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Contents Boycott Instagram: Anonymous Joins the Backlash Why It’s Time to Get Excited About Digital Advertising When the Air Force Wanted to Nuke the Moon 10 Nerdy Deals to Grab at ThinkGeek Instagram Sex Account Sparks Student Riots in Sweden All 3,600 British Airways Pilots Will Soon Have iPads This Camera Adds the Photographer to Group Shots Why Entrepreneurs Are Competing for $37 From This Startup Incubator Aviary’s Photo-Editing App Downloaded 2 Million Times Since Last Weekend Glowing Surfaces Will Replace Traditional Light Bulbs 10 Risky Photos That Will Inspire and Terrify You Grammys Launches Twitter Chat Series With Female Musicians This $35 Computer Is an Interactive Gift for Geeky Kids Facebook Reportedly Planning to Run Video Ads in Its News Feed FCC Launches Tool to Ward Off Mobile Security Threats The 12 Memes of Christmas GifBoom’s 15 Coolest GIFs of 2012 6 Search Engines for Social Good $1.7 Billion in Gift Cards Will Go Unspent This Year Want to Learn Anything? Use This Site Google Brings Ancient Bible Scrolls, Ten Commandments Online Pillow Remote Control Could Be Coming to a Couch Near You Top 10 Unproduced Film Scripts Revealed on Twitter Here’s a Tiny Printer for Your Smartphone Drink Up: HBO to Release ‘Game of Thrones’ Beer FTC Investigation Targets Mysterious Data Brokers Google+ Testing Social Sharing Bar James Franco Back to Promote Samsung’s Galaxy Camera Twitter Now Has More Than 200 Million Monthly Active Users Watch Russell Brand Interview the Westboro Baptist Church A Creative Year: Distinctive Web Designs of 2012 Understanding Online Store Performance. Basic Key Metrics Joomla 3.x. How to install engine and template on localhost JS Animated. How to create unique/stand-alone prettyphoto lightbox image galleries Bootstrap/JS Animated. How to activate twitter plugin December 3, 2012. The New Word In Creating Drupal Stores Jigoshop. How to manage pricing options WordPress. How to insert Google map using shortcode JS Animated. How to activate newsletter subscription form WordPress. Contact form 7 localization PrestaShop 1.5. How to manage categories menu OpenCart. How to put the website in maintenance mode Drupal. How to put the website in maintenance mode ZenCart. How to put the website in maintenance mode PrestaShop. How to put the website in maintenance mode Joomla. How to put the website in maintenance mode WordPress. How to a add menu separator (non-clickable menu item) Jigoshop. How to remove the "in stock" text from the product details page VirtueMart 2.x. How to manage addthis social share icons Magento. How to put the website in maintenance mode WordPress. How to change default/landing page Joomla templates packages evolution

Boycott Instagram: Anonymous Joins the Backlash Dec 18th 2012, 20:08 A day after Instagram's brazen new privacy policy landed on our virtual desks with a thud, the Interwebs are a-flurry with outrage and opposition. Much of that outrage was taking place on Twitter, where the hashtag #boycottInstagram was trending early Tuesday. Its most prominent user: the hacker group Anonymous. This got more than 500 retweets in a few hours: "ALL YOUR PHOTOS ARE BELONG TO US" - @instagram | #BoycottInstagram— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) December 18, 2012 And in case there was any doubt about what the hacker group wanted users to do: @instagram Has the same privacy terms as @facebook | Delete your accounts now | #Anonymous |— Anonymous (@YourAnon… Continue reading... More About: anonymous, change.org, instagram Why It’s Time to Get Excited About Digital Advertising Dec 18th 2012, 20:04 Native advertising not only represents a way for advertisers to reach an engaged audience, but also allows us to do work that our readers love. More About: Advertising, mobile advertising, native advertising, online advertising, responsive design When the Air Force Wanted to Nuke the Moon Dec 18th 2012, 19:51 In 1958, the U.S. Air Force considered nuking the Moon for science... and political might. More About: NASA, U.S. government, history, moon, space 10 Nerdy Deals to Grab at ThinkGeek Dec 18th 2012, 19:34 1. Star Wars Lightsaber Candlestick For your next romantic dinner, set a mood that says, "Baby, join me and together we can rule the galaxy with an iron fist." Price: $19.99, down from $24.99 Click here to view this gallery. These are the sales you're looking for. Nerd swag site ThinkGeek is offering holiday clearance discounts up to 75% off. So if you still haven't picked out a gift for that special Vulcan or Klingon, these deals might be your only hope. SEE ALSO: Meet the Guy Who Took a Census of Middle-Earth Check out our top 10 deals to boost your geek cred, then warp over to ThinkGeek and browse more than 500 more bargains so low, you'll think you've got space dementia. Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, Sam Howzit More About: Gifts, accessories, features, holidays 2012, thinkgeek Instagram Sex Account Sparks Student Riots in Sweden Dec 18th 2012, 19:15 At least 27 high school students in Sweden were arrested Tuesday following riots reportedly sparked by an Instagram account posting rumors about classmates' sexual activity. The Instagram account, which amassed at least 7,000 followers before being shut down, asked followers to send in pictures of "sluts" in the Gothenburg area. More than 200 pictures of boys and girls were received, according to Swedish news outlet The Local. After the Instagram account was disabled, students began posting rumors and accusations on a Facebook group. A separate Facebook group accused a 17-year-old girl of being the original creator of the Instagram account and encouraged students to amass at her s… Continue reading... More About: World, instagram All 3,600 British Airways Pilots Will Soon Have iPads Dec 18th 2012, 19:00 Tablets are taking flight at major airlines, with British Airways now rolling out Apple iPads to all 3,600 of its pilots. As part of the airline’s $8.1 billion investment to deploy iPads to cabin crew and ground staff, the pilots use the iPads to access real-time data like flight information as well as present and historic customer details. TabTimes spoke to British Airways on the day of the announcement and while further details on the deployment were scarce, there was also the suggestion that the iPads will enable pilots to interact better with ground staff before coming into land. This roll-out isn’t the first to come from British Airways, which has handed out more than 2,000… Continue reading... More About: Apple iPad, British Airways, ipad pilots This Camera Adds the Photographer to Group Shots Dec 18th 2012, 18:45 Say "cheese!" and snap a photo at the same time. If you're always behind the camera, you've likely missed out on a bunch of photos shared onto Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You don't have to miss out on another group snapshot if this new camera concept comes to fruition. Designer Ji Lin solves the frequent problem for social shutterbugs with her iF Design Talents entry called The Not One Less camera. SEE ALSO: How to Master Instagram Tilt-Shift The dual-lens camera would let the photographer focus on his or her subjects while incorporating himself or herself in the photo. For now, it's only a concept. Would you use this dual-lens camera to capture your favorite moments. Tell… Continue reading... More About: camera, mobile photography Why Entrepreneurs Are Competing for $37 From This Startup Incubator Dec 18th 2012, 18:29 The most talked-about new startup fund offers less money to entrepreneurs than many parents give their kids for an allowance. More About: pinboard, startup Aviary’s Photo-Editing App Downloaded 2 Million Times Since Last Weekend Dec 18th 2012, 18:16 Aviary, the mobile photo-editing firm that inked a deal to provide filters for Twitter last week, announced that there have been 2 million downloads of its app since last weekend. Avi Muchnick, chief product officer of Aviary, tweeted the stat on Tuesday: Since updating @aviary's iOS showcase app this weekend we have seen over 2 million installations. bit.ly/VrhiXn— Avi Muchnick (@avimuchnick) December 18, 2012 The 5-year-old Aviary announced it was providing Twitter with photo filters last week. The joint venture came after Instagram pulled support for Twitter cards early in the month. However, Muchnick told Mashable last week that the timing was coincidental since Aviary h… Continue reading... More About: Aviary, Facebook, instagram Glowing Surfaces Will Replace Traditional Light Bulbs Dec 18th 2012, 18:15 The living space of the future will glow thanks to a versatile form of light that can be integrated into furniture or painted onto walls. The environmentally-friendly, thin, efficient Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) emits dazzling white light from its surface, which means it can be integrated into various surfaces. Say goodbye to the traditional lightbulb as we know it. SEE ALSO: Why OLED Is the Future of Screens OLED is the first-ever surface light; all other light sources before it are point lights, according to Dietmar Thomas of Philips' Lumiblade. The company's Creative Lab team based in Aachen, Germany has been working to improve OLED concepts and design integration. Ther… Continue reading... More About: High-tech homes, OLED, home decor, lightbulbs 10 Risky Photos That Will Inspire and Terrify You Dec 18th 2012, 18:02 Scuba Diving "Scuba diving with wild sharks at the floor of the Atlantic ocean" -Pjackie Click here to view this gallery. The Mashable Photo Challenge prompt was "risk-taking." Check out the incredible photos. More About: Mashable Photo Challenge Series, Photos, photography, risk! Grammys Launches Twitter Chat Series With Female Musicians Dec 18th 2012, 18:01 Twitter will bring conversations from music's popular and emerging female artists -- such as Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire -- to your Twitter stream. More About: 55th Grammy Awards, Celebritites, Entertainment, Music, Twitter, grammys This $35 Computer Is an Interactive Gift for Geeky Kids Dec 18th 2012, 17:45 For the programmer-to-be in your life, the $25 Raspberry Pi is a big deal in a small package. More About: Gadgets, Gift of the Day, Raspberry Pi, holidays 2012 Facebook Reportedly Planning to Run Video Ads in Its News Feed Dec 18th 2012, 17:32 In a move sure to annoy some users but potentially please investors, Facebook is planning to introduce video ads in the first half of next year, according to report. Citing "several industry executives," Advertising Age reports that "by April at the latest," advertisers will be able to target video ads in users' News Feeds on desktop and mobile. The length of such videos would cap at 15 seconds as opposed to the standard 30-second TV ad, according to the report. Facebook reps could not be reached for comment. The report adds that the video ads will be on "autoplay," meaning they will start running automatically, a potentially controversial move. IN addition, on desktop, the ads will… Continue reading... More About: Advertising, Facebook FCC Launches Tool to Ward Off Mobile Security Threats Dec 18th 2012, 17:32 To help consumers protect mobile devices and ward off security threats, the FCC is stepping in with a new tool called the "Smartphone Security Checker." More About: Mobile, fcc, security, smartphone The 12 Memes of Christmas Dec 18th 2012, 17:21 Christmas is that special time of year when we gather 'round the fire with loved ones to demonstrate our shared affections with gifts. As for the other 364 days of the year, we normally show our fondness through the web with GIFs and memes. Consider this music video our gift to you. "The 12 Memes of Christmas" combines all of our favorite things about the Internet, jam-packed with holiday cheer. (Seriously, there's more Christmas spirit crammed into this video than chopped nuts in a fruit cake.) The real stars of this video are the web celebs kind enough to make special appearances, including Nyan Cat, Success Kid, Scumbag Steve, Chuck Testa, Keyboard Cat and Grumpy Cat. But there… Continue reading... More About: Christmas, Video, Watercooler, memes GifBoom’s 15 Coolest GIFs of 2012 Dec 18th 2012, 16:52 1. Zoo Prankster Image courtesy of GifBoom, Christaculer Click here to view this gallery. GIFs reveled in a big year in 2012 and apps like GifBoom have made the GIF creation process a snap. Now everyone and their smartphone-wielding mother have the power to make clever bits of image animation. SEE ALSO: Return of the GIF: How Loops Conquered Social in 2012 The GifBoom community has created some pretty superb clips this year, so selecting a batch of the coolest presented quite the challenge. Thankfully, the team behind the app helped out and shared 15 of the year's GIF-iest GIF original creations with Mashable. Take a flip through the gallery above to get GIF-fy with it. Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, nesster More About: GIFs, Watercooler 6 Search Engines for Social Good Dec 18th 2012, 16:41 1. Benelab Founded by Seattle teenager Jack Kim during his freshman year of high school, Benelab donates 100% of it revenues to charity. The search engine is powered by Bing. "Our mission is to make philanthropy easy and more accessible," Kim told Mashable in June. Click here to view this gallery. These six search engines support good causes every time you hit "search." More About: Future of Search Series, Social Good, Tech, charity, search engine $1.7 Billion in Gift Cards Will Go Unspent This Year Dec 18th 2012, 16:37 Consumers are getting better at squeezing every last penny in value out of the gift cards they receive as holiday presents, new research shows. And a pretty penny that is, indeed. The savings from reduced spillage, the amount of value left on a gift card that a consumer never spends, is still projected to reach $1.7 billion this year. Three-quarters of consumers will spend the all the money on their gift cards this year, while 30% will spend $25 more than the value of the card, which will help cap abandoned money at $1.7 billion, according to a survey by advisory company CEB TowerGroup of its more than 16,000 members. New rules will also help shoppers spend more of the money on their c… Continue reading... More About: Christmas, gift cards, shopping Want to Learn Anything? Use This Site Dec 18th 2012, 16:28 Non-profit Khan Academy's goal is to make informative content readily accessible by anyone. And it's already changing people's lives worldwide. More About: Lifestyle, Tech Innovators Series, education, features, mashable Google Brings Ancient Bible Scrolls, Ten Commandments Online Dec 18th 2012, 16:27 Google is making it much easier yet again to see ancient scripture right in the comfort of your own home. More About: Google Pillow Remote Control Could Be Coming to a Couch Near You Dec 18th 2012, 16:23 You'll never lose your remote control between cushions again with the Pillow Remote Control, a plush addition to your couch. Inside the comfy casing is a six-in-one universal remote, which you can program to for your TV. The smart device helps you preserve energy, too -- it shuts off after 60 seconds of inactivity to preserve battery life. If you'd like one to gift one of these multi-purpose pillows, act now. The device, which sells on Amazon for $38.99, is running out. Images courtesy of Amazon, BRK More About: Gadgets, TV, remote control Top 10 Unproduced Film Scripts Revealed on Twitter Dec 18th 2012, 16:22 The Black List, an annual ranking of most-liked unproduced screenplays, unleashed its top 10 scripts 1-by-1 in tweets. A Twitter chat is set for Tuesday. More About: Entertainment, Lists, Twitter, films, movie, screenplays, scripts Here’s a Tiny Printer for Your Smartphone Dec 18th 2012, 16:14 When Andy Muldowney created the Kickstarter campaign for mPrinter, "an analog printer for a digital world," he posted a goal of $10,000. Seventy-two hours later, the campaign raised $20,000 in pledges. Within a few months time, the small thermal printer that prints dynamic snippets of information (called "mPrints") has crowdfunded more than $88,000 from 704 people. The mPrinter's simple and intuitive design, in addition to its practical use, contributed to its massive funding success. Smart enough to be used with either Javascript or a standard WYSIWYG text editor, the mPrinter can print the weather, news alerts, shopping lists, puzzles and more through your Wi-Fi connection. We spoke… Continue reading... More About: 3d printing, Leaders in Design Series, Tech, features, kickstarter, mPrinter, mashable, printing Drink Up: HBO to Release ‘Game of Thrones’ Beer Dec 18th 2012, 16:12 HBO has teamed up with Brewery Ommegang in New York to release four Game of Thrones-inspired beers to promote the hit TV show. WinterIsComing.net reports that the first beer, Iron Throne Blonde Ale, will launch nationwide in time for the fantasy drama’s season three premiere on March 31. The collaboration between Ommegang and HBO is focused on developing unique beers that directly tie into themes, characters and nuances of the medieval-like fantasy realm of Westeros and the surrounding kingdoms, where the competition to sit on the Iron Throne is fierce and deadly. Iron Throne Blonde Ale will be available on draft and in 750ml bottles for the suggested retail price of $8.50 per bo… Continue reading... More About: Beer, game of thrones, hbo FTC Investigation Targets Mysterious Data Brokers Dec 18th 2012, 16:00 The Federal Trade Commission is launching an investigation of data brokers that collect your personal information from public and private sources and sell it to ad agencies and other companies, it announced Tuesday. Consumer privacy issues lie at the heart of the FTC's concerns over data brokers. Nine brokers will be required to hand over detailed information about how they collect your personal data, what they do with it once they have it and whether it's possible for you to correct false data or opt-out of having your data sold by brokers. The investigation follows an earlier FTC report which found that many consumers remain completely unaware of data brokers' existence, much less w… Continue reading... More About: FTC, US, privacy Google+ Testing Social Sharing Bar Dec 18th 2012, 15:56 Google is testing a social side bar on certain websites, allowing users to chat on the page and opening up the stage for a bigger advertising stream. More About: Google, meebo James Franco Back to Promote Samsung’s Galaxy Camera Dec 18th 2012, 15:48 James Franco plays an Ashton Kutcher-like role in this new ad for Samsung's Galaxy Camera. While Franco's previous ad for Samsung's Galaxy 10.0 tablet played on the actor's famous multitasking, in the latest commercial, Franco could be anyone. The real star is the camera, whose on-the-go editing features are on display. In this case, Franco serves a similar function that Kutcher does for Nikon: He's the affable, hirsute Gen Y bridge to the new technology. Mimicking Nikon's marketing strategy may work in this case since the Samsung Galaxy Camera is a much better product than Nikon's Android-based competitor, the CoolPix S800c. What do you think? Did Franco sell you on the camera? L… Continue reading... More About: Advertising, James Franco, Marketing, Samsung Galaxy Camera, ashton kutcher Twitter Now Has More Than 200 Million Monthly Active Users Dec 18th 2012, 15:41 Twitter has passed 200 million monthly active users, the company announced in a tweet Tuesday. More About: Twitter Watch Russell Brand Interview the Westboro Baptist Church Dec 18th 2012, 15:35 The controversial Westboro Baptist Church made headlines this week after announcing it would be protesting the funerals of those killed during Friday's massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The church's decision sparked instant controversy as many voiced their contempt for the group on social media and elsewhere. Even hacktivist collective Anonymous got in on the action, hacking Westboro Baptist Church servers and releasing members' information to the public. The church's spokesperson, Shirley Phelps-Roper, even had her Twitter account hacked. As Internet users this week searched for more information about the Westboro Baptist Church, they turned up a video re… Continue reading... More About: US, westboro baptist church A Creative Year: Distinctive Web Designs of 2012 Dec 18th 2012, 12:57 2012 was clearly an interesting year design-wise. The responsive boom in web design gave birth to brilliant redesigns; clever layouts emerged with a focus on clear typography and impactful, contrasty colors. Large background images with a mood-setting character and sharp edges on unusual shapes were combined with interesting, yet intuitive interaction. Elegance meets down-to-earthness, that would be the motto I’d pick for a wonderful and exciting year of web design. We want to share some of our favorite web designs from 2012. It is by no means a complete collection, but just a slice of some of the most impressive designs that stood out. Take a look and get inspired. Maybe it will get you excited about what the next year will bring and give you some ideas on how web design will evolve. Supereight Studio Crafting Type Build 2012 Daniel Hopwood Philip House Like There Is No Tomorrow Hipstamatic Gin Lane Media Manos Buffalo The Mealings Elliot Jay Stocks Fine Thought Nick Jones Drexel University Joint Sound Creatures Pictoplasma Nudge Bad Racket Banger’s Formfett Squarespace Muriel Labro Circles nanozoom Wicked Palate Lotta Nieminen Fear the Grizzly Pure Pleasure Design Impero Rockaway Relief Startup Giraffe Matthew Carleton Mosaic Andrew Lucas Offscreen Flywheel Anonymous Cue We hope you enjoyed this little list and became inspired! What’s your favorite web design of 2012? Understanding Online Store Performance. Basic Key Metrics Dec 18th 2012, 08:00 Got an online store? Visitors come, but do not buy stuff? Time to optimize your key metrics. Need to know how, check out the blog post. Joomla 3.x. How to install engine and template on localhost Dec 13th 2012, 16:22 This tutorial will show you how to install Joomla 3.xengine and template on localhost, and make it look like the live demo. JS Animated. How to create unique/stand-alone prettyphoto lightbox image galleries Dec 3rd 2012, 14:31 This tutorial will show you how to assign unique/stand-alone prettyphoto lightbox image galleries. Bootstrap/JS Animated. How to activate twitter plugin Dec 3rd 2012, 14:15 This tutorial will show you how to activate twitter plugin in JS Animate template. December 3, 2012. The New Word In Creating Drupal Stores Dec 3rd 2012, 13:48 The creators of Drupal Commerce decided to bring their favorite CMS to masses. When speaking with one of TemplateMonster’s Drupal developers, he said: “I can’t understand, why users don’t use Drupal, it’s so simple…” Commerce Guys, those who created Drupal Commerce stores, got to be thinking that way. Jigoshop. How to manage pricing options Nov 29th 2012, 13:05 This tutorial will show you how to manage pricing options in Jigoshop template. WordPress. How to insert Google map using shortcode Nov 29th 2012, 12:52 This tutorial will show you how to insert Google map to your Wordpress template, using shortcode. JS Animated. How to activate newsletter subscription form Nov 29th 2012, 12:37 This tutorial will show you how to activate newsletter subscription form in your template. WordPress. Contact form 7 localization Nov 29th 2012, 12:25 This tutorial will show you how to create contact form in your language, using Contact form 7 plugin. PrestaShop 1.5. How to manage categories menu Nov 27th 2012, 14:58 This video tutorial is going to show you how to manage categories menu in PrestaShop 1.5.x templates. OpenCart. How to put the website in maintenance mode Nov 23rd 2012, 14:57 This tutorial will show you how to put the Opencart website in maintenance mode. Drupal. How to put the website in maintenance mode Nov 23rd 2012, 14:37 This tutorial will show you how to put the Drupal website in maintenance mode. ZenCart. How to put the website in maintenance mode Nov 23rd 2012, 14:25 This tutorial will show you how to put the ZenCart website in maintenance mode. PrestaShop. How to put the website in maintenance mode Nov 23rd 2012, 14:11 This tutorial will show you how to put the Prestashop website in maintenance mode. Joomla. How to put the website in maintenance mode Nov 23rd 2012, 14:02 This tutorial will show you how to put the Joomla website in maintenance mode. WordPress. How to a add menu separator (non-clickable menu item) Nov 19th 2012, 15:00 This tutorial is going to show you how to add a add menu separator (non-clickable parent menu item) to your Wordpress template. Jigoshop. How to remove the "in stock" text from the product details page Nov 19th 2012, 14:48 This tutorial is going to show you how to remove the "in stock" text from the product details page of your Jigoshop template. VirtueMart 2.x. How to manage addthis social share icons Nov 19th 2012, 14:39 This tutorial shows how to manage addthis social share icons. Magento. How to put the website in maintenance mode Nov 19th 2012, 14:20 This tutorial shows how to put Magento website in maintenance mode. WordPress. How to change default/landing page Nov 14th 2012, 10:19 This tutorial will show you how to change splash page in WordPress template. Joomla templates packages evolution Nov 12th 2012, 15:32 This article will explain Joomla templates packages evolution.

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Template Designer`s Tools, Tips, Tricks and Tutorials Find The Web Design or Corporate Idetity Template That You Are Looking For At http://templates.simplysly.com!

Contents Files (Nautilus) 3.7.3 Released with Minor Improvements A Breathtaking and Very Rare Backlit View of Saturn Captured by Cassini Samsung Confirms Exploit in Galaxy Devices, Will Fix It Soon Bitdefender Internet Security 2013 75% Off Clean Energy from Tornadoes: Company Gets $300,000 to Research the Idea Announcing a Live Chat With TerraCycle Founder Tom Szaky DOTA 2 Gets Greeviling Update, Frostivus Is Canceled T-Mobile USA Delays Windows Phone 8 Update for HTC 8X Windows 8 Could Be a Seismic Event for the Industry – UK Retailer Microsoft Veteran Steven Sinofsky’s Next Gig: Harvard Professor ENISA on Smart Grids: a Risk-Based Approach Is Key to Secure Implementation Ubuntu One Client for Mac OS X Is Officially Available Get Humble Indie Bundle 7 With Shank 2, Dungeon Defenders and More FFmpeg Exploit Fixed in Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Truck Flips on Highway, Spills Tons of … Cows? Ultramassive Black Holes, the Biggest in the Universe, May Be Common Google's Santa Tracker Chrome Extension PETA Trashes Lady Gaga's Outfits, Again Sprint Launches Its Toughest Push-To-Talk Phone, Sonim XP Strike 7 Ways Augmented Reality Will Improve Your Life Show Us Your Best Holiday Gift Reactions Redbox Instant Opens Invites, Prepares for Netflix Face-Off Evernote Food App Adds Recipe Features, Finally Comes to iPad Microsoft Surface RT Is the Best Tablet Ever – Best Buy Customers For Double-Amputee Marathoner, Social Media a Force for Inspiration Spotlight: Airport in North Carolina Employs 1.9 Million Worms Nokia’s Bluetooth Share App Now Supports Windows Phone 7.8 Devices Law That Prevents Sharing Netflix Histories May Be Changing Phanteks U-Type Tower CPU Cooler Launched Man Demonstrates The Wrong Way to Clear Snow from a Roof Nokia Rolls Out Windows Phone 8 Update for Lumia 920 and 820 (US and Canada) Share Your Chilliest Photos With Us John McAfee’s Exploits Hurt the McAfee Brand, Study Says Twitter Suspends, Then Reactivates, Top Anonymous Account 10 Gifts for People You Hate Softpedia Exclusive Discount: 44% Off Swift To-Do List Professional Funeral Home Uses Scantily Dressed Girls to Entice Clients, in Ad Libav Exploit Plugged in Ubuntu 11.10 The 10 Worst People on the Internet in 2012 “Flying” Crocodile Jumps on Tourist in Australia GOTY 2012 Worst Disappointment: Medal of Honor: Warfighter PC-BSD 9.1 Officially Released Before FreeBSD Nokia Lumia 620 Can Prove a Great Business Smartphone, Nokia Says Watch the Real-Life Fruit Ninja Juice Sweet Enemies iPhone TV Tuner ESCORT MobileTV Launches in the US 16 Things You Forgot Happened in 2012 New COPPA Rules Will Allow Facebook to Advertise to Children Potentially Habitable Planet Is Only 12 Light-Years Away Give an iTunes Gift Card to Your Most Choosy Chum 12 Funniest ‘Parents Shouldn’t Text’ Messages of 2012 Apple Users Flock to iOS 6 After Google Maps Launch Come Join Our Team: Mashable Is Hiring Watch the Mashup You Wait for Every Year: 25 of 2012′s Best Songs ‘The Walking Dead’ Lessons on Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse Twitter Begins Rolling Out Downloadable Tweets to All Users 4 Things to Know Before Hiring a PR Agency See Mini Spider-Man Cast His Web on Barack Obama How Red Bull Takes Content Marketing to the Extreme Cinemagram’s Picks for 13 Incredible GIFs of 2012 Report: No YouTube-Inspired Protests Before Benghazi Attack Ease Your Font Job: Popular Font Managers

Files (Nautilus) 3.7.3 Released with Minor Improvements Dec 19th 2012, 20:56 The GNOME developers behind the Nautilus project (now known as Files) have announced that 3.7.3 version is now available for download. Nautilus may have changed its name to Files, but it will take a long time for users to get used to it. In any case, Files 3.7.3 is finally here and it comes with a few modifications. Highlights of Files (Nautilus) 3.7.3: • Search provider has been updated to org.gnome.Shell.SearchProvider2 interface; • Rely on GIO... (read more)

A Breathtaking and Very Rare Backlit View of Saturn Captured by Cassini Dec 19th 2012, 20:21 Cassini has been whizzing about Saturn for several years now, doing important science. Every once in a while though, it points its cameras at yet another spectacular view of what plenty of people call the most beautiful planet in our solar system (sorry, Jupiter). And few are more spectacular than this last one published by NASA, a close up view of Saturn and its rings shot from behind the planet, what scientists call a "high solar phase." With the Sun behind it, the ... (read more)

Samsung Confirms Exploit in Galaxy Devices, Will Fix It Soon Dec 19th 2012, 20:21 South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung Electronics has officially confirmed the presence of a security issue with some of its Galaxy devices, and has also announced that it was working on a fix for it. The security issue was found to affect devices powered by Exynos 4210 and 4412 processors, which includes Sprint’s... (read more)

Bitdefender Internet Security 2013 75% Off Dec 19th 2012, 20:21 This Christmas and New Year’s seem to bring the best in software developers, especially in the case of Bitdefender, as the company lays a huge price cut of 75% on the line for their Internet Security 2013 suite. The deal is even sweeter than this since the license is valid for no less than five years. If we add the numbers, the result is pretty appealing: you get 5 years (which is just about the lifespan of a PC) of protection for your computer for as low as $79.95/ €60. read more)

Clean Energy from Tornadoes: Company Gets $300,000 to Research the Idea Dec 19th 2012, 20:11 A company named AVEtec has recently received $300,000 (€227,545) for the sole purpose of researching tornadoes and figuring out whether or not they can be harnessed in order to generate clean energy. The company was given said sum of money by billionaire Peter Thiel, who now seems very much interested ... (read more)

Announcing a Live Chat With TerraCycle Founder Tom Szaky Dec 19th 2012, 20:10 Streaming live on Mashable, TerraCycle Inc. founder Tom Szaky will answer questions from readers at 3 p.m. EST (12 p.m. PST) Thursday, Dec. 12. As part of the Young Entrepreneur Council’s #StartupLab initiative, a virtual mentorship program, Szaky will appear live via video chat broadcast on this site. Tom Szaky, 30, is the founder and CEO of TerraCycle, Inc., one of the world’s foremost leaders in eco-capitalism, recycling and upcycling. In 2006, Inc Magazine named TerraCycle “The Coolest Little Startup in America.” That same year Szaky was named the “Number-One CEO in America Under 30.” Szaky came to the U.S. in 2001 when he matriculated as a Princeton University freshm… Continue reading... More About: Business, Live Chat, Startups, yec

DOTA 2 Gets Greeviling Update, Frostivus Is Canceled Dec 19th 2012, 20:09 The development team at Valve is finally introducing the winter and holiday themed update for DOTA 2, called The Greeviling, and the much rumored Frostivus celebration has been canceled, replaced by a new Player versus Environment mode for all gamers. The interesting twist is that gamers will fight Greevilings in order to get presents but they will not directly receive them, with each rescued package gave to another DOTA 2 player. The official Valve blog reads: “Mis... (read more)

T-Mobile USA Delays Windows Phone 8 Update for HTC 8X Dec 19th 2012, 20:08 We reported yesterday that T-Mobile USA will roll out a Windows Phone 8 update for HTC 8X that will include lots of fixes and improvements. Unfortunately, the carrier has just announced the update has been delayed due to some technical problems. The following statement has been posted on T-Mobile's support site: “In order to ensure the best possible experience with your device, we have temporarily delayed the release of the update to perform a few tweaks. We’r... (read more)

Windows 8 Could Be a Seismic Event for the Industry – UK Retailer Dec 19th 2012, 20:01 With so many rumors swirling around and suggesting that Windows 8 is missing internal sales projections, it’s no wonder that many users believe that it’s going to become the new Vista. But a John Lewis official says that Windows 8 actually has the potential to boost sales of several industry sectors, not on... (read more)

Microsoft Veteran Steven Sinofsky’s Next Gig: Harvard Professor Dec 19th 2012, 19:55 Steven Sinofsky, the Microsoft veteran who led the team to create both Windows 7 and Windows 8 and abruptly left the company in November, will begin teaching classes at Harvard Business School in spring 2013. Sinofsky revealed his new position on Twitter. He said he was excited to return to Harvard, apparently referring to classes he taught in 1999 -- links to which he provided in a subsequent tweet. He also said his title would be "executive in residence" and his duties would include research, writing, teaching classes on product development, planning, collaboration and more. Excited to return to @harvardhbs to teach again this spring!New perspectives, recharge, share experiences, wri… Continue reading... More About: Steve Sinofsky, Windows 8, microsoft

ENISA on Smart Grids: a Risk-Based Approach Is Key to Secure Implementation Dec 19th 2012, 19:51 The European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) has released a new report to help smart grid providers properly secure their infrastructures against cyberattacks. The European Union hopes to achieve a 20% increase in renewable energy, a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions, and a 20% increase in energy efficiency by 2020. Smart grids can help a lot in achieving these goals, but they must be rolled out in a secure way. That’s why ENISA proposes the adopti... (read more)

Ubuntu One Client for Mac OS X Is Officially Available Dec 19th 2012, 19:45 Canonical has announced a couple of hours ago, December 19, that they’ve released the official client of their Ubuntu One service for Apple’s Mac OS X operating system. The Beta release of the Mac OS X client for the Ubuntu One cloud storage service from Canonical, the maker of the famous and very popular Ubuntu Li... (read more)

Get Humble Indie Bundle 7 With Shank 2, Dungeon Defenders and More Dec 19th 2012, 19:42 Humble Indie Bundle 7 has been released and it features a lot of new games for Windows, Mac OS and Linux, including Shank 2 and Dungeon Defenders.  After being criticized for the last collection, the THQ Bundle, the guys that put together these amazing offers have returned with some amazing titles. Unlike the THQ collection, Humble Indie Bundle 7 is cross-platform and all of the titles will work on Linux. The following games have been included: The Binding... (read more)

FFmpeg Exploit Fixed in Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Dec 19th 2012, 19:41 On December 19, Canonical published details about MySQL vulnerabilities for 10.04 LTS operating systems. According to Canonical, FFmpeg could have been made to crash or run programs as the user’s login, if it opened a specially crafted file. It was discovered that FFmpeg incorrectly handled certain malformed media files. If a user were tricked into opening a crafted media file, an attacker could cause a denial of service via application crash, or possibly execute ar... (read more)

Truck Flips on Highway, Spills Tons of … Cows? Dec 19th 2012, 19:37 When this big rig flips over in, it deposits a payload not of vegetables or canned goods but...cows! Yup; real life, bonafide bovines. A can't miss video. More About: Watercooler, cows, viral videos

Ultramassive Black Holes, the Biggest in the Universe, May Be Common Dec 19th 2012, 19:32 Astronomers now believe that many of the biggest supermassive black holes we've discovered may actually be even bigger than thought, putting them in the ultramassive range, i.e. with masses of 10 to 40 billion suns. Only a few of those have been discovered so far, but new data seems to suggest that scientists may have b... (read more)

