2013年9月21日 星期六
伊麗莎白·班克斯照片 ( Elizabeth Banks 照片with love songs from Miley Cyrus、Christina Aguilera、The band perry、Debbie gibson、kaci brown)
2013年9月20日 星期五
谷歌Chrome戰略 - NB，TV，Chrome瀏覽器的應用程序和內容 ( Google Chrome strategy - NB、TV、Chrome apps and content )
Samsung Chromebook 3G and get 100MB free a month with a Globalgig SIM ( 三星Chromebook3G和100MB免費一個月一個 Globalgig SIM )
Buy a Samsung Chromebook 3G to get a free Globalgig SIM that comes with 100MB of free data each month for a year. And since Globalgig is an international provider that will mean access in 40 countries across Europe, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. And when you arrive in the new country all you need do is wait, up to 10 minutes, and the Chromebook will have you automatically connected to a local network. ( 買三星3G的Chromebook，獲得免費Globalgig SIM卡，配有每月 100MB 一年免費數據。因為 Globalgig 的國際供應商，這將意味著在40個國家在歐洲，美國，澳大利亞，新西蘭和香港訪問。而當你到達在新的國家所有你需要做的就是等待，長達10分鐘，將您自動連接到本地網絡的 Chromebook。)
If the free 3G data isn't for you then Chromebook 3G buyers have the option of £50 cash back and a Samsung Galaxy Mini smartphone too. The only catch is you'll need to pick yours up before the end of September to get the deal from samsung.com.
Samsung Chromebook pricing starts at £250 for a Series 3 model. ( 三星Chromebook定價為250英鎊3系列模型。)
註：250英鎊之三星Chromebook內含，配有每月 100MB 一年免費數據，其實還蠻有競爭力之價格。
Intel Haswell signs up four new Chromebooks ( 四個新Chromebooks 採用英特爾 Haswell )
A new line of Chromebooks is coming soon powered by Intel's battery-sipping, high-speed Haswell chips. Google and Intel announced the models from Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Asus, and Toshiba at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco on Wednesday. ( 一個新型的 Chromebooks 即將推出採用英特爾的高速的Haswell芯片。上週三谷歌和英特爾惠普，宏基，華碩，東芝公司在舊金山舉行的英特爾開發者論壇公佈其機型。)
Because of their Haswell-based internals, these new Chromebooks are expected to have a battery life in the range of 9 hours. And following the lead of the popular $250 Samsung Series 3 Chromebook and Acer's $199 C7 Chromebook, they're expected to cost under $300 for the Wi-Fi only models, as opposed to Google's high-end, $1,300 Chromebook Pixel. ( 由於基於 Haswell設計，這些新的Chromebooks預計將有9小時的範圍內的電池壽命。和流行250美元三星系列3的Chromebook和宏基的199美元C7 Chromebook，他們正在預期，以成本低於300美元的Wi-Fi的機型，相對於谷歌的高端，1300美元 的Chromebook。)
Google didn't have much to say about any of the models, leaving the details to the Chromebook makers to announce. An Acer representative confirmed that its new Chromebook will be available "in time for the holidays."
Intel representative Bill Calder said that the new Chromebooks won't bear the Haswell branding because they're not using the full Haswell architecture. "They're a variant that will carry Pentium and Celeron brands. They're flagship Core processors, but not with all the same features," he told CNET. "They have different speeds, different cache levels."
Some highlights from the new Chromebooks include multiple colors and an optional, pricier 4G model for the upcoming HP Chromebook14, and what appears to be a boxier, less rectangular design for Asus' coming Chromebox as compared with the Samsung Series 3 Chromebox from 2012.
The HP Chromebook14 will come with a 14-inch display, a 16 GB solid-state hard drive, an HDMI port, one USB 2.0 port and one USB 3.0 port, and a combined headphone and microphone jack. T-Mobile will be providing 200 MB of free monthly mobile broadband service for the 4G model, and Google will include 100 GB of free storage on Google Drive for two years. The base model will start at $299.99.
Google has scored something of an unexpected hit with the low-cost Chrome OS-powered hardware, which now makes up somewhere between one-fifth and one-quarter of the sub-$300 PC market, according to NPD.
Schools have driven much of this adoption, as more than 5,000 schools in 20 percent of districts in the US have given Chromebooks to their students.
Beyond academic interests, Google hopes the newly announced Chrome Apps will serve to bolster two of Chrome OS' major weaknesses: offline support and app design that can compete with mobile platforms.
A new breed of Chrome Apps ( 新的Chrome應用程序)
Today we’re unveiling a new kind of Chrome App, which brings together the speed, security and flexibility of the modern web with the powerful functionality previously only available with software installed on your devices. (Think apps designed for your desktop or laptop, just like the ones for your phone and tablet.) These apps are more powerful than before, and can help you get work done, play games in full-screen and create cool content all from the web. If you’re using Windows or a Chromebook, you can check them out in the “For your desktop” collection in the Chrome Web Store (Mac & Linux coming soon).
