The Chic Geek

HP Slate 7 hits US for $169. How does it stack up against...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 13:50:21 -0400

HP Slate 7 hits US for $169. How does it stack up against Google’s $199 Nexus 7?
Kevin C. Tofel, gigaom.com

Months after it was introduced, HP’s Slate 7 is available in the U.S. for $169.99. That’s not a bad price for a 7-inch Android tablet with a 1.6 GHz dual-core processor, but to keep costs down HP h …

Despite myself, I’m intrigued by HP’s new Android tablet. Especially since it’s so pretty.

"I JUST noticed something strange on Wikipedia. It appears that gradually, over time, editors have..."

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:04:27 -0400

“I JUST noticed something strange on Wikipedia. It appears that gradually, over time, editors have begun the process of moving women, one by one, alphabetically, from the “American Novelists” category to the “American Women Novelists” subcategory. So far, female authors whose last names begin with A or B have been most affected, although many others have, too. The intention appears to be to create a list of “American Novelists” on Wikipedia that is made up almost entirely of men. The category lists 3,837 authors, and the first few hundred of them are mainly men. The explanation at the top of the page is that the list of “American Novelists” is too long, and therefore the novelists have to be put in subcategories whenever possible. Too bad there isn’t a subcategory for “American Men Novelists.””

- Wikipedia’s Sexism Toward Female Novelists - NYTimes.com (via techladymafia)

WOW.
(via changetheratio)

fastcompany: Instead Of Taking Your Daughters To Work,...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:02:17 -0400

fastcompany:

Instead Of Taking Your Daughters To Work, Introduce Them To Technology

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. No doubt, it is a fantastic initiative. However, in 2013 many freelancers and entrepreneurs work from home. And many employees don’t work in offices anymore.

For workers who remain in office environments, it seems that exposing our kids to the drudgery of cubicles, mind-numbing meetings, and dull cafeteria food is not very inspiring.

Besides, many coveted tech jobs that exist today—for example, in social media—weren’t even conceived of a decade ago. Our kids won’t be doing same jobs anyway.

Although future jobs will continue to change, one thing is for sure: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) will be pervasive in everything we do.

So rather than going to work, why don’t you set aside a day and take your daughter to tech? Here are a few ideas to swap for hauling your kids to your desk:

Learn about women in tech and science: WITI (Women in Technology International) is sponsoring a social media scavenger hunt for high school girls to learn about female role models. In this contest, girls can name their favorite role model, grab fun badges such as “I’m a WITI girl” (love the pun), and create Pinterest boards with their favorite women in tech and science. Winners will get free tickets to meet inspirational women in tech and science at the annual WITI Hall of Fame Ceremony in June and other prizes.

Visit a tech or science museum: If you’re in the Bay area, the Exploratorium in San Francisco just re-opened on Pier 15 with 150 new exhibits.

Join the Worldwide #WITI Wave celebration: Let’s show our kids that women work in tech and science careers around the world by posting your video to the WITI Wavepage or tweeting your support for women in tech at #WITIWave.

Read about important women in STEM careers at the 2013 Women’s History Month website. STEM is the focus in 2013.

Sign your kids up for a technology or science summer camp such as iD Tech Campsheld at many U.S. universities.

Set aside time to help them participate in science events such as Google’s Science Fair.

Let’s share technology and science careers with our daughters and sons and let them experience the possibilities before it’s too late.

[Image: Flickr user D. Sharon Pruitt]

fastcompany: Finding The Spike Lee Of Video Games Joseph...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:00:17 -0400

fastcompany:

Finding The Spike Lee Of Video Games

Joseph Saulter, the African American video game entrepreneur and educator, wants to see a gaming industry that reflects its customer base - not to mention the country.

Few industries are as disconnected from their customers as the video game industry. Gamers are disproportionately African-American or Hispanic, according to a survey by the Kaiser Foundation. Yet these are precisely the demographics that are underrepresented within the industry itself: both among the developers of games, only 2% of whom are black, and among the characters presented in the games they make. Most game protagonists are white males, and a USC survey revealed that a measly tenth of characters were black, and most of these were either athletes or gangsters.

Joseph Saulter wants to change all this. The entrepreneur behind Entertainment Arts Research, Inc., which Ebony Magazine recently singled out as one of the first black-owned publicly traded gaming companies, has made it his quest to make the gaming industry more reflective of its audience.

Now is a big moment for Saulter, whose company is set to release a major game in July (a parkour game for iOS, discussed below). Several other ambitious projects are in the works, including a game that takes place in Chicago’s South Side in the mid-20th century. “It’s a history of the black community, it’s a history of jazz, it’s a history of the arts and of the revolutions that went on in that period of time,” Saulter says of the game, Bronzeville Etudes & Riffs, a project of artist Philip Mallory Jones, who based much of the material off of oral histories with his mother.

Fast Company caught up with Saulter to learn more about his vision of the future of video games, and what it will take to launch a “Spike Lee of video games”—a black game designer who’s also a household name.

Read the conversation here.

WIREDInsider: CROWDSOURCED VIDEOS

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:54:36 -0400

WIREDInsider: CROWDSOURCED VIDEOS:

wiredinsider:

Image via Flickr

It wasn’t long before the hashtags and crowdsourced information, the ones that Twitter and Instagram are so familiar with, would hit the video sphere.

Apps like Switchcam lets users team up with friends and family to share footage and capture the same event from…

alexcarantza: Decision tree for using a QR code accurate.

