Monday 31 March 2014

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Harry-potter-spin-off-trilogy

Author J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. have revealed that a Harry Potter spinoff will be released as a trilogy


Fans first learned of the spinoff in September, when Rowling announced she was writing the screenplays for a series of films.



Rowling, who released seven main Harry Potter books between 1997 and 2007 and inspired eight subsequent films based on those novels, is adapting her book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to create these three new "megamovies." Rowling's Fantastic Beasts, published in 2001, is also a fictional textbook used at the series' magical school, Hogwarts Read more...


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Katerina Kamprani is a talented architect and 3D designer living in Athens. She is a great dreamer and...



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Drip Maple Syrup

The beautifully minimal Drip Maple site and Maple Syrup packaging stopped me in my tracks. Refreshingly modern.



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Manchester hosts public data-capture project

Citizens of Manchester are to form a community group to capture and share data so that open data products can be designed.



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Anish Kapoor: Symphony for a Beloved Sun catalogue


Anish Kapoor's first major solo show in Germany was accompanied by a handsome catalogue stained with red oil and designed by UK studio, Brighten the Corners. It has just won them the Grand Prize at the Tokyo Type Directors Club...






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Ten years of the James Dyson Award

As the James Dyson Award opens for entries, we look at what happened to previous winners.



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Branded Rain: The Hottest Fake Thing in Marketing

Rain.jpg




Call it Smell-O-Vision on an ethereal level. The driving rainstorm that suddenly has whiffs of french fries and top notes of fine Corinthian leather? It’s no freak of nature. It’s Brand Drops.


It’s not real – well, not today, anyway –- but Publicis Seattle has dreamed up an experiential marketing tactic for a straight-faced but obviously gag-filled video that asks questions like, “What if a raindrop could do more?”


The world’s first branded aromatic rain was developed, so says the vignette, by Publicis and the “scientific community.” Here’s how it works: just seed regular old rain clouds with a distilled, odiferous version of your brand. And voila –- make it rain Cinnabons! Read more...


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30% of U.S. Adults Use Facebook for News, Study Says

Facebook-news-chart

Social media permeates everything we do, so it's no surprise that it's also changing the way we consume news


A new study from Pew Research shows that out of the 64% of American adults who use Facebook, nearly half (30%) use the social network to keep up with news.


On YouTube, 10% of U.S. adults use the video platform to get news, while only 8% look for news on Twitter.



While these percentages, compared to each social network's overall user base, are impressive, they're still small portions of the U.S. adult population. Still, as digital and social media evolves, we can expect social news consumption to advance alongside it. Read more...


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Smartphone kill-switch tech could save consumers $2.5bn a year, research claims

Research published over the weekend estimates Americans could save around $2.5 billion a year by cutting spending on phone insurance if manufacturers and carriers were forced to implement kill-switch technology in newly sold handsets.


The post Smartphone kill-switch tech could save consumers $2.5bn a year, research claims appeared first on Digital Trends.






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The Many Faces of Gmail: A 10-Year Retrospective





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Piet Hein Eek and Roderick Vos collaborate with disadvantaged makers for Social Label initiative


Dutch designers including Piet Hein Eek and Roderick Vos are brought together with workshops for makers with disabilities in a new initiative called Social Label (+ slideshow). (more...)






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World’s First Airborne Wind Turbine


An enormous helium-filled wind turbine will soon float over the city of Fairbanks, Alaska to..(Read...)






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Here are the latest rumors swirling around the 2014 Apple MacBook Air

Apple is due for a new MacBook Air, and the rumor mill is in full churn. This time, however, some of the speculation makes sense. Here's what we've heard about the new Air - and what we think will actually happen.


The post Here are the latest rumors swirling around the 2014 Apple MacBook Air appeared first on Digital Trends.






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Smart skin patch knows when you need your meds





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Android is the most stable mobile OS, says new report

How often your favorite apps crash can vary depending on the type of device you're using, the operating system it's running, and even where you are in the world, says a new Crittercism study.


The post Android is the most stable mobile OS, says new report appeared first on Digital Trends.






