Wednesday 19 December 2012

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Video of Golden Eagle Snatching Baby Goes Viral”

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Video of Golden Eagle Snatching Baby Goes Viral”


Video of Golden Eagle Snatching Baby Goes Viral

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 04:44 AM PST


A video of an eagle snatching a baby has gone viral on YouTube and Facebook.

In the video, uploaded by user MrNuclearCat, the author is filming the huge bird as it's circling over a meadow. Suddenly, the eagle drops down and catches a baby with its claws, but lets it go after a few seconds, giving its mom and the cameraperson a good scare.

It's hard to tell whether the video is real or fake, but it looks convincing enough to rapidly become popular on social networks, with "OMG" being the most common comment.

What do you think? Is the video real or fake? Share your thoughts in the comments.

More About: golden eagle, viral video

Samsung Dethrones Nokia as Top Cellphone Brand in 2012, Beats Apple

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 02:55 AM PST


Samsung has ended Nokia's 14-year reign, dethroning the Finnish company to become the top cellphone brand in 2012, according to a new report.

The Korean electronics giant is expected to capture 29% of worldwide cellphone shipments; that's up from 24% last year, the IHS iSuppli Mobile and Wireless Communications Service said in a release. In comparison, Nokia's market share will fall to 24% from 30% last year, the research firm added.

Trailing in third place is Apple, which is predicted to take 10% of shipments (up from 7% in 2011). ZTE follows in fourth place with 6%, remaining steady since last year, while LG ends up in fifth place with 4% (down from 6%).

As last year's runner-up…
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More About: Nokia, apple, cellphones, samsung

GM to Unveil Cadillac ELR Electric Coupe Next Month

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 01:30 AM PST


General Motors will unveil its 2014 Cadillac ELR electric coupe on Jan. 15 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the company announced Tuesday.

Aside from the car being "design driven" and "electrically powered," Cadillac did not reveal many details about the coupe. According to Autoblog, however, the ELR was tested with the same range-extended electric drive system as the Chevy Volt.

Design driven. Electrically powered. The all-new 2014 ELR, arriving next winter, will be revealed Jan. 15, at NAIAS. twitter.com/Cadillac/statu…— Cadillac (@Cadillac) December 18, 2012

GM also provided a single, shadowy image of the coupe, revealing a vehicle that looks si…
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How World Landmarks Look in Apple vs. Google Maps

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 12:35 AM PST


1. Eiffel Tower - Paris, France




When Apple Maps launched in September, there was a funny picture of the Eiffel Tower looking like it had been run over by a gigantic steamroller. The image was one of the many iconic examples of how Apple's app came up way short. Now Apple's Eiffel outshines Google's washed-out looking image.

Click here to view this gallery.


If Apple is the Superman of tech companies, the iOS 6 Apple Maps app would have to be its kryptonite. The company revealed its iPhone 5 and iOS 6 at a ballyhooed press event in September. Ever since, all anyone seems to want to talk about is the shortcomings of Maps.

To make room for its own version, Apple eschewed the reliable Google Maps app. At Mashable, we showed you some of the most comical failures of Apple's Maps.

Now, Google Maps is back with a vengeance. The free app became available in the Apps Store last week and within hours it shot to the top of the most downloaded list. The app reached 10 million downloads within 48 hours of its release.

SEE ALSO: Google Maps Puts App
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More About: Google, Google Maps, Tech, apple, apple maps, apps, features

Fig Wellness App Reminds You to Drink Water, Call Your Mom

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 11:27 PM PST


Life can be overwhelming. It's easy to slip up, stress out, binge on pizza, skip the gym and skimp on sleep over and over again.

Consider Fig — a health and wellness app released Tuesday for iOS and Android devices — your wake-up call.

Fig was created by a Palo Alto-based team that believes overall wellness depends on great nutrition, sufficient sleep, healthy relationships and other factors unique to each of us. Users are encouraged to start off small by setting mini personal goals on Fig. They can be daily, weekly or monthly goals — whatever makes you feel good.

Only you know what your body, mind and spirit needs. So, you can choose to wake up 15 minutes early this week to…
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More About: health, holistic health, mobile apps, wellness

These Tiny Robots Can Self-Assemble into Different Shapes

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 10:26 PM PST


Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder developed a series of ping pong ball-sized robots that can self-assemble into a variety of shapes.

More About: Newsy, robots, videos

LEGO Santa Claus is One Tough Dude

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 09:28 PM PST


Santa Claus is coming to town, and he kind of looks like he can destroy it. Hope you've been nice, or he's decking you instead of your halls.

Cartoonist Mark Anderson built these Christmas-themed Santas complete will ability to launch coal at your front door -- or at least look more menacing than the jolly ol' fat man who hugs elves all day.

