Saturday 23 March 2013

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Newscast Ruins Intimate Moment Between Dogs”

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Newscast Ruins Intimate Moment Between Dogs”


Newscast Ruins Intimate Moment Between Dogs

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 08:55 PM PDT

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Well, this is awkward. We're just not sure for who; the two dogs who got caught on live television gettin' jiggy with it, or the newscaster who had to report through the footage of it all

The segment was supposed to be about a home under investigation for housing a dogfighting ring. Instead, the WCAU station (a Philadelphia NBC affiliate) caught some X-rated, doggy fun footage on their helicopter cam. Props to reporter Christine Maddela who managed to stay relatively composed and continue the report

But we're glad to see that those potentially-abused pooches are managing to keep calm and carry on no matter what. And next time, WCAU, knock first

Forecast the Weather With This Fancy Mechanical Watch

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 08:40 PM PDT

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Weather apps, shmeather apps: leave the smartphone in your pocket. You're going to have watch envy when you see what's being claimed as the world's first mechanical wristwatch that can measure pressure and altitude.

Though high-tech smart watches are all the rage these days, the Breva Génie 01 features a mechanical barometer and altimeter, as explained in the video above. So not only can you tell the time with style, you can forecast the weather.

The mechanical watch's proprietary pressure chamber measures altitude and local pressure with specialized meters for each. The Génie 01 is water-resistant up to about 100 feet (30 meters).

10 Hilariously Amazing Artist Renditions of the NYC Meteor

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 08:25 PM PDT

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The East Coast meteor that lit up the sky Friday night moved a bit too fast for most amateur photographers.

And while we might night have handy dashboard cams like our Russian friends to catch the space stone light show, we do have a lot of weirdly creative people. Who needs actual meteor footage when you have Photoshop or Microsoft Paint? U-S-A! U-S-A!

Twitter users were quick to share their artsy interpretations of the meteor. Peruse our 10 favorites below and share your own fake out artwork in the comments.

1.

Lots of people saw a #meteor streak from Florida up to Boston a few minutes ago.Here's a pic: twitter.com/KidCraig/statu…

— Kid Craig (@KidCraig) March 23, 2013

That NYC Meteor Photo You Reshared Is Fake

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 07:43 PM PDT

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I think it was a meteor twitter.com/Jbobor/status/…

— Bobby(@Jbobor) March 23, 2013

Space is collapsing down from the sky — everybody freak out!

That was the basic sentiment on the East Coast Friday night when a meteor zipped across the skyline. People on Twitter, Intagram and Facebook were quick to reshare images of the flying space rock. But, as we've learned in past acts of nature, fact checking isn't always a priority.

The photo seen above was shared across various social networks and captioned by many as the NYC meteor, but the same image has also been attributed to a September 2012 meteor that flew over the U.K. and an April 2012 meteor over New Zealand.

Is This the NYC Meteor?

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 07:35 PM PDT

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Twitter exploded Friday night with posts about a meteor falling to Earth over the skies of New York City, producing a spectacular light trail.

Several people posted or retweeted photos of what they claim was the meteor, though so far none of the photos are confirmed — and one has been debunked as a fake. One YouTube user with the handle VidNightLive8 posted a video of what appears to be a meteor streaking across the sky, though we couldn't confirm its veracity.

The person who shot the video says he captured it with a small telescope and camera that he typically has set up on weekends. Although he says the meteor passed "quickly," he extended the footage to over a minute by reducing the number of frames per second.

5 Alternatives to Unfriending Someone on Facebook

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 06:56 PM PDT

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People are annoying on Facebook — that's no secret. Between uninformed political rants and unnecessary gaming updates, we've all been tempted to do some major unfriending for a better social experience.

But Facebook unfriending can be awkward or taken personally, often making it more trouble than it's worth.

That's why we've come up with five alternatives to deleting a friend completely: changing visibility settings, tailoring updates based on interests and other ways to preserve both your friendship and your sanity.

How do you deal with annoying Facebook friends? Share your tips in the comments.

9-Year-Old Girl Raises $15,000 to Make Video Game

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 06:07 PM PDT

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Finally, some good news concerning females in technology.

In the same week that people lost their minds over the Donglegate and upon learning that a woman is behind the popular Facebook page "I F*cking Love Science," the Internet redeemed itself somewhat after throwing its collective support behind a Kickstarter campaign that'll help a 9-year-old girl build her very own role-playing game.

With the help of her mother Susan, Mackenzie Wilson—she goes by Kenzie— turned to the popular crowdfunding site to raise $829, enough money to cover her entrance fee to RPG STEM Camp, a program where kids learn the necessary skills to build their own video games.

