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Limelight Networks (LLNW) announced the next generation of its Orchestrate Digital Presence Platform, offering new features to help organizations better engage digital audiences. Orchestrate V2.0 includes a broad range of innovations that assist Limelight customers in leveraging video, rich media, web, and social content to create consistent digital experiences across channels, devices, and geographies.

Orchestrate is Limelight’s bid to move beyond its roots as a content delivery network (CDN) and provide value-added services to help publishers manage and track their content – especially video – across a complex universe of end-user devices.

“Whether their goal is driving revenue, increasing consumption, or influencing opinions; organizations today increasingly recognize the value of delivering an excellent digital experience,” stated Robert Lento, Limelight CEO. ”The Orchestrate Platform is the first digital presence platform to be fully integrated with a massively provisioned global network to ensure optimal user experience anywhere in the world.”

Orchestrate is designed as a framework for vertically-focused solutions, leveraging the physical reach of the network, the CDN software, and the SaaS applications that exist in a flexible application platform. Orchestrate services available today include content management, video, performance, content delivery, cloud storage, and insight. Version 2 enhancements include better integration across the portfolio, improved performance, customized policies controlling content around the globe – including geo-blocking, and better insight for real-time and historical analysis for live events.

“The Orchestrate platform offers customers the ability to leverage the power of video without compromising the essential insight necessary to deliver a personalized, optimized experience for their audience across all digital touch points,” said Scott Liewehr, president of Digital Clarity Group. ”This is a very compelling value proposition and a unique offering in the market today.”

An early adopter is the European operation of game maker Nintendo.

“As an international company, Nintendo of Europe touches customers in 22 countries, through a variety of consoles and games. To inform and update our customers, we need a powerful set of tools to deliver a consistent and consistently superior experience on our websites,” said Enis Sari, manager online service team, European Online & CRM, Nintendo Europe. “When Nintendo began evaluating potential solutions, we chose the Limelight Orchestrate platform. Our goal is closely aligned with the Limelight vision — by integrating video with content delivery, Orchestrate 2.0 provides a seamless experience for our customers. This is exactly what we need to stay competitive long term.”

We certainly have an idea of the awesome potential the Google Glass headset can offer— but most of the tech world hasn’t gotten the opportunity to see some of the practical abilities the device can bring, until now. Among the noteworthy things that can be done are utilizing the Maps app and viewing/replying to emails, all while biking through windy roads; using the device’s built-in camera to scan all sorts of information and heck— even hailing a cab if necessary.

I mean sure some of the more practical uses won’t be as life-changing as others, but it’s looking like Google Glass will be more than just a gimmick for the general consumer. You can check out the video for yourself below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Come comment on this article: New concept video surfaces, showcases how awesome, yet practical the head can truly be

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) just took another giant step: Udacity, the Georgia Institute of Technology and AT&T this week announced that they would join forces for a completely online computer science master’s degree that will cost students less than $7,000. But, big as the move is, it isn’t entirely surprising.

Earlier this year at the South by Southwest Interactive conference, Coursera co-founder Andrew Ng and edX president Anant Agarwal were asked about the likelihood of full MOOC degrees. Ng gave a diplomatic reply, emphasizing that Coursera isn’t a university but a “humble hosting platform.” But, later, Agarwal told me that he fully expected pure MOOC degrees to emerge.

“Universities are already giving full degrees for online education, for distance online education, so what is different? Extension school programs and online programs are already giving full degrees. So why is this anything special?” he said at the time.

In a post on Udacity’s blog, founder Sebastian Thrun compared the announcement about the new online degree to the moment he proposed to his wife and other “moments in his life [he] will never forget.”

“Ever since Peter Norvig and I launched AI Class, I have been dreaming of putting an entire computer science degree online, and to make access to the material free of charge, so that everyone can become a proficient computer scientist,” he wrote. ”Education has become much more exclusive, and getting into a top-10 computer science department, like Georgia Tech’s, is still out of reach for all but a chosen few.”

