It’s Friday, so it’s time to take a look at what you may have missed in the world of technology outside healthcare.
Here, we present this week’s list of five interesting general technology stories from the last seven days that people in healthcare should pay attention to. These issues could have an impact on health tech in the future.
1. “The hottest new buzzword in tech is robo-advice — here’s what it’s all about” (Business Insider)
Now, robo-advice and robo-advisors, the growing field of online investment and savings platforms, looks to be holding sway.
The exact term is slippery to define because it covers a broad spectrum, but it essentially involves replacing face-to-face savings and investment advice with online, automated guidance and execution. It doesn’t involve actual robots — the closest you get is algorithms — and it can often be much more than just advice, with some online offerings investing your money for you.
2. “Stripe Wants To Help Cuban Entrepreneurs Enter The Digital Age” (Fortune)
Ahead of President Obama’s historic trip to Cuba next week, Silicon Valley payments upstart Stripe announced that it is helping Cuban entrepreneurs set up U.S. businesses.
The initiative lets foreign entrepreneurs incorporate U.S. businesses, obtain U.S. bank accounts and tax ID numbers, and, of course, set up a U.S. Stripe account to receive payments. The service, which costs $500 per business, will also give users access to tax advice from PwC along with legal advice.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
3. “9.7-inch iPad Pro to start at higher $599 price, come in 32 GB & 128 GB capacities” (9to5 Mac)
Apple will announce the new iPad at its event on Monday, March 21st. … As we first reported, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro will include many of the same features as the larger version from last year. The device will include a design that features four stereo speakers around the sides, a “brighter” display that supports the Apple Pencil, a Smart Connector for a new proportionally-sized Smart Keyboard, and an A9X processor with more memory. One hardware difference will be that the 9.7-inch version will include a 12 megapixel camera and 4K video recording, not an 8 megapixel sensor.
4. “Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey: The 140-character limit ‘is staying'” (VentureBeat)
The rumor that Twitter will scrap its 140-character limit for tweets just won’t die. In an interview with NBC [Friday] morning, CEO Jack Dorsey has gone on record to say that the limit is staying.
5. “Where We Stand with Wearables” (Tech.pinions)
The challenge for today’s wearables innovators is not in how to collect and analyze data; in many respects, we’re already there. Instead, innovators must prioritize meaningful data curation that results in actionable, customized advice to consumers. With wearables and their accompanying software deciphering the answers hidden in a sea of our personal data for us, we are empowered to make more meaningful decisions about our lifestyle, health and work.
Photo: Flickr user CrystalFlickr
