According to Moore’s Law, technology is constantly changing and evolving. It grows exponentially, so every year and a half or so, things get better and better. That’s the case with cell phone technology in China. They are working on moving into 6G, meaning that cell service would be faster and more efficient.

This faster cell service would take affect in 2020, and is estimated to be 10x faster than 5G. As of now, most countries are still trying to work on getting 5G speed, but China is on the cutting edge for cell phone speed.

Just as Moore’s Law describes, in just a few years cell speeds will be exponentially faster than what they are at now, and a few years after that they will be faster than they are at 6G. This is a perfect example of how technology is constantly getting better and better, making us wonder what the future of technology could hold.

“Can’t Wait for 5G? China Already Targeting Preparations for 6G” by Jinshan Hong

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-14/can-t-wait-for-5g-china-already-targeting-preparations-for-6g

In the last decade, social media has been the new form of communication. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram make it easy for long time friends to keep in touch from all around the world. Recently, though, companies are beginning to see a new and cost effective method of advertising, social media.

Meghan Young, an “instagram star,” has made a career out of posting to Instagram and doing advertisements. A company will find a page like Meghans and ask her to do a paid advertisement for their product or service, and for many companies this type of marketing is far more cost effective than airing a commercial or paying for a billboard. Most people may be thinking, how can posting to instagram provide a steady income? Last year along, companies spent around $1.6 billion on these types of advertisements, so the opportunities are endless.

This is the type of new wave of informational technology that changes the way businesses are run. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and even YouTube are now viable career paths. These sites make it much easier to get information out quickly and efficiently. There are opportunities everywhere online, all it takes is a little digging.

“What It Takes to Make Instagram Influencing a Full-Time Career” by Aki Ito

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-29/what-it-takes-to-make-instagram-influencing-a-full-time-career?srnd=technology-vp

Ever since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, there have been tens of thousands of deadly cases of Zika virus to hit. Scientists have a good understanding of which strands are severe and which are not, but being able to communicate about where there are dense amounts of cases is vital. That’s where the Cloud comes in.

The Puerto Rico Vector Control Unit (PRVCU) has set up about 1,300 mosquito traps all around the country and have been investigating where there are the largest amounts of mosquitos carrying the fatal strands so they can warn residents close to these areas of the dangers of Zika virus. Once the scientists identifies a mosquito with the fatal strand, they use an iPhone do pinpoint their location, then making it possible to find breeding grounds for these mosquitos. Once each trap is studied, the information is uploaded to a universal cloud where scientists from each different trap site can view the new information.

This type of country-wide research effort would have never been possible 20 years ago. With this kind of collaborative technology, it allows the smartest and brightest brains to all work toward a common cause and save thousands of lives.

“Puerto Rico Is Fighting Zika Virus With Cloud Technology” by Nick Leiber

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-26/puerto-rico-is-fighting-zika-with-cloud-technology

In today’s world, a smartphone can be used for virtually anything. It can be used to make calls, turn off lights, or monitor your heart rate, so why hasn’t that been translated into helping those with diabetes? Now it has.

Recently, the “DIY Pancreas” has been invented that monitors a diabetics glucose levels and can regulate blood sugar. It works in 4 steps. A chip is inserted somewhere under the skin that does the monitoring, then the information from this chip is sent to a smartphone that can connect to a chip in the insulin pump that can then regulate the glucose levels.

For many diabetics, this new piece of technology is life changing. Without having to constantly monitor blood sugar levels manually, they are able to sleep through the night and go out without the worry of low levels. Although it may take years to become approved by the FDA, it is constantly improving and is a great alternative for someone with diabetes.

 

“How to Build Your Own Artificial Pancreas (Podcast)”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2018-11-02/how-to-build-your-own-artificial-pancreas-podcast

In many of the Unites States biggest cites, some of the main issues surrounding transportation is the noise and the emissions. Cars and buses create tons of emissions every day, and create one noisy setting. If you live in Los Angeles, for example, you’ve probably become so accustomed to the roaring sound of super cars and the loud brakes of the bus, but for the residents of Shenzhen, China, it’s a whole different story.

In Shenzhen, a megacity in China, they have converted to an almost completely electric city. With donations from Warren Buffett and Chinese subsidies, this megacity has plans to become a powerhouse in the electric vehicle industry.

BYD Co., an up and coming electric vehicle manufacturer, has already donated around 16,000 electric buses to the city and has around 37,000 cars for it’s company and employees. Not only is this shift in electric vehicles helping the reduction of gas emissions, but it’s creating for a quieter city.

“China Is Leading the World to an Electric Car Future”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-14/china-is-leading-the-world-to-an-electric-car-future

 

Now more than ever, people are becoming aware of the environmental damages occurring from the irresponsibility of the world. Companies are coming up with new and smart ways to produce energy while also reducing harm to the environment.

In the Bloomberg Businessweek article, “America’s Clean Power Map: Solar on Coasts, Wind Rules Heartland,” it shows a  map of where our clean energy is coming from. For solar energy, it is generally found in places that receive a lot of sunlight, like California and North Carolina. Similarly, wind energy is found in places where wind is strong, like Texas and Oklahoma. The article also shows a graph of big tech companies and how much clean energy they own, showing how up and coming the clean energy business is.

Not only are big businesses beginning to buy in to clean energy, but solar companies are making it easier for the individual to invest in solar energy. At home in California, for example, my family went through a solar company and leased solar panels to put on the roof of the house. Now, there is a monthly lease payment but no electric bill, so we end up making money from the unused energy obtained through the panels. Options like this are soon going to be the norm for people in sunny areas.

This new technological way of obtaining energy is benefitting big businesses as well as the environment. It’s advances like this that are steadily growing into a huge industry while also benefitting many different aspects. Solar and wind energy are not commonly known as an investment piece, but if you’re in an area where you could benefit from these uses, invest while you can.

 

“America’s Clean Power Map: Solar on Coasts, Wind Rules Heartland” by Jim Efstathiou Jr. and Dave Merrill

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-14/america-s-clean-power-map-solar-on-coasts-wind-rules-heartland

Cameras have been around for hundreds of years. First as black and white, then as digital, and now in the form of a mirrorless camera. Mirrorless cameras are not brand new technology, but the market for high quality mirrorless camera lenses is a relatively new phenomenon.

A mirrorless camera is a digital camera that does not contain the inner mirror, which is what makes the “click” sound when taking a photo. What this does is force the light to go directly through to the LED screen or viewfinder, and making it easier to take high quality photos on a smaller, more compact camera.

According to this Bloomberg article, two large camera companies are competing for the top spot in mirrorless camera technology. Sony Corp. released new lenses for their mirrorless camera, prompting Nikon Corp. to follow in their footsteps and create their own new lenses.

This newly competitive lense market is creating more and more options for the consumer. With the addition of more lenses for photographers to choose from, mirrorless cameras will soon be the norm, and camera companies seem to be nowhere close to slowing down.

“Nikon Takes on Sony With Mirrorless Camera” by Yaki Nakamura and Yuki Furukawa

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-23/nikon-takes-on-sony-with-pro-grade-full-frame-mirrorless-camera