A new project called "Twitter Heatmap" shows where the U.S.'s most polite and rudest Twitter users are, by mapping Good Mornings and F*** Yous.

The team at Vertaline, who created the map, scanned tweets in 462 specific U.S. locations. The phrase "Good Morning" was tracked between June 20 and July 1 and "F*** You" was tracked between July 14 and 24.

You can set the map to show "Good Morning" or "F*** You," and "Absolute" and "Relative" distribution of tweets at a time, as compared to over the whole day.

While the map doesn't offer any conclusive information about regional Twitter etiquette, playing around with the different settings reveal that the Northeast and Los Angeles are a…
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More About: Twitter, US, etiquette, maps

A married couple who were severely injured when their motorcycle washit by a teen who was texting while driving has settled for $500,000.

The couple's attorney says that amount is the maximum the young man's insurance company will pay. However, they're currently still seeking further legal action.

David and Linda Kubert, the couple involved in the accident, were riding on a New Jersey road in fall 2009 when then 18-year-old Kyle Best, who was driving a truck -- allegedly with his elbows -- slammed into them.

Seconds before the crash, Best sent a text to his girlfriend Shannon Colonna. The Kuberts' lawyer argued that she was "electronically present" for the accident and pers…
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More About: legal, texting, texting while driving

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.

September 21 Emerges as Possible iPhone Launch Date

The iPhone might hit the stores Sept. 21, if you believe the Verizon employee which told TechCrunch the company will be having an all-staff vacation blackout from September 21 to September 30.

Apple is widely expected to reveal the next-generation iPhone on Sept. 12. The device is rumored to have a bigger screen size and a new, 19-pin power connector.

Hulu Redesign Brings Improved Navigation

Hulu has thoroughly redes…
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More About: features, first to know series, hulu, iphone, mashable

Nikon unveiled three new additions to its Coolpix line of point-and-shoot digital cameras on Sunday.

The most exciting of these is the Coolpix S800c, which combines Nikon's imaging technologies with built-in Wi-Fi and the Android OS, confirming earlier rumors that the company was working on an Android-powered camera. Calling it the "perfect camera for 'connected' individuals," Nikon says the S800c allows for easy sharing of photos through social networks. It comes with a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor, a 10x zoom lens, HD video recording, GPS and access to Android apps.

Dubbed Nikon's new flagship Coolpix camera, the P7700 features a 12.2-megapixel sensor, 7.1x zoom lens, manual controls…
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More About: Nikon, cameras, coolpix

If I Die 1st, a just-launched campaign from Facebook app If I Die, is offering its users a chance at world fame. Here's the condition: You must be the app's first user to die.

The app's first participant to die after a buffer period of a few months will have their message shared with the If I Die app community and media outlets.

Interestingly, the If I Die 1st campaign coincides with the launch of a new feature, which offers the opposite of a universally broadcast message.

If I Die [app link] has just launched the ability to send your Facebook friends private messages or emails after you die. The new feature is ideal for users who like to keep things a bit more private. Previou…
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More About: Facebook, death, facebook apps

LG has announced the availability of its first 84-inch LCD TV with support for 4K or 3,840 by 2,160 pixel resolution.

The TV also boasts LG's Cinema 3D technology, as well as "3D sound" through integrated 2.2 channel speakers.

4K, whose name comes from the horizontal pixel resolution of about 4,000 (several formats are considered to be 4K, from 3,840×2,160 to 4,096×3,112 pixels), is a digital cinematography standard, expected to one day become the standard for home viewing as well.

This has not happened yet -- 4K content is scarce, though with the recent availability of relatively affordable cameras that can capture movies in ultra-high resolutions, this will likely chan…
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More About: 4K. 84LM9600, LCD, LG, TV

Europe is home to the best club soccer in the world, thanks in no small part to powerful domestic leagues, like Germany's Bundesliga and Italy's Serie A. But there's no debating which two associations reign supreme on the continent: the English Premier League and Spain's La Liga.

The EPL and La Liga regularly send top clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid deep into the international Champions League tournament. One could argue that either the EPL or La Liga rules Europe in a given year. But which league is winning on the social web?

La Liga teams have more Twitter followers than their EPL counterparts, but EPL fans are more active, mentioning their teams…
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More About: Sports, infographics, soccer, trending

The current system for 3-D imaging is produced by projecting two images simultaneously on the same screen. When viewers wear 3-D glasses, they're able to see the two images as one, which then provides the appearance of a three dimensional figure. A new system is being developed that would only use one projector and not require glasses.

