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 I've never even heard of a zettabyte! -
A recent study from the University of California - San Diego reports the
average American consumes 34 gigabytes of content in a single day. Much
of it consists of television (4 1/2 hours a day), but also includes the
time that we spend in front of computers, at the movies, on our phones,
etc. In 2008 American households collectively consumed 3.6 zettabytes of
information -- that's a 1 followed by 21 zeroes.
[more] |
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| 60 is the new 40 - Remember magazines? Once upon a time, print was king. These days it's digital, digital, digital. So what's a 60-year old former magazine editor to do? Join the Digerati, of course. [more] |
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| Be still my heart no longer - According to a report in The International Journal of Robotics Research, a French team has developed a 3D model that predicts the movement of the heart as it beats. This will enable surgeons to use robotic tools that sync with the beating of the heart. The result is that many more procedures, not considered "life or death," will be performed because the risks of complications will no longer outweigh the benefits. [more] |
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 Innovate
or die - In
the Age of Innovation, great design gives you the competitive edge
to succeed. Many of our favorite clients are winning big in their
market and the software we designed and developed for them is a big
part of that success. What approach did we take, and can this
approach be applied to your product? Join me for Menlo's free
monthly
Taste of Software Success: Three Keys to Creating Unusually Useful
Software session. During this 90-minute talk I'll
give you practical insights into the practices of Menlo's unique
High-Tech Anthropology® team and how they leverage those talents to
create truly compelling results. |
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| Is cursive writing obsolete? - When I was a kid, it was taught as its own subject. Today students are more likely to practice by writing assignments for other subjects, and that may be their only practice -- since most homework is done on a computer, few students really "write" at all anymore. [more] |
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 I bet they didn't see that coming - LED traffic signals have been
installed in many major cities.
Now that winter has arrived, they're discovering an unintended side
effect: they don't generate enough heat to melt snow that collects on
the lenses. Several states are testing possible solutions such as
installing weather shields or adding heating elements.
[more] |
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 All
the cool kids are reading it - No, I'm not talking about
Twilight,
I'm talking about Menlo's new storybook tour called "Innovative
Exploration: A Tour of the Menlo Software Factory™." Our near-daily
visitors over the past several years have asked repeatedly, "When are
you going to write a book about this place?" Somehow we never found the
time before now. Trust me, it was worth the wait! Get a free preview of
the book
here. If you like it, shell out a couple clams and buy it! |
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 Did
you find one under your tree? I did! - Proving that it's no longer
just a gizmo for early adopters, Amazon.com has revealed that the
Kindle is the most gifted item in their history. The company also
noted that for the first time ever, Amazon customers bought more Kindle
books than physical books.
[more] |
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| A Hollywood Fairytale - A 4 minute 48 second video produced for $300 has landed a producer from Uruguay a $30 million dollar Hollywood deal. "I uploaded (Panic Attack!) on a Thursday and on Monday my inbox was totally full of e-mails from Hollywood studios," he told the BBC's Latin American service BBC Mundo. [more] |
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| $26? The government spends more than that on a toilet seat - According to the Wall Street Journal, militants in Iraq have used $26 off-the-shelf software to intercept live video feeds from U.S. Predator drones. This software has potentially provided them with information they need to evade or monitor U.S. military operations. [more] |
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| A Little About Menlo Innovations |
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 When
you walk into the Menlo Software Factory™, with its brick walls, wooden
floors and lofty rafters, it easily evokes memories of Edison’s Menlo
Park Laboratory. This is no mistake. From the onset, the founders’ goal has
been to emulate Edison’s “Invention Factory.” In doing so, we’ve created an
environment where inspiration, collaboration, and development of innovative
products is not only possible, but a regular outcome of our work. We aspire
to make creativity a predictable process wherein problems are solved in a
democratic and informal atmosphere that encourages teamwork.
There are no cubicles or private offices at Menlo. Rather, the space is created with lightweight tables, rolling chairs, power and network drops from the ceiling, and a combination of bulletin boards and whiteboard walls. We are able to rapidly reconfigure the workspace to support collaboration without the need for a “facilities” team. In fact, team members are empowered and encouraged to adapt the layout to their particular needs, and there is no need to ask for permission. Our teams are multidisciplinary. Some of our team members are specialized, many are cross-trained. Far from hiring only computer programmers, we include musicians, mathematicians, engineers, journalists, educators, and graphic designers, to name just a few. This variety of backgrounds allows us to create many different team combinations to meet the needs for each project. Varied levels of experience also enable us to include less experienced team members on the team while still generating outstanding results. We find that including a broad spectrum of experience enables us to constantly challenge what we think we know, to push us toward building better and better products for our clients. This unites the team under a common goal: creating the best software products in the world. For more information about Menlo Innovations, please visit our website at menloinnovations.com or come visit us for a tour or a seminar! Menlo Innovations LLC Our mission: To end human suffering in the world as it relates to technology.™ Coding, format, and on-site content copyright © 2009
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