2014 | Trendy Techie

October 16, 2014
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GHC14 Day 2 - Megan Smith, Maria Klawe and Satya Nadella take the Stage

Summing up the morning keynotes in one emotion: awe. The surprise speaker that GHC had kept a secret until she walked out on stage was, as I expected, the new CTO of the United States of America, Megan Smith. What an inspiring and well-spoken woman! And though Satya Nadella’s interview stirred up quite a bit of controversy on the net, I was impressed by his support and bravery in being the first major tech CEO to speak out in support of women in tech on such a broad scale. Yes, he said what he said, but the internet seems to have forgotten all the other great, positive things he said in his interview, including his feelings that he enjoys working with women, that “working hard is something that is worth doing,” and “each one of us has a few superpowers.” But I’ve written a whole other post on that issue, so check that out and let me know if you agree!

This is probably the only tech conference in the world to have a long line for the women’s bathroom and none for the men’s. How refreshing!

Until now I haven’t really shared much from the sessions I went to. These pictures are from one of my favourite sessions, lessons in graphics from a Disney engineer! She showed us a lot of behind-the-scenes images and before and after stills from Disney’s Frozen.

When not in sessions, Sarah and I spent a lot of time in the Google lounge, charging our phones at the charging stations and taking advantage of the comfy chairs and lego block stools for those necessary feet-up moments. Being on your feet all day at a conference is no easy feat - notice that I ditched my Day 1 heels and wore flats on Day 2.

And then of course there was the ever-enticing career fair, which somehow managed to hold new surprises and more companies every time we visited. Below are some of the most entertaining booths we found on Day 2: HBO’s virtual reality Game of Thrones experience using Oculus Rift, Pinterest’s beautiful DIY-inspired booth, and an unexpected temporary tattoo booth hosted by Simple, a digital bank. Yes, that’s why I tweeted about getting a tattoo from a bank that day.

PS: My trip to Phoenix for the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing has been sponsored by Dalhousie University and Syncfusion, my official corporate partner! A HUGE thanks to both, I am so grateful.

Syncfusion is the enterprise technology partner of choice for Windows development, delivering a broad range of software frameworks and tools. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, Syncfusion has more than 10,000 customers, including large financial institutions, Fortune 100 companies, and global IT consultancies. Find out more in my announcement post about our partnership, and find me at Grace Hopper to get your FREE software license!

September 9, 2014
by thetrendytechie 1 Comment

Apple’s Announcements are Big, But Not Groundbreaking

In typical Apple style, the September 9 keynote was all about grandeur. The tech giant announced its three new gadgets: iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and, moving away from the iBlank moniker, Apple Watch. These releases have been highly anticipated for months now, and though Apple’s announcements were big, they are nowhere near groundbreaking. Here’s why:

iPhone 6 and 6+ are Apple’s way of playing catch-up with the mega-popular phablet trend.

mashable.com

In fact, it’s a wonder that Apple is still considered so ahead-of-the-times, considering they’re only now releasing phablet-comparable phones and still don’t have touch screen devices larger than the iPad. Yes, the camera on the 6 and 6+ is great and the screen resolutions promise great user experience, but when you really look at the specs you see that the iPhone 6 and 6+ are, in effect, bigger iPhone 5’s.

The big takeaways are:

Apple has finally introduced NFC (Near-Field Communication) to their phones
Apple Pay replaces your wallet and allows you to pay with a tap or a touch
Added barometer sensor can track your altitude, making fitness tracking easier (stair climbs, hilly runs, etc)
Seamless-transition voice over LTE (VoLTE) allows you to make regular calls over wifi when available, and transition your call seamlessly to cellular when you move out of range
Dramatically increased battery life in the 6+ compared to the 5 level series, and marginally increased battery life in the iPhone 6
“Improved” processors, though it is unclear at this time how exactly they have been improved

Aside from those, there aren’t many differences, and the iPhone 6 and 6+ are a well-disguised “you were right” from Apple to the makers of existing phablets. Don’t believe me? Check out this awesome article from Mashable comparing the iPhone 6 Plus to its top phablet competitors.

Apple Watch was released to deter people from adopting Android Wear.

The watch will not be available until a yet-undisclosed 2015 date, and some of the most important specs went entirely unacknowledged during the keynote: battery life and durability, two of the biggest buying factors, were omitted (but they sure made a big deal of the emojis and the Mickey Mouse watch face!). So if the watch is not ready to ship, what warrants this announcement at this time? The desire to give Apple fanboys something to wait for while much less expensive Android watches like the Moto 360 (priced at $249, compared to Apple Watch’s $349) start taking their places on thousands of wrists around the world.

That said, Apple Watch does look like it will be one of the better wearables once it comes to market, with vast customizability and, as always, impeccably beautiful design both on the OS and hardware. With Siri integration, Apple Pay usability and a strong emphasis on fitness, Apple Watch has the potential to take a dominant place in the wearables market. The biggest downside, aside from no left-handed version available (at least not appearing in the keynote or press as of the time I write this post), is that ONLY users of the newer Apple ecosystem will be able to use the watch, as it must be connected to an iPhone (5 or later) in order to function. Finally, it is worth mentioning the name, “Watch,” which plainly attempts to encompass the entire smart watch market by snagging the fundamental word for multipurpose-wrist-worn-device. As reflected in the twittersphere, people are still calling it the iWatch anyways.

Apple can name it the "Apple Watch" or anything they want, people are still going to call it the iWatch.

— Levi Schoeben (@levischoeben) September 9, 2014

In short, the problem with Apple’s new products is they feel on-trend, not futuristic.

