Thursday, June 7, 2012

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Tech-Savvy Seniors: Half of U.S. Adults Over 65 Are Online”

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Tech-Savvy Seniors: Half of U.S. Adults Over 65 Are Online”


Tech-Savvy Seniors: Half of U.S. Adults Over 65 Are Online

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 04:04 AM PDT





For the first time ever, more than half of U.S. adults over the age of 65 are online, from surfing the web to checking email, a new study suggests.

A report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 53% of seniors use the Internet. Although this demographic is still less likely to go online than younger age groups, it shows that this segment of the population is flocking to the web more than ever before.

In total, about 82% of all online Americans over age 18 access the Internet each day, while some 70% of seniors say they go online every day, as well.

But Internet usage tends to drop off after age 75, the report said. Only 34% of adults over 75 access the Interne… Continue reading...

More About: Facebook, Pew, Pew Internet & American Life Project, Social Media, social networking, Twitter


LinkedIn Hack Aftermath And Two Other Stories You Need to Know

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 03:34 AM PDT




Social Media News


Welcome to this morning's edition of "First To Know," a series in which we keep you in the know on what's happening in the digital world. Today, we're looking at three particularly interesting stories.

Millions of Passwords Stolen From LinkedIn and eHarmony

After a hacker yesterday posted a list of 6.46 million hashed passwords from LinkedIn on a Russian forum, the company confirmed the security breach, instructing affected users to change their passwords.

The story does not end here, though, as the same hacker posted 1.5 million passwords from dating site eHarmony. We'll probably hear more about these security breaches, as some of the passwords are reportedly already use… Continue reading...

More About: features, first to know series, linkedin, mashable, samsung


Revolutionary Paper Scanner Folds Flat, Costs $15 on Kickstarter

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 01:17 AM PDT

This portable smartphone-enabled scanner is on the verge of changing how we work.

The Scanbox on Kickstarter is a foldable scanner that's easy to put together and snaps in place with magnetic buttons. The scanner, made from a high-quality laminated card, works with most smartphones with a back-facing camera. The Scanbox can digitize full-size documents and anything that fits into its dock. Watch the video above to see how the scanner works.

The Scanbox has been 702% funded with 31 more days left on the crowdsourced funding platform. Backers can receive the scanner with a $15+ donation. The scanner will go into production once its Kickstarter de… Continue reading...

More About: kickstarter, Tech, Video


Foursquare Gets a Makeover: Here’s What’s New

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 09:19 PM PDT





After a week of dropping hints from its Twitter account, Foursquare has finally launched its redesigned app.

Anyone who was anticipating new breakout features, however, need not get too excited. The main difference between the new and old app is (much prettier) packaging.

"We launched Lists, we launched Explore," Foursquare Head of Product Alex Rainert tells Mashable. "What we set off to do six months ago is, now that we have these pieces, let's put them together."

Photos now take center stage in both the Explore and Friends tabs, making them look more like a Path or Instagram feed than a list. User profiles have a tiled interface that allows users to access stats, lists, badges a… Continue reading...

More About: foursquare


LinkedIn Hacker Steals 1.5 Million Passwords from eHarmony [REPORT]

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 08:08 PM PDT





It's been quite the day for the Russian hacker who has reportedly stolen nearly 6.5 million LinkedIn passwords. Now, it looks like the same hacker has also compromised 1.5 million passwords from popular dating site eHarmony.

eHarmony has confirmed that a "small fraction" of its users' passwords have been compromised and said it has reset the affected members' log-in information.

"After investigating reports of compromised passwords, we have found that a small fraction of our user base has been affected," eHarmony wrote on its blog. "We are continuing to investigate... as a precaution, we have reset affected members passwords."

Affected members will receive an email with details… Continue reading...

More About: eHarmony, hackers, linkedin, security, Social Media, trending


Roommate Wanted: Apartable Helps You Find Compatible Roommates

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 08:02 PM PDT





The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Name: Apartable

Quick Pitch: The site collects more information than other rental sites to make the rental process smoother for tenants and managers.

Genius Idea: Renters can use the site to collect every little detail about the apartment they're interesting in and not waste time; managers can verify renters can afford the apartment before they tour it.

One third of the world are renters, says Apartable COO and co-founder Matthew "Mati" Bortnick. A property manager himself,… Continue reading...

