Eight Tips For The New Techy Teacher

Here is some helpful advice for educators just beginning the long journey to establishing a successful, effective technology classroom.

1. Embrace Failure

As pessimistic as it sounds, this is the number one thing I wish someone had told me before I began. Failure doesn’t mean you’re a bad teacher, it certainly doesn’t mean you should give up. Sometimes, you’ll plan the perfect lesson and then watch it crash and burn before your teary eyes. Apps will go haywire. Students will click buttons. Projects won’t save correctly. Use these mishaps as learning opportunities.

2. Become Familiar with the SAMR Model

We are all aware of Bloom’s Taxonomy: asking our students to formulate higher-level responses can bolster their learning. The SAMR Model is the Bloom’s Taxonomy of educational technology. It can help you understand different ways technology can be implemented in your classroom and gain an idea of what each tier would look like at your grade level. Not every lesson needs to reach the most advanced stage, but some can—and should. It’s also important for you to take an honest look at your background experience and determine what level of the SAMR Model you’re currently at. There’s no wrong answer because whether you’re at the starting line of this tech marathon or nearing the finish, your objective should be moving forward.

3. Set Goals

It’s easy to begin a tech initiative with the best of intentions, but the follow-through is often the most difficult part. Set realistic goals for yourself about how often or how much you aim to use your new technology, and write them down if it helps you maintain focus. You might want to try out one new app each week or focus on enriching one subject area a month. Whatever it is, establish a goal that is both rigorous and attainable. Bonus tip: find another teacher or teammate who will share your ambition and hold you accountable for making progress.

4. Remember: Quality over Quantity

I began my tech adventure thinking that the more apps, the more valuable and impressive my tech instruction. I spent a lot of evenings and plan periods browsing the App store and downloading any app that looked mildly useful. The problem was that, between finding each app, downloading it, learning how to use it, and then training my students, it wasted precious time. Instead of trying to force a new app into your lesson plans, look at your curriculum and think first about what kind would be most beneficial to your students, most well suited to the content, and result in the most authentic learning opportunities. If you already have an app that fits the bill—use it!

5. Experiment First

There are some situations in which flying by the seat of your pants is acceptable. Walking the dog without a specific destination in mind, for example, and selecting a dinner entrée by closing your eyes and pointing at the menu are both relatively low risk endeavours. Teaching with technology, however, is not one of them. Give yourself the opportunity to play around with an app before you even ask your students to download it. Press buttons. Experiment with every feature. I promise that you won’t break anything. In the end, you’ll be better prepared to utilize all the best aspects of a program and solve any problems that might arise during an actual lesson.

6. Establish Policies and Procedures

Think of all the procedures you go over on the first day of school. You explain to students, in excruciating detail, where to line up, how to walk down the hallway, and what to do when they return from an absence. There are procedures for sharpening pencils, hanging up backpacks, and turning in homework. Technology is no different. Think of the little things, even though they seem insignificant. Assume, for example, that unless you tell students to carry an iPad with both hands, they’ll walk across the room with them balanced on their heads. Give students opportunities to practice plugging them in at the end of the day and placing them safely on their laps while opening their desktops. Hold students accountable for following correct procedures and explain consequences for when they don’t.

7. Keep Parents in the Loop

Technology at home is used in very differently than at school. When a parent hears that their child has been placed in a 1:1 classroom, they may envision their child playing Angry Birds and surfing the Internet all day. Be very open with parents from the beginning. Send home a letter or explain at Open House what technology will and won’t be used for in your classroom. Offer parents assurance that, rather than replacing the academic curriculum, technology will enhance the material and offer students new ways to be active participants in their education. Post summaries or photos from successful tech projects on your classroom website or send home updates in your weekly newsletter. You’re working your tail off to implement technology in meaningful ways, and your students are deeply engaged in the learning experiences you’ve designed for them.

