Blogging the Aloha State and Beyond
Given the exponential growth we’ve seen in mobile app development, it makes sense that most people associate venture accelerator programs with software startups. But plenty of new ideas require hardware — whether it’s the smartphone needed to run those trendy apps, or the glorious future analysts see in the “internet of things.”...
Want to complain? Send repetitive messages faster? Expand your travel plans? There are apps for that being built right here in Honolulu. This morning’s “Geek Beat” segment on the Sunrise morning news show on Hawaii News Now featured three apps being nurtured into businesses at Blue Startups. They are members...
Some artists like to work in quiet studios or windy rooftops, while others find inspiration in rainforests or bustling coffee shops. An upcoming art festival, however, will explore the creative connections between people and the ocean. The “Surf Art and the Surfer” art festival will be hosted in Wahiawa by Surfing the Nations...
Students at Kapiolani Community College will be presented with a veritable feast of opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math on Thursday at the school’s 6th annual STEM Expo. Nearly two dozen exhibitors will be participating, including from both the public and private sector as well as from across the...
The eighth Startup Weekend Honolulu wrapped tonight at Kakaako Agora, with seven finalists pitching and presenting their work after a 54-hour marathon of designing, building, and preparing. And if you thought it was remarkable that a teenager won the last local event, then hold on to your hats. First prize...
The University of Hawaii venture accelerator, XLR8UH, is now in its second year, and this week announced the finalists for its third cohort of startup companies. The diverse group is building solutions ranging from athletic coaching to scientific algorithms to tiny homes. As finalists, the seven companies will enter the first...
An up-and-coming community in Kapolei is hosting a free Energy Fun Fair tomorrow, highlighting energy efficiency and local technology, while giving residents their first look at the neighborhood. Not to be confused with Hawaiian Electric’s Clean Energy Fair, held in September for the 12th year, the Energy Fun Fair is the...
Plague diseases are the stuff of nightmares, horror movies, and post-apocalyptic sci-fi. But they are also real threats that still keep scientists and government leaders up at night. On Tuesday, a leading local expert will try to put everything in context at the November “Honolulu Science Cafe” meetup. Social mixer or...
Developers of every stripe are invited to join in on a global celebration of software craftsmanship on Saturday, with Honolulu’s fifth annual Global Day of Coderetreat. Last year, local coders were among more than 2,000 developers in 150 cities around the world that spent the day practicing and sharing their...
Perhaps the third time is the charm for the makers of the Sunny solar-powered battery case for the iPhone 6. The Sunny case was teased in May, and was launched on Indiegogo in June. Perfectly timed for summer, we featured it in our “Geek Beat” segment on Hawaii News Now’s...
The eighth Startup Weekend Honolulu is this weekend, coinciding with the sixth annual Global Startup Battle, which this year spans over 250 cities around the globe. A mix of developers, designers, entrepreneurs and marketers will come together on Friday night to pitch ideas and form teams, and will be expected...
In 1985, Ronald Reagan was president, a first-class stamp cost 20 cents, and gas prices were just starting to fall again after the Iranian oil crisis. In Hawaii, “Magnum P.I.” was in its fifth season, the Polynesian Voyaging Society launched its “Voyage of Discovery,” and the Natural Energy Lab of Hawaii...
The Oceanic Institute announced last week that it was the first facility in the world to successfully breed and raise yellow tang. And the news about this little fish is a big deal for both the environment, as well as the aquarium trade. The distinctive, brilliantly colored yellow tang (Zebrasoma flavescens) is one...
Bishop Museum’s popular “Family Sunday” will celebrate Hawaii’s most celebrated surfer and athlete, Duke Kahanamoku. The museum grounds will be buzzing with educational activities, informational booths featuring local community groups, live music, and food trucks and food booths. As noted here in August, Bishop Museum unveiled an original historical and multimedia...
An internationally acclaimed “fashionable technology” designer Anouk Wipprecht is coming to Honolulu next week to lead workshops that will culminate in a Saturday fashion show. Wipprecht’s work has captured imaginations worldwide, harnessing 3-D printers, sensors, lights, motors, and other materials and tools to create things like her metal electric dress, smoke...
Middle and high school students from across the state will convene at the first Student Energy Summit on Friday, networking and brainstorming on ways Hawaii can achieve energy independence in the next 30 years. “Energy is becoming a really hot topic, especially among students, and teachers are starting to incorporate...
The first attempted orbital launch from Hawaii failed this evening. The U.S. Air Force-led Operationally Responsive Space mission, ORS-4, launched the islands’ first space-bound rocket from the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands on Kauai shortly before 6 p.m. The SuperStrypi rocket was an experimental launch vehicle...
The island of O‘ahu has two majestic mountain ranges, Ko‘olau and Wai‘anae. And for nearly as long as island geology has been taught in schools, the conventional wisdom was that O‘ahu was formed by two volcanoes. But last year, scientists announced that they’d discovered a third, long-lost volcano off the westernmost...
For two hours, hundreds of sweet-toothed supporters of the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Hawaii were able to sample as many desserts as they wanted at “Dessert Fantasy,” UCPA Hawaii‘s annual fundraiser. Held in the grand ballroom of the Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikiki, “Dessert Fantasy” featured creations by more than...
Apple released its fourth generation Apple TV this week (we received ours yesterday), after letting its set top box languish without an update for nearly three years. It comes with all the improvements Apple fans have been eagerly awaiting: faster chips and more storage space, installable apps and games, and...
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