MP-Trader News
MP's Mid-Day Minute from MPTrader.comMike paulenoff's Mid-Day Minute
Constructive Signs for DIG
The Ultra Oil & Gas ProShares ETF (NYSE: DIG) popped above key Feb-Mar resistance at 34.40/50 to a recovery high at 35.05, after which it revisited the breakout level into this morning’s low at 34.25. This morning’s upside pivot reversal from 34.25 has propelled the DIG to a higher recovery high at 35.10 so far. The fact that the price structure is holding above the breakout plateau (34.25) within a larger base-like pattern that projects to 37.50 next is a very constructive sign. At this juncture, only a decline that breaks 34.25 will begin to compromise the developing bullish scenario.
Long-term Upside for EMC
The longer-term pattern in EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) has huge upside potential for a thrust above multi-year resistance at 18.50, which should trigger conservative near-term targets of 20.60 and 21.50. Today’s upmove from 17.87 to 18.45 has the right look of the initiation phase of the thrust above resistance. However, my hourly work is very overbought, which suggests to me that for EMC to continue higher directly from here, it must be the subject of some sort of bullish catalyst. Otherwise, the overbought near-term condition should coincide with the advent of a pullback into the 18.20/00 area prior to the next loop to the upside.
BMY Thrust Off Neckline
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) continues to act extremely well technically. Below is what I wrote three weeks ago, with BMY at 24.61. The big picture analysis remains unchanged, and this week's positive action -- especially today's surge from 24.45 to 25.30 -- argues strongly that the price structure has started the thrust off of the neckline retest (Jan low at 23.49). If such a scenario proves accurate, then BMY should be heading for 26.00-26.60 directly from here.
From our Feb 17 analysis: The huge accumulation (base) pattern that has been carved-out by BMY from early 2008 through the end of 2009, broke out to the upside in Nov. '09 at the 24.00 resistance level, which triggered upside follow- through to an initial high of 26.62. The 3 week correction from 26.62 to 23.49 now is compete, which returned the price structure to its "neckline" breakout plateau, from where it has pivoted to the upside-- into what my work argues should be the initiation of a new upleg that revisits 26.62 on the way to 27.50, then 29.00-30.00. Only a plunge that breaks the Jan. low at 23.49 invalidates the intermediate term bullish set-up.
T-Bond ETF Forecasting Weak Jobs Report?
The iShares Barclays 20+ Year T-bond ETF (NYSE: TLT) are acting relatively strong today, the day ahead of the Employment Report. Purely from a technical perspective, all of the action off of the Feb low at 88.51 exhibits bullish form, which suggests that the net reaction (after the first 2 or 3 whipsaws) of the TLT's to the jobs data will be to the upside...
As we show in our chart, after holding key near-term support for two sessions at 90.70, today the TLTs have taken off from the support plateau, and climbed to 91.60 – in what looks technically like the start of a new upleg that should revisit the prior high at 92.06 on the way to a confrontation with the Jan-Feb double-top at 92.39/42. Could the TLTs be forecasting a disappointing Employment Report tomorrow?
Cycle Work Points to Bout of Weakness
It is that time again -- for the bottoming of the 20-25 day cycle in the S&P 500 (SPX). The problem is that since the Feb. 5th pivot low at 1044.50, the ENTIRE cycle has been on the upside -- so far. Usually, when a cycle is so lopsided to the upside, the final 1-3 sessions ahead of an anticipated low ushers in some intense weakness. Today is the 18th session off of the 2/05 low. If the current cycle proves to be 21 days in duration, then next Monday we should expect a low. If this cycle is 25 days long (like the Jan-Feb cycle), then the low could be Friday 3/12. With this Friday's Employment Report certain to create intense market volatility, and because it coincides with the "window" for a forthcoming cycle low, Mr. Market could be setting up for a serious bout of weakness starting THIS Friday into early next week.
Alternatively, if the SPX moves straight up into and in reaction to Friday's report, the technical work is warning me to sell into the news ahead of the anticipated cycle low. With the SPX up 6% since the last Employment Report (Feb 5th), the potential for a nasty correction would appear to be gaining steam. Purely from a price perspective, a decline in the SPX that breaks 1115.70 will be my first strong signal that the "downside" of the near-term cycle is in progress.
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Tech-Trader News
Closing Comments from TheTechTrader.comClosing Technical Comments
Late Snapback Keeps Rally Going
The stock market indices ended up on the day after a late snapback rally brought them back from a sharp afternoon sell-off. The day started out, however, with a bit of a dip lower, and then immediately reversed and rallied strongly. The Nasdaq 100 rallied from 1886 to 1911, and the S&P 500 from 1135 to 1145.
In the afternoon when they couldn’t make any further progress and an early afternoon rally failed to take out the late morning highs, the indices rolled over, dropping the NDX from 1911 to 1893 and the S&P 500 from 1145 to 1137. In the last half hour they snapped back sharply to close back in the plus column after having gone red with just about 30 minutes to go.
Net on the day, the Dow was up 11.86 at 10,564.38 after reaching a high of 10,612.60. The S&P 500 was up 1.95 at 1140.44 with a high of 1145.77. The NDX was up 10.49 at 1901.30 with a high of 1911.38.
Advance-declines managed to stay positive by about 430 issues on the New York Stock Exchange and positive by about 300 issues on Nasdaq. Up/down volume was about 7 to 4 positive on New York on total volume of about 1.1 billion. Nasdaq traded more than 2 1/3 billion and had better than a 2 to 1 positive ratio on advancing volume over declining volume.
TheTechTrader.com board was quite mixed today, with some outstanding gainers and losers. On the plus side, American International Group (AIG) exploded from 28 to 34.80 at one point, closing at 32.77, up 3.67 on 58 million shares today. Skechers USA (SKX) at 32.47 was up 2.21.
