It’s one thing when the pilot is tired, but when the plane itself is exhausted…
Quote of the Day: “I’ve been trying for some time to develop a lifestyle that doesn’t require my presence.” – – Garry Trudeau
Continue reading… “Top 10 Photos of the Week”
Buying a car often is the second-largest purchase most people will ever make.
They could be called digital test-drivers. According to a new study, more than one in 10 new-car shoppers, armed with online research, now buy vehicles without taking a test drive.
Continue reading… “More car buyers are skipping the test drive: Study”
The cloud is starting to become the “mainframe” in the sky.
We are seeing the greatest shakeup in the world of computing that has ever taken place. Three kinds of devices defined what computing was all about over a period of about 50 years. We started out with mainframes, moved on to mini-computers and in the early ’80s entered the era of the personal computer.
Continue reading… “The future of personal computing”
Google’s self-driving car.
According to a plugged-in industry source Google is eyeing a new project: same-day delivery. At first, this seemed like a ridiculous idea. But after some thought the idea kind of makes sense.
Continue reading… “Google eyeing new project: Same-day delivery”
The rate for the South was 29.5%, followed by the Midwest at 29%, the Northeast at 25.3% and the West at 24.3%.
On Monday, the federal government released its “obesity map”, outlining the rates of obesity and how rates in the states compare. Colorado gets the svelte bragging rights, with 20.7% of its adults obese. At the other end of the scale is Mississippi, with a rate of 34.9%.
Continue reading… “New federal obesity statistics show Mississippi fattest, Colorado thinnest”
A pack of digital authors ganged up on a useful site that connected e-book consumers and shut them down.
The process of lending an e-book is complicated and much of it is a result of conflicting DRM locks and platforms as well as a reluctance on the part of publishers to allow their books to be loaned. But authors can also be a roadblock when it comes to lending, and we’ve just had a classic example of how that can happen with the brouhaha over LendInk, a service that allowed readers to connect with others in order to share e-books. The site has effectively been put out of business by a virtual lynch mob of authors claiming it breached their rights, even though what it was doing was perfectly legal.
Continue reading… “Legitimate e-book lending site taken down by angry authors”
The Indian government is planning to give one mobile phone to every family living below the poverty line.
The Indian government is considering giving one mobile phone to every family living below the poverty line, according to Today Online.
Continue reading… “Every poor family in India may get a cell phone under a new government plan”
The show analyzes the millions of messages they receive on controversial issues to do everything from planning future episodes to pushing for political change.
In India every Sunday morning millions of people in India tune in to watch Bollywood star Aamir Khan host one of the country’s highest-rated television shows, Satyamev Jayate. Only unlike so many popular programs, Satyamev Jayate doesn’t involve a singing competition or a collection of volatile strangers living under the same roof. It’s a documentary program tackling some of the country’s most-sensitive topics, and it has the whole country — indeed, the whole world — talking. In order to funnel millions of messages a week into something valuable, the shows producers have turned to big data. (video)
Continue reading… “How Satyamev Jayate, India’s favorite TV show uses data to change the world”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYs215TgI7c&hd=1[/youtube]
Academic and industry researchers have been working for decades on control algorithms for autonomous helicopters — robotic helicopters that pilot themselves, rather than requiring remote human guidance. Dozens of research teams have competed in a series of autonomous-helicopter challenges posed by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI); progress has been so rapid that the last two challenges have involved indoor navigation without the use of GPS.
Continue reading… “MIT’s autonomous robotic plane’s indoor flight: Video”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc[/youtube]
Incentives like employee bonus pay, app badges, student grades, and even lunch with President Obama are all the rage. Despite their widespread use, most research finds that incentives are terrible at improving performance in the long-run on anything but mindless rote tasks, because the fixation on prizes clouds our creative thinking. However, a new Harvard study of teachers found that a novel approach to incentive scould dramatically improve student performance: give teachers a reward upfront and threaten to take it away if performance doesn’t actually improve. Exploiting the so-called “loss-aversion” tendency could open the door to creative incentivizing for software designers and managers.
Continue reading… “Researchers at Harvard find creative way to make incentives work”
Futurist Thomas Frey: In July, David Kappos, Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, announced expansion plans for the USPTO that would involve opening satellite offices in Denver, Dallas, and San Francisco. These coupled with the previously announced office in Detroit would draw on a diverse new talent pool for future examiners.
Continue reading… “Four Key Trends Driving the Future of Patents”
More and more Americans are growing increasingly skeptical of the American dream.
A new Rasmussen Reports poll finds that 14 percent of American adults believe children these days will enjoy a better life than their parents did, an all-time low.
Continue reading… “Only 14% of Americans believe their kids will be better off than their parents”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.