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An ancient virus may be the reason human stem cells can transform





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Bizzby Raises $10M From Hedge Fund To Take On TaskRabbit In UK

On-demand services marketplace Bizzby has raised $10 million, and claims to have reached 40,000 users its first three months of operation this year with a smartphone app resembling TaskRabbit-style services. The investors was undisclosed but sources say the investor is a US-based Hedge Fund with over $25B under management. Bizzby offers on-demand access to tradespeople such as cleaners, plumbers,… Read More





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Compilation Video Of Influential Visual Effects In Movies From The 1980S Onwards.


This is a compilation video of influential visual effects in movies from the 1980s onwards...(Read...)






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Awesome tech you can’t buy yet, for the week of March 30, 2014

Check out our roundup of the coolest crowdfunding projects and product announcements that hit the Web this week. You can't buy this stuff yet, but it sure is fun to gawk!


The post Awesome tech you can’t buy yet, for the week of March 30, 2014 appeared first on Digital Trends.






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Saturday 29 March 2014

Study projects 4K will expand like HD, only faster

Research by Parks Associates points to 4K's similar tracing of HDTV's popularity/price trajectory — except, this time around, 4K is projected to reach HDTV's current level of affordability and ubiquity at an accelerated pace.


The post Study projects 4K will expand like HD, only faster appeared first on Digital Trends.






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Apple celebrates scientific and medical potential of iPad through stories





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See-through iPhone Patent Will Help You Walk and Text

Walking-and-texting1

Apple has a solution for the 12% of people who approve of walking and texting — heads down and eyes glued to their smartphone, even if a tall man in a bear suit offers hugs to stop them.


On Thursday, Apple secured a patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a "transparent texting" technology that would allow users to see what's in front of them while looking at their iPhone.



The "transparent texting" technology would replace the white background in the iPhone Messages app with a live video image from the device's rear-facing camera. After the user turns on the feature, they'll be able to see exactly what's behind their iPhone. Whether that would still cause accidents — because more users would text more often — is open to debate. Read more...


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Friday 28 March 2014

In the Details: Building a 3D Sketchpad That Lets You Draw Objects in Midair

Gravity-3DSketchpad-1.jpg


With the rise of augmented reality (AR) technology, virtual reality headsets like the much buzzed-about Oculus Rift aren't just for playing games in a simulated universe—they can actually help industrial designers do their jobs, too. Four students at the Royal College of Art recently suggested how with Gravity, a 3D sketchpad that they debuted at an RCA exhibition last February.


Right now Gravity exists as a functioning prototype—and it works pretty much exactly how you would imagine. Users don virtual reality glasses and then draw objects in space above the Landing Pad, a handheld glass platform. This space above the Landing Pad is called "GSpace," and it can be comprised of a single drawing or multiple ones. By rotating or tilting the Landing Pad, the user can control the plane the drawing exists on and build out the drawing, much like adding details to a real object in space.


Gravity works by integrating several tracking technologies to be able to pair and synchronize all of the different elements of the system together with the AR glasses, so that the 3D-generated content is overlaid on top of the user's vision in real time. The team has a patent pending on its innovation.



The Gravity team—Guillaume Couche, Daniela Paredes Fuentes, Pierre Paslier and Oluwaseyi Sosanya—is currently finishing the beta software and looking for manufacturers for the Landing Pad and the pen. Users will have to provide their own virtual-reality headsets; the developers have been working with AR glasses by the French company Laster, but they're aiming for universal compatibility. "We have recently made our software compatible with Oculus Rift and we are looking into making it work with all the leading-edge AR glasses on the market (that is, with on-board camera and LARGE field of view for immersive AR)," the Gravity team writes in an e-mail. "Gravity is a tool where augmented and virtual realities can be exploded as creation tools. This is why we are trying to make it available for as many platforms as possible. Our idea is to become the universal platform for 3D sketching in AR."


(more...)



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Scientists just took a major step toward making life from scratch





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IBM to Invest $100m in User Experience Consulting, Hire 1,000 Employees across Ten Interactive Experience Labs Worldwide

IBMInteractiveExperience-AstorPlace.jpg


Long before the likes of Facebook and Flickr co-opted the color, the original Big Blue had established itself as a giant in a different era in tech. A perennial fixture of "most valuable brands" lists, IBM is pleased to announce that will be committing over $100 million to "globally expanding its consulting services capability to help clients with experience design and engagement." The Armonk, NY-based company is capitalizing on its strength in the Big Data with plans to open IBM Interactive Experience labs in Bangalore, Beijing, Groningen, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, New York, Sao Paulo, Shanghai and Tokyo.


