Sausage stylus for the iPhone now on sale in the US originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Case Crown | Email this | CommentsGoogle (GOOG) now lets users crunch public data with the snazzy data visualization tools it acquired when it bought Trendalyzer from the Gapminder Foundation, the company announced today.
Public Data Explorer is a new product in Google Labs that lets users create interactive charts like the one shown below using data sets from the World Bank, the U.S. Census Bureau, and a handful of other agencies.
There isn't all that much data in there just yet, and the interface is fairly primitive, but this looks like it could be a useful tool going forward as more agencies' data is incorporated.
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We have to start this with a disclaimer - the following is not the end of photography as a profession!
There is a new Web 2.0-ish website out there, Fiverr.com, and it is based on a simple, market-based concept: $5 tasks! "Experts" are offering their "expertise" for $5 per task, and thrifty low-cost-labor hunters are requesting things to be done for $5.
We checked the website for photography, and while we did not (yet?) find a $5 wedding photographer, there were offers of post-processing (RAW conversion, Polaroidization) and some gray-area stuff (paid links, paid reviews).
On the camera search, we found five hiking pictures in Alaska for $5, while there are no DSLR offers. What? No "I will tell you which DSLR to buy for $5"? :)
On the free-labor side of things, the most delusional request so far is "I need a quality PHP programmer". For $5? Okay, you can find him standing next to the unicorn, next to BigFoot ;-)
(Via Tech Crunch).
The mobile world is the new digital frontier these days, and a new Apple vs Adobe rivalry seems to be developing. Adobe is making its mobile Photoshop.com application available for Android developers to use in their applications, and in that announcement, points Mobile Crunch, they b*tch-slap Apple for not been able to offer this for the iPhone.
For more on this developing development for developers, be sure to check Techmeme.
Perhaps this is a little bit of payback because as you may recall the iPad ignored the hogware that is known to many as Flash :) Speaking of the iPad, it is expected to make its US debut on April 3rd.
Speaking of the mobile frontier, being a poor blog, we can't afford flashy mobile applications, but we do offer a free full-text RSS feed which you can read on any mobile device that can either read RSS feeds natively or has widgets that can display RSS feeds.
It is official — and it looks like Larry and I won’t be camping out waiting for the iPad. Nope, Apple is making it easy to get the iPad when it is released in just under a month.
Apple just released word that WiFi models of the iPad will be available for pre-order on March 12 and will go on sale on April 3. The WiFi and 3G models will come a few weeks later.
Even better, the devices can be pre-ordered online or at a local Apple retail store starting next week.
The full release announcement below.
via Tech Crunch
Tags: Apple iPad
Thieves use extreme measures to snatch 20 Apple notebooks
LEGO synth has you build your sound
Let there be… nanophotonic avalanche photodetectors!
A first? Muslim woman refuses to submit to airport body scan, not allowed to board flight
Interesting read: the potential of the iPad, from the perspective of a book designer
BookRenter is a solution to the problem of buying books at inflated prices and selling them back for pennies on the dollar to your college books store. Rent your books for a fraction of the retail price.
Click on the image above for a closer look.
BookRenter lets you rent a book for as long as 125 days—the average semester length—or as little as 30. A semester rental is usually about 50% or less of the retail price with the price falling as the length of rental decreases. They give you an option to purchase the book brand new but that's where the deal finding at BookRenter ends—their business model is definitely geared towards you renting and not buying, the purchase price is full retail.
For more places to save on textbooks check out our guide to the best places to save on textbooks. Have a tip for saving on school expenses? Let's hear about it in the comments.
Here are some of yesterday’s stories:
Video: Excellent hand-built, self-powered marble-lifting machine
This Casio G-Shock looks like they dipped it in Pixy Stix (comes with robot)
Canon weather-sealed 70-200mm L… coffee thermos?
Will Valve revitalize Mac gaming with Steam for OS X?
MIT’s teleconferencing robot can interact with, strangle you
LED flashlight records nightvision video
One Flight Attendant’s Answer to the Carry-On Crunch. http://r2.ly/z5us
[Direct Link]Apple (which has recently sued HTC for alleged patent infringements) will launch a new iPhone this year, possibly in June or July.
