The ImPulse Media

25/09/2015

There is no stopping this song. Play, repeat.

It’s time for the on Fleek’d! Here’s what we’re listening to this weekend. 1. Hey Mama (David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha and Afrojack) There is no stopping this song. Play, repeat. 2. Bad Blood (Taylor Swift) No, we aren’t sick of it yet. 3. See You Again (Wiz Khalifa…

24/09/2015

: Forget the Watch – This Could Be the Future of Watches

If the Cicret Bracelet had been initially introduced on April 1st, no one would have been sucked in by an implausible-looking April Fool’s prank. Yet the revolutionary digital product, which was unveiled through a YouTube video that has now eclipsed 15 million views, still carries an air of mystery as a product that hasn’t been outed as a fake but also has yet to exist outside of video footage.

According to the company’s website, which calls for donations in order to develop the prototype of the bracelet, it will enable the transformation of your skin into a touchscreen. While the concept seems a little dystopian, the video, which depicts a person checking their email on their arm and even demonstrates underwater use, is undeniably cool.

The trouble is that we still don’t know whether the technology actually exists. If Cicret has developed even a basic level of usage for their product, it will be all but guaranteed to generate serious buzz and demand. Hey, it can’t be much bumpier of an introduction than the Apple Watch, can it? Assuming it does, in fact, have some working usability, I’d like to offer up some thoughts on how it could be a valuable tool.

Keeping Your Technology Whoops-Proof

A digital device can often lead a perilous existence, being dropped, stepped on and even dunked by its accident-prone user. The Cicret Bracelet wouldn’t come with any of those concerns. If the screen on your Cicret is cracked, you’ve got bigger concerns to deal with than the usability of your device.

Cheating on Tests

As if teachers didn’t have a hard enough time cracking down on cheating within the current landscape of digital devices. Here, a student would merely have to conceal their arm under a desk. It could be the next step in the progression of scribbling notes on your arm.

Planning a Killer Halloween Costume

People have gotten clever in recent years with some digitally-inspired costume ideas around Halloween. Imagine what brainstorming awaits with the assistance of your new bracelet. Perhaps realistic skeleton arms or an all-too-real game of Operation?

Reading Under Water

There is presently no easy way to enjoy a good read while in the water – there simply isn’t. An e-reader is obviously not an option, but neither is a physical book or magazine, unless you want to awkwardly raise your arms out of the tub. The bracelet’s bathtub demo offers hope for all those aspiring water readers out there.

If the Cicret Bracelet had been initially introduced on April 1st, no one would have been sucked in by an implausible-looking April Fool’s prank. Yet the revolutionary digital product, which was unveiled through a YouTube video that has now eclipsed 15 million views, still carries an air of mystery…

09/09/2015

Patients from Rady Children's Hospital hug a bottlenose dolphin after being invited to swim and interact with dolphins at Sea World in San Diego, California

09/09/2015

PayPal Launches PayPal.Me, A Simpler Way To Request Money Using Your Own Personalized URL

PayPal today is launching a new take on peer-to-peer payments with the debut of a platform it’s calling PayPal.Me. For the first time, PayPal customers will be able to set up their own user profiles which are associated with a personalized URL (e.g. paypal.me/username), which can then be shared with others via text, over email, on instant messenger, via social media, or anywhere else, as a way to request money.

This is not PayPal’s only entry into the peer-to-peer payments space, of course. In addition to offering a “request money” feature on its website, the company also operates Venmo. That social app is especially popular with a younger, highly mobile demographic who uses it as a way to do things like pay back friends for money borrowed, or split a check at a restaurant, for example.

So it may seem odd that PayPal is launching what at first appears to be something of a competitive product to Venmo. But the company explains that, unlike with Venmo, which only works with U.S. banks, credit and debit cards, PayPal.Me is targeting the company’s much broader global user base.

The company today has 170 million active users worldwide, who already take advantage of PayPal to send and request money. With PayPal.Me, however, the idea was to create a mobile-first user experience that makes doing so simpler and faster than with the company’s traditional tools.

26/08/2015

time! Meet my 7 week old mini Australian . He enjoys lying on the grass. Like if you want to take him home.

25/08/2015

Facebook rolls out 'Donate' button for nonprofits


If you're a Facebook user, donating to your favorite cause is now easier than ever.

The social network is rolling out a "Donate" button for all nonprofits to use on their pages and link ads. Facebook previously introduced a "Donate" button in December 2013 but to a select number of non-profit partners including UNICEF, Red Cross and DonorsChoose.org.

25/08/2015

Student Naomi Perez wears a pair of stars and stripes sunglasses.

25/08/2015

Windows 10 users 'love' Cortana and Edge

As Windows 10 adoption continues to rise one of it's flagship features - digital assistant Cortana - has found favour with a majority of it's users.

