2014-11-26

As developers for tablets and smartphones we like to keep abreast of the latest mobile technology developments . This is a daily digest of mobile development and related technology news gathered from the BBC, the New York Times, New Scientist and the Globe and Mail to name a few. We scour the web for articles concerning, iPhone, iPad and android development, iOS and android operating systems as well as general articles on advances in mobile technology. We hope you find this useful and that it helps to keep you up to date with the latest technology developments.

Smartphone eye team in funds appeal

The team behind a portable eye examination kit that uses smartphones is crowdfunding to raise funds for its new innovation.

HP revenues fails to impress markets

Technology giant Hewlett-Packard’s fourth quarter earnings failed to impress investors ahead of its big business split next year.

Apple gadgets, accessories dominate Time's top 10 for 2014

Time magazine has picked out its top 10 Gadgets list (among other Top 10s such as Video Games and Toys) for holiday season shoppers, and unsurprisingly Apple devices or accessories dominate the selection, taking four out of the 10 slots — the most of any single company. In a list that seems determined to rank some promising but nascent technology higher than one would expect, the rankings are puzzling for the surprising amount of “vaporware” on it — including its top choice, the coming-next-year Apple Watch.



VIDEO: The computer circuits made of slime

Researchers at Plymouth University have built a musical bio-computer.

VIDEO: How to hack a molecular microscope

A PhD student from Brunel University London has saved himself £100,000 by ‘hacking’ his own kit.

Pressure on Universal Credit’s digital service mounts as testing begins

Risks remain for Universal Credit as DWP continues its twin-track gradual roll-out of live and digital services

VIDEO: Mobile showers for the homeless

The San Francisco bus showering the city’s needy

VIDEO: Should online surveillance be wider?

Technology companies have to do more to flag up terror threats on their websites, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.

Police Body Cameras Seen As A Fix For Ferguson-Style Killings

WASHINGTON — Michael Brown’s family did not just decry a grand jury’s decision to bring no charges against the police officer who killed the 18-year-old on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri. They also offered a solution — require all police to wear cameras on their bodies.

“While we understand that many others share our pain, we ask that you channel your frustration in ways that will make a positive change. We need to work together to fix the system that allowed this to happen,” the Brown family said in a statement Monday night.

“Join with us in our campaign to ensure that every police officer working the streets in this country wears a body camera,” they said.

It’s an idea that has gained momentum since police Officer Darren Wilson gunned down Michael Brown Jr. in August, with witnesses offering differing accounts of what happened. Ferguson police started using the cameras shortly after the killing, and departments across the country have been trying them out, including Dallas and New York City. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) called for deploying the cameras broadly, as well.

The cameras, which can be worn on sunglasses or clipped to a shirt, have won the backing of both civil libertarians and police groups. Civil liberties advocates argue that video records prevent cops from abusing their authority, while law enforcement groups note that a person cannot falsely accuse an officer if their encounter is recorded.

A recent study commissioned by the Police Foundation, an organization devoted to law enforcement research, found that the devices dramatically lowered complaints of police abuse.

In the study, about half the police force in Rialto, California, wore cameras during patrols for a year. At the end, there were just three complaints of excessive force against the officers — down from 28 in the previous 12 months.

“The findings suggest more than a 50 percent reduction in the total number of incidents of use-of-force compared to control-conditions, and nearly 10 times more citizens’ complaints in the 12-months prior to the experiment,” the report said.

Other experts, including those at the Department of Justice, have reached similar conclusions.

Use of the cameras does have downsides, however. There are no across-the-board standards for how and when the devices should be used, or for how the footage created should be used. It is possible for police to tamper with the recordings, or to simply refuse to turn on the cameras. A recent investigation by the Times-Picayune in New Orleans found cameras often were not used when they should have been.

Privacy advocates have also raised concerns, noting that storing such videos is open to potential abuse, with the possibility of potentially embarrassing encounters winding up on the Internet. The technology also may eventually be paired with other investigative tools, such as facial recognition software, opening up the chance for even greater surveillance of law-abiding citizens.

More On Ferguson From HuffPost:

Photographic Evidence Reveals | ‘First Year Law Student Could Have Done Better Job’ | 61 Arrested | Ferguson Smolders After Night Of Fires | Protest Locations | Americans Deeply Divided | Police Chief: ‘Worse Than The Worst Night We Had In August’ | What You Can Do | Darren Wilson Interview | Darren Wilson Could Still Face Consequences | Timeline | Students Protest | Photos Of Darren Wilson’s Injuries Released | Shooting Witness Admitted Racism In Journal | Peaceful Responses Show The U.S. At Its Best | Reactions To Ferguson Decision | Prosecutor Gives Bizarre Press Conference | Notable Black Figures React | Jury Witness: ‘By The Time I Saw His Hands In The Air, He Got Shot’ | Thousands Protest Nationwide |

New Yorkers, Times Have Changed: Charge Your Car or Fill It Up?

