By Daniel Sieberg, Co-founder at GoodTrust

The Covid-19 global pandemic of 2020 brought degrees of loss and heartache into everyone’s lives in untold ways. The scale was beyond comprehension, whether you or your family were directly affected by it or if, like so many of us, you watched in horror as the daily news presented its drumbeat of infections, hospitalizations, and death.

As those tragic events unfolded during months of lockdowns and quarantine we grew more intimate with our digital worlds as they became a kind of sanctuary. We tapped into social media in new ways (albeit not always productive or healthy ones). We relied on online shopping for everything from toilet paper to oat milk to running shoes. We searched for medical information and health updates on a constant basis. And we clung to our personal devices like life preservers. The constant glow of our screens became the new campfire.

While these technological accessories and services provided something of a lifeline, they also forced us into a greater merger of an offline life and an online one. For so many of us it’s sometimes hard to know the difference anymore. We work more from home (or live more at work?), need constant connectivity and laptops for remote education and rely on telemedicine in countless forms.

The constant glow of our screens became the new campfire
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Our social circles are often managed online, the entertainment we love is streamed into our homes and we capture so much of our activities, interests and precious moments through mobile devices and apps. On average we each spend 6 hours and 42 minutes online each day.

But while we got used to the idea of living online, we now need to get used to the concept of dying online. There are an estimated 30 million dead people on Facebook today, yet that number is still relatively small considering the platform’s 2.7 billion monthly users. By 2100 there will be between 1.4 and 4.9 billion dead people on Facebook alone – likely more dead accounts than live ones.

Our social circles are often managed online
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In the spring of 2020 the devastating health crisis coupled with deaths in our immediate families got some of us thinking about what would happen to our digital lives if our analog ones ceased to exist. As a result, Rikard Steiber, a former Google executive, and a number of us former Googlers and others started a company called GoodTrust. We want to make it possible to act now on your own behalf – or someone else’s – to save everything that matters to you. It’s a more complex and challenging dilemma than we’d originally envisioned with the hurdles and obstacles only mounting in rapid fashion as the pace of innovation accelerates – and we want to help.

On average we each spend 6 hours and 42 minutes online each day
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We’re creating an online existence that feels, well, pretty good, in addition to our real life. Albeit not always authentic. But as we’re able to see our efforts and those of others presented to the world we’d like it to continue on this journey for as long as possible and maybe beyond. It’s time to solve this mounting digital dilemma by saving what matters to each of us.

There are an estimated 30 million dead people on Facebook today
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The GoodTrust platform allows anyone to carry out their digital afterlife wishes from memorializing a Facebook page to extracting photos from Google to shuttering subscription accounts like LinkedIn or Netflix. GoodTrust combines scalable technology with in-house experts to tackle both the decision-making process and the legal complexities. We don’t like ruminating on death because it feels depressing, but no matter what happens on the other side – whether it’s a multiverse or heaven or reincarnation – death comes for us all.

By 2100 there will be between 1.4 and 4.9 billion dead people on Facebook alone
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Yet just as each of our offline lives is unique so too can it be said about our online ones. The decisions you make will be up to you but in the absence of making those choices you may be left with a digital legacy that sacrifices reputation, finances and even relationships. The stakes are high, as your digital stuff like photos, emails, documents, and profiles are no less meaningful than those saved in the physical world.

The @MyGoodTrust platform allows anyone to carry out their digital afterlife wishes
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There are several critical aspects to consider from the role of tech companies (where I’ve worked for many years) to outdated privacy laws to emotional considerations with friends, family, and loved ones. But none of it is going away and there is a growing need for all parties involved to find better ways to work together and develop solutions. The tidal wave of this issue is hitting us now – even beyond the pandemic – as we shift so much of our lives to places we can’t even touch. There’s no going back. And we need to unlock a better way to help all of us better manage our last wishes – even if it’s in the so-called “virtual” world, the reasons it all matters to us are very real indeed.

Daniel Sieberg is Co-founder and content lead at GoodTrust and author of The Digital Diet: the four-step plan to break your tech addiction and regain balance in your life and a forthcoming book on the digital afterlife with Rikard Steiber.

The post Taking Control of Your Digital Afterlife appeared first on Tech Trends.

This book is a compelling and rather disturbing tale of how something that started out as little more than a glorified porn filter has now become an exportable and sophisticated model of mass censorship; one that is already being actively implemented in places like Russia and Africa.

Griffiths has been a tech correspondent in China and SE Asia for almost a decade – first as a reporter in Shanghai, then as an editor at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong – he currently continues to work in the region as a senior producer for CNN in Hong Kong. Having had a front-row seat to the development of the “Great Firewall,” he felt compelled to write this book in order to highlight the important issues at stake, and how these matter not only inside China, but within a global context too.

Through his years of investigation James Griffiths gained access to politicians, tech leaders, dissidents and hackers whose lives revolve around the Great Firewall
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“I lived in China during what we can now see was the high point for Weibo, perhaps the last social network that presented a real challenge to the censors. I saw how people were able to use a brief period of openness on the Chinese Internet to hold the government to account, highlight abuse, and effect change. I’ve also seen since then, both as an Internet user myself and as a reporter, how this has changed, and how the authorities cracked down on that.”

An exposé of the biggest, most sophisticated system of censorship the world has ever seen - and a call to take back Internet freedoms
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Through his years of investigation James Griffiths gained access to politicians, tech leaders, dissidents and hackers whose lives revolve around the Great Firewall, and has witnessed its inexorable spread, prompting him to argue for need for a radical new vision of online liberty.

“I open the book with the 2015 massive denial of service attack against Github, something I view as a turning point for how China’s censors approached challenges to the Great Firewall beyond its borders. Since then, we’ve seen an escalation in hacking attacks linked to Chinese state-backed groups, a purge of Chinese Twitter users, who were reportedly ordered to delete their accounts even though their posts were not visible within China, and pressure brought upon international companies (such as airlines and hotel chains) to conform to Chinese style “political correctness” on issues such as Taiwan and Tibet.”

