Bob is a computer guy and he has no patience with people who want to learn computers. Leo says it helps to remember when he was just starting out. Somebody took the time to teach him, so he should pay it forward. Community colleges are also a good way to learn. Local extension courses, user groups, etc. There are plenty of options out there.
Citing the trend in Silicon Valley, where computer executives won't allow their kids and loved ones to use mobile devices, the NY Times came out with an article stating that using mobile phones can basically turn you into a zombie. Leo says that while there is indeed a dark and seedy side to the use of mobile devices, is it any different a concern from the wide spread adoption of books in the 1700s, or even the TV in the 1950s? For good or bad, this is the world they are growing up on, but it's important to teach them how to navigate through the connected universe.
Josh would like to educate himself on consumer electronics and technology. Leo says that tablets and mobile have really moved into the game, even in the corporate arena, where Bring Your Own Devices is a thing now. Voice technologies like the Amazon Echo and Google Assistant are really hitting the mainstream, and with that, so is home automation. Drones are also big. And looking over the horizon, AI is going to be big.
Intel has run up against a wall in Moore's Law that said that the number of transistors in a processor would double every 18 months. In the last few years, Intel has been up against a wall, not being able to double the speed. But a recent breakthrough has created a transistor using a single atom! That will enable processors to become faster and smaller, using very little energy.
Joe used to run the mobile division of IBM. He lead the charge to develop the Butterfly keyboard, which opened up the keyboard to be a full sized keyboard and then close back up when you closed the laptop. It was pretty slick and became the highest selling product in IBM history. But it was really expensive and eventually dropped from sight.
Leo says that there's a lot of techno panic in advances with new technologies. Steve Gibson sees all the things that can go wrong. Others just embrace the change. Of course, changes can be disruptive and you can end up being bit by things like CryptoLocker. Leo recommends doing the update though nonetheless.
Leo says that the iPhone 6s was a huge change for mobile phones, more than usual. It got 3D Touch, an improved camera, and a faster processor. It was a significant update from Apple and one of the top phones of the year. On the Android side, the Samsung Galaxy Note V was terrific. It has a wonderful camera, and an improved stylus (as long as you don't put it in backwards). There's also the Google Nexus 6P.
James' wife is going to China in a few weeks and he wants to know if there's anything new over there that isn't over here that she can pick up for him. Leo says that while manufacturing is mostly in China, a lot of the innovation still happens in the US. But Xiaomi makes some amazing phones that aren't available here in the US. There's also a lot of clones of iPhones and other devices there that look like iPhones, but are really Android phones that have been skinned to look like iOS.
Kevin says that we talk about smartphones as being a "mature" technology by now, but when he uses GPS on his phone, it frequently can be wildly inaccurate. For instance, when he was in Scottsdale, he asked Siri for Thai restaurants, and it gave him results for Florida. Why would that be the case? Leo says that "mature" doesn't necessarily mean it's better, it's just an older technology at this point. Apple is doing everything it can with GPS, but its still an imperfect technology.
Marty wants to know what's going to be the next big thing in technology. Leo says it's difficult to predict and usually involved paradigm shifts that nobody expects. Like apps. Some things you can see coming, sure. Like the mobile revolution. But there are others that simply come from out of nowhere. And the internet is only in it's infancy. Leo says you can keep up on your skill set by learning how to learn. And that will future proof you. One thing that won't ever go away though is computer security.
