Share The Hurley Edition:

There’s a great article from the CBC on the newest Ford E-Bikes, which were released at Ford’s annual conference. The video that’s included shows a flexible line of E-Bikes that may be a part of what Ford is calling a ‘multi modal’ commute. Frankly, I would have liked to have seen a longer video and more of the bikes in action. 

If I could ride a bike, it’d be right up there, wanting to try these babies out! They have options for city, road, and mountain biking with these E-Bikes that also run in tandem with specific software that can give you audible directions to where you are going so you aren’t required to look away from the road or trail. As well, there are warnings that tell you if a vehicle is approaching from behind or if there are hazards up ahead, such as pot holes or other obstructions. 

Overall, I think Ford is right on the money with these bikes. The only thing that Ford might have done wrong with them is being a little too ahead of the curve. I think these are going to become widely adopted, the question is only a matter of when. 

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Google Glass “pane-fully” dropped and shattered. What will they do with all the pieces?

If you scroll back a few entries you’ll find a post I wrote aboutGoogle Glass and how I didn’t think it would ever see the light of day as a released product. Then, lo and behold, I see this post from TechCrunch reporting this very thing. Now it would be easy for me to proclaim myself a genius with the foresight of a shaman, but the truth of three master is that there is much more to the story than Google Glass failing to become a product. 

Gone….for now…

While Glass won’t become a product, there is still a lot of technology that went into the making of the product. Where that technology goes will be vital to future development of mobile / wearable technology at Google. I want to refer to another post about Glass and how it’s not the end of the product or the platform. PC World has a great post about the future of Glass being in the working environment rather than for the general consumer. “Surgeons and engineers are especially interested in using the product” the post says. Apparently surgeons have used it to record surgeries for distance learning and engineers and technicians are keen to use the product while in a tight space or a dark space to access maintenance or repair manuals. Personally, I could see that application working very well if they were to pair the Google Glass model with safety glasses. I could see that working for many tradesmen such as mechanics, electricians, plumbers, and computer hardware technicians working in server bays in some God-forsaken closet or hole in the wall, just to name a few.

So while I may have predicted that Google Glass would not make it as a product, I was not so accurate on the possible uses for Google Glass other than a mass consumer product. If Tony Fadell can take it and guide it toward a niche market that will be able to sustain itself, it could be a viable product. Mr. Fadell is definitely the right person for the job, as the founder of Nest, the company behind the Nest Thermostats and Nest Smoke / Carbon Monoxide detectors. After Google bought the company recently, they have appointed him to be in charge of the division that Glass is now a part of.

If there is a chance to pick up the pieces and make something of the Glass, it is with Mr. Fadell. Who knows? He might just come up with a work of art.

What do you think? Will there be a second life for Google Glass, or a use for the technology developed for it? Comments below.

Over to you.

~ todd

Gate A-4

I saw this post on another site, the brilliant Live & Learn by David Kanigan, a fellow Canadian. I have to say, not only is this post very indicative of what his blog is like, his blog is very inspiring to me as I am trying to reboot, restyle, and reset, I guess.

Thank you David for a wonderful blog and thank you to Naomi Shihab Nye who is the author of this excellent post.

I hope you all enjoy this as much as I do.

~ todd

Live & Learn

Gate A-4 By Naomi Shihab Nye:

Wandering around the Albuquerque Airport Terminal, after learning my flight had been delayed four hours, I heard an announcement: “If anyone in the vicinity of Gate A-4 understands any Arabic, please come to the gate immediately.” Well— one pauses these days. Gate A-4 was my own gate. I went there.

An older woman in full traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing. “Help,” said the flight agent. “Talk to her . What is her problem? We told her the flight was going to be late and she did this.”

I stooped to put my arm around the woman and spoke haltingly. “Shu-dow-a, shu-bid-uck, habibti? Stani schway, min fadlick, shu-bit-se-wee?” The minute she heard any words she knew, however poorly used, she stopped crying. She thought the flight had been cancelled entirely. She needed to be…

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