Taught through Udacity’s platform, only students granted admission by Georgia Tech will receive credit and will pay based on individual courses or the entire degree program.  A pilot program is expected to begin in the next academic year with enrollment limited to a few hundred students, but they plan to expand over the next three years.

Given the need for more workers in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields, the companies decided to focus on computer science.  If the program goes well, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Udacity expand into other subjects with master’s programs. But Georgia Tech Provost Rafael Bras told Inside Higher Ed that the format may not be as suitable for other disciplines.

“We’ll wait and see,” he said. “I believe this is quite appropriate for professional master’s degrees but I also believe it is less appropriate for non-master’s degrees and certainly for other fields.”

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WLIIA fans, rejoice! The CW has just unveiled the first promo clip for the new season of the classic improv show, which is slated to kick off this summer.

The CW revival of the series, which started in the late 90′s and ran for 8 seasons on ABC, brings back Ryan Stiles, Wayne Brady, and Colin Mochrie – but has replaced the host. In the new version comedian Aisha Tyler is filling in for Drew Carey. The new series will feature a “special guest” for each episode, and will consist of ten 30-minute shows.

Impressions? Well, Colin and Ryan look a bit older, but other than that the performers don’t seem to have lost a step – even when they’re being forced to use 90210 as source material. And Laura Hall is back!

Check it out:

Rick Lombardo, Artistic Director for the San Jose Repertory Theatre, recently participated in an “At Google” talk, in which he discussed becoming an artist, and why theater arts “are going to continue to prosper” in the digital age.

It’s an interesting topic if you’ve got 45 minutes to spare.

The talk took place on April 2nd.

More recent At Google talks here.

Plane flights can be hard. Given how crowded flights are, and how there is no way to escape from them after takeoff, passengers generally have to rely on each other to act civil and be polite. Though the worst most of us can expect is a crying infant, one recent flight found that terrible singing can sometimes be worse.

In a new viral video making its way around the internet, a woman can be seen being escorted off the plane while singing “I Will Always Love You,” the song made famous by Whitney Houston as part of the soundtrack to the movie The Bodyguard. The woman definitely does not have Whitney Houston’s pipes, though even the famous singer probably wouldn’t be welcome for more than an encore on a long plane flight:

Though Flight attendants during the video can also be heard telling passengers that they are not allowed to take pictures on the plane, there is no official photography ban for airplanes in the U.S. The U.S. FCC does, however, explicitly ban cell phone use during flights. Airlines are allowed to make exceptions for devices, but American Airlines’ current policy is to ban cell phone use on flights:

You may use your cell phone, laptop computer, two-way pager, and PDA until the aircraft door is closed; however, use of cell phones is not allowed during flight per Federal Communication Commission rules.

In the development of natural language processing, the semantic web and so on, e-commerce provides a rich breeding ground. Companies such as Amazon and Google always want to find better ways to learn what it is potential customers are looking for, so the technology follows the commercial imperative.

A Berlin startup called Versus IO is trying to apply natural language algorithms in its product comparison service, and it’s just closed a $2.8 million Series A round to do so. The round was led by Earlybird Venture Capital and also includes Dave McClure, who previously invested $100,000, and angels Lars Dittrich and Dario Suter.

Right now Versus IO offers a relatively limited set of comparison types – it started with mobile phones only, and is slowly branching out into other types – but the company has great ambitions. As founder Ramin Far pointed out to me, comparisons are a regular feature of life:

“The market size is so huge. Whether you’re deciding which phone to buy or which city to move to, we compare all the time because we can reduce complexity. We started from this point, saying we just present the data, and that’s why we think the product is so successful. We will try to use the system everywhere.”

Of course, Versus IO isn’t the first outfit to go for data-driven comparisons: the big rival is FindTheBest, set up a few years back by DoubleClick founder Kevin O’Connor. However, while FindTheBest shows an admirable amount of data about each product, it’s still up to the user to interpret what he or she is shown. And, at least in my opinion, the range of data points on offer can be quite overwhelming as they are presented.

