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Submission + - "Full story" of popular AppGratis being pulled from the App store (appgratis.com)

Submitted by RougeFemme
RougeFemme writes: By now, you may know that AppGratis, a popular app discovery app, was pulled from the App store. (http://allthingsd.com/20130408/confirmed-apple-kicks-appgratis-out-of-the-store-for-being-too-pushy/). Well, here's a post from the CEO of AppGratis with the "rest of the story".

Submission + - PETA's hunter-hunting drones (fastcompany.com)

Submitted by RougeFemme
RougeFemme writes: PETA has announced plans to use drones to fly over popular fishing spots and wooded areas. PETA will not be the first animal-rights organization to do this, but will be the first to do in the U.S. Mix PETA, hunters, fishermen and privacy-rights advocates together and I'm sure a fun time will be had by all.

Submission + - Teachers know if you've been e-reading (nytimes.com)

Submitted by RougeFemme
RougeFemme writes: Teachers at 9 colleges are testing technology from a Silicon Valley start-up that lets them know if you're skipping pages, highlighting text, taking notes — or, of course, not opening the book at all. "“It’s Big Brother, sort of, but with a good intent,” said Tracy Hurley, the dean of the school of business" at Texas A&M."

"Major publishers in higher education have already been collecting data from millions of students who use their digital materials. But CourseSmart goes further by individually packaging for each professor information on all the students in a class — a bold effort that is already beginning to affect how teachers present material and how students respond to it, even as critics question how well it measures learning."

Comment Re:Fakery (Score 1) 248

by RougeFemme (#43399667) Attached to: Fake Academic Journals Are a Very Real Problem
And less informed laypeople will gravitate towards those that support their own particular bias. Actually, most laypeople don't know that these journals exist - legitimate or otherwise - until their favorite spin doctor whips one out to support his/her opinion of the week.

Comment Re:Fakery (Score 1) 248

by RougeFemme (#43399651) Attached to: Fake Academic Journals Are a Very Real Problem
Gas stations in the US used to provide good information. I think that started to change as we moved towards "self-serve", though I can't really say why. Maybe because the employees were less likely to be long-term employees and also less likely to be "neighborhood local".

Submission + - Artificial leaf can now "self-heal" and produce energy in remote areas (sciencedaily.com)

Submitted by RougeFemme
RougeFemme writes: The world's first practical artificial leaf already mimiced the ability of real leaves to produce energy from sunlight and water. Now the device is even more suitable for providing people in developing countries and remote areas with electricity. It has the ability to "self-heal" from damage that occurs during the production of electricity. More specifically, it no longer requires pure water. It can now run on the impure, bacteria-laden water found in nature. In earlier versions, "bacteria eventually formed biofilms on the leaf's surface, shutting down production."

Submission + - Yahoo Chief Tries to infuse company with long-lost start-up spirit (nytimes.com) 1

Submitted by RougeFemme
RougeFemme writes: Yahoo has a reputation as a company that acquires start-ups and then neglects them lets them wither. Reportedly, in 2009, Yelp turned down Yahoo in favor of a lower offer from Google, because employees didn't want to go there and die. (Examples of neglected acquisitions include Flickr (photo service that pre-dated Instagram), Upcoming.org (a social calendar) and Delicious (social bookmarking tool that pre-dated Twitter). Marissa Mayer is trying to reverse that reputation — hence, last month's much-heralded acquisition of Summly. To woo start-ups back, Mayer "is getting personally involved in acquisitions, focusing particularly on mobile-minded engineers." Yahoo is "concentrating on building a major mobile development center in New York" that will be inbued with "the ethos of an agile, lean start-up, not as an outpost of a large corporation." Yahoo has even revamped "Flickr’s mobile app, to the surprise and delight of its fans, who praised the new design." With all the money Yahoo has, plus the attempted cultural change, it will be interesting to see if if start-ups will view Yahoo in the same (mostly positive) light currently reserved for Facebook, Twitter and Google.

Submission + - Customizable BioAid app could replace hearing aids for some (healthline.com)

Submitted by RougeFemme
RougeFemme writes: The BioAid app is not the first developed for the iPhone, but according to researchers, it's unique because of the way it solves individual hearing problems. It also provides a shift from "expert-led to user-led settings". "In the future, we think there is the possibility that hearing aid dispensers will send people out with the equivalent of a mobile phone so they can discover the best settings that can then be used in a miniature hearing aid”

Submission + - Study points to new culprit in health disease (nytimes.com)

Submitted by RougeFemme
RougeFemme writes: A new study into heart disease indicates the real reason red meat may contribute to heart disease is a "little-studied chemical that is burped out by bacteria in the stomach after people eat red meat. It is quickly converted by the liver into yet another little-studied chemical called TMAO that gets into the blood and increases the risk of heart disease. " This also leads to questions regarding "supplements, like energy drinks and those used in body building. Such supplements often contain carnitine, a substance found mostly in red meat." More research is needed to answer the following questions: "Would people reduce their heart attack risk if they lowered their blood TMAO levels? (An association between TMAO levels in the blood and heart disease risk does not necessarily mean that one causes the other.) And which gut bacteria in particular are the culprits? "

Submission + - Fake Twitter Followers Becomes Multimillion Dollar Business (nytimes.com)

Submitted by RougeFemme
RougeFemme writes: There are more than two dozen companies that sell fake Twitter accounts. Those that sell them claim to make up to one million dollars per week. Two Italian security researchers estimate that there are as many as 20 million fake Twitter follower accounts. It's very difficult to tell the different between fake and real Twitter accounts. "Some fake accounts look even better than real accounts do.” Software exists that can create up to 100,000 Twitter accounts in 5 days.

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