Duolingo’s clubs make language learning a competition

Duolingo debuted chat bots to help you learn a new language back in October, but now the company is looking to offer a bit more human interaction. Today, it introduced a new feature called Language Clubs so you can band together with friends and other users who are attempting to tackle another language. Think of it like how you compare accomplishments with your friends in fitness apps and you’ll get the idea. Inside the Duolingo apps for Android and iOS, the company now offers users the option of joining a group where you’ll see a shared news feed that lists members’ accomplishments. There’s a weekly leaderboard as well, because bragging rights are always a good motivator. Language Clubs are available in 20 different languages just in time to offer some added incentive for you to keep that New Year’s resolution. Via: TechCrunch Source: App Store

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Duolingo’s clubs make language learning a competition

Trippy Non-Mechanical Ferrofluid Clock Features Self-Assembling, Organic Numbers

You simply have to see this. Imagine an Etch-a-Sketch had sex with a lava lamp, and the resultant offspring was raised by adoptive digital clock parents. The result could only be the Ferrolic Display , a wonderfully bizarre time-telling device created by designer Zelf Koelman. Ferrolic from zelfkoelman on Vimeo. Eindhoven-based Koelman has harnessed ferrofluid, a/k/a ferromagnetic fluid, with electromagnets within the device to dynamically form the numbers. The Ferrolic is of course run on software, which means the device needn’t be a clock, but could presumably be hacked to deliver your text messages and the like. However, in its current iteration the product wouldn’t last long. Still in the prototype stages, “the lifetime of the fluids used in the glass container module mainly depends on the frequency of use. In practice this lifetime is expected to be a few months of full usage, ” Koelman writes. However, he also adds that “Ongoing development allows for a much longer lifetime in the near future.” Without the means of mass production, Koelman is selling 24 prototype-stage Ferrolics for €7, 500 (pre-tax), or about USD $8, 576. Users can connect to the device via Wi-Fi and control it via web browser. As for the short lifespan, the language on the Inquiries page of Ferrolic’s website isn’t quite clear, but it appears one may be able to order updated glass modules in the future.

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Trippy Non-Mechanical Ferrofluid Clock Features Self-Assembling, Organic Numbers

Learn Some Local Slang for Major International Cities

We’ve mentioned before that knowing a few words in the native language can help improve your travel experience. Knowing some of the local slang can help, too—though it’s a bit tougher. Natalie Holmes at Conde Nast Traveler lays out local slang for a few major international cities. Read more…

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Learn Some Local Slang for Major International Cities

Google is adding handwriting input to Gmail and Docs.

Google is adding handwriting input to Gmail and Docs. Starting today, you can use your trackpad or mouse to hand-draw characters in a variety of languages. [ Gmail Blog via 9to5Google ] Read more…        

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Google is adding handwriting input to Gmail and Docs.

Spoken in the ice age, these words might actually have made sense

The sentences above are special. According to newly published research, they comprise words that have been passed down for millenia, from a language that all but disappeared toward the end of the last ice age. What remains of that tongue are words like the ones above – words that mean the same thing today, and sound almost exactly the same, as they did 15,000 years ago. Read more…        

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Spoken in the ice age, these words might actually have made sense