Change - how we communicate

One of the biggest impact the digital age has had on our lives is in the area of communication. Because of the Internet and smartphones we no longer really talk to each other face-to-face. We text, we message, we email, we even use videoconferencing but, we don't really talk to each other face-to-face anymore. I know that is a shame because frankly we miss out on so much when we don't talk to each other face-to-face. On the other hand, it is what it is. The genie has been let out of the bottle and it's not going back in. I for one am not going to give up my iPhone any day soon. I doubt very many others would give up their smartphones either. The way we now communicate is here to stay.

I have noticed one thing though. I actually communicate with my family members more than I did in the past. In the past if I wanted to contact my wife, I had to wait till I got home. Now I just just send her a text or an email and she responds rather quickly. Granted, how we communicate is not very deep, but I do talk to her more during the day than I ever did before. I could say the same thing for the rest of my family members. I guess you can conclude that the quality of our communication probably is not as it was, but the quantity is greater. Maybe that might not be a bad thing overall.

What do you think?

The driverless future

A few days ago I wrote a blog post about how there does not seem to be any disruptive new technology on the horizon. I think I was wrong. I think we have a specific technology that will probably transformer our lives over the next couple of decades. It is the driverless car and truck. The car or truck that drives itself is truly something right out of science-fiction. It seems impossible that one day we will not have to drive ourselves to work, or all the trucks we see around us as we drive will not have a driver. The reality is that someday soon we will start seeing driverless vehicles on the roads around us. At first it will be just a trickle of vehicles. Just a novelty. Eventually that trickle will turn into a flood and then almost all the vehicles on the road will be driverless. As I think about this, I'm struck by how much our lives might change if we all had driverless vehicles. Just imagine that you are on your way to work and you can do something else with your time instead of driving. Imagine all the productive things you can do? (Of course there are also a host of unproductive things you can do as well). But can you imagine not having to drive when you need to go some place? Here I am at this very moment driving into work. How amazing it is going to be when I could freely write, and think, and do something creative while I'm on my way. I think driverless vehicles are going to transform our lives.

What do you think?

The digital revolution and the impact on people.

I just read a report on the impact of automation on jobs. It is estimated that over 45% of jobs are at risk of being taken over by some form of automation. How can you know if your job is at risk? Simple, how easy is it for your job to be done by a computer? I was looking at a list of jobs that are not susceptible to being automated and most of them are in health care. I guess if we want a job in the future we all need to work in the health care industry in some capacity. My concern is this, what are people going to do if their jobs are taken over by automation? In the past when jobs were lost they were replaced by other jobs (like car jobs for horse and carriage jobs that I wrote of before). Unfortunately there are no new jobs being created by the digital revolution. I think we are in for a massive societal unrest and upheaval in the not to far away future (if not sooner). How are people going to earn a living? If you can find an answer you will make a fortune.

What do you think?

See the article at: http://www.kurzweilai.net/impact-of-automation-puts-up-to-85-of-jobs-in-developing-countries-at-risk?utm_source=KurzweilAI+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=0703504b19-UA-946742-1&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6de721fb33-0703504b19-282178613

Technological advancement

I was thinking today about technological advancement. Right now in 2016 it does not feel as if we are on the cusp of anything new that will be revolutionary. Is that an accurate perception? If you look back at significant technological advances you come away with an interesting insight. Most if not all effectual technological advances were not foreseen or were expected. Take the automobile. Yes people thought they were great, and a novelty, but did they realize it was going to transform society as they knew it? I don't think so. Take the airplane. Though there were several people working on making it work, no one thought it was possible. But when the Wright brothers got it together, it transformed the world. The same could be said of the telephone, the computer, and even the Internet. No one truly guessed that they would be so transformative, but they were (and still are). Maybe we are living in a time when no new technical advances will be made, but maybe we are not? Maybe just on the horizon is something that will blow our minds. Wouldn't that be amazing?

What do you think?

Chromebooks still selling well

I was just looking at stuff over on Amazon and I noticed that the best selling laptop is the Acer Chromebook 11. How can that be? I keep reading how Chromebooks are not selling as well as they could be, or that they have a small market share, but I think that Chromebooks are selling well and will be for the foreseeable future. I also noticed that most of the reviews are positive. How could that be considering that you can't do everything on them? I think Chromebooks fill a niche and that is why they are doing much better than anyone expects.

