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Here is a new way literature is moving into technological applications. I've been looking for a better article on this, but most seem a bit too brief. Here the author discusses How works of T.S. Eliot and Jack Kerouac are becoming Apps. This is a really interesting move of taking flat print to deep code.

The popular app Foursquare will notify users of nearby places/things to do/people that the user may want to explore on its update in iOS 5. With this update, the user can receive notifications of places to eat and things to do nearby even when the app is closed.

Another mind-blowing example of technology seeping into every aspect of our lives. I'm not sure whether to say it's cool or creepy, but expect "iPavement" would be wonderful material for a SNL skit. The article suggests some practical and helpful uses intended with this innovation, such as emergency alerts and updates. But it may also quickly slip down the slope to push advertisements and break privacy barriers ever farther.

McLuhan and Bogart would probably enjoy this article because it involves procedural rhetoric. It examines how "gamification strategies"--using games to change behavior in real life--can promote energy efficiency. Companies like SimpleEnergy are creating apps that let users track their energy usage, find ways to improve, and compete with friends and neighbors for spots on a leaderboard. Gamification succeeds because apparently social pressure can motivate people even more than monetary incentives, and these initiatives combine both types of incentives: An energy usage competition at the University of Hawaii led to some dorms cutting energy usage by up to 20 percent. This specific method also allows users to save money and conserve energy without "radical infrastructure changes" or the corruption and waste that often results from government subsidies to politically-connected "green" companies like Solyndra and possibly Sapphire Energy. In addition, the apps provide large-scale energy usage data that researchers can use to measure both change over time and the impact of energy usage on other variables.

Netflix CEO gives a brief rant about the Comcast data limit and how it applies (or not) depending on which app you use for your content.

EnemyGraph, a Facebook app that lets you list your enemies. Silly or necessary? 

Interesting concept of books as an app. I find it interesting that these textbooks are not being "written" but "developed".

A number of companies are working together to create mobile web standards. Standardization is becoming an important issue as many of us (myself included) increasingly access the web through our smart phones.

Why? Good question. $1 billion seems like a big chunk of change to shell out when there isn't an obvious indicator that there will be a turn of profit.

Have you seen the Daily Show bit on this? Hilarious! Does seem rather odd, but I have faith that almighty Facebook has some sort of plan...maybe.

Microsoft combined the functions of two of their cloud storage services--SkyDrive (storage) and Mesh (file synchronization and remote access)--to create what they consider a superior alternative to Dropbox, Apple's iCloud, and Google's apps storage.

Furthering the potential of mobile applications.

Mozilla is jumping into the ring with a mobile OS platform. Still in development, but this is the main page for info about the new platform

While I'm not a fan of reading online/on a computer screen-yet-I am interested in this transition from paper to digital texts (textbooks). There seems to be several advantages, such as constantly updating and affordable ($49 for a science textbook?!).