Google's Santa Tracker Chrome Extension Dec 19th 2012, 19:31 Santa is coming, like he does every year, and for anyone waiting on the presents, which should be everyone as long as you haven't been naughty, Christmas eve will be full of excitement and anticipation. Luckily, you'll be able to keep track of Santa's whereabouts and know exactly when he reaches your town thanks to Google's Santa Tracker. And to make sure you don't miss a beat, now there's even a Chrome extension that enables you to keep an eye out while getting on w... (read more)

PETA Trashes Lady Gaga's Outfits, Again Dec 19th 2012, 19:31 This past weekend, Lady Gaga decided to visit Russia and indulge in one or two shopping sprees. Thus, the celebrity ended up buying a Russian sable coat and a fox coat, valued at $210,000 (€159,282) and $19,600 (€14,866) respectively. Needless to say, green-oriented group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal) was taken aback by the pop star's decision to support animal cruelty by buying and wearing fur. As per usual, PETA was rather h... (read more)

Sprint Launches Its Toughest Push-To-Talk Phone, Sonim XP Strike Dec 19th 2012, 19:21 US-based carrier Sprint has just launched a new push-to-talk handset, the Sonim XP Strike. Aside from its push-to-talk capabilities, the Sonim XP Strike offers beyond Military Specifications. In fact, Sprint claims this is the toughest push-to-talk handset in its portfolio, so customers can rest easy as the Sonim XP Strike can withstand drops from 6.5 feet, or be submerged in up to 6.5 feet of water for up to 30 minutes. Furthermore, the ultra-rugged Sonim XP Strike offer... (read more)

7 Ways Augmented Reality Will Improve Your Life Dec 19th 2012, 19:20 You might think augmented reality is the way of the future, but really, it has its roots in the 20th century. Morton Heilig, the "Father of Virtual Reality," patented the Sensorama Stimulator, which he called an "experience theater," on Aug. 28, 1962. Over time, the idea of using technology to create a layer over the real world has been honed and refined and put in our palms, thanks to the proliferation of smartphones. SEE ALSO: Where Did Augmented Reality Come From? Confused about what augmented reality is? In short, it's a way to use technology to redefine space, and it places a virtual layer over the world with geographic specificity ensuring a good fit. Check out the video below --… Continue reading... More About: Augmented Reality, Global Innovation Series, Tech, features, mashable

Show Us Your Best Holiday Gift Reactions Dec 19th 2012, 19:20 There is almost nothing better than getting someone the perfect holiday present -- proving that you've been listening to all those subtle (or not-so-subtle) hints he or she has been dropping for months. But it's also a pretty good feeling when you receive that smartphone or tablet you put on your wish list but didn't expect to unwrap. So good, if fact, that sometimes you just have to celebrate. We at Mashable want to share in that joy with you. Whether you film someone or are being filmed during these moments of exuberance, we want to see your greatest gift reactions. We'll choose the most-heartwarming reaction, and award the winner a $100 Personalized Amazon.com Video Gift Card. If y… Continue reading... More About: Christmas, contest, gift, holiday season, presents, videos

Redbox Instant Opens Invites, Prepares for Netflix Face-Off Dec 19th 2012, 19:05 Redbox Instant by Verizon has started letting people register for an access code to use the $8-a-month unlimited streaming movies service. More About: Entertainment, Movies, films, netflix, redbox, redbox instant, streaming

Evernote Food App Adds Recipe Features, Finally Comes to iPad Dec 19th 2012, 19:04 Evernote is updating its food app for iPhone and releasing an iPad version just in time for the holidays. More About: evernote

Microsoft Surface RT Is the Best Tablet Ever – Best Buy Customers Dec 19th 2012, 19:01 Microsoft has recently decided to allow retailers in select countries to sell the Surface RT tablet too, in a move clearly meant to help increase sales of the device. Best Buy is one of the stores that got the Surface RT last weekend and, up until now, it seems like Microsoft’s efforts to make the device availabl... (read more)

For Double-Amputee Marathoner, Social Media a Force for Inspiration Dec 19th 2012, 18:51 Noah Galloway awoke early one Christmas to learn that his left arm and leg were gone forever. Today, he's an accomplished endurance athlete who uses social media to inspire others. More About: Sports

Spotlight: Airport in North Carolina Employs 1.9 Million Worms Dec 19th 2012, 18:51 Roughly 1.9 million worms now have the Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Caroline listed as their employer. While working for this airport, the worms only have one job: that of feeding on the organic waste produced here on a daily basis, and help turn it into fertilizer. To cut a long story short, said airport is now in the business of composting. The fertilizer produced in this environmentally friendly manner is later on used to treat the facility's ... (read more)

Nokia’s Bluetooth Share App Now Supports Windows Phone 7.8 Devices Dec 19th 2012, 18:41 Owners of Nokia Lumia devices who have installed on them the Windows Phone 7.8 ROMs available through NaviFirm will be happy to learn that the company’s Bluetooth Share application now offers support for their handsets. The software did not include support for the platform in the beginning, but it seems that users can now download and install it through the official Windows Phone Store. The app will enable users to easily share various files with other Bluetoo... (read more)

Law That Prevents Sharing Netflix Histories May Be Changing Dec 19th 2012, 18:34 The law that's preventing you from sharing your Netflix history may soon change. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday that would modify a law that restricts sharing a person's video rental history without written consent. The new law would still require permission, but it would allow people to grant it online. That would open the door for video streaming services such as Netflix and iTunes to let U.S. users share what they're watching to their networks. The current law, called the Video Privacy Protection Act, was enacted in 1988 to protect people's privacy after the video rental records of Robert Bork were made public. (Coincidentally, Bork died earlier on Wednesday… Continue reading... More About: Facebook, House of Representatives, netflix

Phanteks U-Type Tower CPU Cooler Launched Dec 19th 2012, 18:31 As far as coolers go, the new mode from Phanteks is a relatively high-end model but not overly expensive, although the price does depend somewhat on the color of the fans. The name of the new cooler is PH-TC12DX. Unlike for other products, this name doesn't really explain much about the cooling device. The short version is tha... (read more)

Man Demonstrates The Wrong Way to Clear Snow from a Roof Dec 19th 2012, 18:31 There is a good way, a cool way, and a completely wrong way to clear snow from a roof, and I will tell you about the latter. This hilarious video was posted on YouTube yesterday, and hasn't really received a lot of views, which I believe are definitely deserved. It is appropriately titled “The wrong way to clear snow from a roof,” and covers exactly that. A man starts shoveling snow from the rooftop of his home, while another films him, as if knowing what was ... (read more)

Nokia Rolls Out Windows Phone 8 Update for Lumia 920 and 820 (US and Canada) Dec 19th 2012, 18:30 As expected, Nokia has just announced it has started the rollout of the hotly-anticipated Windows Phone 8 update for Lumia 920 and 820. Codenamed Portico, the software update is now pushed OTA (over the air) in the United States and Canada. Rogers and AT&T customers that own one of the two devices will be notified on the update any moment now. According to Nokia, the Windows Phone 8 update brings the following changes: - Enhancements in Messaging; - More e... (read more)

Share Your Chilliest Photos With Us Dec 19th 2012, 18:18 Although this may not be the coldest winter we've ever seen (and for some of you across the world, it may not be winter at all), December days still brought with them brisker days and longer nights in 2012. Even as the holidays come to a close, it may be that the chilliest days of winter are still ahead of us. While cold weather can often be miserable, many aspects of subzero days can be beautiful, too. This season offers treats like warming up with hot cocoa and enjoying winter sports, not to mention its serene tableaus of snow-covered cities, trees and mountains. For this week's photo challenge, we hope you'll share your best photos inspired by the prompt "cold." In past photo challeng… Continue reading... More About: Mashable Photo Challenge Series, Photos, community

John McAfee’s Exploits Hurt the McAfee Brand, Study Says Dec 19th 2012, 18:17 Even though he hasn't been affiliated with the company that bears his name for 18 years, John McAfee's recent run-in with the law in Belize has hurt the brand, according to a study. YouGov's BrandIndex, which is based on 5,000 daily online interviews with consumers, reports that as of early December, more consumers heard negative news of the brand vs. positive news. The brand's Buzz Score is now at its lowest point in five years. McAfee is also trailing security software rival Symantec's Buzz Score as the chart below shows: John McAfee founded McAfee Associates in 1988 and left the company in 1994. His name resurfaced in November, when reports emerged that he was on the run from p… Continue reading... More About: John McAfee, Marketing, McAfee

Twitter Suspends, Then Reactivates, Top Anonymous Account Dec 19th 2012, 18:02 Twitter on Wednesday suspended @YourAnonNews, an Anonymous-affiliated account with 750,000 followers. The handlers behind the suspended account quickly migrated to @YANBackUp, which was set up for just this occasion: This account will remain dorment unless: 1. @youranonnews gets rate limited. 2. @youranonnews gets suspended. - From the #YAN team.— YANBackUp (@YANBackUp) December 5, 2012 Free speech is dead.— YANBackUp (@YANBackUp) December 19, 2012 #Anonymous, #YAN and its contributors wait to hear from @twitter. Our ticket number is #6930160.— YANBackUp (@YANBackUp) December 19, 2012 Update: Twitter has reactivated @YourAnonNews, which was apparently… Continue reading... More About: Twitter, anonymous

10 Gifts for People You Hate Dec 19th 2012, 18:02 1. 50 Used Toilet Paper Rolls Price: $19.99 Mother Earth appreciates a little holiday upcycling. Your mother-in-law, on the other hand, may not. Cheaper DIY alternative: Your own toilet paper rolls.

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Nothing shatters holiday cheer quite like exchanging presents with someone you'd prefer to stuff down a chimney. Solve your Christmas woes with 10 gifts for people you don't like. More About: Christmas, Gift of the Day, Holiday Gift Guide, Watercooler, feautures, holidays 2012, mashable

Softpedia Exclusive Discount: 44% Off Swift To-Do List Professional Dec 19th 2012, 18:01 Day three of our exclusive offers brings you one of the most popular and useful programs for managing your to-do lists. Swift To-Do List Professional will ensure you never forget about your tasks, by providing a very user friendly interface for managing your tasks and notes. Even if you're perfectly happy with the St... (read more)

Funeral Home Uses Scantily Dressed Girls to Entice Clients, in Ad Dec 19th 2012, 18:01 A funeral home in Guatemala created a controversial Christmas ad, featuring attractive girls dressed as Santa's helpers, who lie around in coffins. I cannot be sure, but I believe they are trying to show us they are very well serviced while being in those coffins. One of the models appears to wake up from her long sleep at one point, to give the funeral home a thumbs up. As they show the girls, they proclaim that they are open on every day of the year, possibly hintin... (read more)

Libav Exploit Plugged in Ubuntu 11.10 Dec 19th 2012, 17:51 Canonical has published in a security notice details about a Libav vulnerability for its Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) operating system. According to Canonical, Libav (multimedia player, server, encoder and transcoder) could have been made to crash or run programs as the users login, if it opened a specially crafted file. It was discovered that Libav incorrectly handled certain malformed media files. If a user was tricked into opening a crafted media file, an attacker... (read more)

The 10 Worst People on the Internet in 2012 Dec 19th 2012, 17:41 1. Donald Trump The glorified Holiday Inn Express owner went mental on Twitter during the run-up to the election and hasn’t recovered since (if he was ever right to being with). Trump’s two-million-strong followers were treated to golden trolling against anyone who didn’t agree with him, which was basically everyone to the left of sanity, including NBC’s Brian Williams, Yankees’ third baseman Alex Rodriguez, and Star Jones. Also, let’s not forget his totally methodically planned-out YouTube video aimed at President Obama to get his college transcripts. #ThanksDonald for letting us watch your midlife crisis firsthand. It’s been a treat. Photo courtesy of Flickr, Gage Skidmore

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Five years ago, TIME magazine announced that you were its person of the year. Labeling the Internet a “cosmic compendium of knowledge,” the magazine cited your playlists on Myspace, false Wikipedia edits, and rewatching of the "OMG, Shoes" video on YouTube as the reason why you should be awarded the title. Well, congrats! A half-decade later, you’re still living up to that title by concocting a special blend of insufferability and detestable behavior that is best shamed in a very public manner. From the torturous “Call Me Maybe” covers that your aunt couldn’t stop emailing you to the despicable tweeting in defense of Chris Brown, it all demands a stink eye and a wag of t… Continue reading... More About: Carly Rae Jepsen, Donald Trump, One Direction, Ryan Gosling, chris brown, web culture, yearend2012

“Flying” Crocodile Jumps on Tourist in Australia Dec 19th 2012, 17:41 This clip literally jumped out at me today – it reveals a crocodile launching itself at a tourist… from a rock. Ulrik Bergsland, one of the three friends featured here, posted this clip on VideoSift and YouTube. The incredibly calm and collected cameraman is Jakob Hellberg. The man being attacked by the crock is Felix Andersson, also named in the title of the upload – “A flying crocodile jumps at Felix!” The star of the video is clearly the gator the... (read more)

GOTY 2012 Worst Disappointment: Medal of Honor: Warfighter Dec 19th 2012, 17:41 We have awarded a variety of great games in Softpedia's GOTY 2012 competition, each more than worthy of their various distinctions, but this year hasn't been filled just with great titles, as quite a few games have disappointed. Among them, Electronic Arts' Medal of Honor: Warfighter is one of the biggest negative surprises.<... (read more)

PC-BSD 9.1 Officially Released Before FreeBSD Dec 19th 2012, 17:41 PC-BSD, a BSD distribution with the goal to be an easy-to-install-and-use desktop operating system based on FreeBSD, is now at version 9.1. The developers of PC-BSD usually wait to release new versions after the guys from FreeBSD, but it seems they've jumped the gun on this version. Highlights of PC-BSD 9.1: • Based on the secretly released FreeBSD 9.1: • A new server option with PC-BSD utilities such as the Warden is now available via the... (read more)

Nokia Lumia 620 Can Prove a Great Business Smartphone, Nokia Says Dec 19th 2012, 17:41 Lumia 620 is the latest Windows Phone 8-powered smartphone from Nokia, and also the cheapest such device from the company, yet it can still offer a nice range of features that would make it fit even for business users, Nokia claims. With Lumia 620, users can easily access their email accounts while on the go, and can... (read more)

Watch the Real-Life Fruit Ninja Juice Sweet Enemies Dec 19th 2012, 17:40 If you're a fan of the popular Fruit Ninja game, then get ready to be diced with delight in this real-life version of the Halfbrick Studios mobile favorite. This fan-made video is sweet. So epic that you can easily be tricked into thinking this is a movie trailer for a forthcoming blockbuster of the popular game for iOS and Android. The video's creators even went so far as getting the go-ahead from Halfbrick Studios to make the fan video. What's better? The video is set to dubstep. SEE ALSO: Fruit Ninja Slices Into Plush Toys and Electronics Watch the fruit slaying master work his magic above and let us know your thoughts in the comments. Image courtesy of YouTube, scottdw More About: Watercooler, android, fruit ninja, iOS, viral videos

iPhone TV Tuner ESCORT MobileTV Launches in the US Dec 19th 2012, 17:31 ESCORT Inc., and Dyle Mobile Content Venture (MCV) have launched the ESCORT MobileTV accessory for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices, putting live, local broadcast television on iOS devices via the iDTV app. The ESCORT MobileTV is basically an ATSC-Mobile tuner with a built-in rechargeable battery that works with Dyle to deliver live TV from supported stations around the United States. ESCORT says buyers of the $99.95 / €75 accessory can access more than 90 st... (read more)

16 Things You Forgot Happened in 2012 Dec 19th 2012, 17:14 1. GoDaddy Supported SOPA and Faced the Consequences Technically this debacle took place in the last week of 2011, but the backlash lasted well into 2012. GoDaddy, the popular domain registrar and web hosting company, showed early support for the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a hotly contested bill regarding copyright violations that was introduced by U.S. Representative Lamar S. Smith. Many Internet users believed SOPA would lead to extreme censorship of the web and were shocked to hear that GoDaddy supported it. As a result, hundreds of high-profile sites joined a boycott and mass-transfer movement sparked by Ben Huh, founder of the Cheezburger Network, moving their domains away from GoDaddy. The company eventually withdrew its support for SOPA, but not before it lost many customers. In September 2012, GoDaddy faced another PR nightmare when its DNS servers went down due to a distributed denial of service attack, and with the servers went many customers' websites for a long period of time. The company apparently didn't have a backup plan, furthering soiling its reputation. Image courtesy of Flickr, dsleeter_2000.

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This has been quite the eventful year. What with the U.S. presidential election, Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath, the continued influence of social media in the Arab Spring and countless other major headlines, it's easy for smaller yet nonetheless significant news events to escape our memories. SEE ALSO: 40 Essential Mashable Stories You May Have Missed in 2012 Since it's nearly impossible to remember everything that happened in 365 days, we've rounded up 16 stories that you may have forgotten about in 2012. From the serious to the hilarious, the offensive to the heartwarming, you'll be reminded of something worth remembering. What other 2012 news do you think is worth remembering… Continue reading... More About: Social Media, Year End 2012, features

New COPPA Rules Will Allow Facebook to Advertise to Children Dec 19th 2012, 17:00 The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, is the set of rules protecting the privacy of all Internet users younger than 13. COPPA's rules have mostly stayed the same since 2000, but the Internet has evolved significantly since then -- the rise of the social and mobile web, for instance, largely occurred after COPPA was first written. The agency repsonsible for enforcing COPPA, the Federal Trade Commission, has acknowledged that technology's evolution means it's time to change those rules to ensure children's online privacy remains protected. The FTC announced those changes Wednesday. Among the most important part of the changes is that no notice or parental consent will… Continue reading... More About: COPPA, FTC, Facebook, US

Potentially Habitable Planet Is Only 12 Light-Years Away Dec 19th 2012, 16:49 A sun-like star in our solar system's backyard may host five planets, including one perhaps capable of supporting life as we know it, a new study reports. Astronomers have detected five possible alien planets circling the star Tau Ceti, which is less than 12 light-years from Earth — a mere stone's throw in the cosmic scheme of things. One of the newfound worlds appears to orbit in Tau Ceti's habitable zone, a range of distances from a star where liquid water can exist on a planet's surface. With a minimum mass just 4.3 times that of Earth, this potential planet would be the smallest yet found in the habitable zone of a sun-like star if it's confirmed, researchers said. "T… Continue reading... More About: NASA, alien planets, space

Give an iTunes Gift Card to Your Most Choosy Chum Dec 19th 2012, 16:38 Mashable's Gift of the Day series highlights cool, interesting and fun products for that special someone on your holiday list. Troubled over what to give your most eclectic friend? The newest album you know he has to hear; a classic novel you want to discuss; the latest and greatest game app? Why not all of the above? The iTunes gift card is fully customizable with different styles and denominations, but no matter what card you choose, your holiday buddy can use it to run riot in the iTunes Store. That means access to songs, movies, TV shows, apps, games and books. The best part of the iTunes gift card is that it covers virtually all the bases. SEE ALSO: iTunes 11 Finally Available for Download In case you hadn't noticed, those colorful cards are available everywhere — not on… Continue reading... More About: Gift of the Day, apple, holidays 2012, itunes

12 Funniest ‘Parents Shouldn’t Text’ Messages of 2012 Dec 19th 2012, 16:37 Parents say the darnedest things, don't they? At least when they attempt to text. Here's a look at the most hilarious things they sent you this year. More About: Parents Shouldn't Text, Text, humor, text messages

Apple Users Flock to iOS 6 After Google Maps Launch Dec 19th 2012, 16:30 In line with what was expected, new data has revealed that many iPhone users finally upgraded to iOS 6 when Google Maps finally launched its app week. In fact, according to mobile ad company MoPub and first reported by TechCrunch, iOS 6 adoption grew 29% in the first 5 days after the app launched. Although Google recently said the new app was downloaded more than 10 million times in the first 48 hours after its late Wednesday launch, MoPub numbers show many Apple users waited until the weekend to download the latest version of iOS. SEE ALSO: Google Maps Puts Apple Maps to Shame MoPub, which monitors a database of 12,000 apps and more than a dozen ad networks, confirmed with Mash… Continue reading... More About: Google, Google Maps, iOS, iOS 6

Come Join Our Team: Mashable Is Hiring Dec 19th 2012, 16:28 Mashable is recruiting candidates for full-time positions and internships based in New York and London. We’re looking for resourceful and driven candidates for a range of exciting positions in design, sales, ad operations, editorial and more. For a full list of current openings check out our jobs page. Design Visual Designer: We’re seeking a creative and self-starting Visual Designer with new media experience to execute modern and crisp design solutions based on initial conceptual and visual direction. This position will be based in our New York City headquarters and work under the guidance of the VP of Design. The Visual Designer will be responsible for creating visual asset… Continue reading...

Watch the Mashup You Wait for Every Year: 25 of 2012′s Best Songs Dec 19th 2012, 16:21 The sixth video in the annual "United State of Pop" mashup series from Jordan Roseman -- a.k.a. laptop-based DJ Earworm -- has arrived ahead of schedule. More About: DJ Earworm, Entertainment, Music, mashups

‘The Walking Dead’ Lessons on Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse Dec 19th 2012, 16:17 Friday is the apocalypse and if the rapture is ushered forth by a zombie overtaking, you may want to take heed of this PSA parody. In a mashup of AMC's The Walking Dead and a viral PSA by the Melbourne Metro, the YouTube team that brought you the Star Wars Gotye and Taylor Swift + Breaking Bad has done it again -- this time in a video that offers handy advice like "Only travel in a herd / by yourself is not preferred." SEE ALSO: Dysentery and Other Dumb Ways to Die in Video Games Watch the video at your own discretion because it's filled with show spoilers and bloody gore. Tell us your tips for surviving the impending zombie apocalypse in the comments. Image courtesy of Flick… Continue reading... More About: Apocalypse, amc, the walking dead, zombies

Twitter Begins Rolling Out Downloadable Tweets to All Users Dec 19th 2012, 15:53 Twitter confirmed Wednesday that it has begun rolling out the ability to download all of your tweets. "Today, we’re introducing the ability to download your Twitter archive, so you’ll get all your Tweets (including Retweets) going back to the beginning," the company said in a blog post. "Once you have your Twitter archive, you can view your tweets by month, or search your archive to find tweets with certain words, phrases, hashtags or @usernames. You can even engage with your old tweets just as you would with current ones," the post continues. The company had reportedly introduced the feature to a select few users earlier this month, but now it's being rolled out to everyone. T… Continue reading... More About: Twitter

4 Things to Know Before Hiring a PR Agency Dec 19th 2012, 15:50 PR agencies can be a fantastic resource for budding entrepreneurs. But before you start signing monthly retainers, keep these four things in mind. More About: advertise, journalists, promotion

See Mini Spider-Man Cast His Web on Barack Obama Dec 19th 2012, 15:41 Not even Barack Obama can escape the web of Spider-Man. White House photographer Pete Souza released the adorable photo of the president playing superhero for a TIME magazine profile. The shot was taken on Oct. 26 at the Outer Oval Office with a White House staffer's son taking on the role of tiny superhero. SEE ALSO: President Barack Obama is TIME's Person of the Year No word if the mini Spider-Man was sent from the Romney camp to thwart Obama's reelection efforts. Considering the outcome of the election, maybe they should have dispatched Batman instead. Image courtesy of Pete Souza, The White House BONUS: 10 Barack Obama Memes More About: Cute, Watercooler, barack obama

How Red Bull Takes Content Marketing to the Extreme

Dec 19th 2012, 15:27

James O'Brien writes for The Content Strategist, a digital magazine by Contently, the leading technology company for brand publishing tools and talent. The button is five stops in, counting from the left on the homepage of RedBull.com. Along the smaller of two navigation bars, it's sandwiched between "Audio" and "Games." There it is, the fifth one: "JUST EPIC." In a sense, the channel embodies Red Bull's entire marketing approach. You want to click it. You have to see what it is. What is this epic stuff?! Click. Instantly, you're browsing videos of a 12-year-old skateboarder nailing the world's first ever 1080 (that's three full revolutions) during a ramp jump. You're inside a… Continue reading... More About: Advertising, Business, Marketing, content marketing, contributor, features, red bull

Cinemagram’s Picks for 13 Incredible GIFs of 2012 Dec 19th 2012, 15:15 You couldn't have had 2012 without GIFs (no really, without them the year would just vanish into cultural oblivion). And while the animated bits of filmography were left to the bloggers and tech types at first, apps like Cinemagram brought GIFing to the masses. And with the revolution came little gems of video brillance to fill our lives and Tumblrs. The Cinemagram team shared 13 of 2012's most incredible GIFs -- or Cines, as they call 'em -- with Mashable. So check out these awesome user-created GIFs and share some of your own favorites in the comments below. 1. Tsunami Surfer Image courtesy of An Unknown User 2. Harry Potter Station Image courtesy of PrimeCandidat… Continue reading... More About: GIFs, Year End 2012, cinemagram

Report: No YouTube-Inspired Protests Before Benghazi Attack Dec 19th 2012, 15:12 An independent investigation of the deadly Sept. 11 attack on an American consolate in Benghazi, Libya released Tuesday confirmed what has already been widely reported: There was no YouTube-inspired protest outside the embassy prior to the assault. "Responsibility for the tragic loss of life, injuries, and damage to U.S. facilities and property rests solely and completely with the terrorists who perpetrated the attacks. The Board concluded that there was no protest prior to the attacks, which were unanticipated in their scale and intensity." The attack on the embassy claimed four American lives, including that of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. It was the first time an Americ… Continue reading... More About: Politics, US, World, YouTube

Ease Your Font Job: Popular Font Managers Dec 19th 2012, 10:00 The article gives a review of the most popular font managers, created to improve font manipulation process. There are both commercial and free font managers in the list.

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Contents Bogus “Join My Network on LinkedIn” Emails Spread Cridex Trojan Download Yelp 3.7 for Android Windows 8 Upgrade Now Requires the Windows 7 Product Key Learn the Truth About Money and Happiness Path Search Update Is a Smart Trip Down Memory Lane TerraCycle Founder Tom Szaky Answers Reader Questions via Live Chat phpMyAdmin 3.5.5 Final Is Available for Download If You Love Food, Download This App Boeing Used 20,000 Pounds of Potatoes to Test Its In-Flight Wi-Fi Which Tech Companies Made the Most Money in 2012? Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Operation Prophecy Starts This Weekend Star Trek: The Video Game Launches on April 26, 2013 Backflip Near Historical Monument Goes Wrong, Ends in Faceplant Facebook Will Let People You Don’t Know Message Your Inbox For $1 Microsoft Updates Mail, Calendar, People and Messaging for Windows 8 Internet Minute of Silence Declared for Sandy Hook Victims “Wanted: A Wife” – 82-Year-Old Man Wears Sign to Find His Soulmate Nintendo TVii Coming to Wii U Today, December 20, in the U.S. Steam Winter Holiday Sale 2012 Starts With Discounts for Borderlands 2, More Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Makes Its First Flight with a Rocket Engine YouTube in 2012: A Year of Expansion and Experiments World’s Thinnest Woman Valeria Levitin Warns of the Dangers of Anorexia GOTY 2012 Best Action Adventure: Assassin's Creed 3 Sapphire Launches Radeon HD 7870 XT with Boost Graphics Card SwiftKey Updated to 3.1 on Android Phones and Tablets Sony Xperia Tablet S Now Selling in Singapore Gammatech Convertible Notebook Is Rugged and Grey 4 Mobile Apps Every Reporter Should Use in 2013 5-Year-Old Tattooed Girl Sings Rap Tribute to Kaepernick Bring Aerial Combat Home With Air Hogs Battle Tracker Give the Gift of Unlimited Video Games This Holiday Season Watch: ‘The Great Gatsby’ Second Trailer Turntable.fm Co-Founder Billy Chasen Explains the Art of Pivoting Hunker Down With These 5 Apocalypse-Proof Shelters ‘Pudding Monsters’ Continues Puzzle Fun From ‘Cut the Rope’ Creator Maybe the End Isn’t Near Spotify Reveals Top Music, Artists and Apps of 2012 Scientist Says Human Cloning Could be Possible in 50 Years 6 Holiday Gift Ideas for Dad DoSomething.org Goes Mobile-First to Reach Teens Cory Booker Announces He’s Exploring Senate Bid via YouTube This Is How a Turntable Really Works Twitter Archive Is a Re-Gift in Bad Packaging JBL OnBeat Venue LT: First Lightning Speaker Dock Delivers Huge Sound Brazilian Chain Wraps Burgers in Edible Paper This Adorable Marriage Proposal Is Literally Magical Could Employees’ Smartphones Harm Your Business? Rockmelt Returns to iPhone With New Social Browsing App 12 Apps You Need to Survive the Holidays Apple Patent Related to Pinch-to-Zoom Invalidated in Preliminary Review How to Gain Few Pounds of Traffic? “Put on” Stripe Ads Plugins for WordPress

Bogus “Join My Network on LinkedIn” Emails Spread Cridex Trojan Dec 20th 2012, 20:21 Some malware-spreading spam campaigns are effective only as long as the topic they rely on is hot. Others, on the other hand, can be efficient for years on end. This is the case of the old “Join my network on LinkedIn” bogus emails that have been making the rounds since 2010. According to researchers from GFI Labs, this particular campaign has been going strong over the past days, attempting to trick recipients into clicking on links that point to BlackHo... (read more)

Download Yelp 3.7 for Android Dec 20th 2012, 20:01 The Yelp application for Android has been updated this week with a nice range of enhancements packed inside, and is now available for download for Android 1.5 or later devices. For those out of the loop, we should note that Yelp for Android provides users with the possibility to easily find and read reviews about local businesses near them. read more)

Windows 8 Upgrade Now Requires the Windows 7 Product Key Dec 20th 2012, 20:01 A special Microsoft campaign states that all those who purchase a Windows 7 computer after June 2 are allowed to migrate to Windows 8 for $14.99 (€11.5), while users of previous Windows versions need to pay $39.99 (€30) for the same upgrade. The upgrading process, which is performed with the help of the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant, previously required users to input the name and the manufacturer of the Windows 7 computer manufacturer and, after a quick check, it automati... (read more)

Learn the Truth About Money and Happiness Dec 20th 2012, 19:56 Does money buy happiness or should we be looking outside of our wallets for joy? YouTube channel AsapSCIENCE explains the ways money can put happiness in the old mood bank. Hint: Don't expect to scratch off or quick pick your way to cheer. SEE ALSO: The Connection Between Education, Money and Happiness Where do you find the greatest happiness in your life? Spread smiles by sharing in the comments. BONUS: Forget Money -- Try Cute Animals Image courtesy of alancleaver More About: Watercooler, viral videos

Path Search Update Is a Smart Trip Down Memory Lane Dec 20th 2012, 19:55 "Smart journal" Path has rolled out a new search function to its apps, allowing users to recall stories and memories shared with the social platform. More About: Path, apps

TerraCycle Founder Tom Szaky Answers Reader Questions via Live Chat Dec 20th 2012, 19:47 Tom Szaky, 30, is the founder and CEO of TerraCycle, Inc., one of the world’s foremost leaders in eco-capitalism, recycling and upcycling. In 2006, Inc Magazine named TerraCycle “The Coolest Little Startup in America.” That same year Szaky was named the “Number-One CEO in America Under 30.” Szaky came to the U.S. in 2001 when he matriculated as a Princeton University freshman. In 2002, he took a leave of absence to dedicate himself full-time to starting TerraCycle, which began as a two-man outfit in a dorm room in Princeton. Today, TerraCycle runs packaging reclamation and post-consumer waste solution programs for major CPG companies, such as Kraft Foods, Nestle, L'… Continue reading...

