Keepon Update: 9 days…9days

Hey guys,

I know I’ve blogged about this before, but I’m pretty stoked about the official website dropping in 9 days. Check out my previous post about this little guy and then pick one up cause these are going to be awesome gifts for people. Especially for me. Yes, one of you must buy me one of these. Linkage

-Steve

Bringing Light to the Masses

Doing some mobile blogging while in Charlotte waiting for the connecting flight to LAX. I saw an article CNN wrote about a company called Nokero, short for No Kerosene, who specialize in solar charged, rugged, lighting fixtures. Their aim for these solar charged lights are for parts of the world that lack electricity as well as locations where kerosene for conventional lanterns is to expensive.

They’re most basic lantern costs about $15, but can be produced for as low as $6 in bulk orders. They achieve this low cost while maintaining a rugged assembly by using high efficiency LEDs, solar panels, 800 mAh ni-mh rechargeable battery, and light weight abs plastic. This combination allows the battery to be fully charged under direct sunlight in about 4 hours. This provides around six and a half hours of light in low power mode and two and a half hours in high power. These lanterns will also turn themselves off when they sense another light source.

All in all I think this is an awesome product that targets a wide range of causes from RV’s and campers all the way to providing light to those in areas without electricity or stricken with natural disasters. Check out their website here.

-Steve, stuck in Charlotte with a three hour layover…

Please get me one of these….

So, what is this dolphin like creature, well I’m here to tell you.

This submersible personal watercraft, created by the guys at Innespace,  attributes its streamlined body and maneuverability to the dolphin in which it was emulated after. Packed with a 260-horsepower gasoline engine, sound system(with Apple device connection), digital periscope, and gps; the SeaBreacher is quick, clean, and well put together. Topping out at 50 mph above the surface and 25 mph below, the SeaBreacher uses its side and tail fins to maneuver the vehicle in every direction with an added bonus of barrel-rolls and all other acrobatic movements.

With an $81,000 base price tag you have your choice of 4 totally customized models here. In the future, Innespace is planning on creating a fully submersible PWC with a host of other features; hopefully, they can also cost-reduce these down by then to the price of regular PWC’s you see on the market today. Check out the video below…

Total “Badassness” of the Day Laser Edition

I’m sure you’ve all seen the kind of weaponry our troops are outfitted with, whether it be in the Army, Navy, or Air-force. Well I’m here to introduce to you the newest build of a joint project involving two defense heavyweights, Boeing and BAE Systems. This integrated weapon system built off the  Mk 38 Mod 2 Machine Gun is the deliverable of the $2.8 million contract with the U.S. Navy. This high tech weapon will take the already pre-existing  Mk 38 and slap a high power/precision laser on the side. Ideally, these two items can be used separately or in tandem where extra precision or fire-power is in order. However, at this point the joint venture is having difficulty adapting the laser system to military standards. It lacks power, topping out at 10 kilo-Watts, and is less effective in the salt air in which it would be deployed in. Regardless, this is every little mischievous kids dream, or at least mine…Really interested in what other kinds of research and development BAE, Boeing, and other defense companies are doing right now.

-Steve

Skype and Facebook Integration

Mark Zuckerberg made quite an announcement today as he introduced the public to an official integration between his lovechild Facebook and the ever popular video chat client Skype. This is soon to tie into Microsoft’s plan to consume Skype, which would then benefit from the Facebook addition. Another key move by the Microsoft corporation to compete with Steve Jobs and his crew over at Apple. All new features coming to facebook include  group chat, a new way to chat, and Skype-enabled video chat to improve the overall Facebook messaging feature.

For more info visit Skype’s website….

-Steve, who is outside a Starbucks

Google+ A new social network

 

Its pretty rare that you see Google playing catch-up in the digital world, but now you see exactly that at its finest. Googles biggest effort to enter the social networking world is foreheaded by Google+. The service allows you to interact with your friends and family in a slightly – perhaps more elegant way than Facebook and MySpace.

