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Microsoft impressed me when it unveiled the Xbox One earlier this week. I can’t imagine a future where we won’t be talking and gesturing to our TVs while visiting with grandma on a video call and playing a game at the same time. Throughout the presentation, I was thinking, I wish Apple made something like this. The battle for your living room is heating up, and the Xbox One has positioned itself as the “all-in-One” solution, providing all your entertainment in one device. It doesn’t entirely succeed at that, but it does a better job than what Apple is offering currently with the Apple TV, and consumers will notice that.

Below, I’ll examine how I think Apple can bring the Apple TV up to par with the One as a true living room device.

Voice and gestures

The Xbox One’s Kinect peripheral lets you control the console with your voice or gestures. For instance, you can turn the console on by saying “Xbox, on” or flip to a new tab in the interface with a wave of your hand. These features might sound gimmicky to some, but at least you won’t need to hunt for a controller or remote just to do something simple. My parents aren’t great with controllers, so I can see them using their voices and gestures more heavily. Plus, the features are impressive when demonstrated, even if most people only end up using them occasionally.

Siri on an Apple TV would have to interpret and respond to user input instantaneously like voice control does on the Xbox. The wait-for-the-tone approach Siri uses on iOS would get annoying too quickly. The Xbox One’s voice control lets you navigate around the interface, but it can’t answer factual questions or manage tasks like Siri can. When you ask Siri something that requires a reply, it could pop up a window with the results.

Gestures could work similarly to how they work on Apple’s other devices. You could pinch in with one hand to go home, or swipe right or left to switch tasks. If you hover your hand, you could get a cursor like you do on the Xbox. We should keep in mind that the Kinect is a complex device with many sensors, which is why it’s so bulky. If Apple were to use the same technology, they would have to make the Apple TV’s form factor bigger, either by enlarging the current Apple TV design or by hiding the technology in a new TV-like design.

There are pros and cons to both approaches, though. For instance, a bigger version of the current form factor loses its predecessor’s elegance and leads to more clutter, while an actual Apple television wouldn’t be able to compete with the Xbox One on cost.

Live TV and the App Store

The Xbox One uses the same technology Google’s failing TV platform does to hook into your cable or satellite box: HDMI and IR blasters. The problem with this is that you can only watch live TV. You can’t access shows on your DVR or record new ones, so you have to switch back and forth. Due to those caveats and the added bulk the equipment brings, I doubt we’ll ever see the phrase “IR blaster” on the Apple TV’s spec page.

What’s more likely to happen is what’s already been happening on iOS for a few years now: channels becoming apps. Bringing the App Store to the Apple TV (along with a native SDK) would allow the many companies that already have video streaming apps on iOS, like ABC and HBO, to port them over. Microsoft hasn’t yet announced firm plans for an app store on the Xbox One, but it’s likely we’ll hear more about it at the Build 2013 conference.

Gaming

Few remember that Apple actually made its own gaming console in the ’90s called the Pippin. It was a dismal failure, selling a mere 42,000 units. Fast forward to today and iOS devices are the most popular handheld consoles in existence, but you can’t play any games for them on your TV without lag-prone AirPlay mirroring. Meanwhile, the Xbox is getting better at doing the Apple TV’s job (entertainment) faster than the Apple TV is getting better at doing the Xbox’s job (games). If the Apple TV doesn’t embrace gaming, it risks a poor comparison next to Microsoft’s more capable console. Consumers, I think, would rather have one device that does everything, and the Apple TV doesn’t do gaming. And that missing feature is only going to become more apparent as Apple continues its success in mobile gaming.

Making the Apple TV a great gaming machine isn’t an easy task, though. The single-core A5 processor in the current version may work for casual games with decent graphics, but graphics-intense titles like Call of Duty: Ghosts will require much more power. Targeting casual gamers worked out well for Nintendo’s Wii, so it’s arguable that Apple could do just that by beefing up the processor, and cede the hardcore gaming audience to Microsoft and Sony. There’s a more interesting possibility, though: streaming the games as they’re rendered from a server to the Apple TV. The grunt work would be done in the cloud, and the Apple TV would simply be displaying it. Sony’s PS4 will be able to stream earlier PlayStation titles when it’s released later this year, so it’s not entirely outside the realm of possibility for Apple to do something similar.

