Once Again Technology: Medicine or Poison..??

As I am doing an MBA and part of that curriculum, we have a guest lecture on every Thursday afternoon. Last week, we had similar lecture where I got chance to meet this lecturer who is marketing and commercial director of one of the printing organization in UK. Thus, he made us come across one of the real time and very interesting case study of business where I felt like that somebody has stood up right up and asked me do you think you can find answer for everything then try to answer this one..??

Background of person: He works in Printing Industry where his organization just prints the books for top class publishing houses; which also includes distribution of these books to retailers or customers.They have several firm and big clients like Bloomsbury Publishing (Harry Potter Publisher), Penguin Publishing

Question: If you become a board of member of one of such printing company and company asks you to draw the strategy for next 10-20 years. What you will do? (Except selling)

I understood the concern and did try to answer it somewhat but honestly speaking even I am not satisfied with my own answer. So, I have decided to put forward the same question in front of you. I will be pleased if you have anything to share or answer on this.

For this, I had a deep look on their current strategy where I found they actually have only one competitor in current market but they have hell lot of problems coming over in future given as follows: 

1. Digital printing technology (they have adapted this one now)

2. EBooks conversion from Physical books

3. Increasing love fever towards IPADS.

4. Continuous innovation in technology which are removing

5. Top class book maker somebody like Oxford Dictionary also stopped printing of books and asking people to subscribe online or have it in electronic format. Following the trend.

6. Social awareness towards nature adding fuel to it by saying stops the use of paper.

7. Adaption to climate changes policies and regulations

And so many..such problems has suddenly piled up against this SME scale businesses. Did anybody bother thinking any future for these people? Is government is the final answer for this question? The company, I am talking about is having more than 700 employees working hard to make produce best seller novels, best literature and all kind of books. Many of them earn all the joy and hand-to-mouth for their families from this organization only.

But as I mentioned earlier interestingly here in this case this company do see the possible threat upcoming for them but they don’t know how to answer them or may be don’t know what shall they consider because of these uncertainties or changes like if IPAD fever will increase or people will prefer having physical book to read for more reading satisfaction.  Frankly saying nobody knows which way the time and people will shift and hence what should be the risk strategy now or how long should they execute this current business? In short, how long they should keep producing books and does this upcoming new technology medicine or poison for their company?  Big Questions to answer..aren’t they..?

Perhaps, all I can say now is that only time can give the best answer for these questions.

A Genius who is creating a new world of Information Technology

Today when the companies are trying harder and harder to reduce the size of their hardware and the world is getting crazy behind those smallest sizes of hardware like micro, nano or pico or more. They are actually forgetting a thing which is a human touch and its invaluable than any damn small size or compactable hardware machine. In this race, people are also losing the focus that we are fond of information and not any kind of beautiful gadget or hardware. Any such technology that brings us the information which will be effective as well as easier to understand, we will quickly take it. So may it be machine or a simple physical touch use device.

I feel on this planet, the only thing which can be easy, comfortable, compactable and user friendly is device which will recognize a human touch. So, it does not matter how small you make our personal devices if you are not diminishing the hardware itself.

After seeing past 2-3 decades of computing hardware, first time I saw somebody who actually stood apart from all such races and the flow of world. His Name is Pranav Mistry. He is currently one of the youngest and top most scientists in the world. He has produced a simplest form of digital touch model which is known as Sixth Sense device, a wearable device that enables new interactions between the real world and the world of data.In this video, Pranav Mistry demos several tools that help the physical world interact with the world of data -- includes intelligent sticky notes, Quickies, that can be searched and can send reminders; a pen that draws in 3D; and TaPuMa, a tangible public map that can act as Google of physical world.  This also evolves a deep look at his SixthSense device and a new, paradigm-shifting paper "laptop."

Pranav Mistry is a PhD student in the Fluid Interfaces Group at MIT's Media Lab. Before his studies at MIT, he worked with Microsoft as a UX researcher; he's a graduate of IIT. Mistry is passionate about integrating the digital informational experience with our real-world interactions. His research interests also include Gestural and Tangible Interaction, Ubiquitous Computing, AI, Machine Vision, Collective Intelligence and Robotics.

(video is been taken from TED.com)

Here, I am discussing the above video which showed you the trailer of the technology of future generation which neither need any mobile box size hardware to carry in hand nor any desktop or laptop size machines for our personal work. We can simply do things with our sixth sense. Pranav Mistry is the inventor of that SixthSense.

Then the best part which made me fan of him is his attitude of spreading his innovation for mankind. The Q&A in this video itself will tell you about his greatness.  As per my knowledge, very very seldom scientist open their inventions to masses where he is not only giving this technology to common people but also providing open-source software behind SixthSense, to open all its possibilities to all. J

When I saw this video it brought few tears of pride in my eyes. He, so much ease explains almost everything, I only hope his innovations are NOT used by greedy to make money but by people to HELP others and that’s what are the intentions of Pranav. He is truly asset to mankind. I found his work simply amazing. Now, I am really a fond of his new sensational technology, and all I can wish now if I could meet and work with him some day.J