More About: apartable, bizspark, house hunting, rentals


Startup Rebel Mouse Wants to be the Social Web’s Front Page

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 07:29 PM PDT





Rebel Mouse, the new web service by former Huffington Post CTO Paul Berry, wants to be the front page to your life on the internet.

On first glance, it looks like a digital newspaper of your social life, organized on Pinterest. After you spend some time on the site, it becomes clear that it's much more than that.

Although people are great at updating social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, their personal websites are a constant source of embarrassment. Berry told Mashable, Rebel Mouse brings it all together.

"When I was chief tech officer at Huffington Post, people would constantly come to me asking me how to build a homepage," Berry said. The only answer he had to give is th… Continue reading...

More About: Facebook, Social Media, startup, Twitter


Fahrenheit 451: Did Bradbury’s Dystopia Come True?

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 07:09 PM PDT





The nature of science fiction has always been thus: no matter how far ahead authors try to think, they are always trapped in their own times. Elements of their books will invariably look dated from the moment they are published.

Ray Bradbury, who died in Los Angeles Wednesday at the grand old age of 91, was as susceptible to this as any other grand master of the genre. Read his 1953 classic of future firemen who burn books, Fahrenheit 451, and you'll run into plenty of quaint details. Firemen smoking tobacco pipes, lit with "chemical matches." Cheesy ads for "Denham's Dentrifice." 1950s lingo such as "swell".

But brush those quirks aside, and what you're left with is one of the m… Continue reading...


What I Learned on Airtime With Sean Parker

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 06:39 PM PDT





"What if someone just has a really phallic-looking face?" This is the question I found myself asking Airtime founder Sean Parker, a man who coincidentally turned out to be my very first Airtime chatmate.

Airtime is a platform that makes it dead-simple for people to video chat with their friends -- or with people that share their interests -- online. While its easy to compare the service with Chatroulette, Airtime has more to offer users.

And unlike Chatroulette, Airtime promises to protect us from being inundated by a barrage of penises. Thanks to a smartly designed algorithm, Airtime is supposed to prevent chats from getting X-rated or untoward.

SEE ALSO: Not Just ChatroulContinue reading...

More About: Airtime, chatroulette, Internet safety, safety, sean parker


‘Madden NFL 2013′ Brings Voice Control, Virtual Twitter Feed

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 05:39 PM PDT





Popular NFL video game Madden is back for 2013 with an updated version of the game that utilizes the Kinect sensor to allow you to voice-control the game.

Joe Montana took the stage at E3 to demonstrate the game, calling out plays and changing formations of players with his voice just as he might if he was actually on the field.

Powered by an all-new Infinity Engine, the game takes into account the size of a player so smaller players won't easily be able to plow through larger ones and no two players feel the same when it comes to game play. Player interactions have also seen an overhaul, so if you're on a run and get nudged by another player, for instance, that nudge will effect you… Continue reading...

More About: e3, E3 2012, kinect, madden


Diet Glasses Fool You Into Eating Less [VIDEO]

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 05:07 PM PDT

If you've ever eaten an entire sleeve of Oreo cookies without stopping, these high-tech goggles were made for you.

Researchers at Tokyo University have developed augmented reality diet glasses that can fool our brains into being satisfied with less food.

The augmented reality goggles make food appear larger than life, according to Discovery News. The diet goggles scan what test subjects are holding and sends larger images to a computer screen.

In tests where cookies were augmented by 50% their actual size, volunteers ate 10% fewer cookies. But when cookies appeared at two-thirds their actual size, participants ate 15% more of them.

SEE ALContinue reading...

More About: restaurants, Tech, Video


How to Check If Your LinkedIn Password Was Stolen

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 04:15 PM PDT





Worried that your LinkedIn password may be a part of the nearly 6.5 million compromised on Wednesday? Password management firm LastPass has released a secure tool to see if your password was among the stolen.

News first surfaced about the security breach after a Russian hacker said he stole 6,458,020 encrypted LinkedIn passwords and posted them online (without usernames) to prove his feat. The breach comes on the heels of news that LinkedIn's iOS app potentially violates user privacy by sending detailed calendar entries to its servers.

LinkedIn confirmed that some passwords had become compromised and said it would contact affected users with details on how to change their password.… Continue reading...

More About: LastPass, linkedin, password management, security, trending


Olympics Will Stream Live on YouTube in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 02:54 PM PDT





Olympics fans across Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa will be able watch the Summer Games in London live via YouTube this July and August.

