Google invited “Glass Explorers” who had pre-ordered the wearable glasses at the 2012 Google I/O conference to choose and rank their devices. Thus came about the day when Google Glass was launched officially as a tool that was supposed to supply rich textual content and notifications through a heads-up display worn as eyeglasses.
The device additionally had a 5 MP camera and recorded video at 720p. Its diverse capabilities could be activated via voice command, which includes “OK Glass.” The tech giant also released the Google Glass associated app called My Glass. The first ever third-party Google Glass App appeared from the popular New York Times, thus enabling the app to read out articles and news summaries to its users.
Early in the year 2015, however, Google stopped selling the beta “explorer edition” of Google Glass to the public, following user and public complaints of its design and the hefty price tag of $1,500.
Optical head-installed display technology is still a relatively unexplored niche, but smart watches and activity trackers have taken on a somewhat popular role in modern lifestyle. Back in the year 2012, ABI Research predicted that the sales of smart watches could hit record figures of 1.2 million by 2013, owing to the excessive penetration of smartphones in many international markets.
The economics were also in favor of this prediction – low cost of MEMS sensors and a wide variety of available devices at competitive prices further aided the boom. Green, environment-friendly technology in the form of Bluetooth Version 4.0 in an already flourishing app ecosystem was another major reason for the prediction to come true.
The smart watch was reinvented with the crowd funded backed start up Pebble in the year 2013 through a campaign runner on Kick starter that helped raise over $10 million in funding alone. By the end of the year 2014, Pebble happily announced that it had managed to sell over a million devices.
Pebble then went back to the roots of its crowdfunding venture to rake up a further $20m for the next-generation smart watch called Pebble Time, which was shipped all over the world in May 2015.
Five-year certificates of deposit (CDs) will most often be the longest term of a CD offered by the banks. The banks will offer the highest possible rates, but this will only be in return for a long-term commitment on the part of the customer. A 5-year CD is popular as it allows the depositors to lock in a large sum of money at a high interest rate for a long period of time. 5-year CDs are preferred by depositors looking to gain a high yield and take advantage of the high interest rates. The interest rates, however, are still making their way to a higher amount after their significant drop due to the recession. Following are some of the institutions offering the best 5-year CD rates.
CommunityWide Federal Credit Union
CommunityWide is one of the oldest credit unions, being established in 1967. The credit union held assets worth $410.9 million as of 31st December 2017. It has a large working team of around 77 full-time employees and hold leases and loans worth $362.6 million. They have 47,332 members that currently hold a massive $281.3 million in shares with the credit union. This credit union has had a good response from their customers and holds a good rating for the safety and soundness. A higher capital shows that the credit union can provide protection to their members in the unwarranted occurrence of a mishap. The institution has a high capital performance with a capitalization ratio of 24 percent.
Mountain America Credit Union
Mountain America is an NCUA-insured credit union that has its inception in 1936 and is currently headquartered in West Jordan, UT. This credit union has a substantial $7.09 billion in assets as of 31st December 2017. They have a commendable group of 1,686 employees that ensure the smooth functioning for this credit union. It is one of the credit unions with the best 5-year CD rates due to its commendable grip on loans and leases worth $6.13 billion. Even if this credit union is higher on assets and loan and leases amount, it ranks behind Communitywide due to its slight drop in the capital. Mountain America has a slightly below average capital score and has a capitalization ration of only 10 percent. It is, however, high on safety and soundness as it holds an amazing asset quality score.
Connexus Credit Union
Another NCUA-insured credit union, Connexus is based in Wausau, WI and was founded back in 1935. As of December 31st, 2017, the credit union had assets worth $1.69 billion. They are one of the top credit unions with the best 5-year CD rates and a strong team of 255 full-time employees. This credit union holds loans and leases worth $1.05 billion. Connexus currently has 305,795 members that account for $1.34 billion in shares. Similar to Mountain America, Connexus does not have a great capital score either. They have a score that allows them to be one of the best as they have an outstanding asset quality score. This commendable asset quality score allows them to be high on safety and soundness. The capitalization ratio is set at 12 percent, which is a lot better than most credit unions and complements the asset quality score well.
United States Senate
Founded in 1935, United States Senate is an NCUA-insured credit union based in Alexandria, VA. They have assets worth $673.8 million as of 31st December 2017. A strong workforce of 106 full-time employees allows them to have a tight grip on loans and leases worth $516.2 million. They come in as a credit union with one of the best 5-year CD rates with around 34,809 members who hold $589.1 million shares with them. Even with comparatively lower assets, they still hold a very high asset quality score that allows them to be a credit union with one of the best 5-year CD rates. The capitalization score of 14 percent is not very far behind either. A strong asset quality score and a good capitalization score allow them to be high on safety and soundness.
You could be a full-fledged business with an office premise of your own and have a virtual assistant to help you after operating hours. Or you could be a business that is starting out from scratch and hence, prefer to operate virtually. Either way, before you set out on building your virtual office, there are a few things you need to keep in mind.