SEE ALSO: Juggling Santa Is Cornier Than Your Christmas Sweater

Just make sure to start building up your own LEGO fortress for when this guy comes a knockin'. Because LEGO Santa isn't climbing down the chimney, he's busting through the wall.

How do you like this LEGO creation? Share in the comment below and check out more on Anderson's
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More About: Christmas, Lego, Santa, holiday 2012, santa claus

Apps That Will Save You From the Zombie Apocalypse

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 08:28 PM PST


This infographic could literally be a life-saver! It includes the apps you'll need to survive in the event of a zombie apocalypse.

More About: App, infographics

Radio Pulls Kesha’s ‘Die Young’ After Newtown Shooting, She Tweets Reaction

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 07:31 PM PST


Kesha's "Die Young," the number three song on Billboard, is drastically losing radio airplay in the wake of Friday's Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

More About: Connecticut, Entertainment, Kesha, Music, Twitter, US, newtown

Experience The New Year’s Eve Ball Drop in Tumblr GIFs

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 06:32 PM PST


Don't worry about missing out on the ball drop action this New Year's Eve if you accidentally begin to snooze a few minutes before midnight. Tumblr has you covered.

This year, Tumblr is pairing up with the Times Square Alliance and Livestream to GIF the entire night in all its glitz, glamour and spectacle.

Tumblr selected three GIF makers from their community of bloggers to create and upload animated images in realtime. The GIFs will appear on GIFwich.com, much like during the Presidential election debates, when the blogging site contributed to the conversation with memes.

SEE ALSO: How to Follow the Times Square Ball Drop on Social Media

This will be Livestream's fourth year…
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More About: GIF, Happy New Year, new years eve, tumblr

Awesome Teen Wins Fight Against Sexist Easy-Bake Ovens

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 05:43 PM PST


A thirteen-year-old girl from Garfield, N.J., has made the world a better place for young chefs by persuading a giant toy company to reinvent the iconic Easy-Bake Oven toy.

Hasbro will unveil black, silver and blue models in 2013, broadening its classic line beyond popular pink and purple models traditionally marketed solely towards young girls, the multinational toy maker announced on Monday.

After meeting with McKenna Pope, who started the Change.org petition urging the company to embrace gender-neutral toy packaging and ads, Hasbro announced they will release the new line of "unisex" Easy-Bake Ovens at New York's Toy Fair in February, according to the Los Angeles Times. The eighth…
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More About: change.org, easy-bake oven, gender issues, online petition, toys

How Social Media, Mobile Are Playing a Bigger Part in Healthcare

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 05:24 PM PST


Google search has become part of our medical check-up these days. If you browse WebMD, Google or various online forums for answers before a doctor visit, you're not alone.

It's tempting to see if we can find an answer to our health questions in an instant when a world of information is at our fingertips, rather than leaving work or home. Flawed and inaccurate as some of that information may be, there are also many useful sites and forums with advice from actual doctors.

SEE ALSO: What Doctors Think About Your Online Health Searches

A study compiled by Demi & Cooper Advertising and DC Interactive Group shows that more than 90% of people ages 18-24 said they would trust health in…
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More About: Mobile, Social Media, health, healthcare, medicine

Zuck Gives $500 Million in Facebook Stock to Charity

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 04:51 PM PST


Mark Zuckerberg announced his and wife Priscilla's second major charitable contribution to date -- a gift of 18 million Facebook shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. The gift was announced, not surprisingly, by a post on Zuckerberg's timeline Tuesday evening.

Facebook shares are currently valued at $27.71 each, so the 18 million share gift is valued at $499 million.

The Facebook founder signed The Giving Pledge in 2010, a commitment to donate the majority of his wealth to charity during his lifetime. A few months prior, he gave a $100 million gift to the Newark City Public School System. That time around, however, he made the announcement on Oprah.

"I'm really prou…
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More About: Facebook, Giving Pledge, Social Good, mark zuckerberg

This Ain’t Over: National Geographic Goes Dark on Instagram

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 04:38 PM PST


Think Kevin Systrom's sort-of apology and walkback from Instagram's new privacy policy ended the controversy? Think again. For many prominent users, until they see his updated terms of service, this whole thing is on hold.

Case in point: National Geographic, or @NatGeo, one of Instagram's most popular accounts with 638,629 followers -- and certainly one of its most storied names. @NatGeo stunned the Instagram world late Tuesday by announcing it was suspending its posts to the service.

"We are very concerned about the direction of the proposed new terms of service," NatGeo's post (likely the last for a while) reads. "If they remain as presented, we may close our account."

