Year: 2013

Some recent saved favorites from Pocket:

Daylight Saving Time Is Terrible: Here’s a Simple Plan to Fix It: Losing another hour of evening daylight isn’t just annoying. It’s an economically harmful policy with minimal energy savings. Daylight saving time ends Nov. – by Allison Schrager – Tags: The Atlantic, The Atlantic Magazine, TheAtlantic.com, Atlantic, news, opinion, analysis, commentary, Business, Wall Street, Megan McArdle – http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/11/daylight-saving-time-is-terrible-heres-a-simple-plan-to-fix-it/281075/

Welcome To The Unicorn Club: Learning From Billion-Dollar Startups: Editor’s note: Aileen Lee is founder of Cowboy Ventures, a seed-stage fund that backs entrepreneurs reinventing work and personal life through software. Previously, she joined Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in 1999 and was also founding CEO of digital media company RMG Networks, backed by KPCB. – by Aileen Lee – http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/02/welcome-to-the-unicorn-club/

Why Taking Money From Influential Investors Can Backfire: DAVID COHEN: When seeking out investors, what matters most is how engaged, helpful and committed you think they’ll be. – http://blogs.wsj.com/accelerators/2013/11/01/weekend-read-why-taking-money-from-influential-investors-can-backfire/

2014 Will Be The Year Of Wearable Technology: Looking over the mobile stands and start-ups at ‘The Summit‘ this week in Dublin, it’s clear that the next wave of hardware innovation in mobile is going to come from the rise of wearable technology. – by Ewan Spence – http://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2013/11/02/2014-will-be-the-year-of-wearable-technology/

Wrangling Data From a Huge Variety of Fitness Gadgets: The human body is in data overload. – by ERIC A. TAUB – http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/technology/personaltech/wrangling-data-from-a-huge-variety-of-fitness-apps-and-devices.html

Riding the Hashtag in Social Media Marketing: About once a week, Gary Vaynerchuk posts a Twitter message that reads, “Is there anything I can do for you?” He means it literally. He is inviting his roughly one million followers to send requests for any kind of help or favor. And if you respond, he will try to punch you in the face. – by DAVID SEGAL – http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/technology/riding-the-hashtag-in-social-media-marketing.html

Netflix starts testing 4K videos, wants to launch Ultra HD next year : Netflix quietly added a handful of 4K HD videos to its catalog this week to prepare itself for a wider launch of ultra high-definition video content in the coming months. – by Janko Roettgers – Tags: 4k,4K resolution,Reed HAstings,Ultra HD – http://gigaom.com/2013/11/01/netflix-starts-testing-4k-videos-wants-to-launch-ultra-hd-next-year/

Jelly Bean now on more than half of active Android devices: We’ve got a new version of Android now available — and a new round of platform version numbers to go along with it. As you’d expect, there are no Android 4.4 KitKat numbers for the week leading into Nov. 1 — and remember that Android 4. – by Phil Nickinson – Tags: android,versions,News – http://www.androidcentral.com/jelly-bean-now-more-half-active-android-devices

Some recent saved favorites from Pocket:

Google Play now drives 25% more downloads than iOS app store, has 50% the revenue: Google Play is continuing its inexorable overtaking of the App Store, with downloads now 25 percent higher, and app revenue that is slowly overtaking Apple’s sales. The reason is exactly the same one that impacts iOS market share: international markets. – by John Koetsier – http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/31/google-play-now-drives-25-more-downloads-than-ios-app-store-has-50-the-revenue/

Reading J.J. Abrams’ Novel S. Is Like Downloading Lost to Your Brain: Let’s get the tl;dr version out of the way first: If you were a fan of Lost — and especially the speculation and theorizing that surrounded the show itself — then S., the novel/meta-narrative by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst, is pretty much written for you. – by Graeme McMillan – http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/11/j-j-abrams-s-book-review/

The DIY Cyborg: Humanity just made a large, DIY step towards a time when everyone can upgrade themselves towards being a cyborg. Of all places, it happened somewhere in the post-industrial tristesse of the German town of Essen. – by Max Hoppenstedt – http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-diy-cyborg

17 Responses to “Confirmed: Apple & Best Buy will price match Walmart’s $479 iPad Air deal in stores (Staples too)”: As it has been known to do for recent Apple product launches, Walmart announced last week that it would be offering a $20 discount on Apple’s new entry-level 16GB iPad Air starting as soon as the device launches tomorrow on November 1. – by Jordan Kahn – http://9to5mac.com/2013/11/01/confirmed-apple-best-buy-will-price-match-walmarts-479-ipad-air-deal-in-stores/

How Mountain Biking Explains The Painful Exhilaration Of Launching A Startup: Falling hurts–so does failing–but it’s part of the journey. So you’re teetering on the edge of starting your own business and you’re looking for advice. Here is mine: Go get yourself a mountain bike. – by David Rose – http://m.fastcompany.com/3020961/how-mountain-biking-explains-the-painful-exhilaration-of-launching-a-startup

A Stunning Elevated Biking Track Keeps Cyclists Far Away From Careening Cars: In most cities, cycling infrastructure isn’t much more than a few dotted lines on the road. But that’s not how it is in the Netherlands, one of the world’s most cycle-friendly nations. – http://m.fastcoexist.com/3020915/a-stunning-elevated-biking-track-keeps-cyclists-far-away-from-careening-cars

T-Mobile’s Wacky Plan to Trash the Wireless Business Model: John Legere smiled, the kind of smile reserved for a man who knows he has already won and is just waiting to announce it. – by Brendan Greeley – http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-31/t-mobiles-john-legere-trashes-the-wireless-business-model#r=rss

Fab’s Chief Design Officer Bradford Shellhammer Leaves The Company: The cofounder of the e-commerce company, valued at $1 billion, is stepping away from his day-to-day role; Jason Goldberg will stay on as CEO. Fab cofounder and chief design officer Bradford Shellhammer has announced he is stepping away from his day-to-day role at the e-commerce company. – http://www.fastcompany.com/3021037/fast-feed/fab-cofounder-chief-design-officer-bradford-shellhammer-leaves-company#mydailysocial

Broken news: struggling to find facts in the Twitter maelstrom: As with Hurricane Sandy, the Boston Marathon bombings, and countless other major stories, news of today’s shooting at the Los Angeles International Airport was sometimes muddled with misinformation. – by Adi Robertson – http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/1/5056344/broken-news-struggling-to-find-facts-in-twitter-maelstrom

Google just pulled a “Facebook Home”: KitKat’s primary interface is Google Search: One of the headline features of Android 4.4 is a revamped home screen and app launcher. The icons are bigger, there is more transparency, and the app drawer makes better use of the screen real estate. – by Ron Amadeo – http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/11/google-just-pulled-a-facebook-home-kitkats-primary-interface-is-google-search/

