On The Line

[guardian]

Our heads hang in shame when we hear about rapes. Why can’t we prevent this? When a daughter steps out, parents demand to know where she’s going. But when a son returns home, does anyone dare ask where he is coming from? He might have been with the wrong people, doing wrong things. After all, a person raping is someone’s son. Why don’t parents apply the same yardstick of good behaviour for their sons as for their daughters?

Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, used his first Independence Day speech to call on parents to take responsibility for the actions of their sons, saying the country is shamed by sexual violence.  (via guardian)

[futurescope]

Gartner’s 2014 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies (plus Hype Cycle from 2000)

Same procedure as every year. Go industry go! Fulfill Gartner’s prophecy.

[Gartner] [h/t for second hype cycle to quartz]

[wynblr]

Infrastructure as a service, platform as a service, software as a service - explained simply in one chart. How would you like your pizza?

[new-aesthetic]

Twitter / dwr:: Wal-Mart is now selling ASIC bitcoin miners.

[emergentfutures]

Paul Higgins: Is this a jump the shark moment or is that a long way ago?

[guardian]

The city is fast becoming China’s city of clones. Boasting 56 famous replica bridges as well as Venetian- and Dutch-style villages, the Chinese city of Suzhou is the home of ‘duplitecture’. But what’s driving this passion for urban mimicry?

Photo: Michael Silk

[wynblr]

Alibaba Ecosystem.

Quite amazing Alipay manages 76% of mobile commerce volume.

[futurescope]

How Nanotechnology Could Reengineer Us

from Keithly:

Nanotechnology is an important new area of research that promises significant advances in electronics, materials, biotechnology, alternative energy sources, and dozens of other applications. The graphic below illustrates, at a personal level, the potential impact on each of us. And where electrical measurement is required, Keithley instrumentation is being used in an expanding list of nanotechnology research and development settings.

[source]

[fastcompany]

After months of teasing, Twitter officially confirmed that its new redesign is nigh. And—brace yourselves—it looks a lot like Facebook.

[creativemornings]

The high demand for diamonds is a product of the very successful marketing strategy by DeBeers which began in the 1940′s. Diamonds have become prized for their hardness and their light-refracting ability, which makes them sparkly and beautiful, but there are plenty of other gems that are scarcer than diamonds.

This ad was the product of one of Carson Ting's many successful campaigns during his time at Rethink Canada. You can watch his CreativeMornings/Vancouver talk here. →

[wynblr]

The old and the new side by side in China. An old bell tower in Xian and a telescope pointed at Jupiter (木星).

[wynblr]

36% of people admitted to altering their selfies.

[wynblr]

A Daruma doll from my Japan colleagues. Now I need to set a Big Hairy Audacious goal and draw in one eye!

[fastcodesign]

It’s a bit like flashcards on steroids.”

How Spritz Redesigned Reading, Letting You Scan 1,000 Words A Minute

When we read, our eyes move across a page or a screen to digest the words. All of that eye movement slows us down, but a new technology called Spritz claims to have figured out a way to turn us into speed-readers. By flashing words onto a single point on a screen, much like watching TV, Spritz says it will double your reading speed.

More> Co.Design

(via fastcodesign)

[wynblr]

Impressive list of pillow options at Conrad. I didn't know there is a "French" pillow that is squared shaped.

[joshbyard]

New York’s Lowline Project Part of a Larger Trend Toward Underground Architecture

A group in New York has proposed plans to transform an abandoned trolley terminal into an underground park. The “Lowline,” a name chosen to complement the city’s High Line park, would transform a one-acre tunnel below Manhattan’s Lower East Side into a public space. A solar collection dish, situated above ground, would gather sunlight and transfer it through a tube down to dome lights above the underground park.

The project gained its initial funds through a Kickstarter campaign in 2012. Dan Barasch, one of the project’s cofounders, tells Mashable that every Lower East Side elected official has supported the idea. Logistics are still being finalized, he says, but he expects the park to be completed in five years.

(via Underground Cities: The Next Frontier Might Be Underneath Your Feet)

[wynblr]

Smart but very cheeky. DHL basically punked the other couriers!

[wynblr]

 Great one. @BBC take on what's next for @WhatsApp