Where Versus IO has the edge here is in the simplicity of its design, but also the natural way in which results are presented. If, for example, I compare the Samsung Galaxy S4 with the iPhone 5, Versus IO spells out what each of the comparison points means in a qualitative as well as quantitative fashion.

Why not compare apples with oranges?

Looking at the data point of maximum exposure length on the smartphone’s camera, the service tells me that the S4 offers “definitely longer exposure” then explains what exposure means and why a longer exposure can be beneficial for night-time shooting. It also tells me that there are “a tad more apps available” for the S4 than the iPhone 5 – I’m not sure that’s true, but it does demonstrate the sort of presentation we’re talking about here.

What’s particularly nifty about Versus IO, and what makes its future so intriguing, is that you can compare items that are not like-for-like. How about comparing the iPhone 5 with a Canon camera, for example? It’s more useful than it may seem at first – many people will want to know if it’s worth buying a point-and-shoot when the camera in their handset is good enough for many circumstances – and it also demonstrates the generic nature of Versus IO’s data model.

The next step, according to Far, is for Versus IO to start being able to interpret and structure user-generated sentiment. It’s a breakthrough that’s “coming very soon”, he promised:

“The crowd has more wisdom than I. Let’s say tomorrow we’re comparing universities or health insurances. So many people know much more than me, but if I ask somebody to tell me what the best health insurance in the UK is, it wouldn’t work. If we look to comments, there’s a lot of helpful input but it’s not structured enough.

“This means we have to find a way to structure this content from the user… but in the beginning you need a data model which is highly generic. We don’t have databases or tables for phones or cameras – this data model is so highly generic, nobody has it like this.”

Versus IO’s traffic is apparently growing by, on average, 35 percent a month, and Far says it’s currently seeing 2.2 million monthly uniques.

How quickly it grows in future will no doubt have a lot to do with its expansion into other item categories, and also whether or not people prefer Versus IO’s approach to that of far more established rivals such as FindTheBest. It should be noted that FindTheBest raised an $11 million Series B round a couple months back, and clearly isn’t sitting still.

That said, Versus IO certainly promises a lot and its user experience is impressively clean yet informative. It’s very much worth keeping an eye on.

As for me, a Capetonian by birth who is now living in Berlin, I’m going to sit back and contemplate Versus IO’s comparison of the two cities. Did you know, Cape Town apparently has “appreciably lower” sales tax than the German capital?

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At 7:30 on a sunny winter day in London, I settle into a conference room with the usual low-tech tools for high-stakes teamwork: Big white Post-It pads, Sharpies of every color, and a sense of urgency. Six top executives are midway through a 12-week assignment: Figure out how thousands of employees in their $8 billion company can absorb major changes—three acquisitions, a new global IT system, and a mandate to double revenue in three years—in minimal time. Their employer has hired me to help—a job that requires me to serve as an observer, interloper, shrink, and agitator.

By 10:30, the team has efficiently sketched out a job description for the point person who will lead the effort. Suddenly, a snag. Where will this designated miracle worker report? One team member, a no-nonsense American with a Bain Capital pedigree, thinks the answer is obvious: North America Human Resources. Another, a blunt Dutch woman with an equally big personality, is also clear: If the change czar reports to HR, the mission will be dead on arrival. The two go at it like opposing counsel before a judge. With no end in sight, tension rises and the four other team members retreat. One tries to change the subject. Another takes a bathroom break. Finally the combatants, arms folded on chests, also fall silent.

“Time Out,” I call. “What just happened?” More silence, until one of the four non-combatants states the obvious: “This is really uncomfortable.”

As Jon Katzenbach famously delineates, a group does not make team. Turning one into the other requires, above all, close attention to fundamental human dynamics. But team members themselves, intent on content, don’t often see process, even as it derails them.

Straight out of Argyris’s classic HBR article about why smart people can’t learn,” this room is full of people skilled in all elements of leadership except collaborative work and unfamiliar with the messiness of honest, open-ended discussion. The typical corporate fix for the team dilemma is training. But lessons learned in a classroom or on a ropes course rarely translate to the crucible of real life.

