Technology

In With the New: Snappy Apps for 2015

Published

11 years ago

January 2, 2015

In this Jan. 4, 2013 file photo, Lyft passenger Christina Shatzen gets into a car driven by Nancy Tcheou, in San Francisco. Lyft has managed to avoid much of the controversy thats been dogging Uber, and the image it projects appears to be a kinder, gentler one. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP Technology Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Uber, Facebook, Instagram — sure, they’ve been all the rage, but as 2014 winds down we’re all ready for something fresh. From ride-hailing to photo sharing, here are a few up-and coming apps and startups to watch in in 2015. Which will be the breakout hit of the new year?

TELL A STORY

Instagram, which is owned by Facebook Inc., now has 300 million users — more than Twitter. Scrolling through its snapshot feeds gives users a quick glimpse into the lives of friends and strangers. (At least the parts that include empty beaches, cappuccinos with perfect foam hearts and smiling babies in clean clothes.) Its simplicity is part of its appeal. But what if you want to tell a longer story?

Enter Storehouse, a mobile app that promises to let you share “your stories, as they happen.” Instead of sharing one-off photos, Storehouse lets users combine photos, videos and words to share anything from a detailed recipe, to travel memories or a first-person documentary on the Yakuza. Storehouse was founded by Mark Kawano, who previously worked at Apple as a User Experience Evangelist, helping developers design iOS and Mac apps.

“Writers always had a great platform for blogging,” Kawano said recently. “But that hasn’t happened with photographers yet.” Other photo apps, he said, are basically just status updates in a visual form. Storehouse hopes to change that.

HAIL A RIDE

If you haven’t heard of Uber, you must never leave your house or watch the news. Many people also are familiar with Uber’s smaller rival Lyft, which burnishes its kinder, gentler image by slapping huge pink mustaches on the front of its cars. But more companies are queuing up to squire you around town.

In 10 cities in the U.S., including San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and Los Angeles, you can order up a Sidecar. The service differentiates itself by letting passengers input their destinations when they book rides and sort drivers based on price, shortest ETA and favorites. In Los Angeles, there’s also Opoli, which lets drivers bid for your ride so you can decide which one to go with. You can pick your vehicle too, and make a reservation. Unlike many other app-based car services, Opoli also allows its drivers to work for competitors. Opoli doesn’t take a commission on a fare; its drivers pay a subscription fee to use the service.

COOK A MEAL

Food-ordering apps such as Seamless have made it easy to order in. And if you want to venture outside, OpenTable and smaller competitors such as Reserve help you quickly book a table with their smartphone apps. But if you’d rather give your loved ones the personal touch, new DIY services will provide carefully measured ingredients and detailed recipes for even the clumsiest of cooks.

Sites such as HelloFresh, Plated and Blue Apron deliver weekly boxes of raw ingredients — even including spices and, at least in the case of HelloFresh, water. The only things you’re assumed to have in your pantry are salt, pepper, oil and possibly butter. An upcoming “family plan” box for Blue Apron, for example, features chicken under a “brick” with rosemary, roast potatoes and broccolini; New England-style shrimp rolls with warm potato and kale salad; fresh pappardelle Bolognese with romaine, celery and apple salad and two-cheese pizza with iceberg chopped salad. The meals are quick to prepare, so if you’re tired of takeout and live in their delivery location, these services could spice up your diet. Or maybe help with that “eat-healthy” New Year’s resolution?

CHIT CHAT

You’ve heard of WhatsApp, the nearly-free messaging app that Facebook paid $22 billion for this year. And there’s Facebook’s own messaging tool, which was the year’s most-downloaded app (likely because you had to download it if you wanted to message people using Facebook).

That’s all so 2014. Why message people you know when you could instead check out Ethan, a messaging app that lets you do just one thing — message a guy named Ethan. He “may message you time to time” but cautions that he “can’t respond when he’s asleep.” Nothing if not honest, Ethan doesn’t want you to message him in an emergency, and will advise you not to fall in love with him. But want to plan a dinner-and-movie night? No problem. “Should I get Italian or Chinese for dinner?” (Answer: Italian) and “Gonna watch a movie on Netflix, what should I go for?” (Answer: “The Room.”)

