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62 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed


Here at Mashable, we’re always looking out for you (in a non-Big Brother way) so if your iOS 5 upgrade left you with a dead battery, you may have missed a feature or two. Never fear though, because we’ve gathered the weekly features right here for you.

Google+ had a hot week with the launch of its new brand pages. Although it’s too early to tell what’s to come of it, we did learn what users felt was missing from the social network. The newest tablet to enter the competition was released by Nook, and it might give the others a run for their money.

Looking for even more social media resources? We have everything you’re looking for below.


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from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2011/11/12/62-digital-media-resources/?utm_source=feedbur...

Scientists make magic auto-origami using ink and light (video)

We've seen nano-origami and robo-origami, but nothing quite as rapid and simple as this. Researchers at North Carolina State University have figured out how to neatly fold plastic using infrared light and an inkjet printer. Deep black lines are printed onto the plastic sheets, which then absorb the light and cause the material to fold without anyone having to touch it. The wider the line, the greater the angle of each fold, so it's possible to set, say, a 90-degree bend for a cube or 120 degrees for a pyramid. What's more, by giving the lines different patterns, folds can be made to work in specific directions, potentially producing the most perfect, most hygienic bento box that's ever contained your lunch. Click past the break to watch the folding unfold.

Continue reading Scientists make magic auto-origami using ink and light (video)

Scientists make magic auto-origami using ink and light (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Nov 2011 21:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNorth Carolina State University  | Email this | Comments

from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/11/scientists-make-magic-auto-origami-using-i...

How Trustworthy are Tweeters? Wellesley College Professors Receive $429k To Find Out

Throughout the day, I’m constantly scanning my Twitter feed, searching for news, tips and advice. It’s Twitter I head to first when I need a story, and I know I’m not alone. With more people turning to social media channels for information, two professors from the Wellesley College Department of Computer Science decided they needed to find a reliable way to determine whether or not the people behind the tweets are trustworthy. Thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation, now they can.

The Foundation has granted Wellesley $429,000 to develop an application that examines the origin, authenticity and trustworthiness of messages disseminated on social networks to help users make more informed decisions when determining whether or not information can be trusted.

“Users leave a digital trace behind when they make an announcement,” said Eni Mustafaraj, a visiting assistant professor in the Computer Science Department at Wellesley, in a press release. “The application will follow those digital traces to determine whether a message sender is reputable, allowing the user to make a determination about whether a message should be trusted.”

Mustafaraj and Panagiotis Metaxas, a fellow Computer Science professor and founder of Wellesley College’s Media Arts and Sciences Program, made headlines in 2010 when they released research showing how “Twitter-bombing” could manipulate Google real-time results, and how cyber attacks may have affected the Massachusetts senate election, allowing Scott Brown to win over Martha Coakley. Metaxas describes Twitter-bombing as creating a high amount of Twitter accounts and sending a large number — in that case, about 1,000 — tweets within a short period of time.

After the 2010 study, the duo had planned to develop software that would allow users to identify spammers. As more politicians, celebrities, activists and media signed on to Twitter, however, and the site evolved, so did the researchers’ understanding of the platform.

“Spam, itself, is multifaceted and ubiquitous,” Mustafaraj said. “Our focus is more on whether, at any given moment, a user should trust a piece of information that is being broadcasted by a Twitter account.”

Trust will be measured by a combination of several factors, including: past history of the account; whether other Twitter users find the account trustworthy; whether a user has trusted information from the account in the past and have re-tweeted specific messages; or whether an identical piece of information is surfacing from different, independent sources.

“It turns out spam accounts will rank very low, so they will automatically be classified as untrustworthy,” Mustafaraj said.

This application will help social media users identify risks in a world where everyone can be both a producer and a consumer. To help students think about the risks, funding from the grant will also be used to develop an online course for undergraduate and high school students that examines sources and explains what critical thinking actually means in today’s highly interconnected world. Could we soon see a day where we could be saying “so long” to Twitter bots?

from BostInnovation.com http://bostinnovation.com/2011/11/11/how-trustworthy-are-tweeters-wellesley-c...

LG might show off Google TV hardware at CES

Turns out the Apple TV isn't the only one to see rehashed rumors making the rounds, as Bloomberg has dredged up "people with knowledge of the project" to say LG could show off hardware featuring Google TV at CES 2012. Of course, slow-to-materialize new software apparently put a stop to LG, Sharp, and Toshiba's plans at last year's show, leaving Samsung and Vizio alone to bear the flag. Making the timing of this rumor conspicuous however, is news of Logitech sitting out the next round of Google TV, the aforementioned Cupertino project, and Sony's promise of a "different kind of TV" floating around recently. Now that the Honeycomb update and Android Market access actually exist, Google's next big task is securing more partnerships for content and hardware -- we'll find out how successful it's been in January.

