Social media can be a powerful tool. While you're probably using it to connect with friends, it's also helpful when trying to discipline your kids.

No, we're not talking about taking away their Internet privileges — that would be too easy. Embarrassment, however, can act as an amazing motivator. And there's no better vehicle for parental-driven embarrassment than Facebook.

These might not be parenting-book-sanctioned tips, but sometimes when raising kids you have to think outside the box. Read more...

1. For every instance of immaturity, post an embarrassing baby picture.

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With roots in classical Latin literature, lorem ipsum has been the print industry's standard dummy text since the 16th century, and it was popularized in the 1960s. It has become the de facto placeholder text in web design, too (as gathering content from clients can often be a frustrating process), and is used in place of meaningful content during the design phase

Some argue that "real data delivers really effective design," and by using dummy text, you create a domino effect in your design that will have consequences when real content is added. But there are others who believe it can be a useful tool that still has value in the design process Read more...

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When your house becomes a sauna in the humid summer, you can always count on over-air conditioned malls to cool you down. And with all those paychecks rolling in from your seasonal lifeguarding gig, who wouldn't spend some of that hard-earned cash on food court milkshakes?

But before you flock to the nearest shopping center, there's a number of characters you need to watch out for. No matter where you shop, rest assured that these hooligans are lurking somewhere, just waiting to bother you.

Keep an eye out for these individuals to ensure a peaceful shopping trip. Read more...

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According to the latest numbers by IDC and Gartner, Lenovo is currently the biggest PC supplier in the world.

This is not the first time Lenovo has surpassed Hewlett-Packard. According to Gartner's report from October 2012, Lenovo has been the no. 1 PC maker in the third quarter of 2012. Back then, IDC's numbers weren't backing up that claim, but now both analyst firms have Lenovo at the top

According to IDC, Lenovo reached 16.7% global PC market share in 2Q 2013, up from 15.0% in the same period last yearGartner also has Lenovo at 16.7% share this quarter, up from 14.9% from 2Q 2012.

HP is in second place with a 16.3% market share (according to Gartner; 16.4% according to IDC), followed by Dell, Acer and Asus Read more...

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The Internet is home to a lot of disgusting things. Aside from an occasional pop-up ad or a few nasty viral videos having something to do with cups, it used to be that you actively had to search for the grossness. Now, with help from apps like Vine, the grossness comes to you.

We went on a thoroughly disturbing search for the nastiest SFW Vine videos the Internet has to offer, and we found these gems. This article is not for the faint of heart. If you're grossed out by needles, mosquitos or weird, unidentifiable substances that come out of dogs' mouths, please read no further. Read more...

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Currently, less than a quarter of all jobs in STEM — that is, science, technology, engineering and math — are held by women. It's a gender gap that children's performer Jenna Bryson wants to close with a picture-book series and app called Grace from Outer Space.

The series aims to educate young girls about science and astronomy, with protagonist Grace as their guide and "pro-STEM role model."

"I asked myself how I could make a difference, and I thought about the role models that influenced me as a child. I realized that many of them were fictional characters from stories," Bryson writes on Kickstarter. "Looking around at the characters marketed to little girls today, I can't help but see a giant black hole." Read more...

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If This Then That (IFTTT) is now available for iPhone.

If you’re not familiar, IFTTT is a service that lets you connect two different apps or services together based on specific parameters, in a way that makes using both services a lot more useful. Think of it as a string that ties together everything you use on your computer or phone.

Connections between things on IFTTT are called recipes. Exceptionally simple to use, all you have to do is specify the “This” and the “That” of your equation to create your own recipe.

For instance, you might ask IFTTT to save all the photos you upload to Flickr to your Dropbox, or send you an SMS message whenever you’re tagged in a photo on Facebook. Read more...

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Orange is the New Black, the new drama-comedy series that's exclusive to Netflix, starts airing Thursday at 12:01 a.m. PT (3:01 a.m. ET)

Created by Jenji Kohan, writer-producer of the highly acclaimed Weeds, OITNB follows Piper Chapman (played by Taylor Schilling) as she ends up in prison for a mistake from her distant past

Also starring are Jason Biggs of American Pie fame, as well as Laura Prepon, best known for her role as Donna in That '70s Show

SEE ALSO: 'Arrested Development' a Streaming Success on Netflix

Already renewed for a second season, all 13 episodes of OITNB are available on Netflix as of Thursday Read more...

