From wearables to apps to self-sterilizing keyboards, technology is helping to make lives easier and more enjoyable. We've compiled a list of some cool (and innovative) technology trends to look out for.
Wearables!
Fashionable yet functional, the wearable tech craze has just begun and it's not going to slow down anytime soon.
From glasses to watches to baby monitors, these gadgets can do anything from track your daily fitness activities to monitor your baby’s sleeping patterns.
- Liquid Image Co® is a leading Action Camera manufacturer and the developers of the first in-goggle camera with the lens mounted at eye level, allowing for True POV video capture. The Apex HD+ is a Full HD Video Snow Goggle with WiFi for live streaming to Smartphones and Tablets. With the camera lens positioned just above the eyes, the Apex captures True POV footage of everything you see. (pictured above)
- Intel unveiled a headset nicknamed “Jarvis” that is supposed to act like a personal assistant.
- Razer’s Nabu is a smartband health tracker that reports calories burned, steps taken and hours slept, among other things.
- A SmartOne infant sleep monitor fits into a chest pocket and sends information and active alerts ontemperature, baby orientation, and breathing to a parent's mobile device.
- The Quardiocore heart monitor can send the electrocardiogram to a smartphone and the EKG can be forwarded to a physician for remote heart monitoring.
- YEI Technology's PrioVR, a virtual reality gaming accessory, allows sensors on the player to translate movement into the game.
Rumor has it that Google is coming out with a watch that has it all! Rather than having to pull out your smartphone or tablet for frequent email, text and social media updates, you’ll glance at your watch.
Check out more wearable technology at http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/wearable-technology-ces-2014/.
Apps
Technology companies are constantly developing new apps to make our lives easier. There’s literally an app for everything!
Five years ago, Apple only offered 500 apps for download on its brand new App Store on iTunes. As of October 2013, Apple announced 1 million apps in its App Store.
Top Apps of 2014 from CBS News
- Beautified is an app that offers discounted spa services and helps you find and book same-day beauty appointments.
- Hotel Tonight is an app that features last-minute hotel deals.
- Groupon Reserve gets you 20 to 40 percent off last-minute dinner reservations.
- TodayTix is a new app that gets you up to 50 percent off theater tickets.
Self-sterilizing Keyboards
Forget all the Lysol and hand sanitizer! The ultra-modern UVLightBoard zaps bacteria from its surface as you type.
Smart TVs getting smarter
Nowadays more and more customers expect the ability to use Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video and their web browser via their televisions. As a result, television manufactures are working harder and harder to make their TVs even smarter.
Smart TV shipments are expected to reach 123 million in 2014 – up from about 84 million in 2012.
3D Printing
The world has already seen some amazing things from 3D printing. However, from the looks of things it’s only the tip of the iceberg.
It was once considered a letter in the English language. The Chinese call it a little mouse, Danes & Swedes call it 'elephant's trunk', Germans a spider monkey, and Italians a snail. Israelis pronounce it 'strudels' and the Czechs say 'rollmops’. What is it?
The @ sign!
While in the English language, @ is now referred to as the "at sign," other countries have different names for the symbol (commonly associated with either food or animals – see list below for more names for the @ sign).
But by modern standards, the @ symbol is now commonly used and accepted around the world in e-mail transmissions/emails and Twitter handles. But today’s definition of @ wasn’t recognized until 1972, when Ray Tomlinson sent the first electronic message (e-mail) using the @ symbol to denote sending message from one location (computer) to another location (computer) -- user-name@name-of-the-computer.
But before the @ sign became what we know it today, the sign has a long and ambiguous history.
One theory states that medieval monks looking for shortcuts while copying manuscripts changed the Latin word for “toward” (ad) to “a” with the back part of the “d” as a tail to shorten the amount of pen strokes (resulting in the @ sign).
Other linguists will argue that the @ symbol is a more recent development, appearing sometime in the 18th century as a symbol used in commerce to indicate price per unit, signifying “at the rate of.” For example, 10 pigs @ $1.
In 2000, documents were discovered from the 14th century that showed the @ sign to indicate a measure of quantity.
Its true origin is still up for debate. Today, the @ sign has been inducted into the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, which said its modern use as an example of “elegance, economy, intellectual transparency, and a sense of the possible future directions that are embedded in the arts of our time.”
William F. Allman (September 2012). The Accidental History of the @ Symbol. Retrieved from
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-accidental-history-of-the-symbol-18054936/#b3Eg3aO0SIi7RXtx.99.
Meanings Around the World for @
- Afrikaans - In South Africa, it is called aapstert, meaning "moneky's tail"
- The Arabic word for @ is fi, the Arabic translation of atBosnian, Croatian and Serbian - In these countries, it is referred to as the "Crazy I"
- Cantonese - In Hong Kong it is generally referred to as "the at sign," just as in England and America
- Catalan - In Catalonia, it is called arrova, a unit of weight
- Czech - In the Czech Republic, it is called zavinac, meaning "rollmop," or "pickled herring"
- Danish - It is called alfa-tegn, meaning "alpha-sign" or snabel-a, meaning "elephant's trunk" or grisehale, meaning "pig's tail"
- Dutch - Since English is prominent in the Netherlands, the English "at" is commonly used. However, the Dutch also call it apestaart, meaning monkey's tail," apestaartje, meaning "little monkey's tail" or slingeraap, meaning "swinging monkey"
- French - In France, it is called arobase the name of the symbol. It is also referred to as un a commercial, meaning "business a", a enroule, meaning "coiled a", and sometimes escargot, meaning "snail" or petit escargot, meaning "little snail"
- German - In Germany, it is called Affenschwanz, meaning "monkey's tail" or Klammeraffe, meaning "hanging monkey"
- Greek - In Greece, it is called papaki, meaning "little duck"
- Hebrew - It is shablul or shablool, meaning "snail" or a shtrudl, meaning "strudel"
- Hungarian - In Hungary, it is called a kukac, meaning "worm" or "maggot"
- Italian - In Italy it is called chiocciola, meaning "snail" and a commerciale, meaning "business a"
- Japanese - In Japan, it is called atto maaku, meaning "at mark"
- Mandarin Chinese - In Taiwan it is called xiao lao-shu, meaning "little mouse," lao shu-hao, meaning "mouse sign," at-hao, meaning "at sign" or lao shu-hao, meaning "mouse sign"
- Norwegian - In Norway, it is called either grisehale, meaning "pig's tail" or kro/llalfa, meaning "curly alpha." In academia, the English term "at" is widely used
- Polish - In Poland, it is called malpa, meaning "monkey." It is also called kotek, meaning "little cat" and ucho s'wini, meaning "pig's ear"
- Portuguese - In Portugal it is called arroba, a unit of weight
- Romanian - In Romania, it is called la, a direct translation of English "at"
- Russian - Russians officially call it a kommercheskoe, meaning "commercial a", but it is usually called sobachka, meaning "little dog"
- Spanish -- Like in Portugal, in Spain it is called arroba, a unit of weight
- Swedish - The official term in Sweden is snabel-a, meaning "trunk-a," or "a with an elephant's trunk"
- Thai - There is no official word for it in Thai, but it is often called ai tua yiukyiu, meaning "the wiggling worm-like character"
- Turkish - In Turkey, most e-mailers call it kulak, meaning "ear"
