Category: News

Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece The Shining continues to influence pop culture on a regular basis, and an ad from Australian film magazine Film Ink is the latest example.

The hype around the documentary Room 237 has no doubt played a role in much of the recent interest in the film, but The Shining will continue to inspire countless pieces of Internet fun for years to come, without a doubt.

With the new Film Ink ad, we can’t help but be reminded of this Channel 4 ad for The Stanley Kubrick Season from a few years back:

[via The Overlook Hotel]

MLB.com’s YouTube channel is just got a lot better.

Today, MLB Advance Media announced that they’re expanding the licensed content offerings on the channel. You can expect more highlight clips from every MLB game – available two days after the games are completed. There is also thousands of hours of new archive content available, including videos from MLB.com’s Baseball’s Best Moments library.

The channel will also livestream two games a day – but only if you live outside of the MLB’s core distribution areas. That means to YouTube streaming for baseball fans in North America, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. But the MLB says that this move will help expand the game in new corners of the globe.

“Expanding our partnership with YouTube provides another platform for extending the reach of the thousands of hours of archived baseball content in our library and for delivering live baseball games via the Internet to fans in new markets around the world,” said Kenny Gersh, Senior Vice President, Business Development, MLBAM.

You can catch the new content today on the MLB’s official YouTube channel.

 

It’s certainly no secret that Sony plans to take over the mobile world, so it should come as no surprise that it has introduced what can be seen as some revolutionary technology. It went ahead and revealed its Triluminous display technology which aims to enhance the display of various devices to levels never seen before. Essentially, Triluminous display technology utilizes quantum dots (otherwise known as nanocrystals) that are so small, they have quantum properties and emits light just at preset wavelengths. The effect of this process i the significant enhancement of display factors like a larger color gamut to improved brightness and contrast.

Sony certainly can’t wait for this technology to arrive on its Xperia line of smartphones too. Here’s a Sony insider highlighting the important plans Sony has for this technology:

 

“During the interview, the heads of Sony Philippines likewise confirmed that Triluminos display will definitely come to the Sony Xperia smartphone line. This is cool because, as of writing, Sony is still using TFT panel even in its top of the line handset releases, including Sony Xperia Z. Triluminos will be the Japanese company’s answer to display technologies being offered by other companies like Retina Display and SuperAMOLED”.

 

source: techpinas
via: Phone Arena

Come comment on this article: Sony introduces its Triluminous display technology, aims to square off direction again Super AMOLED and Retina Display technologies

The Wikimedia Foundation announced the launch of a new app for Android and iOS, which allows you to quickly upload photos to to Wikimedia Commons, its free image repository.

The app enables you to upload multiple files and share uploads through social media sites. The Android version lets you add categories as well. If you enable “GPS Tag,” you can tag your photos geographically.

Wikimedia’s Maryana Pinchuk said in a blog post, “Your contributions to Commons can help illustrate the world’s largest encyclopedia and make knowledge come to life for millions of readers around the globe.”

“In the future, we hope to add more features and make it easier to browse and discover all the great content Commons has to offer,” added Pinchuk. “We also look forward to being able to run more campaigns like Wiki Loves Monuments, encouraging expert Commons users and people new to Wikimedia projects alike to contribute to high-need content areas.”

“By uploading your photos, you can help further the goal of spreading free knowledge around the world,” the app description says. “You won’t just be sharing your images with your friends – you’ll be sharing them with Wikipedia’s billions of readers around the globe.”

The app contains no ads, and it is free to download. It’s available in Google Play and in the App Store.

While Microsoft’s next Xbox won’t feature virtual reality headsets, it will try to do the next big thing by making your entire living room into a big video game screen. Microsoft on Monday posted a new demonstration video showing off the new Xbox’s IllumiRoom feature that projects aspects of games onto the walls surrounding your television set to increase immersion within virtual environments. The new feature comes with several options for filtering content if you’re not interested in having your entire living room transformed into a game world: For instance, you can choose to only have weapons or enemies displayed on the peripherals of your television set or you can choose to only have the bare outlines of the game environment displayed outside your TV. It goes without saying that IllumiRoom will likely be one of the key features Microsoft shows off when it formally unveils the new Xbox on May 21st. The full video demonstration of IllumiRoom is posted below.

