Technology
This is what Facebook will look like in five years
It’s 9 a.m. The average summer heat wave feels less intense today as you’re walking down your neighborhood. The strong craving for a croissant consumes your thoughts as you’re contemplating what to have for breakfast. Out of nowhere, a bakery appears next to you with various croissant options to satisfy your cravings. You stop, choose your breakfast, only to realize you forgot your wallet.
That’s not an issue though, as the brain-computer interface device recognizes the obstacle and immediately transmits a link to obtain your wallet with one click.
Welcome to the metaverse, a simulated mirror of our world which will soon become every Facebook user’s digital reality, according to Mark Zuckerberg.
The founder of Facebook told The Verge that the social networking platform will soon transform into a metaverse in five years, adding that online users are not meant to communicate in “small, glowing rectangles.”
“That’s not really how people are made to interact,” Zuckerberg said, addressing people’s dependance on mobile phones. “A lot of the meetings that we have today, you’re looking at a grid of faces on a screen. That’s not how we process things either.”
Zuckerberg described the metaverse as “an embodied internet where instead of just viewing content, you are in it.” For example, if a user is watching a concert on Facebook, they will have the option to dive virtually into a 3D concert.
“You feel present with other people as if you were in other places, having different experiences that you couldn’t necessarily do on a 2D app or webpage, like dancing, for example, or different types of fitness,” The Facebook CEO said.
Diving into the metaverse will also benefit businesses and working individuals, as Zuckerberg is currently planning an “infinite office” that would provide employees with their ideal customizable workplace through VR.
In five years, instead of just conducting job interviews over the phone, employees will be able to sit as a hologram on the hiring manager’s couch.
“Or I’ll be able to sit as a hologram on your couch, and it’ll actually feel like we’re in the same place, even if we’re in different states or hundreds of miles apart,” Zuckerberg said. “I think that is really powerful.”
Granting people the ability to enjoy options beyond their physical circumstances is edging closer to becoming a reality, as Facebook has already spent $2 billion on acquiring Oculus, which develops all of Facebook’s VR products, including Facebook’s Horizon.
In 2019, Oculus launched Facebook’s Horizon service which invited users to a virtual reality where they can chat through a simulated cartoon avatar of themselves using Oculus’ headsets.
Zuckerberg acknowledged that the current VR headsets by Oculus are “a bit clunky” as people can’t work in them every day. However, the man behind the tech giant argued that the metaverse created by Facebook will be “accessible across different computing platforms” including outlets such as PC, mobile devices, and games consoles.
The origin of the metaverse concept was born in Neal Stephenson’s 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash, where it served as a virtual reality that came even before the internet’s creation.
The phrase “life imitates art,” the notion that an event in the real world is inspired by a creative work, will soon be witnessed by Facebook users worldwide.
However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
According to Verity McIntosh, a VR expert at the University of the West of England, Facebook is interested in producing a metaverse due to the enormous data it will provide on users that cannot compare with screen-based media.
“Now it’s not just about where I click and what I choose to share, it’s about where I choose to go, how I stand, what I look at for longest, the subtle ways that I physically move my body and react to certain stimuli. It’s a direct route to my subconscious and that is gold to a data capitalist,” Mclntosh said.
Zuckerberg’s announcement also comes after several lawmakers began reining in the power of U.S.-based tech giants such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook. In an effort to curb major market distortions and encourage competition as big tech companies dominate industries, lawmakers have been stretching out anti-trust laws to impose fines and behavioral remedies.
Earlier in June, Rhode Island Democrat and chairman of the House Antitrust Subcommittee David N. Cicilline, commented on the anti-trust law being issued on big tech companies, explaining that it would “level the playing field” and make sure these companies are held to the same regulations as other businesses.
“Right now, unregulated tech monopolies have too much power over our economy,” Cicilline said. “They are in a unique position to pick winners and losers, destroy small businesses, raise prices on consumers, and put folks out of work.”
Yet, even with all the negative implications that are coupled with the technology, from a futuristic perspective, it’s not all doom and gloom.
We might be closer to achieving a metaverse than we might think. Services such as “Google Street View” already provide realistic and interactive panoramas of streets around the world. With developments such as paying for transit from Google Maps, to booking an online class or ordering takeout from your favorite restaurant.
Five years down the line, and the metaverse itself will become any street you want to visit, providing you with all of your desired services effortlessly. You might not be living in your dream country or district, but you’ll have the option to roam its streets and maybe even pay through cryptocurrency for your croissant.
