WWDC14? Let the Games Begin!

Apple website

Today, Apple made several very big announcements to its dedicated and loyal developer community.  They were not disappointed.

For one, there is Swift, a trimmed down, full feature replacement for XCode, the object oriented language that has been dutifully creating software and apps for a generation.  Combined with Metal, the programming instruction layer that "talks" to the brain of the device (the A7 computer chip), Swift gives developers the power to increase the speed of graphics generation by a factor of 10!

Huh?

What that means is those amazing 3-D graphics in game console games will soon be appearing on iPads, freeing the gamer from his or her home-based screens and boxes.

Another innovation is Playgrounds, the ability to see the result of your coding while you work.  All of these enhancements mean faster development time and fewer coding errors, and, of course, greater speed to market.

But Apple didn't stop there.

Developers also have the ability to integrate their apps with those of other developers, all within the security built into the environment, which now includes iCloud.

Yes, that means all your photos, files, everything can be stored in your Apple iCloud storage.

On the marketing end of things, developers will now be able to add videos to the App Store entry for their apps, and they can bundle apps together, offering users the option to download all with one click.

So, what does all this mean for us?

More, more, more.

The changes that began with smartphones and lurched forward with tablets continue, untethering us from the desk, and moving everything we do to the device in our hands, including turning on the lights in that home we visit occasionally to sleep.

But there is more happening here than going more mobile.  New careers are being created, or should I say, another industry may be about to break wide open.  That industry is the very audience at WWDC14, the developers.

Technology continues to propel us into a world where more can be accomplished with less, including less expertise and experience.

By simplifying the code, adding more tools and developer kits, and making it all available for free, Apple may be saying, "Let the games begin."

Anyone with an idea and some creativity could get started now.  They could learn the new tools, and catch up in an arena that up until now was packed with experts.

Of course, most won't do that.  Most will use the new apps and features that are designed by others and they will be very happy consumers.

But I, for one, think App Developers will soon find themselves facing competition from amateurs, just the way graphic artists, photographers, film producers and musicians have over the last 10 years.

Let the games begin.

Seeing the World Through Google Glass - An Explorer's Journal

Welcome to the mobile entertainment world where everyone is both star and director.  Welcome to Glass.

I completed my first week as an Explorer in the Google Glass project and I can honestly say that I am intrigued by the possibilities of Applied Functional Technology.  What is that?

While I may think I have dreamed it up, like most bright ideas, it has most likely surfaced in one form or another many times before.  That's exactly the point.  While I don't prescribe to the belief that there is nothing new in the world, that everything we invent is a reinvention of something from the past, or at best an update, I do believe true ingenuity comes from the way we apply these innovations to the problems we face in the real world.

In other words, the functions we perform by applying technology to the task at hand is what makes us look like geniuses, and perhaps that is what we are.  But if we are simply technology in search of an application, what good is that?  Enter the need for Explorers.

But let us back up a bit and explain what all the hype is about.

Just as we evolved as early adopters of mobile technology, device by device, from pager to PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) to Blackberry to iPhone to tablet, we now have companies (not just Google, but also others and startups as well) vying for center stage in the eyewear accessory market.  

So as the over seventy crowd plays technology catch-up, learning how to text with their grandchildren and great grandchildren, those who can afford the hefty $1500 price of entry, are experimenting with Google Glass.

What is it?

My Google Glass

Google Glass is an odd looking eyeglass frame with a built-in camera, touchpad, visual screen (that cube shaped glass over the right eye), and a clip-on polarized lens for outdoor wear.

People will think you look strange wearing it, partly because it is not your average run-of-the-mill pair of sunglasses, but also because you will be making strange gestures and head nods while wearing it.

It is not that easy to carry when you aren't wearing it, since the arms on the frame don't fold like real glasses, and after several minutes of continuous wearing, the right arm, which houses the battery and touchpad may make its presence known with the added weight on the ear, or by heating up, which it does if you are taking videos.

But don't let me give you the impression that I don't like the device.  I am still trying to figure out what it does best, how I might put it to practical use, and what features I would like to see in the general release.

That's where MyGlass (the accompanying app and website) comes in.  

MyGlass app on the Google Play Store.

As an Explorer, I get to add my thoughts to the community forum, now 20,000 users strong and soon to grow, as Google juts announced a program to expand the number of active Explorers.  I am still reading the most popular wishes of others who came before me, the true explorers, so I haven't put my list together yet, but it is being formed in the recesses of my brain.

My hope is that I will be able to share the experience with others, especially my clients in the medical profession who could benefit from a hands-free, voice-command camera, note-taker, web-browser, message taker and receiver, and whatever else it eventually becomes capable of doing.

So, stay tuned as we take this experiment for a spin.