Concessions on human rights and free speech do not happen in vacuum
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For me, the most chilling part of this tale is how complicit Tech Giants have been in the process of building this social control engine. The pursuit of profit predictably triumphed over any moral qualms companies such as Google had about playing along with the Chinese government’s objectives. It is painfully ironic to think of Google’s “Do no Evil” motto in light of that. History is certainly full of examples of great harm being done through a series of seemingly logical steps that gradually steer companies, institutions, and individuals away from their moral compass.

For me, the most chilling part of this tale is how complicit Tech Giants have been in the process of building this social control engine
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“Concessions on human rights and free speech do not happen in vacuum. Google admitted when it pulled out of China in 2010 that the existence of a censored search engine built for the Chinese market was leading to pressure from other governments to do the same for them. Had Google gone through with its reported Dragonfly project, this would undoubtedly have had a similar effect. Some firms, Twitter being the most notable, appear to have decided this is a losing game. However, Google once seemed to realise this too, and yet the allure of the Chinese market was obviously too much to resist having another roll of the dice. “

Apps such as WeChat and Alibaba have  become almost impossible for ordinary Chinese citizens to avoid using, and Griffiths says that presents a huge problem which will only become more acute as these are eventually integrated into the proposed “social credit” system – which is essentially the realization of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror dystopia in the Nosedive episode…

The book features unprecedented access to leaked government documents and interviews with dissidents
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“As difficult as it is for a person in the US or UK to avoid using Facebook or Google, WeChat is even more enmeshed in people’s lives. Chinese law requires the company to provide a large amount of data to the government, and we have seen numerous instances of WeChat logs being used in criminal and corruption cases. Tibetan exiles have even suggested that a recent drop in the number of hacking attacks launched against them is a result of the spread of WeChat through the diaspora — the censors no longer need to search for information, it’s provided to them. While still largely theoretical at this point, the potential ramifications of the social credit system when linked to WeChat, as well as Alipay and other popular apps, are huge.”

The Great Firewall of China: How to Build and Control an Alternative Version of the Internet

is available now on Amazon or directly from the publisher’s website at a 30% discount and it makes for an uncomfortable – but highly necessary – read. It’s above all a call to action for individuals and technologists who care about civil liberties to hold companies and governments to account on protecting Internet freedom before it’s too late.

This book is a compelling and rather disturbing tale of how something that started out as little more than a glorified porn filter has now become an exportable and sophisticated model of mass censorship
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Alice Bonasio is a VR and Digital Transformation Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. You can follow @alicebonasio on Twitter, connect with her on LinkedIn or subscribe to her Inside VR/AR Newletter for all the latest curated immersive news.  

The post Review: The Great Firewall of China appeared first on Tech Trends.

If you’re unnerved by the amount of information Google has on you, there are several steps you can take to get around the company’s relentless tracking.

Use a VPN

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a secure option to keep Google from tracking you while you’re online. Although virtual private networks can’t completely keep the company from accessing your data, they do hide your IP address, encrypt your Internet traffic and make your browsing history private, keeping your online actions much more secure.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a secure option to keep Google from tracking you while you’re online
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Private browsing

Use Google’s Incognito Mode to ensure that the pages you access won’t show up in your browsing history or search history. Be aware, however, that other websites can still collect and share information about you, even when you’re using private browsing.

Use Google’s Incognito Mode to ensure that the pages you access won’t show up in your browsing history
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Adjust your privacy settings

Check out Google’s Activity Controls to change what data is stored about you and visit your Activity Page to delete stored history and activity.

Check Google’s Activity Controls to change what data is stored about you
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Turn off location reporting

In Google Maps — as well as in your Android and Pixel device settings, if you use those products — disable location reporting to keep Google from tracking where you are and where you go. If you use Google Maps or Waze for directions, though, the company can still collect location data on you when you’re using those apps.

Disable location reporting to keep Google from tracking where you are
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Use a different browser and search engine

To stop Google from tracking your searches and website visits, you can use another browser and search engine, like Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Bing. However, this will only stop Google from tracking you — Microsoft (or whatever company owns the browser you switch to) will get your data instead.

To stop Google from tracking your searches and website visits, use another browser and search engine, like Internet Explorer and Bing
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Delete your Google accounts

To truly stop the tech giant from tracking you, you’ll need to take some drastic measures — namely, disavowing the use of any of the company’s products. That means deleting any apps linked to the company, including Gmail, Google Drive and any Android devices, and moving to a different browser and search engine.

Stopping the tech giant from tracking you requires drastic measures
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Google has made life a lot simpler in many ways. Google Search has made answers just a click away. Google Maps has made directions easy to find and understand. Google Drive has made working across multiple platforms seamless.

This convenience comes with a price: privacy. If you’re concerned about how Google is tracking you — and what they’re doing with the data — follow the steps above to keep yourself safe, and visit Google’s Privacy Site for a more comprehensive overview of what data Google is tracking and how they use it.

Google has made life a lot simpler in many ways, but all this convenience comes with a price: privacy
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Alice Bonasio is a VR and Digital Transformation Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Infographic: How Much Does Google Know About You? appeared first on Tech Trends.

We’re heading back to the Silicon Slopes of Salt Lake City to check out the latest in the technology learning space.

With a range of top speakers from Google, Microsoft, T-Mobile, Code.org, Oracle and GSK, Pluralsight LIVE takes place in the Utah capital from August 28th to the 30th. The event will also feature a start-up competition where companies will pitch their ideas in front of the Pluralsight community and investors for a chance of winning a $50,000 prize.

Pluralsight LIVE takes place in the Utah capital from August 28th to the 30th
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From my experience of attending last year, Pluralsight LIVE is a great event for anyone interested in technology and learning. And while there is a strong commercial element to the proceedings – this is, after all, a successful and profitable tech company which sells its product to some of the world’s biggest corporations – there is also a strong and genuine sense of mission, and a palpable desire to pay back some of that success by using that same technology to tackle some of the world’s most pressing problems.

