If you’re into social media and short stories, you will absolutely LOVE the writings of 420 Characters Lou Beach. Brilliant!

THE STORIES you are about to encounter were written as”status updates” on a large social networking site. These updates are limited to 420 characters, which include letters, spaces, and punctuation. They provided a daily exercise in fiction writing for the author, who hopes you enjoy them and return to read more. They will be regularly updated.

LOU BEACH inhabits many states of mind but is most at home in Los Angeles where he lives with his wife, the photographer Issa Sharp.

America’s Finest Timelapse from XOXO Wedding Studio on Vimeo.

Despite the advantages of learning faster, most people seem reluctant to learn how to learn. Maybe it’s because we don’t believe it’s possible, that learning speed is solely the domain of good genes or talent.

While there will always be people with unfair advantages, the research shows the method you use to learn matters a lot. Deeper levels of processing and spaced repetition can, in some cases, double your efficiency. Indeed the research in deliberate practice shows us that without the right method, learning can plateau forever.

Today I want to share the strategy I used to compress the ideas from a 4-year MIT computer science curriculum down to 12 months. This strategy was honed over 33 classes, figuring out what worked and what didn’t in the method for learning faster.

Why Cramming Doesn’t Work

Many student might scoff at the idea of learning a 4-year program in a quarter of the time. After all, couldn’t you just cram for every exam and pass without understanding anything?

Unfortunately this strategy doesn’t work. First, MITs exams rely heavily on problem solving, often with unseen problem types. Second, MIT courses are highly cumulative, even if you could sneak by one exam through memorization, the seventh class in a series would be impossible to follow.

Instead of memorizing, I had to find a way to speed up the process of understanding itself.

Can You Speed Up Understanding?

We’ve all had those, “Aha!” moments when we finally get an idea. The problem is most of us don’t have a systematic way of finding them. The typical process a student goes through in learning is to follow a lectures, read a book and, failing that, grind out practice questions or reread notes.

Without a system, understanding faster seems impossible. After all, the mental mechanisms for generating insights are completely hidden.

Worse, understanding is hardly an on/off switch. It’s like layers of an onion, from very superficial insights to the deep understandings that underpin scientific revolutions. Peeling that onion is often a poorly understood process.

The first step is to demystify the process. Getting insights to deepen your understanding largely amounts to two things:

1. Making connections
2. Debugging errors

Connections are important because they provide an access point for understanding an idea. I struggled with the Fourier transform until I realized it was turning pressure to pitch or radiation to color. Insights like these are often making connections between something you do understand and the material you don’t.

Debugging errors is also important because often you make mistakes because you’re missing knowledge or have an incorrect picture. A poor understanding is like a buggy software program. If you can debug yourself in an efficient way, you can greatly accelerate the learning process.

Doing these two things, forming accurate connections and debugging errors, is most of creating a deep understanding. Mechanical skill and memorized facts also help, but generally only when they sit upon the foundation of a solid intuition about the subject.

The Drilldown Method: A Strategy for Learning Faster

During the yearlong pursuit, I perfected a method for peeling those layers of deep understanding faster. I’ve since used it on topics in math, biology, physics, economics and engineering. With just a few modifications, it also works well for practical skills such as programming, design or languages.

Here’s the basic structure of the method:

1. Coverage
2. Practice
3. Insight

I’ll explain each stage and how you can go through them as efficiently as possible, while giving detailed examples of how I used them in actual classes.

Stage One: Coverage

You can’t plan an attack if you don’t have a map of the terrain. Therefore the first step in learning anything deeply, is to get a general sense of what you need to learn.

For a class, this means watching lectures or reading textbooks. For self-learning it might mean reading several books on the topic and doing research.

A mistake students often make is believing this stage is the most important. In many ways this is the least efficient stage because the amount you can learn per unit of time invested is much lower. I often found it useful to speed up this part so that I would have more time to spend on the latter two steps.

If you’re watching video lectures, a great way to do this is to watch them at 1.5x or 2x the speed. This can be done easily by downloading the video and then using the speed-up feature on a player like VLC. I’d watch semester-long courses in two days, via this method.

If you’re reading a book, I would recommend against highlighting. This is processes the information at a low level of depth and is inefficient in the long run. A better method would be to take sparse notes while reading, or do a one-paragraph summary after you read each major section.

Here’s an example of notes I took while doing readings for a class in machine vision.

Stage Two: Practice

Practice problems are huge for boosting your understanding, but there are two main efficiency traps you can get caught in if you’re not careful.

#1 – Not Getting Immediate Feedback

The research is clear: if you want to learn, you need immediate feedback. The best way to do this is to go question-by-question with the solution key in hand. Once you’ve finished a question, check yourself against the provided solutions. Practice without feedback, or with delayed feedback, drastically hinders effectiveness.

#2 – Grinding Problems

Like the students who fall into the trap of believing that most learning occurs in the classroom, some students believe understanding is generated mostly from practice questions. While you can eventually build an understanding simply by grinding through practice, it’s slow and inefficient.

Practice problems should be used to highlight areas you need to develop a better intuition for. Then techniques like the Feynman technique, which I’ll discuss, handle that process much more efficiently.

Non-technical subjects, ones where you mostly need to understand concepts, not solve problems, can often get away with minimal practice problem work. In these subjects, you’re better off spending more time on the third phase, developing insight.

Stage Three: Insight

The goal of coverage and practice questions is to get you to a point where you know what you don’t understand. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. Often you can be mistaken into believing you understand something, but don’t, or you might not feel confident with a general subject, but not see specifically what is missing.

This next technique, which I call the Feynman technique is about narrowing down those gaps even further. Often when you can identify precisely what you don’t understand, that gives you the tools to fill the gap. It’s the large gaps in understanding which are hardest to fill.

The technique also has a dual purpose. Even when you do understand an idea, it provides you opportunities to create more connections, so you can drill down to a deeper understanding.

The Feynman Technique

I first got the idea from this method from the Nobel prize winning physicist, Richard Feynman. In his autobiography, he describes himself struggling with a hard research paper. His solution was to go meticulously through the supporting material until he understood everything that was required to understand the hard idea.

This technique works similarly. By digesting the big hairy idea you don’t understand into small chunks, and learning those chunks, you can eventually fill every gap that would otherwise prevent you from learning it.

For a video tutorial of this technique, watch this short video.

The technique is simple:

1. Get a piece of paper
2. Write at the top the idea or process you want to understand
3. Explain the idea, as if you were teaching it to someone else

What’s crucial is that the third step will likely repeat some areas of the idea you already understand. However, eventually you’ll reach a stopping point where you can’t explain. That’s the precise gap in your understanding that you need to fill.

From that gap, you can research the answer from a textbook, teacher or online. Generally, once you’ve narrowly defined your misunderstanding it becomes much easier to find the precise answer.

I’ve used this technique hundreds of times, and I’ve found it can tackle a wide variety different learning situations. However, since each might be slightly different, it may seem hard to apply as a beginner, so I’ll try to walk through some different examples.

For Ideas You Don’t Get At All

The way I handle this is to go through the technique but have the textbook open to the chapter explaining that concept. Then I go through and meticulously copy both the author’s explanation, but also try to elaborate and clarify it for myself. This “guided” Feynman can be useful when trying to write anything on your own would be impossible.

Here’s an example I used for trying to understand photogrammetry.

For Procedures

You can also use the method to fully understand a process you need to use. Go through all the steps and explain not only what they do, but how they execute it. I would often go through proof techniques by carefully explaining all the steps. I also used it in understanding chemical equations or in organizing the stages of glycolysis in biology.

You can see this example I used when trying to figure out how to implement grid acceleration.

For Formulas

Formulas should be understood, not just memorized. So when you see a formula, but can’t understand how it works, try walking through each part with a Feynman.

Here’s an example I used for the Fourier analysis equation.

For Checking Your Memory

Feynmans also offer a way to self-test your knowledge of the big ideas for non-technical subjects. Being able to finish a Feynman on a topic without referencing the source material means you understand and can remember it.

Here’s one I did for an economics class, recalling the concept of predatory pricing.

Developing a Deeper Intuition

Combined with practice questions, the Feynman technique can peel those first few layers of understanding. But it can also drill deeper if you want to go from not just having an understanding, but to having a deep intuition.

Understanding an idea intuitively isn’t easy. Once again, getting to this point is often seen as a quasi-mystical process. But it doesn’t have to be. Most intuitions about an idea break down into one of the following types:

1. Analogies – You understand an idea by correctly recognizing an important similarity between it and an easier-to-understand idea.
2. Visualizations – Abstract ideas often become useful intuitions when we can form a mental picture of them. Even if the picture is just an incomplete representation of a larger, and more varied, idea.
3. Simplifications – A famous scientist once said that if you couldn’t explain something to your grandmother, you don’t fully understand it. Simplification is the art of strengthening those connections between basic components and complex ideas.

You can use the Feynman technique as a way of encouraging these types of insights. Once you’ve gotten past a basic understanding of the idea, the next step is to go further and see if you can explain it using some combination of the three methods above.

The truth is plagiarism is okay too, and not every insight needs to be unique. Understanding complex numbers as being two dimensional is hardly original, but it allows a useful visualization. DNA replication working like a one-way zipper is not a perfect analogy, but so long as you understand where it overlaps, it becomes a useful one.

The Strategy to Learn Faster

Learning faster doesn’t need to be a trick to work well. It simply means recognizing what is actually going on when we reach a new level of insight and finding tools to help us reach those stages consistently.

In this article I described learning as being three stages: coverage, practice and insight. This gives the false impression that these three occur always in distinct phases and never overlap or repeat.

In truth you may find yourself going between them in a loop as you successfully peel down to deeper layers of understanding. The first time you read a chapter you may get only superficial insights, but after doing practice questions and building intuitions, you may go back and read for deeper understandings.

Applying the Drilldown Method for Non-Students

This process isn’t one you need to be a student to apply. It also works for learning complex skills or building expertise on a topic.

For skills like programming or design, most people follow the first two stages. They read a book teaching them the basics, then they practice with a project. You can extend that process however, and use the Feynman technique to better lock in and articulate the insights you create.

For expertise on a topic, the only difference is that, prior to doing coverage, you need to find a set of material to learn from. That could be research articles or several books on the topic. In either case, once you’ve defined the chunk of knowledge you want to master, you can drill down and learn it deeply.

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Wondering what it looks like from high over the Earth? NASA’s Earth Observatory, which posts satellite imagery and other data, created the above time-lapse video from 22,300 miles above the planet’s surface.

The images were taken by satellite every minute from 7:15 a.m. through 6:30 p.m., then collected for the above video.

How strong is Hurricane Sandy now, and where is it? Currently working its way north towards the United States’ eastern seaboard, Saturday morning it was upgraded back to a category 1 hurricane after dropping to a tropical storm overnight. It left over 40 dead in the Caribbean, according to reports. Sandy’s expected to make landfall near Delaware on Tuesday morning.

The real danger, however, is the possibility that Hurricane Sandy might combine with two separate winter weather systems after making landfall. That extremely rare but potentially catastrophic scenario would create what some scientists are calling a “Frankenstorm” that could deliver gale-force winds and 1-3 feet of rain and snow across the American northeast.

You’ll never lose this remote between the cushions. Because it IS a cushion! The Pillow Remote Control is fast and easy to set up, with pre-programmed automatic code searching and more than 500 different remote control devices in its memory. Easy-to-click fabric buttons make changing channels a breeze. Power-saving auto shutoff feature shuts off remote functions after 60 seconds of inactivity.

A universal remote control embedded in a pillow. It has easy to click fabric buttons and a smart shutdown feature. If you still manage to lose this remote, your house needs some major cleaning.

Step 1

The process behind this tutorial is very easy and quick. All we need is a background image and one of our shattered glass brushes. You can download the free sample if you’re not a member.

Step 2

Reduce the saturation by going to Image>Adjustments>Vibrance. Enter a saturation value around -70 and +15 for vibrance.

Step 3

Just to add a nice detail to the scene, let’s write something with a sans serif font. I usedPirulen, which is a clean and crisp free font.

Font color is #56767d.

