A new year has started and with that comes the anticipation of new tech and a reflection of all those gadgets that made our lives more comfortable and more enjoyable. Here is a quick rundown of those tech gadgets and other technological advances you couldn’t do without last year.
2018 was the year of enhanced mobile phone camera lenses and sophisticated photography capabilities. We are way beyond the selfie stick now as the cameras in mobile phones are making giant leaps forward, offering multiple lenses in combination with purposely built software. Every new smartphone now offers some form of portrait mode, post editing possibilities, including changes in aperture and HDR options. Modern phones can not only take stunning photos, but they also make it easier for the end user as well.
2018 was also the year where advances were made on tech that makes our lives safer. From tech that helps people with diabetes monitor their glucose levels, to make the use of dash cams more commonplace. See the best dash cam 2018 for some standout options. Facial recognition has come a long way, even touted to be used to combat human trafficking.
It wasn’t the year of VR or AR yet. Instead, we saw fin-tech taking a high flight, with financial services going app based. You know you can bank outside the typical brick & mortar financial institutions. Moreover, these companies offer compelling and sophisticated ways to organize and analyze your money and new ways to invest. It was also the year of chatbots, offering consumers almost real-time interaction experiences, any time anywhere. Most companies are responding to the call from an ever younger becoming target audience and their expectations on how companies should interact with them. And you can’t really say chatbot without mentioning AI. It seems that each year, machines are becoming smarter and smarter. Point and case is image recognition capability, which is becoming increasingly better at recognizing what’s in a picture.
2018 was also the year where we all came crashed back to earth from cryptocurrency highs. The blockchain is still a promising advancement, but we have now learned that it still needs to drive true added value, and FOMO is not a good indicator of value.
Previously mentioned face recognition also comes with a darker side. China is reportedly working to supercharge its national CCTV network with facial recognition to create something that is reminiscent of Big Brother practices. Also in the news, drones and the legislative grey area surrounding them. Recently drones near a UK airport grounded all planes, causing severe delays to people traveling.
What’s in store for 2019? It seems that engineers will determine the fate of big tech companies such as Facebook as it struggles with its public responsibility following the data scandals. Despite this, AI will continue to change the way we collect and use data. Wearable tech could make another leap forward seeing as smart watches have made another leap. More than ever, we are confronted with questions about data security. If 2019 is anything like the year just gone, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
We all have dreams that we hope to achieve throughout our lives. Unfortunately, though, there are so many of us who fail to make these dreams become a reality. As a result, we miss goals and targets, and life can sometimes turn out very differently to how we would have liked it to. This could end up feeling like you haven’t achieved anything and that you have ended up going down a dead-end route.
Thankfully, it doesn’t always have to be like that. In fact, if you are able to identify the things that are holding you back in your life, then you should be able to go about changing things for the better. Here are a few things that regularly hold people back in their lives and what can be done about them.
A Poor Education
When we are kids, we are never interested in our education as much as we should be, and it’s often the case that some children don’t end up getting the grades that they need for their future careers. As a result, they often end up taking a job that they aren’t particularly interested in. If this is what happened to you, you might want to think about trying to get a better education. After all, it’s never too late to go back to school! Once you get the grades you need, then you can start working towards your dream career.
Shock And Trauma
Sometimes life can be going exactly how we want, but then an event will occur out of nowhere and can knock us completely off course. Not only can some events leave people with mental health issues, such as PTSD and anxiety, but they can also have financial implications too. One of the most common causes of trauma that can turn lives upside down has to be a car crash. If you are ever involved with one, it could be necessary to seek help from a therapist to help treat mental scars. You might also need to find a car accident attorney to help you claim compensation and get your finances back on track.
Some people find that their poor money management skills can hold them back from doing certain things, such as going traveling or moving into a better home. Even if you don’t want to do anything big in your life that requires money, it’s still nice to have some savings that you can dip into every now and then. You shouldn’t find it too hard to improve your financial situation as long as you are fairly strict with yourself. You just need to set a budget and try to cut down your expenses as much as possible.
No Plans
If you do want to aim for something big in your life, you need to have a plan in place to help you achieve it. Without a plan, you might find that the lack of guidance is difficult to deal with.
Cycling has a vast range of benefits, and it’s something that more and more people are taking up. You’ve probably overtaken cyclists in your car (leaving them plenty of room!) or walked past bikes chained up outside stores and businesses. But, have you ever considered the idea of cycling on vacation?
Of course, there are keen cyclists, who travel the world taking part in races and cycling events. They don’t just take their bike away with them on their usual vacation. Their bike is why they’ve gone in the first place. This isn’t what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about using a rockymounts monorail to strap your bike to your car, taking it with you of your trip. Well, there are plenty of reasons that you should give it some thought. Here’s a look at just a few of them.
You’ll Meet People
Going on vacation can be a great way to meet new people. But, only if you get out there. If you spend your whole time in the car traveling to sights, or in your hotel room, you are limiting your chances to meet new people. Get out there on a bike, and you’ll meet people every time you stop for a break. It’s also a great icebreaker and gives you something in common with other cyclists along the way.
You’ll Bond
One of the reasons that we go on vacation is to spend some quality time with our family or friends, away from work, school, and real life. Then, we get there and spend all of our time chatting with people back home on Facebook or sharing our holiday snaps with the world on Instagram. Quality time often gets forgotten.
Getting out there on bikes gets you all away from technology, gives you some quality time to do something together, and gives you something to talk about. It might even turn into a hobby that you all enjoy and continue when you get home with weekly rides and picnics.
