From popsci.com:
In Frank Herbert’s epic Dune novels, the natives of the desert planet Arrakis cope with the extreme aridity of their home by using stillsuits, which capture and re-process body fluids into potable drinking water.
One of the coolest things about these suits was that they were self-powered. Herbert wrote that they employed “…motions of the body, especially breathing and some osmotic action [to] provide the pumping force.”
Now Zhong Lin Wang, director of the Center for Nanostructure Characterization at the Georgia Institute of Technology, is on the verge of bringing this capability to the garments of our own planet.
Filed under: Innovation, Science , Innovation, Nanotech, Science
We are looking for a new intern. One of the candidates submitted this article as a response to our test. We had given him this article to comment on.
Over the past two weeks, Amazon has made two moves to “kindle” some interest in the e-book industry.
- They released its Kindle 2 electronic book reader, which for $360 will allow you to effortlessly shop from its catalog of 240,000 titles. Wireless capabilities are provided by the Sprint cellular network, however, Amazon fronts the bill so you don’t have to worry about subscription fees. Most new releases will run you $10. Initial feedback is that the software is super user friendly and fast.
- They announced that you will be able to buy and read from its catalog using an iPhone or an iPod Touch by downloading the Kindle reader software for free from the App store.
As it appears, Amazon is not only taking a page out of Apple’s design prowess by streamlining its software to make a satisfying user experience, but they are also capitalizing on the iPhone’s ubiquitous nature by using the device as platform to distribute their content. Quite the bold move. Instead of recognizing Apple as a potential competitor, Amazon must believe that their strength within the publishing industry and their “first-mover” status will provide enough protection as they attempt to build a market.
Interestingly enough, Amazon’s new found strategy is strikingly different to that of which Mr. Jobs utilized with the launch of iPod/iTunes. Amazon is looking to exploit the potentially significant profit margin from digitally distributing books (which requires no physical material costs, shipping costs, or warehousing costs), thereby turning their focus to e-books as a service provider.
Contrastingly, Apple’s focus is on their hardware that carries an extremely high profit margin, while iTunes (their service provider) was initially created as a loss-leader (yet many have questioned the validity of that assertion over the past year).
Original article
Filed under: Innovation, Marketing , Consumer, Gadgets, Innovation, Technology
From MarketingVox:
84% of Millennial users notice ads on social networks, with a whopping 74% clicking infrequently on them, according to research from The Participatory Marketing Network and Pace University’s Lubin School of Business’ Interactive and Direct Marketing Lab.
Even so, only 19% of surveyed Gen-Yers find social networking ads relevant; 36% claim they never to click on the ads.
A corroborating report from IDC, released in December, found social network ads are less effective than other forms of online marketing.
But that isn’t to say this medium lacks merit for brands hoping to harness the Zeitgeist’s power. 62% of Millennials admitted they’ve visited a brand or fan page on a social network; 48% actually joined.
Top reasons to join a brand group or fan page included:
- Getting news or product updates (67%)
- Having access to promotions (64%)
- Viewing or downloading music or videos (41%)
- Submitting opinions (36%)
- Connecting with other consumers (33%)
“More work must be done to understand what drives participation and engagement within social networks,” said Co-Founder/ Executive Chairman Michael Della Penna of The Participatory Marketing Network.
“Many [advertisers] are still waiting for proof that increasing investment in this burgeoning ‘channel’ will yield measurable benefits.”
January research from Netpop found the typical social network user addresses 110 people per week on average; s/he also spends about $101 online per month.
And these aren’t merely Millennials. Pew observes that social networking profiles quadrupled among US adults between 2005 and 2008. 35% are on one; the percentages lower with each older generation.
Filed under: Information, Market Research, Marketing , Advertising, Market Research, Marketing, Online
From Popular Mechanics:
A long-sought solar milestone was eclipsed last week, when Tempe, Ariz.–based First Solar Inc. announced that the manufacturing costs for its thin-film photovoltaic panels had dipped below $1 per watt for the first time. With comparable costs for standard silicon panels still hovering in the $3 range, it’s tempting to conclude that First Solar’s cadmium telluride (CdTe) technology has won the race.
But if we’re concerned about the big picture (scaling up solar until it’s a cheap and ubiquitous antidote to global warming and foreign oil) a forthcoming study from the University of California–Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory suggests that neither material has what it takes compared to lesser-known alternatives such as—we’re not kidding—fool’s gold.
Full article
Filed under: Innovation, Science , Energy, Science, Solar, Technology
