World Markets Simplified

Store browsing is fun for some, tiresome for others but it's very often a tale of accidental self-discovery of something you'd like to buy. Advertisers and other enterprises like fashion magazines have long attempted to help you discover things you'd like to buy, but it tends to be very narrowly focussed--promoting just a few articles that represent the new look for this season.

Snapette, a digital fashion app. launched in 2011 as a social network for women to "share images of their favorite fashion finds" it's just been completely overhauled as a new app that does something rather more powerful. The company is even heralding it as the "first location-based shopping application." It works by delivering information to the shopper based on location data. If it detects you're standing in a shopping district in New York City for example, it'll serve up to you information on items available in nearby stores as well as special offers, so you can work out if there's anything interesting in a store before you go in. Simultaneously, the app is a discovery engine because it may reveal to you something in a particular store that really appeals to you, even if you habitually never shop with that retailer.

There's also the ability to browse to discover fashion items by trend (locally, and internationally) or by brand. Meanwhile the most powerful bit is that "brands can also send real-time notifications to potential customers already shopping nearby with special discounts and the inside scoop on exclusive one-of-a-kind pieces." In other words, stores--or brands, knowing which stores their items are stocked in--can actively ping users of the Snapette app with a pop-up notification that says "Just in: New stripey green socks!" (Hey, they can look good with the right outfit!) Such notifications will excite consumers, drive sales, and drive foot traffic too.

Let's consider a couple of the subtleties in this idea. Firstly, the app may yield a very different kind of shopping experience: You may consider starting your shopping by sitting down in a coffee shop and using it to discover if there are any products or special offers nearby. Secondly, there's a ton of money to be made in the act of helping you to discover things you may like to buy. Snapette itself makes money by inserting itself into your shopping trip as a discovery agent. It relies on both user buy-in and brand/store adoption, without a userbase the app's makers would have no commodity to sell to their advertising partners, and without ubiquitous product placements and active participation from stores and brands then users would fall out of love with it. But it's likely to be closely followed by many other apps of its sort, perhaps evolving from services like Yelp--because if they make themselves the shopping app de rigueur, they may stand to make a lot of money by changing the entire shopping experience.

And simultaneously there's a booming technology that will help the precision of location-based "discovery" shopping--indoor GPS. Google and other companies like Apple have made special effort to try to invent indoor navigation systems, using data sources like Wi-Fi signals to replace GPS (which really doesn't work indoors) and user-submitted maps. But a new system from Duke University dubbed UnLoc does something even cleverer, because it uses "invisible landmarks" to help a smartphone work out where it is, and it doesn't require the same sort of wardriving system that Google's promoting. It also uses less battery power because it works out the landmarks using the phone's motion sensors--which react as their owners move through a space, or go up an escalator--in combination with sensing Wi-Fi dead spots or 3G signal drop-outs. Its inventors tested it out on campus and at the Northgate shopping mall in Durham, because they've already envisaged its use for shopping apps, and found it could locate phones to around 1.6 meters in accuracy.

Which means the next-generation of apps like Snapette will not only be able to alert you to nearby sale items, but also steer you directly to where it is--inside a store--or to direct you around a large shopping mall or department store. And with one more step it's possible to imagine a system like this seamlessly integrated into something like Apple's Siri or Google's Glass.

About Makani Airborne Wind Turbine ( AWT )

How does it work?

Delta Taking Inflight Internet Global With Gogo Wi-Fi
Delta is taking Gogo Wi-Fi aboard its international flights starting in 2013. So far, the Wi-fi service has been confined to the U.S., but earlier this week picked up $135 million in credit facilities to pick up some international miles. Delta, plugging into Gogo's Ku-band capacity satellites, hopes to operate about 1,000 aircrafts with inflight Wi-Fi by 2015.

A Facebook "Want" Button Could Be On The Way
Via Inside Facebook: Facebook is reportedly experimenting with a new "Want" button that would act similarly to its popular "Like" feature. Third-party Open Graph developers have already created similar features, but a native button means Facebook users wouldn't have to authorize a third-party app to click away at products they desire. If implemented, the addition of a "Want" button could provide a powerful distinction between people who "Like" a product--a vague action that doesn't necessarily indicate a desire to purchase--and people who are actually likely to make purchases. The massive trove of resulting data could prove very valuable to advertisers and e-commerce businesses looking to better target consumers.

A Facebook spokesperson would only confirm they're testing new Platform features and have nothing to announce at this time.

RIP PC Extended Edition: The Tablet Takes Over
The success of the tablet, and the pace at which it has innovated, has put the PC in peril. A new study from Monetate group takes a close look at how tablets have changed the habits of web shoppers.

First off, PC visits are sliding. Today, 88 percent of website visits are made on are PCs--last quarter, that was 92 percent. At this rate, Monetate anticipates PC website traffic will drop to below 75 percent one year from now.

Meanwhile, website traffic from smartphones and tablets has been shooting up. Since last year: traffic from tablet devices increased 348 percent, while visits from smartphone users increased 117 percent. Today, 6 percent of all website access comes from tablets, and as of last quarter 95 percent of those tablets were iPads.

