Social media is great for a lot of things, such as keeping in touch with friends or searching for interesting articles, but it has never yet been used like the way Zoe Fraade-Blanar and her husband Aaron Glazer use it. They are the founders of the 11 person company Squishable, who are out to make the cutest and most diverse set of stuffed animals to ever set foot on the market. They even made a Squishable Axolotl. Never heard of it? Point proven.
The Squishable Axolotl
The Axolotl
So how do stuffed animals have anything to do with social media? Well, Squishable uses social media sites like Facebook to take advice and search for new ideas for their ever-growing collection of plushes! As an example, here is a post they did on Facebook last Wednesday:
As you can see, Squishable takes the public into account, which greatly boost the customer satisfaction. Squishable is probably the only toy company that does that, which explains it’s huge following. Plus, I personally think Squishables come out better than competing brands. But that’s not all Squishable has to do with the public.
Squishable Cuthulhu
Open Squish is Squishable’s biggest advantage over other toy companies. Open Squish is a program where anyone over the age of 18 to can submit a design for a future Squishable! First, you can download a template and use that as a base for your design. Then, you upload your design to Squishable’s website to be approved. If it is approved, your design gets put into a contest, in which people can vote on all the approved designs for the best one of the week. All of those will be prototyped and the few successful prototypes will be made into Squishables (mini or regular)! You can even look at and critique the prototypes. If it is not as successful or has something wrong, it could end up as a Limited Edition, where only 1,000 will be made commercially available. Plus, the prize for getting your design picked is $500 ($250 for mini), a $100 ($50 for mini) Squishable gift card, and your name on the tag if picked.
Squishable is probably the best and biggest stuffed animal company out there. Any animal you can think of has already been made or prototyped. They even have some food, like waffles or bacon. But seriously, Squishable uses social media and the public to their own advantage, securing success. Like no toy company has done before.
Maps are a big part of your phone nowadays. It is a big reason for old-schoolers to upgrade to a smartphone, and if the maps are bad (such as Apple Maps on the iPhone 5), it can greatly influence the public sales. Recently, Google acquired the start-up map company Waze for an astounding $1.1 Billion, and I can see why. I mean, 1 billion is a little much, but still, Waze brings a social feel to maps. But I’ll get to that later.
One of the big differences between Waze and regular maps is that Waze the phones of everyone who has the app open to take information and put it out to everyone in the area. For instance, if you are stuck in traffic, or there is a blockage, the phone recognizes that and tells the other users. Fortunately, Waze is always looking for a way to avoid traffic, even if it has to change the route in the middle of the ride.
Going back to the social part, Waze allows you to use maps as a way to connect with your friends or co-workers. Say, if you are picking the person up, you can send them a request to have their location. If they accept, Waze automatically sets up the best route to them, and also allows the person to see where you are and your ETA, even if they don’t have Waze. Also, if you are holding an event, you can see where everyone is and how long it will take for them to get there. The perfect party planner.
Waze brings a whole new level to maps. You can see where your friends or family are and their ETA, while efficiently avoiding traffic your self. And if you don’t feel comfortable letting everyone know where you are, you can turn invisible. All this added up makes a great app for social and practical purposes. Later on when they add more features and perfect everything, it may be better than Google Maps (which is probably hey Google bought it). Waze’s slogan really says what Waze is all about: outsmarting traffic, together.
This has got to be the most awesome camera that ever set foot on the market. There are great cameras that has WiFi, interesting filters (which Lytro has), and great specs, but Lytro is just out of this world. And galaxy. And universe. What makes it so special is it’s in innovative design and interesting and new capabilities. Also it’s untraditional shape may change cameras forever.
The Slick Lytro
The design of the Lytro features a square body, with a grid-like grip at the end. On one side of the grip, there are 2 controls: a button for the shudder release (the button for taking the picture) and a row of touch-sensitive squares for adjusting zoom. On the back side, there is a touch screen used for setting up photos and doing basically everything a regular camera does. On the front, the lens resides like a hobbit hole door. And just to put icing on the cake, the top 3/4 of Lytro has a slick aluminum housing available.
The Touchscreen
The software of the Lytro is really what puts it out by itself. First of all, it has a couple ingenious filters, such as through glass, a carnival painting and more. But the most important, the most amazing, the most spectacular feature is that Lytro can make GIFs. Well, sort of. What Lytro can do is change the perspective of the photo after the photo is taken. Then, you can change that into a GIF. But if you don’t like the perspective of the photo, or want to change it slightly, Lytro can really help. Plus, all the filters are also “living”. To see some examples, click on this link.