#PluralsightLIVE will bring together a range of top speakers from Google, Microsoft, T-Mobile, Code.org, Oracle and GSK
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From my experience of attending last year, Pluralsight LIVE is a great event for anyone interested in technology and learning
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The conference is set in Salt Lake City, which I found to be a pleasant town which combines a welcoming atmosphere with the comforts and cultural options of a large metropolis, all set against the dramatic backdrop of the majestic mountains that surround it. The only downside is that I simply can’t help getting the entire soundtrack of the Book of Mormon stuck in my head as soon as I land, and find myself sometimes humming rather rude songs such as Hasa Diga Eebowai at the most inappropriate moments… Still, the locals are so friendly, and seem to have a sense of humour – the LDS actually bought advertising on the show’s playbill – so it might be all right after all.

As in 2017, this year’s #PluralsightLIVE will take place on the beautiful grounds of the @GrandAmerica hotel
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As in 2017, this year’s event will take place at the beautiful Grand America hotel, which is still on my favourite places to stay list (quite a feat considering they are up against the likes of The Palm in Dubai or the Hotel Miró where we stayed in the same room as some of the stars from Game of Thrones when they were filming near Bilbao) with its opulent-friendly atmosphere and service.

“Find inspiration to push the boundaries of technology and create a brighter future.”

Speaking of inspiration, it’s hard to imagine a tougher act to follow than last year’s amazing headliner Michelle Obama. However, as the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, bestselling author and one of the world’s best known and loved champions for education, 21-year-old Malala Yousafzai certainly does the job. Having seen some amazing examples of how learning technology and digital skills can empower girls (such as Kizcode, the social enterprise started by Mujde Esin that we featured here previously) I’m very much looking forward to finding out what role she believes they can play in advancing girl’s education and economic empowerment worldwide.

Having seen how projects like @kizcode empower girls through technology and education, I'm looking forward to hearing @malala 's take on digital skills and her mission to ensure school for every child.
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@Malala will be speaking at #PluralsightLIVE 2018
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So check out the full agenda here and do reach out on Twitter (hashtag #PluralsightLIVE) to @alicebonasio or @techtrends_tech if you’re going to be there too!

To find out how to leverage VR/AR/MR in your enterprise, Tech Trends offers bespoke Virtual Reality Consultancy support

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio and @techtrends_tech on Twitter.

The post Tech Trends at #PluralsightLIVE 2018 appeared first on Tech Trends.

Google wants you to have natural conversations with your virtual assistant.

Your Google Assistant is growing up!
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The Google Assistant team was at Cannes this week talking about their work with creative agencies and brands to extend experiences to the platform – which we recently took for a spin here on Tech Trends when reviewing the latest Google Mini. And while there, the team also announced that one of the features  Google had announced during this year’s I/O – Continued Conversation has just gone live.

“One of the most important things we learn as children is how to communicate with each other. We start with “goo goos and gaa gaas,” then on to baby sign language, a few simple words like “momma,” and our conversations get more complex from there.”

With Continued Conversation turned on, after you ask the Assistant a question, you can ask a follow-up without having to preface each command or question with 'Hey Google'
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You’ll still need to activate your Assistant devices with “Ok Google,” “Hey Google,” or with a physical trigger, but with this new optional setting turned on, the Assistant will stay active for long enough to respond to follow up questions so you don’t have to say “Hey Google” as often. You can say “thank you” or “stop” once you’re done, or just stay quiet and wait for the assistant to detect you’re no longer talking to it.

“For the Google Assistant to have a natural conversation, it should be able to understand when it’s being spoken to and should be capable of responding to several requests during an interaction. We’re taking another step forward in making your interactions with the Google Assistant more natural with Continued Conversation, available starting today on Google Home, Google Home Mini and Google Home Max.”

We’ve heard from a lot of people that adding 'Hey Google' before each follow-up question for the Assistant doesn’t feel as natural as they’d like
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With this update, your conversations with Google Assistant are more natural and intuitive than they’ve ever been
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This feature will initially only be available in English and in the US. To enable it, all users (new or existing) need to access the Assistant Settings for their devices:

Assistant Settings > Preferences > Continued Conversation

(this will apply to all speakers that the primary account user has set up)

The Assistant stays active for 8 seconds at most if it does not detect any speech. If it does detect speech it will remain active until it determines the user is done talking. While it is active the LEDs remain illuminated to let you know it’s listening, and if you’re unsure you can review all your interactions with your Assistant any time by looking at My Activity.

So next time you wake up and the skies are grey, just ask “Hey Google, what’s the weather today?”… “And what about tomorrow?”… “Can you add a rain jacket to my shopping list”… “And remind me to bring an umbrella tomorrow morning”…“Thank you!”

For companies looking to leverage Immersive technologies such as VR/AR/MR/XR Tech Trends offers a comprehensive range of Virtual Reality Consultancy Services.

Alice Bonasio is a VR and Digital Transformation Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Mind How You Talk to Your AI appeared first on Tech Trends.

Spring brought a fresh crop of geeky gadgets for Tech Trends to test and review so sit back and bask in their glory!

Google Home Mini

For those looking to get involved in the whole digital assistant, smart speaker thing the Google Home Mini is probably the most cost-effective first step. With no screen and a small speaker, it is limited but should give you a taste of the future. This cute little gadget came in our Google I/O goodie bag and we couldn’t wait to get it home from Mountain View to put it through its paces. Powered via a USB mini cable the Mini is small and unobtrusive, a bit like a canvas paperweight. Setup and operation is done via the Google Home app on your mobile device and was pretty simple once the home Wi-Fi was connected.

For those looking to get into the whole digital assistant, smart speaker thing the Google Home Mini is the most cost-effective first step
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I had a bit of trouble linking it to my work G Suite account but after some fiddling, Googling and shouting it was set up. This is early-stage technology but sadly the most obvious (at least to me) functions are not yet working so I couldn’t check my Google calendar or Gmails, baffling, surely this is the first step!!!