8. Celebrate!

Make a list of your favourite things and go buy all of them right now. Oreos. New shoes. Colour coordinated office supplies. Whatever floats your boat. Change is scary, and the introduction of iPads or laptops into your classroom can be incredibly intimidating, but look at you! You’re stepping out of your safe zone and growing as an educator. Apps will crash and devices will go rogue, debut lots of things will also go right. Students will be engaged in your lessons and interact with content in ways you may never have imagined possible. So celebrate—you’ve earned it!

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Said To Have 'Great' Codename

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Said To Have 'Great' Codename

Samsung is reportedly working on its Galaxy Note series once more and will launch the Galaxy Note 8 if rumors are to be believed.

Even as the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ gear up to launch on March 29, the latest buzz suggests that Samsung is beefing up its smartphone line with the Galaxy Note 7's successor.

The Galaxy Note 8, which is supposedly the comeback version of the Galaxy Note 7, has been codenamed "Great" per lates reports.

The Codename And Model Number
Per the news shared by SamMobile, the Galaxy Note 8 is expected to carry the SM-N950F model number, for the international unlocked variant. The letter at the end of the number will change according to the market.

However, to ensure a smooth roll out of the software updates, Samsung may not be using too many model numbers, as it did with the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge smartphones.

Previous reports suggested that the Galaxy Note 8 may feature the "Baikal" codename. However, based on the current reports, the codename may have been changed to "Great".

If the codename is any indication of the product which is to come, the Galaxy Note 8 may indeed sport exciting features which would certainly entice fans to keep an eye out for any news regarding the device.

The Galaxy Note 7 Fiasco
According to the report, Samsung may be working to revamp the Galaxy Note 7, for the South Korean market and the device is expected to have the model number SM-N935, with the codename Grace R (Refurbished).

Going back to the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, the device had a questionable reputation as several users complained of battery explosion or spontaneous combustion while charging. Due to these dangerous technical issues, Samsung had to issue a global recall for of the device.

With around 92 cases of fire being reported in the U.S. alone, and a lawsuit filed by Daniel Ramirez against the company since the device explosion caused her severe burns, Samsung faced major problems after the safety hazard came to light.

Reports about the Galaxy Note 7 battery explosion were recorded every now and then. The company faced a major loss due to the recall of its Galaxy Note 7.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab S3 event at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) was also interrupted by a Greenpeace protestor who demanded that the company recycle the unused parts from the recalled Galaxy Note 7 devices in its new products. .

However, with the upcoming Galaxy Note 8, Samsung is looking back to gain the lost trust due to the Note 7 fiasco.

For now, fans can rejoice about the fact that the South Korean company is working on the Galaxy Note 7's successor, which may possess state of the art specs and features upon its launch.

How to Stream and Mirror Content and Videos

How to Stream and Mirror Content and Videos From a PC to a Chromecast 

Using a PC, you can stream videos from many sites to a Chromecast

You can also mirror browser tabs, for sites that don't support casting

Airflow is our favourite PC app for streaming local videos

One of our favourite gadgets to have around the house is the Google Chromecast - the little dongle is affordable, and really useful if you like getting your content on the big screen. And the best part about it is that as long as you've got a working Wi-Fi network in the place, you've got a whole host of options when it comes to getting your videos onto the big screen.

If you want to stream content from your phones to the Chromecast, whether you are using Android or iOS, the steps are pretty straightforward, but what do you do if you're trying to get videos from your laptop (or desktop PC) to the television screen? Actually, there's a lot of different ways to accomplish this, and we've tried extensions, standalone applications, and so on, until we realised that the easiest way is frankly to just use the Chrome browser.

Casting from the Web

The easiest way to send an online video to your Chromecast is to use the Google Chrome browser. Download and install it from here if you haven't already, and then read on to know what to do next. These steps work the same way on an Mac or Windows PC.

How to mirror any Chrome tab on a Mac or Windows PC to a TV via Chromecast:

Make sure your computer is connected to the same Wi-Fi network your Chromecast was set up to use.

Launch Google Chrome on your Mac or Windows PC.

Click on the menu button on the top right (three vertical lines or dots).

