Take heed, procrastinators: A new app rewards and punishes users based on how many items they check off on their to-do lists.

Promoted as "the world's first to-do list with a personality," Carrot aims to encourage productivity, but is more entertaining than motivating.

Each time users complete a task, they are rewarded with points, which they can later redeem for prizes (including gifts, compliments, jokes and quotes). In response, Carrot -- represented on-screen by a blue dot -- stays happy.

But when users fail to get things done -- watch out. Carrot turns red, evoking the creepy aura of HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey. As the description says on Apple's App Store: "You do not…
Continue reading...

More About: apps

A trailer for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 -- the sequel to the critically lauded 2009 animated film -- debuted online Wednesday.

In the original, hero Flint Lockwood invents and eventually destroys a machine that causes chaos in his hometown by turning water into food. Number two picks up shortly after, with Flint discovering that his machine is still operational -- and now produces food-animal hybrids (such as the "Taco-dile Supreme").

Check out the two-minute trailer, above, to get a taste of the sequel. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is slated for release on Sept. 27.

Screenshot image courtesy of YouTube, joblomovienetwork

As part of the Victoria and Albert Museum's "David Bowie Is" exhibit, 101 designers helped create a typographic print using the singer's last name.

More About: David Bowie, fonts, typeface

Although the iPhone 5 only launched five months ago, designers are already imagining how Apple's next line of smartphones will look.

Peter Zigich, a Toronto-based 3D designer, posted concept images of the iPhone 6, the iPhone mini and a phablet on his website.

For Apple's next flagship phone, Zigich proposes moving the home button to the side, leaving room for more screen room and another row of icons. The change, he adds, would maintain the same physical dimensions as the iPhone 5. Zigich also mulls over the possibility of two home buttons -- one on each side of the phone.

For the iPhone mini, he imagines it as a cheaper, smaller version of the flagship -- as some reports suggest…
Continue reading...

More About: apple, iphone, Mini, phablet

As terrifying as it may be when you're out of work, it's no time to run for the hills. Consider these key strategies to help you brand yourself.

More About: job hunt, job hunting, personal brand, personal branding, Unemployed, unemployment

After long hours toiling on a computer, many users leave their devices on to save time and energy. One non-profit foundation is taking advantage of people's idle time for the greater good: it's borrowing computer cycles to cure rare diseases.

Quantum Cures, founded in January, will enlist the help of volunteers around the United States to access unused computer time. Participants can download a free screensaver software which will solve molecule computations for a specific disease. The program seeks to perform additional research during off hours.

The concept of utilizing distributed computing for scientific research is nothing new. Projects like SETI@home and Folding@home use thousa…
Continue reading...

More About: distributed computing, health, Lifestyle, Science

More middle- and secondary-school teachers are using digital tools in their classrooms and professional lives, a new report says. A study by Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project released Thursday delves into teachers' increasing technology use, but also expresses educators' concerns about the digital divide.

The study surveyed Advance Placement and National Writing Project teachers across the United States, and 92% say the Internet has a "major impact" on their ability to access content, resources and materials for teaching. Teachers are becoming advanced tech users, according to Kristen Purcell, Pew's associate director for research.

"The findings bode well for p…
Continue reading...

More About: education, Lifestyle, Pew, teachers, technology

The 94Fifty Bluetooth basketball from a company called InfoMotion aims to help aspiring ballers train strategically by tracking shots and dribbles.

More About: Sports

New Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer caused quite the stir last Friday when she decided to eliminate the option for employees to work from home.

While some applauded the surprising decision as a bold move that should help Yahoo get back on track, many commenters criticized it harshly. In a digital age where many employees can theoretically get work done anywhere -- provided they have Internet access -- Mayer's edict struck some as over-the-top and even a bit draconian.

Yahoo recently addressed the controversy, but it's already spawned at least one Twitter parody that makes fun of Mayer's new hardline image.

Simply called "Yahoo! HR," the account sends out mock human-resources notices to i…
Continue reading...

More About: marissa mayer, Yahoo

Los Angeles based startup Pose is like an interactive fashion magazine, according to co-founder Alisa Gould-Simon.

