Offbeat posts

The art of the transaction is one of the first things that made us truly human. We started with bartering, often exchanging cattle and other goods for items that we didn’t have. Over the centuries, it evolved into the use of currencies. Today, money is still there, but the way it is tracked and delivered has changed dramatically. As our friends at Flowtown put it, “For decades it has been theorized that one day we would pay for items by swiping our computer chip-implanted hand over a scanner that is directly tied to our back or credit account. Will this ever be a reality? We’ll have to wait to find out.”…

The digital age has been upon us for a while, but there are certain things that people simply prefer to do the old fashioned way. For many, holding an actual book in their hands is the key to their reading enjoyment. Have we reached a tipping point where e-readers are becoming more popular? Perhaps it’s not a tipping point yet, but it has achieved double-digits. 10% of American adults use some variation of electronic readers with another 12% saying they are likely to buy one in next 6 months. What does all of this say about our reading habits? GOOD tackles the question in this infographic. Click to enlarge….

Teachers have had had challenges since the dawn of schooling to make children learn things that may not interest them. Science, particularly the tougher disciplines such as quantum physics, is an acquired taste. For many, it is flying over their heads and they don’t mind as long as they can make the grade. One tool that teachers have often used is presentation in different mediums. How do you make something more interesting? Give it visuals. Give it sounds. Make it appealing beyond the equations. What Symphony of Science did with their most recent video may not be the answer, but it’s still pretty…

It’s no secret that mobile devices like smartphones and tablets have exploded in popularity over the last 3 years. Apple has sold nearly 30 million tablets in the last year and a half alone. As users get more accustomed to using the devices to make purchases, the promise of a strong mobile commerce system is finally starting to take form. Despite the speed in which it is growing, the industry was supposed to be moving faster. The release of the iPhone and Android phones marked a new venture for companies wanting to cash in on the technology by creating apps that could be universally used. Big dreams…

In case you missed the whole CrunchFund and Michael Arrington vs AOL debacle that has been raging for nearly a week now, the good (albeit weird) folks over at NMA.tv give us a clever digital depiction of the events. They take a minor stab at the fact that after Arrington was fired, he threatened to leave if they didn’t meet his demands. Remember the stapler guy in Office Space? Seems a little similar. …

The promise of the internet that many of us started looking towards a decade or two ago is starting to get realized. When we think back and look at what the potential of the internet held, one of the biggest elements that we imagined was the expansion of communication through direct video chat. Today, there are iPads with Facetime, Skype, Rounds, and other variations of video chat that take our initial dreams and perspectives and enhance them. Our horizons have expanded. This infographic takes a look at 11 of the ways that video chat is being used today to enhance and empower real-world relationships….

It’s a matter of class. Apple and Google have traveled different paths on their road to success. Both have overcome challenges that could have tanked most tech companies in their early (Google) and middle (Apple) days as companies. Both have had strong leadership – Steve Jobs at Apple and most of the executive team at Google – that has kept them on course despite the challenges. Both make good decisions and bad decisions, but it is in adversity that the the true heart of the companies come out. For Apple, they were on the edge of the abyss when they swallowed their pride and brought back Steve Jobs a few…

There are very few environmental perspectives that grab our attention. In 2011, we know we need to recycle, to not litter, to buy green — the basics are already embedded into western thought. It still isn’t enough, as we seem to ignore the “inconvenient truth” about the environment, but there hasn’t been a strong message with actual solutions popping up lately. This video by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a good start. It is thought-provoking and bold, building upon the concept of licensing merchandise rather than purchasing it. When a washing machine goes out, for example, we would return…

In the past, I have been critical of Michael Arrington, founder and former co-editor of Techcrunch, over several issues. I’ve questioned his journalistic integrity (even when he claims he’s not a journalist) and some of the conclusions that he has made in his writing (such as his asinine statement that Digg shouldn’t listen to its users so much; that advice didn’t turn out too well). Still, I have always admired his ability to say what he means and mean what he says, and through the whole Arrington/Huffington/AOLington debacle, he has been in the right. Particularly now. He isn’t asking much….

“Heading out for a Big Gulp and a Kindle,” you might end up saying to your loved one soon. In an eCommerce world where just about anything that people need can be purchased online and mailed to us, logistics and risk of theft of packages left at the door make for concerns, albeit minor for most. There’s the PO Box option, but the post office isn’t always located conveniently. One thing that is located conveniently in many cities across the country are 7-Eleven convenient stores. In an apparent partnership between Amazon and 7-Eleven, these delivery lockers are starting to roll out in Seattle. Geekwire…