Lifestyle posts

There has been a recent uproar about Facebook’s “Tag Suggestions” feature that takes people’s faces, attempts to recognize them, and suggests tags for them that their friends can add to any image. It’s been called creepy at best and an attack on privacy at worst. A successful Google+ launch could be a major challenge for Facebook already, so the timing of the latest controversy is bad for the social network. This breakdown by ZoneAlarm shows us how the technology works and gives us interesting information surrounding the controversy. It then dives into ways that privacy-conscious users can…

Technology has been integrated into paying tribute to lost loved ones for some time now at funerals and on memorial websites, but Israeli medical technology executive Yoav Medan has brought technology to the final place of rest for his mother by adding a QR Code to her gravestone. “I was most concerned about 20 or 40 years from now, how will she be remembered … [I wanted to put] what’s in our memory into a place that doesn’t forget,” he said. Scanning the QR Code with a mobile device takes visitors to a website where he plans to grow with stories and images of his mother’s life. It was engraved…

Those who have watched the evolution of Netflix over the years are probably aware that the company has done an excellent job of keeping current and having their products reflect the current times. That has slowed lately as the movie rental company seemed to have been stuck in a rut, offering few changes when they seemed appropriate. The rut is over. Netflix today announced that they would be changing their plans and pricing to “better reflect the costs of each” and to give more relevant choices. Here’s the breakdown of the new monthly pricing: Mail 1 out at-a-time: $7.99 Mail 2 out at-a-time: $11.99…

In many ways, social buying was inevitable. Once eCommerce started really taking off last decade followed by the growth of social media, the two seemed destined to come together like chocolate and peanut butter. We trust each other more than we trust companies and the concept of using power of groups to buy in bulk while still being an individual has always been appealing. Thus, social buying was born, and it’s expanded tremendously over the years. This breakdown by our friends at Flowtown takes a look at the short but loaded history of social buying. Click to enlarge. …

The last few months has seen mobile device payments skyrocket. As consumers move in droves to smartphones and companies create more “wallets” that use mobile screens and other technologies to register payments, the history of money appears to have a new chapter. Barter, coins, paper, plastic, and now smartphones – what’s next? This graphic by our friends at Gplus breaks down the direction and evolution of smart phone mobile payments and gives us a clear understanding of where the industry appears to be going. Click to enlarge. …

The demand to make viral videos is skyrocketing. Animals, babies, and special effects flood YouTube daily in videos made by companies and marketing firms in an effort to get views and exposure for a brand. One tried and true method of getting views is through skin. Sex sells. We just didn’t know it sold video game accessories. The clever folks over at  xtendplay is trying to do just that with the satirical report of a recent “Nude Gaming Party” in New York City. The video, somewhat NSFW, has over a million views on YouTube and highlights the fictional subculture of XBuffing – playing games “in the…

The amount of available talent in several technology industries is not keeping up with the demand in recent years. As new and even old technologies continue to embed themselves deeper into our day-to-day lives, many companies are proactively going after talent wherever they can, including from competitors. Such is the way of the tech talent war of the 21st century. This graphic by Udemy breaks down what’s happening and why. Who’s winning? Who’s losing? What will happen in the years to come as more people get training and education in technical fields? Click to enlarge. …

It’s the kind of experiment that seems like it was hatched for a satirical spoof video, but the results were anything but funny. Home Plus, the 2nd largest grocery chain in South Korea formerly known as Tesco, needed to increase their market share without building more stores. The idea they had was simple and elegant, albeit completely offbeat and somewhat insane. “Let the store come to the people.” They created virtual stores to make grocery shopping something that could be done without while performing other duties such as waiting in the subway. With lighted billboard visualizations of the…

We can dream, right? This video of unknown origin (comment if you know, please) presents a not-so-unrealistic view of what the toilet of the future may look like and how it may operate. Granted, it’s unlikely that you’ll be brewing a cappuccino or grilling a panini from the throne, but having everything relatively automated is simply not too much to ask. As ICanHasInternets puts it, “It’s fake, but nothing about it is impossible. Funny, maybe, but not impossible.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. …

There are two potential winners in South Korea’s recent announcement that they would be moving to a completely-digital curriculum model by 2015: students in the Asian country should win and the country’s homegrown tablet-maker Samsung is likely to win as well. The government has committed to spend $2.4 billion to buy the equipment and digitize all of the material. They intend to roll it out to elementary schools by 2014 and across the entire education system the following year. While there was no mention of Samsung, it is highly unlikely that the contract would go to any other company outside…