Just my Opinion
Daniel Aoulou
"New decade New tech"
It’s finally 2020! Happy New Year to you, reader. We’ve stepped into yet another decade, and while we do not yet have real hoverboards or even networks of flying cars, technology still has come an extraordinarily long way since the beginning of the previous decade. My personal favorite bracket of the growth of technology in the 2000s has definitely been the growth in smart home technology. In the past decade, smart technology has learned to pay attention to the human voice with precision and efficiency that we only dreamed of at one point.
In fact, if there is anything smart technology has evolved to do best, it’s to empower the user. In 2014, Amazon launched the Echo, a smart speaker empowered to serve by Amazon’s very own virtual assistant software, Alexa. Today, you’re probably used to asking Alexa about the weather or commanding your virtual companion to play your favorite songs. If not, then maybe you’re more used to saying “Okay, Google, play my workout playlist,” or something to that effect. The Google Assistant was created in 2016, as an app for phones; later that year the Google Assistant took on the form of Google’s answer to Amazon’s Echo: Google Home.
It’s no surprise that the Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa quickly rose to the top of everyone’s Christmas lists; the virtual assistants were designed with exactly that in mind: assistance. As aforementioned, from their debuts, the speakers could do what any other speaker could; play music. Today, Amazon’s Alexa can send texts from your phone, and the Google Nest brand (the rebranded Google Home system) can regulate your home’s temperature, all through voice commands. Many security camera companies have integrated their software with Google Home, allowing users to view camera feeds on devices such as the Google Nest Hub, a smart display. Smart locks have become ever more common as well; letting relatives in the house has become as easy “Hey Google, unlock the front door.” Now you never even have to get up for the holiday rush!
As we move into the future of our lives, it’s important to think about how we can make it easier for us. Taking the mundane things off of our hands might seem at first arbitrary and unnecessary but, a bunch of small things can be a huge help! Things as small as no longer needing to pick up my phone to set a timer or find out the weather have greatly boosted my productivity, thanks to the simple fact that I find it cumbersome to pick up my phone at times. I’ll admit that that may be more of a personal grievance, but you probably get my drift.
In fact, if there is anything smart technology has evolved to do best, it’s to empower the user. In 2014, Amazon launched the Echo, a smart speaker empowered to serve by Amazon’s very own virtual assistant software, Alexa. Today, you’re probably used to asking Alexa about the weather or commanding your virtual companion to play your favorite songs. If not, then maybe you’re more used to saying “Okay, Google, play my workout playlist,” or something to that effect. The Google Assistant was created in 2016, as an app for phones; later that year the Google Assistant took on the form of Google’s answer to Amazon’s Echo: Google Home.
It’s no surprise that the Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa quickly rose to the top of everyone’s Christmas lists; the virtual assistants were designed with exactly that in mind: assistance. As aforementioned, from their debuts, the speakers could do what any other speaker could; play music. Today, Amazon’s Alexa can send texts from your phone, and the Google Nest brand (the rebranded Google Home system) can regulate your home’s temperature, all through voice commands. Many security camera companies have integrated their software with Google Home, allowing users to view camera feeds on devices such as the Google Nest Hub, a smart display. Smart locks have become ever more common as well; letting relatives in the house has become as easy “Hey Google, unlock the front door.” Now you never even have to get up for the holiday rush!
As we move into the future of our lives, it’s important to think about how we can make it easier for us. Taking the mundane things off of our hands might seem at first arbitrary and unnecessary but, a bunch of small things can be a huge help! Things as small as no longer needing to pick up my phone to set a timer or find out the weather have greatly boosted my productivity, thanks to the simple fact that I find it cumbersome to pick up my phone at times. I’ll admit that that may be more of a personal grievance, but you probably get my drift.
POETRY
YOKO ZHU
"baby teeth"
the distance between your words
faraway convoluted by the mundane and all the things i no longer know about you i miss that part of us where you were an extension of myself before change molded us morphed us metaphorized us into ghosts. losing me was easier than holding on we fall out i fall apart you wait for someone else to fill the vacancy in the meantime, you smile with your mouth closed to hide the gap. |