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Best Technology Blog Topics

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Now it is almost impossible to live without our smartphones. right? ‘Best technology blog topics

And same thing goes with other day to day life tech. So, it is important to understand about technology blog topics if you want to start a tech blog.

Best technology blog topics for you

Here in this article, we are going to discuss about some of the best technology blog topics that you can use in your online blog. And these are part of broad niche. If you really want to drive traffic on your blog, you should consider one specific niche. It is because …

One focused niche or topic helps google understand your blog better. You can write on multiple niches but in different blogs.

Table Of Contents

Tech Apps

As the year ends, the Mobile App development heads out with the list of the innovative trends going to hit the market for the next coming years. At times innovation may refer to small iterations in existing technologies, but for others, it could describe completely major overhaul and transformation.

Mobile Apps has, by its very nature, always been at the forefront of problem-solving” but now consumer experiences are dominated by latest trends. This tech-savvy era has already taken a giant leap in understanding users’ pain points and needs and it’s no surprise we are far beyond the root of innovation. Now armed with so many underlying technologies, solutions, and ideas we think more of simplifying the existing process. That could certainly be possible when we keep up with the upcoming trends.

Here we bring to you the five hot mobile app development trends that are going to take a lead spot in the subsequent year.

  1. Augmented Reality (AR)

Both Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) and have taken the entertainment and gaming industry by storm. Nothing can deter AR technology in mobile applications to gain new momentum in 2018.

  1. Blockchain

A study conducted by IBM states nine in ten government firms are planning to invest in blockchain for financial transaction management, asset management, contract management and regulatory compliance purposes. While another research by Infosys says that one-third of banks are expected to adopt commercial blockchain in 2018. This proves demand for security sees no bounds.

  1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Through the use of advanced analytics, cognitive interfaces into complex systems, and machine learning techs, AI will apparently provide business users access to powerful insights never before available to them.

  1. Cloud Tech

Cloud tech that provides major benefits like streamlined operations, reducing equipment cost and hosting, increased app storage capacity and enhanced productivity and collaboration intend to dominate 2018. Have you integrated yet? Don’t miss out.

  1. Internet of Things (IoT)

The very familiar technology that has certainly made a special place in our family or homes and gave it the title of so-called smart home is now powered by a major change says analysts. Lets’ wait and watch what it wraps in the coming year.

  1. Business Bots

No matter if you work in B2C/B2B and develop your own SAAS application, bots will become irreplaceable for you. Optimized business processes, minimized costs and increased profits give them the tech tiara of 2018.

  1. Lazy Loading

We all abandoned the app or website that took too long to load the images. But now with lazy loading trend, this would be no more. Now images will be loaded only when the page gets turned ON. Smart indeed.

  1. Android Instant Apps

Android Instant Apps allows Android users to run your apps instantly, without installation. Additionally, it lets users experience beautiful and immersive apps, with material design and smooth animations, without installing them on their devices. Again the new ones to rule the years ahead!

  1. AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages)

AMP will enable the developers to develop rapidly loading websites and mobile apps. This will reduce bounce rates and increase performance level across various mobile devices.

  1. Security & Protection

With the rapid evolution of mobile app industry, 3rd party SDKs gains dominance and apps gather more and more information which surges the risks, vulnerabilities and security breaches. This hesitancy certainly calls for security & protection solutions as a great necessity.

Games

If you haven’t yet embraced the fact that plastic is here, in the form of debit and credit cards, it’s time to start accepting. The Game of Life, Twists and Turns Edition was released in August 2007. It is the first major board game in America to swap the money with a Visa-branded card. That’s right, no more colorful money to throw in the air. Why? Vice President of Marketing, Matt Collins, says, “…It was also time to reflect the way people choose to pay and be paid – and replacing cash with Visa was an obvious choice.”

It’s true that plastic is replacing cash. People are using credit cards and debit cards more than ever. Recent studies in America state that ninety-three percent of people hold an average of seven credit cards each. Americans use their charge cards more than they used to, charging over fifty billion dollars worth of fast food in 2006. Granted, more and more stores are accepting plastic along with cash, but it’s still an increase of twenty-nine fold since 2001.

There are a few other big changes as well. The new American Dream seems to be all about living life to the fullest, and The Game of Life captures that picture. For example, even if you have the most money at the end of the game, you’re not necessarily the winner. Instead, the winner is the one with the most “Life Points.” Life Points are the combination of life experiences and money.

The changes do not stop there. The wheel you used to flick with your finger is now an electronic LIFEPod that’s a lot like your PDA. The LIFEPod will track your financial and game status. Instead of driving your car from start to finish, the board is divided into four sections: Live It, Love It, Learn It, and Earn It. You can choose to stay in one “life experience” or experience it all. You can also decide, at the beginning of each game, how many “years” you want the game to last.

Opinions of the new changes to LIFE are extreme. Some support these adjustments, stating it will allow parents to teach their children how to use credit cards responsibly, since so many more households charge rather than pay with cash. With the goal of teaching good money management, Visa provides financial tips in the game. Visa also includes portions of its program Practical Money Skills for Life.

However, some child psychologists are up in arms about the new version. They feel credit cards are already targeting teens and this is just a way to target a younger group. Since there is no minimum age requirement for credit card holders, they are worried that children will be sucked into getting their own credit card, and therefore getting their own debt.

Since the New Game of Life, Twists and Turns edition was just released, the verdict is still out. However, the European version of Monopoly that includes the Visa Debit Card was released last year. The few reviews found on Amazon.com were favorable. So if the high-tech version of Monopoly is any indication of its success, the Twists and Turns Edition just may become a staple in American game culture.

Tech Gadgets

Gadgets are charming

Most importantly gadgets are exceptionally cool and they influence us to grin and say: amazing, it’s awesome! A gadget can improve your mood and feel as they get to your most important needs: comfort, security, convenience and possibly most vital, you can play with them. Some would state that they like gadgets since it makes their life less demanding. As I would see it we adore gadgets since gadgets are toys. Gadgets are toys for the huge young men or young ladies. We truly appreciate playing with them, testing them and incorporating them into our lives. Infants have Suzette’s we have gadgets.

