MakerBot CEO Jenny LawtonJenny Lawton took a somewhat circuitous route to the helm of 3D printing leader MakerBot. Before joining the company as “Head of People” in 2011, Lawton spent ten years in retail, running her own bookstore in Greenwich, Connecticut. And though physical book selling might appear the polar opposite of 3D printing, which takes digital ideas and makes them physical, Lawton told me she learned a lot in the “down and dirty” retail business. “Retail is tough, tough work,” said Lawton and her bookstore taught her valuable lessons about small business, inventory management and the critical nature of customer relations. Lawton was able to layer that knowledge on top of a rather rich and impressive background in startups and technology. The 51 year old Quantico, Virginia, native studied applied math at Union College before going to work at the MIT in the late 1980s. In 1991, Lawton (along with Christopher Caldwell) launched the Web consulting firm Net Daemon Associates and rode the Internet wave (they created Monster.com) and subsequent bubble right up to the 1999 burst when Lawton sold the company to Interliant. After that, Lawton spent a couple of years in venture capital. Then 9/11 happened. It was, for Lawton, a pivotal experience. She been living what she called a “a go-go” lifestyle. After the terrorists attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, Lawton took stock and thought, “Hey, there’s a different way to do this.” Her love of reading led her to buy the bookstore and build it into a community based service. “I can’t tell you how cool it is to turn a kid onto reading.” A different passion Now, however, Lawton is turned on by the sound of 3D printers and whenever she gets to bring kids into her home to show them any of her five 3D printers in action. She’s also excited about the future of MakerBot, even if the short term does not include new 3D printing hardware. “I am happy to say that we’re not going to be launching new hardware products at CES,” said Lawton sounding gleeful. She told me that MakerBot introduced five new products at CES 2014, including a giant $7,000 3D printer capable of printing 10 objects at once. All that hardware leaves MakerBot with lots of work to do on many fronts, including solidifying the ecosystem and polishing the projects that are still just rolling out to customers (the mini started shipping in May.) “We really feel like they need time in the market. Next year is not the year of hardware: Focus on ecosystem and material space,” said Lawton. In other words, MakerBot’s new smart extruder will likely take the company well beyond printing with tradition 3D printing materials like the biodegradable PLC. Growing up A little more than a year ago, MakerBot was acquired by another 3D printing company, Stratasys. Little has changed since then, with the notable exception of the company leadership. Over the summer, MakerBot Co-Founder and CEO Bre Pettis […]
The Jawbone Up debuted last year with big ambitions: A bracelet-like device that you’d wear all the time, tracking how much you move and how well you sleep. Paired with an app, the Up helps you recognize patterns in your habits, empowering you to improve your health. One problem: It wasn’t built to withstand the punishment of being a wearable device. Unlike a cellphone that resides in your pocket or a bag, the Up wraps around your wrist, exposed to the world just as much as your skin is. Many users found it quickly malfunctioned, and Jawbone recalled the Up and issued refunds. After nearly a year of revamping and beta testing, Jawbone is releasing Up 2.0. Although it looks exactly the same on the outside, the internals have been thoroughly changed, built to a new strength that goes way beyond industry standards, the company says. For instance, Jawbone exposed the Up to various chemicals and solvents, tested it, then exposed it again and again. There were also many drop tests. In total, 2.9 million hours of testing went into the second version of the product, the company says. Now the new Up is here, selling for $129.99, or $30 more than the original (those extra man-hours don’t pay for themselves). It comes in three sizes and eight different colors. You can get one, starting today, at Jawbone’s website, the Apple Store, Best Buy and AT&T stores. We’ll have a review after we’ve had a chance to check it out for a few days. What do you think of the Up? And what would convince you to use it? Share your impressions in the comments. Image courtesy of Jawbone Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/11/13/jawbone-up-new/
“Here come the balls, big orange balls…” Sound familiar? That’s essentially the NBA‘s take on the classic holiday tune “Carol of the Bells,” as seen in the creative ad embedded above. Featuring five of the NBA’s biggest stars covering the song via basketball dribble, it’s meant to promote the NBA’s special one-color jerseys players will wear Christmas Day and premieres on TV during Wednesday night’s games. The spot was produced by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, the advertising agency behind the legendary “Got Milk?” spots and other well-known campaigns. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/11/21/nba-ad-holiday/
