Focus: Latest

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NimbleTV: one step closer to TV Everywhere

NimbleTV is a new service that frees up satellite and cable TV subscribers to watch content on any device and in any location. It flies in the face of restrictive content providers, and heralds the gradual implementation of 'TV Everywhere'.

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23andMe: a genetic Facebook

For a couple of drops of saliva and a few hundred dollars, US-based genomics business 23andMe will extract your DNA and screen it for genetic disease markers. Since launching in 2007, the company has processed 150,000 paying customers' DNA.

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Kaggle: playing the data game

The open data platform Kaggle uses advanced crowdsourcing techniques to solve complex problems. Its popularity with brands presents one of the most convincing arguments yet for opening up data to as wide an audience as possible.

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Japan's virtual kiss-o-grams

Scientists at Keio University in Japan are developing digital advertising posters in the form of interactive kiss-o-grams which allow users to get up close and personal with their favourite pop idols.

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TWINE: objects speaking to their owners

Two MIT graduates have created TWINE, a system that sends a tweet when your laundry's done, an email when your basement floods, or a text message when you leave the garage door open. And it could prove to be incredibly handy.

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Life 2.0: empowering elderly communities

Life 2.0 is an EU-funded project, involving 13 core partners in five EU countries, which has developed a series of networked applications to help empower elderly residents to live more independent lives.

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Tokkster: meet strangers on the same page as you

Tokkster's goal is to turn the entire internet into one big frictionless chatroom. Browsers can interact on the same site in real time – providing opportunities for serendipitous encounters and meaningful engagement around a brand.

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Scanadu: healthcare in your hands

A team is creating a mobile device that will diagnose ailments by being placed in close proximity to the body. The idea is to empower consumers to take control of their own health, enabling healthcare systems to operate more efficiently.

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Nest Thermostat turns up the heat

Tony Fadell, the man who helped oversee the design of Apple's iPod and iPhone, has designed a new thermostat, as beautiful as any Apple device and just as smart inside; a thermostat that promises to 'learn' the patterns of its users.

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VMware: work, text and play

Employees are increasingly insisting on using their personal smartphones as work tools. To deal with this, a new mobile virtualisation platform lets consumers run two phones – one work and one personal – on the same device.

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Aesir: luxury in simplicity

Danish brand Aesir has created a mobile phone that is so painstakingly crafted that its simplicity is a virtue in itself. Yves Behar, who designed the handset, says “I wanted to focus on the idea of voice, clarity and simplicity.”

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Sony SmartTags: smarter smartphones

Smartphones with endless features and settings require constant reconfiguring from users, which can be somewhat tiresome. Sony's SmartTags attempt to eliminate this through the use of NFC technology which adjusts the phone to its environment.

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Duolingo

The new Duolingo project aims to teach people a new language while they simultaneously translate the internet. The project’s ultimate aim is to get 100 million people to translate the web into every major language... for free.

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Little Printer

BERG's Little Printer celebrates the tangibility of paper in an increasingly impermanent society. The London 'invention studio' has now partnered with Arup, the Guardian, Nike and Foursquare on a set of custom content apps for the device.

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Apple: Spot-the-Shopper

As part of the Spot-the-Shopper system, company-owned iPod touches in Apple stores are kitted out with a credit card reader and a barcode scanner, making every employee a walking information and sales point.

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Kinect Accelerator

Microsoft initially tried to safeguard the Kinect against ‘unauthorised tampering’, but quickly backpedalled when it realised the opportunities that outsourced third-party involvement could represent.

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Meet Alfred

Alfred is a mobile application that helps indecisive consumers decide what to do and where to go next. By being aware of location, time and user intent, Alfred's suggestions are personalised for each situation.

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Private app stores

The success of apps in providing everyday solutions is now driving innovation across entire industries, and many organisations are providing apps directly to their employees through their own private storefronts.

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Wearing your heart on your screen

At a bar in Seoul, tablet computers have become modern-day Cupids. Love-hungry youths take photos and write brief descriptions of themselves on these portable computers, which are linked to other tablets and shared with prospective partners.

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3D it yourself

Hacking has had its fair share of media attention this summer, from the phone hacking scandal to the LulzSec DDoS attacks. Part of this phenomenon is the creative, hacking-inspired take on DIY represented by 3D printing.