Archive for the ‘TILE Translations’ Category

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Computers Are Too Complex, Make Them More Like iPhones!

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Sometimes it seems as though computers are more trouble than they’re worth, but they may become much simpler in the not-too-distant future.

  • Although personal computers have become easier to use since their inception way back when, most people still encounter problems while using their computers and their current operating systems (like Snow Leopard for Mac or Windows Vista).
  • iPhones are the picture of simplicity, and could serve as a model for how computer companies construct operating systems in the future.
  • While it may seem a simple solution to the complexity problem, integrating an operating system similar to the iPhone’s would be difficult for a multitude of reasons, and especially troublesome for the implementation of the multitouch interface (that thing that allows you to move stuff on your iPhone with your finger).

Facts & Figures

  • Back in the day, if you wanted to open up a Microsoft Word document, you would’ve had to type in a cryptic command, like this:

DIR*.EXE
MSWORD.EXE A:\REPORT.DOC

  • Microsoft tries to make all their new versions of their primary operating system (Windows) familiar to customers of earlier versions, which accounts for the continuing complexity of the system.
  • Apple uses the iPhone’s operating system in its new iPad computer.
  • It would be easier for Apple to design a completely new operating system instead of implementing the multitouch interface onto a desktop computer.

Best Quote

“With the iPad and the horde of tablets that will follow it, we can expect computing to become much easier than what we’re accustomed to today.” – Brian Chen, Wired magazine

Tom Tom Navigation Not Going Anywhere But Up (Apparently)

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Or so says the CEO of the company… but do you agree?

  • Despite the fact that both Google and Nokia have recently announced free turn-by-turn navigation on mobile phones, TomTom’s CEO, Harold Goddijn, is firm in his belief that these threats will not affect his company’s well-being or profitability.
  • Goddijn extolled his company’s proficiency in map-making, while downplaying the threat of competing companies offering free services that would replicate the functionality of his company’s GPS device on mobile phones, a service he says has existed for quite some time.
  • Tom Tom avoided experiencing a huge setback in the recession by cutting costs and focusing sales efforts on car manufacturers, fleet management services, map and traffic subscriptions and an iPhone app.

Facts and Figures

  • TomTom’s 2009 fourth quarter net profit came out to be 73 million euros ($99 million)
  • In the fourth quarter, sales rose 1% to 533 million euros, up from 528 million euros a year ago.
  • The company expects sales to be flat in 2010.

Best Quote

“We need to get away from the impression that the various navigation platforms are competing with each other.” – Harold Goddijn, Chief Executive Officer of TomTom NV

Scientists Stumble Upon Potential Key To Eternal Youth In Stem Cell Research

Friday, February 26th, 2010

An unprecedented breakthrough in stem cell research may hold the key to combating a terrible disease and unlocking the gate to immortality…

  • In the process of working with a new type of cell—induced pluripotent stem cells, a stem cell similar to embryonic stem cells but made from ordinary skin cells—a team of researchers at the Children’s Hospital Boston and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute were able to reverse the aging process of a rare genetic disease.
  • The disease, dyskeratosis congenita, is a blood marrow disorder that causes premature aging, warped fingernails (among other symptoms) and an increased risk of cancer. In the process of creating iPS cells from diseased patients’ skin cells, the scientists found that a gene in the cells multiplied three-fold, helping to restore telomeres (little caps on the ends of the chromosomes that carry DNA), which are integral in the process of aging and death in cells. Replenishing the telomeres could, in theory, help reverse the aging process.
  • About half of the people with the disease have bone marrow failure (meaning that their bone marrow stops making blood and immune cells properly), and of those people, many often die during bone marrow transplants. However, researchers think that bone marrow transplants from a patient’s own cells may be a gentler process.

Facts & Figures

  • Dyskeratosis congenita is a very rare disease and is usually diagnosed between the ages of 10 and 30.
  • In dyskeratosis congenita, the cells lose telomerase, an enzyme that helps maintain the telomeres. As telomeres deteriorate, cells age, and disease and death follow.
  • In cancer, telomerase apparently helps tumor cells become immortal and proliferate. Experimental cancer drugs target telomerase.
  • TERC helps rejuvenate telomeres, and researchers suspect that tumor cells employ TERC in order to achieve immortality.
  • Researchers speculate that replenishing TERC might help the sufferers of dsykeratosis congenita.

Best Quote

“We’re not saying we’ve found the fountain of youth, but the process of creating iPS cells recapitulates some of the biology that our species uses to rejuvenate itself in each generation.” – Suneet Agarwal, Researcher at Harvard Stem Cell Institute

Gold Medals – How Much Are They Really Worth?

