EM's Profile

Great Article! I often wonder how technology will impact education and where high skill valuation will fall with the next generations. I am concerned that education continues to rely on the traditional methods of teaching, and it has not developed quickly enough to assist the next generation in technology use and management, especially since tech continues to rapidly innovate.

I like the idea of the AltSchools, but I am concerned that they will not be able to reach enough students. Do you think our educations systems will be able to adapt in order for students to develop their tech-skills or will this responsibility lie with parents who are able to afford technology in their home?

Chris, love the post! I, too, believe gaming is the next big entertainment industry, both for consumption/use and viewership through eSports and MLG. Like Vincent’s post, I am interested to see where Blizzard takes their mobile games. It seems like a few major names have made mobile games, but they are often very simple compared to the console/PC counterparts, such as the Final Fantasy mobile games or EA Sports and Sims games. The pricing strategies for the mobile games often vary from console/PC with them mostly being free with the microtransactions, so I wonder if pricing will evolve as the larger gaming companies move to mobile platforms.

Great post Alex! I like that BigBelly is looking for new ways to innovate their technology and to move into the “Anything as a Sercive” business, but I am not sure how many consumers are interested in having WiFi stations coming out of public trashbins. I like the idea, but I am skeptical on reception and interest. I think BigBelly should work on fixing the issues around employee training and making their products as efficient as possible; however, it seems like they could easily include marketing/advertising screen on the sides of the trash cans.

Home Security is an issue a lot of people are concerned about these days and it seems like SimpliSafe is a great option. My concern with the product involves data connections. Even if the SimpliSafe is using a cell link, it seems like the system would be vulnerable to electronic jamming, so a hacker wouldn’t necessarily need to know specific frequencies to jam the signal.

This is a very strong industry and many people are transitioning to digital to protect their homes. It is hard for consumers to understand the edge one product has over the other. SimpliSafe has many competitors, such as Canary, Moni, and traditional home secruity companies with new technology, and it will be interesting to see which products end up with a large portion of market share.

Viktoria, I love this idea! Wearable technology is such a new industry with endless possiblities. Your examples are amazing, and I cannot wait to see the innovations that will come from the merger of clothing and technology. I recently saw some articles about electricty-based color changing fabrics, which is along the lines of the Ringly idea. [1] I wonder if the advancements in color changing clothes and wearable technology will assist us in reducing cotton and consumable needs, or if wearable technology will increase our consumption.

[1] Science Alert. “Smart Threads” http://www.sciencealert.com/new-smart-threads-can-change-the-colour-of-your-clothes-instantly

There is a huge market for eco-tourism and it gets bigger every year as people realize a vacation to nature can provide something different than a trip to a luxury resort. Several companies have opened “Glamping Resorts” (Glamorous Camping) in Michigan, and they are seeing great results. They key driver is to use the natural landscape, while providing the customer with a range of tent -camping to luxury accomodations. Glamping may be a great opprotunity for Tahoe. It would allow them to use their natural beauty, while they could reduce their need modern mechanical gimmikcs, like a loud and eye-sore rollercoaster.

Here is a link to a Glamping site Bella Solviva: https://bellasolviva.com/

As oil, coal, and gas become difficult to manage with environmental regulations, wind farms and renewable enrgy are the way to go! It is nice to see that the field products are not harmed and crop yields are actually higher where the turbines are. My question would be: as more farms integrate turbines into their fields, how is North Dakota going to connect their renewable resource to the east and west coast grids? It is possible N.Dakota will exceed their energy needs, so the state needs to prepare infrastucture to put that exccess energy on the grid. The east and west coast evergy grid systems are antiquated and are in need of a dire update to reduce inefficiencies. It could be a great opprotunity for N.Dakota to invest in their own infrastructure and to make it with efficiency in mind.

Great Article! I love diving!

A interesting appraoch reef conservationists have looked into are artificial reefs. We may not be able to save all the reef that are subject to unfavorably warm temperatures, but conservationists have dedicated time and resources to finding locations where threatened species can be relocated or new colonies started so they can live in favorable conditions and temperatures. Artificial reefs have been utilized to give the colonies a new feature to live and grow on, and the arificial reefs range from scuttled ships and subways cars to engineered cave/cove designs to increase coral growth and entice reef fish. We may not be able to stop the waters in some areas from warming, but we can still work to protect the ocean’s biodiversity.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/02/artificial-reefs/harrigan-text

I had some similar questions to Matt’s thoughts on recycle rates and transportation costs, and I wanted to look into energy required for the recycling process. Although aluminum and plastic require more energy for initial production than glass, aluminum and plastics require significantly less energy to turn into new products during the recycling process. Aluminum can be melted down and used for new products with very little change in quailty and only requires 5% of the energy needed to produce the original can, and plastics use about 10% of the original energy level to produce new recycled products, while glass uses about 80% of the original energy level to produce a recycled bottle.[1] I think glass is a great product and O-I is in a great position to be a global leader to impact the glass industry. I would be interested to see if O-I can use renewable energy sources to heat the furnaces.

[1] SF Gate, “Energy to Recycle”, http://homeguides.sfgate.com/energy-recycle-glass-bottles-vs-aluminum-cans-vs-plastic-79276.html

I wonder when a company like Inditex is driven to invest in water conservatoin solutions. Would they be proactive and invest in drip irrigation systems for their cotton partners now, knowing shortages can hit any of their loactions in a given year, or are they going to wait, because the cost of infrasturcture is too high?

Looking back on the H&M case; few member of the class knew there was a 15% in store discount available for recycling 3 pieces of clothing. I think there would be a lot of benefit to having a recycling incentive, but I am not sure how viable it would be in the current fashion industry. The “30 Wears” movement is another alternative to responsible purchasing and use of clothing items. This may seem counter-intuitive to a fast fashion brand, but it could be another way to bring resource awareness to the public.