Weekly Tech News, Week of March 20-24
Here we will gather all the nifty stuff that’s new in the world of technology.
New technology promises longer battery life. Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, tweeted last week about new battery technology. John Goodenough, an engineering professor at the University of Texas-Austin and the inventor of the original lithium-ion battery, has created an all-solid-state battery that doesn’t rely on chemicals to work. This is very cool. It means that we won’t have to worry about crazy battery explosions anymore. And you know if John Schmidt is giving them some love the technology is legit.
John Goodenough, inventor of the lithium battery, has developed the first all-solid-state battery cells. Promising! https://t.co/fhhjWEQF8N
— Eric Schmidt (@ericschmidt) March 14, 2017
Stuff I’d want if money was no object. The Bang & Olufsen Beolit 17 speaker. It is, in a word, magnificent. It looks great, offers 240 watts of power, and most importantly, has a 24-hour battery life. The speaker has a non-slip tray to hold your phone while you’re streaming music. It also has a connection button that links to a variety of modes–Alarm, Connect, Remote, and ToneTouch. At $499 it is a bit pricey for my blood, but for those of you that can afford it, here is a video for you to check it out. (le sigh).
This has to be the apex of laziness. iRobot has made it even easier for us to embrace our slothfulness. Amazon Alexa has joined the connected home hullabaloo, and has come out with an app to integrate the Roomba 900 Series vacuum and Amazon Alexa. (‘Cause the Roomba was so difficult to use in the first place.) Customers can use simple voice commands to start, stop, and pause cleaning jobs. In addition, the company’s patented CleanMap technology tracks the vacuum, which will let you see a map of the areas it cleaned and where it lingered longest, so you know which areas of your house are the scuzziest. Sounds kind of judgey to me, but what do I know?
And speaking of integration, create an invoice in Salesforce and send it back to your accountant immediately with one click. Want to know more? Check it out here.
