The Importance of Being Persistent: Ulysse Sabbag at TEDxYouth@Warwick - YouTube
For now, the plan is pretty straightforward: To make really simple, interesting travel guides, designed first for the iPhone and iPad, and sell them. Our goal isn’t to rehash Wikitravel or display 300 touristy dumps on a map. We want to help you find the best and most interesting places in a city, not the most famous or most obvious, so you can have a great time.
Dan Frommer, introducing City Notes, a modern travel guide for iPhone.
Here is another market which needs disruption, travel guides.
For now, the plan is pretty straightforward: To make really simple, interesting travel guides, designed first for the iPhone and iPad, and sell them. Our goal isn’t to rehash Wikitravel or display 300 touristy dumps on a map. We want to help you find the best and most interesting places in a city, not the most famous or most obvious, so you can have a great time.
Dan Frommer, introducing City Notes, a modern travel guide for iPhone.
Here is another market which needs disruption, travel guides.
Customers will pay more for less
Customers will pay more for less
Brilliant research made by Professor Chernev from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management published in the Harvard Business Review. Here’s the result:
In five experiments, respondents were shown a series of products—phones, jackets, backpacks, TVs, watches, shoes, luggage, bikes, wine, and sunglasses. Some were relatively expensive, others inexpensive. Respondents in one group were asked how much they would pay for each item by itself, and those in another group were asked how much they would pay for a bundle combining a high-priced and a low-priced item. Defying conventional wisdom, respondents shown the bundle were willing to pay less than those shown the more expensive product alone.
Customers will pay more for less
Brilliant research made by Professor Chernev from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management published in the Harvard Business Review. Here’s the result:
In five experiments, respondents were shown a series of products—phones, jackets, backpacks, TVs, watches, shoes, luggage, bikes, wine, and sunglasses. Some were relatively expensive, others inexpensive. Respondents in one group were asked how much they would pay for each item by itself, and those in another group were asked how much they would pay for a bundle combining a high-priced and a low-priced item. Defying conventional wisdom, respondents shown the bundle were willing to pay less than those shown the more expensive product alone.
Zeus's infidelities: visualised
Very cool infographics made by Viviana Ferro, Ilaria Pagin and Elisa Zamarian. It depicts the Greek God Zeus’s infidelities and the subsequent genealogical tree. Read more at The Guardian’s DataBlog.
Zeus's infidelities: visualised
Very cool infographics made by Viviana Ferro, Ilaria Pagin and Elisa Zamarian. It depicts the Greek God Zeus’s infidelities and the subsequent genealogical tree. Read more at The Guardian’s DataBlog.
Grokr wants to be iOS' Google Now
Grokr, a startup founded by former McAfee CEO Srivats Sampath is aiming to be the Google Now of iOS. Described as an intelligent personal assistant, Google Now looks to give you relevant information at “just the right time”:
It tells you today’s weather before you start your day, how much traffic to expect before you leave for work, when the next train will arrive as you’re standing on the platform, or your favorite team’s score while they’re playing. And the best part? All of this happens automatically. Cards appear throughout the day at the moment you need them.
Cool! Creepy? Both. This cool service didn’t exist for iOS until Grokr arrived.
Grokr tries to personalize its answer to a user based on a whole load of data it can gather through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more than 50 other sources. After a few weeks in use, Grokr can tell where you live, where you work, what kind of music you like and what teams you follow. It can even figure out a user’s ethnicity and demographic data though it keeps all of this anonymized.
Then it pairs what it knows about a user with a knowledge base built on top of Freebase, which is also used in Google’s own Knowledge Graph. Grokr has built out its knowledge base with another 50 sources including Bing, Factual, Yelp, Songkick and others. Grokr has more than 700 million facts in its database, covering 25 million entities, which represent the meaning behind all kinds of words it comes across.
How far will it go?
Sampath showed [Ryan Kim] how Grokr figured out he’s South Asian based on his name and then gave him a headline about the need for South Asians to get tested for diabetes, which Sampath actually has.
Ok that’s creepy.
Grokr wants to be iOS' Google Now
Grokr, a startup founded by former McAfee CEO Srivats Sampath is aiming to be the Google Now of iOS. Described as an intelligent personal assistant, Google Now looks to give you relevant information at “just the right time”:
It tells you today’s weather before you start your day, how much traffic to expect before you leave for work, when the next train will arrive as you’re standing on the platform, or your favorite team’s score while they’re playing. And the best part? All of this happens automatically. Cards appear throughout the day at the moment you need them.
Cool! Creepy? Both. This cool service didn’t exist for iOS until Grokr arrived.
Grokr tries to personalize its answer to a user based on a whole load of data it can gather through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more than 50 other sources. After a few weeks in use, Grokr can tell where you live, where you work, what kind of music you like and what teams you follow. It can even figure out a user’s ethnicity and demographic data though it keeps all of this anonymized.
Then it pairs what it knows about a user with a knowledge base built on top of Freebase, which is also used in Google’s own Knowledge Graph. Grokr has built out its knowledge base with another 50 sources including Bing, Factual, Yelp, Songkick and others. Grokr has more than 700 million facts in its database, covering 25 million entities, which represent the meaning behind all kinds of words it comes across.