Continue reading…

Android fans love to talk trash about Apple fans and vice versa. Unfortunately, we only ever see this conflict from those directly involved. Is there not an outside voice that can give us an unbiased look at just how silly they look?

Well, no, but Microsoft tried its hardest in the latest Windows Phone ad. The Nokia Lumia 920 is on display in this latest ad that pitches the fervent fans of Apple and Samsung against each other at a wedding. Insults are thrown, cake is ruined and a scared middle-aged man desperately asks Siri for help in learning karate.

It looks like Microsoft is finally starting to figure this whole advertisement thing out. Its earlier ads were at best inane and at worst irrelevant. In short, Microsoft should make more ads like the above and less ads with terrible dance dancing.

Looking for a remote webcam solution for monitoring the home or office? There’s no lack of such products, but they often require a monthly fee and have either confusing software or a setup process that’s too complicated for many. A new Indiegogo project kicked off on Monday for Skycam, which solves all of these challenges thanks to Skype.

For $99, project backers get a Skycam webcam that can record video on a micro SD card. Of course, you can access the camera remotely in real-time from practically any connected PC or Mac, tablet or mobile phone running iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8 or BlackBerry. The secret sauce here is the use of Skype.

To set up the Skycam, you simply add it to your Skype account where it becomes one of your favorite contacts. Want to pop in and check on the pets? Just call your Skycam through the standard Skype application:

I’ve actually set up several different remote access webcams in my home over the past few years and I have to say: I think more simplicity is needed for these products. Each camera I’ve used has its own software, which typically isn’t the greatest quality. I often rely on third-party apps to access the cameras, but even these have their quirks. And gaining true remote access to a home-based camera typically requires firewall configuration, static IP addresses and — in some cases — a third-party DNS solution.

That’s why I think this project is on to something. It alleviates all of the challenges I just outlined and makes a remote webcam more of an easy to use appliance. And it does so with software that’s commonly used already. I also like how this isn’t a standard webcam you’d typically use for video chatting: Skycam can be used to monitor a dark or lowly lit room; a feature I like on my existing webcams.

With a built-in microphone and speaker, you can even use Skycam to chat with someone nearby the camera. Of course, you’ll see them, but they won’t see you. I do wish the Skycam had tilt and pan capabilities, but that would be tricky to implement with Skype as the underlying transport solution. And it would complicate what looks to be an economical and simple way to monitor a remote area.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Carrier IQ and the continued erosion of operator trust
• The future of mobile: a segment analysis by GigaOM Pro
• Bluetooth to Feel Blue as Personal Area Network Battles Loom

Last week, TED speakers Robert Gordon and Erik Brynjolfsson joined us for a live, one-hour debate on the future of the US economy.  It was a furious hour of typing, with both speakers contributing just over 1,500 words in response to a wide variety of user questions.  A few highlights:

Ryan Zeigler asks:

Mr. Brynjolfsson, you stated in your talk that you feel that we need to “race with machines” rather than against them. In what manner do you feel that this effects the future of education?

Erik Brynjolfsson responds:

We really need to reinvent education. My industry has lagged other industries in digitizing. Far behind music and other media, finance, manufacturing, retailing, etc.  But that’s good news: lots of room to improve.  Digitization of education will do two things:

1. Much higher quality and lower cost as very best teachers and methods reach larger audiences. Examples: superstars like Sal Khan of Khan Academy or physics lessons from best MIT profs at EdX.
.
2. More importantly, gather enormous data about what’s working and not working. Apply big data techniques to improve teaching methods and to personalize how things are taught. Adapt pace and methods, based on students unique situation. Continuous learning by the educators, not just students. My students are already doing this to optimize ad clicks – can soon do it for education.

Michael Noyes asks:

Capitalism has created more wealth by far for more people than any other system. However, have we reached a point in our technological history when the pendulum must swing back toward more socialist economics to achieve more prosperity for more people?