The International Olympic Committee's YouTube channel will broadcast 2,200 hours of HD coverage for people in Singapore, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya, according to a YouTube blog post on Monday. The live stream will include every medal final.

Afghanistan, Iran, Mongolia, Nepal, Botswana, Tanzania and Mali are also among the group of 64 territories in Asia and Africa that will be able to follow the Olympics action via YouTube. For a full list, see the IOC's press release here.

The live feeds will be free to anyone with an Internet conn… Continue reading...

More About: olympics, YouTube


Elvis Presley Will Be Resurrected as Hologram for Film, TV

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 02:24 PM PDT




Digital Domain and Core Media Group will create a virtual Elvis Presley likenesses


The makers of rapper Tupac Shukar's hologram announced a deal Wednesday to co-create several virtual Elvis Presley likenesses for use on film, television and other projects.

Digital production company Digital Domain Media Group -- which brought the life-sized digital Tupac to life for a performance with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre at Coachella in April -- has partnered with Core Media Group to resurrect the "King of Rock 'n' Roll" as a computer-generated human.

The companies have yet to say when and where people will see CG Elvis perform.

"This is a new and exciting way to bring the magic and music of Elvis Presley to life," says Jack Soden, CEO of Elvis Presley Enterprises, which is on… Continue reading...

More About: celebrities, Elvis Presley, Entertainment, Film, Music, trending, TV


How a Tech Hurdle Completely Changed Jawbone’s Mission

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 01:48 PM PDT

Hosain Rahman, who started Jawbone just out of Stanford University, wasn't originally aiming to create a consumer electronics company. Initially, it set out to enable speech recognition on mobile phones (this was before Siri), and what they realized was that to make speech recognition work, they first had to solve the problem of background noise. That led to the development of an industry-leading noise-elimination technology called NoiseAssassin, which now lies at the heart of all the company's audio products.

SEE ALSO: Big Jambox Pumps Out Awesome, Ear-Splitting Audio [REVIEW]

In the interview above, Rahman shares how he founded JawboContinue reading...

More About: consumer electronics, entrepreneurship, jawbone, Startups, valleygirltv


Behind the Launch: Putting It All on the Line

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 01:45 PM PDT

In Mashable's new video series, Behind the Launch, we're taking cameras behind the scenes at Vungle, an in-app video advertising startup.

We've seen tension between co-founders Zain and Jack before, and this week, we see their relationship strain even more when Zain confronts Jack about his marketing tasks. Then, in an attempt to be bold and recruit publishers to partner with Vungle, Zain and Jack share an idea with the team -- to set aside $1 million of its $2 million funding to buy publisher inventory.

As we hear in the episode, "Are these guys nuts?" Watch today's episode and join the conversation on Twitter, #BehindTheLaunch.

Want to c… Continue reading...

More About: Behind the Launch Series, features, mashable, mashable video, Vungle


#RioPlusSocial: What’s Your Vision for the Future?

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 01:37 PM PDT

It's easy to see social injustice and suffering in the world and get discouraged. Now, with the power of social media, we have the opportunity to make a change through one of our greatest assets: voice. By sending a tweet, sharing a photo or uploading video, we can stand up for what's right and be heard throughout the world -- within seconds.

Mashable will be in Brazil to host Rio+Social, working with our Social Good Summit partners the United Nations Foundation and the 92nd Street Y. The event will explore how social media and technology can help create sustainable solutions for the future of the planet.

SEE ALSO: Mashable Is Heading to Brazil for Rio+Social

The conference,… Continue reading...

More About: Rio plus social, Social Good


Space Shuttle Enterprise Arrives at the Intrepid [PICS]

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 01:36 PM PDT


Enterprise Embarks




Space Shuttle Enterprise began its journey today at Weeks Marine, N.J.

Click here to view this gallery.

The Space Shuttle Enterprise is almost home. The NASA spacecraft completed the last leg of its journey to its home on board the Intrepid -- the decommissioned aircraft carrier docked on the Hudson River that serves as New York City's sea, air and space museum.

As Enterprise floated toward the Intrepid on a barge, Mashable managed to snap a few photos of its trip along the river. It sped past the Statue of Liberty, through New York Harbor, then up past lower Manhattan, where our photographer was waiting.

Enterprise began this final journey at JFK International Airport, where it landed on the back of a modified Boeing 747 jet. The event was marked by a welcoming ceremony attended by cele… Continue reading...

