Category: Current and Future Trends

Articles

Optus considers breaking net neutrality in Australia | IT News

Optus may charge Netflix and streaming services for video quality | Mashable

Optus Wants Netflix To Pay For ‘Premium Service’ Over Its Network | Gizmodo

Optus wants Netflix to pay up to ensure quality video streaming | Digital Life (Sydney Morning Herald)

My Comments

There has been a huge stoush in the USA between the established cable companies and telcos versus the Internet content providers, Internet users and the FCC regarding the issue of Net Neutrality.

This principle is where an Internet service provider can’t charge an internet content provider like Netflix for better throughput to their customers. This has got to the point where the FCC and President Obama had pushed for the Internet to be deemed a utility service in a similar vein to the telephone service. But this is being subject to a legal challenge which is being watched by a lot of the Internet operators over here as well as in the USA.

Now Optus have thrown the possibility of charging Netflix, Stan & Co a premium fee for higher throughput to their customers as one of many ways to cater for the arrival of streamed on-demand video via the Internet. The argument that is pitched is that customers will complain to their ISP rather than the OTT video provider or catch-up TV service if the experience with their video-on-demand service isn’t up-to-snuff.

Like in the USA, Netflix has been standing for Net Neutrality thus wouldn’t go for any unmetered data arrangements with any of the Australian ISPs. So they wouldn’t go for Optus’s arrangement of whoever pays the piper plays the tune.

Issues were also being raised about the cost and availability of wholesale and retail bandwidth in the Australian market especially in the face of video-on-demand becoming more popular thanks to Netflix and co. This will also include factoring in quality-of-service for content streaming so as to avoid “glitches” through viewing sessions along with catering for higher resolution video content.

It certainly is showing that Australia is needing to cope with a higher demand for real broadband with the proper throughput and this has to be provided in a highly-competitive manner and with assurance of Net Neutrality and quality-of-service.

Article – From the horse’s mouth

Lab Of Things Helping Seniors Who Live Alone | Microsoft Research

My Comments

I have provided a lot of coverage regarding the concept of technology assisting the “ageing at home” principle where older and infirm people can stay at home and live in dignity knowing that the people close to them and their carers can act as a safety net for them.

Here, I had covered technology being used to guide seniors with shopping and food-preparation along with use of existing technology like cameras for medical observation. I have also covered in an article about CSIRO doing research in this field with a view of using the “Internet Of Everything” technology like energy sensors, movement sensors and smart locks to assess whether someone is keeping well such as knowing if they are going in to the kitchen to keep themselves nourished or if they are surfacing and going outside to collect the paper or mail.

Microsoft is working with their research laboratories in China to address the issue of ageing at home in the Asian communities. This is because these communities are becoming increasingly older like most of the world thanks to the good healthcare that is being made available to them.

Here, they are identifying how older people who are living independently at home coping, including factoring in cultural issues. They are also implementing robotics to build a medical-supplies trolley to serve the medicines that these people will need at the proper times as well as shoehorning the Kinect movement sensor as a fall sensor to detect if one is falling or convulsing.

The medicine trolley doesn’t just work with medicines that require regular doses but also can work with medicines that are taken in response to symptoms like asthma attacks and is based around knowing what the symptoms will look like. The Kinect sensor as a fall sensor has to work in a manner to assure personal privacy which is important because of the fact that some of these falls or convulsions can occur when one is using the bathroom or toilet and these devices could be located there.

What I see of this is various technologies that make use of the computer, the home network and the Internet Of Everything are being used to create a safety net for older people or people with chronic illnesses who want to preserve independence and dignity.

Article

Windows 10 Apps Will Be ‘Windows Apps’ Or ‘Windows Desktop Apps’ | Lifehacker

My Comments

Windows 10 – what it’s about

Microsoft is taking bolder steps towards having software developers write one piece of software that runs across multiple types of devices. Previously, if one wanted to develop a program to run on a Windows Phone, the Windows 8 computer or XBox, they had to prepare three discretely different packages with user experiences that play in to the capabilities of the different devices.

Skype – an example of an app that has been demonstrated to work across Windows 10 and Windows Phone

TripAdvisor – an app that would be written to work across the phone or regular computer

Now Microsoft is using Windows 10 as a vehicle to encourage the development of a program that runs on a Windows Phone or small tablet, a regular computer running Windows 10 including a 10”-13” tablet or “2-in-1”, or the XBox. Each of these device classes has a different user experience need so there is the idea to develop a different screen for each of the different classes.

There will be the idea of packaging software as “Windows Desktop Apps” which are like the traditional Windows apps we run on regular desktop or laptop computers, while there will be the Windows Apps that run on the different user experiences such as the Windows Phone or the XBox One. This even applies to future device form factors that Microsoft will target Windows at.

