Author Archives: Kelly Brown

About Kelly Brown

An IT practitioner by education and trade and an educator by good fortune.

The Power of Technology

I have written in the past about business and technology and particularly about the benefits and drawbacks of our current digital world. Our adoption of technology is accelerating and while it can make life more convenient, experts are concerned that it is leaving us virtually connected but personally isolated. In this blog I would like to highlight the power of technology to connect those that would otherwise be isolated.

Reaching Out

I have worked in the technology industry since the very early days of personal computers and have experienced generations of conferencing options. In the beginning there was voice-only conferencing via telephone; then came video broadcasts over large networks or satellite connections, but only to those sitting in large conference rooms. With the advent of personal computers and a build out of networks, videoconferencing came into the home with applications such as Skype, Facebook, Facetime, and Google Hangouts. This is a wonderful development that allows people to connect with each other, even over the miles. My 83-year-old parents are able to Skype with me even though we live 700 miles apart. This gives them a chance to reach out beyond their home for conversation and gives me a chance to reconnect and ensure their well-being.

Protecting

Technology can be used to ensure that you keep track of items such as keys or cell phones or something more important such as little ones or forgetful elders. There are always privacy issues when it comes to tracking people—notably children. However, in many situations those issues are overridden by security concerns. For example, if I am backpacking alone in the wilderness, I can carry a tracking device that reports my location and is visible to my family and friends. This same technology also allows loved ones to track elderly parents. For example, a small GPS tracker from Trackimo can display the whereabouts of those suffering from dementia and can alert caregivers and family members if they get lost. Technology can protect those that are vulnerable.

Collaborating

Technology can connect us with others for the purposes of collaboration. If I wanted to work with someone or a group of people on a book, an academic paper, or an art project, there are several collaboration technologies that let us create something new and meaningful. These include document and project collaboration tools such as Huddle and the Google suite of tools like docs and sheets. There are also tools such as Redpen and Mural for collaborating on visual projects. These tools foster idea sharing from large screens or mobile platforms. No longer are we limited to pursuing the creative process alone but can now easily reach out and work with others to create something meaningful.

Traveling Locally

Technology has and will continue to improve our abilities to travel, especially locally. Metro and bus stops now often display arrival times for the next train or bus. Additional mobile apps do the same across multiple travel systems. Lyft and Uber are examples of ride services for those that don’t have a car or cannot (or choose not to) drive. Putting a twist on the traditional taxi-cab model, these companies use GPS and mobile apps to engage potential customers and employ drivers that use their own personal cars. This increases the accuracy of the pick-up and drop-off processes and helps bring down the price of the ride by lowering overhead costs. With the introduction of autonomous vehicles, it will be possible to arrange the same rides minus an actual driver. These are a few ways that technology is expanding the possibility and affordability of local travel.

Thoughts

Technology can be empowering and transforming, but it can also be isolating. I believe that the difference lies in how we choose to use it. We can use technology to improve our lives and bring us together or allow it to leave us frustrated. The result is up to us. Technology has created great tools that can help us connect with others at a distance, but it is also valuable to connect with others across a dinner table, on a bus, or in a checkout line. In our modern world we can comfortably do both. Let me know your thoughts.

This is my 237^th and final blog post. I appreciate all who have taken the time to read and ponder my thoughts. I have learned a lot from researching technology and business trends. This process has led me to create and present two academic papers on the ethical responsibilities of creating emerging technologies. I am confident that the future is bright as we work together on creative solutions to improve our lives. Thank you.

About Kelly Brown

Kelly Brown is an IT professional and assistant professor of practice for the UO Applied Information Management Master’s Degree Program. He writes about IT and business topics that keep him up at night.

Expense Tracking Made Easy

This blog post comes from research to find the best business expense tracker. Small business owners are on their own when it comes to maintaining tax records and associated documentation, and it is important to track all expenses for accurate accounting and tax reporting. Small business owners already have enough on their plates without having to worry about learning new software just for tracking expenses. Applications such as QuickBooks already track accounts payable and accounts receivables, but is there an alternative that is easy and reliable to track everyday expenses and mileage for the busy entrepreneur? Here is what I uncovered.