Other stocks of note: Dendreon (DNDN) hit a new all time high at 36.86, closing at 36.41, up 98 cents on more than 5 million shares traded today. MAP Pharmaceuticals (MAPP) broke out across 15 resistance and closed at 15.50, up 63 cents. Netlist Inc. (NLST) jumped back across 5 for the first time in nearly 2 months, reaching 5.10 but backed off to 4.68, still up 47 cents today on a 3-month high of 8.75 million shares traded.
Insight Pharmaceuticals jumped 60 cents to 12.59. Portfolio position Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO) at 7.11 was up 25 cents, A-Power Energy (APWR) at 12.33 up 51 cents, EDAP TMS SA (EDAP) closed at 3.04 up 53 cents, AgFeed Industries (FEED) 4.89 up 38 cents, and Cerus Corporation (CERS) 2.64 up 28 cents.
On the downside, two point-plus losers today included Telestone Technologies (TSTC) at 19.07 down 1.49 and China Agritech (CAGC) at 29.33 down 1.12, both of those in the Chinese sector.
Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, we had a sharp morning rally, a midday rollover, a sharp pullback in the afternoon followed by a late snapback that left the indices slightly on the positive side, continuing the rally of the last several sessions. We’ll see how tomorrow goes and whether today’s pullback lows are able to hold support in the 1135–37 zone on the S&P 500, and around the 1890-93 zone on the Nasdaq 100.
Good trading!
Harry
Indices Vacillate in Narrowly Mixed Session
The stock market indices were choppy all session and ended mixed, not far from the zero line.
The day started out with a move up, and then they vacillated, making five or six moves back and forth in the morning. By mid-day they were able to reach new highs on the Nasdaq 100; however, at that point the S&P 500 did not confirm, then a 5-wave decline ensued, the last wave being the sharpest. In the last five minutes the indices dropped off quite rapidly to the lows for the afternoon, leaving the S&P 500 and Dow negative on a session, with the NDX up just a bit in a mixed close.
Net on the day, the Dow was up 13.68 at 10,552.52 and the S&P 500 down .20 at 1138.50. The NDX was up 2.33 at 1890.89.
Advance-declines were about 540 issues positive on New York and 213 issues positive on Nasdaq. Up/down volume was 5 to 4 positive on total volume of 900 million. Nasdaq was nearly 2 to 1 positive on total volume of just over 2.1 billion.
TheTechTrader.com board were mostly narrowly mixed. There were a few outstanding gainers today especially in the Chinese sector. China Agritech (CAGC) at 30.45 was up 2.83, and Telestone Technologies (TSTC) at 20.56 up 2.06. Origin Agritech (SEED) jumped 94 cents to 11.27, and China Automotive (CAAS) 82 cents to 22.91.
Other stocks of note, American International Group (AIG) at 29.10 was up 1.02, and MAP Pharmaceuticals (MAPP) at 14.87 up 66 cents. Xyratex Ltd. (XRTX) advanced 1.81 to 17.14.
But the outstanding stock today was OccuLogix (TEAR), which jumped 2.88 to 4.10, a gain of 236% on the session.
Other stocks of note: Nu Skin Enterprises (NUS), which we traded today, at 30.18 was up 2.00 even, and InfoLogix (IFLG) at 7.78 up 1.27.
On the downside, there were no point-plus losers. The fractional losses included Skechers USA (SKX) at 30.26 down 62 cents and Nanometrics (NANO) at 9.39 down 51 cents. SmartHeat (HEAT) lost 37 cents at 12.77 and A-Power Energy (APWR) 93 cents at 11.82.
Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, the indices were very choppy today, particularly in the morning, rallied midday, then chopped their way lower in the afternoon to end mixed on the day and not far from unchanged.
A consolidation day or a topping day? We’ll have to see what transpires.
Good trading!
Harry
Strong Close in Great Week for the Bulls
The stock market indices closed the week on a very strong note as opening gaps, and big ones, blew the indices right out of their 3-day consolidations. A strong follow up rally ensued as the indices spiked sharply higher in the morning. They then consolidated in stair-step fashion moving higher on the Nasdaq 100, though sideways on the S&P 500, but late in the session the SPX thrust and played catch-up, actually outdoing the NDX with highs near 1890 NDX and 1139 SPX. At that point they backed off in the last hour but came on again toward the close.
Net on the day, they closed with a very solid gain today, up 122 on the Dow at 10,566.20 and up 15.73 on the S&P 500 at 1138.70. The Nasdaq 100 gained 28.84 to 1888.56, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOXX) was up nearly 5 points at 351.58.
Advance-declines were 5 to 1 positive on the New York Stock Exchange and 4 to 1 positive on Nasdaq. Up/down volume was extremely strong today in terms of ratio, about 12 to 1 positive, although total volume was only a little over a billion shares. Up/down volume on Nasdaq was about 6 to 1 positive on total volume of just under 2.3 billion.
TheTechTrader.com board was very strong with most stocks on upside today. Leading the way was InterMune (ITMN), which gapped up big on positive drug news and closed at 23.28 up 8.67 today. The Direxion Financial Bull 3x Shares (FAS) jumped 4.83 to 83.29, and the Direxion Large Cap Bull 3X Shares (BGU) 2.27 to 56.01.
Other point-plus gainers today included China Agritech (CAGC), up another 1.19 to 27.62, hitting an all-time high today over 28 at 28.14. NuVasive, Inc. (NUVA) rose 1.18 to 41.93, and Telestone Technologies (TSTC) 1.66 to 18.50.
Other fractional gainers of note: Acme Packet, Inc. (APKT) +52 cents to 18.02, Brigham Exploration (BEXP) +33 cents to 16.95, and Dendreon (DNDN) +45 cents to 35.30, hitting a new all-time high in the morning at 35.74.
McMoRan (MMR) advanced 56 cents to 18.55, and Xyratex Ltd. (XRTX) 50 cents to 15.33. The U.S. Oil Fund ETF (USO) also added 70 cents to 39.85 on firmer oil.
In addition, TiVo Inc. (TIVO) jumped 97 cents to 17.50, and China Armco Metals (CNAM) 1.10 at 9.60, although that was 1.50 off its high earlier in the session.