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Every year, Facebook users are flooded with birthday messages from their online friends — but while they may be a welcome sight, virtual wishes are always trumped by real-life ones.

Developed by Outback Steakhouse and Brazilian ad agency Lew'Lara\TBWA, the B-Day Chair addresses this by bringing online greetings to the offline world. After sitting in the interactive chair, and connecting to their Facebook account, the birthday girl or boy will receive a hug each time someone posts "Happy Birthday" to their Timeline. Watch the video, above, to see the B-Day Chair in action.

Outback Steakhouse aims to have at least one chair in each of their Brazilian locations by the end of this year, according to the ad's description. Read more...

More about Facebook, Birthday, Social Media, and Gadgets

Your health is a complicated puzzle best solved by professionals, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use technology to make things more simple. Never has it been easier to track your health, monitor your fitness goals or research treatment options.

“It turns out that your interaction with your doctor has two parts. There’s a technical component: Your doctor is gathering information about you to make a diagnoses and recommend a care plan. And then there’s the emotional overlay,” says Dr. Joe Kvedar, the founder and director of the Center for Connected Health, which focuses on providing healthcare outside of the traditional hospital or doctor’s office setting Read more...

More about Health, Iphone Apps, Doctors, Android Apps, and Health Alerts

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: Instacart

One-Liner Pitch: Instacart aims to solve the problem of same-day grocery deliveries.

Why It's Taking Off: The startup crowdsources grocery deliveries to cut down the operational costs and limitations that have plagued other same-day delivery services

Amazon has operated a same-day grocery delivery service for the past six years, and recently expanded into its second city. Now, one startup thinks it can do a better job — and it just happens to be run by a former Amazon employee Read more...

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The latest testament to the wackily entertaining world that is NBA Twitter comes via Los Angeles Clippers star DeAndre Jordan — and his mom, Kimberly

It all started when Jordan shared a screenshot of a text message exchange with his mother, who apparently was not feeling her son's fashion sense after he charmingly asked her to be his date to the ESPY Awards:

So I have a date to the @ESPYS and its my mom @callmeMISSKIM but it seems that she's not into my outfit idea...lol pic.twitter.com/3hBot0K3s5

— DeAndre Jordan (@deandrejordan) July 10, 2013

But not only was Jordan's sense of style deemed out of bounds — he dug himself a deeper hole with mom by making their conversation public in the first place: Read more...

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A rare Apple 1 computer — among the first ever produced by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak's one-time tech startup — has sold at auction for nearly $400,000.

The piece of computing history, hand-built in the garage of Jobs' parents way back in 1976, went for $387,750 in an online-only Christie's auction. The device was reportedly sold by a retired school psychologist from California, and bought by an Italian collectors' club.

And here's the kicker: The Italians may have actually gotten a pretty good deal. How so? Another Apple 1 sold at auction for a whopping $671,400 just this May. That broke the previous Apple 1 sale record of $640,000. The device that sold this week was projected to go for up to $500,000 Read more...

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The next time a toddler asks to play with your smartphone, you might want to think twice

A 14-month-old girl in Portland, Ore. went on a little shopping spree on on her dad's eBay app. Okay, not so little — she bought a 1962 Austin Healey Sprite

In good condition, the Sprite is a sweet set of wheels, but this car is a real fixer-upper — you'll see. But in an adorable twist of events, the father plans to keep the car and restore it to give to his daughter for her 16th birthday or high school graduation.

Watch the video above to meet the unwitting offender. We bet you couldn't stay mad at her for long Read more...

More about Video, Ebay, Smartphone, Cars, and Babies

Art is a beautiful way to express yourself — the simplest of paintings can be a window into a world of emotions. But just because you're a talented artist doesn't mean you should dabble in design

In this comic, Angela Liao of 20px shows us that artistic talent doesn't always translate in the design field. Don't worry though, we hear the best designers weren't appreciated in their day. Or was that artists?

Comic illustration by Angela Liao, 20px. Published with permission; all rights reserved. Read more...

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Five years ago Wednesday, Apple launched the iPhone App Store and, with it, ushered in a new app economy.

Lots of changes have taken place over the last five years and it's hard to argue that the impact the App Store has had on the world of mobile and smartphones is anything but immense.

