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Rosa Parks has a Permanent Place in the U.S. Capitol

President Barack Obama touches the Rosa Parks statue after the unveiling during a ceremony in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Feb. 27, 2013. Helping with the unveiling, were, from left: Sheila Keys, niece of Rosa Parks; Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.; House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio; House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Assistant Democratic Leader Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.; and Elaine Eason Keys. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

National Statuary Hall inside the U.S. Capitol was once the meeting place of the House of Representatives. Now it's home to a collection of statues and monuments — two from each state — representing some of the defining figures in our nation's history.

Today those sculptures were joined by that of a civil rights icon. One hundred years after she was born and 58 years after she refused to give up her seat on an Alabama city bus, Rosa Parks has a permanent place in the halls of Congress.

President Obama was one of the leaders on hand for the unveiling of the statue this morning.

"Rosa Parks held no elected office," he said. "She possessed no fortune; lived her life far from the formal seats of power. And yet today, she takes her rightful place among those who’ve shaped this nation’s course."

The statue is close to nine feet tall and depicts Rosa Parks in bronze wearing the same clothes she wore on the day she was arrested. The monument consisting of both her statue and the granite pedestal on which it rests weighs 2,100 pounds.

"Rosa Parks's singular act of disobedience launched a movement," President Obama told today's crowd. "The tired feet of those who walked the dusty roads of Montgomery helped a nation see that to which it had once been blind. It is because of these men and women that I stand here today. It is because of them that our children grow up in a land more free and more fair; a land truer to its founding creed. And that is why this statue belongs in this hall — to remind us, no matter how humble or lofty our positions, just what it is that leadership requires; just what it is that citizenship requires."

Read the President's full remarks here.

February 27, 2013
Russian Meteor Blast Explained by NASA [VIDEO]

On February 15, when the world’s astronomers were busy watching Asteroid 2012 DA14 make a close flyby of Earth, a different space rock entered Earth’s atmosphere and broke up over Chelyabinsk, Russia. The shockwave following the meteor’s destruction shattered windows and damaged property throughout the Russian town.

Later that week, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that it was studying the event, which it predicted may happen every “several of tens to 100 years. The object was found to have been around 17 meters wide and was found to have exploded with a force of nearly 30 times that of the bomb that detonated over Hiroshima, Japan.

This week, NASA has announced that it is also analyzing the event. The agency has released a video detailing everything known about the meteor to date.

In addition to information already disclosed by the ESA, the NASA video reveals that astronomers have been able to devise the meteor’s orbit based on the trajectory of its fireball. The object is now thought to have come from the asteroid belt beyond Mars. Reports of the makeup of the meteor’s debris seem to confirm it was made of stone and a bit of iron, which is common for objects in the asteroid belt.

February 27, 2013
BlackBerry Screen Share on BBM: Top 5 things you should know
You’ve probably read about BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) on BlackBerry 10 and new features like BBM Video and Screen Share. You may find yourself wondering, “How can Screen Share really make life easier?” If you’re one of those people, you need to know that Screen Share is a feature that all of Team BlackBerry can appreciate – in both a personal and professional capacity. In an effort to ensure you get the most out of your BlackBerry 10 experience, I’ve put together a handful of key tips to help better understand what Screen Share technology is all about.

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]
1. BBM just got better. With BlackBerry 10, we’ve taken BBM to the next level to facilitate complex interactions and more effective communication. Screen Share is part of the BBM evolution, so remember that all of the traditional BBM perks – fast messaging, easy international commination, and so on – are part of the Screen Share experience.
2. Simple navigation. Screen Share is intuitive on BBM for BlackBerry 10. When in a BBM video chat, simply tap the Screen Share icon to get started. And once you’re ready to stop sharing your screen, it’s just as easy to return to basic video chat while continuing conversation. Get started with Screen Share here.
3. Easier to work on the go. With Screen Share you can share business documents from your BlackBerry 10 device the same way you’d share documents from your office computer. Share PowerPoint presentations while simultaneously conversing with coworkers over video chat. For more information on using Screen Share for business, head to the Inside BlackBerry for Business Blog.
4. Deeper communication with friends and family. Want to look at photos from a party while recounting the night with a family member? Screen Share allows you to share these experiences instantaneously.
5. Real time engagement. BBM has always been a vehicle for real-time communication, and with Screen Share and other new BBM features, BlackBerry has taken messaging beyond real time chat and into real time engagement.
What do you think? How will Screen Share make YOUR life more efficient? Let us know in the comments below!
February 27, 2013
Rackspace Acquires ObjectRocket for MongoDB Service