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phpMyAdmin 3.5.5 Final Is Available for Download Dec 20th 2012, 19:41 phpMyAdmin, the popular tool written in PHP intended to handle the administration of MySQL databases, has just reached version 3.5.5. The developers of phpMyAdmin have stated that this is only a bug fix and a minor security release. Highlights of phpMyAdmin 3.5.5: • Support for the Apache's mod_deflate has been implemented; • Users can now switch the language in /setup; • Inline query editing is no longer broken after row update... (read more)

If You Love Food, Download This App Dec 20th 2012, 19:41 Evernote has released version 2.0 of its Food application which adds completely redesigned sections to help inspire and preserve your food experiences, as well as iPad support, so you can take it to the kitchen to easily prepare what’s on-screen. Evernote Food 2.0 lets you explore thousands of recipes from your favorite food blogs and sites and save those recipes in “My Cookbook.” Speaking of which, the cookbook tab lets you browse recipes you've clipped in Ever... (read more)

Boeing Used 20,000 Pounds of Potatoes to Test Its In-Flight Wi-Fi Dec 20th 2012, 19:36 How do you ensure an even distribution of Wi-Fi throughout an airplane's cabin as that cabin moves through the air at 35,000 feet and 500 mph? When engineers at Boeing attempted to test different Wi-Fi system designs, they needed to either stock the plane full of warm human bodies or find something else to use in their place. The answer? Potatoes -- 20,000 pounds of them. In a press release, the company called the spuds, quote, "ideal stand-ins for passengers," whose presence shapes the way Wi-Fi pings around the plane's cabin. "The vegetables' interactions with radio-wave signals mimic those of the human body," a video from Boeing explains. The spuds were, quote, "ideal stand-ins for… Continue reading... More About: aerospace, inflight wi-fi, wi-fi

Which Tech Companies Made the Most Money in 2012? Dec 20th 2012, 19:29 All of our favorite tech giants made big moves in 2012, but how did the dollars and cents shake out? Which companies pulled in the most cheddar, and which are growing at the fastest clip? Our friends at Statista have broken out the income, revenue growth and stock performance of some Internet and tech heavyweights. While Apple and Samsung blow the competition away in terms of net income, LinkedIn is the golden child in terms of year-over-year growth, with a whopping 89% revenue increase. Dive into the data below. Click to enlarge. Thumbnail image courtesy of Sylvain Kalache. More About: Business, Tech, Year End 2012, infographics

Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Operation Prophecy Starts This Weekend Dec 20th 2012, 19:23 BioWare has confirmed the last challenge weekend for Mass Effect 3's multiplayer mode, in the form of Operation Prophecy, which rewards players for battling the Reapers on Earth maps (Vancouver, Rio, or London). Mass Effect 3's multiplayer mode has been a huge success and BioWare's constant updating and weekly operations have kept players hooked on the experience. After confirming that the following weekends won't see any operation be organized, BioWare has now revealed t... (read more)

Star Trek: The Video Game Launches on April 26, 2013 Dec 20th 2012, 19:18 Publisher Namco Bandai says that the official launch date for Star Trek: The Video Game is now set for April 26 of next year on European markets and in Australia, with the North American data set to be confirmed soon. The company is also showing off the brand new cover for the game, which shows main characters Captain Kirk and Fist Officer Spock. The developer behind Star Trek: The Video Game is Digital Extremes and the game will see the two protagonists investigate a mis... (read more)

Backflip Near Historical Monument Goes Wrong, Ends in Faceplant Dec 20th 2012, 19:11 I came across this video today, and I decided to share it with you as it is funny, although the star of the video could have gotten extremely hurt. This kid is no Jalyessa Walker, who performed a record of 49 backflips across a football field in November. He attempts a backflip, goes through with it, but somehow manages to land on his face. I don't know how it happens, but something goes terribly wrong mid-air. According to the uploader, the video was shot near an un... (read more)

Facebook Will Let People You Don’t Know Message Your Inbox For $1 Dec 20th 2012, 19:04 If you start noticing a few more messages in your Facebook inbox in the coming weeks from people you don't know, here's why. Facebook announced Thursday that it is testing a new option to charge users a one-time fee of $1 to send a message to another user's inbox on the network who they aren't friends with. Currently, if you send a Facebook message to someone you're not connected to, it may end up in the Other tab, an oft-overlooked subsection of the inbox that basically serves as a spam folder, depending on whether you have mutual connections. With the new option, however, you would be able to pay a premium to ensure that the message ends up in the main inbox where it's likely to be… Continue reading... More About: Facebook, facebook messaging

Microsoft Updates Mail, Calendar, People and Messaging for Windows 8 Dec 20th 2012, 19:01 Microsoft has just rolled out a new update for the Mail, Calendar, People and Messaging apps available on the Windows 8 operating system. The official release notes displayed in the Store explain that users can now group email messages by conversation in order to keep the inbox organized, but also reply to meeting invitations directly from the inbox. All apps have been improved for better performance, the changelog reads, so they’re now providing better reliabil... (read more)

Internet Minute of Silence Declared for Sandy Hook Victims Dec 20th 2012, 18:51 Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy declared a national moment of silence to honor the victims of last Friday's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which will be observed at 9:30 a.m. EST Friday. It didn't take long for an online-specific campaign -- Web Goes Silent -- to spring up. The web effort calls for a five-minute pause from online activity. While Web Goes Silent hopes you won't tweet, post on Facebook or check your email, it's using the hashtag #momentforsandyhook to build support in advance. More than 100,000 people have already pledged to participate on Causes.com, including Britney Spears, Suze Orman, Sean Parker and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. The campaign also… Continue reading... More About: Social Good, US, causes.com, sandy hook, school shooting

“Wanted: A Wife” – 82-Year-Old Man Wears Sign to Find His Soulmate Dec 20th 2012, 18:51 Sandy McCulloch, of Oregon, took to an unexpected way of picking up women when he noticed nothing else was working. McCulloch sits in the waiting room at the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis, Oregon, wearing the funny sign you see pictured above. “Wanted: A Wife,” he promotes. According to the Daily Mail, he decided to try approaching women in a hospital because he wants “the one” to be over 60. &ldq... (read more)

Nintendo TVii Coming to Wii U Today, December 20, in the U.S. Dec 20th 2012, 18:51 Nintendo has confirmed that it's going to release the special TVii service for Wii U owners in the U.S. today, December 20. Nintendo launched the Wii U back in November and it quickly followed up with plenty of games and new features, not to mention apps designed to access content services like YouTube, Hulu Plus, Netflix, or Amazon Instant Video. Now, Nintendo is getting ready for its biggest push in order to make the Wii U a true entertainment platform, as it's goin... (read more)

Steam Winter Holiday Sale 2012 Starts With Discounts for Borderlands 2, More Dec 20th 2012, 18:50 Just as Softpedia reported yesterday, Valve has kicked off the Steam Winter Holiday Sale of 2012 today, December 21, and has slashed the prices of many big games and franchises that are sold through the service. Steam has won over many of its users by running big sales and discounts all the time. After the extremely impressive Autumn Sale, the service is now running a special Winter Holiday Sale. The first day of the promotion brings big discounts to a variety ... (read more)

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Makes Its First Flight with a Rocket Engine Dec 20th 2012, 18:41 SpaceX is not the only private space exploration company that's making progress, though, granted, it's the only one making money. Virgin Galactic has announced that its SpaceShipTwo craft has completed its first flight test in the full, powered flight configuration. So far, all the tests had been done without the engine components, the space plane has only glided so far and without any of the rocket motor components. Now, the ship is essentially complete and made its... (read more)

YouTube in 2012: A Year of Expansion and Experiments Dec 20th 2012, 18:36 The video giant took some big risks this year that may or may not pay off, while reaching out to startups and hosting the most popular videos ever. More About: Business, Year End 2012, YouTube, features

World’s Thinnest Woman Valeria Levitin Warns of the Dangers of Anorexia Dec 20th 2012, 18:31 Eating disorders are serious, debilitating, life-threatening conditions that should never be taken lightly. This is the message that Russian-born Valeria Levitin is trying to send out: weighing just 4 stone (56 pounds / 25.4 kg), she is believed to be the thinnest woman in the world. Valeria is an anorexic and... (read more)

GOTY 2012 Best Action Adventure: Assassin's Creed 3 Dec 20th 2012, 18:31 The action adventure genre is one of the broadest in the games industry and this makes it hard to decide if a title belongs in this category or if it features more elements from genres like shooters or RPGs. While quite a few action adventure games have appeared this year, one of the most impressive is Assassin's Creed 3. read more)

Sapphire Launches Radeon HD 7870 XT with Boost Graphics Card Dec 20th 2012, 18:31 Sapphire may not have tweaked the performance of the Radeon HD 7870 much when it made the HD 7870 XT with Boost, but it did put its personal touch on the graphics adapter. For those who think the Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT with Boost is a custom version of the AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition, that is incorrect. read more)

SwiftKey Updated to 3.1 on Android Phones and Tablets Dec 20th 2012, 18:21 A new flavor of the Swiftkey application is now available for download for devices running under Google’s Android operating system, including tablet PCs. The updated flavor of the app arrives with a new Berry theme, while also adding support for some more languages, including Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Hindi, Hinglish, Irish, Macedonian, Spanish (Latin America) and Tagalog. Furthermore, the new update brings along a split keyboard for normal-sized device... (read more)

Sony Xperia Tablet S Now Selling in Singapore Dec 20th 2012, 18:21 Sony's Tablet S hit a few bumps ever since it first got launched, back at IFA 2012, but it hasn't actually reached every potential market yet, which is why its arrival in Singapore is so relevant. Whether because of the water vulnerability problem or some other reason, Sony Tablet S Android 4.0 is only now up for sale in Singapore, for... (read more)

Gammatech Convertible Notebook Is Rugged and Grey Dec 20th 2012, 18:21 Gammatech launched quite a few rugged mobile PCs in the past, so it isn't so strange to see it introducing a new one. This time around, we are looking at a convertible notebook/tablet. The name of Gammatech's new product is U12Ci and, if nothing else, at least shows what size the laptop's screen is. Of course, the item... (read more)

4 Mobile Apps Every Reporter Should Use in 2013 Dec 20th 2012, 18:20 With smartphone costs dropping as the devices become more readily available worldwide, it is easier than ever to have a reporting toolkit at your fingertips. It's also easy to feel like you're drowning in a sea of apps. To simplify matters, here are four apps that fulfill most of a mobile journalist's video, audio and language needs: 1. 1st Video - Video Editor [iTunes link] Slice, dice and edit your video or photos on the go with one of the top road-tested iPhone apps. This video editor was featured in a mobile reporting guide compiled by UC Berkeley. It topped the list of video editor apps, even over Apple's own iMovie app. The app features two mixable video tracks and two addi… Continue reading... More About: apps, mobile apps, smartphones

5-Year-Old Tattooed Girl Sings Rap Tribute to Kaepernick Dec 20th 2012, 18:11 This talented little hip-hop singer is 5-year-old Sarah Redden. Sarah already has her own YouTube channel, and has put forward a rap video. I assume her parents posted this clip of her, meant to be a “San Francisco 49ers Theme Song.” The tune is basically an ode to 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. “Canton Ohio, in the Hall of Fame,” she proclaims with pride. Her biceps are inked, so that she can better resemble her idol, “... (read more)

Bring Aerial Combat Home With Air Hogs Battle Tracker Dec 20th 2012, 18:10 Air Hogs' Battle Tracker lets you battle your friends by both air and land. More About: holidays 2012, remote control, toys, videos

Give the Gift of Unlimited Video Games This Holiday Season Dec 20th 2012, 17:53 Mashable's Gift of the Day series highlights cool, interesting and fun products for that special someone on your holiday list. Any gamer would be happy to get a cool title as a holiday gift. If you get that person two games, he or she will be ecstatic. But what if you got that person unlimited games? GameFly is the video game version of Netflix, available to residents of the U.S. For a flat monthly fee, subscribers can access the service's library of 8,000 console games. GameFly carries games from all the major systems, including XBox 360, PS3, Wii U and many more. SEE ALSO: The Secret World of Video Game Speedrunners Gamers can hang on to games for as long as they like. There are no late fees involved, however, the service will not send a new game until you return the previous one… Continue reading... More About: Entertainment, Gaming, Gift of the Day, features, holidays 2012

Watch: ‘The Great Gatsby’ Second Trailer Dec 20th 2012, 17:42 Warner Bros. dropped the second trailer for Baz Luhrmann's rendition of The Great Gatsby, which arrives in theaters May 17. The 2:19 trailer shows some never-before-seen footage from well-known parts of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel on which it is based. Scenes include a drive with narrator Nick Carraway (played by Tobey Maguire), in which Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) narrates a false version of his past as a wealthy young war hero. Viewers are also made privy to longer versions of scenes shown in the first trailer, including parties at the Gatsby mansion, and the poignant, rain-sodden reunion between Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan) at Carraway's house. Image c… Continue reading... More About: the great gatsby, trailer, warner bros

Turntable.fm Co-Founder Billy Chasen Explains the Art of Pivoting Dec 20th 2012, 17:30 Mashable chats with Billy Chasen about his thoughts on pivoting, whether we'll ever see Stickbits 2.0 and what he'd like to work on after Turntable.fm. More About: Tech Innovators Series, features, mashable, startup, turntable

Hunker Down With These 5 Apocalypse-Proof Shelters Dec 20th 2012, 17:17 Maybe you didn't get the memo, but the world ends tomorrow. Dec. 21, 2012 marks the much-hyped end date of the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar, signaling what some believe will be a time of immense, perhaps cataclysmic, change. While NASA is working (a bit too conspicuously) to convince us all that nothing catastrophic is headed this way, it never hurts to be prepared. So what can you do to prepare for a potentially world-ending event? SEE ALSO: 10 Online Resources to Prepare for the Mayan Apocalypse Note that no one knows for certain what form this armageddon might take. The continental plates could shift violently, reshaping the terrain to more closely resemble the world of… Continue reading... More About: Mayan Apocalpyse, Year End 2012, features

‘Pudding Monsters’ Continues Puzzle Fun From ‘Cut the Rope’ Creator Dec 20th 2012, 17:17 Zeptolab, creators of mobile smash Cut the Rope, launched its new app Pudding Monsters Thursday, which promises to be just as addictive for mobile gamers. In Pudding Monsters, your goal is to help all the little blobs of pudding on each level connect so they can be large enough to escape and rescue their friend, taken by humans from his refrigerator home. Getting the pudding monsters together isn't so easy; they are very slippery, and without anything to catch them they slide off the edge of the playing field, forcing the level to restart. There are also optional stars to collect, similar to Cut the Rope, and you must have a portion of your final pudding monster blob covering them to… Continue reading... More About: Gaming, cut the rope, iPhone games, pudding monsters, zeptolab

Maybe the End Isn’t Near Dec 20th 2012, 17:07 If your apocalypse bunker still lacks the proper provisions of flashlights, canned goods and zombie-slaying sticks, fear not, because it turns out the Mayans' message may have just been lost in translation. Good news: The world isn't ending. Bad news: Now you only have 5 days to finish your Christmas shopping. BONUS: 10 Videos to Help You Survive the Apocalypse Comic by Lance Ulanoff More About: Apocalypse, Watercooler, comic, humor

Spotify Reveals Top Music, Artists and Apps of 2012 Dec 20th 2012, 17:07 Music-streaming service Spotify just released a comprehensive 2012 recap of its most-popular songs, albums, artists, radio genres and apps. More About: Carly Rae Jepsen, Entertainment, Fun, Music, apps, gotye, spotify

Scientist Says Human Cloning Could be Possible in 50 Years Dec 20th 2012, 17:04 Nobel Prize winner Sir John Gurdon predicted we may see a human clone within the next half century. More About: Newsy, biology, clone, videos

6 Holiday Gift Ideas for Dad Dec 20th 2012, 17:02 Gutter-Cleaning Robot Give Dad a hand with those pesky gutters without getting off the couch. This offering from iRobot, called the Looj 330, cruises down gutters all by itself, clearing away leaves and dirt on in the process. It's available via the iRobot website and is a 2013 Edison Awards nominee. $299.99

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Solid holiday gift ideas for Dad can be hard to come by, but look no further. This guide has you covered. More About: Holiday Gift Guide, features, mashable

DoSomething.org Goes Mobile-First to Reach Teens Dec 20th 2012, 16:47 The Internet is filled with platforms for social change, from Change.org to Indiegogo to We The People. One of those remarkable platforms, DoSomething.org approaches online activism with a special twist. The community consists entirely of teens, and its team of talented staff are experts on youth mobilization. The organization operates on Marshall McLuhan's famous adage: The medium is the message. DoSomething knows that teens' primary mode of communication is text messaging -- since teens text more than they talk -- so the non-profit runs campaigns that are mobile first. "Community service can be thought of as a check box you do because you're supposed to or you got in trouble,"… Continue reading... More About: Innovation Index, Social Good, do something, features, mashable

Cory Booker Announces He’s Exploring Senate Bid via YouTube Dec 20th 2012, 16:45 Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, N.J. and Internet superhero, announced in a YouTube video Thursday morning his plan to "explore the possibility of running for United States Senate in 2014." "There's still a lot of work to do," says Booker in the video. "And so, let there be no doubt I will complete my full second term as mayor of Newark, New Jersey. And as for my political future, I will explore the possibility of running for the United States Senate in 2014." A prolific Twitter user, Booker shared the video with his 1.3 million followers shortly after posting it to YouTube. Thank you for your support up to this point. Read about my upcoming plans here: bit.ly/QnTP8 #finishingthew… Continue reading... More About: Politics, Senate, US, YouTube, cory booker

This Is How a Turntable Really Works Dec 20th 2012, 16:38 The turntable is one of the longest lasting technologies still in popular manufacture today. No matter how many technologies attempt to replace it -- the 8-track, the cassette tape, the CD or the MP3 -- there's still a healthy group of folks who say no sound is richer and more full than when a vinyl record is played. To the uninformed, it looks like magic: As the needle scrapes across the groove of a record, beautiful and accurate sounds come through the turntable's speakers. DJs are the ultimate wizards when it comes to this powerful magic, managing to not only keep record samples in endless loops, but also mixing, shifting and manipulating the sounds to suit the mood at hand. It's a won… Continue reading... More About: DJ, What's Inside, features, mashable, turntable

Twitter Archive Is a Re-Gift in Bad Packaging Dec 20th 2012, 16:37 Twitter is finally giving members their full archives, but in the least usable form possible. More About: Twitter, dick costolo

JBL OnBeat Venue LT: First Lightning Speaker Dock Delivers Huge Sound Dec 20th 2012, 16:31 There have been three iOS devices released with the new Lightning connector, but until now, there were no speaker docks with which to charge them. Enter the first Lightning-equipped speaker dock, the JBL OnBeat Venue LT. It charges your iPad 4, iPhone 5 and iPad Mini, and plays audio either directly through the Lightning port, over an auxiliary port or via Bluetooth. The OnBeat Venue Lightning is similar to its non-Lightning predecessor, with smooth, rounded styling and a slide-out drawer where you dock your device. It was easy to pair up my iPhone 5 with the OnBeat's Bluetooth. There's no remote control included with this unit, but you can control the unit with your iOS device. However,… Continue reading... More About: bluetooth, lightning connector, speaker docks

Brazilian Chain Wraps Burgers in Edible Paper Dec 20th 2012, 16:30 Thirty years after Michael Keaton's character Bill Blazejowski proposed the idea in the movie Night Shift a Brazilian burger chain has realized his dream: Edible paper. According to the blog Eater, Bob's in Brazil tried the idea as a marketing stunt -- the idea being that the burgers are so delicious that customers can't wait to unwrap them to eat them. The video above shows consumers were indeed consuming the wrappers. It's not clear what the wrappers are actually made of. Often, rice paper -- which has been eaten in China for centuries -- is used as a consumable stand-in for the real thing. Image courtesy of Bob's More About: Brazil, Marketing

This Adorable Marriage Proposal Is Literally Magical Dec 20th 2012, 16:16 Magicians have to be careful not to get too hokey when performing tricks -- especially when the trick is proposing marriage to your girlfriend. Thankfully, Sean Emory totally nailed it. The entertainer convinced his girlfriend, Andrea, to film a "magic trick" -- which, in reality, was her own proposal. Of course, there were hidden cameras capturing the adorable moment as well, which is especially handy since her camera starts shaking when he gets down on one knee. Dave Alitzer edited the footage to create a memory that's better than any rabbit pulled out of a hat. BONUS: 15 Unforgettably Quirky Weddings Image courtesy of Flickr, Rose Robinson

Could Employees’ Smartphones Harm Your Business? Dec 20th 2012, 16:16 There are many attractive reasons to consider implementing a BYOD policy, but before implementing a BYOD program, step back and consider these variables. More About: Mobile, features, mashable, open forum

Rockmelt Returns to iPhone With New Social Browsing App Dec 20th 2012, 16:07 Rockmelt, the social web browser, is continuing its effort to rethink the mobile browsing experience with a new app for iPhone. The app, which launched on Thursday, combines a traditional web browser with a social news reader. In addition to letting you search for a particular keyword or URL, the app also populates the main page with articles from your favorite publications or shared by other users that you follow. This way, even if you never search for something on the web, the web will still come to you. Rockmelt first introduced this functionality with its iPad app that came out in October. The main goal for both the iPhone and iPad app, according to the company's CEO Eric Vishria,… Continue reading... More About: RockMelt, apps

12 Apps You Need to Survive the Holidays Dec 20th 2012, 16:07 1. Pickie Gifts (shopping) There are only a couple days left to buy the perfect presents for your parents, siblings, favorite co-workers and best friends. If you still have absolutely no clue what to gift, we suggest this handy tool. Pickie's Best Gift Giver tool suggests a few intelligent gift ideas based on a person's Facebook Likes, in a special catalog you can click through. In our test, the tool was spot-on with its gift suggestions for our friends. Screenshot courtesy of Pickie Gifts

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It's that time of year again — when, instead of worrying about homework assignments and work, you're concerned about running out of gift wrap, finding a ridiculously ugly Christmas sweater and baking an epic Pinterest-worthy party plate. Thankfully for Secret Santas and party hosts everywhere, a treasure trove of holiday apps can help you through the end of the year. We've done the hard part for you, so there's no need to dig around in app stores. SEE ALSO: 8 Family-Friendly Holiday Craft Tutorials on YouTube These 12 epic apps will make your holiday season more fabulous and fun. Soon enough, you'll be sipping eggnog fireside in your heinously ugly sweater (thanks to this app), w… Continue reading... More About: Mobile, apps, features, holidays 2012

Apple Patent Related to Pinch-to-Zoom Invalidated in Preliminary Review Dec 20th 2012, 15:58 An Apple patent that paved the way for pinch-to-zoom functionality on the iPhone or iPad should not have been awarded in the first place, said the United States Patent and Trademark Office in a preliminary ruling made public late Wednesday. The patent is among six that lie at the heart of Apple's most recent lawsuit against Samsung, one of its top competitors in the mobile phone and tablet marketplace. Samsung was recently ordered by a jury to pay Apple $1.05 billion in damages for copyright infringement as a result of that case, but that number may change as a result of the USPTO's decision this week. The patent, number 7,844,915, has widely been characterized in the media as "the Pin… Continue reading... More About: apple, patents

How to Gain Few Pounds of Traffic? “Put on” Stripe Ads Plugins for WordPress Dec 20th 2012, 08:00 If you are looking for some effective ways of advertising time to consider Stripe Ads plugins designed for WordPress.

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Contents New Crysis 3 Gameplay Video Shows Off Train Yard Battle Empathy Messenger 3.7.3 Changes Chat Window to Gtk John Kerry Could Be a Socially-Savvy Secretary of State This Is the Kind of House You Can Buy with Microsoft’s Money “Goosinator” Now Used to Keep Geese Out of Parks in Denver – Video Rescued Turkey Thinks It’s a Dog, “Barks” Every Once in a While IMDb Movies & TV Gets Major Update for iPhone and iPad The Share of Spam in Mail Traffic Dropped 5.1% in November 2012, Kaspersky Says The Official Mashable Community’s Holiday Wish List Seinfeld Plays Ball in ‘Who’s on First?’ Remake Orca 3.7.3 Improves the Speech Translator 10 Hot PC Game Bargains for the Holidays Download ES File Explorer File Manager 1.6.2.4 for Android Mealworms and Superworms: The Chicken and Beef of the Future 10 Adorable YouTube Videos of Baby’s First Christmas Users Have Started Dumping Windows XP – Microsoft Partner Facebook and Facebook Messenger for Android Get Updated Clouds Form Image of Santa Claus Riding In on His Sleigh – Photo 10 Terrific Gifts for the Apple Fan in Your Life Download SHADOWGUN: DeadZone 1.1.0 with New Maps 419 Scam Alert: US Marine Wants Your Help to Invest Millions of Dollars WordPress for Windows Phone 1.8.1 Now Available for Download Report: Apple Maps Most Popular iPhone App in 2012 Spin Magazine Halts Print Publication NRA’s Call for Armed Guards in Every School Prompts Immediate Backlash Steam Holiday Sale 2012 Day 2 Brings Discounts for Dishonored, Darksiders, More Woman Spots Dead Husband's Ghost in Granddaughter's Christening Photos Softpedia Exclusive Discount: 50% Off VIDEOzilla Microsoft Donates $245,000 (€185,000) Worth of Software to WVU Soul Singer’s Blues Receive New Life on Kickstarter Startup Wants You to Dare Friends to Look Foolish for Charity ‘Quick Donate’ Transformed Political Fundraising in 2012 20 Amazing Christmas Surprises Command-A(ttention) With These Vintage Apple Shoes FanDuel Is Fantasy Sports With a Twist ‘Gangnam Style’ Hits 1 Billion Views on YouTube Watch Live: NRA’s First News Conference Since Sandy Hook Shooting What Facebook’s $1 Messages Mean for Journalists Your Child’s Cellphone; a Privilege or a Lifeline? This Countdown Tells You When ‘Gangnam Style’ Hits 2 Billion Views Obama Calls for New Gun Laws in Response to Online Petitions Slider Pagination Concept Steve Jobs’ Yacht Impounded in Amsterdam Join Us in 5 Minutes of Internet Silence for Sandy Hook Victims HTC Reportedly Planning to Launch Two Windows RT Tablets Nokia and RIM Enter Patent License Agreement 7 Ways to Use Humor in Your Online Marketing How to Recruit Guest Writers The Least Watched Viral Videos of 2012 Instagram on iPhone Gets a Fresh Filter, Facebook Login, Apology How Social Media and Snoop Dogg Helped a Fledgling NBA Team Google’s Santa Tracker Simulates Around-the-World Sleigh Ride

New Crysis 3 Gameplay Video Shows Off Train Yard Battle Dec 21st 2012, 20:21 A brand new gameplay video from the upcoming Crysis 3 first-person shooter has appeared on the web, showcasing the already-familiar Train Yard location, only this time showing off both the protagonist, Prophet, as well as his ally, Psycho, who are fighting against CELL mercenaries and Ceph aliens. Quite a lot of impressive videos have appeared in recent months with Crysis 3, as after developer Crytek pinned an actual release date on the game, it's begun to heavily promote it throu... (read more)

Empathy Messenger 3.7.3 Changes Chat Window to Gtk Dec 21st 2012, 20:06 Empathy, a messaging program that supports text, voice and video chat, and file transfers over many different protocols, is now at version 3.7.3. Highlights of Empathy 3.7.3: • The application now benefits from the services of geocode-glib 0.99.1; • More protocolname<->displayname has been added; • EmpathyContact has been ported to geocode-glib >= 0.99.1; • EmpathyChatWindow should be a GtkWindow; • A debug optio... (read more)

John Kerry Could Be a Socially-Savvy Secretary of State Dec 21st 2012, 20:02 John Kerry's Twitter use shows he would carry on Hillary Clinton's role in bringing social media to the State Department. More About: Politics, US, barack obama, john kerry

This Is the Kind of House You Can Buy with Microsoft’s Money Dec 21st 2012, 20:01 You’ve probably heard that Microsoft has purchased the Yammer business social network for $1.2 billion (€900 million) earlier this year, so the chief executives working for the San Francisco-based company had lots of cash to spend this Christmas. David Sacks, Yammer’s CEO, has decided to buy the most expensive house ever sold in San Francisco, agreeing to pay no more, no less than $34.5 million (€26.1 million) for the 17,500 square feet of living space. ... (read more)

“Goosinator” Now Used to Keep Geese Out of Parks in Denver – Video Dec 21st 2012, 20:01 Local officials in Denver have decided that the best way to keep wild geese (and the mess they cause) out of the parks under their jurisdiction was to buy several so-called “Goosinators,” and make them chase away the birds. This Goosinator is actually a model plane whose loudness and brightness annoys the heck out of geese, sources explain. Thus, the birds will be faced with no choice except leave the parks, or face losing their sanity. As its investor p... (read more)

Rescued Turkey Thinks It’s a Dog, “Barks” Every Once in a While Dec 21st 2012, 19:51 A turkey named Cranberry is presently going through a very serious identity crisis. Thus, the bird is convinced that it is in fact a dog, and even has the barks to show it (or, better said, it thinks it does). Owners Jerry and Dawn Watkins from Bristol explain that, almost immediately after they adopted Cranberry and brought it home, the bird became best friends with the family's pet Labradors. Most likely because it wanted to fit in, Cranberry started behaving more ... (read more)

IMDb Movies & TV Gets Major Update for iPhone and iPad Dec 21st 2012, 19:51 IMDb Movies & TV 3.0 for iPhone and iPad has received a major new update that includes everything from UI tweaks to under-the-hood enhancements, such as Facebook sharing. For iPad users, the IMDb app now includes a plus sign (+) with any movie or TV show poster allowing movie buffs to add it to their Watchlist. Users can now sign in to get personalized movie and TV recommendations and see custom lists with updated sort and edit features. A top 250 rank has been added ... (read more)

The Share of Spam in Mail Traffic Dropped 5.1% in November 2012, Kaspersky Says Dec 21st 2012, 19:51 Kaspersky has released its spam report for November 2012 and some of the numbers are encouraging. The share of spam in email traffic has dropped by 5.1%, averaging out at 63%. Furthermore, compared to October, the number of phishing emails has decreased by around 50%. On the other hand, when... (read more)

The Official Mashable Community’s Holiday Wish List Dec 21st 2012, 19:44 The wish list is synonymous with the holiday season. It's the one time of year where we can selfishly list all the gadgets and devices we've been drooling over, in the hopes that we get to unwrap them when the time comes. You want the MacBook Pro with Retina Display, a Nintendo Wii U and a Samsung Galaxy Camera? Add it to the list! Here at Mashable, we wanted to participate in this yearly tradition and find out what is on your annual wish list. In a series of polls, we asked you which devices were your hearts' desires in the categories of laptops, tablets, smartphones, video game consoles and cameras. We took your responses, and compiled the master wish list of the Mashable communi… Continue reading... More About: community, holiday wish list, holidays 2012, wish list

Seinfeld Plays Ball in ‘Who’s on First?’ Remake Dec 21st 2012, 19:33 Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's iconic "Who's on First?" comedy routine from the 1930s just got a refresh from a few of today's funnymen. More About: Entertainment, TV, billy crystal, jerry seinfeld, jimmy fallon, viral videos

Orca 3.7.3 Improves the Speech Translator Dec 21st 2012, 19:27 Orca, a free, open source, flexible, and extensible screen reader that provides access to the graphical desktop via speech and refreshable Braille, is now at version 3.7.3. Orca works with applications and toolkits that support the Assistive Technology Service Provider Interface (AT-SPI), which is the primary assistive technology infrastructure for Linux and Solaris. Highlights of Orca 3.7.3: • Support to cycle amongst speech-dispatcher's capitalization pr... (read more)

10 Hot PC Game Bargains for the Holidays Dec 21st 2012, 19:17 1. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings If you like your fantasy dark and brooding, The Witcher (based on a series of Polish novels) is the game franchise for you. This gorgeous sequel has exciting combat mechanics, a rich plot and serious difficulty. Just make sure your PC specs are up to snuff -- you'll need a modern graphics card to run this bad boy at full capacity. Sale Price: $11.99 Get it from: GOG.com

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'Tis the season for deep discounts on the great PC games you've been dying to play all year. Cloud delivery platforms like Steam and GOG are a treasure trove of bargains on classics and top sellers. Grab them for yourself, or gift them to friends for the holidays. SEE ALSO: 50 Winning Holiday Gifts for Gamers But be quick! Most of these deals end in early January -- some even expire within the next day. What will you be playing over the holiday break? Post your faves in the comments. Thumbnail image courtesy of CD Projekt RED More About: Entertainment, Gaming, features, holidays 2012, video games

Download ES File Explorer File Manager 1.6.2.4 for Android Dec 21st 2012, 19:11 A new flavor of the popular ES File Explorer File Manager application is now available for download for the owners of Android-based smartphones, namely version 1.6.2.4. The new app release arrives on handsets with faster launch time in root mode, as well as with one key uninstall for root. Furthermore, the new application flavor brings along support for open files on network, and also provides users with a sort feature in the app manager. There is also... (read more)

Mealworms and Superworms: The Chicken and Beef of the Future Dec 21st 2012, 19:11 This past Thursday, the scientific journal PLoS ONE witnessed the publication of a new study stating that, all things considered, livestock might soon be replaced by mealworms and superworms. In other words, these generally despised creatures have the potential to become the beef and the chicken of the future, seeing how ... (read more)

10 Adorable YouTube Videos of Baby’s First Christmas Dec 21st 2012, 19:04 1. Wrapping Paper, Y U So Hilarious? Who needs presents? The wrapping paper is entertainment enough.

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Fah la la la d'awwwww. 'Tis the season for adorable videos. "Baby's First Christmas" is a landmark event in every parent's life, and we've put together some of the cutest videos on YouTube, which show little kids getting their first taste of holiday cheer. SEE ALSO: 12 Funniest 'Parents Shouldn't Text' Messages of 2012 If a special little someone came into your life this year, check out this video and learn how to craft your own commemorative ornament. Otherwise, just watch these videos and let your heart grows a few sizes. Want to show off your kid's first big holiday? Let us know in the comments below. Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, wfyurasko More About: Video, YouTube, holidays 2012

Users Have Started Dumping Windows XP – Microsoft Partner Dec 21st 2012, 19:01 Microsoft has appointed a new partner to help move enterprises from Windows XP earlier today, so it seems like the company’s efforts to convince everyone to make the switch are finally paying off. Centrix Software, the software firm that’ll provide assistance to businesses trying to deploy a newer Windows version, ... (read more)

Facebook and Facebook Messenger for Android Get Updated Dec 21st 2012, 18:51 New flavors of the Facebook and Facebook Messenger applications are now available for download for the Android platform, providing users with some new features and enhancements. The Facebook application for Android, which debuted last week as a native client, now provides users with the possibility to easily discover places around them and share them with their friends, courtesy of the Nearby tab. The app also comes with all the enhancements that were included in ve... (read more)

Clouds Form Image of Santa Claus Riding In on His Sleigh – Photo Dec 21st 2012, 18:51 It would take a Grinch to look at this picture of clouds and not see Santa Claus in his sleigh depicted in the formation. The photo was captured by amateur photographer Julie Wells and published by the Daily Mail. “I saw the cloud and ran in straight away to fetch my camera. “Anyone who doubts Santa's existence should take a look at this picture. I think everyone needs to believe in something,” the nanny and cleaner tells non-believers.... (read more)

10 Terrific Gifts for the Apple Fan in Your Life Dec 21st 2012, 18:46 Apple iPhone 5 If your Apple lover hasn't yet taken the plunge, now is the time. The iPhone 5 is the best iPhone yet; it's thin and light and has serious processing power. Plus it has an improved camera for capturing and sharing those spontaneous moments. Price: From $199 with a 2-year contract. Photo courtesy of Flickr,Brett Jordan.

