August 2011 – My Blog

Could you survive a weekend at the gadget-free hotel?

For many in western society, being connected has become a constant state of being. We carry our smartphones everywhere. We have our tablets or laptops available at all times. We spend much of our free time connected to the internet in one way or another. Gadgets have become an integral part of our daily lives.… Continue reading Could you survive a weekend at the gadget-free hotel?

Twitterpalooza

With much of the social media focus lately being on Facebook and Google+, Twitter has not received as much buzz as normal. The site continues to grow and influence, particularly in aggregation and breaking news. This infographic breaks down what they’re calling “Twitterpalooza” and offers some insights into recent events that have happened on Twitter,… Continue reading Twitterpalooza

Cleverbot, squared

Cleverbot is a novelty AI program designed to mimic human interaction and allow people to “talk” to it conversationally. It is often clever, sometimes funny, but mostly random. Here, Igor Labutov, Jason Yosinski, and Hod Lipson of the Cornell Creative Machines Lab put two cleverbots head-to-head to and let them converse. They argued. They went… Continue reading Cleverbot, squared

Inkling sends freehand sketches to your computer

Wacom is the undisputed leader in making tools that allow freehand art to become digital graphics. However, Wacom tablets don’t replicate the same feel as sketching on a pad of paper. After all, pen (or pencil) and paper is more for fluid and portable than a bulky Wacom tablet. However, with Wacom’s new Inkling, digital… Continue reading Inkling sends freehand sketches to your computer

TMI: Why sharing too much on social media is worse than we even thought

It’s a trap. Yes, here comes a conspiracy theory. Get your tinfoil hats on, quickly. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ are designed to encourage us to share information. They want us to share our lives through their networks. They want us to share what we find to be interesting whether we… Continue reading TMI: Why sharing too much on social media is worse than we even thought

Thanks to science, boarding a plane may get faster soon

It wasn’t the airlines or the government that come up with a scientific, algorithmically-based method for speeding up the boarding of a plane. It was an astrophysicist named Jason Steffen who came up with the “Steffen Method” with uses the Monte Carlo optimization method of calculating to bring us the technique. A few years ago,… Continue reading Thanks to science, boarding a plane may get faster soon

And just like that, the daily deals era may be over

There is much truth in Ben Parr’s Mashable story about the end of the “Daily Deals Era”. The end of Facebook Deals last week was viewed as a benefit for sites that specialize in the arena such as Groupon and Living Social, but now it might have sparked another question: what did Facebook learn that… Continue reading And just like that, the daily deals era may be over

Android, iOS approach 70% combined smartphone market share

The drive towards domination of the smartphone market continues for Apple and Google as they approach a combined 70% choke hold. Symbian is all but non-existent, holding on to just under 2%. Microsoft has been unable to break the 6% barrier but hopes that they will be able to do so with the release of… Continue reading Android, iOS approach 70% combined smartphone market share

The social media litmus test for hiring

Social media is often a paradox. For many, it’s the convergence of our private lives with public access and scrutiny. As a result, many companies are starting to use social media as a litmus test when hiring the same way they use criminal background checks or credit checks. Companies can now legally compile information about… Continue reading The social media litmus test for hiring