technology

Brewer says his just-add-water beer mix tastes ‘just as good’ as the original

"Enjoying the great outdoors has spawned an entire market catering for campers who want to enjoy a hearty meal without overloading their rucksack. Camping shops now sell a whole range of dried, lightweight foods - from all day breakfasts to chicken tikka masalas. But now a new - and some might say revolutionary - addition to their food shelf has been added: Dried beer. A U.S. brewer has managed to create a concentrate that simply requires water being added and carbonated shortly before it is drunk. Pat's Backcountry Beverages has managed to create a near waterless formulation that claims to offer all the taste, aroma and alcohol of the traditional beverage." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBrewer says his just-add-water beer mix tastes ‘just as good’ as the original

Virgin Galactic “gearing up” for second powered SpaceShipTwo flight

"After a hiatus of more than three and a half months that has raised questions by some industry observers, Virgin Galactic is making preparations for a second powered test flight of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle, the company’s CEO said Friday. He said the company had now signed up about 625 people for suborbital flights, accounting for $125 million in business. That works out to $200,000 per customer, but Whitesides did note that Virgin Galactic had raised its ticket price to $250,000. Those customers come from 54 countries, and range from 'teenagers to 88 years old,' he said. 'We think we can make a really good business out of that.'" Continue reading →

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Grasshopper reusable rocket demonstrates its lateral moves

"While everyone chats about Elon Musk’s 'hyperloop' concept, one of his companies, SpaceX, has been showing off some actual hardware. On Tuesday, SpaceX flew Grasshopper to an altitude of 250 meters, this time including a 100 meter lateral maneuver in the process, before returning the reusable launch vehicle demonstrator back to the center of the pad. 'The test demonstrated the vehicle’s ability to perform more aggressive steering maneuvers than have been attempted in previous flights,' the company said in an emailed statement. 'Grasshopper is taller than a ten story building, which makes the control problem particularly challenging.'" Continue reading →

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Two Weeks Left to Apply for Mars Crew

"The prospect of joining the first team to colonize Mars has proven to be so wildly alluring that more than 100,000 people have applied for a spot – despite the fact they’ll only get a one-way ticket. The Dutch company Mars One plans to launch to the Red Planet in 2022. It’s taking applications through August 31 and will winnow those down to a group of 40, from which the final four will be selected. Applicants must pay $38, submit a resume, a letter outlining their motivation for applying and a video. It’s not clear what, if any, amenities the crew members will get, but PayPal should have its payment system for outer space up and running by then." Continue reading →

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The Long Tail, Revisited

"In 1988, a British mountain climber named Joe Simpson wrote a book called Touching the Void, a harrowing account of near death in the Peruvian Andes. It got good reviews but, only a modest success, it was soon forgotten. Then, a decade later, Touching the Void started to sell again. Random House rushed out a new edition to keep up with demand. Booksellers began to promote it next to their Into Thin Air displays. A revised paperback edition, which came out in January [2004], spent 14 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. IFC Films released a docudrama of the story to critical acclaim. What happened? In short, Amazon.com recommendations." Continue reading →

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Chris Anderson: New Revolution “Bigger Than The Web”

"Chris Anderson is CEO of 3DRobotics and author of 'Makers: The New Industrial Revolution.' He was also a keynote speaker at our 2013 Investment Symposium in Vancouver last month. For the last several years, Anderson has played the dual role of entrepreneur and evangelist for the burgeoning 'maker’s movement.' You can watch him discuss his theories about the new industrial revolution afoot in the movement with Tom Standage of The Economist. Anderson noted the maker movement might have profound implications for human innovation—it might even be 'bigger than the web.'" Continue reading →

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These 12 technologies will drive our economic future

"Most of the writing you see about the economy speaks to narrow questions: What will growth be this year? When will the unemployment rate get back to normal? And so on. But the things that will determine standards of living a generation from now have almost nothing to do with this month’s jobs report or the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting. Those determinants, instead, depend on companies’ innovations — in particular, whether those innovations turn out to have major economic consequences. Researchers at the McKinsey Global Institute have a new study in which they have taken their best shot at predicting exactly that." Continue reading →

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Samsung workers are given 32 seconds to assemble phones

"The BBC reports that prosecutors in Brazil are seeking damages from Samsung for conditions in factories where its mobile phones and TV sets are assembled, with employees reportedly forced to work long hours without sufficient breaks. Some said they suffer from problems such as backaches because they are forced to stand for 10 hours a day. Perhaps more alarmingly, prosecutors claim that employees at Samsung's factories in the Amazon region are given just 32 seconds to assemble a mobile phone and 65 seconds to put together a Samsung television set. One worker is alleged to have packed as many as 3,000 phones in a day." Continue reading →

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Thanks, IPhone: Demise of the Desk Phone Means No End to the Workday

"Silicon Valley companies big and small are pulling the plug on desk phones in favor of mobile devices. While consumers have been cutting the cord for years, businesses are joining the trend at an accelerating rate thanks to the increasing capabilities of mobile devices, which make it easier for workers to be productive and stay connected from any location at all hours. Demand for business land lines is plunging, cutting into revenue at phone-equipment makers. It also steps up pressure on service providers such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. to get more revenue from wireless sales and lessen their reliance on operations that are dwindling." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThanks, IPhone: Demise of the Desk Phone Means No End to the Workday