Step 4

In order to merge the text with the background, grab the eraser tool, select a grunge brushand eliminate some parts of the text. You need to rasterize the text first (right-click on the text layer thumbnail>Rasterize type). Use the eraser tool especially on the bottom area of the text, along the horizon.

Layer opacity is too high in my opinion. Reduce it to 40%. This is my result:

Step 5

At this point we can add the never-boring lens flare! Create a new layer and fill it with black. Then go to filter>Render>Lens flare.

Set the layer blending mode to screen to eliminate the black areas. Done!

Step 6

We can now create the broken glass effect. Download our shattered glass brushes, select a brush and click once on a new layer. Foreground color is black.

Note that you could obtain the same effect with a broken glass image, however using a Photoshop brush is easiest.

Step 7

To make the effect realistic, we need to blur the background area which is covered by the glass. From the layers window select all the layers except the one with the brush, and click alt+ctrl+E (option+cmd+E for Mac) to merge them into a new layer. Then apply the blur filter (Filter>Blur>Gaussian blur) with a radius around 3px.

Step 8

With the blurred layer still active, add a layer mask by pressing the apposite button at the bottom of the layers window.

Now you can use a black round brush to eliminate some areas from the blurred background. Basically with the layer masks you can use black brushes to eliminate areas, and white brushes to replace them, without ever losing pixels.

Step 9

After all the “broken area” has been deleted, the crisp original background will be visible and you’ll get a realistic broken glass effect:

Step 10

To finalize the work, just play with a couple of adjustment layers. Start by radically modifying the color combination with a gradient map layer (Layer>New adjustment layer>Gradient map). Select the default gradient going from purple (#6f156c) to green (#00601b) to orange (fd7c00). Set the layer blend mode to screen, with opacity around 70%.

Step 11

To make the style even more vintage, let’s play a bit with a color balance layer (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Color Balance). I just modified the midtones until I was satisfied:

Finito!

Here is my final result! I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial.

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Of course, the answer is a little of both. That’s the point of this infographic from BestMastersPrograms.org, which used a variety of sources to arrive at this extensive collection of stats, illustrations and information about Apple and its explosively popular product line.

Steve Jobs liked to brag about how Apple has “always been shameless about stealing great ideas,” but the Cupertino company didn’t just lift all of its product ideas, did it? After you’ve traced every Apple product back to its humble origins, consider the possibility that Apple’s obsessive attention to detail wasn’t copied from many other companies.

For instance, who was Apple copying when it created its elegant, easy-to-open packaging? Which company was first to create a truly smooth-scrolling touchscreen? And taken to its extreme, we’re not aware of any tech manufacturer that ever created a video extolling the virtues of its product’s “chamfered edges.”

What do you think? Let us know in the comments if you think the examples in the infographic are off-base or right on the money. Of course, this infographic leaves out all of Apple’s original creations. Which products or characteristics do you think Apple can claim sole responsibility for?

Transform your digital iPhone images into real instant photographs that you can touch, caress and share with friends.

Did you know that almost half of the world’s internet users are now active onsocial media sites? One billion of us are using Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and/or LinkedIn, and the rapid growth in this global phenomenon is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down.

Indeed, the audience is getting younger and younger – some 82 percent of children have some kind of internet presence before the age of two – and your online identity has never been more important for getting into school, finding a job or simply meeting people.

This infographic takes a closer look at why the digital you matters.

Many designers are taking this change to heart and creating some spectacular pieces that thrive in mobile, tablet and desktop environments.

The following sites fuse beauty with responsive web design techniques and really showcase what can be achieved with a little innovation. So grab some popcorn and a notepad, you’re going to want to pay attention.

StephenCaver.com

When you open this site on your desktop, it’s immediately captivating. The bold, black, justified heading contrasts beautifully with the almost watercolor-like quality of the Mojave Desert background. When this site adapts to mobile size, the change is significant, and the site still looks great.

FoodSense.is

With its wide layout, the clean lines and simple structure this site is a fantastic example of minimalist web design. When viewed on a tablet or mobile it adjusts without compromising on composition or flow.

Warface.co.uk

The use of color is striking and the innovative placement of the 3D figurines in the foreground of the site really engages the viewer. The site is unique and exciting, and none of the impact is lost on mobile.

DanielVane.com

Again here the designer lets his work speak for itself. The landing page is beautiful in its full-sized simplicity and this carries through perfectly onto mobile, leaving one particularly arresting illustration which includes a subtle logo.

SasquatchFestival.com

This site is fun and playful and unique amongst the other sites on this list. They forego clean simplicity in order to have fun with color, imagery and icons in a way that still manages to deliver on style. This can be difficult to do in a small space, but the designers of Sasquatch manage effortlessly.

GravitateDesign.com

The use of shape in this site stands out immediately. By avoiding the use of borders and content boxes, they have managed to create a site that showcases their work at its best.

VisualSupply.co

Similarly to Warspace, it’s the imagery that really works for this website. It’s perfectly structured, and looks beautiful on every device.

StudioMds.co

Dark colors can sometimes be overlooked in web design, but Studio Mds enhance their content with their bold decision. The layout adjusts to fit a smaller screen size losing nothing but superfluous links.

ForefathersGroup.com

This site has a great, vintage feel and utilizes texture, imagery and font to create that. It slims down beautifully (but it’s a shame to lose that monkey).

MapBox.com

The color scheme and use of photos give Mapbox a clean space in which to showcase their product. Again simplicity wins out over complex or fussy design, and that’s precisely why it works well on a smaller screen.

Things to bear in mind as you design

So, now that you’ve looked at some stellar responsive sites you’re probably itching to start designing your own. But before you run off, here are a few things to remember.

Photos

One obstacle for responsive design is how devices display photos. A MacBook Pro with a retina display is going to render an image at a much higher resolution than a mobile phone, which can often create problems. One way to side step this issue is to upload both high and low resolution copies of your photos. Using CSS you can then determine which image is loaded based on the device’s screen resolution. If you’re using stock photos make sure that you splurge for the higher rez option.

Determining breakpoints

Oftentimes responsive designs are built around what are known as “break points” — or the resolution at which the layout changes — based primarily on common device screen sizes. The problem with this approach, however, is that it doesn’t take into consideration just how diverse screen sizes really are. There is no “universal” size anymore. So, instead of predetermining breakpoints at 360px (mobile), 768px (tablet), and 1024px (desktop) it’s better to let your design speak for itself. Start with a finished layout and then resize your window until the design breaks – make this one of your breakpoints and then continue on. You’ll find that your site flows a lot smoother.

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So, a freelancer bucket list is a list of things that you’ve wanted to try as a freelancer, but haven’t taken the time to do. In this post, I list some things that I think every freelancer should try at least once, but that most freelancers don’t actually try.

10 Things Freelancers Should Try Doing

If you’re like me, you have a long to-do list for your freelancing business. At the bottom of the list are a bunch of freelancing to-do’s that you really wish you could do, but never seem to find the time for.

Here’s a list of some things that you really should make time for at least once during your freelancing career:

1. Write an eBook. I’ve already written one eBook, but I’ve got several in progress that I haven’t finished–so this item is still on my freelancing bucket list. An eBook doesn’t have to be textbook length, so most freelancers can tackle this. Possible benefits to the freelancer:establishes expertise, possible income stream.
2. Get a Guest Post Published. While I’m not a huge fan of some of the low quality guest posting that’s out there, getting a quality post published on the right blog can bolster your freelancing career. Possible benefits to the freelancer: establishes expertise, draws traffic to your own site.
3. Give a Presentation. Getting up in front of a group and talking about your freelancing profession may seem daunting, but many freelancers find that they actually enjoy it. Don’t let a fear of public speaking hold you back.Possible benefits to the freelancer: establishes expertise.
4. Get Interviewed. If you get the chance to be interviewed by an established publication or blog, seriously consider saying “yes.” An interview gets your information in front of more eyes. Possible benefits to the freelancer: establishes expertise, draws traffic to your own site.
5. Attend a Tradeshow. Many people find tradeshows to be fun and educational. They are also a great way to meet colleagues and potential clients. Possible benefits to the freelancer: learning, networking.
6. Develop Your Own Product. Do you dream of creating a product that you can sell, but you’ve never created one? Why not do it now? Possible benefits to the freelancer: stimulates creativity, possible income stream.
7. Become an Affiliate for Something You Believe In. An affiliate is someone who recommends other products and is paid when a product is purchased. Usually this is done through a link on your site. Possible benefits to the freelancer: learn about marketing, possible income stream.
8. Contact Your Dream Client. Do you have a client that you dream of working for, but haven’t dared to contact? Well, stop putting off that initial contact. Go ahead and take the first step. Write or email them. Possible benefits to the freelancer: possible work, networking.
9. Create Something Just for the Fun of It. There’s no doubt that freelancing is real work. Sometimes, though, the work aspect takes the pleasure from what we do. If you dream of creating great art or writing a novel, let yourself do it. Possible benefits to the freelancer: stimulates creativity.
10. Do a podcast. Have you tried podcasting yet? If not, what’s holding you back? Podcasts can be a great addition to your freelancing website.Possible benefits to the freelancer: establishes expertise, draws traffic to your own site.

As you notice, I’ve picked bucket list tasks that freelancers usually put off because they don’t immediately increase the cash flow or because they require extra time. However, each task does have potential benefits for the freelancer.

Pick one item, or several, and get started today.

Who knows? You might even find that you enjoy one of the items on my freelancing bucket list so much that you want to shift your freelancing business in that direction.

Artist, director, designer and photographer, San Diego-based creative Charles Berquist is an innovative jack of all trades who manages the rare feat of mastering it all. Teaming up with our American pals over at Ghostly International, the talented visualist has created a series of hazy, enigmatic prints for Ghostly’s expanding, new label of visual artists.

Calling Charles Bergquist’s resumé remarkable would make a grave understatement. With promo videos for artists like Matthew Dear under his director’s belt and collaborations with Tycho and Caribou placed snugly in his growing portfolio, it’s clear that we’re not dealing with your garden variety creative who likes to dabble in disciplines.

Quite the contrary; the multitalented Berquist has created a thoroughly committed body of work imbued with recognizable themes that run as an elegant red thread throughout his art. On the other hand, when the output is examined up close and personal, the wide range of expressions still display a remarkably variety if scrutinized one piece at a time.

One of the first things that strike you when confronted with Charles Berquist’s ‘Everyday Project’ is its unintrusive if not slightly elusive character that almost makes you want to physically reach into the work for the voluptuous mirage that seems just out of reach of mere mortals.

‘IN TIME’

In case you were busy with work, play or other, we’ve compiled all the Mashable stories from the previous week that include information about digital products and resources. In addition to the details on new gadgets, with blockbuster movies like Lincoln and The Hobbit on the horizon, we found a must-have app that tells you the best times to use the bathroom during a movie.

As always, the roundup includes the latest social media tutorials, online resources for businesses and enriching digital lifestyle developments. It’s all about the Internet, and we’re breaking it down for your benefit and enjoyment. Here’s what we came up with this week:

Social Media

• Pheed Wants to Take On the Giants of Social Media
  New social media site Pheed is an ultimate mashup of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram but with a hefty business plan to match.
• Get The New YouTube Design With This Google Chrome Extension
  A Google Chrome extension will allow you to get the newest YouTube design right away.
• Facebook, Twitter Help Teens Develop, Says Study [VIDEO]
  A recent study shows teen interactions on social media networks are growing more intimate, personal and affecting youth development.
• How Social Media Is Introducing NBA Fans to a Budding Star
  Damian Lillard wasn’t a highly touted high school player and he didn’t attend a powerhouse college program like Duke or Kentucky. But the kid. Can. Ball.
• 6 Ways to Download Tagged Photos and Albums From Facebook
  Use these six online tools to download tagged Facebook photos for safekeeping.

