Instead of bussing tables and tediously tending to customers, there are a number of enterprising youths who are turning to a new avenue of employment: YouTube. What are these kids thinking?
Author Johan Chang
The Matrix made hackers cool while The Big Bang Theory made neurotic scientists slightly less weird. And now, it’s the coders’ turn, with the rise of the ‘Hackathon’. One guy wants it to go big – so big it’ll be the “sporting” event of the year for tech nerds everywhere. And it could help local businesses find the nerds they need.
Internet users’ unbridled—and growing—love of ad blockers is one of the biggest concerns for the advertising and online publishing industry. So Google proposed a new initiative – called Contributor, which launched last year – for internet users who hate ads so much, they would pay to avoid them. So does it have legs?
When most people think of the coupling of gin and music, more readily to their minds probably comes an image of drinking gin while listening to it. But Rogue Society Gin has come up with another idea, partnering up with Loop Recordings Aot(ear)oa, distilling gin while music is playing to create the “world’s first music-infused gin”. Part-PR stunt and part-absolute madness, even the makers themselves can’t tell us whether the gin actually tastes any different.
While the world is becoming increasingly cashless, there are rare occasions where dollar bills are required. And ANZ, which has already got a far bit of marketing mileage out of adding some character to a few of its high-profile money dispensers, has just launched its second Matariki-inspired design.
Tulips, hearts, ferns – these are just some of the “basics” in the world of latte art. Now, you can produce all of that and more, with the Ripple Maker.
Blunt – the Kiwi makers of “The World’s Best umbrellas” – have paired up with Tile, the location-tracking device from Silicon Valley, to produce the first “unlosable umbrella”. Does this mean it’s less cursing and frustration on a rainy day, or just another thing that’s wirelessly tethering you? PLUS: a look at how geo-location technology straddles the line between being useful and a little creepy.
Standing for input/output and “Innovation in the Open”, the annual Google I/O developer conference explores the latest in technology, web, and mobile. Held at San Francisco, this year’s event sees some major upgrades to Google’s Android platform, new projects from the ATAP team, and some nifty VR.
Misplaced golf balls, unbalanced dominos, a fraction of a hair’s width short of hitting the basket – all the pitfalls of creating a Rube Goldberg Machine. They’re whimsical contraptions designed to complete the simplest tasks in the most complicated way possible, and one Kiwi’s made art out of it.
Periscope is an app focused on mobile live streaming. And it’s been getting a lot of attention in certain tech media circles for the last little while. So will anyone use it? What about copyright issues? And what’s on offer for advertisers?
3-D printing, wearable tech and robots doing cool things are just some of the more endearing developments that have come to life in 2014. And there are many others. Here’s our top ten tech trends.
Getty’s latest edition of Creative in Focus, a lookbook for the photography industry and a guide to the changing realm of visual culture, sees the breakdown of gender roles, profiling of positive leaders of industry, and a lust for the amazing things our Earth has to offer as the key trends of 2015.