The new method requires a special coating on the screen to change the polarization of the light as it passes through. It's the change in polarization that creates a 3-D image.

The method is still being tested, and while promising, it may be years before this technology reaches commercial audiences.

More About: 3D, Movies, Tech, mashable video, trending

Since the beginning of time -- or what feels like it -- we've been chained to our homes and desks by landlines. Ten years ago, landlines were the main vehicle of communication, used to run a business or keep in touch with family.

Today, we have endless options to get in touch and communicate. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter work simultaneously as marketing channels, customer service hubs and family lifelines.

Although people are spending more time talking on-the-go, most companies and homes still have landlines. After all, it's important (especially as a business) to have a secure number and a stable connection.

But plenty of services and apps will calm your landline-lovi…
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More About: Google Voice, How-To, Mobile, android, features, iOS, iphone, landline, trending, voip

Less than a week after launching a fundraising campaign to save the Tesla Tower, comic website The Oatmeal has reached its goal -- and then some.

Matthew Inman, the site's creator, raised nearly $900,000 for "Operation Let's Build a Goddamn Tesla Museum" as of Tuesday night, surpassing his original target of $850,000. The tipping point was a $33,000 contribution from one generous donor earlier Tuesday.

Wow, someone just donated $33,000 at the last minute and put us over our goal!$873,169 REACHED!— Matthew Inman (@Oatmeal) August 21, 2012

Inman says he plans to continue raising money for the museum until the Indiegogo campaign ends in 39 days.

"We're just going to let it r…
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While you were getting all misty eyed over how rationally Jack Daniels handled a little trademark infringement, I was out discovering that the liquor company was far from the first to take the suggestion of copyright infringement with, if not a smile, at least a knowing nod, pat on the head and a gentle "move along."

I discovered at a flea market proof that even Peanuts creator Charles Schulz knew how to tell an enterprising author that she was in possession of a very bad idea without breaking her spirit.

Peanuts is arguably one of the most popular comic strips of all time. The adventure-less tales of eternal children with sometimes adult-level anxiety resonated with generation…
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Anyone with kids, or perhaps a job where you eat at your desk, knows that food and keyboards don't mix. In fact, they can get pretty sticky and crumb-filled if you don't clean them regularly. Besides using a gas duster or wiping it with an electronics-friendly cloth, there's no easy way to thoroughly sanitize your keyboard.

Enter Logitech's Washable Keyboard K310, unveiled on Wednesday. It has the familiar layout of the Logitech keyboards you may already use, but this one can take a dip in water. You can rinse it in the kitchen sink or wipe it with a wet cloth. Not only can the keyboard be submerged up to 11 feet, it dries easily, too.

SEE ALSO: Prankster Turns Coworker's Filthy Key…
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More About: Children, child-proof, keyboard, logitech, parents, trending

A low-cost web platform called Treater now lets Facebook friends buy each other instant gifts that can be retrieved at local cafes, bars and establishments.

You can already buy your pals cups of coffee with the Dunkin' Donuts App. With Treater, the list of gifts that can be instantaneously redeemed with a smartphone grows to include games of bowling, movie tickets and spa treatments.

There's a wide range of options for men and women. Instead of sending a buddy an obligatory "Happy Birthday" wall post on their special day, Facebook users now have the option to send an inexpensive, yet meaningful gift. The most popular treats on the new gifting platform include lattes, milkshakes, b…
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More About: application, trending

Avril Lavigne could soon be the inspiration behind a Nickelback love song.

The Canadian singer and fellow Canuck Chad Kroeger, frontman of the rock band everyone loves to hate, announced their engagement Tuesday evening. Internet users had a field day reacting to the news -- so much so that Twitter had difficulties dealing with the high volume of traffic on its site.

SEE ALSO: Is Nickelbacking the New Rickrolling?

Kroeger and Lavigne are engaged to be married after a six-month relationship, People reports.

The reaction among Internet users to the pending nuptials was a mix of surprise, amusement and confusion -- WTF, basically. Check out some examples in the following Storif…
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More About: nickelback, trending

Songs from Russian punk band Pussy Riot are now streaming on Slacker Radio's "Protest" station amid public outcry -- online and offline -- around the world for their imprisonment.

A judge in Moscow last week convicted three Pussy Riot members for hooliganism after staging an anti-Vladimir Putin performance inside an Orthodox cathedral. They were sentenced to two years in prison.