In such numbers, websites can no longer risk having a website that is difficult for visitors on tablets to navigate. Optimizing to be "swipe friendly," using larger navigation, and adding the right buttons that lets tablet users flip through can make a big difference, Monetate recommends. 

Two New Training Programs For Google Developers
Google, in the thick of its I/O developer conference, has brought out two new programs to orient newbie app builders within its famously open platform community. Adding to the face-time that developers get with Google engineers as I/O attendees, Google launched Google Developers Academy, featuring courses and training modules where aspiring app builders can learn to build an app for Google Drive or build chapter markers into YouTube videos. Google's second program, Google Developers University Consortium, is built to connect Google users who use the platforms for education or research.

Foursquare Opens Up With Connected Apps Platform
Foursquare is expanding its app ecosystem. Under the new "Connected Apps" program, third-party partner apps will be better integrated into the Foursquare universe. What does this mean? When you check in for the first time on a day, the Weather Channel app will give you the forecast for the day on Foursquare. If you check-in with a partner app like Foodspotting, Foursquare will post that check in with a link back to Foodspotting, and draw inrecommendations from Foodspotting into Foursquare. The changes will also allow developers at third party app partners to engage more directly with users who use their services to check in. In other words, it allows Foursquare to inject its location-based DNA into other web services--with limitless possibilities.

RIM Cuts 5,000 Extra Staff After Reporting Loss, Microsoft Tie-Up Possible
After posting an adjusted net loss of $192 million, its first net loss in eight years on revenues of $2.8 billion for the first quarter, smartphone giant RIM is said to be facing enormous pressure. According to Reuters, the board is being squeezed to consider more radical ways to turn its ailing business around, and this may even include abandoning its own BlackBerry operating system and adopting a rival OS such as Windows. Microsoft's Steve Ballmer has apparently approached RIM recently, looking for a similar deal to the one Nokia has struck in its own survival attempt. Meanwhile BlackBerry 10, RIM's next-gen operating system, has been delayed until 2013 from late this year, and an additional 5,000 staff will be let go--on top of previously announced layoffs.

Most provisions of the U.S. health care law, backed by President Barack Obama, can be implemented after the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to largely uphold the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The court struck down a measure that would have allowed the federal government to withhold funding from states that refuse to participate in a Medicaid expansion. Medicaid benefits can be broadened in all states that support the change.

Process for setting Libor heads toward shake-up

The British Bankers' Association, which supervises the the London Interbank Offered Rate, expressed "shock" that false submissions were made to manipulate the benchmark. The association requested the government's help to avoid future problems. "It's all about evolution, confidence and no fireworks," BBA CEO Angela Knight said. "If you went for a big bang change, you have big market instability." Meanwhile, U.K. Chancellor George Osborne said the Financial Services Authority is considering criminal charges regarding attempts to manipulate Libor. 

EU leaders relax bailout rules for Spain and Italy

Leaders at an EU summit agreed to ease conditions for emergency loans to Spanish banks and for a possible financial rescue of Italy. German Chancellor Angela Merkel made major concessions, clearing the way for the eurozone to take a wide range of measures to end the debt crisis. The news sent the euro soaring on currency markets. 

IMF and others will discus altering loan terms with Greece

Representatives from the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission will head to Greece next week to begin discussing changing terms of the country's loan. The gathering is described as a fact-finding mission and will feature an assessment of recent economic developments and a chance for the troika to meet Greece's new leaders. 

Germany denies report that it backs sooner action on eurobonds

Germany denied a report by The Wall Street Journal that Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble backed a more rapid implementation of shared eurozone debt liability through issuance of eurobonds than he previously supported. A Finance Ministry spokesman said Schaeuble merely repeated Germany's long-held position that debt mutualization might be possible after further integration of the eurozone. 

SEC might force Nasdaq to upgrade trading systems

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into the cause of problems during Facebook's initial public offering and might force Nasdaq OMX Group to upgrade its trading systems. The agency is considering requiring Nasdaq to overhaul its IPO processes, sources said, but hasn't decided whether to take enforcement action against the exchange operator.

Market Activity
Actions at EU summit send Asian-Pacific markets soaring

Asian-Pacific share markets surged Friday after EU leaders at a summit in Brussels took a variety of actions to deal with the eurozone's debt crisis. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 2.2%. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.5%. China's Shanghai Composite advanced 1.4%. South Korea's Kospi gained 1.9%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 1.2%. Taiwan's Taiex climbed 1.8%. India's Sensex was up 2% shortly before midday. 

U.S. health care ruling's effect on investors likely will be mixed

For investors, the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the law that overhauls the U.S. health care system isn't all good news or bad. New restrictions may cut into insurance companies' profits, but hospitals will get millions of patients who can pay their bills. Most health care companies have long anticipated the coming changes. 

Economics

Automakers add jobs in U.S. to boost production

Automakers are ramping up hiring in the U.S. to keep up with demand for their most popular models. Nissan Motor said it will hire 1,000 workers at its plant in Canton, Miss., and begin assembling its Sentra sedan there. 