Click on Cast. A popup box will appear.

Click on OK, Got it to enable casting from services such as Hangout, and then click on the name of your Chromecast to start mirroring your browser tab.

This is great if you want to put up a Google Doc on the screen, for example. What about sites such as YouTube, or Netflix? On these sites, there's one more option.

How to stream a video from Mac or Windows PC to a TV via Chromecast:

Make sure your computer is connected to the same Wi-Fi network your Chromecast was set up to use.

Launch Google Chrome on your Mac or Windows PC.

Load a video, and you'll see an icon to cast it, if there's a Chromecast on your Wi-Fi network. It looks like a square with three curved lines, like a Wi-Fi symbol.

Click on that stream button and the same pop-up will come.

Click on the name of your Chromecast, and it'll start streaming to your TV right away.

Not all sites support this though - for example, if you're watching a show on Amazon Prime Video then you'll have to mirror the tab, instead of casting the video. This usually doesn't cause issues with viewing though.

Casting local content

That's an easy way to get content from your browser to the TV, but what about locally saved videos? For example, you might have personal holiday videos that you want to put up on the TV screen. Doing this is pretty easy too, though we're going to recommend you install one more application. You can use Chrome to do this as well, but the experience was a little sluggish for us. We tried a bunch of apps we found recommended online, and this is what we found best - it is very simple, very reliable, and worked without any delay or other issues.

How to stream any video from a Windows PC or Mac to a TV via Chromecast:

Install Airflow - it works on both Windows and Mac, and it's free.

Launch Airflow.

Drag and drop your video file into the playlist on AirFlow.

Click on the mirror icon on the top right, after the time-bar, and select your Chromecast, if it isn’t selected automatically.

That's it, you're playing. If the file has multiple audio tracks, you can click on the audio button on the right and choose the one you want.

If you want subtitles, click on the None next to subtitles, and choose Load External, if you want to use downloaded subs. If not, click on Search Online, and Airflow will find the subs for you, showing you options in different languages. Of course this option won’t work for your home videos.

That's all there is to using Airflow, it's fast to load, plays smoothly, it's free, finds subtitles for you, and as an added bonus (though this is not unique to Airflow), when you're casting to the TV like this, Android phones on the same Wi-Fi network will get a small casting control, letting you pause, play, and mute the stream. Just check the notification shade.

That's everything you need to know about casting videos to a Chromecast from your PC, whether it's online videos and webpages, or locally stored video. In case you know any way to do this even more easily, let us know via the comments.

TV Gimmicks Are Dead. 2017 Is the Year of Real Next-Gen Television

TV Gimmicks Are Dead. 2017 Is the Year of Real Next-Gen Television

Ever since HDTVs became standard, we've seen several gimmicks to make them stand out while 4K took its time creeping forward. 3D was never really embraced as a vital feature for TVs, and curved screens were rightly dismissed as needlessly expensive aesthetic tweaks. Add the problem of every manufacturer trying to make its own connected TV ecosystem (and the short-lived farce of Samsung's Evolution Kit and the promise of upgrading your TV by buying all-new electronics for it every year) and you have a confusing blend of features that claim to represent the future of television, but fail to prove it.

I can't promise those days are over, but if CES is any indication, the gimmicks have mostly been swept away in favor of actual, tangible TV advancements. Last year was the first time we recommended 4K TVs for general consumers. This year we can make it official: Next-gen TV is here, and it really is the time to consider replacing your television for a new and completely better one.

4K Is the New Standard

Forget HDTV. 1080p is yesterday's news. 4K (ultra high definition, or UHD, or whatever you want to call the now-standard 3,840-by-2,160 video resolution) TVs are now the standard. You can find some incredibly inexpensive 4K TVs now, meaning there's no reason to even consider a 1080p screen anymore. More importantly, the resolution and the way to transmit that video has become a hard standard with HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2.

We said this last year, and it's even more true now that 4K TVs outnumber 1080p TVs in major manufacturers' lineups: 4K has arrived, and now is the time to get it. The technology has cleared the high-tech hurdle, and prices have fallen from the stratosphere.

