Clipmarks | Torley's Pops

Web users 'getting more selfish'

Sun, 25 May 2008 09:26:10 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Web users are getting more ruthless and selfish when they go online, reveals research.

The annual report into web habits by usability guru Jakob Nielsen shows people are becoming much less patient when they go online.

Instead of dawdling on websites many users want simply to reach a site quickly, complete a task and leave.

Most ignore efforts to make them linger and are suspicious of promotions designed to hold their attention.

Search rules

Instead, many are "hot potato" driven and just want to get a specific task completed.

Success rates measuring whether people achieve what they set out to do online are now about 75%, said Dr Nielsen. In 1999 this figure stood at 60%.

There were two reasons for this, he said.

"The designs have become better but also users have become accustomed to that interactive environment," Dr Nielsen told BBC News.

Now, when people go online they know what they want and how to do it, he said.

Tags: web, users, selfishness, speed

Maybe this guy should give Clipmarks a try!

Sat, 24 May 2008 15:36:17 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: I read this sentence and thought, "hmm, i know a place just like that."

Clip Source: www.webomatica.com

All I want to do is share crap with people, comment on stuff, and feel like part of a community, and maybe meet some new eccentrics - as fast and efficiently as possible.

Tags: web 2.0, clipmarks, friendfeed, social web

The amazing new Apple store

Thu, 15 May 2008 14:21:21 GMT

clipped by: Beholder

Clip Source: gizmodo.com

Head of Apple Retail Ron Johnson gave some insight into the planning behind the Boylston Street location. The spot was picked out in 2000, but took eight years of planning to get it built. Because of Apple's recent success, the store has grown significantly from what was originally planned.

The first floor is all Mac, the company's "most important product" according to Johnson. Floor two is dedicated to iPod, iPhone and all the third party accessories Apple offers. The third floor is dedicated to service, with a massive Genius Bar, sections for one-on-one, workshops and a second location for Apple's new "Pro Labs" initiative.

The Genius Bar, which boasts 17 black stools, can serve 1,000 people per day at full capacity, with the store open from 8AM to 11PM.

The store is also environmentally friendly, with vegetation on the roof and a rainwater recollection system which directs water from the roof directly into the Back Bay water table.

The store opens tomorrow, Thursday the 15th, at 6PM.

Clip Source: www.apple.com

Clip Source: gizmodo.com

Tags: apple, apple store

5000 years old "Mini Stonehenge" discovered in Manchester

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:32:08 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.andhranews.net

Archaeologists have unearthed a "mini-Stonehenge" in Greater Manchester, England, which dates back to about 5,000 years.

Archaeologist Stuart Mendelsohn spotted two sites near the moors of Rochdale, believed to be ancient burial sites, during a walk on the hills in December.

English Heritage claimed that both sites were "possible of Bronze age date", suggesting that they could date back to 3,000 BC.

However, unlike the famous monument at Stonehenge, local materials are believed to have been used at the newly discovered sites.

The first site, made up of fallen stones, is 10.2m in overall diameter. The second, which includes the circle, is on the western slope.

The entire site covers an acre, according to an English Heritage report.

Tags: archaeology, england, megaliths, stonehenge, manchester, bronze age, science

New Nine Inch Nails Album Released Online

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 18:48:50 GMT

clipped by: finifinito
clipper's remarks: Yet another brilliant move by a musician who knows his market. NIN's Trent Reznor has seeded The Pirate Bay and several other torrent sites with the first 9 tracks off his new 4 disc set entitled Ghosts, a 2 + hour collection of instrumental collaborations with his band and guests recorded over 10 days last fall and now available online. The first 9 song disc, Ghosts I have been seeded by Reznor himself on the popular torrent sites, and the entire 36 track compilatioin with a 40 page PDF of extras and other digital goodies is available directly from http://ghosts.nin.com for $5. $10 will get you the 2 CD set shipping April 8th and there are options for more goodies for the die hard fans. Yet another fine example of how artists can make it in the music business 2.0 world!