One of four Pussy Riot songs -- "Kill the Sexist," "Putin Wet Himself," "Kropotkin Vodka" and "Deliver Pavement" -- will launch the "Protest Songs" the first time you listen to it. The songs, which are in Russian, aren't available on iTunes, Spotify or Pandora.

"Pussy Riot is receiving a lot of attention…
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More About: Entertainment, Music, Slacker, Slacker-Radio, celebrities, music streaming, protest, radio

1. Al Roker Frozen on Today Show

After a comment from Savannah Guthrie about the old Catholic school adage that one should leave "enough space for the holy ghost to pass through" while dancing, Mr. Roker simply freezes and holds his facial expression. It's pretty bizarre and has sparked a lot of controversy on Reddit.

Click here to view this gallery.

Reporting the news can be treacherous.

If done right, it can win you awards and critical acclaim. If done wrong, however, you could end up seeing your failure on perpetual repeat on YouTube.

It's been awhile since we turned our watchful eye to our media brethren and poked fun at their onscreen antics. We've added some new videos to the collection, but because some of the classics are just so, well classicky, we included some of the best of the best among the bunch.

Did we miss any blooper gems? Reveal your magical moments contributions in the comments below.

More About: Watercooler, YouTube, fails, viral video

The 2012 election is supposedly set to showcase how well candidates understand and leverage the deep nuances of social media and the endless amounts of big data available. Political strategists believe they will identify what people really care about through dazzling algorithms, connect like-minded voters, and weave politicians into the social warp. Just like that, the magic will happen. Minds will be changed and politics will somehow be reshaped by this medium.

Or so the argument goes.

The reality is that Facebook, where President Barack Obama and Presidential Republican nominee, Mitt Romney are battling it out for fans and attention, is in the midst of a struggle. In fact, you m…
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More About: 2012 election, contributor, features, social media marketing

As residents in Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo., have three more weeks to petition for Google Fiber's service to come to their neighborhood, many are stacking it up against Verizon FiOS network and its existing packages.

But because Verizon FiOS is not likely to enter the same markets as Google Fiber -- and if they do overlap, it won't be anytime soon -- it's hard to label the services as direct competitors.

Google announced in July that it would be bring ultra-high Internet speeds first to residents in the Kansas City area and will likely grow to more regions in the future (an effort that will certainly take time to build), while Verizon isn't looking to enter new state…
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More About: Google, google fiber, verizon, verizon fios

Political silly season is in full swing and that means a new crop of political incorrectness sprouting up around the interwebs.

Exhibit A: Mittballs, a delightfully kooky site that turns presumptive GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney into a meaty chunk of deliciousness. You'll have to pack a fork and venture their way for a look at the Mittballs in action.

Sadly, Paul Ryan marinara sauce -- or mariaryan -- seems to have been a regrettable oversight.

More About: Mitt Romney, Watercooler

Everyone knows the story of the Wright brothers and their historic flight in December 1903. What you may not know is that the Orville and Wilbur Wright submitted a patent for their invention months earlier, which was eventually granted in 1906. Then the airplane patent wars began.

The Wrights sued Glenn Curtiss (among others) for infringing on their patent with his company's aircraft designs. The thing was, the Wright brothers' patent was so broad, it was virtually impossible to build any kind of aircraft without infringing on it. Eventually the two sides were forced to settle their differences at the advent of the First World War, when the U.S. government stepped in and created a…
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More About: Opinion, apple, patent lawsuit, patent lawsuit theater, patents, samsung

A newly created webpage for embattled Missouri Republican congressman Todd Akin prominently featured a human fetus and a grammatical error until refreshed versions of the website removed the photograph and fixed the mistake.

"I'm pro life and I stand with Todd Akin," read the page. "Tell McCaskill That Your [sic] Standing With Todd Akin!"

Version two of the page had no fetus, but read "Tell McCaskill That Your're Standing With Todd Akin."

Here is the first version:

Here is the second:

The third version of the page fixed both mistakes:

The page also features a donation pitch and a pro-Akin petition claiming to have already amassed more than 1,000 signatures.

A…
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More About: Politics, US, congress, todd akin

It looks like Nintendo Power -- one of the longest-running video game publications -- is shutting down.

For more than 23 years the publication has offered monthly coverage of the Nintendo gaming ecosystem. In 2007, Nintendo stopped publishing the magazine and shifted responsibilities to Future Publishing.

As first reported by Ars Technica, the venerable brand is preparing to shut down after Nintendo and Future decided not to renew a publishing contract.

According to Ars Technica's source, Nintendo seemed uninterested in taking over publication of the magazine themselves or in creating more digital initiatives to prolong the health of the brand.