Homework

PC Magazine suggests doing your homework before choosing the ideal expense app for your company. They highly recommend a cloud-based solution so that you can deploy it easily and your employees can use it any time, anywhere. They also suggest studying your company to understand the needs. Do you have remote employees or traveling sales people? Are you a small to medium (SMB) sized company or a small partnership? The solution you choose should meet the needs of all types of employees within your organization where possible. It is also important to work closely with your accounting department to make sure that the new solution is compatible with your accounting software and that they can integrate business expenses with other payables for a holistic view of your financial health. Finally, it is important to consider data storage for archival and tax purposes. These questions are most important when you have a growing company. Of course, if you are a sole proprietor then you can easily answer these questions because you are the CEO and CFO.

Operational Considerations

One of the big considerations suggested by PC Magazine is actual expense input. You buy gas for the company car or dine with a prospective customer but then are left with the task of inputting the expenses. It is easiest to scan a receipt with a smartphone or input the data electronically as the expenses are incurred. It is best to avoid any application that requires manual input because you are less likely to actually do it— after all, you have a company to run. PC Magazine favored three applications for ease of use, ability to integrate with back end finance processes, and flexibility in adding expenditures.

Certify Now

This application comes with a free trial and integrates well with existing QuickBook installations. It allows you to input expenses in different ways, provides an easy-to-use interface, and produces easily-viewed reports. They highlight the easy setup for the end user and backend finance department.

Xpenditure Small Business

This application can also work for larger businesses and integrates easily with existing accounting systems. The company also has a free trial version and touts real time reports and easy expense additions.

Expensify

This company advertises that their application produces “expense reports that don’t suck”. Personally I was hoping for an application that danced, but I will take this. This product is tightly integrated with backend accounting systems, can provide approval flows for reimbursement, and enables easy synchronization. They also ease the input process through smartphone scanning and optical character recognition to minimize manual input.

Thoughts

There are several cloud-based solutions on the market, but your success really depends on the size and nature of your company and whether the interface and functions are intuitive. No expense application will help sort out accounting issues if it is not easy to use. Do you use an expense tracker for your business? Let me know what works for you.

About Kelly Brown

Holiday Display Technology

How did we get from Christmas lights with big C9 bulbs that threatened to burn down our tree to extravagant computer controlled LED light displays complete with choreographed music and projections? How did we get from stuffed scarecrows at Halloween to motion detected performances on our doorsteps? Holiday decorations have taken advantage of innovations to make the holidays even more festive or scary, depending on the purpose. This blog post will explore some of the latest in holiday technology that you may need.

Retail Display Technology

Large retailers such as Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue go to great lengths to create elaborate holiday displays. Now, thanks to Google, you can view a number of retailer holiday displays without leaving your chair. Using StreetView technology, engineers have filmed window displays and formed an interactive experience. This is a new technology developed by Google marketing for retailers that already advertise with Google.

History

The first holiday light display was put up in the late 1800s as a way to replace burning candles on trees. Some of them required generators since electricity was not yet prevalent in some areas. Commercial light sets became available and affordable around 1917. Aluminum trees were introduced in the 1950s and 1960s but could not be used with lights so instead used a rotating color wheel to splash color onto the ornaments. The mini-bulb in the 1970s brought back traditional lighting inside and out and was more energy efficient. While the mini-bulb is still used, LED lighting is making a push into mainstream lighting displays. LED bulbs can now be programmed to change colors and create ever more extravagant light displays. These can be paired with an app to to direct a light display remotely. Who knows if your holiday lights may be hacked in the future?

Festive Laser Lights

Over the last couple of years, laser light projectors have started to augment or replace traditional outdoor holiday lights. These are basically red and green lasers that are projected onto a home or trees. The laser projections are fractured so that you get multiple points of lights. Originally these came as static displays but they are available now as motion lights with options for different patterns in red or green or both. These could replace static LED or mini light strings that have to be installed and taken down every year. It remains to be seen how your neighbors will accept this product, especially if your motion light pattern accidentally shines on their house or car. Also, there are warnings not to shine these up in the air within 10 miles of an airport. New this year are full spectrum white lasers and the option to display more than just red or green. This can extend the light display to Halloween, Fourth of July, or other holidays. The technology continues to be refined and the quality and accuracy of these displays are improving.

Choreographed Light Display

Choreographed light displays have been a big hit on YouTube over the last couple of years. These are lights synchronized with music played either over a loud speaker or through an FM radio signal. The controller can be something as simple as a Raspberry Pi. Judging from videos online, the sophistication and sheer volume of lights used in these displays seems to be growing. Perfect for the competitive techie.

