Monthly Archives: December 2014

Facebook May Become An Old Age Home

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I used to follow many more teenagers on Facebook. I started to notice, about a year ago, that fewer of them were posting on a regular basis, but I didn’t pay much attention to it.

Then, about two months ago an 18 year old friend confided that she had to get off Facebook because her mother and grandmother were stalking her. “Excuse me?” I didn’t quite understand. She said her family knew too much about her life and posted embarrassing remarks under her comments or photos. She wanted her independence so she decided that Facebook was not for her.

CNET, a tech site, just posted information by research firm Frank N. Magid Associates which claims more and more teens are abandoning Facebook. “The percentage of teens ages 13 to 17 who use Facebook in the United States fell to 88 percent this year from 94 percent in 2013.

Magid Associates said that teens are now using Instagram (owned by Facebook) and messaging apps like Snapchat. They feel those platforms are safer and trustworthy. Facebook’s has had a number privacy problems over the years. I think they were hacked a few times.

I’m willing to bet that teens are leaving Facebook for the reasons I stated above which has nothing to do with the Facebook’s infrastructure. The other social media platforms don’t really provide the stage that moms and grandmothers can view.

I have to admit that Facebook was much more exciting when more younger people participated. Everyday I got to witness trends in pop culture that I would be otherwise clueless about. It’s turning out that I just may have to get more active in other social media platforms if I want to stay informed.

It’s All About Me

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Ellen and her famous friends at the Oscars

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A Nebraska teenager took a Selfie with Warren Buffet and Paul McCartney

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I wonder what prompted this?

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Queen Elizabeth unknowingly photo-bombed this one

All photos from Instagram

This certainly has been the year for narcissistic tenancies. I have never seen so many folks so self-absorbed (including me). I guess the Internet has really provided a platform for people to focus on themselves. Between Instagram and Facebook, millions of Americans spend countless hours posting photos that show their daily activities.

It’s no surprise that the Selfie has become so popular among all age groups. I get giddy when I see seniors taking photos of themselves in restaurants and outside landmarks. I love the fact that those over 50 are very much a part of the digital revolution.

As the year closes, many internet sites are posting Selfie stories and are showing some of the best-known shots for 2014. Above are just a few.

I wonder if there will be a proliferation of gadgets and services that pop up at CES in Las Vegas in two weeks that center on Selfies.
It all depends if companies believe Selfies are here to stay. I will report back to you as I visit CES in my 48th year. I may not be the oldest person at CES but I think I’m the only one who has attended every CES Show.

Ear Exams At Home

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Photos by Gizmag.com and Popsci.com

The other day I wrote about Doctors on Demand, an at-home medical video service. Now, I’m about to take you one step further in the world of virtual medicine. There is a new procedure that will allow you to have your grandchild’s ears examined at home with a smart phone attachment.

For many grandparents who have grandchildren with constant earaches, this is a gadget and service they shouldn’t be without. It helps avoid unpleasant sleepovers.

It seems amazing to me that there is a device that can shoot video of your grandchild’s inner ear and then have a bonafide doctor to determine if he or she has an infection.

Called Oto Home by CellScope, it retails for $79.00 and the medical consultation is $49.00. The service is only available in certain cities right now, but it will be available nationwide eventually.

Again, I have doctor friends who warn about the legality of the procedures. They question whether participating doctors are covered by malpractice and patient medical insurance. Virtual medicine is still in its infancy. There are many issues that have to worked out. Everyone agrees that this is the future of medicine but are we ready yet?

Doctors On Demand

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Images from Doctors on Demand

One of the best known tech sites, Re/code.net, did a review this week on Doctors on Demand, a web and app-based medical video service. That means, instead of seeing a certified MD or PhD in person, you now have the option of experiencing a video visit.

If you click here, you can read all about the good, the bad, and the future of medical video visits.

Re/Code points out that video consultations cost $40 for 15 minutes. Psychologists cost $50 for 25 minutes or $95 for 50 minutes. Sorry, no insurance plans.

Medical video visits are becoming increasingly popular because of the convenience and speed of consultations. I have a number of doctor friends who have been conducting video visits for years for existing clients. They love it and their patients love it. There are some serious drawbacks discussed in the review, but as time goes on, these issues will be worked out.

When I posted the review about Doctors on Demand on Facebook yesterday, some doctors and health care company executives responded citing various pitfalls. I copied one of the remarks because it basically echoed what others had to say.

“Sounds great but it is fraught with issues. First, only full pay patients can access. Good if you can pay. Second, not clear if Rx can be written. Third, as more and more Drs are employees of medical centers they may not be covered by malpractice insurance.

“Progress but not perfect yet.”