At the moment, no one knows exactly what the 4th generation iPhone looks like or what new features it will bring. Of course, we’ve seen some iPhone 4G concepts, and there are lots of rumors regarding the new smartphone’s specs (AMOLED touchscreen display, 5MP camera, more memory and so on).
Here’s another iPhone 4G concept that comes from Italy.
The creator of this new iPhone 4G concept sees it as having multiple color versions, a front-facing video calling camera, 32GB or 64GB of internal memory, and MicroSD card slot.
The black and white versions look pretty nice, and they might actually be close to the real new iPhone, which could be a bit taller than the iPhone 3GS.
Via Mobile Crunch
Here are some of yesterday’s top stories:
Throw away those Baby Einstein DVDs
Music Planet: Ball-shaped, water-proof MP3 player for your bath tub
Muitos brasileiros estam comprando televisões especificamente para A Copa do Mundo
Build (or just buy) your own flying hovercraft
Valve understands the internet, quietly launches biggest alternate reality game since “I Love Bees”
Thin, flexible “solar threads” to turn fabrics into power generators
Microsoft Surface could go mobile with this miniature projected version
Video: Alice in Wonderland movie from 1903
Be careful when handling that iBuyPower laptop!
New Panasonic batteries make serious promises (and need serious work)
Yes, Virginia, Google has bought Picnik, an online photo-editing website. And as you can see from the picture at the above blog, the Picnik employees are jumping with joy :) Google already purchased Picasa, a a stand-alone photo-editing software application. and then decided to offer it to everyone in the world for free.
But why exactly would Google buy it? Obviously we can't expect them to tell us upfront :) So it is speculation time! Thomas Hawk speculates that this could be part of a bigger plan that involves Picasa and the new Buzz social service. He also points out that this acquisition has created a rather awkward situation for Yahoo-flickr.
Further Reading and Reactions
+ Tech Crunch asked Google and Yahoo about the "awkwardness" of using Picnik on Flickr
+ Perhaps anticipating this move, the Aviary.com editor became free two weeks ago
+ Read Write Web
+ Google official announcement
The mobile OS running on this old Toshiba TG01 looks like Windows Phone 7 and it mostly acts like Windows Phone 7. But in reality it's a clever user interface skin covering up Windows Mobile 6.5.
Put together by a fellow named LeSScro, this interface tweak can make older WinMo phones pretend that they can handle Windows Phone 7 and will hopefully be made available soon. [Pocket Now via Mobile Crunch]
A million fart app developers must've just started sobbing in hysterical fear as Apple decided to reject an app because it "contains minimal user functionality and will not be appropriate for the App Store."
The app in question, DuckPhone, was developed by Nick Bonatsakis of Atlantia Software and had one simple purpose: To make your phone quack like a duck. For whatever reason, Apple didn't think that was useful enough to an average user and wrote Nick this love letter:
"Dear Atlantia Software LLC,
We've reviewed your application DuckPhone and we have determined that this application contains minimal user functionality and will not be appropriate for the App Store.
If you would like to share it with friends and family, we recommend you review the Ad Hoc method on the Distribution tab of the iPhone Developer Portal for details on distributing this application among a small group of people of your choosing or if you believe that you can add additional user functionality to DuckPhone we encourage you to do so and resubmit it for review.
Sincerely,
iPhone App Review Team"
My guess is that whoever was stuck reviewing DuckPhone really hates Jersey Shore, but the bigger issue remains: Apple's now got yet another completely arbitrary reason to reject an app. [Crunch Gear]
I will reject the "Apple App Store needs to be completely open" idea until people start arguing that developers should be able to make any sort of crappy game or app they want on the XBox 360/PS3/Nintendo Wii without having to run it by Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo or without having to apply for/purchase an expensive license to even get a developer kit. Until then, it's just Apple hate.
- Victor GanataWell, yes. But OTOH MS at least has the Indie games section of the XB Live market, where games are community-rated, not by MS, and you just need the (free?) XNA SDK. And I vaguely understand Sony has some semi-open secondary system too. And Android phones have the option to install non-Market apps.
