Etsy Opens To Manufacturing Taking another step away from being a marketplace known only for “handcrafted” goods to instead focus more broadly on enabling smaller sellers to scale their businesses, online marketplace Etsy announced today it’s launching a new program called Etsy Manufacturing. The service will connect sellers with Etsy-approved manufacturers to help them source production assistance as needed. The move comes two years after Etsy revised its policies to allow sellers to work with manufacturers, provided they were transparent about the process with customers, and continued to maintain their authorship over their own products and designs. At the time of that initial decision, the company explained that its prior policies had been confusing to sellers, some of whom thought any outside help would see them kicked off the site. If approved, the sellers had to list the information about their manufacturer on their shop’s About page, the company said.
Apple Has Teamed up With Hermès for Apple Watch Collab — The Fashion Law After poaching a number of fashion industry insiders, Apple is teaming up with one of the most iconic brands of all: Hermès. Today at its "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, the tech giant announced a partnership with the Paris-based brand, known for its $10k+ Birkin bags, to create a special Apple Watch collection called Apple Watch Hermès. Per Mac Rumors, “the new collection will feature three brand new bands and watch faces. The three leather bands come in three different styles: a leather double loop that wraps around the wrist twice, a buckle and a simple and more classic-looking watch band. 'Super Voice' 4G service from Three offers better signal - BBC News Image copyright Thinkstock Mobile phone provider Three has launched a UK service it says will improve reception inside buildings and in rural black spots. Its 4G Super Voice enables customers to make calls and send texts using a lower frequency spectrum. Other networks are looking into introducing the technology, known as Voice Over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE). It currently works on only the Samsung Galaxy S5, but recent iPhone handsets will be added in the coming months. It is being rolled out in: LondonEdinburghExeterBirminghamCardiffManchesterLiverpoolBristol Three said up to 5.5 million customers would have access to the service by 2017. Chief technology officer Bryn Jones said: "By the end of the year, one million of our customers will have access to better indoor coverage and be able to use their phones in more places than ever before."
Fashion Innovations in 3D Printing Iris van Herpen & Daniel Widrig's 2010 collaboration with .MGX by Materialise TICKETS SOLD OUT!View the event on Livestream. As part of the Computational Fashion program series, Eyebeam presents an exciting event featuring designers and producers using cutting edge 3D printing techniques to push the boundaries of fashion. From the runway to the DIY hackerspace, 3D printing and rapid prototyping have become an increasingly popular and accessible way to produce objects that are both highly complex and easily replicable. Join us as our featured presenters discuss and demo their work, highlighting unique collaborations taking place in NYC between fashion designers, technologists, and manufacturers. PresentersJoris Debo, Creative Director (.MGX by Materialise)Duann Scott, Designer Evangelist (Shapeways)Bradley Rothenberg, architect and Gabi Asfour, designer (threeASFOUR)Alexandra Samuel, Dan Selden, and Ross Leonardy (Crowd Control) Presentations followed by reception
Intelligent Machines: The jobs robots will steal first - BBC News Image copyright Thinkstock If you are sitting at a desk, driving a taxi or carrying a hod, stop for a moment and ask: could a robot or machine do this job better? The answer, unfortunately for you, is probably - yes. The debate about whether machines will eliminate the need for human employment is no longer just academic. Boston Consulting Group predicts that by 2025, up to a quarter of jobs will be replaced by either smart software or robots, while a study from Oxford University has suggested that 35% of existing UK jobs are at risk of automation in the next 20 years. Office workers who do repetitive jobs such as writing reports or drawing up spreadsheets are easily replaced with software but what other jobs are under threat? To find out more about whether your job is at risk of automation in the next two decades, check out the BBC's interactive graphic. Image copyright Transport Systems Catapult For the moment though "the other dude in the car" is in defiant mood. Life's a beach?
Burberry turns to Snapchat before runway to debut London Fashion Week show The first look at Burberry’s latest collection won’t be seen on the runway. Instead, the fashions will be previewed on Snapchat in what the designer is calling “the first ever" Snapchat fashion show. The luxury brand famous for its trench coats will give fans an inside look at its newest styles on its Snapchat account Saturday. The next day, Snapchat plans to feature clips from Burberry’s London Fashion Week runway show in the app’s “Stories” section. It’s a big play for Burberry to get the young adults and teenagers who dominate Snapchat to interact more with the brand. Snapchat has had a big digital presence during this week’s New York Fashion Week. The National Football League, Univision and Live Nation have also struck agreements with Snapchat to help promote their events. Burberry’s announcement included a rare statement from Snapchat Chief Executive Evan Spiegel, whose style preference is usually fashionable kicks, black jeans and a V-neck shirt.