Friday, February 26th, 2010

The 2010 Winter Olympics started this past week in Vancouver, and when considering these prestigious games, one must ask oneself the question: if I were to take up curling, would winning a gold medal make up for all those years of chronic boredom and embarrassment, you know, money-wise? Well…

  • Gold and silver have appreciated in value over the past ten years—a result of the current credit explosion and financial crisis—which has shaken investor confidence in currencies, making gold and silver a safer, more desirable bet.
  • At the turn of the century, on the other hand, pawning off gold and silver medals would not have been as wise as it would today, since the value of both commodities was exponentially smaller then.
  • 1980 was the golden year (pun intended) for hocking gold medals, but one in possession of an Olympic medal in these modern times would probably be best served by selling said medal on eBay (unless, of course, it’s a bronze).

Facts & Figures

  • Gold is currently valued at $1,100 per ounce, but gold medals are primarily made of silver, with about 6 grams of gold plating on top.
  • The medals handed out in Vancouver are substantially larger than medals awarded in years past—this year’s medals are about 100 millimeters in diameter, 6 millimeters thick, and weigh between 500-576 grams (a little over a pound). The medals from the last two Winter Olympics (held in Turin, Italy and Salt Lake City, UT, respectively) weighed less than 500 grams.
  • Vancouver’s gold medals are worth approximately $500, while silver medals are valued at a little over half of that.
  • In 1980, after adjusting for inflation, gold medals were worth around $1,000.00
  • Silver medals on eBay have been known to sell for $7,000.00

Hybrid Recall – Environmentalists In Danger Behind the Wheel

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Environmentally conscientious drivers liable to be harmed by the source of their enviro-friendliness!

  • On February 11th, 2010, Japanese car manufacturer Toyota recalled 400,000 Priuses and other hybrid models in response to allegations and customer complaints of brake deficiencies.
  • A software glitch in the cars’ braking systems apparently causes brief, terror-inducing delays in the braking capacity on bumpy or icy roads. However, to date, no accidents or injuries have been reported.
  • Over the past several months, Toyota owners have experienced other problems with the quality and safety of their various models, leading to over 7 million Toyotas being recalled.

Facts & Figures

  • The braking glitch fix takes approximately 40 minutes.
  • The recall applies to 223,000 hybrids that were sold in Japan, 133,00 Priuses and 14,500 Lexus HS 250h vehicles in the U.S., and around 53,000 Priuses throughout Europe.
  • In 2009, Toyota recalled roughly 3.8 million of its vehicles to fix floor mats that would “entrap” gas pedals.
  • Toyota has received over 80 complaints on the 2009-2010 Corolla concerning the car’s “hard-to-handle” steering.

Best Quote

“If the company had paid more attention to consumers’ viewpoint, it could have realized that there was a safety problem.” – Ryusuke Itazaki, Chief of the Recall Department at Japan’s Transport Ministry

The Economy Is Looking Up, But That Might Not Mean More Jobs Tomorrow

Friday, February 26th, 2010

For now it seems as though the eye of the storm has passed, but we’re not out of the woods yet, especially those of us looking for jobs…

  • Throughout the course of a nation’s economic history, job markets fade and expand, but this recession has thrown a wrench into this natural process of economic evolution—some of the jobs lost in this recession will never come back.
  • With corners being cut and companies outsourcing work to more efficient producers, businesses have altered their business and learned new techniques and methods for doing more with less.
  • Though the economy is beginning to recover and jobs are coming back, the rate of job creation has slowed considerably. That, coupled with many people joining and rejoining the workforce, means that unemployment and economic growth indicators will continue to be somewhat stagnant in the foreseeable future.

Facts & Figures

  • Nearly a quarter of the 8.4 million jobs have been lost since 2007 won’t ever be coming back.
  • About 133,000 jobs will be created each month of this year, but economists predict that the unemployment rate will fall only to 0.3% by year’s end.
  • In order for unemployment to fall at a faster rate, economists say that over 200,000 jobs will need to be created each month.

Best Quote

“There’s a certain Darwinian angle to recession. Firms that survive are stronger for having the experience. They tighten down and look for ways to cut waste.” -–Sean Snaith, Economist at the University of Central Florida.

Mad About The New Upward Shift In E-Book Prices? You’re Not Alone.

Friday, February 26th, 2010

If you’re not a zealous reader of, well, anything, you may not know about the new literary revelation known as e-books. One of the appealing aspects of these “e-books” is their low prices relative to books printed on paper, but that’s about to change…

  • Various publishers of “e-books,” books that you can read on e-book readers (like the Amazon Kindle or new Apple iPad), have won the ongoing battle for pricing—newly published e-books and bestsellers will go from a flat price of $9.99 to as much as $14.99 each.
  • Unfortunately for the publishers, many avid e-book readers aren’t too keen on this—even going as far as to organize “impromptu” protests, accomplished by going on different e-book websites (e.g., Barnes and Nobles and Amazon) and leaving low ratings and negative reviews for particular books.
  • The central disagreement seems to be over the costs of production; e-book consumers argue that since publishers no longer have to pay for printing, storing and distributing paper-based books, they have no grounds to charge higher prices. Publishers allege that e-book readers are myopic and, frankly, old and cranky, and don’t take into account all the overlooked costs of e-book publishing, like the actual writing, editing and thinking on the part of the author, editors and all the other employees at each publishing house.