Robert J. Gordon responds:

You have to distinguish between “socialism” and the capitalist welfare state as exemplified by Sweden, the Netherlands, etc. Socialism involves government ownership of the means of production and was practiced by the postwar UK Labour government which nationalized steel, transport, etc. It was Thatcher’s achievement to reverse all that, and Britain went from being a laggard to one of Europe’s most dynamic economies.

Yes, we need more of a welfare state, particularly to prepare children in poverty to compete in our educational system. Now they are dropping out of high school and condemning themselves to lives of manual labor and unemployment.

Theresa Sanker asks:

When are America’s economic priorities going to shift toward education, saving, and long-term investment, and away from excessive reliance on military power and cheap energy?

Erik Brynjolfsson responds:

When more people like you demand it. Simple as that.

Robert Gordon adds:

Heckman has shown that the problem is not that we don’t spend enough resources on education. Reducing class sizes has no effect. The problem is that educational resources are not distributed evenly. In an ideal world we would get rid of property taxation as the basis for educational finance, since that gives an advantage to communities with wealthy residents. We should have education funded by a nationwide value-added tax.

The problem with our military, besides the needless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is the endless buckets of cash poured into ridiculous projects like the F-35 fighter which has no known enemy to justify its cost. We built the B-17 in WWII for $250,000 per plane!

Finally, what’s wrong with cheap energy? Are you in favor of expensive energy?

With 113 excellent questions and answers, this was a fascinating and informative debate. Don’t miss the rest of the responses, available on TED Conversations »

Madison Color said it raised $4 million of Series A funding in a round led by True Ventures and joined by Maveron LLC and angel investors. The company added True Ventures partner Jon Callaghan to its board AND will debut this fall.

PRESS RELEASE

Madison Color Raises $4 Million Series A Funding to Reinvent Home Hair Color Market

True Ventures and Maveron provide financial and strategic support to accelerate growth of innovative approach to products and customer experience

SAN FRANCISCO – April 29, 2013 — Madison Color, a San Francisco-based company that is reinventing the home hair care market, focusing first on home hair color, through superior products and consumer-facing technology, today announced that it has closed a $4 million Series A funding round led by True Ventures, a premier early stage investment firm.  Maveron LLC, a leading consumer-only venture capital firm, and angel investors also participated in the round.  The company also announced the addition of True Ventures partner Jon Callaghan to its board of directors.  Madison Color will debut in the fall of this year.

“Millions of women – and more than a few men – color their hair every day with an in-home experience that is complicated, unpleasant and unhealthy.  We will introduce a new, innovative, convenient and healthy way to select, buy and apply products, completely transforming this experience from one of pain to delight,” said Madison Color co-founder and CEO Amy Errett.  “True Ventures and Maveron are the perfect financial partners, with incredible track records in helping early stage consumer and technology companies grow their brands and achieve rapid growth.  Together, they are in perfect synchrony with our vision of bringing technology to a market with high existing consumer demand that hasn’t changed in decades.”

“Amy Errett has the vision and experience to disrupt an enormous consumer industry that has never seen technological innovation. We believe Amy and her team have the power to create a consumer business that captures the imagination of customers who are ready for a healthier and more delightful hair coloring experience,” said Jon Callaghan, co-founder of True Ventures. “Amy’s energy and reputation as a leader are singular, and her history of excelling in consumer business is tremendous. True is thrilled to lead the Series A financing for Madison Color, and we are excited to welcome the entire Madison team to the True platform.”

Dan Levitan, co-founder of Maveron said, “As the General Partner who opened our San Francisco office in 2010 and led our Bay Area efforts, and as an operator prior to that, we know Amy well and could not be more excited to be backing her and the Madison Color team on its journey to re-invent the home hair color experience.”

Hair care represents a sizable market opportunity. The hair care business is a $48 billion annual market and hair color alone represents a market of $15 billion, with over 45 million U.S. women coloring their hair at home. Madison Color intends to reinvent every aspect of the business, starting with producing and delivering professional-grade products free of ammonia and other harmful chemicals, that are healthier for the consumer and their hair and delivered directly to their homes.  Madison Color will also incorporate cross-platform technology innovations, including web, mobile, tablet, social and content, that will revolutionize the home hair care experience and delight consumers.

Madison Color brings together a strong management team including Errett and three co-founders: Eric Hutchinson, Andrew Trader and Sabrina Riddle.

