Mind the Gap!

hc-sean-wu: To promote its zero-emission fuel cell tech,...

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 22:31:11 +0100

To promote its zero-emission fuel cell tech, Mercedes created a special vehicle covered with a grid of LEDs and cameras, rendering it nearly invisible as it drives down the road.

Restaurants’ takeout menus made interactive via QR codes It’s...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:02:05 +0100

Restaurants’ takeout menus made interactive via QR codes

It’s become increasingly common for restaurants to build and offer custom, branded mobile apps that let patrons place orders by phone, but it’s still up to consumers to go to the bother of downloading and installing them. Enter Paperlinks, a Los Angeles firm that has created a service that lets restaurants embed their takeout menus with QR codes for quick and seamless mobile ordering. READ MORE…

thisistheverge: CVS will text you when your prescription is...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:47:53 +0100

thisistheverge:

CVS will text you when your prescription is ready

Now available at over 7,300 locations.

"The number of dominant social networks has gone down from 16 in 2009, to 11 in 2010, leaving us with..."

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:36:24 +0100

“The number of dominant social networks has gone down from 16 in 2009, to 11 in 2010, leaving us with just 6 at the end of 2011.”

- Facebook is Killing Local Social Networks around the World (via thenextweb)

Photo

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:27:45 +0100

Sky to introduce ‘augmented’ TV viewing with zeebox companion...

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:57:14 +0100

Sky to introduce ‘augmented’ TV viewing with zeebox companion app, from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/10/sky-to-introduce-augmented-tv-viewing-with-zeebox-companion-ap/

The Louvre to hand out 3DS systems as tour guides. The Louvre...

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:06:05 +0100

The Louvre to hand out 3DS systems as tour guides.

The Louvre museum in Paris - home to the Mona Lisa - is to replace it’s audio tour guides with Nintendo 3DS units.

The current audio guides are used by only 4 per cent of the museum’s 8.5 million annual visitors. With the 3DS, visitors will be able to locate themselves within The Louvre, select themed tours including specialised guides for children, and listen to “hundreds of commentaries in seven languages about the works on display,”

Nintendo has developed the content with guidance from The Louvre’s creators, and is also planning downloadable smartphone and tablet apps to enhance visitors’ experience.

What happens when you're not sleeping enough?

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:00:13 +0100

What happens when you're not sleeping enough?:

How many times have you told yourself (especially when you’re up at 2 a.m. on a Sunday night): “Eh, it’s just sleep.” Is it just sleep, though? What happens to your health when you’re not sleeping enough?

(fastdesign)

Introducing Google Currents

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 10:00:05 +0100

Introducing Google Currents

12 Internet Predictions For 2012

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:10:05 +0100

12 Internet Predictions For 2012:

Enjoy the article and… Happy 2012 from MindtheGap!!!

NFC service for stores offers ‘tap and go’ digital...

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:10:06 +0100

NFC service for stores offers ‘tap and go’ digital receipts

Proximiant is a service that uses NFC to let brick-and-mortar stores send digital receipts directly to shoppers’ phones.

A better endoscopy device with Evotech

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:00:05 +0100

A better endoscopy device with Evotech

I’d go to this train station just to run up and down the...

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 20:00:05 +0100

I’d go to this train station just to run up and down the stairs…

Lost Indoors?

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:26:00 +0100

Lost Indoors?

Israeli Company Launches Touchless Technology

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 10:00:06 +0100

Israeli Company Launches Touchless Technology:

I can remember my parents being overwhelmed by the idea of a touchscreen computer. Growing up in a generation of analog entertainment, the concept of utilizing their fingers to control various tech devices was equivalent to living in the futuristic world of The Jetsons. This technology is so easy to use that even someone as traditional as my father now owns an iPhone and a MacBook. He went from reading a physical newspaper for 20 years to subscribing to various publications on his iPad. Flipping through sections of the paper has never been easier, and companies in Silicon Valley and beyond are to thank.

Domino’s Pizza has found a novel way to engage iPad users and...

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:53:45 +0100

Domino’s Pizza has found a novel way to engage iPad users and maybe sell a few more pizzas along the way. The new Pizza Hero app allows users too rise through the pizza making ranks and compete against others on the Game Centre Leaderboard. Not only is the new app an interactive game it also allows you make a pizza onscreen the way you want it and order it to your door in real life.

thisistheverge: Toshiba Thrive 7” review | The Verge Toshiba...

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 23:02:37 +0100

thisistheverge:

Toshiba Thrive 7” review | The Verge

Toshiba hasn’t had an easy ride in the tablet market. When we reviewed the original Thrive tablet this July, it wasn’t only thicker and heavier than the rest of the 10-inch tablets out there (Toshiba claimed the bulk was necessary to house an array of full-size ports), but it was also stricken by charging and build issues. It really was far from the “work of progress” that Toshiba marketed it as, but the 7-inch Thrive stands a much better chance of living up to that claim. While the $379 tablet has the same internal specs — a Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage — it costs less than the original Thrive without sacrificing its high resolution 1280 x 800 7-inch display. So, does the Thrive 7 change the tide for Toshiba? Or should the tablet maker scrap the Thrive lineup and start thinking a bit harder about what “progress” really means? Read on.

thebigapp: The Web vs. Mobile Apps: How iOS and Android Are...

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 07:48:03 +0100

thebigapp:

The Web vs. Mobile Apps: How iOS and Android Are Disrupting The Open Internet

Mobile has mindshare now. While classical Web pages made purely of static content still easily beat apps, that’s also not where the value or the action is today. As with any distribution curve, it’s true that much of what is being produced in mobile apps isn’t very interesting or even useful. But that’s not the point; it’s the sheer volume of investment that apps are attracting which means that the high side of the curve is aggregating some of the best talent, and results.

Box Sends Health Data Right to the Cloud - Technology Review

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:00:05 +0100

Box Sends Health Data Right to the Cloud - Technology Review:

futuramb:

Qualcomm aims to integrate home-health monitoring devices, and give doctors easier access.

[…]

Qualcomm has formed a division called Qualcomm Life to sell the new home-based hub, run the back-end databases, and establish partnerships with device makers. The platform meets all medical standards, is “technology agnostic, and can pair with virtually anything,” says Rick Valencia, Qualcomm Life’s vice president. Still, a payment system between medical device makers and insurance providers remains to be worked out.

This is a more serious attempt to put patient data into the cloud than Google Health. It could be interesting but note the last quoted sentence: they still lack a business model!!! Most likely that means that this project also will flop. How many engineering projects without a business model have succeeded in the real world??

I still think that using cloud service for patient data is an extremely important tool for managing health care of the scale that is required in the future. But the technology isn’t the biggest challenge, the business model including the “whats-in-it-for-me” part and regulatory issues are…

futuramb: Kenya Has Mobile Health App Fever - Technology...

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 14:23:00 +0100

futuramb:

Kenya Has Mobile Health App Fever - Technology Review
Mobile health platforms are fast emerging in Kenya, where one startup’s newly launched mobile health platform is attracting nearly 1,000 downloads daily, and the dominant telecom, Safaricom, has forged a partnership that will give its 18 million subscribers access to doctors.

Will Africa be the leading continent when it comes to use new and mobile technology in health care? Will that let them to leapfrog the whole problem of gigantic health care systems which we in the west now see suffocating from demographic pressure, and increasing and toxicating complexification, both internally and externally.