Kids and grownups build with Grid Beam at the Maker Faire. (Credit: Phil Jergenson) This year at the Maker Faire, trying to juggle my own interests (talk to cool people) and my 5-year-old son's (build or break stuff), we both hit paydirt at the same time when we stumbled across the Grid Beam exhibit. My kid spent 45 minutes in the hot sun inventing and screwing together a life-sized car-like contraption, and I got to dive into the minutiae of the product with its creators, Phil and Richard Jergenson. Grid Beam is Erector Set meets Ikea. The hardware is standard 2x2 wood beams with holes drilled through every 1 1/2 inches (which is the actual width of a 2x2 beam), and standard furniture bolts that ... Continue reading →
Google has updated the iOS Search app with a feature to swipe directly from a Web page back to search results. (Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET) Google just updated its iOS Google Search app (iTunes link). I have always preferred searching for Web content on the iPhone using Google's dedicated search app, compared to the search box built in to Safari. Now the experience is better. The updated app focuses on speed -- both in terms of how quickly it runs (faster, especially autocomplete) and with a few user interface tweaks that make using it feel a lot better. On a mobile device, like my underpowered iPhone 4, these little things matter. For example, if you're viewing a page you got to from the search ... Continue reading →
This is what goes into Apple's $29 wall-charging unit. (Credit: Ken Shirriff) No, it's not the first thing people gravitate toward when tearing open their brand-new iPhone or iPad. Heck, it's probably not even the second or third thing (the USB cable and the Apple sticker are more popular I'm sure). But, hidden deep within that pretty box is a cube that makes the whole thing work. It's an AC wall-charging unit, and it's as technically impressive as any other component in that box. Ken Shirriff, a technology buff and blogger, has a complete teardown of Apple's tiny technical wonder on his blog, detailing (exhaustively, I might add) why exactly Apple can charge $29 for it. The details are fascinating if you have a mind ... Continue reading →
If I were my college's development person looking for previously-unknown alumni to invite to a local event, I'd be loving Ark right now. (Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET) Nobody should own Ark. TechCrunch reported today that the well-seeded people search startup rebuffed a probe from Facebook to acquire the company. Thank goodness. Ark is yet another stab at an old unsolved need: A site that searches all the social networks to find the people you're looking for. This is most notably not something that Google can do, as Google cannot search within the structured and closed databases of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and so on. (It should have better luck with Google+, assuming you're logged in.) Previously I have covered companies like Spock (now iSearch), which ... Continue reading →
The hard side of Facebook’s acquisition of Karma, the data transfer, is relatively easy. The soft side is harder and where Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg et al need to focus their best efforts if they want to take full advantage of Karma developers’ mobile experience sensitivities. Karma without its Karma is valuable. But Karma’s Karma can take Facebook to a whole different level – if they can transfer it. (Mark Zuckerberg. Per Wikipedia) Rafe Needleman laid out the logic for the acquisition in an article on CNET, suggesting that Facebook wants Karma developers’ “real sensitivity for making a good mobile and social experience” as well as access to Karma’s data on consumer preference and connections. Assuming he’s right, the two tasks require different types of ... Continue reading →
As Facebook was trading as a public company for the first time ever, we assembled a group of tech and finance experts to talk about the new stock. Is it worth buying? What will it do for technology overall? Can Facebook compete on mobile? Our panelists to debate these and related topics: Subscribe:iTunes (MP3)iTunes (640x360)Podcast RSS (MP3)Podcast RSS (640x360) Show notes [0:15] Intro video [1:10] Guests introduced. [2:15] The Facebook stock weather report. First hint of bankers' panic. [3:20] Who's making money on this stock today? [4:00] What does it mean for retail investors when a stock rises on the first day? [4:30] How do Internet stocks generally do right after IPO? [5:45] Why is the Facebook IPO such a benchmark deal? [6:45] What's wrong ... Continue reading →
When I wrote in my review of Karma in February, "you'll be using this soon," perhaps I should have said, "Facebook will be buying this soon." Because that's what the company just did. As the NASDAQ public market closed on Facebook's first day of public trading, the social network giant bought the small social gifting company. Karma announced the acquisition in a blog post that doesn't say much other than revealing the acquisition. But we like Karma. CEO Leo Linden gave us a walkthrough recently: Karma launches new way to send gifts CNET's complete coverage: Facebook's monster IPO More shortly... Continue reading →
Create your Visual.ly account Username is not valid Great! Already taken, try another Great! Continue reading →
On the prowl for a Facebook sugar daddy I was talking with a former colleague a few months ago, explaining how unsure I felt about everything since my move to San Francisco -- from where to drop off my dry cleaning to navigating the dating scene. Both make me queasy. "Oh, but you're in the best spot," my source crooned. "Think about all the companies that are going to IPO soon. You just have to know where to be. " Go find a guy. A soon-to-be rich guy. Quel horrors! With my two Ivy-league graduate degrees and a solid decade of working at a premier news organization, I should resort to finding someone who fulfills my bank statement and little else? My pride had a ... Continue reading →
