Facebook's first hardware. The Aquila Drone.

Facebook to provide high speed internet to thousands of people by beaming internet access down from the sky.

This week ( 27/03/2015) we had Facebook's"F8 Keynote" take place in San Francisco,
and it came with a number of exciting announcements including the news that a company Facebook purchased in 2008 called "Parse" will be providing open source "Internet of Things" applications on the Facebook platform for users to interact with many of their devices from one place.

But even more exciting and interesting was the announcement that Facebook are developing a drone which will fly over areas with no internet access and beam down lasers covering the targeted region and provide it with a high speed internet connection.
From the beginning it has always always been Mark Zuckerbergs mission to connect everyone from all corners of the contributing highly to the internet.org organization. The development of the "Aquila Drone" may be the huge game changer for billions of people across the world. (It is estimated over 2.8 Billion people still have no access to an internet connection)

Usually the only talk of drones we hear is how much people and buildings they are destroying as a result of armies using them to wipe out specific targets from miles high up in the sky.

The Aquila drone will have a wingspan nearing that of a Boeing 747. Built from extremely light weight materials like carbon fibre it will weigh less than a car, this is necessary as the Aquila's engineers predict it will need to stay airborne for over 3 months to provide consistent access.
It will be powered through the solar panels placed on its wings and fuselage.

With its power coming mainly from a source of Sunlight it raises the question as how it will operate in regions where light and clear skies is a rare occurrence .

The idea of floating a connection over a region isn't new as Google are also planning to fly huge balloons over similar disconnected areas. The Idea of a balloon does seem simpler in the grand scheme of things but a trade off if this simplicity is that it can be easily forced out of where its supposed to be with aggressive wind-currents.

I really like hearing about these kinds of projects and large companies in general making it there business in general to help less developed parts of the world . Even though I'm not so sure they would be happening if there wasn't a substantial monetary return for the organizations.

 

Wearable Technology

The Idea of wearable technology isn't a new one.

 In fact "Smart Watches" (A smartwatch (or smart watch) is a computerized wristwatch with functionality that is enhanced beyond timekeeping.) have actually been around for more than a decade. But smartwatche's haven't really featured much in our lives or the media as they were never really that good. IBM created the "WatchPad" in 2001 . It ran on a Linux system. 
The WatchPad only had a battery life of a couple of hours before it needed to be re-charged , which is pretty useless for a watch.  (Picture below)

More recently we have seen the release of the highly anticipated apple watch. This is no doubt a luxury good aimed specifically at apples high spending core followers.The release of an 18-karat  gold is testament to this. 

Android has been in the wearable technology game a while now. Their business model with watches is similar to how it operates in the mobile phone sphere, allowing various matchmaking brands to embrace the technology . 
I think there is a huge benefit to this , and it may give it an edge over its apple rival. For example just as apple has its core followers I believe there is a luxury market out there for specific watch brands such as your Rolex's , Hublots , etc. In particular the high end Swiss Watchmaker "TAG Huer" is the first luxury brand to embrace the technology while still keeping its traditional style  .When TAG Huers version released it will be the most expensive AndroidWear model on the market forcing the Android brand image and possibly target audience to shift to a new level of people with high levels of disposable income , and maybe taking away some of the traction from apples die hard fans. 

Personally I much prefer some of the android versions. The variety of makes and styles on offer is what does it for me. I discussed the Android Wear models against the Apple Watch with some of my peers and we all came to agreement its seems much cooler to have a unique durable highly functional android watch from a trusted watchmaker rather than another over priced apple gadget.

Google and Apple's race for your Dashboard.

Tech giants Apple and Google are in a new race to be the brains of your future smart car by full integration of their operating systems "iOS" and "Android" into your cars dashboard through seamless connectivity to your smartphone as soon as you enter your car or are in fact within range of whatever connectivity technology you choose to connect with.

It was only a matter of time before this kind of technology crept into our auto-mobiles in the form of Apple and Google.
Although currently there is actually a high level of connectivity between smart phones and modern car models allowing synchronization for phone calls , music and voice control of certain apps etc. via cable or Bluetooth.

"Car Play" and "Android Auto" will be looking to take this connectivity to new levels of functionality ,flawless connectivity and interactiveness with your car.
Personally I am extremely excited to see where these companies can take our driving experiences in the future. Effortless communication between you the driver ,  your phone and your car is a very nice thought.

With car manufacturers like Alfa Romeo , BMW , Audio , Mercedes Benz ,Mazda all set to embrace either Android Auto or Car Play will most definitely force the hardcore fans of either operating Systems to consider their next car choice carefully , no doubt changing the image we associate each car brand and its drivers hugely .

I cant help but think will the deciding factor for our choice of car in the future be if it is an Android Car or Apple Car? I'm sure it will be pivotal for many drivers and a decision car manufacturers will have to think deeply about.
Hyundai displayed one of its new cars at the November 2015 LA Auto show , it boasted capabilities of being able to connect with both Android Auto and Car Play. This decision will take so much pressure of potential customers when deciding on their next car or phone.
You can watch a full walk through of both Systems on the car from that Auto Show here :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCAWLKcohGE&t=11

This technology will obviously raise huge debate regarding the safety of these systems and if they will act as too much of a distraction rather than a completely safe hands free solution of interaction with your phone while driving.
In my opinion it will be an a safer and improved means of interaction but only time will tell , every person will use it differently and every persons attention and sensibility while driving will vary.
Both Companies are currently carrying out research of how drivers currently interact with devices while driving , through videoing drivers with a dash cam and analysing their behaviour .
Above all I hope these systems can improve the Safety of how drivers act on the road.

Diversification of Technology Companies.

My Name is Mark Egan , I am a 21 year old student in the University of Ireland Galway.
I am in my second year of study in Business Information Systems.

As part of my E-Business Strategy and Practice Module my class were asked to create an on-line blog about something in the world of E-Business / technology that interested us.

Initially nothing struck me regarding what actually does interest me in this area.
After a couple of hours thought and aimless browsing on the internet I found myself reading an article about how apple intends on involving itself in the race to develop a functional / safe ,  self driving car.
I then found myself reading about smart watches , and how technology is creeping into fashion. Wearable technology is a hot topic lately with products like Google Glass , Apples smart watch being set for release in the not so distant future.

I really enjoyed reading about how these companies are actively breaking traditional barriers you would sub consciously put around a tech companies and what they should be doing, and how these different developments may improve the standard of living or ease at which we use our technology.
So then I confidently made my decision that this expansions in the roll tech companies play in our lives is changing and how it may help people in their day to day lives.

So over the next couple of weeks I will be updating this blog with the latest announcements , news , speculation and provide my own take on things and how these products may effect us.