Following on from my blog post outlining an A-Z of Digital, here is “X is for Xperience”.

Xperience (Ok I am stretching the bounds here as I am reaching the end of the alphabet – its a silent E at the start of the word) covers how we use these technologies and advancements to shape our lives and the effects that they have on them.  We have moved at a rapid rate of development with technology forming an everyday part of our lives.

Looking at my son’s homework last night on programming in python to find the area of a circle, a square and also answering questions on Amazon Drone Deliveries and how they will impact the economy, I drew some synergies of when I was his age as some of what he was doing was similar to myself learning basic and programming a ZX80 (and saving it to an audio cassette), however the use of drones that are now common place were on the verge of science fiction for me at that time.

As technology moves on and develops, we have been consuming it, but our expectations are growing at a faster rate, always wanting the next best thing and its ability to operate faster than we are xperiencing today. Booting up on several 5 1/4 inch floppy disks to start a PC and then start an application was the best thing since sliced bread at one time. These days if the PC has not started and loaded by the time its turned on, the perception is that it is slow.

Turning this experience the other way round where some many not want to accept change and take the same pace as the rate technology is adapting. Sundar Pichai, Google CEO, spoke about this recently in an article in the Guardian, ‘I don’t know whether humans want change that fast‘

“I recognise that, in the Valley, people are obsessed with the pace of technological change,” he says. “It’s tough to get that part right… We rush sometimes, and can misfire for an average person. As humans, I don’t know whether we want change that fast – I don’t think we do.”

– Sundar Pichai, Google CEO (Source: The Guardian)

Whether we embrace, ignore or reject the way that the digital revolution is bringing change, our Xperiences are still changing and our expectations are also increasing with an always-on interactive society. To survive the changes we need to have an adaptive behaviour that allows us to evolve at the right pace with the rate right of development.

Learning plays a big part in our ability to keep up with the change and developments as well as understanding what is going on in the marketplace. Learning needs to be right and focused to help guide our Xperiences and how much learning will depend upon what we are doing. Borrowing an equation from ecology L>=C, if your learning is not greater or equal to the rate of change you will fall behind.

Following on from my blog post outlining an A-Z of Digital, here is “U is for Usability”.

Usability is something that we have learnt and adapted within the human race for thousands of years through using and shaping tools and every day items. With the development of the computer, usability relates to the way in which software is used and displays information on a device (hardware) for us.

The Usability and UX (User Experience) of devices is key.  If a someone can’t use the application or device they may start looking for an alternative that they can use.

usability is the degree to which a software can be used by specified consumers to achieve quantified objectives with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a quantified context of use.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability

As technology evolves we are presented with new ways of visualising information and interacting with it.

The Digital Era is seeing bigger steps towards these visualisations through Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Holographic’s and Mixed Reality.  This in a way makes it easier to present information and interfaces to users, as real world environments can be replicated or enhanced with digital overlays. The expansion of these mediums are also seeing other interfaces such as gesture and wand controls that open the possibilities for usability of applications and systems.

Voice controls are providing different usability and UX interfaces that at the mention of key phrases which can control an event or action such as turning off lights. Other developments are seeing implants (Jackables) providing a different way of interfacing with devices and turning on/off things as you walk near them.

The challenge going forward is keeping up with the rate of change and keeping the usability and UX up to date and relevant.

Following on from my blog post outlining an A-Z of Digital, here is “T is for Twenty First Century Digital”.

The term Twenty First (21st) Century Digital applies to the current century and how you are using Digital to better your organisation and yourself.

Being Digital is not necessarily about having the latest and greatest gadgets, but how you use the hardware and software within your everyday work ad home life. It is also about a mindset of being Digital and looking at.

How Digital are you? Lewis Richards from the LEF (Leading Edge Forum) has created a Digital Test which shows you how Digital you are.  The LEF also has information that covers the topics of the 21st Century Organisation and 21st Century Human.

What can you do to be more Digital? Here are 8 things to start you off:

1.  Be Social

By far the easiest area is to look at your social presence and how you are using tools such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram etc. Follow people that are digital and read what they are doing. One of the great things about being social is the ability to interact with people. Don’t be afraid to ask questions of people you are following if they post something that peaks your interest.  Develop and evolve your social profile and networks to show what you are doing around digital and don’t forget to post at least twice a week.

2. Use what you have

Look at the capabilities of the devices you have today and look to use them to their full potentials using features such as integrated Voice Activated Assistants.

3. Automate

There are many automation tools available that can be used to create simple automation with. Start with a simple automation one of your daily tasks such as sending a text to your significant other when you have left work.

4. Create a Personal Knowledge System

Using the information on trends and digital shifts in the market place is important to learn what is happening today and future developments and innovations coming out. Creating a Personal Knowledge System will help you manage the flow of this information and filter what you want to know.

5. Develop your  Skills

Create a development plan that includes things to help you become a 21st Digital Human and undertake the training. Put into practice what you have learnt to increase your digital knowledge and footprint.

6. Learn to Program

You don’t necessarily need to know how to programming in order to be digital, however having an understanding of how things work helps with looking at connecting applications together with API’s or scripting a task to automate it. Learning a programming language will help you with this and also with experimenting.

7. Experiment

Experiment and try new things like IoT (Internet of Thing). Computers such as the Raspberry PI are making experimenting easier, and now with the release of the Raspberry PI Desktop with some inbuilt emulators, you can try things without having a PI initially.

8. Use what you have learnt and encourage others

Passing on what you have learnt to others is a great method of checking your understanding of a subject and bringing others up to speed and encourage others around you to become digital.

Consider becoming a STEM Ambassador to pass on your skills and experiences encouraging Young People into STEM subjects.

Following on from my blog post outlining an A-Z of Digital, here is “Q is for Quantum Computing”.

A computer which makes use of the quantum states of subatomic particles to store information (Source: Dictionary)

Although still in its infancy, there have already been huge developments in the field of Quantum Computing and predictions are showing a mass market in the future “Quantum Computing Market – Will Reach $10.7bn by 2024‎”.

Today’s computers make use of transistors to compute binary states (on/off, 1/0) where as Quantum Computers are based on quantum-mechanical phenomena, superposition and entanglement. See a colleagues post “Through the looking-glass: Quantum computing 101” for an explanation of these.

So what is special about Quantum Computers? Its their ability to compute data at an exponential rate allowing for quick computing of complex data. This is boosting the abilities of Machine Learning and AI to quickly deliver results and allow for greater computations to take place.

The measure of quantum information is called a qubit (the quantum version of the binary bit). Google already have a 20 qubit processor in test and are working on higher speeds. There have already been large systems capable of 2000 qubits (with a cost of around £15m the system). Higher qubit counts are expected as developments continue by the industry. MIT are looking at how “Ultracold molecules hold promise for quantum computing”

The applications for business and industry are vast with the ability to process information quickly, provide predictive analytics and machine learning, tackle cyber threats and provide a system for AI.

It will be a while before Quantum Computing becomes fully mainstream with some analysts predicting this around 2025. In the meantime there are advancements in existing computer methods with companies making new developments around Machine Learning and AI- e.g. “Google says its custom machine learning chips are often 15-30x faster than GPUs and CPUs“.