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Sunday, April 01, 2012
TRENDING STORIES IN TECH & GADGETS 7 Apps You Don't Want To Miss [PICS] 'Sand Flea' Robot Jumps 30 Feet [VIDEO] Forget Google Instant: In the Future, Search Engines Will Read Your Habits ALL STORIES IN TECH & GADGETS This iPhone Platform Will Change The Way You Shoot Videos Saturday, March 31, 2012 9:33 PM Emily Price A new Kickstarter project is aiming to redefine how you shoot video with your iPhone. The Galileo is an iOS-controlled robotic iPhone platform that lets you manipulate the angle your iPhone from another iOS device, giving you the ability to adjust your iPhone to almost any angle you could possibly want. For instance, if you were video chatting with a child who moved out of sight of the camera you could move the platform to follow her using your own device. The platform could also be used in situations like meetings so you can can follow all the action going on in the room. The platform's inventor originally created the device in order to have better chats with his son while he was away on business. Galileo can be controlled from another iOS device such as an iPad or iPod touch by swiping a finger across the screen, and gives you infinite 360-degree panning and 200-degree tilting. You can see everything around the iPhone and above it, with the only unavailable angle being what's going on below. The platform is also offering its SDK (software developers kit) for app development, giving app developers the freedom to integrate Galileo functionality into existing apps or create apps and software specifically designed to work with the product. Galilieo has currently raised close to $270,000 on Kickstarter, and only required $100,000 to go into production. The project will be officially funded on April 21, 2012, after which the device will go into mass production and be sent out to project backers and then likely general consumers. What do you think of the project? Tell us what potential uses you see for Galileo in the comments. RIM Doesn't Need BlackBerry 10 -- It Needs a Time Machine Saturday, March 31, 2012 5:50 PM Pete Pachal Research in Motion's latest quarter almost doesn't need commentary. With revenues down 19% and posting its first loss in seven years, the company is clearly on the decline. The dismal financial news follows the revelation that BlackBerry phones were no longer the device of choice even in RIM's home country of Canada. Many have used the news to pile on, saying the long-predicted implosion of RIM has finally begun. Acquisition, once the topic of idle speculation about the company, is now a very real possibility. There appears to be one glimmer of hope, though: BlackBerry 10, the next-generation device software that's supposed to debut later this year. Repeatedly describing BB10 as a "platform" that the company will build its entire suite of products around in the coming years (maybe), CEO Thorsten Heins said the future of RIM depends on its successful and on-time launch. That's not entirely true. The future of RIM has just been determined by a recent decision Heins revealed in its earnings call: that it was going to refocus on the enterprise market. He backpedaled a bit later, saying that it doesn't represent abandoning the consumer market (the majority of its customers are everyday "consumers"), but the message from RIM was clear: We lost the consumer smartphone war to Apple and Google. We're backing off. This decision makes a large degree of sense -- and I support it -- but that doesn't make it any less tragic. By retreating back to its core strength of enterprise devices and services, RIM may eke out a happy existence, but it will never be the smartphone titan it once was, no matter how good BlackBerry 10 is. The reason is the smartphone market is worlds apart from where it was when RIM was king -- which was just a mere three years ago, as the market share flies. The "consumerization of IT" trend is in full force -- witness the staggering number of businesses that plan to buy iPads in the coming year. SEE ALSO: RIM-sanity! Beyond the BlackBerry Bloodbath The business customer has evolved. The new species is much less tolerant of carrying two devices. It's spent quality time with both the iPhone and Android handsets, and its pack leaders (read: executives) are quite partial to them. Finally, re-training the entire tribe on a new operating system like BlackBerry 10 just seems like a waste of time when everybody already knows how to use other platforms that are just as good if not better in many ways. In the end, the number of businesses that really need BlackBerry -- for its security, manageability and solid industrial design (RIM still makes the best keyboard phones on the market) -- is fairly small. While RIM (or another company) can certainly create a viable business targeting those customers, a platform that's based on them won't ever achieve the kind of scale the