Top Bananas | Author Archives

Apple Sneaking Into the Health Records Industry

Posted on July 19, 2017 by admin Posted in Business, Hardware, Medical, Software Leave a comment

What it is: Cedars-Sinai hospital is using iPads for both storing and displaying health information.

The huge mistake rivals make is that they try to duplicate and surpass the hardware features of their products compared to Apple products. That’s a huge mistake because it’s easy to shove more advanced hardware into a product. What’s more difficult is giving people a reason to use that advanced hardware.

In the smartphone and tablet market, rivals try to compete against Apple with lower prices and better technical specifications. That’s a recipe for failure. While rivals worry about prices and hardware specifications, Apple is moving towards making their products useful. One huge market that doesn’t care about prices or hardware specifications is the medical and health industry.

Cedars-Sinai hospital is using iPads for several purposes. One way is to use FaceTime to allow parents and children to interact when the children have infection diseases and need to be kept separate from other people. However, a far more interesting use for the iPad is to store and display medical information. Of course, any tablet or computer could do that. What Apple hopes to do is store medical information in a standard electronic format that’s also secure.

Now when you talk about security and online access, there can never be complete security. However, the availability and accuracy of medical information stored digitally means that health records can be accurately and quickly transferred among doctors and hospitals.

Right now, medical records are far more secure when stored in separate databases and pieces of paper. However, the huge drawback is the lack of accuracy and inability to transfer crucial information to others when needed. More than once, patients have been given penicillin or other antibiotics even though their medical records show they’re allergic to those medication. Today’s paper and half-solutions on a computer trade security for inaccuracy and inability to share.

By itself, there’s nothing special about the iPad when it comes to inputting and displaying medical information. What’s important is how that information gets stored and accessed securely, and that’s where Apple can make the iPad more secure than much cheaper Android tablets. First of all, iOS is far more secure than Android. Second, Apple can design security in rather than slap it on at a later date.

Hospitals are far less likely to be swayed by lower prices and better technical specifications than they are with devices that work and securely display information as sensitive as medical records. The iPad is never going to reach sales records it hit when it was first introduced. Instead, the iPad will find a new market in the enterprise world where price and minor hardware improvements matter far less than security and simplicity.

Apple’s big future lies in health. Real-time health monitoring will boost sales of the Apple Watch while health records will help boost sales of the iPad. While not everyone has a need for an Apple Watch or an iPad, everyone does have a need for maintaining their health. The only question is whether you’re willing to pay the price for better health or not.

The Smart Toothbrush

Posted on July 18, 2017 by admin Posted in Hardware, Medical Leave a comment

What it is: Philips Sonicare is launching a new smart toothbrush that connects to an app via Bluetooth.

Most people brush their teeth without knowing how well they’re really doing until they get feedback six months to a year later from their dental hygienist. Such lengthy times between feedback means that dental problems caused by improper brushing can persist and cause problems without being detected.

To solve this problem, Philips Sonicare offers a Bluetooth enabled toothbrush that connects to a smartphone app. By viewing the app on your smartphone, you can see which parts of your teeth you’ve brushed properly and which areas you may have missed. Now based on this immediately feedback, you can correct the problem before it gets out of hand.

The idea of as Bluetooth-enabled toothbrush might seem a bit like technological overkill, but it does present the idea of immediate feedback in ways that ordinary toothbrushes can’t match. Knowing how well you’re brushing and seeing a picture on a smartphone app can turn brushing into both feedback and a game. By proper brushing, under the guidance of a smart toothbrush, you can take better care of your teeth.

Real-time health monitoring is the killer app for wearable and mobile computers. Anyone want to monitor their heart rate using a regular PC? Want to exercise and track your calories burned by lugging a laptop around all the time? Mobile and wearable computers are reaching into areas that traditional computers can never access, which means we can expect new health breakthroughs beyond real-time tooth brushing feedback.