The study by Brandwatch - a social media monitoring company based in England - analysed 7,000 posts on social media out of a pool of 1.2 million mentions of Windows 10 to determine whether the general reaction was positive or negative, digitaljournal.com reported.

They were categorised by Windows feature and blanketed as either "love" or "hate".

Cortana and the Edge web browser command the most "mention volume", closely followed by the new Start menu.

Overall, 80% of people were pleased with Cortana.

Around 75% like the new Edge web browser, and about the same percentage are enjoying the new Xbox app.

Multiple desktops and the new Office suite saw very few mentions overall for both love and hate.

The Start menu was mentioned positively in just over 60% of its mentions while productivity features Action Centre and multiple desktops slipped to around 55%, perhaps because they are not likely to be used frequently until a lot of apps are open at once.

The feature most negatively referred to overall was the new, touch-focussed Office suite that is free for small tablets.

As much as 60% of people mentioned it negatively with only 40% seeing it as positive on the combined chart.

23/08/2015

Shut Up! Anne Hathaway Is Heading to TV to Make Our Dreams Come True

Anne Hathaway is heading to television in a limited series adaptation of Jennifer Steil's novel The Ambassador's Wife, ...

Anne Hathaway is heading to television in a limited series adaptation of Jennifer Steil's novel The Ambassador's Wife, TheWrap reports. She will both star in and produce the series alongside Mark Gordon (Criminal Minds).
In the story, the wife of the British Ambassador to Yemen has been kidnapped, and the two must go to great lengths to be reunited. It is inspired by Steil's marriage to the former U.K. ambassador to Yemen, Timothy Torlot, who was the target of a su***de bomber in 2010.
"The Ambassador's Wife is an incredible story that pulls you in immediately and resonates with all of us based on the images and news headlines that are pervasive in our lives today," Gordon said in a statement. "We are so fortunate to have Anne starring in this timely, gripping, and compassionate drama. She is in a league all her own and we cannot think of anyone who can better portray Steil's complex heroine."
Unfortunately, you might have to wait a little while to see The Ambassador's Wife, since the project has yet to attract a network or studio.

19/08/2015

Argentina's lack of defensive options taking its toll on Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi's dip in form for country vs. club has much to do with Argentina's style of play.

Since the loss on penalties to hosts Chile in the final of the Copa America just over six weeks ago, the rumour factory in Argentina has been working overtime with production centering, of course, on Lionel Messi.

The Barcelona genius, now 28, was feeling burnt out and frustrated by his failure to win a senior international title. He would abandon the national team, said some. He would be taking a break, said others. He would, at least, not be available for the friendlies at the start of September against Bolivia and Mexico.

It would appear that all of this was nothing more than idle speculation. Indeed, it is worth remembering that the same rumours were flying around after Argentina fell at the last hurdle in their bid to win last summer's World Cup.

Coach Gerardo Martino has been quick to defend his No. 10, saying that in light of all the criticism he has received in the land of his birth, Messi would be justified in turning his back on the national team. Some interpreted that phrase, wrongly, as an attempt to push Messi through the door. The truth was the exact opposite; it was an attempt to point out that all the criticism was entirely unfair.

19/08/2015

Raindrops on a spider's web in Cologne, Germany

19/08/2015

The Most Secure Way to Communicate? An iPod Touch

IF YOU WANT to communicate really securely, you may assume you need some government level spy training, a high tech encrypted phone, or at least a custom operating system. Nope. Not at all. It turns out the most secure communications device available to anyone, anywhere, right now is the humble iPod Touch.

No, seriously. Even if that’s not at all what Apple meant for you to do with an iPod, the fact that it is not on a cellular network yet can run so much vetted software on a relatively robust operating system makes it a perfect device for secure communication. Whether you’re a journalist communicating with a source, a friend planning a surprise party for your hacker buddy, a philandering spouse trying to hide your Ashley Madison dates, or just a generally private person who wants to keep your communications away from prying eyes, the iPod Touch is a pretty simple option for staying private. With the right software, you can message people over mobile instant-message apps or make encrypted voice calls.

All it takes is making sure that the model is Wi-Fi only, scrupulously keeping it updated, following a few vital steps to lock it down, and, finally, installing an encrypted communications app. After that, you’ll be able to exchange seriously secure messages.

Wi-fi-Only Is the Key
Phones, by design, constantly call out to the nearest (or strongest) cell towers to tell the network where to route calls and data. This, of course, leaves a paper trail, and those location records are available to any government agency with a warrant or, in the case of more authoritarian regimes, simply for the taking.

This means phone calls or text messages are not the best option for secure communication. The iPod Touch eliminates this problem because it doesn’t use a SIM card or a baseband. There are no phone records associated with it, providing a significant privacy advantage over the iPhone and other phones, and making it less of a tracking device in your pocket.