It is a lot harder these days than it used to be for Americans to improve their circumstances. One of the most distressing aspects of the state of the US economy is the decrease in social mobility. In other words, if Americans are born poor, they’re overwhelmingly likely to stay poor.
Continue reading… “The ‘American Dream’ has become a myth”
Feature phones are not the future. Of course that verges on tautology; of course everyone will have a smartphone, until everyone has something smaller and better and even more integrated into the fabric of our lives, like Google Glasses or cybernetic jawbone/retinal implants or whatever Charles Stross dreams up next. But when, exactly?
Continue reading… “Most Africans will have smartphones within 5 years”
41% of young adults between age 19 and 29 failed to get medical care in a recent 12-month period because of cost.
There are millions of young adults who are skipping necessary care and treatment because of rising health care costs in the U.S., according to a new report released on Friday.
Continue reading… “41% of young adults skip health care as medical costs rise”
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The potential of government making health information as useful as weather data felt like an abstraction two years ago. Healthcare data could give citizens the same “blue dot” for navigating health and illness akin to the one GPS data fuels on the glowing map of geolocated mobile devices that are in more and more hands.
Continue reading… “Mobile health apps just the beginning of the disruption in healthcare”
The GoGoLink app for the Chevrolet Spark links a smartphone to the touch screen in the dash.
General Motors will soon be making a novel offer to please it’s customers who are clamoring for more features in their cars by giving them less.
Continue reading… “Merging drivers smartphones and dashboards”
Authorities are doing their best to clamp down on the internet.
Bill C30, the sweeping Canadian warrantless Internet surveillance bill, is back from the dead. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews (who declared that opposition to his bill was tantamount to support for pedophiles) has been working behind the scenes to resurrect his legislation, joining forces with the US government in the name of “perimeter security.” This proposed deal would expand the warrantless surveillance to US authorities, who could also access Canadians’ private information…
A simple revolutionary new design changes the package experience.
If you’ve ever marveled at how easy it is to open a padded shipping envelope thanks to its built-in rip cord that tears through the material, you’ll instantly understand why this enhanced roll of packing tape is pure genius…
Continue reading… “The greatest innovation in packing tape since the sticky side”
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Well, maybe it does
Quote of the Day: “Where lipstick is concerned, the important thing is not color, but to accept God’s final word on where your lips end.” – Jerry Seinfeld
Continue reading… “Top 10 Photos of the Week”
Banks have imposed other harsh penalties on consumers for minor lapses.
Despite efforts by regulators to to rein in aggressive practices by banks checking account overdraft fees have jumped during the past two years, according to new reports by two nonprofit groups.
Continue reading… “Despite regulatory efforts overdraft fees are rising”
The explosion in the use of Google, Facebook, Twitter and other services has resulted in the generation of some 2.5 quintillion bytes each day.
Paul Hawtin monitors more than 340 million Twitter posts flying around the world each day from his trading desk in London. He tries to assess the collective mood of the populace.
Continue reading… “‘Big data’ redefines trend-watching online”
Futurist Thomas Frey: On May 24th, Gary Connery, a 42 year old stuntman from Oxfordshire, England jumped from a helicopter hovering over one mile in the air over southern England, and glided to the earth using a specially designed wing suit. His runway was comprised of a cobbled-up crash-pad fabricated from 18,000 cardboard boxes to soften the impact.
Continue reading… “56 Future Accomplishments: Waiting for Someone to go First”
Powerful new power options.
Irrigation canals are the blood vessels of agriculture, delivering water throughout America’s farmland. Pretty soon, they may well deliver a bit of electricity too, thanks to the Hydrovolt micro-generator.
The Hydrovolt C2, designed and built by the same-named Washington state company, is a compact car-sized device that sits on a irrigation canal’s floor and utilizes the steady, uninterrupted flow of water to power its turbine, which is situated perpendicular to the flow, like a paddle boat wheel. As the wheel turns, it cranks an on-board generator that produces a charge. The device is neutrally buoyant so it can generate power on the water’s surface as well, without impeding the flow or affecting the water quality.
Continue reading… “Hydrovolts tap canal currents for 12 kW of power apiece”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.