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Are we ready for the autocars?
Posted: 26 January 2015  
Back in 2010, when we published this MndBullet, Uber didn't exist. But the concept of renting a ride rather than owning a car was well established. And when all the Uber cars are driverless, what will become of Avis and Hertz? Will they simply become depots for Uber autocars?
How Uber's Autonomous Cars Will Destroy 10 Million Jobs and Reshape the Economy by 2025
26 January 2015
I have spent quite a bit of time lately thinking about autonomous cars, and I wanted to summarize my current thoughts and predictions. Most people - ...
MindBullet logo RENT A FLYING CAR FROM AVIS
Computer piloted 'transformer' vehicles cleared for public use
Dateline: 8 May 2021
Ever since DARPA's 'Flying Hummer' known as the Transformer X made its debut, people have been champing at the bit to get a chance to use them for personal ...
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Welcome to robo-corps....companies that run themselves
Posted: 26 January 2015  
What's the logical conclusion of the Internet of things? In a world of connected devices, surely it is a marketplace of robo-corps...companies operated entirely by machines, without any human intervention. Science fiction? That's exactly where we're heading. And what does it mean for mankind, for work, for jobs and for society? No-one knows yet, but we really need to start thinking about ...
Are we ready for companies that run themselves? – David Morris – Aeon
26 January 2015
Get ready for companies that run themselves. But will the autonomous economy set us all free, or just make the rich richer?
MindBullet logo THE ROBOTS AREN'T COMING, THEY'RE ALREADY HERE!
Millions of jobs have gone to the machines – and now at the top end too!
Dateline: 26 September 2020
It was way back in 2012 that we predicted that by 2022, your boss would be a machine. We were wrong. It's happened this year, 2020, a full two years ...
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The global trust crisis
Posted: 23 January 2015  
We've talked for a long time about a global trust crisis. The latest Edelman Trust Barometer confirms that trust is at its lowest ebb, in business, in governments, even in NGOs. How to we start to rebuild trust in our societies?
Trust crisis deepens | Opinion | Moneyweb Today
23 January 2015
JOHANNESBURG – For the first time in almost three years, the TransUnion Consumer Credit Index (CCI) lifted above the breakeven level in the fourth quarter of 2014. Less pressure from inflation meant that household cash...
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COLLAPSE OF RUBLE THWARTS RUSSIA’S NUCLEAR AMBITIONS
Published on: 22 January 2015  
MindBullet picture
Putin blames oil price for Russia's cash crunch
Dateline: 5 January 2017
The oil price plunge could not have come at a worse time for Russia. Just as Putin was flexing his muscles, taking back Crimea and calling the shots over gas deliveries, the value of Russia's major export commodities collapsed. As oil more than halved in value, demand for Russia's inexhaustible natural gas also dried up. Sanctions against Russia's involvement in Ukraine were helping EU states to turn to cheap Saudi oil instead. The ruble took an immediate pounding as Russian oligarchs sought to ...
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Printing buildings moves up a notch
Posted: 21 January 2015  
China is leading the world in rapid construction methods, and now they are embracing 3D printed components, which are assembled to make apartment blocks and villas. They also use recycled materials in their printing process.
World's first 3D-printed apartment building constructed in China
21 January 2015
A Chinese company has successfully 3D printed a five-storey apartment building and a 1,100 square metre villa from a special print material.
MindBullet logo SCRAPING THE SKY IN SHANGHAI
Tallest building in the world erected in record time
Dateline: 21 August 2014
China has done it again. After building a 15-storey hotel in six days, and a 30-storey block in 15 days, Chinese construction company BSB has built the ...
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Media tipping point
Posted: 21 January 2015  
Google's ad revenue is now bigger than all US newspapers and magazines combined.
Jim Harris on Twitter
21 January 2015
“Google is Bigger Than ALL US Newspapers & Magazine Combined! World Economic Forum #WEF15 #Davos #media”
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Solar realities in Hawaii
Posted: 20 January 2015  
A really interesting perspective on the realities and problems of operating alternative energies on an existing power grid. While the Hawaiian Island of Kauai has made great strides on implementing solar power - heading towards an astonishing 80% of peak power - battery technology is not always able to cope with engineering reality. But massive investments into new battery technology are ...