Here’s what you can expect with new Chrome Apps:
Of course, even with all this great stuff happening behind-the-scenes, the apps are what really matter. We know many of you doing enjoy things like photo editing, checking off your to-do’s or unwinding with games, so here are a few Chrome apps to get you started:
Explore and create
Chromecast review - Google TV on a stick, simplified in more ways than one
Good things come in small packages, or at least that's the hope Google has for Chromecast. This inexpensive media streaming adapter turns any television into a content-filled destination, making it a seed that could grow into the company's answer to Apple TV, the Roku and other rival streaming devices.
But it's an answer that's very much a work in progress.That's because while the Android inventor has released its streaming adapter at an attractive price of $35 (£23, about AU$39), the number of apps it supports is limited. In fact, as of this Chromecast review, five of the six compatible apps are owned by Google itself.
So far, Chromecast supports YouTube, Google Play Music, Google Play Movies & TV, the Chrome browser mirroring extension via computers, and the lone third-party application, Netflix.
Media companies have promised that more apps are on the way. Pandora, Hulu Plus, and HBO Go are all expected to be next in line. This needs to happen sooner rather than later considering the tremendous interest that U.S. consumers have shown Google's sold out streaming stick in its first days of availability.
But as it stands, Chromecast is Google's third attempt to take over living room televisions and it suffers from a lot of the same problems of its predecessors. Previously, the company launched the odd-shaped Nexus Q, which also faced an uphill battle for app support.
Google TV has had its own share of streaming problems. There are more apps for the Android 3.0 Honeycomb-based platform, but the hardware has always been more expensive, requiring a "buddy box" or a whole new television to take advantage of the apps.
Chromecast certainly fixes the out-of-reach hardware issue by selling for a rock-bottom price, and it's a million times easier to implement. If you can plug an HDMI cable into a television, you can use Chromecast. That's all it takes.
The good news for Google and everyone who buys into Chromecast right now is that while it still lacks a plethora of apps, it's the same exact problem that Apple TV and similarly-styled streaming boxes have faced for years. Content providers have been slow to get on board. In a few months time, Chromecast's lineup of apps is likely to be no better and no worse than its rivals.
For this reason, Chromecast could end up being an experiment by Google, which is reportedly attempting to make deals with media companies for broader TV plans. It has tried and failed in the past, and that could very well happen again.
It's such an inexpensive experiment, however, that the few tricks that Google has packed into the tiny Chromecast may make it worth picking up and plugging into your TV, depending on your media streaming needs.
Nexus 7、Chromecast、Moto X、Google Fiber 讓 Google 全面往硬體產品衝
電視串流業者Hulu和時代華納旗下的家庭電影院（HBO）宣布正與Google合作，將透過Google的電視棒Chromecast播放它們的收費訂閱節目。
Google上月推出售價35美元的Chromecast，插在電視的HDMI槽即可透過Wi-Fi無線傳輸，在電視上播放影片。這款電視棒可搭配採用Google Android作業系統的裝置，或蘋果的iPhone。
Hulu和HBO的加入，將可壯大Chromecast的內容，使Google更能與Roku和蘋果TV競爭；這兩大對手也提供網路傳送的內容在電視和行動裝置上播放。Google已表示，未來將爭取納入Pandora媒體的音樂串流服務，並和其他內容供應商合作。 .....
分析
Buy a Samsung Chromebook 3G to get a free Globalgig SIM that comes with 100MB of free data each month for a year. And since Globalgig is an international provider that will mean access in 40 countries across Europe, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. And when you arrive in the new country all you need do is wait, up to 10 minutes, and the Chromebook will have you automatically connected to a local network. ( 買三星3G的Chromebook，獲得免費Globalgig SIM卡，配有每月 100MB 一年免費數據。因為 Globalgig 的國際供應商，這將意味著在40個國家在歐洲，美國，澳大利亞，新西蘭和香港訪問。而當你到達在新的國家所有你需要做的就是等待，長達10分鐘，將您自動連接到本地網絡的 Chromebook。)
If the free 3G data isn't for you then Chromebook 3G buyers have the option of £50 cash back and a Samsung Galaxy Mini smartphone too. The only catch is you'll need to pick yours up before the end of September to get the deal from samsung.com.