Gadgets square with numerous items in one

The best case is the Swiss Army Knife: cut, fork, spoon, screwdriver, tweezers, light, compass and so forth. In one smaller item, you get 10-50 different items. This is a vital normal for a gadget. A gadget fuses each time more than one item.

Gadgets make our life simpler

Let’s take for instance the Thonka headband for the iPod. It is was intended to help iPod clients not to convey their iPod in their pockets. Who wouldn’t need to have their hands free? For a few clients who like running this could be exceptionally valuable gadgets. When you will go for a run your iPod won’t bounce from your pocket, your hair will remain set up and your sweat will be held.

That is the reason it is imperative for you to remain fully informed regarding the new gadgets. Being a gadget fan will enable you to be more gainful and you’ll to have the capacity to focus more on your objectives and occupation. Obviously, you should read gadgets audits. An issue can happen when you wind up noticeably fixated on gadgets (a gadget monstrosity) and you purchase gadgets simply because they are the most recent accessible and you should have them. We could state you are a major child in the event that you are doing that. It’s alright to play with gadgets however balance is the fundamental catchphrase here.

Gadgets spare us space

One essential point is that gadgets enable us to spare space. The “sparing space” utility is a derivate of the guideline “numerous items in one”. We should take for instance the BlackBerry phone. The BlackBerry is a little upscale phone with the abilities of a tablet. Obviously, it’s not a portable PC or a scratch pad but rather with one single item you can talk, send messages, alter world reports, explore on the Internet, visit et cetera. For a few dollars, you get a pleasant bit of innovation. Likewise, it’s critical to call attention to that the BlackBerry is less expensive than a scratch pad.

Conclusion: Gadgets make our life less demanding, spare our cash and most essential, our TIME

This is my decision. Gadgets truly spare us time, and time is our most critical asset. Gadgets are moderately shoddy on the off chance that you mull over that it will cost you considerably more to purchase 20 items that do unexpected things in comparison to one that does them all. Gadgets are intended to have numerous utilities that will enable us to enhance our profitability. What’s more, let’s not overlook the fun part: we like playing with gadgets!

Software

During the past 30 years the world went through a very dynamic technological transformation. In retrospective, it can be stated without exaggeration that the emergence of electronic devices and the Internet have greatly impacted daily life as well as managerial practice to an unforeseen extent. The computerization of multiple business processes and the creation of large scale databases, among many other radical technological advances, have lead to enormous cost savings and quality improvements over the years. The interconnection of financial markets through electronic means and the worldwide adoption of the Internet have greatly reduced transaction and communication costs and brought nations and cultures closer to one another than ever imaginable. Computers are now fundamental tools in almost all businesses around the world and their application and adaptation to specific business problems in the form of software development is a practice that many companies perform on their own. In the past, such computerization and automation efforts were very costly and therefore only practiced by large corporations. Over the years, however, the software industry emerged to offer off-the-shelf solutions and services to smaller companies. Today, having survived the massive dotcom crash of the year 2000, software development businesses established themselves as strong players in the technology industry.

The emergence of numerous computer standards and technologies has created many challenges and opportunities. One of the main opportunities provided by the software sector is relatively low entry barrier. Since the software business is not capital intensive, successful market entry largely depends on know-how and specific industry domain knowledge. Entrepreneurs with the right skills can relatively easily compete with large corporations and thereby pose a considerable threat to other, much larger organizations. Companies, on the other hand, need to find ways to reduce turnover and protect their intellectual property; hence, the strong knowledge dependence combined with the relatively short lifespan of computer technologies makes knowledge workers very important to the organization. Knowledge workers in this industry therefore enjoy stronger bargaining power and require a different management style and work environment than in other sectors, especially those industries that have higher market entry capital requirements. This relatively strong position of software personnel challenges human resource strategies in organizations and it also raises concerns about the protection of intellectual property.

The relatively young industry is blessed with sheer endless new opportunities, such as the ability of companies to cooperate with other organizations around the globe without interruption and incur practically no communication costs. In addition, no import tariffs exist making the transfer of software across borders very efficient; however, the industry with its craft-like professions suffers from lack of standards and quality problems. The successful management of such dynamic organizations challenges today’s managers as well as contemporary management science because traditional management styles, such as Weberian bureaucracies, seem to be unable to cope with unstable environments.

Challenges in the Software Industry

Many studies indicate that present-day software development practices are highly inefficient and wasteful (Flitman, 2003). On average, projects are only 62% efficient, which translates to a waste of 37 %. The typical software development project has the following distribution of work effort: 12% planning, 10% specification, 42% quality control, 17% implementation, and 19% software building (2003). There are many possible interpretations of the nature of this distribution of resources. First, the extraordinarily high share of 42% for quality control purposes can indicate a lack of standards and standardized work practices. This large waste of effort may also be the result of inefficient planning and specification processes. Because the share of 19% for software building is a function of software complexity, hardware, and tools used, there is a chance to reduce it by carefully managing and standardizing internal work processes. The disappointing share of only 17% for implementation, however, should be alarming to business owners, since implementation activities are the main activity that results in revenue. The relatively low productivity level reported by Flitman (2003) seems to be also reflected in the fact that the average U.S. programmer produces approximately 7,700 lines of code per year, which translates to just 33 per workday (Slavova, 2000). Considering that a large software project, such as Microsoft Word, is reported by Microsoft to require 2 to 3 million lines of code, it becomes obvious how costly such projects can become and that productivity and quality management are major concerns to today’s software businesses. The challenge for contemporary software managers is to find the root of the productivity problem and a remedy in the form of a management practice.

A plethora of recent studies addresses software development productivity and quality concerns. Elliott, Dawson, and Edwards (2007) conclude that there is a lack of quality skills in current organizations. Furthermore, the researchers put partial blame on prevailing organizational cultures, which can lead to counterproductive work habits. Of the main problems identified, project documentation was found to be lacking because documents are deficient in detail and not updated frequent enough. Quality control in the form of software testing is not practiced as often and there seems to be a lack of quality assurance processes to ensure that software is built with quality in mind from the beginning. Organizational culture was found to be deficient in companies were workers tend to avoid confrontation and therefore avoid product tests altogether (2007).

