Taking a break from blogging…

Please check out my past posts and as always feel free to send me email: johnsblog@john-fred.com

More later in 2010!

Thanks for signing on! - John

Health Vault

October 9, 2009 by John Feilen

Microsoft has developed a product called Health Vault. Health Vault combines portal, sensor and Bluetooth technologies creating a tool that can collect and monitor health data, such blood pressure and even weight loss/gain using a wireless scale that transmits your weight to and records it in your personalized portal. Workouts, health records and other health issues can be uploaded and tracked as well.

Watch the video on the following the link to learn more:

http://www.healthvault.com/Personal/index.html

Please feel free to post thoughts, comments below.

Email me at: johnsblog@john-fred.com.

Learn more about my work: www.john-fred.com

Google Sidewiki

September 24, 2009 – By John Feilen

Arguably one of the most significant evolutions to come out of Web 2.0 is the ‘wiki’; a website created collaboratively through various users posting information, thoughts, and comments. A great example is Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org), an online encyclopedia, where the users create and post the content.

September 23, 2009 Google launched Google Sidewiki. What makes this wiki different is it allows users the ability to post comments regarding a specific website they are viewing.

Watch a video demonstration and read Google’s official blog entry:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/help-and-learn-from-others-as-you.html

Get Google Sidewiki for yourself:
http://www.google.com/sidewiki/intl/en/index.html

Please feel free to post thoughts, comments below.

Email me at: johnsblog@john-fred.com.

Learn more about my work: www.john-fred.com

IP TV and tCOMMERCE: 2 New Smart Home Concepts That Will Change How We Watch TV

September 18, 2009 – By John Feilen

Here are two concepts that I believe will change how we watch television and shop while we do it.

1.IP TV
Watching television/movies and consuming media distributed over an IP network…in short TV shows are delivered to the home via an internet connection vs. the traditional cable model but still displayed on your flat screen TV. This will allow us to have more content available and watch it when we want.

Watch a great video on IP TV:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwzF7vzE0PE

2.tCOMMERCE
As households move to consuming television programming and movies via an IP network, we will also begin to purchase products from our flat screen TVs; or even purchase the shirt we see our favorite sitcom character wear.

See an excellent video example of tCommerce from BNS Touch:
http://bnsltd.com/eng/products/touch.asp

Please feel free to post thoughts, comments below.

Email me at: johnsblog@john-fred.com.

Learn more about my work: www.john-fred.com

A Quick Post: Look Who’s Blogging Now!

September 14, 2009 – By John Feilen

My current housemate has given me a bit of (good natured) grief about my ‘archive’ of newspapers. This is an old stack of newspapers, which I’ve either purchased, when I felt like taking the time to read with a cup of coffee or at one time received via daily delivery. As I have stopped all my subscriptions for I never seem to get to them, I like to hang on to the back issues for I believe they still offer interesting nuggets of information. I save them for those rare days when I have time to actually sit with a paper and linger over vs. my usual ‘search and sort’ of electronic news sources.

This morning I pulled from the pile of outdated papers and found this great article in the May 13, 2009 Financial Times discussing corporations using blogs (once dismissed as mere online diaries) to communicate with shareholders.

Read full article: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/33df400c-3e8c-11de-9a6c-00144feabdc0.html

Please feel free to post thoughts, comments below.

Email me at: johnsblog@john-fred.com.

Learn more about my work: www.john-fred.com

A Summer Off – but it’s all still there…and more of you are watching TV online!

September 11, 2009 – By John Feilen

As this is my first post since June, it is obvious that I took the summer off from blogging. This was in part because I felt I had lost my voice…I didn’t seem to have a common theme or thread. In short I was writing about what I thought people wanted to hear instead of that about which I was (am) really passionate. Yes, I did find some…most of what I was posting interesting but guess it became more of a labor and than labor of love.

After I walked away, I realized what I find most interesting about technology is the intersection between technology, creativity and the user experience. How we see new ideas realized in products and how these ideas/concepts become part of our everyday lives; the iPhone and iPod for example.

