How Rovio Aims to Keep its Angry Birds Flying High (02:46)
Mikael Hed almost pulled the plug on Rovio while the Angry Birds were still in development.
After several years in business, his mobile game company had yet to produce a hit. Rovio’s chief backer, Hed’s father, Kaj, was struggling to figure out how to keep the company going.
“He told me that he wanted to mortgage my grandparents’ flat so he could put some more money in the company to keep it afloat,” Mikael Hed said in an interview. “That was pretty tough. I certainly did not want to be the person responsible for putting my grandparents on the street.”
Angry Birds was in development and Hed thought he might have a winner on his hands. But at the same time, the company had made dozens of games already without striking it rich, and even the best iPhone games weren’t making that much money.
“Just looking at the odds, we shouldn’t take that kind of a risk,” Hed recalls thinking. But his father went ahead anyway.
“I’m glad he did,” Hed said, noting his grandparents still have their home. “Now I am glad he did, but it was a big gamble.”
The move has clearly paid off. According to figures made public and noted this week by a Finnish newspaper, Kaj Hed owns nearly 70 percent of the company, worth by some estimates between $6 billion and $9 billion.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
A history of communication
Follow us during 140 years of communication development, connecting places, people and now finally things in the Networked Society.
Short film captures the importance of ‘thinking cities’
The film, “Thinking Cities,” focuses on how cities are using Information Communications Technology (ICT) to start to come up with these solutions. It highlights interesting projects in cities like Boston, Seattle, and Stockholm where ICT is being used right now to address issues like waste, energy use, and civic engagement.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Newton’s Third Law | University of Southern California
Newton’s Third Law | University of Southern California
The college lecture: Send us your favorite videos
The lecture, an efficient yet often impersonal form of teaching, is under attack, reports The Post’s Daniel de Vise.
Science, math and engineering departments in particular are finding the lecture method’s a turn-off for students.
Really, why spend hundreds of dollars to sit in a room with hundreds of others when you can learn for free from the comfort of your laptop?
With that in mind, what’s the best online lecture you’ve seen? We’ve rounded up a handful of interesting and quirky videos, but we need your help to expand the list:
Pittsburghese | Carnegie Mellon University
Barbara Johnstone, a professor in CMU’s English department, breaks down the nitty-gritty of the Pittsburgh dialect. (For instance, “feel” sounds like “fill” and “fool” like “full.”) Plus, she digs into the cultural reasons that locals keep these quirks alive.
Justice | Harvard University
The college lecture: Send us your favorite videos
The lecture, an efficient yet often impersonal form of teaching, is under attack, reports The Post’s Daniel de Vise.
Science, math and engineering departments in particular are finding the lecture method’s a turn-off for students.
Really, why spend hundreds of dollars to sit in a room with hundreds of others when you can learn for free from the comfort of your laptop?
With that in mind, what’s the best online lecture you’ve seen? We’ve rounded up a handful of interesting and quirky videos, but we need your help to expand the list:
Pittsburghese | Carnegie Mellon University
Barbara Johnstone, a professor in CMU’s English department, breaks down the nitty-gritty of the Pittsburgh dialect. (For instance, “feel” sounds like “fill” and “fool” like “full.”) Plus, she digs into the cultural reasons that locals keep these quirks alive.
Justice | Harvard University
Monday, February 20, 2012
2010-02-19 美国万花筒:游美国.说美语--查尔斯顿篇
美国之音美国万花筒: 游美国.说美语(下)--美国万花筒记者刘恩民和外景主持人白洁带我们到富有美国南方文化色彩的城市查尔斯顿了解查尔斯顿的当地文化和介绍南方美食。
2010-11-05 美国万花筒:白洁说美语
美国之音美国万花筒: 白洁说美语-这个星期白洁又要带你去首都华盛顿，品尝当地既出名又独特的餐厅。有大餐、有甜点、还有绿色有机食品，包准你吃到饱......
Thursday, February 16, 2012
有故事的人：敖幼祥-1
他畫了好多好笑的四格漫畫，可是在他的人生格子裡，很多都帶著酸酸的眼淚...從一個小時候氣喘，只能坐著睡覺的小孩，到畫出獲獎無數的【烏龍院】，就是本週我們要告訴你的故事。9/5(一)晚間十點，《華視新聞雜誌－有故事的人》─敖幼祥。
Dutch exports: tulips, cheese and ... dance
Dutch dance music has conquered the world. DJs like Armin van Buuren, Tiësto and Afrojack are exporting their music to the remotest corners of the world.
by Daan Roelofs
The value of those exports is considerable, according to the latest figures of Dutch copyright organisation Buma/Stemra, which says that in the last two years it has doubled to nearly 50 million euros.
The Netherlands' music exports totalled some 81.5 million euros in 2010. Classical and alternative music had a fair share in this result, but the mainstay was brought by the electronic dance music setting huge crowds in motion. Let's dance!
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