For those that have a daily commute that is too long for a daily walk, but too short to justify use of a car, have long opted for to use a bike or mass transit. Starting in 2017, modern day electric scooters have been added to that commuting tool. Companies like Lime and Bird have been renting out modern day electric scooters for adult usage in major cities across America.

These aren’t your childhood clunky Razor scooters, these dockless scooters can hit speeds of 18 miles per hour and are rented with each company’s mobile app. Using strategies learned through new ride-sharing giants like Lyft and Uber, Bird and Lime have both already eclipsed 1-billion dollar valuations.

Debate has begun on weather these scooters should be allowed in major cities due to safety concerns. Some cities have even banned scooters from sidewalks, but have allowed their use on open roadways.

The Bird has announced it’s intentions to fund efforts to incorporated more bike lanes on public roads to help decrease e-scooter accidents both with pedestrians and motor vehicles.

Do you think the rise of electric scooters should be embraced or slowed down?

REFERENCE: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/e-scooters-expansion-map-n998106

Amazon Prime has been around since 2005. Then, two-day shipping was very a very new concept that seemed far out of reach to most people. Nowadays, it is very common for individuals to have Prime and utilize the two-day shipping feature. Amazon shopping has left competitors on their toes trying to catch up with and truly transformed the realm of online shopping. In fact, Amazon is so far ahead that many industry experts think that its competitors, such as Target and Walmart, should focus on strengthening other areas of business rather than try to keep up with Amazon’s shipping speed, since it already took them so long to catch up to the two-day shipping method. The one-day shipping feature is currently being built and is expected to make steady progress throughout 2019. While the change will be most prominent in the US since they are the biggest Prime market, faster shipping times is beginning to be a global effort for Amazon. In fact, plans are already being made for what is next to come after one-day shipping is implemented. A two-hour Prime shipping service called Prime Now is currently being worked on, as well as new drone systems that are meant to ship products within 30 minutes. With all these new innovations being worked on, I’m sure sometime in the future one-day shipping will actually seem like a long time to wait.

Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/will-amazon-prime-make-one-day-shipping-the-new-norm-for-online-shopping/

Smart locks are becoming popular for home security. They are automated locks that are connected to your phone, which is where the locking and unlocking function is controlled.  Some smart locks can also be connected to home assistant devices and smart speakers that work with voice recognition controls.  Users can set specific times for the locks to turn on, so they don’t have to worry about forgetting to lock the door.

These apps work well with disruptive brands such as Airbnb because they allow for the user to create and share passcodes that control the lock, and that expire after a certain amount of time.  Airbnb hosts do not need to be present to let their customers into the residence, and do not need to worry about losing keys or about anyone else besides the current guest potentially having access to the home.  The locks are fairly affordable as well, they sell for around $100 (Tsuboi).

I think these locks are a very smart direction to take for home security.  They eliminate the possibility for a lock to be picked, or a spare key to be found.  The best part is that you never have to worry about being locked out of your house again.  I’m sure it is only a matter of time until these locks utilize facial recognition software.  They can become an important part of the growing Internet of Things –a person’s entire life can be run through and by their phone

Tsuboi, Kara. “Smart Locks Keep You Secure and Add Convenience – Video.” CNET, CNET, 26 Apr. 2019, www.cnet.com/videos/smart-locks-keep-you-secure-and-add-convenience/.

The battle of Winterfell is HERE.

I stumbled upon a really neat article about Westeros, the continent that much of Game of Thrones is set in. In all the history that has been shown of Westeros in both the books and the show, there hasn’t been much technological progress at all. If anything, the current setting of Game of Thrones has regressed some, as Old Valyria (the most technologically advanced civilization) is gone. The author goes through many possibilities as to why Westeros seems stuck in time. Some of them I felt were more feasible and some of them less so. Here’s what I think.

Two of the potential reasons that the author explores are the Citadel and the feudal social system that is present. I think these are the main reasons. The Citadel, as an institution, keeps information very secret. Only trained Maesters can access the full library. And while the history and general story of many prominent houses may be common knowledge in Westeros, the academic information about how the world works is housed in the Citadel. As a parallel, in our world, the times of the greatest progress were points where people could access and share knowledge with each other in newer or freer ways. There is a strong connection between how easy it is to access information today and the fact that now is probably the most technologically innovative time on Earth ever.

