The discussion in class about Facebook's new facial recognition technology inspired me to research further on this topic.
As you would assume, most people think this is an extremely creepy feature of Facebook. Though I tend to agree, it's not really as bad as it sounds. In fact, it seems like it'll be a time saver for those people who are avid photo posters.
When you tag a friend in a photo, Facebook will remember what the friend looks like, and will suggest tags in the future if it recognizes your friend in future picture posts. Users have the ability to opt out of using this feature, which is good for those people who are creeped out.
Though it is wild to think that technology has advanced so much that computers are able to identify people based on their facial structure, this piece of technology being added to Facebook photo posts isn't that big of a deal to me. To me, it seems like this technology is speeding up the process of tagging photos, which is something that the user was going to most likely do anyway. If the poster of photos isn't happy with the tagged pictures, they can always untag their friend's name. Also, if the subject of the picture isn't happy with being tagged, they can always untag themselves as well.
More is discussed in an article off PC World called Why Facebook's Facial Recognition is Creepy
Did you know that over 200 million photos are uploaded to Facebook per day?! I didn't...
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
3G vs. 4G: Is it Worth the Switch?
Talking about the differences between Android and iPhone and the discussion of 3G vs. 4G during class prompted me to research further. I'm interested in the real differences between 3 and 4G and what the benefits are to switching to a 4G network. Can it really be that much of a difference?
Well, in an article from June 2011, Amy Lee discusses her own findings as well as comments from Verizon/AT&T experts: "3G vs. 4G: What You Should Know Before You Switch"
This article seems, to me, make 4G not seem worth the switch as of right now. 4G, shorthand for 4th Generation Wireless, has been on the tip of mobile users' tongues for a while now, but I haven't seen many people with 4G phones yet. 4G is supposed to be faster, mainly, which allows users to download/stream videos, music, and websites faster.
While it may be faster, studies show that the increased speeds and capabilities will also lead to a higher data usage, which cell companies are starting to charge heavily for. For example, AT&T charges $25/month for 2GB of data with an excess fee of $10 for each GB over the limit.
Benefits to 4G:
AT&T released data stating that data volumes for customers on their broadband network have increased data usage by 8,000% in the past four years (one GB equal to 35 hours of music or 5 hours of video streaming).
Though consumers seem to be itching for 4G capabilities, experts say that even by 2015, only about 5% of mobile users will be on this faster network. That's opposing what I previously thought, which was that everybody wants to be on 4G. Personally, I think that 3G is good enough for me for now, and until I see real benefits to switching to 4G, I'm sticking with what I have. It's fast enough to do whatever I want without draining my iPhone battery.
Well, in an article from June 2011, Amy Lee discusses her own findings as well as comments from Verizon/AT&T experts: "3G vs. 4G: What You Should Know Before You Switch"
This article seems, to me, make 4G not seem worth the switch as of right now. 4G, shorthand for 4th Generation Wireless, has been on the tip of mobile users' tongues for a while now, but I haven't seen many people with 4G phones yet. 4G is supposed to be faster, mainly, which allows users to download/stream videos, music, and websites faster.
While it may be faster, studies show that the increased speeds and capabilities will also lead to a higher data usage, which cell companies are starting to charge heavily for. For example, AT&T charges $25/month for 2GB of data with an excess fee of $10 for each GB over the limit.
Benefits to 4G:
- Fast streaming/downloading of media
- Can be up to 10x faster than 3G wireless devices
- Could help broadband access capabilities in rural areas
- Increased data usage makes it easy to exceed monthly data usage limits
- Faster speeds doesn't equate to fewer dropped calls
- 4G is not currently available everywhere on the map
- Switching to 4G service (on Verizon) is automatic, but switching back to 3G is laggy and battery draining
AT&T released data stating that data volumes for customers on their broadband network have increased data usage by 8,000% in the past four years (one GB equal to 35 hours of music or 5 hours of video streaming).
Though consumers seem to be itching for 4G capabilities, experts say that even by 2015, only about 5% of mobile users will be on this faster network. That's opposing what I previously thought, which was that everybody wants to be on 4G. Personally, I think that 3G is good enough for me for now, and until I see real benefits to switching to 4G, I'm sticking with what I have. It's fast enough to do whatever I want without draining my iPhone battery.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Can You See My Screen?
Recently at work, my manager held a monthly meeting, as he does each month. At this meeting, various topics were covered about the company, summer policies, etc. One topic which was discussed and demonstrated to us was the use of a desktop sharing platform called "Join.Me".