On the downside, the ultrashort ETFs got hammered with the Direxion Daily Emerging Markets Bear 3x (EDZ) dropping 4.02 to 47.95, adjusted for its 1 for 10 reverse split. The Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3x (FAZ) fell 1.03 to 15.84 and the Direxion Daily Small Cap Bear 3x (TZA) 49 cents to 7.70 along with the Direxion Daily Large Cap Bear 3x (BGZ), down 70 cents to 15.28.
Other than the ETFs, stocks on our board fell just small fractions. RINO International (RINO) gave back 58 cents to 23.34 with a late sell-off, and A-Power Energy (APWR) lost 48 cents to 12.75. Those were the only losers of more than just a few cents on our board in the equity section.
Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, the indices were up sharply in the morning, consolidating midday, and then another spike in the afternoon sent them to new highs for the week before a late pullback brought them off the highs only to snap back again into the close. They closed not far off the session highs in a great week for the bulls.
Good trading!
Harry
Indices Close Near Flat as Afternoon Sell-Off Reverses Morning Gains
The stock market indices ended narrowly mixed today after a strong morning reversed and a strong sell-off in the afternoon brought them back to near the zero line.
The day started with a gap up. They backed and filled early on and then made their sessions highs late morning, with the S&P 500 making a nominal new rally high just under the 1126. However, at that point the Nasdaq 100 was not able to take out yesterday’s high and they pulled back in a very distinct 3-wave decline that retested yesterday’s late lows. They did manage to bounce, but in the last 10 minutes backed off once again to finish with the marginal net changes.
Net on the day, the Dow was just down 9.22 at 10,396.76, the S&P was up 0.48 at 1118.79, and the Nasdaq 100 up 0.36 to 1851.57. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOXX) dropped 3.02 today to 346.37
Advance-declines managed to close ahead by about 270 issues on New York and by about 170 issues on Nasdaq. Volume was very light today, under 900 million shares on New York with a volume ratio of about 5 to 1 positive. On Nasdaq the volume was under 2 million today, with about a 15 to 9 positive ratio.
TheTechTrader.com board was also narrowly mixed, with only a couple point--plus changes. On the plus side, RINO International (RINO) jumped 1.73 to 23.67, while on the downside Somaxon Pharmaceuticals (SOMX) got hammered today losing 1.02 to 3.62 on 7.6 million shares.
Other than that all changes were fractional. SmartHeat (HEAT) gained 79 cents to 13.15, Ford (F) 46 cents to 12.69, NuVasive, Inc. (NUVA) 46 cents to 40.30, Dendreon (DNDN) 36 cents to 33.62, and Salix Pharmaceuticals (SLXP) 82 cents to 31.09, another new all-time high.
Telestone Technologies (TSTC) snapped back 44 cents to 17.15, Netlist Inc. (NLST) jumped 32 cents to 4.37, China Automotive (CAAS) gained 30 cents to 21.35, and U.S. Oil Fund ETF (USO) was up 60 cents to 39.40, as oil firmed.
On the downside, other than Somaxon Pharmaceuticals (SOMX) down 1.02 to 3.62, most other losing stocks on our board had just very small fractional losses.
Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, the indices were up in the morning, down in a 3-wave decline that tested yesterday’s lows in the afternoon, bounced late in the day but pulled back in the last 10 minutes to end narrowly mixed on the day. We’ll see what consequences that has to the trend over the next couple days.
Good trading!
Harry
Indices Salvage Gains Despite Sharp Afternoon Pullback
The stock market indices ended slightly higher today, but that was after a last two-hour sharp sell-off gave back almost of all their earlier gains.
The day started out with a nice gap to the upside. They backed and filled and pulled back to test the gap, and when that was successful they embarked on a 3-wave move that saw the indices reach new multiple-session rally highs. A sharp and steady sell-off ensued in the last couple of hours taking the Nasdaq 100 from near 1863 down to 1847 and the S&P 500 from 1123.50 down to 1116.50. A slight bounce at the end of the day firmed them up a tad.
Net on the day, the Dow was up 2.19 at 10,405.98, the S&P 500 up 2.60 at 1118.31, and the Nasdaq 100 up 4.81 to 1851.21. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOXX) was down .09 today.
Advance-declines, however, were 21 1/2 to 9 positive on New York, and just around 2 to 1 positive on Nasdaq. Up/down volume was about 2 to 1 positive on the New York Stock Exchange on total volume was just over 1 billion, Nasdaq traded over 2.7 billion and had a 17 to 10 positive ratio.
TheTechTrader.com board, as a result, was narrowly mixed today, with more gainers than losers, however. On the plus side, point-plus gainers included Sequenom (SQNM), up 1.13 to 8.05. Origin Agritech (SEED) advanced 1.26 to 9.99, RINO International (RINO) 1.49 to 21.94, and the Direxion Financial Bull 3x Shares (FAS) 1.00 even at 76.81.
Other large fractional gainers included Dendreon (DNDN), up 75 cents at 33.26, but that was 2 points off its earlier newly set all time high over $35. The stock traded nearly 31 million shares today, the heaviest volume in nearly a year. McMoRan (MMR) in a firmer oil group gained 47 cents to 18.04, and Brigham Explorations (BEXP) 21 cents to 17.62. That tagged a new high today at 18.
Other stocks of note are VIVUS Inc. (VVUS) up 43 cents to 9.31, Somaxon Pharmaceuticals (SOMX) 29 cents to 4.64, Salix Pharmaceuticals (SLXP) 50 cents to 30.27, Netgear (NTGR) 55 cents to 26.79, Nanometrics (NANO) 40 cents to 9.82, Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO) 33 cents to 6.96, and SmartHeat (HEAT) 32 cents to 12.36.
In addition, the Direxion Large Cap Bull 3X Shares (BGU) gained 53 cents to 53.16 and the U.S. Oil Fund ETF (USO) 45 cents to 38.80.