Since knowledge workers are the main drive in software organizations, creating a fruitful and efficient organizational culture constitutes a main challenge to today’s managers. The relationship between organizational culture and quality and productivity in software businesses was recently investigated by Mathew (2007). Software organizations tend to be people-centered and their dependency on knowledge workers is also reflected by the enormous spending remuneration and benefits of more than 50% of revenue. As the industry matures and grows further, the challenge to organizations is that larger number of employees need to be managed which brings culture to the focus of management. Mathew (2007) found that the most important influence on productivity was achieved by creating an environment of mutual trust. Higher levels of trust lead to greater employee autonomy and empowerment, which strengthened the existing management view that trust and organizational effectiveness are highly related. Those companies with higher trust and empowerment levels benefitted from more intensive employee involvement and thereby achieved better quality products (2007).

Product quality, however, depends on other factors as well that reach beyond the discussion of work processes. Relatively high employee turnover was found to have a detrimental effect on product quality and organizational culture (Hamid & Tarek, 1992). Constant turnover and succession increase project completion costs, cause considerable delays, and expose organization to higher risks because their development processes can be severely disrupted. While human resources strategies should help find ways to retain key personnel in the company, organizations need to nevertheless be prepared for turnovers and minimize their risks. One of the greatest risks for people-centered, knowledge worker organizations is the loss of knowledge when employees leave.

Knowledge management has evolved into a relatively new discipline in the last two decades but is mostly practiced by large, global organizations only (Mehta, 2008). As corporations realized the importance of knowledge management activities to mitigate the risk of know-how loss within their organizations, they started employing chief knowledge officers and crews with the goal of collecting and organizing information. By building custom knowledge management platforms, companies can benefit from increased transfer, storage, and availability of critical business information. Such activities can help companies innovate and build knowledge capital over time (2008). The challenge remains, however, to set up such systems and to elicit employee support for knowledge management systems. In addition, these systems leave another critical question open. What happens when top performers take all the knowledge with them when they leave?

Another crucial variable affecting software product and service quality is top management involvement. Projects in the software industry commonly fail due to one or a combination of the following three major causes: poor project planning, a weak business case, and lack of top management support and involvement (Zwikael, 2008). Software projects are similar to projects in other industries by focusing on timely project completion, budget, and compliance to specifications, the industry requires specific support processes from top management to facilitate projects. These processes are summarized in Table 1. Key support processes, such as the appropriate assignment of project managers and the existence of project success measurement, indicate that successful companies demonstrate a higher level of project progress control than others; however, Zwikael acknowledges that top managers rarely focus on these key processes and instead prefer to deal with those processes that are easier for them to work on personally.

Table 1

The ten most critical top management support processes in the software sector (Zwikael, 2008). Those processes marked with an asterisk (*) were found to be the most important.

Support Process

Appropriate project manager assignment *

Refreshing project procedures

Involvement of the project manager during initiation stage

Communication between the project manager and the organization *

Existence of project success measurement *

Supportive project organizational structure

Existence of interactive interdepartmental project groups *

Organizational projects resource planning

Project management office involvement

Use of standard project management software *

Opportunities in the Software Industry

The advent of low cost communication via the Internet and the diversification of the software industry into many different branches brought a multitude of new market opportunities. Some of the main opportunities are rooted in the low costs of communication, while others originated from the possibility of geographic diversification and international collaboration.

One major opportunity which especially larger organizations seek to seize is geographic diversification in the form of globally distributed software development. Kotlarsky, Oshri, van Hillegersberg, and Kumar (2007) have researched this source of opportunities that is mainly practiced by multinational companies; however, an increasing number of small companies is also reported to be benefitting from dispersed software development across national boundaries. The study revealed that software companies can achieve significantly higher levels of productivity by creating reusable software components and reducing task interdependencies. By reducing interdependence, the produced modules are more likely to become useful in future projects on their own; furthermore, this reduction of intertwined computer code also has a positive effect on project teams. Teams in companies that globally distribute their developments benefit from increased autonomy and reduced communication requirements. The authors point out, however, that the prerequisites to distributing software development are not only good project planning but also the standardization of tools and development procedures. Without such prearrangements it may become almost impossible to manage and consolidate the various distributed team activities (2007). Especially for teams working across countries away from one another, it may pay off to deploy video or other Internet-based conferencing technologies and exploit huge savings potentials. But are these means of communication effective?

In the last decade a new form of organization has emerged that has taken the most advantage of the Internet. Virtual organizations exist entirely in cyberspace and their team members communicate mostly, if not exclusively, via the Internet using webcams and messaging software. The challenge for managers in virtual organizations is to exploit the new technology but also to find ways to motivate and direct the workforce and work processes. A study by Andres (2002) compared virtual software development teams with face-to-face teams and identified several challenges and opportunities for virtual managers. Managing work from a different time zone can be problematic due to the lack of physical presence. Communication will need to be asynchronous or can only occur at work hours that overlap in both time zones. Virtual teams facilitate this process by using email and voice/text messaging but more importantly by reducing the interdependency of tasks. Andres (2002) suggested that these types of communication have lower “social presence” meaning that humans have a need and ability to feel the presence of others in the group. The problem with many computerized communication channels is that visual clues, utterances, body language clues and clues from the person’s voice are missing. When placed on a social presence continuum, the various communication types rank as follows from the lowest to the highest: email, phone, video conferencing, and face-to-face meetings. Andres’ comparison between development teams using video-conferencing versus face-to-face meetings revealed that the latter group was far more efficient and productive, even though the video-conferencing team benefitted from reduced travel costs and time.

