This machine dispenses Kraft’s new dessert Temptations Jell-O and uses face recognition software.
Big Brother not only watches you he will be sizing you up via a new product sampling machine that will determine whether you’re the right age — or even the right sex — to receive a sample of a company’s product.
There will be more repossessions next year and tougher criteria banks are now imposing on potential borrowers.
The development of multi-family units – a category made up of apartments and townhouses – jumped 25.3 percent last month to an annual rate of 238,000, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. That helped drive overall construction on new homes up 9.3 percent to an annual pace of 685,000, the strongest since the spring of 2010.
Harvest those stray rays.
Microwaves aren’t very smart. It generally has no idea what you’re trying to heat up, and if it’s (say) a burrito and not (say) a frozen turkey, a bunch of extra microwave… waves… are going to waste. This blue box can suck up all of those spare microwaves and turn them back into electricity that — wait for it — can power your microwave again…
Continue reading… “This magic box harvests spare electricity from your microwave”
A happy award winning Greenspeed crew.
In mid-November, the members of Greenspeed club headed to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah to put their Chevy pickup truck to the test. Stripped of all aesthetics, running on a ’93 Dodge engine and burning an unorthodox fuel, it was there to challenge the land speed record for vegetable oil-powered vehicles: 109 mph. On its first run, it flew past that benchmark at 139 mph. On its second, it set the new bar even higher: 155 mph.
The journey to success was not a quick one. Dave Schenker founded the club at Boise State University with a group of undergraduates, with the intention of building the first super high-performance vehicle to successfully run on vegetable oil. He spent months raising the $125,000 from local sponsors to rebuild the old truck with the parts it would need to set a new record. He and the students spent much of the summer putting it together. They hoped to race in September, but couldn’t get everything together in time…
Continue reading… “Veggie-Fueled Pickup Truck sets new land speed record at 155 MPH”
Genes determine a lot of things about your life.
Do you prefer to run in packs or operate as a loner? Your answer is determined by your genes, a new study claims. It’s a big shift in social behavior theory, since scientists previously thought the environment determined social behavior.
For example, scientists thought that where food was sparsely spread around, primates would live in large groups to more efficiently forage. But according to the new findings, which were published in the journal Nature, primates will behave the way their genes tell them to, regardless of food availability.
It’s evidence for genetic determinism—the idea that our genes dictate our behavior. But it seems wrong, right? I know I tend to go with the behavior that helps me to avoid hunger most effectively. But Nicholas Wade in The New York Times sums it up thusly…
Continue reading… “Why genetic determinism is bad for humans”
iPhones account for over 70% of all stolen cellphones on subways and buses.
New York iPhone users beware. The city is in the midst of a crime wave, and police say the problem could get worse, according to recent media reports.
Continue reading… “Theft of iPhones a growing problem in New York”
Brobdingnagian sports chair
You know the drill if you’ve ever been on a long flight. You’ve looked through all of your magazines, your book is at a slow point and your lapto p is out of power. It’s at this moment you pick up the SkyMall catalog, and marvel at the wonders within. (Pics)
Continue reading… “Nine of the goofiest gifts in the SkyMall catalog”
Have you seen the Apple commercial showing Santa asking the iPhone’s Siri for guidance? Well, it’s not far off the mark. Seventy-five percent of cellphone users around the globe use their phones for text messaging, in wealthy countries as well as poor ones, according to a new study.
Continue reading… “75% of people worldwide use their cellphones for text messaging”
Friends or frenemies
Why do we add and remove friends on Facebook? Research from NM Incite, a Nielsen McKinsey company, reveals that there are innumerable factors that help Facebook users decide to add a friend or cull someone from the fold, though knowing someone in real life is the top reason cited for friend-ing someone (82%) and offensive comments are the main reason someone gets the boot (55%).
Continue reading… “Why we add and remove friends on Facebook (infographic)”
Touch Screen displays are usually associated with layer upon layer of electronic and chemical components. However, researchers have managed to turn regular old paper into a touch screen display using a sensor and color-changing inks. It could mean the beginning of interactive books, paintings, museum displays or even wallpaper.
Kohei Tsuji and Akira Wakita of Keio University in Japan are behind the new touch screen display, which has color-changing inks printed on one side, and conducting pastes painted on the other side to create an electric circuit. The effect is an interactive display that maintains the flexibility of regular paper (video after jump)…
Continue reading… “Ordinary paper transformed into new touch screen display”
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When it comes to the technologies that will be changing daily life in the years to come nothing focuses your attention on the future like a forecast. Five years in the future, to be exact. IBM’s annual “Five in Five” are thought-provoking, even if they’re occasionally wrong.
Continue reading… “IBM’s ‘Five in Five’ – 5 technologies that will make the most impact in 5 years”
Change your permissions and change your Facebook life.
fPrivacy is a Chrome plugin that lets you granularly opt out of stalker-esque Facebook app permissions like “Post to my wall” or “Access profile info” whenever the app authorization dialog appears. Woohoo!
Creator Chad Selph made the extension because Facebook apps have been too grabby for far too long — taking an all or nothing approach to permissions…
Continue reading… “fPrivacy lets you control Facebook app permissions”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.