Wednesday, December 19, 2012

12 Light Years


This feels doable in this century.

Possible habitable zone planet is a mere 12 light years away
there are several planets around the nearby star Tau Ceti, and one of them is likely to be within the star's habitable zone. ...... Once they had that in hand, the astronomers turned to the actual data from Tau Ceti without any added signals. And, this time, three signals did pop out, with each of them adding between 1010 and 1017 to the statistical fit with the real data. The authors concluded that there were three planets in this signal, orbiting with periods of 14, 35, and 94 days. ...... adding two more planets to their model increased the fit, although not by nearly the same degree. One orbited with a period of 630 days, the second at 168 days. The latter one is the object that resides in Tau Ceti's habitable zone; it has a mass that's at least four times that of Earth's.
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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Twitter's Growth Rate Accelerating?


They say that about the universe. Not only is it expanding, the rate at which it is expanding is accelerating.

Twitter Passes 200M Monthly Active Users, A 42% Increase Over 9 Months

This does not surprise me. Twitter can come across as geeky. But once you know how to use it, it is actually more delightful than Facebook. I am glad I am not being forced, but if you were to force me to pick between the two, I'd pick Twitter.

But the experience can be simplified further. And photo filters on Twitter would be a big hit, I think. One huge blind spot Instagram has is it is not on the web.

I have not yet joined Instagram because my first smartphone is still on its way. But if Twitter filters show up I might not even join Instagram. Except that I am on Facebook, and if there is closer integration I might have joined by default.

An Hour Spent On Twitter
Twitter Was Great On Election Night
If You Are Twitter
No, Biz, Twitter Has Real Issues

I still don't understand why I can't access all my tweets, why all my tweets don't show up in Google search results, why I can't embed multiple tweets at once. Why can't I search through all tweets, mine and that of others?

Twitter, FourSquare: Mobile Web Thingies
Twitter Is Massively Complex
User Friendly Twitter? Get Out Of Town
Goal: A Billion People On Twitter
Twitter At Five: Not Spitting Out Well
Twitter: The Obvious Missing Features
Twitter: Too Complex
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Monday, December 17, 2012

Online Payments

Online shopping has been growing by leaps and bounds. Every year the holiday shopping season seems to bring with it an increased percentage of online sales. There are advantages and disadvantages to shopping online:

Advantages:

Convenience - You can shop at any time, and won't have to wait in line.

Certainty - You can search for the best deal on any given product without having to drive around to different stores. Simply click and purchase.

Conjestion Free - You don't have to fight the crowds, or deal with sitting in traffic.

Disadvantages:

Confusion - Sometimes it's hard to tell what a product is like without seeing it. Make sure you check a websites return policy before making a purchase.

Cost of Shipping - Sometimes there is a cost involved in shipping a products. Look for sites that offer free shipping. Many websites offer this during the holidays.

Customer Service - If you have a question, sometimes it can be hard to get the answer. This is getting better as more websites are figuring out ways to serve their online customers better. Some websites have a section of their site dedicated to FAQ's, have a live chat option, or a toll free number to call.

While the rest of the world (read "old economy") has been reeling in deep recession, Amazon.com, the ultimate online retailer seems to have no signs of hard times.

The ability to make an online payment is fundamental to the growth of e-commerce. It's important for the consumer to be able to make payments safely and securely. Online retailers are working with merchant accounts to make this part of their customer satisfaction guarantee. Check a website before making a purchase to make sure they have a reliable online payment option.

(This post sponsored by The Merchant Account Guru)

Commercial Break

And now time for a few commercial breaks.





Looking At A Few Parties

Where is Gary when you need him? He is all over the place. I might go to one, I might go to all, I might not go at all.

Looking For A Few Holiday Parties
A Season For Forgiveness


NYC MusicTech Meetup Holiday Party: Monday, Dec 17, 07:00 PM @ Knitting Factory, 361 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn
Holiday Rooftop Travel Massive: Monday, Dec 17, 06:00 PM @ Eventi Hotel, 851 6th Avenue, New York
UWS Startup Breakfast: Tuesday, Dec 18, 09:00 AM @ Aroma Espresso Bar, 161 W 72nd Street, New York
TiE New York Annual Holiday Party Networking Mixer: Wednesday, Dec 19, 06:00 PM @ Bombay Palace, 30 W 52nd Street, New York
New Work City Holiday Festival: Thursday, Dec 20, 10:00 AM @ New Work City, 412 Broadway, 2nd Fl, New York
Zemanta Holiday Party: Thursday, Dec 20, 06:00 PM @ The Black Door, 127 W 26th St, New York
Gogobot Wanderlust Holiday: Friday, Dec 21, 08:00 PM @ Culturefix, 9 Clinton Street, New York
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Friday, December 14, 2012

Why Apple Can't Do TV


Apple can't do TV. It is because Apple thinks TV is a software problem. When Steve Jobs failed with that paradigm he started saying it was not software, it was the industry that was refusing to play along that was the problem. That was progress on his part, but that was not it.

Could Apple Do TV?
Has Apple Peaked?
Touch Is Transient

TV is a broadband problem, or rather a slow broadband problem. The key to reshaping TV is helping move to gigabit broadband speeds. At that universal speed you will have reshaped both TV and movies.

G For Giga, G For Google

Apple is nowhere close to entering that paradigm. Tim Cook wants to take another shot at the TV thing. But he will fail. He is still a prisoner to the thinking that says TV is a software problem.

Not.
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