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Picking the perfect holiday gift can be difficult, especially if you're not quite sure what the recipient likes. Luckily, if someone on your list is an Apple fanboy or girl, you can be sure anything related to their precious iDevices will surely be a hit. Whether they already have an iPad, a new iPhone or anything Apple related, rest assured, they will always want more. We've rounded up 10 items sure to be a hit with the Apple lover in your life. Check out the gallery above and let us know which ones are on your list, or if we missed any. More About: apple, holiday gifts, holidays 2012

Download SHADOWGUN: DeadZone 1.1.0 with New Maps Dec 21st 2012, 18:41 SHADOWGUN: DeadZone, one of the sharpest shooters on iOS, has been updated with exclusive content featuring new maps, new weapon upgrades, new chatting features, new hats, and more. SHADOWGUN: DeadZone 1.1.0 remains a free download for all iDevices packing at least 512MB of RAM and brings two new maps, extra weapon upgrades, and the ability to chat in the main menu. There’s more! You now get to gang up and play with friends online, put on some new hats, get rewa... (read more)

419 Scam Alert: US Marine Wants Your Help to Invest Millions of Dollars Dec 21st 2012, 18:31 Over the past month or so, a new 419 scam has been making the rounds, attempting to trick users into getting involved in all sorts of shady activities. Kaspersky experts, who have analyzed the bogus emails, entitled “Dollar Investment for the Companys President/Ceo!!! (Confidential),” highlight the f... (read more)

WordPress for Windows Phone 1.8.1 Now Available for Download Dec 21st 2012, 18:31 There’s a new WordPress application available for download in the Windows Phone Store. The latest update promises to fix some bugs and crashes discovered in previous versions. The developers claim they have fixed a crash when the translation files had an empty string in it and a minor layout issue on HTC Windows Phone 8X devices. Furthermore, a crash when the media library contained a corrupted image on Edit Post Page has been fixed as well. Other bug fixes have... (read more)

Report: Apple Maps Most Popular iPhone App in 2012 Dec 21st 2012, 18:23 iPhone owners may not have loved Apple's Maps, but they used that app more than any other on the platform in 2012, according to Nielsen. Maps was used by an average of 32.4 million iPhone owners a month, besting Facebook, which ranked second with 28.6 million users. Here's the full list: Apple's Maps was a pr disaster for Apple. After users complained, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued an apology. Earlier this month, Google Maps became available on iOS 6, netting 10 million downloads within its first 48 hours of release. The Nielsen study only looked at data from January through October, so information on usage for Google Maps was not included. It's also worth noting that the data for… Continue reading... More About: Google, Nielsen, android, apple, iOS, maps

Spin Magazine Halts Print Publication Dec 21st 2012, 18:13 Spin became the latest magazine to pull out of print, halting production after 27 years. The publication, which is owned by Buzzmedia, broke the news to subscribers on Friday: "Spin has halted publication of our print edition to invest more deeply in our digital properties, including Spin.com, Spin Play for iPad, and Spin mobile," the company wrote on its site. "Special arrangements have been made with alternative publishers to fulfill your Spin print subscription for the remaining term: you will automatically receive your new magazine in the mail, with the option to ask for a full refund. We appreciate your patience during the transition of your subscription." Two weeks after the onl… Continue reading... More About: magazines, spin magazine

NRA’s Call for Armed Guards in Every School Prompts Immediate Backlash Dec 21st 2012, 18:13 The National Rifle Association called for armed guards in every school as a reaction to last week's massacre in Newtown, Conn., prompting an immediate backlash from social media users on Friday. During and after the press conference where the plan was unveiled, NRA-related hashtags dominated Twitter trends across the United States. From transcript of NRA presser: "Herp, derp, herpitty derpiitty derp derp."— Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) December 21, 2012 WOW SERIOUSLY!!!N.R.A. Calls for Armed Guards in Schools to Deter Violence...... fb.me/1pD4rCsaH— Karizma(@KARIZMANYC) December 21, 2012 NRA I am disappoint. Please use my membership fees to educate yours… Continue reading... More About: Politics, US, newtown, sandy hook

Steam Holiday Sale 2012 Day 2 Brings Discounts for Dishonored, Darksiders, More Dec 21st 2012, 18:13 We're already in day two of the Steam Winter Holiday Sale of 2012 and Valve has just posted another batch of impressive discounts for some quality titles, ranging from Dishonored, Psychonauts, or Sim City 4, to franchises like Darksiders, Tom Clancy, or Fear. While many services and companies are running big holiday sales, many gamers have eagerly awaited just one promotion: the Steam winter sale. After kicking off yesterday with some great deals, Valve has now posted the... (read more)

Woman Spots Dead Husband's Ghost in Granddaughter's Christening Photos Dec 21st 2012, 18:11 50-year-old Heather Sewell of Kent, UK, claims this picture from her granddaughter's christening reveals her dead husband was watching over the ceremony. 17 years ago, Terry Sewell committed suicide, when he was just 41 years old. His widow is convinced she can see his ghost overseeing the baptism, in the central part of the image. The shot was snapped by their son Jamie, with his camera phone. It was taken at St. Martin’s Church in Canterbury, Daily Mail writes... (read more)

Softpedia Exclusive Discount: 50% Off VIDEOzilla Dec 21st 2012, 18:01 Videos, with their different sizes, resolutions and, most importantly, formats, are a part of any computer user. As more devices and operating systems have been released, the number of video formats has also increased. Today's featured software allows you to covert videos from one format to another in just a few clicks. As opposed to m... (read more)

Microsoft Donates $245,000 (€185,000) Worth of Software to WVU Dec 21st 2012, 18:01 Microsoft has just confirmed that West Virginia University’s College of Business and Economics would receive accounting software worth more than $245,000 (€185,000) as part of its own Dynamics Academic Alliance program. In addition, the Redmond-based technology giant would also provide annual support for the donated software, the company said in a press statement. “This generous gift from Microsoft will be very beneficial for the continued advancement... (read more)

Soul Singer’s Blues Receive New Life on Kickstarter Dec 21st 2012, 17:55 Lester Chambers of the 1960s soul group The Chambers Brothers has been waiting a very long time for his time to come. The 72-year-old blues singer has shared the stage with legends like B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix and Johnny Cash -- just to name a few. The artist shared a photo in March that revealed his troubling experience with the music industry. "The music giants I recorded with only paid me for seven of my albums. I have never seen a penny in royalties from my other 10 albums I recorded," writes Chambers, holding up a gold record. "I am now 72, trying to live on $1,200 a month." Internet users flocked to Chambers' story, and their support might give the artist his long-awaited du… Continue reading... More About: Music, alexis ohanian, crowdfunding, kickstarter

Startup Wants You to Dare Friends to Look Foolish for Charity Dec 21st 2012, 17:19 Would you take a shower in a public fountain? What if your friends would donate $50 if you did it? A just-hatched startup called Moolta wants you to challenge your friends to do wildly crazy things, record their antics and post them to their platform. What's in it for the dare accepters? The dare is a fundraiser -- in most cases for charity. "We're a platform for combining social good and great content," explained co-founder and CEO Noam Schwartz. "We let friends challenges each other for money or virtual points that can be redeemed for prizes, but the most important incentive is a donation to charity." Donations on Moolta are channeled directly to non-profits, through the start… Continue reading... More About: Social Good, Startups, charity

‘Quick Donate’ Transformed Political Fundraising in 2012 Dec 21st 2012, 16:38 President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign was just as innovative as his first, making use of revolutionary new digital tools to help secure victory on Election Day. Among the most important tools in Obama's digital utility belt was Quick Donate, which was recently named by Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes as one of the top five innovations in government and politics, alongside NationBuilder, Upworthy, Mobile Commons and Organizer.com. You, the Mashable community deemed Quick Donate the winner of the Mashable Innovation Index's Politics and Government category. Quick Donate was simple -- appropriately named, it allowed Obama's campaign to store the credit card information of supporter… Continue reading... More About: 2012 election, Innovation Index, Politics, US, barack obama, features, mashable

20 Amazing Christmas Surprises Dec 21st 2012, 16:37 1. Parents: 1, Kids: 0 When Molly and Luke forgot to do their chores, their parents played the ultimate prank on Christmas morning. The surprise is hilarious and unexpected. Well played, Mom and Dad.

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It doesn't matter if you're 2 or 102 years old -- there is something about the holidays that makes magic seem more than just an illusion. Many have traditions with family that have lasted for generations, yet the greatest memories are always the unexpected. Anyone who's been surprised at Christmas knows that those are the moments carried forever. Sometimes it's something that you wanted with every fiber in your being. Or maybe you never realized you needed or wanted it until someone else showed you. SEE ALSO: How Reddit Saved Christmas for a Father of Four From ponies to Disney World to family homecomings, there is always one Christmas gift -- big or small -- that left you completel… Continue reading... More About: Christmas, Watercooler, holiday gifts, videos

Command-A(ttention) With These Vintage Apple Shoes Dec 21st 2012, 16:10 Re-boot? No, re-shoes. Image courtesy of imgur

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White sneakers may seem like the Microsoft of the shoe store, but back in the day all the coolest kids sported pristine ivory-shaded kicks. Apple may not have led the northern California fashion revolution of the 1990s, but that doesn't mean they didn't try. The company's line of employee-exclusive clothing covered workers from visor-topped head to clunky sneakered toe. SEE ALSO: 10 Awesome Accessories Featuring the Vintage Apple Logo [RAINBOWS] Imgur user j1002s shared a set of photos featuring the dorkily awesome vintage Apple shoes. Should Apple consider re-entering the fashion fold? [H/T MacSpoilers] Image courtesy of Imgur More About: Watercooler, apple, vintage

FanDuel Is Fantasy Sports With a Twist Dec 21st 2012, 16:10 FanDuel aims to strike a happy medium for fantasy sports players. In is the excitement, out is the dragging monotony. More About: Innovation Index, Sports, fantasy sports, features, mashable

‘Gangnam Style’ Hits 1 Billion Views on YouTube Dec 21st 2012, 15:53 It's official: Psy's "Gangnam Style" is the first video ever to hit a billion views on YouTube. For most mortals on video sharing networks, hitting the 1 million views milestone is a feat. For Psy's dance hymn, which was uploaded to YouTube on July 15, millions of views are racking up every hour. It took approximately three hours for the video to go from 995 million to a billion. An animated dancing Psy now appears next to the video's view counter: "Psy's success is a great testament to the universal appeal of catchy music -- and er, great equine dance moves," Kevin Allocca, YouTube trends manager, said in a blog post. "In the past, music distribution was mostly regional.… Continue reading... More About: Entertainment, Music, YouTube, gangnam style, psy, viral videos

Watch Live: NRA’s First News Conference Since Sandy Hook Shooting Dec 21st 2012, 15:49 Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy The National Rifle Association is scheduled to give its first news conference since last week's tragic massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., at 10:45 a.m. ET Friday. The NRA broke a four-day silence on Tuesday when it first announced the news conference via Twitter. In its announcement, the pro-gun lobby promised "meaningful contributions" to "make sure this never happens again," referencing the Sandy Hook shooting. You can watch the conference live above. There have been some reports it has been delayed until 11 a.m. ET, so please be patient if it doesn't begin promptly on schedule.… Continue reading... More About: NRA, US, newtown, sandy hook

What Facebook’s $1 Messages Mean for Journalists Dec 21st 2012, 15:33 Great news! Facebook now lets people you don't know spam your inbox for the low, low price of $1. For those of us who work in media, this can only mean one thing:   Thumbnail courtesy of iStockphoto, skodonnell, Ned courtesy of The Internet. More About: Facebook, Social Media, humor, memes

Your Child’s Cellphone; a Privilege or a Lifeline? Dec 21st 2012, 15:33 It’s an expectation every parent has at this point – the ability to get in touch with your child no matter where they are. More About: cellphones, contributors, digital dilemmas, emergency response, features

This Countdown Tells You When ‘Gangnam Style’ Hits 2 Billion Views Dec 21st 2012, 15:24 Psy's Korean electronica dance hit "Gangnam Style" just reached 1 billion views. on YouTube, becoming the first video on the seven-year-old platform to hit the milestone. This countdown from the folks at Viral Seeding, which had been tracking each page view to 1 billion, now is counting down to 2 billion. SEE ALSO: How Music Ruled Twitter in 2012 The countdown predicts "Gangnam Style" will reach 2 billion on Feb. 15. "Psy's success is a great testament to the universal appeal of catchy music -- and er, great equine dance moves," Kevin Allocca, YouTube trends manager, said in a blog post. "In the past, music distribution was mostly regional. It was more difficult to learn a… Continue reading... More About: Entertainment, Music, YouTube, gangnam style, psy

Obama Calls for New Gun Laws in Response to Online Petitions Dec 21st 2012, 15:23 President Barack Obama reiterated his calls for new gun control laws in a YouTube video Friday responding to the flood of petitions posted to the White House website in the wake of last week's deadly massacre in Newtown, Conn. "In the days since the heartbreaking tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, hundreds of thousands of you from all fifty states have signed petitions asking us to take serious steps to address the epidemic of gun violence in this country," says Obama in the opening of the video. "So I just wanted to take a moment to respond and let you know we hear you." Obama then jumps into his specific proposals, which he has previously made known through press conferences. "T… Continue reading... More About: Politics, US, barack obama, newtown, sandy hook

Slider Pagination Concept Dec 21st 2012, 14:47 View demo Download source A pagination is an essential part of any content-rich website, such as a magazine or a blog. The classic pagination will consist of linked numbers and some maybe some arrows, a presentation that has its limits. If you have a lot of pages to show, your pagination will either grow out of proportion breaking the design, or, if you don’t want to show all pages, you’ll need to add some kind of access point for the pages in between, requiring an additional user action. Thinking about a way to navigate pages in a more compact and novel way, we tried our luck with the jQuery UI slider. The idea of using a slider for this came from this brilliant Number Slider pen by simurai. With a slider pagination we can reach any page quickly by just dragging the handle. Adding a set of arrows makes it easy to navigate to the previous or next page. The main idea is to initially just show a little button with two arrows. The button shows the current page number and clicking on the arrows will navigate to the next or previous page: Clicking on the button will make the slider appear; the button handle will be animated to the correct part of the slider. Now we can drag the slider to the desired page. Once we release the handle to drop it, the slider will go back to the initial state, with the updated page number: Using a slider of this kind will not break a layout when there are many pages to display. It does require an additional click, though. But it might as well be a bit more fun to navigate :) What do you think? Is is going into an interesting direction for navigating pages or do you prefer the classic way? Make sure to explore the project and let us know what you think. Find this project on GitHub View demo Download source

Steve Jobs’ Yacht Impounded in Amsterdam Dec 21st 2012, 14:45 One of the last projects that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs worked on before his death was commissioning the minimalist designer Philippe Starck to build his family the yacht of their dreams. Now, Starck is alleging that Jobs never fully paid him for the task. The yacht, which was finally completed in late October and christened Venus, has been impounded in Amsterdam as Starck contends he was only paid €6 million out of the €9 million fee he was owed by the Jobs family -- or a difference of about $4 million. "The project has been going since 2007 and there had been a lot of detailed talk between Jobs and Starck," a lawyer representing Starck's company told Reuters. "These guys trust… Continue reading... More About: steve jobs

Join Us in 5 Minutes of Internet Silence for Sandy Hook Victims Dec 21st 2012, 14:02 To honor the memory of those Newtown, Connecticut, lost, Mashable, along with thousands across the web, is joining the Web Goes Silent campaign and Causes.com in Five Minutes of Internet Silence. More About: newtown

HTC Reportedly Planning to Launch Two Windows RT Tablets Dec 21st 2012, 13:53 HTC has two Windows RT-based tablets in the works, Bloomberg reports citing people familiar with the matter. One of these will be a full-fledged 12-inch tablet, while the other is a crossover, 7-inch device that will be able to make phone calls, the report claims. If the report is true, the 7-inch device would be the first tablet of that size for Windows RT. It'd be interesting to see how such a device would compete with the iPad mini and small, cheap Android tablets. HTC also had a Windows 8-based tablet in the works, but gave up on that idea as its price would be too high. These new products are planned for a Q3 2013 release, Bloomberg's sources claim. Even if that is true,… Continue reading... More About: Windows RT, htc

Nokia and RIM Enter Patent License Agreement Dec 21st 2012, 11:22 Nokia and RIM have resolved all their patent disputes and agreed to enter a new patent license agreement, Nokia has announced. The specifics of the agreement were not disclosed, but it includes a one-time payment and ongoing payments, all from RIM to Nokia. "We are very pleased to have resolved our patent licensing issues with RIM and reached this new agreement, while maintaining Nokia's ability to protect our unique product differentiation," said Paul Melin, chief intellectual property officer at Nokia. Nokia's patent dispute with RIM has been going on since May 2012, when the company launched a patent lawsuit against HTC, RIM and Viewsonic. The company recently threatened to as… Continue reading... More About: Nokia, RIM

7 Ways to Use Humor in Your Online Marketing Dec 21st 2012, 10:00 From videos to social, brands are capturing audience attention by being funny. More About: features, mashable, open forum

How to Recruit Guest Writers Dec 21st 2012, 08:00 Do you have a blog? Time to call on guest writers, and here is how to do it!

The Least Watched Viral Videos of 2012 Dec 21st 2012, 07:05 December around the old newsroom means enough end of year coverage to fill Santa's magical sack. Lists of the 10 best/most popular/coolest [fill in blank with pretty much anything] offer an easily digestible recap of the past 365 days. We've all seen the "most popular" lists, but why don't the "least popular" lists get any year-end love? SEE ALSO: The 10 Most Viral YouTube Videos of 2012 Conan O'Brien gives some much-needed attention to the year's least watched viral videos. BONUS: Ermahgerd! The 12 Best Memes of 2012

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Instagram on iPhone Gets a Fresh Filter, Facebook Login, Apology Dec 21st 2012, 05:07 Kevin Systrom has had quite the busy week. Fresh from nixing his revamped terms of service that caused such a stir on Tuesday -- and doing a 180-degree turn on those terms of service Thursday -- the Instagram co-founder has launched a significant update to his iPhone app. The update adds a brand-new photo filter, "Mayfair", which brings the app's total number of filters up to 20. Its previous update, just 10 days ago, also added a new filter, "Willow". This is a veritable flurry of new filters by Instagram's standards; prior to Willow, the app hadn't added any new filters since September 2011. Here's Mayfair: Also in this update comes the ability to log in to Instagram via F… Continue reading... More About: instagram

How Social Media and Snoop Dogg Helped a Fledgling NBA Team Dec 21st 2012, 04:45 Pro sports have come to sleepy, seaside Santa Cruz, Calif. The Golden State Warriors NBA team opened up a minor league operation there this season, and the team is off to a solid start before playing its first home game on Sunday. But the Santa Cruz Warriors story is more than just a tale of minor league hoops coming to a small town -- it also shows the growing importance of social media in sports marketing, and how it's saturated sports communications even deeper and wider than many may realize. Like most teams now, the Warriors use Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to share behind the scenes snippets and accelerate engagement with a new fan base. Matt De Nesnera, the Santa Cruz squad… Continue reading... More About: Marketing, NBA, Sports

Google’s Santa Tracker Simulates Around-the-World Sleigh Ride Dec 21st 2012, 04:03 In just a few days, Santa Claus will fly his troop of magical reindeer around the world, delivering gifts to millions of children. The global journey of the centuries-old Father Christmas, once untraceable, is now broadcast in real time. This week, Google announced the launch of its very own Santa Tracker after ending its five-year Christmas collaboration with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) mapping the jolly bearded man's travels. The NORAD Santa Tracker, scheduled to launch on Christmas Eve, has partnered with Microsoft Bing this year. Users can pinpoint Santa on 2D Bing Maps or view 3D routes on Cesium. Google will start mapping Santa's stops at 2 p.m. P… Continue reading... More About: holidays 2013, merry christmas

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Contents GOTY 2012 Best Role-Playing Game: Diablo 3 Your Say: Ballmer Must Leave as Soon as Possible Top Comments: Mashable Readers React to Instagram’s Terms of Service Loyal Dog Ignores Traffic, Stands by Its Dead Mate for 6 Hours Great Deal of New BlackBerry 10 OS Screenshots Available Weekend Reading: Taking Part in the Video Games Revolution R.I.P.: 10 Products That Were Discontinued in 2012 Get the Best Twitter Client for Windows 8 at a Very Special Price Softpedia Exclusive Discount: 80% Off Ashampoo WinOptimizer 9 Apple Confirms iMac Late 2012 Models Are Incompatible with VESA Mounts 10 Ways Brands Will Win With Content Marketing in 2013 Flipboard for Android Updated with Support for Tablets Script of the Day: dbv.php Softpedia Giveaway: 70 Licenses for BatchPhoto Home Capcom Wants Player Feedback on Digital Launch Plans Windows Phone 8 Gets a Reading Lens App 5 Cameras to Surveil Your Home During Vacation Season Shadowgun: DeadZone for Android Update Adds New Maps and Weapons Upgrades Windows 8 Deployed on 2.3% of Online Windows Computers Softpedia Exclusive Interview: Andrei Avădănei, Founder of DefCamp The Real Reason Google Is Building the X Phone Isn’t Apple, It’s Samsung Forking Android Photo of the Day: Frodo’s Transformation If He’d Kept the Ring Holiday Street Sign Decoration Fail – How Do You Spell Holland Tunnel? Facebook Just Launched the Official Poking App for iPhone and iPad Apple Drops Sweet Christmas-Themed iPad Ad Rise Alarm Clock App Makes Waking Up Pleasant New Species of Spider Named After President Obama A Spotify Subscription Makes a Stellar Last-Minute Gift $140,000 Kickstarter Project Learns: Don’t Mess With Apple NASA Captures Solstice Solar Portrait 2012′s Biggest Winners and Losers Facebook Poke App Is Frustrating as Hell Google XPhone: Long on Mystery, Short on Details Maximize Your Safety with AfterShokz Sport Headphones This Year in Twitter: 9 Important Milestones Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Hamlet Book Breaks Kickstarter Record Scientists Explain Why Rudolph’s Nose Is Red The Trash We’ve Left on the Moon Why xkcd Is Wrong About Instagram This Is How Facebook Tried to Make Money Off You Psy and Bieber Face Off as ‘Gangnam Style’ Hits a Billion Views Is This Jet Pack the Future of Flying? Facebook Introduces Snapchat Competitor, Poke 83 of 2012′s Best Viral Videos Crammed Into 4 Minutes

GOTY 2012 Best Role-Playing Game: Diablo 3 Dec 22nd 2012, 20:01 A lot of role-playing games have appeared this year and most of them were of a high quality, even lower-priced independent titles like Torchlight 2 from Runic Games. While there were a lot of RPG hybrids, which combined the mechanics of a role-playing game with other genres (like Far Cry 3 or Borderlands 2), the best pure RPG title of the y... (read more)

Your Say: Ballmer Must Leave as Soon as Possible Dec 22nd 2012, 19:51 Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer may be forced to retire a bit earlier in case Windows 8 doesn’t manage to boost sales in the near future, some analysts have hinted, and according to our users, such a change would really come in handy for the Redmond-based technology company. Even though Ballmer previously said that he wants ... (read more)

Top Comments: Mashable Readers React to Instagram’s Terms of Service Dec 22nd 2012, 19:17 Monday, Dec. 17: Instagram Updates TOS Readers had varying reactions to Instagram's updates. Some felt that they were fair: If you don't like the terms of service, argued some users, you have the option not to use the service. Others were far more outraged.

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This week, the top comments on Mashable brought into focus both the state of the world around us and the constantly changing nature of our virtual lives. Our readers launched into debate when Instagram appeared to be making drastic changes to its privacy policy. Based on the wording of Instagram's new Terms of Service, photographers worried that they may no longer own the rights to their own work, and that their photos could be used in advertising. As Mashable's Chris Taylor put it, the TOS as they stood early this week basically "signed your life away." Over the course of the week, we saw new privacy settings for Instagram users revealed, officially commented upon (while remaining uncha… Continue reading... More About: instagram, top comments

Loyal Dog Ignores Traffic, Stands by Its Dead Mate for 6 Hours Dec 22nd 2012, 19:11 Only recently, a male dog in China drew significant amounts of attention after it refused to abandon its dead mate and kept guard over its body, despite the fact that it found itself in the middle of the street and that cars were rushing all around it. Sources report that the female dog got hit by a vehicle and died almost instantaneously. However, the male kept hoping that it would perhaps wake up sooner or later, which is why it remained by its side for nearly 6 hours. ... (read more)

Great Deal of New BlackBerry 10 OS Screenshots Available Dec 22nd 2012, 19:01 BlackBerry 10, the next-generation mobile operating system from Canadian handset vendor Research In Motion, is set to make its official debut on January 30, 2013, but some more info on what it will have to offer to users has emerged online. We have already had the chance to have a look at some of the core applications of the platform, courtesy of leaked screenshots that emerged online last week, and some more of them are now available for your viewing pleasure, courtesy of CrackB... (read more)

Weekend Reading: Taking Part in the Video Games Revolution Dec 22nd 2012, 18:51 I have so far backed two Kickstarter video game projects, one of which, the Project Infinity from Obsidian, actually got the funding it wanted and will be launched in 2014. The other one was withdrawn, even though it could have hit its own target, because the development team was able to communicate with the fan base and und... (read more)

R.I.P.: 10 Products That Were Discontinued in 2012 Dec 22nd 2012, 18:13 1. Apple White MacBook Although actually discontinued in 2011, 2012 was the year the white MacBook got the official "End of Life" status. Popular with students, the white MacBook had been the budget option for Apple users since 2006. Image courtesy of Apple

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This year, quite a few products disappeared from the market, as technology inevitably marches on. Whether they got pulled for being faulty or just weren't commercially successful, these 10 examples have virtually expired. SEE ALSO: 10 iPad Wallpapers Full of Winter Cheer Take a look through the gallery, above, for the 10 products we've chosen to highlight. Share in the comments, below, any other gadgetry you've noted that has been removed from shop shelves in the last 12 months. Thumbnail image courtesy of Apple More About: features, Gadgets, Tech, Year End 2012

Get the Best Twitter Client for Windows 8 at a Very Special Price Dec 22nd 2012, 18:11 Tweeting from a Windows 8 device can be quite a difficult task right now without an official Twitter client, but the Windows Store comes with some pretty good alternatives. Tweetro+ is definitely one of the best Twitter clients for Windows 8 and even if it’s not available for free, it now comes with a very special holiday price. Those who purchase Tweetro+ this month will get the app for only $4.99 (€3.79), down from the original $9.99 (€7.59) price ta... (read more)

Softpedia Exclusive Discount: 80% Off Ashampoo WinOptimizer 9 Dec 22nd 2012, 18:01 In time, Windows starts moving more and more slowly, so users must find solutions to fix this problem without spending countless minutes if not hours “digging” through system utilities, folders and registry entries. Today we bring you one of the most complete tweaking solutions on the market and with a 80% price cut, nonetheless. Ashampoo's WinOptimizer provides a plethora of utilities designed to tweak your system to maximum performance. All available utilities can be a... (read more)

Apple Confirms iMac Late 2012 Models Are Incompatible with VESA Mounts Dec 22nd 2012, 17:31 Apple this week confirmed in two separate instances that the latest iMac models are incompatible with the popular VESA mounts used to suspend all-in-one systems on different types of surfaces. Originally confirmed by Apple representative Laura Metz, the compatibility issue makes it impossible to use the newest generation of iMacs with wall mounts, articulating arms, and other mounting gear. Mrs Metz said “[Apple] will take it into consideration,” referring to ... (read more)

10 Ways Brands Will Win With Content Marketing in 2013 Dec 22nd 2012, 17:20 In the year 2013, marketers will break through with innovative content marketing strategies. Here is what we have to look forward to. More About: Business, content marketing, Predictions 2013

Flipboard for Android Updated with Support for Tablets Dec 22nd 2012, 17:01 The highly acclaimed Flipboard application for Android devices has been finally updated to support tablets with 7-inch or larger screen size. Starting with this version of Flipboard, those who own an Android tablet and wish to download the application will automatically get the tablet-optimized edition after updating. According to developers, the new version of Flipboard has four page tiles, which allows users to quickly flip through more content. More im... (read more)

Script of the Day: dbv.php Dec 22nd 2012, 17:01 dbv.php is somewhat of an unique tool. It's a bare bones version control system for SQL databases. Developed for MySQL first, dbv.php can be easily extended to other DBMS SQL systems as well. dbv.php will track and record the stages a database goes through during development, helping programmers go back to previous states in case of errors or changes in the project structure and/or end goals. The system not only tracks revisions but also allows developers to work on a... (read more)

Softpedia Giveaway: 70 Licenses for BatchPhoto Home Dec 22nd 2012, 17:01 Today's giveaway marks a special event: this month, BatchPhoto celebrates its seventh anniversary, so our friends at Bits&Coffee have decided to offer you, our loyal visitors, the chance to win one of the 70 licenses of BatchPhoto Home, each worth $34.95. As the name suggests, BatchPhoto helps you process multiple pictures without editing them individually. Changes are made with the help of filters that will be applied to each of the photos you've selected. BatchPhoto... (read more)

Capcom Wants Player Feedback on Digital Launch Plans Dec 22nd 2012, 16:51 Video game publisher Capcom wants to know what players want when it comes to digital launches in order to decide how to best launch its core franchises, ranging from Resident Evil to Mega Men, in the coming years. A survey has been published by the company and the questions asked involve favorite Capcom franchises, suggestions on remakes and re-releases, details about buying habits. Christian Svensson, who is a vice president at Capcom, has promised that the data woul... (read more)

Windows Phone 8 Gets a Reading Lens App Dec 22nd 2012, 16:41 A new application is now available for download for the owners of Windows Phone 8 devices, namely Reading Lens. Just as its name suggests, the new app takes advantage of the phone’s camera, and can help users read small text. It will magnify small print, making text much easier to read when needed. It was based on the popular Reading Glasses app for Windows Phone 7, and comes with features such as pinch to zoom and tap to focus. Furthermore, it w... (read more)

5 Cameras to Surveil Your Home During Vacation Season Dec 22nd 2012, 16:20 1. Logitech Security Cameras Logitech's customizable home security systems are easy to personalize and create. All you have to do is scroll through a few screens here and build your custom system, depending on your home security preferences. Home owners have the option of building an indoor or outdoor camera network with night vision or without. Prices for cameras, accessories and premium services are clearly listed on the website. As you click through the quiz-like module, you'll see your total rung upon the side, so you don't go over your budget. Making your system's feed web- or mobile- accessible costs $79.99. Consider how relaxing it will be knowing your humble abode is just as you left it. With the Web and Mobile Commander, you'll be able to manage your system remotely, pan, zoom and change alert settings. Ideal for: Interiors and exteriors of homes and stores Price: Starts at $300 for base system Features: 720p HD Video, connects to your home's powerlines, motion detection, email/cellphone alerts Image courtesy of Flickr, Michelle Gow

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For the holidays, treat yourself to a truly carefree vacation by securing your home from the inside out before you leave. Whether you're bolting for a leisurely weekend upstate or an extended European vacation, you want to make sure you have the peace of mind to enjoy life to the fullest. Today, home security camera systems are supremely simple to install and use. You don't have to be a advanced techie to access camera feeds on a personal computer or smartphone. SEE ALSO: How to Plan Your Next Vacation in One Breezy Sitting Easy-to-install and simple-to-view security systems let you breathe a sigh of relief, knowing your house, apartment or storefront is safe and sound. On some sy… Continue reading... More About: camera, features, home, Lifestyle, security

Shadowgun: DeadZone for Android Update Adds New Maps and Weapons Upgrades Dec 22nd 2012, 16:01 Madfinger Games has just released a major update for their popular multiplayer game for Android platform, Shadowgun: DeadZone. The update brings new content, some tweaks and bug fixes. The most important change is the addition of two new maps and new weapons upgrades. Furthermore, developers added Chat in the Main Menu, new hats, rewards for finishing Zone Control or DeathMatch and raised the player rank to 50. Among the gameplay tweaks it's worth mention... (read more)

Windows 8 Deployed on 2.3% of Online Windows Computers Dec 22nd 2012, 16:01 Even though more and more analysts suggest that Windows 8 is recording disappointing sales, data released by Chitika Insights indicates that Microsoft’s new OS is quickly increasing its market share. The latest figures reveal that Windows 8 has accounted for 2.3 percent of all Windows traffic 48 days after its public release, but it’s still far from the other Windows versions currently on the market. Windows 7, for example, remains the top choice with a re... (read more)

Softpedia Exclusive Interview: Andrei Avădănei, Founder of DefCamp Dec 22nd 2012, 15:31 A couple of weeks ago we participated at DefCamp, Romania's most important security conference. We attended some interesting talks, but we also witnessed an evolution of the conference itself. We wanted to learn more about DefCamp and the direction it's heading, so we've asked Andrei Avădănei, the conference's founde... (read more)

The Real Reason Google Is Building the X Phone Isn’t Apple, It’s Samsung Forking Android Dec 22nd 2012, 14:51 Google's Motorola is said to be working on a flagship Android phone, dubbed the X Phone project, and it's going all out with it. It's been looking at bendable displays, ceramic casing and everything in between to try to make the phone stand out. The phone is slated to land next year, though Goo... (read more)

Photo of the Day: Frodo’s Transformation If He’d Kept the Ring Dec 22nd 2012, 14:51 If you’re a “Lord of the Rings” fan, you’ve probably seen “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” at least once already. The photo above is also a must-see, by the way. Click on the image to see it in full. Your eyes are not misleading you: this is Elijah Wood looking incredibly Gollum-y – and no, it is not a fake, Comic Book Movie reports. This is how Frodo would have looked had he kept the ring. &ld... (read more)

Holiday Street Sign Decoration Fail – How Do You Spell Holland Tunnel? Dec 22nd 2012, 14:31 I came across this funny picture of the Holland tunnel all nice and Christmasy, however the sign above it seems a bit off. Jalopnik posted the hilarious photo of the sign that goes above the tunnel, which I guess was meant to be decorated with a wreath over the “O” letter and a Christmas tree covering the “A.” The tree was moved to the side, over the “N,” as if whoever put it up there wasn't informed about what they were supposed to be doing.... (read more)

Facebook Just Launched the Official Poking App for iPhone and iPad Dec 22nd 2012, 13:55 Apparently poking is so popular among Facebook aficionados that it deserved its own dedicated iOS app. Facebook has just launched the official poking application for all iDevices running iOS 5.1 (and newer versions), enabling everyone to jab their friends with a message, photo, or video. “Poke your friends to share fun moments or just say hello,” says Facebook, promoting its latest release for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users. You can poke a friend with a me... (read more)

Apple Drops Sweet Christmas-Themed iPad Ad Dec 22nd 2012, 11:29 With just four days to go until Christmas, Apple dropped this sweet little ad Friday night showing off the benefits of FaceTime on the iPad. The ad, from TBWA\Media Arts Lab, shows girl singing the venerable "I'll Be Home For Christmas" while strumming a ukulele via a video on an iPad. Meanwhile, on an iPad Mini, we see what looks like her beaming grandpa nodding along and smiling. The ad ends somewhat poignantly as she concludes that she'll be home for Christmas "if only in my dreams." Ironically, it looks like she won't be home for Christmas, but at least the two can have some face time anyway. What do you think of the ad? Let us know in the comments. Thumbnail image courtesy … Continue reading... More About: Advertising, apple, ipad, ipad mini

Rise Alarm Clock App Makes Waking Up Pleasant Dec 22nd 2012, 05:04 This beautifully designed iPhone alarm clock app will change your mornings. The minimalist Rise Alarm Clock [iTunes link] for iPhone by Simple Bots is a refreshing way to wake up. The unique alarm clock is intelligently intuitive. Fresh out of slumber, you won't have to rummage around for the right button to shut off the harsh tones. A simple swipe and pull will turn off the alarm. Click once to give yourself another five minutes of blissful sleep. SEE ALSO: Late-Night Gadget Use Damages Your Sleep Cycle [INFOGRAPHIC] Before going to bed, simply move your finger up and down to set a time to get up the next morning. Turn the alarm on or off by swiping the iPhone screen. There are… Continue reading... More About: alarm clocks, iPhone alarm, iphone apps

New Species of Spider Named After President Obama Dec 22nd 2012, 04:32 President Obama has already made history, but he now has another outlet where his name will be remembered for decades to come: arachnology textbooks. Barack Obama now officially has a species of spider named after him. President Obama made an appearance in a Spider-Man comic back in 2008, and this picture of him adorably getting caught in a young Spider-Man's web is making the rounds, so we can't think of a better president to bestow his name to an arachnid. Check out the video for the full story. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, AliciaEBoyce More About: mashable video, obama, president obama, Science

A Spotify Subscription Makes a Stellar Last-Minute Gift Dec 22nd 2012, 03:36 In a last-minute bind for a holiday gift? Don't worry, we've got your potential saving grace: a subscription to music-streaming service Spotify. More About: apps, Gift of the Day, holidays 2012, spotify

$140,000 Kickstarter Project Learns: Don’t Mess With Apple Dec 22nd 2012, 03:08 How would you like a portable battery that could charge any kind of phone -- including the latest iPhones -- without any kind of adapter. That was the whole thrust of Pop, a rechargeable battery that would have built-in cables for almost every kind of port, the Lightning connector included. If it sounds too good to be true, that's because it was. Pop is dead before it even went into production, even though it had a very successful Kickstarter campaign that raised almost $140,000, more than double its original goal. Why is it dead? It's because Apple has the final say on which devices use its connectors, and it had issues with the Pop. Find out more in the video above. Homepage image… Continue reading... More About: apple, kickstarter, speaker

NASA Captures Solstice Solar Portrait Dec 22nd 2012, 02:13 At 11:12 UT (6:12 a.m. EST), the world didn't end (as far as I can tell), but it was a significant time none-the-less. That was the exact minute of the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere (or the Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere) -- when the daylight hours are shortest and the sun reaches its most southern position in the sky at noon. This is all due to the Earth's tilt relative to the sun (read more on the Earth's axial tilt and how it affects the seasons). The ever-watchful NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured the time of solstice from orbit. Although the SDO is always imaging the sun through a multitude of filters, this is a great excuse to showcase the fanta… Continue reading... More About: NASA, space, sun

2012′s Biggest Winners and Losers Dec 22nd 2012, 01:24 It’s been the most manic of years, with extreme highs and heart-breaking lows. Ultimately, we all have our good times and our bad. With that in mind, I hope we can cheer 2012’s winners and empathize with the year’s losers. More About: apple, Facebook, features, Google, instagram, microsoft, op-ed, space, Year End 2012

Facebook Poke App Is Frustrating as Hell Dec 22nd 2012, 00:53 Facebook Poke: Startup Screen Poke, the new iPhone app from Facebook, lets you send short messages, photos and videos to friends that automatically self destruct after a few seconds. If you have the Facebook app on your phone already, logging in is effortless.

