Lifestyle posts

The concept of “Factory Outlets” was a brilliant one. For better or for worse, they are dying a rapid death thanks to the internet and the rise of “Flash Sales” in particular. Originally, factory outlets were designed to sell 2nd-grade products directly to the public. The first known outlet store was Dexter Shoes. Founder Harold Alfond knew that not every shoe made at his factory was suitable to sell to distributors so he attached a store directly to his factory and opened it to the public in the 1960s. Since then, outlet malls and other retail settings offer companies a venue to sell last year’s lines,…

One of the most important ongoing stories in tech for 2011 was the incessant legal maneuvering between Apple and Samsung. The patent wars have crossed the globe with battles being fought every day in different countries and over different patents. Both sides have had major victories. Both sides have suffered devastating losses. In the middle of it all, a new type of infringement popped up on the internet this month. MacRumors noted that the ad (below) “feels a lot like an Apple iPad ad” but what they didn’t notice is that Samsung used the same young actress that appeared in an iPhone 4S commercial….

Blogging can be rough (from a #firstworldproblems perspective, at least). You’re constantly being attacked for your opinions, bashed for your mistakes, and ridiculed for your presence as one of the biggest failures on the internet. I deal with it every day. Sometimes, it’s hard to muster the gumption to put words on the screen. As a parent, the education system in America has also been a source of angst. The list of problems with schools, parents, and the students themselves often makes me want to be a homeschooler. It makes it more difficult knowing that the internet offers so much potential as…

In the movies, it always start innocently. They are designed to help humans, to do the mundane or difficult tasks that are better suited for non-sentient robots rather than men and women. In the end, they always turn on us. Hopefully, the folks at the Swiss Federated Institute of Technology in Zurich are keeping that in mind as they develop the system for the Flying Machine Enabled Construction project. The video below displays where they are as of now in this first public demonstration: “The installation, called “Flight Assembled Architecture”, was conceived and built by teams led by my colleagues…

I’ll never forget when my boss at the time showed me his shiny new Windows Phone. I liked the interface, the feel of the hardware itself, and the responsiveness of the internet even on the (dreaded) AT&T network. I nodded politely and congratulated him on his bold move away from the norm (something that he does often). I figured he’d have an iPhone or Android to replace it by the end of 2011. It wasn’t the technology. It was the apps. I didn’t believe at the time that Microsoft was being aggressive enough encouraging developers to fill their marketplace the way that Android had. iOS needed no encouragement…

Tech exploded this year. There’s little to argue that gadgets and gizmos, social media and apps all had huge years as everyday life moved a step closer to becoming completely tech-driven for many in western society. What can we expect to see growing as the next big thing in 2012? That’s the question that our friends at GPlus took on in the infographic below. From group buying to crowdfunding, the trends of 2011 showed winners and losers in the tech industry for what they really were. 2012 should show no less of a boom. If anything, the explosions will be even louder. Click to enlarge. …

Big races, big crowds, and big bets have been associated with Opening Day at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, CA, for decades. Traditionally opening the day after Christmas, the biggest names in horse racing converge to start the new season. This year, there’s a bit more attention falling on the track from two different industries: entertainment and technology. From the entertainment front, the upcoming HBO series “Luck” starring Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte will bring in patrons eager to see where the series, debuting in January, is being shot. Here’s the trailer for season 1: More importantly,…

The internet took us by storm and changed the way we live our lives. Social media came along and had nearly the same type of impact. In business, it could be argued that social media is the biggest paradigm-shifting element that has come along in a decade, even more important than ecommerce. Has the way that we use social media completely changed the way that we see and interact with advertising? We certainly hope so. Advertising a business has always been about broadcasting a message to a wide-range of people. It’s always been about exposure, branding, and penetration. Today, thanks to social media,…

Steve Jobs has touched the lives of people everywhere in the world. His influence is unquestionable worldwide and we can expect to see many tributes created for the many since his death earlier this year. The first known statue was unveiled in Budapest, Hungary, where a life-size bronze rendition of the Apple Inc co-founder shows him in traditional jeans and a turtleneck addressing an invisible crowd. The statue, commissioned by GRAPHISOFT founder and chairman Gabor Bojar. Hungarian artist Ermo Toth sculpted the piece and was present as it was unveiled in front of the GRAPHISOFT headquarters….

Technology and science often move faster than the money and logistics required to implement it. Such is the case with malaria, a parasitic disease that causes high fevers, shaking chills, flu-like symptoms, anemia, and eventual death. There has been a treatment available since 1989 but the disease spreads faster than the drug can be distributed. Is there a vaccine around the corner that can stop this killer once and for all? According to research performed by the World Health Organization and Assay Depot, there just might be. It’s still in the final stages of clinical trials, but Mosquirix is…