Type of Article: MacTech Blog

The news is full of stories concerning augmented reality; mostly in the context of the Google Glass project. Google glasses have been banned from bars, casinos, locker rooms, healthcare facilities and many government agencies.

The fear is that, armed with a forward facing camera, the devices will compromise peoples’ privacy and perhaps disclose confidential information. The dynamic is definitely one of concerned skepticism.

2014 is shaping up to be a breakout year for indoor location technologies in retail environments, as early adopters enter the final year of the three-year technology adoption cycle, shifting from trials to full-scale deployments, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com).

Furthermore, BLE/iBeacons is creating a wave of second generation start-ups in this space that will help to drive new growth and use cases across all major verticals. Combined, this is expected to result in over 30,000 indoor location installations in 2014.

The hallmark of a digital business will be the ability to spot opportunities that might span a matter of just seconds, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com). The research group introduced the concept of a “business moment” — a transient opportunity that is exploited dynamically — in 2013 and expects these moments to occur more and more frequently as enterprises migrate from today’s world to the digital business world. 

Worldwide home network penetration is expected to climb from 24.8% in 2013 to 33.2% by 2018, according to ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com). Growth is driven by the continued spread of broadband services and demand for multiscreen video services, according to the research group.

While Americans are well educated on the benefits of recycling bottles, cans and paper, the same can’t be said of electronic devices. The proliferation of new cell phones and tablets has led to a growing glut of “e-waste” piling up in people’s homes, as well as a lack of understanding about what to do with broken, unwanted or outdated devices.