ESPN Adds Twitter-Style News Feed


ESPN debuted a web app called the SportsCenter Feed on Wednesday, and the tool bears a striking resemblance to the service where many sports fans consume news and information these days: Twitter.

Instead of presenting ESPN.com visitors with the traditional format of splashy images and a small handful of clickable headlines, the SportsCenter Feed offers and alternate experience that streamlines content with a heavy emphasis on quick bursts of information and the most recently posted content.

As seen in the screenshot above, a scrollable feed of headlines takes center stage. Clicking on a story displays content at the right of the feed, while another column on the lefthand side lets yo…
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from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/09/19/espn-sportscenter-feed/?utm_source=feedburner&...

Uber Launches Uber TAXI: Get a Cab With a Click of an App

Not every trip into Downtown Boston, or across the Charles River, calls for a luxury vehicle.

That’s why Uber, a car service that picks-up and drops off customers at the click of an app, will now being offering cab rides.

On Wednesday at noon, Uber will enter a new phase of its transportation business by offering Uber TAXI.

“We’re psyched to be able to offer Bostonians high quality, reliable transportation alternatives at multiple price points,” Uber representatives wrote in a statement.

The company said they are working directly with licensed city of Boston cab drivers to make it easier for clients to “e-hail” a TAXI and so that it generates for business for Boston cabs.

Before hailing a cab on the street, or using Uber to get a black car sent to your destination, customers will now be able to click the “TAXI” option within the smartphone app. Once selected, fares will be calculated using the in-vehicle taximeter on each vehicle.

A $1 “TAXI” fee and 20% gratuity will be automatically added to the ride, before the customer gets to their destination, most likely eliminating the hassle of trying to figure out how much to tip a cab driver.

“TAXI is the latest experiment from the Uber Garage – our workshop of sorts where we tinker with new ideas for urban transportation,” the company said in a statement sent to BostInno.

The company is looking for input from customers, too.

Using the hashtag #UberBlackorWhite on Twitter, riders can send messages to @Uber_BOS and gauge what their experience using the new app was like.

Last month, Uber ran into some serious road blocks with its original services.

State officials tried to put the brakes on the company’s operations, claiming Uber’s GPS-metered system did not fall in line with Massachusetts regulations and metering practices.

After much public outcry, the decision to “cease and desist” was reversed with help of Governor Deval Patrick.

from BostInno http://bostinno.com/2012/09/19/uber-launches-taxi-servic/

Time Warner Willing to Cede Control of User Interface in Potential Deals for Apple TV Products

Two weeks ago, Bloomberg reported on Apple's struggles to reach television content deals that would enable the company to broaden its living room reach by providing set-top boxes to blend live and recorded material. The report noted that cable companies have generally been reluctant to work with Apple as they seek to retain control over the software and other aspects of their businesses, with Time Warner Cable said to be the major cable company most receptive to Apple's proposals.

The Hollywood Reporter now notes (via TechCrunch) that Time Warner Cable Chief Operating Officer Rob Marcus acknowledged at an investor conference today that his company would be willing to cede control over the user interface in scenarios such as those being rumored for Apple's proposals, as long as it can retain the existing customer relationship. The comments by Marcus appear to specifically address integration of the cable company's guide information with Apple's mobile devices, but could obviously extend to other products such as set-top boxes.

Time Warner Cable is "hard at work at a cloud-based [TV] guide experience" and is open to giving up control of the user interface as it looks to make its service accessible via new devices, including Apple's iPhones and iPads, president and COO Rob Marcus told an investor conference in New York on Wednesday.

But he emphasized that this does not mean that the cable giant is willing "to give up the customer relationship" as the company is committed to ensuring that people know its TV services are provided by TW Cable and not any device maker or other third party.

Apple is rumored to have been working on a television product for quite some time as it continues to toy with the current Apple TV set-top box, which the company has repeatedly referred to as a "hobby" that it will continue to pursue as it assesses whether there is a larger opportunity in the market.

Rumors of an Apple television set have largely given way to talk of a new set-top box in recent months, a device that would bring Apple's hardware and software expertise to the consumer cable industry in an effort to meld live television with recorded and on-demand content while integrating into Apple's existing ecosystem. But with both cable companies and content providers being reluctant to strike deals with Apple, progress has been slower than many had hoped for.


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from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - Front Page http://www.macrumors.com/2012/09/19/time-warner-willing-to-cede-control-of-us...

