Vision of the Future

New York Times: A Vision of the Future From Those Likely to Invent It

My personal picks:

      What far-off technology will be commonplace in a decade? “Phones and computers will automatically do anything tedious that doesn’t require brainpower, like signing up for a web site or app. The march of technology is the incessant march of convenience.” from Ev Williams
      Which industry will tech put out of business next? “Higher education. Diamond mining.” from Ev Williams
      What technology will seem antiquated in a decade? “Smartphones. Instead, people will wear computers in the form of contact lenses, bracelets or clothing and “walk up to any wall and instantly have full access to all of your cloud data and services.” from Marc Andreesen
      What is the next issue to undergo a sea change in social acceptance? “Far more generalized acceptance of widespread variations in human behavior. All of us who were raised pre-Internet were taught that there is something called ‘normal,’ and I think that whole concept might go right out the window.” from Marc Andreessen
      What is tech’s role in reducing income inequality? “Start new businesses that create jobs and solve real problems. Also, someone could create a Khan Academy that focuses on professional and vocational skills.” from Reid Hoffman

Cisco releases its TechRadar Trends

Cisco Technology Radar Trends

Here is a list of technologies that are currently being monitored…

  • Growth of Encrypted Network Traffic
  • Network Simplification
  • Dynamic Spectrum Access
  • Securing the Internet of Things (IoT)
  • Predictive Context
  • Real-Time Analytics
  • Browser-Based Video and Collaboration
  • Evolution of Data Management and Data Fabric
  • Fog Computing

Why that post? Here is a bit of what I am doing on a daily basis…

Starting to quantify myself with a Withing Pulse

I bought myself a Withings Pulse which, I suppose, initiate my first steps into the Quantify Self movement (wikipedia). I received the device earlier this week and I would not draw a conclusion too fast as I am still in the “honey moon” period but it has been quite pleasant so far to discover the capabilities of the device, with a few caveats.

While unboxing was pleasant and setting up the device was smooth I bump into some problems when trying to charge the device. The USB cable was very hard to insert in the device and when eventually charged it was even harder to remove it to the point that I broke it. Luckily they are using a standard USB charging cable which means I can use the charging cable from my Samsung S4.

I opened a case on their website but I have not heard anything yet.

Upgrading the device software through Bluetooth was not that smooth as it has hung for a while until I stopped it and tried again a few times. Did it again a few times to finally get it working, I think.

The Android app is really nice, very user friendly and easy to use.

My wish list, to be completed when needed:

  • I am currently missing some explanation on how exactly the device and its various sensors work. I am doubtful about its accuracy and would love to have some insights on that.
  • In the same line of thoughts how does the sleep mode work? How is it making a difference between light sleep and deep sleep? Is it using the accelerometer sensors? Or the heart rate? In which case I’d like to see those heart value in the related graph.
  • What about periodical (to be set) notifications to take my heart rate? Or an automatic mode when wearing the wrist?
  • more to come :-)

Now I am looking forward to see what to do with those data :-) but that will not stop me to order the Withings Balance.

Déjà vu

[…] I have had an extremely busy day, I am tired, and all I want to do is sleep, something pulls me to the computer to see what is going on. Just to make sure I haven’t missed anything new or an interesting point of view. […] Src

I did not realize one can “quit the internet”… it must feel good. really. but is it doable?