NEW NET Weekly List for 22 Jan 2013
Below is the final list of technology news and issues for the Tuesday, 22 January 2013, NEW NET (NorthEast Wisconsin Network for Entrepreneurism and Technology) 7:00 - 9:00 PM weekly gathering at Sergio's Restaurant, 2639 South Oneida Street, Appleton, Wisconsin, USA.
The ‘net
1.
How California’s Online
Education Pilot Will End College As We Know It http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/15/how-californias-new-online-education-pilot-will-end-college-as-we-know-it/ “…the largest university system in the world,
the California State University system, announced a pilot for $150
lower-division online courses at one of its campuses — a move that spells the
end of higher education as we know it. Lower-division courses are the financial
backbone of many part-time faculty and departments…Most of college–the
expansive campuses and large lecture halls–will crumble into ghost towns as
budget-strapped schools herd students online…Gov. Jerry Brown has given his
blessing to popular online course platform, Udacity, to partner with San Jose
State University for the ultra-low cost online lower-division and remedial
classes…While faculty worry about the quality of online courses, the truth is
that our education system, primarily designed to test rote memorization, is
built to scale and be independent of teacher interaction…To boost retention,
the National Science Foundation-funded project will offer a range of mentoring
and monitoring services…it’s difficult to underestimate just how powerful the
California higher education system is. After former University of California
President, Richard Atkinson, threatened to drop the SAT from admissions
requirements, the College Board rushed to revamp the test for the entire
country only a year after the threat. However goes California’s education
system, so goes the nation…”
2.
Darjeelin Crowdsources
Cheaper Flights http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/15/darjeelin/ “Darjeelin has launched…a human-powered
flight search engine…experts are tasked with going off and finding the cheapest
flights on a bespoke basis for users who pay a small fee in return…those in the
know — frequent flyers, experienced travellers, professional travel agents —
use their expertise to source and manipulate the best online offers. Searching
for the best price for a flight has become…a daunting and incredibly
time-consuming process for the average flyer who is unsure whether or not a
better deal can be found. Darjeelin aims to solve this problem by putting…specific
air ticket needs in front of its crowd of experts who compete for a bounty of
€15 for each contest…each flight contest is only re-routed to 4 ‘flight hackers’
from the expert community…to incentivize those competing by giving them a 1 in
4 chance of winning per-contest…”
3.
DigitalOcean Switches To
SSD For Its $5 Per Month VPS To Take On Linode And Rackspace http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/15/techstars-graduate-digitalocean-switches-to-ssd-for-its-5-per-month-vps-to-take-on-linode-and-rackspace/ “DigitalOcean is a cloud hosting solution for
small developers, looking for a cheap virtual private server to experiment,
host web applications with low memory needs and run some cron jobs. While
Linode and Rackspace provide cheap servers starting at $20 a month, DigitalOcean
has two key advantages — it starts at $5 a month for a comparable offering, and
it now uses SSD. For $5, you get 20GB of SSD, 512MB of RAM and 1 core. Many
other configurations exist. For example, for $20, you get 40GB of SSD, 2GB of
RAM and 2 cores. DigitalOcean provides two separate node locations for now, in
New Jersey and Amsterdam…“Linode is a great competitor, they offer reliable
Linux virtual servers and have been around for a long time,” said Mitch Wainer
II, marketing and design guru at DigitalOcean. “But we are all about the user
experience…”
4.
Wikimedia Launches Its
Crowdsourced Wikivoyage Online Travel Guide http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/15/wikimedia-launches-its-crowdsourced-wikivoyage-online-travel-guide/ “…Wikivoyage…which was already in beta for a
while and has a bit of a tumultuous history, is a free online travel guide
that, just like Wikipedia, is edited collaboratively. It currently features
about 50,000 articles and has attracted a core group of about 200 volunteer
editors. The site is available in English, Dutch, French, German, Italian,
Russian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. “There’s a huge global demand for
travel information, but very few sources are both comprehensive and
non-commercial. That’s about to change…”
5.
Get Creative With
Evernote: 10 Unique Uses You Haven’t Thought Of http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/get-creative-with-evernote-10-unique-uses-you-havent-thought-of/ “…Evernote is one of the ultimate tools in
productivity…we’ve written a list of 10 unique ways how to use Evernote – with
some tips and tricks you might not have thought of…don’t forget to download our
Evernote Manual for free…Save Classified Listings Before They Expire…Take Notes
While Reading a Book…Keep Measurements, Sizes, etc. Handy When Shopping…Create
Lists Of Everything From Goals To Groceries…Record Your Prescriptions…Save
Photos Of Your Takeout Menus…Save Your Favorite Meals At Restaurants…Save
Important Documents: Warranties, Contracts, Birth Certificates…Create a Virtual
Library Of Your DVD, Video Game Collections…Use Evernote As a Rolodex…”
6.
NameCheap Makes “Move
Your Domain Day” an Annual Protest http://www.elliotsblog.com/namecheap-makes-move-your-domain-day-an-annual-protest-5198 “A little over a year ago, Go Daddy’s
position on SOPA brought quite a bit of negative publicity (deservedly) onto
the company…Go Daddy competitor NameCheap spearheaded a domain transfer
initiative known as “Move Your Domain Day,” and many people joined in and
transferred domain names from Go Daddy…NameCheap…is turning its “Move Your
Domain Day” into “an annual protest and a commemoration of sorts that will
continue to shine a light on the issue of a free and open internet…While the
threat of the SOPA act has passed, similar acts have been proposed that may
continue to threaten the very liberties we have earned the right to enjoy…We
donated over $60,000 to the Electronic Frontier Foundation to continue fighting
bills like SOPA…On January 22nd, Namecheap will be running a transfer special
for all com/net/org/info/biz domains to Namecheap. Domain transfers on this
date will be $3.99. In addition, Namecheap will donate $0.50 to the Electronic
Frontier Foundation for every domain transferred to Namecheap…”
Security,
Privacy & Digital Controls
7.
Tracking Retail Customers
Through Smartphones http://www.fastcompany.com/3004781/google-analytics-real-life-tracking-retail-customers-through-smartphones “A new technology…lets retailers track
in-store customer activity through their smartphones' MAC addresses…Euclid
Zero…captures shoppers' MAC addresses…as they walk into the store, and uses
this information to track store traffic, customer loyalty, and customer
activity inside the store. The process is entirely passive on a customer's
part…Euclid's product pings consumer smartphones even if they don't log into a
store's Wi-Fi or make a phone call…The company's dashboard provides Google
Analytics-like aggregate data on shopper activity based entirely on mobile
phone tracking…”
8.
Ahead of Graph Search
launch, Facebook removed the ability to opt out of search results http://qz.com/44261/ahead-of-graph-search-launch-facebook-removed-the-ability-to-opt-out-of-search-results/ “A month before unveiling a major new search
feature, Facebook changed its privacy policy to remove the ability to opt out
of search results…Facebook last month pushed through changes to its privacy
policy that will make it easier to implement the new feature…last summer, the
company settled with the US Federal Trade Commission for making changes to its
privacy policy that the FTC deemed “deceptive.” The issue then was that
information users had posted to Facebook was viewable to a growing array of
people who weren’t originally supposed to see it. Privacy advocates argued in
December that removing the ability to opt out of search amounted to the same
thing and violated Facebook’s settlement with the FTC…The FTC settlement…requires
Facebook to “obtain the user’s affirmative express consent” when adding a
feature that “materially exceeds the restrictions imposed by a user’s privacy
setting.…”
9.
Antiquated law enables
government's war on hackers, activists, and you http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/18/3888528/after-aaron-swartz-how-antiquated-computer-laws-enable-the “…in the early 1970s, two young computer
miscreants named Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak exploited a hole in AT&T’s
phone system to prank call the Pope. The call — made using a homemade device
called a “blue box” which made free calls by emulating the tones in AT&T’s
switching system — was more than just a prank. It was part of a history of
irreverent tinkering that would eventually lead to the creation of the Apple I,
and the founding of what would later become the most valuable computer company
on the planet. In July of 2011, Aaron Swartz was federally indicted for acts
that in retrospect seem far more innocuous than those of Jobs and Wozniak. He
had allegedly entered a maintenance closet at MIT and used a Python script to
rapidly download millions of documents from JSTOR, a database of academic
journals containing publicly-funded research that he had legal access to under
MIT’s open network…As security researcher and expert witness Alex Stamos
explains, what Swartz did wasn't "hacking" — not even under the
loosest interpretations. Yet despite JSTOR dropping its own charges against
him, federal prosecutors pursued the case aggressively. And they were able to
do so because of the dangerously vague language and inconsistent interpretations
of…the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act (CFAA) of 1986…it’s used to target an
incredibly broad range of activities completely divorced from “hacking,”…the
CFAA can effectively mark anyone who uses a computer to access another computer
(e.g., anyone on the internet) as a felon…”
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130117/02090421710/carmen-ortiz-releases-totally-bogus-statement-concerning-aaron-swartz-prosecution.shtml “…As Tim Lee explains, the whole "plea
bargain" system is a farce, allowing prosecutors to effectively bring
forth these massive "possible" punishments to effectively force
someone into pleading guilty without ever going to trial. Going to trial is
dangerous, because the prosecutors effectively make sure that anyone who does
exercise a right to a trial is likely to get much more time in jail: If Ortiz
thought Swartz only deserved to spend 6 months in jail, why did she charge him
with crimes carrying a maximum penalty of 50 years?...Had Swartz chosen to
plead not guilty, the offer of six months in jail would have evaporated…And
while the judge would have been unlikely to sentence him to the full 50 years,
it’s not hard to imagine him being sentenced to 10 years…those 10 years in prison would…have consisted of six months for his
original crime (the sentence Ortiz actually thought he deserved) plus a
nine-and-a-half-year prison term for exercising his constitutional right to a
trial…” http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=2860 “…the US legal…rules…create an asymmetric war
that favors those with resources. By and far one of the most effective methods
to force a conclusion, right or wrong, against a small player is to simply
bleed them of resources and the will to fight through pre-trial antics…a
pitched battle of motions, counter-motions, discovery, subpoenas and
affidavits, with each action heaping tens of thousands of dollars onto your
legal bill…Isolated and afraid, it eventually makes more sense to roll over and
settle than to take the risk of losing on a technicality versus a better-funded
adversary, regardless of the justice. The US government is by and far the most
well-funded and fearsome enemy to spar with, and…it seems like some prosecutors
in the US government are obsessed with making a big name for themselves.