company enjoyed in past decade. If the outlook is so bleak with an enterprise focus, then why do I support it? Because RIM's right -- the consumer game is lost, at least as far as BlackBerry is concerned. You have two major ecosystems (iOS and Android) with a third on the rise (Windows Phone). More important, the market just crossed an important milestone with half of U.S. consumers now owning a smartphone. Every day a new person enters the smartphone market, it declares loyalty to an ecosystem. By all counts, not many of those people are opting for a BlackBerry. By the time the new OS is an option, there will be even fewer of those first-time buyers left. BlackBerry 10 might be good, but it's hard to imagine it being so amazing that a new customer will opt for it instead of the sexy iPhone or Android superphone on the next dias. The time for RIM to strike back and regain its former consumer glory is long past. Really, it needed to see the iPhone for the wake-up call that it was five years ago. Or even four years ago. Or -- what the hell -- three. But it took until 2010, when the company acquired QNX software, for RIM to take decisive action in replacing its BlackBerry OS with something worthy of a modern smartphone. So it doesn't matter how good BlackBerry 10 is, or even if it comes a few months late. The businesses that RIM plans to court will use it regardless. They'll buy it (because they're convinced nothing else can do the job), their employees will use it (because they're forced to), and RIM will either downsize or get bought (because what else are you going to do?). The rest of us will shrug, wonder what might have been, and go back to playing Angry Birds. Images courtesy of Flickr, miggslives 39 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed Saturday, March 31, 2012 5:22 PM Matt Petronzio Did you spend this week buying lottery tickets and following the Mega Millions jackpot? Well, now that you know you didn't win, it's time to throw away your tickets and catch up on the new digital media resources you missed on Mashable. This week we have the most-followed men on Pinterest, tips for how to be more genuinely engaging online, and 15 sessions you can't miss at Mashable Connect 2012. We've also covered the evolution of Anonymous, cities that are benefiting from mobile apps, and cases that will make your white iPhone pop. We even have photos from an office tour of GetGlue's fun-filled space. Here are the best of this week's social media, business and technology resources. Editor's Picks The Evolution of Anonymous The evolution of Anonymous, a notorious group of hackers that has acquired a worldwide following. Plus, the group's top 10 defining hacks. Stickers Galore: Check Out GetGlue's Fun-Filled Office/a> GetGlue's New York City headquarters are full of stickers, pop culture and fun. The 10 Most-Followed Men on Pinterest Men are influential on Pinterest, too. Find out the top 10 male users on the social network. How do their numbers stack up to the gals? Behind the Scenes of the World's First Live-Tweeted Open-Heart Surgery Doctors and digital pros from the hospital that pulled off the world's first live-tweeted open-heart surgery give their inside story. 10 Tips for Raising Money on Kickstarter The lessons one Kickstarter participant learned are worth knowing. If you're looking to get funded on Kickstarter, here are ten tips to help you succeed. Social Media 9 Free Tumblr Themes That Look Like Pinterest Looking to turn your Tumblr into a Pinterest board? Several themes can help make that happen. How to Make Images Stand Out on Pinterest/a> With more than 12 million users on Pinterest it's important to make your images stand out. Here's how to optimize your pins. 20 TV Shows With the Most Social Media Buzz This Week/a> Which TV shows generate the most buzz on social networks? Find out each week from our social TV chart. Mashable Connect Agenda: 15 Exciting Sessions to Learn From We're excited to announce the Mashable Connect 2012 agenda. This year's lineup covers a wide range of topics on the state and future of digital. 20 Over-The-Top Tweets About the Mega Millions Jackpot The mind-boggling $540 million Mega Millions jackpot spawned multitudes of entertaining Twitter messages about the lottery. The Evolution of Facebook for Brands Facebook Timeline for businesses is officially here. A look back at the major Facebook milestones that lead to this. For more social media news and resources, you can follow Mashable's social media channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Business & Marketing 5 Key Talents of Successful Startup Founders Some qualities are essential to becoming a successful startup founder. These five talents, in particular, are vital for entrepreneurs. 