In my position, I provide customer service and support for hospital employees who use our software. At my office, I have a duplicate copy of the applications that my hospitals run on, and I also have the capability to dial in to a hospital's computer system and run their applications remotely. These are excellent tools to troubleshoot issues, but when it comes to teaching the hospital employees how to use the applications correctly, it can be difficult.
I could give directions over the phone, detailing with my voice each step.
I could type out directions, which is lengthy and time consuming.
These are two solutions that do work, but, a new FREE way to share desktops has been introduced to myself and the rest of my co-workers. Join.Me provides a free way to share what is on your desktop screen with another person (or multiple people). With Join.Me, the "instructor" goes onto the website, asks for a sharing session, and then simply sends the provided link to their "student". Both the instructor and student do not need to sign up for anything to use this desktop sharing feature.
The student can take control of the screen if they want to, and I can also talk on the phone while sharing my desktop with a hospital. I have not used this desktop sharing feature with my customers yet, but others have, and it has been very successful.
In my position, I provide customer service and support for hospital employees who use our software. At my office, I have a duplicate copy of the applications that my hospitals run on, and I also have the capability to dial in to a hospital's computer system and run their applications remotely. These are excellent tools to troubleshoot issues, but when it comes to teaching the hospital employees how to use the applications correctly, it can be difficult.
I could give directions over the phone, detailing with my voice each step.
I could type out directions, which is lengthy and time consuming.
These are two solutions that do work, but, a new FREE way to share desktops has been introduced to myself and the rest of my co-workers. Join.Me provides a free way to share what is on your desktop screen with another person (or multiple people). With Join.Me, the "instructor" goes onto the website, asks for a sharing session, and then simply sends the provided link to their "student". Both the instructor and student do not need to sign up for anything to use this desktop sharing feature.
The student can take control of the screen if they want to, and I can also talk on the phone while sharing my desktop with a hospital. I have not used this desktop sharing feature with my customers yet, but others have, and it has been very successful.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Can I Take Your Order?
Early on in Thomas Friedman's lecture at MIT, he talked a bit about how McDonalds is now experimenting with outsourcing their Drive Thru order system. I found this to be very interesting and logical, so I researched further....
I found articles about a particular McDonalds restaurant in Santa Maria, CA. One article, "Bronco Communications Launches McDonald's Drive-Thru Call Center" (2005), talks of how McDonald's has chosen to outsource their Drive Thru order system to a company called Bronco, which is located nearby in California as well. By using Voice Over the Internet (VOIP) capabilities, 125 workers have been able to process over 150,000 orders since this project began. Workers, at peak times, are able to process a staggering 95 orders per hour.
Not only is Bronco servicing order processing for McDonald's, but they have also launched a kiosk located in the restaurant, which customers can use to order and pay for their food quickly without waiting in line at the register. This is very similar to Self Check-out systems that we see at Wal Mart or CVS.
The idea behind using the Bronco Call Center is to both speed up delivery/ordering processing and to also alleviate stress on employees at McDonald's. It seems to me that this is a great idea. When I'm at a drive thru, sometimes it seems that the person taking orders is also struggling to process the order in the register while also having to tailor to the needs/take orders for the person who is after me. With this call center doing all of the order processing, some employees can focus on making food, while one employee runs the cash register without having to multitask between making money exchanges and taking orders.
I have not found any articles from post-2006, but I wonder if McDonald's is still outsourcing in Santa Maria; or if they've expanded this idea to other McDonald's sites...
I found articles about a particular McDonalds restaurant in Santa Maria, CA. One article, "Bronco Communications Launches McDonald's Drive-Thru Call Center" (2005), talks of how McDonald's has chosen to outsource their Drive Thru order system to a company called Bronco, which is located nearby in California as well. By using Voice Over the Internet (VOIP) capabilities, 125 workers have been able to process over 150,000 orders since this project began. Workers, at peak times, are able to process a staggering 95 orders per hour.
Not only is Bronco servicing order processing for McDonald's, but they have also launched a kiosk located in the restaurant, which customers can use to order and pay for their food quickly without waiting in line at the register. This is very similar to Self Check-out systems that we see at Wal Mart or CVS.
The idea behind using the Bronco Call Center is to both speed up delivery/ordering processing and to also alleviate stress on employees at McDonald's. It seems to me that this is a great idea. When I'm at a drive thru, sometimes it seems that the person taking orders is also struggling to process the order in the register while also having to tailor to the needs/take orders for the person who is after me. With this call center doing all of the order processing, some employees can focus on making food, while one employee runs the cash register without having to multitask between making money exchanges and taking orders.
I have not found any articles from post-2006, but I wonder if McDonald's is still outsourcing in Santa Maria; or if they've expanded this idea to other McDonald's sites...
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
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