Neck tattoo? Yes please...

The reputation of the tattoo has changed quite a bit throughout the years. According to Smithsonian.com, humans have marked their bodies with tattoos for thousands of years. These permanent designs-sometimes plain, sometimes elaborate, always personal- have served as amulets, status symbols, declarations of love, signs of religious beliefs  adornments and even forms of punishment. But never before have they performed a legitimate function. Not until now. 

Thanks to Google, tattoos aren't just for bad boys anymore. Google's mobility division has applied for a patent on a neck tattoo that electronically provides voice input to a mobile communication device (MCD) for hands free communication. I have always made fun of people with horrific neck tattoos(in my own head of course), but this is some Sci-Fi, minority report type stuff.  

Apparently the tattoo would include a tiny microphone, receiver and power supply. The tattoo would be able to pick up acoustic signals from a person's throat and submit these to their handset using near field communication or Bluetooth. It is designed to reduce the amount of "extra noise" that phones pick up in our world today.





With Google glass and the new Samsung smart watches I can't wait to see what people are going to look like within the next 10 years. Science fiction is quickly becoming all too real. Neck tattoos seem a bit lame. I think I'll wait until I can get a receiver in my thumb and a microphone in my pinky and make a convenient little hand phone.

Is patience still a virtue?

We have all heard the old saying "patience is a virtue" but does that still apply? And if so, where does it still apply? Definitely not in the world of the modern day consumer. We want what we want and we want it NOW! There are several industries that have gone almost by the wayside due to our impatience.

Love me some Netflix

The first industry that has taken a major hit is the movie and video rental industry. With all the streaming capabilities that most homes have it is unnecessary to wait in line at Blockbuster. I guess there probably aren't many lines left but you still have to get off your butt and drive there, wasting precious petrol, as our friends across the pond would call it. I would tend to agree with the majority. The invention of Netflix, HBO Go and the many other video streaming services has been a god send. Apparently this trend has come to a head and Blockbuster has decided to close all of the store they were still paying to keep the lights on.

A piece of my childhood is dead

The other industry that has taken a hit is the newspaper industry. While this industry has been a bit more resilient, the impatience of the consumer has still taken its toll. We want to know what is going whats going on in the world and again we want it NOW. We don't want to wait for the story in the morning paper. we want play by play updates. We want color commentary of everything from the political climate in the middle east to the hourly weather reports. Again, I am guilty of impatience in this arena as well. I have fallen victim to the necessity of constant updates.

I think I like this better

It has always been important to be able to deliver your products and services in a timely manner or at least a manner that is suitable to the customer. But as of recently the timeliness of the manner is continually shrinking. We must continue to figure out ways to deliver our services more quickly and conveniently.