Google Maps has transformed the way that we navigate the world, make decisions, and think about our privacy in the 17 years since its launch. Here’s an inside look at how it works and what’s next.
Tag Archives: Apps
Elderly Health Apps: Apple iPhone Fall Prevention
CES 2021 Products: ‘BioLite Smokeless Fire Pit’ (Video)
Jeff Bakalar speaks with BioLite, a company that has invented a smart firepit that actually lets you adjust the intensity of the flame and reduces smoke. The camping-focused device also has a full line of cooking accessories and can burn charcoal or wood. And yeah, it can charge your phone too.
FirePit plus all its accessories in one awesome bundle. The BioLite FirePit is an award-winning smokeless firepit that burns standard firewood or charcoal depending on your needs. Patented airflow system injects oxygen to burn off smoke before it has a chance to escape the fire while the X-Ray Mesh body gives you a full view into your flames. Included grill grate works with charcoal to transform your pit into a hibachi-style grill.
Health: ‘CommonPass’ Smartphone App Confirms Covid-19 Vaccinations
In the coming weeks, major airlines including United, JetBlue and Lufthansa plan to introduce a health passport app, called CommonPass, that aims to verify passengers’ virus test results — and soon, vaccinations. The app will then issue confirmation codes enabling passengers to board certain international flights. It is just the start of a push for digital Covid-19 credentials that could soon be embraced by employers, schools, summer camps and entertainment venues.
The advent of electronic vaccination credentials could have a profound effect on efforts to control the coronavirus and restore the economy. They could prompt more employers and college campuses to reopen. They may also give some consumers peace of mind, developers say, by creating an easy way for movie theaters, cruise ships and sports arenas to admit only those with documented coronavirus vaccinations.
The CommonPass, IBM and Clear apps, for instance, allow users to download their virus test results — and soon their vaccinations — to their smartphones. The apps can then check the medical data and generate unique confirmation codes that users can show at airports or other locations to confirm their health status.
But the health passes do not share specific details — like where and when a user was tested — with airlines or employers, developers said. The QR codes, they said, act merely as a kind of green light, clearing users for entry.
Technology:’The Future Of Mobile Voting’ (WSJ)
The U.S. is holding the general election during a pandemic. Many voters are eager to vote by mail, while others remain wary of mail-in ballots. Just about everyone longs for a faster, more secure method to cast their vote without exposing themselves to SARS CoV 2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
Many wonder why, if we do everything else on our phones, including banking, we can’t vote with them. Some communities already tried blockchain assisted mobile voting but with mixed results. Many academics are stridently opposed to mobile voting. This episode will consider whether new technologies can help us find a more secure way to vote.
Urban Design: “The Future Of Cities” (WSJ Video)
The coronavirus pandemic could have a lasting impact on city life. WSJ’s Jaden Urbi explores how the ways we work, shop and play are changing as urban designers refocus on health, tech and open spaces.
Illustration: Zoë Soriano
Health & Consumers: “How Coronavirus Is Changing Grocery Shopping” (WSJ)
Will the coronavirus pandemic lead to long-term changes in how we shop for food? To better understand the challenges facing grocery stores, WSJ’s Alexander Hotz spoke with an industry insider, a store owner and a Walmart executive.
Future Of Pet Care: “My Virtual Veterinarian” – Smartphone Video And Chat Appointments App
My Virtual Veterinarian connects pet parents with veterinarians for video and chat appointments. Through our platform, pet parents can access their primary veterinarian, or find a different veterinarian who is available for virtual veterinary appointments.
Future Of Travel: Google Maps Offers The World (At 100% Discount Pricing)
From a New York Times article (March 24, 2020):
What I find particularly seductive about Google Street View is that it purports to be a very objective document of our world. It is simply the product of a car (or a motorbike or a hiker) driving down a street taking pictures. But, of course, it is far from an objective document. Humans get in the way, as they always do, filling each scene with stories.
There is something tantalizing about being there but not being there, about being everywhere and nowhere at once. The geospatial distance leaves us wanting, hungry for more. I’m enamored with the glitchiness of these human landscapes, the way people’s legs are sometimes separated from their bodies, the way everyone’s faces are blurred out, as if they no longer exist (sometimes they no longer do). This is our world, but it is not our world.
Health Inforgraphics: “E-Health” & The Increasing Use Of Digital Devises
Boomers Daily 