TDS

Weekly tech news roundup for May 29, 2015

Apple has a new Chief Design Officer
If you don’t follow Apple news closely, you might not know the name Jony Ives—but now you’re likely to hear it often. Ive was just promoted to head up all Apple design—something Wired says is long overdue. He’ll play a key role in steering products and therefore the company’s success. Stephen Fry at The Telegraph has an extensive interview with both Ive and Tim Cook (the photo comes from that interview) that’s a must-read if you’re into Apple.

Smartphone app can accurately predict GPA
Think your cell phone use doesn’t say anything about you? Think again. Some Dartmouth researchers used a special app to track students activities including sleep, exercise, socializing, and studying—all behind the scenes. They used predictive modeling and could very accurately divine the GPA of the participating students—within 0.17 of a point. The research team says that if they can predict what behaviors lead to certain GPA outcomes, it’s not a stretch to think that, in the future, they couldn’t offer advice for how to improve academic performance. Kind of a “Fitibit for grades”—a fantastic idea, if you ask me. Here’s a link to a video about it, if you’re interested.

How to coil your own phone charger cords
This tutorial has gone somewhat viral this week—how to make your smart phone cords coiled, so there’s less tangling and general messiness. All it takes is 3 minutes, some tape, a pencil, and a hair dryer. I haven’t tried it yet, but man, I’m tempted. Check it out:

Amazon offers same-day delivery for more Prime members
In 500 U.S. cities, Prime members and now get same-day delivery. I do have a membership so was initially very excited about the possibility of being extra lazy. Alas, those of us in the upper Midwest…heck, just about anywhere in middle America…are going to have to wait EONS for our 2-day packages. The map, as you see, shows a decided lack of options. If you think you might live close enough to one of these spots, you can go to amazon.com/sameday and enter in your zip code to find out.
 
Amazon Prime

cardboard-630Google updates Cardboard VR
If you have a big phone and still want to use Google’s Cardboard virtual reality goggles, they’ve got you covered. Now Cardboard will hold phones up to 6 inches and it has a new top-mounted button so it should work better with any phone. Engadget also says it now only takes three steps to assemble too. Nice.

Everything Google announced at its developer conference
The new Cardboard was just one of many things introduced at Google’s announced at Google’s I/O conference for developers (and can someone tell me what I/O stands for?). There were so many things discussed at the keynote speech, I’m not going to run through it all here. If you’re interested though, TechCrunch has a nice breeze-over of the big news, as does The Next Web. Check them out, if you’re so inclined.

NASA pics tools for Europa mission
The space agency wants to get to Jupiter’s moon and plans to send a mission in 2020. It will be an unmanned effort, with lots of equipment to determine whether the moon could support life—Europa is thought to have a global ocean under its icy crust. This week NASA announced they’ve selected nine pieces of scientific equipment from proposals submitted last year. You can read more about each piece here and I have to say I was left fascinated at what constitutes a “tool” in some people’s minds. There are some smart people out there!

What we’ve learned about mummies using modern technology
I loved this not-super-long piece about what MRI, CT scans and other imaging and lab technology can reveal about the people mummified and their life and times. Like finding pollens and how they can tell researchers about the foods the person consumed in his/her last days, for example. Or how DNA can reveal about the diseases of the past. Cool stuff if you’re a science or ancient history geek.

Mummies_Gizmodo
 
 

About Missy Kellor

Missy works on the Corporate Communications team and reports stories to TDS employees and customers. This is right up her alley because she’s an extrovert and also a big fan of research (really, she’ll look up just about anything that strikes her interest). Missy is a native of Madison, Wis. with an undergraduate in Anthropology and a master’s degree in Life Sciences Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her interest in the Internet as a mass media shaped her work towards a PhD in Journalism and Mass Communications. She’s also worked as an editorial assistant, copywriter, and production artist. In her off hours, Missy is a crafter, Pinterest addict, reader, wife, and mom of two kids.

, , , , , , , ,

No comments yet.

Leave a Comment