Hey, welcome to Between the Bytes! Where we’re not as smart as your average nerd. In this week’s edition of Between the Bytes we’re going to be giving you some Amazon Google and Microsoft updates. As well as some as some really cool Silicon Slopes news.
Tech News
Amazon recently announced that they’re going to be doing their Amazon Meal Kits. So similar to what Blue Apron has been doing for all these years. Amazon wants to do all of this in house. Coming from the Amazon Fresh Grocery branch of their things. You set up a $14.99 subscription and then you spend about $8-$10 per serving. They order all the ingredients you need and cooking instructions. Unfortunately, for companies like Blue Apron their stock dropped 11% the day after this was announced. Amazon is going fast. They already have 17 different food options out there. Would we use the Amazon food service? One of us is a terrible cook, so absolutely! It seems like Amazon makes it as easy as possible for us.
Google just released to the public their new hiring app called Hire. This app is for Recruiters or HR Directors/Managers who are looking to manage their recruits and their candidates as they go through the job process. It’s a really well designed app and software that you can access. It’s only available to companies who use the G Suite of products. But, other than that it’s a really cool product. And something that will allow HR Directors to better track candidates and help them through the interview process.
You’ll find a lot more companies are starting to try and incorporate different job platforms on their websites. I think this industry, especially in Utah, HR and hiring is huge right now. It’s an important piece of the puzzle. There’s a lot of potential there.
So putting their competition aside, Baidu has recently partnered with Microsoft. Baidu is essentially the Chinese Facebook. They’re a multibillion-dollar organization. What they’re trying to do is increase the speed of innovation, specifically in regards to self-driving automated car technology. Their goal is, as opposed to competing with one another here, to kind of help accelerate the innovation and then battle it out.
Some interesting news from Google again. The glass is back. That’s right, your favorite glasses are back. Google Glass was kind of shut down for consumers a couple years ago. But apparently, Google has been working behind the scenes with different companies and enterprises to release this to more factory-level type workers. It’s called Google Enterprise Edition. This Glass version has better battery life, better processors, better cameras, better everything. It’s being used in factories. Workers have instructions that will come up on the screen that will help them with the manual tasks they’re performing right then.
Lastly, there was a Forbes article talking about how Utah’s ‘Silicon Slopes’ has become Cloud Computing’s New Capital. The article includes features from Josh James of Domo, Ryan Smith of Qualtrics, and Aaron Skonnard of Pluralsight. It highlighted a handful of different things. Specifically, how Utah’s market is great in regards to the low taxes, the skilled workforce and the tech-friendly world that Utah’s living in right now. It’s booming here in Utah. One of the bullets that it did highlight is that there’s a need for a little bit more diversity out here in Utah.
Product Insider
Phillips Hue – this is a light where you can adjust different colors, different brightness and different themes. One of the most interesting things about this is that you can adjust it to your personal routine. So while you’re away or while you’re home, it’s on or off. So you’re not wasting energy. You can use it as an alarm to wake you up. And you can use it as a dimmer to help you fall asleep. One thing to make sure of when purchasing the Phillips Hue is that you purchase the package with the Phillips Bridge. The Bridge links the Hue to your Wi-Fi.
Featured Guest Section
Today we have James Wright with us. He’s one of our team leads and IT technicians here at Executech. James, I wanted to jump right in and ask you a few questions about trends that you’re seeing in the IT industry, the IT world today.
Wright: I think one of the things we found to be really interesting was the new implementation with Alexa, for those of us who like to go fishing. It’s kind of an interesting thing where you can now train your Alexa device to let you know about fishing reports around your region. I find it useful. Instead of having to jump through multiple sites I can just ask Alexa, “Tell me we’re ready to go fish today”. And that’s where I go.
Where’s your favorite fishing spot?
Wright: I like both Lost Creek, outside of Morgan, as well as East Canyon. These are great places to get away with no cell service.
What are some things that you would tell businesses and business owners to improve about their security for their IT?
Wright: A reality we face in this industry is that there’s nothing that’s 100% foolproof. You have to accept that a layered approach is going to be what’s necessary to be successful. Having a solid firewall, a solid layer of antivirus intrusion detection and all of those gateway services are really going to make a difference when it comes to a business’ security. At the same time making sure that you’re reviewing the things that are going on. Enabling the GO IP blocking if you need to and some of these other great features to prevent those denial of service attacks and other original attacks that could create problems for business, especially a e-commerce site.
What is your most favorite book, movie or show that you’re keeping up with right now?
Wright: I’ve seen quite a bit of movies lately. I’ve seen the most recent Transformers movie and I think the new Spider Man movie. They’re all great movies. One of the things I like about the new Transformers movie it’s reintroduced some of the settings that you would see from the original cartoons. But at the end of the day nothing is better than a good Star Wars movie.
Amen to that! Love us some Star Wars. Thanks James, we appreciate you coming in and joining us today on Between the Bytes.
Tech Tip of the Week
This tip is to help you with your smart phone’s power. If you find that your smartphone is draining a lot of battery power be sure to check old apps that you’re not using anymore. Sometimes old apps will drain your battery. Also check for apps that are using your location. Location services will also drain your battery. And try to keep your phone as cool as possible. An overheated phone drains battery life.
Coming up next week. Our newest guests on Between the Bytes – a Google home and Alexa. Battle of the AI coming next week on Between the Bytes. Don’t miss it!
