How much personal data are we willing to give up for the convenience of prediction?
The biggest change in years in how we interact with computers is happening now. It will mean less input from you. Apps like Google Now, Tempo AI, and others represent the first wave of “predictive technology.” These are apps and services that are smart enough to fetch information for you — before you realize you even need it.
Continue reading… “Predictive technology gets smarter but more controversial”
A screen shows a rolling feed of new generic top-Level domain names that have been applied for.
U.S. officials announced plans to relinquish federal government control over the administration of the Internet last week., a move that pleased international critics but alarmed some business leaders and others who rely on the smooth functioning of the Web.
Continue reading… “U.S. to give up remaining control over the internet”
Experts predict the Internet will become more ‘like electricity’ — less visible, yet more deeply embedded in people’s lives for good and ill.
Continue reading… “Experts predict digital life in 2025”
Letting nature wash the problems of the world away!
Quote of the Day: “If you even dream of beating me, you’d better wake up and apologize.” – Muhammad Ali
Continue reading… “Top 14 Photos of the Week”
What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?
Quote of the Day: “Golf is more fun than walking naked in a strange place, but not by much.” – Buddy Hackett
Continue reading… “Top 14 Photos of the Week”
Smart plug
Smart plugs may be the trojan horse that will bring the internet of things and the smart home to mainstream consumers. But is there enough value in connecting a lamp or a coffee maker to make smart outlets an entry point to the internet of things for mainstream consumers?
Continue reading… “Are smart plugs the gateway to the Internet of Things?”
The Internet affects the economy differently than the new businesses of the past did.
John Doerr, a venture capitalist, predicted in the 1990’s that the Internet would lead to the “the largest legal creation of wealth in the history of the planet.” The Internet has created a tremendous amount of personal wealth. Just look at the rash of Internet billionaires and millionaires, the investors both small and large that have made fortunes investing in Internet stocks, and the list of multibillion-dollar Internet companies—Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Amazon. Add to the list the recent Twitter stock offering, which created a reported 1,600 millionaires.
Continue reading… “The Internet is the greatest facilitator of inequality in history”
Time to change the weather!
Quote of the Day: “Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings.” – Robert Bloch
Continue reading… “Top 14 Photos of the Week”
In the cryptocurrency world, Bitcoin (and Litecoin) garner the most attention, but there are now 83 (and counting) virtual currencies to store your wealth in. Bitcoin’s market cap is over $10 billionis and is by far the highest but we wonder whether the miasma of mimiccers – from Unobtainium to the ironically-named StableCoin and from ‘Philospher Stones’ to HoboNickels – serves to reduce the confidence in Bitcoin as a new method payments, or bolsters it as the clear market winner.
Continue reading… “There are now 83 (and counting) cryptocurrencies in the world”
Nielsen put out its latest figures on the state of the advertising market across old and new media platforms this morning. One big takeaway is that Internet advertising continues to be the fastest-growing medium, but it remains a small player. Global display advertising across the web, mobile internet and apps collectively grew by 32.4% in 2013 — by far the biggest leap of any media — but that still worked out to a 4.5% share of the overall spend in ads. In contrast, television grew only 4.3% but remains the behemoth when it comes to ad spend, taking nearly 58% of the market.
Continue reading… “Internet display ad spending up 32% in 2013, but still just 4.5% of market share”
Marc Andreessen, co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz
By Marc Andreessen: A mysterious new technology emerges, seemingly out of nowhere, but actually the result of two decades of intense research and development by nearly anonymous researchers.
Continue reading… “Why does Bitcoin matter?”
A new dawn of smarter power grid tools is emerging.
Some of the technologies that have been mainstays of the internet are slowly being adopted by the electricity grid, like decentralized computing and smarter distributed systems. A step in that direction emerged on Tuesday from startup Gridco, which after four years has announced its first commercial product: new power electronics and a smart management system for the part of the grid that brings electricity to homes and buildings.
Continue reading… “The power grid is starting to look more like the internet”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.