Business & Marketing

• 8 Tips to Negotiate a Higher Salary 
  A paycheck is one of the most important elements of a job. Here are eight ways to negotiate your way to a better salary.
• Top Hat Monocle Transforms Tech From Classroom Distraction into Teaching Tool
  Top Hat Monocle transforms tablets and smartphones from classroom distractions into teaching tools.
• 5 Tips to Get Your Emails Read
  We all send and receive a lot of email; here’s how to make yours stand out.
• Why Are Mobile Ads So Cheap?
  Mobile may be the future, but right now, mobile ad units still command a lower average price than print and web advertisements. Here’s why.
• Brands Can Now Buy Video Ads on LinkedIn
  LinkedIn is rolling out global video advertising, the professional social network announced Tuesday.
• Glocal Wants to Be the Hulu of Local News Videos
  Forget the six o’clock news — Glocal wants to be your all-in-one distribution channel for local and national news videos online.
• 5 Brands That Understand Marketing on Instagram
  For inspiration on how to get started marketing on Instagram, check out how these five brands are already leveraging the platform.
• Veteran Game Journalists Unite to Launch Vox’s ‘Polygon’
  Gaming website Polygon launches Thursday, as part of Vox Media’s sites.
• Tradeo Is a Social Network for Financial Traders
  Called Tradeo, the service allows users to access data feeds and analytics, monitor sentiment across the community, and execute trades online.
• Chirpify Offers Instant Buying on Instagram, Twitter
  Chirpify is a seamless payment system for social commerce that powers buying and selling on Twitter.
• Snoop on Competitors’ Online Deals With This App
  Perch gives small businesses a local merchant’s view of the competitive market — every tweet, pin or Facebook post by competitors is fed into the app.

Tech & Mobile

• 3 Great Bargains You Can Buy Right Now
  There are good deals online. We scoured the web for three hot deals that are live right now.
• 3 Celebrity Hacks to Learn From
  What information you choose to share and on which device is an important consideration, no matter what your popularity level.
• App Transfers iTunes Songs to Spotify in Seconds
  The app M2S for Spotify is terrific — it’s highly recommended.
• Popular Android Apps Leaking Private Password, Credit Card Data
  Here’s some bad news for Android users: Various apps are leaking sensitive data, from credit card information to passwords.
• Microsoft Sweetens Surface Deal, Offers Free Xbox Music at Retail Stores
  As part of Friday’s launch event, the first 100 people in line at any Microsoft retail store were eligible for the free Xbox Music Pass.
• New Office Web Apps Go Live on SkyDrive
  The updated versions of Office Web Apps, available as preview since July, are now available for SkyDrive and Outlook.com users.
• Nokia’s Lumia 510 Is the Cheapest Lumia Yet
  Nokia has launched the most affordable phone in its Lumia lineup, the Lumia 510.
• 9 Sites With Killer Search Functionality
  Ecommerce sites and web archives are upholding an enviable standard of search, by customizing results based on individual consumer tastes.
• Headband Lets You Control Devices With Your Brain
  The Muse headband is currently seeking funding on Indiegogo to bring brain-controlled computing to the mass market.
• Asus Steals Surface’s Thunder With Its Own Windows RT Tablet
  Look out Microsoft Surface, there’s another Windows tablet in town: the Asus Vivo Tab RT.
• See How The iPad Mini Stacks Up Against Competitors
  Here’s a helpful chart that will help you decide which tablet to purchase.
• Apple iPad Mini is a One-Handed Wonder [HANDS-ON]
  The new Apple iPad Mini is lighter, faster and pleasingly smaller than the iPad 3.
• Apple Store May Upgrade Your iPad — if You Bought in the Last Month
  Apple is apparently trying to make amends with free iPad 3 to 4 upgrades — at least, if you bought your iPad in the last 30 days.
• Headphones Inspired by Bob Marley Now Available
  House of Marley’s new headphone models are organic, recyclable and offer a deep bass driver, going down to 10 Hertz.
• Surface Is a Tablet Windows Users Will Love [REVIEW]
  Microsoft Surface is more touchscreen PC than tablet, but that’s okay for Windows fans.
• Look Out, Siri — Dragon Speech Recognition App Now on Android
  Nuance Dragon, a line of speech-recognition software products, debuted its beta app for Android Wednesday.
• Samsung Galaxy Note II: A Giant Phone That Grows on You [REVIEW]
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The right hosting for WordPress is vital and makes a big difference to how simple it is to work with. When you are thinking of installing WordPress, read this post for the information you need to ask your host or ask us for some suggestions (we only recommend the best based on personal experience).And actually the next release of WordPress will need your hosting to be even more up-to-date – and really, do you want to host on outdated servers?

1. Even better is if your host has a “1-click WordPress install” – now that really is the best way to go and is what we use. It is the simplest thing to do.
2. You will want to use images; blog posts especially benefit from having images in them. You will need something to make your images a sensible size for uploading to WordPress and loading on the web page. Take a look at some of the free tools such as Picasa, Gimp, Resize Your Image – or do a Google for a free image resizer, perhaps.
3. You must backup your WordPress and set a schedule for this to action automatically for you – one of those “just do it” things! There are all kinds of free plugins that will do this for you – take a look at this Back-up your WordPress post for more on this.
4. You do not have to spend a lot of money on a fancy premium theme. Indeed beyond the hosting and your domain name, it can all be free apart from your time. You can even build a perfectly presentable website with the theme already installed for you.Many people feel they need to have a premium theme (design) but sometimes that’s actually not going to be best for what you want your WordPress website/blog to do. So think carefully first about what you and your readers really want to see.
5. You will need to spend time updating your WordPress – when a new version is available and when the plugins you’ve installed are updated too. This is not as geeky as it can seem and as long as you follow the routine we’ve suggested, it need not be something to fear.
6. Just about anything you want to know about any aspect of using WordPress can be found at their own website – any kind of problem, error message, function you want to add – visit the WordPress.org website and search for it. You will not be the first person to have that error or problem, and others will have asked in the forum and had help. Failing that, Google it – every time I come across a new error, that’s exactly what I do and every time I find the answer.
7. Your menu (navigation bar) can include links to pages, posts, other websites, blog categories – anything that you can link to, basically. This was one of the new features that I got most excited about when it was added. It is wonderful and useful to know that you can have whatever you want in your menu.
8. You will need a spam filter. You can use the already installed Akismet – it works brilliantly but if your blog or website is for business use then you do need to pay – at $5 per month it is likely to be worth it. We are testing out free options and will report on those in detail, and of course if you use something like Disqus to handle your comments, then you’ll not be bothered by the spam. But you will need to choose something that deals with it – try without for a month if you want to, then come back and look at the review of options post that will be live by then.
9. WordPress is excellent for your website. Yes, it was for bloggers and still is perfect for that, but if you (also) want to be able to edit your website pages yourself then WordPress is the answer. Your nephew may be competent with html and/or Dreamweaver or whatever they use these days – tell him to get to grips with WordPress for you and use that – the result will more easily be of a professional level (no offence to nephews who do know their stuff).
10. You do not need to be a geek to use WordPress. Something we work hard on at The Blogmistress is to sweep away any such notion and cut out the geekery so that anyone feels comfortable using WordPress. Really – you can do it. Sometimes you may prefer to do as you’re told – we’re here to do that, or to hold your hand. Just be sure to back up your WordPress before you play with it and you’ll be able to backtrack, if you have to.

of building community hardly apply to high-rise apartments and urban life.

A confluence of reasons have created a unique situation for singles in China. Today’s daters are a generation influenced by the one-child policy, economic reform and, for some, newfound prosperity. Meanwhile, urban migration has made strangers of millions of young people in China’s mega-cities. And yet, they also live in a time of rapid technological progress. The

se are children of the Internet, instant messaging and mobile phones.

The best technology solves problems, and large numbers of Chinese Internet companies have set out to solve the growing issue of helping men and women pair up in China. Young people face huge pressure to find a companion, often with the entire extended family getting involved in matchmaking. Researcher Leta Hong Fincher believes that women, especially those with graduate degrees who are past their mid-twenties, face the brunt of it.

“I personally see the women I interviewed coming under intense pressure to marry from all areas of life. I don’t see the same level of pressure on men, even though it does exist,” she said.

Some of the push actually comes from official government channels, as well. Fincher recently noted as much in a op-ed for The New York Times focusing on the state’s official designation of “leftover women” (剩女, shengnü), which refers to single women above a certain age. The government’s stance is age 27, though other opinions generally range from 25 to 30. Her editorial actually reverberated back in China, as it sparked a conversation on China’s Phoenix TV channel.

According to Fincher, China’s Women’s Federation has organized matchmaking events for these so-called “leftover women”, which i

t classifies as “highly educated, high quality women”. She speculated that the government is leaning on educated single women because it views families as tantamount to the country’s stability.

“My argument is that this is one of the reasons that the government has actually pushed the term “shengnü” starting from 2007, that this is one way to promote a “harmonious society”. It’s being promoted by the senior leaders in China, that you have to have social stability above all else and the foundation of a harmonious society is a harmonious family. When you see the official rhetoric on family and marriage, they’ll often say harmonious family. How do you get a harmonious family? Well, you have to have marriage.”

Aye, there’s the rub.

If You Are the One

One of the latest runaway hits in China is the Fei Cheng Wu Rao dating show from a Jiangsu television station. Literally translated as “If you’re not serious, don’t bother”, the show, which also goes by the English name “If You Are the One”, draws similarities from Britain’s Take Me Out. If you’re interested in learning more about the sho

w, Kristin Graham offered up a rare gem of English commentary on the audition process over at Minyanville, though it doesn’t look like she got on the actual show.

TV makes for great entertainment, especially watching other people squirm on the hot seat, but only handfuls of people will actually make it on the show, so Chinese citizens have turned instead to that great equalizer, the Internet, to change their fates.

Good fate

Though Fincher hasn’t focused directly on the issue of online dating, the issue has come up regularly during her research:

“Quite a few of the women I interview have brought [online dating] up because they’re anxious to get married, because they’re afraid of becoming ‘leftover women,’” she said.

Jiayuan, which translates loosely as good fate, ranks as the top online dating site in China. It’s interesting to note that its founder and co-CEO Gong Haiyan started it in 2003 while she was studying for her Master’s degree she had a negative experience with fake profiles on an early version of a Chinese dating site. At least for her, the product worked – Gong met her husband on Jiayuan. For more on Gong, Evan Osnos’ profile of her for The New Yorker is a fascinating read.

As part of a flurry of Chinese tech firm IPOs last year, Jiayuan listed on the New York Stock Exchange (DATE) and was reported to have raised as much as $100 million with its offering. The stock hasn’t fared particularly well since it hit the market last May with an initial price of $10.70. It bumped up and down last summer before bottoming out at $3.70 earlier this year. Since then, it was worked its way back up to around $6 at the time of writing.

Though current economic conditions are likely to blame for some of the stock’s struggles, its fate hasn’t been helped by a high-profile criminal case and alawsuit that involved Jiayuan. China Central Television reported last July that a man had been sentenced to two and a half years in jail for defrauding a woman that he met on the site.

The company is still profitable, though. In its second quarter, it brought in RMB 99 million ($15.86 million) in revenue and RMB18.5 million ($2.96 million) in operating income. It boasted 67.7 registered million users as of June 30.

People are strange

But online dating is so last decade. Enter Momo, a popular social networking app for iPhone and Android that facilitates meeting new people nearby. It’s a social, local and mobile world now, and that means it’s Momo’s world to win.

Momo derives its name from the Chinese word for “stranger”. After launching last August, the app has garnered more than 16 million users in little more than a year. It hit 10 million on its birthday, which means that it picked up another 6 million users in just two months.

The Next Web sat down with Momo VP Zhang Ying, who heads up their overseas project, and Wang Li, the startup’s director of operations, to learn more about the company’s success. Wang said that the cultural background of China has helped Momo gain tractio

n.

“Chinese people are not straightforward p

eople, they prefer to communicate through a website, communicate through writing,” he said, contrasting them to Americans, which he characterized as being more direct.

Zhang highlighted the need for the app because Chinese urban dwellers often don’t know the people who live nearby.

“With new technology we can rediscover our neighborhood. In China, the concept of neighborhood is kind of lost in our current communities. With this app we can build a new communication channel,” she said.

Though Momo has gotten a reputation for facilitating easy hookups between young people, Zhang was quick to point out that the app itself “doesn’t provide functions to flirt with people” and is at its core a very basic communication service.