The study conducted in 2002, however, has several shortcomings. First, it is already seven years old and Internet costs have dropped and speeds have improved significantly since then. Considering the improvements in video quality and availability and computer speeds, this form of communication became more feasible recently. In addition, today’s managers are just now starting to learn how to use these means of communication efficiently. For example, even though email technology has been around for two decades now, many managers still find that emails can create a lot of ambiguity. The challenge to future generations of managers will be to change their writing style to match the limitations of email and other text messaging technologies. Another important factor to consider is that written communication may be stored indefinitely and have legal consequences; hence, more often than not, managers may intentionally prefer to avoid such communication channels for political or legal reasons. The study by Andres (2002), however, resulted in a negative view of video conferencing probably because the technology was not yet matured and the team members were not yet comfortable with it.

For video conferencing to work well, all participants need to be knowledgeable of the peculiar characteristics of that technology and adjust their communication style and speech accordingly. Regardless of meeting type, another important factor is preparation. What could be researched in conjunction with Andres’ study in the future is the degree of preparation of the group. Do team members invest enough time in preparing questions and answers for their teammates before coming to the meeting? Video conferences may require more preparation than face-to-face meetings in some circumstances.

Another opportunity for software businesses and challenge for managers worldwide is outsourcing. In the year 2007, $70 billion were spent globally for outsourced software development (Scott, 2007). Given the extreme shortage of IT skills in the U.S. and Europe, many companies take advantage of globalization by choosing international suppliers for their software development tasks. Outsourcing, however, requires elaborate coordination between the organization and its many supplier groups. The idea is that in total, coordination costs and problems are less costly than in-house development; however, this goal is not always achieved. While outsourcing, when it is deployed and coordinated correctly, can result in 24 hour development worldwide and thereby provide continuous services to the organization around the clock, it may result in the loss of intellectual property. While mechanic parts are patentable in most countries that support intellectual property rights, software is not patentable in most countries outside North America.

In addition to the challenge of managing outsourcing, software organizations exploit technologies in various ways to save costs, for example by offering remote access, telecommuting, and service-oriented architectures (SOA) (Scott, 2007). Remote access and telecommuting has increased six-fold between 1997 and 2005 and resulted in $300 million annual savings due to a reduction of office space (2007). SOA is a similar concept and involves a software rental for customers. Instead of buying, installing, and maintaining software and servers, customers can rent a service online and reduce the total cost of ownership because these activities are no longer required on the customer side. Gradually the virtualization of the software business opens new horizons and provides further opportunities but it also presents managers with endless challenges.

Some of the strengths and weaknesses of offshore and virtual team development were studied by Slavova (2000). In the year 2000, India and Ireland were the largest offshore software development locations. Offshore companies can offer up to 60% cost reduction, a faster completion of development tasks by distributing them around the globe, and specific domain knowledge which they acquired over the years providing similar services to other customers. The integration of work from external sources, however, constitutes a major hurdle. Furthermore, language and cultural issues can cause serious communication problems that put the project at risk, especially when misunderstandings cause misinterpretations of project specification documents. Slavova (2000) found that the most common remedy and strategy avoiding problems with offshore suppliers is to visit them frequently face-to-face; however, this tactic results in higher travel costs and disruptions of the managers’ workflows and hence may offset the benefits gained for outsourcing altogether. Managers in the software business need therefore to balance the risks and opportunity potentials before engaging in outsourcing because for many companies this strategy failed to pay off in the end.

A huge opportunity that emerged in the last decade is online innovation. The collective innovation effort of many individuals and companies is generally known as open-source on the Internet and it has lead to many advances in the computer technology, such as the free Linux operating system.

Best technology blog topics– At first businesses felt threatened by this wave of developments on the market because the businesses perceived that open-source solutions were in competition with their products. In many cases this was and still is in fact true; however, a couple of companies, including IBM, are exploiting this new way of innovation for their own and for a common benefit (Vujovic & Ulhøi, 2008). Because software companies operate in an increasingly instable environment, they struggle to create continuously new and better products. By exposing the computer code to the public on the Internet, companies can benefit from ideas submitted by the public, especially other companies. Furthermore, companies benefit from free bug finding and testing by external users but one of the primary reasons for “going open-source” is the quick adoption and spread of the company’s technology at a relatively little or no cost. The spread of IBM’s open-source technology, for example, is also free marketing for the company. But how can companies make money by offering something for free?

The closed innovation model (the traditional model of providing software without revealing the software code) can be combined with open-source, so the company can charge for the product. In other cases, the company can reveal the technological platform on the Internet for free and then sell specialized tools which utilize the new platform. The big money savers are obviously the shared development, testing, and maintenance costs since many interested parties work on the same project.

The knowledge-sharing model of open-source is nothing new, however. The philosophy and the benefits of open innovation models have been already realized in the third quarter of the nineteenth century. Back then, open innovation was practiced in the UK iron and

US steel industry. The cooperation of many industry players ended the domination of proprietary technologies for which costly royalties were due (Vujovic & Ulhøi, 2008). Given the dynamic environment of the IT industry and the short lifespan of computer technologies, the adoption of open innovation models gained much more popularity. By analyzing the largest open-source players in the market, Vujovic and Ulhøi put together a list of supportive strategies, which is shown in Table 2. Several of these strategies are quite relevant from a top management perspective as well, such as deploying open-source to block a competitor and using the open model as a gateway for greater market share.

Table 2

Strategies for adopting the open-source approach (Vujovic & Ulhøi, 2008).

Business Strategy

Obtaining higher market share

Obtaining market power

Better adoption of a product and thereby establishing standards

Shifting competitive advantage to another architectural layer

Making the product more ubiquitous

Delivering faster time-to-market

Spurring innovation

Complementing a revenue core stream

Blocking a competitor

Conclusion

Reviewing the rather recent emergence of the IT industry and the software industry in particular, several parallels can be drawn to management history. While Taylor’s scientific management was a highlight in the evolution of management science (Wren, 2005), the software industry seems to be lagging behind such great advancement. Due to its high level of complexity, the software development discipline is still plagued with quality problems stemming from a lack of standardization. Similar to Taylor’s efforts, managers need to analyze software development processes and develop industry-wide standards and measures. Once such measures and procedures exist, this will help make software projects much more predictable.