Now after we have celebrated (or mourned) the official end of summer with the Labor Day weekend, we see that it’s all still there, work, the bad economy and yes advancements in technology. As I mentioned in previous posts, I believe the consumption of media and data over an IP network (or watching TV and movies on our computers) is the future. No, we won’t sit in front of our PC to watch Ugly Betty but the show will be delivered on demand to our flat screen HDTV; this is already possible and a lot of people are doing it.

Wednesday (September 9, 2009) the Los Angles Times reported nearly 25% of households in the U.S. now view television programs online. That's up from 20% last year. Also reported, was viewership of Hulu, which offers shows from NBC, ABC, Fox and others online, nearly quadrupled from last year. Hulu debuted March 2007.

Read full article: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-online-tv9-2009sep09,0,3144574.story

Visit Hulu: http://www.hulu.com/

Please feel free to post thoughts, comments below.

One last thing, during the month of August I redesigned and rebuilt my interactive portfolio in flash: www.john-fred.com. All comments and feedback are appreciated…as long as they are polite. ;-)

Email me at: johnsblog@john-fred.com.

TV Screens That Bend?

June 12, 2009 – By John Feilen

MIT reports that researchers at Arizona State University's Flexible Display Center and Universal Display in Ewing, NJ have developed full-color OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screens that bend. As a new way to mass-produce flexible OLED displays could mean affordable commercial products, does this mean we’ll have TV screens that bend someday? Will our flat screen TVs become a thin screen that retracts into the ceiling?

Read the full article:
http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/22758/?nlid=2100

More on flexible displays from ASU:

http://flexdisplay.asu.edu/

Please post thoughts at: http://newtechnoloiesnow.blogspot.com/

Email questions, share your thoughts or unsubscribe at: johnsblog@john-fred.com.

www.john-fred.com

Handheld Projectors Allow You to Carry Your Presentation in the Palm of Your Hand

June 10, 2009 – By John Feilen

Not so long ago when we had to pitch to a client we would present our services by either printing large PowerPoint decks or dragging in our laptops. Now we can transport our presentations in our pockets with handheld projectors.

Two companies are leading the way with these devices, Light Blue Optics and Microvision.

Light Blue Optics offers miniature projection systems for business presentations, automotive and digital signage among other applications.

http://www.lightblueoptics.com/

Microvision offers the above as well as wearable displays, which attach to military helmets and eye glasses.

http://www.microvision.com/wearable_displays/index.html

Please post thoughts at: http://newtechnoloiesnow.blogspot.com/

Email questions, share your thoughts or unsubscribe at: johnsblog@john-fred.com.

Usability: Man that’s a cool website...but is it easy to use?

May 15, 2009 – By John Feilen

Everyday countless blogs and articles are written discussing the latest and coolest websites, technology and newest social networking tools that are going to change our lives. As we continue to consume more content, purchase items and connect with people whom we’ve never actually met via virtual communities, one of the most important factors in building websites and technologies is usability. The goal of the designers and information architects is not to challenge the user in order to showcase their toolbox but to allow them to feel comfortable, effortlessly purchase items and complete desired tasks.

A well designed website should do the following:

1. Show products/services available in the initial navigation.
2. Allow the user to easily search and sort desired products/content.
3. Help the customer checkout or complete tasks easily and with little thought.
4. If products are not available for purchase online, tell customers where to buy.
5. Reinforce companies’ brand.

Following are 3 consumer goods websites that elegantly achieve the above in the categories of marketing, eCommerce and portal.

Marketing

TOM FORD – www.tomford.com

Tom Ford’s website strongly reinforces his brand; giving us a strong idea of what his company and clothing are about at the initial logon. Cleary showcases his products, leveraging sophisticated but clear photography and tells us where we can buy his merchandise. Navigation is always present, easy to understand and offered in three different languages.

eCommerce

TARGET – www.target.com

Target successfully offers thousands of items online leveraging well-organized information architecture, roll-over dropdown menus and excellent search capabilities. Products are easy to find, view and purchase. While selecting items, the option is given to add to Target Baby Registry, CLUB WEDD or TargetLists as well as shopping cart, making it easy to build your online registries.