Controllers are another aspect of console gaming that Apple can’t ignore. Most speculation on what Apple would do here revolves around simply using iOS devices as touchscreen controllers. Touchscreens work well for casual mobile games, but I think that’s the wrong solution for games on Apple TV. Not being able to feel the buttons you’re pressing is a huge disadvantage, and I can imagine people getting frustrated looking back and forth from their TV to their iOS device to make sure their fingers are in the right place. And unless the entire house has iPhones, you’ll be paying at least $300 for each iOS device you want to use as a controller. To provide an experience that can rival Microsoft’s, Apple needs to make its own controller, or at least provide an accessory that turns iOS devices into hardware controllers.

Smarter AirPlay

AirPlay is a huge part of what makes Apple TV useful. Rather than endlessly passing your phone around to show off photos of your kids, you can just AirPlay it to the TV so everyone can see. However, AirPlay could be even more useful by enabling more of a second-screen experience, like Microsoft’s SmartGlass. SmartGlass is a standalone app that shows you ambient information about whatever’s happening on your Xbox. If you’re playing a game, SmartGlass might show you a map, or your stats. Watch a movie, and SmartGlass’ll give you the cast and synopsis. Back on iOS, all the information you’ll glean from the AirPlay dialog is “This video is playing on your Apple TV”. Apple can do better, especially given that they have one of the biggest media databases in the world in iTunes.

What else would you like to see in a new Apple TV? Tell us in the comments.

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You’ve been working at a small start-up for a while now when a large, deep-pocketed corporation comes knocking, asking you to join its innovation team. Should you take the job? Will this be the chance to exercise your entrepreneurial imagination in a more secure environment with ample assets? Or will you end up drowning in bureaucracy, pining for the white-knuckled start-up pace you’re used to?

We have similar concerns whenever we consider accepting an innovation engagement. Since 2009 we’ve conducted close to 500 innovation-related projects with about 100 large companies. Drawing on that experience, we’ve developed a set of questions that helps us to determine how effective our innovation efforts are likely to be, before we agree to sign on. Asking the five questions below can give you a sense of how receptive a company is likely to be to the uncertainties, pace, and culture innovators need to do their best work.

1. Is the company “healthy but worried?” It seems obvious that you’d want to join a company that’s growing or is at least financially stable. Certainly, companies in crisis are difficult environments for innovators to thrive within because management’s attention is overwhelmingly (and appropriately) focused on fixing the immediate misfortune. But a company in which everything is going gangbusters is likely to be one that does not feel the need to innovate (this is the innovator’s paradox).To be valued, innovators need to be in an organization that recognizes that maintaining the status quo carries significant risk and so is prepared to take on the uncertainties that come with innovation. The innovator’s sweet spot is at a company where commitment to transformative change outpaces the early warning signs of tectonic industry shifts.
2. Is leadership truly committed to innovation, or is it just giving it lip service? Admittedly, this question can be hard to answer from the outside, but the clearest signal is the amount of time leadership spends on topics related to innovation. If it is a meeting a quarter, be wary. Innovation is an unnatural act inside most companies, and without top leadership engagement innovators are likely to struggle. A good rule of thumb is that anything that takes up less than 20% of senior leaders’ time isn’t a priority to them. So look for someone on the top management team who is spending at least a day a week on innovation.
3. Does someone in top management or on the board have firsthand experience with innovation? Ideally, you want someone in a senior position to be intimately familiar with innovation’s trials and tribulations. For example, Intuit founder Scott Cook’s presence on Procter & Gamble’s board of directors has boosted P&G’s innovation efforts. Cook’s personal passion and innovation experience has helped P&G maintain its commitment to innovation even through downturns in economic cycles or struggles in its effort to systematize the pursuit of growth through innovation. Watch out for a management team stacked with industry lifers encountering disruptive change for the first time — particularly if the board is also stacked with management cronies.
4. Is inquisitiveness part of this company’s culture? Some companies encourage curiosity, looking to learn from companies both inside and outside their industry and displaying a willingness to try new approaches. They have a degree of humility, recognizing that they don’t have all the answers. It is hard for innovation to stick in overly insular environments that lack innate curiosity. Ideas that are different from the status quo tend to either be rejected or shaped until they resemble something familiar. Signs of inquisitive organizations include participation in cross-industry consortiums and conferences and investment in blue-sky academic research. Inquisitive organizations also carefully study innovation efforts that didn’t work out, seeking to extract useful lessons. Asking “How do you handle commercial failure?” can be a great way to gauge organizational curiosity.
5. Does this company have a problem it’s trying to fix? Ideally, you’d want to join a company that knows which areas it’s struggling with. Perhaps a competitor seems to keep getting the upper hand. Or leaders know the firm should be in a certain market but can’t figure out how to compete there. Or they know that a disruptive technology is getting close enough to the mainstream that it simply can’t be ignored any longer. These conditions create a need for demonstration projects that showcase the impact innovation can have.

