how-often – Ken May

Service bot is an on-demand PA for offices

Add / Remove In the past, when an office needed to order ice cream for their upcoming team meeting, the task fell upon a real-life employee — most likely a PA or lowly intern. But now, treat-seekers can order ice cream, as well as request for help on office admin tasks via a service bot called Large , which is accessible through Slack , the team messaging app for businesses. Large is a team assistant that will take care of tasks such as scheduling an office cleaner, arranging a handyman, organizing team outings or sourcing food. To begin, users invite Large to a designated channel in their Slack network. Then, any team member can make a request by sending a message to @large detailing what they need. The service is powered by a combination of software and people, who research the request and reply to the user with a potential solution. Large is free to use and all costs are detailed to the user before the task is confirmed, with a tip included in the price. Ice cream, for example, costs USD 3.50 per person. All payments are processed via credit card, and receipts and invoices can be integrated into various expensing systems. Large is only available for business use, but luckily Magic — the much hyped on-demand PA service — has people covered during their downtime. What other tasks could be completed by Large? Website: www.hirelarge.com Contact: help@hirelarge.com

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Service bot is an on-demand PA for offices

App lets readers digitize their bookshelf for free

Add / Remove There are many advantages to ebooks — they are accessible instantaneously, very portable and they don’t require any trees to be cut down. But there is something magical about physical books and there are very few consumers who would trade in their entire bookshelf for the digital alternative. Luckily there are platforms such as Shelfie , which enable readers to have their cake and eat it too. Shelfie is an app, created by Bitlit, that lets users obtain free or discounted ebooks of physical volumes they already own. To begin, users download the free app to their smartphone and create a profile. Then they snap a picture of their bookshelf and upload the image. The platform then searches its database and finds out which books are available. Shelfie then provides free copies of eligible books that the user has already purchased, courtesy of various partnerships with publishers. The platform already has over 100,000 ebooks available, which can be downloaded and read on any device. In addition, users can browse each others’ bookshelves to obtain recommendations and inspiration for their next purchase. Could a similar service be offered for music and film lovers? Website: www.shelfie.com Contact: www.twitter.com/getshelfie

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App lets readers digitize their bookshelf for free

Sydney’s e-paper road signs are smart and energy efficient

Add / Remove Electronic paper signs that run on sunlight consume up to 99 percent less energy than their LCD counterparts, so it was only a matter of time before cities began using the technology to power road signs. The first to do so is Sydney, Australia, whose Road and Maritime Services recently installed Visionect’s e-paper signage across the city. The new eco-friendy wireless signs are connected to the Internet of Things and display changing road information, keeping drivers informed with relevant updates. They are solar powered and therefore 100 percent self-sustainable and not susceptible to problems such as power cuts. They use little power because they only connect to 3G at pre-scheduled ‘wake up’ times, when they receive new information via Visionect’s software. The signs are visible in bright sunlight — the electronic ink used is the same as that used in e-book readers and smart watches. A front panel light triggered by diminishing light levels makes them just as readable at night. What else could e-paper be used for? Website: www.visionect.com Contact: info@visionect.com

Tiny sapphire disk enables eternal, fireproof data preservation

Add / Remove This is part of a series of articles that looks at entrepreneurs hoping to get their ideas off the ground through crowdfunding. At the time of writing, each of these innovations is currently seeking funding. The cloud is certainly an incredible platform for making digital files readily available and enabling remote, collaborative work. But there is an uncertainty about it that makes many consumers uncomfortable, leading them to maintain or return to analogue backups of their data. While an external hard drive is sufficient for many users, those looking for something smaller and more fireproof can now have all their data laser-engraved on a tiny sapphire disk called a Nanoform . Made by French company Fahrenheit2451, Nanoform disks are one, two or four inches, and can store huge amounts of data — up to 10,000 letter pages or 2,700 pictures — at a miniscule size. The files are laser-engraved at a scale of 1/30,000th, onto a shock resistant synthetic sapphire disk, which is the second hardest material after diamond. Farenheit2451 claims that the data on the disks can be preserved for thousands of years. Users can access their pictures and text using a powerful magnifying glass, a digital microscope or a camera with a micro-lens. Fahrenheit2451 are currently running a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to bring the personal Nanoform to market. Customers can pre-order a range of products at early bird prices, starting at USD 130. Are there other ways to make data storage more tangible and secure? Website: www.fahrenheit2451.com Contact: www.twitter.com/Fahrenheit2451

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Tiny sapphire disk enables eternal, fireproof data preservation