Prepare for constant change

Technology is changing the world, solving even the most complex problems and making us benefit from everything it has to offer. And it won't stop there - this was the loud-and-clear message conveyed by the industry's top figures at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
From drones to self-driving vehicles to 3D printing, innovation is providing game-changing solutions that were once thought impossible - and it is only bound to get better, according to the top brass of some of the major companies in the sector.
"Billions of intelligent products and services are now woven into the daily fabric of our lives," Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, said in his keynote speech to open the CES. And it's not merely having technology doing things for us per se.
"I see a world with connected devices that are constantly learning and discovering new ways of doing everything, improving the way we live," he stressed.
IBM chairman, president and CEO Ginni Rometty echoed similar views, saying that the so-called Internet of Things should not be there just for the sake of being so - it needs to make sense of the data being created and captured. "The future of the IoT is cognitive," she said. "It will change what you make, it will change how you operate and it will change who you are."
Simultaneous with her keynote, General Motors chairman and CEO Mary Barra unveiled the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, a fully-electric vehicle that is scheduled to be in production this year. The Bolt EV, which can run 200 miles with a single charge, is the first of its kind "that cracks the code of long range and affordable price".
"It's for anyone who wants to save time, money and the environment in a car that's truly fun to drive," she said. The Bolt EV has innovations such as a wide-angle rear camera, quick-charge battery and navigation with EV-specific routing, and is "an upgradable platform for new technologies".
In line with of its major announcement of spreading its wings to over 130 countries, Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings announced several new Netflix Original Series airing in 2016 including The Crown, a biographical story of Queen Elizabeth II, and Baz Lurhmann'sThe Get Down, a story about urban youth in The Bronx.
The 49th CES is off to another record edition, with over 3,600 exhibitors launching new products on the largest show floor in its history at 2.4 million net square feet.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com

The Ehang 184, the world’s first driverless drone the size of a human,