How far will it go?
Sampath showed [Ryan Kim] how Grokr figured out he’s South Asian based on his name and then gave him a headline about the need for South Asians to get tested for diabetes, which Sampath actually has.
Ok that’s creepy.
Her winning the presidency would be seismic,” said Mr. Clemons, who is also the Washington editor at large of The Atlantic, “and could trigger a global tsunami that would dislodge and upend the male-dominating social, political and economic structures around the world.
On the impact of Hillary Clinton winning the Presidency in 2016.
Her winning the presidency would be seismic,” said Mr. Clemons, who is also the Washington editor at large of The Atlantic, “and could trigger a global tsunami that would dislodge and upend the male-dominating social, political and economic structures around the world.
Graphene, a wonderful carbon-based material
Graphene is a carbon-based material that is incredibly thin and fully flexible. It is not currently used in consumer devices or products in general but it will soon be and it’s going to be an important change:
According to the American Chemical Society, graphene is a “wonder material” 100 times stronger than steel and is so thin that a single ounce of it could cover 28 football fields. It could also usher in a new era of ultra-slim and fully flexible gadgets.
“Touch screens made with graphene as their conductive element could be printed on thin plastic instead of glass, so they would be light and flexible, which could make cell phones as thin as a piece of paper and foldable enough to slip into a pocket,” the A.C.S. explained in a report on its Web site this week. “Because of graphene’s incredible strength, these cell phones would be nearly unbreakable.”
Graphene, a wonderful carbon-based material
Graphene is a carbon-based material that is incredibly thin and fully flexible. It is not currently used in consumer devices or products in general but it will soon be and it’s going to be an important change:
According to the American Chemical Society, graphene is a “wonder material” 100 times stronger than steel and is so thin that a single ounce of it could cover 28 football fields. It could also usher in a new era of ultra-slim and fully flexible gadgets.
“Touch screens made with graphene as their conductive element could be printed on thin plastic instead of glass, so they would be light and flexible, which could make cell phones as thin as a piece of paper and foldable enough to slip into a pocket,” the A.C.S. explained in a report on its Web site this week. “Because of graphene’s incredible strength, these cell phones would be nearly unbreakable.”
RIP Ravi Shankar, here is a video of him teaching George Harrison how to play the Sitar. (He knew already but only a little bit.)
RIP Ravi Shankar, here is a video of him teaching George Harrison how to play the Sitar. (He knew already but only a little bit.)
Why do Russians get into so many traffic accidents?
In a fairly important number of car-related videos (accidents, crashes, races), the cameraman is Russian. Go on Snotr and find car videos, you’ll see for yourself.
According to Marina Galperina of Animal New-York, there are rational reasons for this:
Dash-cam footage is the only real way to substantiate your claims in the court of law. Forget witnesses. Hit and runs are very common and insurance companies notoriously specialize in denying claims. Two-way insurance coverage is very expensive and almost completely unavailable for vehicles over ten years old-the drivers can only get basic liability. Get into a minor or major accident and expect the other party to lie to the police or better yet, flee after rear-ending you. Since your insurance won’t pay unless the offender is found and sued, you’ll see dash-cam videos of post hit and run pursuits for plate numbers.
And sometimes drivers back up or bump their pre-dented car into yours. It used to be a mob thing, with the accident-staging specialists working in groups. After the “accident,” the offending driver – often an elderly lady – is confronted by a crowd of “witnesses,” psychologically pressured and intimidated to pay up cash on the spot. Since the Age of the Dash-cam, hustle has withered from a flourishing enterprise to a dying trade, mainly thriving in the provinces where dash-cams are less prevalent.
Now, I know.
Why do Russians get into so many traffic accidents?
In a fairly important number of car-related videos (accidents, crashes, races), the cameraman is Russian. Go on Snotr and find car videos, you’ll see for yourself.
According to Marina Galperina of Animal New-York, there are rational reasons for this:
Dash-cam footage is the only real way to substantiate your claims in the court of law. Forget witnesses. Hit and runs are very common and insurance companies notoriously specialize in denying claims. Two-way insurance coverage is very expensive and almost completely unavailable for vehicles over ten years old-the drivers can only get basic liability. Get into a minor or major accident and expect the other party to lie to the police or better yet, flee after rear-ending you. Since your insurance won’t pay unless the offender is found and sued, you’ll see dash-cam videos of post hit and run pursuits for plate numbers.
And sometimes drivers back up or bump their pre-dented car into yours. It used to be a mob thing, with the accident-staging specialists working in groups. After the “accident,” the offending driver – often an elderly lady – is confronted by a crowd of “witnesses,” psychologically pressured and intimidated to pay up cash on the spot. Since the Age of the Dash-cam, hustle has withered from a flourishing enterprise to a dying trade, mainly thriving in the provinces where dash-cams are less prevalent.
Now, I know.
Google is building better maps of Europe
But roads and highways alone don’t define the character of a place, and they aren’t always sufficient to help you get around. So Google Maps also integrates information such as walking paths, ferry lines, building outlines, park boundaries, university campuses and more—providing a richer, more comprehensive and more realistic experience for locals, visitors and armchair travelers alike.