Self Driving Cars

Volvo is aiming to be the first car maker to bring self-driving vehicles to the public. To do so, it has partnered with Sweden to bring 100 self-driving Volvos to the streets of its second-largest city, Gothenburg. The project has a budget of $76.2 million and will begin in 2014. The cars — which use a set of cameras, GPS data and motion sensors to avoid collisions — are set to have a maximum speed of 43.5 miles per hour. By comparison, Nissan plans to have its self-driving models completed by 2020. Google might want to jump on getting more of their cars to the public and see how that goes. Internet phone services might also be a plus when people are considering these cars. There is also going to be a great opportunity for application development with these cars. What are your thoughts about the cars that can drive themselves? We are not quite at the level of artificial intelligence but thoughts of Skynet come to mind. Also, creating a smart car means creating more problems as far as hacking goes. If someone wanted to gain control over a device, what better thing than a car that weighs several tons?

What is Google Building?

San Francisco’s mayor says he doesn’t know what it is. Police say it’s not their jurisdiction. And government inspectors are sworn to secrecy. Google is erecting a four-story structure in the heart of the San Francisco Bay but is managing to conceal its purpose by constructing it on docked barges instead of on land, where city building permits and public plans are mandatory. Construction became obvious a few weeks ago. It seems like Google is venturing out from software development and into something that is yet to be unveiled. Some source have pointed out that it could be a data center or a store to sell Google products. Either way they will need to let the public know what it is because it could backfire on them since the Bay area is very environmentally sensitive. Google has dodged public scrutiny by essentially constructing a vessel, not a building. Thus it doesn’t need permits from San Francisco, a city with copious inspection and paperwork requirements for builders. How do you feel about this mystery barge?

Separating Data

FreedomPop launched one of the country’s first all IP mobile services this month. Consequently, it has to deal with an interesting problem facing all future IP mobile operators: If all your traffic is running over the same data connection, how do you distinguish between voice, SMS and internet traffic so you can charge accordingly? The company is solving that problem by working with Telespree, which provides a cloud-based monetization service for carriers. Basically Telespree is picking apart all of the CDMA and WiMAX (and eventually LTE) data traffic that traverses FreedomPop’s phones. That way it knows not to count a VoIP call or an IP SMS message against a customer bucket of megabytes. Telespree can also track that voice and data traffic – translating kilobytes into minutes and messages consumed – which allows customers to monitor their data, voice and SMS usage. As an all VoIP provider, FreedomPop can layer things like video chat, group messaging and conference calling on top of standard voice and messaging much more easily than any carrier.

Primitive Uses of Technology

Have you ever owned a $600 three inch mirror? Of course you do, just check your pocket. Thanks to the front facing camera, the initial use being video chatting, we now have an efficient way to check if there is something in our teeth. Be honest, how many times have you actually used that camera for video conferencing? Now on to voicemails and the incredible inefficiency of them. It would just be faster to send a text message or an email than go through the whole process of leaving it and the other person taking the time to listen to it. Every single web site that we go to is also very insistent that we pick unique passwords each time. Which means to use the Internet as directed, we're required to remember dozens of unique, mixed-case, symbol-containing gibber-words, a feat that is more or less impossible for our caveman brains to manage. So we end up reusing the passwords. We all do it, do not deny it, because otherwise there would not be all those wonderful articles out about it. Think about it.

Sleep Can be a Good Thing

A new technique makes it possible to sleep away your fears. The research, which was published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, showed for the first time that the power of emotional memories — specifically, fearful ones — can be weakened with sleep-based tactics, which offers hope that something as simple as a good night's slumber may reduce phobias and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The new study suggests we may be able to hack this mechanism to fight troubling memories — and get closer to one day sleeping them off. This idea might look good on paper but not so much in practice. Clearly there may need to be more research is the way of PTSD and other phobias such as video conferencing or talking in front of an audience. Another question to be asked here is if people are able to get a good night's sleep in the first place.

