Prediction #1: A news event will attribute the cause of death of a person (or persons) to a DIY diagnosis.

Unfortunately some people put too much faith in a single statement and with the Internet and online news broadcasts the worst case is you could look silly at a party when you shout out that Michael Jackson is still alive. With the advent of smarter phones and devices there is an increasing ability to monitor your own health. For example, Jawbone has created a product shaped as a wristband, which constantly monitors your sleep patterns, tracks your daily activity and even reminds you to be active if you’re idle too long. Other devices monitor heart rate, blood pressure and hydration. Coupled with a smart phone, which can display informative graphs, make semi-intelligent decisions and transfer all this information to the Internet we should be able to have a lot more control over our health and what’s caused those extra bulges around the middle. However, while these products are in development, please consult with your doctor. Humans create technology and humans do make mistakes.

Prediction #2: The average family Internet usage will push past 100GB per month.

This prediction is a little relative. At the moment some countries like the US have unlimited bandwidth at home whereas others like New Zealand and Australia have limits. So the 100GB in this prediction really only applies to New Zealand based Internet users but it helps make my point. New Zealand’s average ISP offering in 2010 was 10GB but by the end of 2012 I’d suggest it will be 10 times larger. The driving trend for this prediction is the huge increase in “streamable” content (content which can be downloaded and simultaneously viewed or used). As consumer Internet speeds increase, access to content gets easier. As more (simplified) business models of content converge most people will find it easier to either keep their content “in the cloud” (on a server on the Internet) or not even own the content and pay a very small charge to access huge libraries of media when required.

Prediction #3: The media disk (CD, DVD, Blu-ray) will die.

This is an evolving trend and 2012 will not see the complete death of these rainbow-reflecting coasters. Countries with high Internet speeds and penetration will be the first to see them disappear from the stores but it will happen everywhere. A couple of reasons for this one; USB memory sticks (or pen drives) and App Stores. USB sticks are continuing to become cheaper and store huge amounts of data. They are also more versatile because of their size, strength, speed and they come in cool colors and shapes. The last lap top I bought didn’t come with a CD, instead it came with a tiny USB key (which I’ve now lost because it was so small). The other more dominating reason is the advent of the App Store. Apple was the first to popularize this for Apps on their iPhone but since then they have introduced a store for the Apple computers. Android devices have multiple stores and this week Microsoft announced a store for the Windows PC. Today the only places I see CD’s and DVD’s, at least in my country, are in rental video stores or console/software gaming stores. With these new App stores there is really no reason to drive to the mall and rent or purchase a stack of packaging only to get hold of digital media. It can simply be downloaded. If you lose your download, most stores remember your purchases and allow you to re-download.

Prediction #4: Your car will have its own tablet.

This is probably more a 2013-2015 prediction but I’ll throw it in anyway. With the excitement and growing popularity of the iPad tablets, other manufacturers are failing to make a dent in Apple’s market share. The by-product of competitiveness for consumers is huge economies of scale and cheaper prices on, what was thought of a few years ago, very sophisticated computers. The sensors in these devices (cameras, accelerometers, compasses, communication devices and touch screens) make them very versatile. Manufacturers of diverse products such as cars, security systems and weather stations have historically had similar components. Tablets naturally allow them to reduce the cost of their products and increase their function. Therefore expect to see tablet like devices built into your car, your home security/HVAC, stereo, TV and kitchen fridge.

Prediction #5: Thin is in.

I’m really just poking fun at woman’s magazines here but in the world of technology you’ve probably already noticed it happening. Laptops, tablets, phones and TVs are all getting amazingly thin. The trend will continue all the way towards the thickness of paper (probably around 2015 for commercial products). Prototype colour screens with the properties of a plastic sheet which you can roll up (but not fold) have already been created. However the associated electronics, which are always becoming smaller, are still large at the moment. I expect to see a scroll (as in the roll of paper around a wooden shaft) style device out, probably in 2013.

Prediction #6: Everyone will stop using Email.

This is another relative prediction but rather than country specific it’s generationally specific. Our younger generation are already leaving school without an email address. For example, my son has an email address but never checks it and only uses it to communicate with the older generation (his old man). Why is this happening? Again I believe there are a couple of reasons; Social Networks and the Mobile Internet.

