Author Archive
Iran Indefinitely Suspends Plans to Launch a Monkey into Space
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Google’s "Sunday Circulars," Facebook’s Expandable Ads, Google Opens "Chrome Zone" Chromebook Store
Breaking news from your editors at Fast Company, with updates all day.
. is teaming up with security company Websense and bring on board a service that will scout out external links on Facebook and check them for viruses and other threats, before users are allowed to visit them. Scam apps and links are plentiful on Facebook, but with Websense taking a first look, users will be warned about websites carrying malware before they click on them. Websense will not have access to users' personal information. --NS
--Updated 9:20 a.m. EST
. A federal court, late on Friday, refused to allow an injunction against in a case begun by Chicago-based Timelines.com, which has been alleging that Facebook's newest innovation will "eliminate" its business. The court dismissed the request, but Facebook agreed to delay the roll-out and the judge allowed Timelines.com to continue to press its suit to try to prevent Facebook rolling out the feature. --KE
--Updated 8:45 a.m. EST
. The EVO 3D, EVO 4G, Thunderbolt and Sensation phones from HTC could have a security flaw that apps could exploit to access the users email addresses, a log of GPS locations, call logs, and text message data. The app could gain access to this information by requesting access to the Web--access that apps routinely ask for. HTC has said in a statement that it is looking into this claim. --NS
. New images from the Foxconn factory in Brazil show a smartphone that looks like a close cousin of the familiar iPhone 4. Reporters for in Brazil who found and photographed the instrument say it differed only in its model number--N90A. That's the codename for what's believed to be a cheaper version of the iPhone 4. --NS
--Updated 8:00 a.m. EST
. SoSasta.com, once 's daily deals service planned for India, has been re-branded. Groupon will now launch their service as Crazeal.com (in beta for now) in 11 Indian cities. --NS
. Navigation is chip-maker 's latest muse. The company has acquired Telemap, a search and content expert in the location and navigation arena, Intel announced in a . Intel's purchase of Telemap, based in Israel, will push along Intel's expansion into the mobile software space, the New York Times reports. --NS
--Updated 6:30 a.m. EST
. The Internet is no longer the only place that is selling their Chromebooks. Google has opened "Chrome Zone" in a branch of Curry's, a UK electronics store, to show off and sell their Samsung-made laptops, which run Google's web-based Chrome OS. --NS
. is set to announce a which will interact with you if your friends have "Liked" the brand. The ad, which will show up as a post from the brand, won't appear in the News Feed, but will expand to let you comment on the posts from the brand, and will display Likes and comments from friends. Facebook will announce this ad at the New York Advertising Week, Mashable reports. --NS
. Best Buy and Macy's are among the first set of companies working with on their new "Circulars." This new kind of ad will go live tomorrow, and are similar to pull-out ad inserts folded into newspapers, Bloomberg reports. --NS
Updated 5:15 a.m. EST
[Image: Flickr user ]
: Verizon Sues FCC (Again), Spotify Offers Private Listening, Guardian Invaded By Protestors, IBM Worth More Than Microsoft, and more.
Visitors Enjoy a Nuclear Amusement Park in Germany
After the sale, van der Most converted the plant site into a theme park and recreation center. Wunderland Kalkar sees an average of 600,000 visitors a year and boasts more than 40 attractions, including rock-climbing on the outer walls of the cooling tower.
In Florida, Ranchers Make Room For The Big Cats Who Want To Eat Their Cattle
Panthers are back. Florida's still-imperiled big cat--one of the largest in the country--has bounced back from just 20 individuals to more than 160 during the last 30 years. But it's now in danger of suffering from its own (modest) success. Southwest Florida cattle ranches, spread over tens of thousands of acres of prime panther habitat, are reporting deaths of calves and livestock. Even big cats think cows are delicious.But instead of the backlash that followed the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park leading to today's hunting season (after stripping them of ) and rhetorical battles between Washington and Western states, cattlemen and conservationists are cooperating. "Florida cattle ranchers understand that a balance needs to be reached between protecting endangered panthers and addressing the financial impacts of losing calves to panther predation," said Russell Priddy, owner of the 9,000 acre : "We will do our part, and we are expecting that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will be responsive to our situation."
