A change of pace

Frequent visitors will have noticed that science/tech posts here tend toward physics, astronomy, space exploration, and network (in)security. Those are certainly among my interests -- but they're not my only interests. Not by a long shot. Today, I'll get into a few of the exceptions ...

Let's start with self-driving cars (not to deny that before this tech is widely deployed, computer security must be a huge consideration). As the WaPo would have it, "The future of driverless cars isn’t going to look like you think." The analytical factor they've added is market segmentation, and with it how varying consumer classes and preferences will impact the roll-out (heh) of such vehicles. However imprecise and immature, economics is a science ....

Speaking of consumer items, WaPo went to the Consumer Electronics Show 2016 and considered, "Are we in an innovation lull?" Their take:

In some ways, the answer is yes. For years, smartphones, televisions, tablets, laptops and desktops have made up a huge part of the market and driven innovation. But now these segments are looking at slower growth curves -- or shrinking markets in some cases -- as consumers aren't as eager to spend money on new gadgets.

Meanwhile, emerging technologies -- the drones, 3D printers and smart-home devices of the world -- now seem a bit too old to be called "the next big thing."

Basically the tech industry seems to be in an awkward period now.

But if this finding disappointed you, don't exclusively blame the tech companies. The case can be made that consumers are experiencing something of an enthusiasm gap re new toys.

One emergent technology I'll point out (courtesy of PC World) is that "LG’s futuristic screens are rollable, transparent, and unbelievably thin." As my near-future novels have featured large, foldable (down to shirt-pocket size), paper-like PCs -- I call 'em datasheets -- I'm glad to see the industry catching up.

Now that we've touched upon swarms of autonomous cars, what about swarms of drones? The US military is up to some interesting things, including that tech. See (back to WaPo), "Veil of secrecy lifted on Pentagon office planning ‘Avatar’ fighters and drone swarms."

da Gama's 1st voyage (from Wikipedia)

Straying much farther afield, we'll turn to archaeology. Looking back (with the aid of Livescience) a half millennium to the Age of Exploration, it's rather wondrous that "Sunken Pirate Ship from Explorer Vasco da Gama's Fleet discovered." (da Gama, if his name doesn't ring a bell, was the first European to find a sea route to Asia. He reached India in 1498 by sailing around the southern tip of Africa into the Indian Ocean.)

While we're on the topic of archeology, the media were recently agog that a teen had discovered a lost Mayan city by using satellite imagery. While such imagery is a valuable tool, the coverage was overblown. WaPo looks into this in "Did a teen discover a lost Maya city? Not exactly."

And that, I declare, is enough eclectic stuff for one post.

Sunken Pirate Ship from Explorer Vasco da Gama's Fleet Discovere - See more at: http://www.livescience.com/54142-shipwreck-from-vasco-da-gama-fleet-discovered.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Livesciencecom+%28LiveScience.com+Science+Headline+Feed%29#sthash.opCEw20f.dpuf

Sunken Pirate Ship from Explorer Vasco da Gama's Fleet Discovered - See more at: http://www.livescience.com/54142-shipwreck-from-vasco-da-gama-fleet-discovered.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Livesciencecom+%28LiveScience.com+Science+Headline+Feed%29#sthash.opCEw20f.dpuf

Sunken Pirate Ship from Explorer Vasco da Gama's Fleet Discovered - See more at: http://www.livescience.com/54142-shipwreck-from-vasco-da-gama-fleet-discovered.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Livesciencecom+%28LiveScience.com+Science+Headline+Feed%29#sthash.opCEw20f.dpuf