Crazy New Tech

Technology as it is used by consumers is evolving at a break-neck pace these days.

Fancy new hard ware includes smartphones, touch screens, and tablets, among other, less mainstream, items.

More impressive is the boom in software and applciations that we are seeing right now.  Even in just the last week I have seen an explosion of articles about new versions and new products.

Google, for instance, is the creator of the Android operating system for smart phones.  One of the characteristics that sets Android apart on the market is that Google has a more open-source take on technology.  This means that they will let anyone create programs, change things, tinker, explore. Their new App Inventor allows users to create their own apps for the Android system.  They have a new maps program, too, which shows the landscape and buildings in three dimensions.  Google has also rolled out some beta devides running their new Chrome OS. Chrome is also the name of their internet browser, and the OS is very similar.  With Chrome, all of a user's files would be stored in the cloud and accesible on any device.  It boasts lightning quick boot times and ease of use.  Google is also working on or has recently unveiled a music locker, google books, video productions, and place search.

In the same vein, Mac is launching an App store in the next month, Facebook has unveiled a facial recognition technology, search engine Bing is incorporating all new features, browser Opera just realeased version 11, with stackable tabs and extension support, and private users are hacking the Kinect to do some amazing things including a self-directed hovercraft that uses Kinect technology to "see" the world around it.

What crazy new technology are you excited about?