Samsung Chromebook pricing starts at £250 for a Series 3 model. ( 三星Chromebook定價為250英鎊3系列模型。)
註：250英鎊之三星Chromebook內含，配有每月 100MB 一年免費數據，其實還蠻有競爭力之價格。
Intel Haswell signs up four new Chromebooks ( 四個新Chromebooks 採用英特爾 Haswell )
A new line of Chromebooks is coming soon powered by Intel's battery-sipping, high-speed Haswell chips. Google and Intel announced the models from Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Asus, and Toshiba at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco on Wednesday. ( 一個新型的 Chromebooks 即將推出採用英特爾的高速的Haswell芯片。上週三谷歌和英特爾惠普，宏基，華碩，東芝公司在舊金山舉行的英特爾開發者論壇公佈其機型。)
Because of their Haswell-based internals, these new Chromebooks are expected to have a battery life in the range of 9 hours. And following the lead of the popular $250 Samsung Series 3 Chromebook and Acer's $199 C7 Chromebook, they're expected to cost under $300 for the Wi-Fi only models, as opposed to Google's high-end, $1,300 Chromebook Pixel. ( 由於基於 Haswell設計，這些新的Chromebooks預計將有9小時的範圍內的電池壽命。和流行250美元三星系列3的Chromebook和宏基的199美元C7 Chromebook，他們正在預期，以成本低於300美元的Wi-Fi的機型，相對於谷歌的高端，1300美元 的Chromebook。)
Google didn't have much to say about any of the models, leaving the details to the Chromebook makers to announce. An Acer representative confirmed that its new Chromebook will be available "in time for the holidays."
Intel representative Bill Calder said that the new Chromebooks won't bear the Haswell branding because they're not using the full Haswell architecture. "They're a variant that will carry Pentium and Celeron brands. They're flagship Core processors, but not with all the same features," he told CNET. "They have different speeds, different cache levels."
Some highlights from the new Chromebooks include multiple colors and an optional, pricier 4G model for the upcoming HP Chromebook14, and what appears to be a boxier, less rectangular design for Asus' coming Chromebox as compared with the Samsung Series 3 Chromebox from 2012.
The HP Chromebook14 will come with a 14-inch display, a 16 GB solid-state hard drive, an HDMI port, one USB 2.0 port and one USB 3.0 port, and a combined headphone and microphone jack. T-Mobile will be providing 200 MB of free monthly mobile broadband service for the 4G model, and Google will include 100 GB of free storage on Google Drive for two years. The base model will start at $299.99.
Google has scored something of an unexpected hit with the low-cost Chrome OS-powered hardware, which now makes up somewhere between one-fifth and one-quarter of the sub-$300 PC market, according to NPD.
Schools have driven much of this adoption, as more than 5,000 schools in 20 percent of districts in the US have given Chromebooks to their students.
Beyond academic interests, Google hopes the newly announced Chrome Apps will serve to bolster two of Chrome OS' major weaknesses: offline support and app design that can compete with mobile platforms.
A new breed of Chrome Apps ( 新的Chrome應用程序)
Today we’re unveiling a new kind of Chrome App, which brings together the speed, security and flexibility of the modern web with the powerful functionality previously only available with software installed on your devices. (Think apps designed for your desktop or laptop, just like the ones for your phone and tablet.) These apps are more powerful than before, and can help you get work done, play games in full-screen and create cool content all from the web. If you’re using Windows or a Chromebook, you can check them out in the “For your desktop” collection in the Chrome Web Store (Mac & Linux coming soon).
Here’s what you can expect with new Chrome Apps:
- Work offline: Keep working or playing, even when you don’t have an internet connection.
- More app, less Chrome: No tabs, buttons or text boxes mean you can get into the app without being distracted by the rest of the web.
- Connect to the cloud: Access and save the documents, photos and videos on your hard drive as well as on Google Drive and other web services.
- Stay up-to-speed: With desktop notifications, you can get reminders, updates and even take action, right from the notification center.
- Play nice with your connected devices: Interact with your USB, Bluetooth and other devices connected to your desktop, including digital cameras.
- Keep updated automatically: Apps update silently, so you always get all the latest features and security fixes (unless permissions change).
- Pick up where you left off: Chrome syncs your apps to any desktop device you sign in to, so you can keep working.
- Sleep easier: Chrome apps take advantage of Chrome’s built-in security features such as Sandboxing. They also auto-update to make sure you have all the latest security fixes. No extra software (or worrying) required.
- Launch apps directly from your desktop: To make it quicker and easier to get to your favorite apps, we’re also introducing the Chrome App Launcher for Windows, which will appear when you install your first new Chrome App. It lives in your taskbar and launches your apps into their own windows, outside of Chrome, just like your desktop apps. Have lots of apps? Navigate to your favorite apps using the search box.
