So did you hear? This is the third year in a row the US life expectancy rate declined. This is the first time this happened since the 1910s, the decade of World War 1 and the Spanish Flu. Many say this is because of the drug crisis, especially opiates. But there is IT support technology that wants to help fight this crisis. This wristband fights opiate crisis.
The name of this wristband is HopeBand. It detects low blood oxygen levels, a huge sign of drug overdoses. Then it sounds an alarm if this happens and if the person is in danger. A team of students at Carnegie Mellon University? in Pittsburgh invented HopeBand. In an interview,HopeBand co-founder Rashmi Kalkunte compared HopeBand to a friend who knows when you’re in imminent danger. Then the friend will call for help when danger comes.
But it does more than sound the alarm. It also gives the wearer’s current location and address. This alert can do two things. It can give the wearer ample time to call, give the dispatcher the exact location, and tell them the exact emergency. It can also give them time to to take naloxone. That’s a medicine that reverses the overdose. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) did approve HopeBand. It also won third prize at a prestigious Health 2.0 conference in September 2018. They’re already giving these wristbands out for free to opiate users in exchange for their needles. This is part of a local prevention program in Pittsburgh. But the ultimate dream is to sell them for around $20 a piece to the public everywhere.
This is how this wristband fights opiate crisis. It couldn’t have come at a more urgent time. The statistics are alarming and heartbreaking. Opiate addiction tripled from what it was in 2000. In 2017 alone, around 72,000 people died from drug overdoses, 30,000 of them from Fentanyl. Let’s put this in perspective. Some 72,000 Americans died from opiates in a year. That’s more than the entire amount of Americans soldiers killed during the nine years of involvement in the Vietnam War. That’s how real this epidemic is and I’m glad a young IT service firm is doing something about it. Can this wristband fight the opiate crisis?
So as many as you know, we here in computer repair love our video games. But we’re not the only ones. Because 2018 is a great year for gaming. In fact, you can say this is an epic year for Epic Games.
Yes, I’m talking about the gaming company Epic Games. Epic made over $15 billion in profit this year. Furthermore, they can thank their latest video game, the popular Fortnite for this. Fornite alone made over $3 billion in profit. Fornite is kinda like Hunger Games with a twist, and it is so addictive! I guess I’m not the only one who thinks so.
Because this isn’t just one of the games of 2018. This is the game of 2018. Epic has a 27-year history (they were founded in 1991), and this is their most successful game yet. Nobody at Epic is bragging about Fortnite’s success. But people estimate it has 125 million players. To put that in perspective, if Fornite were it’s own nation, then it would be one of the largest in the world. Fornite is free for gamers. But they make money by selling digital items. Then there are the investors from the US to China, who in the last few years, poured over 1.4 billion into Epic. No wonder why this is an Epic year for Epic Games.
Epic Games doesn’t make all their money through Fornite. They have a whole host of others to choose from. In fact, you can shop for them all at the Epic Store. Guess where Epic Games is growing fastest? You guessed it, China. In fact, they estimate China could make up to 40% of their overall numbers. One thing I credit Epic Games for is spreading their product to all gaming and computer service systems. We’re talking from XBox to Playstation, from PC’s to Mac’s, from Apple’s to Google/Androids. Is this part of the reason why they’re so successful?
So this is an IT service blog, right? Then why am I talking about Nike shoes? Because I for one find IT support and Nike an interesting combination.
Some time ago, Nike brought out self-lacing sneakers. However, now they’re bringing it back. That’s right. With these sneakers, the computer technology will lace them up for you. First of all, these are cheaper. The old price was $720. These new ones will be $350. It sounds like a lot for shoes, and it is. But keep in mind some people pay more for Air Jordans?that you still have to lace yourself.
We don’t know much about these self-lacing shoes. As I stated, the two main things are they are #350, and they will be out sometime in 2019. So cross them off your 2018 list now, they’re not coming this year. Sorry about that. Nike’s CEO Mark Parker calls it “A smart shoe designed for the perfect fit.” He also shared his dream of turning his product, high end sneakers, into a high end digital product. They tried back in 2016, with the Hyper Adapt. It didn’t make much noise. But I don’t have to tell you how much technology can change in less than three years.
But I will say this: lowering the price is the first step. Just because you add some technology to it doesn’t mean people will automatically buy it. Not everybody can build the iPhone X. So I applaud them for cutting the price in half. Now when it comes to lacing shoes of any kind, I absolutely hate it. Some other people do, too. However, some shoe enthusiast love lacing these shoes. In fact, it’s what some live for. So how are they going to convince them about this IT support and Nike combination? Will people pay $350 for self-lacing smart shoes?
So today, our Justice Dept. just made chilling accusations against China. Also, note that I said chilling,? but not shocking, when you think of US/China relations lately. It’s US Justice Department vs Chinese Government spies.
So they accused China’s Ministry of State Security of hacking into government agencies and mega tech companies. But they’re mission isn’t to steal money or ID’s. In fact, it’s worse. Because they say Chinese spies are stealing information and intelligence. They blame a hacking group from Beijing they call the APT 10. Both gov’t and private security groups linked this group to some very powerful people in China.
But wait…there’s more. The US Justice Dept. indicted?Zhu Hua and Zhang Shilong, who both are residents of China, on everything from fraud to theft. We don’t know which company was hit. However, they named activities of such companies. Such activities include space, technology, aviation, medicine, and computer processing. Allegedly, they put on malware using corrupt Microsoft data. Then, they used keyloggers to steal people’s passwords, break into accounts, and do anything they wanted. There’s more. Because the indictment said they stole info from over 100,000 Navy soldiers. It’s not clear how much time the hackers could face, or even if this makes it to trial. Because of how hard it is to expedite suspects from China back to the US.
Naturally, leaders from China deny everything. However, other nations, like Japan and Australia, back up the US claims. I don’t know or suspsect anything. But look at the timing here. This happens in the middle of an intense trade war between the two nations. This war affects everything from farming to computer servicing. In fat, a few of our computer repair clients have to wait longer for parts from China. I wonder why. But this just shows how how volatile it’s getting between these two power nations. This is the US Justice Department vs Chinese Government Spies. What else could this lead to?
So we all either remember or saw Home Alone, right? Well, it’s back. But only this time, Kevin McCalister aka Macauley Culkin, is a grown man. And once again, he’s home alone. However this time, he’s not really alone. It’s not Uncle Frank or Buzz with him, but it’s Google Assistant. And Culkin and Google Assistant spoof on Home Alone scenes that many of us remember in this Google Assistant commercial.
Let me get my favorite scene out of the way first. Remember in the 1990 movie, when a Micheal Jordan cut board is riding around the train. In the 2018 commercial, it’s Kevin Durant. I thought that was a nice modern twist. Then when Culkin realizes everyone is gone, this time, Google Assistant tells him that he’s home alone. The rest of the commercial continues to spoof the movie. He jumps on the bed, then hurts his back. Then Google tells him the pizza is here while he watches the movie (the ‘Keep the Change Ya Filthy Animal’) scene. And of course, while he’s eating the macaroni and cheese, Google lets him know it’s 9:00 and the somebody is pulling up.
Yes, I get this is a cheesy commercial. But it’s all in the name of good Christmas fun. Also, from what I’m reading, Culkin could really use the money…know what I’m saying…ahem. I enjoyed looking at it and hope Culkin does really well with it. It still doesn’t make me want to get a Google Assistant though. That’s how Google Assistant and Christmas movie classic team up. Kevin was the only Home Alone character in this movie. Which other character would you have like to have seen?