Clip Source: techdirt.com

Now that Reznor is totally off-label, he's pulled a bit of a Radiohead, surprising just about everyone by simply announcing his new Nine Inch Nails album on his website and offering a variety of options in how to get it. Given his disappointment with the Saul Williams experiment, perhaps it's not a surprise that he hasn't totally embraced the free concept. The album itself is 36 songs, nearly two and a half hours of music -- but he's only offering the first nine songs for free. However, he is offering a variety of choices for people who do want to pay -- starting with $5 for a complete download (in a choice of high-quality, DRM-free formats) of all songs plus a 40-page PDF of additional content and a "digital extras pack" with graphics that can be used as wallpaper, icons and anything else.

Einstein, Newton displayed autistic traits

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:10:01 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: "Psychiatry tends to focus almost exclusively on the negative side of different forms of mental illness," Fitzgerald said in statement. "I want to show that psychiatric disorders can also have positive dimensions."

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton displayed symptoms of psychiatric disorders that may have been a key to their genius, a Dublin psychiatrist said.

Michael Fitzgerald, Professor of Psychiatry at Trinity College, Dublin, said characteristics linked to autism spectrum disorders such as Asperger's syndrome are the same as those associated with creative genius, The Daily Telegraph said.

Fitzgerald, author of the book, "Genius Genes: How Asperger Talents Changed the World," said Enoch Powell and Charles de Gaulle both appear to have had Asperger's syndrome.

Speaking at a meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Academic Psychiatry, Fitzgerald said De Gaulle's Asperger's syndrome was critical to his success. He was aloof, had a massive memory, lacked empathy with other people, and was extremely controlling and dominating.

Isaac Newton was known to work non-stop for days and Einstein worked in a patent office because he was too disruptive to get a university job, the newspaper said.

Tags: einstein, newton, genius, creativity

On Bullshit

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:09:13 GMT

clipped by: dakotayii
clipper's remarks: Long article.Good Bullshit.

My take:
Bad Bullshit - Instantly found
Good Bullshit - A little research you will find
Genius Bullshit-Took a very long time to find

The whole world is made of bullshits - one pile on top of one another. We are all bullshitters - Bad, Good and Genius. Cheers.

P/s I am one of them.

Clip Source: web.archive.org

One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken in by it. So the phenomenon has not aroused much deliberate concern, or attracted much sustained inquiry. In consequence, we have no clear understanding of what bullshit is, why there is so much of it, or what functions it serves. And we lack a conscientiously developed appreciation of what it means to us. In other words, we have no theory.

Tags: humor

Old School ANSI Like Art In Second Life

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 05:06:32 GMT

clipped by: Chrischun
clipper's remarks: Sometimes what is old and lame can be new and cool again. In digital worlds the practice of retro, iconic, art styles which greatly mirror classic ANSI Art can be seen dotting mapped landscapes when seen from a great distance above. Presented for your enjoyment is a collection of such artwork and snarky messages as seen on wide view maps from the net's most popular virtual world.

clip: Now let’s fast-forward to the present of home connections measured in Mbps, social media filled buzz words and every other grandma being wired. Chunky EGA graphics being a thing of the past but retro having a following, G4’s Code Monkey television show a good example of how strong and large the fan base still is, but what good is such an art for in today’s interactive digital media? Something so dated it derives attention from it’s ability to standout from the smooth anti-aliased images our eyes are now accustomed to. How about within the over-hyped realm of Second Life and other 3pointD worlds.

Clip Source: www.virtuallytime.com

Old School ANSI Like Art In Second Life

Now let’s fast-forward to the present of home connections measured in Mbps, social media filled buzz words and every other grandma being wired. Chunky EGA graphics being a thing of the past but retro having a following, G4’s Code Monkey television show a good example of how strong and large the fan base still is, but what good is such an art for in today’s interactive digital media? Something so dated it derives attention from it’s ability to standout from the smooth anti-aliased images our eyes are now accustomed to. How about within the over-hyped realm of Second Life and other 3pointD worlds.