Of course, even with all this great stuff happening behind-the-scenes, the apps are what really matter. We know many of you doing enjoy things like photo editing, checking off your to-do’s or unwinding with games, so here are a few Chrome apps to get you started:
Explore and create
Pixlr Touch Up lets you quickly touch up, crop, resize and adjust photos from your computer or Google Drive. If you’re feeling dramatic, you can also choose from a variety of film-inspired effects to apply. And it works offline, so you can get a head start polishing up your vacation photos on your flight home.
Wunderlist is a beautiful and simple to-do list, which features voice dictation and desktop notifications, which remind you of timely tasks and team updates. And for those on the move, you can take your tasks with you from computer to computer, and manage them even if you’re offline.
Cracking Sands is an action-packed racing game that lets you speed your way past your online or computer opponents through beautiful 3D courses. And for those looking for more precise control, you can even connect your Xbox controller via USB.
We hope you enjoy what you see in the Chrome Web Store. And please share your favorite new Chrome Apps in the comments below.
Chromecast review - Google TV on a stick, simplified in more ways than one
Good things come in small packages, or at least that's the hope Google has for Chromecast. This inexpensive media streaming adapter turns any television into a content-filled destination, making it a seed that could grow into the company's answer to Apple TV, the Roku and other rival streaming devices.
But it's an answer that's very much a work in progress.That's because while the Android inventor has released its streaming adapter at an attractive price of $35 (£23, about AU$39), the number of apps it supports is limited. In fact, as of this Chromecast review, five of the six compatible apps are owned by Google itself.
So far, Chromecast supports YouTube, Google Play Music, Google Play Movies & TV, the Chrome browser mirroring extension via computers, and the lone third-party application, Netflix.
Media companies have promised that more apps are on the way. Pandora, Hulu Plus, and HBO Go are all expected to be next in line. This needs to happen sooner rather than later considering the tremendous interest that U.S. consumers have shown Google's sold out streaming stick in its first days of availability.
But as it stands, Chromecast is Google's third attempt to take over living room televisions and it suffers from a lot of the same problems of its predecessors. Previously, the company launched the odd-shaped Nexus Q, which also faced an uphill battle for app support.
Google TV has had its own share of streaming problems. There are more apps for the Android 3.0 Honeycomb-based platform, but the hardware has always been more expensive, requiring a "buddy box" or a whole new television to take advantage of the apps.
Chromecast certainly fixes the out-of-reach hardware issue by selling for a rock-bottom price, and it's a million times easier to implement. If you can plug an HDMI cable into a television, you can use Chromecast. That's all it takes.
The good news for Google and everyone who buys into Chromecast right now is that while it still lacks a plethora of apps, it's the same exact problem that Apple TV and similarly-styled streaming boxes have faced for years. Content providers have been slow to get on board. In a few months time, Chromecast's lineup of apps is likely to be no better and no worse than its rivals.
For this reason, Chromecast could end up being an experiment by Google, which is reportedly attempting to make deals with media companies for broader TV plans. It has tried and failed in the past, and that could very well happen again.
It's such an inexpensive experiment, however, that the few tricks that Google has packed into the tiny Chromecast may make it worth picking up and plugging into your TV, depending on your media streaming needs.
Nexus 7、Chromecast、Moto X、Google Fiber 讓 Google 全面往硬體產品衝
 |
| Microsoft will face a big drop after acquisition of Nokia? |
電視串流業者Hulu和時代華納旗下的家庭電影院（HBO）宣布正與Google合作，將透過Google的電視棒Chromecast播放它們的收費訂閱節目。
Google上月推出售價35美元的Chromecast，插在電視的HDMI槽即可透過Wi-Fi無線傳輸，在電視上播放影片。這款電視棒可搭配採用Google Android作業系統的裝置，或蘋果的iPhone。
Hulu和HBO的加入，將可壯大Chromecast的內容，使Google更能與Roku和蘋果TV競爭；這兩大對手也提供網路傳送的內容在電視和行動裝置上播放。Google已表示，未來將爭取納入Pandora媒體的音樂串流服務，並和其他內容供應商合作。 .....
分析
- Google 之 Chromecast、Chromebook 策略將緊抓 NB、TV 及應用程序、內容產業，低價策略將衝擊 Microsoft OS 的市場，Microsoft 最大危機是人們開始逐漸改變 NB、TV 及應用程序使用習慣。
- Google 產品策略與動作越來越快，市值已經超越 Microsoft，如今 Google 已經推出 Nexus 7、Chromecast、Moto X、Google Fiber 四項產品，讓 Google 全面往硬體產品衝；
- 台廠最大危機是若 Chromebook 策略成功，意味 2014 ~ 2015 Chromebook 將是 139 ~ 169 美元，那台廠 PC 產業將會有 35% ~ 45% 營收衰退，整個上市公司總營收將有10%衰退；
参考：
- 由 Google 財報看它公司發展 - 高速研發驅動型的成長公司 ( By Google earnings and asset analysis report and Development - It is a R&D driven high growth company )
- Google 建構新網路架構 - 延伸 Google 未來生意機會、網際網路人口、Google 硬體事業競爭力 ( Google construct a new network architecture - extends Google future business opportunities, Internet population, Google hardware business competitiveness )
- 馬總統連任後在證所稅、歐債、全球經濟衰退之衝擊下之政府績效差, 台灣經濟成長保2
- 中油把國內物價炒這麼高的嗎？ 還帶動『油電燃氣』類股營收創新高 年增率達99.6%，再漲能源稅?