Electric vehicles are getting a lot more efficient and popular to drive in New York City.

Did you know there are more than 150 commercial electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Manhattan, as listed in the online database PlugShare, compared with only 39 gas stations, according to a Wall Street Journal Analysis of New York Department of Finance Records. A decade ago, there were 60 gas stations, but station owners are making more money now by selling their high-value Manhattan real estate than by selling gasoline. Could this signal a new era of electric transport in the city?

Just inside the entrance to Time Warner Shops at Columbus Circle, a young couple strolling with their morning coffees stops in their tracks when they see a sexy, red sports car. The woman bends over to touch the shiny car, a brand new Tesla Model S. On the other side of the car, the man taps a touch screen that gives more information about its specifications and offers him a test drive right out of the mall’s basement parking garage. As they discover that the sports car is actually an electric vehicle (EV), their eyebrows raise with delight. Another pair passing by notices their amusement and curiously stops their shopping to examine the display too. Their new interest in the spiffy car parallels a gradual transformation occurring in automobile transport in New York City.

ALL IMAGES © 2014 Maya Albanese Photography, All Rights Reserved.

A couple stops to check out a Tesla Motors Model S on display at Time Warner Center Shops in Manhattan.

In July of this year, 11,500 electric cars were sold in the U.S. compared to 7,500 in July 2013, a 35 percent increase year over year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. There are purchase options on the market that appeal to a variety of consumers: 20 different all-electric models from a dozen different brands- BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Volkswagen, Fiat, Kia, Nissan, Tesla, and Smart Car- that range in price from $23,000 to $100,000+.

The increase in EV ownership is mirrored by an expansion of car charging infrastructure in NYC. One year after Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement of ChargeNY, a program to invest in 3,000 EV charging stations across the state by 2018, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) says that 500 new stations have already been installed. In the last month, the NYPA and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) unveiled ten new charging stations in White Plains and two at Niagara Falls International Airport.

“Local and federal politicians have supported electric charging in Manhattan, and as electric vehicles become more common, the network will organically grow to support them,” said Will Nicholas, a Tesla Motors spokesperson.

Tesla is a luxury EV manufacturer, founded in 2003 by billionaire entrepreneur, Elon Musk, a former co-founder of PayPal. It sells EV’s online and in company-owned showrooms, a significant departure from the standard dealership sales system in the U.S. marketplace.

The Tesla Model S starts at a base price of $71,000, and with add-ons, the cars generally drive off the lot in the range of $80,000 to $100,000. A BMW five-series car could be considered comparable in size and design at a price tag of closer to $60,000, but this is an impractical comparison since the core technology is different and the costs of maintenance and re-charging are much lower in a Tesla than in a conventional car that uses gasoline.

The Internal Revenue Service offers up to $7,500 in tax credits for the purchase of an EV, and new research and development into battery technology should bring down prices in the near future. Tesla recently opened its Gigafactory in Nevada to facilitate the mass production of EV batteries and bring down their cost by at least 30 percent, which would make them competitive with mass-market automobiles.

Just below the Tesla Model S display at Time Warner Shops, people rush in and out of the basement parking structure with bags and brief cases, seldom noticing the signage designating the area as an EV charging station. Tesla has installed a series of chargers in the garage across from a ChargePoint station. ChargePoint is the world’s largest network of EV charging stations and developed a mobile app to assist customers in locating 20,000+ stations. ChargePoint users can also calculate their greenhouse gas savings from driving an EV instead of a conventional car.

The attendants working for Central Parking Company watch carefully for EV drivers in case they need to clear the parking spots with chargers for them. “We see maybe two to three people come in to charge an EV each day; sometimes a BMW or a Porsche, but more often Tesla’s and Smart Cars. They’re fun to drive and they’re quiet,” explained Gelin, one of the attendants.

Gelin hears a variety of feedback from his customers who drive EV’s, “I talked to one customer who drives a Smart Car, and she said it only costs her $4 to charge her battery to full.” This is noteworthy savings on the average $4 per gallon spent to fill a car with gasoline in the city.

Gelin is hesitant to get an EV, “Driving back and forth in traffic in Manhattan every day, I wouldn’t want to keep having to charge it. I’d rather get a hybrid, so I at least have the option of using gas.”