The social networks are probably an obvious one. Ages ago (probably last year) Facebook launched an email add-on called Facebook Messages because teenagers were just not into email. A ComScore report in 2010, showed usage among 12 to 17 year olds went down 59%. As these young guys get older more people will continue to stop using email and instead interact in real time via Facebook, instant messaging and texting.

The Mobile Internet reasons are a little less obvious. The connection is the cost of texting and the rise of mobile data plans. Email on the mobile phone and eventually on the desktop will become more of a transport mechanism than an application. With the drive towards instant messaging Apple has released a function on their new phones that looks just like texting but uses the data network and email, if it’s available, to send the message. This makes the message basically free and free-stuff always encourages a lot of people.

So while I say people will stop using email, what I predict is all messages will be combined into a single App, be it a txt, a Facebook message, an email (from an old guy) or an on-line game alert (Skype will probably be noticeably absent). At the moment this App is called notifications but eventually it will probably still be called your inbox on-line and there won’t be many real “email” messages in their anymore - unless you’re over 40 that is.

Prediction #7: More people will talk on the bus and trains rather than ignoring each other and looking out the window.

This is a quick prediction based on the move towards peer-to-peer games on mobile phones. (Peer-to-peer can be loosely described as communicating directly between devices, in this case without the Internet). Social gaming like Farmville on Facebook has taken off because of the social interaction but this is physically anti-social as most players sit in their bedrooms and never see each other. This peer-to-peer gaming is all about being physically close to one another. Qualcomm has a video of this in operation. I can just see this happening on the bus into work or on the train ride home. Can’t wait! - Actually I can.

For those of you who can remember being a kid, I’m referring to physically being a kid, not all you guys that still act like one. You’ll remember how life had more freedom, taking risks came naturally and being a geek was definitely not cool.

Kids today are no different to past generations and why should we expect them to be? The world has always been changing through the generations and kids are amazing sponges for information, their physical environment and the people they look up to. The introduction of personal electronics could be seen as merely a change in their physical environment however our (western) society of increasing PC (political correctness), increasing aversion to risk (cotton wool syndrome) and increasing urbanization has almost driven these devices to fulfill the information, personal and unfortunately physical spaces for our children.

Now I could start arguing why this is such a bad thing, that kids today don’t get outside enough, physically explore or climb enough trees, but that is not going to change any of the facts.

What I would like to suggest is how we, as parents, guardians, mentors, leaders and life-long teachers, can help the current kid-generation balance their life based on our own experiences. Just because we may not understand technology doesn’t mean we can’t guide our kids in the same way we would without the iPods, iPhones, netbooks and Facebook.

The trick is to understand what this technology represents not what it does.

Now I’m no expert on parenting - ask my kids - but I’m hoping you can use this advice to view our technological world in a simpler, less complex way, thereby helping yourself in the process.

So what does today’s technology represent? To kids, that's obvious – everything. To those less familiar with a tweet, a LOL or an OMG, it could all look a bit obsessive. What we must understand though is the subtleties of the use of technology.

I often hear my wife telling me, “You’re on that bloody computer – again! Do you ever stop working and who exactly are you married to?” I’m wildly paraphrasing but to her a computer represents her husbands work. My use of the computer is quite varied though. I do use it for work but also to read the latest news, research about some of my hobbies, to catch up on past TV episodes I enjoy (except for the nightly news, I’ve replaced the TV with my laptop) or to watch a Youtube video on playing a new song on my ukulele.

Now I know I need to get more exercise and that’s something all kids need (especially team sports) but I’m not a workaholic even if it appears that way to my wife. Surprisingly, and thankfully if I’m honest, my wife does not have a high technology literacy and even though she really has no idea what I do (including around the house) she is starting to understand what this technology I use actually represents. To me this technology allows me to work remotely, access entertainment, to relax and to educate myself.