On the downside, the only point-plus loser on the board today was China Automotive (CAAS), down 1.34 to at 21.05 down 1.34, but Telestone Technologies (TSTC) lost another 99 cents to 16.71, and China Agritech (CAGC) 85 cents to 25.60 in a weaker China group today.
Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, they gapped up at the opening, had a 3-wave rally into mid-afternoon, then rolled over hard in the afternoon to give back most of the gains, but managed to hold onto some small gains to edge to the upside for the day. We’ll see if this late reversal is meaningful and has any downside follow through tomorrow or not.
Good trading!
Harry
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CNN-Money Markets
Latest stock market news from Wall Street - CNNMoney.comFrom CNN and Money magazine, CNNMoney.com combines business news and in-depth market analysis with practical advice and answers to personal finance questions.
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CNN-Money Personal Finance
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Yahoo! News
Yahoo! News: Business NewsBusiness News
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AP - Asian stock markets were little changed Wednesday even as surging Chinese exports pointed to a pickup in global trade.
Kan. mulling new soda tax, raising other levies (AP)
AP - Kansas would impose a new tax on soda — a penny for every teaspoon of sugar — under a proposal that a key legislator outlined Tuesday while lawmakers considered raising taxes to erase a projected budget shortfall.
Oil hovers above $81 amid mixed US inventory data (AP)
AP - Oil prices hovered above $81 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after a report showed mixed evidence about U.S. crude demand.
A look at global economic developments (AP)
AP - A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Tuesday:
IRS eases rules on tax settlements (AP)
AP - As tax day approaches, the Internal Revenue Service is giving agents more flexibility to work with taxpayers who have seen their incomes drop during the recession.
ICF International's 4Q net ticks higher (AP)
AP - ICF International Inc.'s quarterly profit ticked higher as the company benefited from a lower tax rate and higher revenue from its consulting and technology services.
'IMF' for Europe a distracting sideshow: experts (AFP)
AFP - Talk of a European version of the International Monetary Fund to rescue errant EU states is little more than a distracting sideshow, analysts and a key central banker say.
One Congressman's Solution for Boosting Small Businesses Loans (The Motl...
The Motley Fool - The first Friday of every month brings the all-important employment report. February's numbers were better than anticipated. The United States lost only 36,000 jobs, versus the 68,000 that experts expected. This compares with 651,000 jobs lost in February 2009. Still, the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7%, with the unofficial rate stuck around a whopping 16%.
EU urges US to join in action against speculators (AP)
AP - European officials urged the U.S. to join in a crackdown on speculators who bet against Europe's currency union, warning they might ban some credit default swaps — opaque financial instruments blamed for worsening the world financial crisis.
Dollar General sues rival chain over colors (AP)
AP - Dollar General Corp. has filed a federal lawsuit against rival discount chain Fred's Inc., claiming the smaller company is using its trademark yellow and black colors.
Commercial delinquency lower than other mortgages (AP)
AP - Commercial mortgages were among the best-performing loans and leases held by banks and thrifts in the fourth quarter of last year, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Tuesday.
Oil edges up towards $82 on China import surge (Reuters)
Reuters - Oil reversed earlier losses to gain a few cents toward $82 on Wednesday after China said imports jumped in February, boosting evidence that emerging Asian economies will lead global demand back into growth this year.
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Fast Company News
Fast CompanyTwitter Steps Up the Fight Against Spam and Scams
With popularity comes trouble. Ask any Windows user, or the Notorious BIG. As Twitter's popularity has skyrocketed, it's become the target for various scams, and the Twitter team is now taking action to stop the abuse.
The fight against spam is a consistent one for the Twitter team, but recently, phishing scams have started gaining in popularity. Spread mostly through direct messages (or email notifications about those messages), these scams offer a malignant link that, when clicked, can result in a whole mess of headaches for the user. From viruses to stolen passwords and remote access, these scams are a serious problem for novice Twitterers.
So in response, Twitter has set up a separate service that routes all links submitted to Twitter through a separate service, which detects bad links and wipes them clean. Quoth Twitter:
By routing all links submitted to Twitter through this new service, we can detect, intercept, and prevent the spread of bad links across all of Twitter. Even if a bad link is already sent out in an email notification and somebody clicks on it, we'll be able keep that user safe.
Links will often be shortened to Twitter's own twt.tl domain, but the rest of the machinations of the new service will be undetectable. We'll see more from this service soon, but hopefully it works as promised and puts an end to the malicious Tweeting.
[Via Twitter]
Penguin's iPad Demonstration Asks: Are Kids Destined to Grow Up With Tablets?
We saw Penguin speak about their conception of books-as-apps earlier, but now the publisher has released a beautiful, Apple-like teaser-ad showing their ideas in more detail--and there's a surprising emphasis on children's content.
In all our excitement over the iPad's possibilities for text, multimedia, and gaming, there's been hardly any consideration of the lucrative children's market. But the iPad is perfect for kids in a lot of ways--its larger screen is much easier for kids to manipulate than an iPhone or other smartphone, and the full-color screen and fast processor allow for bright, colorful apps with motion, which ebook readers like the Kindle can't handle. The iPad can act as a picture book, coloring book, audiobook, TV, educational game player, and visual toy--and Penguin's not going to let that potential pass them by.
Penguin's demonstration shows the company is dedicated to exploring this category; it opens the video with children's apps, and then spends more than a third of the video showing them. The children's apps are the most eye-catching part of the demonstration--we've all seen digital travel guides, constellation maps, and whatever kind of trend-hopping community app Vampire Academy thinks it is, but there are hardly any smartphone apps actually designed for kids. That's partly because the hardware is just designed for adults; it requires a monthly subscription, it uses a tiny screen that requires a significant about of manual dexterity, and it's easily lost. But a larger tablet is a completely different story, even if it does run a smartphone OS.
