Seeing A Happy New Year In Tech

Happy New Year! As we finish up 2014 and go into a new year of tech, I’m preparing to make my annual trek to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) for a look at what’s in store for the coming year. So far, it’s looking like the show will be focused on drones, 3- D printing, driverless vehicles and Internet content creation.

A big focus will be the latest in wearables/digital health. Since we’re becoming more health conscious, these can track your health condition so you can provide the info to your physician.

I’m also expecting to see the latest in 4K (ultra HD) with TVs, cameras and media players.
I’m also anticipating a ton of robotics, particularly catering to injured/elderly folks.
Additionally, 10 of the largest car companies will be showcasing their technology, and there will be a whole section featuring the Internet of things, which will be sensor technologies such as sprinklers that can sense when the ground is wet, etc.

Other than the announcements at CES, the much anticipated Apple Watch is expected to be the buzz sometime in the first quarter of 2015.

The biggest question is if Apple Watch can be the huge catalyst to make smart watches more mainstream. With wearables becoming more and more popular, we shall see …

Google’s smart contact lens project will progress throughout 2015. It already is partnering with Novartis/Alcon to make a smart contact lens that measures glucose levels in tears for diabetes patients. The contact lens will talk to an app on your phone to track levels, so you can share with your doctor.

Google also may further expand Google Glass with its partnership with Intel and Luxottica (makers of premium glasses frames for Ray- Ban, Oakley and Persols). With those frames, it certainly will look better on you than those first-generation Google Glass frames.

And finally, Microsoft plans to release Windows 10, which is supposed to be the first step in a whole new generation of Windows. It’s meant to serve across a breadth of devices, not just your computer and phone. We’re talking servers in enterprise data centers to the Internet of Things to touch/pens — which means future Windows 10 capable devices will range from devices with 4-inch screens to 80-inch screens to absolutely no screens.

Overall, we have a boatload to look forward to in the tech world for 2015!


Click Chick’s Mobile App of the Week: Happy New Year 2015 Greetings

Happy New Year!

If you missed the bus on sending out Christmas cards, it’s not too late to send New Year’s greetings.

In our digital world, electronic greetings are the way to go, especially if you’re trying to be paperless. This app makes it easy to send greeting cards to your loved ones via text messages, online or email.

There are various choices to add charm to your new year: greeting cards, predesigned New Year’s cards and quotes.

I prefer to send these via text, but of course email or online works as well.

The best thing is it’s free, and you’ll be able to hit all your contacts simultaneously.