In short, IBM is making a major foray data-driven service design, a nod to a broader definition of product as experience or interaction (a.k.a. the shift from physical to digital, hardware to software, etc.). Shannon Miller, a Global Strategy Leader at IBM Interactive Experience, shared more details on their vision for what the future holds both for IBM, its clients and the end user.


Core77: We've witnessed the rise of service design (i.e. experience design) as a discipline in its own right, what makes this a good time for IBM to make this major investment in this area?


Shannon Miller: We have seen growing client demand in the marketplace around experience design capabilities and the front office transformation—and this market only continues to grow as consumers continuously look for the next best experience. IBM is the only company that can bring research, creative and design skills together with data experts and a traditional consultancy to solve our clients' biggest problems. We see this demand globally and wanted to expand our reach to create centers around the world where we can collaborate and co-create with clients to develop innovative solutions.


To what degree is this data-centric approach to experience design an extension of the company's long history in the computer industry, and to what degree is a new frontier for IBM's strengths?


Technology is becoming ingrained into the DNA of every business and personal interaction, especially in today's customer-centric world, and IBM is helping clients understand their customers as individuals through the use of Big Data. While this certainly is an extension of IBM's 100-plus-year history and commitment to design, IBM researchers within IBM Interactive Experience invented unique algorithms that conduct the analysis for new capabilities—Intelligent Customer Profiles, Influence Analysis and Customer Identity Resolution. These join an existing portfolio of data-driven capabilities including Life Event Detection, Behavioral Pricing and Psycholinguistic Analytics.


IBM Interactive Experience is an industry first—a management consultancy and systems integration company combined with a digital agency powered by data and research. IBM Interactive Experience drives insights from data—including information on individual decisions, choices, preferences and attitudes—to transform the customer experience.


(more...)



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Miniature glass sensor could turn any digital device into a primitive camera





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In the future, simply holding your phone may charge it up

In the future, we all become batteries. A study conducted by Peking University found that the human body can be used as an electrode to charge a phone.


The post In the future, simply holding your phone may charge it up appeared first on Digital Trends.






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Cryostasis isn’t sci-fi: surgeons will soon use suspended animation to revive gunshot victims

After years of careful testing on animals, surgeons at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburg will soon begin using suspended animation on humans. Learn more here.


The post Cryostasis isn’t sci-fi: surgeons will soon use suspended animation to revive gunshot victims appeared first on Digital Trends.






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BBC - Newsbeat - Billboard announces Twitter-based real time charts





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Amazon Exploring Free Streaming Content Service, Report Says

Watching-tv

Amazon is reportedly considering a free streaming service that will feature video and music, a move that would put it squarely in competition for digital advertising dollars.


The offering, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, would be a new direction for Amazon, which had been bundling its media offerings with shipping discounts through Amazon Prime, which now costs users $99 per year.



As the WSJ notes, Amazon's detailed consumer data could make it an appealing destination for advertisers, but the paper's sources noted that the project was not guaranteed to make it to customers. Amazon has a track record of experimenting with a wide range of ideas, some crazier than others. Read more...


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Facebook Will Use Drones and Lasers to 'Beam' Internet to the World

Drone-facebook

Facebook plans to use drones, satellites and lasers to deliver Internet to the world.


After announcing Internet.org last year, an initiative to improve Internet access across the globe, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the Connectivity Lab, a new team of scientists that has been working on the ambitious project. He said that the Connectivity Lab would develop "new platforms for connectivity on the ground, in the air and in orbit," according to a post on Internet.org on Thursday.



"Connecting the whole world will require inventing new technology," Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post announcing the Connectivity Lab. Read more...


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UK’s largest covered skatepark by HTC and selfridges



located within an old hotel building, the scheme features free public skating alongside events curated by some of the industry's largest brands and magazines.


The post UK’s largest covered skatepark by HTC and selfridges appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.






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BBC News - Big Data: Would number geeks make better football managers?