4 Tips For Authentic Online Engagement When you think about authenticity as it relates to your brand's social media efforts, a key factor is what you stand for and what's meaningful to you. Attention Marketers: Back-to-School Season Has Already Started/a> Research from Gen Y-focused marketing agency Mr. Youth shows that conversations about the upcoming school year are already happening. How American Express Grows Its Massive Social Media Presence The credit card company is innovating for both customers and merchants on their social media platforms. Check out how AmEx has gone digital. 6 Ways to Acquire New Customers via Social Media Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are great for building your brand -- but how do you find new customers? 10 Ways to Humanize Your Brand On Social Media Humanizing a brand is just that: the attempt to interact with each customer on a personal level. Here are 10 ways companies can work to create a more human brand via social media. Shoptiques Lets You Shop Boutiques Like a Local Shop local boutiques online, city by city. For more business news and resources, you can follow Mashable's business channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Tech & Mobile 5 Exciting Innovations That Will Change Computing in 2012 Technical innovations are on the way that promise to bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds like never before. 6 Must-Have Apps for the Samsung Galaxy Note Here are six apps that no Samsung Galaxy Note user should be without. Your Profile Pic Has Nothing on These Guys/a> Think your vacation album is sweet? Think again. These guys take scrapbooking to a whole new level. 4 Hot Apps for Microvideo Blogging With microvideo blogging apps, you can record short video clips and share them instantly over social platforms. Here are our four faves. 18 Amazing Photos of NASA's 'Five Rockets in Five Minutes' Launch NASA launched five rockets, each 80 seconds apart, into the skies over Virginia early on Tuesday. Will This Adorable Robot Rabbit Be Your Next Digital Media Hub? The Karotz is a little rabbit robot with a big personality. Check out how its creators hope to revolutionize the personalized robotics industry. 10 Ice-Cool White iPhone Cases We've found 10 cases that work brilliantly with the white iPhone. 10 Fun Notepads to Geek Up Your Desk From "social" sticky notes to LEGO notebooks to Google Doodle notecards, we think you'll find something tempting in our selection. How to Avoid the Common Pitfalls of Mobile App Development We asked several leaders in mobile development to share the common issues that come when creating a new app. Here's what they had to say. The Future of Funny: How Old and New Media Collaborate on Comedy How old and new media work together in pursuit of comedy. A History of Hacktivism/a> Learn how hacktivism evolved to become a powerful virtual weapon in today's digital age. 10 Classic Gadgets Upcycled Into Fashion Accessories We've collected 10 fashion accessories upcycled from the gadgets of your youth. These 10 Hilarious Podcasts Will Make You LOL If you're looking for some of the funniest podcasts, we've rounded up 10 channels. Plug in your headphones and get ready to LOL in public. 5 Cities Benefiting From Mobile Apps Check out how a handful of cities across the U.S. takes advantage of mobile to improve their communities and government efficiency. 3 Reasons Facebook Brand Pages Are Good for Businesses Not everyone is cheering about Facebook Timeline for businesses. The reality is, the new layout will present many great opportunities for companies using it to merchandise their products. Here are three reasons why Facebook's new brand pages will benefit sellers and social commerce as a whole. 8 Easy PC Pranks to Trick Your Friends With April Fools' Day on the horizon, it's the perfect time to play some epic pranks on your PC-using co-workers, friends, family and frenemies. 10 Excellent PC Games for Less Than $10 Need a gaming fix on the cheap? Check out these 10 winning PC games, all for less than $10. How to Respond to Any Situation With an Animated GIF There's an animated GIF for every occasion! The blog #WhatShouldWeCallMe brilliantly responds to classic situations. 8 Crazy Gadgets to Buy If You Win Mega Millions What would you buy if you won Friday's world-record $640 million Mega Millions jackpot? You can purchase plenty of things with the half-a-billion dollar prize, including these eight gems. Tools to Generate Your Random Mega Millions Numbers Can these random number generators help you win the record-high Mega Millions jackpot? Probably not, but it might be worth a try. Top 10 iPhone Word Games Go pick up a dictionary and fortify the ol' lexicon -- these iPhone word games demand clever wordplay in order to succeed. For more tech news and resources, you can follow Mashable's tech channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, akinbostanci. 