Besides, serious relationships do develop among users of the app. The company knows of at least 30 couples that have gotten married after meeting on Momo. That might not seem like a lot, but the app’s only been around for little more than a year, so those are some pretty fast relationships by most standards.

Zhang also said that some recruiters are using Momo to search for job see

kers, since many users’ profiles contain detailed information such as current position and education.

I asked whether Tencent’s WeChat is a competitor to Momo, since the messaging app has its own features for meeting strangers, but the Wang said that Tencent is so much bigger that the two function at different levels. As for Jiayuan, Zhang said that the site is more focused on serious relationships and caters to an older demographic than Momo.

So just how young are Momo’s users? The average age is roughly 25 and the app is very popular among students. Interestingly, the service attracts a 2 to 1 ratio of men to women, which they said is better than the industry average. It’s also worth noting that apparently the service sees a higher percentage of females logging in on iPhones, while Android tips more toward men.

For its part, Momo has amassed a staff of roughly 70 employees, which, like its users, are quite young. The average age of its workers is 24-25, the two executives said.

Looking ahead, the company’s working to spur adoption of a new groups feature that allows users to organize themselves into groups, such as movie fans within a certain building or complex.

I was curious whether Momo users stop using the service once they’ve gotten married or into a serious relationsh

ip, but Wang anticipates that users will adapt to the service as their social needs change over time. For instance, a family could use Momo to find other families with kids their age in the neighborhood.

Of course, it’s natural some men or women might get jealous if their partner continues to use the app, but Momo’s staff billed that as a personal matter and noted that they were simply dedicated to creating a social networking service app and letting the users decide how to put it to work for themselves.

Momo does have international aspirations, as it’s soon to release an English-language version. I took a look at it when I visited their offices recently, and while it looks like a stripped-down version of the current app, I was intrigued by the Facebook integration. Since Facebook is blocked in China and likely to stay that way for the indefinite future, any integration with the billion-user network is clearly meant for overseas expansion.

As is often the case with companies like this in China, Momo hasn’t yet focused on monetization. Instead, it’s keeping its attention on continued user growth with the understanding that profit will come eventually.

Hopefully it has enough money to last in the meantime. Earlier this year, rumors surfaced that Momo had raised $40 million in Series B funding, with e-commerce giant Alibaba reportedly signing on as one of the investors. Neither executive would confirm those details when I asked, but they did note that the company has been valued at $100 million.

My first Momo

I signed up for Momo a few days ago to test it out while writing this.

Given that I’m married, just about the only way I can have this app on my phone without ending up in the doghouse is under the auspices of research. As I was sitting down to work on this article, I got my first ping from the app. A nearby user, allegedly a 26-year-old female, wanted to chat.

We exchanged trivialities for a bit and then I mentioned that I was writing about Momo and wanted to ask a few questions. When I asked her how long she had been using the app, she responded that she had been a member since the beta test and was probably among the “first batch” of users.

I inquired into her reasons for using the app, and she said that her job as a manager in the mobile app development industry has her keeping up on trends with new apps. She added that she uses the service to “study user psychology.” Then she offered to buy me a milk tea.

I’m skeptical that my one random encounter on Momo is indicative of the average user, but it certainly highlights the ease with which people can get started chatting on the service.

Gay underground

Even as China’s government is pushing for so-called “harmonious” families, social media has opened up opportunities couples that might not receive the blessing of the establishment. The gay and lesbian community is largely underground in the country, but there is evidence that many of its members have turned to Sina Weibo microblogging service to connect. Fincher said that some members of the gay and lesbian community often create two or more accounts because of the lingering taboo on being gay in China.

“Weibo has been a huge boon for the gay community in China,” she told TNW.
Though Sina Weibo is heavily regulated and censored, individual posts often fly under the radar.Bloomberg reports that a gay couple, which had previously made waves on Sina Weibo this summer when they announced their engagement, sent out on the service an open invitation to their wedding earlier this month. However, pressure from local authorities led them to drop their original venue and the two ended up holding the ceremony in public. The video subsequently made its way around domestic social networks.

While the official line still prohibits gay marriage, the government appears willing to let at least this one case slide. The wedding prompted a nod in the English commentary from the state-owned China Radio International, which described the wedding as reflecting “growing tolerance” in China.

“Across the board, nobody wants to do accounting,”  said Shivani Siroya, founder and CEO of inVenture, a global credit scoring company. ”It’s difficult or  they’re lazy or they don’t see the purpose.”

Her company, currently working in India, is trying to change that with a product called InSight, an accounting tool that works through SMS to help low-income individuals and business owners do basic accounting and financial tracking. Within 15 days, the tool creates a unique credit score and links qualified users to various financial institutions to help them obtain capital, such as personal loans or insurance.

Instead of merely pitching the standard benefits of accounting, like driving sales or increasing savings, inVenture goes a step further and links customers to other consumer products, in hopes of improving “financial inclusion” for entrepreneurs seeking a way out of debt and poverty.

“It’s about empowering the user to do this themselves,” Siroya said. “It gives people a choice of financial products and creates a competitive and transparent financial ecosystem.”

She shared her observations about revolutionizing the financial services sector in a panel discussion on “Mobile Technologies in Development: Opportunities to Engage the Private Sector” at the 2012 Net Impact Conference in Baltimore.

With her company’s SMS tool still in open beta, one thing stands out so far: ”Women are getting the product much faster than men,”  Siroya said.

She noticed marked differences between the men and women in her company’s “ecosystem:”

1.) Buy-in. Women perform fewer errors when learning how to use the tool, so much so that inVenture has organized separate follow-up trainings specifically for men.

Siroya attributes this to greater buy-in and ownership. “When we’re doing trainings for new users, women with children are often there, so they’re learning together,” Siroya said. “Because the tool is improving the household, I think women take more initiative to actually pay attention and learn.”

2.) Openness. The tool tracks daily revenue and expenses to help people manage their money. ”Women are more likely to be open about it,” Siroya said. “They don’t necessarily think, oh, ‘this could make me pay higher taxes,’ or ‘I’m unlicensed or unidentified.’ They think, ‘If this is going to get me from Point A to Point B to help my family, I will be willing to use this tool.’”

3.) Motivation.  “For men, it’s more about recognition,” Siroya said. inVenture sends periodic text messages to users, giving them a countdown of when to expect to receive their credit score, and providing them with a certificate of completion at the end. Men responded with higher usage rates, whereas women didn’t seem to care.

4.) Connection. inVenture develops its own sales teams, relying on local sales agents to go out into the community and acquire new customers—a skill that seems to come more naturally for women. Nearly all 100 of inVenture’s local agents are women; five men were just recently hired. The company adjusted its payment models to appeal to both groups differently. Women are commission-based, receiving commissions for every sign-up, plus additional bonuses based on retention rates. On the other hand, men are salary-based, with 80 percent of their fee fixed, and 20 percent on commission.

Closing the gap:

Despite inVenture’s appeal to women, there is still a significant gender gap in the use of mobile technology in developing countries.

A woman in low- and middle-income countries is 21 percent less likely to own a mobile phone than a man, according to the report, “Women & Mobile: A Global Opportunity,” by GSMA Development Fund, the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women and Vital Wave Consulting. In these countries, there are 300 million fewer female than male subscribers, representing a $13 billion revenue opportunity to mobile operators. In India, specifically, less than 30 percent of all Indian women own a mobile phone.

Innovative companies like inVenture may help fill that void, showing how a phone can be a lot more than just a device, but rather, an entry point into financial literacy, independence and wealth.

Erica Schlaikjer, based in Washington, D.C., is the founder of Benevolent Media, a media and events company dedicated to celebrating storytelling and design for good. You can follow Erica and ask her questions on Twitter: @eschlaik and @benevolentmedia

Coffee packaging plays a huge role in attracting customers. Your coffee needs to taste good while having an attractive design. Obviously there are thousands of coffee companies, and the market is getting saturated with more competition as you read this. In order to stand out, most companies focus on what they are most passionate about. As an example of this, take a look at Peeze Coffee below.

The coffee business is not an easy one, respecting the people who made it happen is very important. Labor costs in other countries are extremely low, thus huge profits are made here in United States. People from around the world work very hard to support their family and create a better life for their kids. Any human being on earth can relate to this effort, because we have jobs for the same reason.

We hope you will enjoy this collection of designs, and get inspired!

Peeze Coffee

Tiempo

Paulig Coffee

The Coffee Co•Op

Jacu Coffee

Metrio Coffee

Hello Coffee

THE story of technology is the story of man’s ascent. It is also the story ofbusiness. No sooner had prehistoric man discovered how to produce stone tools than he learnt to barter them. Civilisations that mastered technology controlled trade and became powerful, from ancient Chinese and Greeks to the British during the industrial revolution. Today, we are arguably living through a technological revolution as significant as any in history. As ever, it is being driven by business.

“We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works.”
Douglas Adams, author (1952–2001)

“On two occasions I have been asked, ‘Pray, Mr Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?’ I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.”
Charles Babbage (pictured), father of the computer (1791–1871)

“The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment.”
Warren Bennis, academic (1925–)

“The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.”
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft (1955–)

“When a machine begins to run without human aid, it is time to scrap it–whether it be a factory or a government.”
Alexander Chase, writer (1926–), Perspectives (1966)

“By and large, a disruptive technology is initially embraced by the least profitable customers in a market. Hence, most companies with a practiced discipline of listening to their best customers and identifying new products that promise greater profitability and growth are rarely able to build a case for investing in disruptive technologies until it is too late.”
Clayton Christensen, academic (1952–), The Innovator’s Dilemma (1997)

“If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1000 MPG.”
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft (1955–)

“One machine can do the work of 50 ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.”
Elbert Hubbard, philosopher (1856–1915), A Message to Garcia (1899)

“For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three.”
Alice Kahn, writer (1943–)

“Western society has accepted as unquestionable a technological imperative that is quite as arbitrary as the most primitive taboo: not merely the duty to foster invention and constantly to create technological novelties, but equally the duty to surrender to these novelties unconditionally, just because they are offered, without respect to their human consequences.”
Lewis Mumford, historian (1895–1990)

“The Christian notion of the possibility of redemption is incomprehensible to the computer.”
Vance Packard, writer (1914–96)

“The chief product of an automated society is a widespread and deepening sense of boredom.”
Cyril Northcote Parkinson, historian (1909–93)

“If it weren’t for the people, the god-damn people always getting tangled up in the machinery. If it weren’t for them, the world would be an engineer’s paradise.”
Kurt Vonnegut, author (1992–2007), Player Piano (1952)

“The IBM machine has no ethic of its own; what it does is enable one or two people to do the computing work that formerly required many more people. If people often use it stupidly, it’s their stupidity, not the machine’s, and a return to the abacus would not exorcise the failing. People can be treated as drudges just as effectively without modern machines.”
William Whyte, writer (1917–99), The Organization Man (1956)

“Civilisation requires slaves. The Greeks were quite right there. Unless there are slaves to do the ugly, horrible, uninteresting work, culture and contemplation become almost impossible. Human slavery is wrong, insecure and demoralising. On mechanical slavery, on the slavery of the machine, the future of the world depends.”
Oscar Wilde, writer (1854–1900), The Soul of Man Under Socialism (1891)

Taken from The Economist’s “Book of Business Quotations”

One such affected feature is the implementation of prototypical inheritance. The concepts are simple yet flexible and powerful. It makes inheritance and behaviourism first-class citizens, just like functions are first-class in functional-ish languages (JavaScript included).

Fortunately, ECMAScript 5 has gotten plenty of things to move the language in the right way, and it’s on those sweet features that this article will expand. I’ll also cover the drawbacks of JavaScript’s design, and do a little comparison with the classical model here and there, where those would highlight the advantages or disadvantages of the language’s implementation of prototypical OO.