Errett brings deep experience and knowledge in consumer marketplaces, both on and offline, through a multifaceted career that spans significant business and operating expertise as a leading entrepreneur, senior executive, venture capitalist and social-mission visionary. Most recently, she was a Maveron General Partner and led the firm’s Bay Area office. Prior to Maveron, Amy was the chief executive officer and an owner of Olivia, repositioning the travel business as a complete lifestyle company. During her time at Olivia, she was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Northern California. Previously, she founded and served as chief executive officer of The Spectrem Group, a worldwide strategic consulting, information, and M&A advisory firm that was acquired by NFO Worldwide (NYSE:NFO), and was a member of the senior management team at E*Trade where she diversified the company’s business beyond brokerage and ran a $200 million unit that encompassed the management of E*Trade’s growth areas.

Hutchinson is a proven operator with rich experience in both product and quantitative marketing. Previously, he was co-founder of Home Value Protection (acquired by AmTrust), which developed an innovative insurance product that protected the value of people’s homes against declines in the real estate market.

Trader is a serial Internet and software entrepreneur with an extensive background in business operations, revenue management and marketing/user acquisition. Previously, he was part of the founding team at Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA), co-founder of Coremetrics (acquired by IBM) and chief executive officer of Tribe.net (platform acquired by Cisco).

Riddle brings multiple years experience in the successful creation and growth of consumer brands, both on and offline, fusing bold creative thinking with deep experience in strategy, analytics, social media and emotive consumer-centric experiences. Previously, she was chief executive officer of Swaylo (acquired by PeopleBrowsr), chief revenue officer of Threadsy (acquired by Facebook) and chief marketing, media and sales officer of Olivia.

About Madison Color

Madison Color (www.madisoncolor.com) is revolutionizing every aspect of the home hair care market through superior formulation of professional grade products that are healthier for you and your hair, reinventing the discovery and application experience, and delivering the products directly to your home. Headquartered in San Francisco, Madison Color is a privately held company backed by top-tier venture capital firms True Ventures and Maveron.

About True Ventures
Founded in 2006, True Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology startups. With three funds and approximately $600 million in capital under management, True provides seed and Series A funding to the most talented entrepreneurs in today’s fastest growing markets. With a mission to make the world a better place for entrepreneurs, True encourages each founder’s vision and has built resources to empower the employees, families and communities of its portfolio companies. The firm maintains a strong founder community and offers innovative educational opportunities to its portfolio, helping entrepreneurs achieve higher levels of success and impact. With more than 100 companies funded and multiple companies acquired, the True portfolio has created over 1,900 jobs. To learn more about True Ventures, visit www.trueventures.com.

About Maveron
Maveron is a venture capital firm that invests exclusively in consumer companies.  Founded in 1998 by Dan Levitan and Howard Schultz, the firm has offices in Seattle and San Francisco.  Representative Maveron investments include Altius Education, eBay, Capella Education, General Assembly, Julep, Shutterfly, Trupanion and zulily. For more information about Maveron, visit www.maveron.com.

The post Madison Color Raises $4M From True, Maveron, Angels appeared first on peHUB.

There’s been a lot of talk about how much people in D.C. love Netflix’s House of Cards. This weekend, Netflix had another chance to play to that audience: For Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ dinner, House of Cards star Kevin Spacey was joined by John McCain, Michael Bloomberg, senoir Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett, CBS White House Correspondent Major Garrett, Buzzfeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith and numerous others in an excellent spoof dubbed House of Nerds. Check it out below:

The spot poked fun at both politics and media, and Spacey’s Frank Underwood character didn’t hold back: “It must be so hard to write jokes about a town that already is one,” he said, just minutes after questioning whether NBC is a “real network.” Even Netflix was the butt of a joke, with congressman Steny Hoyer throwing an expletive-laden complaint about the service not working for him.

Of course, the whole clip is also a testament to how much Netflix has changed over the past few months, and how important it has become in Hollywood. Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, who was in the crowd Saturday night as well, recently told me that his phone has been ringing nonstop since the company first announced its plans for House of Cards.

