Technology

Just in time for Spring. A review of the Blossom 8 Smart Watering Controller.

Over two and half years ago, I wrote that wearables would be the next "disruptive innovation" but acknowledged we're not there yet. Once the right company with the right design comes along, this new market will take off just as fast as when Apple introduced their first iPad. Despite Apple introducing their smartwatch, I still sit on the sidelines waiting for the right wearable to convince me the time to buy one is now.

Spring brought to South Dakota plenty of rain. The lawns are green, the flowers are in full bloom, and it seems we can't go beyond a couple days without a rain shower or thunderstorm. While water is usually plenty for my city, we do things smart around here and restrict water usage for our lawns year round. It's not uncommon in my part of the country to see the weather pattern quickly change from wet to dry. What once was green can turn brown in a hurry.

At the beginning of 2014, a lot of people predicted it would be the year wearable technology really broke through. The promises of Google Glass and rumors of Apple Watch exited us, and we could already see the success of things like fitness bands. However, as the year is coming to a close, we now realize we were a little presumptuous. In fact, we can’t even be sure 2015 will be the year for wearables. There’s a lot of promises and hype surrounding wearable devices, but a closer look at their current popularity leaves their future up for debate.

You’ve probably heard of the Internet of Things (IoT) and how it’s set to completely transform the world. Some may view thguestis as an exaggerated take, but there’s little question that companies across the globe are taking an intense interest in it. The central concept of the IoT features tiny sensors and other machines that are all connected to the internet, allowing them to communicate with people as well as each other. Some experts are predicting that by the year 2020, there could be as many as 20 to 30 million items that are part of the Internet of Things.

What do we ask for? Consistency. What do we get from Consumer Cellular? More than a dozen ways to configure our Google Nexus 5 to their network. Unfortunately, many of those recommended settings don't work. Luckily, time is on our side. In the past 6 months Consumer Cellular and Nexus 5 owners have settled on APN settings that actually work properly on the Consumer Cellular network.

When Google announced in 2012 that they were bringing Google Fiber to Kansas City, my father called me and said he was interested. As an information technologist, I was excited. I told the “old man” that Google Fiber was going to change everything. Last month, Google Fiber finally came to my parents' neighborhood, and I made the six-hour drive to visit the house I grew up in.

A couple years ago, my wife and I took advantage of the post-housing bubble low interest rates and upgraded to a larger home. We came across a pre-owned house built in 2006 that came with the price, size, and style that just screamed to us "buy me".  As a family, we carefully reviewed our finances and listed our pros and cons before making the purchase. My wife and I were excited to finally have a bathroom connected to the master bedroom. Our then young son was excited that he finally had a family room that offered him fun and adventure. Secretly though, what sold me on the house had nothing to do with these things. What impressed me most was that this house had a network distribution panel.

If you follow me on Google+ or Twitter, you likely already know that I am not a tablet fan. I know the statement is contradictory when coming from a techy person like me. I have a hard time seeing the benefit of a tablet in my day to day life. I already own a great smartphone (the Android-based Droid Razr) and I prefer the ease of a physical keyboard on my computer and notebooks when writing content is crucial. Overall, I'm just not convinced that a tablet will allow me to do anything more than what my current devices already do. Perhaps this is a sign of my age, but I lost my "wow" some time ago for new technology.