It’s important to note, though, that this article assumes you have knowledge over other basic JavaScript functionality, like functions (including the concepts of closures and first-class functions), primitive values, operators and such.

var mikhail = Object.create(null)

Object.defineProperty(mikhail, 'name', { value:        'Mikhail'
                                       , writable:     true
                                       , configurable: true
                                       , enumerable:   true })

Object.defineProperty(mikhail, 'age', { value:        19
                                      , writable:     true
                                      , configurable: true
                                      , enumerable:   true })

Object.defineProperty(mikhail, 'gender', { value:        'Male'
                                         , writable:     true
                                         , configurable: true
                                         , enumerable:   true })

Object.defineProperties(mikhail, { name:   { value:        'Mikhail'
                                           , writable:     true
                                           , configurable: true
                                           , enumerable:   true }

                                 , age:    { value:        19
                                           , writable:     true
                                           , configurable: true
                                           , enumerable:   true }

                                 , gender: { value:        'Male'
                                           , writable:     true
                                           , configurable: true
                                           , enumerable:   true }})

<bracket-access> ::= <identifier> "[" <expression> "]"

mikhail['name']   = 'Mikhail'
mikhail['age']    = 19
mikhail['gender'] = 'Male'

<dot-access> ::= <identifier> "." <identifier-name>

mikhail.name   = 'Mikhail'
mikhail.age    = 19
mikhail.gender = 'Male'

mikhail['age']
// => 19

mikhail['address']
// => undefined

delete mikhail['gender']
// => true

mikhail['gender']
// => undefined

Object.defineProperty(mikhail, 'first_name', { value:    'Mikhail'
                                             , writable: true })

Object.defineProperty(mikhail, 'last_name', { value:    'Weiß'
                                            , writable: true })

// () → String
// Returns the full name of object.
function get_full_name() {
    return this.first_name + ' ' + this.last_name
}

// (new_name:String) → undefined
// Sets the name components of the object, from a full name.
function set_full_name(new_name) { var names
    names = new_name.trim().split(/\s+/)
    this.first_name = names[⁣'0'] || ''
    this.last_name  = names['1'] || ''
}

Object.defineProperty(mikhail, 'name', { get: get_full_name
                                       , set: set_full_name
                                       , configurable: true
                                       , enumerable:   true })

mikhail.name
// => 'Mikhail Weiß'

mikhail.first_name
// => 'Mikhail'

mikhail.last_name
// => 'Weiß'

mikhail.last_name = 'White'
mikhail.name
// => 'Mikhail White'

mikhail.name = 'Michael White'

mikhail.name
// => 'Michael White'

mikhail.first_name
// => 'Michael'

mikhail.last_name
// => 'White'

Object.getOwnPropertyNames(mikhail)
// => [ 'name', 'age', 'gender', 'first_name', 'last_name' ]

Object.keys(mikhail)
// => [ 'name', 'age', 'gender' ]

var mikhail = { first_name: 'Mikhail'
              , last_name:  'Weiß'
              , age:        19
              , gender:     'Male'

              // () → String
              // Returns the full name of object.
              , get name() {
                    return this.first_name + ' ' + this.last_name }

              // (new_name:String) → undefined
              // Sets the name components of the object,
              // from a full name.
              , set name(new_name) { var names
                    names = new_name.trim().split(/\s+/)
                    this.first_name = names['0'] || ''
                    this.last_name  = names['1'] || '' }
              }

<object-literal>  ::= "{" <property-list> "}"
                    ;
<property-list>   ::= <property> ["," <property>]*
                    ;
<property>        ::= <data-property>
                    | <getter-property>
                    | <setter-property>
                    ;
<data-property>   ::= <property-name> ":" <expression>
                    ;
<getter-property> ::= "get" <identifier>
                    :       <function-parameters>
                    :       <function-block>
                    ;
<setter-property> ::= "set" <identifier>
                    :       <function-parameters>
                    :       <function-block>
                    ;
<property-name>   ::= <identifier>
                    | <quoted-identifier>
                    ;

// This is a block statement, with a label:
{ foo: 'bar' }
// => 'bar'

// This is a syntax error (labels can't be quoted):
{ "foo": 'bar' }
// => SyntaxError: Invalid label

// This is an object literal (note the parenthesis to force
// parsing the contents as an expression):
({ "foo": 'bar' })
// => { foo: 'bar' }

// Where the parser is already expecting expressions,
// object literals don't need to be forced. E.g.:
var x = { foo: 'bar' }
fn({foo: 'bar'})
return { foo: 'bar' }
1, { foo: 'bar' }
( ... )

// (person:String) → String
// Greets a random person
mikhail.greet = function(person) {
    return this.name + ': Why, hello there, ' + person + '.'
}

mikhail.greet('you')
// => 'Michael White: Why, hello there, you.'

mikhail.greet('Kristin')
// => 'Michael White: Why, hello there, Kristin.'

// (other:Number[, yet_another:Number]) → Number
// Returns the sum of the object's value with the given Number
function add(other, yet_another) {
    return this.value + other + (yet_another || 0)
}

var one = { value: 1, add: add }
var two = { value: 2, add: add }

one.add(two.value) // this === one
// => 3

two.add(3)         // this === two
// => 5

one['add'](two.value) // brackets are cool too
// => 3

add(two.value)  // this === global
// => NaN

// The global object still has no `value' property, let's fix that.
value = 2
add(two.value)  // this === global
// => 4

add.call(two, 2, 2)      // this === two
// => 6

add.call(window, 4)      // this === global
// => 6

add.call(one, one.value) // this === one
// => 2

add.apply(two, [2, 2])       // equivalent to two.add(2, 2)
// => 6

add.apply(window, [ 4 ])       // equivalent to add(4)
// => 6

add.apply(one, [one.value])  // equivalent to one.add(one.value)
// => 2

window.value = 2
add.call(undefined, 1) // this === window
// => 3

void function() {
  "use strict"
  add.call(undefined, 1) // this === undefined
  // => NaN
  // Since primitives can't hold properties.
}()

var one_add = add.bind(one)

one_add(2) // this === one
// => 3

two.one_adder = one_add
two.one_adder(2) // this === one
// => 3

one_add.call(two) // this === one
// => 3

var person = Object.create(null)

// Here we are reusing the previous getter/setter functions
Object.defineProperty(person, 'name', { get: get_full_name
                                      , set: set_full_name
                                      , configurable: true
                                      , enumerable:   true })

// And adding the `greet' function
person.greet = function (person) {
    return this.name + ': Why, hello there, ' + person + '.'
}

// Then we can share those behaviours with Mikhail
// By creating a new object that has it's [[Prototype]] property
// pointing to `person'.
var mikhail = Object.create(person)
mikhail.first_name = 'Mikhail'
mikhail.last_name  = 'Weiß'
mikhail.age        = 19
mikhail.gender     = 'Male'

// And we can test whether things are actually working.
// First, `name' should be looked on `person'
mikhail.name
// => 'Mikhail Weiß'

// Setting `name' should trigger the setter
mikhail.name = 'Michael White'

// Such that `first_name' and `last_name' now reflect the
// previously name setting.
mikhail.first_name
// => 'Michael'
mikhail.last_name
// => 'White'

// `greet' is also inherited from `person'.
mikhail.greet('you')
// => 'Michael White: Why, hello there, you.'

// And just to be sure, we can check which properties actually
// belong to `mikhail'
Object.keys(mikhail)
// => [ 'first_name', 'last_name', 'age', 'gender' ]

// (person:String) → String
// Greets the given person
person.greet = function(person) {
    return this.name + ': Harro, ' + person + '.'
}

mikhail.greet('you')
// => 'Michael White: Harro, you.'

// Here we set up the greeting for a generic person

// (person:String) → String
// Greets the given person, formally
person.greet = function(person) {
    return this.name + ': Hello, ' + (person || 'you')
}

// And a greeting for our protagonist, Mikhail

// (person:String) → String
// Greets the given person, like a bro
mikhail.greet = function(person) {
    return this.name + ': \'sup, ' + (person || 'dude')
}

// And define our new protagonist, Kristin
var kristin = Object.create(person)
kristin.first_name = 'Kristin'
kristin.last_name  = 'Weiß'
kristin.age        = 19
kristin.gender     = 'Female'

// Alongside with her specific greeting manners

// (person:String) → String
// Greets the given person, sweetly
kristin.greet = function(person) {
    return this.name + ': \'ello, ' + (person || 'sweetie')
}

// Finally, we test if everything works according to the expected

mikhail.greet(kristin.first_name)
// => 'Michael White: \'sup, Kristin'

mikhail.greet()
// => 'Michael White: \'sup, dude'

kristin.greet(mikhail.first_name)
// => 'Kristin Weiß: \'ello, Michael'

// And just so we check how cool this [[Prototype]] thing is,
// let's get Kristin back to the generic behaviour

delete kristin.greet
// => true

kristin.greet(mikhail.first_name)
// => 'Kristin Weiß: Hello, Michael'

// Aliases for the rather verbose methods on ES5
var descriptor  = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor
  , properties  = Object.getOwnPropertyNames
  , define_prop = Object.defineProperty

// (target:Object, source:Object) → Object
// Copies properties from `source' to `target'
function extend(target, source) {
    properties(source).forEach(function(key) {
        define_prop(target, key, descriptor(source, key)) })

    return target
}

// A pianist is someone who can `play' the piano
var pianist = Object.create(null)
pianist.play = function() {
    return this.name + ' starts playing the piano.'
}

// A singer is someone who can `sing'
var singer = Object.create(null)
singer.sing = function() {
    return this.name + ' starts singing.'
}

// Then we can move on to adding those abilities to
// our main objects:
extend(mikhail, pianist)
mikhail.play()
// => 'Michael White starts playing the piano.'

// We can see that all that ends up as an own property of
// mikhail. It is not shared.
Object.keys(mikhail)
['first_name', 'last_name', 'age', 'gender', 'greet', 'play']

// Then we can define kristin as a singer
extend(kristin, singer)
kristin.sing()
// => 'Kristin Weiß starts singing.'

// Mikhail can't sing yet though
mikhail.sing()
// => TypeError: Object #<Object> has no method 'sing'

// But mikhail will inherit the `sing' method if we
// extend the Person prototype with it:
extend(person, singer)

mikhail.sing()
// => 'Michael White starts singing.'

Object.getPrototypeOf(mikhail).name    // same as `person.name'
// => 'undefined undefined'

// We can assert it's really being called on `person' by
// giving `person' a `first_name' and `last_name'
person.first_name = 'Random'
person.last_name  = 'Person'
Object.getPrototypeOf(mikhail).name
// => 'Random Person'

var proto = Object.getPrototypeOf

// (name:String) → String
// Greets someone intimately if we know them, otherwise use
// the generic greeting
mikhail.greet = function(name) {
    return name == 'Kristin Weiß'?  this.name + ': Heya, Kristty'
         : /* we dunno this guy */  proto(this).greet.call(this, name)
}

mikhail.greet(kristin.name)
// => 'Michael White: Heya, Kristty'

mikhail.greet('Margareth')
// => 'Michael White: Hello, Margareth'

var proto = Object.getPrototypeOf

// (name:String) → String
// Greets someone intimately if we know them, otherwise use
// the generic greeting.
//
// Note that now we explicitly state that the lookup should take
// the parent of `mikhail', so we can be assured the cyclic parent
// resolution above won't happen.
mikhail.greet = function(name) {
    return name == 'Kristin Weiß'?  this.name + ': Heya, Kristty'
         : /* we dunno this guy */  proto(mikhail).greet.call(this, name)
}

mikhail.greet(kristin.name)
// => 'Michael White: Heya, Kristty'

mikhail.greet('Margareth')
// => 'Michael White: Hello, Margareth'

// (object:Object, fun:Function) → Function
// Creates a method
function make_method(object, fun) {
    return function() { var args
        args = slice.call(arguments)
        args.unshift(object)        // insert `object' as first parameter
        fn.apply(this, args) }
}

// Now, all functions that are expected to be used as a method
// should remember to reserve the first parameter to the object
// where they're stored.
//
// Note that, however, this is a magical parameter introduced
// by the method function, so any function calling the method
// should pass only the usual arguments.
function message(self, message) { var parent
    parent = Object.getPrototypeOf(self)
    if (parent && parent.log)
        parent.log.call(this, message)

    console.log('-- At ' + self.name)
    console.log(this.name + ': ' + message)
}

// Here we define a prototype chain C -> B -> A
var A  = Object.create(null)
A.name = 'A'
A.log  = make_method(A, message)

var B  = Object.create(A)
B.name = 'B'
B.log  = make_method(B, message)

var C  = Object.create(B)
C.name = 'C'
C.log  = make_method(C, message)

