This Week in Web: Aug 10-16, 2015
In this week's, This Week in Web, Apple’s rumor of the week is that they might be nearly ready to test their self-driving electric car. Google confusingly announced the creation of Alphabet, its new parent company. We also look at a smart collar and GPS-enabled tracker for our beloved canine family members. You may not need a therapist for therapy anymore… there is an app for that. Also, there is a tiny device in development to continuously monitor users’ glucose levels, taking the pain out of diabetic monitoring. Twitter is going to let you send the longest direct message of your life, so long as it is not over 10,000 characters. Finally, make your last days of summer the coolest with the Coolest Cooler.
Apple self-driving cars
There has been unconfirmed chatter about “Project Titan,” Apple’s rumored self-driving electric car project. Apple is still not commenting, but public documents reveal that they appear to be looking for testing grounds for such a vehicle. They sought information from GoMentum Station, a vast former naval base north of San Francisco, complete with train crossings, cattle grids, overpasses, and tunnels. The site is highly secure, with no public access and controlled by the military. Other developers, including Honda and Mercedes-Benz, have tested self-driving cars there already. Google and Tesla are already approved for testing on some public streets, but secretive Apple is not likely to do that until they are ready to unveil their product.
ABCDEFGoogle?
Google announced reorganization with the creation of their parent company called Alphabet. The name is an interesting choice, considering how they re-defined and took ownership of the word “google.” Many companies in various industries, as well as a collection of 26 letters that we use to make words, already claim a stake in the word “alphabet.” Aside from the name choice, creation of Alphabet will make former divisions (Life Sciences, Google X, Nest, Google Ventures, and others) separate entities with their own CEO’s, giving each of them more autonomy to succeed or fail, and making it easier for the holding company to fund and/or sell entities, all without impacting the Google name.
Hey Buddy
You can bring your fur-baby into the smart technology age with the Squeaker Buddy collar, currently raising funds through a Kickstarter campaign. Not only can you choose from many snazzy LED lighting effects for fun and safety in the dark, but it also tracks your pup by GPS and will alert you if he ventures beyond a virtual fence line. It tracks your dog’s steps, activity level, body temperature, and food intake. If you are really high-tech, you can connect the collar with your Wi-Fi enabled thermostat, smart locks, and lighting. The GPS could be a lifesaver for the escape artist adventure dog. At $300 for the fully loaded version, I would also like for the collar to tell me how long before my indoor dog relieves himself on the antique rocking chair, or when he is becoming so bored that he may soon eat a cushion off the couch.
Moodnotes
Apps and devices to track your (and even your dog’s) physical health are plenty. Now there is an iOS app to help track your emotional health. Moodnotes is designed on the principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy and positive psychology, and acts as a journal where you can log your mood with an adjustable facial expression, and note what you were doing or thinking when you were feeling that emotion. Then the app responds by asking questions to help you glean more insight into your thoughts and feelings, as a therapist might. It also provides feedback about potential “thinking traps” to help you modify your thought patterns. A smartphone app cannot replace emotional interaction with a human therapist, but some people may find it easier to be completely honest with their phone than with another person, and it can be a nice supplement to traditional therapy. Thank goodness, no, there is not an option to (over)share your journal entries to Facebook.
Glucose technology
Exciting news for people with diabetes who monitor their glucose levels by pricking their finger several times per day: Alphabet’s Life Sciences division and DexCom are working together to develop a cloud-connected wearable glucose monitoring device that will be about the size of a band-aid. DexCom will develop the sensors, while Life Sciences will work on making it smaller, and improving data analysis and connectivity. Their goal is for the unit to be affordable and disposable. It is expected to be market-ready in 2 to 3 years.
Tweet longer in private
Do you have more to give? Twitter is going to let you tell the whole story with all the fascinating details, as long as it is in a direct message. The 140 character limit is finally officially being removed and replaced with a 10,000 character limit. The change will roll-out over the next few weeks across all platforms and 3rd party apps. The character limit for regular newsfeed tweets will not change.
It’s the coolest
The Coolest Cooler may or may not be the coldest cooler, but it is definitely the most impressive cooler ever invented. The highest funded Kickstarter product thus far is a cooler with all of these added features:
- Powerful blender
- Waterproof USB charging port
- LED light in the cooler lid
- Outdoor Bluetooth Speaker
- Built-in magnetic bottle opener
- Bungees
- Picnic gear, including plates, knife, & corkscrew
- Dividers to keep drink ice separate, and double as a cutting board
- Sturdy rubberized wheels
The Kickstarter campaign is complete, and the Coolest Cooler started shipping in late July. As of this week, it can be ordered on the company’s website for $485, for delivery sometime this year. That may sound like a lot of cash, but imagine a tailgate party where you can blend a margarita, have a knife and cutting board at-the-ready to make fresh guacamole, while listening to your Spotify party-rock playlist, and all the while charging your mobile gadgets. So worth it.