In fact, the most effective approach keeps participants right in the plant or at the conference table. This is what organizational development types call “action learning,” and it has two essential ingredients. Participants learn genuine collaboration while tackling the task at hand. Working in real time with their colleagues on immediate problems, participants are motivated and more likely to confront inconvenient truths—if prompted. That’s the second ingredient: Intervention.

Of course, intervention has to be done right. The coach must be involved from the start and work with individual team members in private as well as in the group. I quickly establish my prerogatives as interloper, but guide the team in creating ground rules they will buy into—and absorb into their own leadership repertoire.

The balancing act for the coach: Create a safe space, but push hard.

Honest conversation isn’t the norm in corporate settings, and good team behaviors are often counter-intuitive. The pressure can bring out the dark side of any individual, making it hard to hear the angel. I tap my experience as a clinical psychologist as I call out truths and put people on the spot: Real conversation doesn’t happen without some “drama.” But it’s crucial to distinguish between clinical goals and business goals. I’ve seen some experts, in the interest of honesty and personal growth, set off bombs. I want to open minds and provoke change, but I’m there to move a team forward.

One non-incendiary technique: the element of surprise.

The London team clearly expected me to jump on the two combatants. (Destructive personalities or bad chemistry can destroy a team; in some cases, I’ll recommend disbanding or reconstituting a team.) But I turn to the other four: “Where were you? Do you hang back like that in the office when conflict erupts?” I remind them that they’ve committed to engage fully and we review techniques for handling different personal and leadership styles, staying calm when answers are elusive, and how to steer into a skid. They quickly return to the topic in a straightforward conversation with everyone involved. When we end the session, they haven’t answered the question on a reporting relationship, but they’ve agreed on how to arrive at one and when to report back.

One good session, one problem solved. But that isn’t the only measure of success. A few months later, the business took a sharp downturn due to unexpected economic head winds. The same team was quickly facing new questions with new parameters—and they were up to the task.

Making good on the promise of teamwork has been a challenge since the team idea rose from the tradition of control-and-command management in the 1960s. But now is a critical time to get past the abstract idea and deploy genuine teams that can do the urgent work of innovation and competition. I don’t believe those teams spring up because we want them. It takes a skilled interventionist to connect the dots—and the players.

Final Book Now Available

In 2012, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) approached the National Research Council and asked that a committee be formed to develop a list of workshop topics to explore the impact of emerging science and technology. One topic that came out of that list was directed evolution for development and production of bioactive agents. This workshop was held on February 21-22, 2013.

Directed Evolution for Development and Production of Bioactive Agents explains the objectives of the workshop, which were to explore the potential use of directed evolution1 for military science and technology. Understanding the current research in this area, and the potential opportunities for U.S. adversaries to use this research, might allow the DIA to advise U.S. policy makers in an appropriate and timely manner. The workshop featured invited presentations and discussions that aimed to:
-Inform the U.S. intelligence community of the current status of directed evolution technology and related research, and
-Discuss possible approaches involving directed evolution that might be used by an adversary to develop toxic biological agents that could pose a threat to the United States or its allies, and how they could be identified.

Members of the Committee on Science and Technology for Defense Warning planned the agenda for the workshop, selected the presenters, and helped moderate discussions in which meeting participants probed issues of national security related to directed evolution in an effort to gain an understanding of potential vulnerabilities. Experts were invited from the areas of directed evolution, biosynthesis, detection, and biological agents.

[Read the full report]

Topics: Conflict and Security Issues

Final Book Now Available

Future Battlespace Situational Awareness is the third workshop in an ongoing series of workshops conducted by the National Research Council’s Committee for Science and Technology Challenges to U.S. National Security Interests. The first two workshops looked at individual technologies related to “big” data and future antennas and provided context for the topic addressed in the third workshop—the planning of a future warfare scenario. The objectives for the third workshop were to review technologies that enable battlespace situational awareness 10-20 years into the future for red and blue forces; and emphasize the capabilities within air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace.

