Smart speakers to nearly double in 2019, tablets decline
ZDNet predicts that there will be nearly 208 million smart speakers in businesses and homes this year, and that between smart speakers and larger smartphones, tablets sales will decline over the next two years. ZDNet
dis-rup-shun: There are few business applications for smart speakers now, though that will change. There are over 130 million households in the U.S. and Canada, and over 221 million in the E.U. Without considering Asia, Australia or other countries that enjoy smart home technologies, the forecast covers almost 60% of U.S., Canada, and E.U. households. With so many households having a smart speaker, we can expect more and more home systems to be controlled via voice — including thermostats, lights, locks, shades, ovens and cooktops, TVs, streaming music players, and even home finance and home banking applications.
The 10 best smartphones you can buy now
ZDNet offers a ranking of the best smartphones on the market today. Samsung Galaxy S10 is at the top of the list, with the iPhone XS in 4th place. Features like 5 lenses, 6.4 inch AMOLED screens, 1TB of storage, a headset jack, the ability to charge other devices, set the S10 apart.
dis-rup-shun: After Samsung’s disastrous introduction of the sometimes combustible Galaxy Note 7 (2016), the company knew it had to overachieve to regain credibility and gain admiration. If you have seen any photos taken by the S10, you will take a second look — they are incredibly crisp and detailed, and the subject stands out from the background. Once you see it, you will believe it. The team in Korea has really raised the bar and Apple has their work cut out for them.
Now D.R Horton homes include Kwikset smart lock
Regardless of the model of the home you purchase from national homebuilder D.R. Horton, it will come with smart home systems that include a video doorbell (SkyBell), security system (Alarm.com), home hub (Qolsys), smart dead bolt (Kwikset), smart thermostat (Honeywell), smart light switches (Eaton) and voice control from Alexa. CEPro
dis-rup-shun: In a few years it will be assumed that most middle to high-end homes will have smart home technologies. New homes are offering smart systems as a standard feature, which will increase the demand for retrofitting existing homes with smart sytems — providing increasing opportunities from home channels to provide smart systems upgrades to home owners. Which channels are most likely: HVAC dealers, retailers such as Best Buy, Home Depot or Lowe’s (that just shuttered its Iris smart home system a bit too early), electricians, home theater installers, and, of course, telcos, cablecos, insurance companies and energy utilities.
Sri Lanka blocks FaceBook and WhatsApp after Easter massacres
In order to quash false news reports, Sri Lankan officials pull the plug on popular social networks as the country reels from horrendous attacks on the holiest of Christian feast days. Gizmodo
dis-rup-shun: Facebook is the most successful platform for free speech ever created, and one that is now becoming increasingly accountable for the spread of evil and good, alike. Some now expect social networks to moderate their content, or governments will step in and do it for them. On the other hand, as Facebook is experiencing, many community members don’t trust the company to be the moral arbiter of content. Expect the debate over censure or regulation of social network content to be a large part of future political elections.