抗老化疾病將成為結合基因工程、智能穿戴型計算之未來產業 - Google Project Caico, foresee its healthcare application with Google Glass
Google成立新公司 對抗老化疾病
搜尋引擎龍頭Google公司今天宣布開設保健公司「Calico」，致力研發對抗與老化相關疾病的技術，以及老齡化問題及相關疾病。將由知名生技公司基因科技（Genentech）的前執行長與董事長、現任蘋果公司董事長的萊文森（Arthur D. Levinson）擔任執行長。
谷歌執行長佩吉（Larry Page）表示：「疾病和老化影響所有家庭。有了對健康照護和生物科技的長遠和突破性思維，我認為我們可以提升數百萬人的生活。」他也指出，老化與疾病不能完全算是「自然現象」，只要對人類生活有貢獻和進步，都值得投資和開發。
萊文森表示，「我把自己生命的大多數時間都貢獻給了科學技術，目標是改善人類的健康狀況。佩吉集中關注大規模改善的態度令我深受鼓舞，我對未來前景感到非常激動。」
佩吉也在自己的Google+頁面強調，由於是長期的投資，目前投入的金額跟資源，相較Google的核心事業，仍然是相當小的一部分。
Google's project Calico: the search giant looks for an answer to ageing
Google has always prided itself on its ‘moon shots’ – ambitious projects that have seen the search giant sink money into everything from self-driving cars to translating the web into 64 different languages. Their latest venture might be their most aspirational yet: aiming to extend human life.
Named Calico, the project was announced by co-founder Larry Page, with the stated aim being to “focus on health and well-being, in particular the challenge of ageing and associated diseases.”
Details of what exactly Calico will pursue are scarce, but it seem obvious enough that technological assistance will provide a big part of their approach to helping our increasingly elderly population.
“Illness and ageing affect all our families. With some longer term, moonshot thinking around healthcare and biotechnology, I believe we can improve millions of lives,” said Page, who also introduced Arthur D. Levinson Chairman and former CEO of Genentech and Chairman of Apple, as the CEO of Calico.
“It’s impossible to imagine anyone better than Art—one of the leading scientists, entrepreneurs and CEOs of our generation—to take this new venture forward”
Levinson himself said: “I’ve devoted much of my life to science and technology, with the goal of improving human health. Larry’s focus on outsized improvements has inspired me, and I’m tremendously excited about what’s next.”
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, also joined in the congratulations, noting that “Art is one of the crazy ones […]There is no one better suited to lead this mission and I am excited to see the results.”
Speaking to Time about the venture Page asks “Are people really focused on the right things? One of the things I thought was amazing is that if you solve cancer, you’d add about three years to people’s average life expectancy.”
“We think of solving cancer as this huge thing that’ll totally change the world. But when you really take a step back and look at it, yeah, there are many, many tragic cases of cancer, and it’s very, very sad, but in the aggregate, it’s not as big an advance as you might think.”
Exactly what Google decides Calico will work towards remain a mystery, but it seems like it might be the company’s biggest moon shot to date.
紀錄每口食物 3D相機精準算熱量
美國匹茲堡大學研究人員，研發出一款可別在衣服上的3D相機，稱為「電子鈕扣」(eButton)，表示利用這款相機，可記錄使用者每天吃掉的食物，精準計算出使用者攝取了多少卡路里。
不少人減肥失敗，都是由於錯算卡路里所致，大都因為吃下去的食物量，遠比自己估算的還要多，他們研發這款3D相機，可透過拍攝多張食物影像，紀錄使用者每一口吃下肚的食物，利用裝食物的容器當參考值，檢視食物形狀以確認是何種食物，再搜查資料庫，計算出使用者吃掉的卡路里實際到底有多少。
目前這個研究還在初步階段，這款3D相機，在實驗中計算卡路里的錯誤率為3.7%，不過研究員表示一旦技術成熟，將有助想減肥的人，更精準掌握每天吃掉的熱量，不過這款3D相機，對於辨識像是冰淇淋或番茄醬等形狀不固定的食物，常出現錯估，而且要如何估算醬汁佐料等也還是個問題。
Google Glass can do Biofeedback to any person to help you to get into a good fitness program, so it will be a new innovative application.
