Google to Sell Android-Based Augmented Reality Display Glasses

On February 22, 2012, In Announcements & PR, General Discussion, Productivity, By quigongren

Google will begin selling wearable heads-up display glasses by the end of 2012

Just in time for the “End of the World”, Google will be releasing a new communication tool based on its Android operating system. Taking the form of a pair of glasses, the new device will give wearers a “terminator”-style augmented view of their immediate surroundings. Beyond general and social consumer uses, this could be an extremely useful tool in many fields. Since it will be based on the Android OS/API, it should be capable of adaptation for a lot of different field use applications, data collection, security, safety, etc. and so on. Keep your eyes on this one!!

http://9to5google.com/2011/12/19/google-xs-wearable-technology-isnt-an-ipod-nano-but-rather-a-heads-up-display-glasses/

http://9to5google.com/2012/02/06/hud-google-glasses-are-real-and-they-are-coming-soon/

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/google-to-sell-terminator-style-glasses-by-years-end/?hp

Deferred IT maintenance is a ticking time bomb

On January 5, 2011, In General Discussion, Productivity, By admin

$500 billion — it’s a number so big you’d assume it’s a component of the national debt. It isn’t. Instead, it’s what Gartner analyst Andy Kyte calls the IT debt. “When budgets are tight, maintenance gets cut. After a decade of tight budgets, the scale of the maintenance backlog has created systemic risk, particularly for large organizations,” he says.

The “debt” really has two major components: One is underfunding and even neglect of routine but important hardware replacement purchases and software upgrades. The other is the slow degradation of enterprise applications.

On the most obvious level, managers like Steve Davidek, the system administrator for the city of Sparks, Nev., scrambles to keep systems up and running with budgets that barely covered the basics. Sparks, with a population of about 88,000, was hit hard by the recession, and when it came time to trim services, the IT department was in the cross-hairs, losing 6 of its 14 full-time employees.

“It’s been a Band-Aid approach, and the people we support are on the verge of not getting what they need,” he says. When money does flow, Davidek says, he hopes to complete the virtualization of servers in the data center, a key task that was just half done during the recession.

Android Gets Skype, But Problems Prevent Most Users

On October 5, 2010, In Announcements & PR, Productivity, By quigongren

Google’s Android mobile OS has been around for some time, and keeps getting better. This morning I discovered the wonderful news that Skype had finally arrived for Android. I immediately downloaded the new app – it installed beautifully but alas, it would not connect. At first I thought it had something to do with my phone’s internet connectivity, but I quickly checked and had no problems opening the phone’s web-browser and surfing. Hmmmmm. What could be the issue I wondered. I’m running version 2.1 of the OS, so that can’t be it. So I checked Skype’s website. As it turns out, Skype for Android is not universally compatible across hardware just yet.

What, what?

A check of the Skype website (http://blogs.skype.com/en/2010/10/android.html) provides all kinds of exciting information about the new Skype app in bright, colorful images and text. Then however, in dull, smaller sub-text” come the disclaimers that Skype is aware of problems with using the app on Samsung Galaxy S model phones. Again – what, what? Of the two top-selling Android phones on the market, HTC Android phones have no problems – yet the more capable Galaxy line does?

Why even release the app then if it is still in a “Beta” stage and cannot be used by half of the Android-based users out there??? This is a great disappointment for all of us who have been waiting quite patiently for Skype to become available on the Android platform. Kind of like getting a toy for Christmas only to find out you can’t play with it for a few months.

While Skype works to correct this apparent lapse in development/release judgment, the rest of you out there with a non-Samsung Galaxy S based Android might have better luck. Go ahead, check it out! Despite the grumblings of those disenfranchised users, Skype truly is an incredible business tool for communication and collaboration. For us here at Technology2Reality, Skype on a mobile phone represents the promise technology offers to un-chain us from the desk. It allows us to be more productive, more efficient, and more accessible. I guess I’ll just have to wait a little bit longer…

Two Free Tools for Document Collaboration

On August 27, 2010, In Productivity, Tips, Tricks and How-To, By admin

Team work is often the cornerstone of a growing business. However collaborating on documents has never been easy and projects often get sent back and forth over email, inevitably leading to multiple copies and multiple head aches.