If the
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More About: instagram, national geographic

Inside ‘The Voice’ Social Media Engine That Powered Season 3

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 04:34 PM PST


What makes The Voice social media engine tick? We went backstage to find out how the show keeps viewers engaged online. These stats might surprise you.

More About: Christina Milian, Entertainment, Music, Social Media, TV, Zeebox, itunes, social tv, the-voice

Zuck’s Wedding Photographer: Where Instagram Went Wrong

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 04:24 PM PST


Disappointed about the new Instagram privacy policy? Mark Zuckerberg's wedding photographer is. See what he had to say about it.

More About: Facebook, instagram, terms of service

See the Winner of Mashable’s Caption Contest

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 04:05 PM PST


Last week we asked our witty readers to caption this comic. After sorting through submissions on the Mashable comic and via Twitter using the #mashcomic hashtag, we deemed one reader's caption worthy enough to take the top spot.

Without further ado, the comical crown goes to ...

Alex Watts (@t3chy) via Twitter.

Here is his original tweet from Dec. 12:

#mashcomic 'Lost in Translation: Matt thought the new £300 smartphone was a bargain.' (Pound for Lb, worst - phone - ever) #Mashable— Alex Watts (@t3chy) December 12, 2012

To Alex, we send our highest of virtual high fives.

Do you think there was a better caption for the comic? Tell us in the comments below.

Co
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More About: captions, comic, comics, humor

5 Key Lessons Tim Cook Learned in 2012

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 03:43 PM PST


Tim Cook ends his first full calendar year as Apple CEO a new man. Here's what he learned, and how he can use those lessons to move Apple forward.

More About: apple, steve jobs, tim cook

Neil Patrick Harris Preys on Unsuspecting Puppets

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 03:32 PM PST


Neil Patrick Harris' puppet dreams take a turn for the creepy in the actor's latest video installment for Nerdist. The puppet parody of To Catch a Predator was eerily spot on.

SEE ALSO: Neil Patrick Harris Brings His 'Puppet Dreams' to YouTube

If you've got any cotton stuffing, stay away from Doogie Howser.

Thumbnail image courtesy of Nerdist

More About: neil patrick harris, nerdist, viral videos, web series

5 Free Alternatives to Instagram

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 03:14 PM PST


1. Streamzoo




Streamzoo lets you follow users (@) or subjects (#) and incorporates a badge and reward system to encourage participation in the community. Choose from 20 filters, 15 borders and six crop shapes, then share on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or Flickr. Platform: iOS and Android

Click here to view this gallery.


No filter can make Instagram's new privacy policy look pretty.

The popular photo app is on the verge of a mass exodus in light of new Terms of Service, which many interpreted as giving Instagram the right to sell your pics to advertisers starting Jan. 16. The backlash has been notable, with celebrity users tweeting their concerns and disaffected Instagrammers casting about for a new service to call home.

SEE ALSO: Boycott Instagram: Anonymous Joins the Backlash

The response was so vocal, in fact, that Instagram released a statement on its blog this afternoon to clarify some of the points from the new Terms of Service. The statement reads, in part:

We've heard loud and clear th…
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More About: Facebook, features, gallery, instagram, photography, privacy, social media privacy

Smartphone ‘Lab’ Detects Allergens in Food

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 02:58 PM PST


A smartphone that can be transformed into a lab with the ability to detect food allergens is the latest in add-on technology from inventor Aydogan Ozcan. He and his researchers are creating prototypes of these devices that turn the phones into precise lab instruments.

The iTube, Ozcan and his colleagues' new device, converts smartphones into colorimeters that are able to detect minute amounts of allergens, such as peanuts, in food. It's designed for use at home or in public, such as at a restaurant, said Ozcan, an engineering professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"People will be able to quantify the amount of allergen and have the ability to upload their results to th…
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More About: allergy, food apps, health

Is This Instagram’s Netflix Moment?

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 02:40 PM PST


Mashable OP-ED

Just a day after Instagram announced its new privacy policy, users are outraged. Celebrities who once flocked to the photo-sharing site in droves are reconsidering how they use the service, and competing services such as Flickr are seeing a surge in signups.

SEE ALSO: Instagram Will Basically Sign Your Life Away

While user backlash against tech services is nothing new, it's stunning to observe the change of sentiment regarding Instagram in just 24 hours. The last time I remember a company shifting so rapidly in the hearts and minds of users was when Netflix made a series of blunders that caused it to shed users and lose more than two-thirds of its stock value.

A Br…
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More About: Facebook, Opinion, instagram, netflix, photo

Instagram Vows: We Won’t Use Your Photos in Ads

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 02:30 PM PST


Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom vowed Tuesday to remove language from the service's privacy policy that seemed to say Instagram was going to allow user pictures to be employed in advertising.