What is biometric identification? It is the process through which unique biological characteristics are used in biometric identification to recognize and validate a person. These characteristics can be found in facial traits, eye structures, DNA, fingerprint patterns, and even handwriting. All this data that can be gathered on an individual inevitably brings up the ethical issues in biometrics that need to be addressed.
Facial recognition and fingerprint scans were previously the domain of security, and they were utilized for identification and law enforcement. However, increasingly more business and civil applications are using biometrics authentication. Due to this increased use, it is crucial to address the moral and ethical issues in biometrics when used in the creation of new application and technology.
Applied biometrics and corporate ethics have received little empirical study despite the widespread use of biometric technologies. As a result, there is plenty of room for future study to help us better comprehend the moral consequences of adopting this technology.
This article examines the ethical concerns associated with the use of biometric technology on the use of biometrics for non-security applications as well as the moral ramifications for business.
Ethical Issues in Biometrics and Privacy
Biometric data takes privacy concerns to a whole new level that typical data gathering only touches on. Digital identities can be forged, and anonymity on the web can be maintained to a degree if you know how. Also, digital data can be deleted – if we forget that Meta (Facebook) has been revealed to store deleted data, which is an ethical concern in itself.
The problem with biometric data is that it is unforgeable, unconcealable, and permanent, You can’t change your eye structure, your fingerprint, or your facial features. Big tech companies already have your face, fingerprints, and your voice recorded and stored via current biometric authentication systems – mainly used for unlocking your phone. That data will be there forever, and there is little that people can do about it besides avoid it In the first place.
While many companies still give users the option of using a good old fashion passcode to unlock their phones, as technology as a whole tends to do, the biometric alternative is slowly gaining more traction, and will one day become the norm, as it is hard to argue its convenience and security. You can’t accidentally leave your eyeball at home or forget your fingerprint. But in the same sense, you can’t change it. If your childish curiosity while browsing the web put a black spot on your record, there’s no changing that.
Therein lies the question of who if anyone should have access to such data. Today’s tech giants have all our data in their hands, that won’t change with the spread of biometric verification methods. Indeed, it will only increase targeting capabilities.
While the collection of biometric data on its own does not necessarily mean it will be shared, monetized, or abused in any way, it never the less requires clear and strict guidelines and regulations to be implemented around it. There are too many things that can be abused by the wrong party when the ethical issues in biometrics are not taken seriously, and if such limitations are not applied stringently.
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The Reno line of smartphones has always had a fantastic camera and an attractive design. The Reno 8 and 8 Pro include a 120Hz AMOLED display, the newest Dimensity chipsets, 80W fast charging, a 32-megapixel front camera, and triple 50-megapixel back cameras, among other notable features that make the Oppo Reno 8 and Reno 8 Pro high-quality yet affordable option for anyone.
Here we compare the two latest Oppo phone series iterations and see what to expect from the flagship Oppo smartphone, and how the Oppo Reno 8 and the Oppo Reno Pro stack up against each other.
Oppo Reno 8 Specifications
The Oppo Reno 8 has a smaller 6.43-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display with a resolution of 1,080 by 2,400 pixels, a 90Hz refresh rate, and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. It also runs Android 12 with ColorOS 12.1 on top. Additionally, the display has an 800 nits maximum brightness and a 20:09 aspect ratio. An octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 1300 SoC, up to 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM, and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage are all found within the Oppo smartphone.
The Reno 8 has a triple back camera configuration for pictures and movies, with a 50-megapixel main sensor and an f/1.8 lens as its focal point. Additionally, there is a 2-megapixel macro camera with a 112-degree field of view and an 8-megapixel sensor coupled with an f/2.2 ultra-wide angle lens.
The Reno 8 offers 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v5.3, GPS/A-GPS, NFC, and a USB Type-C connector as connection options. An accelerometer, light, gyroscope, magnetometer, and a proximity sensor are among the sensors on board. For biometric verification, the phone also has a fingerprint sensor hidden behind the display. A 4,500mAh battery inside the Oppo Reno 8 supports 80W Super Flash Charge quick charging. The phone weighs 179 grams and has dimensions of 160 x 73.4 x 7.67mm.
Oppo Reno 8 Pro Specifications
A 6.7-inch full-HD+ (1,080×2,412) AMOLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection is included with the Oppo Reno 8 Pro. Running on top of Android 12 is ColorOS 12.1. Additionally, the display supports HDR10+ and is certified by Netflix HD, Amazon HDR, SGS Low Motion Blur, and SGS Low Blue Light. The MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max SoC, which has eight cores, and up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM power the smartphone. Storage on the Oppo Reno 8 Pro is UFS 3.1 capable of up to 256GB.
