New Tech for a New Year

by Carl Weiss

If you thought that 2013 was a rough ride technology wise, wait until you see what's in store for 2014.  If this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas was any indication,when it comes to new tech expect change to be the watchword.  Everything from heads up displays to computers that you wear on your head are on the rise (and I don't just mean from Google).  In fact wearables of all kind were prominently displayed at the show.  Below are a few examples.

The Kiwi Move is one example of a hot new internet-enabled wearable that can be used to track your daily physical activities.Unlike other devices, the Kiwi Move can be worn in a number of locations, including the arm, wrist, ankle, chest or collar.  Not only does the device help count both steps and calories, but it is also designed to interact with the wearer's smartphone.  This allows users to leave voice notes, run apps and more. (Check out today's Working the web to Win radio show to hear a live interview with Kiwi's CMO, Ashley Beattie.)

“The Kiwi Move is our vision for the future of wearable tech, as we look to make single-function devices a thing of the past” said Ali Nawab, Kiwi’s Chief Executive Officer. “We believe that wearable tech products should be multi-functional – “One Kiwi Move, Many Apps.”

What are You Wearing?


While Google Glass got most of the glory when it came to wearables in 2013, everything from smartwatches to Virtual Reality headsets such as occulus Rift and GameFace are rapidly gaining in popularity.  Speaking of game changing technology, 2013 also saw the rise of 3D printing.  2014 will not only see prices for 3D printers continue to fall, but it also introduces a new technology that would seem to be the perfect add-on: 3D Scanning.

SoftKinetic announced at this year's CES that it was partnering with Makerbot to release 3D scanning technology that will allow Makerbot printer owners to scan and print objects.  At the show SoftKinetic's CMO demonstrated the new technology by scanning someone's face, sending the data to the cloud and then using the data to print the face in 3D in a matter of minutes.


Of course, cool new gizmos are not the only sea changes we can expect to see in the coming year. 

Internet Security will become an even bigger problem than it was in 2013. Last year saw a large number of hacker attacks from organized crime, terrorist groups and nations such as the Chinese and Iranians.  The holiday season revealed two large security breaches at major retailers, which is just a taste of things to come. Since hacker tools are available to anyone and everyone and since the prosecution of these crimes is so incredibly lax, we will see a greater number of these events occur in the coming year. 

The problem has become so prevalent that many banks that offer online services are now asking their customers to accept personal responsibility for losses if the bank gets hacked and your money is stolen. That’s right, many banks are now saying you are responsible for your losses if they are hacked! 

Who's Watching the Watchers?

Speaking of security, the NSA is back in the news again, this time for collecting 194 million text messages a day in 2011. Recent leaks from Richard Snowden printed in The Guardian, revealed that project code named “Dishfire” was setup to collect “pretty much everything it can”. This has become quite a liability for the current President who ran on a platform that promised to stop to such behavior. If you think any policy by this administration will curb NSA hacking and domestic spying, you should think again.

Telepresence will continue to grow mainly because fuel costs are high and the cost of flying continues to rise. This form of meeting has made real inroads on face-to-face gatherings. (Our web TV show is a perfect example of this phenomenon.) SAAS products (aka Software As A Service, not to be confused with the NSA) save so much time and money that businesses large and small have been increasingly using them to save time and money.  (I don't know about you but anything that keeps me from spending a 4-hour layover in Atlanta is all right by me.)

Of course if you are looking for the ultimate techno time savers, personal robots are are definitely on The coming of the Robots.”  With $20,000 office automatons like Baxter available, many companies are taking advantage of the availability of robot employees. (Just don't expect it to fetch you a cup of coffee.)  This widespread fascination with robots has led many large companies like Honda, Google and Sony to produce robots that will soon be filling consumer desires to own a droid of their own. This year’s DARPA competition was like a robotic Olympics game that you can check out on their site. the rise.  They are also becoming increasingly more sophisticated. 

So if you are still trying to get a handle on how to use your tablet and smartphone, get ready for new technologies that will once more test your ability to adapt to an ever more wired world.  Now if I can only find a droid that can write these darned blogs, that would be a real time saver.

When Carl Weiss isn't writing blogs he is president of W Squared Media Group, a digital marketing agency based in Jacksonville, Florida.  He is also co-host of the radio show Working the Web to Win which airs live at 4 pm eastern every Tuesday.