Innovative Tech of the Week | Yahoo's New Weather App

While we must agree "there’s something resolutely small beer about a weather app," Yahoo's latest mobile application does show some initiative from the company that hasn't been discussed for more than its HR policies lately. They may be onto something in competing with the big guns by redesigning the wheel instead of reinventing it. They've acquired many good snippets of the tech world over the years which could be integrated in new ways, like they've done with data from Yahoo! search, weather and Flickr in this new app. It may be small beer, but many breweries have tried to sell weather apps over the years, and this one wins the taste test. 

Click here to learn more about Yahoo!'s latest weather app 

Innovative Technology of the Week | Taxis Summoned by Smartphone

Looks like future newcomers to The Big Apple may not have to learn the essential taxi-hailing wave. In a unanimous vote the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission has approved the use of mobile apps to request taxis throughout the city. 

"The apps will be subject to some geographic restrictions. David S. Yassky, the commission’s chairman, said that for trips in Manhattan’s central business district, drivers and passengers will be allowed to connect electronically only if they are within a half mile of each other. For the rest of the city, trip requests can be made for any taxi within 1.5 miles..."

Some operators are not supportive of the decision as it could fundamentally change business and operating models they depend on. But every new technology initiative had to start somewhere, with both opponents and proponents, and it's hard to deny that mobile is the way of the future. We're anxious to see how the pilot program goes and how app developers and providers respond accordingly. 

Click here to learn more about NYC's decision to allow cabs summoned by smartphones 

Innovative Technology of the Week | iCache Geode Mobile Wallet

We've written about technologies trying to replace your credit card with your smartphone, but one innovative product is simply hoping to merge the two, at least until the idea of all your financial data in your smartphone sounds less daunting. Enter the iCache Geode Mobile Wallet.

"Essentially, it is an iPhone sleeve outfitted with a fingerprint reader (for authentication), an E Ink display on the back for loyalty card barcodes and a single, dynamic credit card that can be temporarily and securely encoded with any of the credit cards you upload into the app. (It also comes with a detachable magstripe reader that you use to swipe and upload your cards into the secure element in the sleeve...)"

While it doesn't work/isn't accepted everywhere, the design seems intuitive and user-friendly, putting yet another every day function into a seamless mobile app. It'll be interesting to see how businesses and retailers adapt to facilitate future payment technology and how difficult such technology makes a risk manager's job. There's no doubt that payments of the future will go entirely digital at some point, the question is how long it will take and how secure it will end up.

Click here to learn more about the iCache Geode Mobile Wallet 

Seven Must-Have Mobile Apps for the Traveling Construction Professional

The Construction Today Blog
Published on July 27, 2012
By James Benham, President of JBKnowledge

Many construction managers now travel extensively in order to secure projects, visit job sites, and meet with project stakeholders. Areas of work are expanding and technology has made it easier for companies in different regions, states, and countries to work on the same projects remotely, but there still remain project participants who must travel to be onsite, and whose role can’t settle with attending via Skype. For those who sometimes feel that they spend more time finding clothes in their suitcase than their closet, here are some of my favorite mobile apps for traveling.

Google Earth  - The whole world at your fingertips – or maybe just the location of the hotel or construction site you’re trying to find. Google Earth lets you explore anywhere on earth by location, business, geography, photos, integrated Wikipedia articles and more.

Click here to read the full article

JBKnowledge's SmartBidNet Software Releases Preconstruction Android App

from the SmartBidNet Blog

College Station, TX (PRWEB) July 16, 2012

SmartBidNet construction bid software introduces the Android version of its mobile application for commercial general contractors. Released from beta testing on July 11, 2012 in the Google Play marketplace, the app provides all functionalities of SmartBidNet’s iOS app for the Google Android operating platform.

“These days, we all value a solution by its mobility and accessibility. I, for one, am not interested in an application unless I can access it seamlessly from my smartphone. We have to assume our clients feel the same way and are very excited to offer this feature to iOS mobile and now Android mobile users. We’re hoping to get lots of feedback from our users to further improve both applications,” stated SmartBidNet President James Benham.