The Glass Filter
Not only is Lytro a great camera, it’s new app allows you to wirelessly upload photos to your phone, then instantly share them on varios social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Also, Lytro has it’s own photo sharing network the allows you to see other peoples work. Then, if you want to email it, Lytro make a GIF of the photo rotating perspective. Lytro truly thought of everything. They even have a slick carrying case and purse. Who knows? This might be the camera of the future.
Games have been a part of computers for a long time. Whether it is a strategy, puzzle, RPG or action game, most everyone has their own preferences on which games they like. But when you go to buy the game from a store like GameStop (which wastes time), it can be a hassle (which wastes more time). Steam is one of the many apps that allow you to buy and download games straight from the app (such as Good Old Games and the Apple App Store). This is amazingly helpful, especially for a frequent gamer.
The Steam Logo
One great thing about not having to use a CD is that it frees up space for other disks. Also, if you lose the disk, you’re out of luck. With Steam, you can play the game anytime, and it even makes a sidebar shortcut for Macs. When you launch the Steam app, you can choose between a couple options: Library, where you can browse your games, Store, where you get your games, News, where you can get news about new games, and Community. Community is where people can interact with friends, view their profile and achievements and look at/buy mods for games such as Civilization V. The Community section really gives the app a social media fell that other game stores don’t have.
A Screenshot of the Store
Steam is truly a great app. Not only can you easily buy apps and interact with other gamers, but you also save money. Steam frequently have sales on specific games that, sometimes, takes a lot off the already relatively low price. Overall, Steam is a very useful way to download games even if you don’t use the Community section and I highly recommend it.
Wow. Just, wow. On Monday, Apple released all their plans, their work, from the past year in the WWDC 2013, and it’s pretty amazing what they’ve come up with. As expected, both iOS 7 and the new OS X 10.9, the OS X Mavericks got released, and both are going on sale in the fall. It’s amazing how fast Apple made 2 operating systems. I mean, it took us 4.5 billion years to make the first one, and they made 2 in a year. Also, as predicted, the Macbooks and Mac Pro got and update. All these products are great, but one stands out from the crowd: iOS 7.
iOS 7 Beta Preview
It is actually a little surprising how accurate the rumors about iOS 7 were. Still, Apple surprised us att the WWDC with an operating system that makes iOS devises supreme to all other mobile devises. The simplicity, yet detailed design is sure to bring a seamless experience to users world-wide. You’ll see what I mean in moment. Anyway, here are the main design and features of iOS 7:
Control Center
Control Center is a whole new and easy way to control your phone. All you have to do is slide upward from the bottom of the screen, and the CONTROL CENTER *Boom, Crash!* will appear! From there, you can turn on Airplane Mode, Bluetooth, WiFi, manage brightness, currently playing songs, camera and more. It renders most of what the Settings app is used for useless, and is also much faster, easier and much better looking than Settings.
Control Center
New App Design
The new app design for iOS 7 is the big difference from iOS 6 to iOS 7. For one thing, Apple took away the shine and shadows just as they said they would, and replaced them with a simple, detailed and flat design. This works for most apps, but for some, like Music, they got it all wrong. Still, the design gives iOS 7 a slick look and will probably be the main reason for the many people to update. Also, when you group apps together, instead of just being a pop-down bar, the folder takes up the whole page. From there, you can pick which app you want in full size. Even though it is a minor detail, it is the details that makes a operating system seamless, after all.
Notifications Center
Apple’s new Notifications Center also goes along with the flat, textureless, transparent and simple but detailed design Now, you can open Notifications right from the lock screen the same way, sliding down from the top of the screen. From there, you can pick from 3 options: today, all and missed. All, obviously, is where all your notifications such as emails, calendar events and more go. From the “today” menu, you can see the weather, your next Calendar update, your whole calendar for the day and info from other apps. From the “missed” section, you can access all missed phone calls, emails, texts and other notifications. This is a really important change, because currently, Notification Center has little use. When iOS 7 comes out, it will be almost as useful as Control Center.
Notifications Bar
New Lock Screen
For the first time since Apple released their first iPhone, they have changed the lock screen. Now, all you have to do is slide upward from the bottom of the screen. The slide bar is no more. At the top of the screen, there is the time. Also, you can open up the Control Center, and for the first time, the Notification Center. As an added affect, when you tilt your device, the background will shift to give it a 3D look (that goes with the whole phone).