The ‘father of the iPod’ explains how his company Nest is using tech to make your home ‘conscious’: What’s the very first thing you do when you meet one of the ‘fathers of the iPod‘?  Complain about central heating, that’s right. – by Ben Woods – http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/11/01/tony-fadell-father-ipod-working-original-mac-team-apple-led-reinvention-unloved-household-products/

Video: Helmet-cam cyclist busts driver eating cereal at 30mph: Police are investigating after a helmet cam-equipped cyclist spotted a driver in Edinburgh eating a bowl of cereal, complete with milk, while driving at over 30mph. YouTube user Raging Bike posted the footage after a ‘WTF’ moment as the driver passed him on a busy Edinburgh street. – by John Stevenson – Tags: Cycling, cycle, bike, bicycle, biking, road, leisure, commute, race, cycle clothing, cycle gear, cycle components, reviews, bike reviews, news, video, forums, chat, riding – http://road.cc/content/news/98225-video-helmet-cam-cyclist-busts-driver-eating-cereal-30mph

Some recent saved favorites from Pocket:

Google Now and speech recognition get big updates in Android 4.4 KitKat: Over the past year and a half Google’s steadily added new features and cards to its predictive search assistant, Google Now. With Android 4. – by Dante D’Orazio – http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/31/5051458/android-kit-kat-bring-big-updates-to-google-now-and-speech-recognition

Google’s Nexus 5 with KitKat available today, starting at $349: hands-on impressions: Google’s Nexus program has a simple goal: make the best, purest, most perfect Android phone. And, beginning with last year’s Nexus 4, Google did all that at a remarkable price, charging with no strings attached what most carriers and manufacturers would charge with a two-year contract. – by Dieter Bohn – http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/31/5049068/googles-nexus-5-with-android-kit-kat-available-today-starting-349/in/4815723

Be like Gillette: Why software is the razor blade of hardware companies: The most successful hardware companies are the ones that look a lot like Gillette. Consider Dropcam, for example. – by Devindra Hardawar – http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/31/be-like-gillette-why-software-is-the-razor-blade-of-hardware-companies/

Twitter Introduces Fine-Tuning Options To MagicRecs Recommendations Via DM: Twitter did an interesting thing this morning with its @magicrecs recommendation service. It introduced a text-based menu system that you access via DM, which lets you tune the recommendations that you get via push notification or message. – by Matthew Panzarino – http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/31/twitter-introduces-fine-tuning-options-to-magicrecs-recommendations-via-dm/

Networked Intelligent Bicycles Are Transforming Urban Riding – ReadWrite: The world’s first open source piece of hardware was the bicycle, according to the Open Source Hardware Association. To be more precise, it was the draisine, introduced as a two-wheeled human-propelled walking machine in 1817. – http://readwrite.com/2013/10/31/bicycles-intelligent-network

Coast Guard visits mysterious ‘Google barge’: Natalie DiBlasio hosts NewsBreak covering the ‘Google Barge’ mystery. SAN FRANCISCO — The Coast Guard on Wednesday visited the mysterious “Google barge” floating in San Francisco Bay, but the agency would not reveal anything about the tech giant’s hush-hush vessel. – by Michael Winter, USA TODAY – http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/30/coast-guard-visits-mysterious-google-barge/3318347/

Google Fiber app gains new DVR features, now on iPhone and iPod Touch: For the lucky few who’ve signed on to Google’s Fiber TV service, you’re about to get a few more goodies coming your way. – by Nicole Lee – http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/30/google-fiber-app-dvr-iphone-ipod/

Hyperloop Startup Lands Major Partners and Unveils Official Name: The idea for the hyperloop has been floating around since 2012, back when Telsa and SpaceX founder Elon Musk first came up with the next-gen transportation concept. – by Adario Strange – http://mashable.com/2013/10/31/hyperloop-startup-lands-major-partners-and-unveils-official-name/

Some recent saved favorites from Pocket:

Developing robots that collaborate with people: The National Science Foundation (NSF), in partnership with NIH, USDA and NASA, has announced about $38 million in investment for developing robots that cooperatively work with people to enhance individual human capabilities, performance and safety. – http://www.kurzweilai.net/developing-robots-that-collaborate-with-people

Top Reviewers On Amazon Get Tons Of Free Stuff: The original version of this story displayed an image that included information from a newsletter sent by Amazon to frequent reviewers. It was not made clear to the person who provided the newsletter to NPR that the information would be published as part of the story. – by Lisa Chow – http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/10/29/241372607/top-reviewers-on-amazon-get-tons-of-free-stuff

DARPA wants drones to have lasers too: Laser pods mounted on drones to shoot down missiles. Yeah, that’s science fiction warfare, right there. And that’s exactly what the US military wants. – by Casey Chan – http://sploid.gizmodo.com/darpa-wants-drones-to-have-lasers-too-1455685748/@caseychan

The iPad Air: There are so many millions of iPad users that no simple explanation can cover all use cases. But my take, since last year, has been that the full-size iPad is best seen as an alternative to a laptop, and the iPad Mini as a supplement to a laptop. – by John Gruber – http://daringfireball.net/2013/10/the_ipad_air

Video: David Bowie: : Combining headlong distortion with radically honest lyrics, Perfect Pussy are one of the year’s boldest new rock bands. – http://m.pitchfork.com/news/52835-video-david-bowie-love-is-lost-remixed-by-james-murphy/

The Quest to Build a Truly Free Version of Android: You’ve probably heard Android is free and open source. But that’s not entirely true. Although most of the code in the Android Open Source Project is indeed open source, much of the software that interacts with hardware components like GPS chips, cameras and graphics is proprietary. – by Klint Finley – http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/10/replicant/

MIT Wristband Could Make AC Obsolete: Here’s a scary statistic: In 2007, 87 percent of households in the U.S. used air conditioning, compared to just 11 percent of households in Brazil and a mere 2 percent in India. – by Kyle VanHemert – http://www.wired.com/design/2013/10/an-ingenious-wristband-that-keeps-your-body-at-the-perfect-temperature-no-ac-required/

Android’s Next Targets: Wearables, TVs, Low-End Phones: The launch of Google Inc.’s Android KitKat, the next version of the most widely used operating software for smartphones and tablets, is drawing near. Google executives haven’t announced a release date but people who have been briefed on KitKat say that it is coming soon. – by Amir Efrati – http://jessicalessin.com/2013/10/31/androids-next-targets-wearables-tvs-low-end-phones/

