Google+ population is upwards of 10 million users!
July 13, 2011
Paul allen, founder of Ancestry.com and chief executive of FamilyLink.com released a statistical analysis that concluded that the Google+ population reached 7.3 million on July 10th, and will reach 10 million today. Also, he indicated that if Google keeps the invitation button alive, that their user base will reach 20 million by this weekend.
Paul’s not the only one making predictions:
“I predict that Google+ will go from 0 to 100,000,000 users faster than any other service in history,” said Bill Gross, founder and CEO of technology incubator Idealab.
Google+ is El-Googs solution to Facebook and other social networks. This tool has been an absolute pleasure to use even in it’s beta form. We can’t wait until it’s fully released and we can utilize it to it’s full potential. In our opinions it’s what we believe that Facebook should have evloved into over the years. Don’t get us wrong though, there are definite advantages and disadvantages to Google+.
Exciting news none the less. Go google!
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Bioshock: Infinite – Must See!
July 12, 2011
Irrational Games brings a new chapter to the BioShock series, taking you to a floating city in the sky. Bioshock: Infinite is a Q2 2012 first-person shooter VG, and the third game in the Bioshock series.
To be released for Windows, PS3, and Xbox 360 platforms. Infinite, is not a sequel or prequel to any of the Bioshock games that proceeded it. This beautiful looking game takes place in an earlier time period (1912) and completely different setting (a floating city). Though it does have similar game play, concepts and themes.
It looks absolutely stunning and completely engrossing. We can’t wait until 2012!
Check out the full E3 2011 game play demo (above) for BioShock Infinite!
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Nike’s auto-lacing shoes – Rufus hinted to us all in 1989
August 26, 2010
Nike’s looking to make our future a better place with some auto-lacing sneakers. I for one, won’t protest as I still have to recite the following to make it happen:
“You take one lace and make a loop.
Take the other lace and make another bunny ear.
Fold one under the other and there you go!
Tied shoes.”
It looks like Nike filed for the patent in 2009 which shows off an automatic lacing system. The shoes appear to exhibit a charging system/lights, in addition to the lacing component. Now, now, don’t go start jumping up and down just yet…We all know that not all patent applications lead to a real product. BUT I am hoping this one comes to fruition.
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Is your milk fresh?
March 30, 2010
Cravendale, a UK-based dairy, has created a new milk jug that keeps you informed of whether or not your milk is still fresh. The technology used in the jug was discovered by the company’s R&D team while researching the bacteria that actually turns milk sour, and is essentially a unique PH sensor that’s built into its base. When sour milk is detected, a small LCD display on the outside of the jug changes from ‘Fresh’ to ‘Sour’ and if that doesn’t get the message across, it also incorporates an “innovative alarm system” so there’s no question you probably shouldn’t drink it.
There’s no word on whether or not Cravendale plans to actually put the jug into production, but it’s hoped that the technology could one day drastically reduce the amount of milk that is thrown away because people just aren’t sure if it’s safe to drink or not.
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OnLive – Launching June 17th
March 10, 2010
One year after it was unveiled at the 2009 Game Developers Conference, OnLive finally has a launch date. Company CEO Steve Perlman announced today at his keynote at the GamesBeat mini-conference at GDC 2010 that OnLive will go live on June 17. The service will initially be available as an application for the Windows and Mac operating systems, with a micro-console that can be attached directly to HDTVs to arrive later on in the year.
OnLive goes live in the lower 48 stats on June 17.
OnLive’s launch will be limited to the contiguous lower 48 United States, and will cost $14.95 per month. According to the OnLive Blog, the first 25,000 thousand people to sign up will have the service fee waived for three months. (To apply, sign up on the official OnLive site.) Multi-month pricing and other promotions will be announced prior to the service’s debut.
OnLive’s monthly fee does not include the purchase price of games themselves, which can be rented or bought from publishers directly at a lower-than-retail price. Publishers supporting the service with PC titles include Electronic Arts, Take-Two, THQ, Ubisoft, Epic, Atari, Codemasters, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. At the DICE Summit last month, Perlman demonstrated both Crysis and Unreal Tournament 3 running on the service with minimal lag.
The June launch will only be start of the OnLive rollout. The service will offer 1080p high-definition gaming at 60 frames per second starting in 2011. An international launch is also planned for an undetermined date.
For those unfamiliar with OnLive, the service aims to offer lag-free PC gaming via the Web. The company claims that since the heavy lifting of graphics processing will be done on the service’s servers, it will offer high-definition gaming on any PC or Mac, regardless of graphics card or CPU speed.
The addition of the micro-console will also allow the service to be streamed directly onto televisions, without the need for a standard game console. Perlman sees this as a positive, since OnLive games will not be tied to increasingly antiquated consoles. He promised that the OnLive servers would receive graphical upgrades every six months in order to provide the latest PC graphics.
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Facebook launches Facebook Zero, a text-only mobile site
February 16, 2010
Facebook’s mobile-optimized site just keeps getting better with time. The UI gets easier to navigate, the features just keep piling up, and it’s a pretty sweet deal for smartphone users. But what if you’re on a limited data plan, a slow network, or a phone that’s … well, not so smart? That’s where Facebook Zero comes in.
Zero is a lightweight, (mostly) text-only version of the popular social network. It’s designed to make Facebook more accessible, but also as a kind of gateway drug that mobile carriers can offer their users to tempt them into signing up for unlimited data plans and phones with better browsers. Looks like a smart move for both Facebook and whichever mobile partners get on board with Zero.
You can already check it out by pointing any browser to zero.facebook.com. Although you’ll probably get a message saying your carrier doesn’t support it yet, you can play around with it anyway.
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Researchers aim to give surgeons 3D maps, directions of human body
January 28, 2010
While a GPS-style “navigation system” for surgeons may not seem like the best idea to anyone that’s ever been led astray by their dash-mounted co-pilot, it apparently seemed like a good enough idea for a group of researchers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. While they do stretch the metaphor a bit, the group’s TLEMsafe system does provide surgeons with a complete 3D map of the lower body, which can actually be personalized for each individual patient, giving surgeons a reference and means to practice before any actual surgery takes place — and, yes, even an “automated navigation system” during surgery. Coincidentally, some researchers from the University of Colorado have also just announced that they’ve developed a similar modeling system that would give surgeons 3D views of arteries and let them see any blockages up close. It’s even already been tested on patients, while the University of Twente says its system will be ready for clinical trials in about four years’ time.
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