It looks as if one of those calls may have been about Saturday’s dinner: A Netflix spokesperson confirmed Monday that the company worked together with the House of Cards team to produce the spoof, in a way giving back to the town that made its dark and twisted story lines possible. Or, as Spacey says in the clip:

“Well, you know my motto, Ed. You scratch my back, I won’t lacerate yours.”

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• How consumer media will change in 2013
• OTT technologies and strategies for broadcasters
• What the shift to the cloud means for the future EPG

Sony has two flagship models slated for release later in 2013, and we’re finally hearing some details about the pair of devices. According to a device tester, the Togari device will sport a 6.44 inch, 1080p screen with a similar body style to the glass Xperia Z, as well as a white option, similar to the Z. The phablet could possibly be released in July in Japan, although there’s no word on when or if it would make it’s way to other markets.

The Honami is rumored to be a true Xperia Z successor, packing a 1080p 5-inch screen, dedicated Walkman audio chip, and a whopping 20 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens. According to the device tester, it’s one of the most attractive devices Sony has ever made, trumping both the Xperia Z and the iPhone 5. Obviously, that’s pretty subjective, but exciting nonetheless. It could also possibly hit shelves in July in Japan. Impressively enough, both devices are said to be water and dust resistant.

Chinese site ePrice says Honami will launch in July, then see an international release within two months. ePrice also says Honami will use the impressive Snapdragon 800 chip, have 2 GB of RAM, and an embedded battery. We won’t know anything for certain until Sony takes the veil off the devices, but these are definitely phones you should get excited about.

source: Xperia Blog

Come comment on this article: Sony to release two flagship devices later this year, Honami and Togari

 

Every now and then it’s nice to play an 8-bit game on your Android device, but how about an 8-bit live wallpaper? That’s exactly what inHause Games created with Live Pixels. We are already familiar with inHause Games as we previously reviewed their other awesome live wallpaper called YourCity 3D. Live Pixels is actually a bunch of live wallpapers and you can choose which ones you want to display on your homescreen. It’s got everything from fireworks, explosions, and even a flying cat. There are 14 in all:

• App Icon
• Bug Zapper
• City
• Explosion
• Fireflies
• Fire
• Fireworks
• Flocking
• Nyan Cat
• Snake
• Snow
• Text
• Thunderstorm
• Water

Select them all, and you will always have a different wallpaper everytime you turn on your phone. Of course, depending on your mood, you can go with one or just a few. You can also set the duration of each scene and choose the words you want for the text scene. In between scenes is really cool since you will see all sorts of flying pixels, which can be mesmerizing.

Again, Live Pixels isn’t about wowing you with spectacular graphics, but it will give you that old school retro feel with full 3D hardware acceleration. It’s priced at 99-cents, which is a steal when you consider how many scenes it offers, plus inHouse’s support is top notch, which means even more scenes with future updates.  There is a free version that only offers App Icon, Fireflies, Flocking, Text, and Water, but you can still see all the others in preview mode. Check out my hands on video below as well as the trailer video, and hit one of the download links to get started. As always, let me know what you think.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Play Store Download Link – Free

Play Store Download Link – Paid

Come comment on this article: Featured Android App Review: Live Pixels [Live Wallpaper]

The report and maps are available online.

AUGUSTA, Maine – More than 800 acres of uplands in and near Acadia National Park will likely be flooded by the ocean if sea level rises 2 feet during this century, leaving 75 percent of the saltwater marshes along this part of central Maine’s rugged coast with very little upland area to migrate into, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey study and maps.

If plant material and sediments can accumulate in Maine’s salt marshes fast enough to keep pace with sea-level rise, the uplands could provide areas for new salt marsh habitat.  But that would require faster accumulation rates than those observed in the last century.

“The precise amount of sea-level rise that we should expect this century is not known,” said USGS scientist Martha Nielsen, who led the study. “This report and maps are intended to inform decision makers with science to assist in planning for an uncertain future. By identifying the uplands that could support new salt marshes ahead of time, we hope to aid land management and preservation efforts to sustain marsh ecosystems in the area.”

The study, done in cooperation with the National Park Service, identified more than 40 potential barriers that, in addition to rugged topography, would further restrict inland migration of some marshes. The barriers are mostly roads that limit water and sediment movement. This study is intended to help managers proactively plan for mitigation of those barriers.

