According to old Celtic tradition, Halloween marks the second, darker half of the year.   It is the first stop on our journey to cold couch potato-ness and the battle-of-the-bulge (i.e. “the holidays”) months ahead.

Aside from sudden onsets of uncontrollable candy corn consumption, Engineation is taking note of other exciting oddities and spooky disruptions this season.  To help spread our Halloween cheer and nerdy spirit, here are our “trick-or-treats” to chew on:

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  • The Rise of Robots For $2,500, you can step up your telecommute. Literally.  Double Robotics has created the ultimate iPad accessory to “work it” for you.  By remotely steering your “stunt double”, you can physically engage in meetings, and even gossip at at the water-cooler.  You hear that Yahoo?
  • Your Forgotten Google+ Endorsements To make Google more relevant to your network, your name and photo may appear alongside content you endorsed and gave “+1”.  In other words if the four stars you gave Hanson is a “skeleton in your closet”, change your settings by Halloween.

 

  • Screen Obsession According to research shared by Mashable this week, the average person spends 12+ hours a day in front of a screen.  We found out last year that we spend more time online than watching TV.  Now this year we see that social networks inched out email as our top online activity! Let’s tweet that!
  • Smart Glasses before Social Protocols Are you the dude proudly sporting Google Glasses at the urinal? This scenario ought to appear in the urinal game: http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/games/urinal. While undoubtedly an extraordinary innovation, smart glasses can create awkward moments.  That’s why Google should include an Emily Post pamphlet on “Smart Glasses Etiquette” with each Glass purchase.

  • $1 billion Q2 loss for Blackberry This grisly news is Fright Night for shareholders but we’re rooting for “return of the dead”.  Maybe the open letter to consumers did not impress you, but consider all the companies that made comebacks, including Apple.  If nothing else, at least reports of blackberry thumbs have dropped dramatically!

From our bat cave at Engineation, we wish you a wonderful Halloween season!  While the upcoming days are noticeably shorter, we embrace another round of great innovations lurking in the darkness.  Boo!