Category Archives: Technology

Read 500 words per minute with Spritz

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As college students, our teachers are constantly pushing us to stay on track with the readings from our textbooks, and time after time we end up attempting to cram the 100 page readings in the night before our midterm. Whether you are a procrastinator or one of the few that do keep up, there is a new app that is revolutionizing the reading process. Software developer “Spritz” not only might make us want to read to try out the new software, but help us remember the content that we are reading. Continue reading →

Spotify Acquires Music Intelligence Company, The Echo Nest

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What’s new in music news? 

Spotify According to a press release published by the company yesterday, Spotify has announced that it plans to acquire The Echo Nest, a “leading music intelligence company.” The acquisition will now have us seeing Spotify using The Echo Nest platform to “drive music discovery” and aid brands in building “amazing music experiences for their audiences.” Additionally, the deal will likely prompt some changes to the status quo.

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Marriage: Commitment Comes With Passwords?

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Do couples share too much of a connection?

Do couples share too much of a connection?

It’s a fact, couples share. They share food, laughter, experiences and smiles. But does sharing a password to your email and social media accounts sound ethical?  Well, many already do and this trend is continuing to grow. Today, many couples use digital communication and technology in order to enhance their relationships. In other words, digital technology has become a dominant force in the communication between partners. Continue reading →

Apple’s CarPlay is Making a Mark on the Auto Industry

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Apple CarPlay descriptionFirst it was the auxiliary cable, next USB ports, then a slight upgrade to bluetooth capabilities and now CarPlay, Apple’s new in-car software coming to automobiles this year. Dubbed the “smarter and safer way to use your iPhone in the car,” CarPlay will display the basic functions of the iPhone right on your car’s dashboard instead of holding your iPhone in front of your face or using a finicky phone mount.

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Japan’s Technological World takes a Toll on Birthrates

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Japan is a country known for its innovative gadgets. But is it worth the price of a declining population?

Tokyo, Japan, known for its face paced lifestyle is the world leader in technology. This country has more Nobel Prize winners than any other country and leads the pack with thousands of researchers who dedicate their lives to coming up with the next big thing. Although Japan’s technological successes are impressive, its population is taking a toll with birthrates decreasing to “1.3 children per women” and it will keep declining in years to come.

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Time for Twitter to Reinvent Itself

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As Twitter falls behind in the social media realm, other companies and products are rising to the top. Will Twitter be able to adapt and reinvent itself to be a top competitor?

Social media and technology are constantly changing and developing to do more and reach wider audiences. Twitter has seen dramatic declines in the last three years. Though its growth spread to an impressive 140% increase in 2011, that growth has diminished to a mere 40% overall. Can Twitter rise from its ashes and rebuild itself? Continue reading →

Is Shopping Online the Safest Way?

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Online ShoppingSitting in class each day, I easily see over twenty people, mostly girls, scrolling through different online shopping websites. I always wonder if they are actually buying things, or just browsing to pass the time. This unremitting search seems to have become an addiction, and whether people are buying items or not, this habit serves as a major advertising mechanism, as well as a means for companies to compile information about these personal shopping habits for later use.

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How a recent ruling against net neutrality is cramping Netflix’s style

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The words net neutrality have been thrown around a lot lately, but you may not have realized this failing fight may actually be affecting you. Net neutrality is the idea to stop internet service providers from deliberately throttling services to certain websites. In laymen’s terms, this could mean a lot of buffering, and possibly suffering, for streaming service giants like Netflix and it’s customers (i.e. you!).

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MakerBot’s New Mini 3D Printer Makes a Big Splash

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MakerBot, known for its desktop 3D printers, has just announced its newest and most affordable model yet.MakerBot 3D Printer: Replicator Mini

MakerBot announced in a press release on Tuesday that the company is now taking orders for the MakerBot Replicator Mini Compact 3D Printer and is expected to start shipping by spring. This newest product is already the winner of four awards from the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show, including the CES 2014 Editors’ Choice Award from Popular Mechanics. What’s all the buzz about? Continue reading →

Moov: The Next Generation of Fitness Bands

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Wearable Technology Enters the World of Personal Training

Wearable technology is a broad term for devices and gadgets that can be worn by a consumer and are used to make every day activates easier.  Both fitness bands and smartwatches have become very popular among the mainstream audiences. Moov, a brand new fitness band created by an ex-Apple engineer, will change the inaccuracy that has come to be expected by other fitness bands and act as a personal trainer for its owners.  Yesterday, Moov was launched through an already successful  crowd funding campaign. Continue reading →

New Disney App Opens the Vault

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Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures created a new app suitable for iOS, that enables a subscriber to purchase films that are stored in the infamous, Disney Vault. This new app connects with iTunes so the user can download previously purchased Disney, Marvel and Pixar films, or buy a new one.
 

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Have Touchscreens Replaced Toys?

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TouchscreenSay goodbye to Toys-R-Us, with technology advancing at the speed of light, the young generation is resorting to touchscreen devices to play with “toys”. As more devices offer free toy apps, toddlers are replacing toys with touchscreens. Children are no longer begging their parents to buy them the newest beanie baby or cabbage patch doll, it’s all about the iPad. Traditional toys are moving their way out of the clutter in the playroom. Continue reading →

Home Delivery Turns Roam Delivery

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Volvo introduces “Roam Delivery:” A service allowing packages to now be delivered to your car instead of being missed at your home.

It’s happened to everyone: rescheduling an important meeting at work to make sure you can sign for an important package coming home, or missing the coveted Christmas present you bought for your parents because you weren’t home when it was delivered. Volvo has found a way to meet the marketing demand of the masses by introducing “Roam Delivery.”

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFKoPOhSI6A]

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Banksy and Social Media

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Art and Social media take on a new role

Art takes on many different forms and social media helps get an artists name out in the public. One famous documentary called “Exit through the gift shop” is an example of this phenomenon. The documentary follows the life of Thierry Guetta, an ambitious French man eager to capture the underground world of graffiti with his camera. He begins following the most famous graffiti artists like Shepard Fairey, the creator of the Obama Hope poster and the infamous Banksy.

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Endorsements in the Online Community

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Popular vloggers have a connection with their followers and have more influence and attract certain audiences. Like vloggers, businesses cater to their own specific audience and, by employing prominent members of the online community to endorse their product, the company can create a following online and produce viral campaigns. Continue reading →

Selfie360 app puts a new spin on selfies.

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It’s simple: flip the view on your smartphone, hold it at a high angle, turn to your best side, and with a click of your button there you have it, your own piece of social media’s most popular brand of self-indulgent narcissism — the selfie. Just when you thought the age of the selfie had reached its apex, Selfie360 puts a new spin on last year’s most popular digital trend.

Taking your selfie to a whole new dimension Selfie360, the newest development from Egos Ventures, transforms any selfie from dull to animated. Slightly narcissistic and even more ingenious, welcome the latest addition to apps capitalizing on our selfie obsession.

From the makers of Cycloramic, an app that automatically rotates your phone hands-free, Ego Ventures used this same technology to create Selfie360 an innovative app for photographing your best side from every side. This app brings your digital self-portraits to life by showing yourself in 3D or in a full 360 degree panorama of your surroundings.

Panorama animated Selfie360

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Let’s Tango–Google Launches a New Project

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Project Tango dances onto the scene. 

Say hello to Project Tango, the newest brainchild from Google. According to The Verge, Google has created an Android smartphone prototype that “will learn the dimension of the rooms and spaces just by being moved around inside of them.” Google is reaching out to professional developers to take the technology a step further. Continue reading →