The Objective Blog

Keep up with what we're thinking, reading, and doing.

Fusion Radar: October 31, 2012

October 31st, 2012 - by marissa - Salt Lake City, Utah

Keeping up with technology is a lot of work. Luckily, we enjoy wading through the noise just to find the gems of awesomeness sprinkled throughout. Fusion Radar is our gift to you, Current or Potential Client, so that you can enjoy all of the awesome without any of the drudgery. Unwrap it each week, and know that you’re loved by the geeks and pixel-pushers at Agency Fusion.

Fuel UX

Fuel UX is a lightweight library that extends Twitter Bootstrap with some additional JavaScript controls, a Grunt build, and AMD capability. It also includes some additional functions like easy installation into web projects, integrated scripts for customizing Bootstrap and Fuel UX, simple updates, and solid optimization for deployment.

http://exacttarget.github.com/fuelux/

Inuit.css

Inuit.css is a powerful Sass based, Object Oriented framework that is full of objects and abstractions. It is designed for those who want to focus primarily on the structural code, since there is little-to-no design provided by the framework. inuit.css is more about design patterns than design decisions.

inuit.css

Isotope

“An exquisite jQuery plugin for magical layouts,” Isotope declares on their site. It contains all the documentation and demos to get you started.

http://isotope.metafizzy.co/

Shopkick

Shopkick is a rewards-program-type app that gives you “kicks” (reward points) just for walking into stores, viewing their ads, or scanning items and purchases. These kicks can eventually be redeemed for gift cards to these stores.

https://www.shopkick.com

Soulver

Quicker than a spreadsheet, clearer than a calculator, and portable to boot, Soulver is a simple app that does your calculations for you in plain, readable English. You need to see it in use to appreciate it.

http://www.acqualia.com/soulver/

Emergency Compliment

With statements like, “Your parents are more proud of you than you’ll ever know,” “People at trivia night are terrified of you,” and, “Your blog is the best blog,” you’ll never have to feel crappy again. Just in case you still do, though, there’s a refresh button at the bottom of the site that keeps the compliments coming.

http://emergencycompliment.com/

DIY.org

For those people who are always learning (a group that includes everyone here at Agency Fusion),  DIY offers offers hundreds of skills you can develop – skills like sculpting, astronomy, foraging in the wilderness, hardware hacking, and cartography, among many others.

https://diy.org/

Fancy Hands and TaskRabbit

Fancy Hands and TaskRabbit each help provide valuable services. Fancy Hands focuses on intangible errands, like researching hotels or flights, finding a dog walker, or even locating a particular brand you like but can’t find. TaskRabbit, on the other hand, gives you access to people who can do physical tasks for you – think grocery shopping, pet sitting, house cleaning, or even things like IKEA furniture assembly.

Fancy Hands and TaskRabbit

CouchSurfing

It’s the new way to cut back on expenses while you travel. When you sign up for their free service, CouchSurfing connects you to thousands of people who have offered to share a room, a couch, or even a sleeping bag to tired travelers.

CouchSurfing

Recon HUD

Put simply this is the skiing (or snowboarding) version of Google Goggles. Recon’s Heads-up Display is a small camera you insert into your goggles that uses GPS and an integrated suite of sensors to record and display your speed, vertical descent, airtime, and distance. It projects your statistics (among other things) with prism technology so that it seems that you’re looking at a fourteen inch screen five feet away from you.

Recon Instruments

Burritob0t

A delicious new look at what 3D printers can do for us. Although it’s currently only conceptual, we are eagerly awaiting the day when we can add a Burritob0t to our office.

Burritob0t

Z.E.R.O. Zombie Kit

Here’s a fun Halloween-themed emergency kit. You’ve heard of 72-hour kits or a month’s supply of food storage. But the people over at Optics Planet have put together a Zombie Extermination, Research and Operations (Z.E.R.O.). For just $24,000, you could be fully prepared to deal with the undead.

Z.E.R.O. Zombie Kit

Fusion Radar: October 24, 2012

October 24th, 2012 - by marissa - Salt Lake City, Utah

Keeping up with technology is a lot of work. Luckily, we enjoy wading through the noise just to find the gems of awesomeness sprinkled throughout. Fusion Radar is our gift to you, Current or Potential Client, so that you can enjoy all of the awesome without any of the drudgery. Unwrap it each week, and know that you’re loved by the geeks and pixel-pushers at Agency Fusion.