Anyway, the first test that sprang to mind was Patron Tequila’s Google Home cocktail helper from my recent blog Raising a Glass to Technology where I explored how drinks brands offered product-enhancing smart tech to customers. I visited the Patron page and followed the instructions but…No joy. I contacted Google Home support via chat and they couldn’t help. I worked out that I needed to add a third party ‘action’ to my Google Home app to enable the Patron cocktail service but couldn’t for the life of me get it to work so gave up.

Frustrated and thirsty, I remembered I had installed smart lights by Wiz so visited the Google Home Learn page and clicked on Light Control, Learn More and, Bingo! The instruction quickly got my Mini connected
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Frustrated and thirsty, I remembered I had recently reviewed and installed smart lights by Wiz around the house, so visited the Google Home Learn page and clicked on Light Control, Learn More and Bingo! Quickly got my Mini connected to my Wiz Smart Lights through the app and YEEEEES I can now turn on and off the lights around my house using the Mini.

With this working, I felt I had got a taste of the future but, only a taste
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With this working, I felt I had got a taste of the future but, only a taste. I then managed to play a few specific tracks from Google Play Music and the handy touch features on the Mini worked well for starting & stopping tracks + adjusting the volume. The speaker is small an doesn’t sound great but it’s fine for a bit of background music or radio. The most useful feature of the Mini, however, is the physical ‘Mic Mute’ switch on the back so you can turn it off like Princess Leia turned off C-3PO in Empire!

This new tech is cheap to get on board with and will improve very quickly if we all invest a bit of time in it. I think it really is the future but there is a long way to go
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The functions available now are pretty basic and if you want to do more than just search for answers with Google you will probably be a bit disappointed in what the Mini has to offer. However, this new tech is cheap to get on board with and will improve very quickly if we all invest a bit of time in it. I think it really is the future but there is a long way to go.

Retails at: £49 in the UK

Adonit INK Fine Point Stylus for Windows

Let’s be honest, Windows branded accessories can be a little expensive, not as insultingly so as Apple’s side products but painful nevertheless. The Windows Surface Pen costs £99.99 and as mine is on its last legs I was happy to try out the Adonit Ink Stylus which is a more reasonable £35.25.

Let’s be honest, Windows branded accessories can be a little expensive, not as insultingly so as Apple’s side products but painful nevertheless
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The Ink works with many Microsoft, Asus, HP, and Dell Tablets & 2-in-1 devices but be sure to check their site here for the full list of compatible devices. It worked perfectly with my Surface Book and only the tip felt a bit odd but after using a different pen for a year any change will take a bit of getting used to.

It worked perfectly with my Surface Book and only the tip felt a bit odd but after using a different pen for a year any change takes getting used to.
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The Adonit Ink feels great in the hand with comfortable, low profile buttons and a handy clip
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The Ink feels great in the hand with comfortable, low profile buttons and a handy clip. I haven’t charged it yet but it claims 80 hours of battery life and is easily rechargeable via micro USB. It’s a good looking and cheap replacement and I have no complaints at all!

Retails at: $44.99 in the US or £35.25 on Amazon UK

AUKEY KM-W9 2.4GHz Wireless Ergonomic Mouse

I wouldn’t say this Aukey Wireless Ergonomic Mouse is an RSI reducing mouse but it is definitely more comfortable to use than a standard one. Its large size and ergonomic shape make it really nice to use and it is also grippy meaning you don’t have to squeeze too hard. It is also attractive, with optional flashing LEDs (this is all the rage in the PC market) but there is a switch on the base to limit this.

Its large size and ergonomic shape (of the AUKEY KM-W9 2.4GHz Wireless Ergonomic Mouse) make it really nice to use and it is also grippy meaning you don’t have to squeeze too hard
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On the base, there is also a cunning little slot that holds the USB dongle thingy so you can carry the mouse around with you and not worry about losing the USB. It runs on standard AA batteries and has six buttons, should you need them! All around this is a nice product and as usual for Aukey it is competitively priced.

• Latest-Generation Ergonomic Mouse: Ergonomic design provides greater comfort for your hand, relieving soreness and reducing strain. It’s also a high-precision six-button mouse that’s great for work, casual computer use, and even gaming
• Optimum 30° Angle & Large Palm Rest: Shaped to encourage a more natural hand, wrist, and elbow alignment than traditional mice, it may prevent or relieve the pain of repetitive stress injuries
• Multifunctional Mouse: Features a wide range of DPI levels (3 Polling Rate, 125HZ, 250HZ, 500HZ, set according to computer configuration), to suit graphic design, spreadsheet work, daily web browsing, or gaming. 5 programmable buttons (excludes left button) for customizable use. Automatically enters sleep mode if not used for 8 minutes to conserve battery (press any button to wake)
• Premium Surface: Streamlined design with comfortable, non-slip, anti-sweat finish for lasting comfort and performance
• Package Contents: AUKEY KM-W9 2.4GHz Wireless Mouse, USB Wireless Receiver, User Manual, 45-Day Money Back Guarantee and 24-Month Product Replacement Warranty Card

On the base, there is also a cunning little slot that holds the USB dongle thingy so you can carry the mouse around with you and not worry about losing the USB
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Specifications
Number of Buttons: 6
Sensor Type: Optical Sensor
DPI: 800 / 1200 / 1600 / 2400 / 3200 / 4800
Polling Rate: 125Hz / 250Hz / 500Hz (customizable on Windows systems only)
Battery Type: 1 AA battery (not included)
Frequency Band: 2.4GHz
Power/Light Switch: Yes
System Requirements: Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10, Linux, Mac OS X 10.0 or later, Chrome OS
Dimensions: 121 x 86 x 54mm / 4.76″ x 3.39″ x 2.13″
Weight: 105g / 3.7oz (excluding battery)

Retails at: £22.99 on Amazon UK

Foobot Air Quality Monitor

Living with three dogs and an open fire it is not hard for me to believe that the air in my house is dirtier than the air outside, it is certainly smellier! So I was keen to try out the Foobot air quality monitor and test my home air quality. The Foobot is a sleek looking device that connects via Wi-Fi to an Android or iOS app and after a six-day monitoring period will send out notifications to the app about the quality of your air. The device itself also indicates the air quality by shining blue LEDs when everything is dandy and orange ones when you need to open a window.

