Sunday 17 March 2013

Mashable: Latest 22 News Updates - including “Top 25 Most Popular Celebrities on Chinese Social Media”

Mashable: Latest 22 News Updates - including “Top 25 Most Popular Celebrities on Chinese Social Media”


Top 25 Most Popular Celebrities on Chinese Social Media

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 07:32 PM PDT

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We know Justin Bieber is the most-followed celeb on Twitter, and Rihanna is well-liked on Facebook, but who's popular on Chinese social media?

It's a question that few people in the west likely ask, but with the rise of social networks such as Sina Weibo (China's Twitter) and Renren (China's Facebook) among China's 1.4 billion people, it's one that is important to consider

Synthesio, a global social-media monitoring company, created the following infographic as part of its "China Social Media Listening Month." It listened to the top 50 celebrities from Forbes' "The World's Most Powerful Celebrities" list, and monitored China's top social-media sites, including Sina Weibo, Renren and Tencent Weibo.

Your Typical St. Patrick's Day, As Told By GIFs

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 07:03 PM PDT

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This Sunday marks a momentous day for everyone. It's the holiday created solely for the purpose of bad choices, shamrock headbands and acceptable alcoholism: It's St. Patrick's Day

It's the one day when leprechauns and non-Irish folk celebrate in solidarity, because everyone loves a good cold green beer. But after years of St. Paddy's Day attempts at 18-hour-long bar binges, you've realized a pattern in the way the day's events unfold

So before you even begin painting your entire body in green glitter, take a look into the future through these GIFs:

You wake up and don your best green swag

Image courtesy of Tumblr, iam-a-kitty-cat.

10 St. Patrick's Day Stock Photos That Look Weirder Than the Real Thing

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 06:17 PM PDT

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The green beer, the Irish smooching — St. Patrick's Day brings out the o'weird in lasses and lads.

No matter how much green vomit and creepy leprechauns fill your St. Paddy's Day, the people celebrating in stock photos will probably out-weird you. (Well, maybe.)

We waded through the shamrocks to find 10 of o'ddest St. Patrick's Day stock photos that might make your celebrations look tame.

Homepage image via iStockphoto, Joe Potato Photo

Apple Tells Us Why iPhone Is the Best After Galaxy S4 Launch

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 05:32 PM PDT

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You've seen the specs: a 5-inch screen with 441 pixels per inch, 1080p display, a quad-core 1.9GHz processor and a 13-megapixel camera. Feature for feature, Samsung's next-generation Galaxy S4 has the iPhone beat

But just two days after the S4's launch, Apple released a webpage explaining why its flagship smartphone is better than the competition.

"There's iPhone. And then there's everything else," the page's headline blares. Apple goes on to cite all the reasons why its phone is "unlike anything else," some of which are listed below:

  • The iPhone has received eight consecutive J.D. Power and Associates awards for customer satisfaction with consumer smartphones.

  • Only the iPhone and other Apple products have Retina display.

  • The iPhone has a long battery life — including up to eight hours of talk time — while maintaining a "thin and light design."

  • The iPhone has "ultrafast" wireless and LTE.

  • Only the iPhone and other Apple products have access to the iTunes Store and the App Store, which offers over 800,000 apps. What's more, they are all reviewed by Apple to protect against malware.

  • Only the iPhone has Siri, the intelligent personal assistant.

Top 10 Tech This Week

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 04:15 PM PDT

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It was another exciting week in tech, with lots of news coming out SXSW as well as the world of tech in general. The two biggest Top 10 Tech stories of the week came from two of the biggest tech giants, Google and Samsung

The Korean company unveiled its new flagship phone, the Samsung Galaxy S 4, which sports a huge 1080p 5-inch display and a wide array of astonishing specs like its 1.9Ghz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 13-megapixel rear-facing camera. The phone should give the iPhone 5 a run for its money.

Google, on its part, didn't make the news for a new product, but for an old and beloved one — Google Reader. The Mountain View company announced the service will be shut down on July 1. The online world rebelled at the news, and angry users are already considering alternatives

Hands-On With SXSW 2013's Best Apps

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 03:24 PM PDT

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The Interactive portion of SXSW 2013 is now history, and it featuredproved to be a launching space for lots of new apps. The rollouts included new apps for making you smarter while you're at work, as well as a few fun additions. Here we get our hands on the best apps we found.

A new photo app records video while you're snapping a shot, and lets you create a sharable clip — complete with filters and music — at the end of the day with all your pictures in video form

A rich messaging app also made a splash at this year's SXSW, and allows you to send friends not only text messages, but also video, music clips, and drawings. Finally, a new app for haters lets you share what you hate with the world.

Facebook Stops MessageMe Users From Finding Friends

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 02:11 PM PDT

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UPDATE: MessageMe co-founder Arjun Sethi told Mashable that the company will have more updates on Tuesday morning.

