via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/nyyFeUbfRbM/
Monday, 29 April 2013
IRL: Skullcandy Crusher headphones and ASUS' G74SX gaming laptop
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/3e8sH9KfKoM/
Beer Mapper App Takes the Mystery Out of Choosing Your Next Pint
Imagine if an app could learn your taste in beer the way Netflix learns your taste in movies. It's coming. Drink it all in.
Beer Mapper is a project by engineering student Kevin Jamieson. The app, when it becomes available, will work a lot like a Hot or Not for beer: It shows you two options and you pick the one you prefer. After you've gone through and picked beers for a while, you'll be able to view a heat map that's supposedly representative of the beers you might like the most.
How does it work? First, Jamieson created a database of beverages for the project by pulling reviews from the 50 most commonly discussed brews on Ratebeer.com. After crunching the reviews, he was able to create a "map" of beers, which is a solid representation of the similarities and differences between beers. From there, all the app needs is for you to input on various kinds so that it can extrapolate your taste. [Kevin Jamieson via CoCreate]
via Gizmodo http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/excerpts/~3/6goR1fO6Qlc/beer-mapper-app-takes-the-mystery-out-of-choosing-your-484447058
Twitter Should Shut Me Down
In August of 2012 I left my job at a startup in New York City. I was 24.
I enrolled in a graduate program at NYU, wanting to study Computer Science and Biology. Two weeks in, one of my professors assigned a homework project that would rapidly turn into a profitable business.
The goal of the homework assignment was to design a system that would create a behavior change in a group of test subjects. The behavior change that I picked was getting people to follow me on Twitter.
I guessed that if I programatically favorited people's tweets, they would get a notification about it, and might decide to follow me. It worked, and it worked well.
Without a thought to Twitter's terms of service, one weekend I created a simple website to sell the homework project as a service. People bought it.
I added the ability for people to target the type of audience they wanted to build, and I added charts so that people could see how many new followers they were gaining each day. I started renting a large cluster of virtual machines to scale the service while staying within Twitter's 'per IP address' rate limits.
When Twitter released its Ads API, I had an epiphany. My company was a Twitter Ads product! Rather than serving promoted tweets, or promoted accounts as impressions, I was serving targeted favorites. I'd re-invented the impression as a one-to-one social action. I built a campaign dashboard to reflect this new perspective, and the product started doing better than ever.
At this point the average value of a customer was $50 a month, and customers were in the hundreds. The margins were phenomenal.
My data showed that the cost of a real, targeted follower on my platform was about 12 cents, versus $2.50 on Twitter Ads. According to my customers (a mix of brands and individuals) the targeting and analytics was better too. I built an API, and then a white-label version of the product, forming partnerships with other businesses.
After returning from a holiday in Australia (my home), I didn't sign up for any classes in my second semester of NYU. I turned down my invitation to Hacker School to work full-time on my company. I was convinced that it was an opportunity that deserved 100% of my attention.
The elephant in the room, whose deafening footsteps I'd been trying to ignore, was my relationship with Twitter and its revenue model. Surely, I was in violation of the terms of service. I noticed new customers sending me messages like "this is so much better than Twitter Ads". Gulp.
The tech news has been awash with Twitter shut-downs lately. I'm sure that my company makes more revenue than some of those whose API access has been shut off to the outraged fanfare of onlooking technorati. Unlike those other companies, I don't have a leg to stand on. I'm directly cannibalizing Twitter's Ads revenue model and doing so on their very own platform.
I've tried to get in contact with Twitter. My hope is to get access to their Ads API, and start making money for both of us. I fully expect that they will shut me down, but I just can't get a meeting. It's ironic that when you want to get caught, you can't.
Republished with kind permission from Myles Recny, the founder of Followgen. You can keep up with what Myles is doing on Twitter.
via Gizmodo http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/excerpts/~3/y_BbaZfGp9c/twitter-should-shut-me-down-484175370
iPhone 5 Vanquishes Samsung Galaxy S4 in Drop Test
via Tech http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/mashable/tech/~3/zfNBTjNBH2Y/
Nest 3.5 update adjusts for humidity and sunlight, fine-tunes fan control
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/YbE8jgysxiQ/
SRI EV1 brings all-electric racing to the Mexican 1000 rally (video)
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Q1B1zCPICRE/
Chat Apps More Popular Than Texting for First Time Ever
via Tech http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/mashable/tech/~3/v1tENv-AXfg/
Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley: All Our Numbers Are Up 10-30% Each Month
Today at Disrupt NY 2013, Foursquare founder and CEO Dennis Crowley denied rumors that growth was stagnant for Foursquare. “I think there’s a little bit of perception that we’re not growing, this is false,” Crowley said. In reality, March 2013 was the best month to date.