More About: fashion, instagram, pose, valleygirltv

1. Benchwarmer

What if the first tab in your browser every morning was a healthy shot of inspiration? Benchwarmer is a neat extension for Chrome that replaces the "New Tab" screen with six shots from Dribbble. Dribbble is an invite-only, high-quality community of designers who share what they are currently working on, in the high altar of pixel-perfection. Once installed Benchwarmer defaults to the latest top-rated shots; however, you can customize this view using the gear symbol. Hovering over a shot shows its number of likes and who posted it. You also can enter your own Dribbble username to display the work of users you follow. The extension is open-sourced on Git Hub, if you are looking to contribute.

Click here to view this gallery.

As a designer you may have used Google Chrome for some time already, but are you using the browser to its full advantage? Chrome features a robust extension system that deserves to be explored and tested. It's one reason Chrome can now claim to be the world's most popular browser.

SEE ALSO: 10 Must-Have Chrome Extensions for Developers

We've gathered 10 of the best Google Chrome extensions for web designers and, when used in combination with the chrome extensions for developers, you could have a fully customized, powerhouse of a browser, completely suited to your individual requirements.

Have we missed any great extensions you love and use on a daily basis? If so, please share you…
Continue reading...

More About: chrome, Chrome Extensions, contributor, design, features, Tech, web

We've all experienced the sheer terror of having the electricity go out, plunging us into what seems like never-ending, soul-sucking darkness, only to realize that our set of Pinterest-inspired tea candles in a mason jar provide absolutely no useful light.

What's a person to do?

No worries -- just become an instant MacGyver and make your own candle from a stick of butter and some toilet paper. It sounds a little like a fire hazard, but this YouTuber proves that DIY can always come in handy.

SEE ALSO: 6 Easy Life Hacks to Make You More Awesome

But don't be surprised if you begin craving a Paula Deen dish and we don't recommend butter candles for setting the mood in romantic en…
Continue reading...

More About: hacks, lifehacks, viral videos

Battle the Aliens

The aliens are located in different parts of the screen. Buzz can run from right to left to get the best angle before he throws the ball.

Click here to view this gallery.

Disney Mobile announced Toy Story: Smash It! on Wednesday, a new 3D physics-based game featuring the one and only Buzz Lightyear.

The Angry Birds-style game has you play the role of Buzz, who is trying to knock down the aliens and stop the evil Zurg. Throughout the game's 60 levels, the aliens position themselves in new and unique ways on blocks, toys, and even models trains.

SEE ALSO: Creative Genius Makes Full-Length Live-Action 'Toy Story'

To defeat them, Buzz is armed with a number of different types of balls, ranging from your run-of-the-mill bouncy ball to balloons you can inflate after throwing for destroying structures.

After completing each level, players are given a…
Continue reading...

More About: disney, pixar, toy story

New York's Museum of Modern Art will unveil for the first time its newly acquired video game collection on Friday, helping to feed a growing nostalgia for classic games and the arcades that once housed them.

Fourteen games will be installed in the museum's Philip Johnson Galleries including: Pac-Man (1980), Tetris (1984), Another World (1991), Myst (1993), SimCity 2000 (1994), vib-ribbon (1999), The Sims (2000), Katamari Damacy (2004), EVE Online (2003), Dwarf Fortress (2006), Portal (2007), flOw (2006), Passage (2008) and Canabalt (2009). Games were chosen according to a variety of criteria including visual quality, elegance of the code and design of playing behavior.

Games, more than…
Continue reading...

More About: art, games, moma, museums, video games

Documentary filmmaker Evan Carpenter hopes his latest project, Gracie Learns to Dance, will inspire promising young students around the world to stay in school and pursue their passions.

The film follows Gracie, the 15-year-old president of the Rising Star Dance Troupe. The students learned to dance through classes offered by NGO Rising Star, which works with people with leprosy, including the children raised in one of India's 700 leprosy colonies.

Carpenter got involved with the project when he went to India in June to shoot a promotional video for Rising Star. When he met Gracie, he was taken aback by her promise and wanted to share her story with other young girls who could follow…
Continue reading...

More About: india, Social Good

Major League Baseball is expanding its use of mobile ticketing via Apple's Passbook app to include 13 stadiums this season.

Mobile ticketing began in the final two weeks of the regular MLB season last year as iOS 6 launched.

At that time only four teams supported the app: the New York Mets, the San Francisco Giants, the Boston Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals.

