Innovation, Tech and Economic Development
By Andy Curtis | Brought to you by those lovely chaps at Global Innovation Partners.
Could 'solar roads' help generate electricity?
A stretch of road in France has been paved with solar PV (photovoltaic) panels as part of a government-backed initiative for renewable electricity generation.<p>It is estimated that even busy roads can “see” the sky 70-90% of the time.<p>The solar PV panels are coated in crushed glass and resin to make …
Clean EnergyWatch: Full Theatrical Trailer For Wholly Hand-Painted Van Gogh Tribute Film
[Click here to view the video in this article] <br>Composite image by DesignTAXI. Background video screenshots via Loving Vincent<br>In March 2016, BreakThru …
ArtistsSpotify moves into podcasts to disrupt Apple's iron grip
Most podcasts are listened to using Apple software and hardware - Spotify wants to change this (and save itself some money at the same time).
PodcastingThe city that makes the most expensive boats in the world
<b>Wandering along the beach in Italy's Viareggio you could be forgiven for thinking it's simply a holiday resort.</b><p>Yet the umbrella-lined, sandy beaches dotted with tourists mask another role, one at the heart of the shipping industry.<p>This unassuming seaside city is where some of the world's largest …
Super YachtsPoliticians need to get digitally literate – and fast
Corporate bosses now truly understand the risks of poor web security. The public sector must catch up Martha Lane Fox is founder of Doteveryone and a cross-bench peer<p>NHS data breaches, WannaCry ransomware attacks, ATMs hijacked, fake news, violent jihadist content on YouTube. The challenges posed …
How Airbnb uses AI to get you into other people’s homes
To say technology like blockchain or AI is disruptive is a laughable understatement. At Airbnb, though, VP of engineering Mike Curtis said he’s not as concerned with being disrupted by blockchain as he is with the less technological challenge of convincing people to stay in other people’s homes.<p>To …
Machine LearningLondon startup Bulb is trying to convince people to dump traditional suppliers and switch to renewable energy
London startup Bulb has a bigger aim than trying to convince people to download an app: It's trying to rethink how energy suppliers work.<p>Bulb is a green energy supplier, with all of its electricity and 10% of its gas coming from renewable sources. The company says it now has 70,000 …
Renewable EnergyLuxury phone maker Vertu is shutting down its UK manufacturing operation
But the businessman who owns the Vertu brand says he plans to resurrect the company<p>The owner of British luxury phone maker Vertu has failed to rescue the company from bankruptcy after offering to pay creditors just £1.9 million ($2.4 million) of the firm’s £128 million debt. The result of this — …
Mobile TechnologyApple Spaceship Campus Filmed By 4K Drone, and It Looks Amazing
The building is coming together nicely.<p>The Apple Park, the official name for the spaceship-shaped building that will eventually become Apple’s new …
Steve Jobs24matins.uk
World<p>French oil giant Total said Monday that it would buy Maersk Oil, a unit of Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk, for $7.45 billion (6.35...<p>6 …
Total Solar EclipseEvery Major Seattle Accelerator and Incubator, Listed
TechCo has compared accelerators to band camp in the past: You’re stuck in a location with a bunch of your peers whether you like them or not, work …
StartupsLow Light Mirrorless Is Changing Photojournalism
For photojournalists, it’s not a stretch to say available light is the oxygen of our craft. Unless we are creating portraits, we generally don’t …
CamerasMicrosoft's AI-powered iOS app tells the blind what's around them
Microsoft hast just launched Seeing AI, an iOS app that it appropriately describes as a ‘talking camera for the blind’; I’ve been giving it a whirl this morning and it’s actually pretty impressive.<p>Fire up the free app and point your iPhone at anything, whether it’s a document, a menu card, a room …
Artificial IntelligenceNetflix is rapidly taking over the Emmys
TV’s biggest awards show is now a cable vs. streaming showdown<p>This year’s Emmy nominations are out, and one thing is abundantly clear: Netflix is now an entertainment powerhouse, close on the heels of HBO. The company nabbed a record 93 nominations for its original streaming content, nearly double …
NetflixBehind the scenes with Tezos, a new blockchain upstart
Odds are you have at least one buddy who bought bitcoin a year or two back. Odds are that they are giddy about their good fortunes. And they should be–since Satoshi launched the network in 2009 bitcoin has risen to a market cap of $40 billion. The cryptocurrency saw a 200% surge this year to a …
BitcoinFstoppers Reviews Pixrit: The Best Social Media Management Platform?
