Tuesday 12 February 2013

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “700,000 Colorful Sheets of Paper Cover Event Space”

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “700,000 Colorful Sheets of Paper Cover Event Space”


700,000 Colorful Sheets of Paper Cover Event Space

Posted: 12 Feb 2013 02:37 AM PST


Architect Gert Wingårdh and illustrator Kustaa Saksi have designed an installation at the Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair for "The Hello! Show," which offers debates around the workplace, design and communication.

The event space has been constructed using 700,000 sheets in total. It is reminiscent of a church interior, with rows of high tables in front of an "altar" for the panel. The tabletops are made of a mirror laminate and balance on stacks of A4 paper sheets.

Stacks also hang from the roof in a Venetian blind-like construction, with the lowest sheet in each stack carrying part of an enormous illustration that forms the dome-shaped ceiling.

"I'm fascinated by archite…
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More About: architecture, design, sweden

LL Cool J Promotes New Single ‘Whaddup’ by Photobombing You

Posted: 12 Feb 2013 02:02 AM PST


What do a squirrel, stingray and LL Cool J have a common? They all love to photobomb.

The rapper is giving fans an opportunity get photobombed by him on Whaddup.LLCoolJ.com. It's an innovative marketing ploy that attracts visitors to the website, which currently streams LL's latest single, "Whaddup" featuring Chuck D, Travis Barker, Tom Morello and DJ Z-Trip. The group performed the old-school hip-hop song, below, at Sunday's 55th Grammy Awards.

On the website, fans are greeted with the words, "GET PHOTO BOMBED BY LL COOL J," followed by a button labelled "Let's do this," underneath. After clicking the button, participants can upload an image, then drag and drop one of six photos…
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LG Announces Updates to Optimus L Series Smartphones

Posted: 12 Feb 2013 01:07 AM PST


LG has updated its Optimus L Series handsets, and plans to showcase them all at the upcoming Mobile World Congress, which takes place from Feb. 25 to 28 in Barcelona.

All the new devices will get a "II" at the end of their names, so we'll be introduced to LG Optimus L3II, L5II and L7II.

LG Optimus L7II -- the most powerful device of the bunch -- will have a 4.3-inch WVGA IPS screen, a 1GHz dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel camera, 768MB of RAM memory and 4GB of storage, which can be expanded with microSD cards. The L7II's battery will get bumped up to 2,460 mAh, and it will come with Android 4.1 or Jelly Bean.

As far as its smaller brethren go, the L5II will have a 4-inch WVGA…
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More About: L Seres, LG, MWC, MWC2013, Optimus L Series, smartphones

Watch Overly Attached Girlfriend Deliver a Creepy Valentine Poem

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 11:49 PM PST


In a new YouTube video, Overly Attached Girlfriend delivers a Valentine's Day poem sure to give you goosebumps in the worst possible way.

"Roses are red, violets are blue, be my Valentine, I'm waiting for you. Blood is red, bruises are blue, don't say no," she says in the video, which went online Monday. The abrupt ending inspired some commenters to provide sinister possible endings to the poem, including "Or I'll kill you."

What do you think of the video? Creepy or funny? Tell us in the comments, below.

Image courtesy of YouTube, wzr0713

More About: overly attached girlfriend, valentine's day

Could This Be the iPhone 5S?

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 10:49 PM PST


Photos of what may be Apple's next iPhone surfaced online Monday.

Posted by a Chinese technology site, the images allegedly show the iPhone 5S already going into production. Nearly identical to the iPhone 5, the handset shown in the photos has an updated vibration motor (some have complained the iPhone 5's is too noisy). Beyond that minor difference, however, it looks identical to the model currently on the market. Apple launched the iPhone 5 last September.

The Chinese site also suggested that an iPhone 6 was on the way, soon. It said the 6 will sport a larger display, increasing from 4.8 inches to 5 inches.

This past weekend, rumors surfaced that the Cupertino, Calif. compa…
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More About: apple, iphone, iPhone 5s

Zuckerbergs Are Among ‘Most Generous’ Donors of 2012

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 10:02 PM PST


Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan are among the 50 "most generous" donors of 2012, according to a new list.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy revealed that Zuckerberg, 28, and Chan, 27, donated nearly $500 million to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works with donors to manage their contributions. The couple gave 18 million shares of Facebook stock -- valued at $498.8 million -- to the foundation to support education and health programs.

Zuckerberg announced his donation via Facebook last December. In the post, the billionaire said that he and Chan, a pediatrician, committed to donating most of the money they earn to charity. In…
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More About: Facebook, Google, mark zuckerberg, priscilla chan, Sergey Brin

8 Pro Tips for Online Dating

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 09:00 PM PST


Online dating is about more than simply meeting someone — it's about marketing yourself. Without a clear, honest profile, you might be looking forever. In honor of Valentine's Day and its impending dating anxiety, we asked experts for their top tips to help you succeed online — if not this week, at least soon.

