The speed and scale at which computer calculations are made is about to take a quantum leap with a discovery made by a team of Australian engineers lead by Andrew Dzurak at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Quantum Computing is much more advanced than tradition computing where two bits represent a 1 or 0, in quantum computations there are virtually an endless value for a state by superposition or the calculation with other states or qubits. Andrew and his team built a device that allows two qubits to calculate between each other, the quantum logic gate. It is a huge break through using silicon as chip manufacturing today is basically of the same process. What really incredible to myself, as a former MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) engineer is the use of the spin and direction of the electron to arrive at calculating the quantum state. These two sciences may be able to learn a lot from each other. Read more about the scientists and their discovery in UNSW News.
What I think it means for the consumer seven to ten years down the road, self driving cars will be able to calculate all the variables necessary to drive in city traffic flawlessly, medical procedures and drugs will be hand crafted just for your body and DNA. And, when you add this discovery with all the other sciences that are growing, all technology is beginning to increase at an alarmingly increasing rate.
As we approach the 4th quarter of fiscal year 2015, and soon to be at the midway point of this decade, I started to look at the predictions and indicators for internet growth by year 2020. Sounds futurist the year 2020 and I think we are starting to enter into the steeper slope of the curve now. In 2010 the internet had 1.7 billion users, today it has a little over 3.1 billion and by 2020 it should be at 5 billion. Check out the stats by country here on InternetWorldStats.com.
Forecasting the future of the internet is that hard to predict just look at what we do and ask yourself are we going to be doing any less of it. Twenty-five great points are listed in this article on Marketing in 2020 by Jeff Beer of FastCompany.com. By looking at marketing we can see the direction society is taking by observing the force trying to get in-front of the mass. Some key points I took away were virtual reality is reality, brand transparency and through technology it's about to get really personal.
Don't forget to consider the growth of the machine usage with the Internet of Things IoT. Both machine and human usage almost double in the next 5 years!
There's a lot of talk about Windows 10 both good and mostly good, but some of same voices want to say something negative anytime Microsoft release a new product. Haters gonna hate. Having loaded Windows 10 for myself over the weekend, on a Surface Pro 3, it didn't take long, loaded correctly and runs flawless. The new design incorporates the webby Win 8 interface with the usefulness of the desktop for what I feel is the best of both worlds. If you're looking for tips an article by ExtremeTech.com has some hidden features and useful short cuts.
Most of the negative I have heard is about the privacy settings, but you can shut the data sharing off from the control panel or during the installation so it's really a mute point. Everything you do is watched anyway from the moment data leaves your box, so what's the point. (I still opt for leaving the sharing features off though.) The Windows 10 operating systems runs on most devices with the ability to sync between my them. And, when I go to upgrade my phone I just might go for a Windows phone to exploit these features. I'm happy with the free upgrade and the ability to write notes on a web page while viewing, then save it, is huge. Thanks Microsoft!
Why wasn't it called Windows 9... One rumor is to avoid legacy apps checking for Windows 95 or 98 could have mistaken this version number. It's a new age for Microsoft products and I think a very good one.
Here's a great idea for the taking, the magnification card or Mag Card. In the extra space above the magnetic strip, during manufacturing process, create a clear magnification lens out of the card plastic or mold it into the card meld the surface so it doesn't pop out when flexed. The benefit being no need for a reading glass to see your bill or glance over a menu.
Great idea? Well it's here for anyone to develop and patent. I hold a design patent and several copyrights on other products. And after going through the patent process a couple of times, I've learned that if you're not going to make it your life's work and defended it into possible bankruptcy, it's really not worth doing.
The Mag Card has great potential and I'd just like to have one built into my debit card. I'm hoping someone runs with this idea and makes the world a better place (leave the lawyers out of the loop).
The Mag Card was hatched in the early hours of the morning involving the perfect combination of alcohol, an attractive waitresses and a bar tab the size of a federal invoice. If you decide to manufacture and end up making millions, throw a little this way and I see that the ladies get their share.
TechCrunch has a great article on the growth of enterprise software featuring a 3 trillion dollar opportunity, but it's bigger than that and there's so much room for small business and start ups. In short, mobile collaboration for your workforce with direct integration to product partners and stakeholders is the only model to develop for, anything else would be a disservice to your client.
Just five years ago, we wouldn’t have imagined that a farmer or construction worker could be an information worker. But with products like Farmlogs, Planet Labs and Airware in farming and agriculture, and PlanGrid or Skycatch in construction, all new demographics of the workforce are being supported by information technology. And this is just the beginning. As every employee on the planet is enabled by a smartphone, the addressable market for enterprise software grows from about half a billion people to the billions of workers leveraging mobile devices to do their jobs.