As more devices get smarter, it’s not hard to believe that routine eye exams, hearing exams, and even medical exams can be conducted entirely on smartphones and wearable computers. While some people don’t see a need for a wearable computer like an Apple Watch, everyone can see a need for maintaining their health through mobile and wearable computers. Initially, expect the elderly and the sick to embrace health monitoring apps and wearable computers. Then expect ordinary consumers to embrace real-time health monitoring to prevent problems before they can occur.

Apple is already testing a non-invasive glucose monitor that can show you the effect certain foods (candy, ice cream, soda, etc.) can have on your body while you’re eating it. Once you can see how negatively certain foods affect your body, you can modify your behavior (hopefully) based on this immediately, real-time feedback.

Health monitoring will be what makes wearable computers essential to practically everyone. While a smart toothbrush might seem like a gimmick, you can already imagine how its real-time feedback feature can be valuable and worth the price for better dental care. If you value yourself and your teeth, why wouldn’t you want a device that could improve your health at minimal cost?

To learn more about the Sonicare, smart toothbrush, click here.

Watch for Augmented Reality Apps From Apple

Posted on July 17, 2017 by admin Posted in Hardware, Software, User Interface Leave a comment

What it is: Apple released ARKit at their developer’s conference to pave the way for augmented reality apps from third-parties.

There’s a lot of confusion on what virtual reality and augmented reality are good for. Generally, virtual reality is great when you want to stay in a limited space and need to immerse yourself completely in an artificial world such as training simulations. Flight simulators are a crude sort of virtual reality system that works perfectly well, although you don’t see similar simulators used in public because it’s too expensive and bulky.

Virtual reality headsets are fine for limited use as well, but nobody’s going to carry a virtual reality headset with them at all times on the off chance they might need it. That’s where augmented reality comes in because you can view it on an iPhone or iPad. The demonstrations of augmented reality and the current use with Pokemon GO are fairly trivial. Where the real focus will come is creating augmented reality apps such as mapping directions.

Most likely, Apple will introduce its own augmented reality apps on the next iPhone, which will also work on the iPhone 7 and later and the iPad Pro and later. By seeing Apple’s own augmented reality apps, you’ll get a better idea how augmented reality can be useful instead of just a gimmick.

One likely use for augmented reality will come from the Map app and possibly an indoor mapping app that shows you directions in an airport or museum. The regular Map app will show you street names and landmarks on a map as you drive.

In case you’re wondering, one huge reason why Apple needed its own Map app and not rely on Google Maps wasn’t just to take control of its own apps, but to gather mapping data for augmented reality. Without its own map app, Apple wouldn’t be able to add augmented reality to a third-party mapping app. When Apple acquires or develops its own technology, it’s not just to replace an existing third-party solution but to plan for the long-term future.

Think of Apple’s latest move away from graphics processors to its own in-house graphics processor. That’s not just to get rid of a third-party dependence but to plan ahead. Graphics processors are useful for machines learning and that’s why Apple needs its own in-house graphics processor technology so it can customize its chips for machine learning and artificial intelligence.

In the augmented reality world, the introduction of augmented reality apps on the next iPhone (iOS 11) will drastically change the smartphone market. If you want augmented reality, you’ll have to get an iPhone or iPad. If you want an inferior augmented reality framework that only works on a handful of Android smartphones and tablets, then you can stick with an Android device.

Because so few Android devices will be able to use augmented reality, people will either upgrade to an Android device that does support augmented reality or switch to an iPhone. Most likely people will do both and some may upgrade from an old iPhone to a newer Android smartphone as well. However, Apple’s augmented reality solution will be more refined at the start and that will give it a huge head start with less hassle for most people. Expect augmented reality to be a limited feature on Android devices, limited mostly to high-end devices that cost nearly as much as an iPhone. That means if people want augmented reality, they’ll likely choose an iPhone.

