drag2share: These Tiny Desktop Robots Are A Total Reinvention Of How We Could Interact With Software

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/thumbles-robot-user-interface-2014-5

Those sexy Minority Report-style user interfaces where menus float in front of your face seem likely to happen eventually, but we'll still need some sort of stepping stone to get there.

Thumbles might be just the intermediary to do the trick.

Instead of swiping around in the air, Thumbles have you interacting with tactile objects on a tabletop. These are tiny three-wheeled robots steered by a computer. They employ "omniwheels," which make it possible for them to move in any direction without having to turn, so Brooklyn-based Patten Studio imagines these robots as elements of a user interface.

Different software would respond in different ways — spin a robot like you're adjusting a dial and the software might adjust music volume or video color (as demoed below). It's pretty cool — check out how Patten Studio hypothesizes that Thumbles could be used.

While these are still purely hypothetical use cases, it's an impressive display of technology.

They could be used to dispatch emergency vehicles.

Or for playing games.

Even for editing video — watch as the robots become color dials.

Check out the video below for a full demo:

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drag2share: This Is What Amazon's Smartphone Will Look Like

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-smartphone-renderings-2014-5

Via BGR's exclusive reporting, here's the world's first clear look at Amazon's new smartphone:

The phone will make use of a data plan called "Prime Data," and while the details on it are far from totally known, it's expected to piggyback on AT&T's "Sponsored Data" program. Sponsored Data allows companies to subsidize your data use, paying for the data you consume inside certain apps and services — the data used inside of certain apps effectively doesn't count against your data plan. This might mean that Amazon could offer unlimited data for music and video streaming, but this is still speculative.

BGR describes the phone as "a bit large [but] reasonably comfortable to use with one hand." It will feature a 4.7-inch 720p display, a quad-core processor, 2 GB of RAM, and Amazon's own flavor of the Android operating system, which will be instantly familiar to anyone who's used a Kindle Fire table.

It'll also have a bunch of front-facing cameras that will help produce a 3D effect on the screen.

The phone is expected to be formally unveiled sometime in the third quarter of this year.

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drag2share: This Is What Amazon's Smartphone Will Look Like

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-smartphone-renderings-2014-5

Via BGR's exclusive reporting, here's the world's first clear look at Amazon's new smartphone:

The phone will make use of a data plan called "Prime Data," and while the details on it are far from totally known, it's expected to piggyback on AT&T's "Sponsored Data" program. Sponsored Data allows companies to subsidize your data use, paying for the data you consume inside certain apps and services — the data used inside of certain apps effectively doesn't count against your data plan. This might mean that Amazon could offer unlimited data for music and video streaming, but this is still speculative.

BGR describes the phone as "a bit large [but] reasonably comfortable to use with one hand." It will feature a 4.7-inch 720p display, a quad-core processor, 2 GB of RAM, and Amazon's own flavor of the Android operating system, which will be instantly familiar to anyone who's used a Kindle Fire table.

It'll also have a bunch of front-facing cameras that will help produce a 3D effect on the screen.

The phone is expected to be formally unveiled sometime in the third quarter of this year.

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drag2share: Groupon Wants You To Ditch Your Costco Membership (GRPN)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/groupon-basics-bulk-shopping-2014-5

Groupon just took a shot at Costco by introducing a new online bulk-shopping service called Groupon Basics, that lets users buy products in large quantities, with free shipping on purchases of over $24.99. 

Not only will this service appeal to shoppers who don't have easy access to a brick-and-mortar bulk shopping location (read: most people in big cities), but unlike Costco and Sam's Club, the service won't require a monthly membership fee. 

Right now, the Groupon Basic selection is pretty limited, but Groupon says that in the coming months it will "aggressively build out the existing categories" (which right now includes household items like soap, shampoo, and napkins) and expand into packaged and canned grocery items. 

The service has some overlap with Amazon's recently announced Prime Pantry, which lets Prime members get $45 pound boxes of everyday items. Pantry is not aimed at bulk quantities, like Basics is, but it offers speedy, two-day shipping, which Basics does not. 

The idea of making grocery shopping more convenient is a hot one right now, and if Groupon can manage to expand their selection to make it actually competitive with big box bulk shopping retailers. 

SEE ALSO: Google Has A Super Simple Way Of Scheduling Meetings With Multiple People

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drag2share: People In Texas Really Don't Want To Leave, While People In Illinois Want To Flee

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/states-where-people-want-to-move-2014-5

Data from a recent Gallup poll shows that people living in Connecticut and Illinois aren't too happy with their environment: half of residents say that, if given the chance, they'd move to a different state.

The states where people want to stay? Texas and Montana come out really well.

In Illinois, 50% of respondents want to leave, while only 49% do in Connecticut. Maryland was a close third, with 47% of respondents expressing the same desire. 

But in Montana, Hawaii, and Maine, 23% reported they'd move if the opportunity arose. And only 24% of respondents felt that way in Texas.

To obtain the data, Gallup conducted at least 600 interviews with people aged 18 and older across the 50 states. The survey asked, "Regardless of whether you will move, if you had the opportunity, would you like to move to another state, or would you rather remain in your current state?"

And if you consider actual intention to move, Nevada comes out on top. The highest amount of respondents in any state, 20%, plan to move in the next 12 months. 

In total, 33% of all people in the U.S. want to move to another state. 

(Via Vox)

SEE ALSO: The Happiest States In America

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