The Foobot is a sleek looking device that connects via Wi-Fi to an Android or iOS app and after a six-day monitoring period will send out notifications to the app about the quality of your air
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The device itself also indicates the air quality by shining blue LEDs when everything is dandy and orange ones when you need to open a window
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It supports IFTTT and Nest connections, plus Lux/Geo and Ecobee thermostats or Stringify, and/or Artick Cloud devices and can, in theory, perform functions such as controlling your air conditioner to circulate air if it will improve the situation. How many of us live in houses full of such expensive connected devices? Very few. So if you live in a regular home with a simple boiler the only real function of the Foobot is to let you know when you should crack a window and let some outside air in, it does nothing to clean the air only tell you when it is not fresh.

It supports IFTTT and Nest connections, plus Lux/Geo and Ecobee thermostats or Stringify, and/or Artick Cloud devices
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With this limited functionality in mind, I don’t think the Foobot would have been much use to me even if it had worked, which it didn’t. after six tries to connect the app to the device via my Wi-Fi and the direct connection I gave up and put it back in its box and on a high shelf with all the other uninspired tech products I have accumulated. For the price The Foobot is little more than expensive techy entertainment and solves no real problem unless you are super rich and have a connected home, therefore it feels a bit of a waste of money and I can’t recommend it.

Retailing at a reduced price of $199 via the official site in the US and £179 on Amazon in the UK, with £75 off

Sennheiser CX Sport Bluetooth Headphones

Arriving too late to be included in this month’s Bluetooth Headphone round up these Sennheiser CX Sports offer a six-hour battery life, which can be quick-charged via USB in just ten minutes to offer a further hour of playback, and fully charged in 1.5hrs. You can see below they come with a groovy looking “ear-fin” that keeps them in place while you strain and wobble around the track. They also have a clip so if they do slip from your sweaty ears you won’t lose them.

They come with a groovy looking “ear-fin” that keeps them in place while you strain and wobble around the track. They also have a clip so if they do slip from your sweaty ears you won’t lose them
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They deliver a clear, detailed sound with a satisfying bass response. Multi-connection capability lets you pair the CX SPORT with up to two devices simultaneously, but not sure why you would do that? Bluetooth 4.2, Qualcomm® apt-X and apt-X Low Latency compatibility ensure that you can experience the freedom of cable-free listening with uncompromised true Hi-Fi sound.

Bluetooth 4.2, Qualcomm® apt-X and apt-X Low Latency compatibility ensure that you can experience the freedom of cable-free listening with uncompromised true Hi-Fi sound
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The CX Sports have a simple three-button remote that helps you manage your music and calls, as well as convenient voice prompts to further enhance ease of use. For the money they are a good purchase and they do sound pretty good, only lacking a bit of solidity and bombast but full of detail and fun. Eye of the Tiger anyone?

Retailing at: £119 in the UK

The post May 2018 Tech Trends Product Reviews appeared first on Tech Trends.

Few sectors have embraced technology in their marketing as well as the drinks industry and tequila makers Patrón are leading the way.

As Tech Trends highlighted last year, the drinks industry is at the forefront of new technology and is well aware of the opportunities MR and IoT offer when marketing lifestyle products. One company in particular, has been leading the way, Patrón, makers of excellent Tequila. They have been breaking new ground in beverage marketing for years now, so Tech Trends met up with their VP of Marketing Adrian Parker to find out what role technology plays in their company strategy.

The consumer journey is much more advanced now, so the modern marketer's toolkit has evolved to a plethora of exciting enhancements
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“Patrón prides itself in being a leader in its industry and that includes leveraging digital and mobile marketing.” Adrian explained. “We’re proud to work in the tech space and test new technologies that will enhance the consumer experience. We’re now able to educate our consumers on not just the bottle and the liquid, but the history and authenticity of the brand as well as its versatility. The consumer journey is so much more advanced than it was years ago so the modern marketers tool kit has really evolved to a plethora of so many cool, exciting enhancements as well. We can now leverage AR, AI enabled voice technology, virtual reality and more.”

In fact, they were amongst the first drinks companies to embrace 360 video and VR with The Art of Patrón Virtual Reality Experience in 2015 and continue to showcase this experience at marketing events today. The experience gives users a “bee’s eye view” of the Hacienda Patrón in Jalisco, Mexico and works in VR and modern browsers.

“Seeing how handcrafted the Patrón tequila-making process still is, it’s the greatest marketing asset we have—it’s also the least scalable,” says Adrian “Since we can’t bring millions of consumers to our working distillery in Mexico, VR created an opportunity for us to bring Mexico to them.”

The handcrafted process behind Patrón tequila-making is our greatest marketing asset. VR created an opportunity to bring Mexico to consumers
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The VR experience was a hefty investment on Patrón’s part. To create it, they hired an airline pilot to fly a drone outfitted with six GoPros through the Hacienda. Live action scenes were combined with computer animation, and, in total, the project took eight months and an onsite-crew of nearly 100 people to complete. Then, the company had to secure over 200 Samsung Gear VR goggles and 30,000 Google Cardboard kits to use at events around the world. But because the experience is also available online, Parker says that hundreds of thousands of consumers have been able to fly throughout the Hacienda—making VR a worthy investment in their eyes. As we discussed in 2017 mobile AR is the hot new tool in drinks marketing so I asked Adrian where Patrón’s AR vision come from and what are the benefits the brand has experienced using this technology?

