badges

At first glance, Google Badges, a feature released this week on the Google News platform, smacks of kindergarten.

Read enough stories on a certain topic and you get a badge. Read even more and you rise through the levels--bronze, silver, gold, and ultimate. I'm picturing gold stars pasted on crayon drawings.

Google has a help page that explains the new feature, complete with a short, happy video.The badges are fairly fine-grained. There are 500, including one for stories about Harry Potter and one for stories about your favorite baseball team. See the video below.

Commenter SuperJohnMitchell's reaction to the video: "Seriously?! I don't need to get an achievement after I read the news."

At second glance, however, I see some utility here. And to be fair, I should mention that some people did write nice comments about the video. Badges is automatically parsing what you read into categories, then making it possible for you to click on a category to get that type of news. People who take advantage of Google's news categories are doing this to some extent already. I suspect there are a lot of folks, however, who aren't that organized. Once you have a badge, you can click on the hover menu to turn the badge into a section.… Read more

Foursquare is set to reach 10 million users this month. With the continued increase in popularity, developers are beginning to use Foursquare's API in some very fun and intriguing ways. This guide will show you seven fun ways to interact with your Foursquare account.

1. 4sqmap 4sqmap is a great way to visualize many different aspects of not only your own, but your friends' Foursquare activity. In addition to viewing activity, you can view a full map of nearby specials, tips, trending venues, and even use Foursquare's recently launched Explore feature on your computer, which is a feature … Read more

Sure, Bobby Boy Scout can tie a square knot and start a fire using flint and steel, but can he build a robot? If so, he'll now be able to sew a robotics merit badge to his sash.

The badge is part of the Boy Scouts of America's new STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) curriculum. One of 31 STEM-related merit badges, it's a nod to robots' increasingly wide-reaching impact and part of the BSA's ongoing attempt to teach its ranks relevant skills.

"While the guiding principles of scouting--service to others, leadership, personal achievement, and respect for the outdoors--will never change, we continue to adapt programs to prepare young people for success in all areas of life," BSA Chief Scout Executive Bob Mazzuca said in a statement.

Earning the bot badge will mean a scout not only has a handle on actuators, sensors, and programming, but on the myriad ways robots are tightening their metallic grip. … Read more

Foursquare has upgraded its Android and iPhone apps to version 3.0 to kick off some new and enhanced features.

Officially debuting yesterday in Apple's App Store and Google's Android Market, the free Foursquare 3.0 app has added a new Explore tab that can zero in on the places you want to go.

Tap a certain category, such as food, nightlife, or shops, or type in a specific phrase, such as "books" or "gas station," and Foursquare will show you a list of local spots, anywhere from 2 to 10 miles from your … Read more

Xpress Software's Advanced ID Creator Enterprise makes it easy to create professional-looking identification cards and badges. Businesses, schools, organizations, and anyone who needs to create attractive, legible, and unique IDs can save time and effort by using it. Maybe you're having a block party or similar event, and you want to control access: You can use AID Creator to whip up some ID badges or fancy name tags that clearly identify the holder, or enhance event security by producing and distributing IDs at the last moment, to prevent counterfeits. You can even use it to make Secret Agent … Read more

Label Flow helps create labels with its instinctive program. By providing a well-planned layout and a seemingly endless supply of labels, this program will meet shipping needs.

We jumped immediately into the program thanks to its intuitive wizard, which makes the interface a breeze to deal with. The strongest aspect of the wizard was its selection of labels. We were impressed that every brand from Avery to Wal-Mart was represented and couldn't imagine a brand name or label type not included. We eased through the entry fields for standard label additions like addresses and names, but were pleasantly surprised … Read more

Most badges from conferences and trade shows end up in the trash. Not so the badges from the Defcon security show, which are stylized, mysterious, and highly customized electronics equipment designed to be hacked.

Instead, they end up as collector's items. Bidding on eBay for a Defcon 17 badge from last weekend had reached $81 on Tuesday with three days to go, while a 2007 badge was at $33.99.

The Defcon badges and badge hacking contest, both highly anticipated at the conference each summer, not only give the hackers a mental challenge to figure out what the devices … Read more