Bitcoin Pursues the Mainstream: The currency known as bitcoin — a much-hyped and much-doubted type of digital cash that can be bought with traditional money — has mostly attracted attention for its popularity in the black market, and for its wildly gyrating valuation. – by Nick Wingfield – http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/technology/bitcoin-pursues-the-mainstream.html

Stand Clear of Closing Doors! Protect Your Manicure: REMEMBER the vending machines in New York City subway stations, even on platforms? (O.K., maybe not, as it was decades ago.) Among the products straphangers could buy were cigarettes, candy and gum; there were also scales proclaiming, “Horoscope and weight 1¢.” – by STUART ELLIOTT – http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/30/business/media/stand-clear-of-closing-doors-protect-your-manicure.html

Netflix’s next big battle: in-season binge-watching: Netflix, the undisputed king of full-season TV binge-viewing, is now preparing for battle with networks, along with cable and satellite providers, on a new front: in-season binge-watching. – by Search results – http://qz.com/141047

Apple should be like Bloomberg: I’m very glad that the WSJ has published today’s debate between Farhad Manjoo and Dennis Berman on the subject of Apple. – by Felix Salmon – Tags: stocks,technology – http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2013/10/29/apple-should-be-like-bloomberg/

Hello, ladies: Bonobos finally launches a women’s line: Bonobos co-founder and CEO Andy Dunn may be building an ecommerce company, but his role model isn’t fulfillment-obsessed Jeff Bezos. It’s the man most people call the greatest merchant of our time: Mickey Drexler. – by Sarah Lacy – http://pandodaily.com/2013/10/30/hello-ladies-bonobos-finally-launches-a-womens-line/

Spotify-like Solayo plays music and videos from YouTube, Dailymotion and SoundCloud in one place: Want to stream music or videos for free right within your browser without having to open multiple tabs? In comes Solayo, a Web app that aggregates content from YouTube, Dailymotion and SoundCloud, letting you search for and play music and videos from just a single site. – by Kaylene Hong – http://thenextweb.com/media/2013/10/30/spotify-like-solayo-plays-music-and-videos-from-youtube-dailymotion-and-soundcloud-in-one-place/

Some recent saved favorites from Pocket:

Ex-Facebooker Gifts the Social Network’s Data Platform to the World: Many developers dream of working for a high profile company like Google or Facebook. But not Jonathan Gray. The first time Facebook called and offered him a job, he turned them down. But Facebook kept calling. – by Klint Finley – http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/10/continuuity/

GPS bullets are latest weapon for American police: It sounds like something out of a James Bond movie – GPS bullets that can track the location of a suspect’s car. The bullet is designed to make high-speed chases safer – enabling the authorities to track suspects without having to risk theirs or others’ lives. – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24731080

This company will send your stuffed animal on a vacation: Your teddy bear has always wanted to visit Tokyo in the spring. Fortunately for Mr. Bobo, there’s Unagi Travel, the “Japan Travel Agency for Stuffed Animals.” The travel agency gives tours not to you but to your favorite plush toy. – by Claudine Zap – http://travel.yahoo.com/blogs/compass/company-send-stuffed-animal-vacation-212641385.html

There’s one key difference between kids who excel at math and those who don’t: We hear it all the time. And we’ve had enough. Because we believe that the idea of “math people” is the most self-destructive idea in America today. The truth is, you probably are a math person, and by thinking otherwise, you are possibly hamstringing your own career. – by Search results – http://qz.com/139453/theres-one-key-difference-between-kids-who-excel-at-math-and-those-who-dont/

Payments Giant First Data Acquires Mobile Loyalty Startup Perka For ~$30M To Take On Square And PayPal In SMB Market: In an effort to catch up with Square and Paypal, payment processing giant First Data has been quietly increasing its presence in the mobile payments market. As the largest credit card processing company in the U.S. – by Rip Empson – http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/29/payment-processing-giant-first-data-buys-mobile-loyalty-startup-perka-for-30m-to-help-it-compete-with-square-and-paypal/

This man decides what you read: Can Chartbeat CEO Tony Haile save journalism? Miley Cyrus gave us so much that night. Just trying to count her blessings smacks of ingratitude, like regifting manna. – by Alex Halperin – Tags: Salon.com, Chartbeat, Media, data, Journalism, New Media, Miley Cyrus, BuzzFeed, Mother Jones, Salon, New York Times, CNN, ESPN, news, MTV, Big Data, ComScore, Vox Media – http://www.salon.com/2013/10/27/this_man_decides_what_you_read/

Intel May Turn Over Its Web TV Project to Verizon: Intel’s efforts to break into the TV business may be coming to a close. Sources say the chipmaker is close to a deal to hand over control of Intel Media, the unit that has been trying to build a Web-based subscription TV service, to Verizon, the telco that already operates a pay TV service. – by Peter Kafka and Arik Hesseldahl – Tags: media, news, product news, amazon, apple, beon, erik huggers, featured post, google, intel media, samsung, sony, verizon, web tv – http://allthingsd.com/20131030/intel-may-turn-over-its-web-tv-project-to-verizon/

Google’s Perfect, Future-Proof Marketing Strategy For Google Glass: Sometimes it looks as though the whole of the Google Google Glass project is one big experiment. It’s hardly experimental technology. It’s an experiment in how to use a consumer-grade heads up display. But the experiment goes much deeper than hardware and apps. – by Haydn Shaughnessy – http://www.forbes.com/sites/haydnshaughnessy/2013/10/29/googles-perfect-future-proof-marketing-strategy-for-google-glass/

Why Twitter Just Turned Itself Inside Out: As soon as Twitter changed from a texting service into an internet service, it was taken over by links. Tweets were no longer messages, they were web pointers with comments attached. – by John Herrman – http://www.buzzfeed.com/jwherrman/why-twitter-just-turned-itself-inside-out

Fitness Coach: Q: Can Breathing Incorrectly Cause a Running Injury? Is it true that impact stress in runners is greatest when the foot strikes the ground at the beginning of an exhalation? So if I always breathe out on my left side, I’ll increase my risk of injuring something on that side? I read this in a Run – by Erin Beresini – Tags: Fitness Coach, Outside Magazine Fitness, Outside Fitness – http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/fitness-coach/Can-Breathing-Incorrectly-Cause-a-Running-Injury.html

Samsung is pulling another Amazon on Android, but this is even bigger — Tech News and Analysis: As much as Google likes and touts that Android is open, that freedom may come with the cost of some control over the platform. Amazon may have started the first truly successful “fork” of Android, but Samsung is going after the whole place setting. – by Kevin C. Tofel – Tags: Android,Google,Samsung,TouchWiz – http://gigaom.com/2013/10/28/samsung-is-pulling-another-amazon-on-android-but-this-is-even-bigger/