Salt marshes provide significant ecological value and aesthetic beauty to Maine’s coasts. Their ecological functions include nursery and breeding habitat for many fish, shellfish, and wildlife species; storm, flood, and erosion protection; organic-matter production that feeds many commercially and recreationally valuable species; and filtration for sediments and contaminants.

The study area included all coastal areas in Maine from the eastern half of Penobscot Bay to the eastern edge of the Schoodic Peninsula.  The 114 saltwater marshes included in the study range in size from larger than half an acre, up to 128 acres.

The analysis was based on high-resolution elevation data collected for coastal New England in 2010 with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus funding.  The data were independently assessed for accuracy, and the maps show the expected inundation around each marsh to a 95 percent confidence interval.  The manmade barriers to migration identified in the study are also shown.

IBM may be in talks to sell off its server division, but it’s not abandoning hardware just yet. Instead, Big Blue is introducing an appliance for the internet of things, as well as a new protocol optimized for delivering messages between sensors.

IBM considers both efforts part of its Smarter Planet and Mobile First strategies. The box is called the IBM MessageSight, and it combines the ability to process a lot of information in real time — which experts believe the internet of things will need. The logic is that billions of sensors sending trillions of bits will need some type of special equipment to process the incoming information in real-time and send instructions back to a human or a device.

IBM uses the example of the hundreds of sensors in your car recognizing a problem, turning on your check engine light, and then notifying the dealer so it can do remote diagnostics. As someone who is heading to the dealer tomorrow for a check engine light, this example caught my eye. Yet, I’m not sold on the need for a special box over more intelligence at the sensor, or perhaps a mesh network with nominal “intelligence.”

The internet of things exaflood is coming!

The idea is compelling, but it also grossly simplifies the flow of data inside the internet of things. For example, it assumes all sensor data must be processed in “real time.” It also assumes all the data must be processed. Both of these are untrue, especially in the early days of the internet of things. But IBM is looking ahead. From its release on the MessageSight appliance:

Over the next 15 years, the number of machines and sensors connected to the Internet will explode. According to IMS Research, there will be more than 22 billion web-connected devices by 2020. These new devices will generate more 2.5 quintillion bytes of new data every day, while every hour enough information is consumed by Internet traffic to fill seven million DVDs.

It’s the same exaflood of data that telephone companies were so fearful of a decade ago. And like the telephone companies, IBM is hoping to cash in on these fears — with its box. IBM’s appliance can totally stand up to this tsunami of information, or so goes the pitch. A release from Big Blue noted that the machine can handle up to 1 million concurrent sensors and can scale to manage up to 13 million messages per second.

The new protocol for the internet of things?

Inside this magic data-defying box will be a new protocol called MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport), which the OASIS standards organization recently proposed. The standard, which is backed by Kaazing, Red Hat, TIBCO, Cisco and IBM, is a lightweight messaging transport system for communication in machine to machine and mobile environments.

The idea is that such a lightweight protocol will allow sensors to communicate wirelessly without needing massive batteries to support a fully functional wireless radio. I’m unclear on what radio protocol one might use, but have reached out with questions. As for MQTT, it’s already in use for satellite transmissions and in medical and industrial settings where low-bandwidth communications are essential.

IBM said “sensors can use MQTT to send messages wirelessly using 10 times less battery power and 93 times faster than before, making it possible for a sensor to send real time updates that can be acted upon immediately.” IBM is positioning MQTT as the same enabler for the internet of things, as HTTP was for the web. I’m not sure I’d go that far, but it’s worth watching to see how the standard evolves.

As for IBM’s appliance, I’m pretty sure people can build connected homes, buildings and possible cities without it, but IBM’s marketing will snag customers, especially as part of an overarching integrated smarter cities deployment.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Analyzing the wearable computing market
• The Internet of Things: What It Is, Why It Matters
• Call it Real-Time, Squared, or NewNet, The Web Is Changing

Ever wonder about the meaning of a FLOP? Beyond a measure of number crunching, or simply the basis of the acronym – Floating Point Operation — what does FLOP mean for computing, and more specifically, supercomputing? This video with Greg Newby, director of the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center, at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and Per Nyberg of Cray, Inc., dives into the meaning of flops as a measurement to compare high-performance computer speeds and what it means for scientists. “Scientists want to know, How quickly can I answer my problem?” said Newby. They also discuss the trends in today’s multi-core, many-core supercomputing and how it impacts the measurement of processing speed. The video, produced by Frontier Scientists at University of Alaska, Fairbanks, runs 4:15.