 

With Google+ you can place your friends effortlessly into groups, join a “hangout” (basically a big video chat) with who ever is chilling on Google at the moment. Google+ is different in one way, however. Unlike facebook where when you share information about yourself, everyone on the site or internet can see what you’ve said or posted. On Google+ (apparently) youll be able to choose exactly who see’s what info – just as you would in real life. “In real life, we have walls and windows and I can speak to you knowing who’s in the room, but in the online world, you get to a ‘Share’ box and you share with the whole world,” said Bradley Horowitz, vice president product management. “We have a different model.”

 

Close analytics show that Facebook may be catching up to Google even in terms of searching – the same searching that Google is meant to perform. Heres a bit of info pulled from NYTimes’ article: “In May, 180 million people visited Google sites, including YouTube, compared with 157.2 million on Facebook, according to comScore. But Facebook users looked at 103 billion pages and spent an average of 375 minutes on the site, while Google users viewed 46.3 billion pages and spent 231 minutes.”

 

Whether or not Google is too late, you may see some changes with your Google homepage / experience! Look for the new service being advertised and give it a try to see if you like it, you never know. Personally, I think that a less public “facebook experience” could be a great model for more introverted people, as well as an older generation who feels less comfortable sharing all of their information with everyone. At first I hated Facebook b/c I was obsessed with MySpace, so you never know whats next.

 

Video preview after the break.

 

Love,

 

Jake

Start-up tinkers with all-you-can-eat in-theater movies

Start-up tinkers with all-you-can-eat in-theater movies – http://pulse.me/s/pruA.

Chilling in the theater about to see a pre screening of Hasbros transformers 3! Found this article about moviepass, a theater focused netflix service that provides an unlimited theater going experience. Some critics say the cost may outweigh the benefits, however.

GO BRUINS

I don’t even care if this is a tech blog. The Bruins are killing it right now. LETTTTSSSSS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

Groupon vs Google Deals

Groupon and Google Deals offer essentially the same product, both give you discounted prices at local businesses. So which one is better? Groupon has been around for much longer, and has a fully developed customer base – but has been losing money. They have spent millions on advertising, expenses that are not justified by revenue growth. Google has just entered the market, but have the capital to support a new service in this type of fluctuating market. They have the money to spend on ads without going under, unlike Groupon. From a business standpoint, Google will have the upper hand in the future.

From a service standpoint; however, I would have to stick with groupon for now. Their range of deals far exceeds googles deals: they offer better customer support and have a fully functional mobile service. We”ll have to see how the revenue loss effects Groupons deals in the future. I see an inevitable takeover by google with their android market and nfc payment capability exponentially growing.

Please argue with me.

Jake

Google Wallet!

Google Wallet is a pretty “convenient” addition to Google’s phone app’s this year. They took advantage of the simple and now cost effective technology within NFC cards, and did it in a very consumer friendly way. NFC – or Near Field Communication chips are used typically in ID cards and tracking devices to allow for simple check-ins at just a swipe of a card. Google has integrated NFC chips into Sprints Nexus S smartphone (running Android OS), allowing Nexus S owners to swipe-pay at many retail stores. By connecting your fincancial information to your phone and to your NFC chip, you can now pay with a swipe of your phone.

Google Deals: Part of Google Wallet is Deals. The best way to explain this is with an example: A consumer is walking through NYC and finds herself extremely hungry! She doesnt want to spend too much b/c she just bought a $5 million handbag from Georgio Armani. She types “lunch” into her Google Wallet application and instantly receives two lunch deals – one for half off at Subway and one for a free Salad and Panera – both within walking distance from her. How convenient!

What does this mean to you?

If you are a Nexus S user, you will be able to sign up with stores like Starbucks, Subway, American Eagle, and many more to use this simple swipe pay service. Furthermore, Google has introduced Google Deals – a service that offers customers deals for going to certain retail stores. If successful, the service will  expand to all 300+ Android platforms. Get excited!

For retail companies, this deal is huge. Google is giving millions of customers a reason to shop at their stores.

Check the video to see reactions from the retailers.