The niche Chromebooks fill is the one for an inexpensive laptop. Chromebooks are the least expensive laptops you can buy (currently $159 on Amazon). They also have all the free applications you could ever want and need. In other words, once you buy a Chromebook, you never have to spend another dime to use it. They never get a virus or malware. They also have amazing battery life. Now you can't do everything on them, but you can do all the basic stuff. I own several other laptops and tablets, but I keep coming back and using my Chromebook. It just works great for me.

What do you think?

Tim Cook dismisses Chromebooks

There is a story out that Tim Cook (CEO of Apple) dismissed Chromebooks as just cheap “test machines”. I think this is very interesting. The last time a major CEO dismissed Chromebooks was when Steve Ballmer (former CEO of Microsoft) did back in 2009. Since then Chromebook market share has grown. This is especially true in the education sector where Google has estimated that Chromebooks will outnumber all other devices in schools by the end of 2015. Since Steve Ballmer is no longer the CEO of Microsoft, does this mean Tim Cook will eventually be out as well? I think it is not a good idea to underestimate Chromebooks. They fill a need no one else is addressing and thus they will continue to increase market share especially in the education sector where they are well suited.

What do you think?

Chromebooks in the classroom catch on

I just read an article that 50% of technology sales to schools were Chromebooks last quarter. I am not surprised. Chromebooks get the job done and they are all that is needed for schools. They are also inexpensive to buy and use. I think we will see a lot more Chromebooks in the classroom and I think that is a positive trend. We will finally have a generation that knows how to use computers productively (and not just smartphones). Here is the article if you want to look at it:
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/03/googles-chromebooks-make-up-half-of-us-classroom-devices.html
What do you think?

The best part of using a Chromebook

I could list some apps here, or some other thing I enjoy doing on my Chromebook, but that is not what I like best about my Chromebook. The best part about using my Chromebook is the battery life. I have been using my Chromebook for more than an hour and have only used 96% of the charge. How awesome is that? According to the the battery charge graphic, I have over 9 hours left to use my Chromebook. No other device (even my iPhone) last that long! The best part is that even when I am doing something like watching videos, the battery life is still longer than any device I own. So I basically get a fully functioning laptop with amazing battery life. Yes I have to be connected to the internet for full functionality, but at least I know I can go all day without worrying about how long I can continue working on my Chromebook Not bad for something that cost me less than $200.

What do you think?

What is a Chromebook good for?

A Chromebook is essentially an internet terminal. In other words, a Chromebook uses the internet like a terminal uses a server. So what ever you can do on the internet, you can do on a Chromebook. It turns out that you can quite a bit on the internet. You can create all forms of documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. You can do basic photo and video editing. You can write music. You can build web pages. You can write code. You can do just about everything you can imagine. Is using Chromebook just as good as using a regular laptop or desktop? No, but it comes close enough. The best part is that you can own a Chromebook for less that $200 and do all I mention basically for free. You can also do all that without worrying about getting a virus or malware.

So I guess you can say that a Chromebook is good for just about anything.

What do you think?

The Future of Chromebooks

I can't say anything definitive on this because I do not work for Google and have absolutely no knowledge on what is truly going to happen. I do have an opinion though.

There are rumors that Chrome OS will be merged in some way with Android. Now that is a distinct possibility, but I am not sure it will happen. Chromebooks have not taken off as a consumer device. They are not the hottest thing on the market and the fact is, they do not pose much of a threat to Windows machines or Macs. They do have a small market share, and that is nice, but I do not think it will expand that much in the future. That is just reality.

But there is one market where Chromebooks are doing very well, which is in the K-12 education market. More and more K-12 schools are adopting Chromebooks, and sales are growing. There are several reason for this. First, Chromebooks are inexpensive to buy and inexpensive to use. Second, software is all web based and inexpensive to use. Because Chromebooks are web based, they are easier to control from an administrative point of view, especially at the school site. I think this is the most important reason why Chromebooks are making nice inroads in the education market.

Smartphones are the new curse of education. Why? Because they are cool and you can do some really fun things with them. You can text, surf the internet, and you can especially download play many of the most popular games on them. How can any teacher compete with that? Now, schools are doing their best to overcome the distraction, but if you give a kid a device that can do all the cool things smartphones can, they will immediately load them with games and all the other things that they love to do. Then you will not only have to deal with the curse of the smartphone, you have to deal with the curse of the device provided by the school itself! At least with Chromebooks, there are fewer distraction wile still being a functional computing device.