According to Nicholas, this is a misconception. When an electric car is idling, energy is only being used for peripheral functions like heating or air conditioning, whereas conventional vehicles burn gasoline while they idle. “In some instances, an electric car can be much more efficient than an internal combustion engine in congested driving situations,” says Nicholas.

Third-party applications have been developed to support the increase in EV drivers and infrastructure. In 2010, a group of self-proclaimed “electric vehicle enthusiasts” developed an app called PlugShare, an interactive map that lists over 100,000 charging stations worldwide. PlugShare does not manufacture or operate its own charging stations, but rather is a database that enables more than 120,000 EV drivers to search and filter for the stations that best fit their needs, as well as review and comment on them.

ChargePoint is a network of more than 20,000 EV chargers that can be searched on the company’s mobile app, or on PlugShare’s app.

“What we discovered was that it’s not that the infrastructure didn’t exist, it’s that people just didn’t know it was out there,” said Forrest North, PlugShare’s Chief of Operations. PlugShare created the first comprehensive listing of stations and gave EV owners the option to share chargers in their own homes with each other. It has become another player in the “new sharing economy” pioneered by companies like ZipCar and AirBnb. According to North, approximately 10 percent of the plugs registered on the app are home chargers that people are sharing free-of-charge.

PlugShare just announced new collaborations with auto dealers to make sure that their salespeople and customers are aware of the growing efficiency of driving an EV in the U.S.

“Another barrier we noticed is that some dealers were not that well-informed on EV’s, and in some cases, they were even discouraging them. PlugShare will be integrated into the cars’ dashboard navigation systems, so EV’s will come with in-dash access to the largest mapped database of charging stations,” says North.

Some critics still claim that EV’s are just as polluting as other cars, because electricity often comes from dirty power sources such as coal-burning plants. But, according to the latest Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) report, the percentage of Americans getting electricity from coal has decreased over the last two years. Based on utility emissions data from the Environmental Protection Agency, UCS states that 60 percent of Americans now live in areas where EV’s contribute fewer greenhouse gas emissions per mile than even the most efficient hybrid cars.

“Cars not only burn gas, they pollute and are detrimental to human health. From the day a car is sold, it only gets dirtier. With an EV, you can choose any source of electricity, now and in the future,” says North.

Despite the ongoing environmental debate, PlugShare data shows that there are 417 commercial EV charging stations in the greater New York City metropolitan area. While commercial infrastructure is widely available, at-home charging remains the most popular option.

“The vast majority of EV owners can charge at home or at their workplace. If they had a regular car, they’d need to go to gas station. You can’t install a gas station in your home,” says Forrest.

In a city that is still recovering from the shock of empty gas pumps in the chaotic aftermath of Superstorm Sandy two years ago, there are obvious advantages to being free from reliance on the island’s declining gas stations.

The Structure Dilemma

Are you a Diamond or Graphite?

Clue? You could be either. It’s all a matter of organisation.

The world of high growth tech start-ups typically revolves around speed and deft execution. Every day is an ongoing race to do things bigger and better; a day can blur into a week which blurs into a month, the only constant factor being change: product shipping, new team members joining (11 for us the other week!) and new offices opening. A break might consist of a meeting conducted over a brisk walk around the block, twice if you need to discuss something in detail. Juxtaposed against this permanent state of acceleration, Stream, with its no fixed schedule and anarchic approach, seemed both mysterious and alluring.

I am not the typical start-up employee. I have adopted the start-up mentality as a way of life but, in the beginning, its fluctuating dynamics were foreign to me. I joined Percolate from Sotheby’s, the esteemed auction house and the oldest company traded on the NYSE. Naturally, it is a place deeply entrenched in tradition, and it is a very well-oiled machine. I worked in the Watches and Clocks department, where I spent my days with objects that were often several hundred years old, ranging from complex Patek Philippe watches similar to this one just sold last week, to vintage Rolexes, to utterly charming 19th century automatons, like this Ethiopian Caterpillar.

When I arrived at Percolate, it was clear from the beginning that not only was rapid change a way of life for us internally, the media landscape was also changing dramatically. As I spent day after day sitting with clients and agency partners listening to their challenges in this evolving new world, everybody acutely felt the challenges that social and mobile had introduced to their marketing efforts in some way, shape or form. All of us in the industry are well aware that these factors have extraordinary, and difficult, implications for marketing, largely because the operational infrastructure that exists today does not support either this type of scale or pace of production and distribution.