Every job is software-enabled, every industry is digitized. Read more at TechCrunch.com
How can you conduct business if you can't speak the same language? Skype Translator will enable the global exchange of information and help your business build international relationships. Skype is about to add a translation tool to their VoIP app that will allow face to face real time translation. I've been wondering how to break into the Chinese market and for 2 cents per minute, less than half that with a subscription, I see endless possibilities.
Microsoft is coming out with the desktop app by the end of this summer and has also removed the signup requirement. This is another big win for Microsoft. Add this app to your Surface Pro and your are truly ready for the world. Take a closer look at Skype Translator here.
Global transactions for small businesses are the next big thing. These are very exciting times for entrepreneurs.
Introducing the Intel Compute Stick. It transforms any HDMI TV or monitor into a full computer. All you need is a wireless keyboard and mouse and you’re all set. When you combined the use of cloud applications and storage, what do you need the rest of the box for?
It comes equipped to go with Windows 8.1, Intel's Atom Quad-core processor, 2gb ram, 32gb storage, built-in WiFi, a USB port and a Micro SD card slot.
Perfect for gaming in the family room, replacing a projector or turning your old TV a smart device. You can pickup the Compute Stick for about $150.
Upgrades I'd like to see in the next version: Make it the size of a pen with the ability to write, a holographic display that will work in daylight and a flawless speech recognition system. Still this very cool, bravo Intel.
Take a look at ixquick.com, a powerful search engine that helps you search the web with total privacy. Why let your search results be tracked and become the target of advertisers, government agencies and other malicious intruders. ixquick's results are accurate and handle the most complicated searches with most advanced capabilities.
These are some of ixquick's privacy-protecting features:
No IP address recorded No record is made of your searches No identifying or tracking cookies used Default SSL encryption Powerful, easy to use proxy available Fourteen-year company track record, third-party certified Customize your search results font size and get more results per page
ixquick.com is the most powerful and private search engine alternative available on the internet. I made the change not just for privacy, but for truer results faster. The results you get on the popular pre-loaded search sites are paid results. In other words, you're getting the results of whomever is paying for the keywords you searched for. I want what I'm searching for within a legitimate site's content. It's not a pure search with ixquick, but it's a big step closer. And, I shouldn't have to defend the privacy issues either. Too many times you hear arguments like, "If you are not doing anything wrong, you don't need to worry about privacy". Well, I'm not up to anything wrong, immoral or illegal, so keep your nose out of it, it's just none of your business.
Some great people gave their all for freedom, a doctrine of human rights and better way of life. At the very least stand up by making a change with your search engine. Happy Memorial Day!
Spoiler Alert - If you haven't seen the final episode of MadMen, read no more. MadMen was weekly TV series that ran on AMC and just came to a brilliant concluding episode. I found the show intriguing on multiple levels. First as a period piece into the advertising industry roots of the 50's to 70's. The characters were well formed and wisely engineered into an almost historic account of advertising growth as it was woven into American culture. The final episode tied it together with a twist I didn't see coming until the classic Coke ad brought it home.
Don Draper's smile while chanting as the new dawn arose could have been that he finally found peace, or was it that he just got the idea for one of the best ad campaigns in history. The next scene was the 1971 "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" commercial. Brilliantly written, directed and executed. (standing ovation). Through the course of the series the ad firm grows into a multi-million dollar empire. What's ironic now is that there is a new dawn in advertising again. The ad firms and TV stations that got rich during the MadMen period a now seeing a seismic shift in the platform, welcome the internet. The dawn is over but the sun hasn't full risen. The day hasn't even begun to warm yet. It'll be interesting to see how history and culture remember this segment of our development, who'll be the next Don Draper's and just how technology will evolve.
Opportunities are everywhere. Internet growth and online advertising are set to explode. Where will your business be?
Microsoft's new version of Internet Explorer for Windows 10 is now called Edge. The upgraded name makes sense on a lot of levels. From what I've seen, the upgraded capabilities really required a program name change rather than a version increment. The applications that run inside Edge take it to a whole new level. It make sense for Surface Pro, too. After all a Surface has an Edge. It gives you an Edge, it's the cutting Edge on the bleeding Edge.
Internet Explorer was right for the time, when the internet was something you explored. Now the internet is the foundation that apps are built with, something liquid and evolving to do something with. You can see more about Edge on Microsoft and on theVerge.
We have the domain name DarkEdge.com on sale now.