Multitasking
Multitasking is completely revised in iOS 7. All you have to do is press the home button twice. and instead of just a small bar on the bottom of the screen, multitasking takes up the whole page. Along with app icon, a preview of the page will be displayed. This is a great feature because multitasking is an extremely important part of iOS. And in iOS 7, it’s made easier.
Multitasking Screenshot
Siri
Apple have totally gone all out on their new version of Siri. It can now bring up information right from Twitter and Wikipedia without having to look it up. Many more prompts have been written (displayed on the Siri start screen) allowing you to do many more things like add reminders and look up definitions. Also, it does a better job of recognizing speech, something it was notorious for in the last iOS. By the time iOS 7 comes out, Siri will be a big plus and used a lot.
iTunes Radio
Even though it is about 5 years to late to join the party, Apple released their own Music streaming service, iTunes Radio. iTunes Radio allows you to …. well, pretty much the same stuff music services like Pandora can. You can play songs from “featured stations”, make your own stations and immediately buy songs right from the station. Also, Siri takes requests like “Play Classic Rock radio”.
iTunes Radio Preview
AirDrop
AirDrop is another feature that Apple upgraded. To share a photo/contact/ect you just hit the share option in the app and pick whoever you want to share it with. This person has to be in your area, though. Then, AirDrop sends the *blank* right to the other person. A widow pops up their phone that says “*Blank* has sent you a *blank*. Accept or Decline?”. If you accept, it will save the photo/contact/ect to Photos/Passbook/ect. Also, you can have the option of appearing as an AirDrop option or not. This is a great feature because it makes it easy to share info instead of emailing or texting.
iOS 7 will be a very interesting operating system when it comes out. It has many features that make it fast and easy, but the design is a big maybe. Personally, I think they did a good job on designing the app icon, and the “simple yet detailed” approach is a good change from their classic “TEXTURE! MORE TEXTURE! MORE UNNEEDED VISUALS!” iOS 7 also is a jackpot for developers. All the new features can be used to their advantage. Also, anyone who has an app has to redesign the logo to fit the new regimen. Apple acknowledged this fact, so they allowed developers to get their hands on an beta version. Overall, iOS 7 is a amazing and innovative operating system (even if it looks a little like Windows and Android). It will be very exciting when it comes out and I’m sure it will be revolutionary. For more on the WWDC 2013, check out my next post, Part 2!
OS X Mavericks, the new operating system for Macs, was released at the WWDC 2013. First of all, you are probably thinking one thing: OS X Mavericks? Well, Apple have decided to get rid of the Big Cats (I was hoping for OS X Domestic Cat) and replace it with places in their home state, California. And in case you didn’t know, Mavericks is a small surfing spot with giant waves. Anyway, OS X Mavericks hasn’t been completely revised like iOS 7, but it’s many built in apps have been updated and added. Here are the main updates Apple highlighted:
The OS X Mavericks Slogan
iBooks
Finally! Apple have now made a app for iBooks on Macs. Why they didn’t do it in the first place, I have no idea. The new iBooks has added much more books to their collection, making for a complete experience. Also, if you’re a student, iBooks is perfect for you. They have revised textbooks so that you can take notes, highlight sections and more. You can even keep more than one book open for cross-referencing. Really, though, this app just completes the set and is a backup for when you lose you Kindle. If you’ve haven’t tried, it’s very hard to read on a computer anyway. But, it’s free and everyone loves free stuff.
iBooks On All Devices
Finder Tabs and Tags
Have you ever been in the situation where you have a file in Finder, but you just can’t find it (which is ironic, because it is called Finder)? Wait a minute, why am I even asking this? Of course you have. Apple observed this, so they addressed the fact by adding tabs and tags. Tabs in Finder allow you to sort Finder into multiple sections, almost like folders except on a bigger level. Tags, on the other hand, let you sort though your files like Tweets. You can assign each tag a color, and when you go to save a document in any Apple software, there will be a tag option. Choose a tag, such as “important” or “fundraiser” and when you go into Finder, each tag will have it’s own page. Then, all your documents are easily sorted for you!
Finder With Tags And Tabs
Notifications
Notifications is a iOS-like feature that’s new coming to Macs everywhere. Notifications alerts you with a little bar on the top of your screen when you get texts, email, website info like Facebook, or a variety of things. For things like texts and emails, you can reply right from the bar. Also, when you log on to the computer, all the notifications from when you were gone are there. This feature removes the need to move your hand an inch and waste 30 seconds, but we lazy humans like to have things right now, easily. I guess that’s not that much of a bad thing.