At Sotheby’s, when I was confronted with a problem, I had all the best restorers, herpetologists and ornithologists on speed dial to fix any problems that arose, no matter how rare or obscure. If I needed to identify a single feather on a 200 year old object, I knew who to call. Unfortunately, no such Rolodex existed in this brave new world. To be clear, there were many experts in marketing, in digital, in branding, and so on, but there was no roster of tried and true experts, in the sense that we were all contending with a very new landscape. We were watching the merging of two previously separate disciplines: marketing and technology, and the challenges we encountered simply hadn’t existed before.

My most memorable and fruitful conversations with clients and agency partners in this context always revolved around the resulting new challenges; they often lingered on difficult questions with no clear answers, and they were always stimulating and thought provoking. I often wished that I could spend the entirety of these meetings only discussing these issues. They seemed to warrant much more time than simply the first 15 minutes of a meeting. To think of these challenges as merely context seemed to be a massive understatement to me.

I wasn’t sure what to expect of Stream, but I knew in advance that there was something irresistible about its dialectical format, especially given it would take place in the birthplace of dialectics: Greece. My inner nerd was completely thrilled just hearing about this. Of course, I was also very curious having seen the attendee list, which drew from across a wide span of industries and roles. However, industry conferences often give me reason to hesitate, as I find those worthwhile attending are few and far between. Too often, keynote addresses can drag on as speakers on the conference circuit rehash presentations given multiple times at other conferences, and conversations are harried with everybody hurrying to exchange as many business cards as possible.

Set aside the fact that there are no keynote presentations at Stream, and conventional powerpoints are in fact banned – what I quickly came to realize about Stream, additionally, was that it broke down a series of barriers, making it a very different conference experience, namely because:

Conversations are off the record

For better or worse, you are confined to a geographically limited space for an extended period of time

Hierarchy is deconstructed with anybody hosting a discussion on any topic

Moreover, the environment is designed for chemistry. The existence of only one coffee bar means that chance encounters are highly likely in the afternoon when jet lag kicks in. Communal dining means that somebody (anybody) could sit down next to you during lunch or dinner. These often yielded the best and most unexpected of conversations.

The attendees of Stream, of course, are vital to this chemistry. I read an interesting blurb tucked into the back pages of the FT last week which referenced the research of Yale sociologist Professor Nicholas Christakis, who studies how people interact when they come together in groups. He uses an analogy to compare graphite to diamonds, thinking of humans as metaphorical carbon atoms, who can come together to form either substance, depending on how they are arranged.

This insight cast light onto what I found to be the most remarkable aspect of Stream – that somehow, the Stream team had assembled a group of people, who when they came together, formed not merely a common substance like graphite, but something much rarer and brilliant, akin to a diamond. My initial inclinations around that attendee list were right on target; some of us may never have crossed paths outside of Stream, and most of us would never have wound up in the same place all at once, otherwise.

There were a number of conversations about talent at Stream, but what wasn’t addressed was that while attracting and retaining talent when it comes to individuals is certainly a tough challenge, constructing groups and building teams to collaborate and work effectively together is perhaps even more difficult, and I would argue, even more important. As marketing merges with technology, it becomes increasingly important to collaborate across these disciplines that were once separate.

The constant change which defines our industry today also requires constant creativity to deal with its ever evolving set of challenges. For the mind to contend with the unknown, it can benefit from the removal of parameters. What if there were no established way of doing things? What if you could discuss anything? What if you could create anything? I think of our annual hackdays at Percolate where the business and product teams come together to dream up new ideas and products, temporarily removed from any firm roadmap or client requests, and the unexpected, brilliant ideas that always emerge from it. Stream, similarly, was a unique environment, devoid for rules, for precisely this type of open ended discussion so important to navigating the difficult challenges we face today as an industry. I attribute its success to the chemistry and environment so thoughtfully constructed by the Stream team, not only in terms of format, but in terms of the group dynamics that would take shape over the weekend – it was no small feat.

Thank you, Martin and Yossi, for inviting me. I hope you’ll invite me again!

Technology, Communication and Religion

Many a pundit has suggested that the Internet has stirred — or is a symptom of — the greatest technological revolution since the dawn of the industrial age, or even the invention of the printing press in 1448. In fact, they could well be understating the impact of technological advances in all areas of our life, including our spiritual lives.

Religious communities and all of the relationships therein are being reshaped with remarkable rapidity. Technology is creating greater symmetry in relationships between clergy and congregants and encouraging greater institutional transparency. Many of these changes are positive, while others, such as distractions within interpersonal interactions and the search for meaning, may be causing challenges.

No matter one’s feelings about the interaction of religion and technology, religion is being pushed, cajoled, uplifted, and profoundly changed by the technological advances of our time and merits greater study.

The two of us had the opportunity to join with the Reverend Paul Raushenbush, Executive Editor of Huffington Post Religion to more deeply examine the ways that changes in communication technology, and particularly the Internet, are affecting religion — from the vantage point of someone at the cutting edge in his presence within both spheres.