// And we can test if it works by calling the methods:
A.log('foo')
// => '-- At A'
// => 'A: foo'

B.log('foo')
// => '-- At A'
// => 'B: foo'
// => '-- At B'
// => 'B: foo'

C.log('foo')
// => '-- At A'
// => 'C: foo'
// => '-- At B'
// => 'C: foo'
// => '-- At C'
// => 'C: foo'

// Constructs a new Person
function Person(first_name, last_name) {
    // If the function is called with `new', as we expect
    // `this' here will be the freshly created object
    // with the [[Prototype]] set to Person.prototype
    //
    // Of course, if someone omits new when calling the
    // function, the usual resolution of `this' — as
    // explained before — will take place.
    this.first_name = first_name
    this.last_name  = last_name
}

// (person:String) → String
// Greets the given person
Person.prototype.greet = function(person) {
    return this.name + ': Harro, ' + person + '.' 
}

var person = new Person('Mikhail', 'Weiß')

// We could de-sugar the constructor pattern in the following
// Taking into account that `Person' here means the `prototype'
// property of the `Person' constructor.
var Person = Object.create(Object.prototype)

// (person:String) → String
// Greets the given person
Person.greet = function(person) {
    return this.name + ': Harro, ' + person + '.' 
}

// Here's what the constructor does when called with `new'
var person = Object.create(Person)
person.first_name = 'Mikhail'
person.last_name  = 'Weiß'

function Foo() {
    this.foo = 'bar'
}

new Foo()
// => { foo: 'bar' }

function Foo() {
    this.foo = 'bar'
    return Foo
}

new Foo()
// => [Function: Foo]

// new Person (first_name:String, last_name:String)
// Initialises a Person object
function Person(first_name, last_name) {
    this.first_name = first_name
    this.last_name  = last_name
}

// Defines the `name' getter/setter
Object.defineProperty(Person.prototype, 'name', { get: get_full_name
                                                , set: set_full_name
                                                , configurable: true
                                                , enumerable:   true })

// (person:String) → String
// Greets the given person
Person.prototype.greet = function(person) {
    return this.name + ': Hello, ' + (person || 'you')
}

var proto = Object.getPrototypeOf

// new Mikhail (age:Number, gender:String)
function Mikhail(age, gender) {
    // Find the parent of this object and invoke its constructor
    // with the current this. We could have used:
    //   Person.call(this, 'Mikhail', 'Weiß')
    // But we'd lose some flexibility with that.
    proto(Mikhail.prototype).constructor.call(this, 'Mikhail', 'Weiß')
}

// Inherits the properties from Person.prototype
Mikhail.prototype = Object.create(Person.prototype)

// Resets the `constructor' property of the prototype object
Mikhail.prototype.constructor = Mikhail

// (person:String) → String
Mikhail.prototype.greet = function(person) {
    return this.name + ': \'sup, ' + (person || 'dude')
}

// Instances are created with the `new' operator, as previously
// discussed:
var mikhail = new Mikhail(19, 'Male')
mikhail.greet('Kristin')
// => 'Mikhail Weiß: \'sup, Kristin'

// (proto:Object) → Object
// Constructs an object and sets the [[Prototype]] to `proto'.
function clone(proto) {
    function Dummy() { }

    Dummy.prototype             = proto
    Dummy.prototype.constructor = Dummy

    return new Dummy()
}

var mikhail = clone(person)
// Equivalent to `var mikhail = Object.create(person)'

// (target:Object, key:String, descriptor:Object) → Object
// Defines a property in the target object.
// Getters and Setters are handled through the fallback
// calls, whereas values are set directly. Tags are
// ignored.
function defineProperty(target, key, descriptor) {
    if (descriptor.value)
        target[key] = descriptor.value
    else {
        descriptor.get && target.__defineGetter__(key, descriptor.get)
        descriptor.set && target.__defineSetter__(key, descriptor.set) }

    return target
}

var x = { }
defineProperty(x, 'foo', { value: 'bar' })
defineProperty(x, 'bar', { get: function() { return this.foo }
                         , set: function(v){ this.foo = v    }})

x.foo
// => 'bar'

x.bar
// => 'bar'

x.bar = 'foo'
x.foo
// => 'foo'

x.bar
// => 'foo'

// (object:Object) → Array
// Lists all the own enumerable properties of an object
function keys(object) { var result, key
    result = []
    for (key in object)
        if (object.hasOwnProperty(key))  result.push(key)

    return result
}

// Taking the mikhail object whose [[Prototype]] is person...
keys(mikhail)
// => [ 'first_name', 'last_name', 'age', 'gender' ]

keys(person)
// => [ 'greet', 'name' ]

var slice = [].slice

// (fun:Function, bound_this:Object, args...) → Function
//  --> (args...) → *mixed*
// Creates a bound method from the function `fn'
function bind(fn, bound_this) { var bound_args
    bound_args = slice.call(arguments, 2)
    return function() { var args
        args = bound_args.concat(slice.call(arguments))
        return fn.apply(bound_this, args) }
}

function proto(object) {
    return object?            object.__proto__
         : /* not object? */  null
}

function proto(object) {
    return !object?                null
         : '__proto__' in object?  object.__proto__
         : /* not exposed? */      object.constructor.prototype
}

Apple has unveiled a new member of the family: the iPad Mini. This device is a clear response to the market pressure the cheaper Amazon Kindle Fire HD and the Nexus 7 have placed on the existing iPad. So how does this scaled down version of the iPad compare with its newly refreshed big brother and the Android tablets that still come in at a lower price?

Comparing Specs with the Competition
Screen Size: iPad Mini’s screen comes in at 7.9 inches, compared to the 9.7 inch screen of the iPad and the 7 inch screens of the Kindle Fire HD and the Nexus 7. With a narrower bezel, iPad Mini fits a bit more screen into the same real estate.

Resolution: 1024×768 — this is not the Retina display that Apple touts as its high end screens on the iPhone 5 and the bigger iPad. Rather, it’s the same resolution as the iPad 2, but with more pixels per inch. Also, the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD have higher resolution 1280×800 screens.

Thickness: 7.2mm thick — that’s roughly 1/3 of an inch, or a little thinner than a pencil, and significantly thinner than either of the leading competitors.

Weight: .68 pounds, 53% lighter than the fourth-generation iPad. Competing Android tablets weigh slightly more: Nexus 7 tips the scales at .75 lbs, and the Kindle Fire HD at .88 lbs.

Processor: The dual core A5 chip is same as the iPad 2 that came out in 2011, and even Apple says the A6 chip in the iPad 4 and the iPhone 5 is twice as fast for some tasks as the A5. The Nexus 7 has a newer quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor and the Kindle Fire HD has a 1.2 GHz Dual Core processor, but you can only compare the performance of these processors against the iPad once you benchmark them in the real world; the numbers and specs don’t tell you everything. But I’d give the edge to the Nexus 7 purely on hardware.

Cameras: iPad Mini: front and rear-facing cameras. The camera on the back is a 5 megapixel, same as the iPad 4 but lower res than the iPhone 5′s 8 MP camera. The Nexus and Amazon tablets have only front facing cameras that are lower resolution than the Mini.

Other Specs
The Mini will come in a Wifi-only model and an LTE version with access to cellular networks on the go. It will use the new smaller lightning connector so you’ll need all new charging cords and adapters if you have lots of accessories with the previous 30-pin connector.

Apple says it gets 10 hours of battery life, is made primarily of aluminum & glass, and it comes in both black and white. It will be available for preorder on Friday, October 26 and is set to ship November 2.

Price
iPad Mini 16GB WiFi only — $329 ($459 for the 16GB with LTE cellular connectivity)
iPad 4 16GB WiFi only — $499
Kindle Fire HD 16GB — $199
Nexus 7 16GB: $249 — But rumors are flying of an even cheaper Nexus tablet releasing next week and/or a big price cut on the Google tablet in time for the holidays.

So What Should You Buy?
Nothing about the technical specs of the tablets makes any one of them a clear winner. Apple has an advantage in that the user-experience on the iPad and IOS is preferred by many, myself included. After living with both flavors, it’s just easier, cleaner, and less hassle for me to use an iPad over a Nexus 7.  In my opinion, the iPad Mini will benefit from that advantage as well.

But if I were a committed Android phone user, if my digital media was all purchased from Amazon or the Google Play store, or if price was my only consideration, I would NOT get the iPad Mini.

The final decision these days is about ecosystem- where are you going to buy and live? In Google/Amazon world or in Apple world?

If Apple had priced the mini in the $249 range, I’d say they would have nailed the coffin shut on competing tablets. But at $329 that’s still a steep price tag, and many will find Android and Amazon tablets under the Christmas tree this year and enjoy them almost as much as those who unwrap the iPad Mini that costs $130 more.

The Jellyfish

Fiberoptic Fairy Wings

LED Suit

Toaster costume

The guy wearing the toaster costume is like the arch nemesis of the guy wearing the breathalyzer costume. He’s wholesome — a buzzkill. When Breathalyzer Guy spikes the punch, Toaster Man’s there, wagging his finger. When the police arrive to haul Breathalyzer Guy away, Toaster Man’s the one who filed the complaint. But Breathalyzer Guy has formidable allies like Plug-and-Socket Couple. Toaster Man works alone — but not by choice. Apparently it’s hard to find a Halloween sidekicks who are dressed like washer and dryer. $47.96 -Costume Craze

3-D glasses dress

3-D is all the rage at the moment, so why not go out for Halloween dressed as a pair of 3-D glasses? It would be even better if you had a life-size cardboard cutout of yourself that you could carry around. You could address everyone with the cardboard version, then step in front of it and reveal your 3-D self. Then punch that person in the face. It’s the most realistic 3-D movie ever! $70 - Etsy via Fashionably Geek

Research the targeted specific keywords and build pages for content that target them.

Almost all businesses have main idea of what their business objectives are, and what share of the market they target, whether it is only the local area, their national or regional market, or maybe they’re targeting globally. These specific target keywords should be built-in in the design of the website, or at least planned ahead where they may be positioned after the launch.

Consider internal linking structure and navigational system that is search engine friendly.

Search engine friendly navigation is navigation system that can be read and followed by the popular search engines. Experts do not recommend flash based systems because Google as well as some other search engines can’t read text on images, and because it is only a matter of time until when will the mobile applications support flash elements. Instead of this web designers can use CSS methods or jQuery, making sure their load times are fast. A major plus for designing a SEO friendly website are the clearly labeled links with the targeted keyword the search engines should notice.

Increase the load times/speed of the website without forgetting the user experience.

Every once in a while the search engines update their algorithms. The 2010^th update of Google included the load times/speed of the websites as important SEO factor. Improvements in certain elements in the web design, like removing the codes in CSS files that are not used, decreasing the amount of JavaScript in the code, etc., can increase the speed and generally help with the website SEO.

Use smaller website images and backgrounds to reduce the website load time.

The website has only 8 seconds to sell itself to the user. There’s no greater damage than wasting this time on loading the website’s images and backgrounds, or maybe galleries. Use Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Fireworks to reduce the size of the image files and keep in mind that speed is now an important factor with SEO and cannot be avoided.

Provide “user-focused” content with properly positioned keywords.

Google should recognize from the website’s content what that website is about. This is done through proper implementation of the targeted keywords, positioned in the title tag, Meta description and keywords, H1, H2 and H3 tags, the main website copy, the internal links, etc. But be careful – the content should not be overstuffed with these keywords. The main priority should be the focus on the user.

Add social elements in the web design. Being social is now one of the most contributing SEO factors.

These social elements should be included in the design of the website by adding prominent buttons and icons that clearly show the users that the company is also available on the larger social networks, or adding the Twitter feed on site to help with the keyword placement and the speeding up of the Google cache rate.

