What is blockchain and what does it mean for your business?

The technology behind Bitcoin has the potential to revolutionize how business is conducted. It’s called blockchain, and there’s a race on to develop applications for it across a wide array of industries.

BDC senior economist Gillian Elias answers 5 common questions about blockchain and how it can impact doing business.

1. What is blockchain and how does it work?

Simply put, blockchain is a continuously updated digital record of who holds what. Information about transactions—the time, date, dollar value and the participants involved—is encrypted into a “block” that is linked to other blocks to form a chain.

There is no one central authority controlling the blockchain and that’s one of the reasons why Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are so fascinating. Everyone in a blockchain has access to the same information, providing transparency and continuous reconciliation.

Because it exists on many computers, there is no centralized version of the information for a hacker to attack. This means it’s no longer necessary to have a trusted third party verify information about you and a transaction you want to make.

2. What are some real-world examples of blockchain technology?

The financial services industry is beginning to use blockchain to develop new services and save on costs. For example, the Australian stock exchange recently announced it would begin using blockchain to settle transactions. The technology will be used to record shareholdings and manage the clearing and settlement of equity transactions.

Another example of blockchain in financial services comes from a firm called Abra. It’s a money transfer platform that allows workers abroad to send money home in 54 different currencies. Workers can send money back home quickly and more cheaply by using the platform, compared with a traditional service provider such as Western Union, which charges fees that average 7% of the amount sent, according to the World Bank.

Another blockchain project involves the World Wildlife Fund and three companies that are collaborating to sustainably source tuna in the Pacific Ocean. ConsenSys (a blockchain company), TraSeable (an IT firm) and SeaQuest Fiji (a tuna fishing and processing company) are using a blockchain to track where, when and how tuna are caught and sold.

From fishers to brokers to your local fishmonger or grocery store, each transaction is recorded on a blockchain. This allows consumers to be sure that they are buying good-quality, legally caught, sustainably fished tuna.

3. What does it mean for entrepreneurs?

Several major corporations are investing in blockchain, including Microsoft, IBM (with more than 400 blockchain projectsaround the world), Unilever and Toyota. But blockchains won’t impact just large corporations; your company may be affected in the not-too-distant future.

If you’re in the business of verifying transactions of any kind, investigate how blockchain could impact your company. Just consider the threat to the business of clearing and settling stock trades to see that the disruption to many back-office functions and other services could be substantial.

Assuming you belong to some sort of supply chain, your partners may ask you to start digitally tracking your processes. Especially if you’re a supplier to large companies, start thinking about where you fit into your customers’ supply chains and how you might be asked to participate in a blockchain.

If you’re a supplier to either consumers or other businesses, could you benefit from tracing your products back to their source? Think of the premium prices that a fishmonger selling guaranteed sustainable tuna might be able to charge.

4. How can it help track goods and make payments?

In supply chain logistics, the combination of blockchain, smart contracts, and the Internet of Things will allow companies to track shipments and make payments when certain conditions are met (i.e., a product is delivered). Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company, began testing blockchain a year ago to track its cargo in conjunction with Dutch customs, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the company sending the goods.

Smaller companies could use this technology as well. Imagine a grocery store whose inventories are getting low. Smart containers holding the goods could be programmed to inform a wholesaler that they need to be restocked. The wholesaler would notify a trucking company to pick up the goods and deliver them to the retailer. Each step would be recorded and payments made via a blockchain because all would be verified.

5. Does blockchain have the potential to be widely used?

Despite all this potential, we are still in the early days of the blockchain. Three key issues need to be resolved before it goes mainstream. They include energy use, processing speed and interoperability across blockchains.

Verifying transactions to add to the blockchain is energy-intensive because of the computer power required to do all the computations, solving equations by trial and error. Technology firms are working on solutions to maintain the security but reduce the energy consumption.

Because of all the computations involved, the processing time is slow. But researchers are working on ways to simplify calculations and increase the number of transactions.

Currently there are many blockchains—some public, some private—that don’t talk to one another. The next generation of blockchain technology will likely address this issue.

Blockchain has the potential to transform many industries. As a stand-alone technology, it can verify and track transactions. In conjunction with the Internet of Things and smart contracts, it can speed up transactions.

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Article source: https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/blog/what-is-blockchain-what-does-it-mean-for-your-business

Metaverse giants form new standards to address lack of interoperability

Big-name tech companies such as Meta, Microsoft, and Epic Games have formed a standards organization called the Metaverse Standards Forum (MSF). This is meant to be a group that creates open standards for all things metaverse, including virtual reality, augmented reality, and 3D technology.

Over 30 companies have signed on, some of which are deep in metaverse technology like Meta itself. Others include Nvidia, Unity (the creators of the popular game engine), Qualcomm, Sony, and even the web standards organization itself — the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3).

