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Tri-County Sentry
Friday
JANUARY 17, 2014
Tech News
How Developers Want to Make Apple's New Promise to Women and Minorities You a Cyborg in 2014
By Malathi Nayak SAN FRANCISCO Wearable computers like Google Glass and the Samsung Galaxy Gear watch may not have caught fire yet, but that hasn't stopped mobile game developers from rushing to create apps for the new devices, eager to seize what they hope is the next big moment in consumer technology. Niccolo DeMasi, the CEO of mobile games maker Glu Mobile, compares the potential of wearables to that of Apple Inc's iPhone launch in 2007 - an event that was the catalyst to create much of the mobile app world that exists now. DeMasi and others are betting that by developing compelling apps designed with the wearables' special features in mind, they can create overwhelming demand for the products. "A whole new app ecosystem is going to be born," said Shawn Hardin, chief executive officer of Mind Pirate, which will release "Global Food Fight," its first game for Google Glass, this month. "Those who are going to make that happen in a big
way are going to be valuable companies because of it, and those who wait too late won't be a part of it." The market for mobile game apps is expected to grow to $17 billion this year from just $6 billion in 2010, analysts said, and wearables could fuel growth in the years to come. An array of new smartwatches and devices like fitness tracker Fitbit will go on display at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, heralding a potential breakthrough for the devices in 2014. Google Glass is expected to launch broadly
sometime this year. So far, its user-testing version has only been available at a $1,500 price to about 15,000 developers and consumers who registered to be part of its early adopter program. Galaxy Gear smartwatches from Samsung have garnered mixed reviews since their September launch, and consumers have not warmed to them yet. Wearable computing devices basically function as mini-computers, mainly strapped on a user’s wrist or face, though they may end up being worn on other parts of the body, too.
As smartphones begin to render low-end cameras obsolete and Netflix continues to upend the DVD and Blu-ray market, it’s clear the technology landscape will look dramatically different in the near future. Here are five tech products we predict will go the way of the dodo in the next
half-decade. Blu-ray/DVD players Netflix, Netflix, Netflix. Amazingly, the entire demise of Blu-rays and DVDs (and Blockbuster) are due to one company. There were other players in the cultural shift to streaming movies, but Netflix is the iTunes of movies
on demand. Funny enough, iTunes offers movie rentals as well. Stand-alone in-car GPS units In a little over six years, over 1.3 billion iPhone and Android smartphones have been sold around the world, and all of those devices have access to mapping software. Combine that with the propagation of in-car GPS systems, and it spells a swift demise for the stand-alone GPS units for vehicle dashboards, which saw widespread success in the early and mid-2000s. Dial-up Internet Yes, dial-up Internet is still around, and people still use it. In fact, 3 percent of Americans still use dial-up Internet. That’s 9 million people, equal to the population of New Jersey. Only 65 percent of Americans currently have broadband connections. Thanks to the necessity of the Internet and new alternatives for connecting to the Internet at faster speeds, this won’t be the case for long. Low-end digital cameras We have Apple to thank for this one. The 2010 release of the iPhone 4 and its game-changing camera forced the mobile industry to step up camera quality to the point that it has rendered sub-$200 pointand-shoot cameras all but obsolete. Car keys One of the quickest and least discussed changes to happen over the last few years is the reduction of physical car keys and the introduction of smart keys in a number of new vehicles by manufacturers. With benefits like keyless entry, push to start, driver profiles and remote start, buyers of newer vehicles have enjoyed the benefits of the new smart system.
Five Tech Products That Will Be Dead in Five Years
By Lydia O'Connor In response to complaints from major shareholders, Apple has vowed to diversify its nearly allwhite, all-male Board of Directors with a tweak to its corporate charter. The added language reads: “The Committee is committed to actively seeking out highly qualified women and individuals from minority groups to include in the pool from which Board nominees are chosen.” The change follows diversity concerns raised by shareholders Trillium Asset Management LLC and the Sustainability Group, which objected to former Avon CEO Andrea Jung being the eight-person board’s only woman and sole ethnic minority. Over the past months, Apple representatives have discussed these concerns with the shareholders. The issue was set to be put to
Members of the media review the new iPhone 5c and 5s during a new product announcement at Apple headquarters. (Photo Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez) vote at the shareholders equipped to capitalize on meeting in February, but global opportunities and plans were dropped upon avoid missteps that may Apple amending the charter. not be apparent to a more The pledge, sharehold- homogeneous group,” ers say, is simply business Larisa Ruoff of the Sussavvy. tainability Group said. “We live in an increasJung is the only noningly complex global mar- white board member in Apketplace, and the compa- ple’s history and only the nies that can hire, attract second woman, following and retain women and Katherine M. Hudson, who people of color are better served from 1994 to 1997.
By Ryan Nakashima LAS VEGAS — Roku Inc. is launching a line of TVs that play video from services like Netflix without requiring a set-top box. While similar to smart TVs on the market, Roku's Internet streaming platform has some 1,200 apps and offers a more comprehensive selection of niche content. The Saratoga, Calif.based streaming set-top box pioneer is partnering with two of the biggest Chinese TV makers in the world, TCL Corp. and Hisense International Co. Ltd. on six models. It plans to showcase them at the
annual gadget show in Las Vegas, International CES. The Roku TV will also offer users a way to access
feeds from regular live TV providers and to connect to other devices such as Bluray disc players.
By Betsy Isaacson The largest, most spectacular TVs in the known universe are currently all in one place: the Las Vegas strip, which is glowing more than usual as light from a thousand gadgets illuminates the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Along with solarpowered cars and 3D-printing pens, CES always holds a host of beastly, enormous TVs, each claiming to do something more mindblowing than the last. We've collected some of the most genuinely fantastic TVs from this year's conference for reader perusal. Flat screen television manufacturer Vizio revealed a 6 feet high, 9 feet wide Ultra HD TV. ("Ultra HD," for those unfamiliar, means it's four times the resolution of HD.) According to the Baltimore Sun, Vizio was reluctant to say the creation is the largest Ultra HD TV at CES -- claiming other TVs might surpass this one in coming days. OLED TVs (OLED stands for "Organic LightEmitting Diode) don't need backlighting; a thin, flexible OLED screen will glow simply by having electricity run through it. This
allows OLED TV manufacturers like LG to put out thin, gorgeous screens that curve, allowing for a "a more immersive, glarefree experience," according to NBC News. LG's largest curved screen on display is 77 inches wide -- that's more than 6 feet from end to end. Samsung's Smart TVs can't match Vizio's for sheer scale -- but they're desirable, nonetheless, as the linchpin of Samsung's new "Smart Home." The "Smart Home" allows homeowners to control gadgets all over their house via television
or (when on the go) smartphone -- you can check the TV to see when the laundry's done, for example, or use a smartphone to flick off the lights after you've left the house. The sad fact about Ultra HD (also called 4K) is that it usually isn't affordable unless you already own a private jet. Not so with Toshiba's "entry level" 4K TV, a 55-inch (yeah, that's nearly 5 feet) Ultra HD monster that's supposedly going to be the "affordable" entry in Toshiba's Ultra HD lineup. Only problem is, the price hasn't been released yet.
Roku TV Will Stream Video Without Set-Top Box
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