These are only some of the elements that should be included in a website’s design for it to be SEO friendly and continuous work is also required for gaining great results.

This is a guest post via Sarah Stone…

Sarah Stone is a freelance writer who enjoys writing about education, career, motivation and resume writing. CV templates is where she collects best cv writing practices and templates.

This project is an e-commerce based project intended to educate users in maintaining financial strategies. A custom calculator was made with an equation to portray a financial balance as well as embedded video, social media profiles, and a shopping cart component.  visit

Taller, thinner, and a metal back
As expected, the new iPhone is 18 percent thinner (0.30 inch vs. 0.37 inch thick) than the iPhone 4S. Apple says it’s the thinnest handset around, but that’s a race that changes often. That means it’s also 20 percent lighter for a total of 3.95 ounces. The Retina Display expands from 3.5 inches (its size since the original iPhone) to 4 inches. The total resolution remains the same, though, at 326 pixels per inch. The total pixel count is 1,136×640, and we now have a 16:9 aspect ratio.

To the user, that means a fifth row of icons on the home screen. That’s pretty nice since it will let you cut down on the number of home screens. You’ll also get a full five-day week view in the calendar, the calendar will show more events, and all iWork apps will take advantage of the bigger display. Third-party apps that haven’t been updated will continue to work, but you’ll see black borders on each side (so they won’t be stretched or scaled). Apple also promises that wide-screen movies will look better, with 44 percent more color saturation than on the iPhone 4S.

Apple’s new iPhone 5.

Touch sensors are now built into the display itself, which makes it 30 percent thinner as a result and less prone to glare.

The iPhone 5 also fixes a design flaw that we first saw in the iPhone 4. Apple replaced the glass back with one that’s mostly metal. Too many people (us included) cracked an iPhone 4 or 4S after dropping it accidentally. We don’t think the change negatively affects the iPhone’s aesthetics. In fact, many might see it as an improvement. A return to a metal back reminds one of the original iPhone, and the crisp, clean-cut back has a bit of the feel of other Apple devices like the iPad.

All of the design changes result in a new iPhone that’s surprisingly light to hold. Think 20 percent lighter isn’t a big deal? Pick one of these up and you’ll feel the difference: the iPhone 4 may have been dense, but the iPhone 5 is a featherweight.

The screen is big, bright, and crisp, too, not shockingly so, but a subtly improved experience. It’s akin to being the extrawide comfy chair of iPhone screens. Stay tuned for more, but this new iPhone has a good hand feel.

The taller iPhone 5 (right) compared with the iPhone 4.

LTE and carriers
Not a shocker either, but the iPhone 5 will support 4G LTE networks. That’s in addition to the current support for GPRS, EDGE, EV-DO, and HSPA data networks. LTE has a single chip for voice and data, a single radio chip, and a “dynamic antenna” that will switch connections between different networks automatically.

So which carriers will support an LTE iPhone 5? Well, in the United States that means AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless. So again, T-Mobile loses out. In Canada it’s Bell, Telus, Fido, Virgin, and Kudo. In Asia the providers will be SoftBank, SmarTone, SingTel, and SK Telecom. For Australia there’s Telstra, Optus, and Virgin Mobile, and in Europe it will go to Deutsche Telekom and EE. On carriers without LTE, the iPhone 5 will run on dual-band 3.5G HDPA+.

A faster chip

The iPhone 5 will offer an A6 chip, which is two times faster than the current A5 chip. Graphics will get faster speeds, as well. Yet, despite the speedier performance, the new chip will be 22 percent smaller than the A5. According to Apple’s specs, users will see Web pages load 2.1 times faster, and the Music app with songs will load 1.9 times faster.

More battery life
LTE tends to be a power hog, but the iPhone 5 is set to deliver respectable battery life. Of course, the real story may differ, but here’s what Apple is promising for now. We’re supposed to get 8 hours of 3G talk time, 8 hours of 3G browsing, 8 hours of LTE browsing, 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing, 10 hours of video playback, 40 hours of music playback, and 225 hours of standby time. You can be sure that CNET will put these promises to the test when we get a device in our hands.

Apple promises respectable battery life, though the iPhone 5 has a larger display and LTE.(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

Camera
The main shooter, or the “iSight” camera, stays at 8 megapixels (with the best resolution being 3,264×2,448 pixels) with a feature list that includes backside illumination, a hybrid IR filter, a five-element lens, and a f2.4 aperture. A dynamic light mode is new, and you should be able to launch photography apps up to 2.1 times faster. Another addition is an image signal processor in the A6 chip. That will bring spatial noise reduction and a “smart filter” that produces better low-light performance and captures photos faster. Finally, there’s a built-in panorama mode that stitches shots together for one large 28-megapixel photo.

The secondary front camera now can shoot 720p HD video and it gets a backside illuminated sensor. And as we heard at the announcement of iOS 6 back in June, FaceTime will work over 3G cellular networks. Some carriers like AT&T have already announced restrictions for that feature, so be sure to check with your provider first.

Video resolution remains at 1080p HD, though image stabilization has been improved and face detection is now available in clips for up to 10 people. And in a nice move, you can take photos while you’re shooting video.

Audio
The iPhone 5 gets an additional microphone for a total of three. You’ll find one on the bottom, one on the handset’s front face, and one on its rear side. What’s more, the speaker now has five magnets (so up from two), which is apparently better and it’s supposed to use 20 percent less space. The noise-canceling feature should be improved, as well, and there’s a new wideband audio feature that promises more-natural-sounding voices. Twenty percent of carriers will support wideband audio, but so far we only know that Orange in the United Kingdom will be among them.

The smaller dock and cable connector is in the usual place on the phone’s bottom.

iOS 6
Inside, the iPhone 5 will debut with iOS 6 already onboard. Highlights include the new Apple Maps app, Passbook, shared photo streams, Siri updates, and the aforementioned FaceTime over 3G. For more on Apple’s newest mobile OS update, check out our iOS 6 First Take. iOS 6 will be available for download next Wednesday, September 19.

We just finished shooting a new project we call Water Wigs. The concept is simple and it is another visual exploration of something new and totally different. We found a bunch of awesome bald men and hurled water balloons at their heads, to capture the explosion of water at various intervals. The result a new head of of water hair! We used a laser and sound trigger to capture the right moments for each subject to create just the head of hair that fit best with the face.

We chose to work with triads of colors to create images that are arresting and amusing at the same time. We feel the color helps transform the water into some more and adds greater visual interest.

Our favorites are “The Don King,” “The Conquistador,” “The Jesus” and “The Friar.” I am uploading the images today around the web. Please share and comment, and I will try to get to all the questions I can! This was fun, complex, technical, and totally worth exploring more. There are much larger images with more detail on our website; check them out at TimTadder.com

HubSpot CMO Mike Volpe, when sharing his story on how he came to be HubSpot’s fifth employee, says the problem he faced as a marketer was finding an integrated marketing software solution that allowed him to see how his various marketing efforts impacted his website and revenue. Little did he know when yearning for this marketing system that it was in the process of being built

That was just five years ago, and now our industry is at a place where Mike Volpe’s dream has been realized. Now, it’s time to tap into the other dreams marketers are having … so we can solve them! Like true HubSpotters, we turn to the data to let us know what marketers are yearning for. And the statistics in this blog post are screaming it in our faces, telling us exactly where the future of our industry lies. Here are 33 statistics that give you a glimpse into where the future of marketing is headed!

Social Media and Social Lead Nurturing

BY MIKE LACHER

Ben Quinn is an artist and designer studying fine arts and graphic design at Columbus College of Art & Design

Brent Couchman is an independent graphic designer based in sunny San Francisco, California. Originally hailing from the Lone Star State where he developed branding, packaging & illustration for Fossil, Brent moved to the Bay Area to work with Hatch design. His work has been recognized by AIGA, Art Directors Club, Communication Arts, Print Graphis, The Eisner Museum of Advertising & Design, and most recently ADC Young Guns 9.

Spelltower is a game website to promote a puzzle game.  The vertical navigation, bold and minimalist color scheme make for a very interesting ride.

Martin Silvestre and Thomas ROBIN the two cofounders met during a project, our knowledge in the internet and our wishes to create some new things, pushed ourseleves to continue working as a team.

DOMANI helps brands leverage technology to express themselves and connect with consumers.

The studio was founded in 2001 with the belief that blending art and technology would yield the most meaningful and enduring interactive experiences. Since day one we have embraced this formula and baked it into our culture.

Mario Testino is one of the world’s most influential photographers. His cultural and commercial zeitgeist has made him a much sought after creative partner in the fashion and beauty industry today. His work has been featured across the globe in magazines from Vogue to Vanity Fair and he has contributed to the success of many leading fashion and beauty houses through advertising campaigns, from Burberry and Gucci to Dolce & Gabbana and Versace.

I’m Vincent Tavano, Art Director and Photographer living in Paris France.

Clients include Yves Saint Laurent, Lacoste Live, Hengki Koentjoro, Next-Idea, Loewe, Guerlain, Cantharide, Parker Pen, Tag Heuer, Trump Magazine, La Redoute, Ublo Solution, Studio We and many more…

Read on for some cold hard facts about why social networking is a must for you and your company.

 

I recently stumbled across an interesting infographic as it made the rounds across the social web recently. Created by bestedsites.com, the graphic visualizes the meteoric rise of the Internet in just 10 years. For example, in 2002, the Internet boasted 569 million users, which represented 9.1% of the world population. In 2012, that number skyrocketed to 2.27 billion at 33% of the world population. Another tremendous stat is the daily time spent online. In 2002 it was only 46 minutes a day (that was probably the time it took to load one web site). In 2012, it’s clocked four hours a day.

As I was reveling in the rapid evolution and ascent of the internet in general, I took stock of Facebook’s growth. Well, I suppose not literally. Looking at Facebook as a subset of this particular infographic would provide a visual comparison of the static and social web. I once wrote that to the connected consumer, the end of the destination web was upon us. The flow of information has been disrupted.  While websites aren’t dead they certainly don’t meet the needs and expectations of a much more real-time audience who live in their egosystem and benefit from news and information finding them. We live in an era where news no longer breaks, it Tweets. As such, I’d love to see a visual comparison of the destination and social web and the numbers between them.

In 2011, Facebook was the size of the Internet in 2004

That’s certainly a dramatic headline. And, it’s true. Last year, when Facebook hit 800 million users, Royal Pingdom reported that not only was the milestone significant in terms of user base, it was the size of the entire Internet in 2004.

In July 2012, Facebook reported that its user count was approaching 1 billion with 955 million active users and counting. Those numbers are almost too big to truly grasp. So, I again took pause.

In 2004, thefacebook launched for Harvard University students. Within 24 hours, thefacebook was already home to somewhere between 1,200 and 1,500 students according to co-founder Dustin Moskovitz.  Within the first month, more than half of all Harvard students were registered. By October 2005, “the” was dropped from the company name, Facebook.com was purchased for $200,000, Sean Parker was now the company president, Facebook moved to Palo Alto, and the company opened the network to universities around the world.

Over the course of eight years, the site continued to experience incredible growth, a story of which you’re more than familiar with today.

Here’s a timeline representing milestones for each jump of 100 million users:

August 26, 2008 = 100 million users

April 8, 2009 =200 million users

September 15, 2009 = 300 million

February 5, 2010 = 400 million

July 21, 2010 = 500 million

January 5, 2011 = 600 million

May 30, 2011 = 700 million

September 22, 2011 = 800 million

April 24, 2012 = 900 million

Now (August 2012) = 955 million users

CNET recently reported that as many as 8.7 percent of users are fake. Just to clarify, not fake as in shallow personalities, but fake as in bogus accounts that represent duplicates, misclassified, undesirable, spam, etc. But event at 8.7 percent, the the overall number of people who use Facebook in one way or another is staggering. It is its own Internet and that’s both frightening and fascinating.

My colleagues at Altimeter Group Andrew Jones (@andrewjns), Christine Tran (@christineptran) and I took a look at the numbers to plot them on the infographic to truly visualize how big Facebook really is.

Accounting for the 8.7% of fake accounts, Facebook represents 28% of all Internet users at ~12% of the world’s population (estimated at 7 billion).