This fall will be a crucial time for the iPhone. Augmented reality offers a software feature that will be difficult for rivals to duplicate. First, you need the software framework from Google. Then you need the hardware support from companies like Samsung and HTC. Since hardware specifications differ, it will be harder for Google to optimize their augmented reality software to work with so many different hardware platforms. That will just make augmented reality even harder and less refined on Android.

Augmented reality will separate the iPhone from Android as much as the original touch screen interface separated the iPhone from Blackberry, Nokia, and Microsoft. Augmented reality is the next killer app for smartphones and it will be difficult for rivals to catch up when it arrives.

PC Sales Still Dropping

Posted on July 15, 2017 by admin Posted in Business, Hardware Leave a comment

What it is: PC sales continue dropping quarter after quarter with no end in sight.

Remember back in the old days when you needed a PC to do practically anything on the Internet? If you wanted to send email, you needed a PC. If you anted to browse websites, you needed a PC. If you wanted to chat in real-time using instant messaging, you had to use a PC.

Back then, people regularly replaced their PCs every few years because hardware kept advancing. Nowadays, hardware advances provide minimal improvements. A faster processor might make your computer run faster, but it won’t noticeably make you more productive using Microsoft Word or Excel.

Besides the hardware improvements offering minimal improvements, the mobile computing market led by smartphones and tablets, have decimated the PC market. Most people now own a smartphone so there’s little need to keep updating a PC every few years. Smartphones are even more useful than PCs since you can use them for mapping directions, calling services like Uber or Lyft, or taking pictures. While you can do all this with a PC, it’s not as easy or convenient. How many people want to lug around a laptop and take a selfie? It’s possible. It’ just not easy.

Strangely as the PC market shrinks, Apple’s market share grows even though they’re not selling as many Macintosh computers as before. Many people are slowly abandoning PCs and not replacing them at all, holding out longer between upgrade cycles, or switching to the Macintosh. Most likely the number of PC users switching to the Macintosh is greater than the number of Macintosh users switching to a PC. That means a steady flow of new Macintosh users and a steady decline in PC users.

The PC is still useful, but just not necessary or dominant any more. People don’t need to use Windows so when given a choice, many people don’t. They rely on Android, iOS, ChromeOS, Linux, or macOS. All are viable options to using a Windows PC, so that means fewer people need a Windows PC any more.

In the long run, the sales of Windows PCs will slowly and steadily decline because people have so many other options to use instead. The days of the Windows PC are over. There’s nothing wrong with a Windows PC, but there’s nothing it can do that other options can’t do just as well (or sometimes even better).

When Apple releases the iMac Pro later this year, it probably won’t change most people’s mind about the Macintosh. Professional suers will need and be willing to pay the higher price for an iMac Pro. Most other people will not. Then when the Mac Pro arrives later next year, it also won’t attract large numbers of people either.

The shift away from Windows PCs to anything else has already begun and nothing is going to stop this migration. Just as you can expect to see old style cash registers still being used in some stores, so you can expect to see Windows PCs still being used by businesses and individuals. The only difference is that unlike the old days, you’re just as likely to see an alternative to a Windows PC as well.

The Standalone Voice Assistant Market

Posted on July 14, 2017 by admin Posted in Hardware, User Interface Leave a comment

What it is: Amazon created the stand alone voice assistant market, but now they’re trying to compete against Apple’s upcoming HomePod.

With the iPhone 4s, Apple introduced Siri, a voice assistant that could accurately listen to voice commands and obey them. Strangely, Apple focused on increasing the number of languages Siri could recognize but didn’t improve its features. That allowed competitors to catch up like Microsoft’s Cortana and Amazon’s Alexa. Since Amazon flopped with their own smartphone, they forged ahead to put Alexa in a standalone device that has defined a new market.

The Amazon Echo is inexpensive enough for people to try it. In comparison, Apple’s upcoming HomePod is far more expensive ($349) but also offers much higher audio quality along with the ability to link with multiple HomePods to create a unique audio experience. Plus HomePod can adjust its sound based on its physical location so placing it in the corner of a room will create one type of audio quality while putting it in the middle of the room will create a different audio quality based on its physical surroundings.

