Month: July 2021

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Before getting into the article, I would like to start with a question: How many of you are playing the same games that you played ten years ago? The answer is most probably close to none.

The way we play games has changed to a great extent over the years. Before the internet’s introduction, most of the games we played were conducted in an outdoor environment.

But with great technological innovations on the rise, online games have become much more popular. According to this report in the past year alone, the gaming industry has garnered over 20 billion US dollars of revenue.

We can also see these changes in the online casino industry, where more and more companies are now shifting to online mode.

Game Technology

At the start of game development, games like Donkey Kong and Pac-Man were played with the help of arcade machines.

As time progressed, technologies changed and games were played with the help of gaming cassettes and DVDs. During this time, games like Duck Hunt and Super Mario started getting popular all over the world.

After DVDs came the servers, that can be used to host multiple games. From this report, we can also see that the video gaming industry is growing year on year and there are close to 3 billion players all around the world.

Truly, the gaming industry is just growing bigger day by day!

PC & Mobile Gaming

If there is one thing that changed the gaming industry forever, then it is the advent of PC gaming and mobile gaming applications.

These new types of gaming applications were positively received by gamers. Many people soon caught on to gaming and came into the industry.

Also, with the increase in the number of game developers, more games have started emerging in the market.

Access to Technology

The major reason for the popularity of the gaming industry is ease of access. Now more people can afford a PC or a mobile device , and they can straight away start playing.

During the early days, a single console can cost thousands of dollars. But now, the cost of gaming consoles has been reduced drastically and made more accessible to the general public.

Research & Development

As the gaming industry grew, many people and companies with big budgets started entering the market. This gave rise to a new type of gaming development, where realistic games are given more preference.

With years of development and billions of dollars in investment, games have now become more and more realistic.

Also, new technologies like AR & VR are transcending the limits of reality gaming. Using these technologies, gamers can immerse themselves into lifelike gaming environments.

These technologies are also used in developing educational games, which can integrate entertainment into learning.

Convenience

The internet took the gaming industry to the next level—the online level, so to speak.

Now, a person living in almost any part of the world can access and play a game that is live on the internet.

This level of convenience was never achievable before, playing with people online. That’s why offline gaming DVD stores are becoming scarcer by the day.

There are also no time restrictions to play these games, gamers can even play on transit and track their progress.

Tournaments & Contests

A few years back, gaming was seen as a form of entertainment and people would play games to just have fun.

Nowadays, gaming has become much more competitive with many difficult levels. This has even led to new titles among gamers like professional gamers, gaming coaches, etc.

These tournaments and contests also come with huge rewards in the range of millions of dollars. For example, last year DOTA 2 (an immensely popular MOBA game) came with a prize pool of over $30 million.

Streaming Gaming Videos

Another major reason for the increase in the growth of the gaming industry is video streaming applications.

There are now thousands of gaming channels on YouTube as well as many websites dedicated to gaming. Some examples include Twitch.tv, Steemit, and many more.

Through these mediums, a single game can reach millions of users within a short period.

Indie Game Development

There is a big buzz in indie game development, a new type of game. With the help of free applications like Blender, many game developers have started developing interactive games.

This has led to a greater number of games getting published, which in turn brings in new users to the gaming industry. As we speak, someone else is developing a game from their bedroom.

Conclusion

If there is one thing that has not changed so far, it is that the gaming industry never sleeps. This level of game development will continue to grow in a positive direction and with the help of new technologies, we can expect more interactive games in the future.

Teaching spaces have come a long way in the last couple of decades. We have moved on significantly from old-fashioned classrooms where the only semblance of multimedia technology was the overhead slide projector. And, thankfully, we no longer have to wait for school staff to unlock the dedicated computer room—with its rows of clunky CRT monitors—in order to research our projects. In fact, students these days can undertake a large proportion of their learning assignments without even stepping onto the grounds of an education facility.

When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools of all levels across the world, educators and institutions had to scramble to provide a substitute for face-to-face instruction. Even before the pandemic, online education technology or EdTech was already making strong growth with the market projected to hit 350 billion US dollars by 2025. Boosted by the lockdowns, there has been a huge surge in the adoption of EdTech in the past year. From virtual tutoring to video conferencing, language apps to e-learning software, it seems that the education industry has progressed far ahead from its previous state. Learners now have several options for a Masterclass student discount, and there are many other learning platforms that offer attractive student rates. But how does this realistically affect the students?

Quality Education

With the expanding EdTech market, there are currently numerous online education platforms that provide an alternative to the conventional school system. These platforms offer courses—referred to as massive open online courses or MOOCs—that are available to thousands of students all over the world. The first-ever MOOC was a 14-week course titled “Circuits and Electronics” that ran from March to June 2012. Since then, over half a million learners have enrolled in this course, demonstrating the incredible reach of digital education.

There is now a wide variety of MOOCs available for students to choose from. Courses range from skills upgrading such as sign language and basic design to bona fide diploma courses in tourism or microbiology. The online education platforms combine a range of multimedia assets to provide students with an interactive and interesting course curriculum. The courses themselves are crafted by experts and often accredited according to legitimate and internationally recognized benchmarks such as the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Qualification Standards.

Students participating in these online learning courses gain access to a sea of resources that would otherwise be out of their reach. This could include real-life case studies, insight from world-renowned mentors, or behind-the-scenes videos from industry leaders. Certain subjects, particularly in the medical and science fields, have a very high entry barrier and require years of prior study. Many online learning platforms now offer courses in these fields with no prerequisites. The ability to compile and circulate specialist materials and information is no longer restricted to the traditional school system, thus increasing the equity of education.