Nintendo Power editors initially t…
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More About: Nintendo, magazines, nintendo power

NASA demonstrated Curiosity's wiggle capabilities Tuesday with a GIF showing the rover's wheels twisting in the Mars dirt.

Curiosity's first drive on the Red Planet will happen in the next few days, making the wheels test a bit like warm-up.

Space GIF: The final frontier of the Internet.

Image courtesy of NASA

BONUS: The 10 Most Stunning Images of Mars in History

More About: Mars, NASA, curiosity rover, space

California's Senate on Tuesday unanimously approved legislation to bar colleges and universities from requiring students to provide administrators with access to their social media usernames and passwords. Governor Jerry Brown now must sign or veto the bill by Sept. 30.

California is not the first state to pass legislation protecting social media privacy for students. In March, Maryland's Senate passed a bill to prevent public colleges and universities in the state from requiring students including athletes to provide access to their social accounts.

The issue of whether students' online social lives are completely private or subject to oversight from authority figures has particul…
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More About: Social Media, Sports

Facebook on Tuesday added the ability for people to mention friends on the service via Open Graph apps.

"With this frequently requested feature, companies like Foursquare can implement user mentions that work like they do in posts on Facebook," a Facebook representative said in a blog post announcing the addition.

"When people mention a friend in an Open Graph app, the story on Facebook links the person's name to their timeline, and their friend will receive a notification. The story will also be added to the friend's timeline or, if enabled, to timeline review. There are no privacy changes associated with this new feature."

Different than Action Tagging (tagging someone…
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More About: App, Facebook, Open Graph, apps

PopCap has confirmed that it has laid off 50 people. The move is part of a reorganization tactic that includes a "reduction in force" in its North American operation, mostly in its Seattle headquarters.

The company, which employees about 550 people, is still evaluating the future of its office in Dublin, Ireland, as PopCap continues to explore ways to increase its profitability in Europe without laying off more employees. PopCap Co-Founder John Vechey calls it an "exploratory consultation."

"Today's news is something you expect periodically from a company in a fast-changing industry, but it sucks if you're one of the people losing his or her job," he writes in an open letter.…
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More About: EA, layoffs, popcap

Former New York Giants football player Michael Strahan, who won a Super Bowl ring in 2008, will reportedly be Kelly Ripa's permanent co-host on morning show Live! With Kelly.

"Strahan's rep was seen ... a short time ago grinning from ear to ear," reports TMZ, citing ABC staff members for relaying the news Tuesday afternoon.

A spokesperson for Disney/ABC Television Group told Mashable they won't comment on "co-host speculation."

Live! With Kelly, however, announced Monday it will reveal a new co-host Sept. 4, after a year-long search for a replacement to fill Regis Philbin's vacancy.

Philbin retired in November — after clocking 995,000 minutes in his 28 years as the morning s…
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More About: Entertainment, Sports, TV, abc, celebrities, social tv

Thanks to the continuing evolution of the iOS as a music-creation platform, guitarists have several choices for bringing digital effects and pedals on the go with them.

A guitarist can literally plug right into their iPhone or iPad and begin shredding along with presets modeled after the legends of rock, or custom rigs of their own. Here are five key apps to get any rocker started.

More About: contributor, features, iOS apps, mobile apps

Rumored last week to be in the works, Google Play gift cards are now official and headed to number of popular retailers. Cards will be available for sale at Target, RadioShack, and GameStop locations in the United States over the coming weeks, and will be available on Walmart.com later this month.

Available in $10, $25, and $50 denominations, the cards can be used to purchase music, movies, books, apps, and games from Google Play. Cards can also be used from in-app purchases in games.

SEE ALSO: With Jelly Bean, Google Play Embraces Its Inner iTunes

With the quickly approaching holiday season, it makes sense for Google to introduce Google Play gift cards now. Apple sells a ton of…
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More About: Google, Google Play, apple, itunes

What comes to mind when you hear the word "Twilight"? Is it Rod Serling or Edward and Bella?

Online e-textbook retailer, eCampus has teamed-up with Beloit College, a liberal arts school in Wisconsin, to offer the below infographic that illustrates how today's college students understand the world.

A lot more had changed in the past 40 years than just the emergence of sexy vampire movies and books. Today's college students might look at you with a blank expression if you talk about cassette tapes, or library card catalogs.

Beloit College releases this list of college-aged students' cultural and pop-cultural perceptions and preferences on a yearly basis. They call this the "Mindset…
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More About: college