- Andrew CiPhone OS does include one of the fastest and most open-standards-compliant browsers out there. Native apps are a convenience for most things. There is always that choice.
- LogExFrom what I understand, while you can distribute XNA based games freely in Windows, you have to pay $99/year to distribute them to XBox 360 users. I can't find anything about Sony having a free SDK. As far as I can tell, closed models are the rule among consoles, and realistically, the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad are a lot like consoles.
- Victor GanataTo say iPhone/iPad are more like consoles is a mistake. What makes an android phone not a console while the Apple equivalents a console?
- Piaw NaAh, I had only dimly remembered- Sony supports (?) Linux on the PS3, but I don't think they support using the graphics chip, so you basically won't be making games that way.
- Andrew CThe difference is that Apple waits until you've completely finished your product before denying it. Microsoft (not sure about Sony or Nintendo) has to accept your game at the concept level before you even begin to work on it. If it doesn't get accepted, there's always XNA with the other massage apps. And once it gets posted, they're unlikely to remove it without notice because they decided to change their standards.
- Rob H.Rob H. ++. I think it's really really lame to remove an app that's already approved. If Sony or Microsoft did that you bet there'll be protests. But Apple gets a pass because the net is full of their fanboys.
- Piaw NaR* got both PS2 and Xbox GTA:SA pulled **from retail** thanks to the Hot Coffee incident, which admittedly was due to (sort of) sneaking something by the gatekeepers and there were few if any protests. They resubmitted with the cut content actually cut and that was that. I do think Apple should have rolled out the 'explicit' (or whatever) category first and dumped all the racy apps there rather than pull them for a few weeks.
- Andrew CHere's my favorite bit. One of the 5,000 apps Apple pulls is a Dead or Alive Blackjack game from Tecmo because it contains a girls in a bikini (http://deadoralive.wikia.com/wiki/Girls_of_DOA_BlackJack) . If Sony, MS or Nintendo were to do the same thing to a long established publisher like Tecmo, you don't think there would be criticism?
- Rob H.Android devices are consoles as well, they just have the most open policies. Maybe the problem is that Apple's development process has such a low barrier to entry. Maybe they should have expensive SDKs you have to buy, instead of giving it away for free, or maybe an annual fee to allow release on the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad, so that such things wouldn't happen. Would that decrease the hate? :D
- Victor GanataWhere's the hate? iPhones are still selling like hot cakes, and developers are still writing more apps.
- Piaw NaVictor, I'd have to agree with that. Apple gives the idea of being an open marketplace by accepting a great majority of apps, but get backlash when someone hits that vague, always moving Apple approval barrier.
- Rob H.The geeks shall inherit the sports. Statistical analysis has reshaped how teams in every sport evaluate talent and call plays. But as once-vanguard stats such as baseball's on-base percentage go mainstream (thanks, Moneyball), the box scores of the future will be debated -- and analyzed -- at this Cambridge, Massachusetts, meeting. So what goes in it? One top contender is the UZR (ultimate zone rating), a defensive metric developed by Mitchel Lichtman to gauge how well a fielder saves runs at his position; third baseman Adrian Beltre, signed to a one-year, $9 million contract with the Red Sox, has the second-highest UZR since 2002. No word on Lichtman's USGR (ultimate sports-geek rating), but we're guessing it's very, very high. -- DL
sat, march 06 CRUNCH MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference
Have an event to share? Email calendar[at]fastcompany[dot]comVisit the FC Now Blog or Calendar App for more events.
Pop Crunch has a list of sixteen great dystopian novels. The list, I think, inappropriately incorporates post-apocalyptic fiction wholly into the genre. Still, it has some interesting suggestions for future reads. One that's missing is Ayn Rand's novella Anthem, a marvelous assertion of the dignity of the individual.
