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Elon Musk says that Twitter's algorithm should be open source
If Elon Musk is indeed able to buy Twitter, the platform could look a lot different.
Watch Elon Musk's TED talk live for free
The same day he initiated a hostile takeover of Twitter.
TED will offer exclusive audio chats on Clubhouse
TED has struck a deal to offer exclusive chats on Clubhouse.
ThermoReal lets you feel heat, cold and even pain in VR and AR
While some companies are trying to make AR and VR more immersive via haptic feedback, one startup decided to focus on the thermal aspects of the experience. TEGway, a spin-off of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, has created a slim, flexible thermo-electric device (or "TED" in short) that can rapidly heat up or cool down, covering a temperature range of 4 to 40 degrees Celsius (39.2 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit). Better yet, it can simultaneously produce both heat and cold in different zones on the same surface, which enables the simulation of a pinch on one's skin to produce pain. Now packaged as ThermoReal, the company is hoping hardware makers will integrate this solution into the likes of joysticks, gloves, haptic suits, chairs and more for a new level of immersiveness.
HoloLens TED Talk shows what augmented reality can do
If you think you have a sense of what Microsoft's HoloLens headset can do, you're in for a pleasant surprise. The company's Alex Kipman recently presented a TED Talk on HoloLens that included multiple fresh demos illustrating Kipman's vision of an augmented reality future. He showed off virtual caves and forests, and a space where you could watch TV at one moment and talk to family in the next. The highlight, however, comes near the end: Kipman talks to an avatar of NASA's Jeffrey Norris standing on a recreation of Mars. Suddenly, Star Wars' holograms aren't so far-fetched.
Watch TED Talks, MTV and Pac-12 sports on your Chromecast
Interested in watching thought-provoking discussions, music videos and college sports on your TV through a Chromecast stick? You're covered as of today. Google has announced that the mobile apps for MTV, Pac-12 sports, TED Talks and Qello Concerts now have Chromecast support, so you can check out that inspirational presentation on the big screen without buying a set-top box or connecting your PC. This isn't the most significant thing that Google is putting on your TV today, but it'll mean a lot if your phone regularly doubles as a media hub.
You can now watch TED Talks on your Apple TV
If you like the idea of watching thought-provoking presentations from the comfort of your couch, you're in for a good time. The Apple TV now has a dedicated TED Talks app, so you can watch discussions of public shaming or the future of image recognition on the big screen without streaming from another device or digging through other services. And don't worry if you're in the mood for lighter fare -- Apple has also brought in apps for Tastemade's food and travel network as well as Young Hollywood's eclectic cultural mix. All of the newly available services are free, so you'll have plenty to check out while you're waiting for Apple's long-fabled TV service.
TED founder thinks big data needs a big makeover
Richard Saul Wurman isn't a fan of President Barack Obama's push for data.gov, an online repository for big data. "That's just politicians talking," the 79-year-old TED (technology, entertainment, design) conference founder told me. "I think there will be a pushback saying, 'We don't understand all this fucking data.'" The way Wurman sees it, that bulk collection of raw information has no value without a creative means of diagramming, mapping and comparing it all in a way that gives it meaning. "[You] have to have it in a form that you can understand. They're leaving that step out," he said. It's that approach to the organization of data that has directly informed the creation of Wurman's high-tech information-mapping project, Urban Observatory.
Carefully choreographed robot pretends to do magic, recites Asimov
Who claims science isn't magic? Well, anybody you might ask, really -- but that doesn't stop Techno-illusionist Marco Tempest from trying to meld the two. In a recent TED talk, Tempest used a top hat, a yellow ball and a robot named EDI (no, not that EDI) to discuss the role deception plays in creating automatons with lifelike attributes. "Magic creates the illusion of impossible reality," he says. "Technology can be the same." He explains that equipping robots with friendly faces, reassuring voices and sensors that help them see and predict human movement are part of this illusion, as are rules like Isaac Asimov's laws of robotics. "A robot may not harm humanity or by inaction cause humanity to come to harm," EDI echoes. Even so, Tempest's robotic illusion falls flat; EDI's stage presence is rife with personality, sure, but it's also very obviously choreographed. It is still pretty fun to watch, though; check it out at the source link below.
Xprize wants to fund a TED Talk given by artificial intelligence, and you can help
Xprize is known for its ambition. The outfit, with the help of some big name (and deep pocketed) partners, has launched initiatives to spur Star Trek-like tricorder development and even get private industry to land a rover on the moon. But now, it's teaming up with TED, that forum for big ideas, to do something a little different. The two companies have just announced an Xprize for Artificial Intelligence and here's the hook: they want the AI to conduct its own TED Talk with no human assist. Mind. Blown. None of this is actually set in stone though and, in fact, the partners are looking to you -- yes, you -- for help in deciding how this all goes down. Xprize is hosting a dedicated subsite so that readers (excuse us, big thinkers!) like you can pitch in with ideas on what the AI TED Talk format should be, how long it should run, what topic will be chosen and so on and so forth. You'll even get to help determine what type of AI makes the grade: will it be a walking robot, a rollie or a disembodied voice? It's up to you to pitch in and figure it out. Because, hey, if you can't actually help build the AI, setting it up for stage fright is the next best thing.