Rust

Designed to be a “safe, concurrent, practical language,” Rust visually resembles the C language family, but also supports pure-functional, concurrent-actor, imperative-procedural, and object-oriented styles. Rust also supports generic programming and metaprogramming, in both static and dynamic styles.

http://www.rust-lang.org/

calm.com

It’s exactly what it sounds like: calm.com features soothing music, beautiful images, and cheerful outdoor sounds in an attempt to give you a few minutes of peace during a busy work day.

http://calm.com

Responsinator

The Responsinator is an easy way for website makers to view their website as it will appear on various mobile devices. Just type in a web address and let the site do the rest.

http://responsinator.com

infogr.am

Create (free) interactive infographics by choosing one of infogr.am’s templates, adding your data, and customizing the infographic.

http://infogr.am/

Chromebook

Imagine a Samsung-built laptop with an 11.6 inch screen that’s 2.5 pounds and 0.8 inches thick, with 2GB of RAM and 100GB of free Google Drive storage. Now imagine that that laptop – let’s call it Google’s new Chromebook – costs just $250. (And yes, you can stop imagining because yes, it’s real and it went on sale Monday, 10/22/12.)

http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/

Autographer

Autographer is a fun new camera which has been custom built to enable spontaneous, hands-free image capture. Its technology includes a custom 136° eye view lens, an ultra small GPS unit and 5 in-built sensors. These sensors tell the camera exactly the right moments to take photos, leaving you free to enjoy your day.

http://www.autographer.com/

ShotSpotter Flex

Put simply, ShotSpotter Flex detects and analyzes gunshots, giving any public safety agency an edge on crime. It provides real-time alerts for outdoor gunfire, the precise latitude/longitude and street address, and the direction and speed of travel of the shooter.

http://www.shotspotter.com/

20-20-20 Rule

According to a recent report by the American’s Optometric Association (AOA), in order to help prevent Computer Vision Syndrome (look it up, it’s real), anyone using technology for extended periods should take a 20-second break, every 20 minutes and view something 20 feet away.

http://www.aoa.org/documents/RFS_NationalPressRelease_FINAL.pdf

Fusion Radar: October 17, 2012

October 22nd, 2012 - by marissa - Salt Lake City, Utah

Keeping up with technology is a lot of work. Luckily, we enjoy wading through the noise just to find the gems of awesomeness sprinkled throughout. Fusion Radar is our gift to you, Current or Potential Client, so that you can enjoy all of the awesome without any of the drudgery. Unwrap it each week, and know that you’re loved by the geeks and pixel-pushers at Agency Fusion.

Pictaculous

Here’s a handy tool for designers. All you have to do is upload an image onto the Pictaculous site, and it will produce a color palette that matches the hues in the image or photo you provided.

http://www.pictaculous.com/

sweet.js

sweet.js claims that it allows you to “craft the language you’re always wanted”.

http://www.sweetjs.org/

D3.js

Put simply, D3 is a JS library with resources that can transform digital data into something graphic, dynamic, and interactive. Bring your data to life with HTML, SVG, or CSS, plus D3’s diverse collection of components and plugins.

http://www.D3js.org/

Google Consumer Surveys

You trust Google to find you great Italian restaurants, the best deals on pet orangutans, and information on your state’s law regarding the (illegal?) pet orangutan you may or may not have. So why not trust Google to find custom market research that is accurate, affordable, and fast?

http://www.google.com/insights/consumersurveys/home

notfound.org

The team at notfound.org decided to make better use of the “404 – File not found” pages you run into every once in a while. With your permission, they transform any “Error” page on your website into a “Missing Child” report.

https://www.notfound.org

Ubuntu One

Ubuntu One is simple enough: It’s a personal cloud that stores music, photos, videos, important documents, and just about anything else digital. It’s accessible through any device, and Ubuntu’s sync services and 5 GB of storage are free.

https://www.one.ubuntu.com

StayFocused

By limiting the time you spend on time-wasting websites (we’re looking at you, Facebook), StayFocused increases your productivity and keeps you from cyber-stalking your ex’s new significant other for 4 hours (again).

