Is “Smartphone” a Misnomer?
Posted: December 8, 2014 Filed under: Technology | Tags: iPhone, smartdevice, smartphone, Steve Jobs Leave a commentOn January 9, 2007, Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone as a combination of three devices: a “widescreen iPod with touch controls,” a “revolutionary mobile phone” and a “breakthrough internet communicator.” It’s pretty amazing how it has transformed in six short years, to the point where I don’t really think of my iPhone 6 Plus as a phone at all. Wouldn’t “smartdevice” be a better name, given its many features and functions?
Perhaps you don’t even realize all of this technology is packed into your device or understand how it can be used—I didn’t for quite some time. Depending on the situation or user, those features and functions are more or less important and are used to a greater or lesser degree.
| Hardware Feature | Function |
| Microphone, speaker | Audio recording and playback |
| Camera (front and back) | Video capture |
| HD touch display | Output display and device navigation |
| Accelerometer | Measures speed and distance |
| Barometer | Measures elevation |
| GPS, iBeacon micro-location and others | Various ways to determine location |
| Touch ID | Identification. |
| Cellular, wireless data, Wi-Fi | Data transmission |
| Gyroscope | Orientation of the phone |
| Proximity sensor | Distance to sensor |
| Ambient light sensor | Senses ambient light |
It is the applications that create value and functionality based on these features. A few examples:
- Panoramic photography uses several of the sensors to compensate for your unsteady hand and put together a 180 degree view.
- Photos are tagged with the location taken based upon GPS and access to the internet over the data connection.
- iHealth application records steps, distance and elevation along with other coming attractions.
- Location technology is not only integrated into mapping, but into many other aspects of the phone. Examples include tagging photos, ‘find me’ or people tracking, alert to location before the battery dies and location-based reminders (such as “pick up laundry” will alert you when you drive by the cleaners).
We’ve come a long way, and I can’t wait to see how these smartdevices continue to evolve in the future.
In Just Three years
Posted: December 4, 2014 Filed under: Photography, Technology | Tags: iPad, iPhone, Viber 2 CommentsThree years ago we took a family vacation to Europe, our first trip there. I was appropriately outfitted with phone, computer, camera, tripod, etc.—everything a technophile would need.
When we returned earlier this month, I kept it light: iPhone and iPad only. And I probably would have been fine without the iPad.
- LAST TIME: Phone and data connectivity was spotty at best. It wasn’t even reliable in the accommodations. THIS TIME: Rock solid connectivity. Fast, actually. At one point, I made a FaceTime call in the middle of a Parisian street and had no difficulty at all.
- LAST TIME: Astronomical rates for international phone minutes and texts. THIS TIME: We loaded $1.00 on Viber for external call minutes from France to a U.S. landline. At a rate of $0.02 per minute, my wife kept in touch with her dad for the whole of 10 days for $0.66. Calls and messages between Viber users were free.
- LAST TIME: Photography was complicated. Not only managing the equipment, but later downloading and manipulating photos was a big job. THIS TIME: My handy new iPhone 6 Plus was a rock star. Each day I was able to edit, upload, organize and share images quickly and easily.
I wonder what a return trip in three years will be like?
Mindfulness Meets Business
Posted: December 1, 2014 Filed under: Business, Misc. | Tags: 10% Happier, Dan Harris, Dr. Richard J. Davidson, Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabat-Zinn, MBSR, Mindful magazine, mindfulness, Time magazine Leave a comment“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and non judgmentally.” —Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindfulness has gone mainstream. Once only practiced by new age gurus and yogis, it is sweeping the nation, moving into gyms, homes and healthcare organizations at a rapid pace. Now it’s making the leap into corporate America, with Silicon Valley leading the charge (no surprise). Resources abound. If you’re as intrigued as I am, fire up your favorite search engine and query “mindfulness” or check out this handy list as a starting point.
Perhaps the seminal work on mindfulness is Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn. It has been recently revised and updated 25 years after first release. Kabat-Zinn also developed the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reductions program (MBSR), which has trained over 20,000 people in his techniques.
By Tiffany Vaché and Jason Sullivan
The Mind Full, or Mindful? wiki includes PowerPoint presentations, videos, websites, books and journals to facilitate a deep, varied dive into the subject.
10% Happier by Dan Harris hit #1 on the NYT Bestseller list earlier this year. The author, a noted television journalist, recounts his journey toward meditation and mindfulness following an on-air panic attack.
Colleges are getting on board. NYU’s New Mindfulness in Business Initiative is exploring how mindfulness can transform the next generation of leaders and innovators. One student describes her initial foray into meditation.
Mindful magazine has a circulation of more than 85,000, with steep growth projected. Also in the periodical space, The Mindful Revolution was the cover story in a February 2014 issue of Time.
Otto Schamer, in Davos: Mindfulness, Hotspots, and Sleepwalkers, notes the rapid rise of mindfulness at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this past spring. The drivers of this trend are described as new tech, new challenges and new science.
Dr. Richard J. Davidson at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds is one leading scientific authority who is documenting the positive effects of mediation on the brain (here at UW Madison). A powerful documentary, Free the Mind, features his work with military veterans and school children.
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