Google adds location sharing, animated GIFs to Hangouts, integrates SMS: Today during its “A Morning with Google+” event, Google announced some updates for its Google+ service on top of sharing some improvements to Hangouts. – by Jordan Kahn – http://9to5google.com/2013/10/29/google-adds-location-sharing-animated-gifs-to-hangouts-integrates-sms/

Google smartwatch with Google Now coming sooner than expected, ‘ready within months’: A Google-produced smartwatch is close to entering production, says a report from the Wall Street Journal. The Google watch, which has been rumored multiple times, will run Android with a heavy focus on the company’s Google Now personal assistant. – by Aaron Souppouris – http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/29/5041704/google-smartwatch-could-be-ready-within-months

Some recent saved favorites from Pocket:

How I deal with users who steal: It costs $19.99/yr for musicians to use, or is free if you refer 5 new users. The referral system works well, and is responsible for about 30% of daily new users. Some users fake it though. They “refer” 5 people by making 5 bogus DistroKid accounts using the referral link we give them. – by Philip Kaplan – https://medium.com/product-design/416b0841dbf1

Teenagers Are Driving Less, But Why?: Are teens really done caring about cars and driving, or is data showing fewer teens applying for drivers’ licenses more a reflection of the lousy current job market than a long term cultural trend? – by JOSEPH B. WHITE – http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2013/10/24/teenagers-are-driving-less-but-why/

The New Economy Is Indentured TaskRabbits: It’s not exactly news that in the absence of a solution to the unemployment crisis, Americans have learned to cobble together various odd jobs to replace the full-time, benefits-included positions they once had. What’s surprising is how permanent the so-called gig economy is turning out to be. – by Kevin Roose – http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/10/new-economy-is-indentured-taskrabbits.html

Why Apple’s first retail store in Brazil is actually a really big deal: Apple is about to take its much-awaited leap into Latin America. According to Apple news site 9to5Mac, Apple is aiming to launch its first retail store in Brazil by March 2014. The store, which has been under construction since last year, will be located in Rio de Janeiro.  – by Roberto A. Ferdman – http://qz.com/140467/why-apples-first-retail-store-in-brazil-is-actually-a-really-big-deal/

Motorola reveals ambitious plan to build modular smartphones: Motorola has unveiled Project Ara, an open-source initiative for modular smartphones with the goal to “do for hardware what the Android platform has done for software. – by Sam Byford – http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/29/5041336/motorola-project-ara-modular-smartphones

Can Wearable Computers Revolutionize How We Learn To Code? ? Co.Labs ? code + community: Programming is an abstract and often private pursuit. But wearable computing projects–made with purpose-built microcontrollers like the Adafruit FLORA–have the potential to change all that, catapulting coding into a vastly more mainstream hobby. – http://www.fastcolabs.com/3018374/can-wearable-computers-revolutionize-how-we-learn-to-code

How Google Ventures-backed Play-i plans to use robots to help kids learn to code — Tech News and Analysis: Learning the basics of programming doesn’t have to involve staring at a computer screen, stringing together lines of code. If  Play-i has its way, kids as young as five years old could learn the concepts behind by coding by playing with a simple spherical robot and an iPad. – by Ki Mae Heussner – Tags: internet of things,mobile technology,sensor technology – http://gigaom.com/2013/10/28/how-google-ventures-backed-play-i-plans-to-use-robots-to-inspire-kids-to-code/

Should Your Product Connect To The Internet Of Things?: Thanks to widespread Internet adoption and over 10 billion connected devices around the world, companies today are more excited than ever about the Internet of Things. – http://www.fastcodesign.com/3020678/should-your-product-connect-to-the-internet-of-things

Nielsen’s New SDK Adds Mobile Viewing To Its Traditional TV Ratings, Uses Data From Facebook To Match Demographics: After months of trials, Nielsen today is announcing an SDK that will give it the ability to measure how people view TV on mobile apps and other digital formats. – by Ingrid Lunden – http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/27/nielsen-sdk-mobile-ratings/

Samsung Pursues Developers, Seeking Orbit of Apps: This week, Samsung Electronics Co. 005930.SE -0. – by Jonathan Cheng – http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/SB10001424052702304470504579160863095029246-lMyQjAxMTAzMDIwNzEyNDcyWj

A clever way to buy Facebook ads based on what your users like (Guest post): My friend Gagan Biyani wrote up a great piece how to analyze what your Facebook audience is interested in, and using that to buy ads. He’s generously shared it, below. Gagan is CEO and co-founder at Sprig, and before that was at Lyft and started up Udemy. – http://andrewchen.co/2013/10/28/a-clever-way-to-buy-facebook-ads-based-on-what-your-users-like-guest-post/

Why is broadband more expensive in the US?: Home broadband in the US costs far more than elsewhere. At high speeds, it costs nearly three times as much as in the UK and France, and more than five times as much as in South Korea. Why? Men’s haircuts, loaves of bread… – by Tom Geoghegan, Kevin Kim, Rory Cellan-Jones, Sarah Virginia White – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24528383

Kroger Knows Your Shopping Patterns Better Than You Do: Kroger Kroger, the Cincinnati-based grocery store chain, calls the 11 million pieces of direct mail it sends to customers each quarter “snowflakes” — because if any two are the same, it is a fluke. The redemption rate is over 70 percent within six weeks of the mailing. – by Tom Groenfeldt – http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomgroenfeldt/2013/10/28/kroger-knows-your-shopping-patterns-better-than-you-do/

Some recent saved favorites from Pocket:

Profitless Prosperity: If a Company is making huge profits this year but will not make any profits in the future, it is worthless in the eyes of an investor. But if it loses money this year and next year and may lose money for a few more years, it can still be very valuable in the eyes of an investor. – http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2013/10/they-dont-make-any-money.html

38% of Children Under 2 Use Mobile Media, Study Says: Nearly two in five children have used a tablet or smartphone before they could speak in full sentences, according to a new report. – by MEG WAGNER – http://mashable.com/2013/10/28/children-under-2-mobile-media-study/

Better view than courtside: Stanford basketball players don Google Glass: You may not be a star basketball player, but now you can experience what its like to be one. Players on the Stanford basketball team wore Google Glass while warming up for their most recent game. Leave it to Stanford to deck their athletes out with tech accessories. – by Rebecca Grant – http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/27/better-view-than-courtside-stanford-basketball-players-don-google-glass/

Amazon and the : [DISCLOSURE: As always when I write about Amazon, I’ll note I worked there from 1997-2004 and that I still own some shares in the company. I still have many friends who work there, though I have no more idea what Amazon is working on now than any of you in the public. – by Eugene Wei – http://www.eugenewei.com/blog/2013/10/25/amazon-and-the-profitless-business-model-narrative