1. Get an Outside Perspective

Be sure that your profile makes sense to others. "One client started off her profile by talking all about her job … But this isn't LinkedIn," said Laurie Davis, author of Love at First Click: The Ultimate Guide to Online Dating (Atria, 2013). There are tools to help you, ranging from questionnaires to full-on profile-writing services. At t…
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More About: love, online dating, online relationships, sex

Barbie Digital Mirror Lets Kids Try on Makeup Using Augmented Reality

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 08:38 PM PST


NEW YORK -- Smearing red lipstick all over their faces and fingers, little kids like to try on mommy's makeup -- it's a mess, but also a rite of passage.

Mattel has transformed that traditional play pattern with the Barbie Digital Makeover Mirror, which Mashable saw at the 110th American International Toy Fair this week.

Using an iPad and a separately purchased vanity frame, girls get to "try on" eye shadow, lipstick and glitter. They hold a wand, and dip it into pretend makeup. Using augmented reality and photo facial recognition, the makeup then appears on the user's face when she looks in the mirror.

Think of it as dress-up goes digital: If you make a mistake, simply start over…
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More About: Augmented Reality, barbie, toy fair

Here’s a Cute Cat Watching Hockey

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 07:57 PM PST


Yeah, so it's really just a cat watching hockey, but this video is bound to make a lot of Canadian cat lovers very happy.

SEE ALSO: 5 Rejected Animal Planet Super Bowl Show Ideas

And we're also really working towards dispelling the stereotype that only dogs are advocates of athleticism -- clearly Dave the cat isn't afraid to show his hockey-loving roots.

BONUS: The 33 Most-Watched Cat Videos Ever [PURR]

Video courtesy of YouTube, Justine Nunes. Image via iStockphoto, walik.

More About: cats, cute animals, hockey

Rihanna Disrobes Completely in ‘Stay’ Music Video

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 07:06 PM PST


Hours after Facebook users ranked Rihanna as best dressed at the Grammys, the 24-year-old singer disrobes completely in an emotional music video that debuted Monday night.

"Stay" featuring crooner Mikky Ekko, who performed the song with Rihanna at Sunday's 55th Grammy Awards, primarily shows Rihanna's body submerged in bathtub water.

The official "Stay" video is available to watch only on E! News, where it premiered. This uncut, leaked version of "Stay" doesn't show Ekko, whereas the official video does:

Rihanna is the most-liked Facebook user, with more than 66 million likes. A post on her page that announced the premiere of "Stay" raked in 30,000 likes within 20 minutes.

S
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More About: celebrities, Entertainment, music videos, rihanna, trending

Microsoft Staffs Up LA Studio to Develop Original Content for Xbox

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 06:32 PM PST


Microsoft's Xbox 360 console is more than a gaming device. In fact, owners are spending more time playing video and music than games on the device, Yusuf Mehdl, senior vice president of Microsoft's interactive entertainment business, disclosed on stage at AllThingsD's media conference Monday night. Compared to other Internet-connected entertainment consoles -- such as the $99 Apple TV and Roku's $79 streaming video player -- the $240 Xbox is in a premium-price category, and it wants to deliver a premium-quality service, he said.

To that end, Microsoft has set up a production studio in Santa Monica, Calif., where approximately 150 employees are working to develop a range of original conten…
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More About: microsoft, Xbox 360, XBox live

Hearst Hosts Its First Fashion Hackathon

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 05:57 PM PST


Hearst hosted its first-ever "Fashion Hack," teaming designers with developers for a 24-hour competition. The collaboration of the fashion and tech industries brought more than 150 developers to New York City to create innovative, fashion-focused apps using Hearst brands' APIs.

The international media company launched the weekend event in an effort to tap into the quick growth of the mobile market and redefine reader interaction. Hearst has the content, Hearst Magazines President David Carey says, but needs to adapt to changes in the industry.

"We're the largest publisher of fashion magazines and the chance to work with people with some fresh perspective, thinking about the technol…
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More About: fashion, Google, hackathon, hearst, new york fashion week

Upcoming State of the Union Will Be Interactive

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 05:42 PM PST


The White House is planning a series of digital follow-ons to Tuesday night's State of the Union address, including a tool called Citizen Response that people can use to share specific parts of the speech through social media.

People using Citizen Response will also be able to send the Obama administration messages describing how specific parts of the address affect them, according to a White House blog post Monday.

The Obama administration has launched several initiatives to make policy-making more interactive, including its citizen petition website We the People. The State of Washington is experimenting with a system that allows citizens to comment directly on pieces of pending legis…
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More About: barack obama, state of the union, we the people, White House

‘Super Mario Busters’ Mashup Marries Two ’80s Favorites

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 05:36 PM PST


Behold: "Super Mario Busters," a cartoon mashup that imagines the Mushroom Kingdom and ghost-infested 1980s New York City melded into one.

