Today, the 2016 Summer Olympic games begin in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. You won’t be glued to your couch for every event for two weeks (At least…I hope not!). Smartphone and the Olympics come together. Here are some tips.
The Olympics are a time of boundless patriotism. We love our American athletes, don’t we? There’s a Team USA app. It’s available on all Apple and Android devices. It gives USA profiles, updates, events, schedules, videos, photos, and other Team USA goodies. Maybe you’re a British fan? You’re in luck. The BBC Sports app does the same thing Team USA app does with American athletes. Both apps are free. Let’s move closer to home. Do you have Olympians in your hometown you’re cheering for? You’ll want the NBC Rio 2016 app. This app partners with your phone’s GPS to get the inside scoop on your hometown heroes. You can see the medal count and winners for various nations and events. There’s the Olympics app. It does what all the other Olympic apps do. But this one is owned by the IOC (International Olympic Committee). With Rio 2016, choose your language and time zone. You get updated at your convenience (it can be every 5 minutes if you want). Like all the others, keep track of your favorite countries and stars. All the apps mentioned are free and available on Apple and Android.
I notice a pattern. All of these apps pretty much offer the same thing. They all offer coverage of your favorite team, sport and athlete. They’re all free and on Apple and Android. It would be nice to have some diversity in these apps. I see no apps are telling you the background these Olympians are competing in. This background includes waterway sewage, inadequate housing, political turmoil, terror threats, poor medical facilities, a crime wave, and police threatening strike because due to lack of wages. I digress. But here are your apps. I wish our athletes the very best. And if I haven’t said it already: USA! USA! USA! USA! Which app will you follow the Olympics with?
In a few years, Uber changed the way we get around. But it’s not sitting well they depend on Google Maps to help drivers get around. That’s not all.
Uber invests $500 million in a mapping project. Their goal is to loosen their dependence on Google and other mapping apps. Eventually, they hope this helps the quest for driverless cars. Uber already sees progress. They have vehicles throughout the US and Mexico. These vehicles collect data and gather images for maps. These vehicles will visit other countries soon. Uber rose to power because of other companies’ technology, from smartphones to GPS/mapping systems. Now that Uber has the money, power and influence, they want their own system. That’s because Google Maps power most of Uber. The alliance between Google and Uber is morphing into a rivalry. Both tech corporations want to build the first driverless car. Last year, Uber hired Brian McClendon. He’s one of the greatest digital mapping experts in the world today. Uber also stole him from Google. You know a rivalry gets intense when top talent is stolen or lured away. McClendon believes mapping is the backbone of Uber. That’s why they’re investing hundreds of millions of dollars.
There could be another factor here. Google raises fees for Google Map usage. Could that be inspiring Uber to make it’s own maps? This expense adds up quickly. Take into account Uber provides over 2 billion rides a year in sixty countries. So Google Maps is making billions off Uber. From that standpoint, I see why Uber wants it’s own maps. But there’s a deeper meaning here. When Uber began, just a few years ago, Google was their biggest supporter. Now, Uber is all grown up. They’ve even taken Google high-ranking employers. It’s almost like the little cousin who leaves the big cousin’s protection. Now little cousin wants to overtake the big cousin. Little cousin even stole one of big cousin’s exes. Who will win this race?
In 2013, whistle blower Edward Snowden revealed the government uses technology to spy on US citizens. He was a hero to many. He was a traitor to others. But Snowden isn’t going away. Edward Snowden designs smartphone security.
Snowden is helping design an iPhone case that does more than prevent glass breakage. This case prevents governments, corporations, hackers, nosy family members and friends, and anybody else from spying on smartphones. Snowden believes smartphones are easily traceable. He and Andrew Huang work on a case connected to the phone. This case alerts the user when the phone makes transmissions. The case’s wires connect to the SIM card slot and read other smartphone components. The case has it’s own computer and display. The display alerts the user of any suspicious activity, no matter where it’s coming from. They nickname this case ‘introspective engine’. They submitted this patent at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Well, Huang did. Snowden is still living in Russia. He’s still virtually held hostage there a US fugitive. Nonetheless, Snowden promoted ‘introspective engine’ through a video conference. This introspective engine case is literally in it’s infancy. No smartphone company has dared picked up the idea. We don’t even know what MIT Media Lab thinks about it.
We’ll just have to stay tuned to this one. I believe Snowden and ?Huang’s hearts are in the right place. They want to do everything they can to stop spying. They want to ensure your privacy rights. I respect and applaud this. But is it practical? People can just use airplane modes. Some are turning off their smartphones whenever they’re not in use. How can their privacy be invaded when it’s not even on? Snowden’s device just warns you when you’re being invaded. It just doesn’t interfere and fight off the invaders. That’s just what’s wrong with this device, so far. Personally, I hope they can get it patented, back, and sold. It’s one more weapon against surveillance. We can never have too many of those. Does the ‘introspective engine’ have a chance?
