Google Glass is still in its infancy, and its current capabilities are quite limited, but most would probably agree that the possibilities it opens are endless

How cool it would be if Glass could show us a GPS route as we rode a bike? What if you could use it to scan any barcode and instantly get info about the product?

Toronto-based creative agency Playground has envisioned these and many other possibilities for Glass and created a video showing what could be the future of Google Glass

What's best about this video is that almost none of the "features" shown in it seem far-fetched or impossible. In fact, most of them could rely on existing Google services, such as Google Maps or Google Goggles Read more...

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The weather’s getting warmer, the streets are getting hotter and the siren song of summer is a-calling. Whether your M.O is to head to the nearest pool, venture out to the local lake or just bicycle around town, take along some gadgets for the ride.

Whether it's an extra charger to power your various devices, a stereo to enhance the mood or a bit of high-tech transportation, these eight new devices are begging for outdoor use. Some are practical, some are exciting and all are prime for this summer.

What’s your favorite summer gadget? Let us know in the comments. Read more...

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LONDON – In 2011, Nokia launched its first Windows Phones — the Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 — on stage during an event in London.

Nokia and Windows Phone have come a long way in the past two years, and on Tuesday the company added another handset to its Lumia line at an event in London, the Lumia 925. The phone will be Nokia’s flagship device at T-Mobile in the United States, and will be available in Europe and China starting in June.

Running Windows Phone 8, the handset sports much of the same functionality you’ll find in Nokia’s other flagship devices, the Lumia 920 and Lumia 928, while also bringing some new things to the table in terms of design and features. Read more...

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Gladstone, Missouri is the next city to get Google's ultra-fast broadband service, Google Fiber

The news comes days after Google announced Fiber would be coming to the tiny town of Shawnee, Kansas. Google has also added Austin, Texas, and Provo, Utah, to the growing-list of Fiber-enabled communities in the past two months

This doesn't mean that Fiber is already available in Gladstone. The Gladstone City Councel voted in favor of getting Google Fiber, but Google claims "it will still be some time" before Gladstone is hooked into Fiber

You can check out which cities already have Google Fiber, and which are next in line, over at Google's official Fiber website Read more...

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The iPhone 5 is known for its diverse functionality, but one multi-tool accessory aims to up the ante by serving as a kind of Swiss Army knife for Apple's flagship phone.

The XiStera has eight different functions, including: pocketable lens adapter, stand, tripod mount, headphone wrap, stylus, bottle opener and keychain with optional LED lighting. Watch the video, above, for more details

On Kickstarter, the device reached its funding goal of $19,000 in three days, and is now aiming to raise $30,000 for its stretch goal.

Would you use the XiStera? Tell us in the comments, below

Screenshot image courtesy of Kickstarter, XiStera Read more...

More about Gadgets, Iphone, Iphone 5, Tech, and Dev Design

Google is commemorating the 37th birthday of classic Atari game Breakout in the best possible way: It turned Google Image Search into a version of the game

To launch the Easter egg, you simply need to type "atari breakout" into Google Image Search, and hit enter

The search results will show up, but they'll be organized into a game that's very similar to Breakout, which requires the player to demolish brick walls with a ball.

Created by Nolan Bushnell and Steve Bristow, the game debuted in 1976, and was based on the 1972 game, Pong. It was followed by several ports and sequels (Super Breakout came out a few years later), as well as countless variations of the game in later years Read more...

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From clothes and shoes to smartphone cases and even guns, there seems to be no limits to what 3D printers can create. And now, you can add prosthetic hands and fingers to the mix.

Robohand is a mechanical 3D-printed hand that can be created using a MakerBot 3D printer. Richard Van As, a South Africa-based woodworker, originally conceived the idea in 2011 after losing four of his fingers in an accident. Van As soon began collaborating with Seattle-based prop designer Ivan Owen to create a design for inexpensive prosthetics that could work as effectively as real hands and fingers. The pair soon found, however, that custom-made prosthetic fingers could cost as much as $10,000 per finger. Read more...

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On Monday, NBC teased its 2013-2014 TV schedule, an anticipated mix of returning shows and new series, during a star-studded upfront presentation to advertisers and media at New York City's Radio City Music Hall. Among the shows in NBC's programming plans are the following six new comedies and dramas, for which NBC released trailers after the event. All the shows listed below will premiere this fall, with the exception of mid-season debuts (also included, below).

1The Michael J. Fox Show

"Look who's making the news again. One of New York's most beloved news anchors, Mike Henry (Michael J. Fox), put his career on hold to spend more time with his family and focus on his health after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's. But now five years later, with the kids busy growing up and Mike growing restless, it just might be time for him to get back to work. Having never wanted Mike to leave in the first place, his old boss Harris Green jumped at the chance to get him back on TV. The trick, as it's always been, was to make Mike think it was his idea. After several — okay, many — failed attempts, Mike's family, anxious to see him out of the house, finally succeeded in getting him to "run into" Green. Read more...

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A Kickstarter for the XXX world? Meet Offbeatr, the crowdfunding platform for all things adult.

It's sort of like a Kickstarter for porn — a  place to brainstorm and then create all your kinky ideas. And, if they're popular enough, get them bankrolled. Last week the site announced they've funded over $280,000 for pornographic projects since their launch about nine months ago. But it's not all NSFW fare. Instead of just the raunchy stuff you might expect, funding has also been for art, games and comic books. Unlike Kickstarter or Indiegogo, projects are only funded if they're approved by Offbeatr users. In total, 100 adult projects have been created with 4,000 receiving funding pledges. The site has 10,000 registered users who have generated 2.5 million page views. Read more...

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Nowadays, security threats affect every consumer regardless of the operating system or device they use. With that in mind, McAfee and Intel are launching an all-in-one security software suite called LiveSafe that includes anti-virus protection, a password manager and an encrypted cloud-based storage space secured by voice and facial recognition.

LiveSafe's goal is to keep consumers safe at all times. "No matter what you do, what you use or where you choose to connect, you're going to be safe," Gary Davis, McAfee's vice-president of global consumer marketing, said in an interview with Mashable. Read more...

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It’s Thursday morning, you’re in the elevator, and the CEO skates between closing doors to join you for a 30-floor ride.

You consider commenting on the unseasonably balmy weather, but inquire about her watch instead. You then exchange a series of jokes and, in perfect unison, toss your heads back in laughter. At the 25th floor, she insists that you join her in the company lounge for a bite to eat—she’d like to get to know you betterYou take style points from Sandberg and lean in. Instant promotion

Real life: Silence. You exit the elevator with pit stains and wonder if she heard you swallow that burp. Read more...

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James Bond has always been known for his suave ability to wield guns, fight bad guys on moving trains and woo the ladies, but is 007 just as deadly cool in LEGO form?

Yes, definitely, we have proof. YouTuber coccosnowball intricately remade the opening scene from Casino Royale using only LEGO pieces. The result gives off the same air of adventure as the classic Bond films, but with some action-figure nostalgia

The sequence uses stop motion animation to retell the story, scene by scene. Compare the live sequence with the LEGO version in this video below: Read more...

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Many of us protect our gadgets from clumsy falls and nicks with protective cases. But when your precious smartphone gets wet from the elements or from an unfortunate drop down the toilet, sometimes there's no going back.

Salt Lake City-based Stash Incorporated has designed waterproof pocket shorts that are designed to keep your phone and other pocket items dry. It could be convenient for those summertime activities: relaxing at the beach, a trip to the water park or for mindlessly running through the sprinklers.

The Stash shorts basically incorporate a built-in, waterproof pocket bag, with an opening on the shorts' exterior that can be snapped closed via an attached cap. It's a special pocket for your keys, money and electronic devices that could allow you to jump in the pool with your belongings. The shorts are made out of a 60/40 polyester/cotton blend and come in khaki and sage green colors. Read more...

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LinkedIn is used by professionals of all types, but it looks like prostitutes and escorts will have to find another social network to promote themselves.

The social network updated its user agreement terms on Monday, adding an interesting clause, which caught the attention of one of our readers. Under a section entitled "Don't undertake the following," LinkedIn now includes this statement:

Upload, post, email, InMail, transmit or otherwise make available or initiate any content that: Even if it is legal where you are located, create profiles or provide content that promotes escort services or prostitution. Read more...

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The growth of the web, the developing world and digital-age career skills were all topics of discussion last Thursday night at a special fireside chat with tech heavyweights Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen at Google's Venice, Calif., headquarters.

The talk felt like an in-person abstract for the duo's new book, The New Digital Age, which was finished after the two traveled to more than 25 countries to forecast the global digital evolution.

"In the next five to ten years, another 5 billion people will join the Internet," said Schmidt, the company's chief executive and one of the world's richest men. Read more...

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The sense of smell is a tough one to work into media — attempts at getting it into movies date back to the 1930s, and Disneyland and Walt Disney World include scents in some of their attractions. Technology companies have tried adding it to video games and television, so it was only a matter of time before someone tried to add it to a smartphone.

ChatPerf, a Japanese company, is rolling out a smartphone add-on about the size of a USB stick that attaches via the 30-pin connector on an iPhone (a company spokesperson told Diginfo TV that an Android version would be available this fall). The add-on is tiny “tank” that contains a given smell. After it’s attached to the phone, a screen comes up with a “puff” button that the user taps to release a scent. Read more...

More about Iphone, Japan, Smell O Vision, Tech, and Apps Software

If you've ever wanted reason to shout "Full power to deflector shields!" or "Get ready to make the jump to light speed," you might need to give this Kickstarter a look.

Quintet is a five-player party game that puts gamers on the bridge of a spaceship. Each player controls a different role - engineering, science, tactical, helm and the captain — to help the ship reach its objective. You can pair up with other teams in the game, and there are also solo and two-player ships available to players.

The game is cross platform, meaning Mac, PC, web browser and iOS players can all enjoy the game together in the same room or online. Carmine T. Guida, the game's creator, said he launched the Kickstarter to add support for Android tablets and phones. Read more...

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That video of a couple singing karaoke at a gas station, Jay Leno's all-time greatest YouTube success, is totally fake.

The clip is of a well-established Tonight Show bit called Pumpcast News, in which a news anchor on a screen placed above a gas station pump starts interacting with the customera in front of him. In this one, he notices a man singing as he starts to pump, then asks him and his wife to karaoke. In the four days since the clip went up on YouTube, it's gotten more than 7.5 million views

The first clue that the video isn't capturing a spontaneous moment of comedy at the one minute mark, when the newscaster announces "here's Will!" without the singer giving his name. Read more...

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Khoa Phan's stop-motion animations on Vine have caught the attention of Peanuts Worldwide, the new owners of the popular Peanuts comic strips starring Charlie Brown, Snoopy and friends

In a deal announced Monday, Phan will create 12 Vines using Twitter's six-second video service for Peanuts Worldwide. The Vines will focus on specific themes: Snoopy, his dog house, Linus’s blanket, Lucy’s psychiatry booth, Schroeder’s music, Woodstock, football, baseball, the Great Pumpkin, the kite-eating tree — and of course, the Little-Red-Haired Girl.

"The Khoa Phan-Vine deal is part of a larger strategy we’ve had in place for Peanuts for several years — which is to continue to make Snoopy relevant with the young and hip crowd," Cory Cole, social media director for Peanuts, told Mashable. "The brand really lends itself to social media with its simplicity and ability to emote." Read more...

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Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to the Shire we go!

The seven dwarfs are known for being the lovable (yes, even Grumpy was lovable) pals of Snow White, helping her survive the wrath of the evil Queen's apple tricks. But artist Jordy Lakiere gave these seven dudes a more rough-around-the-edges vibe for his latest series

Lakiere took Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy, Doc, Happy, Grumpy and Dopey and created realistic renderings of them. Their new images reflect Hobbit-like features including wrinkles, crumpled clothing and unruly hair that Disney left out of the cartoon Read more...

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Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield made history on Sunday when he filmed the first ever music video in space (fittingly, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity"). To commemorate his accomplishment, we've dedicated this week's Music Monday to the most epic songs for space exploration. We curated the selection of songs you tweeted to us, and added in a few of our own. These songs range from gravity-defying newer releases like "Crest" by The Antlers to old school, space-related jams like "We Are All Made of Stars" by Moby

So dim the lights, power up your glow-in-the-dark star generator and go on your own space odyssey with this playlist. Know of a song that should be included? Send it to us on Spotify and we'll add it to the playlist! Read more...

More about Community, Music Monday, Space Exploration, Music, and Social Media

LEGO fans can create their own programmable robot with a new device that works with the Raspberry Pi computer.

If you have a Raspberry Pi, the BrickPi system lets you convert the tiny PC into a LEGO robot, as explained in the video aboveRaspberry Pi is a credit-card sized, Linux-based PC that arrived in the U.S. earlier this year.

The BrickPi system includes a board that slides over your Raspberry Pi and a plastic case that connects LEGO pieces. Once you attach a 9-volt battery, you can hook up LEGO motors (three ports) and sensors (four ports), connect some USB gadgets (e.g. webcam, WiFi, keyboard, mouse), load an example program and start modifying and hacking. Read more...

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Twitter has acquired Lucky Sort, a startup that specializes in data visualization, the two companies announced Monday. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Lucky Sort was founded two years ago and launched its first product called TopicWatch last February. TopicWatch let users analyze real-time trends on social media (including Twitter) as well as from other news sources. As part of the acquisition, Lucky Sort will shut down its services in the coming months.

"Our goal was to make huge document sets easier to analyze, summarize and visualize by building elegant and user friendly tools for text analysis," Noah Pepper, CEO of Lucky Sort, wrote in a blog post. Today I’m very excited to announce that our journey has entered a new phase: Lucky Sort has been acquired by Twitter!" Twitter confirmed the acquisition in a tweet. Read more...

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Wikipedia, the encyclopedia of the Internet, is a constant work in progress. Its articles are being crowd-edited every minute by scores of people around the world. Now, thanks to two programmers, you can see what articles are being edited in real time, with every edit conveniently displayed on a world map.

Stephen LaPorte and Mahmoud Hashemi created the map, and it's available on this website. When you visit the site, the map starts live-updating any time an unregistered Wikipedia user makes any change to one of its more than 30 million entries

Read more...

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A hyperactive sunspot on the surface of the sun has fired off two of the most powerful solar flares of the year in just 24 hours, and promises to unleash more solar storms over the next several days, space weather experts say.

The active sunspot went into overdrive on Mother's Day when it erupted late Sunday night with an X-class solar flare, the strongest type of solar storm possible, NASA scientists said in an update. That first eruption registered as an X1.7-class event on the space weather scale, and was followed midday Monday by an even more powerful X2.8 solar flare, which is the third-strongest solar storm in recent years. Read more...

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As part of its mission to bring its music service "everywhere," Amazon announced the release of a dedicated Cloud Player app for desktop PCs Monday. The release comes less than a week after Amazon announced iOS compatibility with Ford Sync-enabled vehicles.

PC users could already access Cloud Player through their web browsers, but the primary benefit of the PC application is the ability to store music offline. Users can also scan their hard drives for music files that haven't yet been uploaded to their storage locker.

Cloud Player allows users to stream music files they've purchased from Amazon or uploaded to to a cloud-based storage locker. An unlimited number of Amazon songs, plus 250 songs purchased outside of Amazon, can be uploaded to the cloud and streamed wirelessly using one of Amazon's players for free. First launched on Android two years ago, the service is also available on iOS, Mac, Sonos, Roku and (as mentioned) Ford Sync vehicles Read more...

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If the world of Baz Lurhmann's The Great Gatsby is too glitzy for you, maybe you'd like to try on something a little more ... pixelated.

Great Gatsby Game transports you back to the land of the Nintendo Entertainment System in look and feel while you remain safely on your web browser. Just like any video game version of a movie, however, it's a little off base in terms of the subject matter.

You play Nick Carraway on his quest to meet Gatsby himself but, instead of partying it up, you'll spend time slapping everyone you come across with your hat. This must be taken from some special edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel we didn't read Read more...

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Ask the average American what comes to mind when they think of Silicon Valley, and you'll often hear answers about the area's booming technology sector. Less discussed even among the technology community is the skyrocketing number of poor and homeless people who live just miles from the doorsteps of such business behemoths as Google and Amazon

Silicon Valley's technologists are beginning to pay close attention to the problem, which is evidenced by a 20% rise in homelessness over the last two years, a dramatic increase in food stamp participation and a drop in average income for minority groups Read more...

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The team at Phonesuit wants to iPhone 5 users with extra battery power, but they don’t want to cramp your already existing iPhone case's style. So, the company released an external battery that works alongside any case. Best of all, it fits right in your pocket.

The Phonesuit Flex Pocket Charger contains a 2600 mAh battery and a Lightning charger. That battery tops the Mophie Helium, another external battery pack, by 73%. The Flex Pocket Charger is tiny enough to carry around comfortably. At an arm's length away, it's ready to provide when you need some extra juice for your iPhone 5.

Phonesuit claims its new device will boost iPhone 5 life by up to 125%, and the charger works with any other Lightning-era Apple device. Read more...

More about Iphone, Chargers, Iphone 5, Gadgets, and Mobile

You know that shiny new iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S4 in your pocket? You probably call it a cellphone, right? Well, Newt Gingrich says you're wrong.

Gingrich recently posted a three-minute video arguing modern cellphones shouldn't be called cellphones at all.

"Think about it," petitions Gingrich, who's been attempting to shape himself as a Republican thought leader on high-tech issues from moon colonies to flying cars. "If it's taking pictures, it's not a cellphone

"If it has a McDonald's app to tell you where McDonald's is based on your GPS location, that's not a cellphone. If you can get Wikipedia or go to Google, that's not a cellphone." Read more...

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