HDR Is the New Premium

High dynamic range (HDR) is an important technology that goes with 4K TVs, and is the reason to spend more money. HDR means each pixel has more information determining its light output and color, making a more detailed picture than an SDR signal even at the same resolution. It's a real benefit, and it's striking when it works, making colors appear more lifelike without the cartoonish effect of oversaturation, and letting shadows and highlights retain detail while getting darker and brighter than before.

HDR comes in a few different flavors, like Dolby Vision and HDR-10. Dolby Vision uses metadata to adjust the picture based on what the TV itself is technically capable of displaying, while HDR-10 uses hard values that don't take panel limitations into account. They're two different ways to pursue the same goal, and both can improve picture quality over SDR.

These are still developing systems, with standards being revised and reconsidered fairly often. However, the differences between versions aren't as concrete as the bump in resolution 4K provides, and a good HDR-capable TV will offer a superior viewing experience regardless of what standard it uses. Of course, a spec sheet might claim the TV accepts an HDR signal but not produce very good contrast or wider colors, but that's what we're here for; our lab tests will show you just how bright, how dark, and how colorful a given HDR TV we're testing can get.

Connected TVs are Easy and Forgettable

Smart TV systems were wildly fragmented for years while every major TV manufacturer attempted to make its own custom interface. There are still vestiges of this in LG and Samsung's TVs, but the majority of manufacturers have embraced third party solutions. Google's Android TV and Google Cast platforms, the Roku TV interface, and Amazon's newly released Fire TV television integration offer TV makers feature-filled systems with loads of apps and services without the need to get fancy with custom engineering.

These standard interfaces mean TV makers can focus on the hardware development and leave the software to third parties, resulting in budget TVs that are still loaded with the connected features users want. It also means the constant battle between big name smart TV platforms and the inconsistent availability of apps is effectively over.

And, of course, you can add connected features to any TV with a media hub like an Amazon Fire TV Stick or a Roku Premiere+. Less than $40 will get you a voice remote and Amazon's Alexa, while just $100 buys the ability to stream all the 4K content you want.

Gimmicks are Mostly Dead

3D was sort of fun, but no one wants to wear chunky glasses every time they watch a movie. Curved screens look interesting when you see them at first, but they offer no real benefit to justify the price. TV makers struggled to add appealing bullet points to their TVs while 4K was evolving, and that resulted in some inconvenient and expensive electronics.

Airbus unveils Pop.Up

Airbus unveils Pop.Up: An autonomous transportation concept that uses drones to carry cars

Airbus has proposed a new modular transportation idea mixing air and ground travel that will make you feel that the future cannot get here fast enough.

Unveiled today at the Geneva International Motor show, the system, dubbed “Pop.Up,” would start with a capsule that sits in the frame of an autonomous car. When traffic gets heavy, you just call a drone using your smart phone and lift the capsule up into the air and over the heads of those poor suckers stuck in traffic sucking on exhaust fumes.

The company says a new artificial intelligence platform will help manage the Pop.Up system, letting passengers optimize the mix of modalities for their trip.

“Adding the third dimension to seamless multi-modal transportation networks will without a doubt improve the way we live and how we get from A to B,” said Mathias Thomson, general manager for Urban Air Mobility at Airbus, in a statement. “Successfully designing and implementing solutions that will work both in the air and on the ground requires a joint reflection on the part of both aerospace and automotive sectors, alongside collaboration with local government bodies for infrastructure and regulatory frameworks.”

Airbus designed the system in partnership with Ital design, an Italian firm. Airbus executives had said earlier that they were working on some kind of flying car concept that would be unveiled this year. In general, there has been a surge of investment and pilot programs involving flying cars over the past year.

Airbus noted that the capsule was designed to work not just with the flying options, but with other public transport systems, including potentially a Hyper loop system.

