Category: Baby Boomers

People born between 1946 and 1964

October Update

Trick or Treat is just around the corner and I know where I’ll be going: (guess: it’s my favorite electronics store…). Why? ‘Cause EVERYBODY’S releasing digital devices that we “talk to” rather than “type to”! So, I can say “Hey Google, Trick or Treat”. (Try it. It response is hilarious!)

Technology has been toying with AI (artificial intelligence) for years however, it wasn’t until Amazon™ (WHO???) introduced us to Echo™/Alexa™ that we began to understand … we could Google anything or we could simply ask Alexa. The result will, most likely, be the same. Imagine: talking to your “computer” and telling it to “do” things for you. Things like “add eggs to my grocery list” or “play my workout music” or “remind me to pick up a Smartbulb” on my way home tonight” or … I trust you’re getting the picture!

I help folks gain confidence using digital devices (i.e. I teach them how to use computers and tablets, etc.) and I am at a crossroads: do I continue to teach them to interact via keyboard and mouse OR do I help them learn to “talk to” their “computer”?

Voice recognition has become so accurate and processors have become so fast that we can actually talk to our computers and accomplish most, if not all, the tasks we routinely do using a keyboard and mouse.

Amazon’s Echo™ and Google’s Assistant™ are leading the way HOWEVER, Apple™ (playing catchup) is introducing a speaker that includes a “musicologist” Follow this now: Apple is NOT positioning itself to compete with Amazon or Google on the “smart voice input device” platform. No, Apple is positioning itself to compete with Sonos and Bose on the high-end speaker front. But WAIT! Isn’t the “musicologist” Siri in different clothing? Doesn’t that mean I can ask my “musicologist” ANYTHING and NOT LIMIT interaction to music-related activities?! Hmmm, so Apple is positioning it’s smart assistant as a speaker and not as a smart assistant – even though it does/will do the same thing smart assistants do?! Gotta’ love marketing!

Not to be left in the dust, Sonos™ is introducing a smart speaker initially rumored to be on the Echo platform but also reported to be “intelligence independent” (my term) enabling it to interact with a number of intelligent assistants (think of one device capable of interacting with Echo or Google or Siri or Cortana, or …) And Microsoft™ is rumored to be working with Harman Kardon™ on a smart speaker.

We will all be like members of the Enterprise crew telling our computers what we want them to do for us:

“Computer, make an appointment for my haircut”

“On what day, Richard?”

“Tomorrow, around one in the afternoon, with my usual hairdresser”

“OK, Richard. Your appointment is made and I created a reminder for you an hour      prior. Is there anything else I can do for you at the moment?”

“No. We’re good, thanks”

That last bit of interaction “No. We’re good, thanks” is me speaking to my voice assistant (computer) as if it were an actual person. That’s a behavior called anthropomorphizing an object. (Think Easter Bunny)

We’ll, it’s time to go. Gotta’ teach a class today.

Hey Google, start the coffee, turn on the TV news, and tell me today’s weather forecast …

“OK, Richard …”

 

August Update

“TechTalk” is a bi-monthly gathering that I host to discuss all things techie that might be of value to the Baby Boomer generation. Today was our first August meeting and it was a winner!! We were introduced to “ELLI-Q” from Intuition Robotics.

“ELLI-Q™ is an active aging companion that keeps older adults active and engaged.”

Although NOT available to the public as yet, the company appears to have an excellent outreach program that introduces the concept and one of the original working prototypes to groups of older adults. These presentations take the form of a focus group. Our presenter, Danielle Ishak – User Experience Researcher – provided us with company background and then dove right into the gist of ELLI-Q stopping along the way to ask for questions and suggestions, likes and dislikes.

It’s a clever device that “emotes” with easily-interpreted gestures and sounds. She speaks, similar to Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Assistant, however she’s much more. Once “on-boarded”, ELLI-Q begins to “learn” her owner’s likes and dislikes and begins to – proactively – make suggestions for anything from playing music (“Shall I play Iron Butterfly’s In a gadda da vida?”) to playing games (“Hey! You’re going to be playing bridge with the girls this afternoon, would you like to practice for awhile?”).

