The Evolution Of The Smartphone

     When Google announced their new project, Google glass, many in the world started laughing and were skeptical about the whole thing, but turns out this project is a real possibility and one that has caught the attention of some really powerful competition. Apple's CEO met with Valve this last week to discuss this very thing, the guys at Valve are going to work on a "wearable computing" project that is due to come out in the next 3-5 years, meaning if Google and Apple are both taking this seriously then we should start to do the same. This is really exciting, it is the next step in the computing evolution for sure, it was bound to happen and thank God for it happening so soon, the benefits of it are immense.

     When was the last time you made a phone call? This is an interesting question to ask, so many times have we heard the phrase "calling takes so long, texting is way better", this is a product of our generation, and one we think is a good thing but some still believe it to be a bad thing. Let's start with the negative critiques, people fear the loss of communication between people, in many respects we feel this is silly and an exaggeration, it reminds us of the time when televisions were coming out and the previous generation kept saying that TVs would melt the young generation's brains, silly really. We think the evolution of the phone is a beautiful thing that encourages communication quite significantly, here's what's up.

      Ellen Degeneres in her new book "Seriously...I'm Kidding" has a chapter dedicated to this very concept, the concept that via text we can get a full 4 pages worth of information within one paragraph. The chapter is brilliant, she obviously over uses abbreviations, but the point is made clear, that communication is becoming faster and because it is faster more people can partake in the conversation, thus the increase and not the decrease in communication due to technology. To answer the question that started this point, phone calls have gone down significantly with the addition of text and smartphones to the big picture. The mass text invention changed the game even further, no longer do you have to call 20 friends to make a plan, now you can just text all of them at the same time and be done with it, it solves a 2 hour process in less than 2 minutes, that is a beautiful thing.

    Another huge thing here is that smartphones and Ipads are quickly replacing laptops, this might seem silly but it is not, this is the future. There is no reason to check your laptop anymore, save writing long papers, but even there there are people that have become accustomed to using their Ipads to write long papers, the laptop is a dying breed, trust us on this, its a fact. Think smartphone for a second, within  it you have your email, all your social networks, Google and your other search/reference networks, Youtube, Pinterest, and even Break all have apps, you have games and a camera even, with all those things at your disposal rarely does using a laptop seem practical, you have a computer that is more powerful than most 2-3 year old laptops on the palm of your hand, that is the future.

     This is why the invention of the computing glasses is such a big deal, this is the next evolution when it comes to technology. John Scalzi and other science fiction writers have described this evolution, John takes it a step further saying that soon we'll have a chip implant where we'll be able to use computers just by thinking, you might think that this is a far off concept but its not, its a 10-20 years concept. In the next 3-5 years we'll have all the computing power of a smartphone and laptop being a wearable thing, this will be done via voice command technology, video games are also going to incorporate such a concept with Microsoft already copyrighting projects that incorporate such a device for their newest videogame system that is due to come out some time in Q4 of next year. This is the future, and it is happening now.

     Virtual reality has been a human dream for countless generations and now we are approaching an age where that could be a possibility, this is a great thing for sure. To focus on what is happening right now though, with Apple on the race to get their wearable computing out sooner and better than that of Google's, be sure that more news on this will be coming out, not only that but be sure that the competition will be fierce and the evolution of the smartphone will occur in the next 3-5 years, possibly in the next 3 years. What this means is that smartphones will phase out laptops soon enough, just as laptops have been phasing out desktops which phased out typewriters and so forth. It is the natural evolutionary process of technology and it is a beautiful thing to be a part of it and see it happen.

    What do you guys think of all this? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Do you think it will be practical or will it bomb? We are in high hopes for this project, surely we'll have more to discuss when both Google and Apple unveil their devices. We hope your week has been going well and pray that it finishes well.

