Thursday, March 28, 2024

Outline: The Education Apple - episode 26


“The show that discusses Apple technology in the formal Classroom as well as in the classroom of our daily lives”


1. The Cast

  • Barrett Mosbacker, Superintendent of Briarwood Christian School, publisher Christian School Journal

  • Bill Brazeal, Technical Architect, Technology Specialist and Principal - ezNet Solutions


2. Technology Review

  • The Internet of Things - a term for connected sensors, devices and objects - describes adding connectivity and intelligence to everyday devices, giving them special functions

    • CES Show (the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show)

      • Cisco chief executive John Chambers predicted the Internet of Things would be a $19 trillion market over the next several years

      • Manel Sanroma, chief information officer for the city of Barcelona, noted that the city has reduced costs by about $3.1 billion a year by installing sensors in public water pipes and parking meters so they are used more efficiently

    • Traditional players such as ADT, Alarm.com and Honeywell have been joined in the home security marketplace by AT&T, Comcast,Cox, Time Warner Cable and Verizon, all of which are bundling security with pay TV, broadband and other services

    • Lowes carries productS called GE and Iris systems - do it yourself kits

    • Many seem excited about home automation and smart appliances but, it turns out that those companies building the bits and pieces of the Internet of Things (IoT) need to beef up security

    • Security Concerns example - During the two-week period before CES, a global hacking campaign successfully targeted and manipulated more than 100,000 consumer gadgets, including smart appliances, routers and other devices, into sending out more than 750,000 malicious emails (25% from the IoT devices themselves)

    • Google’s purchase of Nest -  Paid $3.2 billion in cash

      • Nest - home automation company that pioneered smart thermostats and lately, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

      • Nest started in 2010 with a vision to "create a conscious home

      • Nest has 300 employees in three countries and its devices are used in homes around the world. Google Ventures, the venture capital firm that's fully funded by Google, had been one of the main backers of Nest"

      • Home Depot has the Nest thermostat priced at $249 and its Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detector is $129.

    • Nest CEO and ‘father of the iPod’ Tony Fadell has responded to data privacy concerns expressed, stating that there have not yet been any changes to the data collected by the smart thermostat and smoke detector

    • Apple senior VP Phil Schiller unfollowed both Fadell and Nest on Twitter following the acquisition

  • 99% of mobile malware targets Android

    • Cisco’s 2014 annual security report

    • Cisco found that 71 percent of Android users had encountered some form of web-delivered malware. In contrast only 14% of iPhone users

    • The amount of malware targeting Android has increased since a similar report delivered the year before, where only 79%

    • The report is a continued reminder that Apple’s mobile security on iOS is second-to-none

  • App Store sales in 2013 reached an incredible $10 billion

    • $1 billion of that was in December alone

    • Monday January 27th, we’ll hear how many iPhones, iPads, iPods and Macs Apple managed to sell in Q1 2014 (really 4th quarter 2013)

  • Holiday Project

    • Organizing my iPhone apps


3. Briarwood School iPad Program

  • A final independent review underway

  • Expect final approval of phase 2 deployment in March

  • Upgrading iPads to 32gb


4. Apps and Followings

  • Barrett -

    • App picks:

      • Healthier for the Mac

“Something else to keep in mind: if you think that you’re doing your body good when you fit in an hour-long workout before or after a long day at your desk, think again. Even two hours of exercise a day will not compensate for spending twenty-two hours sitting on your derriere or lying in bed. No matter how much you sweat it out during a daily hardcore workout (or, God forbid, save it all for the weekend), if you’re routinely sitting for hours at a time, you may as well be smoking”


  • Twitter picks: None


  • Bill -

    • App Picks:

      • Any.DO - nice task manager - its free

        • Family of apps - Cal, Mail, Memo

        • Set importance, category, alarm, notes, email others

        • Clean, easy to use, nice Review function

      • Yahoo: News Digest free

        • Simple news app (about 10 stories an issue)

        • Picks top stories for you

        • USA Today like

        • Refreshes twice a day (morning and evening)

        • Very nice looking interface


5. Wrap up and closing remarks...


Don’t forget to follow us on the Internet

Bill: Twitter - @billbrazeal         Web - http://billbrazeal.com


Barrett: Twitter - @BMosbacker

Blog:  Christian School Journal http://christianschooljournal.com/


Thanks for listening in, be sure to tell your friends, watch for our next episode coming in two weeks.  So long for now.