It is symptomatic of the way software development is heading towards where a single program package can be pitched at multiple device form-factors like a handheld mobile device, a tablet, a regular desktop / laptop computer, a TV-based game console / media player and even an in-car display. An example of this is what Google is achieving with their Android platform where a software developer can write a program that plays well for the Android phone or tablet and for a TV (Android TV), in-car display (Android Auto) or smartwatch (Android Wear) just by adding a few lines of extra code pitched at the platform.

What will typically happen will be the provision of a “responsive design” user interface that adapts to the device that the user is running the software on, along with code that can run on the classic Intel processors or the ARM processors. This may be a cinch for various “front-end” programs for online services or some games where there is a desire to have access to all functionality no matter the device.

On the other hand, office productivity software may be focused to allow full-time document creation on a regular computer or quick amendments on a phone or small tablet but wouldn’t play with the XBox One. Or similarly, an MMO game may allow you to use a regular computer or the XBox One to engage heavily with it, including playing the highly-interactive segments but may allow you to use the phone to play it in a reduced-interactivity “incremental” manner.

What I see of value is that someone could get an app off the ground to run on a regular Windows computer, a Windows Phone and, where relevant, the XBox One as one effort. As well it could effectively mean that there are fewer platforms to target when developing that great app yet there is a similar or better level of market reach as they have had before.

Articles

TAG Heuer and Intel announce Swiss Smartwatch for 2015 | Smarterwatching

Watch Out Apple Watch, There’s a Swiss-Made Android Wear Watch Coming | Gizmodo

From the horse’s mouth

Intel

Press Release

TAG Heuer

Press Release

Video Press Announcement

My Comments

Most smartwatches that were being released were pitched as “everyday wear” watches or sports watches which were something you wouldn’t really choose to wear if your goal was to impress someone special. That is unless they were someone who was impressed by the concept of the smartwatch and what it can do.

But when Apple put forward their Apple Watch, they put forward a few premium models that would go alongside or replace that Rolex Presidential as a status-symbol dress watch. Here, they set the cat amongst the pigeons when it came to providing a smartwatch of the calibre that you would wear in the Member’s Stand at Flemington during the Spring Racing Carnival (Melbourne Cup) or you, as the father of the bride, would have on your wrist as you walk the bride down the aisle at the start of the wedding.

TAG Heuer, along with Intel and Google, have worked on an Android Wear smartwatch that uses technology from the microelectronics name. Here, the idea is to create one of these watches that is pitched to the luxury-watch market rather than keeping Android Wear and the smartwatch scene for so-called “all-purpose” or “sports-class” wearables.

As well, TAG Heuer are even pushing to allow the qualification of a Swiss watch to expand to smartwatches that integrate electronics from other countries like Intel’s silicon but still have the watch assembled in Switzerland and have decorative and electromechanical parts coming from there. It can also be a good chance for Intel to investigate the idea of using Switzerland as a hub for activities associated with manufacturing, research and development for wearable technology.

What I see of this is the fact that companies are stepping forward to sell smartwatches fit for wearing at that exclusive club or in the boardroom of that Fortune 500 company in America. It also means that the smartwatch market can become like the traditional watch market with watches that suit different price ranges and different dress senses.

Article – From the horse’s mouth

Panasonic

The wonderful world of Wi-Fi supercharges our latest cameras and camcorders (Blog post)

My Comments

Panasonic is pushing the idea of apps as a Wi-Fi-linked control surface for cameras and camcorders

When Wi-Fi is added to a digital camera or camcorder, it is typically about being able to download the images or footage to a regular computer for editing and post-production.

But Panasonic is using Wi-Fi wireless networking for more than that thanks to the app-cessory model. Here, they provide a downloadable app that works as a control surface for the camera and can use the smartphone’s abilities to increase what the camera or camcorder can do.

For example, they have a “Jump Snap” feature which uses the accelerometer in your phone to detect the peak in a jump to cause the camera to take the picture as you jump. It also exploits the smartphone’s GPS so you can geocode your photos that you take with your camera. Let’s not forget the ability to use the smartphone’s screen to set up and take your photo, as what a control-surface app would do.

Your smartphone could control one of these and add extra capabilities to it

For camcorders, the Wi-Fi ability allows for multi-camera filming like what the TV producers do in the studios. Here, the smartphone’s camera works as a second camera. This would lead to practices like picture-in-picture or real-time cuts/fades/dissolves being part of your videography. There is even the ability to purpose the camcorder as a network-capable video-surveillance camera with your smartphone or tablet serving as a monitor.

What I see of this is these apps could allow Panasonic and other camera manufacturers to add capabilities to their cameras and camcorders using a mobile-platform app.  The multi-camera filming could be improved upon by allowing multiple camera devices, especially digital cameras or camcorders with the good lenses, to work together for creating multiple video tracks or multi-camera views.

The current limitations with anything that will use a smartphone to add capabilities to a digital camera or camcorder is the fact that the software will only work with a certain range of products supplied by a particular manufacturer. Typically this could be limited to mid-tier and high-end products made since a certain model-year or generation.

