We are in the early stages of unforeseen change as a result of several international disasters.
Not only has the pandemic forced us to shift to supporting work from home, but it has also resulted in a lot of people resigning, who decide they really don’t want to go back to jobs they hate.
Concerns about climate change are driving every major car company to switch to electric vehicles, and Ford just announced that it is splitting the company to better address that opportunity. Volvo and Jaguar are taking a similar route.
The war in Ukraine is forcing drastic changes not only to the world’s power structure (Russia may no longer be a superpower) but also to the creation of the first viable international cyber army that could include Anonymous.
Let’s talk about these changes – and we’ll close with my product of the week, a new HP monitor designed for our casual work via video conferencing.
The US tech workforce is organizing
One of the interesting historical advantages that tech companies have is immunity from unions. This allows companies to be more agile, reduce costs, and operate virtually without union interference.
However, the combination of bad employee policies, lack of pay raises and exorbitant executive salaries, along with practices that seem hostile to those employees is changing that dynamic. Apple in particular has been accused of being unfair to its employees, prompting some to use Android phones, allegedly to help ensure privacy as they seek to unite – and a sign of distrust of their employer.
Now, almost every major tech company faces at least the possibility of dealing with unions. Once unions began to spread and gain power, they also had the ability to infiltrate neighboring companies by convincing current employees that they were being abused.
Once unions gain critical mass in an industry, it is virtually impossible for them to stop, because the funding they receive allows them to fund campaigns that unite companies in one ecosystem. . This cycle turns every union win into funding allowing their spread to be unstoppable when it reaches a critical point.
While that point has not been reached yet, I predict that, unless companies actively focus on ensuring employee satisfaction and loyalty, this cut-off point will be reached by the end of the year. 2025.
The result will be significant costs and operational drag on the linked companies, but they will be solely responsible. If they had treated their employees better in the first place, the collaboration would not have reached large numbers.
In addition, Great Resignation tells us that even if tech companies don’t consolidate, a large number of employees are thinking about quitting or changing jobs, which will make it difficult for those companies to do so. more present.
Push to Tram
Ford, Jaguar and Volvo are all moving to form separate electric divisions or companies, allowing them to better focus on competing with Tesla.
This reminds me a bit of the smartphone war between Apple and all the others, where the companies didn’t take Apple seriously in the first place, and the companies were market leaders at the time. Research in Motion (BlackBerry), Palm, Nokia and Microsoft took a nap.
However, unlike Apple, Tesla has had big problems with enforcement and substandard quality control for a long time. This has led its competitors to finally realize that they need to focus on electric cars if they do it right, and we are seeing that focus appear with announcements of the creation of electric cars. division focuses on electric cars. Expect these new parts to create stronger alternatives to Tesla and avoid the fate of major Apple competitors.
On top of that, the shift to electric vehicles will force changes in automotive support and maintenance, increasing electric capacity and spurring an even larger shift to sustainable energy production.
Finally, we’ll see the first Level 4 autonomous vehicles on the road by 2026, which could change the very nature of driving.
International Cyber Army
As I write this, Russia unwisely attacked Ukraine, suddenly seeing the opposite of what America experienced in Afghanistan nearly a year ago. Instead of pacifying citizens, they have discovered that the Ukrainians are ready to fight to stop one of the stupidest things Russia has ever done.
Volunteer fighters are now swarming across the country, but the most interesting aspect is Ukraine’s IT Army, an international group of mostly volunteer hackers who are working remotely to take down Russia. Apparently, although it has not been officially confirmed, even the activist and hacktivist group Anonymous is involved, which has also declared war on Russia.
Collective Anonymous officially joined the cyber war against the Russian government. #Nameless #Ukraine
– Anonymous (@YourAnonOne) February 24, 2022
What makes this particularly interesting is that experts think Russia will use cyberwarfare first, but Russia’s capabilities have fallen short of what these Ukrainian volunteers have to offer.
Although the physical army is still largely Ukrainian, this IT army has grown to become independent of nations and become the world’s cyber defense force, appearing when needed when conflicts arise. Illegal conflict threatens local or world stability.
To date, the alliance has been far more effective than the United Nations or NATO in hitting back at Russia.
Wrapped Up: A Changed World
The rise of unions and mass employee movements, the anticipated death of the internal combustion engine, along with a decisive move towards more sustainable sources of electricity, and the emergence of a team international and increasingly coordinated cyber forces, combined with the apparent collapse of Russia. power, it’s all just the tip of the iceberg of change.
We also have automated robots, AI more capable than ever, metaverse and increasingly real digital immortality.
This decade is expected to see an unprecedented change, but it is clear that we, as a country and a world, are not yet ready for this magnitude of change. My advice is not to get attached to anything, be agile and actively expand your skills so you can adapt to the waves of change rather than drown in them.
Russia is now a poster child for what can happen if you misunderstand how fundamentally the world has been and is changing. Don’t be Russia.
HP E24m G4 FHD USB-C conference monitor
As I’ve noted, in a short amount of time, we’ve changed the way we communicate and collaborate.
With Cisco moving to combine telecommunications with video conferencing, our office phones are trending out of fashion. This is amazing because, back in the 1960s, AT&T was setting up video phones and now we’re really ready for them.
What sets HP’s collaboration displays apart is that they have built-in dual microphones, an adjustable pop-up camera (which can be tilted down for framing), and speakers that aren’t too loud for a bedroom or office space. Many people work from home. These displays will charge your laptop (up to 65 watts) and it has ethernet built in, so you can simply connect that one USB-C cable for a dock-like experience.
HP E24m G4 FHD USB-C Conference Monitor (Credit: HP)
The monitor has a good price. The 24-inch model that HP sent me for review is a good monitor for $399. It has FHD (1920×1080) resolution, 1000:1 contrast ratio and 5ms latency. At 300 nits, they’re bright enough for a normally lit room, but won’t be bright enough for outdoors or where there’s excessive glare – and you shouldn’t have a screen anyway.
A single USB-C connection is all that’s needed, which makes it ideal for laptops, PCs, or Chromebooks (it’s Chromebook certified). It’s Zoom certified but will also work well with any other video conferencing service. Our future may be Zoom meetings, and monitors like these will be a big part of that future, so the HP E24m G4 FHD USB-C Conference Monitor is my go-to for the week.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ECT News Network.