All of the Xbox One launch-window apps, broken down by territory
Microsoft has laid out the media apps available on the Xbox One in each of its 13 launch markets, with the US claiming 19 entertainment options, the most of any territory. Between November 22 and spring 2014, the US will get Amazon Instant Video, CWTV, Crackle, ESPN, FOX NOW, FXNOW, HBO GO, Hulu Plus, Machinima, MUZU TV, Netflix, Redbox Instant, Target Ticket, TED, NFL on Xbox One, Twitch, Univision Deportes, Verizon FiOS TV and VUDU. UK Xbox One owners will see a different mix of 13 apps, including 4oD, Amazon/LOVEFILM, Eurosport, NOW TV and Wuaki.tv. Enjoyment of these apps, and every app on Microsoft's list, requires an Xbox Live Gold account. Xbox One will offer incentives to open its entertainment options, with achievements for watching a certain number of shows or specific content. Check out the complete lineup of Xbox One apps below, along with some clickable pictures of the new dashboard.
The Soapbox: On your deathbed, you will not regret gaming
In last week's edition of The Soapbox, Mike Foster reminded us that the grim specter of death comes to us all and asserted that when your time comes, "you will not wish you had spent more time gaming." Mike took the stance that gaming provides temporary joys that can't replace real-life experiences and that it's our inherent responsibility as human beings with finite lifespans to seek out those experiences. He argued that "gaming is a hobby and not a replacement for a life well-lived" and that it's not our gaming achievements but our real life ones that we'll proudly tell our grandchildren. I think we can all agree that it's important to have offline hobbies and interests that help you keep active, but I take exception to the notion that we might regret time spent gaming on our deathbeds. Published data on the top five regrets of the dying actually seems to directly refute this idea, and my life experiences have shown the exact opposite of some of the points Mike makes. MMOs have given me some experiences that I'll probably treasure for a lifetime, and gaming as a hobby has provided me with much more than just temporary joys and escapism; it's helped me discover talents I didn't know I possessed, given me the push I needed to get a good education, led me to employment, and put me in contact with lifelong friends. On my deathbed, I'll probably wish I'd spent more time gaming rather than less. In this opinion piece, I look at evidence that suggests we won't regret gaming on our deathbeds and make the case that gaming can be just as worthwhile as offline pursuits.
Romo iPhone robot to charm his way into your heart in June
Over the past few years, TUAW has featured several posts about a cute little robot with an iPhone for a brain, Romo. It was first featured on TUAW sister site Engadget's Insert Coin feature series in late 2011, and was successful in its original Kickstarter funding round. Last fall, Romo's creators, Romotive, went back to the Kickstarter well to fund a newer, updated model of the little robot that could. That round was also successful, and now Romo (US$149.00) is available for pre-order on the company's website for delivery in June. The newer model is faster, has a tilting "head' so he can follow your movements, and works with an iPhone 4, iPhone 4S or fourth-generation iPod touch as his brain. Any other iOS device can control him, so Romo's the perfect place to reuse a previous-generation iPhone or iPod touch if you want to get a new one. There's a telepresence mode that works with the iPhone 4S and is useful if you want others to be able to control Romo remotely for work or play. If you missed any of the earlier info about Romo, here's a TED Talk video featuring Romotive founder and CEO Keller Rinaudo introducing Romo to a crowd as well as a promotional video from the company's website. We're attempting to get a visit from Romo for a full TUAW review in the near future.
uChek raises the stakes in smartphone health care with camera-based urine analysis
The iPhone. Is there anything it can't do? The trend towards self-monitoring and informal health tracking continues with uChek. Featured today over at Wired, this app enables you to automatically read, chart and track a variety of urinalysis tests on your iPhone. The product works by leveraging the iPhone's highly sensitive camera to read tints from inexpensive urine dip stick tests. Developed by Mumbai-based Myshkin Ingawale, an MIT grad, the app shifts monitoring away from expensive clinics and into the home. I do worry about lighting variation but I assume there will be calibration of some sort built into the test strips. It's still early days. The website is still creaky. I was unable to sign up for the email list and the shop, which will eventually sell the test strips for US$20 a package, hasn't gone live yet. Here's a TED talk from last year, where Ingawale talks about an earlier invention called ToucHb. It introduced blood tests without needles.