Portal

NETFLIX – www.netflix.com

Netflix features a queue that is easy to navigate, allows the user to quickly browse through movie titles and sort by various criteria. Also, Netflix delivers several titles for viewing online; this means you don’t have to wait on the US postal service and significantly cheaper distribution for Netflix.

Please post thoughts at: http://newtechnoloiesnow.blogspot.com/

Email questions, share your thoughts or unsubscribe at: johnsblog@john-fred.com.

Electronic Pen

May 8, 2009 – By John Feilen

Don’t Miss a Word! – Electronic Smart Pen That Remembers Everything You Write

Livescribe offers a pen that captures not only everything you write but everything you hear! With a camera, microphone and computer that remembers the entire meeting or lecture even if you don’t.

View a video of this cool product:

http://www.livescribe.com/smartpen/index.html

Also you can email questions, share your thoughts or unsubscribe at: johnsblog@john-fred.com.

eHealth, Dr. Kiosk – April 16, 2009

By John Feilen

Emerging technology is allowing the healthcare industry to develop applications, which not only care for patients more efficiently but also deliver healthcare to those who may not be able to easily visit a doctor’s office due to physical limitations or remote locations. In their Patient Safety and Technology Laboratory Massachusetts General Hospital has several new projects. Two of interest: 1) a Patient Care Kiosk, which allows for virtual visits between patient and doctor and monitoring of health indicators; blood pressure, weight, etc. 2) The Pill Bottle Reader sorts a person’s pills as though they were coins in a bank, determining what medication they are taking and what needs to be refilled through an online reconciliation process with patient records.

Following is more detail on both applications from the Mass General website as well as their URL chronicling other initiatives.

Patient Care Kiosk
Working with Dr. Ron Dixon, a primary care physician at Mass General, a Sims Lab team has been developing a health kiosk. This device supports both real-time (synchronous) and non-real-time (asynchronous) visits between a patient and a physician. The kiosk contains two-way video and audio links and can monitor blood pressure, heart rate, SpO2, peak-flow, weight and blood coagulation times. The objective of this project is to empower physicians and patients with more convenient approaches routine care as well as to provide access to traditionally people who are traditionally underserved by the conventional healthcare system.


Pill-Bottle Reader
This research project attempts to automatically determine what medications a patient is on through reading their pill bottles. The vision is that a patient brings all of their medication bottles with them in a small bag when they visit the doctor. The contents of the bag are dumped into a hopper that reads each individual medication bottle's label, reconciles the data with the meds the patient is known to be on, and prints an exception report for the physician. The objective is to get patient medication data in a more convenient, accurate way.

Massachusetts General Patient Safety and Technology Website:
http://www2.massgeneral.org/anesthesia/index.aspx?page=research_biomedical&subpage=patientsafety2

Email questions, share your thoughts or unsubscribe at: johnsblog@john-fred.com.

Read past blog entries or post comments: http://newtechnoloiesnow.blogspot.com/

New Technologies Now - April 6, 2009

April 6, 2009 - by John Feilen

Following are new technology products and concepts I find interesting and think will change how we live. A touch screen coffee table that is the coolest computer you’ve ever seen, a wireless photo printer you can hold in the palm of your hand and meet the next generation, the iPoders!

Not Just a Coffee Table Anymore – Touch Screen Surface Computing Taken to a Whole New Level!

Why buy just another brown wooden or glass coffee table when you can buy one that is also the coolest touch screen computer you’ve ever seen? Microsoft Surface is a coffee table with a touch screen user interface that will allow you to share photos, music and other media between devices by just placing them on the surface; no cords or cables required. Currently only available for commercial use, one day this concept is certain to be part of our homes.

View the videos on the following link to see this incredible new technology:

http://www.microsoft.com/SURFACE/Default.aspx

Wireless Handheld Photo Printer

Dell offers a wireless photo printer that fits in the palm of your hand and allows you to print your digital photos anywhere, anytime.

