Virtual Reality Are You Ready?

With advancements in entertainment the most logical next step would be a refined virtual reality experience. Many companies are coming out with their own style of virtual reality. Some are extremely affordable, which are literally cardboard and a smartphone, while others have some pretty heavy tech in them, which drives up the prices. After watching the latest episode of Tech News Today, I've come to realize there is more than just the Oculus coming out with VR technology. They discussed the HTC Vive at length.

The HTC Vive  was slated for commercial release in November, but was pushed back to April. Instead of releasing them for everyone, they released 7000 units to developers for free. Most would consider this to be a bad business decision. I consider this to be a brilliant move for HTC. Most new platforms fail if there is nothing there to use. By releasing 7000 units five months early, this gives developers time to make a product utilizing this technology. Another incentive for developers to make products on this platform is cost. HTC has cut developer cost by giving them the platform to work with.

Now HTC has to fulfill its expected release. I feel if they push back the release any further they will lose the hype they are building for their platform. In order to succeed with this new product, they should release some for the press. The press can write their reviews on the product and give consumers more information regarding the device. According to Wearable.com, this device could range in price from $201 to $500. This puts it in the same price range for new game systems, making them somewhat affordable.

Li-fi a Solution to the Digital Divide?

This weeks assignment involved us to watch a TED Talk and dissect the elements that wen't into it. After searching through many videos I stumbled upon Harald Haas: A breakthrough new kind of wireless internet. In it Harald Haas talks about an inventive way to transmit data via LED lights and solar panels. He also talks about the digital divide. At this moment there are 4.3 billion people without access to the internet and the amount of internet devices are increasing rapidly. Surely increasing the scale of the internet to include those 4.3 billion people would be easy right? Wrong, according to the video it would take the energy of 100 nuclear power plants to have world wide coverage. This is where the use of Li-Fi comes into play.

Li-Fi, or light-fidelity, is information being transmitted via a light source and a receiver. In the video Harald demonstrates how using a cheap, store bought LED light can transmit information to a solar panel. By changing the brightness of light, you change the amount of energy produced by the solar panel. A device can detect these changes and convert them into data. In the video he showed how the light was transmitting data, which held a video in it, to the solar panel and it played on the laptop. Harald proved it was the LED light transmitting the data by breaking the light with cardboard. This action stopped the video from playing. He also simulated fog with a piece of tissue paper. It lowered the energy output of the solar panel, but didn't alter the how the video was played.

With the combination of solar panels and Li-Fi, the solar panels can produce energy from the LED lights. This would cause the energy use to be neutral. The energy being consumed by the LED light is also being used to produce energy from the solar panels. This can solve the larger issue of energy needs.

As for certain aspects of the presentation. It lacked an area for the audience. The presenter didn't give the opportunity for audience participation or questions. There was a lack of humor in the presentation. Despite those short comings, the presentation made me think.

I think there would be some issues that Harald is not accounting for. In the presentation he gives the example of a LED light tower projecting a light at a home covered in solar panels. At a certain distance I believe the light would disperse and information would be lost. There's also an issue with this model of outside light. Outside light levels are constantly changing due to cloud cover and the position of the sun. Given the potential issues with these two examples, I would be more confident in this idea if he touched on them.

Overall I feel this is a step in the right direction to closing the digital divide. He has come up with an inventive solution to reduce the digital divide. I'm looking forward to hearing more about this in the future.

Pizza Business's in Social Media

In this day and age it's best to branch out into social media to reach your customers. Using social media business's can talk directly to their customers. This gives them the chance to correct errors they may not be aware of and advertise new products. Today I will be comparing how Papa John's and Pizza Hut use their respective Facebook pages.


First I took a look at Papa John's Facebook page. Before I read the posts they made I looked at what they had on their page. They have links to applications for employment, website, and their rewards program. Papa John's also changes it's banner photo to the current special each month. Now I delve into the posts on their wall. At first glance they have posts regarding new pizza deal they have and some charitable events they have attended. They make good use of photos with each of their posts. Now if you look at the comments under each of their posts there is a common trend among every post. Many of these comments are complaints towards the company or the individual service from their local franchise. The comments that are made towards the company that are bad go ignored it seems, but not deleted. However if someone posts a comment regarding poor service at a franchise level, Papa John's responds with an apology and a link to survey in an effort to correct future issues. These responds seem to take under 24 hours, which is good. Overall Papa John's is doing well in their effort to cater to customers in a social media aspect.

Now lets look at Pizza Hut's Facebook page. They basically have the same apps as Papa John's does. They have an application link for employment and their website. They however do not have a link to their rewards program. One thing I like that they have on their Facebook page is a map. This map shows nearby Pizza Hut restaurants around your location. As I delve into their wall posts I notice more posts of them in the community rather than advertisements of new specials. I had to go back to September 21st to find a post regarding a new pizza. If you look at the comments on each of the posts there are a lot less complaint posts compared to Papa Johns. Looking more specifically at the complaints, they are about service. Service was just not fast enough. Pizza Hut responded to each of these comments within an hour of each post. Much faster than Papa John's response time. When comparing both of these Facebook pages, Pizza Hut is better than Papa John's. They relate to the customer more efficiently than the down to business aspect of Papa John's.

MATC The Second Chance At College

Have you ever woken up from 4 hours of sleep after working 17 hours straight, only to get ready for another shift? After working this way for three years I decided I was done with having a retail job. As my teacher would say, I was done having jobs and I'm ready for a career. I decided to go into nursing because healthcare was common in my family. After working two years on that degree, I decided it wasn't for me. I needed something different and something I actually enjoy.

Sometimes taking second chances prove better then the previous attempt. This time around I've chosen a field in technology. Specifically I've chosen the network specialist program at Milwaukee Area Technical College. I'm only in my fourth week of my first semester, but even after my first week I feel like diving in deeper. I want to learn more than what I'm being taught each week. In my extra free time you can find me on cbtnuggets learning as much as I can.

While I'm college I still have to earn money. I currently work full-time as a manager at a Papa John's. I've been told its difficult to be a full-time manager and a full-time student, but I feel I have balanced them well this semester. I'm able to complete my some homework while I'm at work. I've even managed to continue streaming on my Twitch channel. I started at Papa John's as a delivery driver while I was in nursing school. So thankfully I had something to fall back on while I was in transition between colleges. Since starting there I learned everything I could there, which landed me in the management position I find myself in today. Every experience I have at my current job gives me a new lesson, which I will carry with me forever. Some of these lessons include team building and conflict resolution tactics, which are invaluable.

As always thanks for reading and have a great day!


Smorr Tech Guy
Network Specialist Student