The big cats are ranging as close to Miami as Everglades National Park, as seen on this video from a camera in one of the State's water
management districts:[youtube 2o_s3xcFuTw]
This means that the cats are going to increasingly interact with humans and livestock, and those interactions are going to need to be managed. A human death from a panther will hopefully never happen. For the cattle that meet an unforunate demuse, there is a $25,000 fund is being proposed by the FWC and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to compensate ranchers. And the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences will conduct research this fall on the panther's impact on cattle ranching. So far, though, all parties are working together to make panther reintroduction work.If successful, it could lead to a better example for the reintroduction of major predators in their former habitat critical to the health of larger ecosystems across the US, and the world, according to recent studies. With still-endangered roaming from Wyoming to the Great Lakes region, repopulating the East, and a pioneering if threatened population of in New Mexico, small outposts of carnivores coexisting with humans on the continent they once dominated is a good sign for both species.
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Reach Michael J. Coren via or email.
Smart Glass Becomes More Or Less Transparent Depending On The Weather
Windows that automatically change color to reduce heating and cooling bills are the next step of smart buildings. South Korean scientists just got a lot closer to automating them.
About a third of the energy consumed by buildings goes out the window. So efforts to reduce energy use in homes and offices have naturally focused on windows, with varying success. While there are all kinds of smart glass--from to --many are expensive, degrade after relatively short periods, or present environmental problems during manufacturing processes. Many U.S. and research are trying to better these early designs. But one of the most promising pieces of research now comes via South Korea, where a group of researchers say they have developed a simple, inexpensive system with minimal environmental impacts.
Like other smart windows, their proposed becomes more or less transparent according to the light outside, darkening to save air conditioning bills on hot days, and letting in warmth on cold days to reduce heating costs. But unlike other designs, it does so automatically, without users having to use a control to dim or brighten the effect.
Writing in the journal , the researchers claim that by using a polymer, "counterions" (ions with an opposite charge to the substance they associated with) and methanol in layers inside the pane, they can create a low-cost, stable window with extreme switching ability. The glass turns from completely clear to completely opaque in a matter of seconds.
"To our knowledge, such extreme optical switching behavior is unprecedented among established smart windows," they say. "This type of light control system may provide a new option for saving on heating, cooling and lighting costs through managing the light transmitted into the interior of the house." And it doesn't hurt that smart windows will probably impress your friends, too.
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The Wasabi Fire Alarm Won’t Wake Your Neighbors
Every year, an organization called offers up the , a Nobel spoof award that it is given for science innovations "that first make people laugh, then make them think." This year, our favorite entry came from researchers at the Shiga University of Medical Science, who developed something called the wasabi alarm, a fire (or general emergency alarm) that slashes noise pollution but might make anyone nearby feel sick.
The researchers identified the ideal density of airborne wasabi to awaken slumbering people in case of emergency, and then used that information to develop the alarm. The wasabi alarm patent explains:
The odorant receptacle contains an odorant. A concentration of the
odorant in air at which a person can no longer tolerate a strength of
smell is lower than a no observed effect concentration of the odorant.
The drive section causes the odorant to be emitted from the odorant
receptacle. The detector detects occurrence of an unusual situation, and
outputs a detection signal. When the detection signal from the detector
is inputted, the controller causes the drive section to emit the
odorant in accordance with the detection signal.
So if the detector (a smoke detector, for example) senses smoke, it triggers a series of events that results in sleeping home-dwellers being woken up by the overwhelming smell of wasabi. It's probably not too pleasant, but it won't wake your neighbors.
Believe it or not, the wasabi alarm wasn't the craziest idea to be given an Ig Nobel this year. Other winners include a study showing that a certain type of beetle mates with Australian beer bottles, a study looking at why disc throwers get dizzy but hammer throwers don't, and a study looking at how the urge to urinate impacts decision making.
[Image: Flickr user ]
Work Smart: Surviving The Project Plateau
Most ideas never happen because they get abandoned along the way.
Whether you're a lone creative or leading a team in a large organization, everyone can fall victim to the project plateau. It's the moment when the idea that got you excited enough to stay up until 3 a.m. or even quit your day job becomes one monumental to-do list. This is when most ideas, even the great ones, get abandoned.
You can avoid the project plateau with a little discipline. Start by killing your darlings, and creating short-term reward systems that will keep you engaged in a long-term pursuit. I explain how in this video.
[video_twistage 1]
What "short-circuit" reward systems have you created for yourself?
Scott is the author of the national best-selling book and CEO of , a company that develops products and services for creative industries. Behance's products include the , the world's leading platform for creative professionals to showcase their work, and The , a think tank and annual conference focused on leadership and execution in the creative world.
Previously on Work Smart: Overcoming "Reactionary Workflow" To Make Your Vision A Reality