Karen’s Weekly Technology Hits Review

Automated food, AI, Bluetooth, Marvel, Alan Turing, and a grumpy tech.

This week’s selection is from the Technology tag. There was plenty to choose from and I was excited to see lots of new names, five here for you today plus my fave read from Aldric. I had to read what he had to say about KFC and technology. I must admit I was thinking of automated chicken runs for them to strut along on their time away from their work cages. Aldric had a different idea.

I am so impressed by Katlyn Gallo’s piece on working in the business of technology. My hat goes off to her for her approach to learning and not being put off by a Tech Grump. I’m all for more women working in traditionally male-dominated careers.

It’s no secret that there’s a skills gap in the IT industry as a whole, from infrastructure to development to security. One of the reasons I’ve been sharing my experiences and knowledge through Dark Roast Security is to do my part in narrowing that gap.

I like the way Aldric Chen thinks about the technology behind KFC’s new automation of almost everything in their stores rather than the food they offer. Personally, I haven’t eaten fast food for years and fail to understand why it is still so popular. I guess I am showing my age and desire for healthier meals!

The funny thing about Colonel Sanders is he did not teach me to fry chicken using his award-winning secret recipe. He guarded that secret. However, he was rather open divulging his inclinations towards technology this afternoon. I was impressed.

I’ve been curious about Rasberry Pi since one of my students told me all about it during an English class in 2012 or 2013 — he is an early adopter so it’s more likely to be the former. He always preferred to speak about his favourite subjects which ranged from 3D printer to Window’s OS licences — he was Chief Technology Officer for a pension firm in Prague and he really loved his job! So when I saw this article by Josh “υя_ωιѕємαη* “ Lessie how could I not read it?

I had no clue that there were so many amazing uses for the Raspberry Pi! My favourites are the binary clock and owncloud.

At first glance, the Raspberry Pi doesn’t seem spectacular: it’s an assembly of different computer components, including a circuit board the size of a credit card. But it’s amazing how broad the spectrum of functionality the Raspberry Pi is, given its small size.

Part of Alan Turing’s story was portrayed brilliantly by Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game (2014), I have to say once again I was captured by another alluring title from Josh “υя_ωιѕємαη* “ Lessie. Turing’s decrypter broke the German enigma code and helped us win WWII.

In artificial intelligence ( AI ), the Turing test is a method of determining whether a computer is capable of thinking like a human.

Being a film fan, Nicole Maharaj drew me into her world with the mention of heroes. The title didn’t disappoint. She lead me through excellent examples of futuristic technology used in the Marvel and Avengers films. Guns that don’t kill, now there’s a good idea.

In the world of superheroes in TV and Movies, Marvel and DC have shown us a world of different technologic advances. My favorite technical advances have been shown in the TV show Marvel Agents of Sheild. The science divisions of Shield were able to create weapons that can stop people in their tracks without killing.

We have an added bonus this week. I usually stick to five favourites but this week I found another piece of technology that I admit I haven’t thought about how it works. Rather, just that it does work when it’s paired my headphones with my phone so I can listen to music as I power walk along the beach. This is from Lynda Coker.

For a long time, I’ve wondered about the concept behind the wireless technology we know as ‘Bluetooth’. I’m probably the only dummy who spent precious time contemplating it’s meaning and wondering if it was an appropriate branding title.

As always, thank you for reading.

Here’s the handy link to all previous Technology reviews by yours truly.

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