Whether you're an advanced vine-maker or an Android user who just adopted the platform, there's always room for something differentVine is still a new platform, and experimentation is highly encouraged.

People have already used the six-second video-making app in a ton of clever ways — even marriage proposals and resumes.

SEE ALSO: Vine: 12 Ways to Make Your Videos Stand Out

While the platform is certainly a great place for comedy and creativity, perhaps you're experiencing a little viner's block lately. So, consider switching up your game a bit.

What creative types of vines have you been dying to try? Leave your suggestions in the comments below. Read more...

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Sony has added a low-range model to its Xperia device lineup — the 4-inch Xperia M

Also available as a dual-SIM device, the Xperia M won't knock you out of your socks with specs: it has a 854x480 screen, a 1GHz, dual-core processor, a 5-megapixel camera, 1GB of RAM and 4GB of storage, expandable via microSD cards

Introducing #XperiaM - the @sony smartphone with magical one-touch functionstwitter.com/sonyxperia/sta…

— Sony Xperia (@sonyxperia) June 4, 2013

LTE is not on board, nor is the water-resistance that adorns the higher-end models, such as the Xperia Z or ZR. Android 4.1 is the OS of choice, and HSPA+, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC are also on board Read more...

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"Hey, man, did you catch that new coconut water commercial? The one where Charles Barkley plays basketball against a minotaur?"

"Wait, what? No! I definitely would've remembered seeing that. Here, let me check YouTube real quick ..."

Does that sound like a conversation you've had at some point? YouTube is undoubtably a hotspot for sharing ads with friends — each month, millions of page views are directly obtained from commercial views alone

Our friends at Unruly Media put together a list of last month's most-shared ads on the website. Flip through the gallery above to see the top 10. Just like April, May's most viral ad was Dove's "Real Beauty Sketches," which has been a viral sensation since it first hit the web two months ago. In total, it's amassed almost four million shares across all social networks Read more...

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Soon after the first pornographic app appeared for Google Glass, Google has quietly changed its Glass Platform Developer Policies, prohibiting apps that contain sexually explicit content

The first paragraph of the "Content policies" section now reads: "We don't allow Glassware content that contains nudity, graphic sex acts, or sexually explicit material. Google has a zero-tolerance policy against child pornography. If we become aware of content with child pornography, we will report it to the appropriate authorities and delete the Google Accounts of those involved with the distribution."

The app that likely prompted the change is called Tits & Glass, which allowed users to watch sexually explicit photos and videos. The company behind the app, MiKandi, was very happy with the initial response, claiming that nearly 10,000 unique visitors visited TitsAndGlass.com in a day. MiKandi also said it was interested in going a step further and using Google Glass to facilitate "two-way adult interaction". Read more...

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A 16-year-old web developer managed to rickroll Vine, breaching the social-video app's six-second upload limit in the process.

Cleveland resident Will Smidlein posted a Vine on Monday that included the more than three-minute-long music video, "Never Gonna Give You Up." The 1987 pop hit from singer Rick Astley (which we have embedded, above, for your viewing pleasure) has since become an online meme and form of bait-and-switch trolling.

I think I broke Vine.vine.co/v/b3gY2OnrgZn

— Will Smidlein (@ws) June 3, 2013

Twitter eventually took down the lengthy Vine post, but not before it went viral. An engineer at Twitter had sent Smidlein a direct message earlier, asking him to remove the post, according to The Verge Read more...

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OMGPOP, creators of the Pictionary-style app Draw Something, reported job losses Monday, after owner Zynga laid off 18% of its workforce.

A tweet from OMGPOP's official Twitter account revealed that Monday was the "last day at Zynga" for many of its employees.

While this is the last day at @zynga for many @omgpop staff, we want to thank you for all love and awesomeness over the years!

— omgpop (@omgpop) June 3, 2013

Several former OMGPOP staffers, including community manager Joseph Alminawi and business-operations manager Ali Nicolas, confirmed their dismissals on Twitter.

Thanks for the concern everyone. Yep, I've been laid off (along with most of the studio). I'll share more details soon after I do my exit...

— Joseph Alminawi (@swiftor) June 3, 2013 Read more...

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Wearable electronics — specifically smart watches — have been dominating headlines over the past year.

Pebble took Kickstarter by storm and raised almost $8 million to build its e-ink smart watch, Italian company I’m Watch launched the second version of its Android-powered timepiece, and rumors of an Apple-branded smart watch trickle in and out of the news almost on a weekly basis.

Now, another smart watch has hit Kickstarter, claiming to be “the world’s smartest watch.”

Described as “a fusion of New York fashion and cutting-edge technology,” AGENT is compatible with the iPhone, as well as Android and Windows Phone devices. Read more...

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Facebook confirmed last week's reports that it has signed a 10-year lease for just under 100,000 square feet of office space at 770 Broadway in lower Manhattan. The company will be moving all of its teams from its current office near Grand Central to two floors at the new office, the interior of which architect Frank Gehry has agreed to design.

Gehry is already leading the expansion of Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. A source familiar with Facebook's plans said the company is "extraordinarily pleased with [Gehry's] ability to delivery an incredible quality of design at a remarkably efficient price" and asked him to do the interior of the New York office as well. The source added that the design for the New York office will be "very similar" to the one Gehry has signed for Facebook's headquarters, featuring open floor plans, natural lighting and spaces for collaboration. Read more...

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After having made over the faces of thousands of women (and groomed more than a few men), Birchbox, a subscription-based beauty sampling service operating in the U.S. and western Europe, is getting a makeover of its own. The three-year-old company is launching a global rebranding, extending to its packaging, website and to its European business

The more than 400,000 women and men who already subscribe to Birchbox's monthly sampling program will notice their boxes look a little different this month. Gone is the square logo, as is the pink font for women and the blue font for men. Brown, paper-wrapped packages now feature the company's new logo, which is simply "Birchbox" in all-caps followed by a small diamond symbol. Women's boxes sport a white font, men's a black font (see photo above). Read more...

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Microsoft launched a new way for college students to pay for Windows PC purchases on Tuesday — a Kickstarter-style crowdfunding program.

The tech giant's new "Chip In" program lets friends and family crowdsource donations toward purchasing a Windows PC for a college student.

The program works like this: A college student selects a new Windows PC device on the Chip In site, then creates a campaign page and shares it out to friends and family, asking for help funding the computer. Microsoft contributes 10% of the PC purchase as the first donation.

When the new computer is funded, the student receives a promotional coupon code to buy the device from MicrosoftStore.com. Though anyone can set up a crowdfunding profile (parents, relatives or students themselves), only a student with a .edu college e-mail address or international student identity card (ISIC) can redeem the coupon to buy a computer. The purchase also comes with a four-year subscription to Office 365 University. Read more...

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WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

Game of Thrones, how dare you rip out our hearts and gobble them up like a Dothraki bride?

The gruesome climax to the so-called "Red Wedding" left GoT viewers shocked, saddened and craving some bloody revenge on House Lannister. Fans rushed to Twitter to express their anger, and console each other in 140 characters of Stark-loving devotion

But when the sadness and rage are too much, there's always laughter. Sure, giggles can't bring the Stark family back together, but at least you can take a break from writing angry letters to George R.R. Martin. Read more...

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Not long ago, the media looked at the web as if it was an awkward, unwanted stepchild. Today, the reverse is arguably true, with debate growing over whether social networks such as Twitter will overtake beacons of journalism like The New York Times.

At last month's Milken Institute Global Conference, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel said he thinks Twitter will outlast The Times. His reasoning: Its business strategy is more solid than that of the storied newspaper.

The debate got journalists talking on forums such as Muck Rack, with many people disagreeing. Some said it isn't a mutually exclusive relationship, or that one's success is predicated on the other's failure. Read more...

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Imagine if a phone charger could serve malicious code and charge your iPhone. It would be a hacker's dream — one that might already be a reality

A group of researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology claim they created an iPhone charger than can surreptitiously install malware on the Apple phone, allowing potential attackers to hack in, as first reported by Forbes.

Researchers will reveal the device at the annual security conference Black Hat, held in Las Vegas at the end of July

"Despite the plethora of defense mechanisms in iOS, we successfully injected arbitrary software into current-generation Apple devices running the latest operating system (OS) software," reads the description of the researchers' speech. All users are affected, as our approach requires neither a jailbroken device nor user interaction.” Read more...

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The HTC One is heading to Verizon, the carrier confirmed in a tweet Monday. The flagship Android smartphone is expected to arrive at Big Red later this summer

It’s coming – the HTC One will be available on the #Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network later this summer #HTCOne @htcusa

— Verizon Wireless (@VZWnews) June 3, 2013

Last week, Sundar Pichai, senior vice-president of Google's Chrome and Apps division, announced that a Google edition of the HTC One is heading to Google Play later this month. It will run pure Android, without the addition of any software by HTC

The HTC One is already available on AT&T and Sprint, and will be released on T-Mobile later this week. Read more...

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Comedian Patton Oswalt is one of the Internet's favorite things, right up there with cats and sports fails

Given that status, politically minded hip-hop group The Coup just made a good call to have him star in a YouTube video for their song "The Magic Clap."

The Coup's Boots Riley introduces the video by explaining that many fans have had trouble understanding the lyrics to "The Magic Clap." Enter Oswalt, who spends the next three minutes acting out every single lyric in the song

Predictably, the video, uploaded Monday, has become a hit online with fans of both Oswalt and The Coup. The comedian was happy to participate, writing in a Facebook post, "I explain my favorite song by my favorite band. Thank you Boots Riley, The Coup, and Pete Lee for asking me to do this. C'mon, kids!" Read more...

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Although Android remains the leader among smartphone operating systems in the United States, new sales of iOS and Windows devices actually grew more in the last year, according to new data.

The data, from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, said the share of sales for Windows devices grew 1.8 percentage points and that iOS grew 2.3 percentage points year on year. Despite Android dominating 51.7% of U.S. smartphone sales in a recent three-month period, the Google-owned platform only grew 1.4 percentage points year on year. Apple's iOS devices also lead with 41.4% of smartphone sales, while Windows trails far behind at 5.6% of sales. Read more...

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Nerds and fantasyphiles the Internet over have been in a tizzy all of Sunday night and Monday following the most recent — and extremely bloody — episode of HBO's hit series Game of Thrones

We've already collected 20 of the web's angriest reactions, and posted a hilarious video of GoT fans trying to make sense of the carnage. But then late on Monday afternoon, Maisie Williams — the 16-year-old actress who plays young Arya Stark — posted a Vine that just shut the whole thing down

Warning: Don't read on if you want to avoid spoilers. If you've already seen the episode, or don't mind a mild spoiler, behold: Read more...

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The Internet has brought us many trick shot basketball videos over the past several months. It's revealed an amazing video of trick football throws, and a similar clip featuring Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel. It's even introduced us to "Kickalicious," the Norwegian YouTube sensation whose incredible kicking accuracy netted him an NFL deal

But this? This is different, and takes the ol' YouTube genre to a new level

The video above comes from Zach Smith, who'll join the USC football team as a long snapper next season. Watch as he hikes the ball off a balcony into a trash can dozens of yards away, takes out moving targets, knocks a water bottle off a dude's head and more. There's a pretty jaw-dropping final stunt at the end, too Read more...

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Eye-Fi — a wireless SD card maker — launched a new memory card for photographers on Monday that can send photos and videos to your smartphone or tablet device at a lower cost than its predecessors.

The new Eye-Fi Mobi replaces the standard SD memory card in your digital camera, and with its built-in Wi-Fi, the card sends photos to your smartphone even without a Wi-Fi network or Internet connection. This ability to send photos to smartphones is nothing new: Eye-Fi added that functionality back in 2011. But with Mobi, the whole process to transfer photos is more streamlined. The card pairs with an iOS or Android app through a unique 10-digit code, and photos are then shared in real time. Read more...

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It looks like Twitter is testing a new look for messages and replies on Twitter.com.

Twitter has offered users the ability to see previous tweets and replies for some time, but now it appears the service will make the thread of those conversations more visible in the general timeline.

On Friday, David Higgins ran across the new look:

.@film_girl I know - Minor change, but kinda big for a few people: twitter.com/_higg/status/3‚Ķ The world must know!— David Higgins (@_higg) May 30, 2013

Others have run across the new look on their feeds as well.

Are these Twitter threads new? Spotted by @craigewer i.imgur.com/cAqNlfp.png— Jared Keller (@jaredbkeller) June 3, 2013 Read more...

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WARNING: Do not read any further if you have not seen Sunday night's episode of Game of Thrones, "The Rains of Castamere." In fact, don't go on the Internet at all. And maybe avoid contact with every other human.

Image via MemeGenerator

Last night, the tragedy that many Game of Thrones fans knew was coming — either from books or from a serious barrage of online spoilers — finally took place. Even the unspoiled had likely heard whispers of last night's doomed "Red Wedding."

Fans of both the books and the show watched in horror as Ned Stark's eldest son and King of the North was betrayed by Walder Frey and Stark bannerman Roose Bolton. Robb's mother Catelyn suffered a gruesome throat-slashing. Robb's pregnant wife Talisa was brutally stabbed. Even Robb's direwolf Grey Wind was shot down in a pen — not to mention the hundreds of Stark soldiers who were killed as they celebrated the wedding outside Read more...

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Atari released a video game in 1982 that was such a commercial flop that the company buried the evidence in a New Mexican desert. But, since the past can never remain buried, a film crew now wants to dig up a stash of those ET The Extra-Terrestrial games, in an attempt to uncover gaming history.

According to Albuquerque, N.M., television station KRQE, film production company Fuel Industries has been granted six months of access to the Alamogordo, N.M., landfill where Atari dumped nine semi trucks worth of E.T. game cartridges and other merchandise in 1983

Fuel Industries, a multimedia marketing company, hopes to document the unearthing of the games, KRQE reported Read more...

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Game of Thrones viewers had their minds blown during Sunday's "The Rains of Castamere" episode, which many people online are referring to as the "Red Wedding" episode

Across social media, fans quickly expressed their disbelief in what transpired on the show. Celebrities chimed in, too, garnering thousands of retweets on Twitter. Comedic entertainer Rosie O'Donnell tweeted, "HOLY SHIT BOPPERS," while musician Ed Sheeran tweeted, "i dont know what just happened in game of thrones. i'm in shock."

Meanwhile, actor Seth Rogen told Mashable the episode "was fucking crazy."

Read more...

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Game of Thrones fans let out a collective gasp over a major plot line shocker revealed Sunday night

While TV viewers had to scoop their jaws off their floors after the episode aired, real nerds — the ones who read the book series, A Song of Ice and Fire — were all, "Pfft, totally knew that was coming."

In this comic, John Kovalic of Dork Tower illustrates the difference between regular Game of Thrones nerds and alpha GoT nerds

Comic illustration by John Kovalic, Dork Tower. Published with permission; all rights reserved. Read more...

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Roy Hibbert is known as one of the NBA's good guys, but caused a stir over the weekend thanks to a post-game press conference in which he referred to reporters as "y'all motherf—ers" and used the phrase "no homo."

Hibbert's comments followed the Indiana Pacers' game 6 win over the Miami Heat in the NBA semifinal series. Athletes and non-athletes alike frequently use "no homo" on Twitter and offline to strip their comments of any potentially perceived homosexual undertones

But this instance was especially controversial, as NBA player Jason Collins came out of the closet in April. Collins became the first openly gay male athlete in a major American sport, and was exalted on social media for going public. Meanwhile, Hibbert's comments caused widespread discussion and debate on social media. Watch the video of Hibbert's "no homo" slip-up below: Read more...

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On Monday, a United States government lawyer formally accused Apple of conspiring with publishers to artificially boost e-book prices.

The trial against Apple comes a year after the Justice Department first accused Apple of working with five publishers — Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Hachette and Macmillan — to boost prices and spite e-book market leader Amazon.

"Apple told publishers that Apple — and only Apple — could get prices up in their industry," Justice Department lawyer Lawrence Buterman said during opening arguments, as quoted by Reuters. An Apple attorney characterized the deal as a legitimate business decision. Read more...

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Twitter users experienced difficulties on Monday afternoon accessing the website, citing lagged updates and the inability to post anything.

The company said in a status update that "our engineers are currently working to resolve the issue." The cause is not yet known, but the site seems to be back up and running for most users.

The site access issues have now been resolved. Thanks for your patience, everyone!

— Support (@Support) June 3, 2013

The website Down for Everyone or Just Me was also updated to reflect the issues.

Image via iStockphoto, Microworks Read more...

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Steve Jobs was perhaps the loudest critic of streaming music in the late 2000s. While companies like Pandora and Rhapsody gradually gained traction, the late Apple co-founder and CEO repeatedly denounced these services and resisted invitations to create a similar subscription option for music.

"Never say never, but customers don't seem interested in it. The subscription model has failed so far," Jobs said in an interview with Reuters in 2007. The following year at Macworld, he reiterated the point: "We've never offered a rental model in music because we don't think people don't want to rent music." Read more...

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As clashes in Turkey continue, the hacker collective Anonymous has decided to join the protests

Yesterday, on Anonymous' "official" Twitter account YourAnonNews, the hacktivists announced #OpTurkey. The group also set up a website, Operation Turkey, to boasts their online exploits.

"Because you should have expected us fuckers," read the tweet, which also had a link to the usual Anonymous YouTube video featuring a robotic voice — and anti-government rhetoric.

The voice in the video intoned: "We will attack every internet and communications asset of the Turkish government. You have censored social media and other communications of your people in order to suppress the knowledge of your crimes against them. Now Anonymous will shut you down, and your own people will remove you from power. Let the 'Turkish Summer' begin!" Read more...

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As part of a major effort to trim costs and focus more on mobile strategy, online gaming company Zynga is laying off 520 staffers — or about 18% of its workforce, according to a company press release.

The company, which is now expected to save $80 million in employee costs, will also close its offices in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas. The reductions will occur across all job divisions and be complete by August 2013, the company said

"None of us ever expected to face a day like today, especially when so much of our culture has been about growth," CEO and Founder Mark Pincus wrote to employees in a memo. "But I think we all know this is necessary to move forward. The scale that served us so well in building and delivering the leading social gaming service on the Web is now making it hard to successfully lead across mobile and multiplatform, which is where social games are going to be played." Read more...

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