PUT THAT PHONE DOWN

If your New Year’s resolution is to stop being so rude with your phone and talk to your friends face-to-face every once in a while, there’s an app for you, too. It’s called Moment, and it tracks how much you use your iPhone and iPad each day (sorry, no Android version yet).

If you are trying to cut back on your screen habit, you can set daily limits and the app will notify you when you exceed them. Moment Family, meanwhile, lets you monitor your whole family’s phone use — by looking at your phone.

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Alameda County

OPINION: Argent Materials Oakland CleanTech Community Asset Helps Those In Need

Alameda County Supervisor Lena Tam had this to say about Argent Materials as an Oakland community asset: “Congratulations to Argent Materials and its President and Founder, Bill Crotinger! The company is now fully operational, recycling an impressive 99.99% of concrete and asphalt debris, which helps divert thousands of tons of construction waste from landfills. They are also proud to announce that 50% of their team consists of local hires. In celebration of Thanksgiving, and despite stormy weather last week, the Alameda County Sheriffs, alongside Mr. Crotinger and Argent Materials’ dedicated staff distributed turkeys and pies as a heartfelt gesture of gratitude to the community.”

Published

2 months ago

October 21, 2025

Oakland Post

Photo courtesy Argent Materials, Inc.

Zennie Abraham
CEO, Zennie62Media

Argent Materials, the Oakland business that turns old concrete and asphalt into new construction products, generally goes by “Argent Materials Oakland CleanTech” but should be called “Argent Materials East Oakland CleanTech for The Community”. Here’s why.

First, Argent Materials is located at 8300 Baldwin St, right in the Coliseum Industrial Zone, just a three-minute drive from the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex. That’s in East Oakland, and just a city-block walk from the Oakland Coliseum BART Station.

Second, Argent Materials has been a friend to East Oakland and what some, like the members of the Oakland Private Industry Council, would call a “community asset”. In 2024, Argent Materials founder and President Bill Crotinger was named Leader of the Year by the Oakland Private Industry Council (OPIC) “I was humbled and honored to be named Leader of the Year by the Oakland Private Industry Council. Truly an honor. My heartfelt thanks to my friend and mentor Pastor Raymond Lankford and all the wonderful people at OPIC.”

ABI Foundry reports that Argent Materials led a community clean up for the residents and businesses of Russett Street as well as San Leandro Street. An ABI Foundry team member said “Bill Crotinger at Argent Materials spearheaded the initiative to clean San Leandro street, from Hegenburger to 98th Ave. along the side of BART. AB&I enjoyed participating along with Acts Full Gospel C.O.G.I.C (Men of Valor), Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church-Oakland (Reverend Michael Jones) and Argent Materials. You should see how it looks now. It is AMAZING! It takes an ambitious mind to make a difference block by block.”

What Is Cleantech And Why Is It Important to Oakland And Argent Materials?

Clean technology (Clean Tech) refers to products, services, and processes that mitigate negative environmental impacts by increasing energy efficiency, promoting resource sustainability, and minimizing waste and pollution, ultimately contributing to a low-carbon, and more sustainable economy.

What is The Clean Tech of Argent Materials of Oakland?

In Argent Materials’ context, “cleantech” refers to their sustainable business model which includes recycling concrete and asphalt into new aggregate materials, diverting waste from landfills, and using renewable diesel for their fleet to achieve carbon neutrality and protect the environment. This business approach Argent Materials uses aligns with the broader definition of cleantech, which involves products, services, and processes that reduce negative environmental impacts through resource efficiency and environmental protection

Clean Tech, or green tech as Argent Materials of Oakland does it, is defined as any technology that minimizes negative environmental impact by reducing human consumption of natural resources and by promoting more sustainable and efficient resource use.

Argent Materials will continue to be a cleantech community asset to Oakland well into the future.

Stay tuned.

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Activism

Golden State Warriors Program Is Inspiring Next Generation of Female Engineers

Breaking down barriers and biases that deter young girls from pursuing STEAM subjects is essential for creating a level playing field and ensuring equal opportunities for all. By challenging stereotypes and promoting a culture of inclusivity and diversity in STEAM fields, experts believe young girls can be empowered to pursue their interests and aspirations without limitations confidently. Encouraging mentorship, providing access to resources, and celebrating girls’ achievements in STEAM are all crucial steps in creating a supportive environment that fosters success.