"The language we proposed ... raised questions about whether your photos can be part of an advertisement," Systrom wrote in a blog post entitled "Thank you and we're listening."

"We do not have plans for anything like this, and because of that we're going to remove the language that raised the question."

The overall tone of the blog post is one of clarification, rather than retraction. Systrom does apologize that the language wasn't clear enough. "Legal documents are easy to misinterpret,…
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More About: instagram, online advertising

Goodbye ‘Gossip Girl,’ Social Media Pioneer

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 02:27 PM PST


Mashable OP-ED

As fans and critics rehash the last six seasons of The CW's Gossip Girl after Monday's finale, most recollect the cutting edge fashion, the soap opera-like plot lines that went downhill over time, and guest appearances from the likes of Vera Wang, Lady Gaga and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

But they're missing an important story behind this show. Gossip Girl was the first about the lives of the Connected Generation -- the millennials who grew up with the Internet, consider their cellphones an essential accessory and share content comfortably with friends and strangers on social networks.

From the first episode, which premiered Sep. 19, 2007, it was clear the characters' li…
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More About: Entertainment, TV

Deck the Halls With These 15 Muppet Christmas Songs

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 02:26 PM PST


'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' -- feat. John Denver


Simple, yet awesomely soothing. Rowlf and John Denver make the perfect holiday duo.

Click here to view this gallery.


What's better than gathering around a warm, cozy fire and singing holiday songs? Adding Muppets to the equation, that's what. Check out these 15 Muppet holiday tunes.

More About: Watercooler, holidays 2012, the muppets, video gallery

NRA Breaks Social Silence With First Tweet Since Newtown Shooting

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 02:04 PM PST


The National Rifle Association broke its four-day social media silence Tuesday by announcing via Twitter a "major news conference" in Washington, D.C. set for Friday. In a linked release, the NRA promised "meaningful contributions" to "make sure this never happens again."

Important Statement from the National Rifle Association nraila.org/news-issues/ne… #NRA— NRA (@NRA) December 18, 2012

The NRA's Facebook page has also returned after being disabled, featuring a link to the release and a new cover photo reading "PRESS CONFERENCE."

The NRA's full statement is copied below:

National Rifle Association of America is made up of four million moms and dads, sons and daug…
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More About: Twitter, US, newtown

Instagram, Treat My Work With Respect. Love, Your Biggest Fan

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 01:56 PM PST


Power Instagrammer John de Guzman says the devoted online community is outraged over the updated Terms of Service. Here's why Instagram may lose some of its most active users.

More About: instagram, photography, privacy, terms of service

Brain-Powered Robot Helps Paralyzed Woman Take Control

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 01:52 PM PST


Jan Scheuermann is paralyzed from the neck down, but with the help of a robotic arm controlled by her brain, she's now able to pour herself a glass of water to drink.

Lancet Medical Journal ran a study using brain implants to control the robotic arm. Two sensors were placed in the motor cortex of her brain. Pulses of electricity inside her brain are translated into commands for the robot arm, which includes a bending elbow and wrist. In about two weeks, Scheuermann perfected the use of her new robot limb.

Scheuermann has progressively lost control over her body since she was diagnosed with spinocerebellar degeneration 13 years ago.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Arenamontanus

More About: Video, robots

Instagram Responds: ‘We Hear You’

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 01:35 PM PST


UPDATE: Instagram just posted a lengthy blog entry clarifying various aspects of their privacy policy. The company promises to "modify" some of the language to make its intent more clear, and to remove any suggestion that Instagram would be employing user images in ads. Read the full story here.

Faced with a rising tide of user backlash over its new privacy policy and terms of service, Instagram sent an olive branch Tuesday. And it did so on the service where most of its critics are talking: Twitter.

The tweet simply announced that user complaints had been heard. It promised, in apparently rushed and slightly garbled grammar, that there would be more information soon:

We've heard yo…
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More About: Facebook, instagram, privacy

Here’s How Police Get a Suspect’s Facebook Information

Posted: 18 Dec 2012 01:27 PM PST


When major media outlets (incorrectly) identified the name of the suspect in Friday's elementary school massacre, journalists immediately flocked to Facebook to learn more about him. Pictures, status updates, comments -- anything that might give more insight into the killer's motivations.

Putting aside the media frenzy and subsequent reflection over what went wrong in newsrooms on Friday, journalists aren't the only ones who have learned to check social media for more information about a suspect -- the police are doing it too.

Mashable reached out to Facebook, Twitter and several law enforcement agencies to learn more about what happens behind-the-scenes immediately following a high-pr…
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More About: Facebook, US, police


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