The workshop was held on May 30-31, 2012, in Suffolk, Virginia, at the Lockheed Martin Center for Innovation. The sessions were not open to the public because they involved discussions of classified material, including data addressing vulnerabilities, indicators, and observables. This series of workshops address U.S. and foreign research, why S&T applications of technologies in development are important in the context of military capabilities, and what critical scientific breakthroughs are needed to achieve advances in the fields of interest— focusing detailed attention on specific developments in the foregoing fields that might have national security implications for the United States. These workshops also consider methodology to track the relevant technology landscape for the future.

The three workshops feature invited presentations and panelists and include discussions on a selected topic including themes relating to defense warning and surprise. Future of Battlespace Situational Awareness summarizes the third workshop.

[Read the full report]

Topics: Conflict and Security Issues

As you may know, Arizona Senator John McCain has sponsored a bill that would take on cable and satellite TV providers by forcing a new “a la carte” system for consumers to pick and choose which channels they want to pay for. Of course, consumers now pay over a hundred dollars a month for hundreds of channels – many of which they never watch. McCain argues that it’s simply becoming too expensive, and that forcing people to pay for channels they don’t want is wrong and must be curtailed.

McCain recently spoke to Bloomberg TV about his new bill, the TV Consumer Freedom Act, which aims to “allow multichannel video programming distributors to provide video programming to subscribers on an a la carte basis, and for other purposes.”

In the interview, McCain likens the current system of subscription-based television to a restaurant with a menu full of pricey packages:

“When I go into a restaurant…I’m given a menu and I can select from it. And the waiter doesn’t come up and say ‘which package do you want, of different courses?’ Now there may be a menu there that you can select, that has entree, appetizers, etc., but you don’t have to pay for things you don’t order. Now, because these people have monopolies…and why don’t restaurants do this? Because other restaurants don’t so therefore they can’t force you to.”

McCain goes on to discuss the efforts against his legislation.

“Are we gonna win? I dunno. I’ll tell you, their lobbyists, when I testified this morning, they were there in their $500 dollar suits…It’s gonna be awful hard to beat them, but they look nice though,” said McCain.

Check out the interview below:

Our live stream from BlackBerry Live 2013 begins at 10:00am ET! The feed will appear below until 11:30am. If you’ve missed it, we’ll be posting the video footage later today.

Netflix’s most recent foray into original programming, Hemlock Grove, may not have debuted to the rave reviews of its predecessor, House of Cards, but it did outperform it in its early days. More people watched Hemlock Grove in the first two days of availability, as Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said during a recent company conference call.

Despite the lack of critical acclaim, people seem to like the show. This is usually how the horror genre works. And in the genre, when people want more, they usually get it. See franchises like Paranormal Activity and Saw (or more historically, Friday the 13th, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, A Nightmare on Elm St., etc.).

Netflix has not announced plans for a second season yet, but it’s hard to imagine the company killing one of the early cornerstones of its original programming experiment if it’s getting the viewers. But iewers aren’t just watching the show. They’re already anticipating more. Yes, already (it did just come out less than a month ago). This is no doubt a side effect of releasing an entire season’s worth of episodes at the same time.

Nevertheless, as Yahoo reports, there is a high volume of people searching for the release date of the second season, despite no announcement that it will even happen.

The involvement of Eli Roth (one of the show’s producers, who also directed the pilot) was, without a doubt, a huge part of the interest the show generated ahead of its release, but t’s hard to say how much he would be involved with a second season. He clearly has a lot on his plate (and some of us are still hoping he can find time to make “Thanksgiving“). Still, there’s no apparent reason that Netflix wouldn’t push forward with a new season with or without him.

There shouldn’t be a lack of material, based on reports of Brian McGreevy’s work on sequels to the novel upon which the show is based. Shock Til You Drop reported in April of last year:

McGreevy has a second Hemlock Grove novel nearing completion, with a third fully outlined, so expect at least two more seasons should the series find a following.

Warner Bros. owns DC Comics, and its gaming arm at Warner Bros. Games uses that to its advantage every year with a number of DC themed games. One such game is due out later this year, and no, it’s not Batman: Arkham Origins.

