Blogger and developer Matt Gemmell has gazed into the dark side of of search engine optimization ( SEO ), and while he understands the value of having your personal site, your blog, or your company’s web site rank well in search results, he’s not willing to sell his soul to do it. Instead, he’s written a simple guide to SEO for non-dicks . More
For the first time since 1996, IBM’s market value now exceeds that of Microsoft. IBM jumped past Microsoft to become the world’s second most valuable tech company behind #1 Apple. More
Ladies and members of the so-hip-it-hurts demographic, Toyota’s got a Prius hybrid just for you. The curved, futuristic-looking EV first did the dais spin for us at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year and now, armed with a hue-matching ‘Aqua’ moniker, is prepping to rollout to lots in January of 2012. A report in Nikkei indicates this fuel efficient gas / electric car will get just about 40km/l (or 94mpg), besting its current Prius family member’s 32km/l (about 75mpg). And as for that price tag, look for it to retail at around 1.7 million yen (or $22,000) when it makes its eventual splashy blue bow in the Japan and US next year. Toyota Prius C undergoes name change, comes out feeling ‘Aqua’ blue originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 04:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
The NFC Forum just released the latest update to the growing close-range standard and it includes a nice little treat called SNEP, which stands for Simple NDEF Exchange Protocol. (Side note: the NDEF in SNEP, stands for NFC Data Exchange Format — it’s like a matryoshka doll of abbreviations.) What makes SNEP exciting is that it allows for sending and receiving of data between two devices. This could be used to exchange contact information between phones (similar to Bump , but without the need for an app) or collect links to trailers from movie posters which could be played back on your TV at home. It’s potentially exciting stuff, so long as manufacturers actually make use of it. Check out the PR after the break for a few more technical details. Continue reading New NFC spec enables two-way communication, potentially makes Bump obsolete New NFC spec enables two-way communication, potentially makes Bump obsolete originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 03:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Is there a “unit” of memory? Some scientists now think so. Using a method that allowed them to make brain measurements down to the millisecond levels, researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology discovered that there's a discrete “quantum” of memory: You’re rudely awakened by the phone. Your room is pitch black. It’s unsettling, because you’re a little uncertain about where you are — and then you remember. You’re in a hotel room. Sound like a familiar experience? Or maybe you’ve felt a similar kind of disorientation when you walk out of an elevator onto the wrong floor? But what actually happens inside your head when you experience moments like these? [A new study] describes exactly how the brain reacts in situations like these, during the transition between one memory and the next. Their findings show that memory is divided into discrete individual packets, analogous to the way that light is divvied up into individual bits called quanta. Each memory is just 125 milliseconds long — which means the brain can swap between different memories as often as eight times in one second. “The brain won't let itself get confused,” says Professor May-Britt Moser. “It never mixes different places and memories together, even though you might perceive it that way. This is because the processes taking place inside your head when your brain is looking for a map of where you are take place so fast that you don't notice that you are actually switching between different maps. When you feel a little confused, it is because there is a competition in your brain between two memories. Or maybe more than two.” Link
( Video Link ) We’ve seen the revolutionary Da Vinci Surgical System do amazingly precise movements before, including folding paper airplanes and playing Operation . In this video, surgeons at Southmead Hospital in the UK demonstrated its ability to make delicate cuts by peeling a grape. So far, there are only 1,032 Da Vinci robots in service around the world, but that number is steadily increasing as doctors find it useful. Link -via Popular Science
Internet Explorer, the old, fat, mad king of the online kingdom still reigns uncontested. But beneath him, a power struggle between Chrome and Firefox, the latter of which has clung to the number two spot. But that’s about to change . More
Lamp switches can be kind of a pain—either you can't reach them comfortably, they break within a few months, or they just take a lot of force. With an inexpensive touch switch , you can turn any metal lamp on and off just by touching it with your finger. More
It's stunning how much prescription drug prices vary by store. The same product—e.g., life-saving epipens—bought at one store can save you $60 or so compared to another store. GoodRx can really save you money by comparing prescription drugs prices. More
This isn’t the first time we’ve posted about Sugru , and hopefully it won’t be the last: (more…)
