There's more to mobile technology than cellphones and PDAs. The next time you get a package delivered, get your electric/gas meter read, or have a service tech over to service your cable TV, say hullo to the Internet
The GPS future vision for autos is that they will begin communicating with each other in transit, with the hope that this optimizes best routings to destinations and also helps to avoid traffic accidents.
I'm all for that--but they better get the cornfields straightened out from the shopping centers first!
I'm all for smart meters. What we currently have makes no sense to me. The electric meter can be read from outside the house, but the gas meter still has to be read inside the house. The gas company, intentionally, sets up estimated bills every other month, figuring that it will balance out with the actual. But when the meter person shows up just at any time during the day, it is more than likely that no one will be home. That means that an unscheduled estimated bill goes out. After this happens a couple of times, the company starts to threaten the homeowner that there will be a surcharage for the lack of access. I've had that happen many times. Then I have to schedule the reading -- allowing a 5 hour windows for the person to show up -- or read the meter myself and try to enter it online -- which usually fails -- or on the phone.
We have had smart meters here in the Seattle area since 2004--but there's an interesting thing about them.
Prior to the smart meters, the util co had to estimate bills when human meter readers couldn't get to premises. Now that they have the smart meters, the reading process is more accurate. For some people, this has resulted in "higher" bills--when it was more likely that they simply weren't being charged fully for their energy usage in the past.
Great video. I felt really at peace watching, especially because I love the outdoors.
To your points. All three are being used as we speak. My UPS/FedEx delivery service not only uses those handheld devices to scan packages and digital signatures, but their deliver routes are pre-determined to ensure the van takes the shortest path with the most minimal of U-turns and idle stops at intersections.
I live in the San Francisco area, which you may know is a pilot ground for PG&E Smart Meters. While I have not experienced the overcharging of other customers (knock wood) I have not seen a meter reader in about three months.
Lastly, while I do not subscribe to a cable or satellite service, a friend of mine has shifted from Dish to AT&T UVerse. In both cases, technicians only did the install. Upgrades, adjustments and service offerings were conducted through an automated process. I wish my auto mechanic could do the same some day.
Multi-tenant clouds assure security for clients, but not necessarily for their ideas. Here's one thing you should discuss with your cloud provider before you sign on.
Project management and marketing don't generally work well together, but now the cloud delivers PM software that is more compatible with marketing's creative and spontaneous nature.
Now apparently the mobile platform of choice, the Apple iPhone has benefited from its sound understanding of human factors and ergonomics – but is this reputation threatened by a looming avalanche of advertising?
The bring-your-own-device approach isn’t suited to monitoring of enterprise equipment and processes. In these cases, it is up to IT to come forward with gear suited to the task.
Enterprises are discovering that using social networking within the secure setting of a SaaS provider's network gives them an unusual opportunity to freely collaborate with partners, suppliers, and even competitors.
Recently, Amazon was recognized for its customer satisfaction excellence. It has made no secret that being customer-centric is a primary goal. This should be the goal of every e-tailer that wants to build market share.
Tongji University in China has teamed with local businesses in the development of a "real world" banking system that now enables students to master technical skills that are immediately transferrable to enterprises.
A survey by JD Powers found that customer interest in product features is lessening as phones evolve. Rather than features, price is driving purchases, and that change could have a dramatic impact on how IT departments secure these devices.
For the frazzled, hurried consumer, waiting in line has become a major bugaboo. A survey by Great Clips has found that 94 percent will wait less than 10 minutes to check out at a store. Self-check-in has become popular among airlines and is now making its way into the retail marketplace. Using smartphones, consumers can order items and pick them up, cutting down on their wait time.
Google is reportedly working on a pair of Android glasses that will use a low-resolution built-in camera to monitor the world in real time and overlay information about locations, surrounding buildings, and friends who might be nearby. Interested?
We think Amazon's Kindle Fire is pushing Apple to a smaller iPad format. But Sony's Vita and the interest in a small device for portable gaming may create the real threat. Keep your eye on the tablet-gaming space!
Google Maps 6.0 helps users navigate indoor locations like IKEA and airports. While this sounds good, Nicole fears it will also breed dumber humans who bump into each other a lot, or something.
A Citigroup researcher says Amazon is developing its own cellular phone. Amazon, take heed: It's a tougher business to crack than selling the Kindle Fire.
So here we are, the last day of the 2013 US Open Golf Championship at Merion, and Phil Mickelson -- who has been a US Open runner-up five times now but never taken the trophy -- is right up there at the top of the leaderboard.
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