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I was never a big poker on Facebook. When I joined the social network in 2007, giving someone a "poke" was still pretty common. It was a connection that stopped short of an actual friend request, a way to test the waters of a reconnection with, say, an ex. The new app, Facebook Poke (as it's listed in the App Store), doesn't have much in common with poking of old. It's essentially a clone of other texting apps where all the messages have a built-in self-destruct. It's ideal for clandestine activities, shall we say. Here's how it works: Let's say you have a sudden urge to send one of your Facebook friends a photo of a, er, cucumber. But you don't want to just send them a cucumber pic th… Continue reading... More About: apps, Facebook, iOS, poke

Google XPhone: Long on Mystery, Short on Details Dec 22nd 2012, 00:20 Google's newly-acquired Motorola division is working on a next-generation iPhone competitor known internally as the XPhone, according to one report. But details are scant when it comes to what the device is, and what exactly makes it next generation. The report, in the Wall Street Journal, suggests the previously undisclosed device is due for launch "sometime next year" and has already gone through a number of iterations. A flexible screen has apparently been considered and abandoned on the XPhone, as have ceramic molds that would allow for unusual shapes and a panoramic camera with better color saturation. Some of the potential features were nixed as a drain on battery life. What… Continue reading... More About: Google, motorola mobility

Maximize Your Safety with AfterShokz Sport Headphones Dec 22nd 2012, 00:06 If you find yourself taking your headphones on-and-off constantly when you need to chat with someone, a new pair lets you listen to the sounds around you while also having a jam session. AfterShokz recently released its second generation headphones that uses an "open ear design" in which sound is transferred by way of bone conduction. The AfterShokz Sportz M2 don't go into your ear, or cover your ear. Sound is transferred along your jaw line through two small transducer pads that sit in front of your ears on your temples. Sound is transferred to your inner ear via vibrations. SEE ALSO: Headphones Use Military Tech to Deliver Tunes Directly to Your Inner Ear This experimental de… Continue reading... More About: bone conducting, earbuds, Headphones, sound quality

This Year in Twitter: 9 Important Milestones Dec 21st 2012, 23:30 With tweets flying through cyberspace every second of the day, we're writing history with the touch of our fingertips. In 2012, Users documented events, political battles and heart-wrenching moments throughout the past year, and Twitter itself made history on a few occasions. Here's a look back at the nine biggest Twitter milestones of 2012. Twitter's Sixth Birthday Single-digit birthdays are usually celebrated with cake, balloons and confetti, but on March 21, 2012, founder Jack Dorsey, recognized Twitter's six-year accomplishment with a tweet — what else would you expect? It's 12:50. Happy 6th Birthday @twitter. From 1 tweet to over 1 billion every 3 days. I'm so proud of ou… Continue reading... More About: contributor, features, Social Media, Twitter, Year End 2012

Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Hamlet Book Breaks Kickstarter Record Dec 21st 2012, 23:06 Webcartoonist Ryan North's Kickstarter campaign has broken the all-time record for being the most funded publishing project ever. His reinvention of Shakespeare's classic, Hamlet -- To Be Or Not To Be: That Is the Adventure -- is a choose-your-own-adventure style story. The illustrated book is described as "80,000 words of comedy and mayhem," with jokes, swordfights and ghosts. It allows readers to either choose the actual path through the book by following the choices marked by Yorick skulls or make their own decisions and find themselves in comical alternate universes. North set a goal of $20,000 and asked $20 for a signed paperback copy plus a digital version. He reached his goa… Continue reading... More About: choose your own adventure, funding, kickstarter

Scientists Explain Why Rudolph’s Nose Is Red Dec 21st 2012, 22:37 Scientists in the Netherlands published a report about just why Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer's nose is, in fact, red. Results may surprise. More About: Christmas, Newsy, report, study, videos

The Trash We’ve Left on the Moon

Dec 21st 2012, 22:12

The image above shows the remains of the Apollo 17 site in the moon's Taurus-Littrow Valley -- an image, released in 2011, sharp enough to show the tracks of the astronauts and their lunar rover in unprecedented detail. At top left you can see the mission's ALSEP, or its package of scientific instruments. In the center is the lunar module's descent stage ("Challenger"), as well as the module's experimental pallet, the ladder leading down to the lunar surface, and the life-support backpacks (PLSS) that crew members Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt tossed out of their ascent module just before leaving the moon. You can also see paths left by walking astronauts and tracks left by lunar bugg… Continue reading... More About: moon, NASA, space

Why xkcd Is Wrong About Instagram Dec 21st 2012, 21:48 First, let me state for the record: There will always be a special place in my heart for xkcd. Randall Munroe's webcomic has been a reliable source of amusement and enlightenment since it began in 2005. That former NASA robot programmer and his stick-figure 'toons have choked me up, made my jaw drop, and soothed my fears with science. But sometimes, just sometimes, Munroe gets things profoundly wrong. That's the case with his latest strip, an analogy that's supposed to take Instagram's side -- a side even Instagram itself isn't taking any more -- in its terms-of-service kerfuffle. And before you say "dude, it's just a webcomic," consider that this particular web… Continue reading... More About: comics, instagram, xkcd

This Is How Facebook Tried to Make Money Off You Dec 21st 2012, 21:26 For better or worse, this will go down as the year that Facebook really put a dollar sign in front of its users. More About: Facebook

Psy and Bieber Face Off as ‘Gangnam Style’ Hits a Billion Views Dec 21st 2012, 21:09 While Justin Bieber has long been heralded as King of YouTube, this infographic tells a different story, pitting "Gangnam Style" against Bieber's "Baby." More About: celebrities, Entertainment, gangnam style, justin bieber, Music, psy, viral videos

Is This Jet Pack the Future of Flying? Dec 21st 2012, 20:40 Who doesn't want to zip around with a jet pack, Iron Man-style? A new Kickstarter project is trying to make personal flying more of a reality. Called the Jet Vest, the personal flying belt uses micro-jet turbines instead of the traditional hydrogen peroxide rocket engines to propel users into the air for about four minutes of flight. Not only is the Jet A fuel it uses a lot safer, the cost of each flight is less pricey too: About $20 for each flight, compared to $1,200 - $1,400. SEE ALSO: Dude, Where's My Flying Car? But the team says it doesn't plan on selling them just yet. "The function of the Jet Vest will be used for flying in large scale special events such as the Super Bow… Continue reading... More About: kickstarter

Facebook Introduces Snapchat Competitor, Poke Dec 21st 2012, 20:32 Facebook on Friday announced its rumored Snapchat competitor, which it is calling Poke. Like Snapchat's app, Poke (named after the famous, much-derided Facebook feature), lets you send a message, photo or video to Facebook friends. The messages expire after 1, 3, 5 or 10 seconds, though. The utility of such an app has prompted some debate. Snapchat's name has been widely linked to sexting, though the company denies it was designed for such use. What do you think? Will you use Poke? Let us know in the comments. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, CWLawrence More About: apps, Facebook, snapchat

83 of 2012′s Best Viral Videos Crammed Into 4 Minutes Dec 21st 2012, 20:20 Hey, this year's over, and it's been crazy, but here's a wrap up. So watch it maybe. Anyone with an Internet connection busted moves to "Gangnam Style" or cringed at a half-naked dude's icy pool flop. The seemingly endless flow of viral videos clocked up billions of YouTube views in 2012. You probably watched so many, they're all jumbled up in your head anyway, which puts you in perfect mindset to watch the clip above. SEE ALSO: The Least Watched Viral Videos of 2012 The masters of obscure YouTube gems at VideoGum sliced up 83 of 2012's best viral videos and crammed 'em all into four minutes that will knock your Hot Cheetos and Takis off. BONUS: The 10 Most Viral YouTube Vide… Continue reading... More About: viral videos, Watercooler

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Contents Top 5 Apps for Kids This Week Viral Video Recap: Funniest Memes of the Week Steam Holiday Sale 2012 Day 4 Slashes Prices on Portal, Saints Row 3, More Apocalypse Never: Huge Asteroid Will Miss Earth in 2040 Softpedia Exclusive Discount: 33% Off O&O DiskRecovery Leaked Screenshots of Native BBM for BlackBerry PlayBook Available 10 Apps to Keep You Safe and Healthy in 2013 Script of the Day: feindura Softpedia Giveaway: 50 Licenses for Ad-Aware Personal and Pro 8 Things I Learned About Tech in 2012 Scientists Develop World’s First Peel-Off Solar Cells Windows Phone 8 to Get Spotify App Soon Hilarious Celebrity Quotes, the 2012 Edition Final Newsweek Cover a Poetic Farewell to Print Watch the Polyphonic Spree Holiday Extravaganza Marvel’s Avengers Initiative Gets Updated, Now $0.99 for a Limited Time Nokia Officially Confirms Lumia 920's January Availability at Three, Vodafone UK Infographic: Top Christmas Films Since 1980 A Gamer’s Week: December 23 New Photo Shows ZTE Grand S (Z753) in All Its Glory Huawei's Ascend Mate Emerges in Video Demo, Live Photos The 60-Second Microsoft Roundup: Ballmer Out, Windows 8 Issues and More Security Brief: Westboro Baptist Church and Twitter Hacks Acer Reportedly Plans Its Own $99 7-Inch Android Tablet HTC M7 Concept Rendering Emerge Harvard Scientist Proposes Refreezing Arctic to Prevent Global-Warming Disaster Radical Stem Cell Treatment Saves Man’s Sight Top 10 Twitter Pics of the Week Google Intros New YouTube Android Player API Watch: 2012 – The Year in Climate Insanity Ubuntu Tweak Gets Even Better with a New Update The Hawaiian Islands Are Dissolving, Might Eventually Fall off the Map Life-Size Lobster iPhone Case Helps You Stand Out From the Crowd Weekend Reading: Winter Sales on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 Steam Holiday Sale 2012 Day 3 Brings Price Cuts for Dota 2, Dead Island, More Netrunner 12.12 Is Based on Kubuntu 12.10 Apple’s Patent-Pending Passbook Updates Could Transform Shopping

Top 5 Apps for Kids This Week Dec 23rd 2012, 19:37 1. I Spy With Lola HD Ages 3-8 Overall rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars Why we like it: This app effectively takes the common hunt-and-find play pattern down a notch by way of a series of carefully leveled challenges, clear labels and a playful theme. Need to know: Don't confuse this with the Scholastic I SPY titles. This is a different kettle of fish. And get the paid version. It is well worth the $2 -- there are no gimmicks or in-app purchases. Ease of use: 9/10 Educational: 9/10 Entertaining: 9/10 $1.99

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In this week's Top 5 Kids Apps, your kid will learn counting and language and scroll their way through a beautiful interactive e-book. More About: contributors, features, mobile apps, Top Kids Apps

Viral Video Recap: Funniest Memes of the Week Dec 23rd 2012, 19:07 A cat stuck in a box. A dramatic reading of Fifty Shades of Grey from George Takei. And another "Gangnam Style" remix. These are just three examples of the top videos that the web world watched this week. We rounded up the most viral videos from this past week for your holiday weekend viewing pleasure. After all, what's better than explaining the significance of a philosophic cat to your mother at the dinner table? What was your favorite video from this week? Tell us in the comments below. Thumbnail photo courtesy of YouTube More About: George Takei, Viral Video Recap, viral videos

Steam Holiday Sale 2012 Day 4 Slashes Prices on Portal, Saints Row 3, More Dec 23rd 2012, 18:27 Day 4 of the Steam Winter Holiday Sale of 2012 has just begun on the digital distribution service and this time Valve has slashed the prices of many great games, including Saints Row 3, Chivalry: Medieval Warfare, Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, Anno 2070, Carrier Command; Gaea Mission, and the Portal franchise. The winter holidays are in full swing nowadays and gaming companies are currently treating their fans with all sorts of great deals. Without a doubt one ... (read more)

Apocalypse Never: Huge Asteroid Will Miss Earth in 2040 Dec 23rd 2012, 18:22 This is a bit of cheery news a few days after the nonsensical "Mayan Apocalypse of 2012" -- the potentially hazardous asteroid 2011 AG5 will not (I repeat, will not) threaten Earth in the year 2040. SEE ALSO: Top 10 Ways to Stop an Asteroid The 140-meter wide space rock whopper made headlines soon after it was discovered as its projected orbit gave it a 0.2 percent chance of giving us a very bad day in 2040. But University of Hawaii at Manoa astronomers rose to the challenge to better refine the asteroid's orbital trajectory to reveal that 2011 AG5 will miss us by 890,000 kilometers (550,000 miles) -- that's over twice the Earth-moon distance. On cosmic scales, that's close, but on… Continue reading... More About: Asteroids, Mayan Apocalpyse, NASA, space

Softpedia Exclusive Discount: 33% Off O&O DiskRecovery Dec 23rd 2012, 18:01 We have plenty of discounts to offer through the month of December and beyond and this time around you can get the DiskRecovery utility from O&O with a 33% discount. Regularly priced at $99/€99, O&O DiskRecovery is designed as an easy to use utility that can help you recover information deleted by accident or because of various software failures. It makes available three scan options that you can use depending on the difficulty of the task. As such, you can use secto... (read more)

Leaked Screenshots of Native BBM for BlackBerry PlayBook Available Dec 23rd 2012, 18:01 One appealing feature that the owners of BlackBerry PlayBook tablet PCs will soon be able to enjoy on their devices is a native BlackBerry Messenger, which should look as shown in the screenshots attached to this post. The leaked shots have emerged over at BBOTA.cn and allegedly show a finished application, ready to arrive on Research In Motion's tablet PC. The native BBM client was rumored a while ago, but no specific info on how it might look like has emerged until... (read more)

10 Apps to Keep You Safe and Healthy in 2013 Dec 23rd 2012, 17:34 When it comes to our health, there should be no messing around. Luckily, smartphone users don’t have to go very far. With thousands of medical applications, it is not easy to figure out how to start or where to turn to. From helping to diagnose a weird pain or decoding a mysterious pill in your medicine cabinet, it is nice to be able to get instant advice in situations where you may have no idea what is going on, what to do or how to identify something. While it is always important to consult with a physician, we sifted through the bunch and found several helpful medical apps for your digital arsenal. Emergency From a jellyfish sting to food poisoning, Everyday First Aid is… Continue reading... More About: apps, contributor, features, health, Lifestyle

Script of the Day: feindura Dec 23rd 2012, 17:01 Databases can be tough to setup if you have no programming expertise. This is why solutions like feindura are enjoying such huge success lately. Running on a flat-file storage system, feindura can easily be uploaded to an FTP hosting account and work out of the box with no complicated database setup to deal with. Right from the start, developers will love feindura for its really fast response time and easy-to-use admin panel, because there's nothing more appealing to ... (read more)

Softpedia Giveaway: 50 Licenses for Ad-Aware Personal and Pro Dec 23rd 2012, 17:01 For the first giveaway in this campaign we partnered up with Lavasoft in order to offer you the chance to get a total of 50 licenses for their Ad-Aware product, 25 for Personal Security version and the rest of them for the Pro version. The terms of the campaign are the same as ever: come up with an awesome comment and you get to win one of the licenses we’re laying on the line. Obviously, the best 25 posts receive the feature-rich Pro version of the product, while t... (read more)

8 Things I Learned About Tech in 2012 Dec 23rd 2012, 16:39 The year flew by, and we saw a lot along the way. Here are the eight most important things Mashable editor Charlie White learned about tech in 2012. More About: 2012, steve jobs, tech trends, Year End 2012

Scientists Develop World’s First Peel-Off Solar Cells Dec 23rd 2012, 15:57 Stanford University researchers created the first flexible, reusable decal-like solar panels that can attach to almost any surface. The Thin-Film Solar Cells (TFSCs) can be affixed to paper, plastic and glass without direct fabrication. The adhesive comes off with some room-temperature water. The solar cells are generally made with rigid silicon and glass structures to maintain their form, according to a paper by lead investigator Chi Hwan Lee, a mechanical engineering doctoral candidate, and the study's contributors in the Dec. 20 issue of Scientific Reports. While manufacturers have produced TFSCs on paper, textiles and rubber in the past, the strips were easily deformed in hand… Continue reading... More About: Science, solar cells, solar energy, solar power, Stanford University

Windows Phone 8 to Get Spotify App Soon Dec 23rd 2012, 15:41 Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 platform is expected to receive a Spotify application in the not too distant future, although no specific release date for it has been provided as of now. The Spotify mobile client hasn't been present in the list of apps available for the new mobile operating system, yet it seems that Microsoft is working on having it available for download as soon as possible. Anna Ström, Product Marketing Manager for Windows Phone in Sweden, has confir... (read more)

Hilarious Celebrity Quotes, the 2012 Edition Dec 23rd 2012, 15:31 Some years ago, Paris Hilton used to provide a constant source of amusement with her interviews, in which she sometimes slipped genuine pearls of wisdom and ridiculousness. Even though she’s been keeping a low profile as of late, there’s no need to panic: we still have silly quotes from other celebrities. Stars, they’re j... (read more)

Final Newsweek Cover a Poetic Farewell to Print Dec 23rd 2012, 15:21 The final issue of Newsweek magazine will hit newsstands on Monday morning, but the publication debuted its last cover online on Sunday morning. The cover (full-size version is below) features a throwback photo of the New York City office building nestled in a black-and-white sea of iconic skyscrapers. But the retro photo's headline is one of modern times -- a #LastPrintIssue hashtag. The poetic final nod to social media is fitting as it -- in a bigger way -- was part of the path that led to this last issue. Newsweek announced in October that, after nearly 80 years, it would shut down its print production due to the slump in print advertising sales, a common story among many print publ… Continue reading... More About: journalism, magazine, Newsweek

Watch the Polyphonic Spree Holiday Extravaganza Dec 23rd 2012, 14:07 The Polyphonic Spree began performing an annual Holiday Extravaganza 10 years ago in their hometown of Dallas. This year, for the first time, the psychedelic rock collective decided to take it to the road, playing in six cities in support of their first-ever Christmas album, entitled HolidayDream: Sounds of the Holidays Vol. One. The group, which is led by Tim DeLaughter and features a choir as well as rock band-meets-orchestra instrumentation, is not one that can just pack up and hit the road on a whim. This fall the Polyphonic Spree turned to crowdfunding platform Kickstarter for the first time. The band raised $136,505 - exceeding the $100k goal. Instead of simply presenting a sing… Continue reading... More About: Holiday, kickstarter, Music, Video

Marvel’s Avengers Initiative Gets Updated, Now $0.99 for a Limited Time Dec 23rd 2012, 13:11 Avengers Initiative, the Android-based game that represents the first installment of Marvel's biggest cross‐over mobile gaming event, has been updated earlier this week, to resolve some of the issues that affected users' experience with it. The game resolves issues with HTC One X and Asus Transformer Tablet devices, and will soon see a fix for the disappearing enemy issue on Samsung Galaxy S III as well. In the meantime, however, those who would like to engage in tracki... (read more)

Nokia Officially Confirms Lumia 920's January Availability at Three, Vodafone UK Dec 23rd 2012, 11:44 Starting with January 2013, mobile phone users in the UK interested in the purchase of a new Lumia 920 device from Nokia will no longer be confined to the network of EE. Nokia has officially announced that the device will be available from other carriers in the country as well, including Three UK and Vod... (read more)

Infographic: Top Christmas Films Since 1980 Dec 23rd 2012, 11:21 Perhaps your ideal Christmas includes a movie night with the family after the traditional dinner and / or exchange of presents. If that be the case, a recent infographic from Confused.com should help you pick the best movie for this special occasion. Of all the Christmas-themed movies coming out these past several years, only a handful have managed to make a lasting impression and be revisited each year during the holiday. The infographic which you can see by simply ... (read more)

A Gamer’s Week: December 23 Dec 23rd 2012, 11:21 The two reviews that we have for this week are: Party of Sin, an indie game which allows gamers to play as cartoon version of the seven sins of classic Christianity, and New Super Mario Bros. U, the platformer that launches alongside the new Wii U home console from Nintendo. There are also two Gamer Diaries for readers to enjoy: one that details our choices... (read more)

New Photo Shows ZTE Grand S (Z753) in All Its Glory Dec 23rd 2012, 10:51 Next year's Consumer Electronics Show, set to be held in Las Vegas in less than three weeks from now, is said to bring to the spotlight a variety of new 5-inch Android-based smartphones, one of which will come from ZTE. The handset has already been officially confirmed as set to make an appearance at the Show, with a large screen capable of delivering a full HD resolution, the same as the company's Nubia Z5 does. Today, we can have a look at a photo that allegedly depic... (read more)

Huawei's Ascend Mate Emerges in Video Demo, Live Photos Dec 23rd 2012, 09:54 Chinese mobile phone maker Huawei has been lately rumored to plan the launch of a large Android-based smartphone that would easily take down Samsung's Galaxy Note II phablet, namely the Ascend Mate. The handset hasn't been officially confirmed as of now, but photos that show it to the world are now available for your viewing pleasure along with a video demo, courtesy of Huawei's Richard Yu, via weibo. The smartphone is expected to arrive on shelves with a 6.1-inch ... (read more)

The 60-Second Microsoft Roundup: Ballmer Out, Windows 8 Issues and More Dec 23rd 2012, 08:11 Christmas is almost here and the Redmond-based technology titan Microsoft still continues its efforts to show everyone that Windows 8 and the Surface RT are two excellent products. On Monday, for example, a Microsoft spokesperson officially said that Windows 8 hasn’t missed sales expectations, adding that t... (read more)

Security Brief: Westboro Baptist Church and Twitter Hacks Dec 23rd 2012, 04:41 Let's take a quick look at this past week's most important cyber security events. They're mostly focused on the OpWBC hacktivist operation, Twitter hacks, and the distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks on US banks. The Newtown shooting has attracted a lot of attention. While most of the world mourned the victims and off... (read more)

Acer Reportedly Plans Its Own $99 7-Inch Android Tablet Dec 23rd 2012, 02:51 Computer maker Acer is reportedly gearing up for the launch of a cheap Android tablet that will sport a 7-inch touchscreen display, the same as Google’s already highly popular Nexus 7 slate. The new slate is said to land on shelves in the first quarter of the next year, and should sport a price tag of around $99 (€75), a recent report on DigiTimes reads. Rumor has it that Acer is set to pack the device with a MediaTek processor, which will help the company red... (read more)

HTC M7 Concept Rendering Emerge Dec 23rd 2012, 00:21 Taiwanese mobile phone maker HTC Corporation is expected to bring to the Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona a new high-end device, rumored to land on shelves as HTC M7. The phone is said to sport a high-resolution touchscreen display, along with a powerful processor inside, and to run under Google’s Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system... (read more)

Harvard Scientist Proposes Refreezing Arctic to Prevent Global-Warming Disaster Dec 23rd 2012, 00:06 Harvard University geoengineer and environmental scientist David Keith has a "plan B" in case of an environmental emergency. Keith's unusual proposal is this: Force reflective particles into the Earth's upper atmosphere -- the stratosphere -- to reverse global warming. "One approach is to disperse particulates at high altitude to reduce the effective solar flux entering the atmosphere," Keith and his fellow researchers report in the Nature Climate Change journal and Environmental Research Letters. The idea comes from nature, Keith said in a TED talk. In 1991, Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted and cooled the Earth. About 15 millions tons of sulfur dioxide rose into the upp… Continue reading... More About: climate change, global warming

Radical Stem Cell Treatment Saves Man’s Sight Dec 22nd 2012, 23:14 A year ago, Canadian Taylor Binns was slowly going blind after developing a rare and painful eye disorder that affected his corneas. Today, he's driving, reading and living a normal life because of a revolutionary stem-cell treatment completed by a team of doctors at Toronto Western Hospital. "Everything you could do before kind of gets taken away day by day, and it just got worse and worse," he told CTV News this week in a video update, which made Reddit's front page. For two years, Binns faced countless scans, tests and disheartening misdiagnoses before doctors of Toronto's University Health Network identified Binns' mysterious disease as Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency. The unknown… Continue reading... More About: health, hospital, stem cells

Top 10 Twitter Pics of the Week Dec 22nd 2012, 22:12 1. R.I.P. A "Rest in Peace" picture dedicated to the 26 victims of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. on Friday, Dec. 14. - Tweets_Below Photo stats: 10,917 retweets

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Check out which pictures were shared and retweeted most on Twitter this week. More About: gallery, justin bieber, newtown, pictures, Twitter

Google Intros New YouTube Android Player API Dec 22nd 2012, 22:11 Android applications developers can now provide their users with a high-quality video experience in their software, courtesy of new YouTube Android Player API coming from Google. The API was pre-announced at Google I/O 2012 and comes with features such as high-quality video playback supported on Android 2.2 (Froyo) or newer, as well as with easy integration with your Android application (no WebView required). Furthermore, Google announced that it brings support for f... (read more)

Watch: 2012 – The Year in Climate Insanity Dec 22nd 2012, 21:41 2012 was the hottest year on record for the US, which is why few citizens in this country remain to doubt climate change, global warming and their effects on human society. This video was only recently released by Climate Desk, a journalistic collaboration whose sole purpose is that of raising awareness with respect to said phenomena, and documents the extreme weather manifestations that people living in the US have experienced over the past few months. Thus, the cou... (read more)

Ubuntu Tweak Gets Even Better with a New Update Dec 22nd 2012, 21:40 Ubuntu Tweak, an application designed to config Ubuntu easier for everyone, providing a lot of many useful desktop and system options which the default desktop environment doesn't provide, is now at version 0.8.3. The developer of Ubuntu Tweak is powering on with the software and keeps adding new features, not to mention the sleuth of updates implemented in each new version. Highlights of Ubuntu Tweak 0.8.3: • Two mirrors for the Apps data have been added ... (read more)

The Hawaiian Islands Are Dissolving, Might Eventually Fall off the Map Dec 22nd 2012, 21:21 A new study carried out by scientists working with the Birgham Young University claims that the Hawaiian islands are dissolving, and that at some point in the future they might fall off the map completely. More precisely, they discovered that the mountains found on Oahu (Koolau and Waianae), Hawaii's third large... (read more)

Life-Size Lobster iPhone Case Helps You Stand Out From the Crowd Dec 22nd 2012, 21:13 The way you decorate your smartphone says a lot about your personality. Map-wrapped phones say you're a bold traveler, while durably thick on-the-go charging cases convey you're strictly business. So, what would a life-size lobster iPhone case say about you? Probably that you're adventurous, fun-loving and don't settle for cute-and-slim mobile protection. Designed by Melbourne-based designer Elliot Gorham of Noddy Boffin, the red Lobster Mobile Telephone Case pays homage to Salvador Dali's lobster telephone model created in 1938. "Unlike the typical phone case, it doesn’t offer functionality of protection and style. Its features include: camera incapability, ergonomically awkw… Continue reading... More About: iphone

Weekend Reading: Winter Sales on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 Dec 22nd 2012, 20:51 The winter holiday season is upon us and, for gamers, this usually means a wide variety of great sales, promotions, discounts, and offers, across all sorts of platforms, ranging from the PC to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, or even the recently released Nintendo Wii U. Sadly, while all these promotions are great since you get to sav... (read more)

Steam Holiday Sale 2012 Day 3 Brings Price Cuts for Dota 2, Dead Island, More Dec 22nd 2012, 20:33 We're now in day three of the Steam Winter Holiday Sale of 2012 and Valve is continuing to treat users of the digital distribution service with an array of great discounts, this time for titles like Dota 2, Dead Island, Dungeon Defenders, or Train Simulator 2013, not to mention franchises like the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II one or the Blood Bowl series. Lots of great sales are available these days across many different platforms, from the PC, to the PS3, Xbox 360, or even the ... (read more)

Netrunner 12.12 Is Based on Kubuntu 12.10 Dec 22nd 2012, 20:31 Netrunner 12.12, a GNU/Linux distribution based on Kubuntu, featuring KDE as the default desktop environment, and integrating many GNOME/GTK+ programs to make it Ubuntu compatible, has been released today, December 22. Netrunner 12.12 comes with mostly updates, but some of them are quite important, as we can see below: • The distribution is built on Kubuntu 12.10; • GNU/Linux OS kernel was updated to version 3.5; • KDE was updated to version 4.9.... (read more)

Apple’s Patent-Pending Passbook Updates Could Transform Shopping Dec 22nd 2012, 20:15 A newly discovered patent application hints that Apple is planning to update its Passbook digital-coupon storage app with Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology. This means future iPhone and iPod touch products may come with location-based technology that displays relevant coupons and gift cards as soon as you're near a store. Apple Insider discovered that the Cupertino-based company filed a new patent application for "Integrated coupon storage, discover and redemption system" with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office this week. The application, dated Dec. 20, hints at Apple's intent to integrate "non-transitory computer-readable storage media for managing and redeeming electronic coup… Continue reading... More About: apple, nfc, patent

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Contents New Year’s Live App Offers Celebration Coverage From Around the World Instagram Slammed With Class Action Lawsuit Space X Shows Off Its Grasshopper Test Flight Android 4.1.2 Arrives on Xperia T, Video Available Steam Holiday Sale 2012 Day 5 Brings Discounts for Call of Duty, Mass Effect, More Transparent Speaker Shows Off Sustainable, Minimalist Design Softpedia Exclusive Christmas Discount and Giveaway: AllMyNotes Organizer HuffPost Live Is Reinventing Cable News for the Web 8 Heartwarming Holiday Campaigns That Give Back RIM’s BlackBerry L-Series and N-Series Devices Get Photographed Together Liquid Metal Wire Stretches 8 Times Its Normal Length Samsung Galaxy Note 7 (GT-N5100) Emerges at GLBenchmark Script of the Day: Fuel UX How Ex-RIM Employees Are Fueling Ontario’s Startup Scene Infographic: Social Media and Viral Marketing Are Saving the Film Industry Flashy Christmas Tree Entertains With LED Lights Synced to Festive Music Next iPad Rumored to Have iPad Mini Design Elements 13 Last-Minute Gift Ideas Free Start Button for Windows 8 Google’s Santa Tracker Gets New Games and More WomenWeb Is the Newest Female-Only Social Hub Stupid Things People Say on Twitter, the 2012 Celebrity Issue Google Is the Internet’s Emperor – Microsoft Lawyer Celebrities Who Went Broke in 2012 Softpedia Games Giveaway: Primordia, Anomaly: Warzone Earth, Fallen Enchantress, Party of Sin, Waking Mars, Chaos on Deponia, Galaxy on Fire 2 HD The Parenting App You’ll Never Download Was NASA’s New Space Suit Inspired by Buzz Lightyear? “Season’s Deals” or How to Save Big Buying in Bulk Windows 8 Sales Deemed Disappointing Once Again New Grand Theft Auto V Screenshots Show Sharks, Jets, and Mini Submarines Far Cry 3 Gets 50% Discount on PS3 via PAL PlayStation Store VLC for Windows 8 Confirmed, to Be Released by March 50 Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed Infographic: Biggest Social Media Moments of 2012 Sunday Comics: The Mayan Apocalypse Flopped — Now What? 11 Funny Texts Leaked From Santa’s Phone Canonical Sold Super Meat Boy Without Telling the Developer How to Track Santa on Christmas Eve in 2012 Collective #43 Watch This iPad Magician Do Cool Christmas Tricks