In a time of change, what remains constant? Where does authority come from in a decentralized world? What are the implications of the “always-on” nature of public speech today? How has technology created new ways to pray?

This video, and many similar reflections, are part of the Sinai and Synapses Discussion Forum, which is currently exploring the question, “Are We Using Technology or Is Technology Using Us?”

We look forward to your reactions and to continue the conversation about these ever-unfolding changes.

VIDEOS

Part 1: Who has authority?

Part 2: New kinds of relationships

Part 3: What does public speech look like now?

Part 4: New ways to pray

Full conversation:

Study validates Fitbit, doctors should consider prescribing to patients

A study determines the accuracy of Fitbit’s step count and other metrics.

The post Study validates Fitbit, doctors should consider prescribing to patients appeared first on iMedicalApps.

These Are Some Of The Best Deals On Headphones This Black Friday

Headphones are the perfect gift for any tech lover this holiday season, and there are a whole lot of great deals on popular models right now. Typically, headphone prices range from reasonable to outrageous. But between Thanksgiving sales, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you should be able to get a good deal on a new pair.

To help you out, we’ve chosen a few of the best sales of the year. All of the sales below are available online unless stated otherwise.

Skullcandy In-Ear Headphones
Sale price: $8.88
Original price: $18.88
Store: Walmart
Sale time: Starting Thursday 8 P.M., but unclear for how long.

Beats by Dr. Dre Beats Solo HD On-Ear Headphones
Sale price: $80
Original price: $152.99
Store: Best Buy
Sale time: Starting Thursday 5 P.M., but unclear for how long.

Bose QuietComfort 3 Acoustic Noise Canceling headphones
Sale price: $199.95
Original price: $349.95
Store: Bose
Sale time: Now through Dec. 1, 2014, or while supplies last.

Bose MIE2 mobile headset
Sale price: $79.95
Original price: $129.95
Store: Bose
Sale time: Now through Dec. 1, or while supplies last.

Beats Studio Wireless Over-Ear Headphone
Sale price: $275
Original price: $341.95
Store: Amazon
Sale time: Already on sale, but unclear for how long.

Sony – Extra Bass Over-the-Ear Bluetooth Headphones
Sale price: $99
Original price: $199.99
Store: BestBuy
Sale time: Already on sale, but unclear for how long.

The Secret Lives of LinkedIn Users

I have over 1,250 LinkedIn connections. Most people would consider me an active LinkedIn user. Still, I don’t have the faintest idea what I’m doing on LinkedIn. In search of answers, I surveyed hundreds of fellow users and asked them to describe what they do on LinkedIn. What astonished me was the distinction between their front stage and back stage behavior.

“What do you say you do on LinkedIn?”

1. Build my professional network.

2. Document my work experiences.

3. Showcase my technical capabilities.

4. Promote my personal brand.

5. Discover new career opportunities.

6. Share my expertise.

“What do you actually do on LinkedIn?”

1. Admire my own profile.

2. Debut a headshot that looks like my younger, better-looking sibling.

3. Edit my headline and summary ad nauseam.

4. Examine my credentials from the POV of my client/hiring manager.

5. Discover who my top stalkers are.

6. Neutralize their creepiness by stalking them back.

7. View a hottie’s profile in the hopes that he or she reciprocates.

8. Connect with attractive people for no other reason than they’re fun to stare at.

9. Request to connect with my crush from college who I never met in person.

10. Develop a sense of intimacy with Sheryl Sandberg, Mark Cuban, and other famous businesspeople who I’m following.

11. Rub my accomplishments unapologetically in the faces of those who doubted me.

12. Endorse borderline-strangers whose skills I know nothing about, with the expectation of receiving endorsements in exchange.

Let’s connect on LinkedIn!

Here's Why Online Shopping Is The Way To Conquer Black Friday

This week marks the joyous (or not-so-joyous) occasion known as Black Friday. There are so many deals we want to nab, our heads are spinning — and we haven’t even set the Thanksgiving table yet.

The good news? Staying home in your turkey coma is a better way to get Black Friday deals than schlepping to a store. MUCH better.

“I do not recommend anyone going to a physical store on Black Friday,” says Mark LoCastro of DealNews, a site that analyzes and confirms thousands of retail offers per day. “There’s no need to. The vast majority of in-store deals will be online in some shape or form.”

Wait, how is shopping online the way to win Black Friday? A few reasons:

1. “Doorbusters” exist in limited quantities.