“When Apple launched AR technology as part of their operating system, it made it accessible to the everyday user and provided an excellent opportunity for us to reach consumers in an innovative way like never before. The technology provides us with a critical platform to touch real people using how they are consuming their information. We are able to educate on our products in an impactful and digestible way that did not exist prior to this technology.”

When Apple launched AR technology as part of their operating system, it made it accessible to the everyday user and provided an excellent opportunity for us to reach consumers like never before
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Not content on resting on their laurels, Patrón have been working on their ARKit App to incorporate social sharing and a futuristic shopping function. Aside from the app’s educational component, teaching users more about the core Patrón line, users will be able to purchase products directly through the app via US site Reserve Bar.

“The new ARKit update features a new direct purchase capability where users can buy Patrón’s core line of tequila directly through the app via ReserveBar.com, which is a first for the technology. Users also now have the addition of a ‘photo booth on-the-go’ with themed frames that can be shared directly on social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.”

The new ARKit update features a new direct purchase capability where users can buy Patrón’s core line of tequila through the app
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Now, users of “The Patrón Experience” ARKit app can also send a virtual holiday card right from the app using holiday-themed frames, giving users the ability to have a photobooth on-the-go. The existing camera function has been enhanced with social media integration and a sharing feature, allowing users to share their images directly on social platforms, or save to their camera roll.

Their latest advance sees Patrón adding an action to Google Home, allowing users to “Ask Patron” and talk to Google Home as they would a bartender for cocktail suggestions and tips, gift recommendations, tequila facts and more from the comfort of their home.

Their latest advance adds an action to Google Home, allowing users to Ask Patron for cocktail suggestions and tips
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Patrón is on a journey powered by technology to reimagine how spirits consumers connect with their drinks and the people who make them
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Patrón also currently has this skill via Amazon Alexa and are launching a new skill on Amazon Echo Show, taking advantage of the new platform’s capabilities and featuring:

• An interactive touch display in ddition to the standard voice interaction
• Graphical elements complementing voice interaction (think Echo with a screen) featuring Patrón’s Limited-Edition 1 Liter Holiday Bottle
• The ability for users to find the perfect holiday gift based on their budget and drinking preference
• Helpful tips on how to perfect holiday cocktail-making skills (ex. How do I muddle?) and get Pro-Tip videos from world-class bartenders
• Users will be able to ask the Amazon Echo Show how to craft 400+ different cocktails using tequila

“Using Amazon Alexa Echo Show’s new interactive touch display and standard voice interaction, you begin using the skill by saying “Alexa, Ask Patrón.” Users can Ask Patrón any number of questions such as what cocktail they’ll enjoy based on type, flavor, occasion and ingredients available. Then, consumers can easily make the drink by watching the recipe and hearing and seeing the instructions. You can also learn about Patrón’s offerings and get cocktail-making tips from bartenders. Similar to our new ARKit app update, users can buy Patrón directly through the Echo Show. With the Google Home technology, Patrón officially added an action allowing users to “Ask Patron:” talk to Google Home just like you would a bartender for cocktail suggestions and tips, gift recommendations, tequila facts and more from the comfort of your own home. Very similar to the Alexa skill, but with another widely used technology.”

Users can Ask Patrón any number of questions such as what cocktail they’ll enjoy based on type, flavor, occasion and ingredients available
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So where does Adrian see tech taking customer engagement next?

“In the near future we’ll be physically interacting with our favorite Patrón bartender (bot-tender) as he scans the kitchen to recommend cocktails based on available ingredients. After he demonstrates how to make, shake and drink the cocktail, he’ll start a party playlist for your guests and order more tequila for next time. Patrón is on a journey to totally reimagine how spirits consumers connect with the products they drink and the people who make them, all powered by various technology.” Adrian concluded.

In future we’ll be interacting with our favorite Patrón bot-tender as it scans the kitchen to recommend cocktails based on available ingredients
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Cheers to that!

To find out how to leverage VR/AR/MR in your enterprise, Tech Trends offers bespoke Virtual Reality Consultancy support

Tom Atkinson is a Digital Producer & Photographer at R3Digital and Reviews & Dept. Editor at Tech Trends. Connect on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter @R3Digital

The post Raising a glass to Technology appeared first on Tech Trends.

Google harnesses the power of photos and street view to deliver simplified VR development for teachers and students.

The benefits of using immersive technologies as teaching tools have been widely documented and extensively discussed, specially in recent years with the rapid development of Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed reality hardware and applications.

The benefits of using immersive technologies as teaching tools have been widely documented and extensively discussed
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Yet the biggest obstacle that often keeps teachers from adopting these technologies in the classroom is not necessarily cost – there are, after all, many entry-level budget ways of experiencing Virtual Reality which use fairly pervasive and accessible mobile technology such as the Google Cardboard – but the lack of relevant content with which educators and learners alike can identify beyond the level of an amusing novelty.

Many educators and academics do believe that this technology will eventually become as commonplace as computers and mobile phones are today:

Speaking at the Global Education and Skills Forum in March, Jakki Bailey – a researcher from The University of Texas at Austin who focuses on the psychological and social experiences of Virtual Reality – said that as the technology becomes more affordable, it will seamlessly intersect with the physical world. Whereas now we tend to refer to the physical and digital worlds as separate entities, we are inexorably moving towards a blending of the two. This is the new reality that educators need to prepare themselves to proactively use it rather than reactively adapt to it.

Technology companies are also recognizing the need to better enable the creation of content that will empower teachers to leverage the benefits of the technology in a coherent pedagogical context. At its annual I/O Developer Conference in Mountain View, California Google announced the launch of Tour Creator, a new tool that easily allows anyone to create interactive content in Virtual Reality.

