Author: Serkadis

Samsung (005930) already confirmed that it is working on a smartwatch to take on Apple’s (AAPL) still mythical “iWatch,” and now a new report suggests that Google (GOOG) is also hard at work on its own wearable Android device. The Financial Times on Thursday evening cited a single unnamed source in claiming that Google has a smartwatch in development. The company’s Android team is reported spearheading the project, which will apparently yield a smartphone companion similar to Samsung and Apple’s efforts rather than a connected device. No launch timing or additional details about the device were reported.

As you may have suspected, there’s far more to the Cyprus bank crisis story than meets the eye. It turns out the shutdown of Cypriot banks has caused a large-scale financial shutdown of the Russian government which uses Cyprus banks for most transactions. On top of…

A growing body of research is emerging to show that eating chocolate really can lower your blood pressure. Researchers have suspected for many years that chocolate may have a beneficial effect on blood pressure, ever since discovering that the indigenous Kuna people…

Virtually all western cultures are presently fighting an obesity epidemic, as processed convenience foods dominate total calories consumed. Homemade meals that include fresh vegetables, fruits and lean protein sources have become a rare event over the past half century…

If you’re a business owner, hobbyist or just a drone enthusiast, you need not apply for a permit with the Federal Aviation Administration to operate a drone. You won’t get it, you see, because drone permits are being limited to the police and the military. Welcome to…

Studies done in the UK looked at the top broadcast network TV shows, most aimed at kids, over a given period of time, and found that 34 percent contained some sort of tobacco content. They were looking for actual or implied tobacco use, the presence of smoking products…

Regular readers of Natural News, as well as scores of others in the U.S. and around the world, have long since known of the health dangers of junk food – foods that can most generally be described as those which contain empty calories and excessive amounts of substances…

I just excavated some gear oil waste I found buried in the soil on my little organic farm. To do so, I used equipment that relies on the same oil that was buried in my soil. I reap what I sow, and I feel like our modern society is stuck in this flammable, smelly spiral…

Drinking beetroot juice can boost your stamina and athletic performance, scientific studies have confirmed. One of the first such studies, conducted by researchers from the University of Exeter and published in the Journal of Applied Physiology in 2010, looked at…

Last summer, a rural area of southeastern Louisiana known as Assumption Parish was changed forever following the unexpected formation of a giant sinkhole that suddenly appeared one day out of nowhere. This mysterious sinkhole, which was later dubbed the “Great Louisiana…

Therapeutic baths are a simple, inexpensive and effective way to keep the body and spirit in top form. Radioactive poisons, heavy metals and other hazardous substances are safely removed from the system without overburdening internal organs or triggering an uncomfortable…

Hormone-disrupting chemicals are so widely dispersed throughout the environment that even avoiding all plastics and other food containers made with BPA and similar chemicals may not be enough to protect you, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University…

There is a great deal of research going on in the area of artificial intelligence (AI) merging with the brain. Exuberant cheerleaders like Roy Kurzweil are quite confident that we are approaching a moment when a computer will exhibit all the power of the human brain…

Recently, when Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., filibustered the nomination of John Brennan, President Obama’s choice to head up the CIA, because he and Attorney General Eric Holder both claimed the administration had the right to use drones to strike perceived U.S. enemies anywhere…

With all the conveniences of fast foods, processed foods, TV and magazine advertising and even those radio ads plugging yummy stuff in your car, we’re tempted toward “eating bad” even as we drive around. It takes considerable research, reading Natural News, discipline…

Most people have their own particular styles of music they enjoy. Music is one of the greatest joys of mankind and it is effective at simulating the brain and enhancing learning. Listening to music stimulates the whole brain through diverse neural circuitry that stimulate…

An ancient Chinese medicine protocol known as “apitherapy” appears to be making a resurgence in modern times, as scientists continue to uncover the many amazing healing powers of bees and the substances they produce. And a new study recently published in the journal…

You’ll never guess what you gave up Google Reader for? The tried-and-true makes way for a few, ah, experiments. Newest: Chrome World Wide Maze. Geekdom is abuzz about the oddity this evening. I’m simply baffled, although I see the benefits as a technology preview, which surely must be the point.