A Interactive Notification
Maps
Maps has also been given a boost in OS X Mavericks (even though it’s not like anyone will use it). Real time traffic has been added, which actually is a really helpful tool to make your route. Also, Apple have added a Google Earth-like feature that allows you to fly over a “photo-realistic” world. Another helpful feature is that if you have a route set up on the computer, you can send it to your phone so you don’t have to set it up again.
The Maps Flyover View
Safari
Safari has always been 3rd place to Firefox and Chrome in the browser race, but that doesn’t stop Apple. The new Safari has been given a Google Chrome-like front page with all the Top Sites. A sidebar has also been added, so whenever you’re browsing, you can open it up and go to your Bookmarks, Reading List or the new “shared links”. Shared Links takes all the Tweets that have a link to the website you’re on.
Safari’s New Sidebar
iCloud Keychain
Just like iTunes Radio is late to the music streaming train, iCloud Keychain missed the password protection boat. The password protection business is already dominated by 1Password. Yet, here is iCloud Keychain. Keychain pretty much does everything 1Password does. It remembers your password, automatically fills them in (1Password doesn’t do that), and recommends safer passwords. Also, it remembers your passwords on all Apple devices (hence “iCloud”). This is the feature that makes iCloud Keychain at all useful, but then again, 1Password has a app to.
Password Suggester In Action
OS X Mavericks isn’t as new and improved as iOS 7, but it has had most of it’s apps upgraded. Many features have also been added to make OS X Mavericks more like iOS 7, such as Notifications. Overall, OS X Mavericks is probably a good addition to the OS X line and smooths out the wrinkles in Apple’s classic design.
Well, the title is sort of self-explanatory here. The online Apple Store is down due to the fact that they are updating for the new products that will be coming out in the WWDC 2013 this morning. Most likely, these products will not be software, for those will not be ready yet, but hardware. Supposedly, new Macbooks should be coming out. Check out my full rumor preview for more information!
There are tons of apps out there. By tons, I mean TONS. Lots of those apps are games. The game market for mobile devises has been increasing so rapidly that there so many you can’t possibly have played them all. This App Of The Week is Blueprint 3D, a puzzle game that tests you eye on many fronts. Even though puzzle apps aren’t the most popular apps, Blueprint 3D is highly addictive and fun.
The Blueprint 3D’s Maker’s Logo in Blueprint 3D’s Style
The way you play Blueprint 3D involves a blueprint (obviously). But not just any blueprint, a scrambled blueprint! But not just any scrambled blueprint, a 3D scrambled blueprint (hence the name)! To solve the puzzle, you have to flip the blueprint over in any direction you want. There will be a couple layers of lines until you line them up right, then it just clicks together. It will be very confusing at first, and you may spend up to a minute on one problem. But once you get to know the game, you train your eye to see the outlines of the image and what it actually is. The key phrase there is what it actually is. They don’t tell you. Still, if you get good, you don’t need to what it is. For instance, my record is 1 second (it’s ok, you don’t have to bask in my glory).
Can you guess what it is? (go to bottom for answer)
Blueprint 3D is a very fun game that pushes your eye to the limit. The game is not for all people, though, only for those of you who like pipe games and other puzzle classics. This is one of those games that are fun for a couple minutes, but after about 5 puzzles, you get bored. The one thing that keeps you going is the variety of puzzles. There are many categories such as animals, space, medieval, and many more that come out in updates. Also, you can make your own puzzles by taking or importing a photo. Overall, it is a very creative game and it defiantly deserves it’s title of App Of The Week.
Just like the Google I/O, Apple’s WWDC (World Wide Developer Conference) is a place of great revealing and surprise. Each year, both companies invite developers and tech fanatics to come and witness the unveiling of the future. For instance, at the Google I/O 2 years previous, Google released the design for Google Glass, which is sure to change the future. This upcoming WWDC, Apple are going to release probably the most anticipated thing of the year: iOS 7 and the new OS X 10.9. Since this is Apple’s first conference in 7 months, the stakes and expectations are high. It starts on June 10th in San Francisco; but don’t get to excited, you can’t go. It sold out in just less than 2 MINUTES. Still, the content will be available online of anyone who wants it.