Much of today’s software industry practices would have been a déjà vu for Taylor, if he was still alive. In addition, the anomie and social disorganization concerns during the social person era apply today more dramatically than in the past. Mayo described in the 1940s how managers overemphasized on technical problems in the hope of raising efficiency ignoring the human social element (p. 296). The same situation is now evident to a larger degree in the computer industry. The rapid technological advances have created many opportunities and changed the work environment drastically. At the same time, however, management was unable to prepare for these dramatic shifts technology would bring to the workplace. At best, managers are simply reacting to technological advances because the consequences are mostly unpredictable given the complexity of human nature. For example, email brought several benefits such as low cost and simple asynchronous communication; however, many email messages are misunderstood because they are not written appropriately. Moreover, IT knowledge workers are struggling to keep up with the vast number of messages received per day as they constitute a severe disruption of the daily workflow.

As knowledge workers are becoming more and more essential to an organization’s survival and as organizations in this industry mature and require greater headcounts, the span of control is becoming an issue for managers to handle correctly. As discussed in Wren (2005), as the team size increases, the number of interrelations to be managed rises astronomically (p. 353). Managing larger teams poses a great problem because the sheer number of interrelations makes it also more difficult to develop trust within the team. Motivating large groups of knowledge workers can hence be tricky, especially because creative tasks can require a large degree of collaboration. Work design is hence a major hurdle for future managers to overcome. Much emphasis has been on hygiene factors and not on motivators of the workforce. Flexible hours, telecommuting, empowerment, and increased responsibility may help in the short-term but for the long-term management will need to find new strategies for retaining knowledge workers.

Product quality remains a big issue. Deming’s ideas are good but quality assurance in the software world is difficult to implement due to the lack of standards and measures. The open-source innovation model may provide some relief in this respect because the greater involvement of external developers can help improve overall quality. On the other hand, however, open-source projects are hard to manage for the same reason. Since open-source projects are self-directed and not owned by anyone in particular, those projects sometimes suffer from uncontrolled, tumorlike growth.

Several of Deming’s deadly sins (Wren, 2005, p. 463) apply directly to the software industry. Most products are made from scratch rather than from components and there is little standardization in software organizations. Since software developers have a tendency to see their job as a craft they defy standards and procedures. In addition, the rather complex environment with its dynamic requirements and the push for meeting deadlines make it easy for practitioners to lose sight of quality improvements through the preparation of organizational standards. High turnover and individual performance measures continue to be industry practice, even though many scientists, such as Deming, have argued for long that such measures are counterproductive.

Future managers need to find ways to compensate for the high turnover, if they cannot find a way to avoid it. The division of labor might work well for the company but it is not well perceived by the workforce which tends to require constant challenge. Top performers disfavor mundane tasks and prefer to walk away with all their knowledge. IBM has successfully deployed job enlargement for some time to combat this phenomenon (Wren, 2005, p.332). Unfortunately, this strategy might not work for every company and it can only be used within certain boundaries of the organization. Given the developments of the last two decades, managers will need to confront the discipline of knowledge worker management and find a workable solution for their organization.

The integration of management science with the advances in psychology and sociology may provide a route towards the solution of the knowledge worker management problem. It is crucial for managers to have an accurate understanding of the motivational drives for this particular group of the workforce. These employees enjoy higher income, greater flexibility and freedom, and greater bargain power. This puts them in a gray zone between the traditional, lower skilled employee and an owner in the company because knowledge workers create intellectual capital in the company. Because most of this capital is lost and remains with the employees when they decide to leave the organization, turnover can be much more damaging than with traditional workers. Managers can therefore not simply apply conventional strategies to this dissimilar group of employees; rather, they need to seek for more creative incentives for motivating and retaining knowledge workers.

Coding language

Nowadays, many professions are disappearing because of the technological developments. But there is a skill that is increasing in demand with the passage of time: coding. These days, businesses have been looking for programmers, software developers and website developers. You can easily land a high paying job if you know how to code. Here are 5 tips if you want to learn coding.

Know the Five Basic Concepts

You can choose from a variety of coding languages. However, you have to understand 5 fundamental concepts first of all: variables, control structures, data structures, syntax and tools. Once you have understood these concepts, you will have a strong base to build your coding career on.

Choose a Language

You should choose the right language to learn. If you want to know how to find the right one, you should ask yourself, why do I want to learn coding? What do you want to do once you have learnt this skill? Do you want to build a website? Do you want to develop applications?

The rule of thumb is that you should master one language before heading for the next one. As a matter of fact, understanding one language properly will make it easier for you to understand the next.

Practice it

How did you learn to tie your shoes or ride your bike? Did someone tell you how to do it? No, you did it yourself. Yes, you should learn by coding not by reading. You should practice by writing the code yourself.

Know the Basics

When learning a coding language, it may be tempting to learn things quickly and move to the complicated stuff. However, don’t make a haste when learning the basics. In order to get a real grip on coding, you should master the basics first. If you don’t understand the basics, you may not be able to understand the advanced techniques.

If you are really into coding, mastering the basics won’t be a boring task for you. It’s just a matter of time before you have got the hang of it.

Code by Hand

Without any doubt, coding is done with technology and apps. However, experts suggest that you should learn to code by hand. As a matter of fact, this is what most experts believe in.

When you code without an app, you have no way of checking if the code is correct. Therefore, you are more careful and you know better what you are doing. Aside from this, when companies hire coding experts, they ask them to code by hand. So, if you want to land a good job, make sure you start the learning process by coding with your hands.

The takeaway

Coding is a valuable skill. While learning to code is not a piece of cake, you can do it provided you put in a good deal of time and effort. Hopefully, guides like this will help you learn the basics of programming. If you want to learn how to do it well, make sure you master the basics first.

Tech Tools

When you have your own business, everything you can do to improve your business and expand on it, the better. You always have to be striving and working on your business to make the most of it and in today’s world, there are plenty of ways to make your business better.