Warner Bros. Games and 5th Cell announced today that they’re working on a new entry in the popular Scribblenauts series called Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure. As the name implies, players will be solving situational puzzles with the help of DC heroes and villains. What makes this particular game special, however, is that it features over 2,000 characters from DC Comics’ storied history.

5th Cell’s Caleb Arseneaux told Polygon that Scribblenauts Unmasked will have every character to ever appear in a DC comic book. I’m sure the most hardcore fans of DC Comics fans will see if that claim is true, but most will be content to know that there are 33 different Batmans in the game – covering every single variation on the character over the years.

Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure will launch later this year on Wii U, 3DS and PC.

Over on year ago, Trayvon Martin was shot and killed while walking from a convenience store to his home in his Florida neighborhood. The shooter, George Zimmerman, claims that he shot Martin in self-defense, but he is now on trial for the 17-year-old’s murder.

This week, a pre-trial hearing for Zimmerman’s trial turned to the topic of the shouts heard on a 911 call recorded at the time of the incident. Zimmerman had called a non-emergency police number at the time of the incident. Martin was also on the phone, with a female friend who has stated she heard Martin say, “Why are you following me?” shortly before his death.

According to an Associated Press report on the trial, the prosecution has hired audio experts to determine whether the shouts heard on the call recording were those of Zimmerman or Martin. Of the two experts cited in the story, one found that the shouts were Martins and the other found they were a mix of both Zimmerman and Martin. In a court filing, Zimmerman’s lawyer has stated that he believes the audio analysis could prejudice jurors, and should not be allowed at the trial.

Since he was charged with Martin’s murder, Zimmerman has been in hiding and using various schemes to pay for his legal representation.

If you run your car on the race track then you know first hand how punishing it can be on not only the mechanics of the vehicle, but on the paint as well. Rocks and debris can chip and damage your cars finish, as can spilled fluids. Have no fear though because master detailer and car care expert Larry Kosilla of DRIVE CLEAN is here to let you in on a few little tips that will not only extend the life of your cars paint, but protect it during everyday driving as well.

Source: Youtube.com/DRIVE

As the most-requested flavor of Pop-Tart, peanut butter has long awaited its time in the spotlight. Now is that time.

The makers of the popular breakfast pastry, Kellogg, announced this week that they will indeed be selling peanut butter Pop-Tarts and chocolate-frosted peanut butter Pop-Tarts in order to appease their fans. The new additions will come in gold-foil wrappers in an orange box to distinguish them from the other flavors, most likely so that parents can avoid food allergies.

This is actually the second time Pop-Tarts have had a peanutty-flavor; in 1986 they introduced a peanut butter-and-jelly version. It didn’t do so well, but I’m betting this latest incarnation will do just fine. No word yet on whether the flavor will be a permanent addition to the line or if it’s a limited-time item.

“Peanut butter has long been the most requested flavor by our fans,” Pop-Tarts marketing director Dick Podiak said in a release. “We think everyone will agree it was worth the wait once they taste these delicious new varieties.”

There are some limited edition flavors rolling out this week, too, including WildBerry and red velvet. Not all stores will carry them, but you can head over to the Pop-Tarts site to check out the selection.

A prostitution sting in Florida busted a whopping 92 people over a period of four days, Orlando authorities say.

The sting was set up at a local hotel and ultimately captured 39 prostitutes and 12 pimps; among those arrested were a youth minister and a man who was in Florida for his honeymoon.

21-year old Mohammed Ahmed was a newlywed who was apparently trying to arrange for a prostitute to come and service him along with his wife; unfortunately for him, he wound up involved in the massive undercover operation.

Authorities say that prostitution busts are often connected to other crimes and that solicitation is just as illegal when it’s done online, as it mostly was in this case.

“The negative social costs of prostitution hurt families, children, and communities, including the spreading of infectious diseases,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. “The nexus between prostitution and other crime, such as illegal drugs, violence against women, and human trafficking, is a real problem.”

No word yet on whether the newlywed’s bride had prior knowledge of his plans or not.

FOX 35 News Orlando