KB Technologies Blog

Would you believe us if we told you that the maps we have grown up looking at are remarkably skewed? That pull-down map in the front of every elementary school classroom probably wasn’t to scale, for one reason or another. Modern technology can make it possible for hackers to skew satellite imaging, and this could very well be used in the cybercrime avenue in the future. The developing technology of deepfake images could bring about a whole new type of threat.

COVID-19 forced many businesses to adapt to the new normal, and many of those who simply refused or were unable to do so fell by the wayside. As you can imagine, technology played a pivotal role in helping many businesses adjust to these changes. Let’s take a look at some of the more notable examples of how digital technology has helped businesses adapt to these circumstances.

While most people may be most familiar with the concept of the blockchain thanks to cryptocurrencies—particularly with the recent behaviors of some coins—this first application of the blockchain has blossomed into many others with great potential. Let’s go over what blockchain technology is, how it works, and how it can benefit businesses of all kinds.

For years, people have been increasingly worried about the potential onslaught of automation on human jobs. As computer systems and artificial intelligence have improved, there are some legitimate concerns for unskilled workers or those that work in industries where automation is featured. Today, we’ll dive into what concerns workers should have on account of automation and why no one should be panicking quite yet. 

Business technology can be a complicated topic, and with it appearing in more and more aspects of daily operations, it is important for organizations of all sizes to be sure that they have a complete understanding and awareness of how they put their IT to use. These considerations make it imperative that certain best practices are made part of your standard operating procedures… and for this to be accomplished, company leadership will need to lead by example.

Paper documentation has long been a fixture in the office as a means of helping to organize information and other resources. Of course, asbestos was a fixture in building construction for quite some time as well, so it should be clear that the established way of doing things is never guaranteed to be the best. Considering this, let’s go over what a modern Document Management System is and what options a small to medium-sized business has to choose from.

Even the most seasoned technology professional—the most gung-ho person about the technology—probably thinks that there’s too much IT-related jargon and buzzwords now floating around. There is a good reason for this: analogies and euphemisms are effective ways to communicate concepts and ideas that would otherwise require technical experience.

However, there is such a thing as too much.

Technology is a big part of the front end of almost every business. This is doubly true today as most businesses have built—and actively support—a robust web presence. Technology, however, is also used to power a business on the back end. Today, we’ll discuss a couple ways that today’s businesses are benefiting from automation behind the scenes, as well.

There are theoretically countless ways that artificial intelligence can have practical applications. One that you may not have initially considered: as a content filter for Internet comments. With trolling, spamming, and other misuse of these platforms getting far out of hand, let’s consider how some platforms are using AI to fight back.

There have been whispers for years about manufacturers using flexible OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays to create devices that were flexible enough to fold in half. As late as 2018, that’s all they were...whispers. In the subsequent year, to the surprise of many industry professionals, several manufacturers have committed to creating foldable devices. We’ll look at the technology behind these devices and tell you about which foldable devices are going to be available in 2019.

Technology innovation continues to move rapidly. It seems that every few days there is a major breakthrough with some type of IT or other computer-based technology that is seemingly going to change the world; or, at the very least improve humanity in some way. Sometimes, however, it just wasn’t meant to be. We’ll take a look at a few technologies that once were shoo-ins to transform society, only to have come up short in one way or another.

3D Displays
For the better part of a decade, manufacturers tried and tried and tried to get people excited about 3D technology. There were several problems. Content creators would not commit to 3D in capture or post production. That lack of content coupled with the fact that viewers had to have corresponding eyewear; and, the premium price tag the hardware commanded, had people leaving the 3D displays on the shelves, instead choosing high definition displays that made 2D programming look fantastic. This, of course, led the manufacturers abandoning the technology, citing lack of demand.

There have been whispers that the technology may be rejuvenated through the use of what is called Home3D. MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) recently found a way to emulate the 3D experience without glasses. Without 3D content at the ready, however, don’t expect major electronics manufacturers to commit to the creation of 3D displays any time soon, glasses or not.

Smart Glasses
Just few short years ago, most people were counting down the days until they able to get their hands on a pair of Google Glass. They kept counting and counting. Today, no one is counting, because there is no Google Glass. In fact, despite the overwhelming initial support, there are very few actual smart glasses manufacturers today. In 2012 celebrities were out front testing Google Glass, but today, there were only a couple of smart glasses manufacturers at CES. These companies, who are still searching for the answers on what consumers want from their smart glasses, have learned from the failed Google and Intel products. Less is more.

The main problem with products like Google Glass was that the invasion of privacy was all too honest. Sure, Google can track everything that you say, buy, and do online, but providing a camera on a pair of perpetually-turned-on glasses was a step too far, for everyone. There was a time when smart glasses were going to be a true replacement for the smartphone. Today, the main technologies that would run an effective pair of smart glasses haven’t been perfected. Augmented reality, although growing, hasn’t gained enough traction to become the powerful technology necessary to facilitate the need for a technology like smart glasses.

Virtual Reality
I know what you’re thinking: “virtual reality is available today”. That much is true, but people have been talking about virtual reality for the better part of the past 40 years. Most technologies that were developed, not theorized, but developed in the 1980s have come and gone by now. Think about the VHS or the audio cassette, where are they now? So while virtual reality lingers around as computing systems and image capture improves, the practical applications of VR are severely limited.

Gaming, the one application that most people believed that VR would be great for, has been a major failure. There is some value in the ability for people to share experiences online via VR, but thus far it hasn’t been a priority for developers. The main practical use for VR, which is not entertainment, but education, hasn’t seen enough of a push to be a viable solution. So, while we’re not saying to give up on VR as a technology just yet, the lack of excitement over a technology that should have (or at the very least could have) been so transformative, is a complete disappointment up until this point.

You know what technology has taken off? The Internet. At KB Technologies, we provide a lot of useful and educational IT articles at our blog. Visit us today at https://www.kb-it.com/ .