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20 Dec 2011 00:53

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Tech: Clothing with a twist: Smartphones could gain a couple wearable friends

  • Years ago, researchers envisioned these tiny computers transmitting information to the Internet. It wasn’t what we envisioned, but it happened. It’s called the smartphone.
  • Yael Maguire, a visiting scientist at M.I.T. and Harvard • On the advancement of phone technologies in more wearable directions. Secret projects led by Google and Apple could allow users to carry around lightweight, connected devices that fit in with what you’re already wearing — think a bracelet-style iPod with the ability to talk to Siri whenever you want.  All of this is possible thanks to the invention of the smartphone, which is kind of a wearable computer already. We bet these toys will work perfectly with mock turtlenecks.  source

02 Jun 2011 11:03

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Tech: Windows 8 in action: Microsoft gives the mothership a shake-up

  • A refresh of “Start Menu” dynamics: Microsoft’s upcoming refresh of Windows is a bold reboot of an OS way-better known for its incremental updates. WIth an interface that’s closer to Windows Phone 7 than anything that the desktop OS has done, the GUI appears to be touch-first, mouse-second, but done in such a way that doesn’t necessarily turn off the mouse crowd. Honestly, this is the most-impressive GUI we’ve ever seen from Microsoft, if for no other reason than that most of their operating systems have been terrible, in our humble opinion. The ball’s in your court, Steve Jobs — whaddya got for us at WWDC? source

08 Oct 2010 12:57

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Tech: Associated Press creates HTML5 timeline app that doesn’t suck

  • Yo, AP, you should consider replacing your laughable child-like iPad app with this thing, because it’s actually kind of innovative and stuff. And it uses HTML5. Basically, this is the coolest thing the AP has ever done. source

19 Jul 2010 21:58

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Tech: Based on the numbers alone, Tumblr is becoming the new Twitter

  • 6.25million visitors tumbling their logs each month
  • 4.5Mnumber of posts getting tumbled each day
  • 650,000 number of posts getting tumbled daily a year ago
  • 255M number of pageviews the tumblelogging site got in July 2009
  • 420M number of pageviews Tumblr had leaped to by November 2009
  • 1.5B number of pageviews they had in June; thanks John Mayer source
  • » Should we switch to Tumblr? Obviously, with its quickly-growing community, focus on functionality and expansion, dead-simple API and genius “reblog” function, this awesome platform appears to be where it’s at. Nothing against you, WordPress, but this whole fracas with the maker of the popular Thesis theme suggests that you should take a step back.

05 Jul 2010 10:37

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Politics: Is ABC blowing a golden opportunity with Jake Tapper?

  • He topped “Meet the Press” in the ratings on Sunday. Months ago, ABC decided to take their political roundtable show, “This Week,” and give it to Christiane Amanpour, a solid international journalist who might be a questionable choice for hosting a national political show. In that time, Jake Tapper, the interim host, has grown ever-more popular thanks to his fresh, social-media-friendly approach to the program. Now, his show, which ends in August, is topping even “Meet the Press” among political shows. Mediaite says they should just give him his own show. We agree. It seems like he could do a lot with it. source

02 Jun 2010 11:12

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Biz: Jeff Jarvis: The FTC’s favoring old journalism over innovation

  • If the FTC truly wanted to reinvent journalism, the agency would instead align itself with journalism’s disruptors. But there’s none of that here.
  • Journo-expert Jeff Jarvis • Regarding a recent Federal Trade Commission report on how to save journalism. He notes as sort of a  key fact that the entire document only mentions the word “blog” once, despite the fact that many blogs are as “real content” as you’re going to get. And the document, overall, seems skewed in favor of establishment journalism, with suggestions that could seriously damage innovation in the industry. “Here, the internet is not the salvation of news, journalism, and democracy. It’s the other side,” he writes. source

23 Apr 2010 11:14

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Tech: Adult entertainment continues its long history of tech innovation

  • Every step of the way, when there’s a new technology, we explore it. In the adult business, many times the traditional venues are not available to us, so we have to be innovative to get our content to the consumer. With adult content, you need to create your own solutions.
  • Private Media Group CEO Ilan Bunimovitz • Regarding the company’s push to get streaming HTML5 video on the iPad. The cloud system is innovative, but gets around the whole app store getup. Beyond the iPad though, innovation is taking hold in other ways for adult entertainment. One company is blowing $4 million on “3D Zen and Sex,” a 3D porn film which promises will be unlike any you’ve seen before. In other words, the long history of innovation in adult entertainment continues unabated. source
 

04 Feb 2010 21:10

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Tech: Former VP: Microsoft’s shooting itself in the foot, big time

  • What happened? Unlike other companies, Microsoft never developed a true system for innovation. Some of my former colleagues argue that it actually developed a system to thwart innovation.
  • Former Microsoft Vice President Dick Brass • On why Microsoft’s internal structure is hurting its abilities to create future innovations, forcing them to coast on prior victories such as Windows and Office. Basically, he claims that there is a strong system of corporate competition in the culture, one that has the effect of stifling innovative ideas. Their successes led to them limiting risk. He knows, because he was pushing e-Books and tablet PCs years ago, long before Apple made a big deal about it. One of his team’s most innovative ideas, ClearType, was prevented from being fully implemented in Windows for years because other teams held it back. These sorts of image issues don’t help Microsoft’s long-term cause. source

04 Feb 2010 12:35

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Biz: Heinz Ketchup, your main squeeze, now wants to double-dip

  • Innovation is coming to the ketchup packet. Heinz, which has apparently struggled for years to come up with a better idea than the pull-apart packet, has created a mix between the squeeze and the dip, which means you don’t need a spot to plant your crushed tomato-and-vinegar puree any longer. We’re waiting for someone to do the same thing with brown mustard packets. Get back to us then. source

02 Feb 2010 08:37

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Tech: Apple’s A4 chip: Perhaps the iPad’s most surprising aspect

The secret sauce in Apple’s iPad is a new chip. Critics claim the main novelty isn’t the chip’s speed, but the fact that Apple designed it themselves. source