Mar 18
With the announcement of the Xpression, a new mood-sensing app, is the field wide open for advancements in mobile technology on a science fictional scale?
Mar 18
Millennials spend 14% more time with mobile devices that generational peers
Posted in: Today's ChiliMillennials is a term given to the generation of 18 to 34-year-old people. A recent survey performed by Experian looked into the digital usage of this particular generation of people within the United States. The study was called the 2013 Digital Marketer Report and looked at multiple segments including the millennial generation.
The survey found that 24% of millennials have a college degree, 34% are married, and 60% own a home. The survey also found that they have an average discretionary spend of $11,317 per year. Interestingly, the survey also found that 52% of the specific age group rate far above or above average when it comes to being early adopters of technology.
The survey also says that this age group is more likely than the rest of the US population to visit social websites and search sites looking for product details before visiting a retail website. One interesting finding from the survey is that millennials spend 14% more time engaged with their mobile devices in an average week than other age groups. Early adopter millennials are also 20% more likely to use a tablet than other millennials.
Breaking down the early adopter segment of this group even further finds that early adopter millennials are 32% more likely to use IM and chat services than the average millennial. According to the survey, other top activities for the early adopter millennial segment include reading digital media, listening to music, and e-mail.
[via Experian]
Millennials spend 14% more time with mobile devices that generational peers is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Mar 18
With Google Reader shutting down, NewsBlur saw its daily users go from 1,500 to 50,000. They did not scale well, and now they posted some lessons learned from the event, and what others should know when they start a new online service.
Mar 17
If you’re ever in Las Vegas, New York, Beverly Hills, or Yountville, California you must stop by Bouchon Bakery and buy a batch of their French Macarons. They’re the tastiest damned thing you’ll ever eat. So when I saw that they were making flash drives that looked like these delectable pastries, I started drooling.
Yes, I know that I cannot eat a flash drive, but it doesn’t make these brightly-colored pucks look any less appetizing. PQI’s Macaron USB Flash Drives look just like my favorite tasty treat, so I’m not sure that I could resist trying to take a byte out of my flash memory. While you definitely won’t want to dip these in your afternoon tea, they are water-resistant, dust-resistant and shock-resistant, so they might hold up to my stomach acids for at least 10 seconds before disintegrating.
No word on where you can buy these yet, but I suppose that’s a good thing, as I wouldn’t want to end up in the ER getting my stomach pumped anyhow.
[via Far East Gizmos]
Mar 16
The W.M. Keck Observatory, which has the two largest optical and infrared telescopes in the world, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this week. Its twin Keck telescopes have been instrumental to finding exoplanets, exploring the universe, and observing galaxies. They are highly coveted telescopes, with scientists, who are working on research projects, only being able to use the telescope two days out of the entire year.
However, despite its immense popularity, the W.M. Keck Observatory will be seeing some financial set backs this year, and in anticipation of that, the Keck foundation will be working hard to secure donations from philanthropists. The observatory receives about 1/4th of its money from the U.S. National Science Foundation. However, because of so many federal budget cuts, that number could be reduced immensely.
While the observatory will still have a set $11.5 million from the University of California, and the California Institute of Technology, it still relies on government funding to pull through. Philanthropists usually give about $5 million a year to the Keck Observatory, bringing its finances to roughly about $23 million a year, however it needs philanthropists to give even more this year. The Keck Foundation hopes that since it’s the observatory’s 20th anniversary, people will be more generous with their checkbooks.
The Keck telescopes have done a lot for the field of astronomy, from “co-discovering the methane on Mars to charting the acceleration of the universe.” The telescopes will be facing tough competition within the next decade, so it needs more financing than ever to compete. The observatory plans on putting in a new laser system for its Keck II telescope in 2015, as well as launch a cosmic web imager within the next 5 years.
[via Space.com]
Keck Telescopes to seek funding on 20th anniversary is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Mar 16
Google’s Executive Chairmain, Eric Schmidt, plans on making a trip to Myanmar on March 22nd. He hopes to tap into Myanmar’s market of 60 million people, which has the potential of being a huge gold mine for the search engine giant. Myanmar had been previously restricted from U.S. based companies due to many regulations and sanctions. Now that it’s being freed from those restrictions, many U.S. companies are gunning to invest their resources into the country.
Eric Schmidt will be speaking at a public event that will be attended by local start-ups, entrepreneurs, and students. He plans on obtaining one of the licenses that will be offered to only two foreign operators. If Schmidt is able to convince Myanmar to give Google one of those licenses (which shouldn’t be too hard to do since it’s Google), Google will be able to tap into what may be a billion-dollar industry.
Only 9% of Myanmar’s population owns mobile phones. Myanmar’s government plans on increasing that percentage to 80% by 2016. By offering big, foreign companies, like Google, one of the licenses, it hopes to dramatically improve internet and mobile usage in the country. As restrictions begin to be removed from Myanmar, and as more American companies enter its marketplace, mobile phones should become more affordable. Right now in Yangon, an iPhone 4 costs US$1,120, and a Huawei phone costs US$500-600.
Schmidt hopes to help the people of Myanmar connect to the internet and get access to the entire world around them. Schmidt will be working with local partners in order to improve the lives of the 60 million people who have been suppressed from the internet. Schmidt’s move will help improve the lives of the people of Myanmar, however the U.S. still has to remove the remaining regulations it has on Myanmar in order for the country to move forward. Thaung Su Nyein, an Myanmar Entrepreneur who runs 7 publications and his own IT company, stated, “Our hope is that the U.S. will do their part [in lifting the remaining regulations], and we’ll do our part in improving this field, and everyone will be happy.”
