• New Technologies that Change the Game

    We can all breathe a collective sigh of relief now that football season is officially over. It’s over, anyway, for those people who do not live under rocks. Since we here at B2 Technology Solutions will help any business that is looking for that Great User Experience, and we don’t judge anyone’s home life, I will post a SPOILER warning here and at any place I risk spoiling the outcome of the Super Bowl. Since this is a tech blog, however, I am mostly here to write about the emergence of new technologies that we can look forward to throughout 2016, so here is another SPOILER ALERT: We are celebrating the emergence of the new, and I am not referring to Cam Newton’s surprisingly poor sportsmanship in the press conference following the game.

    It can be quite addicting to push out the old in favor of the new, and this year’s Super Bowl was billed as just that: two #1 draft picks at Quarterback; one looking for their (possibly) last moment of greatness and the other looking to start his dominion over the NFL. SPOILER: one of them lost. This is the same old story; something new comes along all bright and shiny and we immediately toss out the old so we can play with the new for a few minutes until we get tired of it. Technology is a clear cut example of this, as there is very little staying power for new technologies – but maybe there is a simple reason for that.

    Haptics Creates Usefulness into New Technologies

    New technologies may stimulate the brain or provide a simpler way to do everyday chores, but they don’t always engage us, especially on a deeper level. According to an Inc. article, however, that may change. “Haptics–haptic means ‘related to the sense of touch’–are beginning to rework the way we interact with gadgets and devices. You’ve probably already encountered them in one of their basic forms: actuators–tiny motors–in your Cadillac that vibrate your seat if you aren’t watching the road. Likewise, your Apple Watch features what Cupertino cutely calls a ‘taptic engine,’ which issues gentle reminders with taps or buzzes.”

    This study of haptics has the chance to revolutionize the way people interact with technology, which could greatly affect the longevity/usefulness of those devices. Imagine a wristband that gently shocks you when you perform a bad habit or shoes that have GPS and can notify you with buzzes when it is time to turn or stop. As can be seen in that article, this is just the beginning. Too bad Cam didn’t have a shock bracelet during the press conference yesterday. It is easy to see wearable technologies create the ability for longer staying power, as it follows the trend started by the original iPhone. Technology not only has to be interesting and fun, but also useful for real-life scenarios. While I am not sure of the long-term value of a shirt that lets you feel the hits others take, “imagine a world where remote employees can ‘touch’ machines in a distant factory, or a surgical resident can feel what it’s like to operate on a human brain–minus any danger to a real patient.” (Inc.)

    A Good Blend between Old and New Technologies

    Much like Cam Newton, new technologies utilizing haptics or wearable technology have some good staying power – they just need to (SPOILER) learn from their fumbles and keep pushing toward that perfect outcome. If so, they can walk in the ways of the iPhone and Peyton Manning, not ending up on the shelf like Ryan Leaf or the Apple Watch. There may be a touch of sarcasm in this article, but we can thank Inc. for that as well – because I am obviously right if I make enough jokes in my writing.

    As a tribute to the emergence of these new technologies, let’s celebrate with a video I found from c|net, talking about the annoyance we now experience because of technology. How long do you think before accidental impaling due to tripping over selfie sticks will make it on this list?

    Enjoy the new technologies, but remember that it all comes at a price. You never want to forget how those phones and other pieces of tech feel once they get permanently shelved. Peyton Manning will be learning that lesson soon. SPOILER: A football game was played Sunday night. A team won. Many people were happy and others were sad.

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