When it comes to growth numbers, Crowley started by saying that “[they] don’t talk about growth numbers so much.” But Foursquare tracks the number of active users, monthly sign-ups, check-ins, web visitors, etc. “All of these numbers are up 10-30%,” Crowley said.
Yet, Crowley was very candid about the situation the company is in right now. “We’re not the shiny new thing anymore,” Crowley said. The company is currently trying to become the main location tech company and turn into a recommendation app for restaurants, bars, etc.
“A lot of people understand what we’re trying to do, being the location layer on the internet, but there are a lot of people that don’t,” Crowley said. “People are still skeptical,” he continued.
“We are like that company that quietly pushes out big enhancements,” Crowley said. The company just wants to focus on improving the product and generating revenue, even if Foursquare receives negative thoughts from time to time.
A good part of Crowley’s fireside chat is about busting rumors and stating that Foursquare is a focused company that is on a good path: “we’ve set ourselves up with nice ambitious targets, and we’re set to hit our goals.”
via TechCrunch » Startups http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/startups/~3/kBQacS84dCg/
BuzzFeed's Jonah Peretti Explains If You Don't Like Cute Animal Pics (Hence BuzzFeed), You're Not Human
I want to marry Jonah Peretti. Why? Because he just found a way to rationalize why we look at hundreds of pictures of kittens each day on the Internet during his keynote at TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2013.
“Cats on the web aren’t about the cats,” said Peretti. “It’s about being human.”
Pictures of kittens, and dogs on their hind legs, and baby monkeys and teacup piggies are adorable. Duh. But it’s not about cuteness. Our obsession with photos of animals comes down to our humanity, he explained. The reason we choose to buy and sell dogs and cats and keep them in our homes, feed them, and speak to them like they’re human counterparts is because we see a small piece of ourselves in them.
They are alive, they feel, they see and hear and smell. They get hungry. They get happy and they get sad. In the end, animals elicit an emotional reaction, whether we like it or not, because we can relate to them.
Peretti explained that emotion is part of being a human, and if you don’t feel emotion, you’re probably not a very normal human. It’s like the replicant test from Blade Runner.
But why is this even important? Well, for one, social media isn’t just about gaming the system. It’s about emotion.
We use social media to project our version of social reality and maintain a virtual identity. Peretti referred specifically to a picture of a left-handed artist’s hand that was shared millions of times on BuzzFeed. It wasn’t a particularly interesting picture — it just showed the pencil lead smeared across his hand in true left-handed fashion.
“Only 10 percent of people are left-handed, so this problem doesn’t affect that many people,” said Peretti. “But this photo was shared so many times because it involves identity. Left-handed people feel something for this picture.”
Just like we project these pieces of our identity (and thus, our emotions) into the Internet on a daily basis, we also consume social media content based on emotion as well.
via TechCrunch » Startups http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/startups/~3/suB1BrGNzd0/
Jonah Peretti: Sex Is A Lot More Popular Than Jesus On Google
Today at Disrupt NY 2013, Buzzfeed founder Jonah Peretti took the stage to talk to the audience about how content works on the Internet: What sells, what gets shared and why. Peretti, a journalist, programmer, marketer and founding member of The Huffington Post (now owned by TechCrunch parent company AOL), has long been a student of viral media. Not surprisingly, Peretti’s latest brainchild, Buzzfeed, has turned into publication of record when it comes to Web-born viral content.
Of course, while the publication came to fame thanks to its assiduous chronicling of adorable cats doing people things, under Peretti’s direction, over time it’s transformed into a legitimate news organization, producing real, thoughtful journalism. In his talk today, Peretti started by intoning something we all know well: “People are crazy.”
Things work a little differently on the Internet, “literally” means not what it should mean, but “figuratively,” we do things and act in ways that don’t mesh with how we’d act in the real world. It’s a little like being in a car, really. Peretti says that “we like to of ourselves as having unified, rational selves” — that we have consistent interests, that our behavior can always be explained in normal, neat little ways.