Bicycles are outselling cars in Europe and that might not be just a blip: Bicycle sales outpaced new-car sales last year in all of the 27 member countries of the European Union, except Belgium and Luxembourg, NPR reported on Oct. 24. One reason is that car sales have slumped in the midst of the euro-zone crisis, NPR points out. – by Lily Kuo – http://qz.com/139825/bicycles-are-outselling-cars-in-europe-and-that-might-not-be-just-a-blip/

DOA: The Galaxy Gear reportedly has a 30 percent return rate at Best Buy: If you hesitated to call the Galaxy Gear a flop after all of the negative reviews, consumers have weighed in with their opinion of the device too, and it’s not pretty: nearly a third of Galaxy Gear owners return the device. Geek. – by Ron Amadeo – http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/10/doa-the-galaxy-gear-reportedly-has-a-30-percent-return-rate-at-best-buy/

Lay Back And Clean Your House With Swarming Micro Robot Cleaners: Nobody likes cleaning the house. So why not get a flying robot to do it, right? That’s what 23-year-old Adrian Perez Zapata thought too. Except he’s not happy with one or two–he wants a swarm of them. Zapata’s concept, called Mab, has just won Electrolux’s Design Lab competition. – http://www.fastcoexist.com/3020214/futurist-forum/lay-back-and-clean-your-house-with-swarming-micro-robot-cleaners

Some recent saved favorites from Pocket:

Slaves of the Internet, Unite!: NOT long ago, I received, in a single week, three (3) invitations to write an original piece for publication or give a prepared speech in exchange for no ($0.00) money. – by TIM KREIDER – http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/10/27/opinion/sunday/slaves-of-the-internet-unite.html

LinkedIn Conquered Work — Now It Wants the Rest of Your Life: Modesty is what made LinkedIn famous. Where Facebook encourages users to share every last embarrassing moment of their lives, LinkedIn is the safe-for-work social network, where your resumé does the talking. That’s about to change. LinkedIn is done being modest. – by Ryan Tate – http://www.wired.com/business/2013/10/linkedin-conquest/

AT&T’s Plan Revamp Signals the End of Voice Minutes: The days of worrying about minutes ticking away on your cell phone plan are nearly gone. As of today, AT&T is dropping the availability of its old plans for new smartphone subscribers, and all of the remaining plans include unlimited calling and texting with the exception of one. – by THOMAS GRYTA – Tags: AT&T,phone plans,Softbank,Sprint,t-mobile,Verizon Wireless – http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/10/25/atts-new-phone-plans-signal-the-end-of-voice-minutes/

How Google Uses Data to Build a Better Worker: Not the mantra you’d expect from your typical human resources representative. But every new hire for Google’s People Analytics department, part of the company’s HR function (which it calls People Operations), gets a laptop sticker emblazoned with this slogan. – by Chris DeRose – Tags: The Atlantic, The Atlantic Magazine, TheAtlantic.com, Atlantic, news, opinion, analysis, commentary, Business, Wall Street, Megan McArdle – http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/10/how-google-uses-data-to-build-a-better-worker/280347/

How to Deal with the Coming Robot Apocalypse: Yes! Creative types = cartoonists = me! But what Marcus doesn’t realize is how in the ultimate showdown between the computers and humans, our creativity will be the solution to our salvation, allowing mankind not only to endure but to prevail. Here’s a cartoon case in point: – by Robert Mankoff, Bio – Tags: cartoons, humor – http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/cartoonists/2013/10/how-to-deal-with-the-coming-robot-apocalypse.html

I challenged hackers to investigate me and what they found out is chilling: It’s my first class of the semester at New York University. I’m discussing the evils of plagiarism and falsifying sources with 11 graduate journalism students when, without warning, my computer freezes. I fruitlessly tap on the keyboard as my laptop takes on a life of its own and reboots. – by Adam L. Penenberg – http://pandodaily.com/2013/10/26/i-challenged-hackers-to-investigate-me-and-what-they-found-out-is-chilling/

Next on Deck for Snapchat and Pinterest: Some Sales Help?: Earlier this week, AllThingsD broke the news of two major fundings of a pair of hot startups: Scrapbooking service Pinterest and messaging service Snapchat. Pinterest’s round of $225 million at a $3. – by Kara Swisher – Tags: commerce, general, media, mobile, news, social, advertising, allthingsd, atd, cbs, evan spiegel, industry moves, monetization, philippe browning, pinterest, sales, snapchat – http://allthingsd.com/20131026/next-on-deck-for-snapchat-pinterest-some-sales-help/

Consider the e-bike: Can 200 million Chinese be wrong?: Lawmakers, manufacturers and transportation experts have focused much of their attention on electric cars, with still-disappointing results, but consumers in many parts of the world are embracing electric bikes, which in addition to the usual pedals have small battery-powered motors to speed – by Heather Timmons – http://qz.com/137518/consumers-the-world-over-love-electric-bikes-so-why-do-us-lawmakers-hate-them/

Some recent saved favorites from Pocket:

Chinese Internet Giant Tencent Goes From Snapchat “Role Model” To Potential Investor: Snapchat is looking to raise up to $200 million at a valuation of $3 to $4 billion and one of the potential investors that founder Evan Spiegel has talked to the most is Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings, reports WSJ. – by Catherine Shu – http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/26/chinese-internet-giant-tencent-rumored-to-be-considering-a-stake-in-snapchat/

Y Combinator Startups Now Have A Combined Valuation Of $13.7 Billion, Up $2 Billion Since June: In a conversation at the GMIC mobile conference this week, Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham gave the most recent stats on the seed stage incubator. Of the 511 companies that had passed through YC prior to its most recent Summer 2013 class, 306 had valuations tied to them. – by Ryan Lawler – http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/25/y-combinator-13-7b-valuation/

Perfect Debuts At TechStars Seattle With A Video Life Blogging Service Built For Google Glass: Perfect presented a video life blogging service for Google Glass today at TechStars Seattle Demo Day, making it the first company launching a service for the wearable computing platform to be part of the well-known startup program. – by Alex Williams – http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/24/perfect-debuts-at-techstars-seattle-with-a-video-life-blogging-service-built-for-google-glass/

Big Data and the Soles of Your Shoes: There has been significant ink killed in the name of Big Data over the last few years. Much of that slaughter is justified; Big Data represents a massive generational shift in the way we think about data and its impact on every aspect of our personal and professional lives. – by Matt Quinn, CTO, TIBCO – Tags: enterprise, voices, big data, fedex, manufacturing, matt quinn, nike, shipping, tibco, ups – http://allthingsd.com/20131015/big-data-and-the-soles-of-your-shoes/

