April 2011
57 posts
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The History of Customer Support (Infographic)
Go back 140+ years before there were telephones and see the timeline of how customer service communication was developed. From pre-telephone days to current social media and technology that provides us with immediate service. source
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Introducing: Social Vending from Pepsi
Yesterday Pepsi announced a new way to use vending machines. Beginning with Pepsi drinks at a vending machine, you will be able to now use touchscreen technology to buy drinks. More so you can now gift drinks to others making vending social. Enter in someone’s mobile number, personalize a message and gift them a drink which is redeemable at any Pepsi vending machine. It’s very cool...
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Turn your iPhone into a game controller with...
If you like to play games on your iPhone but want that game controller feeling, then you should look into the iControlPad. The iControlPad looks like your old school Gameboy controller styled to fit the iPhone and most smart phones as long as they have Bluetooth technology. Just simply clamp in your iPhone and your ready to go. The only downside is your iPhone needs to be jailbroken so you can...
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PlayStation Network user data compromised
If you use the Sony PlayStation online gaming network, your data has been stolen. I haven’t really blogged about the PlayStation Network outage over the past six days as I have just been letting it play out and was waiting to see what happened, hoping things would get better faster than they have. This doesn’t seem to be the case though.
Sony mentioned a few days ago there was an...
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It's official, all three major mobile phones track...
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by today’s news from CNET. Microsoft is also tracking user’s locations via it’s Windows Phone 7. Although the news seems less invasive as the Apple and Google location tracking issues, it’s still something to think about. It is reported that Microsoft is sending off via WI-FI data dumps of user locations that has a unique device ID...
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Waterproof your iPhone
Want to be able to take pictures underwater like this? Well, you won’t be able to without a special underwater camera, unless you get the Rain Ballet waterproof iPhone case. This awesome case completely water proofs your iphone, so if you drop it in water by accident or go to take some pics underwater, it won’t be damaged!
via, source
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An inside look at the JESS3 office
Designer, creative agency, artist, whatever you want to call it, JESS3 a native to Washington DC is pretty well known in the design world. His skills are valuable and well sought out by such names you might know like: General Electric, Washington Post, Nike, Google, to name a few. Being a DC native myself I have always been curious to know what the JESS3 office looks like. Well, if you’re...
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Photos: Life under the sea
The University of Miami Rosenstiel of Marine and Atmospheric Science holds an annual photo contest for underwater photography. The results are some magnificant photos of sea life. Continue reading to see the this year’s winning photographs. 2011 Photo Contest Winner - Two transparent gobies A Pygmy seahorse that seems to blend right in; I love this one A Nudibranch looking very...
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Spike Lee snapping Obama's pic with an iPad
Filmmaker Spike Lee was caught using his iPad to photograph President Barack Obama at the National Action Network’s Keepers of the Dream awards gala in New York on April 6, 2011. In a rare situation, it looks like Lee was the fan and appeared to be a bit star struck when he met Obama. via the White House Flickr stream
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The WVIL concept camera
This new concept camera, WVIL is probably how most future cameras will/should work, with integration to social platforms and ease of use with touch screen capabilities and options. I love this idea with the interchangeable lens that gives it that old school look with modern day technology.
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The Last Supper remade Luchador style
Hopefully this won’t offend anybody, as it shouldn’t because it’s meant to appreciate the true artwork of it. Everyone is probably aware of the well known Leonardo da Vinci painting The Last Supper which shows the last meal Jesus had before his crucifixion.
This is a remake of The Last Supper, Luchador style. In case you don’t know, a Luchador is a wrestler. I really...
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A behind the scenes look at some of your favorite...
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of your favorite websites like Twitter, Google or Facebook? Take a look at some of these sites for a unique vision on how the back of a webpage might look. You can see more backs of webpages here.
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Take a look into a Google Data Center
Google made a video which gives the public a rare look into how they run their data centers. Maybe they released this since there has been a lot of hype recently with the new Facebook data center. Whatever the case, it’s very impressive. I had no idea they built their own servers and managed the entire process down to destroying of old servers.
via, source
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Oh noes, Android tracks your every location too
Aw Snap! Apple’s iPhone was just outed this week for tracking users every single location and storing that information on your phone and computer. Now it’s Google Android’s turn. This discovery made yesterday is by a Swedish researcher, Magnus Eriksson who is a programmer. In his research he found that the Android and the iPhone pretty much do the exact same thing for...
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Visualization: The Koch Brothers
It would not be a good Earth Day if we didn’t help out the polluters of the Earth. Meet the Koch Brothers, two of the richest and world’s most evil people. Continue on to watch a fantastic narrated visualization about these two scumbags.
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Happy Earth Day!
Today is Earth Day, which for the past 40 years has been celebrated typically by praising Mother Earth and doing something to help the planet. Here is a list of things you can do to help make an impact that are fairly simple to do.
Plant a tree. A pretty easy task where if everyone goes and plants one tree, could make a huge impact.
During the summer months, turn down your AC. Keeping the AC...