The emoji was developed in Japan in the late 1990s. It took a while to catch on globally. But when it did, it took off with authority. Today, the emoji is a very popular form of communication. Can the emoji be a symbol of inspiration? That’s where emoji girl power comes in.
You see, there are only three four emoji signs. One is a wedding bride. One is a nail polishing. One is a princess wearing a crown. One wears scissors in her hair (sorry, I can’t explain that one). The Google Unicorn Emoji Subcommittee wants to change the emoji tide. They’re introducing emoji that specify women in various careers. These careers include teacher, secretary, business executive, college student, doctor, singer, chef, fashion designer. They new emoji include careers women aren’t often linked to. I’m talking about careers like construction worker, welder, computer technician, farmer, auto mechanic. There will be over 100 new emoji to choose from. The emoji will include all races, colors and ethnicity. Guys, don’t feel left out or discriminated against. The emoji will feature men in various careers. Male emoji will be racially diverse as well. But this new crop of emoji is focused on women. The Unicorn Emoji Subcommittee ?hopes this encourages girls to embrace careers in math, science, and technology.
My question is: What took so long? The original girl emoji are totally stereotypical. Think about it: a princess, a bride and scissors. If racial emoji stereotypes were this blatant, the firestorm would be all over America. This needed to change. The educational statistics are alarming. Among industrialized nations, the US often ranks last in science and math. Among women and minorities, the stats are even worse. Some may ask, “What’s an emoji going to do?” Well, it might wake up a young girl’s imagination. It might tell her she can be something other than a bride or princess. It might give her confidence. It might even improve our education stats. What career emoji would you like to see?
This week, Apple holds the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). Here, Apple shows off their hopes, dreams and new gadgets for the upcoming year. Apple is excited about iOS 10, introducing iOS 10 goodies.
Apple’s latest operating system should be available this fall. Apple promises many upgrades. One is Apple Messenger. There have been many gripes about Apple Messenger. But these messages have intelligent Siri responses. This messenger will let you watch You Tube videos and send links within messages. Website links will look better. Emojis will be bigger and have more features. The iPhone lock screen will be interactive. There’s a new feature called Rise to Wake. This turns on your phone whenever you lift it up. If you have an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus, you can interact with notifications through the lock screen. With photos, iOS 10 performs scene and object recognition. If you look for a certain thing in a certain city, the app will give you photos of those items. Siri will send messages through through third party apps like WhatsApp. We all remember what a fiasco Apple Maps was back in 2012. They have made tremendous improvements since then. With iOS 10, you’ll get the best routes for normal routes. The new software comes with Home, a hub for all your devices and apps.
I remember this commercial in which the people could only communicate with each other through emojis. With what I’m reading, iOS 10 could help people do just that. Nonetheless, I’m the Rise to Wake app could be a waste of time. I can turn on my phone with the push of a button. Lifting it a phone will only cut time by a fraction of a second. But I am very impressed by Apple Maps. I look forward to seeing how iOS 10 can enhance Apple Maps. I doubt Apple Maps will ever be as good as Google. But it’s nice to see Apple improve in this area. What are your feelings about iOS 10?
When CEO Brian Chesky created Airbnb in 2014, he wanted to create a space for all to belong. Airbnb is a network where people open their homes to travelers for a moderate nightly fee. But not everyone is feeling the love.
Airbnb came under scrutiny last week. An ugly incident of racial discrimination surfaced in North Carolina. A black guest had booked to stay at a white person’s home through Airbnb. When the homeowner discovered the guest was African-American, not only did the homeowner cancel the booking, but cyber bullied and taunted the guest with racist tweets. These tweets were so vile I won’t even quote them here. The guest reported the ugly incident to Airbnb. This particular homeowner lost his Airbnb hosting privileges. Chesky tweeted about the matter: “The incident in NC was disturbing and unacceptable. Racism and discrimination have no place on Airbnb. We have permanently banned this host.” Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated episode. According to a Harvard study, Airbnb guest with black sounding names were 16% less likely to have their booking accepted. One African-American guest tweeted, “Funny how the dates I request are always booked even when they say available.”
A woman named Khadijah planned a trip to California. She couldn’t find a home through Airbnb. Then, she used one of her white friend’s photo. Khadijah got a room very quick. I believe Chesky and other Airbmb leaders are genuine in their war against discrimination. Airbnb isn’t the problem. The problem is the human heart and soul of the host. That’s something no law or regulation can cure. If hotels and hostels discriminate on the basis of color, they can be sued or shut down real quick. That’s why I prefer hotels and hostels over Airbnb. As a black traveler, I don’t have to play guessing games with hotels and hostels. And it’s a shame when Khadijah has to pretend to be white just for someone to open their home to her. Should Airbnb be boycotted? Would a boycott even work?
