Tuesday Tech Tip on a Thursday?  I’m afraid so, and that’s not all I have to apologize for. 

Last week we discussed some of the new devices developed, synched to the Internet for innovative control.  Some of these items are over the top, underdeveloped, or currently in use.  One such item I brought to your attention was a geo-tracking  feature your cell phone uses to embed metadata into  your phone’s pictures.  Although the news piece detailing this feature might have used a sensational angle over the use of this data to stalk children, there are a couple of items of information you should know to balance this attention-getting article.  Most phones do not have the geo-tracking option under your phone’s picture settings turned on by default.  Also, according to this website: http://www.embeddedmetadata.org/social-media-test-results.php  most of the metadata embedded into your pictures is stripped clean when you upload the files to their sites.  One of our readers pointed out this great information, and I felt it was necessary to pass along to you!

This is the fun part of looking into new technologies and how they will affect our world.  Some of these features can prove to be harmful, or they simply could be a work in progress. It’s the discussion and observation that moves us towards the balance between new and safe! 

So let’s move from some of those items that are changing the way we live and on to those items that will modify the way we conduct business.  Don’t forget to question everything! 

One of the advancements I am keeping my eye on is holographic memory.  This is really cool stuff.  How Stuff Works has a great article detailing “three-dimensional data storage (which) will be able to store more information in a smaller space and offer faster data transfer times.”  The article explains, “Holographic memory offers the possibility of storing 1 terabyte (TB) of data in a sugar-cube-sized crystal.”  Please check it out - it’s the stuff of the future.  http://computer.howstuffworks.com/holographic-memory.htm  It is suspected that there will be about 3 more generations of flash memory improvement before this technology starts to reign supreme.

Nano batteries are very interesting as an article on softpedia explains, “What Rice professor Pulickel Ajayan and his team did was pack the entire energy that a standard Li-ion battery can hold into a tine wire, at the nanoscale.”  These tiny wires could weave themselves into all sorts of devices we currently use in the business world.  http://news.softpedia.com/news/Nanowire-Battery-Created-at-Rice-214269.shtml

3-D printing will begin to layer itself into our business world once we begin to think about how to use this technology.  Livescience interviewed Joshua Pearce, an associate professor at the Michigan Technological University, who subsequently printed a showerhead, garlic press, and smartphone accessories.  The article,  http://www.livescience.com/38628-printing-save-money.html  explains that there is a shift in the way we will have to think about using the printer and what for, having a profound impact on the next wave of entrepreneurs – for instance, prototypes, manufacturing, and custom products.  Read more about how they could be used in your own business: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4685-3d-printing-will-change-business.html

It’s important to see the big picture and see how it is changing your life.  You want to protect yourself.  But, it’s also important to key in on the inventions that will change your business life.  Huge thought pattern shifts will occur on how to protect your data, how to produce your data, and how quickly you can access that data.  The trick is to care, to be excited, and above all to question EVERYTHING!