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Create a cool looking portrait out of your tweets
You might remember earlier this year when Social Print Shop came out with a service that created posters from your Facebook friends. There is a similar service out now by Kunst Buzz in the Netherlands where you can create a portrait of yourself from all your tweets from Twitter. It’s different because it’s not photos of your friends on Twitter, it’s actually a picture of you,...
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iCade, an arcade for your iPad
If you have an iPad you may be in a treat if you are into retro stuff. ThinkGeek created an iPad cabinet that works just like an arcade and looks just like one too, even down to the .25 cent coin slot. Funny thing is the idea originally came from a previous April Fool’s joke they played, except this is for real. The iCade comes with “Atari Greatest Hits” iPad App ready to go,...
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The iPhone tracks and records your every location
Well, this can’t be good. A new report by data research scientists state that the iPhone tracks, records and keeps on file every location you have been to, up to one year.
There is a secret file on every iPhone device that stores your location and then, if you were to sync your iPhone to your computer/iTunes (which probably everyone does at some point), it transfers the file over to it....
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Time Lapse: The Mountain
Unreal. This has to be one of the best time lapse videos I have seen so far. There is something magical about the sky and the stars and it appears to be captured in this video which was shot in El Teide, Spain. Continue on to watch, you will just have to see for yourself.
via, source
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WTF, a Texas family dares burglar to return
A little over a week ago a burglar kicked in the front door of Hudson, TX 71 yr old resident Claudia Holland. Luckily, her two dogs were there to scare away the would be burglar. Claudia Holland didn’t take this situation lightly though. So she decided to put up a sign, a very big menacing one that reads “Try to break into this house again, your head will be blown off!” I...
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Blood sticks to every genuine fur
A new iPad app is out for DATUM Magazine to help promote anti-fur sentiments with a bloody twist. The new app opens up showing a woman wearing a fur coat. When the app user goes to swipe to continue browsing, instead of the screen sliding, it bleeds. An interesting way to get your point across!
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Twitter launches new login page
As a follow up to my previous post, looks like Twitter finally launched their new login page today to everyone. I like it, looks nice, but with Twitter, once you login you never see it again :P
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Monks enter into the Digital Age
When you think of Monks, you might think people of God who live in solitude and have a strict lifestyle, who quite literally practice what they are preaching with limited access to the outside world. In today’s day in age, enveloped by social media such as Facebook and Twitter, it’s hard to ignore it.
Especially if the world of the Monks is falling behind on members and the ways of...
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The future of computing (Infograph)
For today’s standards, our computers, processors and electronics are light years ahead in technology vs. where they were just ten years ago. With research in Nanotechnology and a breakthrough in thermal materials from General Electric scientists, GE plans to create faster and lighter computer processors and hardware. Thermal materials also conduct heat 2x faster than copper currently does....
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A killer high tech longboard
The difference between a longboard and a skateboard besides the actual deck (board) is subtle. Longboarding basically is for going downhill being able to maneuver and slide. This can be done with skateboards, but skateboarding tends to be more for tricks and short distances. Yanko Design has come up with a new longboard design that is far from traditional. Coining the board as the...
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Video: Experience Human Flight
Design studio Betty Wants In produced this amazing high altitude video for the Melbourne Skydive Center in Australia. Instead of using an expensive camera to capture all of the footage, she shot it on a GoPro camera. It looks great too as the footage appears to be crystal clear. The camera retails from $99-$300.
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The top ten countries on the Internet (Infograph)
China is still the leading Internet user in the world with the United States coming in a close second. Surprisingly, one top search in the U.S. for 2011 is for Tumblr! Check out this infograph from Test King on the Top Ten Countries on the Internet plus their Top Searches in 2011.
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Now you can control R2-D2 with The Force
Remember the Super Bowl ad with the kid as Darth Vadar trying to control the Volkswagen car? Cute, right? Think Geek has come out with their own version, but it’s for a neat little remote control R2-D2 watch. I bet the kid in the Super Bowl ad would love this watch!
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Fukushima radioactive cloud and tweets visualized
When the tsunami hit Japan after the record breaking earthquake in March, a lot of global reaction was via Twitter. After the tsunami came the nuclear radiation issue. This also has been reacted to on Twitter. 500 million tweets have been sent in reaction to the Fukushima disaster. With all that data, Social Intensity created a visualization of all the tweets globally. The visualization is a...
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Social media is reshaping college admissions...
I am actually not surprised by these stats at all. I know from my own experience, that social networks impact employment. I always check social networks when hiring as an easy view into that person’s life. Recently we have realized how social media has prompted change in different parts of the world. Now colleges are also using social media as part of their recruiting process for...
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In NYC, April 16th has been declared Foursquare...
No, this is not a joke and yes, this is a real holiday. Mike Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City has officially declared that April 16 will be Foursquare Day. The proclamation is in honor of all the startups in the NYC area that are “thinking big, creating new jobs, and leading the global economy.” This includes of course Foursquare. This is the first social media holiday of...