Some recent saved favorites from Pocket:

Anticipatory Commerce: the Evolution of Intent on the Web: Intent to purchase is the engine of the consumer web. Creating and capturing intent motivates almost every dollar invested into ecommerce and advertising. Intent is also the fuel for the Internet’s most successful business model, Google’s AdWords + Search. – http://tomtunguz.com/evolution-of-intent/

Comcast Plans to Offer the Closest Thing to an HBO Go Subscription: The entire Internet would very much appreciate it if HBO offered an HBO Go subscription without the need to have cable. We want to pay for HBO Go like we pay for Netflix. But that hasn’t happened… yet. But people are trying! Even cable companies. – by Casey Chan – http://gizmodo.com/comcast-plans-to-offer-the-closest-thing-to-an-hbo-go-s-1451859769

iPads, price and self-selection — Benedict Evans: Apple’s iPad event was pretty unsurprising. It was obvious that the large one would be speed-bumped and get lighter. – by Benedict Evans – http://ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2013/10/24/ipads-and-self-selection

A Brief History of Dude: Contemplate this, dude: that when I call you dude, there’s a whole range of things I might mean—you’ll understand me from my intonation and the overall context—but each time, I’m also reinforcing a specific kind of social relationship. – by J.J. Gould – Tags: The Atlantic, The Atlantic Magazine, TheAtlantic.com, Atlantic, news, opinion, breaking news, analysis, commentary, business, politics, culture, international, science, technology, national and life – http://m.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/11/dude-transcends/309528/

Do profits matter? The curious case of Amazon.com: Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) recently announced that it is raising the minimum purchase amount from $25 to $35 to qualify for free shipping. – by Ricardo Bilton – http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/24/do-profits-matter-the-curious-case-of-amazon-com/

This Man Can Tell You If A Kickstarter Campaign Will Succeed After Just 4 Hours: “Miracolo,” a new musical, has an 86% chance of reaching its Kickstarter fundraising goal. “Grandma Sally Zombie Killer,” a movie idea looking for $80,000 on the same site, has only a 1% chance. That’s not me saying so–I quite like zombie flicks. – http://m.fastcoexist.com/3020302/this-man-can-tell-you-if-a-kickstarter-campaign-will-succeed-after-just-4-hours

Some recent saved favorites from Pocket:

LinkedIn CEO: By next year, 50% of our traffic will be mobile: SAN FRANCISCO — At a mobile-focused press conference today, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner made some bold claims about his company’s quest to become a more modern, more mobile service. – by Jolie O’Dell – http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/23/linkedin-ceo-by-next-year-50-of-our-traffic-will-be-mobile/

Starbucks Links Coffee Makers to Web Fueling $27B Market: Starbucks Corp. (SBUX), famous for giving away Wi-Fi that links customers to the Internet, now wants to apply Web technology to its own operations by networking coffee makers, refrigerators and other appliances. – by Olga Kharif – Tags: Personal Finance Homepage,U.S.,Retail,Technology,Personal Finance,Saving & Investing,Technology,Web,Living – http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-22/starbucks-links-coffee-makers-to-web-fueling-27b-market.html

Amazon’s giant biodome approved for the streets of Seattle: Amazon has gained initial approval for its plan to build a huge greenhouse in the middle of Seattle. The proposal has three transparent domes intersecting to form a five-story complex that will contain offices, dining areas, and retail stores. – by Aaron Souppouris – http://theverge.com/2013/10/24/5023454/amazon-giant-biodome-design-board-approval

The 23 Most Wonderfully Scottish Things That Have Ever Happened: 1. This note found on the streets of Edinburgh. i.imgur.com 2. This sensible approach to wine. i.imgur.com 3. This Glasgow art critic. i.imgur.com 4. These pearls of Scottish wisdom. i.imgur.com 5. This good news story. 6. The Highlands’ biggest problem. imgur.com 7. This incredible shop-name war. – by Robin Edds – http://www.buzzfeed.com/robinedds/the-most-wonderfully-scottish-things-that-have-ever-happe

Korean patent filing shows Samsung is working on its own version of Google Glass: You can be pretty sure of two technology rumors these days: everyone is working on a smartwatch and everyone is working on a Google Glass-style device. – by Jon Russell – http://thenextweb.com/asia/2013/10/24/korean-patent-filing-shows-samsung-working-version-google-glass/

Some recent saved favorites from Pocket:

Smartphone users struggle connecting to in-car infotainment systems: Computerworld – As Toyota owners know, using Bluetooth to sync an iPhone to the in-car Entune infotainment system to use its bundled Internet apps doesn’t work. There’s been abundant user complaints about Toyota’s fussy Infotainment system in the blogosphere. – by Lucas Mearian – Tags: edpicks, lucas mearian, toyota, entune, car infotainment systems, bluetooth, iphone, smartphone, Internet, Web Apps, Mobile/Wireless – http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9243423/Smartphone_users_struggle_connecting_to_in_car_infotainment_systems

Apple Just Ended the Era of Paid Operating Systems: The desktop operating system is dead as a major profit center, and Apple just delivered the obituary. – by Ryan Tate – http://www.wired.com/business/2013/10/apple-ends-paid-oses/

Microsoft Tests Eyewear Similar to Rival Google Glass: http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/SB10001424052702304402104579150952302814782-lMyQjAxMTAzMDIwMTEyNDEyWj

Xiaomi: The Apple (… and Netflix) of China: While most of the tech media has congregated outside the Moscone Center in San Francisco waiting for the new Apple tablet, Kara Swisher of All Things D is across the street at the GMIC conference interviewing Lei Jun, the CEO of Xiaomi. Mr. Jun has plenty to talk about. – by Simon Khalaf – Tags: Xiaomi, China – http://blog.flurry.com/bid/101819/xiaomi-the-apple-and-netflix-of-china

Managing Platforms Is a Human Art: In March 2012, I left the suburban enclaves of San Jose and went on safari to Kenya. Early in the trip I toured the Ngorongoro crater, filled with African lions, rhinos, hippos and giraffes. But my favorites were the monkeys. I loved Curious George as a boy. – by Todd Lutwak, With Contributions by Yujin Chung, Partners, Andreessen Horowitz – Tags: enterprise, general, news, voices, amazon, andreessen horowitz, android, ebay, facebook, google, ios, kenya, marc andreessen, platform, todd lutwak, twitter, yujin chung – http://allthingsd.com/20131021/managing-platforms-is-a-human-art/