Winning cases gets them the recognition and credibility needed for promotions
and assignments to ever higher profile cases. It’s not about justice, it’s
about victory…Individuals are robbed of the will and strength to fight for what
they feel is right, as the mere act of prosecution can be as much a punishment
as the verdict. As a result, I fear the era of civil disobedience may be coming
to a close…”
Mobile
Computing & Communicating
10.
Nokia backs 3D printing
for mobile phone cases http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21084430 “Nokia is releasing design files that will
let owners use 3D printers to make their own cases for its Lumia phones…The
project makes Nokia one of the first big electronics firms to seriously back 3D
printing…Nokia was releasing what he called a "3D printing development
kit" to help people produce the cases…Nokia already used 3D printing
internally to do rapid prototyping, but decided to back it more publicly…In the
future, he said, 3D printing was likely to bring about phones that were
"wildly more modular and customisable". Nokia might just end up
selling a phone template, he said, allowing entrepreneurs to use that to
produce handsets…” http://gigaom.com/2013/01/18/why-nokias-3d-printing-move-embraces-the-future/ “…Lumia 820 has a removable shell that users
can replace with Nokia-made shells in different colors, special ruggedized
shells with extra shock and dust protection, and shells that add wireless
charging capabilities found in the high-end Lumia 920 to the mid-range 820…in
addition to that, we are going to release 3D templates, case specs, recommended
materials and best practices — everything someone versed in 3D printing needs
to print their own…Nokia is effectively outsourcing rapid prototyping to its
customers…If you view the mass adoption of 3D printing as an inevitability –
whether it be through people all owning their own 3D printers or…at a local
3D-printing store – then it follows that many more people will start ripping
out and replacing static components of various devices, such as smartphones…”
11.
5-Inch Smartphone
Displays To Be Standard In 2013 http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/5-inch-smartphone-displays-to-be-standar/240146616 “…LG today accidentally revealed the LG
Optimus G Pro…the G Pro will feature a 1.7 GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with
2GB RAM and…a massive 3,000 mAh battery. But the defining characteristic of the
G Pro will be a 5-inch high-definition display with 1920 x 1080 pixels…Other
devices announced at CES with this same 5-inch panel…It's pretty clear that
handset makers are moving to 5-inch panels for their leading devices…It makes
sense that the best devices that still qualify as smartphones have screens that
max out at the 5-inch mark…There's not much point in shooting for higher resolutions…most
mobile processors support 1080p video, but not video at resolutions higher than
that. Now that smartphones offer huge, high-def displays, smartphone makers
will need to come up with other ways to make their products impressive.”
12.
Google should be ashamed
for paying Orange to handle its traffic http://gigaom.com/2013/01/18/google-should-be-ashamed-for-paying-carriers-to-handle-its-traffic/ “…[It
appears] Google is paying France Telecom-Orange to deliver its data to
users. It’s not clear how much Google is paying Orange, or what the precise terms
of the deal entail…but it does look like a line has been crossed. Here’s why
that’s bad. Telcos are very fond of complaining about the cost of building out
modern mobile networks that can support the explosion in data traffic — despite
the fact that mobile broadband usage is the carriers’ current cash cow…The
carriers already make money off delivering data, and they make it from the
consumer who signs up for a data tariff or pays by the megabyte. The content
providers…already pay on their end to deliver that data – through their own
internet service provider and/or through a content delivery network such as
Akamai, and also through investing in private delivery networks…When he
revealed the hitherto secret Google deal this week, Orange CEO Stephane Richard
was clear that his carrier’s strong position in Africa gave it the leverage it
needed to extract cash from the U.S. firm…If Google is paying a carrier such as
Orange to handle its traffic better than it might otherwise be handled, then
Orange has the incentive to demand the same from other content providers…Google
has not only set a terrible precedent for up-and-coming mobile innovators, but
it has also made it more likely that the quality of new services will be
degraded over Orange’s networks…”
13.
The future of smartphones http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/the-future-of-iphone-how-apples-handset-could-evolve-1125748 “…join us in the…Time Machine as we travel to
see the iPhone as it will appear a few years down the line with technology
that's coming about right now, and…the near-distant future, looking at how the
next few decades will shape and change Apple's devices…2014 - iPhone 6…1. New
camera technology…2. The development of 4G…3. Wi-Fi 802.11ac…4. NFC…5. Secure
payment…6. Making Siri psychic…7. Storage improvements…2016 - iPhone 7…1.
Gesture and face recognition…2. 3D…3. A more advanced screen…4. Wireless
charging…5. More advanced processors…6. Developing iOS…7. Better batteries…2020
- iPhone 9…1. 5G…2. Liquidmetal casing…3. The future of Gorilla Glass…4. A more
touching experience…5. Your iPhone becomes your computer…6. Siri is perfected…7.
Local storage becomes obsolete…2050 - iPhone 24…1. Rollable displays…2.
See-through screen…3. It's all in the eyes…4. Eternal power…5. Siri becomes
truly intelligent…6. The Tricorder…7. More advance build materials…”
14.
New technology from CES
hands health controls back to individuals http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/01/18/new-technology-from-ces-hands-health-controls-back-to-individuals/ “…our healthcare system is obese. It’s fat and slow and can’t accomplish what
we need it to do, just like many of us who have given up responsibility for our
own bodies…adult diabetes is on the rise, and we know being overweight is a
significant cause of that…Out of a total $2.6 trillion spent on healthcare in
2010, 20 percent of costs are related to diabetes…Technology has not been our
friend when it comes to staying fit. We sit in front of the TV or computer
while we gain weight and lose muscle tone…many innovative people are focused on
fixing the problems with our healthcare system by putting control back into the
hands of individuals. Here are some of my favorite devices from the Digital
Health and Fitness area at CES…BodyMedia® FIT…is described as an “on-body
monitoring system” and includes an armband that tracks your activity level and
how well you’re sleeping…It even lets you know if you need time on the
treadmill or an evening snack to round out your day…IbitzTM PowerKey and Unity…tracks
the user’s activity level. The point is
to get the whole family up and moving…Ibitz apps can track family fitness
including steps, calories and much more…The goal is to find new, effective
forms of motivation…HAPIFork is a dinner fork that helps you learn to eat more
slowly…the HAPIFork tracks “fork servings” and how much time you spend chewing
between bites. If you eat too fast, the fork vibrates and lights up to remind
you to slow down…Personal tracking devices are positioned to be a huge focus
for the future, such as Fitbit’s FlexTM tracker and Withings all-in-one body
monitoring bathroom scale…With this level of personal tracking, people can keep
watch over their own health trends to head off future illness…”
15.
The Overly Documented
Life: 9 weeks with a lifelogging camera http://www.esquire.com/features/overly-documented-life-0113?click=main_sr “My brain is now wired to cameras and
monitors…My limited attention span, laughable subjectivity, and weak memory have
been replaced by eyes that see everything and hard drives that never forget…There
are a lot of unreliable things in this world…But the most unreliable of them
all? The human memory…Study after study has shown that when we do recall an
event, our memory of it is almost always self-serving, warped — or totally
fabricated…I called my mom to ask her how old I was when she took me to Epcot
Center — a trip of which I have fond memories. "We never went to Epcot
Center," she replied…For the first time in human history, all of us can
record every moment of our existence…We can all be giant DVRs and simply rewind
to see what happened. Life will be forever altered. "Imagine how it could
affect therapy sessions, friendly wagers, court testimony, lovers' spats,"
writes Gordon Bell, a seventy-eight-year-old Microsoft executive and the
grandfather of something called "lifelogging," in his book Total
Recall…Google plans to release Internet-enabled glasses that…have the capacity
to…record every moment (including, presumably, those moments when you get beat
up for wearing Internet-enabled goggles)…I decided to sample this future world…I
just hope that I can erase the embarrassing parts…Bell recommends a gadget
called Looxcie — a $150 black video camera…You wear it in your ear or strapped
to a baseball cap…It holds an impressive five hours of video and has a
five-hour battery life. I order two so I can swap them…Looxcie beeps softly
while recording, so I feel like I'm being followed all day by a backing-up UPS
truck…it is already shaping my behavior. It's my own private Big Brother…Recording
things changes the thing you're recording. Everybody sees this device — even as
I become less and less aware of it myself — and it alters their behavior…When I
tell people it's a video camera, reaction is mixed. Some ham it up. They wave,
they dance, they mug. They stare at the lens instead of my eyes. One
septuagenarian offered to take off his clothes…Many are annoyed. Elderly women
seem to like it least. My mother-in-law said, "I wish you'd told me. I
would have fixed my hair." At a cocktail party, I try to join a
conversation about a sex scandal at a New York school. "Go away,"
snaps my mother's friend. "Go, go, go." A woman on the street
demanded a release form. A former classmate covered the lens with a magazine…I
try to flip my camera off when I enter the men's room…But this time, I forgot. The
big guy at the next urinal shot me a look. "Is that a camera?" he
asked, spotting the glowing red light…My hands got sweaty. This man was going
to give me a beatdown…"That is so cool," he said. "How much did
it cost?"…In general, people eventually come to accept the camera, but it
deforms their conduct…Or, as one friend put it: "I want to say things but
I can't…On the other hand, I feel cleaner, more righteous. The camera is like a
ray gun of virtue. Maybe the future will be a kinder world…My wife and I had a
Category 5 fight over a typically stupid thing. She thought I had ordered
Mexican food for dinner, and I thought she'd placed the order…I knew I had
never said I'd order the damn burritos…A couple of days later, I convince my
wife to watch the footage. We can see who was right. Plus, "it'll be good for
our marriage," I say…According to her version of events, she got home and
said, "Did you order the food?" and I responded "Yes." But
the video shows that she really said, "Is the food here?" and I
responded "No." As I pressed pause, I felt a petty little thrill. Victory…My
wife wasn't smiling. That doesn't go back to the big problem, she said. Namely,
that I had ignored her texts and just assumed she would place the order. My
so-called evidence was irrelevant…If lifelogging catches on, copyrights will be
even more endangered than they are now. And tech companies know this. In
August, Apple patented a device that can disable smartphones based on location…I'm
up to five hundred hours of footage and am running out of room on the hard
drive…I've also started to snap a photo of everything I eat. It's a remarkable
tactic. Until you see it onscreen, it's hard to fathom how much crap you eat.