The iPad and its forthcoming tablet competition absolutely have the potential to become indispensable tools for children, replacing books with interactive, connected apps. And in the process, kids become indoctrinated with technology, adopting to new interfaces and developments easily due to early exposure to, well, the iPad Spot the Dog app. This is the way the world is moving, with younger and younger kids learning their way around technology, and the tablet may be the most important gadget category of this generation. It only makes sense that Penguin wants to stake its claim on the children's market.
[Via YouTube]
Today in Most Innovative Companies
Daily news of note from our Most Innovative Companies, including Apple, Nokia, and Google.
Apple: Most of you probably caught a glimpse during the Oscars of the dozen ways you can hold an iPad, and I'm sure many of you were excited to find out that the tablet will ship April 3, with pre-orders beginning March 12--but don't worry about getting in line too early. Analysts now estimate that Apple will build 5 million iPads in the first half of 2010--enough iPads for every citizen of Ireland. Wall Street had previously estimated that the iPad would sell between 1 to 5 million units its first year, but it looks like Steve Jobs wants to test those predictions to the max. What do you think? Is Steve overdoing it here? The iPhone only sold 5 million in its first year--do you think it can outmatch that pace?
Nokia: The mobile device giant recently filed a patent for a kinetic energy-charging cell phone that uses an internal "piezoelectric energy harvester" to capture energy from a user's movements. No word on how much power this will generate, but unless you're constantly flailing the phone about, I can't imagine it will harvest too much energy.
Google: The New York Times takes an inside look at Google Translate, learning that Sergey Brin pushed to start the service after receiving a message from a South Korean user that didn't translate well. The message read, "The sliced raw fish shoes it wishes. Google green onion thing!" Brin could take no more of this gibberish, and decided to pour tons of company resources into Google Translate, mainly so he could receive more accurate praise from adoring foreign fans. As with every automated translator, the NY Times discovers after putting the engines to the test that accuracy varies between its competitors, Babel Fish and Bing--though I do particularly love Babel's butchering of One Hundred Years of Solitude's famous first line ("Many years later, in front of the firing squad, colonel Aureliano Buendía had to remember that one behind schedule remote one in which to his he took it father to know the ice." Márquez at his finest.)
Mapping Toronto's Sound Ecology: From Architecture to Santa Claus
While the City of Toronto unveils a material-culture scrapbook of 176 years of history, designers Greg J. Smith and Max Ritts map what Toronto sounds like today.
Toronto just celebrated its 176th birthday by cleaning out its closet. The city gathered up 100 of the 150,000+ objects in its historical collection and put them online in an awesome, interactive, object-based scrapbook of Toronto's past called the Toronto Museum Project, designed by Ecentricarts with York University's Augmented Reality Lab. Each item gets both the curatorial treatment and, in a Storycorps-like touch, the memories of a local Torontonian it inspires. Plus, some of the objects are grouped into online exhibitions, organized around things like architecture and, uh, Santa Claus.
Lately, we've been telling a lot of stories about ourselves, and our history, based on our stuff. Over at the aptly-named Significant Objects, Joshua Glenn has been tracking the meme in advertising (figures: he wrote the book on it). Most notably, the BBC is in the midst of a two-million-year journey through our cluttered attic, telling the stories of choice items like Dolly the sheep, a guillotine, and a piece of the first trans-Atlantic cable. But we're more than our things, aren't we? Toronto is.
Consider Greg J. Smith and Max Ritts's just-launched Toronto Sound Ecology. It's pretty slim pickings so far, but imagine its scope: Smith and Ritts (and any number of local collaborators) plan to hike around their fair city, recording their treks as audio files, and linking them to an interactive map that you can browse and search. Click on a street, and you feel like you're there... with your eyes closed. It's sonic Street View. NY Soundmap's Sound Seeker was a similar effort in New York. Have you heard of others?
[Via Coudal]
If the Customer Is Truly King, Then Sonoma Partners Is One Smitten Queen
Any time a head of a company uses the word "upswing" in detailing his business' recent success, there is a bit of a compulsion around these parts to comment on the company. Please excuse a little cheerleading. But it is especially important to draw attention to an Upswing-ing outfit that saw its revenues swing up by ... 44% last year!
So how did Chicago-based Sonoma Partners do it? The firm works exclusively with Microsoft Microsoft Dynamics Customer Relationship Management software, thus they were in a prime position to goose their bottom line during a downturn. First they identified an opportunity in the soft belly of the bear--in this case, Sonoma Partners realized that companies needed a competitive advantage more than ever and a good place to start is by solidifying bonds with customers. If you aren't going to be able to lure new clients into your realm, you sure as hell better hold on to the ones you've got.
Sonoma does this by working with groups in the service industry, like a hotel chain or the home of the Bulls and Blackhawks, The United Center, to both customize their CRM and help them manage it. And they've amped up their customization efforts over the past year, suiting detailed data to each firm with which it works,
This prompted Principle Mike Snyder to crow dryly: "A large part of our business upswing is attributable to our customization efforts, which allow our clients to get the maximum benefit out of CRM."
Huzzah!
Snyder gives examples of such customization as everything from on-the-ground reports during election days to helping a real estate firm better manage its leases.
The company has also been somewhat lucky in that it is catching a cresting wave. As Snyder notes, Microsoft's customer relations technology is enjoy a moment. And I've written here in the past about anecdotal evidence that one check on the plus side of the recession ledger is improved customer service almost across the board. This goes back to the idea that businesses are holding tight to their existing customers. And that works out well for you, me and, clearly, Sonoma Partners.
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seattlemunicipalarchives/ / CC BY 2.0
IBM Researchers Develop Highly Recyclable, Biodegradable Plastic
A mind-boggling 13 billion plastic bottles are tossed in the trash or recycled each year. And while most plastics are recyclable, the resulting materials are limited to "second generation reuse" only--so anything made out of recycled plastics has to be thrown on the landfill pile at the end of it's life. But now researchers from IBM and Stanford say they have solved the problem by developing plastics that can be continuously recycled.
The discovery, published in the American Chemical Society journal Macromolecules, involves the use of organic catalysts instead of the metal oxide and metal hydroxide catalysts typically used in plastic-forming polymers. While metal catalysts degrade the polymers so that the plastic becomes increasingly unrecyclable over time, the organic catalysts stay strong.