Who knows who else will be turning out “app-cessory” setups for their camera and camcorder ranges?

Article

Thanks to USB Type-C, external MacBook batteries may finally arrive (update) | Engadget

My Comments

Laptops could be benefiting from external battery packs like this one

Just after Apple had premiered their latest iteration of the MacBook laptop, the computer press have been focusing on this computer being equipped with a USB Type-C connector as its only connector. Subsequently, Google premiered their latest iteration of the Chromebook i.e. the Chromebook Pixel which also has this connection and were making murmurs about this for the Android platform.

Both these computers use the USB Type-C socket as a data / video / power socket and it is an example of things to come for ultraportable notebook computers, because of the low-profile design of these sockets. What is to be the advantage of this connection and the associated USB Power Delivery device class?

USB power via a Type C connector to be the norm for ultraportable computers

Look at what has happened with the smartphones which have come with USB-ended power cables and battery chargers having USB sockets on them. It has led to innovation in how the battery charger is designed because there isn’t any worry about different voltages needed for different smartphones or other gadgets.

For that matter, a highly popular charger type for smartphones especially is the external battery pack which connects to the smartphone’s charging socket. Most of them can be connected to another charger that plugs in to AC power or a car’s cigar-lighter socket to charge up, then they can either charge up the phone’ onboard batteries or provide extra runtime power for that device.

This kind of power universality hadn’t reached laptops yet but, thanks to USB Type C and Power Delivery, it will. These designs will call for a standard fitment and set of power specifications which will open up a common requirement for power supply devices.

The article highlighted the possibility of manufacturers supplying power-supply devices that work with a large number of laptop computers without having consumers worry about whether the power device will work properly and safely with their laptop. They even extended the possibility of external battery packs that are terminated with the USB Type C connector so that one can benefit from longer running time from these batteries.

They also highlighted the fact that Apple would be moving away from its MagSafe power connections just like they have with their Apple Desktop Bus connections. What I see of this as well is that it’s not all about keeping within their own universe but “working beyond” with everyone else. The billion-dollar question yet to be asked is whether Apple will dump the Lightning device-side connection on their iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices when they release subsequent generations of these devices, or are this considered by Apple and their fanbois as the “crown jewels” and have to have Apple’s own connections?

Article

Porsche offers to put modern tech in the dash of your classic 911 | Engadget

From the horse’s mouth

Porsche

Press Release

My Comments

Those of you who are keeping that legendary Porsche 911 alive may want to have a multimedia system that has the best of both worlds – something that doesn’t look out of place in your sport’s car’s dashboard yet is able to work smoothly with your smartphone.

This may be the way to use your smartphone with your classic car’s stereo

This is rather than maintaining the Becker, Blaupunkt or Eurovox radio that came with the car and coupling your smartphone to a cassette adaptor or, worse still, an FM transmitter to have it work with the radio; using a Parrot multimedia smartphone adaptor installed between the existing radio and the speakers; or running a third-party head unit that may be considered by some to be out-of-place in the sports machine’s dashboard.

This radio is manufactured for Porsche Classic which is a division within Porsche that focuses on supporting the fleet of classic Porsche sports cars still on the road in that “stylish yet cool” manner. Activities include supplying original spare parts, technical literature and specially-refined motor oil for Porsches over 10 years old, and they even engage in restoration work to make these cars be young again.

The new radio that Porsche offers maintains the traditional car-radio look with two knobs flanking a control-panel “nose-piece” in the centre that typically had the dial and push-buttons for a radio and a tape slot and applicable transport controls radios that had a tape player. This layout was common for equipment installed in cars of the 70s and before with cars issued since the early 1980s having radios with controls that were located across the unit’s face. But there are six short-cut buttons on the outside and a colour touchscreen on the inside.

It has an FM RDS radio optimised to work with OEM whip aerial along with integrated sat-nav function with the data stored on a MicroSD card. As we; the radio can be connected to a USB memory stick or iPod full of music; as well as serving as a Bluetooth handsfree unit for a mobile phone. There was scant mention of whether it can do Bluetooth A2DP-compliant multimedia playback.

At the moment, the price for this radio is EUR€1184 VAT inclusive with the premium being for integration to the Porsche legacy. I also see this as a way to allow older drivers who spent most of their driving career through the 1960s to the 1980s or people who grew up with these drivers maintain the “comfort zone” associated with the traditional car-radio layout.

Porsche’s effort with this radio could be the start of a big question on how car-audio manufacturers and vehicle builders can court the classic-car scene with today’s technology and will come to the fore while people like retired mechanics see the idea of fixing up and driving classic cars including members of the 1960s-1980s fleet as a viable hobby.  Here, this could be about maintaining that look that complements the classic car’s dashboard. Similarly, it is also about vehicle builders who want to keep in touch with their moving legacy.