Japan receives aid from Lady Gaga via Zynga, Apple announces conference date yet keeps us in the dark about the latest iPhone, a Chinese blogger is arrested for “anti-government” propaganda, MTV looks deep into Facebook, iCorrect.com clears up rumors, and sadly Paul Baran, internet pioneer, dies at eighty-four. It’s all here in Monday’s round-up!
1. Breaking News: WorldWide Developers Conference To Be Held June 6th At Moscone West In San Fran. Last year, Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone 4 to a willing crowd. Could its successor arrive this summer? What will be the future of iOS and and Mac OsX? [Engadget]
2. Paul Baran, Internet Pioneer, dies at 84. Baran was recognized in 2008 by President George W. Bush for his technological innovations. He is mostly known for inventing “packaging data” in the 1960′s, which allowed networks to transfer large bits of information on a small scale. Engineers used this concept to develop the Arpanet, precursor to the Internet. [HuffPo]
3. Top 8 Tweets of the Week. Michael Moore criticizes Obama over Libya, Twitter turns five, and Kirstie Alley demands that George Lopez should give up his kidney. [HuffPo]
4. Lady Gaga Donates $750K to Zynga’s Online Japan Earthquake Relief Campaign. Several weeks ago, Zynga, an online game creator, teamed up with Save The Children to run an in-game donation fund, via Facebook games like FarmVille, CityVille, and FrontierVille. Gaga donated $750,000 to Zynga from her bracelets for Japan campaign, and another $750,000 to the Red Cross. Recently, Gaga spoke about her motivation [TechCrunch]:
I’m inspired that my little monsters banded together to help those affected by the terrible tragedy…What Zynga’s players have done for the cause is equally inspiring, and I’m thrilled to partner with them to raise money that will go to Save the Children and the American Red Cross.
5. Chinese Blogger Arrested Amid Online Suppression. Meddling with China’s stalwart speech policies while mentioning a full blown revolution isn’t the hottest topic for bloggers to write about. Writer Ran Yunfei has found himself a target for “anti-government” speech. Since the Middle East revolts, about one hundred online critics have been arrested speaking about something called “The Jasmine Revolution.” [Gizmodo]
6. Eminem Lawsuit May Raise Questions for Multiple Artists. Four years ago, Eminem’s producers sued Universal Music Group over the way digital sales were processed. The core of the argument- is the song computed as a license or a sale? If Eminem receives a license, he gets fifty percent of the profit. If a sale, it’s twelve percent. This question has been raised for a while now, and many artists that first put out music digitally could reap benefits from this debate as well. [NYT]
7. MTV to Release An Investigative Look Into Facebook. On Wednesday, a new episode of MTV’s Diary series will air, providing exposure to a technical engineer named Pedram, consumer marketing employee named Erin, a biographical comic, and insight from Zuckerberg himself. The show will air this Wednesday at 11 p.m. ET. [Mashable]
8. Facebook’s New Questions Tool Receives Positive Feedback From Brands and Businesses. The feature, which rolled out to Facebook users on March 24th, allows businesses to conduct short term market research and crowdsearch in a more elegant manner. Ben Grossman, an analyst at Oxford, states that the top two recommendations are from friends and family, which Facebook provides instantly. How can businesses use this differently than Yahoo Answers or Local Mind? The questions are multiple choice, so there’s a constraint on the research. For instance, an ice cream parlor could find out what the flavor of the week should be and a yoga instructor can figure out what times are best for his or her new class. [Mashable]
9. A HOW TO Guide: Avoid And Prevent Facebook Spam. It’s incredible how much unwanted information will come up on your side bar by clicking ‘yes’ to one application. Learn how to sift through the mud here. [Mashable]
10. Marketers Embrace QR Codes, For Better or Worse? What are those glitchy squares that people can scan with their smart phones? These are QR codes, which allow companies to translate hidden promotions throughout the city streets. If you download a free QR scanning app, it acts as a paper based system to provide you with new info, like underground pictures or deals in clothing stores. [CNN]
11. McAfee, Warns The World’s Corporations And Largest Organizations To Protect Their Databases. Today, with company mobile devices that store private and vital information to cloud data storage, this decentralization makes it much easier for hackers to break into company systems. [TechCrunch]
12. iCorrect.com Lets You Address Rumors For $1,000 a Year. iCorrect wants to become the space where famous people tell their own version of the story. Want to protect your reputation and squash that rumor that you’re a cat killer? Pay iCorrect a grand a year, rumor’s over. Weird, because you can still lie. [Gizmodo]
13. Object-Connexx: All-Encompassing 3-D Printer. Most 3-D printers work with one material, but not this million drops of polymer per second gadget. Object Connex can print two materials at a time, which allows variations in shade, tone, flex, and feel. Recently this has helped an MIT student create a plastic flute and hospitals create see through models. See how it works on the Pop Science website. [PopSci]
14. Six Ways Bio-Inspired Design Reshapes The Future. This article delves into the science of biomimicry, a science that takes inspiration from the processes of nature and incorporates it to solve human problems. Basically, it states that electric grids can act like beehives or business manage resources like coral reefs digest calories. A beautiful and innovative concept. [PopSci]
15. Air New Zealand Calls Upon Fitness Guru Richard Simmons For Instructional Video. We loved him in Sweatin’ to the Oldies, on Whose Line Is it Anyway, and his perky presence in general. This airline video, bathed in techno and rotating lights, beats the droll and prescriptive instructional videos featuring tightly dressed air line attendants and monotonous speech. I want to fly Air New Zealand! [Mashable]
16. Fruit Ninja In A Virtual Cave. Students have created the ability to play Fruit Ninja inside of a little white room and use their hands as swords. They used FH-Wedel’s Cave Automatic Virtual Environment to design the program, which uses 3D motion tracking along the floor and feedback with a Wiimote. Check out the demonstration! [TechCrunch]
17. SWITL Scoops Goop With Precision. This robotic arm was designed to pick up the gooey and icky substances that are too soft for human hands. In this video, the Furukawa Kikou robot picks up a mayonaiise and ketchup mess with such precision that the shape of the mess was preserved. As of yet, the details remain a secret.[Engadget]