At a fan event in new York City Tuesday night, MLB said it was tripling the number of teams which would support Passbook on opening day, with additional teams added throughout the season.

The expansion of electronic ticketing is expected to be a home run for fans. In the two-week trial period last year 12% of single-g…
Continue reading...

More About: apple passbook, Baseball, etickets, passbook

GIFs are hot, but marketers have mostly been at a loss as to how to appropriate them.

Give Fox Searchlight points for trying. The studio's new ad for its upcoming movie Stoker is entirely composed of GIFs. The GIFs were culled from LetterstoIndia.com, a site that "gave users a glimpse into the wicked and twisted world of the film's main character," according to Searchlight's PR. The cinemagraphs proved so popular that the studio used them in banner ads, page takeovers and, finally, in the TV spot above, which is set to premiere Thursday night during Adult Swim on Cartoon Network.

For the studio, the GIF is less about goofy memes than a new "culturally poignant art form."

Do…
Continue reading...

More About: Advertising, GIFs, Marketing

Excited for 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2'? Us too. Check out these just-released photos of the Spidey suit for the upcoming film.

More About: Amazing Spider-Man, films, Newsy, Video

1. Withings Smart Baby Monitor

The Smart Baby Monitor from Withings hooks up to your iOS and Android devices to give you a clear view of your baby from afar, complete with pan, tilt and zoom functions. The monitor gives you audio, high-res video, night vision, and alerts for noise, motion, temperature and humidity. You can also talk to your baby through the system, play one of seven pre-loaded lullabies and even turn on a nightlight. Cost: $249.95 Image courtesy of Withings

Click here to view this gallery.

While baby monitors have been around for years, the next generation takes the concept ultra-mobile, with app-enabled solutions that work wirelessly with iOS devices.

We're taking a look at five such solutions that offer remote monitoring from your iPhone or iPad, letting you listen to, see and even talk to your baby from elsewhere.

SEE ALSO: How to Capture Stunning Snaps of Your Kids

If you're interested in getting some of this cool tech in your nursery, take a look through the gallery above.

Already using one? Let us know in the comments below about your experiences with any of these devices.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Charles Huss

More About: apps, baby, family and parenting, Gadgets, home, Kids, Lifestyle

A vehicle will be one of the most expensive purchases most of us ever make. Buying a car has never been easy, but here's help: All the digital tools at our disposal make the process less complicated, and this infographic will show you how people successfully tackle that complicated task of car shopping.

Most of the time, when you want to make a difficult choice about a complicated product, the Internet is certainly the place to go. Buying a car is no exception. In fact, 83% of car buyers study various models and prices online before hitting the showroom floor. Even so, research shows that 52% have still not decided which car they'd like to purchase when they arrive at a dealership.

Whe…
Continue reading...

More About: cars, infographic, infographics

Internet Service Providers are finally revealing how they will implement a new anti-piracy system known as "Six Strikes" which has been rolling out this week.

The program, officially called the Copyright Alert System (CAS), is a partnership between the entertainment industry and ISPs designed to put a stop to online piracy. Under CAS, content creators monitor peer-to-peer networks for what they believe to be illegal downloading of their property. They then share the Internet Protocol addresses of those involved with illicit file transfers to their ISP, who can take a series of escalating actions against holders of accounts on which illegal downloading has been detected -- earning the prog…
Continue reading...

More About: CAS, copyright, Copyright Alert System, intellectual property, US

In an effort to balance growing royalty costs, Pandora announced Wednesday that it will be eliminating unlimited ad-supported music streaming on the service via mobile. Pandora listeners in the US will now be limited to 40 hours of free ad-supported streaming on their mobile devices each calendar month, after which they'll have to pay a fee to keep listening.

"Our royalty rates have increased more than 25% over the last 3 years, including a 9% increase in 2013 versus 2012," Pandora CEO Joe Kennedy told Mashable. "What we're trying to do is manage those royalty costs with a minimum amount of listener disruption."

Listening on desktop computers will continue to be unlimited…
Continue reading...

More About: pandora

The founders of Snapchat, the popular self-destruct messaging app, have been hit with a lawsuit from a former classmate that we're sure they hope will disappear quickly.

Frank Reginald Brown IV, a 23-year old South Carolina native, alleges in the lawsuit that he came up with the idea for an app that would "automatically delete" messages in the spring of 2011 while a junior at Stanford. Brown says he then shared the idea with his friend and dorm mate Evan Spiegel -- one of Snapchat's two co-founders -- suggesting they work together on turning the idea into a company.