More About: enterprise, space shuttle


Hit Tumblr Mocks Wikipedia’s Most Ridiculous Claims

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 01:24 PM PDT





Wikipedia has established itself as a valuable research tool for Internet users -- but one that must be taken with a grain of salt.

Although the online encyclopedia has improved in style and accuracy over the years, questionable "facts" still pop up every now and then.

The creators of Tumblr blog Citation Needed have set out to discover the craziest claims within Wikipedia's more than 22 million articles.

Citation Needed is maintained by Josh Fruhlinger and Conor Lastowka, both writers for RiffTrax, a continuation of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Needless to say, the two spend a lot of time on Wikipedia looking up oddball facts and old pop culture references.

"Spending hal… Continue reading...

More About: features, humor, Social Media, tumblr, wikipedia


LinkedIn Confirms, Apologizes for Stolen Password Breach

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 01:11 PM PDT





LinkedIn has confirmed that some of its user passwords have been compromised. The company has also issued an apology "for the inconvenience this has caused our members."

Reports circulated on Wednesday that millions of LinkedIn passwords were subject to a security breach. A Russian hacker said he stole 6,458,020 encrypted passwords and posted them online (without usernames) to prove his feat.

The breach comes on the heels of news that LinkedIn's iOS app potentially violates user privacy by sending detailed calendar entries to its servers.

SEE ALSO: How to Change Your LinkedIn Password

"We can confirm that some of the passwords that were compromised correspond to LinkedI… Continue reading...

More About: hacking, linkedin, security, Social Media


Students Combine Pac-Man, Double Rainbows in Elaborate Coke-Pouring Contraption

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 01:04 PM PDT

In a bid to capture the eyeballs of the U.S. college-age market, Coca-Cola has partnered with Ryan Seacrest Productions, a group of engineering students and two YouTube celebrities to develop and seed an online video.

In the three-minute video (above), YouTube personalities Justine Ezarik (iJustine) and Josh Chomik (TheComputerNerd01) narrate as 12 engineering students from Harvey Mudd and CalTech build an elaborate Rube Goldberg-inspired contraption -- complete with the brand's iconic polar bears, a Pac-Man and a double rainbow -- designed to open and pour two cans of coke. After two days of construction, they invite other students (who were, at the time, in the middle of final e… Continue reading...

More About: coca cola, Coke, ijustine, josh chomik, Marketing, rube goldberg, ryan seacrest, Video


10 Amazing Venus Transit Pics

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 12:50 PM PDT

Last night, astronomy enthusiasts around the world had their eyes glued to the skies in hope of viewing the last transit of Venus for more than 100 years.

The seven-hour transit was widely visible around the globe, and so when we asked the Mashable community to share their photos, the responses came from locations as varied as the Phillipines, United States, Australia, Colombia and Malaysia.

If you missed the original post and you have photos you want us to include in the slideshow above, either submit them via the widget below, or tweet them with the hashtag #VenusMash!

How did you watch the Venus Transit-- in person or digitally? Let us know in the comments!

More About: Photos, Science, space


10 Eco-Friendly Gadgets Made From Bamboo

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 12:33 PM PDT

Often, people think that to adopt a green lifestyle they have to ditch the tech gadgets and tools that make life easier and more enjoyable. That's not exactly true. In fact, a new line of bamboo products are both safe for the environment and durable.

But why bamboo? Well, it's a sustainable raw material that grows up to five times faster than wood materials, making it one of the most renewable sources on the planet. Since it is a grass it can grow in most climates and environments without chemicals or pesticides, and it produces 35% more oxygen than hardwood trees. What really seals the deal is that bamboo's tensile strength, or the measurement of a material's ability to han… Continue reading...

More About: contributor, environmentally friendly, features, Gadgets, technology


Not Just Chatroulette: Hands-On With Airtime [REVIEW]

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 11:55 AM PDT


The Airtime Experience




Click here to view this gallery.

Airtime is the best frictionless video platform for launching instant video conversations with random people who happen to have some shared interests.

That may sound scary, but it's actually kind of fun.

This lightweight, powerful tool for social discovery based on shared Facebook's interest graph and Facebook friends has relatively rich store of tools for enhancing your video conversations and controlling who you end up meeting.

Sean Parker's somewhat botched intro of the web-based video chat network does little to diminish its appeal once you start using it.

To get started you simply visit Airtime.com, sign into Facebook and authorize Airtime to see your Facebook contacts,… Continue reading...

