Tuesday, May 31, 2016
How millennials are reshaping the retail industry
¡Vamos! Break Out Of The Box With SmashingConf Barcelona 2016
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You can't be extraordinary in every project, but knowing how and when to break out of the box can go a long way. The upcoming SmashingConf Barcelona, taking place on October 25–26, will be packed with smart solutions ranging from front-end to visual design to UX - and a few delightful surprises along the way. To the early-bird-tickets.
How do we avoid common traps in UX and front-end development? How do we break out of the predictable, generic, boxy layout? How do we solve complex problems more efficiently? With the second conference in magnificent Barcelona, we'll explore practical techniques and design patterns from real projects.
The post ¡Vamos! Break Out Of The Box With SmashingConf Barcelona 2016 appeared first on Smashing Magazine.
Nvidia's new GTX 1070 freezes out Fury, trashes Titan X
The GTX 1070 launched recently, and it's easily the upper-midrange performance leader. Not only does it beat the Titan X, which launched barely a year ago, it demolishes every card from its own price point and previous generation, as well as the Fury products from AMD.
Monday, May 30, 2016
Smart Responsive Design Patterns, Or When Off-Canvas Isn't Good Enough
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Design patterns often have a bad reputation. They are often considered to be quick, lazy, off-the-shelf solutions that are applied blindly without consideration of the context of a problem. Solutions such as the almighty off-canvas navigation, the floating label pattern or carousels for featured products are some of the prominent ones.
This article isn't about these patterns, though. This article features some of the slightly more obscure design patterns, such as responsive car-builder interfaces, mega dropdown navigation, content grids, maps and charts, as well as responsive art direction. Please note that this article isn't technical; it explores interesting UX patterns out in the wild, rather than code samples. Beware: You will not be able to unsee what you are about to see, and that's probably a good thing.
The post Smart Responsive Design Patterns, Or When Off-Canvas Isn't Good Enough appeared first on Smashing Magazine.
Telus introduces #TheGivingEffect
Friday, May 27, 2016
Alternative thinking on hedge fund assets, climate change and why Trump will win
The Making Of Melody Jams
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After months of hard work, I've finally gotten my side project, Melody Jams, into the App Store. It's been quite the adventure, and I'm thrilled to see it in the store. Seeing it live makes me reflect on the process that got us there: our failures and successes, some of the crazy stuff we figured out and what our hopes and dreams are.
To give you some context, I worked with five other people completely remotely. Most of us still haven't met in real life. In spite of that, we designed, programmed, animated and submitted the app in four months. It works on iPhone 4s through iPhone 6s+ and iPad 2 through iPad Pro. We also tested it with over 30 kids, ranging from nine months to nine years old, in that timeframe.
The post The Making Of Melody Jams appeared first on Smashing Magazine.
McDonald's gets personal with new ad campaign
Netflix will soon be the only place to find Disney, Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Marvel movies
Netflix has announced it'll be the future home of all releases from Disney, Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Marvel, but the company's brief blurb leaves much to be answered -- including exactly which properties and titles they'll be debuting.
HTC Vive review - high maintenance, but worth the hassle
HTC Vive promises the best option for virtual reality - but with a high price, power-hungry processing needs, and confusing set-up needs, can it live up to its own hype?
By: Matt Kamen,
Continue reading...Web Development Reading List #139: jQuery 3, Web Payment API, And ES6 Tricks
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Finding our passion is a big challenge for all of us as human beings. At some point in life, we try to figure out what our purpose in this world is, what our future will look like. And for some of us, the answers we find to these questions are constantly changing.
The constant search to find answers lets us stay curious, creative, vital - and if that's missing, we need to find our passion again by exploring what things we like in our world, what makes us happy. Searching takes time, and we should invest that time - maybe by cutting down watching TV by an hour a week.
The post Web Development Reading List #139: jQuery 3, Web Payment API, And ES6 Tricks appeared first on Smashing Magazine.
Developer claims PS4K upgrade 'absolutely' necessary for VR, slams PS4's performance
Sony is rumored to have made backwards compatibility mandatory on the PS4, but comments from an anonymous developer may indicate otherwise. If the PS4K is necessary for good VR performance, it's going to double the cost of buying into Sony's VR technology.
Quebec broadcasters take aim at CBC over 'ferocious competition'
CBC unveils 2016-2017 broadcast and digital lineups
Leveraging Social Media Can Seriously Boost Your Business
I've been in the electrical trade for over 17 years. I've worked as a helper, a journeyman, a service manager and a marketing director. While a lot has changed since I first picked up a screwdriver on one of my step-dad's side jobs, one thing has stayed the same: the way that electrical contractors market their business.
Netflix is testing a virtual reality 'rental store'
Netflix's latest virtual reality experiment recreates the video rental store experience of the 1980s inside an HTC Vive.
By: Matt Kamen,
Continue reading...Thinkingbox looks to grow globally with new funding
Hospital pays ransomware, but doesn't get files decrypted
After receiving the ransom, the extortionists demanded more before unlocking the hospital's files.
BIM's Future Continues to Look Up
A report published in April by Allied Market Research, titled "World Building Information Modeling (BIM) Market - Opportunities and Forecasts, 2015–2022," forecasts that the world BIM market will generate revenues of $11.7 billion by 2022, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.6 percent during 2016–2022.
According to the report, BIM is forecast to gain increasing adoption across various sectors, especially commercial and infrastructure construction, which have been seeing increasing demand for the automation of technical drawings and databases in recent years.
Working Remotely Around The World: Workspaces To Explore
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If you're a footloose creative soul searching for a more affordable and friendly space than a typical rented or home office, coworking could work for you.
