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I was told reblogging is following? I think? Tumblr is so...

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 00:49:13 -0400

I was told reblogging is following? I think? Tumblr is so confusing…

emergentfutures: Paul Higgins: Good one gallen: Our kids will...

Tue, 01 May 2012 12:34:36 -0400

Paul Higgins: Good one

gallen:

Our kids will wonder why we called them automobiles before this.

smarterplanet:

Cadillac testing ‘Super Cruise’ feature for future cars | Physorg.com

Cadillac is reportedly joining the crowd working on features that it says should reduce car accidents by allowing the car to drive itself under optimal conditions, relieving the driver from fatigue, making road trips safer for the driver and passengers. Currently, Cadillac is already offering features that intercede on the driver’s behalf should the vehicle “sense” a dangerous situation. The new technology, which GM says likely will make it into showrooms by the middle of the decade, should make cars even safer by removing the hazard caused by human fatigue.

smarterplanet: DEUS consortium – Dark Energy Universe...

Tue, 01 May 2012 12:33:43 -0400

smarterplanet:

DEUS consortium – Dark Energy Universe Simulations | Dark matter & dark energy simulations

The goal of the DEUS project (Dark Energy Universe Simulation) is to investigate the imprints of dark energy on cosmic structure formation through high-performance numerical simulations

wolframalpha: Iceland has the most internet users per capita.

Tue, 01 May 2012 12:29:58 -0400

wolframalpha:

Iceland has the most internet users per capita.

courtenaybird: Consumer Trust in Online, Social and Mobile...

Tue, 01 May 2012 12:27:47 -0400

courtenaybird:

Consumer Trust in Online, Social and Mobile Advertising Grows | Nielsen Wire

When it comes to traditional, paid media, while nearly half of consumers around the world say they trust television (47%), magazine (47%) and newspaper ads (46%), confidence declined by 24 percent, 20 percent and 25 percent, respectively, between 2009 and 2011.

smarterplanet: Oakley Plans To Launch Its Own Brand Of AR...

Tue, 01 May 2012 12:23:52 -0400

smarterplanet:

Oakley Plans To Launch Its Own Brand Of AR Glasses - PSFK

At the start of this month, Google secretly began testing its augmented reality goggles with selected employees. The prototype eyewear allows users to view messages, videos, maps, and images in real-time. Now, Oakley has confirmed that it’s testing similar technology that will rival Google’s ‘Project Glass.’

Colin Baden, CEO of Oakley, stated in an interview that:

As an organization, we’ve been chasing this beast since 1997. Ultimately, everything happens through your eyes, and the closer we can bring it to your eyes, the quicker the consumer is going to adopt the platform.

Oakley has been working on technology to produce head-mounted displays for nearly 15 years, and has 600 patents mainly relating to optical specifications. Baden refused to confirm if Oakley would produce its own pair of smart glasses, or if the company would only license its technology.

via PSFK:

splatf: Who’s winning the smartphone war? Google and Apple....

Tue, 01 May 2012 12:18:03 -0400

splatf:

Who’s winning the smartphone war? Google and Apple. Who’s losing? RIM and Microsoft.

smarterplanet: EyeRing finger-mounted connected cam captures...

Tue, 01 May 2012 12:16:19 -0400

smarterplanet:

EyeRing finger-mounted connected cam captures signs and dollar bills, identifies them with OCR (hands-on) — Engadget

Ready to swap that diamond for a finger-mounted camera with a built-in trigger and Bluetooth connectivity? If it could help identify otherwise indistinguishable objects, you might just consider it. TheMIT Media Lab’s EyeRing project was designed with an assistive focus in mind, helping visually disabled persons read signs or identify currency, for example, while also serving to assist children during the tedious process of learning to read. Instead of hunting for a grownup to translate text into speech, a young student could direct EyeRing at words on a page, hit the shutter release, and receive a verbal response from a Bluetooth-connected device, such as a smartphone or tablet. EyeRing could be useful for other individuals as well, serving as an ever-ready imaging device that enables you to capture pictures or documents with ease, transmitting them automatically to a smartphone, then on to a media sharing site or a server.

