Category: Culture

Cloud Culture Microsoft

Microsoft is announcing an ‘intersection of cloud and mobile computing’ later this month

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As reported on Engadget. BY SEAN BUCKLEY How does Satya Nadella run a Microsoft press event? We’re about to find out: the company’s new CEO will is coming to San Francisco later this month to talk about “news focused on the intersection of cloud and mobile computing.” The topic certainly plays to his strengths. Before taking the helm as the company’s new chief executive, Nadella played a major role in launching Office 365, Microsoft’s subscription and cloud-based Office platform. While that application…

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Culture Social Networking

The era of Facebook is an anomaly

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As reported on The Verge. By Ellis Hamburger Researcher danah boyd talks about teens, identity, and the future of digital communication danah boyd’s SXSW keynote is sold out. When it’s over, a dozen fans rush the stage. These fans aren’t young groupies hoping to get a closer glimpse at their favorite rock star, but full-grown adults hoping to hear one more word from boyd. She’s one of the world’s sharpest authorities on how teens interact with…

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Business Culture News

Goldman Sachs: Bitcoin Is Not A Currency

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As reported on TechCrunch. by Jonathan Shieber Goldman Sachs thinks that Bitcoin believers need to take a cold shower, drink some coffee, and sober up. In the wake of Mt. Gox’s collapse, the supposed outing of Bitcoin’s creator, and some high-profile arrests, the financial services firm has put together an exhaustive survey of “Bitcoin” and “bitcoin” and ultimately finds the technology promising but the currency wanting. The key takeaway: Bitcoin likely can’t work as a currency, but … the ledger-based technology that underlies it…

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Application Culture

Starbucks app update lets you tip your barista

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As reported on Engadget. BY EMILY PRICE Starting next week iPhone owners will not only be able to buy your triple-venti-extra-hot-no-foam latte using Starbucks’ mobile app, you’ll be able to tip your barista for making it as well. The king of coffee is updating its app March 19th to add digital tipping for the first time and make the app easier to navigate. If you’re not paying attention in line, a new “Shake to Pay” feature instantly loads…

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Culture History

Digging up the brutal truth about Rio de Janeiro’s 19th century slave trade

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As reported on The Verge. By Rich McCormick Brazil, soon to host the soccer World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, is in the midst of a frenzy of construction. Crews in Rio de Janeiro are preparing the city for the future, but as The New York Times says, they’re also discovering the truth about its brutal past. Rio de Janeiro was once a hub for the Atlantic slave trade, and teams of excavators dig into its South American soil,…

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Culture

Searching For The Silicon Valley Selfie

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As reported on TechCrunch. by Danny Crichton There are many benefits to living overseas, but among the most valuable is the ability to dislocate yourself from your timeworn surroundings. The typical cadence of our daily behaviors – driving down 280 every morning or getting a burger at SuperDuper before closing – suddenly and irrevocably disappear, and our minds suddenly become more active in seeking the stability of the regular. That awareness extends to analyzing our previous environment, particularly…

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Culture Tech

Bye Bye Second Screen? The InAIR Lets You Browse The Web And Watch TV All In One Place

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As reported on TechCrunch. by Colleen Taylor Nowadays, many people browse the web at the same time that they’re watching TV — the phenomenon is called the “second screen.” But a new gadget called InAIR from a startup called SeeSpace wants to bring our attention back to just one screen by putting the best of the laptop, the smart phone, and the TV all together in one place.InAIR, which is set to cost $99, works by plugging directly…

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Culture Social Networking

Facebook and Instagram step in with age limits on firearms ads, new rules for sellers

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As reported on Engadget. BY SEAN BUCKLEY For most, Facebook’s “Look Back” videos were a whimsical retrospective covering a decade of social networking. For Moms Demand Action, an advocacy group that supports gun control laws, the nostalgic campaign was a opportunity to be heard. The group published a parody Look Back video highlighting pages and posts that use the social network to set up gun sales between private parties, some of which violated Facebook’s community standards. Now, Zuckerberg and Co.…

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Culture

Doc Brown and Tony Hawk show off a real-life hoverboard (or not)

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As reported on The Verge. By Chris Welch Seemingly out of nowhere, a major promotional campaign for a “real” hoverboard known as HUVr has launched online today. It all began with a pair of bizarre video clips featuring testimonials from celebrities including Tony Hawk, Moby, and Back to the Future‘s own Christopher Lloyd. One clip shows Lloyd delivering the HUVr to Hawk, followed by demonstrations that are “completely real” — at least if you believe whoever is…

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Culture Photography

Camera lowered into deep ocean trench finds unexpected creatures

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As reported on The Verge. By Rich McCormick Scientists have taken their first look into the previously unexplored New Hebrides deep-sea trench in the Pacific Ocean. At the bottom of the trench — a depth of more than 23,000 feet (7,000 meters) — they found a surprising group of creatures, unlike those found in other deep trenches around the world. The expedition was carried out by the University of Aberdeen’s Oceanlab team, in association with New Zealand’s…

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