Another advantage: the organic catalysts are cheap. And eventually, researchers believe that the new, green plastic could be used as drug delivery devices for cancer patients. IBM is already talking to pharmaceutical companies about a potential pilot project. We're sure that there are other applications to the technology that haven't been explored yet, or as IBM says, there are "sustainability implications across a wide range of industries including biodegradable plastics, plastics recycling, health care and microelectronics." Stay tuned.
[IBM]
Do Improv Comedians Make the Best Design Thinkers?
A teacher of design thinking at Dartmouth uses improv set-ups to boost his students' creativity.
Big design firms such as IDEO and Smart Design have made millions on their "design thinking" and "human-centered design process." Which is good for them, but doesn't necessarily teach you how to crib their mojo for your own endeavors. Peter Robie, an Engineering professor at Dartmouth, has an answer that would make Dunder Mifflin's Michael Scott: Copy improv comedy classes.
Apparently, in his Design Thinking course, Robie has students act out how people use the objects around them. It's a technique learned from experience. According to The Dartmouth Engineer:
"This class on improv is a tool for brainstorming," he explains. "I've always thought that the quickest and smartest folks at the brainstorming phase of design have been those who do standup and improv. They never say no. They never miss a beat. Improv requires players to accept what they are given, build on the ideas of others, and encourage wild ideas..." ..."Everyone thinks that they know how to brainstorm, but in fact, brainstorming is usually plagued by problems like self-censoring, competitiveness, and ridicule," says Robbie. "Improv is a great way for students to learn to defer judgment."Robie goes on to offer some pretty sharp nuggets about what human-centered design actually boils down to, and why it actually matters:
"In the period of scarcity after World War II in America, companies could essentially sell anything they could make because people were happy to have whatever they made," he says. "But since the explosion of competition globally, design has become the best way--or only way--that companies differentiate their products. It has developed into a key aspect of innovation and a requirement for success.... "...because "good designers are astute observers of human behavior," he sends students out in the field as anthropologists to notice, question, and analyze what they might otherwise ignore.If you're at all interested in design thinking, read the entire article. It's excellent.
[Via Core 77]
Tom Dixon's Burlesque-Themed Circus: G'hed, Order the Strip!
You've never really dined until you've dined next to a stripper pole.
Superstar designer Tom Dixon--whom we've covered frequently before--recently finished his newest interiors project, for a new restaurant in London called Circus.
Obviously, restaurants with a circus theme have been done over and over ago--there was the original Le Cirque, with monkey-drawings everywhere. And Aureole, in Las Vegas, features trapeze performers that fetch your wine. But where Le Cirque and Aureole are pure kitsch, Circus aims more for trust-fund cool-kids that wear Helmut Lang.
The building itself used to be housing for the animals performing for the Royal Opera House--a fact that Dixon and the Seven Dials restaurant group have used to inspire the design. Only this time, the performers are human: The wait staff does double duty, performing in cabaret acts.
Ergo, you'll notice the "Circus" theme referenced in the harlequin pattern on the wall below. And also the stairs attached to the long dining table, so that it can quickly become a stage:
Meanwhile, the lounge actually has a stripper pole:
Related stories:
Dean Street Townhouse, London, Asks: Porn with Those Bangers? (It's Tasteful)
Woodward in Boston: Where Ben Franklin Meets Supermodels
Restaurants of the Recession: The Wright, New York City
Restaurants of the Recession: Robert, New York City
Rapture Architecture: Designers Tackle the Coming Apocalypse
We live in terrifying times: Pandemics ranging from bird flu to swine flu regularly threatening to kill millions. Can architecture deal with those problems?
What Would You Ask Nature? Submit to the Biomimicry Institute/Designers Accor...
Thanks to a smart TED talk by biologist Janine Beynus that made the rounds a few years ago, books like Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, and new online resources like AskNature.org, more and more designers are realizing a simple truth when trying to find responsible, ecological solutions: If we're trying to do it, chances are, nature already did it better.
Biomimicry is quickly becoming a cornerstone of sustainable design (read our story on biomimicry from 2008), but for designers who want to incorporate biomimicry into their work, many don't know where to start. Some famous biomimetic solutions have gotten passed around the mainstream press--including examples like self-cleaning surfaces modeled on lotus flowers, or the sticky repositionable tape inspired by gecko feet--but biomimicry isn't as easy as using nature as a crib sheet. "One of the big realizations that designers have when they play with biomimicry is that it's not a tool, it's a mindset shift," says Dayna Baumeister, who co-founded the Biomimicry Guild with Benyus in 1998. "Because of that--because of the fundamentally different way of thinking--it's hard."
Biomimicry expert Janine Benyus' 2005 TED talk
Even for biologists, it requires a shift in thinking, says Baumeister, from learning about nature to learning from nature, including how each of those processes fit within a larger ecosystem. In a way, it's examining nature's solutions for survival, but through a design lens, says Chris Allen, project manager for AskNature.org. "You can look at brilliant engineering and strategies for living over thousands of years."
A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGEThe Biomimicry Guild has worked alongside companies to help them achieve that shift in thinking, from a longstanging relationship with flooring and finishes company Interface, to a team currently on-site at an architectural project in India, where they're creating buildings that not only are made from natural materials, they actually behave like natural organisms. Currently there's a great deal of excitement bridging algorithms found in nature and information technology or "generative design," where we're able to extrapolate data from the way that nature goes through its iterative design process in evolution.
A rainforest strategy in need of a real-life application: The bill of toco toucan acts as a heat exchanger to regulate body temperature by adjusting blood flow
And, using biomimetic principles, we've also been able to learn more about our own species: The Biomimicry Guild is starting conversations with global companies that manufacturer things like cosmetics--in which case their own in-house scientiststs have been studying hair and skin for decades.
