The Credit Card Is The New App Platform

Economist Notices That The US Is Getting Buried Under Costly, Useless Over-Regulation The US is often talked about as a major supporter of the "free market," but as we've seen over and over again what we have is really crony capitalism, with lots of efforts being made to protect certain industries through regulation. This hasn't gone unnoticed. The Economist has an article more or less mocking the US for pretending to be all about small government free markets, while really being buried in pointless, confusing and unnecessary regulations: But red tape in America is no laughing matter. The problem is not the rules that are self-evidently absurd. It is the ones that sound reasonable on their own but impose a huge burden collectively.

Scientist Beams Up a Real 'Star Trek' Tricorder Starships, warp speed, transporters, phasers. Think "Star Trek" technology is only the stuff of fiction? Think again. Dr. Peter Jansen, a Ph.D. graduate of the Cognitive Science Laboratory at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, has developed a scientific measurement device based on the tricorders used by Captain Kirk, Spock, Dr. McCoy and other space adventurers on the classic TV series that has spawned numerous spin-offs in more than 45 years. Smartphone Use by College Students [Infographic] It’s no secret smartphone use has skyrocketed across the board the past few years, especially in many less developed countries where “Internet” and “phone” are arguably synonymous. What’s the importance of understanding mobile usage? Think about where your smartphone is from the time you wake up until the time you go to sleep at night.

'Personal Cloud' to Replace PC by 2014, Says Gartner There’s no doubting the cloud invasion. But the research firm Gartner believes the personal cloud will replace the PC as the center of our digital lives sooner than you might think: 2014. “Major trends in client computing have shifted the market away from a focus on personal computers to a broader device perspective that includes smartphones, tablets and other consumer devices,” Steve Kleynhans, research vice president at Gartner, said in a statement on Monday. “Emerging cloud services will become the glue that connects the web of devices that users choose to access during the different aspects of their daily life.” Google plans a cloud-centered future with Google Play and its market-leading Android mobile OS. But the personal computer will also not miss out on the cloud, as Microsoft and Apple are planning to weave the cloud into the next generation of their desktop operating systems, Windows 8, and OS X Mountain Lion.

NASA unveils Orion spacecraft to hurl humans to Mars in 2021 It’s no Prometheus, but the spacecraft shown in the photo above is what NASA plans on using to put a human on the planet Mars. Yesterday, NASA unveiled the Orion passenger module at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Orion crew still has plenty of work to do on the vehicle before it logs any time away from the ground, but NASA plans to have it run an unmanned test flight by 2014. How Professors Use Social Media [Infographic] A few weeks ago, I published an infographic detailing how college students use smartphones and other mobile devices. We're back in the higher education arena, but this time we're taking a good look at how professors are integrating social media in the classroom! It's no secret that social media is driving its way into classrooms, with some colleges now even offering a major in social media. Professors are extending the teacher-student relationship beyond classrooms in much the same way as companies are extending the business-customer relationship beyond their brick-and-mortar locations. Let's take a look at some key ways professors are making use of social media... Key Statistics from the Infographic

Clear(ly), it’s time to say bye-bye to buttons With its new iOS app, Clear, Realmac Software has taken the “less is more” axiom to its ultimate conclusion. The Clear app puts a new spin on the common to-do list by enriching it with a playful perception of depth, dynamic transitions and crisp audio feedback, all wrapped under a minimalistic visual language and shallow navigation. Is this “less is more” approach revolutionary? Supersonic Flying Wing Nabs $100,000 from NASA An aircraft that resembles a four-point ninja star could go into supersonic mode by simply turning 90 degrees in midair. The unusual "flying wing" concept has won $100,000 in NASA funding to trying becoming a reality for future passenger jet travel. The supersonic, bidirectional flying wing idea comes from a team headed by Ge-Cheng Zha, an aerospace engineer at the University of Miami, and including collaborators from Florida State University.