A marketing firm has released a job advertisement that stipulates applicants must be dyslexic as it wants employees who think differently.

The ad – which features a photograph of the Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who was dyslexic – says: “We require people with a unique mind, so only dyslexics (like Steve) should apply.”

It was released by the Garage, which aims to provide “innovative thinking” for businesses. The new marketing consultancy was founded by Chris Arnold, a former creative director at the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi who describes himself as a “dyslexic entrepreneur”.

Arnold said he does not care if the ad is seen as a discriminatory against non-dyslexics. “If you wanted to assemble the world’s best choir you’d want great singers, not tone-deaf ones. We are simply looking for the best innovative thinkers and they are usually dyslexics,” he said.

Click here to read the full Guardian article 

Welcome to the future of Ford. Where you don’t just buy a car, you get access to an entire digital ecosystem of services for being part of the family, as they start to shape the future of the automotive industry, where just perhaps, you won’t even have to own a car with RideShare of the future.

Launched at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Ford announced FordPass, which is available for free to anyone, even non-Ford owners, weirdly enough. For example, the parking service taps into ParkWhiz and Parkopedia, allows anyone to find/reserve and even pay for parking using the new FordPay digital wallet inside FordPass. FordPass even lets you speak to personal mobility assistants called “FordGuides” who can do almost anything for you. And all packaged into a mobile app. Launching April. Exciting times ahead in the car industry.

Original article on Digital Buzz

For an more in-depth look read the excellent Mashable 

HaptoClone works by using converged ultrasound to give tactile feedback. An array of 1992 ultrasonic transducers are installed along the inside of the cube, which record and replicate omni-directional and volumetric forces. The feedback is instantaneous, so you can get a quite realistic feeling that the hand in the other cube is touching yours.

But to make the illusion more complete, they’ve added a trick with a mirror which helps you think you see the object you’re touching (it’s the same trick that made theTupac “hologram” which is known to haunted house enthusiasts as Pepper’s ghost). The combination of the ultrasound nudges plus the visual cues superimposed before you definitely makes for a magical “telehaptic” moment.

After reaching out and touching my cube-mate, we did a kind of a modified handshake and high-fived. The forcefield wasn’t as strong as in reality—it didn’t stop my hand in mid-air completely as a human hand would—but it provided enough detail that I could easily feel each of his fingers as they were touching mine.

But the next part was even crazier. A tiny beach ball tethered with a wire was placed into the cube and I was told to swat at it. While I couldn’t feel anything as detailed as textures, I gotta say it felt completely convincing, especially the part where I could manipulate the ball. I could tell just by touch and tactile feedback that it was some kind of inflated plastic for sure.

As far as a practical application, HaptoClone isn’t quite there yet. Right now these cubes are big and bulky. Plus the physical detail isn’t good enough to share specific tactile information; it’s more about giving a general idea that you’re interacting with a real object or person. But the feeling that you’re bumping up against an optical illusion is pretty convincing—at the very least, you could make a way scarier haunted house.

But it’s not too hard to imagine what’s coming. I have an eight-month-old and we regularly FaceTime with the grandparents. My daughter’s first reaction is to lunge out at the iPad, attempting to touch the face of who’s talking to her, just like in real life. Consider a 3D version of Force Touch, the pressure-sensitive interface of an Apple Watch, that would allow my parents to feel their grandchild’s palm on their cheeks. I could easily see how this could soon be the next generation of enhanced video chat. You know, when you actually want to reach out and touch someone.

Original Article published on Gizmondo

The SwishList is an app that simply allows you to save what you see.

It scratches the very real itch of seeing a product or service while you are out of your home and wanting to make a note of it in order to look it up and possibly purchase once you are home.

It works simply by opening the app and pointing your smartphone at the poster, billboard or shop window display. The app then automatically recognizes the items in front of it and adds them to your SwishList.

Once back in the comfort of your home or at a more convenient moment, you can access your SwishList account and review your items and make a purchase.

The technology behind SwishList works by brands uploading their latest campaigns to the apps backend and tagging the items within the image.

The same option is available for shops, allowing them to upload images of their window displays and tag the Swishable items.

As more campaigns get released the database grows bigger and the app gets smarter, alerting consumers to items they may like based on their most recent Swishes and offering online discounts with favourite retailers.

Creative Orchestra is currently doing consumer research and in talks with various companies with regards to producing the SwishList.

If you are interested in partnering with Swishlist or would just like to find out more, please contact either Chris or Joe on 0207 272 2297.

chris@creativeorchestra.com, joe@creativeorchestra.com

The Netflix Switch is powered by a Particle Core, an Arduino-compatible development kit that features on-board WiFi. There’s also a battery, a bunch of LEDs and an IR transmitter that mimics the IR signal found on Netflix-compatible TVs. Netflix lists everything you need (including Philips’ Hue lighting system), but you’ll want to have a basic understanding of electronics, web servers and how APIs work before getting started.

If the project is a little out of your reach, the good news is that Netflix is taking proposals for its next build. Just head over to the “Make It” site and share your suggestion in the relevant box. Who knows, it might work out when you’ve have a rough day and deliver back-to-back Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt episodes to cheer you up when you get home.

Original article on Engadget 

Bertram said Uber’s task is to apply what it has learned providing taxis in 350 global cities (including Bogata, Nairobi, Bangalore and 12 in the UK) to other forms of urban infrastructure. “We already provide the ability to get a car at the touch of a button,” she said. “Now imagine if you could use that same network of drivers and allow you to also get other things.”

For businesses, on-demand delivery provides a competitive edge that bigger rivals might not be able to match, Bertram said. It also gives them the chance to scale more quickly, as they are able to reach customers who would otherwise be too far away to buy their product. Finally it provides “customer loyalty and satisfaction” Bertram said. “To get something within an hour? That’s pretty amazing.” It also means travelling long-distance to a one-stop superstore isn’t necessary. “Customers can think about buying local,” she said.

“We believe it’s a positive thing for the city in which we operate.”

What’s next is not necessarily transitioning delivery to robots, self-driving cars or drones, she said, but being able to combine multiple deliveries into one trip — vastly reducing the cost. That’s the concept between the UberPool ride-sharing service, and the concept is increasingly applicable to deliveries too.

“Imagine if you could combine UberPool and UberRush?” she said, under a slide labelled “One More Thing”. With clever match-making tech, the price of instant delivery could be dramatically reduced.

Eventually Uber drones might be possible, she admitted — but autonomous delivery is “five to ten years off” even if you assume questions around insurance and liability are settled, which they are not. Regulations — as Uber has seen constantly in regard to its core taxi product — are also a potential headache.

“It’s almost impossible for us to think ahead,” she said. “But we’re always looking at pushing the boundaries of the services we offer.” But one prediction is possible — that “by 2025 there will be no need to own a private car”.

“We’re able to start solving, or helping to solve some of the really big transportation problems in our cities,” she said.

Original article on Wired.com