Social Media Tools

Every business needs a little social media interaction. With social media tools, you can network for your business and whether your business is small or large, you have to consider that other businesses in your market are already using it and are taking business that could be coming to you.

With the right tools, social media interaction can be easy, fun, and effective. It is not hard to get started. Set up a Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn profile, along with a profile for any additional social networking program you are interested in. The setup time is minimal and you can continue to use each as often as you want after that.

Money Management Software

Software to help receive payments, track payments, send invoices, and more. With money management software you are able to focus more on other tasks involving your business and not have as much worry about losing money and keeping track of your business finances. There are so many details to consider and the more help you can get, the better.

Software to help pay employees and keep track of money records for tax purposes. Especially if you have quite a few employees working for your business, you need all the help you can get with keeping things organized and prepared.

File Sharing Software

In a business, there are so many forms and papers that need to go between you and the client. Cut back on this with file sharing software. File sharing software allows you to spend less money but still be as productive as you were before. Also known as peer-to-peer file sharing, if your network has sensitive information you should always consider file sharing software as an option.

The right file sharing software cuts down on the number of emails sent and makes it easier for the client to view documents, making an easier partnership between you and your customers.

Website and Computer Security Tools

Every business needs the tech tool that backs up their servers and computers, so no essential info is lost if something happens. If you do not back up your computer regularly, if something were to happen such as your computer freezing or crashing completely, all of your information is lost. This can take countless hours to fix, taking away valuable time from your business in turn.

Businesses also need software that has website security to keep their site safe from hackers. Always ensure you have properly working, up to date antivirus software.

Newsletter and Feedback Software

Alert customers with deals and need-to knows with a clean and innovative newsletter tool. Getting feedback from your customers allows you to see what they are thinking and where they feel your business could improve.

Receive feedback from customers to stay on a more personable level and always let them know that their opinion does matter to you.

Keeping all of this in mind, you can absolutely improve even the best business. There are always new, effective different ways to better your business, which you can figure out if you only take the time to do so.

Edu Tech

Digital technology has gone leaps and bounds in various industries, such as automobile, telecommunication, television, information technology and gaming where a big chunk of purchases today are digital. The educational sector is not left behind; the revolution in technology has created gadgets and gizmos with an educational slant that really broaden the grey matter.

If you are a student you can make use of the touch pen that enables you to simultaneously work with your teacher on an interactive whiteboard. This excellent device can help you clear all your misconceptions and concentrate on the lecture and interact with your teacher. A classroom performance system or a classroom response interactive device is yet another remarkable creation. It is a handheld clicker that enables teachers to receive immediate feedbacks from students on lesson plans and tests. You no more have to raise your hand or wait for your turn to answer the question your teacher has asked just respond by pressing a button on this amazing handheld device. This device is capable of performing multiple functions and it is useful at places where public poll or surveys are required.

If you are a teacher the mobile interactive whiteboard tablet is for you. With this gadget you can freely roam the classroom while insert, write or draw images on the handheld device which are projected on a larger screen in the front of the classroom. Technology has put an end to the days of turning your backs on your students while writing on the blackboard. This interactive whiteboard allows you to have a better eye contact with the students and you can see their faces when they are puzzled. The interactive whiteboards allows you to be more hands-on with your students and take better control of the classroom.

These hi tech instructional tools will enhance learning, many schools and educational institutes have started spending more money on such educational gadgets to improve the performance of their students and teachers both. Students enjoy using interactive whiteboards and classroom management issues are lessoned. The interactive slate board is a gadget that provides teachers to interact with students more effectively. The teacher can correct the student easily if a mistake is made while the student is delivering a presentation. These educational gadgets have brought the teachers and students even closer. Furthermore, the teachers can easily rate the performance of each and every student in the class.

The interactive sound system is another gadget that assists teachers and students that have bigger classrooms. Teachers or students can wear it around the neck or tuck it in to the shirt and be audible. The teachers can easily save their voices and allow back benchers to be able to listen with clarity.

Tech in Medical science

Researchers Carry Out Largest Gene Sequencing Of Human Diseases To Date

According to reports released on May 23, 2013, researchers at the University of London, England, have carried out the largest sequencing study of human diseases to date. In their study, the scientists investigated the genetic basis of six autoimmune diseases. The exact cause of these diseases-autoimmune thyroid diseases, Celia disease, Cohn’s disease, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes is unknown, but is believed to be a complex combination of genetic and environmental factors.

The scientists, who published their findings in the journal Nature, estimate that the rare variants of risk genes account for only around 3 percent of the heritability of these conditions that can be explained by common variants. They say that the genetic risk of these diseases more likely involves a complex combination of hundreds of weak-effect variants each of which is common in people.

Bio engineers Create Sweat-proof Fabric

Bio engineers at the University of California, USA, said on May 21, 2013 that they had invented a waterproof fabric which can whisk away sweat using micro fluid technology. The new fabric works like the human skin. It turns excessive sweat into droplets that drain away by themselves. In their research, they developed a new micro fluid platform using water-attracting (hydrophilic) threads that were stitched into a highly water-repellent fabric. They were able to create patterns of threads that suck droplets of water from one side of the fabric, propel them along the threads and eventually expel them from the other side.

It is not just that the threads conduct water through capillary action. The water-repellent properties of the surrounding fabric also help drive water down the channels. Unlike conventional fabrics, the water-pumping effect continues working even when the water-conducting fibres are completely saturated, owing to the pressure generated by the surface tension of droplets. The rest of the fabric stays completely dry. By adjusting the pattern of water-conducting fibres and how they are stitched on each side of the fabric, the researchers can control where the sweat is collected and where it drains away on the outside.

Human Skin Cells Converted Into Embryonic Stem Cells

According to a report released on May 16, 2013, in a major medical breakthrough, scientists have for the first time converted human skin cells into embryonic stem cells. These newly made stem cells are capable of transforming into any other cell type in the human body. The cloned embryos, created by scientists at the Oregon National Primate Health Centre, USA, can make new heart muscles and new bones besides brain tissue or any other type of cell in the body. The scientists used the same cloning technique that had created Dolly the sheep (the first cloned mammal) in 1996, overcoming technical problems that had frustrated them for more than a decade on how to create batches of the body’s super cells from donated skin.

