The Wearable Future

In today’s ever advancing world of technology, we have developed many devices, which significantly make our lives easier and more productive. Some current examples are smart phones and tablets. When it comes to technology, we are always looking for products that are faster, better, and more affordable. Recently, there has been continuous talk about smart watches. Although smart watches are a fantastic concept with many uses, there is much more to wearable tech. 

First, as discussed, there are many new smart watches coming onto the market. Some major manufacturers include: Samsung, LG, and Pebble. There is excitement though as it is highly likely that Apple will be introducing their new iWatch this coming Tuesday. Samsung arguably has the most popular smart watch currently with their Gear 2. What is so great about the Gear 2 is that it works flawlessly in conjunction with Samsung’s Galaxy smart phones. It is likely that if the iWatch is introduced on Tuesday, we will see the same flawless integration with the iPhone. Some uses for a smart watch would include: wireless payments, faster access to information, communication, and of course….telling time. 

The second wearable tech that is becoming more popular is smart glasses. Currently, Google Glass is leading the way with this type of wearable technology. Google Glass, and smart glasses in general, have many uses. The first use is for law enforcement. Police officers can wear Google Glass to record activities such as: traffic stops, arrests, and warranted searches. This helps to keep both officers and civilians in check with the law. The second use is for individuals who might need to look up information on the fly. This would include: lawyers, doctors, and stock brokers to name a few. A third use, which is currently being developed for the future, is a sort of x-ray vision you might say. This would be vital to doctors who could use it to detect diseases and other abnormalities. This would also be helpful to contractors or builders who would need to look into a wall for loose pipes, faulty electrical wiring, or broken studs.

As with any new technology, there will be bugs and a period of time to get used to it. Just like most new technologies though, wearable tech will help to vastly improve our lives. Although I have discussed a few uses of wearable tech, there are countless others depending on your career, industry, and personal use. Wearable tech will be the future of technology, in the same way, smart phones have become almost universal today. Wearable tech, in the long run, will help businesses become more efficient, productive, and have better overall customer service because of the possibilities of having a vast amount of information and knowledge at their fingertips. 

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The Beat of Apple

Recently, Apple Inc. acquired Beats Electronics for $3 billion. The deal gave Beats Electronics, which is owned by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Lovine, $400 million in Apple equity and the rest in cash. The deal also put Dre and Lovine as top-end Apple employees. Dr. Dre will be working with Apple both in the hardware and music divisions. The recent purchase of Beats Electronics by Apple Inc. is rare, but not unprecedented. Speculations about the recent merger have all pointed towards Apple attempting to start a streaming music service like that of Spotify or Pandora. This is because sales in the iTunes Store have been declining in recent years due to people opting in for streaming music services over purchasing music directly. In January, Beats Electronics launched a streaming music service of their own, which has had debated success, but is speculated to be the main reason that Beats Electronics was purchased. Apple has been trying to get their own streaming music service off the ground, iTunes Radio, but has had limited success. Apple arguably has some of the greatest minds in audio working for them including: Tomlinson Holman, who is the inventor of THX Theater Audio. Now, the quality of Beats headphones is extremely debatable, but their popularity is not. But in the end, the Beats headphones quality does not matter because Dr. Dre has a lock down on what culture wants. As far as Beats Music is concerned, there is speculation that Dre and Lovine only launched the streaming music service to prove its success, so that Apple would purchase Beats Electronics. Whatever the speculation is behind the purchase, one thing that cannot be argued is that the purchase has been good for Apple stockholders, which can be seen in the sharp increase in stock prices in the month following the merger. 

Fund Baby Fund

With today’s technology, almost anyone can start their own business. There are many resources to utilize in achieving this goal with one of the most-widely used being the internet. Many startups have created a business plan and are ready to begin producing their product and/or service, but are lacking one important need: funding. Startups need funding, whether it be through investors or personal funding, they all need capital.  One form of funding that is quickly growing in popularity is crowdfunding. Crowdfunding, according to Investopedia, is “The use of small amounts of capital from a large number of individuals to finance a new business venture.” This is a great way for a startup to gain capital because instead of requesting large amounts of capital from only a few investors, who usually want a piece of the business, they can request small amounts of capital from potentially millions of individuals. This can be vital for startups as they in particular needs to maximize their assets. As stated earlier, nowadays we use the internet for pretty much everything and this is true for crowdfunding as well. There are several websites to crowdfund through with the top 3 being: gofundme, Kickstarter, and Indiegogo. Almost all the crowdfunding websites have the same layout. First, the project or crowdfunding need has its own page with a link. Second, there is a short description on the page along with a video explaining the crowdfunding need. Finally, there is a list to the side which states a gift you will receive depending on the amount of money one chooses to donate. For example, if you donate $5, you might get a sticker or pen in the mail with the company’s logo, but let’s say you donate $5000, you might get your name on the business plan. Each one has its own policies and advantages. Some cater to specific groups, such as artists, while others are open to anyone. For example, Kickstarter doesn’t accept personal crowdfunding while others like gofundme welcome it. This brings up another use for crowdfunding: personal needs. For example, let’s say you’re a college student and need money for tuition or living expenses. Crowdfunding would be an excellent way to raise money. Another example might be an individual who is down on his luck and needs some money to get back on his feet. This might be a last resort for this individual when he runs out of ideas. So my message in closing is this: whether you have a startup in need of capital or a personal need for some money….Crowdfund it!