Where'd that muffin come from? And that PowerBar?...At the end of nine weeks,
I'm exhausted. At times, lifelogging makes me giddy, like an 8 or 9 on the
happiness scale. I'm capturing everything. All those moments with my kids…will
be forever stored in my hard drive. My children will actually know whether they
went to Epcot Center…And yet, sometimes…I feel like I'm getting a preview of a
dystopia worthy of a young-adult novel…It will be a world with a lot less
mystery, which might mean a lot less fun…Because that's the problem with
reality — it's not really life. Reality is messy, nuanced, repetitive, and dull…90
percent of my cocktail-party anecdotes — which I believe at some level are
accurate — are half true, at best. We all are aware that we mythologize our own
lives. But I can prove it…”
16.
Firefox OS dev phones
appear to be driven by Telefonica http://gigaom.com/2013/01/22/firefox-os-dev-phones-appear-with-telefonica-as-the-driving-force/
“…Spain’s Geeksphone…has been around for
a few years as a minor maker of Android phones, taking things very much from
the open-source fan’s standpoint…it’s producing two test devices for Firefox OS
called Keon and Peak, which will be shown off to developers later this month at
Telefonica’s Campus Party Brazil. The Keon is the lower-end device, running a
1GHz Qualcomm 7225A processor and sporting a 2.5-inch screen and a 3MP camera.
The Peak has a 1.2GHz Qualcomm 8225 processor, which is dual-core, and it has a
larger 4.3-inch screen, an 8MP rear camera and a 1.3MP front-facing camera…Telefonica
is really the link here. The Spanish telecoms giant has been working closely
with Mozilla on Firefox OS since the middle of last year, and has promised to
launch smartphones based on the OS during this year…the telco will be buying in
“a number” of Geeksphone devices, both for internal testing and for free distribution to interested developers…”
Apps
17.
Opera Ice: totally new
browser for Android and iPhone http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/18/operas-new-ice-mobile-browser-launching-in-february-for-android-and-ios-drops-presto-for-webkit/ “Opera unveiled a major new mobile browser
initiative called Opera Ice…based on the same WebKit rendering engine used by
Apple’s Safari and Google Chrome, rather than Presto, which has powered Opera
since 2003…the new browser…eschews buttons in favor of an all-touch
gesture-based control system. Tabs are also gone, supplanted by a home screen
with page icons, and a single combined search and URL bar handles all new page
opening duties…Navigation back and forth between full-screen apps is handled
via gestures, and also through a home screen-like software button at the bottom
of every page…the company decided to go back to the drawing board and build
something from scratch that is designed for use in a mobile environment…As
always with a new mobile browser…the challenge will be making something
attractive enough to replace a user’s built-in software…Opera Ice will have to
face the fact that iOS users can’t select a third-party browser as their
default choice…”
18.
Facebook Voice Calls With
Messenger App on iPhone http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2414381,00.asp “Facebook is rolling out a free calling
option to iPhone Facebook Messenger users. The new function…requires Messenger
users to open a conversation with another iPhone owner, tap the "i"
button in the top right corner, and press "Free Call."…The new option
offers a real boost to people with spotty cell service at work or at home, and
those hoping to conserve minutes…the move means Facebook could have "one
of the largest communities of VoIP users in the world."…Skype and Vonage
have much smaller user bases…Facebook and Skype have been in cahoots for two and
a half years, since the social network in 2011 integrated a Skype video-calling
feature directly into Facebook.com. But the tool was not made available on
mobile…”
SkyNet
19.
Google Declares War on
the Password http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/01/google-password/all/ “…Passwords are a cheap and easy way to
authenticate web surfers, but they’re not secure enough for today’s internet,
and they never will be. Google agrees. “Along with many in the industry, we
feel passwords and simple bearer tokens such as cookies are no longer
sufficient to keep users safe,”…they’re experimenting with new ways to replace
the password, including a tiny Yubico cryptographic card that — when slid into
a USB (Universal Serial Bus) reader — can automatically log a web surfer into
Google. They’ve had to modify Google’s web browser to work with these cards,
but there’s no software download and…they’re easy to use. You log into the
website, plug in the USB stick and then register it with a single mouse click. They
see a future where you authenticate one device — your smartphone or something
like a Yubico key — and then use that almost like a car key, to fire up your
web mail and online accounts…they’d like things to get even easier, perhaps
connecting to the computer via wireless technology…the primary authenticator
will be a token like this or some equivalent piece of hardware.”…once enough
websites support this device-centric login technique, people mostly won’t need
strong passwords, except in rare occasions…“Others have tried similar
approaches but achieved little success in the consumer world,” they write…we
recognize that our initiative will likewise remain speculative until we’ve
proven large scale acceptance…they’ve developed a…protocol for device-based
authentication that…is independent of Google, requires no special software to
work — aside from a web browser that supports the login standard — and which
prevents web sites from using this technology to track users…”
20.
Google Handwrite Gets
Faster And Smarter http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/18/digital-natives-and-doctors-rejoice-google-handwrite-gets-faster-and-smarter/ “Google Handwrite, a small but helpful tool…introduced
last year, has gotten a bit of an upgrade…The tool allows you to turn on a mode
when you’re on your mobile device to “write” your search…From Google’s mobile
search page on your device, just go into settings and enable “Handwrite” mode
to give it a try. If you have sloppy handwriting, then you will be extremely
happy to learn more about the update…While this tool might seem like no big
deal, the technology behind it is quite complex, especially the above-mentioned
understanding of handwriting from millions of potential users…Compared with
tablets, mobile phone screens are smaller and are a little more difficult to
write on. Now, instead of squeezing in your letters across the width of the
small screen or writing one letter at a time, you can write letters on top of
one another…By learning how to read a multitude of handwriting samples, the
company can then release functionality to scan documents of any type in, making
it easier to convert them to digital format. This type of approach is how
Google has tuned its Voice product, by allowing you to call GOOG411 to get
restaurant information and phone numbers…”
21.
Google Patents Autonomous
Vehicle UI http://www.tomshardware.com/news/google-patent-ui-Autonomous-car,20324.html “Google was granted the rights to a user
interface for its autonomous vehicle technology…Google stayed very much with
the look and feel of today's dash layout and minor additions of information
displays…the actual interface of autonomous vehicles will resemble the
appearance of a 1990's car cockpit much more than any designs in science
fiction flicks. Google's patented layout is virtually unchanged from the layout
of a standard production car with a navigation screen. The only obvious
difference is the addition of an information or status bar "to indicate
the current status of vehicle". According to Google, "various other
audible and visual indicators may also be employed…”
22.
Google to build £1bn UK
headquarters at London's King's Cross http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jan/17/google-uk-headquarters-kings-cross “Google has completed a £1bn property deal to
move its UK headquarters…The US technology giant has purchased a 2.4 acre site
between King's Cross and St Pancras stations and plans to build a seven and 11
storey complex due to be complete in 2016. Google already has two central
London offices – one in Victoria and one on St Giles High Street – from where
staff are expected to be relocated…”
23.
Google Glass Laser
Keyboard http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57564519-93/this-google-patent-application-had-us-at-laser-keyboard/ “Among the challenges developers will face
when they start building for Google Glass this year is a basic one: how do
users communicate with the device? Glass has a microphone, and a button for
taking pictures. But what if the user is in a noisy environment, or wants to
create a long message? Is there any way to include a keyboard?...Patent
20130016070, "Methods and Systems for a Virtual Input Device," shows
a version of glass that includes a laser projector in the arm of the glasses.
The glasses project a keyboard on to the hand of the user, who can than use his
body as a touch screen…the patent describes a use in which the glasses' camera
interprets a user's gestures, so that they can accept input both via tapping
virtual keys and by moving the hand…”
24.