Rackspace Hosting is acquiring ObjectRocket, a provider of database as a service (DBaaS) offerings using the MongoDB database. The acquisition expands Rackspace’s big data play, allowing them to provide Open Cloud customers with demanding applications with a NoSQL DBaaS.

The acquisition is expected to close today, and the ObjectRocket offering will be available in early March for Rackspace customers . The offering will roll out first for customers in the company’s Chicago data center, but will soon be integrated across Rackspace’s Open Cloud portfolio. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Rackspace is establishing itself in the high growth NoSQL database market. NoSQL offerings forego traditional approaches to databases, including the use of the relational database model or Structured Query Language (SQL), in favor of an approach that provides better scalability across a distributed architecture. The NoSQL approach has become popular for use in large cloud applications. A recent report from The 451 Group projects that NoSQL software revenue will grow at an annual rate of 82 percent to reach $215 million by 2015.

“Databases are the core of any application and expertise in the most popular database technologies will be critical to us delivering Fanatical Support in the open cloud,” said Pat Matthews, senior vice president of corporate development at Rackspace. “As we look to expand our open cloud database offering into the MongoDB world, we are really excited to work with the entrepreneurs and engineers at ObjectRocket.”

MongoDB has already been adopted by organizations such as Disney, The New York Times and Craigslist, among others. Built on a NoSQL, open source engine, MongoDB is able to store structured data in JSON-like schemas. By offering MondoDB as a service, ObjectRocket makes it easier to use for customers by eliminating much of the setup and configuration.

ObjectRocket will continue to be sold as a standalone service, so it’s still usable in conjunction with other clouds; it also leverages AWS Direct Connect to provide low latency and free bandwidth to AWS customers.

The ObjectRocket founding team collectively brings more than 50 years of experience in scaling large data systems, including MongoDB. They have also designed and managed systems that power some of the busiest sites on the web, and played key founding development roles at companies like Shutterfly, PayPal, eBay and AOL.

“With Rackspace’s open cloud philosophy and our shared emphasis on providing the highest level of customer support, we feel this union is an ideal fit,” said Chris Lalonde, co-founder and CEO of ObjectRocket. ”Since the beginning, our focus has been on creating a DBaaS platform that would perform, scale and support critical workloads in a superior manner. Joining forces with Rackspace will enable us to achieve this goal, while delivering one of the most advanced MongoDB DBaaS solutions on the market.”

At the beginning of the year, Rackspace CTO John Engates stated in his cloud predictions that “this is the year when Big Data makes its way into enterprise conversations.” This acquisition reinforces that belief.

February 27, 2013
North Korea Real-Time Instagramming Made Possible After Visitors Get Mobile Internet Access

Up until recently, visitors to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) had to abandon their cellphones at the customs gates. When travelers were finally granted the access to carry their phones with them a little over a month ago, they still had the slight problem of not really being able to do much with them.

Yep, no internet access (or local calls, for that matter). It wasn’t until just a few days ago that North Korea finally turned on some 3G for visitors (not the people of North Korea, mind you).

What does that mean? Social media updates from tourists, of course. And the AP’s David Guttenfelder is providing some of the first-ever real-time photographs from the notoriously closed-off country

“I feel I can help open a window into a place that would otherwise rarely be seen by outsiders,” he says. “As one of the few international photographers who has ever had regular access to the country, I feel a huge responsibility to share what I see and to show it as accurately as I can.”

Instagram recently highlighted his photography in a blog post. Here are some incredible shots coming in from DPRK – ones that wouldn’t have been possible until very recently.

North Korean commuters pass by propaganda posters in #Pyongyang.