Many of the features we see implemented in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have been present in competing brands’ devices for years, and the Apple Watch feels like a rushed attempt on Apple’s part to reserve a portion of the smartwatch market before Android gains monopoly. Coupled with extreme technical difficulties with the live stream and a new album release by U2, today’s 2014 Apple keynote would have fallen on more starstruck eyes if it had taken place about five years ago.

September 9, 2014
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Celebrate Fashion, Tech and Business at the World’s First Startup Fashion Week

Breaking alert: the fashion industry is no longer an old boys’ club. Though fashion houses still define much of the trends, they no longer have autonomy over what becomes successful and gets sold or worn by the masses. The voracious nature of today’s social media-driven world puts much more of the power in the hands of smaller companies and startups who, in the past, would have been limited geographically, but who now have millions of eyes on their work through the internet.

But not only has the elitism of fashion changed, the definition has as well. With the concept of wearables being redefined every day, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what makes something more technology or more fashion. There’s an emerging growth of wearable tech, retail tech, and fashion tech startups, that don’t necessarily fit in at the fashion weeks and the technology conferences. It’s time we showcase them in their own right, and celebrate this new niche of fashion startups. Enter Startup Fashion Week, the world’s first and only fashion week that celebrates fashion, tech and business.

Startup Fashion Week Toronto October 2014

Startup Fashion Week will take place in Toronto on October 7-9, 2014, and will feature three main events: Future of Fashion Evening Forum (Oct. 7); the Business of Fashion Full Day Conference (Oct. 8), and an evening showcase and closing party (Oct. 9). Speakers and guests from around the world have been confirmed, showcasing not only the local talent but the global startup community as well. Speakers include Veronica Becker of Beacon and Lively, Vatche Pirjanian of Pochetti, Mazen Elbawb of Heddoko, and more. For a full list of speakers and participating startups, visit the SFW site.

Says Jodi Goodfellow, Managing Director of SFW, “Startup Fashion Week will not only create a much needed dialogue in Canada on how technology is influencing fashion, but it will also create various types of visibility and awareness for startup designers and entrepreneurs. It takes a community to build a business in fashion and our efforts are to recognize opportunities to strengthen the local economy and support entrepreneurs.”

Part of the proceeds of Startup Fashion Week will go to Wear White 4 Women, a charitable campaign empowering at-risk women to find new lives. Conference attendance costs $195 for the three-day pass, and tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite.

startup fashion week 2014

September 5, 2014
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Photo Diary: Snapshots of Italy

July and August were a whirlwind of travel, exams and projects, during which I visited seven countries, took an impromptu detour through London and Paris to get to Italy (full story here), and spent time at Microsoft Headquarters with some of the top tech students in the world at the Microsoft Student Partner Summit (watch the recap and hear the CEO Satya Nadella’s inspiring words here!). In all the buzz I’ve shown you some pictures and videos, but haven’t yet had the chance to share this set of photos from my time in Northern Italy. From the hairpin turns of the Mendola Pass to the green waves of Lake Garda nestled between the mountains, the beauty in Northern Italy is astounding. Take a look!

Even in the smallest of towns there is no shortage of grandeur and grace. It’s one of the most peaceful places I have the pleasure of visiting, and I am so grateful to be a citizen of bella Italia.

July 30, 2014
by thetrendytechie 1 Comment

By Road, By Rail, By Air

Hello from Seattle! There’s innovation in the air as hundreds of young technologists gather from around the world for the world finals of Microsoft’s Imagine Cup competition. I’ll be posting more about that in the next few days, but for now you can follow the action on my Twitter account, @theTrendyTechie. In the meantime, this post is the photo diary from our epic Six Countries in 24 Hours adventure! If you haven’t yet heard the story of how my Italian citizenship saved me, you can watch the video here.

It all began in Halifax, a normal vacation beginning with a cab ride and a boarding pass. Little did we know we’d be seeing more transit stations in the next 24 hours than we’ve seen in the last year, and hopping on trains to span hundreds of kilometres and six countries.

The flight to Toronto was beautiful, and the next day (after the passport fiasco) we headed back to Toronto Pearson to await our flight to England. We got there seven and a half hours early to be sure we could sit together, and the lovely check in attendant gave us discounts to the Premium Lounge! We stayed there for five hours and enjoyed the unlimited snacks, high-speed internet, and free-flowing drinks until it was time to board.

The flight was very peaceful, though we did not get as much sleep as we needed to conquer the amount of traveling we’d be doing when we stepped onto English soil.

When we arrived we took a five minute stop at Marks & Spencer, the most amazing supermarket in the world. Their freshly prepared foods make amazing healthy on-the-go snacks, which was perfect for our full day of traveling! We didn’t know it at the time, but we would have zero time to stop for a snack in Paris - in fact we barely caught any of our trains! In England a wonderful Eurorail attendant named Sue ushered us through the business lane so we’d get through security on time, and thanks to her we caught the train to Paris with two minutes to spare. When we arrived in Paris it took us forever to figure out the botched ticket purchasing station, and it was only because of the generous information desk worker who gave us his subway tickets that we made it to Gare de l’Est and bought our tickets to Munich, again making it on the train by five minutes.

Soon after I took that picture of the rail ticket, our phones and camera batteries died. It didn’t matter much though, because we were so wiped out that we fell straight asleep. Take it from me: if you’re getting sleepy while reading, just put your book down. Otherwise it will fall on your face and wake you up in front of a train car full of strangers. Whoops.

These last pictures are the first ones we took in Italy, the day after we arrived. Shortly after we woke up (we slept fifteen hours and woke up at 5pm!) we went to the Flamingo Pizzeria in Cles, and finished off the night with a signature Tiramisu.

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