New Year’s Live App Offers Celebration Coverage From Around the World Dec 24th 2012, 19:44 One week from tonight, Dec. 31, the world will begin celebrating the start of 2013. To watch the new year begin in different locations around the world, consider the EarthCam's New Year's Live [iTunes link] app for the iPhone/iPod touch and iPad. Available for $2.99, the app features exclusive webcams of locations in New York City, plus elsewhere in the U.S. and the rest of the world. Come New Year's Eve, the app will broadcast live from Times Square and show off the New Year's Ball as it comes down, and the spectacular fireworks display that follows. Other locations featured include New Orleans, Los Angeles, the famous Abbey Road crossing in the U.K., Prague, and many more. … Continue reading... More About: apps, iOS apps, iphone apps, new years eve

Instagram Slammed With Class Action Lawsuit Dec 24th 2012, 19:18 A class action lawsuit was filed against Instagram in San Francisco federal court Friday, following user outrage regarding the mobile photo sharing app's changed Terms of Service. This appears to be the first civil lawsuit filed as a result of Instagram's service term changes, Reuters reports. Lucy Funes, a California Instagram user, claimed breach of contract, among other things, on behalf of herself and others similarly affected. The lawsuit was filed despite Instagram reverting some of the clauses it had announced it would change. "In short, Instagram declares that 'possession is nine-tenths of the law and if you don't like it, you can't stop us,'" the lawsuit says. Mashable… Continue reading... More About: court, Facebook, instagram, lawsuit

Space X Shows Off Its Grasshopper Test Flight Dec 24th 2012, 18:46 Since NASA retired its space shuttle program, there has been a big, rocket-sized hole in our hearts. Several private companies like Virgin Galactic are trying to fill that void, but Elon Musk's Space X is really leading the way right now. Back in May of this year, Space X docked their Dragon spacecraft with the International Space Station, and over the weekend Musk tweeted photos and videos of a test flight of the new Grasshopper, their reusable rocket engine. This is not the first test flight of the Grasshopper, but to date it is the highest, and therefore most awesome, flight. Its initial flight took it a mere six feet off the ground before landing safely — that barely qualifi… Continue reading... More About: NASA, SpaceX

Android 4.1.2 Arrives on Xperia T, Video Available Dec 24th 2012, 18:32 Sony’s Xperia T flagship handset has reportedly received a taste of the Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean operating system flavor, a few months ahead of the officially announced timeframe. The new update brings along a nice range of enhancements, it seems, and is already available for the international flavor of the mobile phone (LT30p), as well as for the specific model available at AT&T in the United States (Xperia TL LT30at). Some of the main enhancements that this update... (read more)

Steam Holiday Sale 2012 Day 5 Brings Discounts for Call of Duty, Mass Effect, More Dec 24th 2012, 18:20 Day 5 of the great Steam Winter Holiday Sale of 2012 is now in full swing as Valve has just posted the latest discounts that are now available on its Steam digital distribution service, ranging from franchises like Call of Duty to Mass Effect, Company of Heroes, Sonic, and more. Steam began its Winter Holiday Sale of 2012 last week and has since offered users all sorts of great deals and discounts on many great games and franchises. Now, Day 5 of the promotion brings pric... (read more)

Transparent Speaker Shows Off Sustainable, Minimalist Design Dec 24th 2012, 18:19 It's tough to find speakers that blend with the decor in every room of a house, but one sound system aims to do just that. The Transparent Speaker, designed by Swedish-based company People People, is a see-through glass box that highlights its black drivers -- one 6.5-inch subwoofer and two 3-inch drivers. To adjust bass, treble and volume, simply turn the knobs on an aluminum control panel. SEE ALSO: Gadgets Make Cameos in Britney Spears and Will.I.Am's New Video The speaker also includes a powered USB socket, so you can play music wirelessly via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Watch the video, above, to see it in action. For a more sustainable option, you can also build your own Transpare… Continue reading... More About: design, home design, speakers

Softpedia Exclusive Christmas Discount and Giveaway: AllMyNotes Organizer Dec 24th 2012, 18:01 Keeping your notes and tasks organized can become overwhelmingly difficult, so today, we're offering you the possibility to get your hands on a program that will take care of this problem once and for all. AllMyNotes Organizer is the perfect solution to make sure you never forget about your tasks, although you can also use it to store useful information.  The program is usually available in two editions: the Free version and the Deluxe version. While the Deluxe version off... (read more)

HuffPost Live Is Reinventing Cable News for the Web Dec 24th 2012, 17:45 Earlier this month, Mashable readers named HuffPost Live the most innovative media product to emerge in 2012. The web-only video news service beat out five other contenders nominated by Sree Sreenivasan, chief digital officer of Columbia University, including Dark Sky, Flipboard, Timehop and RebelMouse. HuffPost Live launched in mid-August, and immediately began serving up 12 hours of live video, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. EST, every weekday. Most of the programming is done in a daytime talk show format. Guests -- a mix of Huffington Post writers, third-party experts and viewers -- are brought into HuffPost Live's studios in New York and Los Angeles, but more often are welcomed via Google Ha… Continue reading... More About: features, huffpost live, Innovation Index, Media, The Huffington Post, The Huffington Post Media group, TV, Video

8 Heartwarming Holiday Campaigns That Give Back Dec 24th 2012, 17:45 The holiday spirit is contagious, so it's no surprise tech companies, non-profits and other organizations have embraced giving back this winter. While volunteering time and donating money have long been holiday staples, digital tools and online communities have opened up new doors for social good. We've rounded up the best uses of social media to help you help others this holiday season. Here are eight phenomenal campaigns sharing the love for the holidays. How are you giving back? Let us know in the comments. Stand Up To Cancer's Ugly Sweater Campaign: Wearing an ugly holiday sweater can get you more than holiday chuckles this year. Stand Up To Cancer wants you to get your frien… Continue reading... More About: holiday season, Social Good, volunteering

RIM’s BlackBerry L-Series and N-Series Devices Get Photographed Together Dec 24th 2012, 17:43 What would reportedly become the first BlackBerry 10 smartphones from Canadian mobile maker Research In Motion have emerged in a group photo, offering us a glimpse at what the company has in store for its users for the next year. The handsets can be seen in the photo above (via crackberry), and appear to be accompanied by a device than might prove to be none other than BlackBerry Dev Alpha C phone that RIM has announced a few months ago. The L-Series smartphone, which ca... (read more)

Liquid Metal Wire Stretches 8 Times Its Normal Length Dec 24th 2012, 17:17 Ever try to plug in your phone for the evening, but the cord just won't reach the nightstand? We may soon have a cure to one of tech's most common problems. Researchers at North Carolina State University developed wires that can stretch up to eight times their original length, while still maintaining functionality. The creators filled the elastic polymer tubes with a liquid metal alloy of gallium and indium -- an efficient conductor of electricity. “Our approach keeps the materials separate, so you have maximum conductivity without impairing elasticity," says Michael Dickey, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper on the rese… Continue reading... More About: chargers, Liquidmetal, Science, Wire

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 (GT-N5100) Emerges at GLBenchmark Dec 24th 2012, 17:14 South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung Electronics has been long rumored to plan the launch of a 7-inch tablet PC in the Galaxy Note lineup, and some more info on it is now available. The slate has made an appearance over at the GLBenchmark, where it showed model number Samsung GT-N5100 and Google’s Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean platform loaded on top. The new device is reportedly en-route to shelves with a 7.7-inch touchscreen display that can deliver a 1280 x 800 pix... (read more)

Script of the Day: Fuel UX Dec 24th 2012, 17:01 Fuel UX is a package for extending Twitter's famous Bootstrap front-end UI framework. It adds new components to the framework core, components that didn't make the cut with previous Bootstrap releases. When Bootstrap was released almost a year ago, nobody expected it to be so successful in such a short time. The impact Bootstrap had on front-end development can be compared to Gangnam Style: everybody's doing it right now. Since then, projects like Kickstrap and now Fu... (read more)

How Ex-RIM Employees Are Fueling Ontario’s Startup Scene Dec 24th 2012, 16:27 Mashable's Anita Li contributed to this report from Toronto. Research in Motion, maker of the once-treasured but now beleaguered BlackBerry, is in trouble. RIM cut 5,000 jobs -- 30% of its workforce -- this past summer. Its most recent earnings report beat expectations but still isn't much to celebrate, as subscriber numbers are down and the report shows nearly a 50% drop off in sales since the same quarter last year. RIM's only hope -- its Luke Skywalker -- lies in BlackBerry 10, which may or may not succeed against the mobile OS behemoths that are Apple's iOS and Google's Android platforms. But even if BlackBerry 10 fails and RIM goes the way of the dinosaur, there's a silver lin… Continue reading... More About: blackberry, Business, Canada, RIM, Small Business, Startups, World

Infographic: Social Media and Viral Marketing Are Saving the Film Industry Dec 24th 2012, 16:01 Promo campaigns like the one “Cloverfield” or “The Devil Inside” got are confirmation that, when it comes to pushing a movie, word of mouth usually beats expensive media campaigns, translating into guaranteed box office success. Even though the movie industry is in decline (because of piracy as well), it somehow manages to keep afloat and, more importantly, even make a profit. The infographic above, courtesy of Mashable, shows just what an essent... (read more)

Flashy Christmas Tree Entertains With LED Lights Synced to Festive Music Dec 24th 2012, 15:19 While most other Christmas trees sit placidly in a corner, the evergreen decorated by Olivier St. Martin Cormier will blow your Santa hat off. It features 404 LED lights synchronized to flash in time to festive music (in this instance, Mykola Leontovych's epic "Carol of the Bells"). Cormier controls the lights using an STM32 microcontroller, and connects them via Bluetooth to his computer, which manages the music. SEE ALSO: Watch This Epic Christmas Light Show Synced to Dubstep [VIDEO] If you're celebrating Christmas, how does your tree compare to this one? Tell us in the comments below. Image courtesy of Flickr, brendan-c More About: Christmas, christmas lights

Next iPad Rumored to Have iPad Mini Design Elements Dec 24th 2012, 14:26 Apple is preparing to launch a new iPad in March 2013, claims Japanese blog Macotakara, citing an "inside source". This new iPad will be thinner and lighter than the current one, with iPad mini design elements, the report claims. The upcoming iPad will reportedly trim 4mm in height, 17mm in width and 2mm in depth from the current one. In comparison, the fourth-gen iPad's dimensions are 241.2 x 185.7 x 9.4mm. The iPad mini's dimensions, on the other hand, are 200 x 134.7 x 7.2mm. The report doesn't reveal any other technical specifications of the upcoming device. Though a thinner, lighter iPad sounds appealing, we're taking this one with a big grain of salt. Apple did speed up… Continue reading... More About: apple, ipad, ipad mini

13 Last-Minute Gift Ideas Dec 24th 2012, 13:59 1. Get Cooking and Crafting A handmade gift is thoughtful. Make jewelry, dessert, scarves, artwork, a video -- whatever it is that you know how to do. Even if you don't know how, there are tutorials all over the web. Find a helpful how-to video on YouTube, or inspiration on Pinterest. Image courtesy of Flickr, chanelcoc872

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It's down to the final days for holiday shopping -- are you sweating yet? If you've dragged your feet or lost track of time, don't worry. There are still plenty of options for quick (and quality) gift-giving. Most online shopping is past its final days to ship before Christmas. But that doesn't mean you're totally screwed. You might not even have to go to the mall. Here are 13 last-minute gift ideas to save the holidays. Do you have more tips? Leave them in the comments below. Image courtesy of Flickr, kennymatic More About: Christmas, features, gift ideas, Holiday Gift Guide, mashable, online shopping

Free Start Button for Windows 8 Dec 24th 2012, 13:01 Ever since Microsoft released the new Windows, we’ve seen a few solutions to bring the Start Button back into the lower left hand side corner of the desktop. StartW8 is yet another alternative that could take over the sweet spot in Windows 8. Like most apps taking over the responsibility of the orb in Windows 7, StartW8 is free of charge and does not attempt to... (read more)

Google’s Santa Tracker Gets New Games and More Dec 24th 2012, 12:21 Google has proven in the last couple of years it's very serious when it comes to tracking Santa, and this year is no exception. Besides letting you track Santa's whereabouts on an interactive map, Google has launched a couple of new games to keep you entertained while you await the holiday dinner. The games include a sleigh ride with Rudolph and Santa, a rocket-powered present pick-up race, and a simple game of dropping presents into chimneys. You can also send holiday greetings to your friends and family via an interactive chat. All these and more are located in the Santa Tracker village, a huge (even for Google's standards) virtual playground with a ton of interactive content.… Continue reading... More About: Google, santa claus, santa tracker

WomenWeb Is the Newest Female-Only Social Hub Dec 24th 2012, 12:13 If you want access to a females-only club where you can make friends and share stories, a new website called WomenWeb.com may be your new favorite place. Launched on Monday, WomenWeb.com connects all your social networks onto one dashboard, including Twitter, Instagram, Pintrest, Google+, YouTube and Facebook accounts. With this information, you can see notifications and other users’ likes. You can also visit chatrooms related to your interests, read horoscopes, see Foursquare maps with other members’ check-ins and more. Soon, the site will let you create an RSS feed and access daily deal offers, too. WomenWeb will be available on computers, tablets and mobile devices. SE… Continue reading... More About: social network, websites, women

Stupid Things People Say on Twitter, the 2012 Celebrity Issue Dec 24th 2012, 12:11 Twitter is the perfect tool for celebrities looking to reach out to as many fans as possible and thus further expand their brand. As it happens, Twitter can also be their vehicle of public embarrassment, at those times when they have no PR person by their side to filter their words. With this in mind, Yahoo! has comprise... (read more)

Google Is the Internet’s Emperor – Microsoft Lawyer Dec 24th 2012, 11:31 Google is undoubtedly one of the largest tech companies in the entire world, but a Microsoft lawyer claims that the Mountain View-based firm has even become the emperor of the Internet. Pamela Jones Harbour, a former member of the FTC and currently working as a lawyer for a company that also represents Microsoft, said in an editorial ... (read more)

Celebrities Who Went Broke in 2012 Dec 24th 2012, 10:41 With this year nearly on its last legs, it’s time to draw the line and analyze the good and the bad in the celebrity world. Let’s just hope that your 2012 was far better than that of the celebrities we’re about to speak of. As of late, there’s been a considerable peak in interest in bankrupt celebrities. Whether they drink... (read more)

Softpedia Games Giveaway: Primordia, Anomaly: Warzone Earth, Fallen Enchantress, Party of Sin, Waking Mars, Chaos on Deponia, Galaxy on Fire 2 HD Dec 24th 2012, 10:32 With less than a week left until Christmas, we have decided to surprise our readers with a giveaway of selected games.  Before presenting the 8 titles which are part of Softpedia’s games giveaway, I should mention that you don’t need to register an account or anything like that.  All you need to do is post a comment below, in which you mention the top 3 games from the list you would like to have.  Be sure to add the... (read more)

The Parenting App You’ll Never Download Dec 24th 2012, 09:55 When the evening news anchor said "Big Brother is watching," little Jake thought that meant something totally different. More About: big brother, comics, humor, iphone

Was NASA’s New Space Suit Inspired by Buzz Lightyear? Dec 24th 2012, 08:09 A prototype space suit developed by NASA wouldn't look out of place on the set of Toy Story. That's because the suit, called Z-1, bears an uncanny resemblance to the intercosmic uniform worn by Buzz Lightyear. For the uninitiated, Buzz is the "space-ranger" star of Toy Story, a popular computer-animated film franchise. The Z-1, a white suit lined with neon green, looks remarkably similar to the astronaunt action figure's outfit. The Advanced Space Suit team of the NASA-Johnson Space Center performed a series of tests with the prototype suit, including waist and hip testing and joint torque testing. What is learned from the Z-1 will be applied to the Z-2, the next-generation prototype,… Continue reading... More About: NASA, space, toy story

“Season’s Deals” or How to Save Big Buying in Bulk Dec 24th 2012, 08:00 This Christmas TemplateMonster brings you some nice wholesale deals. Buy templates in bulk – the right way – and save yourself some serious cash. Here are the tips on how to stock up on quality website designs.

Windows 8 Sales Deemed Disappointing Once Again Dec 24th 2012, 07:48 While Microsoft chooses to remain tight-lipped on Windows 8 sales, analysts and experts across the world continue to criticize the new operating system, suggesting that it could very well become the new Vista for the Redmond-based technology giant. A new report published by the New York Times claims that Windows 8’s sales performa... (read more)

New Grand Theft Auto V Screenshots Show Sharks, Jets, and Mini Submarines Dec 24th 2012, 07:30 In honor of the winter holidays, Rockstar Games has just posted a brand new batch of screenshots with its upcoming Grand Theft Auto V, this time showing off not just the three main protagonists but also a variety of other things, including sharks or dogs as well as vehicles like fighter jets or mini submarines. GTA V is without a doubt one of the most anticipated games of 2013 and developer Rockstar is spoon-feeding fans all sorts of things about the game ahead of its release in spr... (read more)

Far Cry 3 Gets 50% Discount on PS3 via PAL PlayStation Store Dec 24th 2012, 07:19 Sony's impressive 12 Deals of Christmas promotion is ending tonight and the company has now revealed the last great offer, in the form of a 50% discount for Far Cry 3, the stunning new first-person shooter from Ubisoft. Sony ran a variety of great sales across its different territories, both in retail stores as well as on the online PlayStation Store. Now, the 12 Deals of Christmas promotion is almost complete, as Sony has presented the last offer: a 50 percent discount f... (read more)

VLC for Windows 8 Confirmed, to Be Released by March Dec 24th 2012, 07:18 The Kickstarter campaign launched by VLC developers enjoyed a terrific success, as donations have exceeded the £40,000 ($64,600 / €49,000) goal a few hours ago. Although VideoLAN is yet to disclose more information on the project, developers previously said that VLC for Windows 8 should arrive in approximately three months after the Kickstarter fundraising campaign comes to end, so the first release should be here by March. “This fundraiser is run to allo... (read more)

50 Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed Dec 24th 2012, 01:03 If you're reading this post, it means you somehow survived the Mayan apocalypse. We offer you our sincerest congratulations. Just so you know, a lot has happened while you were hiding out down in that bomb shelter. If you're looking to get back up to speed, you've come to the right place. While you were hiding, we at Mashable spent the past week checking out the newest and neatest in the tech world. As a courtesy, we've rounded all our most usable posts up for you. The list that follows includes not only the latest gadgets and apps, but also spans social media updates, online business advice and digital resources for your everyday life. For everything you need and a some more coo… Continue reading... More About: Business, features, Features Week In Review, Lifestyles, Social Media, Tech

Infographic: Biggest Social Media Moments of 2012 Dec 24th 2012, 00:00 Facebook Timeline, SOPA, KONY and U.S. President Barack Obama's re-election were just some of the big social-media stories of 2012. This year, we also saw Pinterest emerge as one of the top social networks, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg became the center of media attention after the social network finally went public. Social media is no longer a trend, but a way of life, according to an infographic by The SEO Company and Nowsourcing. In fact, people spend 121 billion minutes on social media -- and that's just in the U.S. alone, the infographic reveals. SEE ALSO: 16 Things You Forgot Happened in 2012 To see what else happened in the social world this year, check out "The State o… Continue reading... More About: infographic, kony 2012, pinterest, Social Media, SOPA

Sunday Comics: The Mayan Apocalypse Flopped — Now What? Dec 23rd 2012, 23:03 Wondering what's next now that the Mayan apocalypse turned out to be a flop? For those of you interested in alternative end-of-the-world scenarios, our friends Nitrozac and Snaggy at The Joy of Tech have a thought: Comic illustration provided by The Joy of Tech. Published with permission; all rights reserved More About: apple, comics, global warming, Mayan Apocalpyse, Sunday Comics

11 Funny Texts Leaked From Santa’s Phone Dec 23rd 2012, 22:02 Today, if Santa Claus solely relied on snail mail to communicate, things would never get done in time. That is why he sticks to texting when it comes to quick conversations. But ho, ho, hold the phone. Unfortunately, most of us can't just text our Christmas wishlists because only the very elite have Claus on speed dial. So, who is so lucky to have access to Santa? SEE ALSO: How to Track Santa on Christmas Eve in 2012 We hacked Santa's phone to see some of his texts. While I figure out how to get off of his naughty list before Christmas, enjoy these snippets of conversation with the holiday A-list. 1. Mrs. Claus Mashable composite: Photos courtesy of Flickr, LadyDragonflyCC, … Continue reading... More About: Christmas, text messages, Watercooler

Canonical Sold Super Meat Boy Without Telling the Developer Dec 23rd 2012, 21:35 Edmund McMillen, the developer of Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac, has shared some interesting information about Canonical’s practices, at least for his games. Humble Indie Bundle 7 was just launched and right off the bat people have noticed that something was wrong. Usually, when a new Humble Bundle collection is offered for sale, Canonical will provide it through Ubuntu Software Center. This was not the case with the last bundle. Some titles were missing ... (read more)

How to Track Santa on Christmas Eve in 2012 Dec 23rd 2012, 21:12 For 62 years, the North American Aerospace Defense Command has been tracking Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, as he makes his way around the world delivering gifts to all the good boys and girls. This year, the tradition will continue, and now there are even more ways that you and your little ones can follow Father Christmas' progress. A stunning 25 million people from around the globe are predicted to follow Santa in real-time online, on mobile phones and tablets, by email and phone. What makes the program so special is that more than 1,250 Canadian and American uniformed personnel and Defense-Department civilians volunteer their time on Christmas Eve to answer thousands of phone calls… Continue reading... More About: apps, Christmas, family and parenting, holidays 2012, Lifestyle, microsoft, norad, online, software

Collective #43 Dec 23rd 2012, 20:18 Inspirational Website of the Week Cheval Blanc’s Randheli slideshow is our pick this week. It has a slick smoothness and and an interesting sidebar navigation. The typography with the cut-out letters enhances the elegant design. Check it out Why moving elements with translate() is better than pos:abs top/left After Hugo Giraudel asked the fundamental question on Twitter, Paul Irish explains why moving elements using translate() is better in terms of performance than using absolutely positioned elements and move them manipulating their top/left values. Also check out Chris Coyier’s article A Tale of Animation Performance. Read it Christmas Experiments Christmas Experiments is an advent calendar made by digital artists. Discover some interesting and creative experiments everyday until Christmas. Check it out Advertisement Parallaxin’ Paul Lewis explains the options and issues you are facing if you are trying to create a smooth parallax effect for your project. Read it Free Font: Flenja Regular Flenja is an interesting font family with a lot of character by Sascha Timplan. The regular version is for free. Get it HTML5 Bones Ian Devlin created this “back-to-basics” template that will help you get going in HTML5. Because of its helpful inline comments, it can also be used as a guide when building your own HTML5 page from scratch. Check it out Scrolling Performance Another insightful article from HTML5 Rocks by Paul Lewis about scrolling performance and how to understand and tackle performance issues related to it. Read it GruntStart GruntStart by Tim Svensen gives you the building blocks to quickly get started with Grunt to create an optimized website. Lint, minify and concatenate CSS and JavaScript, and provide simple loss-less image compression throughout a project build. Try it CSS Masks – How To Use Masking In CSS Now Christian Schaefer digs into CSS Masks and shows us some brilliant techniques that can be used right away. Read it A Responsive Off-Canvas Menu A great responsive off-canvas menu using CSS transforms and transitions by David Bushell. Try it Dcovery: Travel Research Organizer Dcovery is a new app that promises stress-free travels by allowing you to collect and organize travel information in a smart way. Check it out jQuery.Shapeshift Inspired heavily by the jQuery Masonry plugin, Shapeshift by Scott Elwood is a jQuery plugin that will dynamically arrange a collection of elements into a grid in their parent container (like on Pinterest). Get it Pure CSS no smoking picto With only two elements, Hugo Giraudel re-created the no smoking sign with CSS. It’s a great example of how clip:rect() can be used to create shapes. Check it out Time to update your CSS3 A great reminder from David Storey about how to update your CSS3 and which prefixes are actually needed and which ones are not. Read it Interactive Guide to Blog Typography A great interactive guide that will help you understand important typography fundamentals. Check it out Webcam Toy Paul Neave’s projects are all mind-blowing and one of his latest projects, the Webcam Toy, got featured as a Chrome Experiment. You can do some fun stuff with your webcam, go and check it out. Try it Giving Content Priority with CSS3 Grid Layout An in-depth tutorial by Rachel Andrew about how to use the new CSS3 grid layout. Read it Free Font: Myra Caps An interesting font with beautiful digit design by Sergiy Tkachenko. Get it Zodiac Signs A lovely set of zodiac signs by Finbarrs Oketunji. Get it Free Font: Boffin Regular Boffin is a nice, technical typeface by Evolutionfonts and the regular weight is offered fro free. Get it Live Album Previews with CSS3 and jQuery A tutorial by Martin Angelov from Tutorialzine on how to create a script for previewing the contents of an album with a slideshow-like animation. Check it out Underneath – A Creepy Web Font Kit A font face that is great for creepy grungy titles by WeGraphics. The download includes everything you need in order to use this font in a web project, including HTML and CSS. Get it How to Create a Windows Store app using HTML and JS Learn how to create a windows store app from this tutorial by the team at MSDN for WebAppers. Read it

Watch This iPad Magician Do Cool Christmas Tricks Dec 23rd 2012, 20:14 Here's a magician who combines traditional sleight-of-hand with his prop of choice, an iPad. Simon Pierro, better known as iSimon, is no stranger to Mashable. We've featured his videos teasing the introduction of the iPad 3, revealing a video preview of a "beta version of iOS 5," entertaining us with a bit of digital magic involving a couple of cats, and dazzling us with a bit of Halloween magic. Now Simon is back, this time commemorating the Christmas season of Advent with his magical APPvent Calendar. He's been creating a separate video for each day of December, and plans to release one each day until Christmas Eve. Here we present a special version of all those videos, edited into… Continue reading... More About: Christmas, ipad, Magic, Simon Pierro

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Contents 6 Animals Confused by the Holidays Steam Holiday Sale 2012 Day 6 Brings Price Cuts for Batman Arkham Games, More Softpedia Exclusive Discount: 62% Off Coollector Softpedia Exclusive Giveaway: 50 Aomei Partition Assistant Professional Edition Licenses Script of the Day: quickValidation.js Apple Guideline Changes Give $140,000 Kickstarter the Green Light Steam Hit by "No Connection" Error Worldwide, Some Users Locked Out Completely - 12/25/2012 What to Do With Your New Kindle How ‘Doctor Who’ Kept Its Big Christmas Secret Off Twitter Liferea News Reader 1.8.11 Adds Google Plus Options Manjaro 0.8.3 Ditches GNOME 3.6 and Adopts Cinnamon Jibbed 6.0 – A NetBSD Based Distribution – Is Available for Download “Twilight” Voted Worst Movie of All Times – All Five of Them Softpedia Interview: Toyota Racing Development on Windows 8 and Surface RT Netflix is Down on Some Devices Now and Then: 10 Awesome Past and Present Pics Ho-ho-ho! Merry Christmas dear TemplateMonster Community! Say No to Muffin Tops This Christmas – Diet Tips from Kendra Wilkinson Download Free The Walking Dead Game Episode 1 on Xbox 360 Infomatic App Provides Fun Social Stats in a Beautiful Package 10 Talented Dogs Playing the Piano ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas: Tracy Morgan Style 5 Free iOS Games for the Holidays Sony’s Yuga C660X Confirmed as Xperia Z L36i/L36h/L36a Still Down on Instagram? You Can Have 3 Months of Flickr Pro Free 5 Ways to Push Your Company Past the Startup Phase Hospital Removes Controversial ‘Gangnam Style’ Parody From YouTube Nokia to Launch 10.1’’ Windows RT Tablet with Surface-Like Cover Looking for a Job? Check Openings at Sony and 150+ More

6 Animals Confused by the Holidays Dec 25th 2012, 18:09 1. Santa's Coming to Town And this pug is gettin' the hell out.

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The holidays are stressful. And for these animals, they've terrifying. More About: cats, dogs, holidays 2012, videos, Watercooler

Steam Holiday Sale 2012 Day 6 Brings Price Cuts for Batman Arkham Games, More Dec 25th 2012, 18:07 After a brief technical hiccup earlier today, Valve has just kicked off day six of its Steam Winter Holiday Sale of 2012, bringing discounts for a variety of great games, including the two Batman titles (Arkham Asylum and Arkham City) as well as Castle Crashers, Deadlight, The Amazing Spider-Man, Hotline Miami, or Magic: The Gathering. Steam has treated its users with many great deals over the last week, as its Winter Holiday Sale of 2012 has brought major discounts to all sorts of ... (read more)

Softpedia Exclusive Discount: 62% Off Coollector Dec 25th 2012, 18:01 If you love watching movies and you’re looking for an app to help you write down some details on the ones you’ve already seen, Coollector is definitely worth a shot. This application is an intuitive mix of a movie encyclopedia, a video collection manager and a store catalog, all packed into a user-friendly and cleverly-designed UI. As compared to other video managers on the market, Coollector doesn’t require you to manually add a new entry to your co... (read more)

Softpedia Exclusive Giveaway: 50 Aomei Partition Assistant Professional Edition Licenses Dec 25th 2012, 17:01 Microsoft Windows to this day hasn’t provided a full-fledged partition manager, so whenever you need to create / delete / resize / merge / split partitions, Aomei Partition Assistant Professional Edition is probably the best way to go. You can use it to switch from a Linux file system to a Windows file system, to set the active partition on a drive or even change the drive’s serial number. Aomei Partition Assistant Professional Edition provides an accessible interface... (read more)

Script of the Day: quickValidation.js Dec 25th 2012, 17:01 Whilst in the past creating contacts forms would have been a terribly difficult task, these days, thanks to scripts like quickValidation.js this has become a lot more easier, and even stress-free. quickValidation.js is actually a plugin written for the jQuery JavaScript framework, and will validate form data on the client-side before submitting it to the server. Compared to other similar plugins, quickValidation.js is extremely easy to use and supports a plethora of v... (read more)

Apple Guideline Changes Give $140,000 Kickstarter the Green Light Dec 25th 2012, 16:56 POP charger, a $140,000 Kickstarter project to create a universal charger for phones -- including Apple devices -- was killed last week due to its incompatibility with Apple's strict guidelines for Lightning accessories. In an unexpected turn of events, Apple has revised its Lightning guidelines, which means the POP project once again has the green light. The Kickstarter campaign for POP raised nearly $140,000 -- more than double its goal -- before the project was shut down. Now, one of the project's founders, Jamie Siminoff, claims the project will continue to go as planned. "As you know on Thursday we sent you an update that because of Apple’s rules around Lightning we would… Continue reading... More About: apple, Lightning, POP charger

Steam Hit by "No Connection" Error Worldwide, Some Users Locked Out Completely - 12/25/2012 Dec 25th 2012, 16:30 Steam users worldwide are getting more than they expected this Christmas, courtesy of Valve. Increasingly annoyed reports are piling up on a Steam Community thread about an ominous "No Connection" error, pictured above. Depending on your luck, this means you can either start the client in offline mode and play only single-player games with anything related to the Steamworks cloud features disabled, or you cannot start Steam at all and consequently acces... (read more)

What to Do With Your New Kindle Dec 25th 2012, 16:03 So you received (or have a pretty good idea you're going to receive) an Amazon Kindle e-reader this holiday season. Well done, you. Now it's time to begin taking advantage of your device. Our guide below applies to all four of Amazon's current E Ink e-readers -- the basic Kindle, the Kindle Keyboard 3G, the Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Paperwhite 3G -- as well as most older editions. Setting Up After you've unboxed your Kindle, you'll want to create an Amazon account or sync it with your existing one. You'll also want to familiarize yourself with your e-reader's menu and navigation systems. You can find instructions for those steps here. Get Free E-Books Assuming you're like m… Continue reading... More About: amazon, ebooks, Kindle

How ‘Doctor Who’ Kept Its Big Christmas Secret Off Twitter Dec 25th 2012, 13:56 Tonight Doctor Who fans get to gorge on their annual Christmas fix -- a full-length special episode the series has produced every year for the holiday since 2005. This time, however, there's some extra spice in the form of a new regular cast member: Jenna-Louise Coleman debuts in "The Snowmen" as the Doctor's next companion. Except it's not her debut. Coleman actually made her first appearance in the series premiere back in September. Actually, make that surprise appearance. In preseason interviews, Doctor Who's producers had explicitly told fans they'd have to wait until Christmas before they'd see Coleman in the show. But there she was, fighting Daleks and making soufflés, way ahead… Continue reading... More About: Doctor Who, Twitter

Liferea News Reader 1.8.11 Adds Google Plus Options Dec 25th 2012, 12:41 Liferea, a free news aggregator capable to store articles for offline reading and with full synchronization with Google Reader and TinyTinyRSS, is now at version 1.8.11. Liferea 1.8.11 is a minor release in the stable branch and it features just a few changes. The developer also warned users that the upgrade bug ticket numbering on SourceForge has changed and those of you who want to report bugs should be aware of this. Highlights of Liferea 1.8.11: • Goog... (read more)

Manjaro 0.8.3 Ditches GNOME 3.6 and Adopts Cinnamon Dec 25th 2012, 12:13 Manjaro, a Linux Distribution based on well-tested snapshots of the Arch Linux repositories and 100% compatible with Arch, is now at version 0.8.3. According to the developers, the core system has been upgraded to boost performance and responsiveness, resulting in even faster startup, shutdown, and operational speeds. Th... (read more)

Jibbed 6.0 – A NetBSD Based Distribution – Is Available for Download Dec 25th 2012, 11:34 Jibbed, a LiveCD distribution based on the NetBSD operating system that works directly from a CD, is now at version 6.0. Unlike previous releases, the present version of Jibbed, 6.0, is only available for the 64-bit architecture. It also arrived with a two month delay. Jibbed 6.0 features advanced automatic hardware detection which provides support for a lot of graphics cards, sound cards, network interfaces, and USB devices. User who download and use this Live... (read more)

“Twilight” Voted Worst Movie of All Times – All Five of Them Dec 25th 2012, 10:51 “The Twilight Saga” has been so criticized all these years (for all the right reasons, of course) that it almost pains me to list some of its most ridiculous flaws. The people have spoken: “Twilight” has been named the worst movie of all times. Yes, all five “Twilight” movies have earned that distinction, in a new poll from RiffTrax. Getting no less than 35,593 votes, the vampire sage climbed atop the ladder for the title that no ... (read more)

Softpedia Interview: Toyota Racing Development on Windows 8 and Surface RT Dec 25th 2012, 09:21 TRD officially released the so-called Trackside app a few days ago, proving everybody that Microsoft’s Surface RT, the company’s first tablet in history, could be used for quite a wide array of tasks. The new application can greatly improve car performance because it allows drivers and engineers t... (read more)

Netflix is Down on Some Devices Dec 25th 2012, 08:56 Netflix is down due to an outage in Amazon's AWS infrastructure, but only on some devices. That's quite a bummer for Netflix users, especially on Christmas Eve, but the company has acknowledged the problem and is working on a fix. We're sorry for the Christmas Eve outage. Terrible timing! Engineers are working on it now. Stay tuned to @netflixhelps for updates.— Netflix US (@netflix) December 25, 2012 Netflix Cloud Architect Adrian Cockroft has been explaining the issue in detail on Twitter. According to his latest tweets, Netflix is now working on most devices, including the iPhone, iPad and Android, but "a few device types" aren't "quite back yet." More About: amazon, AWS, netflix

Now and Then: 10 Awesome Past and Present Pics Dec 25th 2012, 08:17 Some funny, some weird -- all nostalgic. Check out these awesome now-and-then photo pairs. More About: pictures, Watercooler

Ho-ho-ho! Merry Christmas dear TemplateMonster Community! Dec 25th 2012, 08:00 Merry Christmas dear TemplateMonster community! We are glad to be with you, thanks for your contribution.