Click here to read the full article

Technology of the Week | The NBC Olympics App

"The "NBC Olympics Live Extra" app will let users watch more than 3,500 hours of live events on tablets and smartphones. But only customers who have a cable or satellite subscription will get full access -- and the app is available only on Apple devices and a "select" list of Android phones and tablets."

Not much else to say here other than download the app and GO TEAM USA!

Click here to learn more about and download the NBC Olympics Mobile App

And click here to check out our Infographic of the Month: 2012 London Olympic Village Construction

The Must-Have Technology Tools, Part 3 – Staying Social and Mobile | Construction Today

from SmartBidNet.com

This is the final part of a three-part series.

By James Benham, President of JB Knowledge Technologies

Previously, we’ve discussed Google’s suite of useful freeware and solutions that are revolutionizing preconstruction and BIM. Now I’d like to wrap it up and discuss social and mobile tech, as they are quickly finding their way from your personal life into your work day.

Social Media

For those of you who had hoped to avoid the ever-growing social network scene, it’s probably best you give in now. Not only do sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ help you connect with industry personalities and brands that could lead to business opportunities, they are also very powerful project management platforms. LinkedIn Answers is a human-powered search engine, ready at all times to poll the architecture, engineering, and construction professionals you need insight from, both inside and outside your personal network. I’ve used it to gather opinions on everything from which software providers we should team up with to which apps everyone is most excited about.  Facebook Groups and Pages give project teams an online space to share events and discussions, whether in the design, bid, construction, or follow-up phase of development. Twitter can be a powerful jobsite, project, news and job notification tool to reach internal and external stakeholders. And if you haven’t tried a Google+ Hangout yet for a project team video conference, I highly recommend you do so. With 70 percent of daily mobile device use being social media, it is one of the best mediums to communicate with employees, clients, and prospects alike.

Click here to read the full article on the Construction Today Blog

New Technology of the Week | A Laser in your Mobile Phone

Setting aside the Austin Powers "laser" jokes that come to mind, Measurement Devices, Ltd of England may have some pretty monumental technology on their hands. Even though it only weighs 43 grams (just over 1.5 oz). 

"Powered by a standard USB connector, the tiny Micro Laser Module (MLM), believed to be the smallest in the world, requires less than 70 mA to make hundreds of measurements a second of objects within a 120-metre radius and is now being marketed to original equipment manufacturers some of which MDL hopes will develop the software and interface so the micro technology can be applied to different products."

Such a laser could be incorporated into devices like smartphones to revolutionize smartphone camera imagery and measurement capabilities. 

Click here to read more about smartphone laser technology

The Must-Have Technology Tools for Construction Professionals

AGC TechBrief, April 2012
By James Benham, President of JB Knowledge Technologies, Inc., Makers of SmartBidNet

Depending on your age, the technology on your desk has probably evolved quite a bit since your first day there. Whether your beeper was going off at your hip or you were punching away at an encyclopedia-sized laptop, technology today makes those days seem archaic in retrospect. But the best part is there’s a good chance you haven’t even seen the best of today.

Every day, an innovation emerges with the potential to propel your work day into the Jetsons’ era faster than you could have predicted. Many of these developments will be bought by the likes of Google or Facebook, who will then find a way to incorporate them into something you already use or an unreachable luxury for high-class nerds. But some will find their way into what I will call your "Tech Toolbox." These are the technologies that can and will impact personal and corporate bottom lines and whose value far outweighs the minimal capital investment required to employ them. Most are cloud-based, some are free, some are $1.99 in the app store and some are business suites with annual subscriptions well worth the price tag, but all of them can transform your work day.

Click here to read the full article from AGC TechBrief

18 handy tablet apps for AEC professionals | Building Design + Construction

The SmartBidNet Construction Bid iOS App, a product of JBKnowledge, made a recent Building Design + Construction list of helpful AEC industry tablet apps for everyday design, construction, BIM/IT and LEED processes. 

Click here to read the full list

SmartBidNet App Listed in ENR's Top Paid and Free Construction Apps

ENR asked Apple to query its developer community in a quest to help idenfity the most popular construction apps in the App Store. It was a tricky call...

Click to read more ...