時代雜誌：意欲對抗死神的 Google
佩奇成為 Google 領導者之後帶來了立竿見影的效果。2012年， Google 以125億美元的價格收購了處於困境中的手機廠商摩托羅拉流動，從而進軍硬件業務。佩奇同時重組了 Google 的管理架構，創造了名為“L團隊(L代表拉里)”的高級管理層。不過，也有一些重量級高管離開，其中包括 Google 的第20名員工瑪麗莎‧梅耶爾(Marissa Mayer)，她前往雅虎成為了該公司CEO。更重要的是，佩奇已經証明，儘管 Google 被認為過分依賴廣告業務，但該公司的其他業務也能獲得高速發展。目前， Google 500億美元年營收的大部分來自搜索廣告。但分析師估計，YouTube目前已是一項年營收40億美元的業務，而Android則帶來了每年68億美元營收。
在此基礎上，外界已經看到，佩奇擁有不一般的雄心壯志，並且沒有太大的耐心，他希望自己建立的公司也是這樣。他表示：“對我來說，如果你觀察一家正在發展壯大的公司，同時這家公司只從事一種業務，那麼這種狀況很難令人滿意。理想情況下，如果你有更多的人和資源，那麼就可以解決更多問題。我們總是堅持這樣的哲學。”一些長期關注 Google 的觀察家贊同這一說法。風投公司Andreessen Horowitz聯合創始人本‧霍洛維茨(Ben Horowitz)表示：“類似佩奇的人並不關注維持價值，他們希望創造新的價值。從無到有創造新東西是一種優點。”
不過， Google 此前從未嘗試解決像“死亡”這樣意義深遠的問題。將衰老當作一種疾病而不是生命的自然現象並非新觀念，至少很多人都曾這樣幻想過。那麼作為一種科學，情況又如何？美國抗衰老醫學科學院早在1992年就已經成立，但該機構的理念仍未被主流醫學界接受。研究進展很慢，因此到目前為止仍未能得到有意義的成果。馬薩諸塞州劍橋的一家公司Sirtris Pharmaceuticals此前曾開發一種名為SRT501的新藥。這是白藜蘆醇的特定形式。白藜蘆醇存在於葡萄酒中，曾被認為具有抗衰老特性。2008年，葛蘭素史克以7.2億美元的價格收購了Sirtris。但到2010年，由於仍未能開發出可投放市場的此類藥物，同時白藜蘆醇的研究遇到了挑戰，因此葛蘭素史克停止了嘗試。其他抗衰老研究僅僅只是由非營利組織推動，目前仍沒有任何商用產品計劃。
那麼，在製藥公司無法做到的情況下，為何 Google 能在抗衰老研究方面取得進展？佩奇本人並未炫耀他在這一領域的知識。他承認：“對於這一技術，我個人沒有太多的專業性。我對其有一定瞭解，但僅限於硅谷範圍。” Google 此前投資了基因測序公司23andMe，這是由布林的妻子安妮‧沃西基(Anne Wojcicki)創立的一家公司。今年2月，列文森、布林與Facebook創始人馬克‧朱克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)和俄羅斯企業家尤里‧米爾納(Yuri Milner)一同，成立了3300萬美元的“生命科學突破獎金”，以“表彰在治療頑固疾病，延長人類壽命的研究中取得的傑出成果”。
如果你生活在硅谷的氛圍中，那麼將更容易理解 Google 這些舉措的嚴肅性。在硅谷，人們認為，憑藉對技術的自由運用，沒有任何問題不能解決。你只需將問題分解成數據，隨後投入足夠多的處理能力。
一些跡象表明，技術愛好者的看法是對的，至少在一定程度上如此。醫藥行業正成為一種信息科學：醫生和研究人員目前可以利用大量來自患者的數據，而 Google 非常善於處理大量數據。儘管 Google 對Calico未來的舉措非常保密，但可以預計，該公司將利用核心的數據處理能力去揭開與衰老相關的疾病的奧秘。接近這一項目的消息人士表示，Calico將從較小的規模開始，完全專注於新技術的研究。那麼 Google 何時才會拿出可以銷售的產品？這取決於你的猜測。
可以確定的是，從數據和統計角度來看待醫學問題，而不是簡單地嘗試推出新藥，將得出一些與直覺相反的看法。佩奇表示：“人們是否專注於正確的事？我認為有趣的一點是，如果能治療癌症，那麼人們的平均壽命預期就會增加3年。我們將治療癌症視作一件大事，認為這將徹底改變世界。但當退一步去看，那麼會發現，儘管癌症帶來了許多悲劇，令人悲傷，但總體而言，這可能並不是你想像中的一個重大成就。”換句話說，對佩奇而言，治療癌症還不算一個足夠偉大的任務。
註：專業防老成為最重要企業獲利 - NU SKIN 早已利用基因掃描技術結合營養食品開發初專業防老產品，獲利大幅提升；Google Glass 及 e-Button 將運用另一技術結合食物影像視別及雲端智能開發出新的抗老化防疾病服務產業；
搜尋引擎龍頭Google公司今天宣布開設保健公司「Calico」，致力研發對抗與老化相關疾病的技術，以及老齡化問題及相關疾病。將由知名生技公司基因科技（Genentech）的前執行長與董事長、現任蘋果公司董事長的萊文森（Arthur D. Levinson）擔任執行長。
谷歌執行長佩吉（Larry Page）表示：「疾病和老化影響所有家庭。有了對健康照護和生物科技的長遠和突破性思維，我認為我們可以提升數百萬人的生活。」他也指出，老化與疾病不能完全算是「自然現象」，只要對人類生活有貢獻和進步，都值得投資和開發。
萊文森表示，「我把自己生命的大多數時間都貢獻給了科學技術，目標是改善人類的健康狀況。佩吉集中關注大規模改善的態度令我深受鼓舞，我對未來前景感到非常激動。」
佩吉也在自己的Google+頁面強調，由於是長期的投資，目前投入的金額跟資源，相較Google的核心事業，仍然是相當小的一部分。
Google's project Calico: the search giant looks for an answer to ageing
Google has always prided itself on its ‘moon shots’ – ambitious projects that have seen the search giant sink money into everything from self-driving cars to translating the web into 64 different languages. Their latest venture might be their most aspirational yet: aiming to extend human life.
