Show and tell for gadget lovers

When thinking of a present to buy your loved ones this Christmas, how many of you thought of the latest must have gadget or electronic gizmo?
Increasingly, however, such toys are not just fancy festive gifts but they are actually shaping the way we live and interact with each other.
Richard Tandoh, a freelance business analyst, sits on the committee of the 5,000-strong North London branch of BCS, the Chartered Institute of IT (formerly known as the British Computer Society).
He talks to BBC London about the BCS, the 'gadget of the year' event that he organised and the technological innovations we can expect to see in the near future.
When thinking of a present to buy your loved ones this Christmas, how many of you thought of the latest must have gadget or electronic gizmo?
Increasingly, however, such toys are not just fancy festive gifts but they are actually shaping the way we live and interact with each other.
Richard Tandoh, a freelance business analyst, sits on the committee of the 5,000-strong North London branch of BCS, the Chartered Institute of IT (formerly known as the British Computer Society).
He talks to BBC London about the BCS, the 'gadget of the year' event that he organised and the technological innovations we can expect to see in the near future.
What do you get out of the BCS?
I enjoy putting on events, I enjoy the networking and I enjoy the chance to keep my finger on the pulse to see what's happening in the industry.
So really it's a chance to meet people and network and also get the satisfaction of having people say, that was a really good talk.
What is the idea behind holding this gadget event?
Generally for the rest of the year we'll have a panel of experts talking about a topic. They impart knowledge, we listen, we network and then we go home.
What we do with this event is turn the tables, and it's a good IT tradition because it is all about user generated content.
The original idea is that people would talk about the gadgets that they had bought that year and convince the audience with a short three minute pitch.
You get original inventions too?

Richard Tandoh is a freelance business analyst and BCS volunteer

We started getting small companies and little-known inventors saying 'Can I come along with something that I've actually created?'
So half of them are pitching gadgets that they've bought and half are pitching gadgets that they've created or hacked. Another interesting area of IT is people taking a gadget and doing something different with it.
What are mash ups?
One guy has taken 3D virtual glasses and he's hooked that up to Google Street View or Google Earth and put those two technologies together. That's called a mash up. That's another great category.
I think it is great. It is just another space for people who are not full inventors but they want to innovate on a concept. You'll never know what comes out of it.
What do you think are going to be some of the big gadget trends over the next few years?

THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF IT To my mind the BCS is a focal point. It has 70,000 people and a wonderful way of channelling innovation and ideas. It provides a focal point for IT talent. The UK is a huge pool of talent and wonderful things are happening. We're about sharing knowledge. IT is the power to do 'it'. There are not many facets of society that don't have IT. Dalim Basu, Chair of the North London branch, on the BCS

A lot of people are saying that next year is the year for augmented reality.
This is where you take a mobile phone and hold it up to a landmark and it augments what you are seeing in the real world with some kind of virtual image.
Another trend that we've been waiting for is location based services. The iPhone and Google have got it built in.
There is one company, Vouchacha, that monitors where you are in relation to some shops and then push vouchers towards you.
The other thing with IT is to expect the unexpected. There is something that no one is talking about that is going to come along and surprise us.
IT and gadgets are deeply entrenched in all aspects of society now. Do you think that there are negative aspects, such as consumerism, waste and the environment that inventors should take more responsibility for?
In general, invention and innovation is for good and all about pushing the boundaries. Human beings have within them the innate desire to keep pushing the envelope and not to stand still.
New inventions are part of that innate desire. Sometimes you can push into areas with bad consequences, but that's for all of society to address.
Do you have a favourite gadget?
It's not really a gadget but the Internet has fundamentally changed my life. I'm a child of the Internet. That's why I went into IT. I'm 34. I feel disconnected when I don't have a connection to the Internet.


sumber : BBC