Security Check Now Starts Long Before You Fly: The Transportation Security Administration is expanding its screening of passengers before they arrive at the airport by searching a wide array of government and private databases that can include records like car registrations and employment information. – by SUSAN STELLIN – http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/22/business/security-check-now-starts-long-before-you-fly.html

Game over: In the “Race to a Billion” there is a graph showing Android reported activations and iOS cumulative unit sales alongside cumulative console sales. The contrast between mobile phone platforms and game consoles is striking, with an order of magnitude difference in consumption. – http://www.asymco.com/2013/09/09/game-over/

Payments Network Dwolla Moves Beyond Cash With Launch Of “Dwolla Credit” In Partnership With ADS: Des Moines-based Dwolla, a company building web-connected infrastructure for managing digital payments, is today taking its first step to move beyond support for cash with the debut of “Dwolla Credit. – by Sarah Perez – http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/22/payments-network-dwolla-moves-beyond-cash-with-launch-of-dwolla-credit-in-partnership-with-ads/

Facebook’s Referrals To Media Sites Up 170% YOY, New “Stories To Share” Tells Pages What To Post: Facebook wants to get more news content in its feed by proving to media sites it’s their premier social ally. Today it announced referral traffic to media sites is up an average of 170% this year. – by Josh Constine – http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/21/facebooks-referrals-to-media-sites-up-170-yoy-new-stories-to-share-tells-pages-what-to-post/

Some recent saved favorites from Pocket:

Review: Qualcomm’s Toq Is a Watch Smart Enough to Keep It Simple: For all the technology companies large and small talking of smart watches as a mass-market inevitability, those that have launched are muddled and disappointing (see “So Far, Smart Watches Are Pretty Dumb”). – by Tom Simonite – http://www.technologyreview.com/news/520526/review-qualcomms-toq-is-a-watch-smart-enough-to-keep-it-simple/

First Children Are Smarter—but Why?: Moms and dads simply go easy on their later-born kids, according to data analyzed by economists V. Joseph Hotz and Juan Pantano, and as a result, first-born children tend to receive both the best parenting and the best grades. – by Derek Thompson – Tags: The Atlantic, The Atlantic Magazine, TheAtlantic.com, Atlantic, news, opinion, analysis, commentary, Business, Wall Street, Megan McArdle – http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/10/first-children-are-smarter-but-why/280725/

Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary: Six years ago, in November 2007, the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) was announced. The original iPhone came out just a few months earlier, capturing people’s imaginations and ushering in the modern smartphone era. – by Ron Amadeo – http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/10/googles-iron-grip-on-android-controlling-open-source-by-any-means-necessary/

China’s Mobile Ecosystem Deck: How quickly is the mobile market in China growing, and what are the major opportunities? At BI Intelligence, Business Insider’s paid research service, we surveyed some of the best data available on the Chinese mobile industry, and came up with some answers. – by John Heggestuen – Tags: Mobile, China, Smartphones, Features, BI Intelligence, Tablets, Mobile Commerce, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Payments, John Heggestuen – http://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-mobile-ecosystem-deck-2013-10?p=1

The highly unusual company behind Sriracha, the world’s coolest hot sauce: If David Tran were a more conventional CEO, he would be a fixture at conferences, a darling of magazine profiles, and a subject of case studies in the Harvard Business Review. – by Roberto A. Ferdman – http://qz.com/132738/the-highly-unusual-company-behind-siracha-the-worlds-coolest-hot-sauce/

Some recent saved favorites from Pocket:

To Catch Up, Walmart Moves to Amazon Turf: SAN BRUNO, Calif. — A plucky Silicon Valley company, forced to compete for talented engineers, is trying it all — recruiting billboards on Highway 101; workplace perks like treadmill workstations and foosball tables; and conference rooms named after celebrities like Rihanna and Justin Bieber. – by STEPHANIE CLIFFORD, CLAIRE CAIN MILLER – http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/technology/to-catch-up-walmart-moves-to-amazon-turf.html

The story as gateway to knowledge (and revenue): In digital journalism, the article is no longer an end in itself. Quite the contrary, it’s an entry point to the depths and riches of the web, and a significant contributor to the revenue stream. – by Frédéric Filloux – http://www.mondaynote.com/2013/10/20/the-story-as-gateway-to-knowledge-and-revenue/

Connected TV points the way forward for the internet of things — Tech News and Analysis: Everyone from industrial giants to bootstrapped companies on Kickstarter are talking about the promise of the internet of things to improve our lives. In fact, Cisco recently pegged the potential value of the market at $14.4 trillion. – by Mike Harris – Tags: Boxee,internet of things,Mike Harris,Netflix,Pandora,TV,YouTube,Zonoff – http://gigaom.com/2013/10/19/connected-tv-points-the-way-forward-for-the-internet-of-things/

Silicon Valley Makes Its Next Stop the Kitchen: SAN FRANCISCO — Megan Miller knows that cockroaches are packed with protein and she says they can be made into a surprisingly tasty treat. – by NICK BILTON – http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/disruptions-silicon-valleys-next-stop-the-kitchen/

Why Android First is a Myth: In mobile, particularly in consumer markets, there has been an ongoing debate about when or if Android will become the first platform that sophisticated startups develop for. – http://stevecheney.com/why-android-first-is-a-myth/

Some recent saved favorites from Pocket:

20 minutes at Rucker Park: Thomas “TJ” Webster Jr. waits impatiently for the ball to be tossed in the air. The only white player on the court, he can sense the eyes of the few dozen spectators lounging around the steel and plastic bleachers. – by Flinder Boyd – http://www.sbnation.com/longform/2013/10/15/4837064/rucker-park-basketball-new-york-city-cross-country-journey

How virtual cable and CableWiFi may have killed the Verizon Wireless: By deciding to shutter their joint innovation lab, Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and cable partners Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) and Bright House signaled they believe it’d be more profitable in the long run to pursue their own multiscreen distribution products than to share their – by Steve Donohue – Tags: Advertising and marketing,Business,Cablevision,CableWiFi,Comcast,Time Warner Cable,Verizon – http://www.fiercecable.com/story/how-virtual-cable-and-cablewifi-may-have-killed-verizon-wireless-comcast-jo/2013-10-18

Confessions of a Windows Phone User: Hello. My name is Ashlee Vance, and I have a Windows phone. To own a Windows smartphone in Silicon Valley is to invite ridicule and pity. Every day I pull out the bright yellow Nokia (NOK) Lumia 920, and every day iPhone and Android types look at me with dismay. – by Ashlee Vance – http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-14/confessions-of-a-windows-phone-user