Disney Princesses Get NSFW in 'Spring Breakers' Remake

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 05:31 PM PDT

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The reigning queens of the Disney Channel — Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens — stripped down to their bikinis and headed to a very adult (and James Franco filled) spring break in their latest movie, which effectively put an end to their bubblegum-tinted, innocent images

But soon Gomez and Hudgens will join the gang of fizzled- out child stars, so who will be left to be corrupted in the Spring Breakers sequel? Real Disney princesses, of course!

CollegeHumor imagines a movie sequel that stars Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine and Snow White taking a break from their grueling castle lives and hitting the beach in true delinquent style. And, like all other college kids on vacay, these gals get into a little bit of trouble after they rob the evil stepmother

Man Tries to Sell House for Bitcoins

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 05:03 PM PDT

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It's no doubt the housing market is tough. So, like most things these days, a man wants to add a technical spin to it — by selling his house for digital currency

Taylor More, of Alberta, Canada, posted his two-bedroom bungalow up for sale online. He's asking for 405,000 Canadian dollars (about $400,000) up front or, if you have them, about 5,750 Bitcoins

Bitcoins are a peer-to-peer decentralized digital currency system that began surfacing over the last few years. Essentially, they're virtual coins you can send through the Internet. Unlike government-backed currencies, Bitcoins have no central user, so transactions can be completed without "middlemen."

March Mashness: One Mega Meta-Bracket to Rule Them All

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 04:48 PM PDT

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It's that special time of year again: bracket time! But no, we don't mean college basketball's annual extravaganza of a post-season tournament. We speak, of course, about the deluge of non-hoops, March Madness-themed brackets that litter the web each March

Every site and its momma's got a bracket in 2013. Brackets for animals. Brackets for film characters. Brackets for music, celebrities, even decades. But which non-basketball bracket is best? With that in mind — and a nod to The Atlantic who, we discovered, did a similar investigation last year — we went to find out. Call it a mega meta-bracket, or a bit of bracket-ception

Can Drones Save the Elephants?

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 04:14 PM PDT

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This week, 89 African elephants in southern Chad were slaughtered for their ivory tusks, the worst such incident since the killing of 300 elephants a year ago in Cameroon.

To stop the massacre of these stately beasts, conservation groups are fighting poachers with eye-in-the-sky drones. These unmanned aerial vehicles — introduced with the help of local researchers and Western firms such as Google — are giving park rangers new tools in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade of not only ivory from elephants and rhinos but also hides from tigers and other big cats.

NBA Fan Gets LeBron James Twitter Follow After Storming Court

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 03:37 PM PDT

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How can you get LeBron James to follow you on Twitter? Storm the court during one of his NBA games, it seems

King James has more than 7.7 million followers on the microblogging network, while following less than 300 himself. But huge LeBron fan James Blair recently became the NBA superstar's 297th follow after running onto the court during a game in Cleveland earlier this week

LeBron's Miami Heat played in Cleveland, where James spent the first seven years of his career before leaving as a free agent, on Wednesday night. During the fourth quarter of the game, a Cavaliers fan — later identified as Blair — ran from the stands onto the court before quickly being wrapped up and dragged away by security

Cute Kitten Teaches 12 Steps of Being a Good Boyfriend

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 03:04 PM PDT

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Listen, dudes. Rocky the kitten has some relationship advice that will take your game out of the toilet — err, litterbox.

The cuddly feline breaks down the 12 steps to achieving love utopia with your sweetheart. You might not think a cat has much wisdom in the romance realm, but Rocky's tips rival the advice any human could offer.

The 13th, unsaid step: don't let a hairball loose on the first date.

Homepage image: Mashable composite. Image courtesy of Flickr, evapro

9 World Water Day Campaigns Making a Splash on the Web

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 02:11 PM PDT

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Every year people celebrate World Water Day on March 22 to bring awareness to water issues across the world

Clean water may seem like an issue that's very far away from home, but think about this statistic: The U.N. announced Thursday that there are now more people with access to cellphones than to clean toilets. Out of the world's 7 billion people, 4.5 billion don't have access to adequate sanitation, compared to 6 billion people who have access to cellphones

Though access to technology like mobile phones can only help improve global sanitation, we're highlighting some incredible campaigns working to spread access to clean water to everyone in the world. We've rounded up nine campaigns making stellar use of social media to spread the message about clean water.

Shark Breaks Into Diver's Cage in Terrifying Video

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 01:52 PM PDT

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Yikes! This is not how it's supposed to work. A great white shark breaks into a diver's cage in this scary video that's all over the social web. According to YouTube uploader Bryan Plumber, it comes from a dive this Thursday in South Africa

The shark apparently bypassed some bait attached to the cage to take a run at the diver inside, who, as luck would have it, had just gotten married the day before. But the diver was able to swim below the shark's jaws to evade the attack, Plumber writes, and escaped unhurt. Watch the harrowing 25-second video for yourself above and let us know what you think in the comments

14 Hilarious 'If This Then That' Recipes

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 01:47 PM PDT

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Short for "If This Then That," IFTTT "recipes" build efficient notifications and triggers that optimize our everyday activities. For example, you can create the following recipe: "If a shipping status changes on my Amazon order, then send me a text message."