More About: Gaming, viral videos, Watercooler

Justin Timberlake Joins Instagram With Spurt of Intimate Photos

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 05:09 PM PST


Justin Timberlake joined photo-sharing service Instagram on Grammy Sunday, rapidly attracting more than 100,000 followers as of last count on Monday night.

Meanwhile, fellow Grammy attendee Kelly Clarkson entered the Instagram world last week and gained nearly 35,000 followers. Madonna, who wasn't a nominee at the 55th Grammy Awards, also relaunched her account; one snap is a close-up of her breasts.

SEE ALSO: Taylor Swift Gets Twitter Death Threats After 'Dissing' Ex at Grammys

Timberlake's team filled his Instagram stream with a flurry of Willow-filtered photos (Facebook, which owns Instagram, confirmed to Mashable that Willow was used):


Images courtesy of Instagram, Justi
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More About: celebrities, Entertainment, instagram, justin timberlake, Music, Social Media, TV

Robot Fish Look Like the Reel Thing

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 04:59 PM PST


Zuru's robot fish swims erratically enough to look like the pet-store-bought variety.

More About: toy fair, toys

Lego Unveils Geeky New Sets For Star Wars, Lone Ranger Fans

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 04:44 PM PST


Star Wars




Jabba's Sail Barge -- $119.99, August launch.

Click here to view this gallery.


Lego fans get excited when the company unveils its latest batch of franchised toys, and this year there's a lot to geek out over.

More About: Lego, Star Wars

High School Girl’s Miraculous Shot Must Be Seen to Be Believed

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 04:34 PM PST


Full-court shots in basketball are rare, to say the least. Full-court shots that bounce once before going in? Unheard of. But this high school girl just pulled off the impossible.

More About: Sports, Watercooler

Cat Walks Runway at New York Fashion Week

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 04:24 PM PST


New York Fashion Week took the term "cat walk" to a new level this year, hiring a real live kitty to strut down the runway.

Lily, a certified supermeowdel (had to go there), is a 4-year-old blue point Siamese rescue cat -- with a natural ability to smize -- and the first feline to be a part of a New York Fashion Week show. She premiered her fierce (and controversial) head-to-paw fur look on Feb. 10, during the Tracy Reese fashion show at Lincoln Center.


Image via Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week/Getty Images Entertainment.

Designer Reese partnered with Purina ONE on its "True Nature of Cats" movement, which inspired the animal runway accessory.

"As a d…
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More About: cats, cute animals, new york fashion week

US Is Victim of Massive Cyber Espionage Campaign

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 04:11 PM PST


The U.S. is a victim of a massive and sustained campaign of cyber espionage, according to a classified intelligence assessment revealed by the Washington Post on Monday.

These periodic assessments, officially called National Intelligence Estimates (NIE), are issued by the Director of National Intelligence to express the general consensus of the intelligence community and to inform policymakers.

That the United States is the target of a large cyber espionage campaign seems like a foregone conclusion, given recent developments. In the last few weeks, there have been reports of complex cyber attacks against papers like the New York Times or The Wall Street Journal, both attributed to Ch…
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More About: china, cyberespionage, cybersecurity, espionage

Bluetooth Mercedes Has the Coolest Doors Ever

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 04:02 PM PST


The only thing that's cooler than a luxury sports car you can control through your phone is one with "gullwing" doors and a built-in speaker.

More About: remote control, toy

‘Florida Man’ Is Twitter’s Worst Superhero Ever

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 03:29 PM PST


A new Twitter parody account, called Florida Man, compiles all the best headlines from the Sunshine State to represent a hybrid, trouble-causing 'superhero.'

More About: parody, Twitter, Watercooler

Nexus 4 Wireless Charger Orders Begin at Last

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 03:21 PM PST


Google is finally taking orders for its Nexus 4 wireless charging accessory.

The Nexus 4 uses Qi wireless charging technology -- the same stuff used by the Lumia 920.

This means that users can just set their device on a compatible charging mat (or in this case, an orb) and have the device charge by induction. That can be really convenient, especially for users who don't want to make their office or bedside table messy with too many cables or plugs.

Google announced it would be shipping a wireless charger for the Nexus 4 back when the device was announced last October. Nearly four months later, you can finally place an order for $59.99 from Google Play .

No word on when the charg…
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More About: Google, nexus 4, Qi, qi wireless power

Taylor Swift Gets Twitter Death Threats After ‘Dissing’ Ex at Grammys

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 03:14 PM PST


Furious One Direction fans hurled death threats at Taylor Swift on Twitter after her sassy performance of "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" at Sunday's 55th Grammy Awards. The harsh threats continued to roll in well into late Monday.

