From the Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Chicago to the recent riots in England and the current slew of Chicago flash robs/mobs used to rob tourists, many are either praising or condemning social media for its part in these events. It has become far easier to organize just about anything via Facebook events or Twitter postings. How have these actions impacted activists and causes? Is this something to be praised, condemned, or neither? When it comes down to it, can we really hold accountable the tools used to mobilize, whether they are used for good or bad, instead of the people involved? Read More »
College can be expensive, and CourseSmart recently released a study* that shows students are more aware of this than ever, earlier than ever. 13% of current high school students begin their college finance preparation as early as junior high, while only 6% of current college students had started by that point. In our tech-savvy world, students are looking to digital course materials to alleviate some of the stress brought on by paying for college and textbooks. Read More »
3M has recently released a new line of projectors and cameras, one of which is the Shoot ’n Share, which is a high-definition video camera with a built-in projector. The 3M Shoot ‘n Share as a camera, projector or video recorder falls short of others on the market, but it works well enough as a whole. The compact nature of the Shoot ‘n Share and its video quality make it useful for family videos, parties, or other scenarios where instant viewing of the video footage is important (i.e. sports training). Yet, there are few other uses for those who would not be buying the camera specifically for such purposes. The only thing left for the buyer is to decide is if the added bonus of immediate projection of video is worth the cost and the concession in quality. Read More »
The Music Box Theater has a midnight showing of Tucker & Dale vs. Evil on Friday October 14th. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, Eli Craig’s directorial debut, shows audiences that appearances are deceiving when a bunch of college students attack two hillbilly friends, who want nothing more than to fix-up their newly purchased vacation home in the Appalachian mountains, after a series of miscommunications leaves them thinking that Tucker and Dale are taking a page from Deliverance. Read More »
Google. Time Magazine. FedEx. Microsoft. Dell Inc. Facebook. These heavy-hitting companies all have one thing in common: They were created by college students or recent graduates. College students are in quite the predicament these days, they have their degree and the knowledge, but job offers aren’t particularly easy to come by. These companies stand to offer an alternative to the traditional job search: Innovation and the creation of one’s own company. Read More »
Netflix has made quite the public spectacle these past few months, with their 60% price increases and the announcement of that horror that was to be Qwikster, but things are looking up for the DVD-by-mail, instant streaming company. Not only has Netflix indeed acquired the streaming rights for some awesome shows, but they have come to their senses and Qwikster is no longer happening. According to a statement from Reed Hastings, “It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs. This means no change: one website, one account, one password… in other words, no Qwikster.” Read More »
Most smartphone cases advertise as the ultimate protection against scuffs and damages when dropped, but the Yofo Eero SmartGrip is out to combat the problem of dropping it in the first place. This suction cup grip can be used for smartphones, tablets, and iPod Touches to increase both stability and ease of use. The packaging is reminiscent of such for Apple products and lets you know what market this is being geared toward. Advertised uses include: kickstand for watching video, attachement for boat or cars, better gaming and functions as a joystick, headphone wrap, hands-free shoulder cradle, and a way to eliminate the iPhone “death grip” (a problem, which many claim to have, in which the iPhone loses signal strength when people hold the silver band without the barrier of a case or bumper). Read More »
From October 10th to the 16th, 2011, Chicago Ideas Week is bringing some of the world’s top speakers to the Windy City to fuel exploration, creativity and innovation.
This Monday will mark the beginning of the first ever CIW with seven-days worth of TALKS (90-minute panels on various themes), LABS (behind-the-scenes experiences at prominent businesses and institutions) and MEGATALKS (Talks with distinguished, globally recognized speakers) at $ 15 a ticket per event. With events like the “Future of News” moderated by TIME’s editor Rick Stenge, panels on Hackers, Film, and Social Entrepeneurship, and Mega Talks with the likes of President Bill Clinton, among others, CIW can't fail to get the creative juices flowing in the minds of all attending Chicagoans. Read More »
The iPhone 4 offGRID Backup Battery Case from Incipio could very well save lives. Okay… that might be an exaggeration, but for someone whose cell is so constantly attached to her arm that she feels like the Bionic Woman, I feel pretty justified in saying so. Nothing is worse than having that "Low Battery" notice pop up on your iPhone when your waiting for an important call or trying to send a critical email. Well, the offGRID case offers a chance to avoid those moments of panic (or boredom) for those whose lives are essentially in their iPhone. The case holds an extra full-charge that can be activated when one’s iPhone’s battery is running low, all in a durable shell. Read More »
October is finally here and so begins the countdown to, what is arguably, the best holiday ever: Halloween. Haunted houses, costumes, and pumpkin carving are part of what makes this month so awesome and the Halloween festivities wouldn't be complete without, at the very least, one late-night movie marathon. Here is a list of 5 films fit for All Hallow's Eve. Read More »
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