Essentially your mobile device running Chrome becomes a remote control for a 3D-maze makeover of any website. I couldn’t help myself. I chose bing.com. The setup is a bit convoluted, using — and therefore showcasing — tab sync. The process involves opening the site from tabs already available on the other device and completing a handshake using a six-digit number. Then the fun begins, or would have if Chrome Beta for Android hadn’t crashed and disconnected while my wife took photos. (Hey, every story needs art.)

The marble maze uses WebGL and Java Script among other browser tech to make the magic happen. You’ll need a phone with Chrome running Android 4.x or iOS 5 or higher and Mac or Windows PC. Chrome OS is not listed in the requirements, but I had no problem setting things up on Chromebook Pixel. Nor is Windows 8 listed; I haven’t tried it yet.

Oh, some of you may want to take Dramamine, if you knowingly suffer from seasickness. 🙂 The ding, dingy music may sooth those people only slightly inclined while driving the irritable to rage. (The opening music gives me Sonic the Hedgehog flashbacks.)

Chrome Experiments aren’t new, by any means. I had fun with the Peanut Gallery two days ago (do check it out). Chrome World Wide Maze surprises for a few reasons:

• Making over websites into playgrounds — you choose
• Using tab sync to link up computer and phone
• Turning the phone into a remote control

You can expect more of the latter. The ill-fated Nexus Q uses Android device as remote control, and YouTube works this way today on Google TV. They’re just the beginning.

Now excuse me while I go Scroogle bing.com.

Photo Credit: Anne Wilcox

I’m sorry I’m too late to get anyone to these events today but I did want to applaud the efforts around Minneapolis to promote digital literacy. Today the city and various partners are kicking off a series of activities to promote digital literacy in 2013…

The City and its partners are hosting a series of open houses March 21 to encourage new users, community members and businesses to get connected with local community technology resources.  In addition to libraries and parks, there are several locations in Minneapolis where residents can use computers with Internet for free, and improve their digital literacy skills. These locations are referred to as “Community Technology Centers” and the following locations are partnering with the City to host these open houses through their association with the Technology Literacy Collaborative, a local network of digital inclusion supporters committed to sharing best practices, advocating for technology and digital literacy skills and access, and promoting collaborative efforts.

Partners include:

• Free Geek Twin Cities
• Project for Pride in Living Learning Center
• NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center, Inc.
• Pillsbury United Communities / Oak Park Neighborhood Center
• Pillsbury United Communities / Waite House Neighborhood Center
• University of Minnesota – Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC)

You can learn more about the yearlong effort on the City of Minneapolis website. You can also get a nice personal view of the event from a recent article by Alan Palazzolo in MinnPost. He makes the point that while there are some great resources out there, the hard part is getting word to the folks who most need it. So if you see a time and place to share the news, I hope you will.

Speaking of hopes, I’m also hoping that this citywide effort might spur efforts on a wider scope and/or serve as a model to others. I suspect that one impetus for the effort is the 2012 Minneapolis Digital Inclusion survey spearheaded by Otto Doll. It’s not the first time I’ve said that I’d love to see that survey expanded!

The financial services industry needs to store a lot of data, and the folks at NASDAQ want to use it to help build new products. But they also have to keep an eye on costs. Ann Neidenbach, an SVP at the NASDAQ OMX Group, explained how the exchange made the decision to use the Amazon public cloud for storage Thursday at the Structure:Data 2013 conference in New York.

“The economics of the clouds are just phenomenal,” says Neidenbach. She and Ron Bodkin, the founder and CEO of Think Big Analytics, noted that the exchanges have regulatory requirements to keep petabytes of old data associated with trading, and that adds up. She says the exchange has 10 petabytes of trade data and 3.5 petabytes of data that’s just backups. “We’re not even talking about email or even instant messaging,” said Neidenbach. “It’s a tremendous amount and that’s why we went into this partnership with AWS.

“We have to leverage the public cloud where storage is so much cheaper per gigabyte,” she added.

The exchange did have to spend time making sure the public cloud was secure enough for their data, but also for their customers’ data and that’s a journey that is just beginning. But she certainly implied that given the costs of storage in the public cloud and the amount of data financial institutions must keep, that the journey and eventual public cloud destination was inevitable.

And the end result of having all this data stored in one public place might yield new products. Neidenbach expects that combining trade data with social media might result in new opportunities for trading and research. You had the feeling that the sky might be the limit.

Check out the rest of our Structure:Data 2013 live coverage here, and a video embed of the session follows below:

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