College libraries have been lending laptops to students on short-term loans for years. Clearly, computers are deemed to be essential for work and education alike. But as ubiquitous as Coca-Cola? At Drexel University in Philadelphia, yes. The university recently teamed up with the Free Library of Philadelphia to create a vending machine that...
One of the biggest trends we're seeing recently is related to products that analyse the many things we come in contact with every day, giving us information that makes our world more transparent and more personalized. Examples include everything from wearable monitoring devices like the Apple Watch to electronic tattoos let doctors monitor...
3D printing has already boldly gone to create everything from automobiles to entire houses. Some companies are even using it to create parts for commercial jet engines. Yet somehow it still comes as a surprise that the technology is now being used to create rocket ships. Because 3D printing can make featherweight flying objects more quickly and...
The Internet, social media and smartphones have all changed journalism and the way journalists do business. We now live in a 24-hour news cycle and stories need to be published immediately to avoid being scooped by Twitter. But as a look at any newspaper's balance sheet will tell you, traditional media outlets were slow in adapting to and...
A social media fad is hitting Japanese high schools. Called Insta in My Hand, the "foto fad" is basically an image of the user’s hand overlaid with a translucent screen grab of their social media page. Yup, that’s really all there is to it, essentially a photo of someone’s smartphone screen without the smartphone framing the image. This flash-...
In the USA in particular, most airlines have let their business lounges slip in quality, along with the services they provide in the air. No matter that recent years have delivered record profits to the country's airlines, it seems they prefer to complain about subsidies to foreign carriers than boost their own offerings. Well, when there is a...
While alcohol consumption in general remains relatively flat, consumers are guzzling down more expensive, high-quality liquor in recent years. Whiskey has proven especially popular with a new generation enamored with the Golden Age of cocktails. First bourbon was in vogue as the main ingredient in classic cocktails that hadn't been seen since...
3D hasn't gone well for television, and the concept has cooled in cinemas. Part of the problem is that most 3D technology requires that the viewers wear special glasses. The holy grail in 3D video is in creating images all three dimensions without the need for people to wear special lenses. Several companies have created this technology, but...
Critics malign the selfie trend for celebrating narcissism. Companies, on the other hand, are embracing this trend as an avenue for free promotion. More and more we are seeing tourism destinations and other venues creating "Instagram moments" that invite customers to take photos of themselves and post to social media. Now Virgin Atlantic...
As marijuana legalization spreads across the USA, entrepreneurs are racing to get in on the ground floor of this nascent market. Many established companies are wary of the sector because contradictory state and federal regulations make the business of pot a risky proposition. Start-ups on the other hand, have lots less to lose, so the race to...