For more stories about supercomputing, see our High Performance Computing Channel. For additional video, check out our DCK video archive and the Data Center Videos channel on YouTube.

Huawei announced a P series of smartphones at MWC, and we’re starting to see some of those models show up across the globe. The latest model, code named the P6-U06, has recently been certified in China, and the profile shots show an extremely thin device, coming in at just 6.2mm. Aside from dimensions, we know it’s packing a quad-core processor, 2 GB of RAM, an 8 megapixel rear camera and a strange 5 megapixel front-facing camera. It also has GSM/WCDMA radios, so it’s definitely going to launch in Asian markets, but there’s no word on if it’ll come to other shores.

source: NowhereElse

via: Engadget

Come comment on this article: Huawei Ascend P6 shows up in Chinese certification with a 6.2mm body

Despite increased competition from Samsung, Amazon and other rivals, Apple’s iPad is still America’s favorite tablet according to J.D. Power and Associates’ most recent survey. The organization released Volume 1 of its 2013 U.S. Tablet Satisfaction Study on Monday and found that the iPad still ranks highest in customer satisfaction among all tablets, albeit by a narrowing margin. J.D.Powers’ latest survey polled 1,857 consumers in the U.S. and found that Apple’s iPad scored 836 out of a possible 1,000 points. Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet line scored 829 and Samsung’s tablets retained their No. 3 position with 822 points. A graph that illustrating the results of the survey follows below.

Continue reading…

ClickTale said it raised $17 million in a Series B round led by Amadeus Capital Partners and joined by Goldrock Capital and Viola Credit. The money will go toward product development and global expansion.

PRESS RELEASE

In-Page Analytics Innovator ClickTale Secures $17M Growth Round

Investment will Fund Product Development and Company Expansion

Tel Aviv, April 30th, 2013 − ClickTale, the innovator of In-Page Analytics, today announced that European technology investor Amadeus Capital Partners has led a $17m Series B growth stage investment in the company.  Other investors include Goldrock Capital and Viola Credit, Israel’s leading venture lending fund. The investment proceeds will fund product development and accelerate global growth.

While traditional web analytics track only page-to-page navigation, ClickTale records and analyzes the True-to-Life User Experience™ inside the page helping businesses achieve their online goals such as converting more site visitors into buyers or increasing engagement with site content.  ClickTale’s premier product, ClickTale® Core, provides anonymous playback of user browsing sessions, aggregated heatmaps of in-page activity, as well as tools to increase form completion and optimize conversions.

Most companies recognize the importance of the user experience, but few have visibility into their users’ website activities.  A recent Baymard Institute review revealed that a full 67% of shopping carts are abandoned prior to checkout.  Since ClickTale provides full visibility by capturing the entire browsing session including every mouse move, click, hover and scroll, online marketing and ecommerce managers can finally discover and understand why customers abandon shopping carts, what errors they experience, and where poor user experience frustrates them.

While working with some of the world’s leading websites, ClickTale has created the Online Optimization Cycle™ to help them maximize the speed and effectiveness of site improvements. The Online Optimization Cycle is a best practice that combines traditional web analytics and A/B testing with ClickTale’s In-Page Analytics to iteratively improve the user experience resulting in better conversion rates, increased revenues and higher ROI from existing marketing activities.

“We are excited to have Amadeus and Goldrock join ClickTale as we continue to create more value for our customers by helping them achieve online success,” said Dr. Tal Schwartz, CEO and co-founder of ClickTale. “The support of our founding investor, YL Ventures, has been a major factor in our success to date.  This investment will enable us to broaden our product offerings, invest in R&D and expand our operations globally.”

Founded in 2006, ClickTale has more than 80,000 clients, including some of the world’s largest websites such as T-Mobile, CBS, and Lenovo.

