Tech & Innovation

The year-old U.S. startup, has focused on providing an intelligent dashboard service for small businesses that don’t have the financial resources for expensive software, or the time to analyse online marketing campaigns. Its advisor, especially for the Australian market, is our own James Tuckerman, Anthill’s publisher.

The Melbourne firm will join 100 other startups from 36 countries and receive $40,000 in equity-free seed capital. Truong tells us Broccol-e-games was picked for the Start-Up Chile program from an application pool of 1,509 startups, and is the only Australian one selected.

The much vaunted iPhone 5 has arrived, and as expected, sold out within hours. In all of the hoopla of the iPhone 5 launch, one little accessory didn't get much attention. The iPhone and new iPods come with an entirely new in-ear headphones, or earpods. And, they are a design feat in themselves.

An Australian startup, LIFX, has created a WiFi enabled, multi-colour, energy efficient LED light bulb. A light bulb that can be controlled to switch on or off, or strobe, or change colour, all from your iPhone or Android.

Getting your business or product visible is now more affordable than in the past. Think beyond TV and website banners. With YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook etc., consumers are now happy to watch video online and on social media, so take advantage of these distribution channels. Distribution also is more affordable now with viral marketing a bonus possibility.

Adams got a trophy, memorial plaque and cash prize for the Entrepreneurial Award. In addition, she will receive 12 months of mentoring from 10 of the top executives including those from Google, GBST and the Queensland government.

There has been a lot of talk over the past couple of years about how the evolving digital world is already impacting the traditional movie rental business. Yes, it is true that Australian consumers are becoming more and more in control of “what they want, when they want”, but just how well are these new providers of digital movie rentals really fulfilling those needs?

The ingenuous boffins at DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) have pushed its Cheetah robot to a whole new level. The Cheetah is a four-legged robot that looks, well, a cheetah. It has a flexible spine and an articulated head. A tail may come later.

Star Walk 6.0 brings augmented reality to stargazing, and it does it fairly awesomely. The iOS app lets user aim their device at the sky and presto – the screen is populated with the names of relevant stars in view, as well as complete cartography of the surrounding stellar area. In short: this is Star Trek, but for real.

A broad conclusion: Consistent tactical and promotional themes bring high engagement and expand fan base. So, competitions, special offers and even “creative, visual and often humorous posts” lead to high visibility and growth.

Gone are the days when you just built an app, and users came and bought it. Today, millions of apps jostle for users’ attention, besides competing on features as well. Consequently, you will go nowhere without acquiring some smart marketing skills or, specifically, some tricks to grab eyeballs on Apple’s App Store.

If you've grown wary of all the New Media hype, put your scepticism on hold. Far from petering out, argues Paul G. Roberts, digital technology’s effect on information and communication, in all of our interconnected lives, is guaranteed to keep accelerating. In this first of two parts, Roberts traces the origins of information sharing from prehistoric times to the present day. We have come a long way -- and even with media communications more democratic than ever, there's still plenty of room to grow.

Imagine being able to turn every tv screen into a wireless monitor. All it takes is a nifty little device that's all smooth and curvy. That's the promise of PLAIR.

The value of this work lies in its ability to attract a completely new set of readers, when compared with other books on Jobs. Let me cite a personal experience. My nine-year-old daughter, who uses the iPad on a daily basis, was struck by the design of this graphic novel. She then proceeded to pick up and read it with fair interest. As far as I can tell she is able to appreciate Jobs’ life in her own way.

Slexicon, founded by school buddies Vito Grigorov and Andrew Iliadis, finds a lot wrong with the daily deals. On top of their list is the high fees that are apparently killing margins and businesses – two-thirds of businesses that once participated in a Groupon deal suffered losses, according to a study in the U.S.

In 1996 performance artist, Sue Austin found herself wheelchair bound. But, that didn't stopped her from learning to dive. And now she has, with the help of a dedicated team, created a wheelchair that enables her to not only dive but also, seem to dance, underwater.

Dr Richard Hames was recently described as one of this century’s most foresightful corporate philosophers, and by Forbes Asia, as one of the smartest people on the planet. He points out that today’s start-ups are far better placed to tune into the changes driving society and community than big business.

Perhaps you’ve been sitting on a design for the successor for to the C-130 Hercules cargo plane? Maybe you’ve got a plan for cyber-security that will make the world’s financial institutions impenetrable. Well, now is your chance to gain the attention of one of the biggest names in the global military-industrial complex. Lockheed Martin is holding a worldwide contest with prizes to the tune of $50,000.

Fancy yourself an Ernest Hemmingway in the making? Perhaps you're a little more gonzo, and fashion your writing styles on Hunter S. Thompson? Either way,...

The program will pick five winners, each of whom would get $100,000, “based on the most progressive ideas that represent entrepreneurship and innovation around technologies, processes and business models.” Additionally, GE and its partners will help commercialise these ideas, which is where the bulk of the $10 million program will kick in.