amazon was the one who started the trend, now there are companies like Apple who are following suit. This is an important move for Apple, because they have millions who buy their products. There are also those who only stick with one company, so there will be people out there who uses iPhones, iPads, iMacs, and their other products. By having the HomePod, it brings their collection to under one control and give you access to all of it.

My Thoughts on the Technology

As someone who is still growing up during these times, even though I’m a young adult, it is something I would want to be more involved with. As I continue to pursue my degree in web design and development, it is important for me to keep up with these trends. As long as the technology continues to be a part of our future, we should keep growing along with it.

Reference:

Nowadays, it is hard to tell the difference between a fad or a trend. Will it last or will it just fade away like everything else before it? A fad is a short-lived experience that everyone goes crazy for. A trend lasts longer than a fad, but it also adds a change of direction or a new development. 

A technological fad was the Newton PDA that was hyped up by Apple. Reasons why the Newton PDA was just a fad was because it was made fun of by comedians, it was expensive for no reason,and that it was still ahead of its time (Haskin, 2017). Although it flopped back in the 1990s, it paved way to newer inventions such as the cellphone, which turned into smartphones.

One technological trend is autonomous cars, or self-driving cars. They have begun to emerge recently with a few companies beginning the experiments and successfully creating the cars. There are still faults to be dealt with, but self-driving cars are not just a fad. More and more companies are adopting the idea, even truck companies, hoping to create self-driving trucks. “Google and other companies have been testing self-driving cars for several years now, with good success” (Meyerson, 2017). Next thing you know, the cars will be a better driver than you!

References:

Haskin, D. (2007, April 04). Don't Believe the Hype: The 21 Biggest Technology Flops. Retrieved June 18, 2017, from http://www.computerworld.com/article/2543763/computer-hardware/don-t-believe-the-hype--the-21-biggest-technology-flops.html

Keeping up with the current emerging technologies must be hard to do. That is why I’m making it easy for you and listing a few of them here. No need to do all that extra research on your own, I will do it for you. Here are five resources:

1. Twitter: twitter.com

Millions of people use Twitter to blog about things, so there will be plenty who will keep up with the emerging technologies. For example, you can follow someone like Scott Guthrie, who works closely with Microsoft. He has tweeted that Microsoft Azure is introducing the new Azure VPN that is 6x faster than their current VPN. You can check out more of Microsoft Azure’s latest at his twitter: https://twitter.com/ScottGu

2. Engadget: engadget.com

This is a consumer based website that keeps up with the latest trends and give updates on new-upcoming ones. If you click on the ‘Tomorrow’ tab it will redirect you showing what is up-and-coming. For example, the current up-and-coming technology is that the US is funding to build the next generation of supercomputers. 

3. Science Daily: sciencedaily.com

This is blog that posts daily about new things relating to science and technology. For example, if you hover over the ‘Tech’ tab and go to the sub-tab ‘Virtual Reality’ you will find articles related to virtual reality. An emerging technology from this site is Augmented Reality, and it is helping medical professionals to interact with a patient’s body via virtually.

4. Apple: https://developer.apple.com/news/

There are many people who are Apple user so following Apple would be important to keep up with the latest trends. One of newest and latest is called the ‘ARKit’. This kit allows you to enhance your augmented reality experiences beyond your phone. It will allow you to interact with the real world in entirely new ways than you have ever imagined.

5. MIT Technology Review: https://www.technologyreview.com/lists/technologies/2017/