If you happen to be considering an innovation role inside a company, consider how many of these conditions the company meets. Missing one is likely fine, but any more than that and odds are high that in less than a year you’ll be eagerly eyeing your next career shift.

Popular forum app Tapatalk has a new version out today that users may want to check out. The public beta of Tapatalk 4 was released overnight. The new version introduces a new UI that heavily incorporates the Android HOLO guidelines. These include features like the sliding menu tray from the left edge of the screen and a Google Now card-like layout.

Some of the new features include a Timeline view that will display threads in order of the most recent posts, replacing the “All” option in the old version. Once you drill down into a thread, you will find that you can now swipe left or right to navigate between the different pages for long threads. There is a quick reply option at the bottom of the screen or you can open a page for a longer reply. A menu button in the upper right corner provides page specific options, like adding pictures, links, or emoticons for posts.

Speaking of images, the app now includes several options for pictures thanks to an in-app photo editor. These include several Instagram type functions as well as basic editing like crop, brightness, and color controls. Users can also add text or draw on images before posting.

From the “home” screen of the app, listing forums or sites you have saved, you can long press on an entry to then rearrange the listing, delete sites, or set notification options at the site level.

Developer Quoord Systems Limited indicates Tapatalk 4 will eventually be merged with Tapatalk HD, but will retain the Tapatalk 4 name. Tapatalk 4 does require Android 4.0 or higher and for now, is free. Check it out using one of the download links below the gallery of images.

Google Play Download Link

Come comment on this article: Public beta of Tapatalk 4 released through Google Play

With the frenzy of new devices released this spring, smartphone buyers are looking forward now to the fall season to see what manufacturers will be bringing to market. One new bit of hardware garnering lots of attention is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 processor which is expected to become the new top end. A new benchmark was spotted that seems to show a Qualcomm 800 running on Android 4.2.2.

Japanese site Ringer’s Blue Men has published what purports to be an AnTuTu benchmark for the unannounced Pantech IM-A880 smartphone. The results show a device running at 1958 – 2150 MHz, which seems to be consistent with Snapdragon 800 speeds. The top score of 30133 surpasses both the Exynos Octa 5 and the Snapdragon 600. It is not much of an improvement, about a 10% gain compared to the Exynos chip, but that should still be noticeable for users.

source: Ringer’s Blue Men
via: Android Authority

Come comment on this article: New benchmark for Snapdragon 800 discovered for Pantech device

Adolescence is tough enough without the threat of cancer or the fear of being unable to have children. But for Surbhi Sarna, high school was an extra trying time thanks to a series of cysts that wouldn’t leave her ovaries alone.