Global Brain

The internet has changed the way people interact, this is no secret. Just look at internet phones and social networks. For the large majority of time all of the human bands, tribes, chiefdoms, kingdoms, etc. were completely unaware of the actual extent and dispersion of all other humans on the planet. Today we are not only aware of each other, but we are able to build and maintain social groups with each other regardless of geography. As long as you have access to the Internet, you have access to almost everything the human mind has produced. What an amazing thought. This leads me to the next question: where is the internet going to be in the next couple years or decades? The more information that it has, it will be able to model and eventually predict events or behaviors. This is taking intelligence to a completely new level.

Capture Happiness

Scientists are increasingly finding ways to use mobile technology to capture snapshots of our daily behaviors and mindsets. In the latest demonstration of such, researchers at Princeton University have found that cell phones can be useful tools in recording our dips and peaks in happiness in relation to our different environments.Interestingly enough, context matters a lot in relation to the question of whether someone is happy at that particular moment. Mobile applications have definitely expanded into new territory and there have been great new uses found for it. Have you asked yourself if you are happy lately? Maybe this weekend might be a great time to just relax and even reflect. Just because summer is coming to an end does not mean that you need to get in a slump. There are so many things to look forward to. My closest friend has always told me that you can't just live a little, you have to make sure that you live a lot.

Connecting the Disconnected

It seems like a great idea: making sure that more people in the world have access to affordable internet. Some see these proposals as a way to make information available to those in unserved regions at an affordable cost. Others, like Bill Gates Jr., have been less enthusiastic, saying that there are more pressing immediate problems, such as ending malaria and other diseases of poverty. With the internet being able to reach those areas, there might be a better chance and way to deal with the other pressing issues such as diseases and poverty. This could be an example of crowd sourcing in order to solve the issues. Wireless technology has allowed countries to leapfrog over cumbersome hard-wire technology and move more quickly toward communications systems that serve more people; and mobile phones make it possible for people to communicate more easily than ever before. Mobile software development has also been able to keep up with the developing countries to bypass the hardware stages.

Disrupting the TV

The television has come a long way in the past decades but as of late, it has stalled to some degree and needs some serious changes. 3D televisions as well as those that are connected with internet phones have been around but not really caught on. this disruption will be led by the second screen, specifically by integrating devices like tablets and smartphones into the TV experience. This makes sense when you understand that the TV is generally a shared screen in a communal setting. Therefore, the TV is likely the wrong screen to deliver “personal” or “individualized” experiences. Where this gets exciting is when the communal and individual TV experiences get integrated together. For example, while watching a football game on the big screen with friends, I can use my tablet or smartphone in conjunction with the game to see elements personalized to me: things like camera angles, replays, relevant fantasy league data or other stats of interest to me — not others in the room. What do you think about the direction TV is headed?

Play Anywhere Gaming

These days everything is in the cloud, even gaming. This might mean that games can be stopped on a console and then continued on a PC. One of the most recent changes in gaming is the switch to x86 architecture by both Microsoft and Sony for their next game consoles. This is the same system architecture found on nearly every laptop and desktop PC, which means that console games and PC games will share much of the same code. All of the elements that make up a game now can move between these platforms with very little modification. To enable cross-platform gaming, Microsoft would have to provide APIs to game developers, who would then be able to store saved game information on Microsoft’s servers. Robison doesn’t think this would be very difficult to do because of all the work Microsoft has already put into making Xbox Live secure and stable. The only question that is left standing is if there will be a high demand for these types of games. What are you thoughts on the cloud and cross-platform gaming?

Phone Services Above the Rest

RingCentral is one of the best internet phone companies out on the market but they did not get there alone. They rely on AB Soft to take care of all the IT software management. Some of the features that comes out of the application development is auto call recording, call park and intercom. Available on all Office Unlimited plans, automatic call recording enables you to record all inbound and outbound calls on your RingCentral Office account. Soon, auto call recording will work for incoming department calls (currently, it only supports calls to individual extensions). One of RingCentral’s newest features, Call Park allows inbound calls to be “parked” in the cloud and then picked up by another extension. It makes call management easier than ever. Work in an open-plan office or have alternate facilities outside your main office? Intercom is a great way to voice-message colleagues quickly. And it works perfectly with Call Park – you can announce parked calls to your colleagues in a snap. Make sure to check out all of their other improved features in the free trials.

