Photo from HBX.com

Right when we thought that we’ve just about seen it all. An article written by Brett Molina for the Tech section of USA Today online, he talks about his experience using Pizza Hut’s latest–and most unreal–technological advancement: a pair of sneakers. You read that right, sneakers. And these tech-savvy shoes with the capability of ordering a pizza for you, are arguably one of Pizza Hut’s most obnoxious marketing stunts.

The sneakers, dubbed “Pie Tops II”, were created with the capability of ordering a Pizza Hut pizza right from your feet, and now feature that allows the user to pause live TV in order to pick up their unconventionally ordered pie. The right shoe features the main capability of ordering pizza, while the left shoe can be pointed at the TV, and with a tap of the button on the tongue, can be used to pause your program.

In order for the sneakers to work, the user has to download Pizza Hut’s “Pie Top” app, and have a Pizza Hut account to link right up to the app. As of right now, the Pie Tops are only capable of ordering one of Pizza Hut’s most used specials: $5.99 for two medium pizzas.

The sneakers will run for $150 in two colors, red and “wheat”, available on HBX.com starting next week.

In my opinion, this is the most ridiculous case of technological convergence I’ve ever seen. A remote to pause the TV and a laptop to order a tray of pizza is enough for me, and I’m sure a lot of others. But will absolutely admit, I’m sure that if I was a die hard fan of subpar pizza and had an extra $150 to drop on a pair of food themed, unnecessarily tech-y sneakers–these would be the ones.

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2018/03/20/you-can-order-pizza-hut-through-sneakers-yep-tried-so-called-pie-tops-what-learned/424957002/

In an article written by Edward Baig for USA Today, Bose reportedly released a working prototype of their take on augmented reality glasses at this year’s SXSW in Austin. Bose’s currently has plans of using these glasses to showcase a new AR audio platform/software kit for app developers, expected to be available this Summer.

Photo from Bose on USAToday.com

Typical AR glasses usually work with floating visual layers of information about your surroundings, right in front of your eyes. However, Bose’s take on these AR sunglasses will  surprisingly rely more on sound than they will on sight, in what the article calls “Smart Audio Glasses.”

The glasses use Bluetooth with a tiny microphone and speakers which are located close to the ears in the arms of the glasses. The glasses will be able to pinpoint your location and provide you with information to any questions you might have to ask about your surroundings. For instance, the article offers the example of using Bose’s Smart Glasses in a museum; the glasses would be able to provide you with information about the specific painting or sculpture that you are looking at.

In my opinion, I think that these glasses (a perfect example of divergence in tech) may be a little bit much for the everyday user. I think that with the availability of AI technology already so popular (ie. Siri), that the use of these full on talking sunglasses might be a little bit extra for a trip to the museum. I also think that because of this, Bose might have a lot of trouble getting this product out there and popular with the masses.

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/baig/2018/03/09/bose-smart-glasses-can-tell-you-what-youre-seeing/412105002/

According to this article for the New York Times online, the future of flying cars is much closer than we think. Many tech companies are starting to break into the engineering of getting “flying taxis” in the air – and as if that’s not futuristic enough, they hope to incorporate artificial intelligence programs for the taxis to fly themselves. The tech behind these flaying taxis is actually so promising that companies are receiving millions of dollars in investments.

The CEO of Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi, is also involved in this latest development in transportation. Working with Aurora Flight Sciences, a product of Boenig, Khosrowshahi says that he hopes to have a new flight option dubbed “Uber Air” available for the company in 5 to 10 years.

While we might have expected this latest innovation in transportation to look a lot more like a car with wings, the companies involved in these new vehicles warn not to view the taxis as “flying cars” exactly.  These companies are envisioning more of a human sized “hobbyist’s drone”; like a helicopter, but a lot more quiet and affordable.  These taxis would also be much more eco-friendly as they would run on battery power. Airbus helicopters hopes to release a “CityAirbus” aircraft as soon as 2023.

In my opinion, I think with all the technological advancements still to come aside, this is an insanely cool idea. I’m not sure how this could ever be worked out on a really wide scale anytime super soon, but I definitely think that this could work one day.  One of the greatest parts of this flying car idea is just how environmentally friendly it really is, as it’s not using up any natural gasses but running on battery life instead. In regards to Uber’s involvement in some flying taxis, all I have to say is that I’m ALL for it. I’m sure that the prices will be jacked a lot more than they would be leaving a party at 2 a.m. in a Toyota Camry – but taking a drone home after a night out? Priceless.

(link attached to photo)

Is the access to the very latest technology available really giving children today the tools they need to succeed?

Image from naeyc.org

In an opinion piece written by Naomi Schaefer Riley for the New York Times, titled “America’s Real Digital Divide,” she talks about some real issues with the implementation of technology in every child’s educational plan.  What seems to be the biggest problem, is that no one is paying attention to the fact that there is a huge difference between children having access to the internet, and children being told that having more and more technology is the only way they are being given a proper education.

While in many cases technological supplements to a traditional education are extremely effective, too much is simply too much.  According to Riley, screen time “has a negative effect on children’s ability to understand nonverbal emotional cues; it is linked to higher rates of mental illness, including depression; and it heightens the risk for obesity.”

There is this massive focus on getting technology/computer time pushed as much as it possibly can be into today’s schools.  There is the widespread misconception that the only way to improve the educations of children of lower income families or children who simply have poorer grades, is to make sure that these kids are getting as much “screen time” as possible; that these children will only be able to succeed in their studies if they have this access.

I believe that this is absolutely ridiculous.  The people who are now deciding that children absolutely need more and more computer access, are people who have gone through their entire younger school days without such an emphasis on technological advancements in the classroom — and they seem to be just fine where they are today.  I think that if anything children need more of a balance.  If there’s going to be an emphasis on technology, then there should be an equal emphasis on existing without technology and getting to understand themselves and each other outside of social media and software. This way, at a young age these kids are being taught that the internet is neither a short cut or a substitute meant to replace their own abilities and knowledge, but rather a way for them to access information that will supplement what they are already capable of.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/11/opinion/america-digital-divide.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Ftechnology&action=click&contentCollection=technology&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=sectionfront