Steve Jobs prepping for his first TV appearance. He’s amazed when he sees himself on a nearby monitor.

Long before he became the charismatic cult leader of tech fanboys everywhere, Apple CEO Steve Jobs was contemplating some iVomit before his first TV appearance

Social media optimization (SMO) is an entirely new concept dealing with all the methods that can be used to create publicity, referral traffic, and bookmarking of your website using social media tools.  Things like social book-marking, up-voting (or down-voting), content tagging, sharing, liking, RSS feeds and similar all constitute social media activity.  For the author, social media optimization is about optimizing your footprint on social networking websites.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is defined as an organic method to increase visitors to your website.  The main objective, being to rank a site as soon as possible through on-page and off-page strategies.

Synergies between SMO and SEO:

• Enables findability in real-time search
• Social Search: interactions through wall posts, discussions, comments or “likes” etc. are factored into search engine ranking (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc.)
• Improves organic rankings
• Direct impact on a website’s find-ability

The Ishikawa Oku Laboratory in Japan created a robotic hand that is unbeatable at Rock-Paper-Scissors.  The robot of the future.

Designer Lee ha lim fine tuned his own set of barcodes so when scanned, they produce different riffs, beats, and tunes. Here’s a sampling of his barcode beats in action.

To proceed bARCODE BAND project, we worked together to unfold our ideas and WOONJIN KANG took charge of sounds and filming, YOUGDUK KIM designed structure of Music box, HALIM LEE designed instrument graphics on the box.

The Future is Ours from Michael Marantz on Vimeo.

Imagine the future as a movie, consider this a trailer to that movie.

The future excites me so much, that is why I made this. We need to be inspired by the immense possibilities of the future and work extremely hard to achieve them. We can do it, we just have to commit.

Help inspire others by sharing this video and tagging any interesting content on twitter with #TheFutureIsOurs

Stay hungry. Stay foolish, my friends.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has posted a message paying tribute to late Apple founder Steve Jobs. Writing on his Facebook profile, Zuckerberg wrote, “Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you.”

The post, which went up around 8:30 p.m. ET, has already been liked some 85,000 times by Zuckerberg’s more than 6 million Facebook subscribers.

Although Apple and Facebook have had a contentious relationship, it’s hard not to draw comparisons between Jobs and Zuckerberg, both of whom dropped out of college and founded their iconic companies in their early twenties.

Meanwhile, Facebook’s f8 conferences have become a platform for Zuckerberg to take center stage and share his company’s latest innovations, much in the way Jobs captured the eyeballs of tech watchers everywhere with his iconic keynotes.

Earlier this year, the two dined with President Obama and other tech luminaries, as you can see in the photo below that was released by The White House:

Via here

Incineration of waste in Erta Ale Volcanoes lava lake. It is frequently discussed whether it is possible to sink in lava. Due to its high density, a person would generally be expected to remain on the surface. Indeed it is possible to briefly walk on certain types of lava if professional heat-protective clothing is worn (do not try yourself). However, the video shows that falling from a height, a person would be able to penetrate the crust of the lake and submerge in it. The test was performed with a box of camp waste (largely food rests) in a bin bag. Estimated weight 30kg, Size 60x60x60cm. Fall height, about 80m. The lake reacts with violent lava fountaining activity, presumably in part due to steam produced from the organic matter.

The lava lake at Erta Ale has persisted for many years and contains relatively fluid basaltic lava. Only few volcanoes have such lakes.

On Monday, Microsoft held a secret press event in Los Angeles where it announced a new family of tablets under the Surface moniker. Along with Surface, the event revealed a branding shift for Microsoft, one that values the unity of hardware and software, and the idolization of aesthetics. Something about it felt familiar…

In it, Gates describes their relationship as one of “colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives.”

Gates’s full statement is included below:

“I’m truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’ death. Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work.

Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives.

The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come.

For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely.”

API (Application Programming Interface)

1. A flexible/fluid grid
2. Responsive images
3. Media queries

There are plenty of other great articles that cover motives, concepts, and techniques regarding responsive web design, so we’ll keep the focus of this article on some top tools that will help you become responsibly responsive.

Before you start with building your site, it’s best to sketch out how the elements on the page will adapt to fit the different browser sizes of the various devices that they will be viewed upon, and to avoid the disconnect that often comes from thinking primarily about the desktop design and the rest of the responsive iterations as an afterthought (see especially Stephanie (Sullivan) Rewis‘ comment).

1. Responsive Web Design Sketch Sheets

This set of responsive sketch sheets, by Jeremy P Alford, is a great starting point to begin mapping out how the page sections will shift in different resolutions.

2. Responsive Design Sketchbook

If you prefer to keep all of your sketches in one place, then you may want to consider this wire-bound book of 50 responsive sketch sheets by the App Sketchbook company.

3. Responsive Wireframes

One of the difficulties of building responsive websites is using wireframes to show how the responsive design will work. James Mellers of Adobe has put together this experimental tool to show how responsive wireframing of complex layouts can work.

4. Multi-Device Layout Patterns

When planning a responsive design it’s useful to see how other people have approached it before you, so Luke Wroblewski’s Multi-Device Layout Patterns, which lists popular patterns with links to examples, is a great place to start.

5. Style Tiles

Samanatha Warren’s Style Tiles propose a new technique for design in the responsive age; rather than fixed width design mockups, these are like swatches or moodboards that show the general design approach without going into granular detail.

Tools for a flexible/fluid grid

As stated earlier, the first component needed for responsive design is a flexible/fluid grid. The following are already pre-built: you just need to download them and you’ll quickly be on the road to a more responsive site.

6. Golden Grid System

Joni Korpi, who also developed Less Framework, has recently released this new version of a reliable grid system for responsive design. Deemed “folding” as it easily adapts from 16, to eight, to four columns, the Golden Grid System also features a small browser overlay that exposes the grid on your pages for testing.

7. Foldy960

The talented gents at Paravel, Inc. have released the modified 960.gs grid that they use as the basis for their responsive projects.

8. SimpleGrid

SimpleGrid, by Conor Muirhead, was built with responsiveness baked in, so it’s easy to get up and running with your responsive website project.

9. The 1140px CSS Grid

Another great responsive grid system is the 1140px CSS Grid by Melbourne designer Andy Taylor, which goes from a wide desktop resolution down to mobile.

10. Columnal CSS grid system

The Columnal grid system, created by Pulp+Pixels aka creative director Nick Gorsline, is based on the 1140px grid system, but with some extra goodies such as a design kit with sketchsheets and wireframing templates, as well as CSS debugging styles.

Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.
Tim Berners-Lee

The Olympic opening ceremony celebrated Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s achievements – by asking the founder of the World Wide Wed to play a key part in opening of the London Olympic Games. He then delivered a specially prepared tweet to the world.

His message sat at the heart of the ceremony, acting as the theme for the spectacular event.

He tweeted, ‘This is for everyone’ from a computer in a ‘digital’ household in the Stratford Stadium to welcome the world’s first ‘Socialympics’.

Tim Berners-Lee @timberners_lee

This is for everyone #london2012#oneweb#openingceremony@webfoundation@w3c

27 Jul 12

“The values and achievements of the Olympics will be amplified by the World Wide Web. It will be like millions of digital torches carrying the spirit of the Games to every corner of the world. It is an honour to have played a part in the opening ceremony for such an inspiring and truly international event that will be remembered as the most connected Olympic Games in history”,

Sir Tim Berners-Lee

The Olympics’ intention for honoring him at the 2012 Olympic games was to thank him for his creation to let people share knowledge all over the world.

Industry City Distillery serves as a nexus for opportunity science, art, and industry. This collaborative effort is the work of five individuals looking to make something better. It just so happens their product is vodka and not the “well” stuff you’ve been drinking at your local watering hole. The City Foundry’s 6000sqft space holds not only the distillery but everything needed to improve their process while growing their business, including a machine shop, a biological research lab, a design studio and onsite printing press, a business office, and a public space for tasting and events.

Check out the website and find out where to get your own bottle.

via TDP

Website

• Optimize your site with keywords
• Index your website on Google
• Add website to appropriate link building sites such as
  • StumbleUpon
  • Digg
• RSS Feed link on the home page to expose your blog posts so users can subscribe to them.
• Add other social media buttons such as Facebook and Twitter to the landing page of the site linking to your business social pages.

Blog

• Structured content – Blog software with category features allows the aggregation of content according to themes. This makes it easier to algorithmically categorize content. If you can make it easier for search engines to understand your content, you have a much better chance of ranking well on those topics.
• Crawlable URLs – Most blog software offers uncomplicated URL structure, making it fairly easy for search engine spiders to find and crawl blog content.
• Internal links – Blogs that post product or service related information can deep link anchor text to product information or purchase pages deep within the web site. This is very beneficial for ranking on long tail phrases.
• Inbound link magnet – One of the biggest benefits, blogs link freely to each other – much more than web sites do. Blogs are also a significant source of many posts to social news and social media web sites. Text, audio and video are all easily supported for syndication by blogs. The more media available, the more likely it will attract incoming links. Additionally, there are many widgets and plugins that make it easy to share blog content, thus encouraging links and traffic.
• RSS – Links to RSS feed URLs that use the blog domain name will assist in building link popularity and when RSS content is syndicated or cited by other blogs, any embedded links will also assist in sending traffic.
• Fresh content – Both readers and search engines reward fresh content with repeat visits. From a search engine perspective that means your site can be crawled more frequently, allowing your newcontent to become searchable more quickly. Fresh content is also indicative of a more authoritative web site.
• Active community– Commentsand trackback features in blog software encourage interaction. An active blog community creates the kinds of citations or signals from other sites (annotated and contextually relevant links) that search engines tend to reward in the rankings. Loyal blog readers can boost a site’s visibility through advocacy on other blogs, in forums offline at conferences as well as on their own blogs and within the comments of your blog.
  • Participate in other’s blogs also to generate a reciprocal relationship with others in the field.
• Write posts daily, weekly, or monthly – Writing about events or tips regarding the subject of the business will help to boost your search rankings.Announce event information and updates about the business

Social Media Strategy

Facebook

• Create tabs to offer information, deals and events through Facebook
• Create user engagement and keywords through interacting with Facebook fans and similar pages
• Utilize Facebook Marketplace and Facebook Deals
• Encourage interactivityKey Performance Indicators (KPI’s) will be:
  • • Fans/Likes, comments
    • Responses to deals/giveaways

Twitter

• Create a page that is professional, informational, personable, and keyword-rich
• Create and Tweet relevant information about the website for followers to retweet
  • This creates more content spread across the Internet that is linked to your brand
• Follow those associated with the brand and interact on a regular basis
• Market blog posts and updates that the business is featuring
• Promote deals/giveaways
• Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) will be:
  • Twitter: followers, RT’s, @replies

Linked In

LinkedIn Business Page:

• Create a business page that is cohesive with the website and brand
• Join groups that are in the area and have interest in the area
• Post relevant and keyword-rich information on the company profile

Mama Mia! Artist Chris Carlson chalks up a 3D masterpiece with his Super Mario themed sidewalk creation.

What if running meant creative, individual expression through acrobatic moves like leaping from walls and over gaps, ground rolls and precision jumping? Instead of running laps around the community park, you’d navigate through the city, making the urban landscape your personal obstacle course, a playground for strength, freedom, courage and discipline.

Parkour is an international discipline, sport and hobby that is best described as the art of forward motion in spite of obstacles, or to put it simply: the art of movement. Parkour’s chief aim is never to move backward but instead to overcome obstacles fluidly, with strength, originality and speed.

That’s the basic idea of parkour. And it can be just as exciting and glamorous as it sounds, especially when performed by professionals. But its practitioners, called traceurs (males) and traceuses (females), because of its French origin, see parkour as much more than that.

Here is the beauty of Parkour all bundled up into one four-minute package.

While it’s being built it is also LIVE for the sole fact that we love the open source community and would love to hear your design input.  In the mean time, here are some amazing geometric website designs being researched for inspiration.  Thanks for the creativity!

Full Stop

Circles as a big logo getting all the attention to the studio’s name.