Dumb Criminals

Technology has a way of creeping up on you when you least expect it or even want it, especially when it is mistakes with technology that do not let people get away with something they decided to do that was illegal. Take the first example. A teen broke into a car and stole several items while accidentally leaving his phone behind. The first mistake was that he left it. The second is that it probably did not have a passcode that protects the phone services. Anyway, the victim ended up calling the mother of the thief using the phone. Most of us would rather be in trouble with law enforcement. And now the second example. A man was dumped by his girlfriend so he decided to win her back by getting her some flowers. The problem was that he did not have enough money for them so he stole them from a flower shop on the one time that a news crew was filming in front of that shop. Needless to say, he was caught and arrested, despite his poignant insistence that he'd only stolen the flowers that would've surely saved his relationship because he didn't have the money to pay for them.

Cellphone Info

The federal courts ruled that officials need only a court order and not a more direct search warrant in order to get cellphone and communication services records to track a person. Apparently, such data is a business record that belongs to the cellphone provider. It also said its collection by authorities does not have to meet a probable cause standard as outlined under the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unlawful search and seizure and requires a search warrant. The appeals court said under the Stored Communications Act, authorities have the option of obtaining a court order — which has a lower legal standard than a search warrant. With a court order, authorities only have to demonstrate there are “reasonable grounds” to believe the information would be relevant to an investigation. If we go back to the Snowden fiasco and really think about it, did we not already assume that people are very track-able with their cellphones and other gadgets? Do you know of anyone that is truly off the grid?

Smile

It is such a simple gesture but most of usually do not recognize the significance of it. First of all if you are in a bad mood, you can trick your brain into thinking that you are happy by using the muscles that you use to smile. Of course this does not work in all cases but definitely worth a try. Research has shown that cracking a smile and laughing is good for the soul. Another great way to try to smile is to pick up that communication device and give your best friend a call. There is nothing quite like hearing a familiar voice on the other end. Texting or emailing does not count. When all else fails, pick up a pen and paper and write it down, whatever is on your mind. It does not even have to make sense, just write. Cheers!

Mobile Security

There might’ve been a time when you weren’t overly worried about your mobile devices getting infected by malware – after all, viruses and spyware were a threat mostly to computers. But as smartphones and tablets become increasingly popular, so do threats that target mobile devices exclusively. There are plenty of app developments that is targeted for malware. Though it’s not just Android. If you have a mobile device, you need to know how malware is targeting it and what you can do about it. If malware sneaks on to your phone or tablet, it can install adware, activate SMS Trojans that send out expensive text messages from your phone without you knowing, and even let others spy on your emails, texts and web browsing. Finally, after downloading and installing your anti-malware app, don’t forget to scan your mobile device  regularly. Schedule a scan once a week or more if you want to make sure your device is safe and that there are no threats hiding in the recesses of your phone or tablet, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Emotion Detecting

This is hard enough for people let alone machines to be able to do it yet software development is having a crack at it. Led by computer scientists at the University of Rochester in New York. The software doesn't need to gather information about what is actually being said; it just analyzes the tone of voice. It accurately pinpoints emotions — including sadness, happiness, fear and disgust — 81 percent of the time in people whose voices it has previously analyzed. As with any software that uses data gathered from users, it can be used for fraud and scams. While it works well for people for whom it has received "training data" — samples of a person's voice that are labeled with the correct emotion — it's much less accurate at identifying emotions in a new person's voice. For people who are new to the software, it is able to detect the correct emotion 31 percent of the time. It wouldn't be practical to get training data from each person who would interact with the software, however. Researchers would have to catch recordings of people in the midst of talking angrily, happily and with every other emotion. Heinzelman wants to make a program that uses a limited set of training data to identify anybody's emotions.