It’ll Save You Money
Most of us go on vacation armed with a wad of spending money. Intending on spending it on fun days out and souvenirs. Then, the cost of public transport and cabs starts to eat away at our funds. Taking a bike means that you can travel around your destination for free.
It’s Good for You
Very few of us go on vacation with the hope of becoming fitter or losing weight. In fact, most of us are keen to take a break and let things go. Cycling means that you can eat and drink what you want and spend time lying by the pool while maintaining your fitness levels.
It’s Good for the Planet
One of the most significant benefits of cycling and the main reason we see people cycling to work every day is that it’s great for the planet. Cars are a leading cause of harmful emissions. Avoiding them is great.
You’ll See More of the World Around You
When you’re not stuck in a car or on a bus, looking at the world through a window, you see more of it. On a bike, you’ll see some areas cars can’t go, and you’ll be able to stop and explore whenever you want to.
It’s Relaxing
Exercise isn’t always relaxing. But, after a stressful day with your family, or a hectic day sightseeing, getting out there on your bike can give you a way to chill out, relax and burn off some tension.
Technology is changing everything in our lives, including transport. Every week there is something in the media about the progress that is being made. With most countries now having a time limit on the use of petrol and diesel cars, finding other modes of transport is a problem that many developers are trying to solve.
Electric Road Vehicles
Electric vehicles for the roads could be one solution, and they are already here. As more charging points are being installed, more people are turning to electric vehicles. They are quieter and more economical. The first best-seller will be the one that comes up with a way of making the charge last a lot longer than they do at the moment.
Self-Driving Vehicles
There has been a race among vehicles makers to be the first to produce a safe self-driving vehicle, and many of them are in the late stages of development. Unfortunately, there have been several high profile crashes that have not inspired the confidence of the public. So far, these crashes have involved self-drive cars, but how much worse could they have been if the self-drive vehicle is a bus, for example, like the one Mercedes are developing.
Concept Planes
Taking to the sky’s to get out of the heavy traffic in the big cities is a dream many people have when they are sitting in the rush hour each morning. Several solutions are being offered for this one, including the Volante Vision Concept being developed by Cranfield Aerospace in partnership with Rolls Royce and Aston Martin. Flying cars is another option, although the development of those is in its very early stages. Toyota is just one of the companies looking at this possibility.
Monorails
Monorails are not a new technology, but the autonomous SkyTran is. It can cut a two-hour car journey to just 10 minutes because of its 155 mph capabilities. This high=tech system will predict where and when extra pods are needed and will make sure they are there at that time. Using it is easy too. You just go to a station, punch in the destination you want to reach and it assigns you to a pod that is heading there.
Unlike railways stations, the stations needed for SkyTran are quite small, so building plenty of them will not be such a huge challenge.
Hyperloops
Hyperloops are still a dream at the moment but there are two companies racing to be the first success with them. They involve pods traveling through tunnels by speed as much as 500mph. They will make travel quicker, more efficient and as they will be in an enclosed environment, will not have delays caused by the weather.
Reusable Rockets
Reusable rockets have attracted much media attention in the last few months, but as yet it is not certain how many people would actually use them. Elon Musk has said he wants to use them to land people on Mars in just 9 years time, but at the moment there is some doubt if people will want to travel on the first few. They need to see they are safe first of all, and that they are not just abandoned on Mars.
These are just some of the likely vehicles for the future. There will no doubt be many more, some we will love and some we ill hate, but that will not stop the developers from having a go.
Keeping fit can be hard in itself, yet when you are traveling a lot it can be particularly difficult. Whilst there are many holiday activities to keep you moving, it can be challenging to find the motivation to regularly keep on top of your fitness when traveling a lot, as most people need a regime they follow which has an element of regularity in order to commit to a particular fitness program.
Similarly, some people need the motivation and accountability that comes from having a personal trainer, which is obviously much harder when you are traveling a lot.
Of course, if you’re travelling to somewhere that means you’ll be in the great outdoors it can be a lot easier to stay active, as you might find you just need some decent basketball shoes from sportprovement.com that enable you to take part in a number of activities without needing any special equipment or the constraints of a gym membership.
That said, travelling in unfamiliar environments, particularly in cities can make it hard to get access to the gym and sports equipment you might be used to – and whilst you can spend all your time searching for local gyms that cater for visitors, this can end up being an expensive and somewhat tedious pursuit to keep doing if you are travelling around different cities all the time, rather than being located in just one place, in which case a temporary gym membership would suffice.
Here are five easy ways you can keep fit whilst on your travels.
Take Your Exercise Classes With You
LesMills.com is the world’s leading provider of fitness classes, as it is the owner of systems such as Body Pump, Body Combat and GRIT – that are found in the most popular gyms throughout the world.
Today, you can download an app that for around $10 a month gives you access to on-demand video versions of their most popular classes; meaning you can do this in your hotel room, or even in the local park.
Swim
Swimming is one of the best ways to keep in shape, so if you can find a hotel with a decent pool (i.e. at least 25 meters in length) then you can get a decent workout without having to leave your hotel.
Jog
Jogging is one of the most popular forms of exercises for travelers as all you need are some decent shoes, tunes, and a route to run. This is a great way to see more of the destination you are visiting too and can be a sociable form of exercise if you join a local running club for a one-off session.
Hire a Bike
In a similar vein to jogging, you could always hire a bike that allows you to travel throughout the city, or nature, at a very low cost whilst seeing much more of the destination; it could even save you having to hire a car if you’re visiting a city (or are a really keen cyclist).
Bring Some Equipment With You
There’s a plentiful supply of lightweight equipment you could bring with you on your travels, such as a skipping rope, TRX bands or resistance bands that can provide your body with a decent all over workout, without weighing down your case.
Recent Comments