"We're currently working to make sure our users don't encounter any errors in the application when using it."

Facebook has cut off MessageMe's ability to access its "Find Friends" function, according to a report.

Users of the free iOS and Android app, which offers group and individual messaging, can no longer search for friends using the social network, TechCrunch reported Friday.

The incident is another example of Facebook's stringency around access to its social graph. In January, it shut off friend-finding access to Vine, Twitter's new video-sharing app.

TechPet Brings Your iPhone to Life Tamagotchi-style

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 01:55 PM PDT

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You fed it, put it to bed and picked up after the pixelated poops. You were inconsolable after it died, but it returned after a simple reset

Remember your first Tamagotchi? Bandai, the same company that gave us our favorite virtual pet, released a new version of TechPet, a toy that turns your iPhone into a dog

You can download the free TechPet app and take care of your animal on your iPhone or iPod Touch, but once you plug the device into your headphone jack, the pet comes to life. Your iPhone's screen becomes the puppy's face and the rest of the body responds to your actions

Like Tamagotchi, you nurture your pet by feeding, grooming and playing.

Pebble Watch SDK Coming in April

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 01:25 PM PDT

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Developers will soon be able to get their hands on a proof-of-concept software developer's kit (SDK) for the immensely popular Pebble watch. The company announced Saturday it will publish the watchface SDK the second week of April

In this initial release, the SDK will be fairly limited; developers won't yet have access to the accelerometer or communication between watchfaces and smartphones. In a post on Kickstarter, Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky said the company had to focus on its top priority of producing and shipping the watches before releasing a more extensive SDK, but he's always had developers in mind.

This Week's Biggest Moments in 25 Photos

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 01:08 PM PDT

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Feels like just yesterday it was Monday. So many things happened this week that we should remember.

The new leader of the Roman Catholic Church was appointed, Pope Francis I. China also got a new leader by appointing Xi Jinping as its new president. With the economic uncertainty in Europe, the Swiss central bank pledged to keep up its defense of the Swiss Franc. This week also saw the first gay parent counseling center in Germany open its doors

This was also a big week in aquatics with the first day of the FINA Diving World Series in Beijing, and the Moomba Water Festival in Melbourne, Australia

Pokemon-Themed Nintendo 3DS XL Coming Soon

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 12:47 PM PDT

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Pokemon fans, Nintendo is giving you the chance to feel the Poke-love. The company announced that it will release a limited-edition Nintendo 3DS XL game system later this month, built with Pokemon fans in mind. The Pikachu system features the iconic, lighting-shooting character right on the front.

The new 3DS XL will be adorned in bright yellow and feature Pikachu's happy, smiling face. All of the other regular features we've come to expect from this Nintendo system will be there, including built-in cameras for chat and picture-taking purposes, an interactive touch screen and the glasses-free 3D display.

Homemade LEGO Contraption Folds and Launches Paper Airplanes

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 12:33 PM PDT

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With LEGO, robotics and paper airplanes, this contraption couldn't get much cooler. YouTube user Hknssn built a LEGO robot that folds and launches paper planes. It's as impressive to see in action as it sounds

It took 600 hours to build the device, which is comprised of more than 6,000 bricks. It uses two NXT LEGO computers that control servomotors, touch and color sensors, and a compressor that launches the folded plane into the air. Check out the video above to learn more about how it's created and see it in action

What other cool LEGO creations have you seen or made?

Images courtesy of Hknssn via Youtube and ImageShack

How to Master 'Overly Attached Girlfriend' in 5 Easy Steps

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 12:14 PM PDT

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How does one learn the art of scaring the bejeebus out of menfolk? Let's consult the Internet's foremost expert in relationship clinginess, Overly Attached Girlfriend.

The stalkerishly charming meme demonstrates how to make the perfect Overly Attached Girlfriend face in five simple steps. Remember, kids, practice in the mirror a few times before taking this potent gaze into the wild. Without proper polishing, this look could scare young children and small animals

Click here to view this gallery

40+ Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 11:42 AM PDT

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This week started amid the 2013 South by Southwest Interactive conference and concluded with big news in the mobile world as Samsung revealed its Galaxy S4

As the ice thaws and spring begins, Mashable has you covered in the social media and tech space. Make sure to check in for every breaking update and ongoing coverage

Editor's Picks

5 Unforgivable Crapware Offenders

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 11:13 AM PDT

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Crapware (a.k.a. bloatware, nagware, foistware) is like the school bully that trips you on your way to the front of the class for a book report. He isn’t in the hallway after class shaking you down for lunch money or beating you up by the flag pole, but he makes your life just a bit more difficult

The useless, irritating programs that can come pre-installed on your PC or sneak onto your system amidst an innocuous download aren’t malicious, but they will clog up your system and get in your face constantly. It’s almost worse than malware, because instead of just nuking your computer, they stick around and make your experience dreadful

New 'Game of Thrones' Trailer Shows Who's Fighting Whom

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 11:04 AM PDT

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Just when we thought Game of Thrones had released its last trailer before the season 3 premiere on March 31 on HBO, along comes this commercial-length tease that reveals new scenes and dialog

The quick half-minute spot, entitled "War Preview," serves dual purposes — hyping up the series for the faithful, as well as quickly summing up who's fighting whom (and who wants whom dead) for series newcomers

Come on, characters, can't we all just get along? Oh yeah, then there would be no drama, and no TV show.

