German business software company SAP said it wants to hire programmers with autism, the BBC reports

Autism is a neural development disorder characterized by repetitive and restricted behavior. It also affects the person's social and communication skills.

However, people with autism also often score high on IQ tests, and SAP thinks they have special skills which can help drive the company's innovation

Pointint out that innovaction comes "from the edges," SAP exec Luisa Delgado said that "only by employing people who think differently and spark innovation will SAP be prepared to handle the challenges of the 21st century." Read more...

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There are more than 300,000 iPad apps currently available in Apple's App Store — with all those options, how do you find what you're looking for without wasting your hard-earned cash?

To help you out, we've compiled a list of the 25 best free iPad apps that you can download at no cost, right now.

Between broadening your web interactions with Skype, taking notes with Evernote, saving and sharing the best content with Pocket, and joining the social TV revolution with Zeebox, these apps all have features that will prove worthy of your homescreen.

Which free iPad apps would you add to the list? Share your nominations in the comments below. Read more...

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Microsoft announced its newest gaming console, the Xbox One, Tuesday, and it plans to position the console as the intersection between television, gaming and other entertainment in your living room.

Microsoft made an hour-long presentation that emphasized the Xbox One's new hardware, impressive graphics, connected interfaces and upcoming games. While we should learn much more from the company at it E3 presentation June 10, Mashable wanted to break down what we know right now about the Xbox One.

Hardware

The Xbox One is a large, black, glossy box meant to rest on its side, with a top-loading optical drive. You can see a 360-degree view of the console below Read more...

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We all have those Facebook friends who seem to make a living posting pictures and video clips of their kids

How cute is little Johnny eating a banana?
Here’s Johnny at the playground going down the slide!
Oh, poor Johnny is upset because mommy won’t give him another cookie.

We get it, your kid is cute. But truth is, no one is really interested

Useless kid information is one of the many reasons I quit Facebook over a year ago. Of course I care about my friends’ kids and want to see pictures of them, but unbelievable inventions like email and SMS help me access all the updates I want Read more...

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Samsung has bought a 10-percent stake in Pantech, a South Korean mobile phone maker known primarily for its huge, feature-packed handsets, Yonhap News reports

The deal is valued at around 53 billion won ($47.6 million). With this move, Samsung will become Pantech's third-largest stake holder, following chip maker Qualcomm, which owns 11.96% of Pantech, and Korea's Development Bank, which owns a 11.81% of the company

Domestically, Pantech is the third-largest mobile phone maker, behind Samsung and LG. In the U.S., it's producing branded mobile phones for Verizon and AT&T. Still, the company is struggling with debt, which is exactly how Qualcomm became the company's largest stakeholder — by converting $75 million of royalty debt into equity Read more...

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Is Social Media Anxiety Disorder, known as SMAD, the newest affliction resulting from our love affair with Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites? Researchers have stopped short of actually classifying SMAD as a disorder, but it's no doubt a problem.

Sure, you could quit using your social sites altogether — but then you’d be, well, bored and lonely. Science may someday shed more light on social media stress, but in the meantime, we've gathered the most common problems associated with popular social networks so that you know what to watch out for.

Creative Flop

Are you one of the thousands of women suffering from Mason Jar Envy, the creeping sense of self-loathing that comes from feeling you're just not as crafty as the other women on Pinterest? The “Today” show recently surveyed 7,000 American mothers and found that 42% worry they're not crafty or creative enough. Some stayed up all night pouring through Pinterest photos, unable to stop the negative comparisons. Read more...

More about Health, Social Media, Psychology, Health Fitness, and Work Play

Less than a week after Google+ unveiled a redesign for desktop, the social network is also getting overhauled on the mobile web.

In a post on its official G+ page Tuesday, the service said that posts now appear as "cards" in the stream, making them easier to read, +1 and re-share.

What's more, Profiles and Pages now include cover photos and larger "tap targets," the blog post revealed

Changes to the mobile version of Google+ are similar to those made for the desktop. At its Google I/O conference for developers, the search giant rolled out an image-centric design that resembles Pinterest's and Facebook's layouts. Google introduced 41 new features, including a multi-column layout, larger photos and automatic addition of related hashtags to the stream. Read more...