“Today, automobiles are part of a much wider Eco-system: If you want to design the urban vehicle of the future, the traditional car cannot alone be the solution for mega cities, you also have to think about sustainable and intelligent infrastructure, apps, integration, power systems, urban planning, social aspects, and so on,” said Ital design CEO Jorge Estela's in a statement. “In the next years ground transportation will move to the next level and from being shared, connected and autonomous it will also go multi modal and moving into the third dimension.”

Tesla now tells its cars about charger availability en route.

Tesla now tells its cars about charger availability en route.

Unlike most automakers, Tesla doesn’t schedule redesigns, updates, and new features for its cars to coincide with traditional model years.

Aided by the fact that most of its new features are software-related, Tesla takes a more flexible approach.

Many new features are pushed to its electric cars whenever they’re ready, in the form of over-the-air software updates.

That means, when checking for the latest Tesla updates, the best place to look typically isn’t a company press release, but rather an owner forum.

Sure enough, posts about a new Supercharger live-status feature recently began appearing on the Tesla Motors Club forum.

The new capability lets drivers know how crowded a given Tesla Supercharger DC fast-charging station is while en route.

Tesla Supercharger live status Above: Tesla Supercharger live statusImage Credit: [Photo by Tesla Motors Club user andrewket]

Tesla’s electric cars previously displayed Supercharger locations on their dashboard touchscreens, but the status feature was apparently added as part of the firmware update known as 2.52.22.

That’s the same update that added the “Ludicrous Plus” performance mode, which slashed the 0-to-60-mph acceleration time of the Tesla Model S P100D to less than 2.5 seconds.

The Tesla dashboard display overlays nearby Supercharger sites onto a navigation map, representing them with brightly-colored flags.

With the new live-status feature, touching one of these flags on the display map brings up an icon with horizontal bars.

Each bar represents a plug at that Supercharger site. When one of those plugs is in use, the bar is colored red.

Similar functionality is available from certain third-party charging stations and apps, too.

The status of charging sites on the EVgo network is available through the PlugShare app, while ChargePoint lists the status of its charging sites on its own mobile app.

But Tesla owners in particular will probably find this feature useful.

Despite Tesla’s consistent efforts to expand the network, overcrowding at a few Supercharger sites has become an issue, especially during heavy travel periods, such as the holiday season.

Tesla has tried to counter that problem by encouraging owners to use Supercharger stations only for long-distance travel, and instituting penalties for owners who leave their cars parked at Supercharger stations after the cars have finished charging.

It also ended unlimited free Supercharger use for new owners as of last month, although buyers do get a period of free charging after they take delivery of their cars.

With CEO Elon Musk’s plans to produce 500,000 cars next year, however—and a very low rate of new Supercharge sites added over the last year or so—the Supercharger crowding problem may endure or conceivably worsen.

That will make the new feature one that owners will likely value quite a lot.

This post first appeared on Green Car Reports.

How to Choose What You Need

Website or App - How to Choose What You Need

This is the first of three articles that will discuss whether a website or app is right for your business. Here we provide a an overview of the subject. In the next two articles we'll take a closer at the pros and cons of each option.

When it comes to the question of whether your company needs a website or app, many experts say 'both'. After all, with both at your disposal, you can maximize the distribution of your content.

However, this two-pronged approach is not always realistic. More importantly, it may be a prudent decision to PURSUE only one option at a time. Which you need first is ultimately a business decision.

When considering a website or app, there are many factors that will influence the decision. These include:

The products or services you sell

Current industry trends

Customer base

The scope of your project goals

your budget

What's the difference?

On the one hand, websites are excellent tools for disseminating information and educating visitors. They can be as simple as a kind of online brochure, or hundreds or thousands of pages deep.

Your website forms the core of your online identity and allows users to discover large amounts of content at their own pace and learn about your business.

Keep in mind that, on mobile devices as Internet usage continues to climb well beyond 50%, your website must be optimized for mobile viewing.

On the other hand, apps are immediately attractive and feature more specific (and limited) than content websites. They focus attention on a few user functions and deliver instant value. An app can also be a clear way to differentiate you from the competition by offering a similar service in a faster, more convenient format.