We peeked at EyeRing during our visit to the MIT Media Lab this week, and while the device is buggy at best in its current state, we can definitely see how it could fit into the lives of people unable to read posted signs, text on a page or the monetary value of a currency note. We had an opportunity to see several iterations of the device, which has come quite a long way in recent months, as you’ll notice in the gallery below. The demo, which like many at the Lab includes a Samsung Epic 4G, transmits images from the ring to the smartphone, where text is highlighted and read aloud using a custom app. Snapping the text “ring,” it took a dozen or so attempts before the rig correctly read the word aloud, but considering that we’ve seen much more accurate OCR implementations, it’s reasonable to expect a more advanced version of the software to make its way out once the hardware is a bit more polished — at this stage, EyeRing is more about the device itself, which had some issues of its own maintaining a link to the phone. You can get a feel for how the whole package works in the video after the break, which required quite a few takes before we were able to capture an accurate reading.

Stowe Boyd: Laser Unprinters

Tue, 01 May 2012 12:12:44 -0400

Stowe Boyd: Laser Unprinters:

stoweboyd:

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have devised a way to ‘unprint’ laser printed pages, so that the paper can be reused.

Use a laser, save a tree - via University of Cambridge

Dr Julian Allwood, Leader of the Low Carbon Materials Processing Group at the University of Cambridge, and…

smarterplanet: Universal Real-Time Translator AT&T is...

Tue, 01 May 2012 12:11:58 -0400

smarterplanet:

Universal Real-Time Translator

AT&T is bringing the universal translator to an app store near you. Well, Granted, it isn’t quite universal yet. For now, the AT&T Translator is capable of seven languages. So far the app supports English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. It seems reasonable to assume that if the app catches on that more languages will eventually be added.

via futurescope:

The app was developed at AT&T Research Labs, using both AT&T Watson and AT&T Natural Voices speech technologies. Usage is simple. Speak a phrase into your device and the Translator converts what you’ve said into the language of your choice before broadcasting it to listeners. […]

Video:

[via] [AT&T Labs]

smarterplanet: TED-Ed’s New Video Tool Allows Anyone To Create...

Tue, 01 May 2012 12:10:16 -0400

smarterplanet:

TED-Ed’s New Video Tool Allows Anyone To Create Video Lessons Online

TED-Ed’s new free platform allows anyone to “flip” any video on YouTube by adding custom content to play alongside it, making it possible to turn any piece of video content into a teachable moment.

Read more->

nevver: Pinterest

Tue, 01 May 2012 12:02:42 -0400

nevver:

Pinterest

The End Of Hulu

Tue, 01 May 2012 12:02:02 -0400

The End Of Hulu:

parislemon:

It was (sorta) fun while it lasted.

Actually, it wasn’t all that fun. Plus, I always felt like there was the very real possibility that in the end, stupidity would win out. As it will.

Can’t believe it lasted this long. Still in disbelief that it worked at all.

Insurers Prepare for Climate Change…Except in U.S.

Tue, 01 May 2012 12:00:46 -0400

Insurers Prepare for Climate Change…Except in U.S.:

climateadaptation:

“In a survey conducted by Ceres, a Boston-based coalition of investors and environmental groups, more than 75% of insurers acknowledged the existence of perils stemming from climate change.

“Yet despite widespread recognition of the effects climate change will likely have on extreme events, few insurers were able to articulate a coherent plan to manage the risks and opportunities associated with climate change,” the Ceres report states.

The Ceres study found that out of 88 U.S. insurance companies, only 11 had formal climate change risk policies and more than 60% had no dedicated management approach to assessing climate risks.

Ben Schiller at Yale’s Environment 360 noted that while American insurance companies have been slow to prepare for global warming’s ramifications, their European counterparts have been getting ready for a potentially costly future.”

Via AllGov

parislemon: The latest trailer for The Dark Knight Rises, which...

Tue, 01 May 2012 11:57:39 -0400

parislemon:

The latest trailer for The Dark Knight Rises, which opens on July 20.

I am very, very, very, very excited for this.

And is it me, or can you actually understand Bane now?

emergentfutures: Paul Higgins: Absolutely - No point...

Tue, 01 May 2012 11:54:29 -0400

emergentfutures:

Paul Higgins: Absolutely - No point otherwise

futuristgerd:

(via MediaFuturist: The purpose of futurism is to disturb the present)

smarterplanet: MIT Engineers Design Fog-Free, Water-Repellent,...

Tue, 01 May 2012 11:54:20 -0400

smarterplanet:

MIT Engineers Design Fog-Free, Water-Repellent, Anti-Glare Glass

A new type of nano-structured glass can bounce water and dirt off its surface, cleaning itself and preventing fogging, according to MIT researchers. It eliminates glare, too, allowing light to penetrate with pure clarity. It could be used for anything from solar panels to future car windshields to new gadget screens. […]

[read more] [paper]