Battery Performance Is Hurting Hawaii’s Solar Push | MIT Technology Review
20 January 2015
Kauai’s utility takes a second stab at battery storage as solar heads toward 80 percent of peak power.
MindBullet logo COAL HITS US$10 PER TON AS SOLAR POWER SHINES
Nano solar films bring cheap energy to sunshine states
Dateline: 5 May 2018
It's hard to believe that a mere decade ago fossil fuels were at a premium, and everyone talked of 'peak oil' and the high prices of natural gas and coal. ...
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SpaceX internet getting Google support
Posted: 20 January 2015  
So Elon Musk's latest crazy ambitious plan is eclipsing Branson's by far and attracting serious money. It seems where OneWeb are talking about 728 satellites, Musk says plans are for over 4,000 microsatellites in medium earth orbit, so no delay as is typically the case with geostationary satellites.

Perhaps this is the beginning of the interplanetary internet we talked about in our MindBullet ...
Google's Finalizing a $1 Billion Investment in SpaceX Internet
20 January 2015
It looks like Google is going to throw a ten-figure sum into Elon Musk's space internet dream. Both The Information and The Wall Street Journal report that ...
MindBullet logo BE MY MARTIAN VALENTINE
And we'll connect on the interplanetary internet
Dateline: 14 February 2028
Ten years ago we witnessed the first private, robotic mission to Mars, which also led to the start of an internet network linking all the rovers and probes ...
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One web for the whole wide world
Posted: 19 January 2015   1 Comment
Funded by Qualcomm and Virgin, OneWeb hopes to construct a giant constellation of microsatellites that will beam internet access to all corners of the globe. From O3B to Google Loon and Facebook drones, there are several initiatives aimed at getting increased internet access to under-served areas.

I'm all for increasing the options for a truly global wireless network, but the cynic in me says ...
World's largest satellite constellation to provide global internet access
19 January 2015
According to the International Telecommunications Union, over half of the world's population has no access to the internet. A new plan, however, could ...
MindBullet logo THE FINAL (BUSINESS) FRONTIER
Space tourism and satellite launches compete for profits
Dateline: 27 September 2015
The race to launch a successful private space business has been won - and the victor, surprisingly, is not Virgin's Sir Richard Branson, but a 40-year-old ...
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The world in 2015
Posted: 19 January 2015  
Our futurist colleague Clem Suntner is always good value, and has a sharp eye for trends. Here are his views about the world in 2015.
Breaking Futures 2015
19 January 2015
What does 2015 have in store? Clem Sunter provides a list of trends and events which could become breaking news this year.
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India's growth to overtake China
Posted: 19 January 2015  
As the world order shakes, rattles and rolls, some win and some just don't. India, no doubt with momentum under its new PM growing, looks toward a brighter future.
World Bank: India to Become Fastest-Growing Big Economy
19 January 2015
People are already having fun with Linkis.com, sharing links easily and customizing them in few simple clicks.
MindBullet logo INDIA & CHINA FORM POWER BLOC
Nuclear energy central to plans for world domination
Dateline: 5 May 2014
India and China may be the unlikeliest of partners, but the continued demand for clean energy has brought the world's most populous nations into an ...
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The wrong side of history?
Posted: 18 January 2015  
Over the years so many critics have debunked electronic cash that talk of it has almost gone underground. So it was nice to hear Larry Summers, the former US treasury secretary, say:
"The people who rejected the internet as a curiosity for scientists were on the wrong side of history, so it seems to me that the people who confidently reject all the innovation in monetary systems are on the wrong side of history (too)".
Perhaps it will soon dawn on banks, the credit card companies and governments as well that their dominance is not for ever. ...
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MindBullet logo YOUR PHONE IS NOW THE HEART OF A 'GADGET ECO-SYSTEM'
Modular devices open horizons to a new 'mofone' world
Dateline: 27 April 2017
How 'phones' have changed! Even the smart handsets of a few years ago look like toys by today's standards. Our mobile communicators are now completely modular, which enables us to customize them and turn them into an endless array of useful, interesting and often just plain bizarre mega-devices. Some people are jokingly calling it the "Legofone", or the "mofone" and that's exactly the idea. ...