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:00:51 -0400

alexcarantza:

Decision tree for using a QR code

accurate.

robotawareness: AHHH roboteachers! what does it mean? “When a...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:34:33 -0400

robotawareness:

AHHH roboteachers!

what does it mean?

“When a Teacher Is 2 Feet Tall: School Experiments Use Robots as Learning Tools; a Dragon for Lifestyle Tips”

via WSJ @hollanderfiles

Digg Blog: What you told us

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:08:54 -0400

Digg Blog: What you told us:

rethinkdigg:

Last week we sent out a survey to the over 17,000 people who signed up to help us work on our reader. Amazingly, we’ve gotten more than 8,000 responses so far, and they keep trickling in. Here’s what we’ve learned:

Users read a lot, a lot of the time

80%(!) of…

ch3ukl1: The Avengers USB Flash Drives

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:43:51 -0400

ch3ukl1:

The Avengers USB Flash Drives

futurejournalismproject: Only A Third of the World’s Population...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:17:36 -0400

futurejournalismproject:

Only A Third of the World’s Population is Online

Via Statista. Select to embiggen.

ninakix: GUYS. It’s a Play-Doh 3d printer. Omg. Buy...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:51:52 -0400

ninakix:

GUYS. It’s a Play-Doh 3d printer. Omg. Buy at ThinkGeek.

emergentfutures: App turns teachers’ smartphones into automatic...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:25:53 -0400

emergentfutures:

App turns teachers’ smartphones into automatic exam graders

Quick Key is a new app that makes grading multiple choice papers quicker and easier, enabling teachers to spend more time fine-tuning their teaching plans.

Full Story: Springwise

2princessivana: Just one MicroSD card stores more than the rest...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:00:32 -0400

2princessivana:

Just one MicroSD card stores more than the rest combined…

Princess Ivana

http://www.facebook.com/princessivana

designstudentsuk: Wearable technology isn’t a new concept, but...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:34:44 -0400

designstudentsuk:

Wearable technology isn’t a new concept, but Google Glass is one of the latest pieces of innovation that has the potential to make a significant impact on society. These smart glasses use a heads-up display to create a futuristic experience by overlaying digital images onto reality. But how do they work?

At the hub of Google Glass there is a micro computer embedded into the frame, connecting directly to a glass prism that cleverly diffracts a light beam directly onto your retina - enabling the user to see what’s on display by casually glancing up and right at any time. Glass also incorporates a camera, microphone (for voice activated control), GPS and uses bone-induction for sound (meaning when it reads you the weather forecast, you’ll be the only one who hears it!). Voice recognition is used to control the device; you say ‘OK Glass’ to navigate the menu which includes taking pictures, videos, messages, video conferencing or even getting directions. For all those moments when saying ‘OK Glass’ loudly might be slightly embarrassing, however, there is a touch sensitive pad on the frame.

Most of this functionality is extremely intuitive, which Google has done very well to achieve. They have been able to combine technological innovation with a streamlined interface that is so simple to use, it’s almost as if it isn’t there. In addition, the use of voice-activated control has enabled Glass to move one step closer to total integration with our daily lives – which is either very scary, or very exciting!

Check back this time next week for Part 2, when we’ll be discussing whether Glass will take off like Google hope!

By Luke Pennifold – A Level Student Contributor

nicolas-navarro-guerrero: Google Street View Hyperlapsefrom...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:09:04 -0400

nicolas-navarro-guerrero:

Google Street View Hyperlapse
from Teehan+Lax Labs | April 2013

All Google Street View imagery captured using hyperlapse.tllabs.io. Source code available at github.com/TeehanLax/Hyperlapse.js.

Read the full story: teehanlax.com/labs/hyperlapse/

heydiz: infinite list of awesome science...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:43:03 -0400

heydiz:

infinite list of awesome science things

Fujitsu Laboratories created a touch screen interface that connects the real world with the virtual. It accurately detectes the user’s finger tips, creating an interactive touchscreen for the real world. It allows you to manipulate paper using a web cam and a commercial projector. With this ability, information can be imported as data from any document by just using your fingers to select it.

The fact that this exists on a stock photo site somewhere…

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:17:28 -0400

The fact that this exists on a stock photo site somewhere…

theomeganerd: Microsoft May Be Bringing Back the Start Button...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:51:39 -0400

theomeganerd:

Microsoft May Be Bringing Back the Start Button with Windows 8.1

With the introduction of Windows 8, Microsoft abandoned the Start button, causing an uproar amongst long-standing users of the OS. But according to The Verge, the Start button could be making a comeback with Windows 8.1. But before PC users get too excited, the site’s sources claim that while the button will return in visage, it will not function like the traditional Start button. Instead, the Start button will act simply as a shortcut to the traditional Windows 8 start interface.

As we learned earlier this month, Microsoft is planning to launch the first major update to Windows 8, version 8.1, in June, which is expected to include a suite of new features and upgrades, including a rumored boot to desktop function, allowing users to forego the Windows 8 ‘Metro’ interface.

Windows 8.1 is expected to be unveiled at Microsoft’s Build conference from June 26th to the 28th.

IGN

brit: All your favorite slow cook recipes just got even...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:26:07 -0400

brit:

All your favorite slow cook recipes just got even better. Wonderbag is an electricity-free slow cooker. Read more.

Little Green Droids Check out my Flipboard magazine, Little...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 08:23:30 -0400

Little Green Droids

Check out my Flipboard magazine, Little Green Droids. It’s an all Android all the time kinda ‘zine.