Matt McFarland

What will be the next massive shift in our world?

Analyst Horace Dediu, who writes insightfully on Apple and more at Asymco, said, “People say there’s no more opportunities, I say there’s tons of opportunities because you look at all these spaces where -- to put it bluntly -- software has not yet infiltrated. Software -- you can say technology but let’s be more specific -- it’s software. Once you inject software into any product you go from making it dumb to smart.”

He singled out health care, education and transportation as fields likely to go through upheaval that will benefit the average individual. Dediu expects wearables to drive the change in health care.

Apple’s success has started to become a problem. The company’s revenue and profits have grown so fast that it’s difficult for it to find new markets that will be large enough to ensure its revenues continue growing.

Apple has introduced a stock dividend and bought back shares to appease investors who question whether the world’s largest technology company by market capitulation is still a growth company. Apple is expected to release a smartwatch this fall, which should provide a boost. But Francis McIlerney, a consultant at North River Ventures, has another idea for how Apple can keep growing. Why not buy Disney?

McIlerney imagines the two combined as a “Netflix on steroids,” in which Apple would benefit from finding ways to monetize Disney’s content offerings, and Disney would have a safe and profitable place in the emerging, unbundled world of TV and video to peddle its wares. Having Disney under the Apple umbrella would also be an asset if Apple ever launches a television set, which has been suggested for years but may not become a reality.

While Silicon Valley start-ups reinvent the world, most government agencies can only dream of being innovators.

Basic competence on tech projects is a struggle, as the rollout of HealthCare.com illustrated. At a GE-hosted event in Washington addressing the future of work, Gov. Pat McCrory (R-NC) addressed what he believes is the root of the problem.

“The biggest issue we have in government is the one thing no one talks about,” Gov McCrory said. “It’s how to get the work done in the most efficient, effective and quality way. I’m CEO in addition to being chairman of the board as governor and my biggest issue is being hamstrung by policies and politics which don’t allow me to operate in the most efficient and productive way and that includes paying the people who are really good.”

The problems begin with hiring, a report from the Partnership for Public Service noted: “The federal hiring process over time has become so slow, complex, opaque and imprecise in its ability to identify the best candidates that it is more likely to impede than facilitate the government’s ability to hire well.” And things don’t get better once employees are in the door. One study found that only 57.8 percent of federal government workers are satisfied with their jobs, as opposed to 70.7 percent of employees in the private sector.

Hybris Software has its eye on the future of commerce. Here’s the process:

1. See a QR code on a magazine ad for a product you’re interested in. Scan the QR code on your smartphone.
2. Request customer service in an app for the next time you’re in a store.
3. You walk in the store, and an employee receives an alert via Google Glass that you’re in the store and want help buying that product.
4. The salesperson identifies and greets you, thanks to a photo from your Facebook profile.
5. The salesperson guides you to the product you’re interested in.
6. As you check out, the salesperson is alerted to another product you’re interested in, and he or she offers you a promotion.
7. You buy that other product, motivated by the deal.