Happy Chanukah, Etc

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Happy Chanukah to all DigiDame readers.


Hat Check Girls, Go-Go Dancers and Now Wine Angels

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This is the fancy schmancy tech entertainment feature many restaurants are installing today. It is called a “wine tower.” This is the first one I ever saw up close and personal. Cibo Wine Bar & Italian Restaurant , just down the street from my Miami condo, has one of the larger ones in the country but definitely not the tallest. Some of the “wine towers” in Vegas are several stories high.

Wine angels are the guardians of the restaurant’s wine collection, usually stored in a floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall “wine tower.” They swing side to side, moving up and down — in a computer-controlled, motor-driven harness that the wine angel controls. Some of the controls are retrofitted video game joysticks.

This is definitely a James Bond experience.

I’m Going To Make You Laugh, Then Cry

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I can’t help myself. I had to share these two YouTube videos with you. I found them so precious. The first one was posted on Facebook and my friend Russ Rowland managed to lift it off for me so I can post it here. Thank you Russ. The little boy in the video reminds me of my nephew’s son who once fell asleep on the back of his father’s bicycle. This is just one of life’s rare moments.

The next video is a reunion that made me weep. Fifty years ago, I used to go with my mother to the airport to pick up family and friends visiting us. While we waited, we loved sitting at the gate watching people cry when they were reunited with their families or being separated for some unknown reason. It was so emotional for us and we didn’t even know the people.

The Next Generation Of Bras

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IMG_1628.JPG Image: University of Wollongong

Big news for big-busted women. Good news for women with smaller breasts. Interesting news for women who don’t wear bras at all. A new type of bra is being developed in Australia that will expand and contract based on movement.

The Bionic Bra is the idea of professor Julie Steele, director of Breast Research Australia (BRA) at the University of Wollongong. Steele hopes to develop a bra that will not cause chronic pain in shoulders, neck, and the back. Many women, according to Steele, claim that their current bras are causing them great discomfort over time.

Steele said her smart bra “uses soft, intelligent fabric that sends a signal to the bra’s fibers. The fabric adjusts to fit the user, contracting and expanding as needed.”

She said the intelligent fabric can detect movement. The Bionic Bra fits one way while a woman is sitting down and more supportive when she gets up and starts moving around.

The Bionic Bra is in the prototype stage right now, but generating a lot of interest. Many newspapers and tech sites are giving it coverage. I guess that is because Steele is making great progress towards mass production. I will let you know as she gets closer.

What?

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Images from Seahawk.

I’m not sure if more people are mumbling or my hearing is starting to fade. I do find myself saying “what” more often. It doesn’t happen all the time but definitely enough that I am aware of it.

My doctor told me that most seniors have hearing loss. If they are like me, they don’t want to do anything about it until it becomes absolutely necessary. I might, however, invest in an aid called Soundhawk, a smart listening system which sells for $300. It connects to a smartphone app that will let me customize the sound for different environments, like indoors and outdoor modes.

The Soundhawk is really considered a personal sound amplification by Food and Drug Administration. It looks like a bluetooth earpiece so when I wear it you might mistake it for a phone device. Michael Kisch, Soundhawk’s chief executive, said the Soundhawk is really for folks who only have trouble hearing in noisy restaurants or loud parties. The Soundhawk does not need to be tuned by an audiologist. That’s why it is less expensive than a hearing aid. I can select settings as needed.

Soundhawk is headquartered in Cupertino, California. The Wall Street Journal just did I review on Soundhawk. Read it here.

The Remnants Of A Lovely Meal

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When I moved into my Miami Beach condo 13 years ago, my mother was convinced I got cheated because my unit didn’t come with a garbage disposal in the sink. She was sure that the builder included that feature in each apartment and mine was overlooked.

I told her right there and then that l lived without a garbage disposal all of my life and I didn’t want one. I had the most horrible thoughts about that contraption cutting off some of my fingers. A good old manual sink strainer was just perfect for me.

I remembered that story well when I saw a post from my girlfriend Leslie on Facebook about a new type of strainer that allows you to remove the the collected waste without touching it. Called the Tweak strainer, the invention is made from a flexible polymer and comes in a variety of colors.

The Israeli company that invented it said on its Facebook page that, “It works by simply applying pressure to a bump on the edge which then bends the strainer so that you can carry whatever refuse that it has collected to the garbage without touching any of it.” There are two sizes, one for the kitchen and a larger one for bath tub. Price is around $12 for both.

Tweak was started by Nitzan Shafat and Aviv Rozenfeld. They successfully crowdfunded the company on Kickstarter.com. They received $78,642 in funding from almost 3,000 investors. Their goal was only $14,000.

Tweak just started distributing this unique strainer to donors and then it will be available to the general public.