Those big deals you hear about prior to Black Friday may not be all that plentiful — it’s likely that only shoppers who camp out for days or show up extra-early will get them.

Best Buy’s 50-inch Panasonic TV is the deal that has shoppers hyped this year, LoCastro says. But, “if you’re not one of the first twenty people in line, you’re not going to get it.” Indeed, a rep at our local Best Buy said she was “not allowed to disclose” how many of the TVs were in stock — and we have a feeling this spells bad news.

2. There are comparable — if not better — deals online.

While Best Buy’s big deal may be limited on the shelves, LoCastro points out, some of its other top deals — like a 55-inch Samsung for $900 off — are available online as early as RIGHT NOW.

Similar principles apply to many of the other housewares we’re coveting: Retail expert Brad Wilson estimates that Kohl’s stellar KitchenAid mixer deal will be even better online than in stores, as he expects the Kohl’s website to offer an extra coupon for the mixer sometime on Thursday or Friday. And while crowds will mob Target for their Dyson vacuum doorbuster, you’ll find a Hoover vacuum for 50 percent off, just sitting on their website. We call that a win.

3. You can hit tons of stores instead of just one.

When you line up for a doorbuster, Wilson points out, you’re subjected to the few top deals at just one store. Online, the deals run far and deep — and nothing is off-limits.

The one store you should hit, in fact, doesn’t even exist in brick and mortar: Amazon is offering a series of lightning deals all week, in which customers can score huge discounts on electronics, clothing and toys as often as every 10 minutes. By setting price alerts for the item you want and using comparison sites to figure out where it’s cheapest, you’ll be a much more savvier shopper online.

4. And Thanksgiving is the new Black Friday, anyway.

Times have changed — as the experts see it, Black Friday is no longer Black Friday. “The best deals are on Thanksgiving now,” Wilson says. And since we aren’t proponents of spending family holidays at the mall, we’ll stay home and click our way to deals early on Turkey Day morning. Then it’s on to the good stuff(ing)!

Top 10 Streaming Video Trends You Can Expect in 2015

Serial entrepreneur and mobile consultant Hannah Bree Hanson and I were in attendance at the Streaming Media West Conference last week in Huntington Beach, CA. The event featured a veritable who’s-who of industry leaders including Verizon, Limelight Networks, Wowza, Skype, and NFL Now, Tivi, and Ramp.

Here’s the top streaming video trends you can expect to see in 2015:

1. Better Personalization:

Video content providers are becoming obsessed with “meta-data”. It’s a buzzword becoming more popular and is driving the personalization and search industry. As NFL Now head Cory Mummford shared in his keynote speech, all 32 clubs are streamlining meta-data for the user.

Cory Mummery of @NFL keynote at #smwest. How NFL Now automates #metadata for highlight vids. Plays have an ID, and Meta is map’d to video

— Al Falaschi (@DigitalMediaAl) November 18, 2014

This breaks down to specifics – videos are being better tagged so each viewer is getting exactly what they want in their video feed so they aren’t seeing junk. A Cowboys fan who has Peyton Manning and Arian Foster on his Fantasy team is only getting Cowboys highlights along with Manning and Foster, and in order of importance. Users will get what they want, when they want, in one linear feed.

2. Higher Quality:

With more broadcasters switching to 4k and Skype integrating its new product  Skype TX, technology and broadcasters are interested in serving the increased pixels that TV’s, phones and tablets are offering to consumers. Hardware companies are racing to compete for the best quality, and content providers are striving to provide video that will look clear and network quality. Skype stepped up to the challenge by providing Broadcasters with Skype TX starting in Sept of this year – with key partners like Oprah, Ted Talks, Ellen, and ESPN, it’s essential Skype provided it’s partners with a high quality solution that allowed hosts to engage with fans and influencers with better video quality.

3. YouTube Influencers Promoting Brands:

It’s no secret only a few brands have managed to harness the power of YouTube. Red Bull, Nike, and GoPro have managed to master the difficulty of pleasing the fickle Millenials subscribing to YouTube channels. But only six of the  top 100 YouTube channels are actually brands, which shows that corporations are behind the times. The real masters are single influencers creating channels and creating their own brands – with barely any funding.

A few brands, such as Mountain Dew, have realized the power of these influencers and hired them to bring their fans over to their own brand. Although this trend hasn’t quite caught on most likely to fear of higher levels, brands need Millenial eye balls and Brendan Gahan, Founder of digital video marketing firm EpicSignal believes that this is the future of brands growing their presence on YouTube.

4. The three M’s – Millenials, Multi-Culturals, and Mobile:

Suzanne Rainey of Xposure Media shared that when it comes to streaming television, the networks are focused on these three M’s. Millenials are the trend setters, multi-culturals are growing in numbers, and mobile is becoming omnipresent. The networks have been focused on these three M’s, and it’s not likely to stop anytime soon.