LIFX: The Color-Changing, Wi-Fi Enabled, 25-Year Lasting LED Light Bulbs You Control With Your Smart Phone

lifx-color-bulbs.jpg LIFX are dimmable, programmable, any-color-you-want, energy saving LED light bulbs that you can control from your smart phone. Want all the lights in your kitchen to pulsate to the music you're playing? THEY CAN DO THAT TOO. The future, ladies and gentlemen -- it's not super exciting, but it's still cooler that now. The bulbs are rated at 40,000 hours, and can last up to 25 years with average use (~5-hours a day). The project is currently an already-funded Kickstarter campaign (with the $100,000 goal exceeded by $750,000 in three days), so head on over there if you want to pre-order. $69 gets you one, $119 two, $196 four, $294 six, $392 eight and $490 for 10. Definitely NOT the kind of bulbs you want to leave in the sockets when you move. Hit the jump for the Kickstarter demo video.

from Geekologie - Gadgets, Gizmos, and Awesome http://www.geekologie.com/2012/09/lifx-the-color-changable-wi-fi-enabled-2.ph...

Beyond duct-tape: 3 tools to take your home repairs into 3-D

My flip-top trashcan is on the fritz. It’s a simple machine, so as I started at the traveling pin that was responsible for the problem I thought, I could totally fix that. My husband suggested tape, but I was thinking we needed to mold a little piece of rubber onto it (I imagine that the piece that was originally on there had fallen off).

And because I’ve been recently entranced by the possibilities of moldable plastic after a visit to Chaotic Moon Studios here in town (I’ll write more on that later) I went looking for a solution that went beyond duct tape. Here are three tools I’ve found. For sure one or more of these are going to make their way into my little toolbox where I keep my hammers, screwdrivers and other small household fixits.

InstaMorph: For $10 on Amazon you can take home 6 ounces of these plastic beads, dump what you need in hot water and mold them into whatever shape you desire. They also sell the beads by the pound for larger projects. The beads cool into lovely little white blobs of plastic after about 2 minutes. For more conspicuous repairs there are also dyes you can buy to color your InstaMorph projects.

ShapeLock: This is the same type of material as InstaMorph, but it’s not clear if it has a bulk option for large projects. These are also white plastic beads that you can put in boiling water, wait until they turn clear and then use to create whatever shape fits your fancy. They cost $15 for 250 grams (roughly 9 ounces). They are re-usable, pretty darn strong when cooled and you can saw or file them into more refined shapes if your original mold looks off.

Sugru: Instead of beads that turn into moldable plastic, Sugru is a putty-like substance that cools into a semi-flexible substance. It costs between $18 and $20 for eight packs containing 5 grams, depending on the color of the putty. It can be used to protect cords, add protective layers to clothes, replace a broken tine in a dishwasher or whatever else you have a mind to do.

For those readers who wonder if they’ve mistakenly landed on Lifehacker, there is a reason I’m sharing this. The idea of finding cheap and easy materials to fix a broken trashcan, or create a custom mold to build a homemade iPad stand may be as fundamental shift in our lives as broadband is. These materials and the experience using them are a gateway drug into doing more projects just like email was a gateway drug to blogging for some people.

Having the tools to fix my trashcan means I’m not throwing it away, which is at the very least, green. But like learning about or how to use any new tool it sparks ideas and creativity that permeate our lives and culture. Maybe I’ll never have a 3-D printer (probably because my neighbor does) but I’ve at least taken a step toward DIY, even if it’s just an opportunity to fix things around that house that I wouldn’t have tackled before.


from GigaOM http://gigaom.com/2012/09/17/beyond-duct-tape-3-tools-to-take-your-home-repai...

Jumpshare Is a No-Hassle File Sharing Webapp That Can Display Over 150 File Types [Webapps]

Holy crap, there are a lot of file sharing services out there! Mentioning another always feels a little redundant, but Jumpshare offers several advantages that make it worthwhile. No accounts are required, it works via drag-and-drop, and most anything you upload can be viewed right from the browser. More »


from Lifehacker http://lifehacker.com/5943030/jumpshare-is-a-no+hassle-file-sharing-webapp-th...

Uros' Goodspeed hotspot packs 10 SIM cards, says roaming is for chumps

Uros' Goodspeed hotspot stuffs in 10 SIM cards, says roaming is for chumps

Snagging international data service usually involves either special agreements or steep roaming costs. Not Uros and its new Goodspeed hotspot. The pocketable, 21Mbps HSPA+ router carries a staggering 10 SIM cards and simply uses a local SIM for whichever destination country you visit. The brute force strategy helps Uros offer a relatively low flat rate for 1GB of data per day, no matter where you are on the coverage map: while the Goodspeed itself costs 273 ($352), Uros asks just €5.90 ($8) a day for occasional visits and €9.90 ($13) a month for frequent fliers. It's a very sizable bargain for the jetset, even with a current scope limited to Finland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the UK. A number of "important" countries are due before Christmas, which could make Uros' hotspot a go-to choice for those who just can't stay settled in one place.

[Thanks, Antti]

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Uros' Goodspeed hotspot packs 10 SIM cards, says roaming is for chumps originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Sep 2012 03:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/15/uros-goodspeed-hotspot-packs-10-sim-cards/