“The Forum will explore where the lack of interoperability is holding back metaverse deployment and how the work of Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs) defining and evolving needed standards may be coordinated and accelerated. Open to any organization at no cost, the Forum will focus on pragmatic, action-based projects such as implementation prototyping, hackathons, plugfests, and open-source tooling to accelerate the testing and adoption of metaverse standards, while also developing consistent terminology and deployment guidelines.”

This seems to imply that many of the future technologies created for the metaverse will include some level of interoperability between companies. That doesn’t mean the metaverse will be the Internet 2.0, but it may allow users to use certain profiles or data across metaverse platforms. In fact, this is directly stated in the press release:

“The metaverse will bring together diverse technologies, requiring a constellation of interoperability standards, created and maintained by many standards organizations,” said Neil Trevett, Khronos president. “The Metaverse Standards Forum is a unique venue for coordination between standards organizations and industry, with a mission to foster the pragmatic and timely standardization that will be essential to an open and inclusive metaverse.”

Besides the W3, other standards organizations have also joined the Forum, such as the Open AR Cloud, Spatial Web Foundation, and the Open Geospatial Consortium. This gives a lot of weight and much needed legitimacy to the organization, as the metaverse is very much a burgeoning field of technology.

Interestingly, major VR/AR players are conspicuously missing at the moment. Apple, who has already invested much in AR technology and is planning its own headset, has not yet joined the MSF. Niantic, maker of popular AR game Pokemon Go, is also missing from the roster. Protocol also points out that the Roblox Corporation, maker of the wildly successful Roblox game, has also declined to join for now.

While not considered a “metaverse” in the popular usage, Roblox in particular has been able to create an immersive 3D world where people can create entire games within it.

The exclusion of Apple, Niantic, and Roblox isn’t a forgone conclusion, however, as the MSF has just begun. The good thing is that most of the major players in the metaverse tech are agreeing to create some kind of unified standard to make development much easier. The press release named several important technology fields, including avatars, privacy and identity management, and financial transactions.

The Metaverse Standards Forum is scheduled to begin meeting next month.

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Article source: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/metaverse-standards-to-address-interoperability/

Metaverse tops business leaders' list of technology trends

While the metaverse is set to be an impactful technology trend over the next decade, business leaders are also keeping an eye on existing tech that's continuing to advance.

Business leaders believe the metaverse stands to be one of the most impactful technology trends for the next decade.

The metaverse is a technology that will "truly disrupt us as a brand and company," said Manoj Kumbhat, global CIO at manufacturing company Kimberly-Clark.

When thinking about engaging with younger generations, Kumbhat sees the metaverse -- a virtual world where consumers can shop, work and play -- as particularly important.

"As we think about the next generation, how do we bring consumers into the brands we're building?" he said during an MIT Sloan CIO Symposium panel called "The Most Impactful Technology Trends in the Decade Ahead."

Though other technologies including quantum computing will also have an impact over the next 10 years, Kumbhat said the metaverse and technologies enabling it, such as 5G and augmented and virtual reality, will likely be the most transformative for businesses.

Which Programming Language Should I Learn First in 2022?

If you’re a beginner programmer, you might be wondering which programming language you should learn first. With so many languages out there, it can be difficult to decide which one is right for you. We’ll discuss the most popular programming languages in 2022 and what benefits they offer.

It’s 2022 and you want to learn a programming language. But which one should you choose? It can be difficult to decide which one is right for you. This article will discuss the most popular programming languages in 2022 and what benefits they offer. We will also give some tips on how to choose the right language for your needs. So whether you’re a beginner or an experienced programmer, read on to find out which language you should learn first!

What Is a Programming Language?

A programming language is a formal language that specifies a set of instructions that can be used to produce various kinds of output. Programming languages are used in computer programming to implement logic flows and algorithms.

Levels of programming languages

Programming languages can be categorized by level. These levels relate to the level of abstraction from the machine code that runs on a computer.

• Low-level programming language
• High-level programming language

Low-level languages

A low-level language is a programming language that provides little or no abstraction from a computer’s instruction set architecture. Low-level languages are typically used to write system software, such as operating systems and device drivers, or to access hardware devices.

Metaverse Enables Software Developers to Explore New Horizons

The metaverse is more than just a game or a virtual reality environment — it's a new way for software developers to build new applications and immersive experiences.

The emerging world of the metaverse could have a broad impact on the world as we know it.

For software developers, the metaverse represents another type of application to be built and another deployment target for source code. As with any kind of development, there are myths and misconceptions about the technology as well as challenges to getting things done.

The biggest misconception about the metaverse is that it's just another video game, according to Erik Ashby, head of product at Helpshift.