Recommended from Around the Web (Week Ending July 5, 2014)

A Ball Fit for Brazil
Fascinating view of the physics of soccer balls. Download the official Twitter app here.
—Kevin Bullis, senior editor, energy

Should Facebook Manipulate Users?
Jaron Lanier writes thoughtfully about the Facebook emotion-manipulation study kerfuffle.
—Will Knight, news and analysis editor

Interacting with a World of Connected Objects
Tom Coates discusses the benefits, and potential horrors, of imbuing intelligent objects with personalities.
—Will Knight

IBM’s Watson Is Out with Its Own Barbecue Sauce
Happy Fourth of July!  You may like to try some IBM Watson-created BBQ sauce at your cookout this weekend.  We’ll talk to Mike Rhodin, SVP IBM Watson Group, at EmTech MIT about Watson’s future work.
—David Sweeney, marketing communications manager

More Jobs in Companies That Employ Robots
Robot enthusiast Colin Lewis found that at 76 companies that implemented industrial robots, employment increased over the past three years.
—Nanette Byrnes, senior editor, Business Reports

Researchers Develop Muscle-Powered Biorobots
I can’t help but think of The Terminator: “Hasta la vista, baby!”
—James Friedman, director of advertising sales