Look Past the Limits

As far as New Years resolutions go, is inspiring yourself and your mind on the list? I bet you did not even think about it. To be able to live to the fullest, we need to understand how our most important asset even works. The brain is a complicated organ and we have not even begun to understand just how complex it is and the depth of what it can do. Without it we cannot function, so it is amazing just how many people go about their lives just ignoring and not cultivating it. So you may be asking just how it is possible to do so. No amount of mobile application development is going to replace the actual work that you would have to do to inspire your mind. Take care of stress. Avoid dulling routine. Do something creative every day. Read poetry, spiritual material or anything else that makes you feel uplifted. Take time to be in nature. Bond with another person who is heartwarming. Pay attention to being happy. Make sure you take time every day by yourself to relax, meditate and self-reflect. Deal with negative emotions like anger and anxiety. Focus on activity that makes you feel fulfilled. Give of yourself. Follow a personal vision. Attach yourself to a cause that is bigger than you are. Take the risk to love and be loved. And the way that people ignore their minds: Get set in your ways. Don't look beyond your opinions, likes and dislikes. Isolate yourself from others. Take relationships for granted. Reconcile yourself to going downhill as you age. Look upon the past as the best time of your life. Forget about having ideals. Act on selfish impulses. Don't examine what makes you tick. Give in to anger and anxiety. Let life take care of itself. Go along to get along. Assume that you are automatically right. Avoid anything new or challenging. Put up with stress. Take no emotional risks. Distract yourself with mindless diversions like watching sports for hours on end. The first step in forming a better relationship with your brain is to realize that you have a relationship. Once you realize this, you can choose to pay attention to the relationship and nurture it. You are in on a secret that escapes countless people. Take advantage of it.

Perks of a VoIP System

With IP telephony, you can instantly get a phone number that fits your business along with business mobile applications. The phone number will serve as the front door to your business and can be customized accordingly. You can choose from a toll free number, vanity number or a local area code number, whichever fits your business needs best. AB Soft delivers all the power of a sophisticated phone system without the expense of buying extra hardware. They will offer the best support and customer service that you can find. It's ideal for small businesses, mobile professionals and home offices. With your business number you can answer calls on your mobile phone ,home phone, office phone or even your computer. If you have a team, you can route some of the calls to any member of your team regardless of their location and use an automated attendant that gives them the choice to choose who they need to speak to. Either way, by going with a VoIP system, you will significantly improve the way your business operates.

Benefits of IP Telephony

Many people are seeing the benefits that AB Soft and their partner BVG Software group brings to a company. Here is what the CTO of RingCentral had to say:

"We had chosen BVG Software Group to partner with us in the strategically important project for business development and it turned out to be the right decision.“RingCentral” BVG Software Group  team showed great knowledge of the industry as well as the global market, high motivation and interest in the results of implementation. With deep expertise, as well as its own developments, experts in BVG Software Group demonstrated a willingness and ability to quickly address new requirements and goals of the business, which we put forward and implemented them in the system. This allowed us to get the IT and IP telephony solution that best adapted to the specific needs of our company. It is also great to know that the team will be there for us if there are any issues or questions about the system."

Be Happy Be Healthy

As we enter the new year and hit the ground running, it can always be good to look back on the year that was and learn a thing or two from the things that we did right and the mistakes that were made. Entrepreneurs experience more worry and stress than other workers, but they also report more positive experiences on the job, Gallup found in 2012. In particular, entrepreneurs are more optimistic and more likely to report that they learned something new or felt enjoyment in the past workday. Entrepreneurs are less likely to have chronic diagnoses, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. They also are much less likely to be obese than other workers. This goes the same for people who work on IT projects such as web development where creativity and a lot of decision making is done. Heading back to work after the weekend is easy for employees who like their jobs, but it's a much more jarring transition for those who don't. Gallup found that employees who are disengaged at work experience a significant slump in mood when going from weekends to weekdays. In another finding, actively engaged workers who are enthusiastic about their work are unfazed by long commute times, which otherwise can be a drag on happiness.