Love from your humble blogger,

Google's New Project, Next Gen Sytems and Catching Fire

        This month has been full of interesting stories so far, from next gen console rumors and news to new Google projects, this month has been filled with revelations, surprises and speculations, it sure is exciting to see so many new projects being announced. Technology should never be stagnant, we should never be stuck in place or ever think "there is no room for improvement" thus the plethora of news about new developments happening are always welcomed. So here are a few new projects you should know about and a brief update on the "Hunger Games" sequel "Catching Fire" who is facing some problems.

    Project Google Glass

   You can always count on Google to be pushing the limit when it comes to next gen tech, thank God for that. This new project consists of glasses that pretty much work like a smart phone interface who responds to voice commands and has an in built camera. The video shown reminds us a little of Siri, it's as if Siri was always with you helping you navigate the world. For those of you that are not familiar with Siri, she is the little voice tech on the IPhone that answers your commands and saves you time, so instead of typing something out you just say "where is the closest gas station?" and Siri finds them for you, she is quite useful. Obviously there is great speculation when it comes to the Google glasses, from if they will work properly to how much they will be and so forth, so much buzz has been created that parody videos have already started to circulate the web, it sure doesn't take long now-a-days for memes to be born but in the end this project is really exciting.

   Wii U: Nintendo's Demise?

   As per tradition every 5 years or so Nintendo releases a new system and this is the year that their new console Wii U will be releasing, some have dated it as early as November 12th. The system will be unveiled at E3 this June so everyone is very excited about that, the console itself has not been revealed but specs on the controller were released a few months back revealing the touch screen they will be releasing with it. Though we trust Nintendo to pull through and deliver a good product we have heard recent news as of late that claim that Nintendo's next gen's graphics aren't up to par. If the rumors are correct the new system has inferior graphics than  the 360 and PS3, which means that Nintendo will not be able to compete graphic wise, this is a big blow to the new system. When asked to comment Nintendo simply stated that gameplay was their main concern, this response, though expected, made many hardcore gamers worry that this new system will disappoint as much as the Wii did, only time will tell, in two months we'll either see the brilliance of Nintendo or the final years of Nintendo.

     The "Used Games" Controversy

   There have been rumors circulating the net about how the next gen systems for Microsoft and Sony will both require Internet access 100% of the time and will not run used games, in fact there is even talk about not needing for physical games anymore and just downloading games directly to your system. If this were to occur your local game retailer would die, and thus the controversy is set. These are but rumors, that's something we should all remember when dealing with these issues, Sony and Microsoft are both not stupid, to make a move so drastic as this would not only hurt the company but it would decrease their fan loyalty by a ton. People don't like to see big companies hurting the little guys, and any move by big distributors to try to remove retailers is never looked upon lightly by the people, thus why this future of no used games will probably not come to pass, it would be business suicide for companies to jump on this bandwagon. Though this is a push that will happen in the future, this is not the case for us today, maybe in 10-20 years we will see a very real push towards all online games but for now this is simply not a practical reality.

   "Catching Fire" Director Problems

   As it turns out the project has lost its director, Gary Ross has decided to step down from this project and will not be returning for the second movie. This puts Lionsgate in a very tight schedule, we will surely be receiving news very soon as to whom will be taking over this big project. On top of that, turns out that the shooting for Xmen: First Class 2 is being delayed for next year so that Jennifer Lawrence (she plays Mystique) might be able to finish shooting "Catching Fire" for its 2013 release. Thus this all means that yes we will have a sequel next year, it will be filmed this year and Lionsgate is on the lookout for the next director. What this means for the direction of the movie no one really knows, the next movie might look very different from the first one or it might follow suit, let us hope that whoever takes over the project learns from the mistakes that Ross committed and provides us with a better movie overall.

     We hope that you all had a good break this Easter and that this week might be  fantastic. It is never fun to come back from vacation but at the same time there is a sense of continuity when coming back to real life. We pray that this week might be a safe one for you.

Love from your humble blogger,