Time for Life

Instead of spending years trudging down a university study track and having to choose between full-time work or study, individuals can embark on a course of online education while at the same time meeting their family and income commitments. The flexibility of online learning means that as long as students submit their course work by specified deadlines, they have the freedom to choose the most appropriate time for them to carry out their studies. For some, this could be in the early hours of the morning when it is most quiet. For others, it could be over the weekend when they have the time off from work. Virtual classrooms are available at any hour of the day and any day of the week. This convenience is a major advantage and makes higher education more accessible to those who live in a household with only one computer to share.

The advancement of EdTech has also been critical to adults and mature age learners who seek to remain competitive or just want to enhance their CVs. Older students have less time and patience for micro-frustrations such as tedious bureaucracy and the navigation of complex technological interfaces. The development of friendly user interfaces from extensive user experience testing has been essential in the retention of adult students, who just want the important information without irrelevant distractions. The collaborative learning and peer-review structure of many modern online courses are also more suited for adult students, who are used to the idea of autonomy and dynamic engagement in the workplace.

Despite its many qualities, the most appealing feature of online education is probably the cost, or lack thereof. As a matter of fact, there are many free online courses that range from fashion to technical writing, allowing individuals to pursue their interests without putting pressure on their finances. Not to worry, though, as paid courses are not much more expensive either! It can cost as little as 30 pounds to enroll in a one-year professional diploma course via an online education platform.

The accessibility and affordability of digital learning have allowed unprecedented numbers of people to upgrade their skills, knowledge, and employability. As EdTech advancement enables educators to blend instruction with interactivity, the online education sector is poised to reinvent our definition of schooling. By allowing students more say in how they complete their coursework, lifelong learning and self-made success change from mere buzzwords to a believable reality.

From mom and pop corner stores to the distribution warehouses of global retailers, businesses rely heavily on inventory management to achieve operational success. An inventory typically contains a retail or manufacturing company’s most valuable assets, thus it is critical to implement an inventory management system that runs smoothly. Some benefits of a well-managed inventory are lower storage costs, increased customer satisfaction, more sales, and reduced labor costs. If these issues are of interest to you, perhaps it is time to overhaul your inventory management system.

Moving On From Manhours

We have come a long way from Microsoft Excel printouts, clipboards, and pencils tucked behind our ears. The tedious and endless task of manually checking and rechecking stock and filing reports that are already out of date before they leave the warehouse is a headache that many business operators are happy to be rid of. Aside from being painfully slow, manual inventory management is also liable to human error. Mistakes such as missing items or doubling up on tallies may be minor on their own but add together to cost businesses in terms of efficiency and the bottom line.

The proliferation of Internet technology has allowed businesses to expand towards the global marketplace while concurrently enlisting new contributors to their supply chain. As a result, companies who want to stay competitive now require more specialized solutions that can deliver on-the-minute information and be scaled up to meet their growing needs. The numerous technological advancements in modern inventory management seek to fill this gap.

It is common knowledge to business owners that labor costs—which include wages, benefits, and applicable taxes—can account for up to 70 percent of business expenditure. While the push for a higher minimum wage and more employee benefits may be justified, it can prove a challenge for companies that are already struggling on the budget front. Even for companies with resources to spare, it is prudent to save on labor costs through automation. Automated systems use computer-based tracking and advanced tagging technology to log the status of items and manage the fulfillment of goods accurately. Best of all, businesses only have to pay a one-off cost during the set-up.

Being Inventive with Inventory

Emerging inventory management RFID technology is an example of an advanced tagging technology that is poised to be adopted across the inventory management industry. A Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag is a form of ‘smart barcode’ containing large amounts of data that can be shared with a reader device via radio waves. This data is then transferred by the reader device to an inventory management software that updates the inventory database and initiates further actions if required.

The two main types of RFID tags are passive and active. Passive RFID tags have no battery source of their own and are powered by the readers when within a certain proximity. This means that the passive tags have a shorter working range but a lower price point. Active RFID tags have their own onboard battery and can continuously broadcast data. These active tags are perfect for tracking large moveable assets such as machinery or vehicles.

Perhaps the most attractive perk of RFID technology is that it does not require line of sight to function. This means that it is possible to scan an RFID tag from a distance and in any orientation. Unlike traditional barcode scanning systems that still require workers to walk the warehouse floor, physically retrieve items, and manually scan them one by one, RFID technology allows an entire pallet of items to be recorded simply by rolling them within the range of a reader. By reducing the check-in and check-out times for inventory items from hours to mere seconds, the competence and capacity of warehouse operations are increased exponentially.

Another way that RFID tags can help expedite the inventory management process is in the locating of items. Perhaps you have a new employee or a sprawling warehouse complex with hundreds of thousands of items. By activating the relevant RFID tags through a mobile tracking device, employees can pinpoint the location of any item within their vicinity. Through speeding up such actions that are undertaken multiple times daily, businesses can free up the time of their workers and direct them to tasks that are more fulfilling and productive.

An additional benefit of using RFID technology is for those that are on the decision-making level. RFID inventory management collects information as an item moves through the distribution chain, improving transparency and providing information on patterns and performance. This digital information enables business managers to make astute decisions based on reliable real-time inventory data. From determining which products are most in-demand to remotely restocking retail shelves, big data analysis is invaluable for ambitious businesses.

As business strategies evolve across the modern global marketplace, companies need to maintain their partnerships with technology. Technology not only expands opportunities for supply and sales but also provides avenues for companies to improve their internal processes. In this time of business renewal, there is little room for error and unnecessary expenditure. Companies should subscribe their inventory to visibility, efficiency, and accuracy by implementing a smart inventory management system.