39 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed Saturday, March 31, 2012 5:22 PM Matt Petronzio Did you spend this week buying lottery tickets and following the Mega Millions jackpot? Well, now that you know you didn't win, it's time to throw away your tickets and catch up on the new digital media resources you missed on Mashable. This week we have the most-followed men on Pinterest, tips for how to be more genuinely engaging online, and 15 sessions you can't miss at Mashable Connect 2012. We've also covered the evolution of Anonymous, cities that are benefiting from mobile apps, and cases that will make your white iPhone pop. We even have photos from an office tour of GetGlue's fun-filled space. Here are the best of this week's social media, business and technology resources. Editor's Picks The Evolution of Anonymous The evolution of Anonymous, a notorious group of hackers that has acquired a worldwide following. Plus, the group's top 10 defining hacks. Stickers Galore: Check Out GetGlue's Fun-Filled Office/a> GetGlue's New York City headquarters are full of stickers, pop culture and fun. The 10 Most-Followed Men on Pinterest Men are influential on Pinterest, too. Find out the top 10 male users on the social network. How do their numbers stack up to the gals? Behind the Scenes of the World's First Live-Tweeted Open-Heart Surgery Doctors and digital pros from the hospital that pulled off the world's first live-tweeted open-heart surgery give their inside story. 10 Tips for Raising Money on Kickstarter The lessons one Kickstarter participant learned are worth knowing. If you're looking to get funded on Kickstarter, here are ten tips to help you succeed. Social Media 9 Free Tumblr Themes That Look Like Pinterest Looking to turn your Tumblr into a Pinterest board? Several themes can help make that happen. How to Make Images Stand Out on Pinterest/a> With more than 12 million users on Pinterest it's important to make your images stand out. Here's how to optimize your pins. 20 TV Shows With the Most Social Media Buzz This Week/a> Which TV shows generate the most buzz on social networks? Find out each week from our social TV chart. Mashable Connect Agenda: 15 Exciting Sessions to Learn From We're excited to announce the Mashable Connect 2012 agenda. This year's lineup covers a wide range of topics on the state and future of digital. 20 Over-The-Top Tweets About the Mega Millions Jackpot The mind-boggling $540 million Mega Millions jackpot spawned multitudes of entertaining Twitter messages about the lottery. The Evolution of Facebook for Brands Facebook Timeline for businesses is officially here. A look back at the major Facebook milestones that lead to this. For more social media news and resources, you can follow Mashable's social media channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Business & Marketing 5 Key Talents of Successful Startup Founders Some qualities are essential to becoming a successful startup founder. These five talents, in particular, are vital for entrepreneurs. 4 Tips For Authentic Online Engagement When you think about authenticity as it relates to your brand's social media efforts, a key factor is what you stand for and what's meaningful to you. Attention Marketers: Back-to-School Season Has Already Started/a> Research from Gen Y-focused marketing agency Mr. Youth shows that conversations about the upcoming school year are already happening. How American Express Grows Its Massive Social Media Presence The credit card company is innovating for both customers and merchants on their social media platforms. Check out how AmEx has gone digital. 6 Ways to Acquire New Customers via Social Media Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are great for building your brand -- but how do you find new customers? 10 Ways to Humanize Your Brand On Social Media Humanizing a brand is just that: the attempt to interact with each customer on a personal level. Here are 10 ways companies can work to create a more human brand via social media. Shoptiques Lets You Shop Boutiques Like a Local Shop local boutiques online, city by city. For more business news and resources, you can follow Mashable's business channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Tech & Mobile 5 Exciting Innovations That Will Change Computing in 2012 Technical innovations are on the way that promise to bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds like never before. 6 Must-Have Apps for the Samsung Galaxy Note Here are six apps that no Samsung Galaxy Note user should be without. Your Profile Pic Has Nothing on These Guys/a> Think your vacation album is sweet? Think again. These guys take scrapbooking to a whole new level. 4 Hot Apps for Microvideo Blogging With microvideo blogging apps, you can record short video clips and share them instantly over social platforms. Here are our four faves. 18 Amazing Photos of NASA's 'Five Rockets in Five Minutes' Launch NASA launched five rockets, each 80 seconds apart, into the skies over Virginia early on Tuesday. Will This Adorable Robot Rabbit Be Your Next Digital Media Hub? The Karotz is a little rabbit robot with a big personality. Check out how its creators hope to revolutionize the personalized robotics industry. 