5. Improved Ad Experience:

You may have noticed the ads on YouTube, Hulu, or any other streaming video service are beginning to improve. Testing across the industry has shown that pre-roll ads (the first ad that pops up) greatly annoys users, so “best practice” is to start showing pre-roll one out of every four video shown in succession.

Post by Streaming Media.

Users are going to start seeing more improvements such as this in the way ad content is being served. Not only are they going to get better ad timing, but better ads in general. Web ads in the past were limited due to contracts with actors and brands focused on serving their best to television. As more and more users cut the cord with cable, brands are evolving.

6. Interactive Video:

More tweets, more Facebook, and more stats will likely effect not only pre-recorded, but live streaming video. Broadcasters know that interacting with fans and the “bandwagon” effect pushes ratings higher, so infusing opinionated tweets from fans who likely agree with what everyone else is thinking is going to continue to dominate.

7. Second Screen Experiences:

You know you’re watching How to Get Away With Murder….but you’re also playing Candy Crush on your mobile phone. Although networks have given you a hash tag (#htgawm in this example) to use Twitter as a second screen platform, it’s likely you’ll start seeing more apps you can participate from – take quizzes, tweet, engage with other fans, and find out more about the show. It’s not enough you’re watching, you must be immersed in the experience! USA Network has been on the forefront, and other networks will follow.

Stop by & meet the folks behind @TiviVideo truly interactive video streaming, booth 117 #smwest #TiviLaunch pic.twitter.com/0g3MGcaJp4

— Tivi (@TiviVideo) November 18, 2014

8. Streaming Video at Work:

Streaming video isn’t just for watching your favorite shows and how to videos, it’s a tool companies are going to start adopting more at the office. With travel becoming more costly, traffic creating a less productive environment and grumpy employees, companies are likely to start using technology and  live streaming video as a solution for meetings for higher productivity. Companies are building internal video sharing platforms to share best practices to streamline work processes. Don’t be surprised if you’re videoing your day and sharing with a co-worker who shares your title across the globe.

9. Your Favorite Shows Might Not Get Canceled:

Nielsen announced that they’re going to start tracking streaming. Just now. This has been a huge battle with networks over the past several years as Nielsen has had a difficult time with its traditional methodology meshing with new technology. Some viewers watch their favorite series on streaming sites, which doesn’t give the full picture of just how popular some series are. Some fans have cut cable and watch on Hulu Plus, or might just start getting into a series on Netflix. Sherry Brennen, VP of Strategy and Sales at Fox Networks shared that Nielsen often reports low numbers on the night a show airs, but intenal numbers that tracks a show over 30-days across all platforms shows viewership consistency – and often rising.

A May 2014 episode of the CBS drama “Person of Interest,” for instance, logged 10.499 million total viewers in Live + Same Day numbers. When Live + 7 Day is factored in, the episode drew 14.489 million total viewers, a 38 percent boost. Meanwhile, at NBC, both “The Blacklist” and “Grimm” enjoy delayed viewing lifts of 45 percent.

10. Fragmented Content:

Everyone will have an app to stream their in-house content. HBOGo will soon be available to the general public, CBS is now charging if your cable provider doesn’t participate, and has plenty of classic shows such as I Love Lucy available. NBC, FX, ABC, USA, all have apps for their vast content libraries, adding advertising and allowing for networks to determine more about their viewers using analytics through mobile.

HBO Go finally comes to Xbox One – HBO Go, the premium streaming service for cable subscribers, is coming… http://t.co/vp0v9uBDTY

— OmarBoulakjar® (@omarboulakjar) November 20, 2014

This unfortunately is not what the user wants. Users are more interested in one place for all the content. At some point users who want this will get exactly what they want (personalization – see #1) in order of importance, in one place, for a hefty price. For free and with ads, it will remain fragmented.

Solving the "STEM Paradox" With the Global STEM Alliance

Earlier this year, U.S. News & World Report released its STEM Index of the United States. It revealed that student aptitude for and interest in science, technology, engineering and math has been essentially flat for more than a decade, at the same time that the need for STEM skills continues to grow.

This situation is being replicated throughout the world. The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) recently released its own report, in which it characterizes the international STEM crisis as a “STEM paradox.” It’s not that there aren’t enough STEM graduates – the problem is that there aren’t enough work-ready graduates. Other challenges include a “brain drain” from developing countries and a lack of women in STEM fields, which makes it impossible for employers to fill all their STEM job openings.