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You can now customize your Gmail theme
Gmail nows gives users the option to add a theme to their email. In the somewhat recent past Google allowed for themes to the Google Search page. Now it’s added to your inbox! You can use a preset theme by Google or create your own and even use your own background image. Just go to the settings icon on the top right, click settings and go to Themes to change yours. via, source
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Know your hacker (Infograph)
You may think you know hackers, but do you really know all the true faces of a hacker? Here is The Good, The Bad And The Ugly: The Many Faces Of A Hacker. source
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How Africa connects to the World (Infograph)
Have you ever wondered how Africa connects to the Internet? Maybe not, but it’s astonishing how this feat is accomplished and in some cases, still being worked on. Cables are set under water in the sea all around Africa. In a detailed and impressive infographic by Steve Song, he illustrates all the cables along Africa connecting the continent to the rest of the world. Most cables are...
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Cool video of lightning striking the Empire State...
Watch as the Empire State Building gets hammered with lightning three times during a bad storm in NY yesterday. You can’t really hear the thunder though. Wonder how loud it sounded?
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When our reality becomes augmented
When I first saw this demo video I really thought it was a joke and that it was fake. I did some research and it turns out its very much real which makes it all the more crazy. The video is of a new technology called Aurasma. Auramsa works with smart phones and tablets in real time to turn images into real video or interactive experiences. By simply scanning your smart phone to let’s say...
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Microsoft shows off a wall of icons for it's WP7...
Windows Phone 7 app market has been growing steadily but in order to compete with Apple, who’s moniker is “there is an app for that”, WP7 needs to have a lot of apps as well. I mean, who wants to buy a smart phone and have a limited selection of apps to use? As an iPhone user, that is what is appealing to me, so many options and usually there really is an app for that. So...
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Preserving the birthplace of the Internet
The Internet precious and should not be taken for granted. The network we live day to day on is vast and is probably one of the single most important things in the world. So why not preserve the birth place of the Internet? The place, it’s 3420 Boelter Hall at the University of California, Los Angeles and 42 years ago the Internet was born there. Now, the university is working to restore...
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All bets are on for Washington DC
Washington DC is about to be the first jurisdiction to allow Internet gambling in the United States. A provision permitting DC to offer online gaming within its borders was included in the 2011 budget. A 30-day period for Congress to object to the measure expired last week, meaning Internet gambling is coming soon for DC natives (which I am one!). This will be a huge revenue generator for the...
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Zuck to be on the next cover of Mad Magazine
I’ll be honest and say I don’t really read a lot of Mad Magazine, but I do know who they are, primarly from the MadTV skits back on Fox in the 1990’s. The mag goes back to the 1950’s. Back then and through recent times magazines were, and still are a great way to get information. With the Internet and online networking, magazines and newspapers are becoming a thing of...
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Holy crap! Rocket sled ejection seat test at...
Replace “crap” with an expletive and you have my thoughts on this video. It’s crazy fast and pure awesomeness wrapped in one. I had to replay it about three times!
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Creative Paper Art by Jeff Nishinaka
Creating art with paper takes a lot of time, patience and skills. Jeff Nishinaka is a paper sculptor and he takes paper art to the next level. His art is fantastic. He will be featured along with other artists on 4/18/11 on a new series called Fresh Perspectives.
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Visualization: A History of Poverty
1.2 billion people in the world still live in poverty. Check out this visualization of the History of Poverty starting in the year 1820 provided by Poverty Over and Christian Aid Org. Go to Poverty Over’s website for the full interactive experience and to learn more on poverty and how you can help.
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Turn your home into a billboard
If you are looking for an easy way to get your home mortgage paid, Adzookie may be your savior. But you will need to sacrifice big time by turning your house into a billboard, literally. For the $100k they are saying they would put down, I would be willing to do it. It’s only for minimum of three months. Problem I have is more of the precedence this sets; will homes across America now be...
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Social Media vs. Dictators -- Angry Birds Style
I love this video. It’s called the Three Big Pigs which represent Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. It has some really great metaphors on the social media impact on these countries recently, including specifically the U.S. at the end. Just watch, it’s really good. Plus it’s based on Angry Birds, so it’s definitely winning!
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Time Lapse: Around the world in 9 months & 22...
I can never get enough of a good time lapse video. This one made by Ayrton Orio takes you around the world in 9 months and in 22 cities. Some of the countries that were traveled through were Bolivia, Peru, South Korea, Cambodia and others.
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Día de los Star Wars
Dia de los Muertos translated is Day of the Dead. It’s the Spanish holiday to celebrate loved ones who have died. Typically the holiday is celebrated in the U.S. on Halloween. One of the ways to celebrate the day of the dead is to paint skulls on faces, sort of like Halloween where you dress up and put on make up. Well, artist John Karpinsky took his love for Star Wars and the Spanish...
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Gamer Geeky Clothing
Gamers, Geeks and Fashionistas chillax — here are a bunch of really geeky and nostalgic outfits that you can wear to be extra rad or impress your geeky significant other! Enjoy. There are even more outfits that may suit your fancy over at Neatorama.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as The Governator
It’s actually kind of hard to come up with words for this. I liked the ex-terminator’s past movies and for the most part they were great (not all *cough Junior cough*). He left film to go into politics. Now he is getting his own animated cartoon series. I like the idea behind it however, can you say cheesy? This looks like it’s an EPIC….fail!
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