10 Ice-Cool White iPhone Cases We've found 10 cases that work brilliantly with the white iPhone. 10 Fun Notepads to Geek Up Your Desk From "social" sticky notes to LEGO notebooks to Google Doodle notecards, we think you'll find something tempting in our selection. How to Avoid the Common Pitfalls of Mobile App Development We asked several leaders in mobile development to share the common issues that come when creating a new app. Here's what they had to say. The Future of Funny: How Old and New Media Collaborate on Comedy How old and new media work together in pursuit of comedy. A History of Hacktivism/a> Learn how hacktivism evolved to become a powerful virtual weapon in today's digital age. 10 Classic Gadgets Upcycled Into Fashion Accessories We've collected 10 fashion accessories upcycled from the gadgets of your youth. These 10 Hilarious Podcasts Will Make You LOL If you're looking for some of the funniest podcasts, we've rounded up 10 channels. Plug in your headphones and get ready to LOL in public. 5 Cities Benefiting From Mobile Apps Check out how a handful of cities across the U.S. takes advantage of mobile to improve their communities and government efficiency. 3 Reasons Facebook Brand Pages Are Good for Businesses Not everyone is cheering about Facebook Timeline for businesses. The reality is, the new layout will present many great opportunities for companies using it to merchandise their products. Here are three reasons why Facebook's new brand pages will benefit sellers and social commerce as a whole. 8 Easy PC Pranks to Trick Your Friends With April Fools' Day on the horizon, it's the perfect time to play some epic pranks on your PC-using co-workers, friends, family and frenemies. 10 Excellent PC Games for Less Than $10 Need a gaming fix on the cheap? Check out these 10 winning PC games, all for less than $10. How to Respond to Any Situation With an Animated GIF There's an animated GIF for every occasion! The blog #WhatShouldWeCallMe brilliantly responds to classic situations. 8 Crazy Gadgets to Buy If You Win Mega Millions What would you buy if you won Friday's world-record $640 million Mega Millions jackpot? You can purchase plenty of things with the half-a-billion dollar prize, including these eight gems. Tools to Generate Your Random Mega Millions Numbers Can these random number generators help you win the record-high Mega Millions jackpot? Probably not, but it might be worth a try. Top 10 iPhone Word Games Go pick up a dictionary and fortify the ol' lexicon -- these iPhone word games demand clever wordplay in order to succeed. For more tech news and resources, you can follow Mashable's tech channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, akinbostanci. Now You Can Explore Nelson Mandela's Archives Online Saturday, March 31, 2012 5:09 PM Sonia Paul Following a year-long effort, the Nelson Mandela Digital Archive Project is now available online. The new interactive multimedia archive documents the South African leader's life, personal memories and commitment to social justice. The project is an initiative of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory (NMCM) and the Google Cultural Institute, which aims to help preserve and promote culture on the Internet. Google received a $1.25 million grant to collaborate with NMCM on the project last March and announced the launch of the archive on Tuesday. The digital archive project is a completely interactive experience. Users can navigate through pictures, video and text to learn more about Nelson Mandela and the different aspects of his life. The digitization is an ongoing project, and thus far, the archives are divided into seven categories: Early Life, Prison Years, Presidential Years, Retirement, Books for Mandela, Young People and My Moments with a Legend. The first four categories relate to certain moments in his life, the latter three concern his relationships with other people and how his personality cultivated those relationships. "Books for Mandela," for example, shows the different books he received as gifts -- a common gift indeed, given his love of reading -- and the notes he received along with them. "Young People" and "My Moments with a Legend" show how his personality and commitment to social justice was an inspiration to many he encountered, particularly children, whom he believes are the foundation of the future. "Books for Mandela" is not the only category featuring primary sources. Within each of these categories is a vast amount of information, including everything from letters to photographs to church membership cards. In addition to these personal documents, biographical information is available to provide context to these primary sources. Everything is set up to link to even more information, so audiences can see, for example, the source of a quotation, or learn more about the