Beacons at Target

Bluetooth beacon technology can be used in retail settings to receive product information, announce deals, and potentially improve checkout speed.

For example, say you're walking down the fresh produce aisle in your favorite grocery and you have your grocery app running to manage your shopping list. It could announce that avocados are on sale as you approach them. Or if you're lost in a big box store, beacons could help you navigate even if your GPS is being blocked by the metal ceiling. 

In most cases, you need to download a specific app and opt in to these announcements, so you would likely need a separate app for each different store you visit. 

Some other apps for beacons might be transit information (what time is your bus scheduled to arrive, how far are you from your gate at the airport, has your gate changed, can you make it to your flight before the gates close?)

If you have a recent iPhone you already have the capability built in to your phone - that's over 200 million iOS devices... Interestingly, your apple device can serve both as a beacon receiver and transmitter - handy for testing.

Just this week, Target just announced that that they're launching a beacon pilot in 50 stores.

These beacons will notify shoppers of deals whenever they come within range of the beacon. It only works with the Target iOS app (an Android version is coming) and requires the user to opt-in. And, it will only push two deals while the shopper is in the store to keep from spamming them with too much information. They're planning a version that will help you navigate the store based on your shopping list as well.

I'll schedule a beacon demo in TechnologyOne in September. If you're interested, watch for announcements on ChannelOne and this blog!

Can you think of other business uses for beacons?

White laser advance

I've been using LED bulbs in my house for a while now. They're much more efficient than traditional lightbulbs (90% less power.)

Recent advances in laser technology may mean another leap in efficiency. Arizona State researchers have demonstrated a new "white laser" that could be used for lighting and LiFi signaling. LED lighting has been demonstrated for LiFi in the past, but the higher efficiency and faster switching time of a laser could mean 10 to 100 times faster communications.

It's a few years from commercialization - it's just a PoC today - but if/when it finally happens it could usher in a new era of local area communications and even more efficient lighting schemes.

For more information: https://asunews.asu.edu/20150728-worlds-first-white-laser

Facebook Internet drone

Google has their "Loon" balloon-based internet access system almost ready to launch in the skies above Sri Lanka (maybe as early as next spring.)

Now Facebook has just announced that they'll be testing a large drone to deliver Internet to remote areas. Their project Aquila has been in development for a couple of years and it's a huge, high altitude (>60,000 feet), multi engine, solar powered drone that will deliver "tens of gigabits per second." 

It's got a wingspan larger than a 747 but it's obviously much lighter and will be able to fly for 90 days at a time. A constellation of these drones communicating via lasers "orbiting" 25 miles from each other will deliver Internet to remote locations.

Here's a fascinating video that describes the technology.

As this technology matures, even the most remote areas of the planet could be connected via the Internet cheaper and with higher bandwidth than satellite based systems.

Cortana button

If you’ve used Windows 10, you’ve probably played with Cortana, Microsoft’s digital assistant. You can configure Cortana to continuously listen to for “Hey, Cortana”, but that may decrease battery life. It may also mis-hear casual conversation as a command.

Satechi has a Bluetooth button alternative that allows you to open Cortana without having to open the app on your phone or computer.

For example, say you have a door lock connected to Cortana, you could keep the button on your keychain and simply push it to ask Cortana to open the door - without pulling out your phone from your pocket or briefcase to start Cortana.

It’s a simple button, but it provides for easy connectivity to your digital assistant. It runs on a CR2016 battery for up to 2 years. And will be available in August for $23 from Amazon and Satechi.net. They also make Bluetooth "shutter" and "media control" buttons.

As this technology gets cheaper expect to see more of these single use devices popping up. 

What do you think? Are these types of devices technology looking for a problem? Are there legitimate business uses that you can think of for such a device?

Memory advance from Intel and Micron

Intel and Micron Technology announced a new type of non-volatile memory this week. They call it 3D XPoint (“cross point”). It’s reported to be 1000 times faster and more reliable than NAND memory (the type that’s used in flash drives and solid state drives - SSDs). It’s also 10 times more dense.

One of the long term problems in computer performance is the time it takes to get data from the processor to and from storage. This memory reduces that time drastically and could mean a big jump in performance.

Intel claims that the technology is price competitive with NAND and DRAM (the kind of memory sticks used inside your computer.) They say that samples will be available yet in 2015. 

I imagine it will first be used in hybrid drives – using traditional NAND for long term storage and XPoint for cache. It should be especially useful for video/graphics processing and modeling/analytics applications.

Interesting device - probably overkill for most...

Earlier this year Amazon announced that they were developing Dash – and it’s available now. It's a dedicated “order me” button that attaches to surfaces. You press it, and it orders the item on its cover from Amazon Prime (see photo.)

The technology is getting cheap enough that these devices are selling for $5 to Prime members. Currently they offer 18 buttons for trash bags, paper towels, toilet paper, bottled water, Gatorade, Gerber formula, etc. – you can change the product within the brand, but they’re really designed for convenient re-ordering of products you regularly need to restock.

At home, we usually keep a common list of things to buy for the next time someone goes to the store, so we probably won’t be using these.

However, as the technology continues to mature and lower in cost, these might be useful in stockrooms, as annunciators / doorbells or remote-control buttons.

What other business value can you see for a simple, one-button device like this?

Windows 10 - gonna do it?

Windows 10 is being released today and if you’ve already reserved a copy, you may be able to install it today (if the Microsoft servers aren’t too busy.)

Why Windows 10?
Here are some of the new features:
- “Metro” apps (now called “Universal” apps) run in windows on the desktop, just like any other app
- Universal apps can run on a W10 phone, Xbox and HoloLens
- No more “charm bar” – now you get an “Action Center” 
- Edge Browser – faster, smaller, leaner than Internet Explorer (IE is still included for compatibility.)
- Performance improvements and easier upgrades
- OneDrive is better integrated
- Security improvements (Windows Hello facial recognition – only works with a new 3D infrared camera.)
- User interface improvments (works well on desktops & tablets)
- Cortana personal assistant
- Cut and paste now works the way it should in a CMD window
- Virtual desktops to separate different types of work
- Scheduled updates/restarts
- Faster 3D rendering

Why not?
If you’re happy with Windows 7, you’ve got a year to upgrade for free. Why not wait until the bugs are shaken out of Windows 10? Also, it’s likely that you’ll have a better upgrade experience if you wait until the initial crush is over…

Are you planning to upgrade? Are you already running Windows 10? What's your take?