Google Glass Hackathons
In NYC And SF http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/15/google-announces-first-project-glass-hackathons-in-nyc-and-sf-will-detail-mirror-api/ “…Google has slowly been unveiling its plans
around Project Glass, the company’s R&D program responsible for attempting
to bring wearable computing to the mainstream. Complete with augmented reality
and an integrated display…“Explorer” editions of the glasses have been expected
to begin showing up early this year…Google sent out its first invitations to
the developers who signed up for the $1,500 special edition glasses, inviting
them to an “early look at Glass” and “two full days of hacking on the upcoming
Google Mirror API” in San Francisco and NYC…These hackathons, which Google has
dubbed the “Glass Foundry,” are exclusive to developers in the company’s
Explorer Program, offering those select engineers the opportunity to get an
early shot at building for Project Glass…the hackathons will introduce
developers to Glass (they’ll be given a device on-site)…The developers will
then be given free rein to hack away, with Project Glass engineers on hand to
help them along the way. On the second day, the hackathons will culminate with
the standard round of demos to be overseen by a handful of “guest judges.…”
25.
Google’s Larry Page on
Why Moon Shots Matter http://www.wired.com/business/2013/01/ff-qa-larry-page/all/ “Larry Page lives by the gospel of 10x. Most
companies would be happy to improve a product by 10 percent…The way Page sees
it, a 10 percent improvement means that you’re basically doing the same thing
as everybody else…That’s why Page expects his employees to create products and
services that are 10 times better than the competition…Thousand-percent
improvement requires rethinking problems entirely, exploring the edges of
what’s technically possible, and having a lot more fun in the process…once
Google’s riotously successful ad business provided a plump financial cushion,
Page was free to push for innovations that bore only a passing relationship to
his core business. Google would build an email service—with 100 times the
storage of competitors. Google would provide translations—for the entire web,
from any language to any other…Google launched its own version of an ISP
service—laying its own fiber and providing broadband service to Kansas City
customers at 100 times industry-standard speeds…something has gone seriously
wrong with the way we run companies. If you read the media coverage of our
company, or of the technology industry in general, it’s always about the
competition…How exciting is it to come to work if the best you can do is
trounce some other company that does roughly the same thing?...But incremental
improvement is guaranteed to be obsolete over time. Especially in technology,
where you know there’s going to be non-incremental change…a big part of my job
is to get people focused on things that are not just incremental. Take Gmail.
When we released that, we were a search company—it was a leap for us to put out
an email product, let alone one that gave users 100 times as much storage as
they could get anywhere else. That is not something that would have happened
naturally if we had been focusing on incremental improvements…every n years,
you should work on something new that you think is really amazing. The trick is
coming up with those products…we always have these debates: We have all this
money, we have all these people, why aren’t we doing more stuff?...At Google
we’re attacking maybe 0.1 percent of that space. And all the tech companies
combined are only at like 1 percent. That means there’s 99 percent virgin
territory…we’re not teaching people how to identify those difficult projects…You’d
probably need a pretty broad technical education and some knowledge about
organization and entrepreneurship…A great deal of my effort is spent making
sure that we have a great user experience across our core products. Whether
you’re in Chrome or Search or Gmail, it’s just Google, with one consistent look
and feel…you may have the greatest maps in the world, but if nobody uses them,
it doesn’t matter. Our philosophy has always been to get our products out to as
many people as possible…As we said when we acquired Motorola, we’re running it
independently…There’s a lot of room for innovation in hardware…”
26.
Ganttic Brings Gantt
Charts to Google Calendar http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ganttic-brings-gantt-charts-to-google-calendar-for-faster-scheduling-and-better-management-186931381.html “The Google user community has been
requesting the option of Gantt chart views for years. Ganttic has taken the
initiative, creating an enterprise view that puts several Google calendars in a
single view. The seamless integration of Google Calendar with Ganttic's resource
planner will allow field workers and remote employees to enjoy all the benefits
of Ganttic's tools…Ganttic has already established itself…in the field of
intelligent scheduling and management tools. Now the company is…integrating
with Google Calendar, the personal calendar of choice for millions of users.
Companies that take advantage of this integration can effortlessly sync their
Ganttic task schedules with their users' personal Google calendars, allowing
updates to be sent directly to their smartphones or other networked devices…All
tasks created in Ganttic will sync to the appropriate Google Calendar in real
time. Team members in the field will…receive instant updates to work plans.
Likewise, tasks and events that originate in Google Calendar will display in
Ganttic upon the next log in…”
27.
New Google Contacts
Integrates Voice And Brings In Voice SMS And Calls http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/the-new-google-contacts-integrates-voice-and-brings-in-voice-sms-and-calls-updates/ “Google is giving Contacts a makeover. Google
Voice Contacts is being integrated into Contacts for a more seamless user
experience. Very soon you will be able to use Google Contacts alone to place
calls and send voice SMS. The thought behind the new layout appears to be an
attempt at unification of the multiple points for managing your Google
Contacts. Google has many different products and some like Gmail, Google Chat,
Google Voice, and Google+ can be used to add and remove contacts. A common
interface for managing all of that makes sense…you can try out it out at google.com/contacts…”
28.
What should Google do
about Facebook Graph Search? http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57564611-93/what-should-google-do-about-facebook-graph-search/ “When Facebook introduced its next-generation
search product in Menlo Park, Calif., this week, the announcement was no doubt
being watched closely in nearby Mountain View…You can imagine the Google crew
listening to Mark Zuckerberg describe the data that underpins Graph Search and
wishing they could get their hands on it…From the get-go it was clear that
searching your social network was materially different than searching the Web…The
question is which approach is better -- and, should Facebook's take on search
prove popular with users, what Google should do about it…social search promises
to bring us more than mere answers -- it can also bring us into conversation…But
what if the value of social search is overstated? Google sees your friends as
important to answering search queries -- that was the point of Search Plus Your
World, introduced last year -- but they're only one signal. What are the other
signals?...there are the 30 trillion Web sites Google has indexed, across 230
million domains. There's the Knowledge Graph, its database of 570 million
people, places, and things, which now has mapped more than 18 billion
connections. Google is betting that for most questions, that enormous database
will provide better answers than the random sample offered by the average
Facebook user's 150 friends…even in beta, there's one search Facebook does
better than anyone else: photos. Facebook is the world's largest storehouse of
pictures, and Graph Search makes them searchable in a way that is not only
functional but fun…If Facebook builds the rest of Graph Search as well as it
did the photo components, Google may actually have something to worry about…”
29.
Getty Images signs
controversial content deal with Google Drive http://www.thephoblographer.com/2013/01/17/getty-google-struck-a-deal-people-are-not-happy/
“Hot on the heels of Instagram’s ToS
debacle, Getty Images has decided to start one of their own…Google…announced
that “5,000 new photos of nature, weather, animals, sports, food, education,
technology, music and 8 other categories are now available for your use in Docs,
Sheets, and Slides.”…there was no mention made as to where the majority of the
images came from, who they belonged to or how they were licensed…if you have a
Google Drive account, you have access to these images and are free to use them
in your documents however you choose…In a forum post on istockphoto.com dated
Jan. 10, 2013 a user named “sjlocke” there uncovered what was really going on…Google
describes acquiring 5,000 images for use in their Google Drive program. I don’t
use Google apps, so I thought I would check it out…I type in “student”… The
first image that comes up is mine. Once I select it, it puts it into my
document at 1,066 x 1,600. No attribution. No meta-data. No license. No
link…That thread accumulated 537 responses before being locked by the
administrators, clearly people are concerned and rightly so. In an attempt to
clarify the situation, another post titled
“Google Drive + Update” is submitted by mr_erin who appears to work for
istockphoto…That thread accumulated 656 responses before being locked, and now
another followup post has been submitted again by mr_erin stating: “We’ve heard
you, and we’ve met with Google and are working with them to refine the
implementation which we believe will address some of the concerns raised over
the past several days–including copyright ownership.”…it sounds like the
wildfire response from so many online communities has not entirely fallen on
deaf ears and they are going to hopefully restructure the agreement to be in
everyone’s best interest…”
30.
Google beats profit
estimates, spurs stock hike http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/01/22/google-facebook-zynga-motorola/1855185/ “Google…hauled in $2.89 billion, or $8.62 a
share in its fourth quarter, compared with $2.71 billion ($8.22 a share) a year
ago…exceeding analysts' estimates. Revenue was $11.34 billion, up from $8.13
billion in the same period a year ago. For its fiscal year, Google hit $50
billion for the first time. The financial surge sent Google shares up nearly 5%
in after-hours trading, to $736.40…”
31.
Google integrates Google+
profiles into its company jobs board, adding one-click applications http://thenextweb.com/google/2013/01/21/google-integrates-google-profiles-into-its-internal-jobs-board-adding-one-click-applications-and-filtered-search-results/ “Google has updated its company jobs board
with support for Google+ profiles, allowing users to see more relevant search
results, star jobs they want to return to later on and receive curated email
updates. The changes…hints at a larger push from Google into job listings and
applications. We’ve already seen Google+ profiles inch into the company’s other
mainstream products, such as Gmail and YouTube…Users that look for an opening
on the Google jobs board will be shown a new search results page that pushes
Google+ profiles hard…The link through to your Gmail account for email updates
is also an obvious way for the firm to continue creating an internal ecosystem
for its services and products…The idea is to remind users about who they can
contact at Google should they wish to find out more about the listing…”
General
Technology
32.
Micron
Readies Hybrid Memory Cube for Debut
http://www.hpcwire.com/hpcwire/2013-01-17/micron_readies_hybrid_memory_cube_for_debut.html “…Micron's…Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC)
technology, a multi-chip module (MCM)…aims to address one of the biggest
challenges in high performance computing: scaling the memory wall…As
microprocessor speeds out-accelerated DRAM memory speeds, a bottleneck
developed that is referred to as the memory wall. Stacked memory applications….enable
higher memory bandwidth. The Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC) is a new memory
architecture that combines a high-speed logic layer with a stack of
through-silicon-via (TSV) bonded memory die…a single HMC offers a 15x
performance increase and uses 70 percent less energy per bit when compared to
DDR3 memory, and takes up 90 percent less space than today's RDIMMs…Because the
memory chips are stacked, there is more space for I/O pins through the TSVs.
