The BYTE [1/16]

THE BYTE

Welcome to the BYTE, where we serve up the latest home and tech news from the last week for you to sink your teeth into.

This week we’re taking a BYTE out of the two major shows that started 2017, going green, some new ride stats, and an increase in a not so great stat. Dig in!

Generally

Showing Off

2017 has started, so naturally it’s time to get into the show season. CES and IBS both have already come and gone, but have left some impressive things behind.

CES

CES 2017 was full of new screens, robot coffee makers, lots of VR, and much much more. The big takeaways from the event are: Virtual and Augmented Reality are getting a lot better fast. Screens are getting incredibly thin and bendable, which could change the way we use screens altogether. Drones and autonomous driving are advancing quickly and there are some pretty creepy things happening with 3D printing and being able to print a realistic mask of your face. BDX’s Melissa Morman attended CES – check out some of the trends that she saw make a splash at the show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT8jc3uA4s8&feature=youtu.be

IBS

The International Builders Show 2017 was three days of jam packed home builder innovation. LG showed off a 2 in 1 washer and dryer for those people who always forget to move the laundry over. Anti-microbial door handles for the germaphobe. There were new releases in showers, ventilation, and flooring. This show is always chalk full of cool new products and innovations, for example a tubing vacuum system through your house to take your laundry to the washing machine. New year new products.

Take Notes

How Moving

Uber, the rideshare company, has set up a new site, Uber Movement, that takes all of their ride data and shows trends from the last 6 plus years. It currently is only being rolled out selectively, but you can request access by providing your email. They are rolling out to the public in the near future. Some people are worried about privacy, but Uber is assuring everyone that all riders/drivers are 100% anonymous and the site is more for general trends and information to help cities and people be smarter about how they get around.

Falling Out

Home sales keep falling through. The percentage of home sales that fall through is only 3.9% so it doesn’t happen all too often but the 3.9% that fell through in 2016 is up from the 2.1% that fell through in 2015, which was up from 2014. The reason for this increase is largely being attributed to more first time homebuyers running into issues in the home buying process and the increase in average home prices making getting appropriate funding slightly harder. Here’s hoping that in 2017 we can see a little more follow through on home purchases.

Light The Way

Las Vegas is doing a really good job at this whole renewable energy thing. The city’s facilities already run on 100% renewable energy (solar) and now their new streetlights are going to be powered by solar and foot traffic. The lights are being tested in Las Vegas with plans to expand to other cities that have little sunlight but lots of foot traffic, such as Brooklyn or New York where the sun is blocked by buildings most of the day.

Totally Unrelated

Snow Day

The Portland Zoo animals are loving all of this snow from this crazy weather.

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