Named Calico, the project was announced by co-founder Larry Page, with the stated aim being to “focus on health and well-being, in particular the challenge of ageing and associated diseases.”
 |
| Aging estimation by bone |
Details of what exactly Calico will pursue are scarce, but it seem obvious enough that technological assistance will provide a big part of their approach to helping our increasingly elderly population.
“Illness and ageing affect all our families. With some longer term, moonshot thinking around healthcare and biotechnology, I believe we can improve millions of lives,” said Page, who also introduced Arthur D. Levinson Chairman and former CEO of Genentech and Chairman of Apple, as the CEO of Calico.
“It’s impossible to imagine anyone better than Art—one of the leading scientists, entrepreneurs and CEOs of our generation—to take this new venture forward”
 |
| e-Button fitness application |
Levinson himself said: “I’ve devoted much of my life to science and technology, with the goal of improving human health. Larry’s focus on outsized improvements has inspired me, and I’m tremendously excited about what’s next.”
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, also joined in the congratulations, noting that “Art is one of the crazy ones […]There is no one better suited to lead this mission and I am excited to see the results.”
Speaking to Time about the venture Page asks “Are people really focused on the right things? One of the things I thought was amazing is that if you solve cancer, you’d add about three years to people’s average life expectancy.”
“We think of solving cancer as this huge thing that’ll totally change the world. But when you really take a step back and look at it, yeah, there are many, many tragic cases of cancer, and it’s very, very sad, but in the aggregate, it’s not as big an advance as you might think.”
Exactly what Google decides Calico will work towards remain a mystery, but it seems like it might be the company’s biggest moon shot to date.
紀錄每口食物 3D相機精準算熱量
美國匹茲堡大學研究人員，研發出一款可別在衣服上的3D相機，稱為「電子鈕扣」(eButton)，表示利用這款相機，可記錄使用者每天吃掉的食物，精準計算出使用者攝取了多少卡路里。
不少人減肥失敗，都是由於錯算卡路里所致，大都因為吃下去的食物量，遠比自己估算的還要多，他們研發這款3D相機，可透過拍攝多張食物影像，紀錄使用者每一口吃下肚的食物，利用裝食物的容器當參考值，檢視食物形狀以確認是何種食物，再搜查資料庫，計算出使用者吃掉的卡路里實際到底有多少。
目前這個研究還在初步階段，這款3D相機，在實驗中計算卡路里的錯誤率為3.7%，不過研究員表示一旦技術成熟，將有助想減肥的人，更精準掌握每天吃掉的熱量，不過這款3D相機，對於辨識像是冰淇淋或番茄醬等形狀不固定的食物，常出現錯估，而且要如何估算醬汁佐料等也還是個問題。
Google Glass can do Biofeedback to any person to help you to get into a good fitness program, so it will be a new innovative application.
