As part of my research for this week’s TIME.com column on tech-savvy cars, I got to spend a few days test-driving a 2012 Ford Focus Titanium hatchback that was decked out with MyFord Touch, an advanced infotainment system with an 8-inch color touchscreen, voice input and output, Bluetooth, multiple jacks for hooking up external devices, …
Accessories & Peripherals
Survey: Twitter’s Trending Topics Reinforce User’s Love Of Mainstream Media
Big media still rules when it comes to Twitter, it seems. Hewlett-Packard researchers have been looking into where Twitter’s Trending Topics come from, and the answer may be somewhat depressing to those convinced that the internet is all about democraticizing information.
According the HP report, Trending Topics are all about the …
Can You Be “In Love” With Your Gadgets? Study Says Yes
Plenty of us spend hours using our laptops, smartphones, gaming consoles and other gadgets. They come with us everywhere, and when they malfunction or break, it’s often hard to go on without replacing them immediately. But can you actually be in love with a possession? Researchers at Arizona State University say it’s possible.
It’s …
Immortality Only A Few Decades Away Thanks To Singularity
Raymond Kurzweil takes up to 200 supplements and pills a day to maintain his health. Although he is 62 years old, he estimates that his intense regiment has made him physically 20 years younger. He’s not pursuing a good lifestyle to stay fit forever. He just wants to survive until the Singularity, the event where our technology far …
Meebo Buys New Psychographic Mindset
Ever heard of “psychographic advertising”? Social platform Meebo has – and it’s so convinced that it’s bought a company that uses it, just to help its advertising partners convince you that you really want to buy their products.
Meebo has purchased online ad measuring and targeting company Mindset Media for an undisclosed sum, it’s …
British Supreme Court Approves Tweeting From Court
The British Supreme Court are fans of Twitter, it seems. The court announced yesterday that journalists, legal teams and members of the public will be allowed to tweet – sorry, I mean create “live text based communications” – from the courtroom in most cases that the court hears, because doing so may be in the greater public …
Kraft Scans Your Face To Determine What You Want to Eat
If you can’t decide what you want for dinner, Kraft’s new face-scanning technology might be able to help. Kraft and Intel’s new Meal Planning Solution device, which they hope to bring to a supermarket near you, uses analytics determined from your look to see which recipes you would like to make. Goodbye Grandma’s recipe box. You’ve now …
News Corp. Finally Unveils The Daily
Ending months of rumors, leaks and anticipation, News Corp. and Apple finally launched The Daily today, unveiling what’s likely to be a gamechanger for iPad apps and online news sources alike. The 100-page magazine will be published every morning, with the possibility for updates throughout the day should there be breaking stories, …
TweetDeck Launches Deck.ly For Longwinded Users
Tweetdeck has decided that 140 characters isn’t enough anymore. The company has announced Deck.ly, a new service that allows users to post tweets longer than 140 characters. Similar to the already existing Twitlonger, Deck.ly will let users post longer tweets that will be linked to on Twitter and then available to read in full on a …
Too Many Web Logins? That May Change
Confusion no more! If the US Commerce Department has its way, juggling multiple different passwords for all your different online accounts will be a thing of the past. The department is heading up a plan for a new online security system that will use one single log-in at the start of any session to grant you access to any and all …
What LinkedIn’s IPO Tells You About LinkedIn
Social network site LinkedIn filed for its initial public offering yesterday (even though many think the timing is wrong), and in the process, revealed a lot about the company’s inner workings, and how it sees itself. For example, although the site made $10 million profit in the first nine months of last year – from a total revenue of …
Facebook Makes It Easier For Your Friends To Work For Advertisers
Your Facebook friends are going to start trying to sell you things. The social media giant is rolling out a new format called “Sponsored Stories” that it describes as “a way for marketers to sponsor activities that happen throughout the News Feed,” allowing statuses to be turned into four different types of featured stories for …