Thoughts

We have come a long way from candles on the Christmas tree to light and music extravaganzas in neighborhoods. Ever bigger, brighter, and more sophisticated. I don’t know where we go from here for the next cool lighting tech but I value your opinion. Let me know what you think.

About Kelly Brown

Open Source vs. Commercial Applications

In 2004 the Munich, Germany city council voted to migrate city PCs away from Microsoft applications and operating systems and move to a version of open source Linux. It was a nine-year project that resulted in nearly 20,000 PCs being converted to an open source platform. They still have approximately 4,000 PCs running Windows for critical Windows based applications. The project was hailed as a success just last year, but there appears now to be question as to whether they are getting the cost savings and efficiencies they expected. Some are questioning whether ongoing application compatibility issues are worth continuing this push.

The city of Munich is beginning an Exchange migration away from open sourced Kolab, which was used for calendaring and email. It appears that an Outlook migration is in the works, opening the door to the beginning of a return to Microsoft products. A study is underway to determine the cost of moving city PCs to a Windows 10 platform. Informed by the study results, the city council will vote in November on whether to migrate back to Windows. Why the reversal? Is it impossible to run an open source environment that is compatible with other commercial applications? Does it take a special IT skillset to be successful? These are the questions going through my mind.

Politics

This is becoming a political issue as well as one of cost and productivity. The ruling party is pushing to move to Windows, citing employee dissatisfaction. The opposition party is moving to stay the course with Linux based systems in order to take advantage of the investment costs already incurred. To muddy the waters, there is also a question of IT efficiency and effectiveness. When the open source migration began after 2004, there was a parallel push to centralize IT from local organizations. They ended up centralizing into three IT functions and some employees claim that it is this centralization that is causing dissatisfaction with IT and not the open source software. The issues appear to run deeper than commercial vs. open source software.

Compatibility

I am a fan of open source software and would love to see a wide-scale installation succeed. The Munich migration, touted as “LiMux, The IT Evolution,” was one of the largest installations of open source software. With all of the finger pointing going on, it is unclear whether the problems lie with the Linux operating system, with open sourced applications such as OpenOffice, or with the IT organization. Because Linux and open source applications are not the predominant design in the world of IT, they will continue to play a minority role and will continue to have issues with compatibility. These are issues that we discuss at length in our innovations course. Open source is not the “safe play” by an IT department but can be cost effective and worth the time invested.

Thoughts

Are you using open source applications or operating systems in your organization? What are the tradeoffs, if any, between cost, ease of use, reliability and compatibility? Would you recommend open source applications and operating systems to others? Let me know your thoughts.

About Kelly Brown

Our Brains on Technology

A recent University College London study suggests that overuse of satellite navigation systems, or GPS, is actually shutting off parts of our brain. Researchers say that the pre-frontal cortex and hippocampus sections of the brain are stimulated when navigating streets and choosing potential routes but are turned off when following GPS prompts. Just as we develop muscles in our body through exercise, mental activity activates parts of our brain. The authors of this study don’t claim that the evidence is conclusive but it leads me to wonder what other brain functions are not being exercised because of our use of technology. This post is dedicated to the idea of a balanced, not blind approach to technology.

Evolutionary Changes

Could it be true that our brains are changing due to emerging technologies? If so, what implications does that have? Is it a net loss in intelligence or is it simply that one area of the brain gets stronger while another gets weaker? I wonder if early society worried about changes when we went from primarily a spoken language to a spoken and written language. Would we get lazy because we no longer had to remember the oral traditions of our forefathers to pass on to future generations? How did writing change us as individuals and as a society? In the same vein, how are digital technologies changing us today? Are we becoming net smarter? So many questions.

London Taxis

A 2011 report highlights biological changes in the brain structure of London taxi drivers. The study shows that these drivers, who study London maps for three to four years before their licensing examination, have increased activity and capacity in one section of their brain but decreased capacity in another part. In other words, by studying routings of London’s 25,000 streets their spatial skills increased but other cognitive functional capacity was lost. They are obviously good at their jobs so is the shift in their cognitive abilities a bad thing or is it just different?