On Monday, Apple started celebrating five years of the App Store with some free app promotions and a look at highlights over the last half-decade. Although that list was good, it missed some important milestones.

After all, the arrival of Angry Birds and Instagram are important, but who can forget the app "I Am Rich" or the deluge of fart apps in the App Store? And speaking of app bans, remember when Apple refused to let Google Voice apps in the store? Read more...

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Yes, she did it again. Pop star Britney Spears made a new music video

But on Wednesday, the 31-year-old singer gave fans a glimpse of her latest video in a unique way: she posted GIFs from her "Ooh La La" music video online, just one day before it premieres on VEVO.

Spears used interactive image platform ThingLink to post six GIFs from "Ooh La La," the singer's new single featured on The Smurfs 2 movie soundtrackOne of the GIFs reveals that Spears' sons — Sean Preston and Jayden James — will also star in the video.

24 hours! A few sneak peek GIFts I had the Smurfs make for me... ;) https://t.co/U0Swyfvzu4 #OohLaLaTomorrow

— Britney Spears (@britneyspears) July 10, 2013 Read more...

More about Music Videos, Teaser, Britney Spears, Vevo, and Music Video

You've certainly seen, and probably shared, GIFs that recreate scenes from some of your favorite movies. The short, looping videos allow fans to spread the joy of distinct moments in their pop-cultural consciousnesses that they think others will appreciate, with or without the context of a feature film's plot

In the new short film BXBY, director Quentin Cherrier, a French photographer, re-imagines the relationship between movies and GIFs entirely, merging the two to create the first-ever "clif" ("clip" and "GIF")

Since a "clif" is a mashup, Cherrier insists that "deep down, [he] did not invent anything." But if nothing else, he developed a short storyline and brought it to life in a unique format. Read more...

More about Video, Art, Film, Short Films, and Gif

You may not be in quite good enough shape to participate in the Tour de France, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on all the fabulous scenery bikers are taking in on the journey.

To help celebrate the Tour’s 100th Edition, Google has rolled out a few new products to help you take part in the race from your couch at home. One tool, called Your Tour, actually puts you behind the handlebars, letting you pedal through different stages of the tour by scrolling on your computer.

As you scroll, you can get a multimedia look at that particular portion of the race, complete with video from a bike, a map of the course, and even Google+ posts that have been made at that particular marker. Read more...

More about Google, Google Street View, App, Tour De France, and Tech

James Franco left a bleary-eyed, monotone message for his Instagram followers this week: "Hey y'all, what's up? I'm gonna get roasted on Comedy Central."

Comedy Central confirmed to Mashable that #FrancoRoast will tape in Los Angeles in August and premiere on TV in time for Labor Day.

"If only James Franco was a more successful, multi-hyphenated, incessant creative risk taker in different media, he'd be the perfect person to roast," Kent Alterman, president of content development and original programming for the network, said in a statement. "Oh well … I suppose we'll just have to make do.” Read more...

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Bradley Manning's lawyers rested their case on Wednesday. The defense built its case for a shorter amount of time than expected, but argued exactly what most anticipated it would: Manning did not intend to harm the United States and aid the enemy when he passed thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks.

Manning has already pleaded guilty to 10 of the 22 charges levied against him, effectively admitting to being the source of WikiLeaks' most touted revelations. However, he still faces life in prison if convicted of the most serious charge of "aiding the enemy." On Monday, his defense asked the military judge Col. Denise Lind to drop that charge as well as another six. Read more...

More about Wikileaks, Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, Us World, and Us

The chatter about the alleged upcoming budget iPhone is reaching a fever pitch, and now artist Martin Hajek has created his interpretation of what the rumored lower-priced handset might look like.

If you recall, Hajek is the artist who rendered a nearly perfect replica of the iPhone 5 last June, four months before it was released. His art looked almost exactly like the iPhone 5 that was rolled out in October

Last March, Hajek created his first interpretation of the budget iPhone with a plastic — but not translucent — back, and it didn't look as thin as these renderings Read more...

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

With big-name summer albums such as Born Sinner, Yeezus, Magna Carta Holy Grail, Collapsible Lung, Random Access Memories, Hall of Fame, Halcyon Days and many, many more dropping, maybe now's a good time to re-evaluate how we discover and consume our music — or at least take a gander at how other people do it.

Headphone maker Sol Republic made an exclusive infographic for Mashable that breaks down some of the recent trends in music discovery, including social listening and streaming services.