Prosthetic Hand Lets Paralysed Man 'Feel' A prosthetic hand wired directly to the brain has allowed a paralysed man to "feel". It is the first time a person has been able to feel physical sensations through a prosthetic device. The technology is so advanced the 28-year-old man could even identify which mechanical finger was being gently touched. The system was designed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is part of the US Department of Defense. Programme manager Justin Sanchez said: "We've completed the circuit. Video: Aug: 3D-Printing Prosthetics "Prosthetic limbs that can be controlled by thoughts are showing great promise, but without feedback from signals travelling back to the brain it can be difficult to achieve the level of control needed to perform precise movements. "By wiring a sense of touch from a mechanical hand directly into the brain, this work shows the potential for seamless bio-technological restoration of near-natural function." Video: Swipe: Robots And Prosthetics
How 'smart fashion' could transform the mobile workforce The future of wearables could be in 'smart clothes' that blend fashion with tech Picture this: A customer service representative is helping an irate customer on the phone and becoming flustered and frustrated. Rather than hearing about the incident after the interaction has escalated, customer service managers are able to step in and offer assistance because they have access to the rep’s vital signs and health signals. Or, imagine one of your fleet drivers becoming tired and falling asleep at the wheel and a fleet manager having the ability to talk him through getting to a rest area safely, thanks to having access to his health signals. The rise of wearable rechnology Wearable technology is nothing new, but its applications to the enterprise and customer service are just now being realised in a major way. Other research from Human Cloud at Work showed that wearable tech increases job satisfaction by 3.5% and boosts employee productivity by 8.5%. Smart clothes as a tool for business
Future of Food Experience by Koz Susani Design Design Duo Koz Susani have been working on bringing a new food concept to life that would transform the culture of eating altogether. “Just add Water” is a set of appliances which connect to an app that answers the tells you what to eat for dinner, and then makes it for you. Taking into consideration basic facts from your day, like if you exercised or perhaps if you are recovering from a cold, it calculates the perfect meal. “Flavor pills,” tiny water-soluble pods filled with organic spices and nutritional supplements, get added to one of the appliances along with fresh produce and some water. Using sensors and a microprocessor, the appliance cooks the food for exactly the right amount of time and at exactly the right temperature. “The ingredients and condiments are perfectly dosed, and the recipe is ‘contained’ inside the flavor pills,” explains Marco Susani from Koz Susani Design, the firm that created the new system. www.kozsusanidesign.com Via www.fastcoexist.com
How Machine Vision Is About to Change the Fashion World In the 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada, the notorious fashion editor Miranda Priestly sizes up people at a glance by analyzing their clothes, who designed them, and what year they date from. Priestly’s character is famously inspired by Anna Wintour, the long standing editor-in-chief of Vogue, herself a style icon. –> But if a human can recognize and date fashion styles with little more than a glance, why not a machine? Today, KuanTing Chen at National Taiwan University in Taipei and a few pals show that exactly this is possible—that machine vision can classify fashions and changes that occur from one season to the next. Chen and co begin by training their machine vision algorithm to identify an individual’s body pose in an image and then to divide the body into nine regions—the upper and lower arms and legs, and the torso. Comparing fashion styles then boils down to the relatively simple mathematical process of comparing these 72-dimension vectors.
Computers 'do not improve' pupil results, says OECD - BBC News Investing heavily in school computers and classroom technology does not improve pupils' performance, says a global study from the OECD. The think tank says frequent use of computers in schools is more likely to be associated with lower results. The OECD's education director Andreas Schleicher says school technology had raised "too many false hopes". Tom Bennett, the government's expert on pupil behaviour, said teachers had been "dazzled" by school computers. The report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development examines the impact of school technology on international test results, such as the Pisa tests taken in more than 70 countries and tests measuring digital skills. It says education systems which have invested heavily in information and communications technology have seen "no noticeable improvement" in Pisa test results for reading, mathematics or science. Unplugged But Mr Schleicher says the "impact on student performance is mixed at best". The report says:
Whitney Houston 'hologram' to tour next year - BBC News Image copyright Getty Images A 3D moving image of the late singer Whitney Houston is being developed by a US entertainment firm. It is working with the Houston estate and hopes to tour the product in 2016. Hologram US has patented a "high-tech version" of Pepper's Ghost, an illusion that dates back to the 16th century. It can cost "millions of dollars" to develop an image of a deceased star. "I'm not sure if any have pursued it... for most people the cost is forbidding," said head of marketing Owen Phillips. The traditional Pepper's Ghost illusion involves foil and glass, to which Hologram USA has added a patented blend of computer generated images (CGI), moving parts and audio material. In its stable of so-called "holograms" are classic acts such as Patsy Cline, Frank Sinatra and Liberace. However boring celebrities need not apply. "We look for stars with great stories," said Mr Phillips. The firm does also work with living subjects occasionally. "I look forward to the partnership."
MI5 boss warns of technology terror risk - BBC News Advances in technology are allowing terrorists to communicate "out of the reach of authorities" the head of MI5, Andrew Parker has told the BBC. In the first live interview by a serving MI5 boss he told Today that security services could potentially no longer obtain crucial information. He said internet companies had an "ethical responsibility" to alert agencies to potential threats. But MI5 was not about "browsing the lives" of the public, he added. Ministers are currently preparing legislation on the powers for carrying out electronic surveillance. But Mr Parker said what should be included in new legislation was a matter "for parliament to decide". "It is completely for ministers to propose, and parliament to decide. He said online data encryption was creating a situation where the police and intelligence agencies "can no longer obtain under proper legal warrant the communication of people they believe to be terrorists". But he said: "We can't monitor them all the time."