Archive for the ‘News’ Category
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.
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.
[Image: ]
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
Special Deliveries
Want to get your hands on James Franco's package? Two California outfits, The Thing and Quarterly.co, will mail you (through the Postal Service!) delightful, whimsical gifts curated by the likes of Miranda July, Dave Eggers, Jonathan Lethem, and, yes, the enigmatic one himself. Here's how to sell analog twee to a nation of tweeters.
As , the United States Postal Service is facing some of its toughest challenges in decades with estimated losses of and the House of Representatives approving . And while this is terrible news for every birthday boy and girl waiting for a crisp $20 bill in a card from grandma, for the rest of us life goes on. It goes on in the digital insta-verse: faster, more efficient, better for trees, sure, but also a smidge less wonderful? Who, after all, doesn't still get a tingle up their spine on those very odd days when a package (not from Amazon or Zappos) is there when they get home from work?
Zach Frechette, founder of is hoping to bring a little wonder back to your mailbox by launching a subscription service for physical artifacts. For a $25 fee, subscribers receive packages every three months that have been hand selected by Quarterly Co. partners like Siobhan O'Connor and Alexandra Spunt, co-authors of the book and , a senior editor at The Atlantic, reflecting each contributor's sensibilities and passions. While none of the contents have yet been announced, they will range from curated consumer products to specially made objects sent directly to subscribers the old-fashioned way.
"We spent the last decade moving as much of our lives online as we could, and we're better for it," Frechette, the former editor of GOOD Magazine, tells Fast Company. "But we've also learned in that time what things the Internet can't replace, and the value of tangible things that happen in the real world. For all the innovation that exists in the world of messaging nothing holds a candle to the raw emotional impact of getting something personal in the mail. That is an experience unparalleled in the digital world."
Quarterly.co isn't alone in the nascent objects subscription business. , launched in 2007 by San Francisco artists Jonn Herschend and Will Rogan, brings together contributors like , who designed a word-art window shade, and , who created a limited edition "Brad Renfro Forever" switchblade in honor of his friend, an actor who died of a heroin overdose in 2008. Dave Eggers and Mike Mills (the filmmaker and July's husband, not the R.E.M. bassist) are being tapped for future issues. Annual subscriptions for The Thing are $200, and, according to Herschend, the subscriber base hovers around 500, with a brisk business of non-subscriber one-off sales. Want that Franco switchblade? It can be yours for $650.
Part of the appeal of The Thing is right there in its name: The very thingy-ness of the mystery objects its subscribers receive. "We're both visual artists into the tactile sense of objects that we consider," Herschend says. "Everyone has a stone that someone gave them. To the rest of us, it's not that interesting, but to each of us it is."
Patricia Maloney, a subscriber to The Thing since its inception, says
she sees the service as a gift that keeps on giving. "When an issue is
due to arrive in the mail, it's like the week before your birthday when
you were a kid and you know a present is on its way from your favorite
aunt, the cool one who really gets you," Maloney, 40, the Berkeley-based
director of the online art magazine , tells Fast Company. For Maloney, many of The Thing's issues are more than mere art objects. She proudly uses the from This American Life contributor Starlee Kine and the
designed by artist Chris Johanson. Her husband, Smitty Weygant, even
goes so far as to wear issue 7, a pair of eyeglasses printed with.
Frechette summoned similar feelings of personal connection and nostalgia while launching Quarterly.co in Los Angeles. In an introductory Tumblr post headlined "," Frechette recalls the pleasures of receiving a care package at summer camp from his mother, an expert at hiding contraband in seemingly mundane sundries.
"An Aspirin bottle was filled with Skittles; a deck of cards was carefully packed with chewing gum; a container of talcum powder was full of Pixie Stix dust; and a stuffed bear had been gutted to house a cache of--wait for it--Gummy bears…This package, and the ones that followed, transformed my summer from one of drudgery and despair to one of clandestine fun and ill-gotten popularity."
The first Quarterly.co is already sold out, but Frechette plans to add more subscriptions soon. Reading about his mother's incredible care packaging, one is tempted to wonder if she'll ever be among his roster of future contributors. "I'm working on getting her," he says. "But she's a tough sell."
[Images courtesy of The Thing]
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Verizon Sues FCC (Again), Spotify Offers Private Listening, Guardian Invaded By Protestors, IBM Worth More Than Microsoft
On Friday, as Kim Hart reported for Politico.com, Verizon filed an order with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to stop proposed by the FCC to "preserve the open internet." The rules would force internet service providers, including fixed broadband and mobile, not to block consumers from accessing lawful content, apps, devices and services. If enforced, these rules would mean Verizon or AT&T, for example, could not block the use of Google Voice or Skype on their networks. --LK
. The music-streaming service announced that members who do not want their listening habits shared with the whole world through Facebook can now enable a private listening mode. Those of us who still want to broadcast our love for Modest Mouse or The Lord of the Rings soundtracks will not be forced to keep quiet. --KO
--Updated 10:55 a.m. EST
. As revealed by several Twitter status updates, it appears Kurdish demonstrators have broken into and occupied the offices of the Guardian newspaper in London to protest the treatment of Kurdish people in the Middle East. The Guardian "has ground to a halt" according to one tweet, while implies the situation is calm. --KE
--Updated 10:15 a.m. EST
. Samsung lawyers in Australia have taken steps towards settling their cross-continental tablet dispute with Apple, by offering their Apple counterparts a deal. The details of the deal have not been disclosed, but it could allow Samsung to launch and sell their Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, the Washington Post reports. --NS
--Updated 9:20 a.m. EST
HP may sell their ex-Palm division and webOS to Amazon, VentureBeat has heard--following the recent HP announcement it was quitting the mobile business. Word is, the redundant webOS developer could find a home with Amazon, which recently joined the tablet race with its newly launched tablet, the Kindle Fire. --NS
. For the first time since 1996, shares have carried the company past , in top tech company rankings. According the Bloomberg, the company's market value rose to $214 billion as Microsoft's dropped to $213.2 billion, giving IBM the lead by a shade. Apple continues to maintain a strong lead as the world's most valuable company, with a market value of $362.1 billion. --NS
. Half a billion
messages fed a study that showed that the Internet, and Twitter in
particular, is a rich resource for social scientists studying human
behavior. Researchers put a half billion tweets through a word analytics
program, and looked for mood-associated phrases, pegged to time of day
and location. They found that people woke up cheerful but turned
grumpier as the day wore on in the fall, though the opposite was true
for the spring. --NS
. Email and web app services on mobile cloud service, MobileMe, were inaccessible for many users for some hours on Thursday evening and Friday morning. Update: The Service was restored early Friday afternoon. that 75% of users were shut out of their MobileMe mail service. They should get used to it, though: Apple plans to shut down its MobileMe service by the end of June 2012. --NS
Updated 6:00 a.m., and 5:30 p.m. EST
[Image: Flickr user ]
: Google Amps Up Analytics, Facebook Spartan En Route, Playbook Cuts Prices To Keep Up With Kindle Fire, and more.