Starting at age 13, she said, she experienced multiple episodes of abdominal pain caused by recurring complex ovarian cysts. Each time, Sarna would go to the doctor and undergo blood tests and ultrasounds to determine the severity of the problem, hoping to learn whether the cysts were cancerous. But each time, even though her blood tests came back normal, the doctors could never tell her with certainty that she was in the clear. It’s very difficult to determine whether a cyst is cancerous without invasive surgery and the surgery to remove a cyst can threaten fertility, she said.

“For a 13-year-old, that’s really a big deal,” Sarna, who is now 27, told me. “I realized then that there is a big unmeet need.”

Ultimately, the cysts dissolved on their own and, by the time she started her freshman year at UC Berkeley, Sarna said, they stopped developing entirely. But at that point she’d already decided that she would study bioengineering, with the goal of someday working to improve women’s health.

So many questions in women’s health

As Sarna learned, there are so many unknowns when it comes to ovarian cancer — the exact cause of the disease is a mystery, it’s symptoms are vague and it’s difficult to diagnose with certainty until it’s already in the later stages. Many other areas of women’s health, including fertility, are equally overflowing with questions.

Founded in 2010, nVision grew out of Sarna’s personal experience and work at Berkeley, as well as conversations with her father and husband, both of whom work in Silicon Valley.  The company is still just beginning to get off the ground — it just closed the second tranche of a $4.4 million Series A round last week after many talks with less sympathetic venture capitalists — but intends to develop a range of medical devices for women’s health diagnostics and treatment.

Its first products include devices for detecting fallopian tube blockage — a leading cause of infertility — and grabbing cells from a woman’s reproductive track to determine whether cancer has developed in the ovaries. Both devices will need to through the Food & Drug Administration’s approval process, and Sarna expects to make the first sale in a couple of years..

Introducing less expensive, simpler procedures

Now, the typical procedure for determining whether a woman’s fallopian tubes are clear is the hysterosalpingogram, a special X-ray test that causes discomfort for some and requires an extra expense and trip to the doctor. But Sarna said her catheter-based device that sends a tiny camera into the fallopian tube to gather images could be used by a typical OB/GYN (not a specialist) at a lower cost and with less inconvenience.

The other diagnostic device, which also uses a catheter, takes cells from a woman’s ovaries. It’s intended to give women a more accurate and less risky way to screen for ovarian cancer, and it’s also simple enough for use in an OB/GYN’s office. At the moment, current options are an inconclusive blood test or invasive and expensive surgery.

The devices challenge the traditional system of women’s health, in which women are referred to more expensive specialists and procedures for fertility and more serious issues. But Sarna said that by making the devices simple and the procedures less expensive, she hopes OB/GYNs will be able to offer the services to more women – and engage women at a deeper level.

At present, images from diagnostic procedures are saved by hospitals and doctors offices and can be a headache for patients to get their hands on. But Sarna said her longer-term goal is to introduce apps that complement each device so that women can immediately receive the data and images from their procedures.

“The unique challenge around women’s health, historically, is that women don’t talk about their conditions and they suffer silently,” said Sarna. “What I’d love to do is take data and empower the patient.”

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Ron Bradley was pacing back and forth in his office. He knew it was time to schedule quarterly feedback sessions with his team members. This was something he did on a regular basis. But this time was different. He was more uncomfortable than ever before, and he knew exactly why. Ron felt disconnected from his employees — especially his foreign-born employees — and that put him in a very uncomfortable and awkward position as a mentor. And it certainly wasn’t from a lack of trying.

As a senior partner at a prestigious global consulting firm, Ron knew he could be intimidating to his junior colleagues, so he made it a priority to break down barriers. He asked everyone to call him Ron instead of “Dr. Bradley.” He had an open-door policy: Instead of making an official appointment to see him, he encouraged the team to just knock on his door. In fact, he always took the opportunity to make casual, relaxed small talk with his employees — about the weather, people’s families, last night’s sports event, or whatever topic seemed relevant. Finally, he implored everyone to “speak their minds” at team meetings and brainstorming discussions — to debate, discuss, and question ideas, no matter whose ideas they were (even his!).