Thus each DRAM can be accessed with more (and/or wider) channels. The end
result is that the controller can access many more banks of memory concurrently
than can be accomplished with a two-dimensional DIMM…The first couple of HMC
implementations will be straight DRAM, but Micron and others are researching alternative
memory combinations…There are all kinds of things you can do within the logic
layer to pull different types of functionality, that are maybe off-chip today,
into the logic layer and innovate further, with more functionality, better
performance, and lower energy…”
33.
Physics
limits for CPU / silicon chip feature size and magnetic storage density http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/10/hpc_blog_ibm/ “…Bernie Meyerson…IBM’s VP of Innovation…can
clearly and directly explain highly technical concepts in a way that they can
be understood by a reasonably intelligent grey squirrel…in 2003 he predicted
that Intel would never deliver on its promises of 4 to 5GHz CPUs and would…be
forced to shift to multi-core processors. Meyerson backed up his brash
prediction…by sharing electron microscope images of individual atoms that showed
they’re kind of lumpy…when you use only a handful of them to build gates, they
leak current like a sieve…Intel denied over and over that there was a problem…when
it comes to chips, we have only a generation or two left before we reach the
end of the line…where’s the end of the line? According to Bernie: 7 to 9 nanometers…you
start to see quantum mechanics effects that are “very nasty” that impairs the
performance of the processor's decision-making gates…It’s a fundamental limit,
and it’s finally in sight. Chips in mass production these days have a 32nm or
22nm feature size, and 14nm is not far down the line…Meyerson also talked about
the limitations facing us on the storage side…how many atoms would you need to
reliably store a single bit of data?...It takes twelve atoms to reliably store
a bit of data. Any less and you lose stability, meaning that parts of the data
might disappear, or morph into something you didn’t store. This is related to
the same quantum effects discussed above and are ultimately the result of the
fact that we can’t scale atoms down to a handier size…we won’t approach the
12-atom limit until we get around 100 times more dense. Right now, a 1TB per
platter is the highest density available. Theoretically, we may be able to get
to 100TB per platter and 300TB per drive at maximum density…”
34.
Beijing to
restrict vehicles to cut down pollution
http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/beijing-plans-to-restrict-vehicles-to-cut-down-pollution_823930.html “…Chinese government plans to cut down the
number of vehicles operating in the capital on days when the city suffers from
heavy air pollution, even as smog returned once again to the city taking its
pollution levels to above the danger mark…Heavy smog covered China's capital
for seven consecutive days until Wednesday, when a cold front with wind
dispersed it. The haze returned today, when the air quality in the city fell to
dangerous levels again…Visibility in the city's southern region was less than
500 metres during daytime…The air quality indices were off the charts during
the seven days until Wednesday…”
35.
Intel Bets on
Fabs, Again http://www.technologyreview.com/news/509316/intel-bets-on-fabs-again/ “…Intel…commands 83 percent of the market for
the processor chips that run PCs and laptops. But that market has peaked, and
the company has only a tiny role in the fast-growing business of providing
processors for tablets and smartphones, which in 2011 accounted for about
two-thirds of all computing devices sold…A $5 billion dollar factory, or fab,
being built in Chandler, Arizona, will make chips, slated to appear in 2014,
with features as small as 14 nanometers. It’s the latest jump downward in size,
a trend that’s making chips more efficient and powerful. The new chips will
make use of Intel’s unrivaled 3-D transistor design, introduced with the
current 22-nanometer generation, to solve efficiency problems limiting previous
designs from being shrunk further…The Chandler fab’s technology and operations…will
be carbon copies of those at Intel’s development fabs in Oregon, in line with
Intel’s “copy exactly” philosophy of making sure techniques make a smooth jump from
R&D to production. Intel’s strategy couldn’t be more different from that of
the competitors it is chasing in the market for mobile processors. They
typically license processor designs from U.K. company ARM—traditionally more
power-efficient than Intel’s desktop chips, which is why they dominate the
mobile market, where battery life is important—and produce them using what is
known as the foundry model, or outsourcing production to Asian contractors such
as Taiwan Semiconductor, known as TSMC…”
Leisure &
Entertainment
36.
This Is Why Oculus Rift
Will Change Your Gaming World http://www.tomshardware.com/news/CES-2013-Oculus-Rift-VR-Goggles-Epic-Citadel,20561.html “Holy $#!+," I blurted after the Oculus
Rift VR goggles were slapped on my face. It had nothing to do with the device's
physical aspect – the Oculus Rift was surprisingly light on my head despite its
bulky appearance. I just didn't expect to see what my eyes were sending to my
brain, and everyone in the dark room laughed at my sudden outburst…I found
myself a little speechless thereafter, lost wandering the streets of the Epic
Citadel demo. I knew the experience would be awesomely cool, but I didn't
expect to still be talking about it a week later to everyone I know. If you
were there when id Software and 3Dfx changed PC gaming, then you might know
what's coming for you…I can't even remember Quake without GPU support now, but
I remember cursing the moment I saw what the difference dedicated hardware
support made. This will likely be the very reaction every PC gamer will have
when they use the Oculus Rift…”
37.
Amazon quietly introduces
Kindle rentals http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/18/amazon-kindle-rentals/ “Think you can finish a 168-page novel in a
month? It might pay to opt for Amazon's new Kindle rental feature…available on
an incredibly limited number of titles…The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking…You
can buy it outright for $9.99, or you can instead opt for a 30-day rental.
Prices there start at $5.50, increasing by pennies each day until you reach the
buy price…This new rental option certainly seems appealing, unless you're the
type who slowly makes your way through a text over the course of a year…”
38.
How Steam and Android
Will Change Gaming Forever http://www.gamespot.com/features/how-steam-and-android-will-change-gaming-forever-6402495/ “…games-industry veteran and current
Microsoft vice president Phil Harrison addressed the imminent chaos in the
video game hardware space…His first comment concerned…Valve's recent media
escalation around its Steam Box initiative, the associated Xi3 Piston, and to a
lesser extent other devices like Nvidia's Project Shield and the Kickstarted
Ouya…Harrison said…it's very rare for a new hardware entrant to get to scale,
and I mean tens, hundreds of millions of units…it's not just having a great
brand or a great software experience. It's about having a supply chain and a
distribution model and a manufacturing capacity…When describing the future of
Microsoft's own Xbox business, Harrison…described what he called a transition
from a "device-centric" business to something more service-oriented…therein
lies the contradiction. Services will define the next generation, not the
hardware challenges he previously described. The box itself is increasingly
little more than a vessel simply capable of running the services that users
demand…For many gamers, discussion of anything Android-related no doubt
provokes eye rolls and grumblings that it's not good for anything other than
"crappy tablet games"…Because of this, devices like the Ouya and
Nvidia's Project Shield have immediately been dismissed for somehow trying to
force casual touch-screen experiences onto gamers who demand much more…it's important
to understand…Android represents…an advanced, ever-evolving open platform with
the support of one of the largest companies in the world…An Android device with
sufficient processing power is perfectly capable of running Unreal-, OpenGL-,
or Unity-powered games that look just as good as those running under Windows,
or on an Xbox or PlayStation…Android-powered devices have the potential to
provide the base from which any number of game-related services are launched…While
the current thinking is that the battle for living room dominance is between
the usual three contenders--Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, with new upstarts
nibbling at the edges--we could very quickly see a shift toward a space
increasingly dominated by two open digital platforms, each with numerous
hardware partners…”
39.
New smartphone camera
technology improves your photos http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/consumer&id=8958481 “…incredibly innovative camera features…can
help you solve some age-old photo challenges like a pro…it can be really tough
to get a good group photo. "It could make or break a photograph if just
one person is blinking, or with a bad expression,"…what if you could get
the best take of each person and then combine those into one photo? "You
can actually do this with some smartphone cameras,"…Phones like the
Samsung Galaxy Note 2, LG Optimus G and the Nokia Lumia 920 all offer this
feature. "The Nokia Lumia 920 also takes care of another problem: If
someone ruins your shot by walking in on it, you can remove them,"…tap on
what you don't want in the photo and the camera takes it away…some
smartphones…can…automatically take pictures when certain words like
"cheese" are spoken. It's on phones like the Samsung Galaxy Note 2
and LG Optimus G…The LG Optimus G senses when your finger is about to snap a
photo and takes multiple shots so you don't miss the moment.…”
Entrepreneurism
and Technology
40.
Create 25 innovation
hubs, restore U.S. economy http://upstart.bizjournals.com/companies/innovation/2013/01/14/brookings-calls-for-25-us-innovation.html?page=all “What will it take to return the United
States to economic pre-eminence worldwide? Per the Brookings Institution, 25
new innovation hubs with $3.1 billion in funding. In a paper released today…a
pair of researchers call for the creation of 20 Advanced Industries Innovation
Hubs and five new Energy Innovation Hubs…They'd unite the top research
institutions with private industry and government around industries with the
most promise for innovation: aerospace, phototonics technology, advanced energy
systems, IT, medical devices and auto assembly, to name a few. They'd require
about $25 million apiece, and for each of the next five years. Brookings calls
it a "next economy" model that drives more export growth and produces
higher-skilled, better-paying jobs than finance or retail…Advanced industries
make up 10 percent of the overall economy, yet generate 45 percent of U.S. good
exports and provide four million highly skilled jobs and millions more to
support…Brookings Institution pinpoints the problem as too much focus by the
U.S. government on projects and research with short-term returns, and too few
incentives for private firms to tackle longer-term disruptive innovation
projects…” http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Research/Files/Papers/2013/1/14%20federalism%20series%20advanced%20industries%20hubs/14%20federalism%20series%20advanced%20industries%20hubs.pdf
41.