About ClickTale
ClickTale is the leader in Customer Experience Analytics, the next advance in web analytics, optimizing usability and maximizing conversion rates of any website. Its patented Customer Experience Visualization™ technology allows companies to see their customers’ true-to-life online experience at all levels of detail, from aggregated views to playable videos of users’ browsing sessions. Unlike traditional analytics platforms that assess page-to-page navigation, ClickTale reveals the customer experience inside the page. ClickTale Core™, an enterprise-class SaaS solution, is fast to deploy and provides immediate ROI. Serving over 80,000 customers worldwide including many Fortune 500 companies, ClickTale is the fastest growing company in its space. For more information, please visit www.clicktale.com

About Amadeus
Amadeus Capital Partners is one of Europe’s leading technology investors. Since its inception in 1997, the firm has raised over £500m for investment and backed more than 85 companies in communications technology, cleantech, medtech, software, digital media and e-commerce. Major businesses built by Amadeus include CSR (LSE:CSR), the leading producer of single chip bluetooth radios for short range connections, Solexa, the developer of next generation genetic analysis systems, merged into Illumina (ILMN) to create the world-leader in gene-sequencing technology and Transmode (ST:TRMO), an optical networking solutions business. For more information, please visit www.amadeuscapital.com

About Goldrock Capital
Goldrock Capital has been investing in Israel innovation since 1998. Goldrock’s heritage goes back to the early 1980s with the founding of The Sage Group (LSE: SAGE) by the late David Goldman. Born out of a single family office, today Goldrock manages institutional funds for the Goldman family and others to invest in growth stage businesses leveraging Israeli technology to expand internationally.
For more information, please visit www.goldrockcap.com

About Viola Credit (formerly Plenus)
Viola Credit, founded in 2000, is Israel’s leading lending fund. Viola Credit offers equity based loans to growing companies in the technology, industrial & service sectors. Led by a team of credit, banking, operational, and technology experts, Viola Credit is poised to provide companies with tailor-made flexible financing solutions designed to meet their specific needs.
With over $320m under management, Viola Credit has completed over 100 lending transactions and has seen over 20 exits to date. Among portfolio companies are mythings, cVidya, Clarizen and Matomy.  For more information, please visit www.violacredit.com

About YL Ventures
YL Ventures is a global venture capital firm that was founded to address the changing venture capital financing landscape. The firm invests in high technology start-up companies, with particular focus on the Israeli market. The fund combines its capital with deep engineering and market expertise, thereby facilitating a highly efficient model for technological innovation. For more information, please visit www.YLVentures.com

The post ClickTale Raises $17M From Amadeus, Goldrock & Viola appeared first on peHUB.

The value of investments held by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System rose to $261.7 billion as of Friday, putting it above its previous high in 2007 before the financial crises and recession sent it tumbling, Reuters reported.

(Reuters) – The value of investments held by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System rose to $261.7 billion as of Friday, putting it above its previous high in 2007 before the financial crises and recession sent it tumbling.

The assets sank to a recession low value of $164.9 billion in February 2009 from a record of $260.5 billion in October 2007, said Joe DeAnda, a spokesman for the fund, which is best known as Calpers.

DeAnda attributed the recovery primarily to Calpers’ stock portfolio. The fund has about half of its money in stocks. But “just about everything has improved,” DeAnda said.

Since 2009, officials at Calpers, the biggest U.S. public pension fund have been working to put its finances on stronger footing, including by adopting a more conservative annual return target of 7.5 percent last year, down from a previous and longstanding 7.75 percent.

Lowering the rate has the effect of requiring public agencies, including local governments, using Calpers to manage pension accounts to increase payments to it.

Additionally, the fund’s board earlier this month approved accounting changes that will require state agencies, cities and counties to pay rate increases to Calpers of up 50 percent.

The new policy will phase in increases. While they may strain government employer’s finances, they will fully fund Calpers’ obligations in 30 years.

Calpers is about 70 percent funded. The retirement system estimates its unfunded liability was about $100 billion at the end of June 2012.

The post Calpers Investments Surpass Prior Record High appeared first on peHUB.