News for Inventors

UC Davis Team Wins Microsoft's U.S. Imagine Cup 2010

by Myra Per-Lee

This past weekend at the new Newseum in Washington, DC, Microsoft sponsored the finals of its eighth U.S. Imagine Cup, one of the nation's toughest student software competitions. After three days of demonstrating their new technologies, a few dozen team finalists were pared down to one grand prize winner....

Name That Lawn Mower Blade For $500!

by Myra Per-Lee

Edison Nation is holding its fifth Name Search Challenge... this time for a new lawn mower blade. The inventor apparently refers to it as a "Samurai" because, like a Samurai sword, the curved blade slices the grass instead of chopping it. Ouch!

Ron Docie To Write for InventorSpot.com

by Michelle

InventorSpot.com is proud to announce that Ron Docie, author of "The Inventor's Bible, How to Market and License Your Brilliant Ideas" which is considered by many to be THE definitive guide for inventors will be joining InventorSpot.com as a regular Featured Guest Blogger.

4 comments

New Desalination Membrane May Reduce Costs For Drinkable Ocean Water

by Myra Per-Lee

...Southern Californians are told over and over again that desalination is extremely costly and that no one wants to pay for it, but we still wonder how we can sit right on the coast of the largest body in the world and not focus all of our human intelligence on getting usable, affordable water from the sea.

3 comments

Adspecs: Self-Adjusting Eyeglass Lenses Bring Eye Care To 3rd World

by Myra Per-Lee

These ad specs have nothing to do with the size of an ad you are placing with Google. These Adspecs are self-adjusting lenses that an Oxford University physics professor, Josh Silver, invented to bring sight to millions of people in the third world, where there are few eye care professionals to meet the needs of those with refractive vision problems.

1 comment

Big Bang Too & 'The God(damn) Particle' Were A Smashing Success!

by Ron Callari

On Tuesday, March 30 at precisely 1:06 PM in Geneva, Switzerland, scientists revisited our distant past. It only took 16 short years and a paltry $10 billion dollars to recreate the conditions similar to the original Big Bang that occurred some 13.7 billion years ago and is one of the major scientific theories behind the creation of life as we know it.

1 comment

USA Today's Commitment To Social Media

by Ron Callari

In my previous blog, "Is USA Today's 'Social Media Lounge' A Little Late To The Party?" I talked about how some legacy newspapers like USA Today were in somewhat stalled position as to how best to work with social media. With USA Today's launch of their Social Media Lounge, I questioned if they were simply 'testing the waters' or jumping in with both feet. In a subsequent interview with Alexandra Nicholson, manager and social media strategist for the paper, she clarified some of these points and confirmed the paper's commitment to social media.

3 comments

10 Chindogu: The Art Of Intentionally Making A Useless Invention

by Myra Per-Lee

The Japanese say they invented it, but maybe they were just the first to name it. The name, Chindogu, is becoming universally known and used to describe inventions that are useless. Well, I don't know about Ben Franklin or Thomas Jefferson or the prolific inventor Leonardo da Vinci, but haven't most inventors created some useless stuff? In fact, mostly useless stuff?

2 comments

Laid Off, A Chemist Invents A Very Relevant Gadget: The Magic Toob Lampshade Leveler

by Myra Per-Lee

I suspect your response to a lampshade leveler is going to be "So what." Mine was too... until I learned how universally relevant this little gadget is now, and will be in the next few years.

5 comments

Calling All Inventors! Casting Invention TV Show In Chicago!

by Myra Per-Lee

If you can create an amazing gadget out of anything... If you love tinkering with crafts... If you go by the nickname 'mad scientist'... Then, an Emmy-nominated production company is looking for you to interview for a new series with a major cable network.

1 comment

Worlds Collide: BBC 'SuperPower' Meets ABC 'V' TV Show

by Ron Callari

Two ethereal female guides offer help for planet earth. Both represent super powers. Both attempt to 'shock 'n awe' us into looking at our lives in different ways. The promos are similar in their 'otherworldly' approach and mood, but the intent is much different. One looks to inform while the other to entertain. Both connect with Barack Obama. While the president is actually featured in SuperPower's promo, the 'V' series has been interpreted as an allegory of the current administration, with its allusions to "change" and "universal health care."

1 comment

AT&T Wireless Data Profits At Record High, iPad Traffic On The Way

by Austin Keenan

AT&T now stands to make even more money than they're making now, which they said in a press release yesterday was a record high.

Will NY Times Charge For Content & Bundle Delivery With New Apple iPad?

NY Times to be bundled with Apple Tablet

by Ron Callari

Speculation is circulating from reputable sources such as Mashable that the New York Times is contemplating charging for content. While legacy newspapers have struggled to develop new business models to address dwindling subscriptions and ad revenue, it's apparent that a metered system is on the table for consideration.

Call For Inventors: Christmas Tree Decor & Gifts!

by Myra Per-Lee

While Christmas is fresh on your minds, I know you inventors have plenty of ideas for how to improve it. Before those visions of sugar plums and the money to be made from them leave your minds, the Christmas Tree Shops, through Edison Nation, want your ideas. Hurry now, you have only until February 15, 2010 to get your entries in.

Augmented Reality Could Transform Legacy Newspapers Into Video Media

by Ron Callari

Remember when after reading something of great interest, you daydreamed about the content as if it was a living scenario, whether it was fiction or the daily news. Now with the assistance of Augmented Reality, the content you read will virtually be able to pop off the page and begin speaking to you.

1 comment

Call For Inventors: 'As Seen On TV' Innovative Product Search!

by Myra Per-Lee

If you've had a product in mind that would sell a few million through infomercial advertising, your idea could be one of the next big hits As Seen On TV! Edison Nation has partnered with some of the best direct response (DRTV) firms in the country to find the best innovative products for 'As Seen On TV' Innovative Product Search.

Edison Nation Plays The Name Game: Name This Product Competition

by Myra Per-Lee

If you're good at coming up with names for products, Edison Nation has got just the competition for you. The online intermediary between inventors and big companies has added Name Searches to its Live Product Searches. Entries to its first naming competition are due January 18, 2010, so you better get started!

1 comment

Something To Be Thankful For: Scientists Working Hard to Develop Unique Ways To Recycle Feathers

by Gloria Campos

Have you ever wondered what happens to plucked turkey feathers? For the most part turkey feathers as well as feathers from various other poultry are simply incinerated, made in to low -grade animal feedstock or thrown away only to end up in a landfill. Fortunately, several scientists are working hard to develop new eco-friendly ways to recycle these feathers for future use.

1 comment

Human Hair in Solar Panels Make Solhair Power

by Gloria Campos

Another reuse for human hair has been discovered thanks to a young bright man from Nepal. Using human hair, the young man and his friends, invented a method to power more affordable solar panels for their village and hopefully the rest of the world. Is it Solhair Power?

5 comments

Innovation Village Doesn't Ask For Money, Just Your Inventions

by Myra Per-Lee

Innovation Village is a one-eighty from other invention companies. It develops your inventions without asking you for a dime... if it thinks it can make a big hit with your invention.