Predictions for 2017
This week Will and BJ review their predictions for 2016 and making new ones for 2017. First they briefly look at the predictions each made last year and see which came to be and which were way off. Then they each make predictions for the this year.
The guys started this tradition at the end of last year when they made six predictions each for this year. At the time they didn't have previous predictions to review. This year and in the future they'll be making 3 - 4 predictions for the coming year.
Predictions for 2017
BJ's Predictions
Increase in IoT security products and services available including smart home security.
Robotic chef's available to the public.
Major PHP legacy apps will start switching to JavaScript frameworks like Node.JS.
BJ and Will each speak at a conference in 2017 starting their speaking careers.
Will's Predictions
Internet providers scrambling to get rid of net neutrality so they can continue their ripoff practices aided by the big money interests who keep congresspeople as pets.
Popping of one or more of the US monetary bubbles either in medical care, housing, higher education, student loans, commercial real estate, warfare, or information technology, possibly with cascading effects. Probably mitigated in some fashion but still messy for those in the middle of it all.
Revitalization of some rougher parts of the country (Detroit, among others) as companies get jittery about the risks of offshoring and as some investment comes back in to depressed areas. Detroit does have a pretty good location for some things, and that doesn't change even with the city tanking like it did. Money is going to slosh around a bit for a while.
One of the major social media networks will faceplant as a result of censorship, intrusive advertising, inability to combat trolling, or a lack of a coherent revenue model.
IoTease: Project
NYE Ball Drop In Your Kitchen
From stuff you may have lying around the house if you're an IoT geek like us or the people over at Hackaday. The ball is an old Xmas tree ornament filled with LEDs and 9v battery. The base has an Arduino, a servo motor, LED screen, and the rod. The servo drops the ball by spooling yarn that loops over the rod.
Hardware
- Christmas Tree Ornament
- LEDs
- 9V Battery
- Arduino
- Servo Motor
- LED Screen
Tricks of the Trade
Chaos is opportunity. Emotional judgement, while cathartic at times, doesn't help you make things better. Seeing the opportunity in change does. And that opportunity is there. More people made a living selling shovels in the gold rush than struck it rich and people made bank when the Spanish flu swept Europe in 1918. You have to be ready to pivot into opportunity. The universe doesn't care about you. You can't make the sun rise or set but you can be there to bask in the daylight and enjoy it.