Of course, we’re not really like that, Peretti argues. When we’re out with our college friends, we’re likely to act differently than we would when we’re with our colleagues, or our parents. The same is true for people’s behavior on Google and Facebook. Again, people think they act the same, but really there’s a difference.
When you look at google searches, he saysm perhaps unsurprisingly, “sex is more popular than Jesus on google.” Compare the search terms “diet pills” and “Arab spring,” diet pills win. Obviously, this isn’t what Larry and Sergey had in mind when they started Google.
We use Google to search for secret things, to investigate what other people are saying about our deepest darkest secrets, interests and curiosities. Google Image search is filled with pictures of pets doing hilarious things, while Google search serves up results on the great ocean of porn out there on the Web.
Facebook, on the other hand, is a projection of our social relationships and behavior. Together, they generally represent and are a metaphor for the two ways we use the Internet. On Facebook, the same person who is looking at stories involving nude pics, is also looking at and sharing inspiring stories about victims overcoming disabilities and so on, along with politically-motivated stories.
“On the Web, the emotional quotient is more important than IQ,” Peretti told the audience, these are things that people need to understand when making things for the Web.
Content is about identity, he continued, and capturing that conflicted identity, as well as the emotional nature of the moment.
I wrote something about being excessively tall, tall people loved it. If you’ve been raised by immigrant parents, that’s something that type of person can relate to, want to share and talk about. That’s what you need to be thinking about when creating media, creating content for the Internet.
Peretti’s talk was all over the place, much like Buzzfeed, but also eminently quotable and share-able. For those looking to make the next viral video, make enduring, sharable content, Peretti told the audience not to ignore our conflicted, fractured, sex-obsessed emotional selves.
“If you’re not crazy on the Web, then something’s wrong … Make something for our OCD, narcissistic and ADHD selves.”
Boom slam.
via TechCrunch » Startups http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/startups/~3/HdUQkeOxnq8/
Investor Chamath Palihapitiya Says We're At An ‘Absolute' Low Point In Startup Quality
Chamath Palihapitiya, a former Facebook executive and founder of investment firm The Social+Capital Partnership, said today that the tech world should be “utterly ashamed,” because “we are at an absolute minimum in terms of things that are being started.”
Palihapitiya was interviewed onstage at our Disrupt NY conference. He argued that in contrast to past decades, where tech entrepreneurs were inventing silicon chips, putting computers on every desktop, or wiring the world, we’re now “rehashing ideas from 2003.” He didn’t name a specific company, but when Palihapitiya talked disdainfully about an instant messaging app that allows you to send photos of everything from an apple orchard to your genitalia, and that the message disappears after a short period of time, it’s not too hard to decipher who he’s talking about.
“That was a bad business plan 10 years ago, and it’s a bad business plan now,” he said.
All of this seems particularly frivolous, Palihapitiya said, at a time when people are “dying left and right” and there’s significant inequality: “Everybody should be focused on this big ideas.”
What kinds of big ideas is he talking about? Well, Palihapitiya mentioned a couple of sectors, including health care, but he said he also likes to invest in startups in sectors where “we know nothing,” because then the firm doesn’t have a lot of preconceptions and it learns along with the company.
These issues came up again when Palihapitiya discussed FWD.us, the political advocacy group that he’s involved with, which focuses on issues like immigration reform. One reason why immigration is important — international companies are focused on “higher order problems” while U.S. startups are focusing on “1 percent problems.” FWD.us, he said, is promoting a framework to make sure the country continues “to attract the best,” as well as programs to ensure that kids have a strong technical education.
Everyone should learn to code, Palihapitiya added: “This is the time when people should be building really big, crazy things.”
via TechCrunch » Startups http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/startups/~3/NbOqSybcSlA/
Kingston's MobileLite Wireless is a memory card reader that doubles as a charger
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/ieHGNcOXw2s/
Y con Kepler-61b ya son diez los exoplanetas potencialmente habitables
Impresión artística de Kepler-61B
Con la confirmación de que el candidato a planeta conocido como KOI 1361.01 realmente existe, y rebautizado como Kepler-61b, este se convierte en el décimo planeta extrasolar o exoplaneta potencialmente habitable que conocemos.
Como siempre lo de potencialmente es extremadamente importante, pues se basa en una serie de asunciones según los modelos que manejamos sobre sistemas planetarios.