Politicians put London's future as financial hub at risk

Over time, a shift of global wealth and trade to emerging economies could undercut London's position as a major financial center, according to The Economist. "Yet London is not entirely at the mercy of external forces," the magazine notes. "Policies matter. Just as the British government unwittingly accelerated London's decline after the second world war, so politicians today risk driving away some of the people on whom this city, and this country, depend for their future prosperity." 

Initial unemployment claims close in on highest rate this year

First-time jobless claims last week neared the highest level this year, the U.S. Labor Department said. Applications declined 6,000, to 386,000, short of the year's peak of 392,000. 

U.S. economic growth held at 1.9% in Q1; corporate profit fell

Expansion of the U.S. economy maintained at 1.9% in the first quarter, but corporate profit decreased for the first time in four years, the Commerce Department said. Meanwhile, an increase in exports was much smaller than previously estimated. 

Brazil launches $57B loan program for agricultural sector

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said the nation will loan $57 billion to agricultural businesses to create jobs and counteract a global economic slowdown. "This plan will show that Brazil is one of the few countries that can create new jobs amid the very serious sovereign-debt crisis affecting the world," she said. 

Japan's factory output posts sharpest drop since 2011 earthquake

Japanese industrial production fell 3.1% from April to May, the biggest decline since the March 2011 earthquake, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said. Weak auto exports to Europe were a major factor. 

Women's top wish from advisers is investment performance

Women's top priority in terms of financial advisers is steady earnings on their investment, according to a survey by Koski Research. Fifty-eight percent of respondents said continuous good performance is most important from an adviser. A long-term financial plan is the top priority for 40%. 

Geopolitical/Regulatory
Can EBA fill the role of a single EU regulator?

The idea of a European banking union has come up many times as a solution to the debt crisis, but for a union to be truly effective, it needs a single regulator, according to this Reuters analysis. Many, however, do not think the 7-month-old European Banking Authority, a supranational watchdog, has the ability to get the job done, even though it comprises central bankers and supervisors from all EU states. 

Germany aims to regulate ultra-fast trading

Germany's ruling coalition is moving forward with rules to govern high-frequency trading. The government is working to give financial regulator BaFin authority to supervise high-frequency traders, sources said. "We are on the right path -- the Finance Ministry has made convincing suggestions," said Klaus-Peter Flosbach, a finance expert for Chancellor Angela Merkel's party.

Turn your iPad into the miniature dance floor of your dreams! Dance to the beat and hit your mark to learn fresh finger moves guaranteed to make you the talk of the town*. Featuring 100 available levels! (*Talk of the town not actually guaranteed)

What is ArduSat?


ArduSat is a miniature cubic satellite, measuring 10 cm along each edge and weighing about 1 kg. Onboard it will have a suite of 25+ sensors, including three cameras, a Geiger counter, spectrometer, magnetometer and more. The sensors are connected to a bank of user-programmable Arduino processors, which run your application or experiment, gathering data from the space environment.

The Arduinos can also read status data from the satellite (like orbit position, per-system power usage, board temperature, etc.), so you can also run tests on the satellite itself. Check out our YouTube Channel for technical details and up-to-date videos of the payload development.

To run your application, experiment or steer the camera you can write your own code from scratch, leverage existing codes available on the internet or use one of the templates we will make available to our backers, creating a growing library of code elements.

Through our web-interface you can then upload your code to our exact replica of the satellite on the ground and make sure that it works as intended. Once you’ve worked out any bugs in your experiment (not that you would ever have any...) we will run a final test before it is uploaded into space to ArduSat. Now your code is running in space, steering the satellite and gathering data! Once the time you have booked on ArduSat is expired, we will send back the data to you via the internet.

Created by a physicist, two aerospace engineers, and a NASA business manager, the project will allow users on Earth to upload their code via a web interface to a ground-based satellite replica. Once the ArduSat crew is sure that the code works, they’ll send it up to the real satellite. At the end of the experiment, data will be sent back down for users to peruse.

The ArduSat team has already built a prototype of the sensors, software, and other technical bits necessary to launch the satellite; now they just need funding (which they have surpassed) to build and integrate all the hardware and software for the launch. Anyone who pledges $325 is guaranteed "three days of uptime on the satellite" to run experiments--not a bad deal.

detects meteors vaporizing in the skies over Europe,

photographs the sunset over the horn of Africa,

maps the Earth's magnetic field cruising over the Indian Ocean,

snaps a picture of the Southern Lights dancing underneath off the coast of Australia,

samples the upper atmosphere to learn about biomarkers and other signs of life,

stares down the eye of a hurricane,

maps the emitted spectrum of the sun,

and is already back over your head, having circled the entire planet!

What you can do with ArduSat?

Take Pictures from Space
The satellite is not just for scientific purposes; ambitious photographers and artists will be able to steer the satellite cameras take pictures on-demand of the Earth, the Moon, or the stars. Especially from the Artist community we expect to see some spectacular private space pictures so we all can marvel at the beauty of Earth from above.