The Future Of Coworking http://www.fastcompany.com/3004788/future-coworking-and-why-it-will-give-your-business-huge-edge “Here are the numbers that support the case
for coworking--and why it's not just for startups or freelancers anymore. Fun.
Friendly. Inspiring. Collaborative. Productive. If you wouldn't define your
workplace with any or all of those terms, you may have to ditch your own desk
and take a seat at a coworking space near you. Even if you aren’t an
entrepreneur or freelancer, the benefits of coworking…are pretty hard to
ignore: 71 percent of participants reported a boost in creativity since joining
a coworking space, while 62 percent said their standard of work had improved…half
of all coworkers access their work space around the clock--with only 30 percent
preferring to work during normal business hours. “The future of work should not
be dictated by space or place, but by the individual and the tasks that he or
she has to deliver…Many employees are now measured by output and productivity,
and not just 40 hours spent sitting at a desk. Workers and the companies for
which they work are increasingly realizing that they need to provide and
utilize a wide range of workplaces to accommodate an increasingly diverse
workforce…today anywhere between a third and half of all workers are flexible
and mobile. Four years ago flexible working was the reserve of quirky marketing
agencies and IT shops. Today, it’s a way of life influenced by the growth of
the freelance economy and the need to expand the top-line by market
expansion…Dodd Caldwell…has been coworking for two and a half years in Greenville,
S.C…he’s sharing space with other startups at Iron Yard. “We're a pretty
curated coworking space, so even though we're made up of different companies,
we're all fairly kindred spirits,”…Pecan Street Inc.’s new Pike Powers
Commercialization Lab…in northeast Austin, will be officially opening in May to
promote research, commercialization, and education tied to smart energy grids,
advanced information technology, clean energy, and health care applications. As
the nation’s first nonprofit smart-grid research lab, it’s going to give
smaller businesses the ability to use equipment like a spectrum analyzer that
would cost roughly an engineer’s annual salary, without the huge investment…”
42.
With GoBank, you can
carry all your money in a pocket http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57563963-94/with-gobank-you-can-carry-all-your-money-in-a-pocket/ “A lot of people like to do some of their
banking on their mobile devices…Green Dot thinks the device can be the entire
bank. With the launch today of GoBank, Green Dot…is betting that an all-new
FDIC-insured bank, built from scratch and designed for mobile devices, could be
just what people disgruntled with their Chase or Bank of America experience are
looking for…The new bank is launching in a small beta but is expected to be
available to everyone later this year…GoBank won't have any branches, which
slashes one of the largest costs of a traditional bank. At the same time, it
offers a network of more than 40,000 ATMs where customers can withdraw cash for
free -- a number twice as large as that of BofA or Chase -- and deposits can be
made at any Green Dot retailer, such as Wal-Mart…”
Design / DEMO
43.
Design Books
You Should Read http://davidmckinney.com/blog/2013/1/15/the-best-5-design-books “…These books cover the basics…of designing
for people…these books are about understanding what people need when they
interact with the things you make…I choose these…books because they are the
ones that I've learnt the most from personally…If you're making an app,
creating a new website, or designing a chair, these books might help you to
design and make better things…The Design of Everyday Things, by Donald A.
Norman…Universal Principles of Design, by William Lidwell…Grid Systems, by
Josef Muller-Brockmann…As Little Design As Possible, by Sophie Lovell…”
44.
The
Design-Savvy Founder http://www.inc.com/eric-markowitz/designer-entrepreneur-silicon-valley-hot-commodity.html “Don't get an MBA. Don't even learn to code.
If you really want to start a great company, hone your design skills…Gebbia
believes that we're in what he calls "the third phase of the
Internet," which has has place more emphasis on uniting form and content
through elegant design. In the 1990s, he says, the problem of the Internet was
access--simply getting online, which AOL and other brands solved by the early
2000s…the third iteration of major Web challenges…"how do we use the
Internet to connect people in the offline world?" Ultimately, Gebbia
believes good design can solve that goal…what we've seen is this shift to
design…being at the front of how people think about solving a problem."…Yves
Behar, the designer and entrepreneur behind Jawbone, points towards this idea
of connectedness as a major driver of design's recent significance in Silicon
Valley…"Connectedness--the fact that these devices are connected to my
phone, my life in general--forces businesses to think through and through about
the experience, the design, the look and feel…”
45.
Rec center
reopens as Digital Harbor Tech Center
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-01-17/business/bal-digital-harbor-tech-center_1_rec-center-tech-director-cyber-security “…a former South Baltimore rec center is
re-born as a tech center. Work — paid work for clients whose fees will help
send students to college — will happen there…Focused on after-school
programming and workforce training for city public school students, The Digital
Harbor Tech Center, was built, and its programming designed, for
"exploration and discovery,"…the tech center…is run by the…nonprofit
Digital Harbor Foundation with private and public support…40-some desktop,
laptop and tablet computers including iPads and Microsoft Surface tablets, a
digital fabrication shop, and outdoor garden space are among the amenities — as
well as demos of projects — from 3D printing to DJing…Students will start
regularly meeting at the center…Evenings, the space will be available for
community events, such as tech group meetups….driving the tech center's
curriculum will be the needs of businesses and consumers. That means developing
hard skills needed for growing sectors like cyber security, Web and mobile app
development and digital fabrication…It's really about connecting local youth
with technological opportunities and creating new ones…high schoolers, though
eighth-graders and college students may also participate, will develop websites
for organizations just getting started on the Web or who need help optimizing
for mobile…Another signature program at the tech center is its maker lab, where
students will…design and create objects with 3D printers, computer-controlled
mills and other digital fabrication tools. Rapid prototyping, customizing parts
for businesses or products for consumers, modeling and illustrating abstract
concepts like mathematical models are among the many applications of this
emerging technology.…”
46.
Smart Fabrics
2013 in San Francisco http://www.marketwatch.com/story/adidas-mc10-and-pebble-technology-headline-at-smart-fabrics-2013-2013-01-08 “…Smart Fabrics 2013…will feature sessions on
the culture of innovation in organizations, military end uses, technical
platforms, the latest developments in e-textiles as an application for devices…The
Hyatt at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California will host the event
April 17-19, 2013…Delegates of Smart Fabrics 2013 will have the opportunity to
attend workshops…on The Next Wave - Entrepreneurs in Fashion Tech, and Design
Principles for Wearability…attendees will hear over 25 presentations…from…Adidas;
Philips Lighting; Moondial; Fabric Works; Pebble Technology; Lowenstein
Sandler; Maya Design; Obscura Digital; IDEO; Botanicalls; Lilypad XBee; MC10;
3lectromode…System Planning Corporation; Infoscitex Corporation; Philips
Corporate Technologies, Research; Infinite Corridor Technology; Terepac Corp;
Groupe CTT; Artefact and Electricfoxy; POWERleap Inc; HealthSynch, Inc; Miller
Edge, Inc; Eeonyx Corporation; Fabric Works; Holst Centre; and LUMO BodyTech…OCAD
University; University of California, San Diego; Concordia University; Virginia
Tech; University of Exeter; and Parsons The New School for Design…”
DHMN Technology
47.
VIA unveils
$79 Rock and $99 Paper ARM PCs
http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/via-unveils-79-rock-and-99-paper-arm-pcs-20130117/ “…VIA has decided it’s time to update the APC
board with…APC Rock and APC Paper. The hardware spec for both boards is exactly
the same except for the fact the Rock ships with a VGA port where as the Paper
doesn’t. The Rock also costs $20 less at $79, where as the Paper is $99. The
reason for the price difference is the fact that the Paper ships with a rather
novel case where as the Rock is a bare board. The Paper’s case is made from
recycled cardboard attached to an aluminum chassis…As for the actual spec of
the new boards, they include the following: Android 4.0…800MHz VIA WonderMedia
ARM Cortex-A9…512MB DDR3 RAM…4GB NAND flash…1080p-capable graphics…HDMI, USB
2.0, microUSB, microSD, with VGA available on APC Rock…10/100 Ethernet…”
48.
3D Printing
Will Probably Be Legislated http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/18/like-it-or-not-i-think-3d-printing-is-about-to-get-legislated/ “…Defense Distributed, a group dedicated to
releasing plans for a 3D printed gun, posted a video and description of their
3D-printed AR-15 thirty-round magazine…The resulting shenanigans have convinced
Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY) to call for the banning of undectable 3-D
printed high-capacity magazines…Rep. Israel said, “…3-D printing is a new
technology that shows great promise, but also requires new guidelines…The law
would “make it illegal to manufacture, own, transport, buy, or sell any firearm
or magazine that is homemade and not detectable by metal detector and/or does
not present an accurate image when put through an x-ray machine.”…Politics…is
woefully unprepared to handle major technological advancement. While Israel
means well, his ability to keep an 3D model off of Google is laughable at best
and dangerous at worst…The danger in legislating 3D printers is that it is on
one hand impossible and on the other hand potentially damaging to a nascent
industry…”
49.