The WWDC 2013 Logo
The biggest, probably most anticipated and rumored about software to be released at the WWDC is iOS 7. Since the iproducts are pretty much the high-end of the tablet and smartphone market, there is lot’s of pressure to come out with something creative, seamless and innovative. Based on a few interviews and leaks, we can guesstimate what iOS 7 will look like:
iOS 7 has been changed a lot since iOS 6 came out at WWDC 2012. Many long-lasting features of iOS will be removed. Also, as of May (they are always changing the design), Apple Senior Vice President of Industrial Design Jony Ive described it as “black, white and flat all over”. This means they will be replacing some of the current textures such as the leather on the notifications bar with flat, black and white backrounds. Also, many of their apps like Mail, Calendar, Notes, Game Center and Maps will be flattened out. Each will also be given it’s own color, so that users don’t get confused like Jony Ive feared. Plus, to go along with the “flat” goal, the home (app) screen will be modified to get rid of shadows and shine. This will all come together to make a interesting and new design. Unfortunately, since nothing like iOS 7 has been done before (mostly because everyone copied Apple), we can’t really be judge it until it comes out.
A Concept Of iOS 7
Another software that Apple is rumored to be releasing at the WWDC is OS X 10.9. Sadly, Apple probably aren’t going to be redesigning it, unlike iOS 7. Many minor changes such as adding tabs and tags to finder or making multi-tasking better will be added but not much else. One big feature that Apple is integrating in OS X 10.9 is Siri. They haven’t yet disclosed how or why, but I’m sure it will be useful. Speaking of usefulness, a feature that will not be useful is Apple’s *shudder* Apple Maps integration. Hopefully they don’t block off Google Maps.
A “theory” of what the new OS X 10.9 might be called
Enough with software. Not much hardware is rumored to be released at the WWDC, but we are pretty sure an update for the Macbooks will come out. Most of the revealed info on the new Macbooks suggest that Apple’s AirPort will be made faster, the camera better and the Macbook Pro slimmed a bit. Overall, though, these updates are minor, and unless the rumors are wrong, that’s all for the Macbooks. Also, Apple’s monitor Thunderbolt Display will get an update, which is very useful for all you Mac Mini users.
The Macbook Air
Tomorrow morning is sure to be an exiting one for all developers and tech-lovers around the world. Apple, probably the most well-known and successful in the world. They will be releasing many softwares, hardwares, services, developer tools and much more. The next generation of pretty much every tech market will be shown to the world. Even though they will (probably) not release any products to the market, it is very exciting. There will not be any conference all year that will match this (maybe except for the Google I/0). I highly recommend you watch it, either highlights from the Apple website, or live-stream it at the times below. If you don’t have the time, check back here for my WWDC 2013 review!
Out of all the languages, Chinese is probably one of the most complex and hard to learn. In the traditional Chinese language, there is around 13,500 characters to memorize. But, if you’re a solar, you most likely know 20,000 characters. Really, though, you only need 1,000 to have a mostly complete understating of Chinese. As ShaoLan (the creator of Chineasy) explains in her TED talk, 200 characters will get you around easily enough in China. Chineasy uses only 8 basic characters to get you to the goal of 200. Easily.
Chineasy brings the pictograms out of the Chinese language. To an outsider (and even most people that can read Chinese), the Chinese is more of a art than a language. The symbols look like random lines placed around each other. But way back when the ancient Chinese designed these symbols, they actually thought about it. Chineasy cleverly illustrates 8 basic characters. Here they are:
The 8 Basic Characters
Even though they are self-explanatory (which is the whole point of Chineasy), this is what the characters mean from left to right: Fire, Tree, Son, Moon, Person, Mouth, Door, Mountain. Memorizing pictures for all 100,000 characters would not help that much, would it, though? Fortunately, that’s not how the Chinese language is built. For instance, if you take tree, and put another tree beside it, you make wood(s). Then, if you put a third tree on top, you get forest. You can do this for all 8 character, though not exactly in the same way (example: a moon plus another moon equals prosperous because Chinese believe that the moon brings prosperity). So when you’re done memorizing all these characters and their different versions, you will have memorized at least 70 – 100 words. But, it doesn’t stop there.
The Character For Crater
The way chinese is built allows you to build off of the word you know by making phrases. Not in the English sense. A phrase would be a word like volcano. In Chinese you write it like “fire mountain” which uses the 2 basic words fire and mountain. Plus, to even add on that, there is the word crater, which is written “fire mountain mouth”. There are many many more phrases to follow, so many that they would easily get you to 200 characters. Once you have these characters, you will be able to get the main point of 40% of the Chinese newspapers and things like that. Defiantly good enough for a trip to China. Unfortunately, ShaoLan hasn’t made any real apps or courses yet for Chineasy. But when she does, it will make learning Chinese fun. And easy.
TOTW: Google's Project Ara Modular Phone May Be The Future Of SmartphonesOctober 30, 2014
