Technology posts

The Segway was going to revolutionize the way we travel medium distances. It didn’t. Now, there is a new personal mobility device that wants to pick up where the Segway left off. Karen Day at CoolHunting reports that the Solowheel will be available in the US in March. A “self-balancing electric unicycle,” the Solowheel uses gyroscopic technology. Its 1000-watt rechargeable lithium-ion battery powers lasts two hours and can recaptures energy when going downhill. The portability of the device gives it a leg-up on the Segway, which many avoided because of the whole issue with “where do I park this…

When we first started investigating the Internet Kill Switch Bill, we thought it was humorous that it was being reintroduced shortly after the Egyptian government killed the Internet there. Now, to fight the criticism, several tweaks and adjustments have been made, including changing the name from the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act to the Cybersecurity and Internet Freedom Act. We’re still not impressed. According to Michelle Richardson, legislative counsel for the ACLU, ”It still gives the president incredible authority to interfere with Internet communications.”…

As businesses continue to get more involved with social media as part of their branding, marketing, and customer relations, most are hiring “social media managers” to be their voice in Web 2.0. It’s a growing trend that many have said will burst in the coming years. Is it real? When search engine optimization became important to businesses a few years ago, we didn’t see many companies hiring SEO managers. Most would simply hire firms to handle it for them. Social media appears to be different, most likely because it’s less technical in nature than SEO (even though some of the best in that industry…

Nissan generated plenty of buzz from the launch of the all-electric Leaf, the world’s first mass-marketed family sedan EV. But at the Geneva Motor Show, Nissan will unveil a new electric vehicle that’s sure to turn even more heads. The Nissan ESFLOW is an all-electric sports car concept that employs the same technologies installed in the Nissan Leaf. But unlike the Leaf, the ESFLOW features two electric motors that power each of the rear wheels. The car’s laminated lithium-ion batteries are also mounted low to achieve the best possible weight distribution. These differences, according…

Sony was, at a time, the most well-known name in consumer electronics, but the company has lost its mojo. It has been relegated to the middle of the pack while a company by the name of Apple shines brighter than ever. But does Sony have a plan to regain its former glory? I’m not going to claim to know what that plan is, but I believe they do have a plan that the intend on executing in the next few years to put the company back on the map in innovation. If I was the CEO of Sony, these four steps would be the key to regaining our former glory. Sony does have the power and resources to accomplish these goals. But the question…

Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Eric Schmidt walk into a bar. The bartender says, “Hey, I’m Barack Obama.” Not funny? That’s because it wasn’t really a joke. The setting will likely not be a bar, but the four leaders of arguably the most influential entities in the world will be meeting on Thursday with other business leaders in San Francisco. Will the sheer gravity of the event tilt the world on its axis? Throw in GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt and it just might happen. “The president and the business leaders will discuss our shared goal of promoting American innovation, and discuss his commitment to new…

Unlike other ‘old media’ establishments like newspapers or the music industry, the movie business has been hit less dramatically by the rise of the web – despite the fact that piracy is rampant. Even though revenues from DVD sales have continued to decline, box office receipts have, at the very least, kept up with inflation. Unlike the catastrophic losses at places like Universal Music, people who make films are still doing relatively okay. But that’s not to say there isn’t trouble ahead. In fact, as Paidcontent reports a recent study put out by PriceWaterhouseCooper suggests the movie biz might…

If you want to hear the bright side of a company, you ask the CEO. If you want to hear the challenges, you ask the COO (unless the company is failing, in which case you ask the CFO). If you want to hear the truth, you talk to the CTO. That’s exactly what the BBC did last week when they asked their customary three questions of Facebook’s Chief Technology Officer Bret Taylor. His reply was not only telling, but very likely a major revelation about where Facebook (and more importantly, people developing on the Facebook platform) is going in the very near future. What’s the Next Big Tech Thing in Your Industry?…

Gadgets and toys have been a staple of true “geekdom” since the dawn of the being-a-geek-is-cool era. We’ve chronicled many devices that geeks desire, but this one is special. It’s not a question of whether or not you want one. You do. It’s a question of whether or not you MUST have it. Skynet will be ordering them when they rise. RC masters already have it as a centerpiece of their arsenal. Watch the videos below and decide: are you a true geek? …

The thing that truly sparked the initial growth of eCommerce has become the greatest point of abandonment on sites that try to sell us stuff. The online shopping cart – a once cool and integral part of the retail end of the Internet – has devolved over the years to cause many to walk away from shopping from their computer. What happened? “What didn’t happen” is the better question. It hasn’t changed. What once made things easier has failed to improve in functionality and ease and as a result, more people “bail” from the shopping cart page than any other on retail websites. People find products, prepare…