Published

9 months ago

March 23, 2025

Oakland Post

Front Row: UC Berkeley Steel Bridge Team Back Row: Girls, Inc. Participants. Photo courtesy of the Golden State Warriors.

By Y’Anad Burrell

The Golden State Warriors and e-commerce giant Rakuten are joining forces to inspire the next generation of female engineers through Building STEAM Futures, part of The City Calls campaign.

Organizers say the initiative is founded on the idea that science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) are crucial fields for innovation and progress, and empowering young girls to pursue careers in these areas is more important than ever. Studies consistently show that girls are underrepresented in STEAM fields, resulting in a gender disparity that limits potential and hinders diversity.

On Saturday, March 8, International Women’s Day, the Warriors and Rakuten hosted 20 middle school girls from Girls Inc. of Alameda County at Chase Center’s Above the Rim for a hands-on bridge-building experience. The young girls from Girls, Inc. of Alameda County had an opportunity to design, build and test their own bridge prototypes and learn the fundamentals of bridge construction from the Engineering Alliance and the UC Berkeley Steel Bridge Team.

This STEAM experience for the girls followed the first session in January, where they took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Golden Gate Bridge, learning about its design and construction from industry experts. The City Calls campaign, tipped off with the unveiling the Warriors’ new bridge-themed City Edition jerseys and court design earlier this year.

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Activism

Self-eSTEM Empowers BIPOC Women, Girls in Science, Math

In January 2025, Self-eSTEM will launch digital and generative AI programming, which provides digital literacy and AI literacy training through an entrepreneurial project-based activity. This programming will be a hybrid (i.e. in-person and online). Additionally, thanks to a grant from Comcast, in spring 2025, the organization will have a co-ed series for middle and high school students.

Published

1 year ago

December 9, 2024

Oakland Post

Adamaka Ajaelo. Courtesy photo.

By Y’Anad Burrell
Special to The Post

In a world where technology plays an increasingly central role in all aspects of life, the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education cannot be overstated. Recognizing the significance of STEM for the future, focusing on young women and girls is a critical step in achieving gender equality and empowering the next generation.

Self-eSTEM, an Oakland-based non-profit organization, was founded by Adamaka Ajaelo, an Oakland native who had a successful corporate career with several Bay Area technology and non-tech companies. Ajaelo boldly decided to step away from these companies to give 100% of her time and talent to the non-profit organization she started in 2014 in the belief that she can change the game in innovation and future STEM leaders.

Over the course of a decade, Ajaelo has provided futurist tech programming to more than 2,000 BIPOC women and girls. The organization has an Early STEM Immersion Program for ages 7-17, Emerging Leaders Workshops for ages 18-25 and volunteer network opportunities for ages 25 and up.

While the organization’s programs center on innovation and technology, participants also gain other valuable skills critical for self-development as they prepare for a workforce future. “Self-eSTEM encourages young women to expand on teamwork, communication, creativity, and problem-solving skills. The organization allows young women to enter STEM careers and pathways,” said Trinity Taylor, a seventh-year innovator.

“Our journey over the last decade is a testament to the power of community and opportunity, and I couldn’t be more excited for what the future holds as we continue to break barriers and spark dreams,” said Ajaelo.

“By encouraging girls to explore STEM fields from a young age, we foster their intellectual growth and equip them with the tools needed to thrive in a competitive global economy,” Ajaelo says.

Empowering young girls through STEM education is also a key driver of innovation and progress. When young women and girls are encouraged to pursue careers in STEM, they bring unique perspectives and problem-solving approaches to the table, leading to more diverse and inclusive solutions. This diversity is crucial for driving creativity and pushing boundaries in scientific and technological advancements.

Self-eSTEM has fundraising opportunities year-round, but year-end giving is one of the most critical times to support the program. Visit www.selfestem.org to donate to the organization, as your generosity and support will propel programming support for today’s innovators.

You will also find more details about Self-eSTEM’s programs on their website and social channels @selfestemorg