Because biomimicry experts believe that designers play an integral role in making sustainable, nature-inspired decisions in a project, they believe that's where their influence is best appropriated. A biologist working in biomimetic design is known as a Biologist at the Design Table, or, in a biomimetic-appropriate acronym: a BaDT. There are currently very few BaDTs--only about 75 worldwide--since they have to undergo extensive training. But eventually, the goal is to have a BaDT in every design firm who can help guide the designers towards smarter, more nature-influenced solutions--and that's where we come in.
A lightweight chair design inspired by spiderwebs, by Linda Dong as part of the Student Design Sketch Challenge
A REAL-WORLD BIOMIMICRY CHARRETTETo start a larger conversation between biologists, designers and businesses, we thought we could help by seating at least three BaDTs at three design tables of Designers Accord adopters across North America. We've tapped teams from three firms: Smart Design, New York; IDEO, Chicago and Boston; and Taller de Operaciones Ambientales, Mexico City. Each team will be paired with a Biomimicry Guild BaDT who will lead them through a two-day biomimicry design workshop as they work to solve a business problem, documenting their processes and reporting back to us in a little over a month with their bio-inspired solutions and how they got there.
Now all we need to complete the puzzle is your company's challenge! Do you have a real-life design problem that you just haven't been able to crack? Do you have a system, material, structure, process in your business that's seriously in need of innovation? Explain your problem as clearly as possible in the form below, including what limitations have prevented you from being able to achieve your goals in the past. If we think your challenge is a good match for one of the firms, we'll contact you for more information. Your company could be featured on FastCompany.com as "clients" for one of three biomimetic challenges, and receive a solution for your problem--courtesy of nature, of course.
If you have any questions, feel free to add them in the comments, and be sure to submit your challenge by 11:59pm PST, March 17, 2010. We'll see you back here in a little over a week with an update.
SUBMIT YOUR DESIGN CHALLENGE
If you have a design and sustainability story to share, let us know about it! Check out the brand new Designers Accord Web site. And follow us on Twitter @designersaccord to hear what the Designers Accord community is thinking about.
Browse more Designers Accord Case Studies
Is Streaming Music Service KKBox the Chinese Spotify?
Media companies worldwide are struggling with ad sales and budgets, desperately trying new business models like online pay walls to scrape by. But what if they moved into selling something other than journalism -- like, say, music?
Enter China's KKBox, which takes the unique approach of working as a streaming music service that happens to give away music journalism as a bonus. It sort of flips the Spotify model on its head, too. The music streaming isn't free. Users pay about $4.50 a month to access to a huge, Spotify-style library of the latest songs, available on the computer and mobile devices like the iPhone and Android phones. As a bonus, they get an online music and entertainment magazine.
KKBox has its own editorial staff of 30 or so editors, interviews Chinese pop stars, has columnists, hosts its own awards show and so on. Embedded in artist profiles and other places throughout the site is music, which listeners can preview a la Amazon's MP3 store or the iTunes preview feature or, presumably, go find and stream from KKBox's catalog if they're paid subscribers.
In other words, they come for the music, stay for the music coverage, says Stanford-educated founder Chris Lin. He says the site has about 200,000 paid subscribers but 6 million non-paying visitors. "They're here because this is a fun music destination. We've grown into a very popular media outlet" outside of selling music, Lin says.KKBox is the largest digital music service in China--and it's profitable. Lin says there's no magic secret to profitability, just common sense. "Per-stream royalty costs is what's going to suck you dry. You're giving your best service out for free, then asking people to pay later. That's awkward. If you can get all the music for free with ads, the willingness to pay for it is not very high."Right now the service is mainly focused on Hong Kong and Taiwan, but later this year, KKBox plans to roll out a North American version, targeted at the 8 million ethnic Chinese living here. "They are hungry for information about artists and entertainment news from home," says Lin. "We want to be a sort of entertainment Chinatown for them." Lin expects the North American service to run a little more expensive than its Eastern brother, but says the price will definitely be less than $10 a month, depending on negotiations with the labels in Taiwan.After the North American rollout, Lin wants to move the company's efforts to greater China starting in 2011, when 3G is more widely spread. "Smartphones and 3G have helped us in converting visitors to paid users," he says.
Zappos' New "Crank Yankers"-Style Ads Are a Shoe Win
It's practically impossible to say anything bad about online retailer Zappos. They've got a sparkling customer service record, quirky corporate culture, let's not forget that $847 million check from Amazon, and now--for a company that probably doesn't even have to advertise--some of the funniest ads on TV.
Boston-based ad agency Mullen took a page from another genre of phone call-inspired hilarity, the Comedy Central show Crank Yankers, created by Adam Corolla and Jimmy Kimmel. They used real audio from actual customer service calls, and enlisted puppeteer Randy Carfagno to create a cast of plush characters cheekily called the "Zappets." The director is Aaron Duffy, who you'll remember from that awwwwww-inducing Super Bowl spot for Google. More spots are on the way.
[@Zappos]
Foursquare Offers Analytics to Businesses, Enables Easy Customer Stalking
Wondering how that barista knew your name before asking you? Check-in-based social networking game Foursquare has taken another step toward relevancy by adding analytics tools for businesses that participate. The new dashboard feature, still in alpha testing, gives data such as total number of check-ins, unique visitors, gender comparisons, and breakdowns by time. It also shows how people are sharing (over Twitter, for instance) and can differentiate between customers and staff members.
And this is just the beginning, according to the company. Tristan Walker, director of Foursquare business development, tells Mashable that big innovations like weather tracking could allows business owners to offer specials based on real-time events. Imagine "It's snowing, so come into Joe's for a free small coffee with purchase!" popping up on your iPhone when you're outside freezing and just a block or two away. Hello Joe.
A new staff page feature also allows venue staffers to see who is currently visiting and communicate with customers. Notice a regular hasn't been in your store in a while? Tweet them about a cool new shirt that just came in to entice them back.