Pixrit is the latest in social media content managers specifically targeting photographers. With tag lines like, “Designed for photographers, by …
Social Media MarketingAudi knows millennials will have to deal with self-driving boredom
During Audi's elaborate introduction of its new (Level 3 autonomous) A8 in Barcelona, it also talked about the 25th Hour, a research project it says will "define the premium mobility of the future." Simply put, now that you're not driving, what do you do in an autonomous car?<p>The automaker teamed up …
TransportationHype for Hyperloop in Canada: Half the Cost, Quadruple the Speed of Proposed High-Speed Rail Plan
TransPod, a Toronto startup that is building a hyperloop system to disrupt commercial transportation, released the results of its Initial Order of …
TransportationHow data is helping SMEs make better business decisions
From encouraging repeat custom to tracking delivery costs, here's how data might help with your next big business decision.<p>Gut instinct is an important element of running a successful business, but in most cases, cold hard facts make for the smartest decisions. Now that the technology that can …
Small BusinessNet-a-Porter owner opens tech hub in London
New building in White City shows increased commitment to IT, and the UK, after merger with Italy’s Yoox<p>The owner of the Net-a-Porter luxury fashion website is to hire at least 100 more IT experts over the next two years as it shrugs off the impact of the Brexit vote to open a tech hub in the …
LuxuryA New Kind of Tech Job Emphasizes Skills, Not a College Degree
ROCKET CENTER, W.Va. — A few years ago, Sean Bridges lived with his mother, Linda, in Wiley Ford, W.Va. Their only income was her monthly Social Security disability check. He applied for work at Walmart and Burger King, but they were not hiring.<p>Yet while Mr. Bridges had no work history, he had …
EducationBrexit phrasebook: a guide to the talks' key terms
Don’t know your EFTA from your EEA? Help is at hand with our comprehensive jargon buster<p>Acquis communautaire<p>The entire body of European laws: all the treaties, regulations and directives passed by the EU’s institutions, plus all the rulings of the European court of justice (see below). Every member …
Jeff Bezos crowdsources ideas for his philanthropy
It's no secret that Jeff Bezos has made a massive amount of money from Amazon, so much so that he's the second richest man in the world according to <i>Bloomberg</i>. And now, he's ready to give his money away -- and wants you to help tell him how.<p>Yesterday, <i>The New York Times</i> posed questions to the …
The 10 biggest changes Apple didn't announce on stage at WWDC
The death of wired keyboards, less integration with Facebook and Twitter on iOS 11, and a £29 pencil case. Here’s what they didn’t tell you<p>Not everything Apple introduces at WWDC gets a big announcement on stage. Sometimes there are positive things that just aren’t big enough for a fancy executive …
Non-Brits: here's what you need to know about the British election
A quick recap of how Theresa May’s gamble in calling an election to firm up support for Brexit backfired – and what it means going forward<p>Election 2017 - latest updates Seat by seat results guide<p>The British prime minister Theresa May’s gamble in calling an early election spectacularly failed on …
Steam brings virtual reality to macOS
Mac platforms have been too underpowered for virtual reality, requiring Apple diehards to bootstrap Windows for a ramshackle VR solution. But today at its annual WWDC conference, Apple announced a dedicated VR dev kit: A Thunderbolt 3 GPU enclosure powered by AMD Radeon processors and a software …
1st Private Space Station Will Become an Off-Earth Manufacturing Hub
The first-ever commercial space station will become a manufacturing hub just a few years after reaching orbit, if everything goes according to …
The world's first commercial carbon-capture plant opens in Switzerland
A groundbreaking plant where carbon dioxide is sucked from the air before being resold has opened in Switzerland.<p>Founded by Climeworks, the direct …
Roomba creator wants to do for gardens what he did for your floors
Let's be honest: while planting your garden can be fun, weeding it usually isn't. Not unless you enjoy crouching down for long stretches, anyway. You might not have to endure the drudgery for too much longer, though. Roomba co-creator Joe Jones and Franklin Robotics are launching Tertill, a robot …