The Oppo Reno 8 Pro boasts a triple rear camera arrangement with a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 main sensor and an f/1.8 lens, an 8-megapixel sensor and an ultra-wide lens with an f/2.2 aperture and a 112-degree field of view, and a 2-megapixel macro camera with an f/2.4 aperture. Along with the MariSilicon X NPU, the phone’s camera will offer generally better performance in both bright and dim light. It has a 32-megapixel front-facing camera sensor with an f/2.4 lens for taking selfies and making video calls.
The phone has 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v5.3, GPS/A-GPS, NFC, and a USB Type-C connector as connectivity options. An accelerometer, a light meter, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, and a proximity sensor are among the sensors built into the phone. For biometric authentication, the phone also contains a fingerprint sensor underneath the touchscreen. The smartphone has a 4,500mAh battery that supports rapid charging at 80W Super Flash Charge. The phone weighs 183 grams and has dimensions of 161 x 74.2 x 7.34mm.
Both the Oppo Reno 8 and Reno 8 Pro are prime smartphones that can fit any user’s preferences and can be considered premium smartphones on the cheaper side. If you like photography, you will be satisfied with the level of quality overall, but keep in mind that neither phone is particularly water resistant, so be careful where you take it.
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Many prefer the rumbling ‘vroom’ of a gasoline car to the soft hum of an electric vehicle, while others would rather just be satisfied in the knowledge that they are lessening their carbon footprint. Let’s look at the cold hard facts however, and compare electric cars vs gas cars
Electric Cars vs Gas Cars: Components
The amount of moving components is an important distinction between electric and gasoline-powered automobiles. While a gasoline-powered car contains hundreds of moving components, an electric vehicle just has one, the motor. Another significant distinction is that the electric car has fewer moving components. The electric car is more dependable and needs less routine maintenance. The maintenance needed for a gasoline-powered car ranges from routine oil changes, filter replacements, tune-ups, and exhaust system repairs to less frequent component replacements including water and fuel pumps, alternators, and so on.
Electric Cars vs Gas Cars: Maintenance
The expenses associated with maintaining an electric car are reduced since there are less maintenance requirements. The shaft, the only moving component of the electric motor, is extremely dependable and needs little to no maintenance. The controller and charger are electrical devices that require minimal to no maintenance because they have no moving components. Modern sealed lead acid batteries are maintenance free and utilized in electric cars nowadays. However, these batteries have a finite lifespan and will eventually need to be replaced. New batteries are being developed to increase the range of electric cars as well as the battery pack’s lifespan, perhaps eliminating the need to replace the battery pack throughout the course of the vehicle’s lifespan.
Electric Cars vs Gas Cars: Efficiency
In addition to being simpler and less expensive to repair than gasoline-powered vehicles, electric vehicles are also more cost-effective to run. The electric car will drive roughly 43 miles for $1 based on the efficiency of 3 miles/kwhr and the cost of power at 7 cents per kwhr. The gasoline-powered car will go roughly 18 miles based on the average gas mileage of 22 miles per gallon and the price of gasoline at $1.25 per gallon. As a result, an electric car may drive more than twice as far on a dollar’s worth of petrol.
Where Electric Falls Behind
There are still a number of difficulties for the owner of an electric car despite the fact that it will be less expensive to operate and maintain.
The primary issue is the restricted range offered by existing battery technology. The amount of driving distance possible utilizing the current batteries is between 50 and 150 miles. These ranges are being extended by new battery technologies, and prototypes of these batteries have shown ranges of up to 200 miles between recharging. Solar powered charging stations are being implemented in numerous places to decrease range anxiety towards electric vehicles
The lack of qualified service professionals to repair and maintain electric cars is another issue that faces their owners. A two-year associate degree program has been developed to train high school graduates to become proficient electric vehicle technicians, and training programs are being developed and made available to upgrade the conventional automotive technician with the skills needed to maintain an electric vehicle.
Infrastructure to recharge the batteries is also required. The most important component of the infrastructure for recharging already exists: electric power is accessible practically everywhere. To support the electric car, it is still necessary to guarantee that charging stations with the right sorts of service (i.e., maximum voltage and current) are placed in important areas. Plans must also be made.
Inside Telecom provides you with an extensive list of content covering all aspects of the tech industry. Keep an eye on our Technology sections to stay informed and up-to-date with our daily articles.
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Ian Terblanche, Global Strategic Sales & Channel Director at Sigfox