What do you think of the Game of Thrones trailers? Revealing too much, not enough, or just right?

The Danger of Gaining More Twitter Followers

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 10:15 AM PDT

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The Danger of Gaining More Twitter Followers

We're all a little obsessed with gaining new Twitter followers, but the number really isn't as important as the quality of your tweets. If you tweet it, they will come.

Some Twitter users aren't as complacent as all that, however. Those who are #TeamFollowBack, for instance, will follow anyone who follows them in support of boosting each other's social media presence.

In this comic, Josh Mecouch of Formal Sweatpants warns tweeps to be careful what they wish for.

Comic illustration by Josh Mecouch, Formal Sweatpants. Published with permission; all rights reserved.

7 Beer Apps for Superior Suds on St. Patrick's Day

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 09:56 AM PDT

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Drinking beer on St. Patrick's Day is a custom that dates back centuries and is celebrated throughout the world. But it's high time to add some technology to the tradition, and that's just what the suds scene has done lately.

There's a brewery in Alaska that's using spent grains (waste from the brewing process) to power the brewery. The Alaska Brewing Co. jokes that it now makes "beer-powered beer."

Beer was used as motivation for video game players in an arcade game created by McKinney, a creative agency in North Carolina. Winners get a pour of Big Boss Brewing Company beer.

'Game of Thrones'-'Princess Bride' Mashup Is Perfection

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 09:15 AM PDT

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In case you've never noticed all the parallels between Game of Thrones and The Princess Bride, this video, released ahead of the third season of HBO's hit show, will do it for you

And it will remind you just how adorable young Fred Savage was when learning the disappointment that stories don't always work out the way you'd expect. "Geez, Grandpa, what'd you read this thing to me for?" Game of Thrones fans understand your pain, kid

Yet somehow we can't wait for the show to return March 31

Video and image via YouTube, CinestirTV

Retina iPad mini Could Arrive In Second Half Of 2013, Says Analyst

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 09:08 AM PDT

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The much-rumored iPad mini with Retina display could be launched in the second half of 2013. That's according to DisplaySearch analyst Paul Semenza, who based his prediction on supply chain data.

Semenza has told CNET that the Retina iPad mini will have a resolution of 2,048 x 1,536.

No surprise there. That's the same as the resolution of the full-size iPad with Retina display, which, at 9.7 inches, has a pixel density of 264 ppi.

The Retina iPad mini, at 7.9 inches, will result in a higher pixel density of 324 ppi.

The Retina iPad mini, at 7.9 inches, will result in a higher pixel density of 324 ppi.

Mars Discovery Highlights Need for Sample-Return Mission

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 08:47 AM PDT

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The announcement this week that Mars definitely could have supported some form of life in the ancient past is an unmistakable reminder that future missions to the Red Planet should focus on bringing Martian rock samples back to Earth, a celebrated planetary scientist says.

NASA unveiled the discovery on Tuesday (March 12) with a bold announcement that Mars could have supported primitive life at some point billions of years ago. The Martian find was made with the help of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, the largest rover ever to explore the Red Planet. But to create a clear picture of the story of habitability and life on Mars, scientists will need to get their hands on fresh samples of the planet collected by an ambitious future mission.

7 Pranks You Should Probably Never Play

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 08:00 AM PDT

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Some people say a heated game of Monopoly is enough to destroy a friendship. While that may be true, a mean-spirited prank can go just as far. Especially if it involves a demonized bunny (see image below).

Inspired by last week's "wake up" prank video, we've thrown together a few tricks you should definitely not pull on your friends — unless you capture it on video. In that case, send it to us and we'll do a follow-up post

Any schadenfreude-themed clips we missed? Share them with us below

Job Interviewing 101: How to Succeed in Different Situations

Posted: 16 Mar 2013 07:04 AM PDT

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Heather R. Huhman is the founder and president of Come Recommended, a content marketing and digital PR consultancy for job search and human resources technologies. You can connect with Heather and Come Recommended on Twitter and Facebook.

Did you know the average employer may receive upwards of 100 applications per job opening? In addition, even if an applicant does land an interview, it can be difficult to navigate through the process, since every interviewer is different. So, how can job seekers ensure they are reading each situation correctly?

This infographic, compiled by Interview Success Formula, a program that helps job seekers to deliver powerful interview answers, illustrates how job seekers can read the most common types of interviewers and how to succeed in the processof job interviewing. Some takeaways to note include:


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