Apps can deliver information in real-time, provide a location-based services, and access to your mobile device features such as native images, notifications, and sensors. Some app features and content can also be accessed offline.

Key Considerations when choosing a website or app

Now that the core capabilities of the website and apps are understood, two factors that will influence your decision will be business services and budget.

First, what kind of company are you? If you are a standard service business, website is probably a tool to begin with. A utility company is a good example of a business that would benefit from a more beautiful at the start, user-focused website with a lot of content.

For a tech-centric business (think Instagram or GrubHub), a mobile app would be more valuable because it allows for instant user action. The Waze app is a great example. Waze provides location-based navigation coupled with real-time updates from other users - no need to access a website.

Second, what is your budget? The cost of design and development Can Vary greatly depending on the scope of your website or app.

10 Upcoming Technology

10 Upcoming Technology That May Change The World

We have seen great leaps in digital technology in past the past five years. Smartphones, cloud computing, multi-touch tablets, these are all innovations that revolutionized the way we live and work. However, believe it or not, we are just getting started. Technology will get even better. In the future, we could live like how people in science fiction movies did.

Today’s post is about 10 upcoming, real-life products that is set to revolutionize the world as we know it. Get ready to control the desktop and slice Ninja fruits with your eyes. Get ready to print your own creative physical product. Get ready to dive into the virtual world, and interact with them. Come unfold the future with us.

1. Google Glass

Augmented Reality has already gotten into our life in the forms of simulated experiment and education app, but Google is taking it several steps higher with Google Glass. Theoretically, with Google Glass, you are able to view social media feeds, text, Google Maps, as well as navigate with GPS and take photos. You will also get the latest updates while you are on the ground.

It’s truly what we called vision, and it’s absolutely possible given the fact that the Google’s co-founder, Sergey Brin has demo’ed the glass with skydivers and creatives. Currently the device is only available to some developers with the price tag of $1500, but expect other tech companies trying it out and building an affordable consumer version.

2. Form 1

Just as the term suggests, 3D printing is the technology that could forge your digital design into a solid real-life product. It’s nothing new for the advanced mechanical industry, but a personal 3D printer is definitely a revolutionary idea.

Everybody can create their own physical product based on their custom design, and no approval needed from any giant manufacturer! Even the James Bond’s Aston Martin which was crashed in the movie was a 3D printed product!

Form 1 is one such personal 3D printer which can be yours at just $2799. It may sound like a high price but to have the luxury of getting producing your own prototypes, that’s a reaonable price.

Imagine a future where every individual professional has the capability to mass produce their own creative physical products without limitation. This is the future where personal productivity and creativity are maximized.

3. Oculus Rift

Virtual Reality gaming is here in the form of Oculus Rift. This history-defining 3D headset lets you mentally feel that you are actually inside a video game. In the Rift’s virtual world, you could turn your head around with ultra-low latency to view the world in high resolution display.

There are premium products in the market that can do the same, but Rift wants you to enjoy the experience at only $300, and the package even comes as a development kit. This is the beginning of the revolution for next-generation gaming.The timing is perfect as the world is currently bombarded with the virtual reality topic that could also be attributed to Sword Art Online, the anime series featuring the characters playing games in an entirely virtual world. While we’re getting there, it could take a few more years to reach that level of realism. Oculus Rift  first step.

4. Leap Motion

Multi-touch desktop is a (miserably) failed product due to the fact that hands could get very tired with prolonged use, but Leap Motion wants to challenge this dark area again with a more advanced idea. It lets you control the desktop with fingers, but without touching the screen.It’s not your typical motion sensor, as Leap Motion allows you to scroll the web page, zoom in the map and photos, sign documentss and even play a first person shooter game with only hand and finger movements. The smooth reaction is the most crucial key point here. More importantly, you can own this future with just $70, a price of a premium PS3 game title!

If this device could completely work with Oculus Rift to simulate a real-time gaming experience, gaming is going to get a major make-over.