Tags: 2d map artwork, 3.d, 3pointd, acid, advertising, advertising in second life, ansi art groups, ansi art, content creation, ega

Create your own Simpsons Avatar

Sun, 01 Jul 2007 21:25:15 GMT

clipped by: ericskiff
clipper's remarks: A bunch of my friends on twitter started showing up with Simpsons avatars yesterday. Scott Beale solved the mystery of where they were all getting them - the Simpsons Movie website has a great flash avatar creator.

Clip Source: laughingsquid.com

The Simpsons Movie website has a really cool avatar creator. What’s yours look like?

Tags: simpons, avatar, fun, game, creator

The most addictive website I have seen in a long ...

Sat, 19 May 2007 16:45:13 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Besides Clipmarks that is ...
This site is unbelievable, you just sit and stare.

Clip Source: flickrvision.com

Tags: flickr, pictures, maps

Man Claiming Disability Benefit Wins "Strongest Man" Competition

Sat, 19 May 2007 07:53:45 GMT

clipped by: alanocu
clipper's remarks: If you're getting welfare because you're claiming to be disabled, don't compete for title of your town's Strongest Man.

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

A man was crowned Cornwall's Strongest Man while claiming disability benefit, a court heard yesterday.

Jonathan Stentiford, from St Neot, Cornwall, entered the competition in 2003 under a false name and won £300. Challenges included holding up the end of a Mini Metro.

Jonathan Stentiford lifted a car while claiming disability benefit

Andrew Oldland, prosecuting, told Truro Crown Court the charges involved benefit payments of up to £40,000.

Stentiford, 35, pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to notify the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) that he was working. He also admitted that between June 2002 and October 2006 he had failed to tell them that his condition had improved.

He also admitted failing to notify Caradon district council that he was working between February 2002 and October 2006 because it could affect his claim for housing and council tax benefit.

Tags: offbeat, disability, competition, welfare

Evolution of a new born Panda

Fri, 18 May 2007 14:40:12 GMT

clipped by: zephyr1

Clip Source: news.worldwild.org

Once upon a time the female panda was pregnant and when the time came she gave birth to this little fellow….

The new born cub was so small and fragile that he seemed to be more of a cat cub than of a panda one…

Attention, good care and all the time needed were spent so that the little cub would grow healthy and beautiful…

In a week, he is already acting as a ” big ” and powerful animal, sniffing around…

At 25 days, the cub begins to look as a panda…the specific black spots have already appeared but he’s still blind…

After 30 days, the cub looks like a little pig ..

In a couple more days, we have a brand new panda cub able to eat and start to play by his own.

When he’s 85 days old, no one knows what he’s up to….

But he still is somehow funny and he sleeps just like a human baby…

Let’s blow the candle, the cub has reached 3 months old ….

Mammals evolve the same way as humans do and still, people couldn’t care less about them, about the environment and about living a healthy life…

Tags: panda, birth, endangered

A Beautiful Klimt

Tue, 08 May 2007 03:18:11 GMT

clipped by: ashleystar
clipper's remarks: love the blueness.

Clip Source: www.prestigegaleria.com

Tags: klimt, artist, painting, art, image

If Google didn't exist... (horror!)

Thu, 03 May 2007 05:52:13 GMT

clipped by: Amiya

Clip Source: googlesystem.blogspot.com

If Google Didn't Exist...

* our mail account would still have 2MB or 4MB of storage and we would be happy about that.

* we would find a mail by manually reviewing each subject and sender.

* we would pay for software like Picasa, Keyhole (now Google Earth), Sketchup.

* many startups would not exist without Google AdSense, so there would be less innovation.

* Opera would still be shareware and ad-supported.

* our homepage would be a portal, or about:blank.

* our search engines would be cluttered, would mix ads with organic results and wouldn't care about the users.

* we wouldn't look for a search bar in every site.

* we would think beta software is just for the testers and it's dangerous.

* technology news would be less exciting.

Tags: google, humour

Think Before You Post

Fri, 04 May 2007 19:41:43 GMT

clipped by: haraya

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: web, internet, privacy, warning, technology, video