A North Korean guide uses a pointer at the start of a tour of an historic site. On Jan. 18, 2013, foreigners were allowed for the first time to bring mobile phones into North Korea. And this week the local service provider, Koryolink, is allowing foreigners to access the Internet on a data capable 3G connection on our mobile phones. In the past I could post geolocated phone photos to my Instagram feed by turning my online laptop into a hotspot to link my iPhone or iPod touch by wifi. But, today I’m posting this directly from my phone while riding in the back of a van in #Pyongyang. The window on to North Korea has opened another crack. Meanwhile, for Koreans here who will not have access to the same service, the window remains shut.

North Korean babies rest in a row of cribs at the #Pyongyang Maternity Hospital.

A North Korean doctor and a bank of video monitors inside a #Pyongyang hospital.

For more real-time photos from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, make sure to follow David Guttenfelder (@dguttenfelder) on Instagram.

February 27, 2013
Dream!: The speakers in Session 5 at TED2013

Before you can create a new world, you have to imagine new possibilities. The speakers in this session are the visionaries who propose that which couldn’t be seen before, and suggest new paths that not only haven’t been traveled yet — but haven’t been thought of.

Here are the speakers in this session. Click their name to read a recap of their talk:

The explosive creative direction and choreography of Rich + Tone Talauega has been featured in tours and music videos of pop icons like Michael Jackson, Madonna and Jennifer Lopez.

Elon Musk is the CEO and product architect of Tesla Motors and the CEO/CTO of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX).

Mary Lou Jepsen discovers astonishing ways to integrate digital screens into daily life.

At 14, Taylor Wilson became the youngest person to achieve fusion — with a reactor made in his garage. Now he wants to save our seaports from nuclear terror.

Violinist Ji-Hae Park shares the joy of music.

Since the counterculture peak of the 1960s, Stewart Brand has been reframing our view. Now, with biotech accelerating four times faster than digital technology, Stewart Brand has a bold new plan to share.

February 27, 2013
The yo-yo master: BLACK at TED2013

“When I was 14 years old, I had low self-esteem,” yo-yo champion BLACK begins his talk during session 4 of TED2013. “Then one day, I bought a yo-yo.” The first trick he tried — well, it didn’t work. But after a week of practice, he started to get somewhere. He remembers, “I thought, ‘The yo-yo is something for me to be good at. For the first time in my life, I found my passion.’”

But practicing for hours a day and winning the World Yo-Yo Contest four years later in 2001 didn’t take him on the path he hoped. “I thought I’d become a hero! I will get many sponsors. Money. Many interviews! I will be on the TV,” says Black. But fame and fortune never came. Instead, BLACK went back to school and became a systems engineer.

Eventually, though, he had to return to his passion. “I wanted to show how spectacular the yo-yo could be. I wanted to change the public image of the yo-yo,” says BLACK. “So I quit my company and started a career as a professional performer.” He won the World Yo-Yo Contest again in 2007, and even passed an audition for Cirque du Soleil.

On the TED stage, BLACK gives a performance set to dramatic music, a yo-yo spinning quickly and maseterfully around him like a ribbon around a rhythmic gymnast. Soon, he picked up a second yo-yo, spinning them wildly, as if juggling. Bending backwards to the floor, he keeps the yo-yos orbiting just millimeters from his face. The performance is both graceful and thrilling.

See BLACK in action for yourself, below.

February 27, 2013
Chrome For Android Gets A Substantial Update

Android users who prefer to browse the Web using Google Chrome will be pleased to know that the browser has received a hefty update today. Chrome 25 for Android contains the following new features and enhancements:
Improved scrolling performance
Increased responsiveness to pinch-zooming on pages
Faster interactive pages thanks to the latest version of the V8 javascript engine
Audio now continues to play while Chrome is in the background
Expanded support for HTML5 features
Support for pausing audio in Chrome when phone is in use (note: this requires an additional permission)

Google notes that Chrome 25 for Android also includes “important stability and performance fixes” along with minor UI adjustments.