More About: Airtime, Facebook, Video


Ray Bradbury: A Visionary Who Couldn’t Embrace the Digital Age

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 11:38 AM PDT





Ray Bradbury, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of some of the most widely read science fiction work in U.S. history, died at 91 at his home in Los Angeles Wednesday morning.

One might suspect a figure so interested in fictional futures would prove enthusiastic -- or at least well-versed -- in technology, but Bradbury was adverse to many new advances, particularly the proliferation of the Internet and "giant screens." The Guardian last year called him "one of the last bastions against the digital age."

"I don't try to describe the future," Bradbury has said. "I try to prevent it."

He fought against the digitization of his books, only agreeing to publish Fahrenheit 451 in ebook form in l… Continue reading...

More About: new media, Ray Bradbury


How to Change Your LinkedIn Password

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 11:22 AM PDT


1. Find the "Settings" Tab




To access the "Settings" tab, click on your user name located at the top right-hand corner of your homepage.

Click here to view this gallery.

As many scramble to change their LinkedIn passwords following the news that 6.46 million of them may have been compromised in a security breach, we've noticed that it's not as easy as you'd think to update your log-in information.

A Russian hacker says he has stolen 6,458,020 encrypted passwords and posted them online (without usernames) to prove his feat. The breach comes on the heels of news that LinkedIn's iOS app potentially violates user privacy by sending detailed calendar entries to its servers.

SEE ALSO: LinkedIn Hacker Steals 1.5 Million Passwords from eHarmony [REPORT]

"While our investigation continues, we thought it would be a good idea to remind our members that one of… Continue reading...

More About: hackers, linkedin, online security, security, Social Media


Portable Light Project Brings Cheap Energy to Developing World

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 10:52 AM PDT


The World at Work is powered by GE. This new series highlights the people, projects and startups that are driving innovation and making the world a better place.


Name: Portable Light Project

Big Idea: The Portable Light Project enables people in the developing world to create and own energy harvesting textiles, accelerating the global clean energy movement.

Why It's Working: The Portable Light Project team has developed an inexpensive solar textile kit to provide renewable power that can be adapted to meet the needs of people around the world.

Approximately 1.5 billion people in the world live without electricity, and even more lack access to it on a regular basis. That's 2… Continue reading...

More About: clean energy, energy, features, mashable, Social Good, World at Work


Meet the Future of Google Maps

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 10:45 AM PDT





Offline mapping for Android phones, Street View for nature trails and 3D Google Earth maps are all improvements coming to Google Maps in the near future.

The three new features were unveiled by company executives at a press event at the company's San Francisco offices.

Offline mapping will become a part of Google's "own global base map" and offer hi-res navigation without needing a WiFI or 3G or 4G connection. To use the feature, users will have to select the area they plan to visit before going offline, then download the map to their device.

The familiar GPS tracking blue dot will still be there to help with navigation.

Street View for walkable locations will take the popula… Continue reading...

More About: apple, Google, google earth, Google Maps, iOS 6, street view, trending


Google Maps for Android Go Offline

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 10:10 AM PDT





Forget bringing paper maps with you on your next journey outside the 3G zone -- Google Maps will now let you download maps in advance of your adventure.

SEE ALSO: Meet the Future of Google Maps

The feature, which has been available in beta form via Google Labs for some time, will initially be available only on Android phones and tablets. You'll need to select "My Places", and add a new offline map before you depart. (See screenshot above).

The full content of the area you've selected will then be available to you, in all its zoomable glory.

No launch date has been announced for the new feature.

The search giant announced the update at an event in San Francisco Wednesda… Continue reading...

More About: google labs, Google Maps, trending


Twitter Bird Gets a Makeover [VIDEO]

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 09:59 AM PDT

Twitter's trademark "little blue bird" just got a makeover. In a video Wednesday, the social network unveiled the sleeker design. It's the third time the bird has gotten a face-lift.

Gone are the bird's head feathers. The new logo also sports pointier wings and is slanted upward. Most noticeably, a darker shade of blue fills the bird, which was originally named after Hall of Fame basketball player Larry Bird but now is just called "Twitter."

"Our new bird grows out of love for ornithology, design within creative constraints, and simple geometry," Twitter's creative director Doug Bowman said in a blog post. "This bird is crafted purely from three sets of overlapping circles -- simil… Continue reading...

More About: branding, design, logos, Social Media, trademark, Twitter


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