Coworking spaces are popping up in cities all around the world. They allow freelancers, small business owners and independent workers to rent a working area that is shared with others. The setup is usually more casual than the fixed rental agreement you would get in a dedicated office space.
The post Working Remotely Around The World: Workspaces To Explore appeared first on Smashing Magazine.
Alternative thinking on chinese banks… chinese debt… and chinese accounting challenges
“Given that the economy is still relatively closed, it should be within the power of policymakers to maintain a monopolistic environment for the banks to earn their way out.”
That's Red Cliff Asset Management.
William Lee's hedge fund is taking the other side of the standard bearish stance on Chinese banks shared by the likes of Kyle Bass and George Soros…
Why the contrarian stance?
Vice Canada launching Quebec division
Raptors' game 4 sets ratings record for TSN
Floating hospital campaigns for support
Google reportedly working on bringing Android to the Raspberry Pi 3
Google may bring Android to the Raspberry Pi 3, vastly expanding the range and capability of the diminutive device. The latest version of the RBP is significantly more powerful than earlier products -- within range of a lower-end smartphone.
Standardizing Energy-Efficiency Projects Helps to Ensure Cost Effectiveness
According to Matt Golden, a senior energy finance consultant with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), in discussing the challenges associated with energy efficiency projects in a May 4 article on the Utility Dive website, noted, "These projects are very complicated and are unique by nature. This results in very expensive, time consuming, and complicated due diligence by every market actor. It is one of the major barriers to getting these projects completed, whether it is a building owner or an investor looking at a prospective investment."
Monday, May 23, 2016
Alternative thinking on “leftist progress,” Clinton's cash, and the community chest
“I believe there will be a culling of hedge funds like we've never seen before. I'd estimate the number of funds gets cut in half over the next couple of years.”
I'll take the other side of this prediction in a heart beat.
If you know K.C. Nelson, get this column to him.
I'll bet him a steak at Delmonico's with all the trimmings. We'll agree on whose data we will use, and we will start with June 1, 2016.
We'll end on January 1, 2020.
Developing Dependency Awareness
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I'm sure you've heard the proverb, “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link,” probably many times. Its written origin dates back to the 18th century, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was much, much older. And though the work we do has little to do with actual chains, this proverb is every bit as relevant to us.
Remember when Azer Koçulu unpublished more than 250 of his modules from npm (Node Package Manager)? If that name doesn't ring a bell, perhaps this function name will: left-pad. In case you're still scratching your head wondering what the heck I'm talking about, Azer removed a bunch of functions from the canonical library of reusable Node.js code and, in doing so, brought thousands of projects to their knees, including high-profile ones like Babel and React.
The post Developing Dependency Awareness appeared first on Smashing Magazine.
Dell unveils 43-inch 4K monitor that can split into four independent 1080p panels
Ever wanted a 4K monitor that could also connect to four separate desktops simultaneously? Dell has you covered with its new 43 Multi-Client Monitor, aka the Dell P4317Q.
Fruit Ninja is being turned into a live-action movie
Hot on the heels of The Angry Birds Movie, another app is going to be made into a movie: Fruit Ninja
By: Matt Burgess,
Continue reading...Saturday, May 21, 2016
SiriusXM founder and futurist Martine Rothblatt on creativity
Dr. Martine Rothblatt has a message for would-be creatives and entrepreneurs alike: Don't give up.
Friday, May 20, 2016
Porn blocks, inside co-living: Podcast 268
Coming up today, why online pornography ended up in the Queen's speech, how Iraq shut down the internet to stop students cheating at exams and we go inside the weird world of co-living.
By: WIRED.co.uk,
Continue reading...Future Flash: How Domino's became an innovation company
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Alternative Thinking on Lending Club's Crash, Mickelson's Slice and Hedge Fund Lobbying
“The SEC said that Walters called and then sent text messages to Mickelson, who ultimately bought a $2.4 million position in three accounts he controlled.”
First, it was Martha Stewart. Now, it's looking like Phil Mickelson is in hot water for alleged insider trading. Whose next? Frank Stallone? No, don't take Frank Stallone away from me.
IBM Watson amps up Moogfest 2016 with AI-infused programming
IBM Watson came to Moogfest, but there were no Jeopardy questions this time -- it's moved far beyond that.
Gaza Strip iOS game isn't a game, says Apple
Apple has rejected a game influenced by the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from the App Store, saying its political themes mean it is not a game.
By: Matt Kamen,
Continue reading...The synthetic human genome could be around the corner
Will the next Human Genome Project be the Human Genome Synthesis Project? It's possible this could be a bridge too far.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Lasers and nanoparticles combine to allow metalic 3D printing in midair
A new method of 3D printing could allow for custom printing of metal components for electronics, medical devices, and more.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
The Impact of the Electric Grid "Investment Gap" on the Nation's Competitiveness
Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) publishes "The Report Card for America's Infrastructure," which grades the current state of the nation's infrastructure segments on a scale of A through F. The average grade for all infrastructures in the most recent report (2013), according to the ASCE, is about a D. The next edition will be published in 2017.
In addition to the report card, the ASCE also publishes a series of "Failure to Act" reports, which are designed to answer questions in light of the grades that the infrastructure segments receive.
Mirum Canada goes on a hiring spree after account wins
Blizzard will give anyone who sees the World of Warcraft movie a free copy of WoW
Blizzard is handing out free copies of WoW to people who see the film in participating theaters. Are we seeing a new era in video game / Hollywood collaboration -- preferably one that doesn't depend on terrible licensed content and lousy gameplay?