But when IFTTT users get a little creative, get ready to giggle. Some of these 14 IFTTT recipes seem innocent enough, but we simply can't imagine the motives behind them — or maybe they're just meant to be downright hysterical

How do you use IFTTT? Share your favorite recipes in the comments below.

iPad Hacker Appeals With Cyber Law Expert as New Lawyer

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 01:45 PM PDT

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The infamous iPad hacker will get another day in court, and this time, he'll have a dream team of lawyers to defend him.

Andrew Auernheimer, also known as Weev, was sentenced to 41 months in prison on Monday for computer crimesIn a blog post on Thursday, Orin Kerr, a former federal prosecutor and an expert in computer crime law, announced he was joining his defense team pro bono and he also confirmed that they had filed a notice of appeal (PDF), the initial step in the appeal process

Kerr joins Auernheimer's trial lawyer Tor Ekeland, and two attorneys from the Internet civil rights advocacy group the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Marcia Hofmann and Hanni Fakhoury. The two announced they were joining the case on Monday

Struggling B&N Giving Away Free E-Reader With Tablet Purchase

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 01:16 PM PDT

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Barnes & Noble is now offering a free Nook Simple Touch e-reader with the purchase of its Nook HD+ color tablet, a sign that sales of one or both devices aren't so hot right now.

The Nook HD+ is B&N's larger-format (9-inch) Android tablet, which costs $259 for 16GB of storage and $299 for 32GB of storage. The Nook Simple Touch is the company's entry-level, black-and-white eInk e-reader, which retails for $79 following a $20 price cut in December.

The pairing is unusual: Why would anyone with a tablet, which owners can use to buy, download and read e-books, need a second device to do just that?

New Apple Security Exploit Lets Someone Reset Your Password

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 01:15 PM PDT

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UPDATE: Apple's password-reset system currently appears to be down.

An Apple account exploit allows anyone with your email address and date of birth to reset your Apple ID and iCloud account password.

First reported by The Verge, the exploit uses Apple’s own tools to break into accounts, using a modified URL and entering someone’s date of birth of Apple’s iForgot page. Directions on how to take advantage of the vulnerability were published in a step-by-step tutorial.

On Thursday, Apple launched two-step verification for Apple ID and iCloud account passwords. When set up, two-step verification would prevent someone from using the vulnerability to access accounts.

Shelter Dogs Shine in Puppy Version of 'Fresh Prince'

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 01:02 PM PDT

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"In West County Shelter, born and raised, in the kennel is where I lived with most of the strays." Looks like Will Smith has some competition — pitbull Fido has some serious '90s rapping skills.

YouTube channel The Pet Collective created the Fresh Price of Bel Air parody to illustrate one lucky puppy's adoption and move to Bel Air, Calif. Look closely and you'll even recognize the original Uncle Phil himself, played by James Avery, not to mention Liam Sullivan of the web famous "Shoes" video from 2007.

We just hope the sequel has Carlton

Homepage image courtesy of The Pup Collective

Have $39,999 to Spare? You Could Buy This Samsung 4K Ultra HD TV

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 01:00 PM PDT

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If you're watching March Madness and wish you were actually at the games, you could fork over some serious cash for a more lifelike television experience in the future — 40 grand that is.

Samsung's 85-inch Ultra HD TV (UN85S9), which was showcased at CES this year, will retail for $39,999 in the US, as explained in the video above. That's similar to the $35,700+ equivalent price tag for this model in Korea. Pre-orders for this massive flat screen begin in the US this month.

The 4K resolution on this Samsung model, dubbed the "S9", is four times greater than the resolution on a 1080p HD TV. But before you drain your savings and buy this Samsung 4K TV, note that there is still little to no 4K content available to watch.

The 5 Worst UX Mistakes Websites Make

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 12:50 PM PDT

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The user experience of websites has improved by leaps and bounds over the years, but there are still sites out there that may leave you asking, “What were they thinking?!”

From a design perspective, it’s easy to get caught up in internal squabbles (“No, no, THIS is the content that has to be front and center”) or distracted by tools or methods (“I say we use lean UX on this project”). When this happens, we often forget that at the end of it all waits a person who wasn’t in on all these decisions, and just wants to get the information they need, buy the product or be entertained for five minutes while waiting for the train.

Smartphone Screens May Soon Be Made Of Sapphire

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 12:28 PM PDT

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Your next smartphone screen may be made out of sapphire. Sapphire, which is currently used as armor on some military vehicles, would make phone displays that would be both scratch and crack-resistant, even when thrown on concrete

The mineral is harder than any other on the planet, with the exception of diamond. Currently a pricey alternative (a sapphire display costs $30, while Gorilla Glass — the current standard — costs around $3), analysts believe that the price of sapphire displays will drop over the next few years, opening the door to make them more of standard.