But none of this worked with his foreign-born employees. They were polite and hardworking; there was no denying that. But in terms of building a relationship and connecting on any personal level, they appeared aloof and completely disinterested. This was particularly frustrating and disappointing to Ron, given all his efforts, and it was something he planned on discussing at each of their performance evaluation meetings.

Ron’s story is not unique; in fact, in my work over the past decade or so studying the challenges of cultural adaptation, I have met with many executives like Ron who have spoken about their frustrations connecting with their foreign employees. I have also spoken with foreign-born employees frustrated about the very same issue.

Take, for example, the case of Charles, an engaging, young consultant from Cameroon working in the U.S. for a major international firm. In Cameroon, relationships with elders, including your boss, were very hierarchical. When Charles was a child, he was taught to “speak when spoken to” and “be seen but not heard.” This was true at home, at school, and at work. In Cameroon, you would never make small talk with your boss, casually knock on his door to have a chat, or, heaven forbid, challenge anything he said during a group discussion. Yet these were the very same things that Charles had to do in order to be successful at his firm — just like Ron’s subordinates.

I have seen and heard about many cases like this: managers like Ron failing to make connections with their foreign employees, and employees like Charles failing to connect with their bosses. It can be confusing, anxiety-provoking, and frustrating for all parties involved. And for the firm, it’s a missed opportunity to leverage the benefits of a multicultural workplace. So, what can you do as a manager to connect better with your foreign-born employees?

The first thing you can do is to empathize. Having empathy for your foreign-born employees’ experiences can go a long way toward connecting with them. For example, in Ron’s case, it would mean appreciating how well-intentioned efforts at “breaking down barriers” will not work as easily or quickly with employees like Charles who come from cultures where connecting with a boss on a personal level is simply unheard of.

Then, if you have never lived or worked abroad, read up on cultural differences and about the challenges of cultural adaptation. Talk with anyone you might know in your list of contacts who is from that culture but perhaps may be more acculturated than your employee. Your contact could be a wealth of information for you and could even become a possible mentor for your employee as well.

Although it may take time, you can develop relationships with your foreign-born employees. Search for shared areas of interest — like a hobby, sport, or other activity that transcends culture and cultural differences. For example, I know an American executive who has made great connections with his Canadian employees through a shared interest in hockey, a sport he knew little about initially but has come to enjoy. Be patient in your efforts to connect and expect a learning curve. Also, don’t misattribute a lack of connection — especially at first — to a lack of interest. It takes time and effort to adapt your behavior, especially when communicating with people more powerful than you are. Imagine how uncomfortable it would be for you to completely change the way that you communicate with authority figures, especially if that style were ingrained in you from an early age.

Have patience when developing relationships with your foreign-born employees, and that patience will pay off. It may not always be easy, but there can be great benefits of establishing relationships with your employees. So stay the course, and in no time you will be reaping the benefits of a multicultural workplace.

Ken Oka was a well renowned formation skydiver; the 62 year old veteran had taken part in formation skydiving for years. However, a complication during a dive lead Ken Oka to getting his chute wrapped around himself, and he wasn’t able to get untangled before plummeting to his death.

The maneuver involved multiple divers, two of which landed safely in a Riverside County, California residential neighborhood. The two men landed in the yard of Alma Lopez, who said they were beside themselves and were immediately looking for Oka. They called 911, and began searching for their friend in the neighborhood. He was eventually found and taken to a hospital, where he later passed away.

Oka was featured in the LA-Times years ago for his formation diving, where he explained what it’s all about, “You literally wrap your foot in your teammate’s parachute line and you try to fly this [formation] very uniformly together”

Sgt. David Cardoza of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department stated that the FAA would open an investigation, finding out what caused the incident.