For those who want to try out the future of Chrome, Google has also released a beta version of Chrome for Android. It can be run alongside the stable channel release for testing purposes, just like Firefox for Android.

Unfortunately, there’s no word on when Chrome for iOS will be updated. The last update came on December 20 of last year. It shouldn’t be too long, however, until iOS users get to bask in the light of increased mobile browsing speeds.

February 27, 2013

“I believe this is a very special moment in history, a kind of perfect storm. There is a growing recognition — to borrow language from AA — that our world has become unmanageable.” Those words have been reverberating in my head ever since Arianna Huffington, founder of the Huffington Post, said them over the weekend during the Wisdom 2.0 conference in San Francisco. She was introducing an iPhone app called “GPS for the Soul,” which is designed to measure heart rate variability as a window into your stress level at any given moment during the day.

It seemed fitting to me that Arianna described the challenges so many of us face in our work — and in our lives more broadly — by using the language of addiction. Her words rang especially true because I happen in the midst of reading a book by Bryan Robinson titled “Chained to the Desk: A Guidebook for Workaholics.”

The addiction of our times is digital connection, instant gratification, and the cheap adrenalin high of constant busyness. The heartening news is that more and more leaders in big companies are beginning to recognize the insidious costs of moving so relentlessly and at such high speeds.

Wisdom 2.0 focused on technology — a primary driver of the increasing unmanageability of our lives. The conference was launched three years ago as a meeting between people from the meditation community and the tech world in Silicon Valley to discuss how to use technology more wisely.

Paradoxically, the most important solution I heard is to use technology less frequently, and more intentionally. Or, as Sherry Turkle, a professor at MIT, put it in her talk: “There need to be places in our lives and in our organizations that are device-free zones.”

Just below the surface of our shared compulsion to do ever more, ever faster, is a deep hunger to do less, more slowly. I saw proof of that a couple of weeks ago, when I wrote an article for The New York Times titled “Relax! You’ll Be More Productive.” It focused on the growing scientific evidence that when we build in more time for sleep, naps, breaks, and vacations, we become not just healthier and happier, but also more productive. The piece prompted an avalanche of response, much of it poignantly describing the sense of overwhelm people are feeling at work.

The search to find ways to deal with these issues was evident at Wisdom 2.0. Padmasree Warrior, the chief technology and strategy officer at Cisco, described in compelling detail the behaviors she’s built into her life to take her out of rapid-fire analytical, “doing” mode. She meditates for 20 minutes every day. On the weekends, she paints and takes photographs. Even when she tweets, she often does so in haikus — as a way to put herself in a more creative mode.

Jeff Weiner, the CEO of LinkedIn, talked about how compassion has become a centerpiece of his management style. More specifically, he described how compassion requires slowing down and taking the time to truly listen to others. It means understanding where they’re coming from, caring about the struggles they’re facing, and the baggage they’re carrying.

Bill Ford, the executive chairman of Ford Motor Company, talked about the harrowing experience he went through when Ford nearly declared bankruptcy several years ago. Taking time to meditate each day was critical. “The practice of mindfulness kept me going during the darkest days,” he said. He also took time each morning to “set an intention” to deal with whatever arose that day with a sense of compassion and kindness.

In my own life, I’ve found that both my productivity and my sense of well-being depend more than ever on building more time into the day to renew, reflect, and connect with others. Two such experiences at Wisdom 2.0 had to do with taking time to get away from the activity of the conference itself. The first was wandering over to a chill out room sponsored by Google, lying down on a mat next to several others doing the same thing, and taking a nap. When I got up 45 minutes later, I felt refreshed and able to fully reengage in the conference.

My second revelatory experience was a lunch I shared with two new friends who were also attending the conference. We ended up spending more than two hours together, free of digital interruptions, just talking, reflecting, laughing, and hanging out. How often do most of us take the time to truly connect with work colleagues — much less friends — and how much richer are we for it when we do return to our work?

Speed, distraction, and instant gratification are the enemies of nearly everything that matters most in our lives. Creating long-term value — for ourselves and for others — requires more authentic connection, reflection, and the courage to delay immediate gratification. That’s wisdom in action.