Mysterious Inspiration

I recently watched a TED talk given by visionary writer/director/producer J.J. Abrams. He discussed his love for mechanical engineering, movie-making technologies, mystery, and magic. When he was growing up, his grandfather gave them things like a super-8 camera and synthesizer so that he could create and bring to life his imagination. This fueled his love for film and his creativity. He then went on to discuss his love for mystery. In New York there was a magic shop he went to as a kid. One day he received a box of magic supplies for himself. One day, many years laters, he was in his office and saw the box, which had never been opened. He thought to himself, “Why have I never opened this?” He soon realized that it inspires him to explore the mysteries of life. Finally, one day he was watching a keynote from Steve Jobs whom was introducing a new iPod. On the screen of the iPod used in the keynote was the cover from the TV show Lost, one of the shows Abrams created. 

This TED talk inspired me for several reasons. First, Abrams love for mysteries reminded me that not all things in life are neatly organized and expected. There are mysterious in life for us to discover: some good, some bad. I realized that I need to embrace mystery and face it head on. Second, he had family who was wholeheartedly behind him in all of his endeavors. This made me realize the wonderful family I have who do the same for me. They are behind me and encourage me to follow my dreams. Finally, you never know where your work will end up or who will admire it. Abrams was shocked and ecstatic when he saw one of his leaders of inspiration, Steve Jobs, use his work in a presentation that was seen worldwide. What an honor this would be for anyone to achieve. 

Show Me The Money!

“Show me the money!” We all know this famous quote from Jerry Maguire; the 1996 movie starring Tom Cruise. In 2009 a new type of currency, Bitcoin, was brought to the market. Since then, many people have been saying the same thing: “Show me the money!” The concept of this mysterious currency has actually been around since 1998 when Wei Dai first described it as a “crypto-currency.” Wei Dai suggested that this new form of money “…uses cryptography to control its creation and transactions, rather than a central authority.” [Bitcoin.org] You might be asking yourself, “What in the world is cryptography?” Cryptography is basically anything written in a secret code or cipher. Bitcoin uses cryptography to control its creation and transactions by using a cryptographic algorithm. This allows bitcoins to be “mined” like gold, but with high-end computers rather than pickaxes. Just like gold, there is only a limited number of bitcoins that were created: 21 million. Only half (11 million) of all bitcoins created have been “mined” up until April of 2013. [Wall Street Journal] The trick to the “mining” algorithm though is that the complexity of the algorithm increases with the number of bitcoins “mined.” What if you just want to buy bitcoins like you would gold or silver instead of “mining” it? Do not fear. There are several exchanges where bitcoins may be purchased such as: Mt.Gox, Coinbase, and CoinMKT just to name a few. What about market volatility and current exchange value? Just yesterday, Mt.Gox halted bitcoin withdrawals which caused the value per coin to drop from $766 USD to $619 USD; about a 20% drop. Russia has even outright banned the currency saying, “Bitcoin is a money substitute and cannot be used by citizens and legal entities.” The United States has not yet regulated the bitcoin, but knowing our current government, will likely do so. Some companies, such as Overstock.com and Tigerdirect have begun to accept bitcoin with much success. Tigerdirect did $250,000 worth of sales in the first 17 hours after accepting bitcoins. [MarketWatch] What does the future hold for bitcoin? As you can see, there are many factors that will affect its adoption as a currency including, but not limited to: regulation, acceptance by the market, and popularity among the general public. Ultimately, the market and regulation will decide the fate of this contemporary and mysterious currency more than any other factors. 

Beats: The Rhythm of Marketing

Nowadays all of us listen to music on a regular basis. We listen to music in our cars, homes, and even from overhead at grocery stores and retail shops. Most of us though use headphones or ear buds to listen to our music of choice. There are many different brands on the market, but one of the most prevalent brands is Beats by Dre. After reading a recent article from CNN, I decided it was time to put in my two cents on the popular headphones. Established in 2008 through a partnership with Monster Cable Products, the Beats by Dre brand quickly gained a significant hold over the headphone market with a 53% stake in 2011 according to Businessweek. I ask the questions though, “Are Beats by Dre really that good? Or is it just marketing?” I am an audio enthusiast and often get asked advice by friends and family about which headphones they should purchase. “I think I want a pair of those Beats headphones. What do you think?” This is a common question I am asked. My answer is always: No. Beats by Dre normally range in price from $200-$400 depending on the model. For your average consumer, this can be a hefty chuck of change, but there are some factors that might push to make a purchase. First, marketing can have a significant effect on demand from consumers. A company can produce a horrible quality product or one that you might not even knew you “needed.” If that product is well marketed though, it can sell like hot cakes. Second, quality can be a determining factor for a consumer to look at when purchasing a product. A product might be significantly more expensive than another of the same type, but if the quality is high a consumer might be persuaded into spending more money on that product. With keeping these two ideas in mind, lets look at Beats by Dre. First, Beats by Dre are EXTREMELY well marketed. They are everywhere from TV commercials and internet ads to dedicated retail store sections and celebrity endorsements from Lady Gaga, LeBron James, P. Diddy and of course Dr. Dre himself. Second, there is the quality of the headphones. Physical quality can very from model to model. The Beats Pro are made of aluminum gunmetal while models like the Studio and Solo HDs are made of plastic. While the quality is not that great, the marketing aspect out weighs this factor. More importantly though is the sound quality of the Beats, or lack thereof. Referring to Beats audio quality, Consumer Reports says, “You’re probably paying more for the Beats name…” Among audiophiles, beats are absolutely loathed. Tus-Chan, a member of the popular Head-Fi forum says, “To a lot of people, the fact that someone took our hobby and our industry and vastly perverted it to the public at large borders on offensive for a variety of reasons.” Even among audio enthusiasts and your average music connoisseur Beats are disliked. There are many other brands of headphones at much better prices that sound worlds better. Overall, you can see that when it relates to Beats by Dre, marketing outweighs quality and that is why they have been able to sell so well.