5. Eye Tribe

Eye tracking has been actively discussed by technology enthusiasts throughout these years, but it’s really challenging to implement. But Eye Tribe actually did this. They successfully created the technology to allow you to control your tablet, play flight simulator, and even slice fruits in Fruit Ninja only with your eye movements.

It’s basically taking the common eye-tracking technology and combining it with a front-facing camera plus some serious computer-vision algorithm, and voila, fruit slicing done with the eyes! A live demo was done in LeWeb this year and we may actually be able to see it in in action in mobile devices .

Currently the company is still seeking partnership to bring this sci-fi tech into the consumer market but you and I know that this product is simply too awesome to fail.

6. SmartThings

The current problem that most devices have is that they function as a standalone being, and it require effort for tech competitors to actually partner with each other and build products that can truly connect with each other. SmartThings is here to make your every device, digital or non-digital, connect together and benefit you.With SmartThings you can get your smoke alarms, humidity, pressure and vibration sensors to detect changes in your house and alert you through your smartphone! Imagine the possibilities with this.

You could track who’s been inside your house, turn on the lights while you’re entering a room, shut windows and doors when you leave the house, all with the help of something that only costs $500! Feel like a tech lord in  castle with this marvel.

7. Firefox OS

iOS and Android are great, but they each have their own rules and policies that certainly inhibit the creative efforts of developers. Mozilla has since decided to build a new mobile operating system from scratch, one that will focus on true openness, freedom and user choice. It’s Firefox OS.

Firefox OS is built on Gonk, Gecko and Gaia software layers – for the rest of us, it means it is built on open source, and it carries web technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3.

Developers can create and debut web apps without the blockade of requirements set by app stores, and users could even customize the OS based on their needs. Currently the OS has made its debut on Android-compatible phones, and the impression so far, is great.

You can use the OS to do essential tasks you do on iOS or Android: calling friends, browsing web, taking photos, playing games, they are all possible on Firefox OS, set to rock the smartphone market.

8. Project Fiona

Meet the first generation of the gaming tablet. Razer’s Project Fiona is a serious gaming tablet built for hardcore gaming. Once it’s out, it will be the frontier for the future tablets, as tech companies might want to build their own tablets, dedicated towards gaming.

This beast features next generation Intel® Core i7 processor geared to render all your favorite PC games, all at the palm of your hands. Crowned as the best gaming accessories manufacturer, Razer clearly knows how to build user experience straight into the tablet, and that means 3-axis gyro, magnetometer, accelerometer and full-screen user interface supporting multi-touch. My body and soul are ready.

9. Parallella

Parallella is going to change the way that computers are made, and Adapteva offers you chance to join in on this revolution. Simply put, it’s a supercomputer for everyone. Basically, an energy-efficient computer built for processing complex software simultaneously and effectively. Real-time object tracking, holographic heads-up display, speech recognition will become even stronger and smarter with Parallella.

The project has been successfully funded.For a mini supercomputer, the price seems really promising since it’s magically $99! It’s not recommended for the non-programmer and non-Linux user, but the kit is loaded with development software to create your personal projects.

I never thought the future of computing could be kick-started with just $99, which is made possible using crowdfunding platforms.

10. Google Driverless Car

I could still remember the day I watch the iRobot as a teen, and being skeptical about my brother’s statement that one day, the driverless car will become reality. And it’s now a reality, made possible by… a search engine company, Google.

While the data source is still a secret recipe, the Google driverless car is powered by artificial intelligence that utilizes the input from the video cameras inside the car, a sensor on the vehicle’s top, and some radar and position sensors attached to different positions of the car. Sounds like a lot of effort to mimic the human intelligence in a car, but so far the system has successfully driven 1609 kilometres without human commands!

“You can count on one hand the number of years it will take before ordinary people can experience this.” Google co-founder, Sergey Brin said. However, innovation is an achievement, consumerization is the headache, as Google currently face the challenge to forge the system into an affordable gem that every worker with an average salary could benefit from.