process Mandela went through in writing his autobiography, A Long Walk to Freedom. The Nelson Mandela Digital Archive project comes after the digitization of Albert Einstein's archives, which provides audiences with an interactive experience of the scientist's life. Both projects also coincide with the release of a new open-source timeline tool, available for anyone on the internet to use and incorporate into a site. And let's not forget about Facebook's Timeline -- a feature which everyone from politicians to companies to even the U.S. military are using to brand themselves, highlight the special moments in their lives and engage with audiences in a more visual, interactive way. What do you think of all these timelines and digital archives? Are they changing the way people are documenting history -- and therefore understanding history? 7 Apps You Don't Want To Miss [PICS] Saturday, March 31, 2012 4:32 PM Emily Price This week brought tons of great new apps. From a long-distance relationship app that allows you to "thumb kiss" your partner from far away, to a new app for storing your sketches, notes and other thoughts and sharing them on the web -- there was plenty of new app action in the past seven days to download on your favorite smartphone or tablet. Some of our favorites this week also include a new space discovery app that combines 3D graphics with video, text and photos and allows you to explore seven different realms: Subatomic, Atomic, Solar System, Stars, Milky Way, Galaxies, and Universe. If you're interested in exploring other countries rather than space, Babbel's language-learning apps are now available for Android. And if you prefer to keep your travels a little closer to home, another new app this week lets you explore the art available on NYC's transit system, as well as plan your own transit art tour. When it comes time to pay your friends back for your portion of the dinner bill this weekend, this week brought with it an app that lets you send cash via PayPal by just tapping your phone against theirs. Check out the gallery above for a look at our favorite new apps from the week. Be sure to let us know in the comments which ones were your favorite (or what cool new apps you think we missed)! 3D Projection Turns Baroque Church Into a Virtual Musical Instrument [VIDEO] Saturday, March 31, 2012 4:18 PM PSFK An interesting 3D projection and music installation by projection mapping collective Macula transformed a Baroque church in the Czech Republic into a virtual musical instrument that could be interacted with using laser pointers. The virtual surface of the Olomouc Baroque de-baptized chapel’s interior was mapped, and parts of the architecture reinterpreted by virtual visual elements via projection and sound. Up to 10 visitors could interact with the Archifon installation at a time, by directing laser pointers at more than 100 elements to trigger different audiovisual actions. Angel statues sing when the laser points at them, window parts represent tones of the different instruments, elements of the paintings play different soundscapes, and sliding up and down the pillars creates a range of visual effects. Take a look at the video below to see Archifon in action: 'Sand Flea' Robot Jumps 30 Feet [VIDEO] Saturday, March 31, 2012 3:35 PM Kate Freeman This flea is quite a bit more powerful than the ones on mangy mutts. Robotics company Boston Dynamics created an 11-pound robot called the "Sand Flea" that can jump 30 feet in the air and is equipped with an infrared camera. "The robot uses gyro stabilization to stay level during flight, to provide a clear view from the onboard camera, and to ensure a smooth landing," notes its website. This video shows the robot in action -- jumping onto a one story building and straight up the side of a dirt hill. The Sand Flea's name hints as the bot's capabilities -- it can move undetected and close to the ground while springing up into the air to jump onto higher ground. The bot has enough energy to jump 25 times and last two hours using its fuel supply and piston actuator. The controller can choose how high and at what angle the Sand Flea jumps, while the bot's four wheels cushion its landing. The project was funded by DARPA, JIEDDO (Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization) and the U.S. Army's Rapid Equipping Force. The video notes that an earlier version of the Sand Flea was developed by Sandia National Labs. The U.S. Army is stocking up on all kinds of small robots. In early March, JIEDDO, which operates under the Department of Defense and seeks to locate IED threats, ordered 105 small robots, similar to the Sand Flea, from iRobot Corp. In February, the U.S. Army placed its largest order of micro-robots ever with the company ReconRobotics in a contract for $13.9 million of small bots that will be used for surveillance purposes with soldiers overseas. What do you think the Sand Flea will be used for? What