Kepler-61b gira alrededor de su estrella en sólo 59 días, pero como esta es mucho más débil que el Sol, y asumiendo un albedo de 0,3 para el planeta, siendo el de la Tierra 0,39, la temperatura en su superficie debe rondar los 0 grados centígrados más o menos 13 grados.
Dado que no conocemos su masa, aunque sí su tamaño, unas 2,15 veces el de la Tierra, podría ser un minineptuno o incluso un mundo océano, aunque por ahora no podremos salir de dudas ya que, al menos por ahora, Kepler-61 queda más allá del alcance de nuestros telescopios.
Exoplanetas habitables a 29 de abril de 2013 - The Habitable Exoplanets Catalog - Planetary Habitability Laboratory @ UPR Arecibo
Con estas características Kepler-61b recibe un Índice de Similitud con la Tierra de 0,72 en una escala en la que la Tierra es 1 y Marte 0,64.
Los datos sobre este nuevo exoplaneta están en Exoplanet Characterization by Proxy: a Transiting 2.15 R_Earth Planet Near the Habitable Zone of the Late K dwarf Kepler-61 , aunque Daniel Marín lo explica en cristiano en Kepler-61b, otra supertierra habitable.
No deja de ser curioso que a estas alturas ya nos estemos viendo obligados a acotar las informaciones sobre planetas extrasolares indicando de qué día y que mes son debido al ritmo al que los vamos descubriendo: sin ir más lejos apenas hace un par de semanas que se anunciaba el descubrimiento de otros tres exoplanetas potencialmene habitables.
via Microsiervos http://www.microsiervos.com/archivo/ciencia/y-con-kepler-61b-ya-son-diez-exoplanetas-potencialmente-habitables.html
Google Now available on iOS devices starting today
via Engadget RSS Feed http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/IfRW3CkQ4nQ/
This Pristine Coffee Grinder Looks Like a Jet Engine
A quality grinder is an essential tool in making good coffee or espresso, but they're often known more for their utility than their beauty. The HG-One, though, is a different beast. Its sleek beauty will make you forget how much cranking is involved.
The HG-One requires good old-fashioned human strength to grind beans into fine grounds. Ironic, considering how futuristic the thing looks. Seems like annoying task to do every morning, but good design always comes at a cost.
What about quality? The grinder uses conical burrs, the standard in good grinders. But it's more than just the burr that matters. The construction must be precise, as any play or misalignment can lead to inconsistent grind size and thus sub-par coffee.
Can the HG-One deliver on that front? You'll have to plunk down about $900 to find out. But for now, might as well just sit back and enjoy the view. [HG-One Grinder via NotCot]
via Gizmodo http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/excerpts/~3/ltgIhCGZA3Q/this-pristine-coffee-grinder-looks-like-a-jet-engine-484341263
In 2012, 19 billion chat messages were sent each day across the world—compared to just 17.
In 2012, 19 billion chat messages were sent each day across the world—compared to just 17.6 billion SMS messages.
via Gizmodo http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/excerpts/~3/lZXhirvL56E/in-2012-19-billion-chat-messages-were-sent-each-day-ac-484243111
Benchmark's Bill Gurley: “Uber Is Growing Faster Than eBay Did”
Today at Disrupt NY 2013, Benchmark partner Bill Gurley shared an interesting fact about Uber. “Uber is growing faster than eBay did,” Gurley said. In 1997, Benchmark invested $6.7 million in eBay. It was worth more than $5 billion less than two years later. Benchmark is also an investor in Uber.
“Uber is probably the fastest growing company that we’ve ever had,” Gurley said. He insisted a lot on the quality of the product. If a company builds a good product, it will grow organically.
Benchmark took part in Uber’s Series A and Series B rounds of respectively $11 million and $37 million. Gurley seemed very satisfied with this investment and only had good things to say about the car company.
“The product is so good, there is no one spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on marketing,” Gurley said. eBay and Uber are both consumer companies that have reached a lot of customers in a very short time.
It contrasts a lot with his comments about the past failures of the tech industry. “On the consumer side, the risk is what there was in the late 1990s, with too much money spent on marketing,” Gurley said.
A few days ago, New York finally decided that e-hail services would be able to operate in the city. Last year Uber launched UberX in New York, its e-hailing service on top of regular taxis. But the company had to kill its service because of legislation issues. Uber will now be able to enter the market again, with competition from Hailo, TaxiMagic and others.
via TechCrunch » Startups http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techcrunch/startups/~3/59pVnzll9bg/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)