Two companies in particular, the web giant Google and a start up called Dropbox, make it easy to edit and collaborate on a document without the use of enterprise software like Microsoft Share Point.

Google Docs allows you to create documents online, in the browser or via upload, and you can then send a link to employees, team members, and anyone you’d want to share that document with. You can grant them access to edit the document and all edits will be shared and synced automatically. This can be a great tool as long as everyone is aware that it is a shared document and saved changes will overwrite the existing file.

Google Docs is a more interactive way to collaborate as you are all quite literally on the same page, allowing you will be able to see the “live edits”, which means collaborating more effectively than emailing attachments back and forth. But what if my browser crashes? Well just like MS Office, Google docs saves your document every few minutes automatically. They also offer this “cloud” service for spread sheets and calenders.

Drop Box is by far one of the most innovative products I’ve seen in the last 10 years and is a “cloud” document solution. However it does not “live” in the browser while your working on it. Rather, you download the Dropbox program on your PC or Mac, creating a Dropbox folder on your hard drive. If you copy all your documents into the new Dropbox Documents folder, you will never lose a document or any file again. Files saved in the Dropbox folder are simultaneously synced to the “cloud” which gives the user browser access, through the Dropbox website, in any location. Just make sure you remember to save into that Dropbox folder.In Dropbox you can also choose to share it folders with another Dropbox user. When they accept the “Shared” folder it will automatically sync the shared data from the “cloud” to the other users Dropbox folder.

Dropbox is free for up to 2 Gigabytes of storage and can be used to sync to multiple computers. However you may also refer people to Dropbox and in doing so receive an extra 250 megs per free sign up. Dropbox also offers a premium service of 50 Gigs for about $9.99/month or 100 Gigs for $19.99/month. But, for for text files you should be fine with the free version.

At Technology2Reality we recommend taking advantage of cloud services like these in order to achieve and maintain a more efficient and productive workplace. If there is any confusion on how to set these systems up or if you want to have the system implemented for you contact us at Marketing@technology2reality.comor through our Social Media.

Twitter.com/tech2real
Facebook.com/technolgy2reality
Join our Linked in group Technology2Reality

Skype vs. Google: How Calling has Changed

On August 27, 2010, In Productivity, Tips, Tricks and How-To, Uncategorized, By admin

Google is set to compete with Skype in the VOIP, (Voice Over Internet Protocal), market with their slow roll out of free calling in Gmail to the U.S. and Canada until the end of the year.

Skype is a VOIP client, (Voice Over Internet Protocol), which allows you to make voice calls using Skype’s software from computer to computer for free. In addition to the free instant messaging and audio/video chat, Skype also has two paid services: SkypeIn and SkypeOut, These services enable you to create a phone number that people can call and that you can dial out from so long as Skype is running.

I’ve paid $60 a year for the two services, with unlimited minutes, and it’s been a great plan B calling option when I’ve been in an areas with bad service and have a WiFi connection. With smart-phones, laptops and now free calling integrated into your standard Gmail web page, you can make calls from your browser’s email with a few clicks. Skype is mobile too, with Apps on the Blackberry, iPhone, and Android so you’re not tethered to your computer.

I’ve been a beta tester for Google Voice for over a year and am happy to see that it’s open to the public. I think in some ways it’s a little ahead of it’s time and that people should be able to have a lite version of Google Voice inside their Gmail web client. With this addition Gmail users can make unlimited calls (for the time being) to most of North America. Google talk/video calling is going to share the Google Voice call rates for international calls. Gmail already had rolled out some video and voice chat options that emulate Skype functionality some time ago. With this free calling incentive Skype may be feeling some pressure.

Twitter.com/tech2real
Facebook.com/technolgy2reality
Join our Linked in group Technology2Reality

The Technology2Reality Blog Feed

Recent Posts

Categories: