Nik Wallenda, you're more man than the rest of us will ever be. Or you're just nuts

The professional daredevil completed a quarter-mile crossing of and offshoot of the Grand Canyon on Sunday, with one small catch: he was on a tightrope 1,500 feet above the canyon floor. NBD, right?

Wallenda's feat took 22 minutes and 54 seconds to complete, according to Reuters, and not surprisingly set the social web abuzz. Wallenda gingerly made his way across the canyon with the help of a balancing pole as he constantly prayed out loud and periodically stopped to regain his balance and composure. The stunt was broadcast live by the Discovery Channel, while cameras attached to his body gave the rest of us a Wallenda's-eye-view of the madness Read more...

More about Watercooler, Videos, and Sports

If there's one thing that ties all your digital experiences together, it's your browser — let's presume it's Chrome. Maybe you use it on mobile in addition to desktop. It gets to know you, and you, it

But everyone has a few tricks up his or her sleeve

We did a little recon and found quite a few Chrome extensions that impact and enhance the way we use social media. See, most social sites try to keep things simple — if they add too many features, it would start to confuse people, especially new users. Other sites are plain lazy and haven't added that one feature everyone wants. But it might exist in extension form, and while you cannot impose it on others, you can apply it to your trusty Chrome browser Read more...

More about Productivity, Social Media, Features, Extensions, and Chrome

The night his San Antonio Spurs lost the NBA Finals in seven games to the Miami Heat, surprise star Danny Green was photographed in a Miami nightclub hobnobbing with some of the Heat's biggest names

Predictably, this did not go over well in the sports world's industrial bloviation complex. How dare Green go out with opponents the night of a tough loss? Didn't he care about what happened? What ever happened to morals?

But Green has at least one high profile defender in none other than Miami Heat superstar LeBron James, who took to Twitter on Sunday to defend Green and set the record straight: Read more...

More about Nba, Lebron James, Entertainment, and Sports

Markdown is a text-based markup language created by John Gruber in 2004 as a way to write in an easy-to-read format that can be converted into HTML. It uses a very simple formatting syntax of familiar punctuation and characters, which makes writing content for the web a faster and more intuitive experience.

As Markdown grows in popularity, new tools and applications have sprung up to cater to writing, converting and previewing the markup language. From tutorials, WordPress plugins and books to dedicated Markdown Service Tools for OS X, there is a wealth of excellent resources available

Read more...

More about Features, Dev And Design, Markup, Markdown, and Tech

Thanks to Internet video, here's a moment this kid will live to someday regret

During a Major League Baseball game in San Francisco on Sunday, a family seated just outside the right field foul pole had a line drive hit straight at them. The hero dad here, as one does in this situation, stands up to try to catch the foul ball and provide his family with a timeless ballpark souvenir. Unfortunately, however, it bounces off his shoulder and out of their lives forever

Seriously though, that thing was going fast! So we can legitimately give pops a "good job, good effort" on the play. Junior, however, does not agree, throwing a major league tantrum and beating his father on the chest with an empty cup as penance for his unforgivable sports botch. Check out the hilarious reaction for yourself here: Read more...

More about Mlb, Watercooler, Videos, and Sports

Google Street View images give us an intimate peak into people's daily lives, completely devoid of context or explanation

From heroin drug deals to (intentionally) indecent exposure, these moments of illicit activity were captured via Google Street View from around the globe.

Have you spotted any illegal activity on Google Street View? If so, leave us the link in the comments below.

Image courtesy of Google Read more...

More about Google, Street View, Features, Tech, and Humor

AT&T has started a new limited time promotion, offering a 50% discount for phones between $99 and $199.99 in its catalogue

This includes the iPhone 5 as well as the iPhone 4S, HTC One, Samsung's Galaxy S4 and S4 Active, BlackBerry Z10 and several other devices

To take advantage of this offer, customers must sign a 2-year contract online. Those who want to get the discount in-store must trade in their old phone, which has to be 3 years old or newer

With the offer, AT&T is joining Walmart and Best Buy, which are also offering big discounts on smartphones

Walmart is offering the iPhone 5 for $129 while the iPhone 4S is just $39, provided you sign a 2-year contract with a major carrier. Best Buy has recently started offering the iPhone 5 with a $50 discount, as well as discounted prices on several Android devices Read more...

More about Att, Iphone 5, Tech, Mobile, and Htc One

One of the great events in tennis begins Monday morning from the All England Club in London, but constant match play and busy lives can make it hard to keep up with all the action

For sports fans wondering how to watch Wimbledon online, however, this year brings a new solution: YouTube

The video sharing network is live-streaming Wimbledon match play for the first time ever beginning Monday, dipping into big-name showdowns along with broadcasting press conferences, other interviews, behind-the-scenes content and more

You can check it all out over on the Wimbledon YouTube channel. While there's no pre-set schedule for which live matches will shown and when, the company's blog post promises coverage of "key moments" and a YouTube spokesperson assures us the live coverage "will jump in and out of the top matches." About 20 minutes per hour of the live stream — which should run for some four to six hours per day — will be match play Read more...

More about Tennis, Entertainment, and Sports

If you're one of Vine's 13 million users, you know that #howto, #loop and #magic are like hashtag training wheels: Everyone starts out using them

But for those who want to take their tagging to the next level, we've highlighted a selection of Vine hashtags that serve specific functions and particularly vibrant communities. Some are used for testing out new vine techniques, while others facilitate music collaboration between vine users

Have you ever included any of these hashtags in your vine posts? If so, include the link in the comments section below. Read more...

More about Social Media, Features, Hashtags, Vine, and Twitter

Monsters University scared its way into theaters this weekend. In conjunction with the movie’s theatrical release, Disney released a new mobile app for iOS and Android that lets you keep the fun going once you head home from seeing the movie.

Priced at $0.99, the app comes with two mini games and three characters to play with: Mike, Sully and Squishy. Over time, Disney plans to update the game with new mini games, as well as new characters and ways to play.

Catch Archie

Catch Archie is the first of the two mini games in Monsters University. It kicks off by showing a clip from the film in which Sully bursts into Mike’s room with the Scare Pig he stole from rival school Fear Tech’s campus. A tussle ensues, and the pig winds up escaping out from the window of Mike’s room, with Mike and Sully chasing after it. Read more...

More about Disney, Pixar, Gaming, Tech, and Apps Software

From preschool, we're trained to play "One Of These Things (is Not Like The Others)."

Sometimes the difference is small, and other times, it's glaring. Either way — with or without Big Bird's coaxing — your eyes are usually pulled towards the black sheep.

So brush off your Sesame Street skills, and see if you can tell what's sticking out in the following photos.

1. This animal family doesn't see anything different about themselves.

Image courtesy of Reddit, DrTurdFerguson Read more...

2. Did one of Wes Anderson's film characters crash this field trip?

More about Lists, Photos, Watercooler, and Pics

“Student engagement is the product of motivation and active learning. It is a product rather than a sum because it will not occur if either element is missing,” writes Elizabeth F. Barkley in Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty. I'm a college student myself, and I'm very familiar with this equation — and how low the product sometimes can be.

Take professional associations, for example. They exist in essentially every industry, and most offer substantially discounted student rates. Yet in my experience, not many college students are motivated enough to get involved. Should they? Read more...

More about Professional, Features, Students, Careers, and Job Search Series

A musician for more than 20 years, Emir Turan of Turkey struggled in recent years to put together a band. He tried finding fellow musicians by searching on Craigslist, browsing social networks, sifting through classifieds and hanging fliers at bars. All the while, he thought a simpler way must exist for him to form a band. But there wasn't

Turan wanted to solve this problem, so he built Giggem, an online matchmaking service that launched this month for musicians, bands, singers, writers, managers and labels.

"With a few clicks, we want them to meet online, and see if they fit in real life to improve their music careers," Turan, CEO of Giggem, told Mashable when he visited New York City Read more...

More about Music, Entertainment, Social Networks, Social Media, and Musicians

"Let's go camping," you thought. "Let's go way out into the woods," you thought. "Let's leave everything here, and go have life-altering epiphanies about the beauty of nature and the interconnectedness of all things."

But now, you're panicking. This stupid campsite doesn't have Wi-Fi.

This common vacation scenario need not worry you. Planned or unplanned, a few days without technology is not the end of the world. And you will survive — we promise. If you’d like to be a little more prepared than those poor unsuspecting souls in surrounding campsites, though, we can help. These tips will get you through even the most intensive tech detox. Read more...

More about Travel, Features, Tech, Humor, and How To

Is the glass half empty or half full? Your answer to this question in a given situation really reveals your general outlook in life — whether you're an optimist or a pessimist

In this Sunday comic, we see the circumstances under which we'd all agree with the optimists (but wouldn't be very happy with the situation itself).

Comic written by Larry Lambert; illustrated by Jerry King. Read more...

More about Comic, Comics, Humor, Watercooler, and Sunday Comics

If you love your tech as much as we do, odds are you want to take your gadgets everywhere. Unfortunately, while you may love the pool and the beach, your cellphone does not. Protect your tech by showing it a little summer lovin' and keep it safe with these tips.

1. Watch the Temperature

Extremely warm or cold temperatures can have noticeable effects on your phone's battery, display and synthetic housing components. There's even a possibility of the ominously named "heat-related death," which is exactly as horrible as it sounds. Like your skin, the best way to protect your tech is to keep it in the shade. If you do find that your phone has overheated in the sun, let it cool gradually. Do not put it in the refrigerator or freezer. Read more...

More about Technology, Features, Tech, Summer, and Feature

If the idea of a stroller robot gets your gears greased, watch our review of the Origami stroller.

This is a neat stroller with a lot of fun perks like a USB charger, pedometer and street lights. But this is not the stroller for jet-setters — light and portable it is not. It's heavy and clunky, but then again, aren't all robots?

It should be noted that this bad boy died on me in the middle of Manhattan. I was trying to collapse it in a restaurant and the motor froze mid-collapse. This left me stuck with a half-opened robot that could not hold a child. If I couldn't close it, I would have to carry my child and a heavy stroller to the train to get home. I panicked for about two minutes, then I Google'd the instruction manual to figure out how to manually override the robotic closing mechanism. That sucked Read more...

More about Kids, Parenting, Product Reviews, Baby Products, and Babies

After braving through the virtual push and shove of snagging the summer's most coveted festival tickets, it's time to slather up the sunscreen and head out to the crowd. We know you've endured the tedium of poring over lineups to create the perfect itinerary, so now's the time to make the most of your summer festival experience.

With festival season in full swing, there are a plethora of apps made by the festivals themselves, but what about getting ready and enhancing your experience? Here are some apps that will help ensure you don't miss a beat. Read more...

More about Music, Apps, Features, Festival, and Entertainment

Apple's CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly expressed disappointment with the company's declining stock price, but now he's putting his money where his mouth is — or at least some of his money.

When Cook took over as CEO in 2011, he was awarded a bonus of one million shares of Apple stock, half of which were set to vest in 2016 and the other half in 2021 — with the only condition being that Cook stay with the company. However, Apple's board revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it has approved a request from Cook to tie his bonus payout to the performance of the company's stock — a move that seems intended to prove to investors that Apple's leadership takes the stock price seriously. Read more...

More about Apple, Stocks, Tim Cook, and Business

There'll be a day, if one recent Wi-Fi startup has its way, when you switch on your tablet or laptop and the wireless Internet access you need is just there. Automatically, everywhere, every time.

You won't think about it. You won't search for elusive hotspots. You'll just get to browsing, and the days when passwords or daily- or monthly-pass payments stood in the way of productivity are no more — they'll vanish, much like the brick-and-mortar video store.

That's the vision of Karma. A 10-person team, the startup is pouring some $1.2 million of investor funding into building not just an infrastructure that makes Wi-Fi ubiquitous at a low, pay-as-you-go cost, but — this is the key point — sharable. Read more...

More about Wifi, Hotspot, Karma, Tech Innovators Series, and Tech Innovators

The technology inside cars is accelerating, and this explosion of innovation is expected to get even more profound in the coming years. This infographic shows the near-future of car tech, revealing what might happen in the next five years.

We've tested many of today's techno-cruisemobiles, and they are loaded with gee-whiz features. The day we let the car automatically park itself while we sat behind the wheel — watching it being turned by what seemed like a ghost — was the moment we realized that self-driving cars can't be that far off.

This infographic tells us that self-driving vehicles are right around the corner, set to hit showrooms by 2017. Read more...

More about Infographics, Self Driving Car, Tech, Apps Software, and Dev Design

Over the years Microsoft has made headlines for some pretty out-there advertising campaigns. We're taking a look at a few of our favorite weird and wonderful Microsoft videos, from commercials to in-house promos to clips that defy definition.

Take a look through our surreal selection of odd Microsoft-made vids in the gallery above. Link us in the comments below to any other dubious footage from MSFT we've not included

Homepage image courtesy of Flickr, Betsy Weber Read more...

More about Video, Advertising, Microsoft, Marketing, and Features

Most people tend to be disgusted by bugs, but some robot researchers are inspired by them.

Scientists at Harvard have spent the past five years building robot bugs that can move with the same dexterity and speed as real-life insects. The goal, according to Harvard Microbiotics Lab, is to "create high-performance aerial and ambulatory microrobots," which can perform tasks such as "search and rescue operations, assisted agriculture, environmental monitoring, and exploration of hazardous environments."

The researchers have designed robobugs that can move as fast as 37 centimeters — the equivalent of more than eight times its body length — per second. One of the bugs is about as small as a penny; another bug is a bit larger and has a built-in battery supply so it can scurry around for longer periods of time. Read more...

More about Robots, Tech, Dev Design, and Gadgets

Unemployed, underemployed or somewhere in between? The Mashable Job Board is here to help with your job hunting.

Since 2005, Mashable has been dedicated to providing the hottest digital, social and tech news to our readership of 20 million and counting. Top companies know you excel in the digital world, so they come to Mashable to find the best and brightest minds. New jobs — including ones exclusive to us — are added every day to the Mashable Job Board. Take a look.

Below, we've gathered 10 recently posted marketing positions. Keep coming back to the Mashable Job Board for new openings, and don't forget to read our Job Search Series for advice on how to achieve your dream job. Read more...

More about Jobs Board, Business, Jobs, and Jobs Listing

"On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog." That phrase is ingrained in web culture, stemming from a Peter Steiner comic that was published in a 1993 issue of The New Yorker.

In this Sunday comic, our friends Nitrozac and Snaggy at The Joy of Tech show us how that adage has changed due to recent events

Comic illustration provided by The Joy of Tech. Published with permission; all rights reserved. Read more...

More about Comic, Comics, Humor, Prism, and Joy Of Tech

Where would we be without Google Maps? Lost, that's where. Google's free service for maps, directions and finding local businesses is something many of us took for granted ... that is, until its evil twin, Apple Maps, made iPhone users realized what they were missing. As they say, you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.

Lucky for you, Google created a new app for iOS and updated its Android app for us to enjoy. But even though Google Maps is a stellar service, the latest version of the mobile app leaves a few things to be desired.

Read more...

More about Google, Mobile, Google Maps, Apps, and Lists

Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who leaked secret information about the National Security Agency's surveillance programs, left Hong Kong on Sunday, according to a statement from the Hong Kong government. Snowden reportedly boarded a flight from Hong Kong to Moscow, with plans to fly to a third country where he can take asylum.

Snowden's departure comes two days after the United States formally charged him with espionage and requested that Hong Kong's authorities put out a warrant for his arrest. However, Hong Kong's government said in a statement Sunday that the documents filed by the U.S. "did not fully comply" with its legal requirements Read more...

More about Us World, Nsa, and Edward Snowden

Social media takes work. Gaining followers, crafting interesting prompts, keeping up with the latest networks — it all requires a certain skill. But do you put the same amount of effort into being social in real life?

In this Sunday comic, Maria Scrivan makes a statement on how some people get a little too involved with digital media, and not enough with human contact.

Comic written and illustrated by Maria Scrivan. Published with permission; all rights reserved. Read more...

More about Comic, Comics, Social Media, Humor, and Watercooler

Adobe rolled out Photoshop CC in the past week, enhancing the gold standard of image editing applications with powerful new capabilities. Let's test these intelligent tools folded into the new version, and figure out if it's worth it to upgrade.

Once I installed the evaluation copy of Photoshop CC provided to me by Adobe, I noticed that the interface looked exactly the same as its predecessor, Photoshop CS6. That's good. Photoshop's workflow is excellent and hard to improve upon

And then I was met with a pleasant surprise: Photoshop asked if I would like to import all my settings. Of course I would like to import my settings! Importing settings has become a tedious ritual every time I upgrade Photoshop, and it's always been an awkward routine involving exporting and then importing files that don't completely get the job done Read more...

More about Adobe, Reviews, Marketing, Tech, and Apps Software