Monthly Archives: March 2012
The ‘So What’ Of The Quantified Self
Assuming that each of us has a picture of the “real world superhero” we want to become someday, then the optimal way to level up and reach that goal begins with the ability to measure and score our lives. Thankfully, new technologies in mainstream gadgets like iPhones and the Nike+ enable this kind of measurement, and are fueling the so-called Quantified Self movement, starting with the continuous tracking of various aspects of our physical bodies.
Using sensors in our smartphones and other wearable devices, we can chart how many calories we burn, our body fat percentage, how many steps we take in a day, how long we sleep — even how many hours a week we spend commuting or sitting at a desk. Soon we’ll be able to access the same kind of statistics on our digital selves: Social reach and influence; tastes and preferences; achievements; credibility and reputation; habits; expertise.
Helicopter Parents Can Put Their Silhouette On a Rattle and Never Be Apart From Their Kids [Kids]
If you can't bear the thought of not being part of your child's life for even a second, you can now get your face carved into a stylish baby rattle so they can never escape your presence. More &...
Sinking Mugs Are a Functional April Fool’s Day Prank [Pranks]
You're probably not going to fool most adults into thinking these ceramic coffee mugs have actually sunk into a table. But kids are easy targets, and this sight gag is sure to blow their minds. Even if ...
Gillmor Gang: Daddy, What’s Microsoft?
The Gillmor Gang — Robert Scoble, John Taschek, Rob La Gesse, Kevin Marks, and Steve Gillmor — rode out of Dodge and straight into an ambush. Well, no, but in service of the OverAggregator Lord here are our talking points: Microsoft trembles at the alter of irrelevance, Google doesn't get TV but may sneak into the tablet market by giving them away, and HTML5 still can't get a date.
I snuck in the usual mentions of Mad Men and push notification, the first a reference to the return of the mesmerizing prequel to Seinfeld, and the second the technology that ensures that you don't have to watch the stream all day to stay up with what's going on. Combining delayed gratification theatre with premature notification will produce the next big hit of the iPad Age.
Lightweight Carbon Fiber Axe Is More Of an Artistic Masterpiece Than a Tool [Tools]
Who says artists can only use paints and canvas, or musical instruments, to craft a masterpiece? The folks at Blue Ant Studio deserve a spot in the Louvre for its lightweight but strong Carbo Axe made f...
So Long, And Thanks For All The Quantum Research
I'd like to be an optimist, like Matt Burns. I really would. Like Research In Motion itself, I was born and raised in Waterloo, Ontario. Like its former co-CEO Mike Lazaridis, I studied electrical engineering at the University of Waterloo. I've seen RIM transform my home town over the years, giving it new parks, new buildings, huge bequests for the university, and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. I'd love to see it survive its current dire straits and somehow thrive. But I just can't see it happening.
I guess it's still just barely possible to maintain optimism. This was the first quarter since their rise that they've reported a loss; they can still spin that into a Rocky-esque down-but-not-out narrative, as long as they rearrange a few deck chairs. But as Paul Graham recently pointed out, "revenue is a lagging indicator in the technology business." Revenue down 25% year-over-year, for a tech company of RIM's size, in one of the hottest markets in the world? That's not a setback, that's a catastrophe.
Watch Arthur C. Clarke Predict the Internet and Personal Computers… In 1974 [Video]
Besides being one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time, Arthur C. Clarke had a knack for foreseeing the future—at least in terms of technology. And in this clip from 1974, he predi...
Flurry’s analytics: Apple’s App Store revenue still leading, but Amazon Appstore close behind
Not like we haven't seen this dog-and-pony show before, but Flurry's latest round of analytics -- which measured revenue of 11 million daily active users from mid-January through the end of February 2012 -- shows Amazon's Appstore pulling in a shockin...
Elastic Joystick Uses Your Phone’s Camera To Make Mobile Gaming Less Crappy [Video]
Touchscreens work fantastic for certain types of games, but when there's a lot of fast action, a physical joystick is the only way to go. And researchers at Keiko University have developed a controller...
(Founder Stories) Kayak.com’s Paul English: On Hiring Athletes, Design Simplicity & Angel Investing [TCTV]
In part II of his Founder Stories interview with host Chris Dixon, Kayak.com’s co-founder Paul English discusses why job applicants will be hard pressed to find job postings on Kayak.com, relays the lessons he learned from Kayak’s mobile app and tells Dixon the traits founding teams need to possess in order to impress him as an angel investor.