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

In a 2008 article in The Atlantic, Harvard Business Review Editor Nicholas Carr asks a similar question when he muses whether Google is making us stupid. To be more precise, he questions whether search engines are changing our reading and study habits and pulling us away from deep reading. He cites his own growing inability to read a long article or an entire book because of his habit of skimming many sources instead of concentrating on one paper or book. He asks the same questions that I pose. Is this change in our cognitive ability good, bad or indifferent? Several studies point to the human brain’s incredible plasticity and ability to adapt to changing stimuli so perhaps the answer is simply that it is different and perhaps evolutionary.

Thoughts

New technologies are changing the way we live our lives and perform everyday tasks. I think it is worth asking whether it is changing our habits and thinking for the better or is it just simply change, neither good nor bad. Let me know your thoughts.

About Kelly Brown

Filling the Cybersecurity Talent Pool

I seem to see a new article weekly raising the alarm about the number of unfilled cybersecurity jobs. A 2015 report from (ISC)² projects the shortfall to rise to 1.5 million worldwide by 2020. A recent Harvard Business Review article highlighted the gap in the number of skilled cybersecurity professionals and offered some insight into how we can bridge that gap through educational programs and by hiring non-traditional employees. My aim with this post is to start a dialogue on creative ways to attract fresh minds and new faces to the field.

Traits

First of all, what traits are most desired in a security professional? I would submit that a strong sense of curiosity is important. Those creating hacks and spreading malware are certainly curious about how much trouble they can cause so it stands to reason that those tasked with detecting intrusions should also be curious. The next question is are people born curious or can it be learned? The authors of a 2015 Fast Company article suggest that we are all born curious but many lose their sense of curiosity, and it can be regained through discipline.

It is also important to have a keen sense of patterns. I believe that everyone seeks out patterns in order to make sense of chaos but some have an innate sense of irregularities that others cannot see. As pointed out in the Harvard Business Review article, machine learning is augmenting that pattern searching and discovery but it will still take human intelligence to find security anomalies.

Education

In order to train and retain more cybersecurity professionals we are going to have to change our thinking on where they come from. They don’t necessarily all come with a four year computer science degree in their pocket. Some do have that credential to be sure and they excel in the field, but we are going to have to cast a wider net in order to fill the gap. When I think of the traits of curiosity and pattern recognition I think of trained musicians. Is it possible that someone could be a security expert during the day and a musician at night or vice versa? Do we need to look closer at how we match up hobbies and vocations? Can the lines be blurred between the two?

Harvard offers an eight week introductory online course in cybersecurity through HarvardX. This is one of several online courses that allow a prospective professional to test the waters. This is a great way to match up potential security enthusiasts with information on the field. A graduate of this course may decide to go on and take advanced courses either online or at a nearby college training center. This will hopefully lead to certifications and a job offer in the field. As employers facing a skills shortage, it is important to be flexible in who we seek and how we view their academic and professional background. Perhaps expanded internships are in order for the right candidate.

Thoughts

These ideas can apply to other fields facing employee shortages but I think it is important to stay flexible on who we view as potential hires. If we continue to look at a narrow pool of candidates this gap is only going to grow. Let me know your thoughts.

About Kelly Brown

The Future of Advertising

I have been thinking about the world of advertising in the age of social media. No longer do we consume advertisements exclusively through television, print and billboards; we have many media channels and opportunities to learn about new products. Customized ads are pushed to our computers and smartphones, sometimes taking advantage of our proximity to a particular retail outlet. Advertisers have to divide their dollars much differently in the 21^st century but have the opportunity to target a much narrower demographic with their pitch.

A recent article in my local paper highlights how this advertising shift is compounded by an array of new technologies. Retailers and manufacturers can now use technology to custom deliver advertising to consumers, even from a billboard. In this blog post I explore some of the technologies available and in development to help advertisers convert their message into sales.

Smart Billboards

Traditional billboards are static, giant advertisements that reach every driver in a shotgun approach. It is a one size fits all model and while they are potentially reaching thousands of drivers every day, depending on their location, the sales conversion rate is fairly low. The next step was to create digital billboards which can shuffle through several ads in hopes of appealing to a range of drivers. There is one on an interstate near me that is very bright and annoying, especially at night. This, like the static billboard, is random in that they are targeting a very broad demographic that may be on the highway at a particular time of day.