Much as the Internet facilitated broader access to knowledge, Immersive technologies could enable broader access to experience
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Educators and academics believe that Immersive technology will become as commonplace as computers and mobile phones today
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This follows from the company’s introduction three years ago of Google’s initial foray in educational VR – Google Expeditions – which first introduced the idea of taking students on virtual reality field trips using basic equipment such as Google Cardboard. Since 2015, Google Expeditions has brought students to places like the Burj Khalifa, Antarctica, and Machu Picchu with virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

Tour Creator builds upon this success – over three million students used the service so far – by allowing people to create and customize their own experiential content. As Jen Zurawski, an educator with Wisconsin’s West De Pere School District, puts it: “With Expeditions, our students had access to a wide range of tours outside our geographical area, but we wanted to create tours here in our own community.”

Using simplified web-based interfaces, Tour Creator is meant to be an accessible tool for everyone, regardless of their experience or technical background. Users simply search across Google Street View for their desired locations – or upload their own 360-degree photos – and easily stitch that content together to form “scenes” to which they can add various interactive elements such as buttons that activate additional information at certain points within the scene, and embed the whole experience onto the school’s website, for instance.

“Being able to work with Tour Creator has been an awesome experience,” says Jennifer Newton, a school media coordinator in Georgia. “It has allowed our students from a small town in Georgia to tell our story to the world.”

“As the technology progresses it will become more affordable and more integrated into our everyday lives. Just as most people here are carrying some sort of smartphone, the next step will be some sort of augmented reality device, so that will filter down into classrooms as well,” adds Dr Dimitri Amiras, a consultant at Imperial College who has been working on clinical and training applications of Microsoft’s HoloLens Mixed Reality technology who also participated in the discussion at GESF examining the future of immersive technologies in learning environments.

Much in the same way as the widespread adoption of the Internet facilitated broader access to knowledge, Immersive technologies could enable broader and more egalitarian access to experience. However, this potential can only be realized once both content and hardware becomes universally accessible, and initiatives such as these by Google help teachers advance towards that goal

“The technology gets out of the way and enables students to focus on crafting fantastic visual stories,” explains Charlie Reisinger, a Pennsylvania educator. And that, in fact, is the ultimate goal of any transformative technology. For as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella put it in his keynote at Microsoft Build in Seattle this week (quoting the father of ubiquitous computing Mark Weiser) “The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of our daily lives.”

This article was originally published on IDG Connect

Empowering educators to create immersive learning experiences, by @alicebonasio from @CIOonline https://t.co/HRC0SuUFOv

— IDG Contributor Network (@IDGCN) May 11, 2018

For companies looking to get into Immersive technologies such as VR/AR/MR/XR our Virtual Reality Consultancy services offer guidance and support on how best to incorporate these into your brand strategy.

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Creating Immersive Learning Experiences appeared first on Tech Trends.

We’ll be dropping by Silicon Valley next month for Google I/O to check out the latest scoop from the Big G.

May is shaping up to be one heck of a busy month for Tech Trends
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May is shaping up to be one heck of a busy month for Tech Trends, making us wish that we were already in a sort of post-OASIS world where we could virtually teleport ourselves to all the cool events we get invited to.

We’re jetting off from Heathrow to the US West Coast, stopping by Seattle to cover Microsoft Build before heading to the Bay Area for Google’s flagship developer conference in Mountain View
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Instead, we’re boarding a good old-fashioned flying machine from Heathrow to the US West Coast – first stopping by Seattle to cover Microsoft Build – before heading off to the Bay Area for Google’s flagship developer conference in Mountain View, Google I/O.

If the highlights from last year are anything to go on, it should be good fun…

As taxing as all this conference-hopping might be for one’s travel schedule, it will be interesting to compare and contrast the strategies of these two major tech players, specially where it comes to our pet beat – Immersive technologies. In my view I believe Microsoft has done a really good job of developing and cornering the enterprise market for their top-end Mixed Reality product with the HoloLens (I know I keep saying it, but I’m REALLY excited to see what they pull out of the bag for the next gen there) and I also think they’ve got a pretty good shot of making inroads with the tricky consumer side of things with their more affordable, comfortable, and user-friendly Windows Mixed Reality headsets.

It will be interesting to contrast the latest strategy from Microsoft and Google, specially around Immersive Tech
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Yet it’s pretty impossible to rule Google out of that race, and we’re hoping to see some significant developments around Daydream, and/or maybe something completely different. Would be nice to be wowed.

We’re hoping to see some significant developments around Daydream, and/or maybe (to quote Monty Python) something completely different...
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But it would also be great to get more of a sense from Google of a strategy around, for example, using this type of technology in Education. They pioneered some interesting stuff with Google Expeditions but where do they go next?

Perhaps the answers await in Mountain View, we’ll keep you posted!

This year’s Google developer festival will be held May 8-10 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA. You can join in the action via livestream.

The two Keynotes and all Sessions will be livestreamed on the event website’s homepage during the three days of the festival. If you’re busy at work or on the other side of the planet with a tricky time difference, you can watch the session recordings later on the Google Developers YouTube channel.

This year’s Google developer festival will be held May 8-10 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA
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And of course you can stay tuned right here and on our social media feeds – Follow @techtrends_tech for all the latest, and if you’re going to be over there and fancy saying hi, feel free to tweet us with the hashtag #io18

For companies looking to get into Immersive technologies such as VR/AR/MR/XR our Virtual Reality Consultancy services offer guidance and support on how best to incorporate these into your brand strategy.

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Tech Trends at #io18 appeared first on Tech Trends.

Tech Trends takes a look at how technology will play a role in the 2017 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

One of the world’s toughest endurance races is about to kick off in La Gomera, part of the Canary Islands off the coast of Spain. Sponsored by Talisker Whisky more than 30 teams of adventurers from around the globe will try to row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean to the island of Antigua in the West Indies while not drowning, being eaten by sharks or going raving mad after spending 40-70 days stuck with the same sweaty teammates.

Tech is part of a modern adventurer's toolkit
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And as we’ve seen when we covered the F1-Level technology behind the America’s Cup race, tech can lend a hand in helping modern adventurers achieve their goals – in one piece. And when you are out on the open ocean you will be glad of any help you can get!