I'm at Crunch - Polk Street (2330 Polk St, Union, San Francisco). http://4sq.com/8dN7VO
[Direct Link]I'm at Crunch - Polk Street (2330 Polk St, Union, San Francisco). http://4sq.com/8dN7VO
- tommy payneMiraculously my headphones weren't hopelessly tangled today. #goodday (@ Crunch - Polk Street) http://4sq.com/8dN7VO
- tommy payne
Virtualization giant VMware is set to acquire select technologies from parent company EMC. VMware will be buying up certain technologies from EMC’s Ionix IT management business, including solutions aimed at delivering improved management and deployment of servers and applications in a virtualized data center.
The transaction is valued at $200 million and is expected to close in the second calendar quarter of 2010. VMware will acquire all technology and intellectual property of FastScale, Application Discovery Manager, Server Configuration Manager and Service Manager. As part of the agreement, EMC will retain the Ionix brand and have full reseller rights to continue to offer customers the products acquired by VMware.
EMC bought up VMware in 2003 for $635 million. Although VMware is traded separately it is majority owned by EMC, and therefore must still engage in arms-length transactions. EMC most recently acquired Archer Technologies in January and quite a few others in 2009. VMware says the acquired products will compliment the company’s development efforts in virtualization. VMware just snapped up Zimbra from Yahoo a few weeks ago.
Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors
Each week we round up our favorite posts and recipes from our friends at The Kitchn.
This week, the Kitchn makes cake pops—or cake balls, cakesicles, whatever you want to call them. Essentially it's a frosted ball of smushed cake on a stick!
Also on the Kitchn:
In their January 2010 State of the Mobile Web report, Opera Software looked at social networking on the mobile Web and concluded that Facebook dominated that aspect by a margin throughout 2009, while Twitter was the fastest-growing.
This month, the company looked at Mobile Web search in the United States, and claims Google is – perhaps unsurprisingly – leading the pack.
According to Opera’s report, Google Search accounts for more than 9% of all page views on the mobile Web in the United States, outpacing rivals Yahoo! and Bing, who respectively command 4.3% and 0.03% of all page views.
Opera, as usual, also provided some numbers about the growth of its own mobile browser Opera Mini, and general page view stats.
The company says that in January 2010, 50 million people used Opera Mini, a 7.4% increase from December 2009 and up 149% compared to January 2009. Collectively, Opera Mini users viewed more than 23.3 billion pages last month, up 12.7% since December 2009 and an increase of 208% since the same period last year.
Opera’s servers processed more than 3 petabytes of data, Opera Software co-founder Jon von Tetzchner writes. That’s a gigantic amount of data, and he puts that in perspective as follows:
This means, each month, our servers crunch an amount of data equivalent to the entire repository of the Internet Archive, with a full-size copy of Avatar thrown in for good measure.
Do you use Opera Mini on your phone? What do you use for searching the Web from your mobile?
SMASH: Electric guitar made just to get destroyed, then recycled
Moosshiqk electric motorcycle goes fast, looks silly
Electrical vehicle concepts running rampant
Researchers trying to find out why baby cries
“Magic Flute” audiophile speakers look like jet engines, probably sound amazing
Never one to pass up an opportunity those loons at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals – otherwise known as crazy-assed PETA – have latched onto an image of Tiger Woods and are making it the center point of a new ad campaign.
The billboards; which were previewed today, show Tiger Woods in one of his famous golfer stances along with the words “Too Much Sex Can Be a Bad Thing … For Little Tigers Too. Help Keep Your Cats (and Dogs) Out of Trouble: Always Spay or Neuter! PETA“.
Says PETA Executive VP Daphana Nachminovitch on the unveiling
“Tiger has no formal affiliation with the organization and has not previewed or endorsed the ad but the image and the idea were too good to pass up when it comes to helping find homes for animals who will otherwise be left out in the cold,” PETA Executive Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch in a statement. “People can hit a hole-in-one for their animals by having them spayed and neutered. The millions of cats and dogs born each year in this country without good homes to go to don’t make tabloid headlines, but their suffering is 100 percent real.”
Source: Pop Crunch
The billboard will be going up near Tiger’s home in suburban Orlando. I’m sure Elin is gonna love that.