The new technique devised by the scientists is a variation of a commonly used method called somatic cell nuclear transfer. It involves transplanting the nucleus of one cell, containing an individual’s DNA, into an egg cell that has had its genetic material removed. The fertilised egg cell then develops and eventually produces stem cells. The process is relatively efficient, requiring a relatively small number of human eggs to produce each cell line, making it practical and feasible.

A Mask That Gives The Wearer “Superhuman” Powers

The Royal College of Art in London announced on May 9, 2013 that its researchers had developed two 3D printed masks that can give the wearer “superhuman” sight and hearing. One of the masks covers the wearer’s ears, mouth and nose and uses a directional microphone to give him the ability to hear an isolated sound in a noisy environment. With the mask on, the user could select a person in a crowd and hear his words without any surrounding noise.

The other prototype is to be worn over one’s eyes. A camera captures video and sends it to a computer, which can apply a set of effects to it in real-time and send it back to the user. The wearer can use the mask to see movement patterns, similar to the effects of long-exposure photography.

According to the developers, the technology has many possible applications. The wearer could use the visual mask to analyse movement and technique in sports. Concert-goers could use the hearing mask to concentrate on a certain performer.

Scientists Find Eco-friendly Way Of Forging Steel

As per a report released on May 8, 2013, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, have developed a technique to lessen smoke emissions during the process of forging steel. This can go a long way in changing the image of steel making as one of the most polluting industries. In addition, there may be other side benefits as the resulting steel, according to scientists, could be of higher purity. The process may also turn out to be cheaper than the existing ones.

The researchers found that a process known as molten oxide electrolysis could use iron oxide from the lunar soil to create oxygen with no special chemistry. They tested the process using lunar-like soil from a meteor crater in Arizona, USA, where there are enough traces of iron oxide, and found that it produced steel as a by-product. The researchers’ method used an iridium anode, which is expensive and limited in supply, so it is not viable for bulk steel production. However, after more research, they identified an inexpensive metal alloy that can replace the iridium anode in molten oxide electrolysis.

An Insect-inspired Camera With 180-degree View

As per reports released on May 2, 2013, scientists at the University of Illinois and North-western University, USA, have developed a new insect-inspired camera that can take pictures across 180 degrees and deliver exceptionally sharp images. The camera features 180 miniature lenses and exceptionally wide-angle field of view. We humans capture pictures using the two lenses of our relatively flat eyes, while a top quality SLR camera has just one flat lens. The new camera a rounded half bubble, similar to a bulging eye of a fly has 180 micro-lenses mounted on it, allowing it to take pictures across nearly 180 degrees. This is possible only for a camera shaped like a bug’s eye.

With its wide-angle field of view, the new technology could be used in future surveillance devices or for imaging in medical (such as endoscopic) procedures. Its developers say that it would be simple enough to combine two of the hemispheres they have demonstrated to get a 360-degree view. This is because basically the procedure involves mounting many small eyes on one big eye. Each small eye, composed of a micro-lens and a micro-scale photo detector, is a separate imaging system. When all of these eyes are taken together, they will be able to take a clear picture, with just one snap, across nearly 360 degrees.

New Fly-inspired Aerial Robot

Researchers at Harvard University, USA, have successfully designed, manufactured and flown a small robot inspired by flies. The demonstration of the first controlled flight of an insect-sized robot marks the culmination of more than a decade’s work. It was created jointly by the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard.

The project is called Robbie. It is inspired by the biology of a fly, with sub millimetre-scale anatomy and two wafer thin wings that flap almost invisibly (about 120 times per second). The tiny device represents the absolute cutting edge of micro manufacturing and control systems.

Scientists Develop Tech That Can Turn Any Surface Into A Touch screen

Scientists at the Carnegie Mellon University, USA, have developed a new technology that can enable users to turn any surface into a touch screen with just a wave of the hand. Demonstrated that based interface can be create’ anywhere almost at will. This is a significant improvement on earlier technologies which required some depth camera systems to b combined with’ a projector to turn any surface into a touch-screen.

The new system is known as World Kit. It enables a person to rub the arm of a sofa to “paint” a remote control for TV or swipe a hand across an office door to post calendar from which subsequent users can “pull down” an extended version. These temporary interfaces can be moved, modified or deleted with similar gestures, making them highly personalised.

The researchers used a ceiling-mounted camera and projector to record room geometries, sense hand gestures and project images on desired surfaces. Users can summon switches, message boards, indicator lights and a variety of other interface designs from a menu. The developers say that the users will ultimately be able to custom design interfaces with gestures.

A Robot That Can Predict Human Actions Accurately

Scientists at the Personal Robotics Lab at Cornell University, USA, said on May 4, 2013 that they had developed a new “smart” robot that can predict human actions with surprising accuracy. The robot can refill its master’s empty coffee mug and can also hold the door open for him/her. In addition, it can perform several other tasks. The robot basically learns to foresee human actions and then adjust accordingly.

AI

We all know that Siri, Google Now, and Cortana are all intelligent digital personal assistants on various platforms (iOS, Android, and Windows Mobile). In short, they help find useful information when you ask for it is using your voice; you can say “Where’s the nearest Indian restaurant?”, “What’s on my schedule today?”, “Remind me to call Mom or Dad at eight o’clock,” and the assistant will respond by finding information, relaying information from your phone, or sending commands to other apps.

AI is important in these apps, as they collect information on your requests and use that information to better recognize your speech and serve you results that are tailored to your preferences. Microsoft says that Cortana “continually learns about its user” and that it will eventually develop the ability to anticipate users’ needs. Virtual personal assistants process a huge amount of data from a variety of sources to learn about users and be more effective in helping them organize and track their information.

