Month: July 2014

Digital Puglishing, Donna Murdoch, Tech Software

Being a Better Online Reader

Authors, instructors who provide digital text, and the “cut and paste” chart mentality of medical students all point to a new era of reader – the online reader.  There are many who claim that when digital information is the source, readers are unprepared to address basic problems.  In other words, reading e-text is not as qualitative as traditional text.  This article is from The New Yorker.  “While the backgrounds of the writers varied, a theme began to emerge: the more reading moved online, the less students seemed to understand.”

via Being a Better Online Reader – The New Yorker.

Donna Murdoch, Future, Tech Hardware, Tech Software

On the Internet of Things, your body is the next thing to be networked

The Internet of Things is likely to be bigger than any device – iPad, iPhone – because there is nothing it won’t apply to.  This article discusses one particular wristband and its capabilities, but we are at the very beginning of what will soon be very common.  Our biometric data, passwords, authentications, learning competencies, the lights we want on in our homes and the times the heater should turn on.  It is all going to change dramatically, and soon.  “At a recent demonstration in Toronto, a biomedical researcher slipped on a wristband and waved it at a laptop, watching as the computer recognized him and unlocked itself. Then he handed the same wristband to his research partner, who put it on and tried the same thing—but this time, the laptop didn’t respond.”

via On the Internet of Things, your body is the next thing to be networked.

Donna Murdoch, Tech Hardware

iStick Is a USB Thumb Drive for the Latest iPhones and iPads

 

This will be a game changer for many of us.  Especially for iPads, which are used more and more often as a substitute for a laptop – being able to use a memory still will make things much easier.

“…late next month, a small California company plans to introduce an actual iOS-compatible thumb drive called iStick. It’s specifically designed to move files in both directions between computers and iOS devices that use Apple’s current charging and syncing port, which is called the Lightning connector. It also allows you to view or play the files right from the drive itself, so you don’t have to transfer them and take up space on your target device if you’d rather not.”

via iStick Is a USB Thumb Drive for the Latest iPhones and iPads | Re/code.

Donna Murdoch, Future, New visions

As UberX and Lyft Get Cheaper, Should You Sell Your Car?

After spending time in an Uber-friendly city, I can see how this would be an option.  Article from Big Think.  “Two industry disruptors, Uber and Lyft, are changing the way people commute in urban centers. This summer, the companies are rolling out new pricing schemes meant to outfox established taxi companies. “The price cut amounts to 20 percent in New York and 25 percent in San Francisco and Los Angeles. By the company’s math, that leaves the price of a ride lower than that of a taxi in New York, and in other cities the price is now significantly lower.””

via As UberX and Lyft Get Cheaper, Should You Sell Your Car? | IdeaFeed | Big Think.

Digital Puglishing, Donna Murdoch

Why landing pages need to be built specifically for mobile

It’s always surprising to arrive at a site on a smartphone that isn’t optimized for mobile.  This is what it should look like.  It’s from TECHi.  “In the world of marketing, it’s becoming abundantly clear that for lead generation and sales, landing pages far outperform standard website pages and even homepages when it comes to conversion. This has been a growing trend for years and it’s showing no signs of slowing down any time soon. With these two facts in mind, it’s a mystery why so many marketing companies build landing pages that are not optimized for mobile conversions.”

via Why landing pages need to be built specifically for mobile | Techi.com.

Donna Murdoch, Tech Hardware

Customizing Your Tech to Minimize Stress

Does more technology cause more stress, or less?  I could argue that being available and knowing I’m not needed is less stressful than not being available and not knowing.  But it does seem most people perceive tech as a stressful intrusion.  This article from The Big Think sums it up.  “At the end of the day, stress doesn’t come from technology but rather how we approach technology.”

via Customizing Your Tech to Minimize Stress | IdeaFeed | Big Think.

Donna Murdoch, Future, Tech Software

MIT Spin-Out Luminoso – Analyzes Social Media Conversations Across Languages

This is amazing technology in every way.  Crowdsourcing opinion and analyzing it regardless of language could have unlimited application.  “The company says it can cull through millions of communications collected from social networks and websites by its customers, identifying shifting sentiment, picking up subtext and translating slang. And the text analysis technology works in English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Chinese and Japanese.”

via MIT Spin-Out Luminoso Raises $6.5 Million | Re/code.