Additionally, the way that the society is structured does not promote innovation. The author dubs Westeros as a “feudal” system, which is quite accurate. The poorest of the poor often have no way of moving socially and lower and middle class people have no incentive to know or discover, rather, simply to survive. Being able to sit back and read a book or comb through a library for secrets is kind of a privilege. Even then, many lords and ladies of the noble houses are often just taught basic things like how to read and write. The boys learn how to use a sword and the girls to sew. They learn a little bit about the houses and such, but again, not the sort of knowledge that would drive innovation.

Overall, Westeros is pretty comfortable where it is. I don’t think we’re going to see hoverboards anytime soon. And currently, they have some more life and death matters to worry about.

http://theconversation.com/game-of-thrones-why-hasnt-westeros-had-an-industrial-revolution-25240

Computers and new technology have already done so much to benefit the scientific community, and recently researches and scientists are the process of developing a computer system that can transform brain signals and activity into human speech.

If this system is a success, this can help individuals who have lost their speech through many different diseases such as Parkinson’s and throat cancer. Edward F Chang, MD, author, and professor of neurological surgery stresses how important communication is for human interaction and how many of us take our ability to speak for granted. Chang hopes that this new technology will help those who cannot speak.

The scientists behind this new invention published a study detailing their experiment, where the team collected brain activity recordings with epilepsy patients and had each patient speak or mouth in full sentences. The second part was creating a map-like system that produced the speech that mimicked what the person was saying. By just mouthing out words, the computer was able to pick up what the patient was trying to say accurately.

This is a very hopeful breakthrough, and hopefully one day the system can be implemented and help patients have the ability to communicate like never before.

https://www.techtimes.com/articles/242270/20190425/new-technology-that-transforms-brain-signals-into-speech-may-give-voice-to-people-with-parkinsons-throat-cancer.htm

In Kihei, Hawaii, the Kihei Police Station recently purchased 6 new breath alcohol machines called The Intoxilyzer 9000s that save officers much more time with report-writing and will get officers back on the road much faster.

The Itoxilyzer 9000 replaces the Intoxylzer 8000 and includes many new features such as a touch screen for ease of use, easier data entry, and now many old police forms are included in the system already, making new data incorporation much easier.

The Department of Transportation granted the department  $63,000 to pay for the Intoxilyzers and the Department is currently writing a policy to send to the Department of Health to determine how the other officers will be trained and caught up to the new system.

The Intoxilyzer 9000 is currently utilized in 15 states and also the military, and the Honolulu Police Department is also implementing the new machines. The Kihei Department DUI Task Force Sgt. Nick Krau stated that he aims that the Kihei department always strives to have the highest level of technology at all times to ensure that the officers are always on the road.

http://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2019/04/new-technology-gives-dui-cops-more-time-to-catch-drunk-drivers/

Many people were disturbed to find that United had installed webcams on the backs of its seats as a part of in-flight entertainment systems. United claims that the cameras are a default feature of a package of in flight equipment purchased from Panasonic. People were concerned because they did not want the possibility of anyone hacking into the system and watching them on their flight without their knowledge.

The concerns stem from the fact that anyone could have the potential to do that, not that they thought anyone was specifically doing it. This comes in an era of people defining their security and figuring out what does and does not make them feel secure in their daily lives. Having a camera in front of your face during a flight obviously made people feel less secure.

What United is doing about it now is certainly an interesting, yet effective solution. They are going on their planes and physically covering the cameras. They are using stickers and small pieces of plastic to cover the cameras. They assure people though, their cameras were never functioning and were never a part of their future plans, they were simply just there by default from the manufacturer.

Many other airlines experienced the same unexpected cameras in their systems, and all claim to not have ordered systems with cameras. Other airlines are taking different approaches though.

Statt, Nick. “United Airlines Says It’s Now Covering Those Surprise Seatback Webcams.” The Verge, The Verge, 26 Apr. 2019, www.theverge.com/2019/4/26/18518656/united-airlines-in-flight-entertainment-screens-webcam-covered-privacy-violations.