Scope it out below to see how Millennials and others listen to their music, the effect of positive recommendations on sales and how mobile is changing music consumption Read more...

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If you had told me, when the FCC slammed the brakes on AT&T's attempted merger with T-Mobile, that I would soon seriously consider switching to the nations fourth-largest carrier, which was set adrift in the wake of the scuttled deal, I would have said you were crazy.

But here I am, about a year and a half later, thinking about doing just that. The main reason: T-Mobile has just introduced a new program called Jump (which unofficially stands for "just upgrade my phone") that lets customers upgrade their phones up to twice a year. Jump, which costs $10 month and includes insurance, lets any customer trade in the phone they have and get new-customer pricing on a new one. Read more...

More about T Mobile, Tech, Mobile, and Phone Upgrade

On the heels of Magna Carta Holy Grail's release, Jay-Z upped his post-release hype with interviews and an impromptu Twitter Q&A. Now, he's currently participating in a six-hour lip-sync, dance-off, performance-art hybrid of "Picasso Baby" at New York City's Pace Gallery.

Jay-Z and company invited a select group of artists, collaborators, creatives and friends, the Gothamist reported, to take part in a docu-music video for "Picasso Baby." Hova danced with and rapped at special guests, which reportedly included Judd Apatow, Marina Abramovic, Girls star Adam Driver, rapper Wale and Girls actress Lena Dunham's mom Read more...

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Life in space is not at all like it is here on terra firma. Case in point: how do you wash your hair in space? That's demonstrated here in the microgravity of the International Space Station by Expedition 36 crew member Karen Nyberg, who takes you through the whole procedure in a quick three minutes.

We're marveling at the weird world of weightlessness, where hair, no matter how long it is, stands on end until you direct it to do otherwise. You can't pour water in space, so if you're looking to take a nice long hot shower, you're going to have to wait until you return to Earth.

Read more...

More about Space, Iss, International Space Station, Gadgets, and World

Let's say you're LeBron James (you're not LeBron James). You've just won back-to-back NBA titles and cemented your status as the world's foremost basketball specialist. How do you spend your off-season?

Rapping, of course. James took to Instagram this week to share his actually rather smooth flow with fans and followers

Two short audio tracks on Instagram video feature James rapping over the beat to Jay-Z and Kanye West's song "Ni**as in Paris." Here they are, using Instagram's new embeddable content tool — for your listening pleasure: Read more...

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Your pet photos on Instagram are about to be put to shame

Jeremy Veach, a 23-year-old photographer in Seattle, Wash., adopted his pug Norm a year and a half ago, when the pup was just eight weeks old. Since then, he has documented every day of Norm's life on Instagram. His account, @jermzlee, has close to 30,000 followers. (He also blogs at This Is Norm.)

While Veach occasionally takes straightforward portraits, the bulk of his photos feature Norm with goofy accessories or in odd locations. Recently, he's done a series of selfies in which Norm appears to hold the camera himself Read more...

More about Photography, Dogs, Cute Animals, Instagram, and Watercooler

Spider-Man just got a little bit more amazing thanks to this video prank pulled off by one of the world's most popular streetball players

Basketball players at a neighborhood court were surprised recently when none other than Spidey himself showed up to crash their game. But this wasn't some awkward actor trying to play sports — as you'll see above, Spider-Man pulls of some extremely slick dribbling moves here

So where'd Spidey get his skills? It's not Peter Parker under that mask. Rather, it's Grayson Boucher, better known as streetball legend "The Professor." Boucher's played before on ESPN, with the well-known And1 basketball touring circus and alongside future NBA Hall of Famer Allen Iverson Read more...

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Budweiser is cracking open two new musical ads featuring Jay-Z and Rihanna on TV and YouTube as part of a new global campaign set to launch today in 85 countries.

Made for Music, the brand's first push using music as a platform, features the superstars as dual celebrity centerpieces. The two 30-second spots are set to Hova's "PSA" (watch above) and Rihanna's latest single "Right Now" (below); both were shot by director Mark Romanek.

"Budweiser Made for Music is a tribute to those who continue to put their energy and passion everyday in the pursuit of their dreams," said Ricardo Marques, Budweiser's global advertising director, in a statement. "Jay-Z and Rihanna represent these values and are therefore an incredible source of inspiration to us all." Read more...

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