"Brown stated to Spiegel something to the effect of: 'we should make an application that sends deleting picture message…
Continue reading...

More About: lawsuit, snapchat

Earlier this month, rumors surfaced that Apple was toying with concepts for a "smart watch." While reports remain mostly unconfirmed, a patent application from Apple earlier this week did outline a device with a flexible screen that could be worn on wrists.

The rumors sparked a frenzy of questions that Apple has yet to provide any concrete answers to, but that hasn't stopped an Apple fan from developing an entire commercial around the mysterious product.

SEE ALSO: Apple Said to be Experimenting with a Smart Watch

The ad shows a woman waking up to an holographic alarm powered by the iWatch. The curved touchscreen device sits on a desk and uses finger-scanning technology to be unloc…
Continue reading...

More About: apple, iwatch, smart watch

Imagine a world where universal language brings everyone together. Where everyone can communicate without the issues of language barriers.

Welcome to 2013, where GIFs are like punchlines and emojis serve as punctuation. YouTube user Molly Mulshine pokes fun at our lack of actual text while texting. The video features two girls holding a fairly normal conversation in real life, using emojis mixed in with dialogue.

SEE ALSO: Decode These Emojis to Guess the TV Show

One day, future scientists will look at our conversations the way present archeologists decipher hieroglyphs. They'll scratch their heads in disgust over a smiley in shades next to a smiling pile of poop.

BONUS: Read 2…
Continue reading...

More About: emoji, humor, iphone, Watercooler

Facebook will now be able to target some ads based on your offline shopping habits thanks to some partnerships it announced on Wednesday.

The social networking giant has inked a deal with data mining firms Datalogix, Acxiom and Epsilon that will apply their records about customers' offline purchases to Facebook's Custom Audiences product. Facebook is also working with BlueKai "as a marketing data platform to bring a brand's first party site data to use for targeting on Facebook," according to the company. Custom Audiences, which was released last August, lets advertisers identify Facebook users by their Facebook ID, phone number or email address. Now, advertisers can match that informati…
Continue reading...

More About: Advertising, Facebook

A new nonprofit led by the world's first space tourist is mounting an ambitious plan to launch the first manned mission to Mars in 2018, a voyage that could include an adventurous married crew.

The project, led by American millionaire Dennis Tito — who paid his own way to space in 2001 — aims not to land people on the surface of the Red Planet, but to take advantage of a rare planetary alignment that would allow a relatively easy, quick flyby of Mars.

Tito announced the private Mars voyage plan today at the National Press Club, where he held a press conference to launch his new organization, the Inspiration Mars Foundation, to back the mission.

Tito hopes to choose a spa…
Continue reading...

More About: Mars, Mars Colony, space, space tourism

Groupon missed earnings estimates for last quarter and t its outlook for the next quarter was also lower than analysts expected, sending the stock down as much as 27% in after-hours trading.

The company announced Wednesday that revenues for the first quarter would be between $560 million and $610 million, which was short of the $650 million -- the consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters. For its fourth quarter, Groupon posted revenues of $638.3 million, which was up 30% year-over-year, but short of the expected $640 million. The company lost 12 cents a share for the quarter vs. an expected net loss of 2 cents a share.

The lower revenue outlook comes after Groupon's chief rival in the d…
Continue reading...

More About: earnings, groupon, Revenue

HBO's Game of Thrones holds the title for most-pirated show of 2012, but one of the show's directors isn't concerned about the massive piracy from online viewers.

Director David Petrarca thinks the buzz the show's pirates create benefits the show, he said at Perth's Writers Festival, because the chatter could influence others to tune in legally. Check out the video above for more.

SEE ALSO: This 'Game of Thrones' Cover Is a Vocal and Violin Masterpiece

Season three of Game of Thrones premieres March 31.

BONUS: Take a Seat on This 'Game of Thrones' Keyboard Creation

Image courtesy of Game of Thrones Facebook page

More About: Entertainment, game of thrones, hbo, illegal downloading, piracy, TV

If you were paying any attention to the Olympics this summer, it was hard not to become a fan of Mo Farah. It's even harder now.

More About: olympics, Sports