The angry fans think Swift mocked her ex-boyfriend -- 19-year-old One Direction member and British heartthrob Harry Styles -- during her Grammy set. The 23-year-old rewrote the lyrics to the song and at one point noticeably sang in a fake British accent (watch below).

"So he calls me up and says, 'I still love you'," Swift belted, singing the last four words with the accent. "And I'm like, 'I'm sorry, I'm busy opening up the Grammys.'"

SEE AL
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More About: 55th Grammy Awards, Entertainment, grammy awards, grammys, Harry Styles, Music, One Direction, Social Media, taylor swift, TV, Twitter

American Express Lets You Buy Stuff on Twitter by Using a Hashtag

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 03:03 PM PST


American Express is upgrading its Sync program with Twitter to let cardholders buy stuff by using a hashtag.

Starting Monday, AmEx customers who sync their cards can buy items if they use the right hashtag. The first such item is a $25 AmEx gift card, which will go for $15 if you tweet #BuyAmexGiftCard25. Other offers will be rolled out on Wednesday Feb. 13 at noon EST including an Amazon Kindle Fire HD for $149.99 (a $50 discount), an Xbox Controller for $29.99 (a discount of about $10) and an Xbox 360 4GB console with a three-month Xbox LIVE Subscription and two game tokens for $179.99 (which is the price of the console without those extras.)

If consumers opt for those items and use…
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More About: american express, ecommerce, Twitter

Facebook Being Sued Over Like Button

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 02:57 PM PST


You can bet Facebook doesn't like this.

The social network is currently being sued for its use of the Like button, a feature which was patented by Dutch programmer Joannes Jozef Everardus van Der Meer in 1998, five years before Facebook's launch.

The patents were granted as part of the functionality of Surfbook, a social diary created by Van Der Meer that allowed users to "like" each other's content.

Van Der Meer has passed away. However, the patent holder –- Rembrandt Social Media, LP -- has chosen to seek legal action against Facebook, as well as the company AddThis, for using the patents without permission.

"We believe Rembrandt's patents represent an important f…
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More About: Facebook, like

CISPA Cybersecurity Bill Is Coming Back Wednesday

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 02:51 PM PST


The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Information Act, more commonly known as CISPA, will be reintroduced to the House of Representatives Wednesday, its authors announced Monday.

CISPA, a controversial cybersecurity bill, first passed the Republican-controlled House on a vote of 248-168 last April despite a veto threat from the White House. It was not picked up by the Democratic-controlled Senate, which was working on competing cybersecurity bills of its own which didn't come to a vote.

CISPA's authors told The Hill last week they have been working with the White House to mitigate the administration's concerns over privacy, worries shared by many privacy advocates.

If CISPA passes, it…
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More About: CISPA, congress, cybersecurity, Politics, US

5 Things Bill Gates Revealed on Reddit

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 02:35 PM PST


Bill Gates hosted a Reddit AMA ("Ask Me Anything") this afternoon, covering a wide range of topics including his leadership of Microsoft, the activities of his foundation and who his favorite band is (U2, if you were wondering).

While much of the discussion went over old material (Gates at one point defended his and his wife's decision to leave only $10 million to each of their three children), he also revealed a few new insights. Also, the unfiltered nature of a Reddit AMA gave Gates a chance to put both his genius and wit on display to a crowd that consists largely of people just like him: geeks who are passionate about the Internet and technology.

SEE ALSO: Bill Gates Speaks Out Abo
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More About: AMA, bill gates, microsoft, reddit

HBO Teases ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 3

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 02:29 PM PST


Brace yourself. Your favorite citizens of Westeros and Essos are back on March 31.

And HBO knows you've been waiting with bated breath to be whisked away to a world where morally ambiguous, backstabbing, political social climbers are commonplace. So it's giving you just a peek at what season three has in store, with this maddeningly short 41-second clip.

SEE ALSO: Drink Up: HBO to Release 'Game of Thrones' Beer

Looks like season three will be just as violent, sexy, chaotic and intriguing as the rest -- but we can't tell you too much more, yet.

Video and image courtesy of YouTube, GameofThrones.

More About: game of thrones, hbo, trailers

Obama’s Executive Order on Cybersecurity May Be Imminent

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 02:26 PM PST


President Barack Obama's long-expected executive order on cybersecurity will be announced Wednesday, according to a report.

The order is expected to be revealed at an early morning event at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, reported The Hill, citing "two people familiar with the matter." Mashable has reached out to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy for comment and will update this post with any response.

Obama's order is expected to set up voluntary cybersecurity standards for private businesses operating critical infrastructure. It also orders government agencies to share information about potential threats with businesses, according to Bloomberg News.

SEE ALSO: C
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More About: barack obama, cybersecurity, Politics, US, White House


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