LG might show off Google TV hardware at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Nov 2011 11:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceBloomberg Businessweek  | Email this | Comments

from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/12/lg-might-show-off-google-tv-hardware-at-ces/

How to Calibrate Your HDTV and Boost Your Video Quality in 30 Minutes or Less [Video]

Most HDTVs ship with default settings that are meant to look good in store showrooms, but more often than not, the default presets don't take into account how the TV will look in your home, how far away from it you'll sit, or what the normal lighting in your room will be like when you fire up a new movie or watch the big game. The result: A less-than-perfect picture from the device you spent hundreds of dollars on and spend hours in front of. Thankfully, with the right tools calibrating an HDTV to your viewing style is easy, and you can do it in less than a half-hour. More »


from Lifehacker http://lifehacker.com/5858625/how-to-calibrate-your-hdtv-and-boost-your-video...

Facebook SlingPlayer revealed, proves you can't escape social networking (video)

Add another future platform for SlingPlayer to the pile, as the company recently showed off this quick demo of streaming video through Facebook. While the old Sling.com streaming still works just fine, this one adds some new social features to the mix. That will let viewers share the shows and what they enjoy watching easily while not-so-coincidentally making sure their friends know they're watching TV via Slingbox. There's no word on when this will actually hit the OpenGraph'd streets, but so far it's already in line behind players we've seen demonstrated but not yet released for Boxee and Google TV. Press play to check out the video and think back to a world where no one knew you were watching Law & Order for the eighth time today.

[Thanks for the video, Dave Zatz]

Facebook SlingPlayer revealed, proves you can't escape social networking (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Nov 2011 03:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink @MisterSling (Twitter)  |  sourceSling (Facebook)  | Email this | Comments

from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/12/facebook-slingplayer-revealed-proves-you-c...

Sony Seeking to Beat Apple in Revolutionizing Television

Much has been made of Steve Jobs' revelation in his authorized biography about having "cracked" how to develop a revolutionary interface for an integrated television set, a disclosure that has led to claims of Apple working to launch a Siri-enabled television set by 2013.

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at how seriously Sony is taking the Apple threat, sharing comments from Sony CEO Howard Stringer about the strategies the company is seeking to employ, beginning with a "platform" spanning all the way from mobile devices to television sets.

Sony has a "four screen" strategy of offering network services on mobile phones, tablet computers, personal computers and TV sets. "I spent the last five years building a platform so I can compete against Steve Jobs," Mr. Stringer said. "It's finished, and it's launching now."
Stringer also claims that Sony has some ideas about a "different kind of TV set" that it has been working on as it seeks to beat Apple to the punch.
Mr. Stringer declined to discuss details of what Sony has on the drawing board, but said, "There's a tremendous amount of R&D going into a different kind of TV set." He added that he has "no doubt" Apple's late leader Steve Jobs also was working on changing the traditional TV set.

"That's what we're all looking for," said Mr. Stringer. "We can't continue selling TV sets [the way we have been]. Every TV set we all make loses money."

Stringer touches on several other topics in his interview, including an admission that Sony failed to realize how difficult it would be to get content providers to sign on to provide 3-D programming, a reluctance that has significantly slowed adoption of the technology. Stringer also briefly mentions the iPhone and his belief that other platforms will match the iOS experience, but that those platforms will need to adopt the seamless experience Apple has championed for its "well organized" devices and ecosystem.


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from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - Front Page http://www.macrumors.com/2011/11/11/sony-seeking-to-beat-apple-in-revolutioni...

Code wizardry turns MythTV into Windows legend

There are plenty of myths that surround MythTV: it's for hardcore enthusiasts only, you need a dedicated Linux box and that it's totally incompatible with Redmond's offerings. Whilst Microsoft HTPC users could previously access recordings, they didn't get the live TV, commercial skipping and DVR powers that the software is famous for. That's all changing, thanks to a group of developers who have ported the native front end to Windows. You can either grab a pre-compiled binary of the project, or for those who wish to do it themselves, follow our source link to find all the details.

Code wizardry turns MythTV into Windows legend originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Nov 2011 11:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceMissing Remote  | Email this | Comments

from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/08/code-wizardry-turns-mythtv-into-windows-le...

Social network analysis isn't just for social networks

Social networking has become a pervasive part of our everyday online experience, and by extension, that means the analysis and application of social data is an essential component of business.

In the following interview, "Social Network Analysis for Startups" co-author Maksim Tsvetovat (@maksim2042) offers a primer on social network analysis (SNA) and how it has relevance beyond social-networking services.

What is social network analysis (SNA)?