Never Shop in October and Other Secrets From a Retail Guru: Mark Ellwood, a journalist and former travel guide author, has a simple shopping mandate: Never pay full price. There’s simply no need, a point Ellwood illustrates at length in his new book, Bargain Fever: How to Shop in a Discounted World. – by Kyle Stock – http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-16/never-shop-in-october-and-other-secrets-from-a-retail-guru

Eight miles of water: underground with Manhattan’s new aquatic lifeline: New Yorkers will proudly tell you that the city has some of the finest tap water that you can find. But for nearly a century, all of Manhattan has been served by a single water tunnel that hasn’t been shut down for maintenance since it first opened in 1917. That’s no longer the case. – by Dante D’Orazio – http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/19/4853636/underground-with-manhattans-new-water-tunnel-three-photo-essay

The future of gyms: If you thought gyms were a recent phenomenon, tethered to the trend of self-conscious fashionistas and the scourge of obesity, well, you’d be wrong. – by Paul Sawers – http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/10/19/the-future-of-gyms/

40% Of YouTube Traffic Now Mobile, Up From 25% In 2012, 6% In 2011: It’s hard to get people to concentrate long on anything on their phones and tablets, yet YouTube seems to be the exception. The video service is quickly going mobile, with small screens making up 40% of its traffic now compared to 25% last year, Google said on its earnings call today. – by Josh Constine – http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/17/youtube-goes-mobile/

Google AI Team Lets You Build Quantum Computing Traps in Minecraft: You hack your way through vines into the ziggurat and then follow dark passageways until arriving in a stone-block room. There’s a sign on the wall. “Look up!” it reads. “Totally not a trap.” You look up and then plunge into blackness. This isn’t just a trap. It’s a quantum trap. – by Robert McMillan – http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/10/minecraft_quantum/

Some recent saved favorites from Pocket:

The Internet Owes Its Sense of Humor to This Man: There are many forms of fuck at Bob Odenkirk’s disposal: the anguished, slow-motion version he emits while watching bad comedy (“It’s just a fffuckin’ mess!”), the whispered yet still damnably loud variant he uses when remembering one of his own terrible sketches (“The first draft of – by Brian Raftery – http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/10/bob-odenkirk/

The untold history of Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte: The pumpkin spice latte, Starbucks’ most iconic and popular seasonal drink, almost didn’t happen. – by Christopher Mims – http://qz.com/136781/psl-untold-history-of-starbucks-pumpkin-spice-latte/;

Jeff Bezos’s League of Shadows
Amazon can be a uniquely challenging place to work, with its question-mark emergencies and the occasionally volcanic outburst from the visionary chief executive. It’s a place where promotions are hard-fought and sometimes painfully public. But there is also a job at Amazon (AMZN)that is highly coveted throughout the company and that nearly anyone in business would kill for.  http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-17/jeff-bezos-s-league-of-shadows;

Google AI Team Lets You Build Quantum Computing Traps in Minecraft
You hack your way through vines into the ziggurat and then follow dark passageways until arriving in a stone-block room. There’s a sign on the wall. “Look up!” it reads. “Totally not a trap.” You look up and then plunge into blackness.
This isn’t just a trap. It’s a quantum trap. Brought to you by Google. http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/10/minecraft_quantum/

Android Co-Founder Rich Miner on How He Is Spending Google’s Money
Rich Miner set out a year ago to make sure that Google Ventures had its hand in more mobile deals.  And it’s fair to say that is happening. Among its recent mobile deals, Google’s venture arm has invested in Appurify, Apportable, Cluster, MessageMe, Osito, Sold and Uber. In that last one, Google Ventures wrote a check for $258 million.  http://allthingsd.com/20131018/android-co-founder-rich-miner-on-how-he-is-spending-googles-money/

Underwater wi-fi given test run to create ‘deep-sea internet’: Researchers have tested an “underwater wi-fi” network in a lake in an attempt to make a “deep-sea internet”. The team, from the University of Buffalo, New York, said the technology could help detect tsunamis, offering more reliable warning systems. – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24550015

Some recent saved favorites from Pocket:

Sleep helps brain stay fit by clearing waste: AFP – Like a janitor sweeping the halls after the lights go out, major changes occur in the brain during sleep to flush out waste and ward off disease, researchers said Thursday. – by REPORTAGES – http://www.france24.com/en/20131017-sleep-helps-brain-stay-fit-clearing-waste; http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/15/wearables-are-about-to-blow-up-industry-sales-to-hit-19-billion-by-2018/

‘Bionic man’ makes debut at Washington’s Air and Space Museum: WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A first-ever walking, talking “bionic man” built entirely out of synthetic body parts made his Washington debut on Thursday. – by Lacey Johnson – Tags: Ukraine, United States, Bertold Meyer, John Daley, Joshua Roberts, Paul Arcand, Robert Warburton, Steve Austin – http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/10/17/usa-bionicman-idINDEE99G0EV20131017

Robotic petting zoo : Storified by CBC News Community Like an elephant’s long trunk, or a jellyfish’s glowing tentacles, the “animals” at this zoo have long, swaying body parts. Except they’re not alive — they’re robotic. – by Jennifer Dunning – Tags: Petting Zoo, FRAC Centre, France, Minimaforms, Theodore Spyropoulos, Stephen Spyropoulos, animals, art – http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/yourcommunity/2013/10/robotic-petting-zoo-animals-touch-you-back.html

Nike CEO Hints At Collaborative Future For FuelBand: For the development of the FuelBand, Nike partnered with a slew of outside companies. CEO Mark Parker hints that more partnerships could be in the device’s future. The Nike FuelBand is one of the more promising products in wearable computing. – http://m.fastcompany.com/3019901/nike-ceo-hints-at-collaborative-future-for-fuelband

Amaze project aims to take 3D printing ‘into metal age’: The European Space Agency has unveiled plans to “take 3D printing into the metal age” by building parts for jets, spacecraft and fusion projects. The Amaze project brings together 28 institutions to develop new metal components which are lighter, stronger and cheaper than conventional parts. – by James Morgan – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24528306

Automated Bike Fit Measurement App Review: Bike Fast Fit: I want to start off by first noting just how rare it is that I write an entire post specifically about a single app.  I could probably count the number of times I’ve done that in 6 years on one hand. – by Rainmaker – Tags: app reviews,apps,iphone – http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/10/automated-measurement-review.html

Nokia’s multi-display smartwatch concept revealed in patent application: Nokia appears to be experimenting with its own smartwatch concepts. In a patent application submitted in August last year, the company details a “multi-segment wearable accessory.” According to the description, and some related diagrams, it’s a plan for a modular watch than can be worn on the wrist. – by Tom Warren – http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/17/4848050/nokia-smartwatch-patent-multiple-displays