What Will a Typical 2050s Home be Like? The home of the future is unlikely to be the curvy white pod of science fiction. On the outside, most houses in the UK will still look 19th century – partly because the public are profoundly conservative in their architectural tastes, but largely because the vast majority of houses that will be standing by 2050 have already been built. It’s on the inside that they will be different – with everything from floor to ceiling retrofitted to inject some intelligence, efficiency and adaptability into the old shell. Intelligence will come from an array of sensors which automatically switch lights and taps on and off, order your groceries and even monitor your health. A central control system will manage the home for maximum efficiency, and show when the fridge needs defrosting, or if the micro-generator isn’t running at full efficiency. A drive for extensive resource efficiency could see water harvested and recycled within each home. There are trends pushing us towards these outcomes. Connect:
How do you learn to speak more than 12 languages Have you ever dreamed of being able to speak dozens of languages? A new book, Babel No More by journalist Michael Erard, traces the history of people who can do just that: hyperpolyglots, people who speak 11 or more languages. Obviously, hyperpolyglotism is a trained skill. No one just wakes up speaking multiple languages, but there may be factors that make it easier. As Erard told the Huffington Post, “Hyperpolyglots are not born, and they are not made, but they are born to be made. There is a finite subset of the human population which has the right neurological equipment for learning and using lots of languages.” What does this mean? How do hyperpolyglot go about learning these languages? One interesting feature of historical hyperpolyglots are how language expectations have changed over time, particularly in terms of what exactly it means to “speak” so many languages. What about contemporary polyglots? Learn more about the book here. Want to get started on your hyperpolyglotism?
+1’s: the right recommendations right when you want them—in your search results Our goal at Google is to get you the most relevant results as quickly as possible. But relevance is about relationships as well as words on webpages. That’s why we recently started to include more information from people you know—stuff they’ve shared on Twitter, Flickr and other sites—in Google search results. Today we’re taking that a step further, enabling you to share recommendations with the world right in Google’s search results. It’s called +1—the digital shorthand for “this is pretty cool.” To recommend something, all you have to do is click +1 on a webpage or ad you find useful. The +1 button will appear next to each search result After pressing the +1 button, you have the option to undo the action immediately Say, for example, you’re planning a winter trip to Tahoe, Calif. So how do we know which +1’s to show you? To get started +1’ing the stuff you like, you’ll need to create a Google profile—or if you already have one, upgrade it.
Language WIKI: Why Learn Foreign Languages? Our world is getting ever more connected and the citizens of the world are rapidly bridging national, social, and linguistic differences. When crossing cultural boundaries, language is the single most important tool. Language provides the key to broadening career and educational opportunities, enhancing the exchange of ideas and information, and of course enjoying the beauty of other cultures. For many people who stopped learning languages at school and have not been involved since then, the prospect of learning new languages can be rather daunting. Understand the World "Language is the means of getting an idea from my brain into yours without surgery" - Mark Amidon Language is the source of many misunderstandings, especially so when communicating across cultural boundaries. A basic knowledge of the destination language is a reasonably small task to achieve and should be included in anybody's preparations. Reveal the Heart of Culture Words shape the way we think. Widen Your Career Choices
CHART OF THE DAY: Android Blows Past iPhone -- Even If You Include iPod Touch Apps españolas para niños de todo el mundo Una docena de las empresas españolas más activas en la creación de aplicaciones para dispositivos móviles pensadas para el público infantil y juvenil han logrado ya más de 59.000 descargas en todo el mundo. Su actividad, más allá del mercado nacional, se ha llevado a cabo en países como Estados Unidos, México, Australia o Alemania. Conscientes de que la relevancia de las apps didácticas y de ocio no deja de crecer, se han agrupado en la Asociación Edita Interactiva, que se presentará oficialmente este jueves, 4 de octubre, en la 30ª Feria Internacional del Libro, Liber, en el recinto Gran Via de la Fira de Barcelona. En su apuesta se combinan la calidad con la innovación, sin perder de vista el atractivo que necesariamente deben tener unos proyectos que compiten en un sector global que se está volviendo extremadamente complejo. El volumen de ventas al que se refieren sus portavoces se concentra en 35 producciones desarrolladas para una audiencia de niños de tres o más años.
Chrome en passe de détrôner Firefox de sa deuxième place Mardi 4 octobre Navigateurs - 4 octobre 2011 :: 08:09 :: Par Nicolas-Lecointre Le navigateur de Google gagne en popularité. D’après des chiffres parus récemment, celui-ci pourrait bientôt prendre la deuxième place du podium des browsers les plus utilisés, actuellement occupée par Firefox. A ce jour, Internet Explorer reste (de loin…) le navigateur le plus utilisé, et Firefox se dispute de très près, depuis quelque temps déjà, la deuxième place avec Chrome. Cependant, au vu de statistiques publiées récemment, il semblerait que le navigateur de Google dépasse bientôt celui de la Mozilla Corporation. Les données, fournies par Net Applications et StatCounter — deux sociétés spécialisées dans la mesure d’audience sur Internet — annoncent que le browser de Google s’est dangereusement rapproché de Firefox au cours du mois de septembre. Pour le mois de septembre, l’accès à Internet depuis les smartphones et tablettes représente 6% du traffic, (93,7% de ce dernier reposant en effet sur les PC).