Have fun.

If you want to know more, look at netzwertig.com. We have published an article there that deals with the issue.

(Picture: Google)

New Website

In a new website Google shows pictures and a video of the latest version of Google Glass and how it can be used. The system can be controlled by voice commands. It is possible, for example, to take a photo or to record a video with simple voice commands and to publish it in social networks and initiate a discussion. In addition, messages are displayed and you can retrieve any type of information about your environment. Moreover, the glasses have become even smaller and lighter than previous versions, so Google gets closer to the goal to offer technology as an extension of the human sensory equipment. You can use the device as simply as the eye or the ear. It’s there when you need it; if you do not need it, you do not think about it. More information about this can be found in the article Der menschliche Körper geht ans Netz at netzwertig.com.

Product Launch

A specific date for when the glasses are available glasses is not known yet, since the project is still in development. The product surely will not be launched before 2014. Meanwhile, the range of persons to test Google Glas will be extended: not only developers have access to the technique and the APIs, but also creative people who live in the United States. They can apply to up to 27. February on Google+ or Twitter. The price – if you are accepted at all – is: $ 1500 (plus tax) for a pre-release version.

Besides, Windows 8 runs also on normal PCs without any problem. I have installed it onto my own private gaming computer at home on a new SSD, and it starts very fast. One drawback here may be the new tile surface that works well on smartphones, but is rejected by most PC users. But it takes only one click to reach the desktop, meaning that you can completely forget the tile surface if you don’t want to use it. So, you lose nothing, but you win the new features and the new driver versions. Okay, you don’t necessarily need an upgrade if you use Windows 7, and probably you will miss the start menu (which can be cured easily). But apart from this, there are really not many arguments against the new system.

Motorola Solutions, the U.S. manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, has developed the HC1 computer. It comprises an integrated screen, camera, voice recognition and headphones. In addition, compass, acceleration sensors and rotation sensors are available that detect where the user looks, and allow control with gestures. The total weight of the entire system does not exceed 800 grams, and is intended to be worn on the head. The manufacturer assures that the machine is to be worked with comfortably, even with a prolonged daily use.

Target group of the device are employees in industrial or professional environments. Service employees, for example, can be sent to clients without in-depth training in order to repair machines. On site, an augmented reality application played on the display shows the location of the problem and guides the employee through the complete repair process.

Similarly, Google plans to use its Project Glass, but the rugged Motorola solution is really designed for professional use. The engine of the HC1 computer is the Open Multimedia Application Platform (OMAP) with 800 MHz dual-core processor and 3D graphics accelerator from Texas Instruments. As operating system, Microsoft’s Windows CE is used, which is still commonly found in industrial applications and known to be quite reliable.

The Internet connection is done via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or USB. A live video via the camera of the computer can be transmitted to a command center. In later versions, the application of a UMTS or LTE module is planned to be able to use the system independently from Wi-Fi networks.

First units are delivered in spring. The price of at least $ 5000 makes it clear that the goal of the mini-computer is the use in industrial and professional environments.

The article “Manufacturing Process as Picture Book” that was published recently in ATZ produktion (in German) shows all details about this tool by the example of the motor production at the BMW plant in Munich.

ATZ produktion is a professional journal for the automotive industry. Its main topics are innovations, processes and management issues for production managers.

More information about iProzer is available here.

If you are interested in this subject: we have published an article. You find it in the NETZWERTIG blog (in German).

The application supports individual growth as well as personal performance improvement and aligns it with the achievement of strategic enterprise objectives. This is accomplished by simple exercises that require little time and are performed daily by the staff.

iGROW can be used in companies, associations or societies of any kind that want to realize the full potential of their employees.

Outer and Inner World

As a forest consists of trees, a company consists of its employees, and as the quality of the trees determines the profit generated by the forest, the quality of the staff affects the company’s success. The quality of the staff in turn can be judged at the outside by the behavior of the people, because every single action contributes to the success or failure of the whole.

Therefore, all modern companies ask the question how the employees’ behavior can be aligned with the company goals. This question, however, misses the point. Unlike trees, people have an inner world that is much larger than the externally visible behavior. This is described in companies with terms such as motivation, focus on goals, initiative, social skills, etc. From the perspective of the individual, it’s about things like contentment, individual growth and personal performance improvement.

Development of iGROW

Contentment and growth processes may be beneficial for the individual, but if these are not focused on the whole, the company doesn’t gain much profit out of it. With this realization began the development of iGROW.

iGROW provides the link between the goals of the individual and the company. This is not done through traditional means such as workshops or target agreements that are focused mainly on the control of behavior, but by supporting and even initiating personal growth processes. It is made sure that these processes have a value for the individual, regardless of the whole, but at the same time, however, that they correspond to the objectives of the company. This creates a win-win situation: if the employee benefits, the company is successful, and if the company is successful, the employee benefits.

Step by step

The actual implementation is carried out by translating the business objectives into many small steps. For this, iGROW contains a wide variety of simple exercises which are done daily and do not require much time. It’s like going to the gym: Step by step, every day, as much as can be done do without too much effort – thus, results are achieved with certainty, even if the people are not very motivated.

Each new behavior is rewarded by a point system and converted to cash. This money is used to promote social initiatives. This means that the company meets requirements of social responsibility; simultaneously there is an additional incentive for participants to grow further.

Summary

iGROW is a new system that connects individual needs and corporate goals. Thus, strategical initiatives of the whole are transformed into personal growth of the individual, and, vice versa, personal growth helps to achieve the company objectives.

Voting System for Teaching Activities

Voting Upp is a system for creating and conducting surveys at universities and colleges. It provides an immediate and direct feedback and it is easy to use. The necessary hardware devices are already available everywhere.

The creation of the questions is web-based with Internet-enabled devices such as PC, laptop, Mac, tablets. No installation is required.

Participants in the survey also use common Internet-enabled devices such as smartphone, laptop or tablet. For iOS and Android, apps can be loaded from the respective app stores; all other systems are browser-based web apps.

Conducting a Survey

A survey is conducted in four easy steps:

• The teacher creates the questions on the Voting Upp website, enters the answers and starts the survey.
• Participants scan a QR code and thus take part in the survey. There is no login required.
• Participants take a vote and send the data.
• After a short time the data is visible to the teacher and presented in graphical form (bar chart or pie chart).

A complete survey can thus be created and completed within minutes.

Voting Upp Test

Voting Upp can be tested without any obligations. Request your free trial now: app-solut@xinfo.de.