Filabot from
American college student recycles plastic household scrap into 3D-printing
material http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2013/jan/15/filabot-home-3d-printing-recycle “…3D-printers may be taking off…but the
printing material itself still has a hefty price tag. A 1kg spool of plastic
filament – which is heated then squeezed out in layers like icing to create
objects – costs around £50…But the home-printing revolution may now be on its
way, thanks to an invention by American college student Tyler McNaney. The
Filabot brings a miniature industrial recycling plant to your desktop, grinding
down everyday plastic waste and transforming it into ready-to-use printing
material. Everything from water pipes to drinks bottles, plastic wrappers and
Lego bricks can be fed into the contraption – which grinds, melts and extrudes
the plastic into a filament of either 3mm or 1.75mm diameters. It can also melt
down failed or broken 3D prints, allowing for increased trial and error, or the
ability to upgrade redundant parts…” http://filabot.com/ “…I am collaborating with a group that is
developing a large scale 3D printer. The printer they are making is called
KamerMaker. They are planning of being able to print very large objects like
huts to provide shelter for developing countries. The reason they came to me is
because they are interested in using recyclable plastic…”
50.
Projectors,
Pandora and Pyrotechnics — 10 Pimped-Out Projects for Raspberry Pi http://www.wired.com/design/2013/01/even-more-raspberry-pi-projects/ “…Increasingly, the Raspberry Pi is the
platform of choice for…forward-thinking gadgeteers. Makers are using the tiny
$35 platform to help the blind, manage their e-mail, play games — even put on
pyrotechnic stage shows that would make the most hardened hair band weep with
joy. These 10 projects show the enormous potential of this tiny board and
should keep your weekend full of prototyping fun…Time-Lapse Dolly…Audiobooks
for the Blind…RPirotechnics…The Doorbell of Doom…Pandora + Airplay + RPi…Inbox
Zero Taunting Device…Tweet Powered Lighting…Super Nintendo
Computer…Pocket-Sized Cellphone Base Station…Raspberry Pi Projector…”
51.
Jesse DePinto
in 3D http://expressmilwaukee.com/article-20451-jesse-depinto-in-3d.html “Jesse DePinto and Matt Juranitch are the
brains behind 3D Creations, one of the first 3D printing storefronts in the
world…DePinto attended both Marquette University and UW-Milwaukee, studied
astrophysics, supernovae and radio astronomy, opened his own company
(hookahhomes.com) and worked for Rockwell Automation. Juranitch is a member of
the hacker group DC414…As an inventor, he's created both self-watering planters
and laser microphones. DePinto spoke with Off the Cuff about chess pieces,
Barbie dolls, printing out airplanes…Theoretically, you can create anything you
can imagine—like a broken car part or household appliance. Online shopping
would definitely change. Instead of receiving a tracking number and waiting for
the postman, imagine watching a robot create your purchase in front of your
eyes…”
Open Source
Hardware
52.
Can you really make an
Open Source camera? http://www.redsharknews.com/business/item/378-can-you-really-make-an-open-source-camera “Open Source software. Somehow, it makes
sense: talented developers contribute to projects in their spare time and the
result is often stunningly good software. So what about Open Source hardware?
That's different, and it's far more difficult…hardware is made of stuff…And
making it costs money, because you have to buy the components and raw materials…So
it is somewhat surprising to find that there really are Open Source hardware
projects out there…Perhaps the best-known Open Source hardware project so far
is Arduino, a hardware controller board…There are many other microcontrollers
and microcontroller platforms available for physical computing…Arduino…offers
some advantage for teachers, students, and interested amateurs over other
systems…Inexpensive…Cross-platform…Simple, clear programming environment…Open
source and extensible software…Open source and extensible hardware…for over six
years, Apertus has been working to create digital cinematography video cameras
based on the same sort of principles…issues that are endemic to Open Source
development have hampered the project from the start…For 6 years Apertus has
been a community-only driven project. People contributed because of personal
interest and…in the end it was anarchy…while we had goals we had no means to
guarantee we would really end up there…Following…painful realisation that a
project as complex as creating a high-end camera needs organization…Apertus has
announced that they are putting all the pieces in place to be able to manufacture
the product…it will be a business that will have to generate revenue…the first
product from the new "Organisation" will be the Axium: a 4K camera
that's able to take virtually any lens mount…”
53.
Powerlolu board: Powerful
open source stepper-motor driver http://www.3ders.org/articles/20130107-powerlolu-board-powerful-open-source-stepper-motor-driver.html “German RepRap GmbH announces the
availability of a powerful stepper motor driver board. The Powerlolu board can
drive stepper motors up to 500 Watts, drawing currents up to 10 Amps. The
existing Pololus boards found in common RepRap 3D printers are at their limits
when driving the 2 Nema17 z-axis stepper motors in parallel. Continuous z-axis
movement can cause the board to overheat. These boards hardly drive stepper
motors bigger than a Nema17. To avoid overheating or to drive larger motors a
more powerful driver board is needed. The Powerlolu board enables the use of
bigger stepper motors for a wide range of uses. This could be the conversion of
manual milling machines into computer controlled milling machines (CNC-Machines)
using the affordable electronics such as Arduino and RAMPS. Building 3D
printers with a larger print volume or with larger extruders would be possible
…”
54.
Got a 3D Printer? Build
Yourself a Loyal Robot Companion http://www.gizmag.com/inmoov-diy-3d-printed-robot/25909/ “…3D printing…unique projects are beginning
to emerge from all sorts of talented people…Gael Langevin, a French sculptor
and model marker…has spent the better part of the last year designing and
engineering his own animatronic robot called InMoov. And it's open source, so…you
can try to build one yourself using a list of off-the-shelf electronics and
parts he shares on 3D file sharing site Thingiverse. InMoov started out as just
an arm and hand, but Langevin has started to work on a head and torso for his
creation…Considering that much smaller robot kits can cost upwards of two or
three grand, it seems almost absurd that you can build two adult size robot
arms, with individually-actuated fingers, for around US$900 dollars…”
55.
Open Source Hardware on
the High Street http://www.designspark.com/blog/open-source-hardware-on-the-high-street
“The open source hardware movement
continues to grow at a rapid pace but could it ever give birth to mass market
products that are seen on the high street?...open source hardware feels to be
at a similar stage in its development as open source software was around the late
1990s…The tipping point with open source software was brought about by Linux,
which offered significant cost savings and other major benefits, supporting a
substantial marketplace for services…Arduino is the poster child of the open
source hardware movement and although it is gaining popularity the marketplace
is still relatively small, and the opportunities it creates are not of the same
scale as those that Linux created. However…other developments…hint at future
possibilities. The Openmoko project made a valiant attempt at creating an
entirely open mobile handset, with not only the software stack provided under
an open source licence but the hardware design files also…Openmoko Inc.
sponsored the development of the first two handsets, codenamed GTA01 and GTA02,
and the schematics, board layout and enclosure CAD files were open source.
However, the software stack failed to live up to expectations and…development
was cancelled by Openmoko, with the task being taken over by community efforts…The
WikiReader is a mobile text-only device that provides offline access to
Wikipedia articles, and that is developed by Openmoko…It may outwardly appear
that the product has enjoyed limited success. However, the WikiReader launched
in 2009 and over 3 years later it remains available for purchase, and updates
are still being made to the GitHub repository…A truly open laptop is the dream
of many an open source hardware advocate and one that Andrew “bunnie” Huang is
determined to realise via the Novena project…The laptop is based around a
quad-core 1.2GHz ARM Cortex A9 CPU, with NEON FPU, Vivante GC2000 OpenGL ES2.0
GPU and a host of hacker-friendly features…With software the duplication costs
are zero and commercial services are made possible due to its existence,
whereas hardware involves manufacturing and labour costs play a significant
part. This would seem to suggest that publishing hardware designs under a
liberal licence will be counterproductive unless you can be certain that you
have the lowest manufacturing costs…”
56.
Crowdfunding push for
EZ-EV open source electric kit car http://www.gizmag.com/krysztopik-ez-ev-open-source-diy-electric-car-kit/25891/ “Electrical engineer Gary Krysztopik has been
driving his self-built, open-framed, three-wheeled electric "hotrod"
on the roads and highways of San Antonio (TX) for over three years now…he's
been busy refining and tweaking the design for his "battery box on wheels"
and is now preparing to release the EZ-EV car as open source plans,
build-it-yourself kits and complete vehicles…Krysztopik's new design retains
the central battery box but the frame of the two-seater EZ-EV is to be made
from advanced honeycombed composites (fiber glass) instead of steel. The 32 kWh
battery pack will consist of 96 lithium batteries and the vehicle will have
power steering, disc brakes and modern suspension…Fully assembled vehicles will
be made available, but the main goal of the EZ-EV project is to make the 1,500
pound (680 kg) street-legal, highway-capable vehicle available as a kit that
can be assembled by one person in a garage with standard tools in just one
week. Open source plans and a parts list will also be released for those who want
to build an EZ-EV from scratch…the finished EZ-EV can then be registered as a
motorcycle in most states (but advises checking local laws before jumping in).
He expects the vehicle to easily manage over 80 mph (128 km/h), with a range of
up to 150 miles (241 km) per charge…To help turn his electric dream into a
reality, Krysztopik has hit the campaign pages of the Indiegogo crowd-funding
platform. For US$1,000 backers can receive a quarter-scale EZ-EV model, $7,500
will secure a full-size frame and $10,000 will get you a rolling chassis kit.
Lower reward levels are available for those who want to support the project…”
Open Source
57.