The NYAS report also outlines how partnerships between governments, corporations and institutions can solve problems in the STEM workforce pipeline. In response to these needs and opportunities, the Global STEM Alliance was created last year. It’s an international collaboration of public and private entities that harnesses the collective mindshare of corporations, local and national governments, nonprofits, students and STEM leaders. This Alliance will bring together STEM professionals of different ages and cultures to develop often-missing foundational skills and adapt to specific environments. The Alliance will engage and prepare the next generation for careers that encourage global economic development and the innovation needed to address and overcome today’s biggest challenges.

The goal of the Global STEM Alliance is to create an environment where governments, businesses, nonprofits and schools all work collaboratively to encourage students’ interest in STEM and train them for the jobs of today – and tomorrow. The three critical elements of a strong STEM ecosystem are:

• Soft and hard skills: A combination of classroom learning with real-world experiences deployed throughout the educational system to give students both the technical and professional interpersonal skills they need to succeed;

• Mentoring to impart vision: A culture of mentorship that empowers all involved to understand the importance of and opportunities that lie within STEM; and

• Incentivizing innovation: Government incentives that encourage companies to invest in innovation and scientific research to create promising job opportunities for STEM graduates.

Immediate and cooperative action is required in order to fill STEM gaps. The Alliance has committed to mentoring 1,000,000 aspiring STEM leaders in over 100 countries by 2020, creating STEM leaders in developing nations and promoting economic development worldwide. The Alliance already has among its members corporate partners like Cisco and government partners like Malaysia, Benin and the city of Barcelona.

The global STEM crisis is bigger than any one entity to conquer. Our highly connective world poses many challenges but also affords tremendous opportunities. It creates both the need for more STEM professionals and the means to meet that need via international collaboration and innovation. Educational institutions, organizations and governments do not have the knowledge and financial resources required on their own, which is why the Global STEM Alliance came into being. It brings together these three spheres of influence to prepare the employees of today and tomorrow for the jobs that will continue to propel our world forward on its trajectory of greater economic development and connectedness.

Additional information on the Global STEM Alliance is available here.

To see Wim Elfrink, Executive Vice President, Industry Solutions & Chief Globalization Officer, discuss the initiative, click here.

A New App that Tells You How to Get Where You Want to Go Using Pictures

Interior GPS is a new app that tells you by using pictures how to get where you want to go inside large buildings.

“When I took my wife to the hospital a year ago to see a doctor, we had a lot of trouble finding the doctor’s office,” Jules White, an assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Vanderbilt University says. “Afterwards, I thought about the difficulty I had had locating rooms at conventions, at the football stadium, and the airport. Why not develop a GPS for inside buildings–one that shows you in pictures how to get where you’re going? I asked myself.”

White’s app is already in use at the 1.2 million square foot new convention center in Nashville, Tennessee. He’s now working on a pilot for a large hospital group and is getting inquiries about his app every day from as far away as Australia.

To find a location, you download the app which knows where you are in a building. After selecting where you want to go (from a displayed list), the app shows you picture by picture how to get there. “Pictures work a lot better than just a list of directions,” White adds. He mentions using the app in large shopping centers as well.

“There are other applications,” White adds. “One makes it possible for anyone going into a grocery or a drug store–or any store–to find the product they are looking for immediately. You don’t have to hunt for something or ask where it is.”

“It struck me as the next logical step in finding out where you’re going inside a structure, or how to find what you want to buy quickly,” White says.

White was educated at Brown University and Vanderbilt and previously taught at Virginia Tech University. Two years ago he had a one man art exhibit at the Gregory Way Gallery in Beverly Hills.

His new company, Ziiio, Inc., is located in Nashvillle.

“We can save people a lot of time and frustration when they’re trying to find where to go inside,” White says. “It’ll save money as well.”

When I first learned about White’s Interior GIS app, the context that came to mind was not a large convention center or airport, but a large forest. What if the app could help a farmer find medicinal plants? What if it could help you detect wild varieties of agricultural crops?

While White’s concept for interior GIS started when he was looking for the doctor’s office, it could help with navigation within large, complex environments where picture-based navigation would be far more useful than written directions.

When I asked White about the possibility of extending the use of the app in this way, he said, “We are used to maps always being the best form of directions, but pictures can work a lot better sometimes. As long as the pictures are recent, they give you confidence that you are going in the right direction, even if it is in a forest or other area that we don’t normally need to get around in.”

While it may not have been the original intent, this is an app which could have global relevance in parts of the world where people rely heavily on finding forest plants and biodiversity for their daily sustenance.

Thanks for reading our digest. Opinions in the articles above are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Digital Workshed ltd.

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