According to an MIT Technology Review report, GT Advanced technologies is currently working on a way to create sapphire sheets that are thinner than a single human hair, as well as to cut the cost of manufacturing sapphire sheets

Experience Jedi Dinosaurs With 'Star Wars' 'Jurassic Park' Mashup

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 12:07 PM PDT

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What's more terrifying than a mob of angry cloned dinosaurs chasing you through a theme park? A horde of angry cloned dinosaurs with Jedi powers chasing you through a galaxy far, far away

Slackstory has combined two classics of epic proportions in this mashup that pits Star Wars' Rebel Alliance against an Empire of a wholly different kind — the prehistoric era (yes, before even lightsabers existed)

Somehow, though, the affairs of intergalactic folk seem perfectly at home in Jurassic times. But we all know what this mashup really comes down to — George Lucas versus Steven Spielberg.

3 Ways to Get Your Small Business Ready for Mobile

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 11:52 AM PDT

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This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

According to research by Pew Internet, 55% of U.S. adult cell phone owners use their mobile phones to access the internet, nearly double the rate from three years ago. This means that more than half of your prospective customers may interact with your business while they’re on the go. Mobile users are also becoming more engaged: a study by digital ad management company Marin Software revealed that its clients saw Google paid-search clicks on mobile devices rise from 14.2% to 23.4% over the course of 2012.

Nokia CEO Calls the iPhone 'Embarrassing' and Then Tosses It

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 11:35 AM PDT

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It's been quite a week for iPhone abuse. First, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins dismissed the device as out-of-date, then a video surfaced of Apple's new VP of technology Kevin Lynch running over the iPhone with a steamroller back in the day.

The latest? Nokia CEO Stephen Elop tosses an interviewer's iPhone after calling the device "embarrassing." Elop, who was being interviewed on Finnish TV (don't worry, it's in English), was clearly reacting in tongue-in-cheek fashion. His criticism also allowed him to dodge the dogged interviewer's questions about the Lumia 928's availability

Image courtesy of YouTube

Quadrocopter Drone Can Snatch Up Objects Like an Eagle

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 11:26 AM PDT

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We've already learned that drones aren't just good at spying and shooting missiles in Afghanistan or Yemen. Their civilian counterparts know how to dance the Harlem Shake, play catch, and autonomously avoid obstacles. Now, they also can snatch objects like eagles hunting for prey

The University of Pennsylvania General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) team has developed a quadrotor equipped with a mechanical claw that can grab objects while in flight — just like an eagle would snatch fish out of a lake

The researchers used a small unmanned aerieal vehicle, the AscTec Hummingbird, and mounted an arm that has a two-prong, dual-joint gripping claw that was 3D printed

Outgoing FCC Chairman Leaves Behind Unfinished Agenda

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 11:11 AM PDT

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Julius Genachowski is out as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Capping off a four-year stint as the country’s top telecom regulator, Genachowski was responsible for pushing network-neutrality rules as well as killing the T-Mobile/AT&T merger of 2011

But he also leaves a lot for his successor to do. Here's what's ahead, over the short, medium and long terms:

Net Neutrality

Although the commission passed a rule in late 2010 prohibiting Internet providers from giving priority to certain kinds of Web traffic, the decision is in the middle of a legal challenge, and a ruling is expected to come down this spring. If the verdict goes against the FCC, service providers will have another opportunity to enact rules on traffic discrimination.

9 Hilarious Tweets About March Madness Troll Marshall Henderson

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 10:57 AM PDT

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World, meet Marshall Henderson. The goon college basketball fans love to hate hit the big-time on Friday morning when his Ole Miss Rebels tipped off against the Wisconsin Badgers in March Madness action

He struggled through the first half — shooting just 1-11 — but actual on-court performance is never really the whole point with Henderson. Simply put, the guy's one of the best college basketball characters in recent memory. He shoots from anywhere, at any time. He antagonizes fans like a born troll. He gives terrific interviews. He became a social media mini-legend following the Rebs' SEC tourney win last Sunday

Feeling Down? Facebook Improves Self-Esteem

Posted: 22 Mar 2013 10:40 AM PDT

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If you're feeling down in the dumps and looking for a pick me up, you may want to check your Facebook profile.

That advice follows from new research showing that Facebook profiles help reassure people's self-worth and feelings about themselves

"The conventional wisdom is that Facebook use is merely a time sink and leads to an assortment of negative consequences. But our research shows that it can be a psychologically meaningful activity that supplies a sense of well-being at a relatively deep level," said co-author Jeff Hancock, Cornell professor of communication and computer and information science.


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