additional features could make it more useful? Tell us in the comments. Photos courtesy of Boston Dynamics New AppList: Prank Apps for April Fools' Day Saturday, March 31, 2012 1:26 PM AppAdvice April Fools' Day is the annual celebration of fools and the people who make them. Practical jokes are the gift of choice, as the gift giver delights in the embarrassment and bewilderment of the recipient. Listed here are some prank apps that may prove useful in your enjoyment of this playful day. They are also great for general mischief, even without a specific occasion to celebrate it. Please note that some of the apps here have the potential to annoy, distress, and cost jobs and friendships. There may also be severe health and mental consequences if you choose the wrong victim. Please exercise great caution and greater common sense when exploring these apps. Prank Apps for April Fools' Day Forget Google Instant: In the Future, Search Engines Will Read Your Habits Saturday, March 31, 2012 11:51 AM Sarah Kessler When Google launched Google Instant in 2010, it claimed that providing results as users type and removing the need to hit the "enter" key saved users two to five seconds per search. Wolfram Alpha CEO Stephen Wolfram's vision of what the word "Instant" could mean for search is a bit more literal. He envisions some type of search engine which could -- through data maps of personal data history -- provide reports automatically when they're needed without an explicit query. He counts this sort of "preemptive delivery of information" among "a large number" of projects the data company has been working on. Though there are no concrete plans to create such a product, here's the type of thing Wolfram has in mind: "You run into a person (e.g. at SXSW); your augmented reality system automatically recognizes their face, tells you your social network connections to them, plots the time series of when you've exchanged email with them, does topic modelling of recent material about them (or email you've exchanged with them) and compares it with things you've written recently and suggests interesting conversation topics." Earlier this month, Wolfram wrote a blog post about personal analytics that outlined some of the data he tracks in his own life. It includes the same sort of data that could be useful to this type of pre-emptive search. He has, for instance, archived every email message that's passed through his inbox since 1989. He also tracks his keystrokes, meetings, hours spent on the phone and daily steps taken. Most of the data is recorded automatically. In a recent blog post, Stephen Alpha included a plot that shows every email he has sent 1989 "In time I'm looking forward to being able to ask Wolfram Alpha all sorts of things about my life and times -- and have it immediately generate reports about them," he wrote in the post. "Not only being able to act as an adjunct to my personal memory, but also to be able to do automatic computational history -- explaining how and why things happened -- and then making projections and predictions." How such information could also be used to deliver information when it's needed -- but before it's asked for -- is something Wolfram says Wolfram Alpha hasn't articulated to the extent of defining a user interface. But, he told me during a meeting at South by Southwest this month, the company is in a good position to create it. Wolphram Alpha's computational search engine, which is built on the company's application for computations Mathematica, delivers more than results. Instead of returning queries with a list of websites, it delivers reports. It can tell you, for instance, which planes are flying over your head or what exactly is in an enchilada. Between its developer products and consumer products, the company has in its technology arsenal tools for analytics and visualization, linguistic understanding, image processing and a way to deal with diverse data in uniform ways -- all ingredients Wolfram suggests will be key to the future's preemptive search engine. Not everyone collects personal data with the same rigor as Wolfram, but he believes some day they will -- and using that data to deliver information before it's explicitly requested is all but inevitable. "It's part of a very long-term trend towards automation of everything," he says.		TOP STORIES TODAY This iPhone Platform Will Change The Way You Shoot Videos 39 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed 39 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed Now You Can Explore Nelson Mandela's Archives Online RIM Doesn't Need BlackBerry 10 -- It Needs a Time Machine TOP TOPICS Trending 5,231 followers Social Media 65,484 followers Business 33,350 followers Mobile 4,551 followers Apps And Software 815 followers Twitter 52,215 followers Facebook 78,950 followers US 745 followers Gadgets 7,470 followers Marketing 8,434 followers
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