So, because of the education market, I think Chrome OS and Chromebooks have a good future. Since I like using my Chromebook, that is good news for me.

What do you think?

Chromebook Vs. Windows 8

I had a class assignment that required the use of Java to complete (I had to build a web page with a java applet on it). Unfortunately Java does not run on Chromebooks. So I powered up my Windows machine to do the work I needed. Unfortunately I never got to it. My Windows machine was so slow and full of bugs I couldn't even get a browser to work right. I ended up having to re-install Windows. Since that takes a few hours on the machine I have, I will have to find another way to do my assignment (since it is due soon).

Though I would love to have Java on my Chromebook, I am glad I don't. Why? Because of what happened to my Windows 8 machine. The machine was so full of bugs and problems that I had to start from scratch with it. In the two years I have been using Chromebooks (I am on my second one now) I have never had any of the problems I have had with my Windows machine. I have had no viruses. I have had no crashes. I have had no issues when I boot up. I have so speed problems. In fact, I am writing right now on my Chromebook as my Windows machine is re-installing the operating system!

So, though I would like to have Java, I love my Chromebook so much more the way it is. I would rather not have any problems and live without Java (and anything else I can't do), than live with the mess Windows (and sometimes Mac) ends up being.

Using the MS Word app on a Chromebook.

I just started using the MS Word app on my Chromebook. Up to now I have used Google drive and a couple of other apps. I started using the MS Word app because it is the only one that I can use on the WIFI network at work. The school district I work for blocks all Google sites (must be because they have a contract with Microsoft for much of their IT).

So far I like what the app can do. First, it's free, which is great. Second, it is a web application, so you need access to the internet and it doesn't work offline like Google Drive does. Since I have a robust WIFI network at home and a decent one at work, I have no issues with being online (other than not having Google access from work). I also have a hotspot on my iPhone, so I am never without some kind of access to the internet. Third, it is a full functioning word processor, but it does not have all the functions found in a full version of MS Word. That does not bother me as well since I do not use all the functions anyway.

Finally, the app works well. I like all I can do with it. I also like how it saves my documents to the cloud automatically. I can also access my documents from several of my other systems and edit or add to them. Having this app on my Chromebook makes it highly functional. One of the biggest drawbacks to using a Chromebook is not having access to many of the standard software packages (Like Office and the like). This app is a fully functioning version of MS Word, so that is one software package that is not an issue in using a Chromebook.

So, can you use MS Word on a Chromebook? You sure can and it's free!

Chromebook 11 v C720 update

I have now spent a couple of weeks using my new Acer Chromebook 11. So far I am well pleased. Battery life is as good (or better) than my Acer C720. The issue with build quality (it's not as nice as my C720) has not been an issue at all. In fact, it is nice to have a lighter laptop to carry around. My Chromebook 11 is all white and I thought it might get dirty quickly, but it has not. I have had no issues running all my favorite apps. I still think my Chromebook 11 is a tad bit faster, but it is imperceptible most of the times. I look back and see that I had my C720 for about a year and a half without any issues (in fact it still is working perfectly). I can see myself having my Chromebook 11 just as long (unless I have money to burn on a new one next year).

My recommendation? If you can get a good price on an Acer C720, pick one up. But, if you can get an Acer Chromebook 11 for less, it's a good deal.

Technology - iPads out at LAUSD

The Los Angeles Unified School District has capitulated on giving iPads to every student. It was a poor decision to begin with. First, iPads are too expensive. Second, students will hack them, steal them, and find some way to keep them. Third, the software that was provided for them is way too expensive. Fourth, the on going cost of using iPads was not sustainable. The district should have opted for Chromebooks. First, the cost would have been half (or more) than using iPads. Second, there would be little or no theft, hacking, or student shenanigans because Chromebooks are not "cool". Third, the software is free. Finally, there little to no on going costs to using a Chromebook.

Chromebooks are not all that great, but they are cheap to buy, cheap to use, and cheap to replace if needed. Chromebooks provide everything a student would need to use the internet and all the resources that are available through it. The goal should be to introduce every student to the digital world with a starter model, not provide them with a high end luxury model and bankrupt the system.