View the WASABI PZ310 printer:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&sku=224-3591&redirect=1&ST=handheld%20dell%20printer&dgc=ST&cid=40378&lid=1039854

‘iPoders’ – The Next Generation

April 6, 2009 - Today’s Financial Times reports the next generation, called the ‘iPoders’, which are people born between 1982 and 2000, is the first generation raised exclusively on computers. They expect a world with limitless wireless access and form lasting relationships with people all over the world without ever meeting face to face. As they text, email and twitter, they move at a pace that is incomprehensible to previous generations.

Read the full article:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ae9744cc-2242-11de-8380-00144feabdc0,_i_email=y.html

Email questions, share your thoughts or unsubscribe at: johnsblog@john-fred.com.

IMAGINATION LIVES: 3 Future Concepts for Smart Homes

February 23, 2009 - by John Feilen

Being the quintessential dreamer; creative and somewhat ADD paired with having worked in various facets of technology over the past 10 years, I realized what I really love about it is the new and future vision. Does a specific technological advancement make our lives better us happier or healthier? How will we as a human race of conspicuous consumers adapt it into our daily routines? How will emerging technology continue to change our lives, work habits and how we allow it to allow us to dream?

Recently the following concepts, which are currently in research and development or limited release, have caught my attention. These are likely to appear in our homes someday and be instrumental in shaping the future smart home. Which of these new toys will you purchase to transform you life, show your success and impress friends?

3D TV’s

Technology adaptation is different for all of us. The football fan dreams of a larger HDTV with an even sharper picture and perhaps a 3D display someday. Philips Electronics is bringing this one step closer with a monitor which allows viewers to perceive high-quality 3D images without the need for special glasses. The technology uses image-processing software, plus display hardware that includes sheets of tiny lenses atop LCD screens, which gives the viewer the perception of depth. These are beginning to appear in shopping malls, movie theater lobbies, and theme parks worldwide. Someday perhaps the avid Chicago Cubs fan watching the game at home can feel as though the bat-breaking homerun, which was just hit to the stands in the outfield, is coming right at him through his TV screen. (http://www.research.philips.com/technologies/display/ov_3ddisp.html)

eHealth

If you’re in research and development in the Silicon Valley perhaps your dream of new technology is one that you will discover. One for which you will receive prizes, fame and wealth; it may even be a technology that saves somebody’s life. EM Finders, based in Dallas, Texas, has developed a device that can be discreetly worn by persons suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or autism. If an the individual cannot be found, the caregiver can remotely activate the device, which allows 911 emergency dispatchers to instantly locate the missing person and send help to the exact location. (www.emfinders.com)

Virtual Butler – Voice Interface & Facial Identification

What is the next evolution of the smart home? Will we be able to talk to our house? Will it talk back? Will an episode of the 1960’s TV show “The Jetsons” in which George Jetson talking to his robot maid, Rosie as she delivers his lunch become a reality? Will all of our household staff become virtual?

“Hello, Living Room. Please turn on the lights, turn up the heat and I want to watch Anderson Cooper on CNN.”

Living Room responds, “Good evening Mr. Smith. Certainly sir, right away sir!” Living Room continues, “How was your day Sir?”

“Fine Living Room. And yours?”

Will Living Room have a name beyond ‘Living Room’? Will Living Room have a face or perhaps be a 3D animated character, which appears on your flat screen HDTV as a virtual butler?

In 2001 I worked on a research and development concept with a Silicon Valley startup and major telecommunications provider, which featured a virtual butler; ‘Tom the Valet”. Tom lived on a flat screen TV (via a server-side application) recognized you thanks to a facial recognition program executed via discreet cameras and was able to understand and fulfill your every wish leveraging natural language processing software. Will we all have one someday?

Thank you for taking the time to read my first blog entry. Beyond having a self-established forum in which to publish that which I find interesting in emerging technology, I would like to begin a dialog; a dialog of ideas, questions and visions of future technology.

Would you like to have a virtual butler someday? Let me know. Please send questions or share your thoughts: johnsetblog@john-fred.com