Your smartphone, calculator, video games, car, bank & your house all use artificial intelligence daily; sometimes it’s obvious what its’ doing, like when you ask Siri to get you directions to the nearest gas station. Sometimes it’s less obvious, like when you make an abnormal purchase on your credit card and don’t get a fraud alert from your bank. AI is everywhere, and it’s making a huge difference in our lives every day.

So, we can say that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the branch of computer sciences that emphasizes the development of intelligence machines, thinking and working like humans. For example, speech recognition, problem-solving, learning and planning. Today, Artificial Intelligence is a very popular subject that is widely discussed in the technology and business circles. Many experts and industry analysts argue that AI or machine learning is the future – but if we look around, we are convinced that it’s not the future – it is the present.

Yes, the technology is in its initial phase and more and more companies are investing resources in machine learning, indicating a robust growth in AI products and apps soon. Artificial intelligence or machine intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems.

What is the use of AI?

Vision systems. The need to interpret, fully understand and make sense of visual input on the computer, i.e. AI is used to try and interpret and understand an image – industrial, military use, satellite photo interpretation.

What is the purpose of AI?

When AI researchers first began to aim for the goal of artificial intelligence, a main interest was human reasoning… The specific functions that are programmed to a computer may be able to account for many of the requirements that allow it to match human intelligence

What is an ASI artificial intelligence?

A superintelligence is a hypothetical agent that possesses intelligence far surpassing that of the brightest and most gifted human minds.

What is the goal of AI?

Colloquially, the term “artificial intelligence” is applied when a machine mimics “cognitive” functions that humans associate with other human minds, such as “learning” and “problem solving”. General intelligence is among the field’s long-term goals.

What are the different types of AI?

We need to overcome the boundaries that define the four different types of artificial intelligence, the barriers that separate machines from us – and us from them.

Type I AI: Reactive machines

Type II AI: Limited memory

Type III AI: Theory of mind

Type IV AI: Self-awareness

Is computer vision part of AI?

Artificial intelligence and computer vision share other topics such as pattern recognition and learning techniques. Consequently, computer vision is sometimes seen as a part of the artificial intelligence field or the computer science field in general.

Is machine learning the same as artificial intelligence?

Increasingly, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) are cropping up as solutions for handling data. The two are often used interchangeably, and although there are some parallels, they’re not the same thing.

What are the fields of artificial intelligence?

· List of applications

· Optical character recognition.

· Handwriting recognition.

· Speech recognition.

· Face recognition.

· Artificial creativity.

· Computer vision, Virtual reality and Image processing.

· Diagnosis (AI)

· Game theory and Strategic planning.

How important is Artificial Intelligence?

AI is the machines which are designed and programmed in such a manner that they and think and act like a human. Artificial Intelligence becomes the important part of our daily life. Our life is changed by AI because this technology is used in a wide area of day to day services.

For most of us, the most obvious results of the improved powers of AI are neat new gadgets and experiences such as smart speakers, or being able to unlock your iPhone with your face. But AI is also poised to reinvent other areas of life. One is health care.

Hospitals in India are testing software that checks images of a person’s retina for signs of diabetic retinopathy, a condition frequently diagnosed too late to prevent vision loss. Machine learning is vital to projects in autonomous driving, where it allows a vehicle to make sense of its surroundings. Artificial intelligence is already present in plenty of applications, from search algorithms and tools you use every day to bionic limbs for the disabled.

Space And Rockets

When it comes to developing as a civilization, expanding the frontiers of Space Technology is vital to our technological growth as a population. This science is often overlooked and some governments are cutting back on it due to how expensive they perceive it to be.

A few of the more recent Space Projects that may not happen are the Space Fence to clean up space junk and orbital debris, as well as the James Webb Space Telescope which could potentially discover new Earth-like planets. The James Webb Telescope would be a much more advanced replacement to the Hubble Telescope, and could help us better understand the universe.

Problems orbiting Earth

In orbit, there are over 20,000 satellites, stage 1 shuttle parts, and other scraps of metal in the lower orbit of the Earth. Project Space Fence would have been set out in order to help clean these up, and potentially recycle the parts. Some of these are not only in a dangerously low orbit, but often collide with each other to form more debris.

The orbital space debris that is plaguing our lower orbit is becoming increasingly dangerous for us. The NASA UARS satellite fell to earth in September and that was one of the biggest satellites to fall from space. All the space junk orbiting earth could account up to around $300 billion in resources and continues to accumulate every time we send more space shuttles up into space. With collisions to other space debris and satellites, these objects break apart to form smaller pieces of debris which is not only harder to clean, but is just as dangerous if colliding with a space shuttle.

Expand the Borders of our Knowledge

As a civilization, we are here today because of the research that previous generations made in order to leave their mark on history. They planned ahead and helped in building the foundation to secure our future.

As citizens, we must ensure that researching and investing in space technology to better our technology both in space and on Earth. Advances and development in space technology is put on hold due to not enough investments that have gone towards applied research. If more emphasis was put on this then Space Technology would have a better foundation in order to implement safer and more cost-effective solutions.

A Big Project from NASA

One of the other NASA projects is the potential research and development of a space taxi, assisted by Boeing Co. The plan is to use the Kennedy Space Center processing hanger as the location to start construction of these space taxis. These futuristic shuttles would be used for military, commercial, and residential purposes. There are many exciting things happening around Space Technology, Space Habitats, and upcoming Space Stations in the years to come; it would be a shame if NASA’s funding gets cut and will be unable to keep up with other countries.

An issue with the current state and development of space technology is that the reports of NASA funding being cut. According to a Washington Times report, this is a possibility which has made many scientists upset. If NASA’s budget gets cut then the US will lose the momentum that it’s been gaining over the years developing and pioneering new technology to expand the frontiers of space science.

Why we should Encourage Space Technology

All of the effort that NASA put into the Mars missions will be halted which could be devastating for the US. Space Technology is clearly important and leads to breakthroughs like the laws of gravitation with nuclear fusion.

The most important aspect is that it helps inspire people of all ages to better themselves and look to the stars. Whether it inspires children to think more about educational subjects like science, math, technology, or those of us who dream of a better tomorrow.

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