時代雜誌：意欲對抗死神的 Google
佩奇成為 Google 領導者之後帶來了立竿見影的效果。2012年， Google 以125億美元的價格收購了處於困境中的手機廠商摩托羅拉流動，從而進軍硬件業務。佩奇同時重組了 Google 的管理架構，創造了名為“L團隊(L代表拉里)”的高級管理層。不過，也有一些重量級高管離開，其中包括 Google 的第20名員工瑪麗莎‧梅耶爾(Marissa Mayer)，她前往雅虎成為了該公司CEO。更重要的是，佩奇已經証明，儘管 Google 被認為過分依賴廣告業務，但該公司的其他業務也能獲得高速發展。目前， Google 500億美元年營收的大部分來自搜索廣告。但分析師估計，YouTube目前已是一項年營收40億美元的業務，而Android則帶來了每年68億美元營收。
在此基礎上，外界已經看到，佩奇擁有不一般的雄心壯志，並且沒有太大的耐心，他希望自己建立的公司也是這樣。他表示：“對我來說，如果你觀察一家正在發展壯大的公司，同時這家公司只從事一種業務，那麼這種狀況很難令人滿意。理想情況下，如果你有更多的人和資源，那麼就可以解決更多問題。我們總是堅持這樣的哲學。”一些長期關注 Google 的觀察家贊同這一說法。風投公司Andreessen Horowitz聯合創始人本‧霍洛維茨(Ben Horowitz)表示：“類似佩奇的人並不關注維持價值，他們希望創造新的價值。從無到有創造新東西是一種優點。”
不過， Google 此前從未嘗試解決像“死亡”這樣意義深遠的問題。將衰老當作一種疾病而不是生命的自然現象並非新觀念，至少很多人都曾這樣幻想過。那麼作為一種科學，情況又如何？美國抗衰老醫學科學院早在1992年就已經成立，但該機構的理念仍未被主流醫學界接受。研究進展很慢，因此到目前為止仍未能得到有意義的成果。馬薩諸塞州劍橋的一家公司Sirtris Pharmaceuticals此前曾開發一種名為SRT501的新藥。這是白藜蘆醇的特定形式。白藜蘆醇存在於葡萄酒中，曾被認為具有抗衰老特性。2008年，葛蘭素史克以7.2億美元的價格收購了Sirtris。但到2010年，由於仍未能開發出可投放市場的此類藥物，同時白藜蘆醇的研究遇到了挑戰，因此葛蘭素史克停止了嘗試。其他抗衰老研究僅僅只是由非營利組織推動，目前仍沒有任何商用產品計劃。
那麼，在製藥公司無法做到的情況下，為何 Google 能在抗衰老研究方面取得進展？佩奇本人並未炫耀他在這一領域的知識。他承認：“對於這一技術，我個人沒有太多的專業性。我對其有一定瞭解，但僅限於硅谷範圍。” Google 此前投資了基因測序公司23andMe，這是由布林的妻子安妮‧沃西基(Anne Wojcicki)創立的一家公司。今年2月，列文森、布林與Facebook創始人馬克‧朱克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)和俄羅斯企業家尤里‧米爾納(Yuri Milner)一同，成立了3300萬美元的“生命科學突破獎金”，以“表彰在治療頑固疾病，延長人類壽命的研究中取得的傑出成果”。
如果你生活在硅谷的氛圍中，那麼將更容易理解 Google 這些舉措的嚴肅性。在硅谷，人們認為，憑藉對技術的自由運用，沒有任何問題不能解決。你只需將問題分解成數據，隨後投入足夠多的處理能力。
一些跡象表明，技術愛好者的看法是對的，至少在一定程度上如此。醫藥行業正成為一種信息科學：醫生和研究人員目前可以利用大量來自患者的數據，而 Google 非常善於處理大量數據。儘管 Google 對Calico未來的舉措非常保密，但可以預計，該公司將利用核心的數據處理能力去揭開與衰老相關的疾病的奧秘。接近這一項目的消息人士表示，Calico將從較小的規模開始，完全專注於新技術的研究。那麼 Google 何時才會拿出可以銷售的產品？這取決於你的猜測。
可以確定的是，從數據和統計角度來看待醫學問題，而不是簡單地嘗試推出新藥，將得出一些與直覺相反的看法。佩奇表示：“人們是否專注於正確的事？我認為有趣的一點是，如果能治療癌症，那麼人們的平均壽命預期就會增加3年。我們將治療癌症視作一件大事，認為這將徹底改變世界。但當退一步去看，那麼會發現，儘管癌症帶來了許多悲劇，令人悲傷，但總體而言，這可能並不是你想像中的一個重大成就。”換句話說，對佩奇而言，治療癌症還不算一個足夠偉大的任務。
註：專業防老成為最重要企業獲利 - NU SKIN 早已利用基因掃描技術結合營養食品開發初專業防老產品，獲利大幅提升；Google Glass 及 e-Button 將運用另一技術結合食物影像視別及雲端智能開發出新的抗老化防疾病服務產業；
訂閱：
文章 (Atom)