Oka was the second person to die in formation skydiving in the area this year, and the 18th person from the past 20 years.

Below you can see how big skydiving formations can get, and just how precise you have to be to make sure it all goes safely.

Falling asleep at the wheel is dangerous for an adult. For a kid driving a toy car, it’s kind of adorable. With the added music, it becomes adorable and hilarious.

Let’s just hope he learns to not fall asleep at the wheel when he gets older.

[SoilyOily via Reddit]

Continue reading…

A much smaller Powerball worth $50M has been split between 3 winning tickets.

The AP reports that a Florida resident is the third winner of the latest $50M Powerball award. The other two winners were from Louisiana and Delaware. The three winners will split $50 million over 20 years, of a lump sum of $31.1 million.

This is the second time this month that somebody from Florida has won the lottery. An unnamed winner on May 20 won the Powerball jackpot worth $590.5 million. The state said at the time that Florida is the state with the most Powerball winners of any state. This latest win only further cements Florida as being full of lottery winners.

Speaking of records, the three-way split of the latest Powerball is not the highest split. A 2001 $295 million Powerball was split four ways.

The next Powerball jackpot will only be worth $40 million. For most, that’s still quite enough money.

Samsung recently released a video to go over the features of the brand new HomeSync 1TB media streamer. It’s pretty much a lock to be a hit on the market, as the device houses a terabyte of HDD storage, and can hook up to your TV for internet connectivity.

The HomeSync also allows you to wirelessly stream content from your Galaxy devices. The included Jelly Bean media player brings the familiar Android experience to the TV, and gives users access to the Play Store and all their apps. Check out the video after the break.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Come comment on this article: Samsung releases informational video about HomeSync 1TB media streamer

Ryan Kelly is well known by Duke fans as being a hard working 6-10 forward who can shoot the three, and play some intense defense. To the rest of the world, he’ll be known as the man who is going to marry Bill Cowher’s daughter. Yes, the Bill Cowher who’s renowned for wearing one of the all time greatest scowls in NFL sideline history, for the hard-nosed Pittsburgh Steelers.

Kelly made the announcement on Twitter, posting the picture below.

The love of my life @lindsaycowhersaid yes! #sohappy #blessed twitter.com/RyanKelly34/st…

— Ryan Kelly (@RyanKelly34) May 23, 2013

The NBA Draft will be in June, and it’s unknown exactly where Kelly would fall in the draft. Likely in the 2nd round, but even getting a spot in the NBA would be a great way to start off a long relationship with a new fiancee.

A few days ago, cloud-based PC management service Soluto released a study into the habits of 10,848 Windows 8 users, and found that consumers really aren’t running apps all that regularly on the new operating system.

According to Soluto, “on average, a Windows 8 user will launch a Metro app 1.52 times a day. Tablet users launch the most Metro apps at 2.71 times per day”.

Soluto also found that among desktop and laptop users, 60 percent of people launch an app less than once a day. Presumably the only tile they click on the Modern UI is the one that takes them through to the desktop. Or maybe they have a third-party Start button installed and don’t ever see the new UI.

I use Windows 8 for at least eight hours a day, five or six days a week, but I’ll admit I can often go for very long stretches without launching a single app. Although I have the free Adobe Photoshop Express installed in the Modern UI, I’ve only ever used it once. Even for simple tasks I prefer to launch the actual Photoshop from the desktop. I might not need anywhere the power it offers, but it’s good to have it on hand.

And once I’m working on the desktop, I have no real need to go back to the Start screen because I have a browser window with likes of Outlook.com, Facebook, and Google Reader permanently open in tabs, on my second monitor.

The Windows 8 app experience often isn’t a great one truth be told. Lots of apps are just websites presented differently or cut down versions of better programs. The few occasions I’ve used the Modern UI version of Internet Explorer I’ve felt as if it’s designed for people who don’t really use the web much.