StayFocused Chrome Extension

Fusion Radar: October 10, 2012

October 10th, 2012 - by Objective - Salt Lake City, Utah

Keeping up with technology is a lot of work. Luckily, we enjoy wading through the noise just to find the gems of awesomeness sprinkled throughout. Fusion Radar is our gift to you, Current or Potential Client, so that you can enjoy all of the awesome without any of the drudgery. Unwrap it each week, and know that you’re loved by the geeks and pixel-pushers at Agency Fusion.

Prior Knowledge

Prior Knowledge’s Veritable API is a useful new tool that identifies causal relationships in data and can predict consumer behavior based on previous data developers have collected. Their API “fills in values” that may be missing. The end result is a service that helps people see information that is associated with the data they already have. It’s that information that people may not know. Prior Knowledge is banking that information will be valuable to developers.

https://www.priorknowledge.com/developers

Update: Prior Knowledge has been shutdown due to an acquisition by Salesforce

Teenage Engineering

As 3D printers become more sophisticated and increasingly accurate, the company Teenage Engineering has found a way to utilize this developing technology. Instead of forcing consumers to pay high shipping costs on delicate replacement parts to their products, they have instead made the 3D CAD files available online, so customers can simply download and “print” the damaged piece.

http://now.teenageengineering.com/op-1-accessories-cad-files

Formlabs 3D Printer

And speaking of evolving 3-dimensional printing technology, Formlabs has come out with their new printer, the Form 1, which they say can help usher in a new era of 3D printing – one marked by clarity, high resolution parts, and simplicity. We have to admit, their compare-and-contrast images are impressive:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/formlabs/form-1-an-affordable-professional-3d-printer

Quirky.com

We’ll continue our technology motif as we move along to quirky.com, “the easiest way to bring your ideas to life.” Their website is dedicated to facilitating the meeting of brilliant ideas with brilliant engineers who can bring them to life.

http://www.quirky.com

Vimeo Creator Services

Ever watched a well-edited or brilliantly-performed video and thought, “That was awesome! I could actually see myself paying to watch a video that good.”? If not, you should probably reevaluate your online video-watching habits. If so, then you’re in luck: Vimeo’s new Tip Jar allows you to show your appreciation to exceptional videographers through small cash payments on your credit card or PayPal account.

http://vimeo.com/creatorservices

If Hemingway Wrote JavaScript

What if famous authors wrote a function in JavaScript that returned a fibonacci series of a given length? You’re about to find out.

http://byfat.xxx/if-hemingway-wrote-javascript

TypeScript

TypeScript starts with the syntax and semantics that JavaScript developers are already familiar with and then allows developers to incorporate popular JavaScript libraries or use existing JavaScript code. It then compiles to clean, simple JavaScript code which runs on any browser, in Node.js, or in any other ES3-compatible environment.

http://www.typescriptlang.org

bananatag

bananatag’s concept is as simple as it is useful: using their (free) technology, you can track your emails so you know when and where they’re opened, as well as which of your included links were clicked on, and more.

http://bananatag.com

Songle

Here’s another fun one. Songle is sort of like if you combined Pandora with Google Analytics. It’s a web service that utilizes music-understanding technologies that automatically estimate music scene descriptions and enable visualizations such as structural segments, hierarchical beat structure, melody line, and chords.

http://songle.jp

typecast

typecast is another web service designed to save you time and energy. It brings the design canvas, web fonts and browser together in one convenient tool, so that differences between comps and the live site are eliminated.

http://beta.typecastapp.com/

cssUpdater

If you’re a FireBug user, you’ve undoubtedly wished you could save the changes you prototyped, rather than having to recreate all of the changes in your source files. cssUpdater lets you do just that. Sync the changes you made in FireBug with your actual source files.

http://www.cssupdater.com

HTML5 Please

With this online tool, you can look up HTML5 or CSS3 features and find out the level of browser support the features currently enjoy.

http://html5please.com

Trends Spotting Blog

Lastly, here’s a good resource for current online trends, market research, news, and predictions.

http://www.trendsspotting.com/blog/