At Gaia Online, users spend more than $1m per month on virtual items, says Craig Sherman, the firm’s chief executive. Running such a virtual economy is not easy, which is why Gaia has hired a full-time economist to grapple with problems that are well known in the real world, such as inflation and an unequal distribution of wealth.
(Link: Virtual worlds for children: Online playgrounds – The Economist)
Archive | July, 2009
Virtual worlds for children: Online playgrounds – The Economist
July 28, 2009
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Wired patent-pending SingleServing SiteGenerator
July 28, 2009
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So-called single-serving Web sites — standalone pages that accomplish only one task — are popping up all over the Net. For example: islostarepeat.com offers Lost rerun alerts; d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y.com is a guide to spelling the word correctly; and amiawesome.com assures you yes, very. The URLs are clever and fun, but why let someone else’s obsession become your time suck? You can set up your own self-, er, single-serving site in just 10 minutes — and possibly become Internet famous. Our patent-pending SingleServing SiteGenerator walks you through it.
(Link: Wired patent-pending SingleServing SiteGenerator)
Delivering More Groceries, and Fewer Boxes – NYTimes.com
July 27, 2009
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FreshDirect spent $1 million to install crossovers in the assembly-line-like system for collating and packing customers’ orders and reprogrammed its computer system to combine elements of small orders from the three areas.
“We had to write an enormous amount of code,” Mr. Ackerman said, “because any one of 10,000 products can go to any point at any time.”
(Link: Delivering More Groceries, and Fewer Boxes – NYTimes.com)
In the Future, the Cost of Education will be Zero – mashable
July 27, 2009
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“Knowledge is, as the economists say, a non-rival good,” wrote venture capitalist Brad Burnham in May. “If I eat an apple, you cannot also eat that same apple; but if I learn something, there is no reason you cannot also learn that thing. Information goods lend themselves to being created, distributed and consumed on the web. It is not so different from music, or classified advertising, or news.”
So in the future, the cost of education might be free, or nearly free, which could just level the playing field.
(Link: In the Future, the Cost of Education will be Zero – mashable)
XPLANE | The visual thinking company
July 27, 2009
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XPLANE is an information design consultancy that collaborates with companies to create understanding.
(Link: XPLANE | The visual thinking company)
iPhone App – The Princeton Review’s SAT Vocab Challenge
July 27, 2009
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The Princeton Review’s SAT Vocab Challenge application is available on the Apple App Store. This iPhone and iPod touch app is a college admissions exam resource that measures a user’s mastery of 250 words, including The Princeton Review’s Hit Parade, a list of 100 words that most frequently appear on the SAT.
(Link: iPhone App – The Princeton Review’s SAT Vocab Challenge)
Foursquare: Why It May Be the Next Twitter
July 26, 2009
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If time has proven anything, it’s that Brightkite is in danger of turning into something like FriendFeedFriendFeedFriendFeed. Great in every way, shape, and form but somehow just missing the mark. In fact, it may have taught us all one big bright lesson — that even though the technology and the idea are fantastic, we don’t really want to know where other people are in the world unless they’re our friends, or we’re at an event. Strangers meeting up with strangers is just strange.
(Link: Foursquare: Why It May Be the Next Twitter)
The Five-Sketches-Or-Else Method: Intro Ppt Presentation
July 26, 2009
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We don’t have designated “software designers”. Each developer is responsible for the design of the product.
(Link: The Five-Sketches-Or-Else Method: Intro Ppt Presentation)
Mac OS X Netbook Compatibility Chart | Boing Boing Gadgets
July 26, 2009
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The short answer: get a HP Mini 1000 or a Dell Mini 9/Vostro A90.
(Link: Mac OS X Netbook Compatibility Chart | Boing Boing Gadgets)
The Kickstarter Blog – Kickstarter and the 1,000 True Fans
July 26, 2009
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A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author – in other words, anyone producing works of art – needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.
(Link: The Kickstarter Blog – Kickstarter and the 1,000 True Fans)