Say No to Muffin Tops This Christmas – Diet Tips from Kendra Wilkinson Dec 25th 2012, 07:21 With all the parties that we’re about to go to as the festive season kicks off, it’s very easy to lose sight of the number of daily calories we consume or of the importance of working out to burn them off. Kendra Wilkinson is here to help. As we’re getting ready for Christmas, the former Playboy B... (read more)

Download Free The Walking Dead Game Episode 1 on Xbox 360 Dec 25th 2012, 07:17 Microsoft has just posted a pretty massive deal on its Xbox Live Arcade, offering the first episode of The Walking Dead game free to all Xbox Live members, including Silver ones. The Walking Dead proved that video game adaptations of existing properties, in this case comics, can work great, provided the mechanics help the actual story. After fans saw the release of the full first season, which consists of five episodes, across platforms like the PC, PS3, Xbox 360, or iOS,... (read more)

Infomatic App Provides Fun Social Stats in a Beautiful Package Dec 25th 2012, 00:47 Infomatic - Facebook and Twitter statistics ($1.99) [iTunes link] by Saturized is a beautiful way to get the stats on your social media profile right on your iPhone, consolidated in a single app. I’m not really the type of person to obsess over every aspect of my social media (think of those Klout people), but it is nice to get an analysis of what my online presence consists of. And with Infomatic, I get all of these details presented to me in a gorgeous package. The first thing you will have to do when launching the app is add your Twitter and Facebook accounts. Infomatic makes use of the native iOS Twitter and Facebook integration, so it was as easy as selecting the account (for mu… Continue reading... More About: Facebook, iOS apps, social, Twitter

10 Talented Dogs Playing the Piano Dec 25th 2012, 00:10 1. Dog Playing Keyboard Piano What this dog lacks in finesse, it makes up for in enthusiasm.

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Forget Keyboard Cat, piano-playing dogs are the new black. We have scoured YouTube to find the 10 best canines tickling the ivories -- we think you'll just love our selection. SEE ALSO: 10 Adorable Animals Feeding Other Animals Take a look through our slightly out-of-tune video gallery above. Link us in the comments below to any other musical animals you've seen online that make you smile. Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, Yoga Mama More About: animals, features, gallery, Video, viral videos, Watercooler, YouTube

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas: Tracy Morgan Style Dec 24th 2012, 23:33 Earlier this month, Tracy Morgan was a guest on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon for an unconventional reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. The 30 Rock star, predictably, had his own colorful commentary to add to Clement C. Moore's holiday classic. In Tracy Morgan's world, the reindeer go by their nicknames: Pork Chop, Captain Freak and Joe Frazier. And don't get him started on that mouse: "Always hear him walkin' around with his little nails scratching against my kitchen floor," he complains. "I got brand new floors, Jim. From France!" SEE ALSO: The 12 Memes of Christmas In case you missed it when if first aired, we hope you enjoy Late Night's stylings this evening, on… Continue reading... More About: christmas eve, Holidays, tracy morgan, Watercooler

5 Free iOS Games for the Holidays Dec 24th 2012, 22:41 The holidays are here, and you're probably exhausted from all the frantic shopping, ready to kick back, relax and maybe take a break from the relatives. With these five free apps you can have a good time on the house. (We mean free, not sitting on the roof like Santa.) "You Don't Know Jack" (Jellyvision Games) The clever trivia game features hundreds of humorous questions (all read by the wise-cracking host Cookie Masterson), as well as bonus rounds like Jack Attack, where you tap the screen when the right answer appears to get bonus cash. Connecting your Facebook account lets you play online against friends at least once a day for free — or more if you buy "tokens" from within… Continue reading... More About: Android apps, holidays 2012, iOS apps

Sony’s Yuga C660X Confirmed as Xperia Z L36i/L36h/L36a Dec 24th 2012, 22:21 Japanese mobile phone maker Sony has reportedly confirmed that its previously leaked Yuga C660X flagship handset will be officially launched at CES 2013 in January as Xperia Z L36i/L36h/L36a (the letter in the model number will change depending on market). According to ePrice, the phone will sport the hardware specifications already rumored for it, starting with the full HD 5-inch 440ppi touchscreen display, and the 1.5 GHz Qualcomm S4 Pro quad-core processor complemented by 2GB of ... (read more)

Still Down on Instagram? You Can Have 3 Months of Flickr Pro Free Dec 24th 2012, 21:58 Flickr has a Christmas gift for all of you disgruntled Instagram users: three free months of its Pro service. While each month of Pro is worth just over $2 (or $24.95 per year), the offer still has its perks. You don't need to enter your credit card information to enroll, so it's a commitment-free trial. Flickr Pro lets you store images of up to 50 MB each, download high-resolution images, and upload and play HD videos. SEE ALSO: Instagram Slammed With Class Action Lawsuit Positioning itself as an Instagram alternative, Flickr has already launched photo filters for its mobile app. Have you forgiven Instagram or will you jump ship to a different platform such as Flickr Pro? Le… Continue reading... More About: flickr, instagram, photography

5 Ways to Push Your Company Past the Startup Phase Dec 24th 2012, 21:26 Launching a startup is tough, but moving past start-up and into phase two can be even tougher. More About: features, mashable, open forum, startup growth

Hospital Removes Controversial ‘Gangnam Style’ Parody From YouTube

Dec 24th 2012, 21:03

A Toronto hospital has pulled its obstetrics-themed parody video of "Gangnam Style" after a birthing group complained it was "offensive." Initially uploaded to Sunnybrook Hospital's YouTube channel on Dec. 14, it features medical residents horse-dancing through hospital hallways, flying plastic babies, and a doctor said to be covered in "five bodily fluids." "OB/GYNE Style" (disclaimer: the video may be offensive to some viewers) was removed on Dec. 19 amid criticisms from Humanize Birth, but was later reposted by another YouTube user on Dec. 22. The group, which aims to reduce "traumatic birth experiences" for women, is demanding a public apology from the hospital and the University o… Continue reading... More About: gangnam style, YouTube

Nokia to Launch 10.1’’ Windows RT Tablet with Surface-Like Cover Dec 24th 2012, 20:51 Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia is reportedly gearing up for the launch of a 10.1-inch tablet PC that will rival Microsoft’s own Surface slate. In fact, the company is said to plan packing the device with a cover similar to the one Microsoft used for Surface, and to include HDMI and USB ports on it. The cover will include not only a keyboard, two USB ports and a kickstand for the tablet, but also a battery that will further extend the usage time of the device. read more)

Looking for a Job? Check Openings at Sony and 150+ More

Dec 24th 2012, 20:13

When the world's best companies are looking to fill open positions, they post them on the Mashable Job Board. New jobs are added every day.... More About: Jobs, Mashable Job Board, weekly jobs roundup

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Contents Why Facebook Holiday Cards Leave Me Lonely Facebook in 2012: A Billion Users and Counting Making Robots With Mass Appeal NFL Player’s Shocking Christmas Eve Tweet: Funny or Fail? 8 Startups to Watch in 2013 Facebook: Please Send Your New Year Greetings Now So You Just Got a Wii U. Now What? Steam Holiday Sale 2012 Day 7 Has Price Cuts for The Sims 3, Walking Dead, More 6 Apps for Surviving Flu Season 4 Reasons Why Obama’s Digital Effort Was a Success Softpedia Exclusive Discount: 50% Off Outlook Backup Assistant 10 People Who Suffered Awkward Christmas Moments Imprisoned Sex Offenders Banned From Facebook Facebook Poke Falls Out of Top 25 Apps as Snapchat Hits Top 5 This Song Was Recorded in Space Script of the Day: GreenSock Animation Platform Softpedia Holiday Exclusive: 3-in-1 SuperEasy Giveaway What’s Better for Today’s Businesses: Google Apps or Microsoft Office? Drake Wants Royalties for YOLO Merchandise 25 Technologies Every Smart City Should Have Twitter Shutters Accounts With Images of Child Abuse Netflix Bill Passes Congress Without Email Privacy Protections Newspaper’s Interactive Map Reveals Handgun Permit Holders What Christmas Is Like in a Simulated Mars Colony NASA LED Lights Help Astronauts Sleep Sounder Jelly Bean Arrives on Some Global HTC One S Devices Randi Zuckerberg Not Happy About Facebook Photo Privacy Breach Top 2012 Movies with Most Mistakes Recorded Tips for a Clean and Minimal Online Store Design What To Do With Your New Kindle Fire HD ‘WTF?! I Wanted a White iPhone’ Entitled Christmas Tweets Exposed Again Windows 9 Won’t Bring Back the Start Button, to Feature an Upgraded Start Screen Ouch, Charlie! YouTube Sensation Kids Talk Christmas Toys First African Designed Smartphone, Tablet Hit Market 16 Whimsical White Christmas Instagram Photos 10 Holiday Stock Photos That Make Your Christmas Look Normal Jesus Would Be on Facebook if He Lived Today, German Priest Says

Why Facebook Holiday Cards Leave Me Lonely Dec 26th 2012, 19:50

Call me old fashioned, but I enjoy getting holiday greeting cards in the mail. There's a door in my house that's regularly festooned with greeting cards, depending on the occasion taking place at that time. (Anniversary, graduation or birthday?) The cards that come in the mail get proudly displayed on the door, at least until the next celebration comes along. This time of year that door, between my kitchen and my living room, is filled with holiday cards from friends and family both near and far. In recent years, they've transformed from store-bought cards to the kind made on websites like Shutterfly and Tiny Prints -- the cards that let you upload and use your own ima… Continue reading... More About: greeting cards, holiday cards

Facebook in 2012: A Billion Users and Counting Dec 26th 2012, 19:35 Facebook is the most popular social network on the planet. It celebrated its eighth birthday on Feb. 4, 2012. Although Facebook has only been around since 2004, it certainly seems like much longer. For many of us, it feels like we've grown up habitually checking to see who has liked our photos and commented on our status updates. We love to use it. Sometimes we hate ourselves for loving it so much. We complain about it. We use it to complain about almost everything else. It's a revolution and an addiction. In many ways it's like a chair, but in other ways it's not like a chair at all. Regardless, 2012 was arguably Facebook's biggest year in terms of noteworthy accomplishments. And tha… Continue reading... More About: Facebook, features, Social Media, Year End 2012

Making Robots With Mass Appeal Dec 26th 2012, 19:19 Not so long ago, the idea of most people owning a robot seemed far-fetched. But today, not only can consumers buy robots, they can do so relatively cheaply. The world of consumer robotics is finally beginning to merge with the world of everyday people, and some products really stand out. But in this growing and cutting-edge field, what makes a robot commercially successful? TechNewsDaily spoke with two creators of successful consumer robots to find out how they make their products click with the masses. Ian Bernstein, co-founder and CTO at Orbotix, believes the secret to success is simplicity. "[The robot] has to be really simple, because if it’s too complicated, people won’t u… Continue reading... More About: Gadgets, Robot

NFL Player’s Shocking Christmas Eve Tweet: Funny or Fail? Dec 26th 2012, 19:10 An NFL player tweeted about giving Santa cocaine and Jack Daniel's on Christmas Eve. He's unapologetic though, and won't delete the post. More About: nfl, Sports

8 Startups to Watch in 2013 Dec 26th 2012, 18:55 Over the last year, we've seen a lot of startups launch, thanks to lower than ever barriers to entry in terms of both technology and investors. Meanwhile, the more established startups have fumbled (Facebook), hit it (Pinterest) and created all kinds of drama (Instagram). The factors that will make for a standout startup in the next year are totally dependent on the landscape. Facebook's meager IPO means when investors look to fund a Series A, they're going to look for a solid business model -- especially on mobile. SEE ALSO: 10 Hot Tech Startups: Where Are They Now? The best startups meet a really clear pain point. One of these is education -- people struggling with unemployment… Continue reading... More About: Business, features, Predictions 2013, Startups

Facebook: Please Send Your New Year Greetings Now Dec 26th 2012, 18:44 What are you going to be doing at the stroke of midnight next Tuesday, as 2012 shuffles off the stage and 2013 bursts upon the scene? Well, if Facebook has anything to do with it, you'll be sending out congratulatory New Year's messages to all your friends. But they don't mean to see you tapping sadly at your smartphone while everyone else at the party is singing "Auld Lang Syne." The social network has set up an automated system that will let you write your New Year's greetings now, and they'll be sent automatically when 2013 arrives in your friends' time zones. The Midnight Delivery service, which you can set up here, is part of "Facebook stories," a relatively new magazine-lik… Continue reading... More About: Facebook, new years

So You Just Got a Wii U. Now What? Dec 26th 2012, 18:25 Pair It With Your TV One of the most useful features of the Wii U -- and what could make it a staple of our connected living rooms -- is its ability to hook in to the entertainment ecosystem seamlessly. When you start up your Wii U for the first time, you'll be prompted to enter your television and cable box brands. In a surprisingly painless process (you only need the brand name of your TV, not the model number), your Wii U GamePad becomes a very useful remote control. It will be the only thing you have to touch when turning your system and television on in the future. When the Wii U's television and video on demand aggregation dashboard comes fully online, that remote will be even more useful as you use it select shows on your DVR, video-on-demand services like Netflix, or live TV.

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Since the holiday gift-giving period is over, many of you might be fortunate enough to have received a brand new Wii U. Nintendo's latest console is quite different from other gaming consoles, and there are lots of great ways for you to take advantage of it. There are already a wide variety of games coming out for the Wii U, so you have a plethora of entertainment options as soon as you take it out of the box. SEE ALSO: Nintendo's Wii U: First Impressions We've compiled a list of tips for first-time Wii U owners that should make your setup and first few days much easier. We've included a few games to try, as well. Are you setting up a Wii U for the first time? Share any of your t… Continue reading... More About: features, Gaming, holidays 2012, Nintendo, video games, Wii U

Steam Holiday Sale 2012 Day 7 Has Price Cuts for The Sims 3, Walking Dead, More Dec 26th 2012, 18:10 It's been a full week since the Steam Winter Holiday Sale of 2012 started and Valve has just revealed the new discounts that it's running on the promotion's day 7. These include price cuts for The Walking Dead, Spec Ops: The Line, Arma 2, The Sims 3, Legend of Grimrock, and more. The winter holidays have been really good to gamers, as all sorts of companies have ran various discounts for many great games. The Steam Winter Holiday Sale of 2012 has been especially good, as ... (read more)

6 Apps for Surviving Flu Season Dec 26th 2012, 18:04 1. ZocDoc This freely offered app makes booking appointments almost too easy. Which is more than we can say for our insurance company's site. Use the app to check a doctor's availability, view her credentials and rate the experience after your visit. Available for iOS and Android.

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'Tis the season for runny noses, bloodshot eyes and a big, hulking pile of tissues. AAA projects that "93.3 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home during the year-end holidays." So you can bet most of us will be stressed and/or functioning on minimal sleep. And as Dr. Oliver Kharraz, ZocDoc's founder, points out, we'll be susceptible to shifts in the weather since our immune systems won't be their strongest. "Studies have shown that air travelers during this time are at a 20% increased risk for catching a cold in-flight than the general population," he told Mashable, "and 63% of travelers get sick on vacation. As a result, they spend 21 to 33% more on their trip."… Continue reading... More About: apps, flu season, health

4 Reasons Why Obama’s Digital Effort Was a Success Dec 26th 2012, 18:03 Barack Obama's digital and technology teams contributed a great deal to the president's re-election success. Here's how. More About: 2012 presidential campaign, barack obama, Politics, US

Softpedia Exclusive Discount: 50% Off Outlook Backup Assistant Dec 26th 2012, 18:01 There are many ways to create a backup for your emails, but if you’re looking for an easy to use and a truly powerful application, it’s definitely the time to have a look at Outlook Backup Assistant. Just like its name suggests, this Windows program is designed to help users back up their Outlook data, including emails, settings, contacts, tasks, notes and basically every single item included in your account. It’s all possible thanks to a fairly intuitiv... (read more)

10 People Who Suffered Awkward Christmas Moments Dec 26th 2012, 17:48 Hurray -- we made it through another Christmas! That doesn't mean holiday revelry was all rainbows, sunshine and spiked eggnog though. Spending time with relatives and opening gifts provides plenty of opportunities for awkward Christmas moments to happen. SEE ALSO: 'WTF?! I Wanted a White iPhone' Entitled Christmas Tweets Exposed Again And where better to share those moments of discomfort than on Twitter? So if Grandma told you all about her sex life over a slice of Yule log, you can probably relate to some of the tweets below. That awkward moment when your grandma gives you lingerie for Christmas. #wtf— Meggy Sue (@meggysuelovesu) December 26, 2012 That awkward momen… Continue reading... More About: Christmas, humor, Watercooler

Imprisoned Sex Offenders Banned From Facebook Dec 26th 2012, 17:31 Several Facebook accounts belonging to convicted sex offenders in a Northern England prison have finally been shut down. An investigation from the Yorkshire Evening Post revealed that up to five prisoners housed in a Wakefield maximum security jail created Facebook accounts with in the past year — a violation of prison rules. The newspaper obtained the information via the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Due to data protection issues, the prisoners' names couldn't be publically identified. Nor could the number of Facebook accounts created. But the jail did confirm that its prisoners have been violating the rules. The prison, nicknamed Monster Mansion for its housing of sex offende… Continue reading... More About: Facebook

Facebook Poke Falls Out of Top 25 Apps as Snapchat Hits Top 5 Dec 26th 2012, 17:26 So much for Facebook Poke killing off Snapchat. Facebook's new iPhone app, which copies Snapchat's self-destruct feature for messages, disappeared from the top of Apple's most downloaded apps list almost as quickly as messages disappear from the app. Poke was released on Friday and rose to the top of Apple's App Store that same day, displacing Google Maps as the most popular free app in the U.S. The app has since dropped out of the top 10. In fact, it's not even in the top 25. As of publication, Facebook Poke has dropped to 34th on the list of the most popular free apps. One theory put out by Josh Constine at TechCrunch is that Poke's decline may be due to the fact that many p… Continue reading... More About: Facebook, snapchat

This Song Was Recorded in Space Dec 26th 2012, 17:20 Using Soundcloud and YouTube, astronaut Chris Hadfield beamed a song to Earth. He recorded "Jewel in the Night" aboard the International Space Station. More About: Chris Hadfield, Entertainment, International Space Station, Music, space

Script of the Day: GreenSock Animation Platform Dec 26th 2012, 17:01 The GreenSock Animation Platform (GSAP) is the next-generation animations platform for today's modern web. Developed from the famous TweenLite Flash animation engine, GSAP is the developer's answer to the new HTML5-driven market. The platform comes with a unified API that allows developers to create animations that run the same way in Flash and in HTML5 apps. This may sound very complicated, but it's not. There's lot of documentation, lots of support and a pretty big ... (read more)

Softpedia Holiday Exclusive: 3-in-1 SuperEasy Giveaway Dec 26th 2012, 17:01 Today we’re giving away not one, not two, but three shareware apps and there’s no limit to the number of licenses, so here’s your chance to get $50 worth of Windows software for free. We’re offering a defragmentation app, a photo retouching app and an audio conversion app - all useful, all easy to use and now, all free exclusively on Softpedia. SuperEasy Photo Booster is a one-click photo optimization tool, which will automatically adjust the sharpness, co... (read more)

What’s Better for Today’s Businesses: Google Apps or Microsoft Office? Dec 26th 2012, 17:00 Microsoft has created a series of ads over the last couple of years specifically targeting Google services such as Gmail and Google Drive. They're well-made snippets that highlight the weaknesses of Google's ad-supported, cloud-first approach to productivity, which stands in contrast to Microsoft's service-driven app model, exemplified by the popular Microsoft Office. The fact that Microsoft is making these ads at all, though, shows just how nervous the company is about Google encroaching on its territory. Which appears to be exactly what's happening, according to a report from The New York Times. While Google Apps have been the go-to productivity suite for smaller companies, they're n… Continue reading... More About: Google, google apps, microsoft, microsoft office, Office 365

Drake Wants Royalties for YOLO Merchandise Dec 26th 2012, 16:59 Canadian rapper Drake, who is widely credited with coining the acronym YOLO (for "you only live once"), wants to get a cut of merchandise using the phrase. Drake indicated as much on his Instagram stream on Christmas Day. One photo showed a display of YOLO hats at Walgreens. Drake's caption: "Walgreens....you gotta either chill or cut the cheque." In another photo, he put Macy's on notice, too, writing "Macy's...same goes for you," for the following pic: Drake, along with fellow rapper Rick Ross, introduced the term YOLO in the track "The Motto," which was introduced in late 2011. The term has since turned into a runaway success, becoming a runner-up for the Oxford Dictiona… Continue reading... More About: drake, instagram, licensing, YOLO

25 Technologies Every Smart City Should Have Dec 26th 2012, 16:09 You think cities are crowded now? By 2030, more than 5 billion people will live in urban settings. But before we get to that kind of population density, we have to optimize our cities. We need to make them smarter and better; technology can help. Cities all around the world work with developers and contractors to make city living better, whether it's improving the timing of traffic lights or creating a useful app, which becomes more powerful as smartphone penetration continues to increase. Apps and well-implemented technology can help cash-strapped governments save money and, be more efficient. We put together a list of the technology that we want to see in every major city. If we missed… Continue reading... More About: features, Global Innovation Series, innovation, mashable, smarter cities, Tech

Twitter Shutters Accounts With Images of Child Abuse Dec 26th 2012, 16:09 A number of Twitter accounts have been shut down after it was discovered that they contained disturbing images of child abuse, ITV reported. The National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), a child protection charity in the UK, were first notified late Sunday and quickly let their Twitter followers know about the situation. "People have expressed concern about a twitter feed with disturbing images of children. We've alerted CEOP [Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre]. They are looking at it urgently," NSPCC tweeted. The NSPCC said that hacking groups claimed to have unmasked the accounts after they opened a number of accounts that were previously hidden… Continue reading... More About: Children, Twitter

Netflix Bill Passes Congress Without Email Privacy Protections Dec 26th 2012, 15:39 A new bill that will allow you to automatically share your Netflix viewing history with your Facebook friends cleared Congress just before the holiday break, but only after being stripped of email privacy provisions added by the Senate last month. The bill serves as an update to the decades-old Video Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits sharing someone's video rental history without their express approval or a police warrant. Under the new bill, social media users would be allowed to opt-in to a system wherein their Netflix watching habits are automatically shared on Facebook and other platforms -- almost like a social reader for video. Social video sharing under the new bill will c… Continue reading... More About: congress, netflix, Politics, privacy, US

Newspaper’s Interactive Map Reveals Handgun Permit Holders Dec 26th 2012, 15:33 A New York newspaper published an interactive map listing names and addresses of licensed handgun permit holders in the Westchester and Rockland counties of New York, drawing criticism from all sides. The Google Map lets you zoom in and locate by first and last name of licensed handgun -- pistol or revolver -- owners along with their address. The map does not indicate what weapons a license-holder owns and excludes assault rifles, like what was used in the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Conn. The article, titled "The gun owner next door: What you don't know about the weapons in your neighborhood," shows only people permitted to own or carry handguns, and has drawn more than 1… Continue reading... More About: Google Map, gun control, mass killings, NRA

What Christmas Is Like in a Simulated Mars Colony Dec 26th 2012, 14:53 For most of us, Christmas is the time we spend with our families, exchange presents and stuff ourselves with good food. For a team in a simulated Mars colony at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, though, this year's Christmas will be very different. Six crew members are spending two weeks in the Utah base belonging to The Mars Society, an international non-profit organization preparing for human life on Mars. Astronomer, educator and science fiction writer Diane Turnshek is a part of the team, and she wrote a blog post on the blog of her friend John Scalzi, giving us a taste of the life in this secluded environment. The base is a "small two-story cylindrical Habitat with… Continue reading... More About: Christmas, Mars Colony

NASA LED Lights Help Astronauts Sleep Sounder Dec 26th 2012, 14:31 You might think the quiet of space would help astronauts sleep on the International Space Station. But NASA is preparing to replace the station's florescent panel lights with solid-state lighting modules that would dim and change hues between colors to reflect the time of day. SEE ALSO: NASA Employees Share Inspiring Stories You've Never Heard To combat insomnia that can trigger depression or sickness, the new SSLM panels are made up of LEDs that can transition between blue, white and red. The colors correspond to different cycles of sleep that we're used to on Earth. In 2001, NASA reported that nearly 50% of crews on space missions took sleeping pills to help them fall asleep. NAS… Continue reading... More About: International Space Station, LEDs, NASA

Jelly Bean Arrives on Some Global HTC One S Devices Dec 26th 2012, 13:49 HTC has finally started releasing the Jelly Bean (aka Android 4.1) for its HTC One S devices. The first devices to get the upgrade are those marked WE (WorldWide English), which are mostly sold in Europe, Android Police reports. The 612 MB update, originally promised for October 2012, brings several important new features, including resizable widgets, improved voice search and the Google Now personal assistant. There's no word on when the update is coming is to the U.S. Image credit: HTC More About: android, htc, HTC One Se, jelly bean

Randi Zuckerberg Not Happy About Facebook Photo Privacy Breach Dec 26th 2012, 13:26 Lovers of irony take note: Mark Zuckerberg's sister More About: Facebook, randi zuckerberg, Twitter

Top 2012 Movies with Most Mistakes Recorded Dec 26th 2012, 13:01 To err is human but one would expect movies to have fewer mistakes, especially if they spend what feels like an eternity in production. Ideally speaking, our favorite movies would also be flawless but, you know it, we don’t live in an ideal world. Far from taking anything from the overall value of a film, movie mistakes are fun to lo... (read more)

Tips for a Clean and Minimal Online Store Design Dec 26th 2012, 11:52 What better way to showcase your products than by giving them the stage? This is the concept behind a growing trend in e-commerce web design – going minimal. In the past many online stores took the opposite approach to design. Sites were often cluttered with information, fonts and colors were overwhelming, and sites were quite simply “over-designed”. Now, many sites are ditching models, crazy colors and fonts, and fancy photography for the simplistic style of just showcasing their products. It’s a trend that is taking over much of the web (not just e-commerce) with the emergence of responsive design models. More designers are embracing the trend that simpler can be better, while focusing on readability and usability. The result is a better experience for online shoppers, with cleaner interfaces, text that is easier to read and interfaces that are simpler, faster and more user-friendly. This trend is about more than just design, it creates a better overall experience. Think about the success of Apple and its online store. Simple and direct can equal sales. Here, we take a look at the trend, companies that are doing it well and tips for making it work for you. The Trend More and more companies are ditching lots of color, models and movement on their websites in favor of more minimal design schemes. Background patterns are more subtle — or have been ditched completely in favor of a simple black or white background — typography is simple and direct and photography of products is emphasized. But why? Using a simple design scheme allows a brand to show off its products. There is no guessing what is being sold because everything is clearly defined. This counteracts the movement of the past where brands pushed a certain type of lifestyle or feel over the actual products. This type of scheme can be less costly. There are no models to pay and with a simple background less pre-design work. A little studio lighting and good photography is all you need to get started. Focusing less on super-complicated design can give companies more time to focus on the user experience. The top concern for an e-commerce site after all is sales. A site must function well, load quickly and make it easy for customers to find what they want and make a purchase. E-commerce Design Tips Aim for dynamic display. Don’t just copy another site. What makes your product unique and special? Play it up in the display. Your site needs to be readable. Typefaces should be simple and clear. Item numbers, sizes, colors and prices need to be clearly stated and visible. And don’t forget notations for sales or checking out – labeling should be a top priority. Photography should be direct for product images. Don’t use odd angles or unusual lighting. Shoppers want to see items as clearly as possible. Make sure your photography reflects that. Every photo should be a perfectly accurate representation of the actual item. Make sure your site is easy to move around and navigate. If it is slow to load or too complicated, shoppers will back away. Include sales and information about your company. Let shoppers know why you are special, unique and deserving of their money. Every element should be sharp and planned. If an image is subpar or blurry, don’t use it. If a design element works against your product, opt for another technique. Make shopping easy and fun. The surprise of a site might bring shoppers in but you have to keep them there so if you use a fun gimmick, make subsequent pages easy to navigate and use. 8 Sites Doing it Well Le Cog Sportif: With a focus on the catalog, you can see a variety of products without having to click a lot. This is great for undecided shoppers and those impulse buyers. Visual Supply: Super simple format is striking with each product clearly labeled. The red outline around each product as you hover is a nice touch. Ditto: Glasses made interesting. Because of the simple nature of the product (and site design) it almost feels as if you are comparing items side-by-side. Neve/Hawk: Simple does not have to be boring. This company uses a great neutral color scheme and simple photography to showcase each item. (They have a pretty dynamic landing page as well.) Narwhal Co.: The images grab you immediately. They are sharp and colorful. A good, strong image will draw you in every time. Callaway Golf: Great mood photography sets the tone for each product line, but then products are allowed to stand alone. Images are framed in the same manner from product to product for easy comparison. MANKINDdog: Great images steal the show. Every product looks spectacular, making the story feel very unique. Incase: This company does a great job of promotion options without the site feeling cluttered or bulky. Simple photography with buttons that show shoppers what else might be available. Conclusion This is a trend that needs to stick around. Clean design is a great thing. It is even better that companies are really using the concept to showcase what they have to offer. Putting products against simple backgrounds works well for a number of reasons, but it simply gives the product room to speak for itself and for the consumer to really get a good feel for an item before making a purchase.

What To Do With Your New Kindle Fire HD

Dec 26th 2012, 11:45

Amazon's line of Kindle Fire HD devices are among the most affordable Android tablets on the market, and many will be gifted among friends and family this season. There are six Kindle Fire HD devices in all: A 7-inch version with 16GB of storage ($199), a 7-inch version with 32GB of storage ($249), an 8.9-inch version with 16GB of storage ($299), an 8.9-inch version with 32GB of storage ($369), an 8.9-inch version with 32GB of storage and 4G LTE ($499), and an 8.9-inch version with 64GB of storage and 4G LTE ($599). If you've recently purchased or been gifted a Kindle Fire HD -- either the 7" or 8.9" variety -- it's time to unbox your device and get started on all it has to offer. We'v… Continue reading... More About: amazon, kindle fire hd

‘WTF?! I Wanted a White iPhone’ Entitled Christmas Tweets Exposed Again Dec 26th 2012, 08:36 Every Christmas, people take to Twitter to talk about the gifts they received. Some folks -- intentionally or not -- come off as spoiled brats, complaining about getting the wrong gadget, the wrong color gadget, or not enough gadgets. And just like last year, comedy writer Jon Hendren (@fart) is retweeting entitled tweets, most of them being from people complaining they want an iPhone in a different color. "My mom went directly against me. she asked me if I wanted the black or white iPad. I said white, of course. tell me why mine is black," tweeted one user. "I hate my white iPhone ... I just wanted to have my black one," tweeted another. And, my personal favorite as an owner of… Continue reading... More About: entitled tweets, iphone, Twitter

Windows 9 Won’t Bring Back the Start Button, to Feature an Upgraded Start Screen Dec 26th 2012, 07:49 Redmond insiders have previously hinted that Microsoft may launch the next Windows iteration as soon as the next summer to offer it either as free or as a very affordable upgrade. More rumors on the matter suggest that a new version of Windows has already reached the alpha development stage, so the launch... (read more)

Ouch, Charlie! YouTube Sensation Kids Talk Christmas Toys Dec 26th 2012, 07:40 We caught up with the "Charlie Bit My Finger" kids to talk about Internet fame and holiday toys. More About: christmas 2012, viral content, Watercooler

First African Designed Smartphone, Tablet Hit Market Dec 25th 2012, 23:10 Congolese entrepreneur Verone Mankou wants his tech startup VMK to be for Africa what Apple is for the U.S. and Samsung is for Asia. That is, he wants the majority of people on the continent to use the African-designed smartphone and tablet he is making. VMK makes a tablet called Way-C, which means "the light of the stars," and now a smartphone called Elikia, which means "hope." SEE ALSO: 5 Tech Innovations That Could Change the Developing World The tablet is the size of Samsung's Galaxy Tab and costs $300. The Android-based smartphone costs $170 without a contract. Thumbnail image courtesy of VMK More About: africa, developing world, smartphone

16 Whimsical White Christmas Instagram Photos Dec 25th 2012, 22:44 "Waking up to white Xmas!" This is my view right this minute Image courtesy of Instagram, mariannehope

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There are few things like waking up to a snow covered lawn on Christmas morning. Instagram users across the country whipped out their smartphones and captured the frosty landscapes nearby them on Christmas. Lovely photos were shared from Texas, Maryland, Washington state, Colorado and dozens of places in between. SEE ALSO: 16 Soulful Photos of 'Rhythm' From Mashable Readers We rounded up 16 beautiful photos marked with the hashtag #WhiteChristmas. Did you see snow today? Thumbnail image courtesy of Instagram, shelbwaldorf More About: Christmas, instagram, photography

10 Holiday Stock Photos That Make Your Christmas Look Normal Dec 25th 2012, 21:58 1. Foam Face Santa Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, VikaValter

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Have holiday commercials and made-for-TV Christmas specials given you a case of perfect family envy? Sure, you love your fam, but when dirty gym socks play the part of Christmas stockings and mom starts crying before 10 a.m., it can cause a case of the bah humbugs.

SEE ALSO: The 12 Memes of Christmas

If your Christmas looked a little less than Hallmark for your liking, we have something to help. Ten things, actually. Take a virtual sleigh ride through the gallery above for 10 holiday stock photos that might make your Christmas look more normal. Thumbnail photo courtesy of iStockphoto, camrocker More About: Christmas, Holiday, humor, photography, Watercooler

Jesus Would Be on Facebook if He Lived Today, German Priest Says Dec 25th 2012, 21:11 Head of Germany's Catholic Church, Robert Zollitsch, has given everyone celebrating something new to think about the Christmas story. Zollitsch told a German newspaper that if Jesus were alive today, he'd be Facebook friends with all of his followers. "Fundamentally all media are suited to bring the word of God to the people," he told German paper The Local. "Jesus would certainly today be on Facebook and Twitter." SEE ALSO: Pope Benedict to Get Personal Twitter Account Zollitsch's statement comes after the Catholic Pope joined Twitter (@Pontifex) earlier in December, and has seven different language accounts. What do you think of the priest's statement? Let us know if you'd want… Continue reading... More About: catholic church, religion, World

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Contents Abee Reveals Striking Blue Acubic C10R Mini-ITX Case VueScan 9.1.21 Adds Support for New Devices Virtual Tech Lets You Swap Bodies Apple Now Selling the 2G Nest Thermostat, Also in Retail Stores Spotlight: Lion Rescued After Spending 3 Years with a Snare Caught Around Its Neck 8 Ways to Keep Your Screens Looking Brand New Samsung Galaxy S IV Concept Rendered on Video Avery Johnson’s Teenage Son Unloads on Twitter After NBA Firing DVDStyler 2.3.5 Introduces a Christmas Template Senator Scott Brown’s Facebook Post Sparks Fiscal Cliff Rumor Siberian Bacteria Thrive in Mars-Like Conditions Samsung and T-Mobile USA to Launch a Galaxy S III LTE Model First ‘Alien Earth’ Will Be Found in 2013 New Weight Watchers Ad with Jessica Simpson Is Out Steam Holiday Sale 2012 Day 8 Has Price Cuts for XCOM, Counter-Strike, More Watch the First 4 Minutes of Zombie Movie ‘Warm Bodies’ Sea Shepherd Goes After Denmark, Reports It at the European Commission Watch: Viral Clip Gets Norwegian Kicker Tryout with the New York Jets Camera Boost 4.0 Drops iPhone 4 Support LG's CES-Bound 4K UHDTVs (3840 x 2160) Measure 55, 65 and 84 Inches Video of Cincinnati Traffic Reporter Bob Herzog's Best Segments Goes Viral Black-Themed BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981 Coming to the UK in Early January Softpedia Exclusive Discount: 40% Off AOMEI Dynamic Disk Converter 10 Bizarre New Year’s Resolutions on YouTube Transcend JetFlash 520, the Latest Mainstream Flash Drive Rygel 0.16.4 MediaServer Now Supports the 3GPP Format T-Mobile USA Testing Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for HTC One S ‘Today’ Anchors ‘Don’t Know Anything’ About Facebook Privacy 12 Cool Photos of This Week’s Massive Winter Snowstorm Lytro Who? Toshiba Developing Refocusing Camera for Phones Luxury Tablet Emboldens Your Inner Chef Unwrapped a PS3? Start With These 10 Tips and Tools Twitter 2013: Future Looks Bright, But Will It IPO? 5 Best iPad Apps of 2012 How Behance Reinvented the Online Portfolio Christmas Day App Downloads Hit 328 Million, Setting New Record 9 Ways Your Startup Can Use Social Media Lists Original Samsung Galaxy Note Getting Jelly Bean Update Prices Drop on Nokia Lumias Apple Paid CEO Tim Cook ‘Just’ $4.17 Million in 2012 This Is How Lytro Takes ‘Living Pictures’ Facebook Files for Trademark for ‘Poke’ Apple Rumored to Bring Mac Mini Production to U.S. Dad’s Ecstatic Reaction to Gift Goes Viral on YouTube LG Display to Showcase Ultra HD TVs, Full HD Smartphone Screens at CES Free Calling for Gmail Users Extended through 2013 5 Apps for Keeping New Year’s Resolutions Bootstrap 3.0 – New Year Timed Release Buddy the Virtual Watchdog Looks Over Your Loved Ones Shark Tank Shatters in Chinese Mall, Injures Bystanders Baby, It’s Cold Outside! 20 Icy Photos from Mashable Readers Customization Contest Tally: 6 Most Successfully Reworked Themes

Abee Reveals Striking Blue Acubic C10R Mini-ITX Case Dec 27th 2012, 20:01 For some reason or other, mini personal computers have become more popular over the past couple of years, which means that small form factor cases have more potential buyers now. Japanese company Abee is looking to take advantage of this. Desktop cases can usually hold all types of mainboards up to a certain size. Mini-ITX is th... (read more)

VueScan 9.1.21 Adds Support for New Devices Dec 27th 2012, 19:54 VueScan, an easy-to-use replacement for the software that usually comes with scanners and that supports most flatbed scanners, printer/scanners and film scanners, has reached version 9.1.21. VueScan 9.1.21 is a minoe release in the series as it doesn’t bring any performance improvements for the Linux platform, just some support for some new devices. Highlights of VueScan 9.1.21: • A problem with Control-C command for copying text has been fixed; read more)

Virtual Tech Lets You Swap Bodies Dec 27th 2012, 19:53 Google Street View already offers virtual tours of Rome, Paris and London. But imagine if virtual travelers could feel the sun beating down on their faces as they toured the Colosseum? Or could feel the burn in their quads as they walked up the Eiffel Tower? Or could smell the old tapestries hanging in Westminster Abbey? SEE ALSO: Sinful Robot: XXX Virtual Reality If Ikei Laboratory has anything to say about it, that soon may be no stretch of the imagination. A part of the Tokyo Metropolitan University Graduate School of System Design, the lab is developing so-called "virtual body technology." Revealed at the Digital Contents Expo 2012 in Tokyo, the system will engage all five s… Continue reading... More About: concept designs, virtual world

Apple Now Selling the 2G Nest Thermostat, Also in Retail Stores Dec 27th 2012, 19:51 After adding the Nest “learning” thermostat to its virtual shelves on store.apple.com, Cupertino-based Apple Inc. is now selling the second generation of Tony Fadell’s brilliant invention, both online and physically, in brick-and-mortar stores across the US and Canada. Priced at $249.95 (€188) the second-generation Nest Learning Thermostat turns itself down when you're away and can be controlled over Wi-Fi using a companion app downloadable free of charge fr... (read more)

Spotlight: Lion Rescued After Spending 3 Years with a Snare Caught Around Its Neck Dec 27th 2012, 19:51 Earlier this year, a team of rangers in charge of looking after the Mikumi National Park in Tanzania managed to rescue a young lion which got caught in a snare back in 2009 and which spent the last three years walking around with this trap tightening around its neck. Apparently, the young lion only managed to survive because its brothers and sisters agreed to share their food with it. Otherwise, it would have died shortly after getting caught in the snare, seeing ho... (read more)

8 Ways to Keep Your Screens Looking Brand New Dec 27th 2012, 19:49 1. Toddy Gear Smart Cloths Toddy Gear brings coutre to screen cleaning with its line of Smart Cloths. Elegantly designed with dual-sided 100% microfiber cleaning surfaces, these are more than just cleaning tools -- they're a fashion statement. $14.99 Cleaning Pro Tip: Press gently when cleaning screens, LCD monitors in particular, because too much pressure can damage pixels or cause them to burn out faster than normal.

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Holding your shiny new device in your hand -- the one you've been cooing over since its release date was announced before the holidays -- you're giddy with excitement. All your shiny new toys have plastic factory screen protectors that you'll soon discard, but no matter -- you just can't help but slide and swipe your fingers across your screens. SEE ALSO: 10 iPad Cases With Convenient Hand Grips Those protectors had some merit when it came to keeping your shiny new screen clean. Over time and with use, grease and dust will accumulate and smudge across your screen. The screens of yesteryears were made of glass and could be easily cleaned with water or other household products. Today, de… Continue reading... More About: cleaning, LCD care, Plasma screen care, screen protection

Samsung Galaxy S IV Concept Rendered on Video Dec 27th 2012, 19:41 Whether Samsung will indeed launch a Galaxy S IV smartphone next year to continue the highly popular Galaxy S lineup, it remains to be seen. The one thing that is certain, however, is the fact that many enthusiasts are already dreaming of the device, and that many have already built their own concepts to bring the possible upcoming pho... (read more)

Avery Johnson’s Teenage Son Unloads on Twitter After NBA Firing Dec 27th 2012, 19:28 The teenage son of deposed NBA coach Avery Johnson isn't happy -- nor is he afraid to vent publicly on Twitter. Did he go too far? More About: NBA, Sports

DVDStyler 2.3.5 Introduces a Christmas Template Dec 27th 2012, 19:21 DVDStyler, a cross-platform free DVD authoring application that makes possible for video enthusiasts to create professional-looking DVDs, is now at version 2.3.5. Highlights of DVDStyler 2.3.5: • New menu templates, Christmas, Winter and SnowField, have been added; • The calculation of the DVD size, if the start/end time is set, has been fixed; • The Finnish translation of the application has been added; • The Portuguese translation of D... (read more)

Senator Scott Brown’s Facebook Post Sparks Fiscal Cliff Rumor Dec 27th 2012, 19:20 After Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown wrote on Facebook and Twitter early Thursday afternoon that he had "just learned that the Pres. reached out to Senate GOP leadership with a proposal," several media outlets reported that President Obama indeed sent a modified fiscal cliff deal to Congress, based primarily on Brown's posts. Getting on place to DC to review plan from Pres.We will see. Better late than never— Scott P. Brown(@ScottBrownMA) December 27, 2012 Among the media outlets that reported the news were The Hill and Business Insider. The timing of the posts made some sense: Obama had touched down in Washington, D.C. an hour earlier, after cutting his Christmas vacati… Continue reading... More About: congress, fiscal cliff, Politics, Twitter, US

Siberian Bacteria Thrive in Mars-Like Conditions Dec 27th 2012, 19:11 There's no word from Curiosity on whether Mars has life or not or whether it ever had. Any results from the rover, if they are coming, won't be coming for a while now. But that isn't stopping scientists from trying to figure out whether life could survive in the conditions found on Mars. The latest such research shows some interestin... (read more)

Samsung and T-Mobile USA to Launch a Galaxy S III LTE Model Dec 27th 2012, 19:01 Wireless carrier T-Mobile might soon add to its offering a 4G LTE-capable flavor of Samsung’s Galaxy S III flagship phone, the latest reports on the matter suggest. Nothing has been officially confirmed on the matter for the time being, but the phone has emerged over at the Bluetooth SIG with model number SGH-T999L attached to it. Galaxy S III is already available for purchase at T-Mobile as SGH-T999, with support for HSPA+, but no LTE in tow, since the carrier... (read more)

First ‘Alien Earth’ Will Be Found in 2013 Dec 27th 2012, 18:56 The first truly Earth-like alien planet is likely to be spotted next year, an epic discovery that would cause humanity to reassess its place in the universe. While astronomers have found a number of exoplanets over the last few years that share one or two key traits with our own world — such as size or inferred surface temperature — they have yet to bag a bona fide "alien Earth." But that should change in 2013, scientists say. "I'm very positive that the first Earth twin will be discovered next year," said Abel Mendez, who runs the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo. Planets Piling Up Astronomers discovered the first exoplanet orbiti… Continue reading... More About: alien planets, NASA, space

New Weight Watchers Ad with Jessica Simpson Is Out Dec 27th 2012, 18:51 Just in case you missed Jessica Simpson’s tweet that confirms she’s pregnant with her second child, her brand new, extended ad for Weight Watchers should do the trick. Check it out below, embedded at the end of the article. An extended version of the second commercial since Jess signed as spokesperson for the weight lo... (read more)

Steam Holiday Sale 2012 Day 8 Has Price Cuts for XCOM, Counter-Strike, More Dec 27th 2012, 18:46 We're now in day 8 of the Steam Winter Holiday Sale of 2012 and Valve has now revealed a brand new series of price for all sorts of great games, ranging from XCOM: Enemy Unknown, to Counter-Strike, Worms Revolution, FTL, Lego Lord of the Rings, or L.A. Noire. The Steam Winter Sale has brought all sorts of great deals to users of the digital distribution service over the last few days. After some really impressive price cuts, Valve is continuing the bargain trend and has j... (read more)

Watch the First 4 Minutes of Zombie Movie ‘Warm Bodies’ Dec 27th 2012, 18:42 Online movie ticketer Fandango has its hands exclusively on the first 4 minutes of the zombie romance flick "Warm Bodies," which arrives in theaters Feb. 1. More About: Entertainment, fandango, films, movie trailers, Movies, Warm Bodies

Sea Shepherd Goes After Denmark, Reports It at the European Commission Dec 27th 2012, 18:31 Only yesterday, Sea Shepherd made it public news that they decided to report Denmark at the European Commission. This is because, despite previous promises to safeguard pilot whales, the country has thus far failed to put an end to the ritual hunt taking place each year in the Faroe Islands. As s... (read more)

Watch: Viral Clip Gets Norwegian Kicker Tryout with the New York Jets Dec 27th 2012, 18:31 Norwegian Havard Rugland stunned the world in September with the clip featured above, titled simply “Kickalicious.” Rugland kicks his way to the top as his clip went viral with 1.3 million views, gaining the attention of New York Jets reps. According to the Daily Mail, he might be signed to the NFL team, as he was flown in to the States this week for a tryout. “They tested me on field goals and kickoffs. Obviously you feel a little more ... (read more)

Camera Boost 4.0 Drops iPhone 4 Support Dec 27th 2012, 18:31 Camera Boost, a three-dollar (€2.69) photography application for iPhone and iPad developed by interealtime.com, no longer supports iDevices older than the iPhone 4. Confirmed in the latest update announced by the developers, “Camera Boost now supports iPhone 4S and iPhone 5,” says the changelog. The release notes also say in brackets, “older models are not supported at this time.” Of course, that comes into heavy conflict with the official... (read more)

LG's CES-Bound 4K UHDTVs (3840 x 2160) Measure 55, 65 and 84 Inches Dec 27th 2012, 18:21 We have written about the two laptop displays that LG will reveal between January 8 and 11, so now we bring you the TVs bound for the upcoming trade show. Since the 4K resolution has been defined as a standard, everyone who's anyone in the display industry is going to try its hand at the technology. LG will have three products with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. They measure 55, 65 and 84 inches. FPR3D technology will be included. That leaves the 23.... (read more)

Video of Cincinnati Traffic Reporter Bob Herzog's Best Segments Goes Viral Dec 27th 2012, 18:11 You will want to watch “Good Morning Cincinnati” every day after you've seen this “best of” video of traffic reporter Bob Herzog showing off his dancing and singing skills. Herzog does Nicki Minaj and Ray Charles with ease, and comes up with a lot of dance routines on his own. He takes on different styles too, ranging from country to alternative rock, salsa and, of course, dance. His facial expressions are truly priceless, and he see... (read more)

Black-Themed BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981 Coming to the UK in Early January Dec 27th 2012, 18:01 Research In Motion (RIM) confirmed last week the upcoming availability of the BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981 in matte black from mid-January. However, it looks like the smartphone will go on sale a few weeks earlier in the UK. Pocket-lint reports that the black version of Porsche Design P'9981 will be exclusive to Harrods for no less than £1390/ $2245 / €1700 outright. According to the cited source, the smartphone will hit shelves on January 2. Harrods&rs... (read more)

Softpedia Exclusive Discount: 40% Off AOMEI Dynamic Disk Converter Dec 27th 2012, 18:01 One of the biggest problems with dynamic disks is the high risk of losing all data and Windows, unfortunately, does not any offer any tools to recover from these disastrous situations. Today's discounted app provides a quick solution that will help you retrieve your data without wasting more than a few seconds of your time. AOMEI Dynamic Disk Converter can easily convert or even clone dynamic disks to basic disk partitions whilst keeping your data safe from any loss/ corruption ri... (read more)

10 Bizarre New Year’s Resolutions on YouTube Dec 27th 2012, 17:57 1. 50 New Year's Resolutions (NSFW) YouTube humorist Ross Everett reels off 50 resolutions in under three and a half minutes. Comedy ensues.

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Usually one makes a new year's resolution in earnest, and it only becomes funny a few days into January — when it fails miserably. These YouTube users decided to get right to the point. Scroll through the gallery above for 10 videos of people discussing their resolutions from years past. Are they serious or satirical? You can make that decision. SEE ALSO: 10 Apps to Keep You Safe and Healthy in 2013 Do you have any epic resolution fails, or you the rare type who can actually follow through on a resolution? Share your stories or secrets with us in the comments below. Image courtesy of Flickr, evalottchen More About: features, holidays 2012, humor, Social Media, Video, YouTube

Transcend JetFlash 520, the Latest Mainstream Flash Drive Dec 27th 2012, 17:41 One would think that there wouldn't be much to say about a random new flash drive, but it wouldn't do to cover only high-cost products and leave the rest to fend for themselves. That said, Transcend has launched the JetFlash 520. JetFlash is an old name. Transcend has been using it for a broad range of NAND Flash-based stora... (read more)

Rygel 0.16.4 MediaServer Now Supports the 3GPP Format Dec 27th 2012, 17:41 Rygel, a home media solution (UPnP AV MediaServer) that allows users to easily share audio, video, and pictures to other devices, is now at version 0.16.4. With Rygel, users will be able to browse the media collection from the TV or PS3 on a PC running GNOME, and they will have the possibility to play any of said media. Highlights of Rygel 0.16.4: • The correct bitrates for AVC_MP4_BL_CIF15_AAC_520 is now used; • "PresetNameList" has been... (read more)

T-Mobile USA Testing Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for HTC One S Dec 27th 2012, 17:31 HTC has recently announced that the Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean upgrade is available for the international version of One S. Although owners of carrier-bounded HTC One S units will have to wait a few more weeks to receive the update, it looks like T-Mobile USA customers will be among the first to get it. TmoNews reports that a limited group of T-Mobile USA customers that own the HTC One S have been invited to be part of a Jelly Bean trial. It’s unclea... (read more)

‘Today’ Anchors ‘Don’t Know Anything’ About Facebook Privacy Dec 27th 2012, 17:21 After a "Today" segment about Randi Zuckerberg's recent Facebook photo incident aired, banter among three Today show anchors upset some social media users. More About: Facebook, facebook privacy, randi zuckerberg, today, today show, TV

12 Cool Photos of This Week’s Massive Winter Snowstorm Dec 27th 2012, 17:11 As a massive winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow on parts of the midwest and northeast United States this week, some intrepid smartphone owners turned themselves into amateur weather journalists by braving the elements and sharing pictures of their now powder-covered environs. Delanie Rice shared a shot of her Michigan backyard: Snow in Michigan. About to go sledding. twitter.com/DelanieRice/st…— Delanie Rice (@DelanieRice) December 27, 2012 Shamara Cox snapped a pic from the passenger shot during a snowy drive in the Indianapolis, Ind. area: Indianapolis snow!!! twitter.com/NotJustTalk/st…— Shamara Cox (@NotJustTalk) December 26, 2012 The lousy w… Continue reading... More About: pics, Twitter, US, Weather

Lytro Who? Toshiba Developing Refocusing Camera for Phones Dec 27th 2012, 17:10 Lytro was the first to commercialize the idea of taking photos that you can refocus later, but now others are getting in on the concept. Toshiba has developed a camera that also takes photos with adjustable focus, only this one can fit in a cellphone. Toshiba's camera module is small -- a square shape that measures 0.4 of an inch per side -- making it ideal as a phone camera. Packed inside it, though, are no less than 500,000 individual lenses, each just 0.001 inch in diameter. As the initial report in Japan's The Asahi Shimbun newspaper describes, each lens captures light slightly differently than the others, which the image processor can interpret to change which subject is in focus… Continue reading... More About: camera phone, Lytro, Toshiba

Luxury Tablet Emboldens Your Inner Chef

Dec 27th 2012, 16:44

The next time you pass by fresh strawberries, rhubarb and lemons, you'll know exactly how to whip them up into a delicious dessert — perhaps a decadent cake with strawberry-rhubarb compote. The $399 QOOQ (pronounced "cook") kitchen tablet, made in France, helps novices and experts alike prepare scrumptious meals at home. You'll want to recreate the mouthwatering dishes you dined on at restaurants and feel inspired by the crisp produce you see at the farmer's market. There are nearly 1,200 recipes pre-loaded on the 10-inch tablet — organized by seasonality, dish type, ingredients and themes. If you're looking to make something with "rhubarb," simply search your QOOQ for… Continue reading... More About: cooking, home, kitchen gadgets, Tablet

Unwrapped a PS3? Start With These 10 Tips and Tools Dec 27th 2012, 16:42 Set Up Your PSN ID If you're new to the PlayStation ecosystem, you'll need to set up your PlayStation ID and account information. Instead of fighting with the PS3's controller on a virtual keyboard to enter all your deets, plug in any USB keyboard and type things out faster.

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Now that the holiday gift-giving time is over, we're sure many of our readers unwrapped some new consoles. Despite its long life on the market, the Sony PlayStation 3 is still converting gamers everywhere, and many people were bound to receive one for the first time. If you're one of those lucky people and you aren't sure what to do with your console right out of the box, we're here to help. We compiled the important things you should set up before getting started, as well as some great games you can download right away or should purchase the next time you're shopping. SEE ALSO: 5 Exclusive PlayStation Games You Have to See Check our list above for suggestions on what to do and play… Continue reading... More About: features, Gaming, holidays 2012, PS3, sony, video games

Twitter 2013: Future Looks Bright, But Will It IPO? Dec 27th 2012, 16:32

My personal relationship with Twitter hit a milestone on Christmas Eve. For the first time, a Promoted Tweet -- an ad, essentially -- made me want to laugh and share rather than grimace and push on through my news feed. Even better, from Twitter's perspective, is the fact that I was on the mobile app when it happened. The promoted tweet, perfectly timed for holiday joke-telling, was so witty, subtle and brief, I don't even mind giving the company some free publicity by repeating it in a story. It was from Dos Equis, and simply read: "He speaks reindeer." No further words, nor even a link, were necessary. (I don't often remember promoted tweets, but when I do ...) Ads… Continue reading... More About: features, Predictions 2013, Social Media, Twitter

5 Best iPad Apps of 2012 Dec 27th 2012, 16:12 1. Zeebox Television is becoming increasingly social, with fans and critics alike live-tweeting everything from the Grammys to the Olympics. We're carrying our second screens around with us anyway, so why not use them to our entertainment advantage? Zeebox's goal is to make television more immersive than ever. Aside from its own social platform, zeebox users are discovering new content tailored to their interests and based on powerful web buzz. Available in the U.S., UK and Australia, the service links you with other likeminded viewers; invite them to viewing parties, then chat and interact via games and stats. Finally, click on a program's associated "zeetag," which pulls up additional information and viewing options for the show you're watching. Price: FREE

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How many apps live on your iPad? Now, how many have you actually used in the past month? It seems that we're always experimenting with new apps to see what sticks, but losing interest with the majority of them. SEE ALSO: 10 Excellent iPad Apps You Should Download Right Now If you want our opinion, it's time to downsize and prioritize. Here are our picks for outstanding iPad apps of 2012. We have a feeling you'll find these five your new favorites. But be sure to share your own nominations in the comments below. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, franckreporter More About: apple, apps, features, ipad, Year End 2012

How Behance Reinvented the Online Portfolio Dec 27th 2012, 16:11 How creatives show off their work has fundamentally changed since Behance entered the scene. Founder Scott Belsky shares what the future may hold. More About: behance, design, features, mashable, Tech Innovators Series

Christmas Day App Downloads Hit 328 Million, Setting New Record Dec 27th 2012, 15:57 Christmas Day is typically the biggest day of the year for new device activations and this year was no exception, according to researcher Flurry Analytics. Consumers activated 17.4 million devices on Christmas Day this year, shattering last year's record of 6.8 million device activations. Meanwhile, the number of app downloads on Christmas Day hit 328 million, according to Flurry Analytics, which claims to keep tabs on 90% of all daily iOS and Android activations and 260,000 apps. The app figure compares to 242 million app downloads for Christmas Day 2011. As the chart below shows, the Christmas Day average for activations was more than three times the standard for the month of Decembe… Continue reading...

9 Ways Your Startup Can Use Social Media Lists Dec 27th 2012, 15:54 Social media lists can be valuable tools for businesses. Here are tips to leverage the various networks in different ways, depending on your your needs. More About: Business, contributor, features, Social Media, Startups

Original Samsung Galaxy Note Getting Jelly Bean Update Dec 27th 2012, 15:43 If you bought one of the original Samsung Galaxy Note smartphones and have been kicking yourself for not waiting for the Galaxy Note II and all its Jelly Bean-powered features, you can stop feeling bad. The first Note will be getting Jelly Bean very soon. Samsung posted details about the Note's Premium Suite update on the product website. Enabled by an upgrade to Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean," the feature suite includes many of the abilities the Note II boasts, such as dual-window multitasking, pop-up Notes, the ability to cut and paste just part of an image and the improved S Note app. SEE ALSO: Sh*t People Say About the Samsung Galaxy Note [VIDEO] The upgrade also includes the regular… Continue reading... More About: android, Galaxy Note, jelly bean, samsung, Samsung Galaxy Note

Prices Drop on Nokia Lumias Dec 27th 2012, 15:21 Only a few months after Nokia introduced them to the U.S. market, Lumia phones are already available at much cheaper prices, the The Wall Street Journal reports. The company's flagship phone, Nokia Lumia 920, was launched through AT&T for $99. That price still stands, but the phone is available at Amazon for as low as $39. The Lumia 822 was originally available for $99 at Verizon, but now the company is offering it for free with a contract. Similarly, T-Mobile USA is offering the Lumia 810 for free with a contract. "Pricing is always a carrier decision, but holiday season promotions are fairly standard at this time of year," Nokia spokesman Doug Dawson told WSJ. While that ma… Continue reading... More About: Lumia, Nokia

Apple Paid CEO Tim Cook ‘Just’ $4.17 Million in 2012 Dec 27th 2012, 15:05 Tim Cook may run the most valuable company in the world, but you wouldn't know it from his pay this year. The Apple CEO made just $4.17 million in 2012, according to a new SEC filing from Apple. That is certainly a salary many workers would be happy to have, but it represents a 99% decline from the $376 million Cook was paid last year. That may come as a surprise at first considering that Apple's market cap has grown to more than $480 billion this year under Cook's leadership, but the decline in his pay is due to a technicality rather than anything to do with his performance. Cook was granted a massive amount of stock options totaling more than $376 million when he was promoted t… Continue reading... More About: apple, tim cook

This Is How Lytro Takes ‘Living Pictures’ Dec 27th 2012, 14:47 The Lytro camera has been called the biggest leap in photography since digital replaced film. Some have even hailed it as one the most significant innovations in photography since … well, since photography. If you're not familiar with Lytro yet, that's forgivable, because the Lytro camera is unusual. It doesn't look like a camera, for one thing -- its elongated body more closely resembles a flashlight or a big stick of butter. The familiar pieces are all there, just streamlined. The shutter button feels more like an iPhone's home button. The zoom slider is elegant and simple. A single viewscreen allows most simple actions through intuitive swiping and tapping. The device's function… Continue reading... More About: features, light-field camera, light-field photography, Lytro, mashable, Tech, What's Inside

Facebook Files for Trademark for ‘Poke’ Dec 27th 2012, 14:33 Facebook has filed for trademarks for Poke, the Snapchat-like app it released on Friday. The company filed its application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Dec. 21, the day before the app went live. The Next Web reports that the company filed for two other trademarks as well, including for "Facebook Poke" and the logo for the iPhone app. Poke, of course, has been a Facebook feature since the early days of the service. The company successfully applied for a U.S. trademark in 2006. However, the company let the trademark lapse in July 2011. The app, which lets users send text, video and photo messages that self-destruct within 10 seconds, is very similar to Snapchat. That… Continue reading... More About: Facebook, poke

Apple Rumored to Bring Mac Mini Production to U.S. Dec 27th 2012, 11:58 Apple plans to bring Mac mini production to the U.S., Digitimes reports citing sources from the upstream supply chain. According to the report, Foxconn (which manufactures most of Apple's gadgetry in China) will handle the production in one of its U.S. factories. The production will start in 2013. Digitimes' predictions are hit or miss, but we know for sure that Apple is looking to bring a chunk of the Mac manufacturing process to the U.S. Apple CEO Tim Cook said as much in a recent interview, without specifying which line of Macs will be produced domestically. "We've been working for years on doing more and more in the U.S. Next year, we will do one of our existing Mac lines in… Continue reading...

Dad’s Ecstatic Reaction to Gift Goes Viral on YouTube Dec 27th 2012, 10:50 It's the reaction that every gift-giver dreams about -- no thank-yous or polite smiles -- just pure, unadulterated joy. Daniel Buckhannan was lucky to see just that on his father's face, after handing him a surprise gift. Don, the elder Buckhannan, reacted with delight after receiving what he thought was a black fedora for Christmas. But when Daniel told him to look inside the hat, Don was flabbergasted ... then elated ... then in tears. Watch his whole range of emotions in the video, above. And what exactly caused this viral-worthy reaction? Tickets to the 2013 Discover BCS National Championship, a college football bowl game, between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Alabama… Continue reading... More About: Christmas, YouTube

LG Display to Showcase Ultra HD TVs, Full HD Smartphone Screens at CES Dec 27th 2012, 10:02 LG Display's presence at CES 2013 will be measured in PPI (pixels per inch), as the company plans to show several Ultra HD (4K) TV screens, as well as high-resolution screens for smartphones, tablets and laptops, at the technology trade show. The pixel-per-inch limits will be pushed in almost every category. First, there are the 55-, 66- and 84-inch UHD panels with a 3840 x 2160 pixel resolution, meaning each of these will have 8 million pixels. Next up is a 30-inch 4K2K monitor with a whopping 4096 x 2160 pixel resolution, which LG Display claims is the highest-resolution computer monitor to date. Although the monitor is probably aimed at professionals, it's a dream machine for ever… Continue reading... More About: CES, LG, screen

Free Calling for Gmail Users Extended through 2013 Dec 27th 2012, 08:57 Gmail users in the U.S. and Canada will get free calling for another year, Google announced Wednesday. "You'll continue to be able to make free domestic calls through 2013," Mayur Kamat, a product manager at the company, said in a blog post. Users with Internet connection and a microphone can make calls to any phone from within the email client. An option to "Call phone," indicated by a phone-receiver icon, is part of Google Chat's menu; when clicked, a pop-up with a dial pad appears. SEE ALSO: Google Voice Mistaken Identity Leads to Epic Exchange Google debuted voice calls in August 2010, and extended free calling at the end of every year-- through 2011 and 2012 -- since then.… Continue reading... More About: gmail, Google

5 Apps for Keeping New Year’s Resolutions Dec 27th 2012, 08:02 Many people probably will be welcoming the new year with familiar resolutions: Live healthier, save more and, in general, improve one's life. But New Year's resolutions tend to fizzle out faster than an old bottle of champagne. Luckily, several great smartphone apps can help keep you on track with your 2013 resolutions. Here are a few that provide guidance and encourage you to persevere. Resolution: Lose weight App: MyFitnessPal Calorie Counter (Android, Blackberry, iOS, Windows) In the battle against bulge, knowing how many calories you consume is key. But tracking how much you've eaten can be a chore. With MyFitnessPal's free Calorie Counter, you keep a food diary that shows how m… Continue reading... More About: apps, New Year's Resolutions

Bootstrap 3.0 – New Year Timed Release Dec 27th 2012, 08:00 Bootstrap developers decided to make a New Year present for the fans of their framework releasing the 3-rd revision. Check out the new features.

Buddy the Virtual Watchdog Looks Over Your Loved Ones Dec 27th 2012, 06:57 The holidays are a time for cheer, family and good tidings -- even if grandpa or grandma can't make it to this year's festivities. An MIT-based startup GeriJoy created an app that helps families keep their loved ones company when they can't be there themselves. The app offers a virtual companion, in the form of a dog, that speaks and plays with its users. "The GeriJoy companion is the modern realization of the fabled talking dog," the company says. The talking dog not only keeps home - or hospital-bound elderly company, but also acts as a personal assistant. It offers the benefits of pet therapy without all the mess. Among its many features, the talking dog can reassure the user,… Continue reading... More About: elderly, senior care

Shark Tank Shatters in Chinese Mall, Injures Bystanders Dec 27th 2012, 05:58 While many North Americans were braving the post-Christmas crush of deal-seeking shoppers, mall-goers in China dealt with a much more dangerous -- albeit, unlikely -- threat: sharks. Fifteen people were injured on the first floor of Shanghai's Orient Shopping Center, after a 33.5-ton aquarium containing sharks suddenly burst, local media reported. Among the injured were customers, shop assistants and security staff. Three of the sharks, which were around 12 to 15 inches long, died. Video footage of the incident, above, is spreading online after being posted on YouTube in the past few days. The aquarium was made of acrylic glass, according to Chen Yongping, an official with the ce… Continue reading... More About: china, sharks

Baby, It’s Cold Outside! 20 Icy Photos from Mashable Readers Dec 27th 2012, 04:56 snow-diving -Andrew Kohn

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Even as the holiday season is ending, the cold weather is here to stay. While the nights of eggnog may be over, the pictures above remind us that there is still plenty to look forward to. So grab a mug of hot cocoa and feast your eyes on these 20 beautiful pictures inspired by the prompt "cold" in this week's photo challenge. The Mashable Photo Challenge Series Risk-Taking | Rhythm | Red | Silhouette | Grid | Urban | Giving Everyone who submitted their photos is eligible to win a Panasonic LUMIX G5 16 Megapixel Compact System Camera (see the full rules here). Check back tomorrow for the best submissions from our readers over the course of this challenge! Thanks to everyone for sharin… Continue reading... More About: Holidays, Mashable Photo Challenge Series, Panasonic Lumix, photography, Photos

Customization Contest Tally: 6 Most Successfully Reworked Themes Dec 26th 2012, 08:00 The blog post includes Top 6 examples of works from the Customization Contest. Check them out!