The data available is great for small, local businesses, and will allow them to engage with customers in an ultra-targeted way. But imagine, too, when it's scaled up to the Walmarts and McDonalds of the world. Voluntary real-time tracking of this nature is unprecedented. (Foursquare users will have the ability to opt out of business analytics, but isn't sharing sort of the point in the first place?)
The dashboard has been in testing with 30 businesses and venues for the last week and will soon be rolled out to the other 900+ businesses that currently run coupon specials on the app. But with priceless data like this, it's easy to imagine a blow-up in participating venues coming soon. More businesses means more users, more users means more businesses, and suddenly Foursquare is the Facebook of check-ins.
[Via NYTimes' Bits Blog]
James Cameron Is a Tool ... for Eco-Warriors and Their Publicists!
He may have been defeated by his ex-wife at the Oscars on Sunday, but it looks like James Cameron is on track to win the world popularity contest. A tribe from the Indian subcontinent has appealed to the "powerful thought leader" and film director to help them save their sacred mountain from a mining company. "Avatar is real," states the press release, exhorting Cameron by name, who claimed last year that his movie was the perfect recruiting tool for eco terrorists.
But perhaps the weirdest side effects of Avatar is that it's become a tool for publicists with eco clients and that Variety is being turned into an ecological publication. Last week, a bunch of environmental NGOs, including Greenpeace and Earthworks, clubbed together to buy a full-page ad in the Hollywood trade magazine, and this week it's the turn of the Survival charity.
"Just as the Na'vi describe the forest of Pandora as 'their everything,' for the Dongria Kondh, life and land have always been deeply connected," said charity director Stephen Corry. "The fundamental story of Avatar--if you take away the multi-colored lemurs, the long-trunked horses and warring androids--is being played out today in the hills of Niyamgiri."
The bad guys this time are Vedanta, who reckon there's bauxite in that thar hill, with an open-cast mine planned for the area, in the state of Orissa. "The mine will destroy the forests on which the Dongria Kondh depend and wreck the lives of thousands of other Kondh tribal people living in the area." I've got a bit of a problem with fly-tippers in the alleyway off my house: perhaps James could lend a hand when he's done in India.
[Via The Guardian]
Women in Gaming: Female PC Players Will Soon Pwn You
In a recent report, M2 Research studied female demographics in gaming. The takeaway? Facebook game developers and casual browser game publishers have done what the big three gaming companies and their consoles could never do--bring women to gaming. M2 estimates that 140 million men play PC games, and 130 million women. This nearly 50-50 split is not even approached by the gaming consoles or their networks:
Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime is featured in the report, with Nintendo research that "estimates there are 45 million people playing video games as the primary players in the U.S. Of those, Nintendo is estimating 26% are female, or roughly 11.7 million. Of those, 80% are on the Wii, 11% are on the Xbox 360 and 9% are on the PS3." The report also quotes Microsoft's David Dennis on female PC dominance, "Studies have found that in general, most social networks have more female users than male, including Twitter (about 59% female) and Facebook (about 57% female)." Another chart from the report clearly illustrates that women surpass men when it comes to social gaming:
What may be the most surprising figure comes from Will O'Brien, VP of Social Gaming at Big Fish, "Typically, women account for about 60% of all virtual goods transactions." All of the gaming consoles feature virtual transactions through their networks, but need a larger female audience. With Microsoft and Sony set to release motion control devices later this year, the companies may to attract a broader demographic similar to Nintendo's base. Whether that will change the gender gap between PCs and game consoles remains to be seen.
Via M2 Research
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Wired News
Wired: Tech BizDispatches from Silicon Valley.
Veil Lifts on Apple's Secret Plan to Control Universe
The recently unveiled secret agreement that Apple makes iPhone developers sign supports what many have suspected all along: Apple is trying to control the universe.
Texters Should Park the Car, Take the Bus
Taking public transit wouldn't just decrease our carbon footprint — it'd also end all that fiddling with the phone while driving, an insanely dangerous problem.
10 Years After: A Look Back at the Dot-Com Boom and Bust
The Nasdaq peaked at 5,049 on March 10, 2000, then it promptly nosedived and hasn't come near that level since. Here?s a look at the era that launched — and crushed — a million dreams.
Hot Property Sex.com on Auction Block
It?s a sadly familiar story from the high-flying market of the past few years: Speculator thinks values will continue to go up, up, up. Overbids for a hot property. Can?t keep up with the payments. Lender is forced to foreclose. Only this isn?t about real estate — it?s about the most expensive domain name in the history of the internet: sex.com.
Digital-Ad Spending May Eclipse Print This Year
Spending on digital advertising is poised to surpass print for the first time in 2010, according to a new study prepared even before the announcement of Apple?s iPad, with all of that hardware's game-changing potential. But another view is: So what? It?s bound to happen soon if not this year.
Grab 1,000+ MP3s From SXSW BitTorrent, Free and Legal
Fire up that bit torrent client to download more than 5 gigabytes of free MP3s from bands playing the SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas, next week and catch up on the latest in music with just a couple of clicks.
Four In Five Consider Web Access A Fundamental Right
Four in five adults believe access to the Internet is a fundamental right ? with those feelings particularly strong in South Korea and China ? and half believe it should never be regulated, according to a global survey.
'Hordesourced' Playlist: What's Popular On MySpace Right Now
A trio of nifty apps for Android, iPhone and MySpace profiles from We Are Hunted taps into the musical zeitgeist in near-real-time. It lets you listen to minute-long samples from whichever artist was most streamed on MySpace in the previous 60 seconds.
FCC Chair Julius Genachowski on Broadband, Google and His iPhone
Julius Genachowski wants to be the Federal Communications Commission chairman that brings cheap and fast broadband to a technologically backwards nation ? the United States.
'Mission Impossible' Crew Pinches $26,000 in Apple Notebooks
Apple fanboys (and maybe girls) have struck again in New Jersey -- this time breaking into a Best Buy ninja-style to steal $26,000 in notebooks. Six months ago and an hour away an Apple Store was knocked over for an even bigger haul. Coincidence?! Yeah, probably ...
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