She’ll also do all the routine things like reminding you to take your medications and to go for a walk and she’ll monitor your environment and your activity to be sure you’re safe. If she detects that something’s not right, she’ll alert whomever you have on her call list.

ELLI-Q is still in beta and the developers are working through kinks while adding new behaviors. And, they’re seeking the input of the folks they want ELLI-Q to live with: us!

Check ELLI-Q out: I’ve included the link above and another here.

July

What happened to June? Seems like I closed my eyes for a few minutes (cat nap) and June was gone! It didn’t seem any busier than usual: just quicker. Now, I’m a week into July and thinking the summer’s nearly half over … wait, no! There’s still half of summer left! THAT’S much better perspective!

So, how are YOU spending your summer? We retired folks spend it like we do the rest of the year:: doing whatever we want, whenever we want. Ah, retirement! Just keep busy so your muscles do contract and make moving around challenging. My WWW.Boomer.Life site is up and running. That’s my consulting venue. It’s a static site with information about me, the work I do, and how to contact me. Wait! Above I indicated that I am retired. True. However, one method I use to stay alert is to provide computer/digital device training and service. Nice to have a skill set that’s in demand!

I just posted a new product review: Amazon’s Echo Show. You can find it under the Product Review menu. Take a read and save a few dollars!

More later.

Take care of yourself and anyone special!!

June Update #

The Matrix is out of align! I haven’t found any “new” tech worth writing about and THAT’S troublesome.

Hmmm, well, maybe … Apple recently held its annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) whereupon 5600(±) developers descended upon Cupertino, CA to learn about all the new “stuff” Apple is soon to release. I can write about this here because I doubt any of my readers watched the event. My peeps dip a toe in the technological waters and most, infrequently (at first). So, while this is old news to the enthusiast, it’s NEW news to my peeps.

This year Apple presented a few surprises, the highlight of which (IMHO) was “HomePod”: a cylindrical speaker that pushes (reportedly) extraordinary sound into your space. Oh, and it has a built-in “musicologist” to assist you building playlists and providing information about artists, songs, albums, and collections. Oh, this “musicologist” just happens to be Siri, Apple’s voice-assistant a la Amazon Echo and Google Home Assistant. But, it’s a speaker first, musicologist second, and voice-activated computer third.

Interesting concept: rather than go head-to-head with Amazon or Google on the voice-interface of a smart device, go toe-to-toe with Sonos and bring wonderful wireless sound to and throughout your home. Apple wants to automate your home and that’s NOT necessarily a bad thing. HomePod will work with iHome and that’s developing nicely, thank you.

Unfortunately, Apple is late to that game and is playing catch-up HOWEVER, Apple IS Apple and that matters. They CAN COME LATE and still win (again, IMHO) simply because they ARE Apple. We love their devices. We pay their prices. And they know it.

All that being said, it IS a great looking device and reports indicate it sounds great as well! Release is announced as “sometime in December” (Merry Christmas everyone!)

Another interesting introduction was the iMac Pro. Apple finally took a shot at Microsoft’s Surface Studio and it just might get back some who left the fold of cult Mac and jumped to Surface Studio because of its great looks and specs. HOWEVER, the iMac Pro is enough to bring the lost souls back into the fold! Sleek, powerful and aimed squarely at the high-end graphics professional, this iMac hits all the right notes, checks all the right boxes, rings all the right bells … (OK, enough already…)

Finally, an undercurrent of technology that cannot be ignored: AI and machine learning. Apple seems to be doubling-down on AI development and it shows in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. For example, the camera app that, after snapping a photo of a Broadway musical ad in some magazine, will summon the Apple Pay app and ask if you want to purchase tickets and, if you do, for what date(s). Then it will open the calendar app and schedule the event for you. Siri might inquire whether or not you have transportation arranged to attend the event and, if not, ask if you;d like it to arrange some for you.

Extrapolate that interconnectedness … as apps begin to learn your routines and proactively schedule, inquire, and remind, Siri and your device(s) will become increasingly helpful. What a GREAT time to be alive. The technology just keeps getting better and better and more and more helpful!

More on all this later!