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Office For iPad Is A Hit: Word Jumps To #1 In US, Excel To #3, PowerPoint To #4

Microsoft built it, and they came: Office for iPad is enjoying a big first day, with Word for iPad becoming the most popular app for the device in the United States just five hours after it went live. Data for the newly released Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps is still somewhat unfilled given the youth of the apps, but what is out there looks good. PowerPoint, for example, is the fourth most… Read More





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Radio Is Still the Most Popular Way to Find New Music, Study Says

Radio-chart

With the rise of services such as Spotify, Pandora, iTunes and countless others, it's clear that digital music is booming. But when it comes to music discovery, new listeners bypass these apps and tools for a class device — the radio.


According to a new report from Edison Research and Triton Digital, AM/FM radios remain the most popular method of finding new artists. Word of mouth via friends and family is the second most popular, with YouTube nabbing the third spot.



The data is based on a survey given to 950 Americans older than 12, who said that staying up-to-date on music is "very important" or "somewhat important." Read more...


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Philips Shines Light on First 3D-Printed Smart Lamp

Dragonflytafel-paris

As 3D-printed objects and smart home technology become even hotter product categories, it makes sense that Philips is rolling out an app-controlled 3D-printed lamp.


Philips announced a collection of new products on Friday — from a new app-controlled light bulb to a kinectic-energy-powered light switch — but we're most entranced by its 3D-printed lamp line.



The lamp comes in two styles that work with the company's Hue line, the Entity (pictured above) and the Tempest (pictured below, in pendant form). Users can create lighting effects using more than 16 million color variations on the lamp and control the settings via an accompanying app. Lighting can also be programmed based on the time of day and personal preferences. Read more...


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Wearing Google Glass makes you look like a dick on a Segway, says designer Marc Newson





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Thursday 27 March 2014

The solar panels of the future could be grown from bacteria – Quartz





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Candy Crush addicts come clean: 'Life's too short for sliding candies around'

Candy Crush users spent $493m in 2013, leading to burned retinas and empty wallets. We scoured the web for tales of your app addiction


The number of glassy-eyed, finger-swiping Candy Crush Saga users who live among us is staggering: 93m people play this sweet little app more than 1bn times per day.


To be an addict, by definition, is to habituate to something compulsively or obsessively. Candy Crushers can be found riding trains and buses around the world, missing their stops, tripping onto platforms and wandering into crowds of people. They're sitting at the desk next to you, heads down, twitchy fingers trailing set of jelly-looking fruits. They search for quiet places to play, away from kids and spouses, and find themselves locked in the bathroom, trying not to drop the phone into the bathwater. Perhaps you are reading this with a blush of recognition.


You are not alone. I deleted this after two months as noticed I was becoming obsessed with it and that my language had negotiated - I had started swearing at the mobile! I missed it for a day.


I too am free. I started to realise that spending countless hours on this hateful game would be something I would actively regret on my death bed. With my heart in my mouth I pressed delete. I've never looked back.


It's like any other addiction - you control it, or it controls you. I play it - am on level 406 - but I have strict rules: I don't spend any money on it, and I don't ask my friends for lives (though I do give them if they ask me). That limits the number of lives I have, so limits the time I can play it, and then I pick up a book. Books - now there's a tricky addiction...


My sister is at level 410 and is calling it "pretty normal in Hong Kong". Somebody needs to call the WHO. Thanks to you asking this question, I've just quit, just before reaching level 100. Thank you for helping me, please let me help you in return. Delete the app. Press and hold the icon, little "x" top left corner. It's going to threaten you, saying that it will delete all your data, it's okay. It's just "data". You can do it. I just did, thanks to you. Yes your friends ( the ones you want to keep ) have quit too. You are right. Life really is too short for sliding candies around. DELETE, MOVE ON, spend your time on something else. Try Code Academy, get a book. "The lowland" by Jhumpa Lahiri was really good. Paul Auster's "Invisible". "What the dog saw" by Malcolm Gladwell is a shorter, easier read.


Tell your parents you spent $700 of their money on the game like I did. I was never allowed to play after that


i finally kicked my candy crush obsession...with clash of clans


You guys, I kicked my #CandyCrush habit, only to become addicted to mofo #TinySheep New life goal: run a real life sheep farm #OCD #AppAnon


Twitter cured my Candy Crush addiction




















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