The goal of HomePod isn’t just to be a standalone voice assistant but to offer superior audio quality as well. If people want an inexpensive voice assistant, they’ll still probably choose an Amazon Echo, but if they prefer superior audio quality as a wireless speaker, they’ll likely prefer Apple’s HomePod. That’s why Amazon is trying to offer a new Echo model that offers higher quality audio quality.

Amazon is likely shooting for nearly equal audio quality at a lower price. Whether Amazon succeeds or not is irrelevant since Apple will still capture the higher end market much like iOS has already done in the smartphone and tablet markets. Amazon sells plenty of Kindle tablets, but really makes a profit on them through increased spending of ebooks through Amazon. Apple makes money selling iPads and then selling apps, music, and video as well.

Amazon’s latest Echo will try to compete against Apple’s HomePod and will likely succeed in price, but not in audio quality. For some people, that will be fine. For others, the higher price of a HomePod will be worth the higher audio quality.

Apple simply targets the high end market while rivals target the low end market. The real key isn’t just selling stand alone voice assistant units but in creating wireless speakers and a hub for controlling home devices like lights and doors. Apple already has their HomeKit framework that’s slowly gaining traction. Amazon needs to work with third-parties to connect Echo devices to home control as well. It won’t be difficult but it won’t be as smoothly integrated as Apple’s HomeKit promises to be.

No matter what Amazon does, Apple’s HomePod will become the higher quality option and Amazon will become the lower cost option. The battle of stand alone voice assistants is basically between Amazon and Apple with Google offering a third alternative. The key to stand alone voice assistants is audio quality and links to home automation. Apple’s HomeKit offers the best security while rivals offer the most options. In the long run, security will be a higher priority than low cost if the price also includes poorer security.

Expect Apple’s HomePod to be a decent product, but not earth-shattering like the iPhone. Then watch as HomeKit and HomePod grow together while Amazon and Google gather up the market share while Apple collects the most profit share. When HomePod arrives in time for the holidays, we’ll know for sure how the stand alone voice assistant market will shake out.

Seeing AI

Posted on July 13, 2017 by admin Posted in Software, User Interface Leave a comment

What it is: Microsoft has released a new app called Seeing AI, which helps blind people “see” what’s around them.

The main purpose of technology isn’t to focus on incremental improvements in a laundry list of technical specifications. Instead, technology is meant to improve our lives. As smartphones have become common with built-in cameras, Microsoft has taken advantage of these developments with a new app called Seeing AI.

The idea is that by pointing your smartphone camera at people, objects, or even text, the Seeing AI can tell you what the camera’s looking at including descriptions of people, buildings, or reading text. More amazing is that Microsoft is giving the Seeing AI app away for free.

When you see enabling technology like Seeing AI, you realize how technology can make people’s lives better. Even if you have decent eyesight, you could still use the Seeing AI for reading text out loud. Instead of relying on another person to watch your back while playing a game like paintball, you could strap a smartphone to your arm and let the Seeing AI provide another set of eyes to scan for approaching people.

Seeing AI is proof that Microsoft can innovate. If Seeing AI had been available on the Windows Phone platform, that could have been a major game-changer. As it stands now, Microsoft has seemingly given up on their mobile operating system plans and seem content to focus on making great apps for Android and iOS. That’s great for all smartphone users (at least if you’re running Android or iOS) because now you get the benefits of using Microsoft’s apps without the drawback of being stuck on Microsoft’s operating system.

With apps like Seeing AI and OneNote, Microsoft has consistently proven they can innovate on the mobile computer platform. As long as Microsoft focuses on making technology offer clear benefits to people, they can’t go wrong. It’s when they (or any other company) forgets about providing benefits to actual people that any product will ultimately fail.