Dogtown’s Rob Pope Will Speak at Internet of Things World

The market for internet of things devices is booming right now. In 2015, there were 15.4 billion IoT devices installed around the world; that number is expected to more than triple by 2021. People love the idea of a life made more efficient by a network of interconnected devices, but there are mounting concerns over […]

Could Tech Automation Disrupt 50% of the Job Market?

50% of jobs, wiped out in twenty years. That’s the figure that pundits have been pushing lately — and while it’s largely based on speculation, the fact is that we’re already losing jobs to automation. Quickly. While it’s often presented as a negative thing or a sign of American failures, let’s be honest: if tech […]

This 18-year-old’s Startup Could Accelerate Development Time

Every once in a while, something comes along that disrupts the app development cycle and makes the whole process easier and more accessible. Development times have been trending down ever since the first companies started stocking the shelves of the App Store, thanks to developer best practices and products designed to “plug-and-play” common app needs. […]

What “Anti-Smartphone” Products Have To Teach Developers

App fatigue is an epidemic, and smartphone users feel more overwhelmed by technology than every before. The proof is in the market — and KickStarter has demonstrated widespread public interest in a series of unique “anti-smartphone” products that strip down the phone until it’s basically a flip phone in a smartphone shape. Case in point: the […]

Who Decides Which Emojis You Get on Your Smartphone?

The Unicode Consortium does a lot of good for the world. It’s thanks to the efforts of this mostly volunteer organization that smartphone users can type in Chinese and rest assured that it’ll be readable on any other device. For speakers of obscure languages like Fulani, the consortium’s work literally pulls a whole culture across […]

What’s better for developer productivity: music or silence?

The question of what music is best for triggering app developer productivity — if any at all — is a debate that has raged on since, if not the dawn of time, at least the introduction of the iPhone. Every developer is likely to have their own answer, but there are a few trends that […]

How to Perform a Competitive Analysis for Your App Idea

Would you go spelunking without a headlamp? What about mountaineering without a map? Well, pursuing your great app idea without performing a competitive analysis would be just as foolish. Finding and analyzing your competitors will shine a light on the “roadmap” for your business. Without it, you miss out on the chance to fill actual […]

Anki’s Cozmo Shows the Humanistic Potential of AI Products

When most people think of robots, they think of the tropes played out in popular culture: Terminator war machines, job-guzzling automation devices, and other mostly negative, faceless stereotypes. Even the AI assistants trotted out by Android and Apple app developers have been met with a sense of distrust, especially when it comes to “always-listening” products […]

Is Ransomware a Concern for IoT developers and Users?

Ransomware has emerged as a major threat in recent years, pitting security experts and hackers in an arms race to protect private data from “freezing” or deletion on both mobile and desktop hardware. Now app developers are concerned that ransomware could make the jump to Internet of Things devices as more household appliances and systems […]

Wikipedia Becomes A Battleground For Detail-Obsessed Bots

It turns out bots aren’t as peace-loving as Microsoft’s Tay might have lead us to believe. (I jest.) According to a research study published by Cornell University, Wikipedia has become a quiet, passive-aggressive battleground for communities of bots deployed to conduct routine maintenance and undo the work of socially-motivated trolls. Rather than concentrate on human […]