Lately, it seems more and more like getting off of this planet would be a great idea. Unfortunately, we’ve just got the one habitable planet in the solar system, so it seems like we’re stuck here. That is, unless the United Arab Emirates (UAE) succeeds in their mission. The UAE plans to build the first settlement on Mars within the next hundred years. Because so few of us will be sticking around to see that come to fruition, they’ve released a 3D Virtual Tour showing what that future settlement on Mars might look like. Even if you don’t have a VR headset, you can click and move around on screen for the full 360 degree experience of the “City of Wisdom.” Youtube / World Government Summit The “Mars 2117” project was envisioned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. He said at its launch, “Human ambitions have no limits, and whoever looks into the scientific breakthroughs in the current century believes that human abilities can realize the most important human dream.” Youtube / World Government Summit While the UAE doesn’t have one of the biggest space programs in the world, they’ve majorly upgraded in the past few years and are dedicating a serious amount of money to this project. Youtube / World Government Summit <div class="llcust" data-lltype="video" id="ll_5a2df61de92c9" data-source=" Youtube / World Government Summit Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/living-on-mars/
Winning or losing doesn’t matter when it comes to some athletes. What matters is the well-being of those in need. North Dakota teen Melanie Bailey was faced with a tough choice in her final high school cross-country meet. While passing the two-mile mark of the 2.4 mile course, she noticed that the runner ahead of her, fellow senior Danielle Lenoue, was in a great deal of pain. Lenoue was limping and crying, lagging behind in the race. Bailey stopped and offered help, and though the other runner kept telling her to “go on,” Bailey refused and offered her help. When that didn’t do much to relieve the poor girl’s pain, Bailey took the girl onto her back and carried her a quarter mile to receive medical attention. (Source: Tricia Kelley) She may not have won the race, but she won what really mattered: being a good caring person. Read more: http://viralnova.com/runner-helps-competitor/
We don’t love sports so much because we actually care about who can put a ball in a net or through a hoop. The true appeal is in the way these silly, arbitrary games we invest so much in reflect and bring out core elements of the universal human experience — success, failure, determination, community, joy and sorrow, for example. The YouTube clip above captures this perfectly. Shot at a Windy City bar called The Pony on Monday night as the Chicago Blackhawks came back to win the NHL‘s Stanley Cup title in thrilling fashion, the two-minute video is raw, unedited and so, so real. The ‘Hawks scored two goals in 17 seconds just before the final horn to win their series against the Boston Bruins in six games. Watch fans in the packed bar go nuts over the first goal that tied the game, slowly process what just happened, then completely lose their minds after Chicago scores again. Unfortunately, the scene in Boston bars was probably the exact opposite of what you see here. But at least Bruins fans had one small victory to cling to for a few short hours after their team’s tragic loss. Then there was also this fantastic Vine video posted by Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference, in which he removes his burly playoff beard with an eraser and a sneeze: Time to get ready for next year. https://t.co/LIooTouZuT — Andrew Ference (@Ferknuckle) June 25, 2013 Homepage image by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images window._msla=window.loadScriptAsync||function(src,id){if(document.getElementById(id))return;var js=document.createElement(‘script’);js.id=id;js.src=src;document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0].parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}; _msla(“//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”,”twitter_jssdk”); Read more: http://mashable.com/2013/06/26/stanley-cup-bar-footage/
Just because you hear that a movie is “certified fresh” doesn’t mean you’re going to like it. Read more: http://www.wimp.com/why-you-shouldnt-put-too-much-stock-into-rotten-tomatoes-ratings/
No one knows how long this elderly dog had been stuck in a sewage gutter before a kind soul fished him out. Sadly, though, that wasn’t the end of his hardship. The poor boy suffered a severe gash on his hindquarters and was in so much pain that he couldn’t stand. If the amazing people from Animal Aid Unlimited hadn’t come to rescue him, there’s no telling if he would have ever moved from where he was left. I was cheering in my seat when he was lifted up and stood on his own for the first time! If you don’t know about all the wonderful work Animal Aid Unlimited is doing for strays in India, find out here. And please consider donating to their cause here. Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/street-dog/