[via The Wall Street Journal]
Google’s Eric Schmidt to tap into Myanmar’s potential gold mine is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Mar 16
Whenever I get a chance, I like to dust off my arcade emulator and try to see if I can get any further at Donkey Kong than the first couple of levels. Even after all of these years, the game still kicks my ass every time. But if the game were loaded with aliens and villains from science fiction and fantasy, I’m betting it would be even harder to beat then going up against Kong and his stupid flaming barrels.
That’s exactly what deviantARTist BazNet set out to explore with his series of Donkey Kong levels inspired by classic science fiction and fantasy movies and TV series. I can’t decide which I like the best, but the Alien and Doctor Who ones are among my favorites. I would not want to try and jump over Facehuggers or Daleks. The Adventure Time version is pretty great too, though it needs more Beemo. There are also The Dark Knight Rise, Game of Thrones, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi levels. And while it doesn’t qualify as science fiction or fantasy, Cookie Kong is pretty swell too.
Many of the designs are available over at BazNet’s RedBubble shop, while you can get the Aliens and Ladders image on a t-shirt over at welovefine.
[via MightyMega]
Mar 16
Facebook is going rampant with its changes. It has brought on a new targeted ad interface for marketers, a new and improved timeline, support for hashtags, and now a new Chief Technology Officer. Mike Schroepfer, previously the Senior Vice President of Engineering, has become the new CTO of Facebook, replacing interim CTOs Cory Ondrejka and Mike Vernal. It’s still uncertain what Facebook will do with Ondrejka and Vernal.
Schroepfer was perviously the Vice President of Engineering for Mozilla, as well as the Chief Technology Officer of Sun Microsystems’ data center automation division. Facebook believes that with Schroepfer’s impressive experience and expertise, he will be able to improve upon many important aspects of the company’s main money makers. Schroepfer will be improving the company’s mobile division, as well as develop more ways to mine user data for better advertisements.
Along with promoting Schroepfer to CTO, Facebook has also announced that it will be supporting hashtags. These moves make it appear as though the top social network is trying to copy Twitter. Just a couple of days prior to Facebook’s promotion of Schroepfer, Twitter also promoted one of their own to CTO. Twitter’s CTO spot, which was vacant since 2011, was filled up by Adam Messinger, previously the Vice President of Application Development. And the hashtags feature, as well all know, was popularized by Twitter.
This could all be a coincidence, but it wouldn’t be too surprising if Facebook really is looking at other social networks to see how it can improve its own user experience. With Schroepfer working on improving Facebook’s data mining and mobile experience, Facebook’s support for hashtags, and all of the other changes the company has planned in the past few weeks, Facebook is hoping to dramatically increase its advertising revenue.
[via Wired]
Facebook promotes ex-Mozilla engineer to CTO is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Mar 16
Making The Most Out Of Quirky.com
Posted in: Today's Chili
Quirky.com is a great site aimed at inventors and something you can take advantage of to market your ideas into products, but not everything makes it to the production floor. How can you maximize your chances for your idea to become a product?
Mar 15
Tech Deals of the Day: 3/15/2013
Posted in: Today's Chili
Our friends at TechBargains.com compile a list of daily deals to help you save money. Keep in mind that as with any good deal, products are limited in quantity and can sell out quickly – so don’t hesitate to check them out now.
If you’re looking to buy a product from a specific store, save money with updated and verified coupon codes here.
Computers & Peripherals:
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 for Windows & Mac + Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Lifetime $99.99 plus free shipping (normally $179)
- SiliconDust HDHR3-US HDHomeRun Dual Networked Attached HD TV Tuner $69.99 plus free shipping (normally $99 – use code: EMCXTWS99)
- Team C123 32GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive $17.84 plus free shipping (normally $29 – use code: EMCXTWS55)
- Kingston DataTraveler KR-U4616Z-2M Special Edition 16GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive $7.99 plus free shipping (normally $19)
- Refurbished Logitech M705 Black Wireless Laser Marathon Mouse $14.99 plus free shipping (normally $39 – use code: EMCXTWS232)
- Devo Folding Travel Table for Laptops $7.95 plus free shipping (normally $19)
- 2PK of EZ Eyes Deluxe Keyboard & Mouse (Glow-in-Dark Large Print Letters) + H&R Block At Home Deluxe + State 2012 Tax Software $2.99 plus $5 shipping (normally $99 – use code: 62355 and this form)
Home Entertainment:
- LG 47LM8600 47″ 3D LED LCD HDTV $999.99 plus free shipping (normally $89 – use code: LG47LM8600)
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- Coboc 15ft HDMI Cable w/ Ethernet Support $2.79 plus free shipping (normally $6 – use code: EMCXTWR42)
Personal Electronics:
- Canon EOS 650d Rebel T4i Digital SLR Camera w/ 18-55mm IS Lens $590.00 plus free shipping (normally $799
- Refurbished Western Digital WD TV Live Plus 802.11n Wireless N Network Media Player $59.99 plus free shipping (normally $99)
- Factory refurbished Apple iPod Touch 4th Generation 32GB MP3 Player $179.00 plus free shipping (normally $299)
- T-Mobile Prepaid Phone SIM Card Activation Kit (Regular or Micro) FREE plus free shipping (normally $9)
Apps and eBooks:
- Word Mess Game App (iPhone & iPad) FREE (normally $1)
- Hobbit Nook eBook and More $1.99 (normally $9)
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