Free Geek provides jobs
and free classes to the community http://opensource.com/life/13/1/free-geek “…I had the opportunity to visit the Free
Geek mothership a few months ago and gathered a bit more information regarding
their current operation…Free Geek is located in the Inner Eastside Industrial
District, near the heart of Portland…The area is similar in appearance to the
aging freight yard / industrial wholesale district in northeast DC…The Free
Geek facility…main floor is 15,000 square feet, with additional space on
another floor that includes offices and additional storage. All together…between
17,000 and 18,000 square feet..there were brochures and class schedules
available in both English and Spanish…the Adoption program…takes in donated
computers and other electronics, breaks them down into component parts (if necessary),
and classifies them as reusable, recyclable, or trash. The components are boxed
then sent to the warehouse for the Build program or for recycling / disposal…we
reuse about 25% of the gizmos we receive and recycle about 75%...After 24 hours
of volunteer time in the Adoption program, volunteers receive a free computer
with Ubuntu installed and a 2.5-3 hour class covering setup and basic usage of
their new computer, as well as instructions on installing additional software…volunteers
in the Build program begin with a 2.5-3 hour community-based IT class…volunteer
builders then move on to Systems Evaluation where they examine hardware which
has been dropped off, determining if there are any salvageable parts…to
"graduate" from Systems Evaluation to Quality Control (the next
step), volunteers must pass their Systems Evaluation skills on to an incoming
"freshman" in the Build program…In Quality Control, volunteers test
computers built by other volunteers, making sure they're ready to go out into
the world. After performing QC on five machines, they are ready to move into the
actual "build" phase…Once they have successfully built five machines,
they are eligible for…a computer with a year of free maintenance and the setup
and basic usage class…Once built computers are ready, they are moved into the
Donation storage area, where they fall into one of four categories: FREEKBOXes:
computers for volunteers…FG-PDX systems…to be given away to Portland city residents
and organizations…"Low End" and "High End" systems sold in
the thrift store; open to the general public…In addition, Free Geek offers
Hardware Grants to qualified non-profit organizations…The site also contains a
library with computers available for an hour at a stretch…There is also a
kitchen and, following OSHA standards, credit for volunteer hours includes a
15-minute break every two hours and a lunch break for shifts lasting longer
than six hours…In a given day, there are between 70-75 volunteer slots to be
filled, though they're not always filled. Between staff, volunteers and library
drop-ins, there are typically 80 people in the space, maxing out at around 100
occasionally…”
58.
openSUSE 12.3 Beta 1
Released with Pizza http://ostatic.com/blog/opensuse-12-3-beta-1-released-with-pizza “…Jos Poortvliet announced the arrival of
openSUSE's developmental release, openSUSE 12.3 Beta 1. He expressed the
importance of getting this release "a good workout." As an incentive
a pizza party is planned, because, after all, hacking is quite difficult on an
empty tummy…It seems openSUSE is throwing a pizza party in Germany to kick-off
the openSUSE 12.3 Beta Hackathon. So, yeah, it's for developers and such…Fortunately,
you don't really have to be in Nürnberg to help with openSUSE. You can test it
and report bugs or organize your own pizza party…” http://news.opensuse.org/2011/09/30/opensuse-pizza-parties-the-geeko-way/ http://news.opensuse.org/2011/09/06/opensuse-celebrates-beta-1-with-pizzabeta-parties/ http://blog.jospoortvliet.com/2011/08/10-steps-to-building-local-community.html
59.
64-bit Window version of
Scribus open source DTP program available http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/64-bit-Window-version-of-Scribus-open-source-DTP-program-available-1785023.html “Those who use the open source Scribus layout
program under Windows can, like those who use it under Linux, finally install
the new version 1.4.2 as a native 64-bit application on the 64-bit versions of
Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. This means that the program is no longer
subject to the memory limit of 2 GB per process that exists with 32-bit
applications. Those who use an older version of Windows can still download and
install a 32-bit version of Scribus…”
Civilian
Aerospace
60.
Deep Space
Industries will venture into asteroid-mining marketplace http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/21/16627863-deep-space-industries-will-venture-into-asteroid-mining-marketplace “…Deep Space Industries is jumping into the
marketplace for asteroid mining…Deep Space Industries says it will create
"the world’s first fleet of commercial asteroid-prospecting
spacecraft." The venture also promises to develop a "breakthrough
process for manufacturing in space."…One of the key questions relates to
the venture's financial backing…mining the right kind of asteroid could produce
precious metals worth sending back to Earth, such as platinum, gold and
rare-earth minerals. Some asteroids also contain water ice that can be
converted into fuel and supplies for space travel and settlement. Under the
right conditions, such resources could be worth trillions of dollars a year.
But it would cost billions of dollars to identify and exploit those resources…”
61.
Mars Trip
Simulation Crew Suffered Insomnia, Lethargy http://news.discovery.com/space/mars500-crew-experiment-insomnia-health-effects-130116.htm “…future long-duration space travelers will
need specialized lighting to replicate Earth's day-night cycles as well as
other countermeasures to maintain healthy circadian rhythms, say researchers
who conducted one of more than 90 investigations in the joint Russian-European
Mars500 project. "The assumption has been…you'll adapt. But our study
shows…people did not adapt…three Russians, two European and one Chinese…spent
520 days sealed inside a spaceship-like, windowless chamber at the Russian
Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow…simulating a mission to Mars and
back…So far, only four people -- all Russian -- have made spaceflights lasting
more than a year. The single longest human spaceflight was a 437-day mission
aboard the Russian Mir space by Valery Polyakov, a physician, in 1994 and 1995.
The 520-day ground simulation, which ended on Nov. 4, 2011, showed that four of
the six crewmembers suffered from sleep disorders…”
Supercomputing
& GPUs
62.
HPC Programming in the
Age of Multicore http://www.hpcwire.com/hpcwire/2013-01-14/hpc_programming_in_the_age_of_multicore:_one_man_s_view.html “…Introduction to High Performance Computing
for Scientists and Engineers….describes the art of extracting maximum
performance from modern processors and HPC platforms. Gerhard
Wellein…co-authored the book…his interest in parallel and HPC programming stem
from the intense computation demands of his original field of study…HPCwire
caught up with Wellein and asked him to…expound on strategies for performance
programming in the multicore era…Many software developers mainly focus on
extendibility, flexibility and maintainability…Performance or better time to
solution has not been an issue for them for two decades. Teaching in computer
science still often ignores performance issues. The same holds for
parallelization – here the developers often hope that some other software layer
– compiler or libraries – will do the job…people should become aware that
improving time to solution, through hardware efficient code structures and
parallelization, is not for free and often orthogonal to widely accepted
concepts in modern programming languages and software engineering paradigms…why
is it so hard to extract peak performance from multicore processors?...multicore
processors draw their performance from thread-level parallelism and data
parallelism, that is, multiple cores and wide SIMD units per core. The
programmer has to address both hardware features at the same time and needs
optimize for them; otherwise he loses a substantial fraction of peak
performance. If the compiler, for some reason, refuses to vectorize your single
precision arithmetic code, you immediately lose almost 90 percent of the
available peak performance on the latest Intel processors…”
63.
Top 10 HPC Events That
Mattered In 2012 http://marchamilton.wordpress.com/2012/12/27/top-10-hpc-events-that-mattered-in-2012/ “The end of the year is always a good time to
reflect on the year and think about some of the key events shaping the HPC
industry. Here is my take: #1 Intel Xeon Phi Co-Processor Launch…#2 Nvidia
Kepler…#3 Nvidia Kepler Hyper-Q…#4 Nvidia Kepler Dynamic Parallelism…#5 NREL
Energy Systems Integration Facility…#6 Lustre Revival…#7 PCIeGen3…#8 Intel
Networking Acquisitions…#9 HPC in the Cloud…#10 US Reawakens To The Need for
HPC…”
Trends &
Emerging Tech
64.
IBM says 2013
is year of steampunk http://asmarterplanet.com/blog/2013/01/22562.html “…Some trends, like ‘steampunk,’ take decades
to build momentum and make the break into the mainstream…Steampunk is usually
defined as a sub-genre of science fiction that concentrates on alterative world
stories inspired by the technology, clothing and social mores of Victorian society…The
aesthetics of steampunk are broad and diverse – goggles, intricate jewelry based
on clockwork, exquisite frock coats, corsets, top hats, brass and leather. Steampunk isn’t just about fiction any more,
and it isn’t just for fans. Interesting to note, 33 percent of the chatter
about fashion can be found on gaming sites…From 2009 to 2012 the amount of
social media chatter about steampunk rose by an astonishing 11 times…a US
television network is writing a steampunk-inspired TV show for the fall 2013
season. As this trend gains momentum, the business opportunity around steampunk
is being capitalized on by forward-looking retailers…Where high fashion leads,
everyday fashion follows quickly in a season or two…For steampunk, the tipping
point came in October 2010, when NYC ComicCon and a NYC Haunted House Halloween
event both featured steampunk themes…We’re used to seeing trends develop
geographically and chronologically…we can now measure trends in a third
dimension: across cultural domains. For retailers and manufacturers, the beauty
of seeing trends in “three dimensions” is being able to identify enduring
trends before they’re big on Facebook and Twitter…For steampunk, the next two
years will witness the shift from low production, high cost “craft”
manufacturing to mass production. Mainstream fashion labels, accessories and
jewelry will all begin adopting a steampunk aesthetic. For retailers, this is
the moment to start laying the groundwork to capitalize on this emerging trend.” http://www.ibm.com/analytics/us/en/ibm-steampunk.jpg
65.
Consumer
technology trends that will matter most in 2013 http://venturebeat.com/2013/01/14/the-view-from-ces-the-top-technology-trends-that-will-matter-in-2013/ “…Here’s our list of the top 10 trends of CES
2013…The mobile generation has become the biggest target audience…Fitness and
health tech get real…The user interface is you…3D glasses are undead…Regional
changes push China upward…Sensors are making gadgets smarter and bringing forth
the internet of things…Alternatives to console gaming multiply…Car technologies
go big…UltraHD 4K TVs come into focus…Components become the star of the show…”
*****
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