Smart billboards are an attempt to remove the randomness. Synaps Labs has created the first smart billboard in Moscow and will bring their technology to the U.S. sometime this year. This billboard is a combination of connected cameras and machine learning. Cameras are set up ahead of the billboard and when a particular model of car is detected, the billboard will display an advertisement targeted at that driver. The billboard in Moscow had ads for Jaguar cars. The advertisers decided that particular brands of Volvos and BMWs housed drivers that may be enticed to switch to Jaguar. Advertisers are still making demographic assumptions based on a car model but they are narrowing their target audience. The picture also changes depending on whether it is night or day or summer or winter. An advertiser could play with many variables at once. Going beyond the billboard, they could also push the same ad to the driver’s cellphone as an extension or reiteration of the message.

The Future of Billboards

Advertisers are looking forward to a world of autonomous vehicles where drivers/riders have the freedom to look around instead of concentrating on the road. In this future, a consumer can follow up on the impulse to purchase the advertised item while still in the car. Better yet, with a corresponding push to the smartphone, that purchase could be only one click away. While this is intriguing to advertisers, they are asking a fundamental question about consumer behavior: when riders are free to do and look at anything, will they actually be concentrating on billboards or will they be buried in their smartphone or on-board entertainment system?

Thoughts

With modern technologies there are many possible outcomes and it will take a lot of trial and error until we understand how people will behave. Do you think targeted ads on billboards would sway you? Does your car really represent your demographic, or is that grasping at straws? What is the future of advertising in the digital world? Do you think that we are becoming more discerning consumers? Let me know your thoughts.

About Kelly Brown

What Drives You?

In a recent course we discussed motivation and what exactly drives a person to perform or even excel at a job or a task. A big question in my mind is this: what is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and is one better than the other? Will I perform better because I am offered a reward or but because I am personally driven to do the best job I know how? Academics have studied this very question for many years in a field called the science of motivation. The answers from this study can help leaders and teachers understand what drives individuals and how to draw the best from them.

Management Models

Author and career analyst Daniel Pink highlights past studies which show that external motivators really only work when performing simple tasks. This is the 20^th century management model. Reward people with money and promotions for performing these rote tasks well and punish them for doing them poorly. In this century we are doing more knowledge work, or cognitive work, such as coding and analysis. The old management model is starting to break down and people are not motivated as much by pay and the reward of a promised position. In some cases money can become a demotivator. Pink highlights three areas that drive us now; autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Autonomy

I have always appreciated and sought autonomy over my own work. Train me and then step aside and let me find ways to do the task faster, more efficiently, and with greater accuracy. While good pay is nice, I like to own my work and the outcome of that work. I have a domain that I am responsible for and I want to try and perform to the best of my ability. Once I have mastered that task or set of tasks, I will seek out more complex jobs so that I can continually learn. Give me autonomy and I will excel.

Mastery

Once I am in charge of my own domain I will do all I can to master the inputs, outputs and processes associated with that job. I am motivated to do this not so that I can then work less but so that I can grow and learn new skills. If I master something, then I can mechanize it or give it away to someone who can find even better ways to perform the job. I once had a wise manager who told me that my job was to work myself out of a job. I was surprised by this advice but have since come to understand that by excelling at one position I can then move on to find something that perhaps aligns even better with my life purpose.

Purpose

I will be the first to admit that you won’t necessarily find a life purpose right out of the gate, but life has to have some purpose and meaning and a reason to get out of bed in the morning. This is that internal motivation I talked about. Maybe you’re fortunate to find meaning and purpose in your work, or perhaps you work in order to have time and resources to pursue a hobby or volunteer work that gives you purpose. It takes time and experience to refine your life purpose so enjoy the journey and try different jobs along the way.

Thoughts

What motivates you? If you didn’t need money, would you continue to do what you do? How do you motivate others, or is that even possible? Are you really just buying their time? These are some of the things I think about. Please share your insights.

About Kelly Brown

Trends in Dental Technology

Here is a question I have been pondering: with all of our technological advances, how can we create a quick, painless, less-expensive trip to the dentist? This seems to me to be an area ripe for improvement so I set out to research the latest in dental technology. I am hoping that some of these technologies will show up in my next visit. Here are some trends that are changing dentistry in the 21^st century.