Low app usage, coupled with the lack of big name apps, is clearly a problem for Microsoft. And it’s a vicious circle. Lack of official apps, leads to lack of app use, leads to the lack of official app creation. Certainly, in the case of Windows 8 on the PC, there isn’t a great need for apps based on websites, when you can fire up the actual website and get the full experience. And not all apps need clicking on anyway — sometimes the information that appears on a live tile is all you need at that moment.

Soluto’s survey also found that most of the apps people were using were the ones supplied with the operating system. Out of the top 12 the most tried and used apps, all bar one (Netflix, at number 8) were from Microsoft. (Just as an interesting aside, Soluto found the most engaging app was Yahoo Mail — the company’s reasoning for this is Yahoo mailers find it easier to use the app than work out how to set up their mail in Windows 8).

So we’ve got a lack of official apps, people mostly using the ones baked into Windows 8, and a vast proportion of users just not bothering with apps at all. Which clearly isn’t good news for Microsoft — if Soluto’s findings are reflected across the entire Windows 8 user base, that is.

Many of the BetaNews audience are Windows 8 users, so I’d find it interesting to hear your views on the app situation. Do you use apps regularly (and if so, how often and which ones) or do you tend to bypass them altogether? Comments below please.

First year engineering students at Dalhousie University received something extra when they started last year – a BlackBerry PlayBook. Professors took advantage of the new teaching opportunities created when every student is connected.

“Given its ultra portability and power, the PlayBook has given the students the ability to interact with professors at an unprecedented level,” explains Dalhousie Professor George Jarjoura.

Having every student using a PlayBook opened up new ways to teach. Students could follow along with course presentations on their PlayBooks, annotating slides with their own notes. Equally as important, given the size of first-year lectures, was the ability to ask questions and take quizzes electronically, in real time.

“For some first year students, participation during the question period is very intimidating, especially in large classes with hundreds of students,” says Professor Jarjoura. “With the PlayBooks, students could ask questions, submit answers and interact with me in real time, as I lecture.”

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry Biz blog »

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Samsung recently announced its “Premiere 2013″ event which is set to be held on June 20 at 7pm GMT— that’s 2pm EST and 11am PST. The entire presentation will be live-streamed over Samsung’s official YouTube channel.

We’re expecting the company to focus on its Galaxy brand, especially on the S 4 series, including the Activ, Mini and Zoom. Samsung will also likely talk about their Windows ATIV line. There’s always the possibility of a Galaxy Note 3 announcement as well, but that’s far less likely.

Come comment on this article: Samsung “Premiere 2013″ event announced for June 20, Galaxy S 4 Activ, Mini, and Zoom expected to launch

There is a new player emerging on the cultural and business scene today: the idea entrepreneur. Perhaps you are one yourself — or would like to be. The idea entrepreneur is an individual, usually a content expert and often a maverick, whose main goal is to influence how other people think and behave in relation to their cherished topic. These people don’t seek power over others and they’re not motivated by the prospect of achieving great wealth. Their goal is to make a difference, to change the world in some way.

Idea entrepreneurs are popping up everywhere. They’re people like Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook COO and author of Lean In), who is advocating a big new idea from within an organization. And like Atul Gawande (the checklist doctor), who is working to transform a professional discipline. Or like Blake Mycoskie (founder of TOMS shoes), who has created an unconventional business model.

In my research into this phenomenon (which forms the basis of my book, Breaking Out), I have been amazed at how many different kinds of people aspire to be idea entrepreneurs. I have met with, interviewed, emailed or tweeted with librarians, salespeople, educators, thirteen-year-old kids, marketers, technologists, consultants, business leaders, social entrepreneurs — from countries all over the world — who have an idea, want to go public with it, and, in some cases, build a sustainable enterprise around it.

The ones who succeed — whether it’s disrupting an established way of doing business as Vineet Nayar has done with his company or bringing a mindset change to a small community like Maria Madison has done in Concord, Massachusetts — share the following methods: