The police officer who doused students with pepper spray during Occupy Wall Street protests at the University of California, Davis, is no longer employed by the University.

"Consistent with privacy guidelines established in state law and university policy, I can confirm that John Pike's employment with the university ended on July 31, 2012," UC Davis spokesman Barry Shiller told the Sacramento Bee.

Pike, who was on paid leave since the incident, declined to comment, and Shiller said he cannot disclose the exact reason why Pike was laid off.

Videos of the incident, which appeared on YouTube, sparked calls for Pike's resignation, as well as a wave of internet memes, joking with Pik…
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Welcome to this morning's edition of 'First To Know,' a series in which we keep you in the know on what's happening in the digital world. Today, we're looking at three particularly interesting stories.

Dropbox Confirms Security Breach

Dropbox has confirmed that recent reports about spam from its users were a result of a security breach.

"Our investigation found that usernames and passwords recently stolen from other websites were used to sign in to a small number of Dropbox accounts. We've contacted these users and have helped them protect their accounts," said Dropbox.

The company promised to improve security for its users, outlining new measures in a blog post.

Facebook…
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More About: Dropbox, features, first to know series, mashable

Anonymous, the loosely associated hacktivist group, is inherently anti-establishment. Their unofficial logo -- a suit without a head -- is testament to this.

Now, in perfectly ironic fashion, French company Early Flicker is attempting to trademark both the logo and the accompanying slogan: "Anonymous. We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us."

The paperwork was filed earlier this year to the to the Institut National De La Propriété Industrielle (INPI) by Apollinaire Auffret of Early Flicker. The application covers everything from clothing to kitchen utensils, just in case you find yourself in a particularly anarchic mood while cooking dinner.

The iconi…
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More About: anonymous, trademark, trending

Lions, tigers and Gary Busey -- oh my! Photoshop wizardry replaces the faces of Wizard of Oz characters with that of actor Gary Busey.

A lesson for the kids: Never follow Gary Busey down the yellow brick road.

Image courtesy of SoleTruckShoes

More About: internet memes

If you're like most people with a connection to the internet and a job that requires you interact via email, then you probably know what email hell feels like. The only good news is that you're not alone. In fact, the average person gets more than one hundred emails per day. The bad news is it's not getting better.

The number of emails you receive will continue to grow every year. So what, if anything, can you do to get a grip on this email avalanche? Start with these five tips.

1. Set a Time Limit
According to a recent McKinsey Global Institute report, people spent 28% of their time writing, reading, and answering email. Most of it is unproductive because email is reactiv…
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More About: Jobs, contributor, email, features, gamification

The latest video to illustrate the dangers of using your cellphone while walking is of a Philadelphia man falling onto a set of lowered train tracks while talking on his device. The incident occurred last year but video from the station's security cameras was recently released. (Note: In the above video, the fall is played over-and-over. We'll update with a better video when we get one).

Security cameras caught him on his phone when he fell onto the tracks and was knocked unconcious. Fortunately, there were no trains headed to the station at that time, but it was late at night and no one was around to save him. He eventually awoke and moved to safety, but it could have been much wors…
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More About: distracted, texting

Religion isn't a word often associated with technology -- but it should be.

Communication between religious organizations and their followers has blossomed on social media. Many churches have turned to social networks to increase their outreach to spread their teachings.

Buzzplant, a Christian-based digital advertising agency, surveyed churches to see how they're using social media within their organization. More than 30% of churches surveyed said they update Facebook each day, while close to 15% said they never use the network.

Just under half of those surveyed say social media is the most effective method of communication, while about 25% prefer the more traditional method -- kn…
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More About: Churches, buzzplant, church, infographic, religion

Web search has evolved from traditional query typing to voice search, to auto-complete and even image searches. Now search giant Google is taking the next step in making finding stuff on the web easier by augmenting its mobile search offerings with handwriting recognition. The new feature, Google Handwrite, will run on Android phones and tablets, and on iOS devices running iOS 5, with support for 27 different languages.

For now, the handwritng recognition is experimental so users will need to enable it in their settings to take advantage of the new feature. On your mobile device, login at google.com, tap on "Settings" at the bottom of the screen an…
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More About: Google, Search, android, google chrome, iOS

In the wake of the shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., a support group has rallied around the alleged gunman, James Holmes.

More than two dozen Holmes-related Tumblr pages have sprouted up since the shooting. Referring to themselves as "Holmies," many supporters use the suspect's pictures in avatars. Most of the bloggers are teenagers, sharing and reblogging mugshots and signs that say "I Love The Holmies."

Holmes, 24, was charged with a total of 142 criminal counts including 24 counts of first-degree murder on Monday. He was arrested on July 20, after allegedly killing 12 people and wounding 58 at a local midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises.

Tumblr users such a…
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More About: James Holmes, blog, tumblr

Stamped, the recently revamped recommendations app backed by the likes of Justin Bieber and The New York Times Company, pushed out a small but useful feature Monday night.

Now, in addition to listening to songs recommended by friends in Stamped [iTunes link], you can add those songs to playlists in music players Spotify and Rdio without leaving the app.

Robby Stein, one of Stamped's three co-founders, says the startup has "proprietary technology that finds the same song across Rdio, Spotify and iTunes that makes this possible. I don't know of any [other] service that does this right now."

Neither do we.

It's one in a series of features that helps you not only discover…
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More About: rdio, spotify, stamped

Steven Marx, the occasional Twitter user whose #NBCFail tweet last week preceded a deluge of criticism of NBC's Olympics coverage on the social network, says the prescient hashtag came to him without much thought for what it would become.

"It was just something I made up off the top of my head -- I rarely use hashtags, but this was sort of a rant," Marx told Mashable. "I probably used it assuming it had been used before or would be used again, so there was probably some anticipation. But I have very few followers, so I didn't expect anything like this."

Since Mashable first reported Marx being the originator of the Summer Olympics' #NBCFail hysteria, he says he's fielded interview…
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More About: Sports, Twitter, olympics

Social bookmarking website Digg launched the first version of its new site on Tuesday after going back into startup mode to rebuild the site from the bottom up. V1, for version 1, was built on "fresh code" and the team says they plan to build it out quickly.

The new site features more images and stories selected by editors. It is free from ads and appears to have space for bigger stories.

On July 20, Digg reverted into a startup again and began building the code with plans to officially launch a new site in six weeks. The revamp of the site will include new personalized recommendation features to make the site more relevant and social for users. Plus, new commenting features, continu…
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More About: digg, kevin rose

The retina-blinding pink stage has been set. Now it's time for the world's top gymnasts to flip and twirl on the path towards gold at the London Olympics.

Add to the excitement of thrills and face-plant spills with a round of Gymnastics Bingo. It's more fun than Béla Károlyi in a red-white-and-blue windbreaker celebrating a U.S. victory.

More About: Watercooler, gymnastics, london 2012, olympics

The Internet is awash with rumors about the next iPhone, the so-called "iPhone 5." Just today there were news reports that supposedly confirmed the suspected release date (said to be Sept. 12) and noted that Apple has just created a huge spike in component orders from its suppliers.

Does this mean the next iPhone is imminent? What about all those rumors we heard about a new, smaller dock connector and a 4-inch screen? And will it have new hardware, like an LTE radio for connecting to high-speed networks and an NFC chip for mobile payments? Or those cases that are supposedly made for the iPhone 5?

Apple, of course, has remained mum on any and all…
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More About: Video, apple, humor, iPhone 5, iphone, siri

It's being called the patent trial of the century: Apple v. Samsung. Which -- since Samsung complained to the court -- is also officially known as Samsung v. Apple.

The trial, in a San Jose federal courthouse, is set to determine whether Samsung's range of smartphones owe so much to the iPhone that they are infringing on Apple patents.

Tuesday was technically day two of the trial; day one was filled up with the interminable jury selection process, as both sides sought to find Silicon Valley residents who didn't have a strong bias towards either Apple or Android, the operating system on Samsung phones. That's no mean feat.

Day two was much livelier, however -- and featured man…
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More About: apple, iphone, samsung

Google announced on Tuesday that it is holding shipments of its Nexus Q "cloud-connect jukebox" gadget while the company "works on making it even better." To make up for the delay, the company is sending the current model to customers who pre-ordered the device for free.

The search engine giant reportedly sent out an email informing customers who pre-ordered the device that the Nexus Q will be delayed as it undergoes improvements. Google said the news comes on the heels of consumer feedback.

SEE ALSO: Google Reveals Nexus Q Social Streaming Media Player

"When we announced Nexus Q at Google I/O, we gave away devices to attendees for an early preview. The industrial design an…
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More About: Google, Google Play, Nexus Q

Michael Phelps swam his way into Olympic history books Tuesday, nabbing his 19th Olympic medal.

The 27-year old swimmer took home the silver medal in to 200 butterfly and then anchored the United States to gold in the 4x200 freestyle relay.

Phelps broke a record set by Larisa Latynina, a Soviet gymnast who won her last of 18 Olympic medals back in 1964.

Phelps took home eight gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At the 2004 Games in Athens, the swimmer took home six gold medals and two bronze.

NBC was criticized for spoiling Phelps's loss to teammate Ryan Lochte on Sunday -- before the games aired on American TV.

Phelp's popularity -- and the record-breaking nature o…
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More About: michael phelps, olympics, olympics 2012

Colonel Rob Kiebler returned home from a tour of duty in Afghanistan just in time for his son Danny's fifth birthday.

Danny had recently seen and fallen in love with Star Wars, setting the perfect stage for what may be the best homecoming video ever.

Kiebler, who had been overseas for 14 months with the U.S. Air Force, dressed up as a Jedi knight and surprised Danny at his birthday party.

SEE ALSO: Star Wars Tweets: 15 Hilarious Parody Accounts

The entire cast of Star Wars was on hand to celebrate, including Princess Leia and Chewbacca. But it's pretty clear the force drew the young Danny to his Jedi father.

More About: Star Wars, U.S. Military, air force

If the latest rumors hold true, we'll see a new iPhone come mid-September.

A report by iMore Monday indicated that the next-generation of the popular handset would be announced on Sept. 12 along with an updated iPod Nano, and that both would be hitting retail locations on Sept. 21. That rumor has since been bolstered by reports from by a number of sources, including Reuters and Bloomberg.

AllThingsD also confirmed that the event would be held the week of Sept. 9 –- with Wednesday Sept. 12 being the likely day of the event –- and took the investigation a bit further by looking into Apple's recent prepayment for inventory components.

A recent spike in the company's prepaym…
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More About: apple, iPhone 5, ipad, ipad mini, iphone

Step 1: Switch to Outlook

First log into Hotmail.com and upgrade to Outlook. You do that by selecting it from the "Options" drop-down menu in the top right. (It only says "NewMail" here because of what the service was called in preview — it should appear as Outlook for you.)

Click here to view this gallery.

Microsoft just completely overhauled Hotmail, rebranding it as Outlook and moving the whole email service to Outlook.com. The app is actually much improved, but longtime Hotmail users will probably have tons of questions -- the most important being: What's my email address now?

It's the same as it ever was -- if your address was "my.email@hotmail.com," you'll still receive email there for as long as you want, all accessible at Outlook.com (and Hotmail.com for a time).

SEE ALSO: Goodbye, Hotmail; Hello, Outlook.com [REVIEW]

But now that Outlook.com is live, you'll probably want that same address in the Outlook.com domain -- i.e. my.email@outlook.com. You might think that Microsoft wo…
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More About: Outlook, hotmail, microsoft, microsoft outlook

Have you ever had an Olympic diver inward-pike their way through your living room? If you are one of the 6 million U.S. households with a 3D-capable TV set, now is the time to dust off the feature and give it a good run.

For the first time ever, the London 2012 Olympic Games is now available in 3D, making it the most widely distributed 3D program ever on both a national and global level.

NBC is working with Panasonic, the official sponsor of the 2012 Games, to pump more than 300 hours of 3D coverage into homes and bars worldwide. According to the companies, about 80% of U.S. households have access to the programming -- you just need a 3D-enabled TV to watch it.

"This has been t…
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More About: 2012 London Olympics, 3D, 3D TV, NBCOlympics, Panasonic, Sports

Twitter executives apologized Tuesday for suspending the account of a journalist who was critical of NBC's Olympics coverage. Twitter also published a lengthy blog post by its general counsel addressing the microblogging network's trust and safety procedures in general.

British journalist Guy Adams had his account suspended Monday after he published a tweet reading, "The man responsible for NBC pretending the Olympics haven't started yet is Gary Zenkel. Tell him what u think! Email: Gary.zenkel@nbcuni.com."

Adams had previously been a harsh critic -- one of many on Twitter -- of NBC's tape-delayed Olympics coverage.

The suspension sparked a worldwide backlash against…
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More About: Media, Sports, Twitter, olympics

The Daily, the tablet-only news publication News Corp. first launched on the iPad a year and a half ago, is letting go nearly a third of its staff, a spokesperson has confirmed. Approximately 50 of its 170-person staff will be laid off.

Those staffed on The Daily's editorial and sports sections will be the worst hit, AllThingsD's Peter Kafka reports. "Skeletal versions" of those sections will appear in future editions. In another cost-saving measure, the publication will only format pages in vertical -- rather than vertical and horizontal -- layouts going forward.

The Daily has more than 100,000 paying subscribers, but the publication is still losing about $30 million per year, accordi…
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More About: The Daily, news corporation

This week, more than 5,000 female bloggers will descend on New York City's Midtown Hilton for the eighth annual BlogHer conference. And Lisa Stone, BlogHer's CEO, couldn't be prouder. She co-founded the media company with Elisa Camahort and Jory Des Jardins in 2005 after asking the question: Where are the women who blog?

After hosting their first BlogHer event -- an IRL get-together of hundreds of female bloggers -- the conference attendees asked for more from the startup, including a news service, an ad network and more events. As Stone and her colleagues suspected, bringing women together in real life is a pretty empowering thing. And now, seven…
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More About: Female Founders Series, blogher, features, mashable

Have you noticed anything unusual about the Olympics -- aside from Aly Raisman's parents or the fact that Missy Franklin is apparently attached to fishing wire?

The 2012 Olympics is one of the biggest events of the year, yet many of the stadiums seem pretty barren for being sold out of tickets. The Guardian even reported that soldiers are being drafted to fill prime seating.

A photo of the lackluster stadium began circling the web, so Reddit users

More About: GIF, Watercooler, london 2012, olympics 2012, reddit, trending

Verizon Wireless must pay $1.25 million to the FCC as part of a settlement with the Federal Communications Commission, the FCC announced Tuesday. The company has also begun allowing users on a metered data plan to tether their mobile devices using any app and at no extra charge.

The moves come as part of a settlement to end an investigation into the company's compliance with rules surrounding a certain band of spectrum.

The company has been under the FCC's microscope for potentially violating the open-access rules of the "C Block" spectrum, which the company uses for its 4G LTE mobile data service.

Companies offering services on C Block, to which Verizon Wireless bought the license…
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More About: Business, Mobile, fcc, spectrum, verizon wireless

In what may make for awkward family get-togethers, Mark Zuckerberg's sister, Arielle, is now a Google employee.

The younger Zuckerberg is presumably making the move as part of Google's acquisition of Wildfire Interactive, which was announced on Tuesday. Arielle's blog lists her occupation as junior product manager for the social media marketing firm. Arielle previously offered constructive criticism of her brother's company's site overhaul last fall.

Arielle's not the only Zuckerberg sibling in the business. Randi Zuckerberg, former director of marketing for Facebook, left the company last August to pursue other projects. Randi is an executive producer for Silicon Valley, a Brav…
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More About: Facebook, Wildfire Interactive, mark zuckerberg, trending

Most of us have experienced the annoying interruption from web browsing to change a song (first world problems). Sure, it only takes five seconds -- but when you're focused, that could be five minutes spent getting back on track.

Luckily, Skrillex is here to help. Canadian TV station Aux.tv launched the Skrillex Machine, a new site that plays a constant stream of dubstep, placing the electronic artist into whatever web page you're visiting. Basically, it turns your web browsing into wub browsing (sorry).

Be sure to keep your headphones in, unless your co-workers are cool with dropping the bass.

More About: Entertainment, Music, skrillex

As opening statements began in the latest legal tussle over whether Samsung has unlawfully copied Apple products, Samsung summarized its argument with this surprisingly gracious zinger.

"The iPhone was an inspiring product to everyone," the Korean company's attorneys told a federal courtroom in San Jose Tuesday. "Being inspired by a product is called competition. it's not copying."

Previously, Apple attorney Harold McElhinny had argued that Samsung's move to iPhone-like touchscreen phones was not coincidental. "Whenever a customer sees an electronic device with these characteristics, they think they are seeing an Apple product," McElhinny said.

SEE ALSO: Apple V. Samsung, The P…
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More About: apple, iphone, samsung

Although most of us are not world-class athletes, we might be the shape and size of an Olympic competitor.

An app on the BBC website takes into account your height and weight and will determine which Olympic athlete your body type resembles.

Granted, being the same size as U.S. women's swimming competitor Breeja Larson or U.S. rhythmic gymnastics competitor Julie Zetlin won't get you a spot on any Olympic team, it could prove to remind us that working out and being athletic is not exclusive to certain body types.

The data contains the entire team for Great Britain -- the tallest, shortest, heaviest and lightest competitors, plus 10% from al…
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More About: 2012 London Olympics, BBC Worldwide, trending