Bill Gates to chat education on PBS in first TED Talk made for TV
Word comes by way of The Wrap that PBS is slated to air the very first TED Talk produced for TV on April 16th, and it'll feature Bill Gates, to boot. The special sets its sights on discussing education and will include the likes of educators Geoffrey Canada and Sir Ken Robinson alongside Microsoft's co-founder. In advance of the broadcast, the program will be taped at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Harvey Theater on April 4th. There's no word on whether tickets are up for grabs to attend the event, but we'd start searching for friends who know Gates if you'd prefer the live experience. [Image credit: World Economic Forum, Flickr]
TED Books launches store, subscriptions
The TED Conference is expanding its iOS offerings with a new app that'll let users read short electronic books from the popular series of intellectual presentations. The new Ted Books app includes articles that are 20,000 words or less and can be digested in a single sitting. The platform that powers the app allows authors to create an interactive experience by embedding audio, video and social features into their books. New books are released every two weeks, and iOS owners can either buy books individually for $2.99 each or purchase a six-month subscription for $14.99. You can read more about TED Books on TED's website. [Via Paid Content]
Thomas Dolby's Wild Ride
The exterior of the Canal Room is a touch jarring in the harsh light of day. The street-level windows of the TriBeCa brick building are plastered with giant, neon posters advertising the venue's reoccurring theme nights - events with names like "Back to the Eighties Show featuring RUBIX KUBE: The Ultimate '80s Tribute Band" and "Saved By The '90s: A Party with The Bayside Tigers." Checkerboard backgrounds and pictures of Screech abound. And for a moment, I'm worried for Thomas Dolby. It's hard not to entertain images of the singer being tortured with Teddy Ruxpins, forced to perform 30-year-old songs for a crowd of middle-aged showgoers squeezed into their prom dresses, in defiance of all laws of physics. Things are much less troubling inside, however. The lights are dim and there's no neon to be seen - and while Dolby himself is MIA a few hours ahead of the show, a pair of dancers run around the space all steampunked out in corsets and high-heeled boots. One spots our photographer and asks whether we're there to "shoot the belly dancer." It's an interaction I can't help but relate to Dolby when he finally arrives, off-handedly comparing the whole thing to a traveling circus of sorts. "Actually," he responds, "it's quite simple compared to some other show. There's no video here, only three musicians, so this is the simple version." This is the scaled-back version of Dolby's live show in 2012. For one thing, the tour had to leave its chrome 1930s-era trailer back in Jersey. Apparently it's just too difficult to get a giant time capsule through the Holland Tunnel. In its absence, Dolby describes the vehicle as appearing to have been "modified by Jules Verne and Nikola Tesla," adding that it "houses a video suite, which allows anybody from the public to shoot a 30-second message to the future. So, we've got a YouTube channel called Time Capsule TV and people are uploading these messages that they shoot in the time capsule and the most popular ones, based on the views and so on, we'll sort of preserve for posterity, for the future."
TED-Ed website launches in beta, lets teachers customize video lessons
Last month, TED announced its new education initiative -- fittingly named TED-Ed -- with a YouTube channel showcasing teachers' lessons presented as animated videos. Today, the program moved forward, as TED opened up a beta version of a website meant to complement those lessons. Though there are plenty of study aides here, ed.ted.com is really about the grown-ups on the other side of the classroom. The site lets teachers with a TED account "flip" videos from TED-Ed and YouTube -- i.e., customize them to include multiple-choice and open-answer questions and links to additional info on a topic. Currently there are 62 videos and 238 "flips" available for viewing, but TED is gearing up for a full launch to be timed with the new school year in September.
TED expands its reach with streaming talks on Netflix
You can already watch TED talks on any number of devices via the web or the various apps available, but the oft-debated conference / organization has now added another fairly big feather to its cap: it's streaming on Netflix. That includes around 200 talks to start with, which have been grouped into 14 different "shows" with titles like Space Trek, Cyber Awe, Building Wonder and Video & Photo Mojo. Those are naturally all available in HD, and they can be seen in Canada, Latin America, the UK and Ireland in addition to the US.
TED launches 'TED-Ed', hopes to make lessons worth sharing
Who doesn't love filling an idle hour with a good ol' bit of TED? Now, the people behind those share-worthy ideas are bringing us TED-Ed: a new lesson-based YouTube channel. Aimed primarily at high-schoolers, the initiative invites teachers to submit their "best lesson" in a youthful mind-friendly ten minutes or less. If chosen, TED will ship out a "portable recording booth" -- which look suspiciously like an iPad in a sound-absorbing flightcase. Once the knowledge has been preserved, it's sent over to a team of animators to bring it to life. If you know a great teacher, or animator, you can also nominate them to the TED-Ed team if they're too humble to put themselves forward. The TEDEducation YouTube channel is up and running right now, but the new original content won't land until a dedicated site is launched next month. There's a typically heartwarming and informative video about the project after the break.