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The latest trailer for Man of Steel, Warner Bros.' reboot of the Superman film series, landed online Tuesday — and it has a decidedly darker feel than previous spots

Entitled "Fate of Your Planet," the nearly two-minute promo begins with a sinister voiceover by General Zod, a super-villain and one of Superman's nemesis. The rest of the trailer features intense battle scenes involving the Man of Steel (played by Henry Cavill) and Zod (Michael Shannon), as well as appearances by Lois Lane (Amy Adams)

Read more...

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Yahoo unveiled a brand new Flickr experience for its desktop and Android users on Monday

There are plenty of changes to take in, but no need to feel overwhelmed — Mashable has got you covered. Check out our hands-on video of the new Flickr, above, for everything you need to know.

What do you think of the new Flickr? Do you plan to use it? Tell us in the comments, below

Image courtesy of Flickr Read more...

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Chanel doesn't even have an active account on Pinterest, but that didn't stop the Paris-based fashion house from ranking first in a study of luxury fashion brands on the platform.

Software developer Pivotal Labs and analytics firm Curalate came up with a list of 10 high-end fashion brands that rank well across social (per data from Kred, Klout, Unmetric, etc.), and assessed their performance on Pinterest in terms of pins, repins and total impressions. Chanel came out on top, generating an average of 400 pins and more than 3,600 repins per day. Pins were primarily pulled from chanel.com and elleandblair.com, a popular YouTube channel. Read more...

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If an extreme solar storm aimed at the Earth hits in just the right way, it could put interconnected electrical grids around the world at serious risk, experts say.

In addition to creating beautiful auroras, extreme solar storms could knock out a wide range of electric utilities needed to keep life in the United States and around the world functioning normally, according to presenters here at the fourth annual Electrical Infrastructure Security Summit.

"What [a solar storm] can do — even if it isn't causing a continental-scale outage — it can really cause a regional blackout," said Daniel Baker, director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado. "Imagine something like, for example, Superstorm Sandy. Imagine that kind of severe storm — but causing regional outages for weeks. Living without power really cascades and propagates in remarkable ways throughout our society." Read more...

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Think you know the Marvel Universe? Well, your trivia knowledge probably can't match that of this four-year-old girl.

From the God of Thunder's common name to the substance that makes Captain America's shield, to Iron Man's girlfriend's identity and more, young Mia Grace has pretty much got it all figured out

"She's a superhero junkie all on her own as much as I'd like to take credit," writes her father, who posted the video on Reddit

Check it out for yourself, above; then let us know what you think in the comments

Homepage image courtesy Flickr, Pat Loika Read more...

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In the run-up to Tuesday’s big Microsoft Xbox One reveal, many pondered the fate of the beloved Xbox 360 controller, perhaps the best gaming controller in the business. Would Microsoft make it radically different? Bigger? Unwieldy? Add a touchpad like Sony? Today we have our answer. It’s different and yet, based on what I now know and have experienced firsthand, it’s also somehow better.

Let’s start with the look and feel. Yes, it’s black (obviously, you could always get Xbox 360 controllers in a variety of colors). This is something I guessed at, as most modern-day gaming hardware favors the dark over the light. Despite the brushed finished, the controller is not rubberized. It’s hard plastic that feels good in your hands. It’ll be interesting to see how that finish responds to hours of game play. Will it make your hands more or less sweaty? Read more...

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The Launchpad is a series that introduces Mashable readers to compelling startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Name: Alcohoot

One-Liner Pitch: Alcohoot is a breathalyzer that attaches to your smartphone.

Why It's Taking Off: The device fits comfortably in a pocket or purse and accuracy is comparable to police-grade devices, plus, a companion app ensures you're empowered to make safer choices based on your blood alcohol content (BAC)

While serving in the Israeli military, Jonathan Ofir and Ben Biron would drive by a sign outside their base that read "X soldiers killed from drunk driving" and the number steadily increased Read more...

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Here's a lesson in what not to do online, straight from the Twitter for Dummies handbook.

Our story begins on Sunday in Norwich, England, where an organized cycling event called the Boudicca Sportive ride was taking place. Tensions between cyclists and automobile drivers are well documented the world over, but this Sunday tweet from a local driver using the Twitter handle @EmmaWay20 took things to a new level:

via ipayroadtax.com

Way probably thought her friends would get a good laugh out of how she put that road-hogging cyclist in his place — but she couldn't possibly have expected this Twitter response from the Norwich police: Read more...

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On the heels of the $610,000 coffee date with Apple CEO Tim Cook, online charity auction platform CharityBuzz is offering lunches with some of Silicon Valley's top venture capitalists. If you'd love to share your best ideas with or pick the brains of VCs — and have the cash to give to charity — this might be the perfect opportunity for you.

From now until June 11, you can bid on power lunches to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of the Greater Bay Area. More than 20 venture capitalists, including Tim Draper, founder and managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson; Shervin Pishevar, advisor for Menlo Ventures; and David Lee, co-founder and managing director of SV Angel, are offering lunches. Read more...

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The Marshall Fridge is shaped like one of the company’s ubiquitous amps, complete with the Marshall logo and brass-finished faceplate. For $399.99, the mini-fridge comes with 4 cubic feet of storage space and a mini-freezer with 0.4 cubic feet capacity

There is a full-sized adjustable glass shelf and a half-sized glass shelf with spill protectors, a Marshall-branded tempered glass shelf, a spacious lower area for large items, a door rack that holds two-liter bottles and convenient can storage.

The “ultimate combination of rock and refrigeration” has adjustable temperatures in the fridge and freezer sections, genuine Marshall logos and authentic Marshall parts including control knobs that go up to 11 Read more...

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Steve Wilhite, father of the Graphics Interchange Format, has ended the heated debate on how to pronounce "GIF."

Wilhite, then working at CompuServe, debuted the file format in June 1987. He accepted a lifetime achievement award Tuesday at the Webby Awards for his creation.

Instead of giving a vocal acceptance speech, he flashed a GIF on the big screens:

"It's pronounced JIF, not GIF." ~ Steve Wilhite, the father of GIFs. Well that's settled#Webbys

— Brian A. Hernandez (@BAHjournalist) May 22, 2013

"It's pronounced JIF, not GIF," read his acceptance speech, which adhered to the ceremony's five-word speech limit Read more...

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It's graduation season — can you smell the ambition in the air? Graduates everywhere are figuring out what's next, which can be as frightening as it is exciting.

In this comic, Grant Snider of Incidental Comics has a message for the Class of 2013: With hard work, you'll find success, but you should never stop testing your limits. And that's some advice we should all take.

You can purchase Snider's comics as prints through his poster shop.

Comic illustration by Grant Snider, Incidental Comics. Published with permission; all rights reserved. Read more...

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Cleveland Indians pitcher Chris Perez was once among the team's most open and engaging players online. The closer would respond to fans, and became known for sharing a "song of the day" with followers

But all that is no more. Perez shuttered his Twitter account after incurring the digital wrath of fans who were upset over his recent struggles on the mound. In a somewhat surprising move, the Indians even released a statement on Tuesday afternoon saying that Perez had, in fact, shut down his account

Many Cleveland sports fans piled on Perez after he gave up back-to-back homers to blow a save against the Seattle Mariners on Saturday. Then, on Monday, he gave up another homer in the ninth inning of a tie game Read more...

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About 12 years ago, I happened to take my Palm Pilot (remember those?) to a friend's house. A friend of a friend asked if she could borrow it. Sure, I said. She proceeded to download a game called Bubblet, then curled up on the couch with it for the next hour

My curiosity was piqued, and soon I, too, was a Bubblet junkie. It was a simple game — you got a screen full of bubbles and double-tapped to pop connected ones of the same color. Once those popped, the others fell down, Tetris-like, to create new strings of bubbles

You could tap away like a maniac at small strings, but eventually you'd learn the strategy of creating longer ones, which scored more. The important thing was that the game kept your average score, which you were constantly trying to improve. Read more...

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Nutella, the chocolate hazelnut spread brand, has soured many of its social media fans by cracking down on a superfan who has helped spread the word in social media for more than seven years.

Ferrero SpA, the Italian owner of Nutella, has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Sara Rosso, the creator of the 7-year-old World Nutella Day. On Ferrero's orders, Rosso is pulling the plug on the holiday, which had been celebrated on Feb. 5.

"The cease-and-desist letter was a bit of a surprise and a disappointment, as over the years I’ve had contact and positive experiences with several employees of Ferrero, SpA., and with their public relations and brand strategy consultants, and I’ve always tried to collaborate and work together in the spirit and goodwill of a fan-run celebration of a spread I (to this day) still eat," Rosso wrote on her blog Read more...

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For cyclists looking to pimp their bikes with smartphone integration, look no further — new stylish technology from startup Helios makes your bike "smart."

Helios Bars boast an integrated headlight and two rear LEDs, and riders can use the left and right lights as turn signals. But what sets the product apart is the ability to connect handlebars to a smartphone via Bluetooth 4.0.

Using smartphone connectivity though Helios' iOS app, the rear lights on the handlebars take advantage of a GPS connection — so they can help you navigate via Google Maps' API. After inputting a destination into Helios' app, your phone plots a route. Then, once you start biking, the rear left and right lights blink, indicating where to turn. Read more...

More about Bicycle, Cycling, Kickstarter, Tech, and Gadgets

If you want to see what the Apple TV will look like, I hope you were tuned to Spike at about 1 p.m. Eastern today, because we got a pretty solid picture of the rumored device: a powerful all-in-one entertainment hub with a hands-free interface that smartly integrates live TV with a wealth of streaming and downloadable media.

I'm speaking, of course, of the Xbox One, Microsoft's freshly unveiled new game console. Except it's so much more than a game console. The Xbox One is intended to be the command center for any and all media you experience through a TV screen. Sure, the Xbox 360 already had that job, but the One is a considerable upgrade. Read more...

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Arizona Senator John McCain gave Apple CEO Tim Cook a customer satisfaction review at Tuesday's senate hearing on corporate tax reform.

"What I really want to ask is why the hell I have to keep updating the apps on my iPhone all the time?" McCain said to Cook, who then responded, "Sir we're trying to make them better all the time."

Image via Allison Shelley/Getty Images Read more...

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Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One Tuesday, showing off its vision for the future of gaming and home entertainment to the public.

Of course, when the Xbox One debuts later this year, it won't be alone. It will face stiff competition from Sony and its upcoming PlayStation 4. And while Nintendo has had a rocky start with the Wii U, that console is already on the market and will have nearly a year on the other guys.

So how do the systems compare? While Sony and Microsoft have both only released limited information about what's inside the PS4 and the Xbox One, we still know enough to put together a preliminary comparison chart. Read more...

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When people pick up after disaster, there are invariably stories of helpfulness and heroism. In the wake of tragic damage Monday's tornado brought to Oklahoma City, there are already reports that remind us how powerful humanity can be.

SEE ALSO: How to Help Victims of the Oklahoma Tornados

As the community continues to rebuild, there will likely be more. But in the past 24 hours, some awesome people (and animals) have shown their character. Inspired by the stories below? Check out the many ways you too can help the victims.

1. Teacher Protects Students in Bathroom Stall

When the tornado hit Plaza Towers Elementary School, sixth-grade teacher Rhonda Crosswhite draped herself across several students inside a bathroom stall. Crosswhite told Today that she was never worried about herself, but focused on comforting the children crying beneath her. Read more...

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Officials at the American military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have shut down Wi-Fi access throughtout the camp and banned the use of any social networks following threats from hacktivist collective Anonymous.

Anonymous announced "Operation Guantanamo," an online campaign to protest the conditions of inmates at the base, two weeks ago. Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Samuel House told the Associated Press the decision was made to avoid any disruptions by Anonymous. None have been reported so far

Anonymous officially announced the operation on May 6 on Twitter and YouTube

On May 17 to May 19, to coincide with the 100th day of the hunger strike, we urge everyone to join global actions on the ground- (19)

— Operation Guantanamo (@OpGTMO) May 7, 2013 Read more...

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It's been a while since Will Smith bust out his rapping chops, but he proved on Monday that he's still as skilled as he was in his Fresh Prince days

When Smith appeared on the Late Show with David Lettermanstage for his interview, the band responded with his 1992 hit "Summertime." Smith didn't hesitate to join in, launching into the full rap and eventually making his way to the mic to finish the verse

Smith abandoned his music career more than a decade ago for acting in blockbuster films like Hitch, and Men in Black. He stars in the the upcoming film After Earth, along with son Jaden, but his late night music interlude proves Smith should consider a music comeback — maybe even rapping on one of Jaden's new tracks. Read more...

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A supercell thunderstorm spawned a deadly F-4 tornado that ripped through Oklahoma City and its suburbs on Monday, and NASA satellites tracked and beamed images of the storm.

As the storm plowed through the city, it left a devastated trail two miles wide and 17 miles long. At publication time, there were 24 confirmed deaths and more than 230 injuries. The images below are from various NASA satellites, which followed the storm from its strike point near Newcastle, Okla., to the hardest-hit town of Moore, Okla.

NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument captured this first image on May 20, 2013, at 2:40 p.m. CDT, as the tornado roared along its path through Moore, Okla. MODIS is aboard one of the Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites. Read more...

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