If you ask an articulate teenager what technology represents to them you’ll hear something similar. Literally speaking their answer would probably be a well crafted, “dunno” or maybe if you’re lucky a “what-ever!” But what is captured in those few succinct words is this. I use my phone, laptop, iPad or any technology I can get my hands on to:

• + Do my homework.
• + Receive, interact, submit and be marked on my schoolwork.
• + Socialize with my acquaintances (everyone is a friend on Facebook).
• + Entertain myself with my music.
• + Share my music with my friends (illegally downloaded).
• + Share my videos with my friends (taken personally or downloaded).
• + Share crazy videos with my friends (Youtube).
• + Text, IM or iMessage to keep in contact with my closer friends.
• + Watch Youtube to learn how to make chocolate cake, slingshots, small firearms, pearl necklaces or dissect a small animal.
• Play multi-player war games, multi-player horticulture games, multi-player smurf games.
• + Tell the world about what happened in Siberia 30 seconds ago, what the President of Uzbekistan had for lunch or what I had for a late night dinner but then threw up a few hours later – and what color that was!

So technology to our kids represents A LOT! Interestingly enough, all of this can now be done on their mobile phone. So when an 'adult' says “Get your head out of that phone” they could be saying, “Stop doing your homework”, “Stop socializing”, “Stop listening to music”, “Stop staying in touch with close friends”, “Stop learning about a topic” or “Stop learning about the world.” All the things we (us old guys) used to do while running around the neighborhood, secretly meeting our friends in the bush or behind the school gym, swapping cassette tapes or passing on gossip.

The key is to get the right balance and when you don’t know what’s happening on that mobile phone I can understand how this could be difficult. I’m also sure most kids spend more time socializing, chatting to friends or sharing music than doing their homework but removing the technology is not the answer. Helping them understand the importance of each of these activities is.

So the culminating advice is probably something you’re already doing. When you see you kids (or your spouses) face hidden behind a screen, talk to them and understand what they are doing and check they are learning (kid) or relaxing (spouse) or quite possibly suggest they just put it down and go outside. 

Love what you do.

Each month we’d like to highlight a piece of work or project that we think is interesting. This is not only to tell you a little about what we do but probably more importantly to promote the App for our customer.

The Rotary Club of Auckland have organised and underwrote the World Press Photo Exhibition in Auckland for the past two years and hope it will become a regular in the Auckland events calendar. The exhibit not only highlights world events to adults but has also enabled our secondary school children to visit the exhibit, experience and discuss current events from around the world. The learning opportunities and feedback from our teachers has been huge. Best of all, the proceeds go to charity.

We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to create a simple but bold app for this Exhibition. Although it has now finished you are welcome to download the free app as it will be updated for the 2012 Exhibition with new dates and locations details for next year. The 2011 edition highlights and describes a dozen highly evocative photo's that make strong statements on the events captured within along with individual captions. If you have an interest in amazing photography or world events you need to check it out! 

For more information:  

Ÿ World Press Photo 11 Ÿ World Press Photo 11 App Ÿ

Most writers, journalists and editorial staff do not discuss it but sharing something you’ve written, something that you often care about, is quite a selfish exercise. Although others get to read it and hopefully enjoy it, from either a factorial or purely an entertainment perspective, the person who gains the most is the author.

Why, as the author of this piece, am I sharing it with you? Well, I like to get all my cards on the table, bare all and not leave anything hidden – which sounds a little scary when written like that!

This newsletter is not only a means to share ideas, concerns and topics with you but, as I’m being totally honest, it’s a way for me to understand and articulate my postulations so I deepen my knowledge. Ultimately this will help the people that we serve, which is in fact our real goal, but sometimes it may come across a little self-centered so I wanted to be the first to admit it. Phew, that feels better.

Now I bet you’re wondering what you’ve signed up for?

Today’s topics include the advantages of melding technology & art and Apps in charities. 

Living in the technology industry for over 25 years I’ve been called many names. Ironically those names are now worn with pride but it wasn’t always like that.

Technology was, and in some industries still is, a very insulated geeky topic. Fortunately this is changing. In my mind technology is merely a tool, a means to an end but never the end in itself. If you take this approach then the question is not, "What technology do we need?", but becomes “What tool do I need to get a job done?” With increasing technological products available the tools to getting a job done will undoubtedly be technically related but this should not be the focus. So with the increasing use of technology it should come to you as no surprise to see radio frequencies digitally represented on a large computer screen that is situated to reflect in multiple windows, mirrors and car doors - in an art exhibition. The message in this piece is that information is all around us we just need the right lens to see it. In this case it just happens to be delivered in a technical way. Here is something similar.