Maksim Tsvetovat: Social network analysis is an offshoot of the social sciences — sociology, political science, psychology, anthropology and others — that studies human interactions by using graph-theoretic approaches rather then traditional statistics. It's a scientific methodology for data analysis and also a collection of theories about how and why people interact — and how these interaction patterns change and affect our lives as individuals or societies. The theories come from a variety of social sciences, but they are always backed up with mathematical ways of measuring if a specific theory is applicable to a specific set of data.

In the science world, the field is considered interdisciplinary, so gatherings draw mathematicians, physicists, computer scientists, sociologists, political scientists and even an occasional rock musician.

As far as the technology aspect goes, the analysis methods are embodied in a set of software tools, such as the Python-based NetworkX library, which the book uses extensively. These tools can be used for analyzing and visualizing network data in a variety of contexts, from visualizing the spread of disease to business intelligence applications.

In terms of marketing applications, there's plenty of science behind "why things go viral" — and the book goes briefly into it — but I find that it's best to leave marketing to marketing professionals.

Does SNA refer specifically to the major social-networking services, or does it also apply beyond them?

Maksim Tsvetovat: SNA refers to the study of relationships between people, companies, organizations, websites, etc. If we have a set of relationships that may be forming a meaningful pattern, we can use SNA methods to make sense of it.

Major social-networking services are a great source of data for SNA, and they present some very interesting questions — most recently, how can a social network act as an early warning system for natural disasters? I'm also intrigued by the emergent role of Twitter as a "common carrier" and aggregation technology for data from other media. However, the analysis methodology is applicable to many other data sources. In fact, I purposefully avoided using Twitter as a data source in the book — it's the obvious place to start and also a good place to get tunnel vision about the technology.

Instead, I concentrated on getting and analyzing data from other sources, including campaign finance, startup company funding rounds, international treaties, etc., to demonstrate the potential breadth of applications of this technology.

Social Network Analysis for Startups — Social network analysis (SNA) is a discipline that predates Facebook and Twitter by 30 years. Through expert SNA researchers, you'll learn concepts and techniques for recognizing patterns in social media, political groups, companies, cultural trends, and interpersonal networks.

How does SNA relate to startups?

Maksim Tsvetovat: A lot of startups these days talk about social-this and social-that — and all of their activity can be measured and understood using SNA metrics. Being able to integrate SNA into their internal business intelligence toolkits should make businesses more attuned to their audiences.

I have personally worked with three startups that used SNA to fine-tune their social media targeting strategies by locating individuals and communities, and addressing them directly. Also, my methodologies have been used by a few large firms: the digital marketing agency DIGITAS is using SNA daily for a variety of high-profile clients. (Disclosure: my startup firm, DeepMile Networks, is involved in supplying SNA tools and services to DIGITAS and a number of others.)

What SNA shifts should developers watch for in the near future?

Maksim Tsvetovat: Multi-mode network analysis, which is analyzing networks with many types of "actors" (people, organizations, resources, governments, etc.). I approach the topic briefly in the book — but much remains to be done.

Also, watch for more real-time analysis. Most SNA is done on snapshot-style data that is, at best, a few hours out-of-date — some is years out-of-date. The release of Twitter's Storm tool should spur developers to make more SNA tools work on real-time and flowing data.

This interview was edited and condensed.

Associated photo on home and category pages: bulletin board [before there was twitter] by woodleywonderworks, on Flickr.

Related:

from O'Reilly Radar - Insight, analysis, and research about emerging technologies. http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/11/social-network-analysis.html?utm_source=feed...

TiVo Premiere Q and Preview multiroom DVR setup finally debuts from RCN

The new "whole home solution" from TiVo consisting of the four tuner Premiere Q DVR and Preview extender is finally available for the first time, from RCN. The initial rollout is taking place in the Washington D.C. area, marketed as the Whole Home Bundle consisting of one Premiere Q and one Preview for $29.99 monthly. Additional Preview extenders, which lack tuners and hard drives entirely, can be added for $9.99 per month. While DVR features like pausing live TV aren't currently available, Gizmo Lovers points out a DSLReports post by an RCN rep indicating that early next year it will gain the ability to start recordings on the Q remotely, so users can press record, then pause, rewind, or fast forward freely. The Preview box still has yet to hit retail, but those who need four tuners in their TiVo can always pick up the Premiere Elite which features a bigger hard drive than the Q. A press release with all the details is after the break, or you can check the forum post for more Q&A.

Continue reading TiVo Premiere Q and Preview multiroom DVR setup finally debuts from RCN

TiVo Premiere Q and Preview multiroom DVR setup finally debuts from RCN originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gizmo Lovers  |  sourceTiVo, DSLReports  | Email this | Comments

from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/09/tivo-premiere-q-and-preview-multiroom-dvr-...