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Print your own car!
Posted: 16 January 2015  
The advertising blurb says it all! "Be the first on your block to own an electric-powered 3D-printed car....". So are printed spaceships so far-fetched, as per our MindBullet alongside?
Start Making room in your garage.
16 January 2015
The 3D Printed Car revolution is here. Showcasing the power of co-creation and micro-manufacturing, the Local Motors Strati struts its stuff on the NAIAS ...
MindBullet logo MARS MOTHERSHIP PRINTED IN 3D
3D printing in space solves problem of launching huge rockets
Dateline: 3 November 2025
A decade ago the first 3D printer to go to space was sent to the International Space Station. It proved to be so useful, more, bigger printers soon ...
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Bank employs robot workers
Posted: 15 January 2015  
We've told you that the robots are coming (see MindBullet alongside) - and here they are. Customers of this Japanese bank will be met by robot greeters when they enter the branch. It's a crazy world!
Japanese bank employs robot branch workers
15 January 2015
Already facing competition from online and mobile channels, bank branch staff in Japan are about to come up against a new threat: mini humanoid robots.
MindBullet logo THE ROBOTS AREN'T COMING, THEY'RE ALREADY HERE!
Millions of jobs have gone to the machines – and now at the top end too!
Dateline: 26 September 2020
It was way back in 2012 that we predicted that by 2022, your boss would be a machine. We were wrong. It's happened this year, 2020, a full two years ...
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Global shocks ahead in 2015
Posted: 15 January 2015  
What does 2015 hold in store on the geopolitical front? After a tumultuous 2014, there seem to be plenty more shocks in store. Here's a sharp analysis from Time Magazine.
The 10 Biggest Geopolitical Risks of 2015
15 January 2015
Ian Bremmer of the Eurasia Group tells us what to worry about this year
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Control your devices by thought alone
Posted: 15 January 2015  
The separation between man and machine narrows by the day. Scientists now are aiming devices such as these at people with disabilities - but how long before the ability to control electronic devices by thought alone becomes the very latest fashion gadget?
BrainGate Develops a Wireless Brain-Computer Interface | MIT Technology Review
15 January 2015
A wireless transmitter could give paralyzed people a practical way to control TVs, computers, or wheelchairs with their thoughts.
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Smart Home
Posted: 15 January 2015   2 Comments
While turning your own home into a smart one, there are some keypoints that we need to consider. I can tell for example, my friend who is going to transfer to her new place at marina bay residences is also planning to install devices that will make her unit smarter is now thinking twice after I shared this one I tried to study the floor plan http://www.serenechua.com/marina-bay-residences/ ...
MindBullet logo SMART HOME BUG TURNS DEADLY
Homeowner dies as home automation system goes haywire
Dateline: 14 August 2018
It's a dream gone horribly wrong. The automated, connected world was supposed to make our lives and our homes better, easier and safer. But now it's turned into a dreadful nightmare. Sure, there were plenty of minor glitches with early smart home systems. The vacuum cleaner switching on in the middle of the night. Electronic locks that wouldn't open. Heating and air-conditioning playing up. ...
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Storing alternative energy
Posted: 15 January 2015  
One of the big drawbacks of alternative energies has been the inability to store the energy produced for when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing. But new battery technologies are changing this, as the attached article from MIT's Technology Review reports.
Prices are still relatively high, but mainly because of low volumes. Even with a low oil price, new futures beckon. ...
Hawaii Battery Gives Wind and Solar a Boost | MIT Technology Review
15 January 2015
Niche applications will help advanced power-grid-battery technology.
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EXERCISE GENIE IN A BOTTLE
Published on: 15 January 2015  
MindBullet picture
Beating obesity one drink at a time
Dateline: 15 March 2026
In the race for the perfect health and energy drink, Eltsen will go down in history as the ultimate winner. Eltsen has figured out how to stimulate the main enzyme that regulates the human metabolism, which in effect means that people can burn fat without having to engage in strenuous exercise. A 30-minute jog can be replaced by one glass of EGIAB (Exercise Genie In A Bottle) and 10 minutes of YouTube aerobics. About 10 years ago we saw people hydrating themselves with smart drinks which boosted ...
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