At first glance the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge conjures up images of whiskered sailors drifting at sea, rowing in shifts and hungrily eyeing up each other up (not in that way) but in the 21st century technology has made the race safer, the boats faster and more energy-efficient. It also ensures communications with home are more reliable, and that rations are nutritious enough to discourage cannibalism (THAT’s what I meant, get your mind out of the gutter). The whiskers, however, remain the same!

In 2017 technology has its part to play, making the race safer, the boats faster and more energy efficient
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More people have actually travelled into space, or climbed Mount Everest than have rowed the Atlantic
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The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge really is one of the toughest endurance challenges on the planet – more people have actually travelled into space, or climbed Mount Everest than have rowed the Atlantic so even with technology on your side you have to be prepared to endure tropical storms, sleep deprivation, cold, sweltering heat, giant squid and the psychological stresses of living and working in such an unpredictable environment.

Boats cannot take any repair, help or food and water during the crossing
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Angus Collins, a two-time race winner, has rowed over 15,000 nautical miles across three oceans
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Angus Collins, two-time race winner and ocean rowing record holder, has rowed over 15,000 nautical miles across three oceans, trekked through the heart of Papua New Guinea, raced a Tuk-Tuk across India, run ultra-marathons around the UK and along the way has picked up a number of world records. Adventure and endurance are his life. He also works at Rannoch Adventure, specialists in ocean rowing and high tech boat builders. Rannoch makes the vast majority of the boats used in the race this year.

“With Rannoch Adventure, we have worked with over 75% of the teams in the past 4 years (including this year). I have trained teams, run logistics and shipping, helped with refurbishing boats, built new boats, weather routing, race tactics etc. We are proud to say that we live for ocean rowing, it’s everything we do and it’s all we do!” Collins says. “The modern boats have been designed by myself and Charlie Pitcher who holds the solo record across the Atlantic, the two of us have been brought up on the water, with Charlie sailing in the Americas cup campaigns. We have taken everything we have learnt from all water sports and put it into ocean rowing. Our aim is to make the lightest, fastest and – most importantly – safest boats in the market, and to date, we have achieved this.”

Carbon Zerow, are aiming to be the first certified carbon neutral expedition to cross the Atlantic Ocean
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When you picture a boatload of men rowing across the ocean it might appear to be a pretty environmentally friendly endeavour. Muscle power over engine power and all that, but 2017 challenge team Carbon Zerow, are aiming to be the first certified carbon neutral expedition to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

When you picture a boatload of men rowing across the ocean it might appear to be an environmentally friendly endeavour
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In a boat loaded with tech, the batteries are vitally important. You need to keep them charged up and ensure that all systems that draw power do so as efficiently as possible, Collins explains.

Without power, the team has to hand steer the boat with no auto-helm, which means less rest for the rowers
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“The hardest part of rowing an ocean is managing power consumption. If a team runs their water maker for half an hour too long, then their batteries will drop dramatically and it can take days to build this power back up. I ensure that each team member has an update on an hourly basis on the power consumption. Without power, the team has to hand steer the boat as opposed to using an auto-helm, which means less rest for the rowers. We have 1 boat that has a new “roaming” solar panel, this means the team has a solar panel (74watts) that isn’t attached to the boat but can be placed in a number of positions to allow maximum sun angle. This solar panel has a built-in regulator so the whole device can be plugged straight into the batteries from the deck.”

Carbon Zerow wants to minimise their environmental impact by reducing their CO2 emissions where they can, and then offset the remaining CO2 emissions, that they can do nothing about, such as the emissions required to produce pieces of equipment and travel emissions from flying and driving. With team members based in the US, Scotland and London the team have partnered with The Carbon Trust and are already tracking their travel and overnight stays as well as opting to take public transport, purchasing used equipment where possible and even ditching red meat, poor men!

I was able to see any changes in the weather before the rest of the fleet which gave me a slight advantage
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The Internet is helping keep travel time down during training by communicating via Skype
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The Internet is helping keep travel time down during training by communicating via Skype but this has meant that they have only all got together to train once this year! Out on the ocean all boats are equipped at the race start, and cannot take any repair, help or food and water during the crossing so it is a very lonely couple of months with no resupply points but INMARSAT satellite technology will be in place to allow the teams to communicate with base.

“It used to be that teams would have an Iridium sat phone to communicate with people back at home,” Collins recalls. “This would be used to download and upload e-mails with weather information as well as daily blogs etc. I used an Inmarsat GBAN explorer 510 in 2016 and was able to download my own weather grib files. This meant I was no longer dependent on someone on land to route me, I was able to see any changes in the weather before the rest of the fleet which gave me a slight advantage. The second advantage to using the GBAN is being able to send videos back home, this helps teams with sponsorship and raising funds/awareness for their desired charities.”

This latest satellite tech will also keep them in touch with loved ones and they can Whatsapp pictures and video updates and speak to friends and family via sat phone too.

I have always been one to see how hard I can physically and mentally push myself
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Yet no matter how much tech you have access to you still have to have the will to endure the physical challenge and the drive to compete. And let’s be honest, watching robots rowing across the Atlantic would not be half as fun as seeing Angus and his teammates test the limits of technology and their bodies.

“Ocean rowing is such a fast-growing sport and each crossing I learn new things from others, so having beaten the race record, I knew it was possible to put new tactics into place with the aim to get the world record. I have always been one to push limits and see how hard I can physically and mentally push myself, and with the world record in sight, I wanted to make sure I was in the boat breaking the record over someone else.”

And thanks to technology, you can also follow their adventures with the Race Tracker on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge Website.

Tom Atkinson is a Digital Producer & Photographer at R3Digital and Reviews & Dept. Editor at Tech Trends. Follow him on Twitter @R3Digital

The post Technology Helps Tough Guys Too appeared first on Tech Trends.