NixMashup for November 2, 2014

Do-It-Yourself Cyborgs

A very thorough read on individuals acquiring transhuman functions through RFID, cybernetics, stimulation devices, sensors, and other enhancements. Discussion of some of the problems ahead, which boil down to these basic questions. Will those with the resources to access enhancements become a cyborg super-class that is healthier, smarter and more employable than the unenhanced? Will the unenhanced feel pressured into joining their ranks or face falling behind? A spinal implant which enables “MMOO”, or Massively Multiplayer Online Orgies– for those into that sort of thing–is just one of the many technologies described in this article.

#future, #transhumanism

Implementing Material Design

Examples of using Material Design effects in an Android application. Includes elevation, cardview, the palette support library, transition effects, ripples and other new effects. After my Samsung S5 phone and my Nexus 7 tablet are running Android Lollipop I’ll have to play around a bit with them in Android Studio.

#android, #androidl, #development

Solar Panels As An Employee Benefit

First of its kind program instituted by Cisco Systems, 3M and Kimberly-Clark who will give employees a deeply discounted way of buying or leasing solar panels for their homes.

#solar, #cleanenergy, #business

Ubuntu Sentiments

Some interesting results from a 15,000 user survey from OMG! Ubuntu. Okay, maybe not so interesting. Favorite desktop is Unity at 63%. 71% say they are just as excited for new Ubuntu releases as in the past and 46% use Ubuntu exclusively. 8% think Ubuntu for Phones will be very successful, 15% unsuccessful. No details about the mid-range responses to the phone question. Here’s the reader survey infographic. The most positive aspect of the survey results to me was that users are still excited about new releases.

#ubuntu, #linux

A Developer Learns He Is Not a Machine

An important read from Smashing Magazine by Paul Boag who discusses his 20 years as a developer, facing challenges and an ever-changing landscape. On how he tried and sometimes failed to deal with the pressures and how he eventually found a healthy life-work balance. Valuable input from many fellow developers in the comments.

#career, #development

HTML CSS and JS Libraries on CodyHouse

Interesting service I discovered called CodyHouse where you can browse a library of free HTML, CSS and JS nuggets. FAQ templates, Responsive Tabbed Navigation, Product Quick View, Slide In Panels and a lot more.

#ux, #development, #responsiveness

Grocery Shopping with Glass

This is a very fun video of a man doing his grocery shopping with Google Glass, from the perspective of the wearer. Purchase list displayed and checked off, with prices subtracted from his shopping budget, ingredient lookup, coupon retrieval and a quick video call to his wife who sees the yogurt selections through his glasses.

#futuretech, #wearables, #youtube

Driverless Car Stats, Figures and Features

Several infographics with statistics and information about Google’s Driverless Car along with a 3 minute video of people taking their first ride in it. Looked pretty great.

#selfdrivingcars, #futuretech

The Lowe’s Newest Robotic Employee

Lowe’s has a new Autonomous Retail Service Robot they’re testing at their San Jose Midtown store. The OSHbot as it is called (for Orchard Supply Hardware) will be “helping customers navigate the store and associates work more effectively.” That is, as long as there’s a need for associates…

#futuretech, #robotics, #trends

In Praise of the JVM

Five reasons why, according to Rebel Labs, that the Java Virtual Machine is so awesome for developers. A fresh yet mature set of technologies, established standards and “good-enough” practices, an abundance of JVM technologies spread across commercial and open source spaces, risk-free experimentation for developers, and an enormous, influential and active community.

#java, #development, #career