The Freedom Watch

Grand Theft Auto V sales zoom past $1 billion mark in 3 days

"Grand Theft Auto V has crossed the $1 billion sales mark after three days in stores, a rate faster than any other video game, film or other entertainment product has ever managed, its creator Take Two Interactive Inc said on Friday. The latest installment of GTA, a cultural phenomenon that has sparked a national debate on adult content and violence, received strong reviews and racked up $800 million in first-day sales alone. That marked a launch-day record for the Grand Theft Auto franchise which is Take Two's most lucrative and allows players to cruise around a make-believe gameworld based on real-life locations such as Los Angeles." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGrand Theft Auto V sales zoom past $1 billion mark in 3 days

10 Simple Steps to a Billion Dollar Business

"There are some great technology companies worth billions of dollars like photo-sharing website Instagram, and microblogging platform Tumblr. But…that doesn’t make them great businesses either. Mainly because they don’t actually make any money. These two are examples of a great idea that people love, but don’t pay for. But there are a lot of great ideas in the world. A lot of inventions, a lot of smart people coming up with world changing ideas. Some get lucky (like Instagram and Tumblr), some fail and some take years of hard work. For those ideas to become great companies, the pathway to that destination is relatively simple." Continue reading →

Continue Reading10 Simple Steps to a Billion Dollar Business

Google teams with Apple chair to launch ‘health and well-being’ company

"Google announced Wednesday it was launching a new company focused on health and well-being, and hinted at cooperation with longtime rival Apple in the venture. A Google statement said the company called Calico 'will focus on health and well-being, in particular the challenge of aging and associated diseases.' Arthur Levinson, chairman and former chief executive of the biotech firm Genentech and chairman of Apple, will be Calico’s chief executive and a founding investor. Time magazine, which interviewed Page ahead of the announcement, said the details of the project were not yet clear but that it is likely to use its data-processing to shed new light on age-related maladies." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle teams with Apple chair to launch ‘health and well-being’ company

Why the Higher Education System Is Unsustainable (i.e. Doomed)

"That which is unaffordable is unsustainable and will go away. The current system of higher education is profoundly unaffordable: it exists on an immoral foundation of student debt--$560 billion of which is Federal. Enormous expansions of student debt are required to keep the current system of higher education afloat. This chart shows the insane trajectory of Federal student debt. But unaffordability is only one reason why the present system of higher education is unsustainable. Despite the good intentions and hard work of individuals, these systems are broken. Due to their size and structure, large systems such as national defense, healthcare and education limit the impact of individual initiative." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy the Higher Education System Is Unsustainable (i.e. Doomed)

Dozens of British universities join the online education revolution

"Dozens of British universities began offering free online courses on Wednesday through a collective portal, joining a global trend started in the United States that opens higher education to the masses. Pre-registration opened on Tuesday and in one day 20,000 people from 158 different countries signed up — even though the portal site will not be completed for several months. Until then it will run in beta phase, without all the finishing touches, so organisers can see how it works. The scheme brings British universities in line with many of their rivals in the United States, where so-called massive open online courses (MOOCs) are hugely popular." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDozens of British universities join the online education revolution

Yahoo Japan develops 3D search engine-printer

"Yahoo Japan Corp. has developed a voice-activated Internet search that links to a 3D printer, letting users look online for blueprints to deliver solid objects in a few minutes, the company said. The search engine scours the Internet for information that it can use to print palm-sized renderings of items as diverse as hippopotamuses or fighter jets. Heralded as a technology that is potentially as game-changing as the steam engine was in its day, 3D printers have become a more commonplace reality over the last few years. The devices use slices of information about a three-dimensional object and gradually deposits fine layers of material — such as plastic, carbon or metal — to build a copy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYahoo Japan develops 3D search engine-printer

Researchers create battery that recycles sewage into energy

"They hope their technique could be used in wastewater treatment facilities and to break down organic pollutants in the 'dead zones' of oceans and lakes where fertilizer runoff has depleted oxygen, suffocating marine life. However, for now the team from Stanford University have started small, with a prototype about the size of a D-cell battery, consisting of two electrodes — one positive and one negative — plunged into a bottle of wastewater, filled with bacteria. As the bacteria consume the organic material, the microbes cluster around the negative electrode, throwing off electrons, which are captured in turn by the positive electrode." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingResearchers create battery that recycles sewage into energy

The Next Step in Killing Cancer

"The protein that Olson is describing is called chlorotoxin. It’s a major component of the venom injected from the sting of a scorpion’s tail. Once it’s infused into the bloodstream, the venom naturally travels to the brain and attaches itself to chloride channels that lay on the surface of cells. And as it turns out, chlorotoxin actually prefers the chloride channels on tumor cells above all other tissues. Upon realizing this fascinating discovery, the Blaze Bioscience team re-engineered chlorotoxin. They tagged it with molecules that literally act like a flashlight for doctors. It’s a fluorescent dye that illuminates the outline of the tumor in its entirety, making it easier for brain surgeons to operate without error." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Next Step in Killing Cancer

Intel turns wine into electricity to power mobile devices

"Demonstrating what is probably the perfect solution for energy conscious winos out there, an Intel Labs researcher talked through the project on stage alongside Bell, showing off a low-power processor and an accelerometer that were powered by a glass of wine. The researcher - we didn't catch his full name - boasted that the computing solutions being worked on in Intel Labs are so low in power that in the future we'll be able to 'power them by the heat of our skin, or the ambilight in the room', or 'something a little more entertaining', he added, pointing at the wine glass hooked up to the accelerometer." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIntel turns wine into electricity to power mobile devices