Facts & Figures

  • Up until now, e-book prices have hovered around $9.99, a price most e-book readers find quite agreeable.
  • Sometimes publishers will hold off on offering an e-book for a few months so that they can protect sales of the paperback and hardcover versions of the book, prompting hordes of indignant geriatrics to post one-star reviews online.
  • According to a number of online consumer testimonials, iPods, video games and films are good alternatives to books.

Best Quote

“The sense of entitlement of the American consumer is absolutely astonishing. It’s the Wal-Mart mentality, which in my view is very unhealthy for our country. It’s this notion of not wanting to pay the real price of something.” – Douglas Preston, Bestselling Author

Ford for Facebookers

Friday, February 12th, 2010

American automakers shift their focus to smaller vehicles and younger consumers. Who’s buying?

  • Ford, Chrysler and GM are attempting to expand their consumer base by utilizing social media platforms such as Facebook.
  • Dealerships are remodeling their stores and lots, so they no longer resemble truck lots and instead have a clean, modern aesthetic intended to appeal to people who buy small cars.
  • Salespeople are being taught how to effectively discuss potential buyer concerns, such as fuel efficiency, as well as how their cars compare to Toyota’s and Honda’s.

Facts & Figures

  • In 2009, small cars made up 19% of the 8.65 million light vehicles sold in the U.S, which pickups and SUVs composed 46%.
  • Only 7% of “millennials” (people born between 1979 and 1985) consider a Ford when shopping for a small car.
  • Ford will send a social media consultant to its largest 800 dealerships – about 25% of its stores, to build an online infrastructure within the company.

Best Quote

“Gas prices and lifestyle changes are going to push more people into small cars.” – Tony Pack, General Manager of “Five Star Ford” in Dallas, TX

Will The EU Save One Of Its Own?

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

The European Union hasn’t been faced with the possibility of default by one of its member countries before. The world is watching as the relatively new eurozone figures out how to deal with the bad times as well as the good.

  • Greece (a member of the European Union) may not be able to meet all of its debt obligations, so the European Central Bank is meeting to consider what to do to protect the stability and credibility of the euro.
  • While there is no official bailout plan in place, certain countries within the eurozone (the group of EU countries that have adopted the euro as their currency) are piecing together aid plans that would transfer some of Greece’s debt burden to taxpayers in their own nations.
  • The EU’s rules require eurozone countries to keep their debt below a certain level, which Greece has repeatedly failed to meet. But the rules also state that the European Central Bank and central national banks cannot bail out countries, so Greek recovery may be left up to the will of individual eurozone countries.

Facts & Figures

  • The EU’s limit on debt ratios for eurozone nations is 3% of GDP.
  • Greece is expected to show a 13% budget deficit this year.
  • Greece owes a total of $303 billion to foreign banks.

Best Quote

“As long as it is very clear that any support only comes with very, very stringent conditions attached, it would not affect the moral-hazard question. It is a choice between two evils.” – Fabian Zuleeg, Chief Economist at the European Policy Centre

The Secret Society for Creative Philanthropy

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Philanthropy obviously isn’t just about huge tax breaks, benefit galas, and getting your name on that new science center. Caring for other people can happen in all kinds of wonderful ways…

  • Courtney Martin, a 30-year-old writer in Brooklyn, was suddenly faced with a large sum of money. So she took $1,000, distributed it evenly among 10 people, and asked each participant to give the money away that month.
  • These small-scale philanthropists formed the Secret Society for Creative Philanthropy, and the variety of ways (traditional and decidedly non-traditional) they spread their $100 was an exercise in thoughtful giving.
  • In a demonstration of good will inspiring more good will, several participants in Ms. Martin’s project decided to add an additional $100 of their own to the $100 they were supposed to give away.

Facts & Figures

  • The Secret Society for Creative Philanthropy is in its fourth year, and inducted 16 members this year.
  • Some of this year’s donation projects: Converted the money into 10,000 pennies to leave on sidewalks around the country, head-side-up; Anonymously tipped their favorite drugstore cashier; Donated to nonprofits working in Haiti; Bought a dish for a friend who was instructed to regift it; Converted NYC children’s writing into bound books; Tipped the bartender exceptionally well; Handed the cash to a local woman who scavenges for bottles and cans to turn in for their deposit value.
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