 

February Update #2

Home automation, communication protocols, and devices

Finishing my last blog, I promised to discuss home automation in my next blog. Let’s do that now!

What is “home automation”? Why would I (or you) want it? What does it require and what does it cost? (I’m certain that you have additional questions! Feel free to email them to me and I’ll do my best to answer them quickly as possible.)

Home automation can be as simple as adding an automatic garage door opener to your home or as complex as adding smart device-controlled lighting, access, irrigation, security systems, and more! (There are refrigerators available today that have smart tablets inserted into the door to enable all the functions of a tablet [watching videos, listening to music, leaving notes for family members] and including enabling you to look inside the ‘fridge, via internally mounted video cameras, to quite literally “see” what other groceries you might need. Oh, to be more clear, I am referring to “see” what’s inside the ‘fridge while you’re in the grocery store using your smart phone as your viewer. Forget making a shopping list: just grab your smart phone and go. You can peek inside from your grocery store’s “Aisle 12.”)

Most of us aren’t ready for the digital refrigerator however, many of us might be ready to try digital lighting. I mentioned in my previous post that I recently installed LED “can” lights in my kitchen. There are ten lights twenty feet up. I do not want to change any more lightbulbs. (I don’t like heights and there’s a TALL ladder required to get up there.) These LEDs last for approximately ten years (or more) so I’m OK with the slightly higher price they command. And, they’re BRIGHT! (My wife, Georgi, said she could probably get a suntan while working in the kitchen. Hmmmmm…)

We want to control the brightness of the lights, so we had a smart dimmer switch installed. “Smart?”, you ask. Well, a regular dimmer requires walking over to the switch, turning it on and adjusting to the brightness desired for the moment. A smart dimmer, however, “talks” to my smart hub which, in turn, works with my Amazon Echo and Google Home Assistant. I don’t need to flip a switch, I tell Echo “Alexa [Echo’s ‘wake’ word], turn on kitchen lights!” Echo replies “OK!” and turns the lights on! I also installed some smart light bulbs that include speakers. They also work by talking to my smarthub through my smart home device (or my smart phone or tablet).

Time to get “tech-y”. Home automation requires connectivity. Many of us have wifi throughout our home. Some fo these devices can be used via wifi HOWEVER wifi is a finite amount of signal. Each device I connect to my wifi network uses a portion of the available signal and they compete for that signal. I might be working on a computer and on the Internet while my wife is watching a movie on Netflix™. My security system has four, motion-sensing cameras. If they get “awakened”, they too need some signal. Every working wifi device demands a share and each working device reduces the amount of signal each device can have. Wifi is not a great method for installing home automation devices. What then?

Bluetooth™, z-wave™, zigbee™, insteon™, thread™, and Apple Home Kit™ are alternatives to wifi to connect devices for home automation. Remember the introduction and subsequent wars of videotape home players? There were two players: Sony BetaMax™ and VHS. They fought. Ultimately VHS survived and Beta threw in the towel and faded away. That’s what is occurring now with home automation and wifi alternatives. Next blog, I’ll explain the differences among the strongest players.

The questions I asked at the beginning of this blog were: What is “home automation”? Why would I (or you) want it? What does it require and what does it cost? Here are the short answers. Home automation is connecting as many devices as you want to do as many things as you want with as little effort as you want. Why would I want it? Because technology is fun! Because connecting things to work automatically is fun (and can be VERY convenient). What does it require and what does it cost? It requires a smart hub and connectors. Smart hubs cost around $100.00. Devices range from $25.00 to a couple hundred depending upon what devices you want.

And, to complicate matters a bit further, home automation includes home security. There are many home security systems on the market. Some cost a few hundred dollars and are DIY installations and monitoring and others are “free” (via home security monitoring services) and carry a monthly fee that can range from $30.00 to more than $100.00.

What would you like to automate in your home? Or, why wouldn’t you want to automate at home? email me and let’s begin the conversation!

(Disclaimer: as always, I am in no way compensated for the opinions expressed herein. I earn no commissions. I am not paid nor sponsored by any of the item manufacturers, resellers or services. My blog is entirely my opinion for you to take with how ever many grains of salt you choose! Enjoy!)