"A Day Made Of Glass"

Most of us remember growing up with the thought of advanced technology being a faint cry of future generations. We may remember watching the Disney original film, "Smart House" where technology is so advanced that the house can clean, cook, and change its decorations on its own. It becomes so advanced that it starts to take over the family's life. We constantly see futuristic use of technology in Spy Movies that has 4-D surround imaging and interaction. But, how futuristic is it all?

Please take a look at the YouTube video, "A Day Made Of Glass" below to see how seemly similar technology has started to become more of a surreal reality. Everything in the video is made out of Corning's "Gorilla Glass"; the fridge, counter tops, windows, cars, road signs, your oven, shopping mall signs, metro maps, etc. The video seems so realistic to how life could be for your future family, and how you incorporate all the different kinds of "glass" being manufactured and perfected each day in Corning. Gorilla Glass is a market leader in what is used for cover glass for the beloved electronics we use on a daily basis- cell phones, laptops, and even TV screens. It is so light weight and damage-resistant that it is even used in some NASCAR race cars.



The futuristic vision of Corning Glass should resonate with any IT personnel. If this is the way that technology is headed, we will have to be true to the nature of our jobs; most importantly adaptable to change. If this market continues to grow there will be a brand new job market available for those accepting to the new changes and challenges to thrive in. Apps, software, and other programs will need to be re-designed to acclimate to the new possible uses of technology.

There currently is an agreement between Corning and Samsung that takes Gorilla Glass a step further: Lotus Glass. This is the next-generation LCD display- it allows a phone to retain its shape and quality during high-temperature processing . This means faster response time, more energy efficiency, and even more bend-ability. Lotus Glass has already been referenced as innovative and a peek into the future according to breaking news articles. It is rumored to potentially be used for cell phone "self-healing" for cell phones. Wait, can this even be true? See this article for more information- but think about how this technology will impact your day to lives. In my case, my phone would be free of it's fatal dents and scratches. What will this mean for those of us who are going to become programmers? How will this affect our futures as innovative IT people? I look forward to seeing the future of cell phone/smart glass technologies and seeing how similar our lives will eventually be to the video above.

Driving Mode

With the amount of accidents caused by cell phone use and driving, you would think someone would come up with an app to read you your texts, tell you if someone is calling, and everything in between. Well, you're in luck! Before we get too far, let's find out where this function is. The iPhone version of this is the "Do Not Disturb" function located in the settings, but from what I could tell, the "Driving Mode" function is only an Android and Windows thing. I am using a Galaxy S3, so I would assume it is available on at least anything newer than that. To turn the functionality on, you will need to go to Settings -> Language and input (under Personal) -> Text-to-speech output. Driving Mode should be on the bottom.

  

If you click on it, you should get a screen that looks like this:

In this screen you will be able to choose what you want to happen when Driving Mode is on. Each option gives you a brief description, so I'm not going to go through each one individually. The two options I feel would be the most helpful are "Incoming call" and "Message," but the only thing this functionality does is read the caller/texter's name out loud to you. To me, this seems like it would be just as distracting, if not more distracting, as the phone ringing. To solve this, you could uncheck everything, and it wouldn't notify you at all which would be very similar to the Do Not Disturb setting on the iPhone. 

When I tested this, I had my phone on loud, it still rang, and in the middle of it ringing, there was a voice telling me who was calling. It took about 5-10 seconds for it to read the name of the caller which just means I would most likely answer it before I even hear the name. That's exactly what happened. The first time we tested it, we hung up before their name was even said.

I guess in conclusion, this "app" doesn't really do what I would want it to do. What I would expect it to do is block incoming calls and text messages and not allow you to call or text anyone until you turn Driving Mode back off (something like this). It is a great idea, but I don't think I will be leaving it on. 

Amber Klostermann