Services and applications

Why 'big data' is here to stay

Eight years ago, a friend and I were researching a book we would later call "Inescapable Data - Harnessing the Power of Convergence." We were after an understanding of what kinds of new information one could produce by blending data of different types and from different sources -- GPS data, combined with RFID, combined with data from a shipping manifest could be used to track shipments in real time for example.

In the process of doing our research, we interviewed many CEOs, CIOs, and others in leadership positions to see if they were aware of the new variety … Read more

Is Hadoop the new tape?

I attended GigaOM's Structure:Data 2012 conference in New York City last week. This is the second one I've attended and I'm now a confirmed advocate of this event. Om Malik brings together people who, in one way or another, represent much the creative thinking around so-called big data. I got the feeling that I could strike up a conversation with anyone there and learn something new.

I noticed at least two major differences between the Structure:Data event I attended last year and this year's version. Last year, most if not all of the exhibiting … Read more

Pocket Brain app offers searchable 3D atlas of the brain

Of all the subjects best taught in 3D, anatomy has got to be up there. And when it comes to human anatomy, the brain is arguably the most complex organ, if not system, of them all.

So it's fitting that 3-year-old medical education app publisher eMedia out of Ireland is adding the Pocket Brain app to its suite of 3D Pocket Anatomy offerings. (First came the body and the heart.) For $19.99, the interactive app for iPhone and iPad renders the old-fashioned textbook pretty close to obsolete.… Read more

Square Card Case is now an improved 'Pay with Square'

Square has delivered a few improvements (and a new name) to its mobile payment service.

The application formerly known as Card Case has been rebranded "Pay With Square," the company announced today. Square hasn't said why it changed its mobile app's name, but the branding appears to make it clearer to users what they should do with the app. Card Case was, after all, a cryptic name for a mobile-payment solution.

Pay With Square comes with the same features users found in Card Case, allowing them to pay for products at merchant stores that support Square … Read more

Virgin Mobile experiencing text, data outage

A nationwide outage has left Virgin Mobile customers in the U.S. without text or data services.

The company confirmed the disruption in a tweet this afternoon and said that engineers were working on the issue but did not give any indication what caused the outage or when it is expected to be resolved.

We're currently experiencing a national data & text messaging outage. Our engineers are working to resolve it. Thank you for your patience.

— Virgin Mobile USA (@virginmobileus) March 20, 2012

Virgin Mobile is an MVNO, or mobile virtual network operator that leases network capacity from parent … Read more

NetZero teams up with Clear to offer free mobile broadband, kind of

The company that's been famous for offering free dial-up Internet access has just taken a big leap by offering up to one year of free mobile Internet and a free data plan.

NetZero announced today two mobile wireless data solutions including a mobile hot-spot router and a USB modem, called NetZero 4G Hotspot and NetZero 4G Stick, respectively. Both of these devices are 4G-only and will access the Internet via Clear's 4G wireless coverage. The NetZero 4G Hotspot is actually a rebranded version of the Clear Spot Apollo 4G and offers exactly the same feature set. … Read more

New England Journal of Medicine releases iPad edition

The New England Journal of Medicine, the oldest continuously published medical journal in the world (it celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2012), is now offering up its content on the iPad.

The journal says the iPad edition of its weekly, peer-reviewed content includes audio, video, expandable images, and features such as sharing, searching, and notating.

"We know that you're busy, and you want to have the relevant clinical information you need, right at your fingertips," reported the journal on its blog this week.

The app is available free for download at the iTunes App Store. Current journal … Read more

Google raises registration fee for I/O 2012

Google has released the registration details for its annual Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco on June 27 to 29.

Not only is the company charging attendees a higher registration fee for the three-day event ($900), but also developers will be required to make payments online using Google Wallet. For many this is a small price to pay for the wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience that comes with Google I/O, but for others looking for an easy way to snatch up a free tablet or Chromebook, it may be too high a price tag.

Registration for … Read more

Haptic app helps visually impaired learn math

For the blind and visually impaired, it can be nearly impossible to follow along when a math teacher spends most of a lecture in front of a blackboard or projector drawing shapes, parabolas, X-Y planes, and other visuals.

It's about time there's an app for that, thought mechanical engineering grad student Jenna Gorlewicz, who'd spent a few years at Vanderbilt's Medical and Electromechanical Design Laboratory miniaturizing endoscopic robotic capsules and was looking for a more people-oriented project.

So Gorlewicz, who says she loves both teaching and math, set out 18 months ago to try to develop a tablet app that uses haptic (or tactile) technology to help the visually impaired learn math and other subjects with a strong visual component.… Read more

Online tool gauges if your home is stimulating enough for baby

As a first-time expecting mother who doesn't know many kids, setting up my home for a baby is a mysterious process that involves procuring little outlet covers and stacking wine bottles on the counter instead of the floor.

As for maximizing my home's environment for optimal infant motor development, let's just say I'm the aunt who assumes a newborn can play with tangrams (turns out they just chew on them).

So this morning I rather eagerly checked out a new online test that assesses the quality and quantity of motor development opportunities my home currently provides. … Read more