Which way do you sway?
Several years ago, Alan McConchie created the Pop Vs. Soda project that attempted “to plot the regional variations in the use of the terms “Pop” and “Soda” to describe carbonated soft drinks.” I wonder if usage has shifted over time.
Who is on top in the mobile information world right now?
Mobile devices are shifting many individual computing behaviors, perhaps none more significant than how we search for and receive information. Right now, it’s moving at warp speed. In between the time I finish this draft and its posted, it’s entirely possible another company or service launches in this space. Every time we “swipe open” our mobile devices, we seek out dopamine hits from receiving new emails, texts, notifications, or other bits of digital media. A good chunk of this current mobile activity revolves around the personalized search and Q&A space, which leverages these behavior in new ways.
By now, on traditional computers, we know how to find the information we seek, whether via sites like Google, Wikipedia, or through social networks. On mobile, however, our information needs and habits shift. On the go, we typically want smaller bits of information quicker, usually calibrated to our location. We are less likely to engage in longer discussion, and more likely to add questions in the hopes that machines, crowds, or some combination can produce relevant information. This shift has opened the floodgates of activity in the personalized search and Q&A space, with an impressive number of new applications vying for user attention in a crowded marketplace…
Birth control affects more than previously thought.
Women who use contraceptives like birth control pills experience memory changes, according to new UC Irvine research. Their ability to remember the gist of an emotional event improves, while women not using the contraceptives better retain details.
“What’s most exciting about this study is that it shows the use of hormonal contraception alters memory,” UCI graduate researcher Shawn Nielsen said. “There are only a handful of studies examining the cognitive effects of the pill, and more than 100 million women use it worldwide.”
She stressed that the medications did not damage memory. “It’s a change in the type of information they remember, not a deficit.”
Continue reading… “Birth Control Pills found to affect memory”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yixhyPN0r3g[/youtube]
The United States has joined forces with Britain to investigate a hi-tech new way of producing ‘clean energy’ – not from wind or waves, but from firing huge arrays of high-powered lasers at pellets of hydrogen.
Continue reading… “U.S. and Britain join forces to produce clean energy from ‘laser fusion’”
Many Americans have to postpone retirement.
Many Americans are reaching their 60s with so much debt they can’t afford to retire. Before retiring most people would pay off their debts. But as wages have barely kept up with rising prices over the past 35 years Americans have pushed debt higher, living beyond their means. Now, people are postponing retirement, cutting living standards or both.
IBM is developing “skyscraper” computers using huge sandwiches of silicon chips.
Get read for next-generation computers and smartphones that are up to 1,000 times faster than the systems you use today. Computer maker IBM is developing “skyscraper” computers using huge sandwiches of silicon chips by sticking layer after layer of chips covered with tiny components together. The process, for which IBM has roped in glue maker 3M, will make PCs and smartphones up to 1,000 times faster than the existing ones and are expected to be available in market by 2013.
Regional accents are the hallmark of who you are and are a tie to communities.
The United States is an international melting pot and the average American makes a dozen moves in a lifetime. And regional accents are alive and well in America. ,William Labov, a professor of linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, says, in fact, regional accents are becoming stronger and more different from each other although it’s not entirely clear why.
Continue reading… “Regional accents in the U.S. are getting stronger”
What should children in K-12 be learning today?
Anna Padte: I am giving a talk next week on Education in the 21st Century. When parents think about their child’s education, K-12, it is often focused on the goal of getting to a good if not excellent college. In updating my research for this talk, I dug deep into the future of American higher education and came upon some gait-stopping ideas.
Continue reading… “Will “going to college” become obsolete?”
How long is too long?
How long do links on the Web live? URL shortening service Bit.ly charted the average lifespan of 1,000 popular links on its website and found that most links shared online don’t live very long. Indeed, people stop clicking them after about 3 hours (if a news-related link, then after just 5 minutes)…
Do you fit the profile?
Norton put out a study on cybercrime, deducing that people who fall victim to acts of real-worl crime, such as burglary or robbery, are also more likely to have their identity stolen or fall victim to a phishing scheme…
Continue reading… “Real-Life Crime Victims are also more likely to be victims of Online Crime”
Think you’ve got a bad commute? IBM feels your pain. The tech giant surveyed over 8,000 commuters in 20 cities around the world to find the city with the unenviable title of having the worst commute on Earth…
Continue reading… “Cities with the worst commute in the world”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxQQV-XukRc&hd=1[/youtube]
Marty McFly’s self-lacing Nike trainers from Back to The Future Part 2 were the envy of 1980s school boys. Now versions of the famous futuristic sneakers are being made available to buy.
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.