Lasers

Lasers are not new but they are still an emerging technology in dentistry. A laser can drill tooth material as well as a traditional drill but faster and with less pain, and they can provide pinpoint accuracy when removing cavities. They also remove the need for injections to deaden the tooth and surrounding areas. A different wavelength laser is used to activate a bleach substance to speed tooth whitening. Lasers can also be used to help harden a filling and improve bonding to existing tooth material.

Digital Imaging

Digital scans are beginning to replace old x-rays. They produce 90% less radiation than the old film method and they do not require processing so the image is available immediately. A digital probe that can move between teeth is available as well. The probe is small enough to be comfortable but comes with its own light source and can take video or still shots. This technology makes scans quicker, safer and more accurate.

3-D Printing

This is still in the development stage but should be coming soon to a dentist’s chair near you. A dentist could provide an image from the tool discussed above and then print a new tooth or a crown for an existing tooth. The process will be much quicker, although not instant, than creating a mold and sending it out to a lab to be made and then fitted and shaped during a second visit. This technology could benefit patients through lower cost and faster turnaround.

Remineralization

Some devices are being introduced that claim to remineralize teeth through a few micro-amps of electricity. Remineralization takes place naturally through eating or drinking calcium rich foods. These devices promise to accelerate that process so that teeth repair themselves and rebuild strong enamel, which would fight off cavities. This is a new technology and could prove to be revolutionary.

Thoughts

All of these emerging technologies are designed to reduce costs for the patient and the dentist, speed up routine procedures and reduce or eliminate pain. They will all require a fairly sizable investment from dental professionals so they may be slow to appear. My big question is this: when will we have do-it-yourself dentistry? I’d like to remineralize my own teeth or print a new one should something go wrong. I think the answer is that we will always need a professional but the procedure will become a lot easier.

About Kelly Brown

Smartphones: What Comes Next

Samsung recently introduced its new Galaxy Note 8 which has updated features such as advanced security, memory management, a new display, enhanced cameras and wireless charging. Apple is expected to announce the new iPhone 8 today with similar technology enhancements. The announcement and rollout of updated smartphones is becoming an annual event anticipated by customers and tech followers alike. The technology continually improves and battery life gets extended, but the new devices look very similar to the original iPhone introduced in 2007. Some are looking beyond the incremental improvements and asking the question: what comes after the smartphone? What will computing and communication look like in the future? In this blog post I will explore some of those questions and some of the predictions. I look forward to your feedback and ideas as well.

What Comes Next

One of the new features of the Samsung device is the ability to dock it with a full size keyboard and monitor, thus expanding the computing power of the handheld. I still remember the first time I docked a laptop, which meant that I could get rid of the big box on top of or under my desk. Just as laptops have largely replaced the desktop box, it appears that the smartphone may take over the laptop for ease of use and functionality.

The small screen and keyboard on a smartphone are inconvenient at best and often are an outright pain. I can often be seen typing with my little finger because I can’t figure out how to get my thumbs any sharper. What if we could get away from the need for a keyboard for input and a screen for display? We are still using the QWERTY keyboard which was first laid out in 1872 in order to slow down typists, not to speed them up.

The Return of Glass?

In an April ZDNet article, Steve Ranger predicts that we will move away from the smartphone and towards Google Glass type devices coupled with virtual and augmented reality. That satisfies my criteria by replacing the screen with a projected image and the keyboard with voice commands such as those spoken to Siri and Alexa and Bixby. Google Glass was great technology but it had an image problem and was not well received by those not wearing the glasses. There were concerns about privacy stemming from the fact that they had a camera that could be turned off and on with minimal indication, allowing covert use. There were also safety concerns, since wearers could easily be distracted while crossing a busy street, although staring down at a smartphone clearly has its own safety issues. The Glass technology is ready, but there is still a stigma to its use and acceptance.

My Wish List

I wish for a device that is always connected to the cloud and lets me project several large screens at once on surfaces such as a wall, a building, a sidewalk or even suspended in air. I also want to be able to share that image with others at any time. I want it to flawlessly understand my voice commands and dictation and understand contextually where I am at and what I might request next. I want it to connect seamlessly to other devices such as my smart car and my smart home devices. Finally, I would like to get rid of the small device in my pocket or in my hand so I can be free to explore the natural world with full attention.

Thoughts

What does your ultimate computing/communications device look like? Are we close to your vision or are there still some hurdles to overcome? Let me know what your dream device looks like.

About Kelly Brown