Saturday, June 9, 2012

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Nintendo’s Wii U: Why You’ll Want One, Why You’ll Never Play It”

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Nintendo’s Wii U: Why You’ll Want One, Why You’ll Never Play It”


Nintendo’s Wii U: Why You’ll Want One, Why You’ll Never Play It

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 08:54 PM PDT





Mashable OP-ED: This post reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily those of Mashable as a publication. Going into E3, the Wii U was the thing I was most excited about. After being announced last year, Nintendo's newest console has gotten a ton of hype and I was anxious to spend some time with the console, as well as learn what games would be headed its way.

If you've been out of the gaming loop, Nintendo's newest console puts a tablet of sorts in your hand in the form of a new controller called the GamePad. The GamePad can be used as a second screen, or can let you do things like play against other people in the same game, showing you a different screen than other players see on the television. You can also stream games from the console to the controlled and play them while your TV is bei… Continue reading...

More About: E3 2012, Nintendo, Wii U


Need a Quick Opinion? There’s An App For That

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 08:30 PM PDT





Does this shirt go with these pants? Is the Galaxy S III a great phone? If you're looking for a quick opinion on something, there's now an app for that. Appropriately named "Thumb," the app lets you ask yes or no questions and get a thumbs up or down from the community.

The app has been around since July 2010 and just launched version 3.0, which revamps the experience and adds a number of new features into the mix.

"Anything you can potentially ask for an opinion of people did it, and that kind of blew us away," Thumb CEO Dan Kurani told Mashable about the app's early days. "We thought we were building a utility and we found out when we launched it that it's very much a social tool th… Continue reading...

More About: App, Thumb


Nike Shoes Designed by Kanye West Sell for $90,000 on eBay

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 08:15 PM PDT





There's e-commerce, and then there's...this: A pair of Nike sneakers designed by Kanye West auctioning for $90,300 on eBay.

The shoe in question: the limited edition Air Yeezy 2. It officially goes on sale Saturday for a retail price of $245. Less than 5,000 pairs will be released by Nike, and the scarcity clearly has hardcore sneaker collectors in a tizzy.

A number of pre-ordered pairs have been up for auction on eBay, with bidding in the mid four figures, but it's seller pinoyako4life who's hit the biggest jackpot by far.

He (or she) originally posted the shoe with a starting price of $0.99 on May 30. By the next day, bidding had topped $3,500. By June 5, it had hit five fig… Continue reading...

More About: ebay, ecommerce, kanye west, Nike


How Freemium App Models Have Changed Social Gaming [VIDEO]

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 08:11 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. New episodes air every Monday and Wednesday, but we're running bonus footage throughout the series to provide a deeper look into the startup experience.

This week on Behind the Launch, the Vungle team was denied access to a gaming conference, but managed to strike up a conversation with Todd Hooper, CEO of Seattle-based Zipline Games. Zipline purveys freemium games, such as Wolf Toss, and its Moai technology is a Lua-based game development platform used by 8,000 developers. In the video above, Hooper discusses… Continue reading...

More About: Advertising, Behind the Launch Series, features, freemium, in-app purchases, mashable, mobile gaming, Startups, Vungle


The 30 Most Popular Passwords Stolen From LinkedIn [INFOGRAPHIC]

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 07:51 PM PDT

Think your password is unique and clever? A new inforgraphic from security firm Rapid7 has revealed the top passwords stolen from this week's LinkedIn security breach. There are hundreds of duplicates and patterns associated with the compromised log-in information.

"Link" was the number one hacked password, according to Rapid7. But many other LinkedIn users also picked passwords -- "work" and "job" for example -- that were associated with the career site's content.

Religion was also a popular password topic -- "god," "angel" and "jesus" also made the top 15. Number sequences such as "1234" and "12345" also made the list.

SEE ALSO: How to Check If Your LinkedIn Password Was StolenContinue reading...

More About: hacking, linkedin, security, Social Media


4 Brands That Know How to Tell a Story

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 06:45 PM PDT





What makes a brand stand out from its competition? For some, it's their cutting-edge design, for others it's their customer service. But for many successful companies, it's their ability to tell their brand story.

Stories, unlike any other element, allow brands to connect with customers on an emotional level. And stories in the digital age are particularly potent. Here are four brands that have successfully honed in on key brand attributes and developed great stories as a result.

1. Ethics

TOMS shoes, which are sold at more than 500 stores around the world, was founded on the ethos that for every pair purchased, one pair is donated to a child in need. The brand thrives… Continue reading...

More About: branding, brands, contributor, features, Marketing


Teenage Prodigy Wins Intel Award for ‘Micro Searches’ [VIDEO]

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 06:26 PM PDT

Seventeen-year-old prodigy Nicholas Schiefer won the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award in the category of computer science for his idea of a search engine algorithm that does "micro searches." Basically this type of search grabs data from obscure social media sources like Facebook posts, tweets and other small bits of data to provide more robust searches.

It's no secret that there many young entrepreneurs in the tech and social media space. Mark Zuckerberg created the first version of Facebook in his Harvard dorm room at age 19.

The blog Dvice posted another video interview with Schiefer. In it, the Ontario teen said searching for informa… Continue reading...

More About: teenage


Toddler Cam: The Cutest Game of Hide-and-Seek [VIDEO]

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 06:01 PM PDT

Why bother having a kid if you can't strap her into a helmet cam and watch her toddle around your apartment?

That's what filmmaker Daniel Brace did with his two-year-old daughter. A hearty round of hide-and-seek, and the results are in: Grade A adorable.

Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, Imgorthand

More About: Video, viral, YouTube


Some Facebook Interns Are Earning $6,000 a Month [REPORT]

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 05:48 PM PDT





Willing to work for virtually free to land an internship at a prestigious company? You might not have to work for pennies if you go after a gig at Facebook.

According to career site Glassdoor.com, software engineer interns at Facebook can bring in up to $8,700 a month -- the equivalent of what would be $104,400 a year. However, the site notes that the average salary for a software engineer intern is about $6,036 a month, a Glassdoor spokesperson told Mashable.

SEE ALSO: How Employers Are Paying in 2012 [INFOGRAPHIC]

The average pay for other non-software engineer interns at the company is about $5,862 for this year alone. But if hired full time, Facebook software engineers garne… Continue reading...

More About: Facebook, Google


Celebrate World Oceans Day by Taking a Virtual Dive in theBlu

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 05:04 PM PDT

To help celebrate World Oceans Day on Friday, take an online dive in theBlu, a socially connected virtual ocean that's modeled on global waters from the Atlantic Ocean to the Baltic Sea.

TheBlu is one part social network, one part online game and a splash of oceanic activism. Users can explore an entire underwater world replete with thousands of the ocean's creatures by themselves or with Facebook friends. Every action a user takes while in theBlu's watery world has an impact somewhere else in the app's universe: a message that the ocean, while vast and mighty, is also sensitive to pollution and tampering.

Should a user encounter an aquatic species he or she likes, they can buy mo… Continue reading...

More About: games, Social Good, Social Media, theblu


Cleared of Rape Conviction via Facebook, Footballer Gets NFL Chance

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 04:46 PM PDT





Once a highly-touted high school football recruit, 26-year-old Brian Banks got an NFL tryout this week. But he's not just another gridiron grinder clinging to the fringes of an NFL dream -- Banks served five years in prison and was on parole for another five years after accepting a plea deal 10 years ago on charges of rape and kidnapping.

Banks was officially exonerated last month in California Superior Court. The key to his rapid reversal of fortune? Facebook and a hidden video camera that caught his accuser admitting to making up the story.

Banks was a hot prospect linebacker as a Long Beach high school player, recruited by elite college programs including University of Southern Ca… Continue reading...

More About: Facebook, sports


Canon Finally Adds Continuous Video Autofocus in T4i DSLR

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 04:11 PM PDT




canon-t4i-640


Canon just updated its top camera in the entry-level Rebel DSLR line, finally adding a feature that's been on equivalent Nikon's for a while: continuous autofocus while shooting video. The EOS Rebel T4i will keep your subject in focus while recording video, and it does so in an intelligent way.

As long as you have one of Canon's new Stepping Motor lenses, the continuous autofocus is said to be whisper-quiet (noise has been a complaint on some other models). The Hybrid CMOS AF system has a nine-point sensory array and works with the 3-inch touchscreen's "fingertip" controls.

Did we mention this is Canon's first DSLR with a touchscreen? The Touch Focus will instantly put the subject… Continue reading...

More About: Canon, DSLR, video cameras


Facebook Election Is a Bust: 0.038% of Users Voted on Privacy Change

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 03:38 PM PDT





The online poll to determine which Facebook policies will be put into place on the social network closed this morning after one week of voting -- and a serious lack of user interest.

Out of 900 million users, a mere 342,632 voted on which privacy policy would govern the site.

That's roughly 1 in every 2,600 users -- or 0.038% of Facebook.

Facebook's call to action last Friday asked users to read and vote on which Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and Data Use Policy they preferred to use.

SEE ALSO: It's Facebook Election Week: How You Can Vote on Your Privacy

So why did Facebook users not vote for which privacy statement they preferred? Perhaps they didn't see the… Continue reading...

More About: Facebook, polls, privacy, votes, voting


‘Sexy Bitch’ Michael Ian Black Bares All on Reddit

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 03:05 PM PDT





Comedian Michael Ian Black infused Reddit with his charming humor Friday during an captivating "I Am A" session.

Reddit users tossed a series of fun questions at Black -- co-author of the new America, You Sexy Bitch book with Meghan McCain, co-host of Mike and Tom Eat Snacks podcast and character on Yahoo's Burning Love web series.

Here are his most-entertaining answers from his "I Am A":

Top Questions and Answers for 'I Am Michael Ian Black, Sexy Bitch' on Reddit

BillDinghy: I always wanted to be a C list celebrity. Any advice on getting my foot in the door? How does it feel to be less famous than Daniel "Douchebag" Tosh?

Let me tell you, the life of a C list celebrity is pr… Continue reading...

More About: books, celebrities, comedy, Entertainment, humor, reddit


Your Social Influence and Why Marketers Care About It

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 02:20 PM PDT





Tom is flying economy class from Hong Kong to San Francisco. After landing, he sees a text message from Cathay Pacific inviting him into their exclusive international lounge. He flashes his iPhone at the desk and proceeds to enjoy a hot shower and cold beer.

Not more than a year ago, Tom started a popular Tumblr site to track and share ridiculous pictures of dogs wearing raincoats. The site -- and Tom's related twitter feed -- exploded in popularity after being featured on popular websites like Reddit. A Klout algorithm rapidly identified Tom as influential based on the high level of activity around his Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter feeds.

Tom's not real, but his story could be… Continue reading...

More About: contributor, features, klout, online influence, tumblr


Skaterboarder Hit by Truck Flies Two House Lengths [VIDEO]

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 02:09 PM PDT

Helmet-less skateboarder Serge Murphy recently got hit by a truck while performing a trick, and the impact sent him flying roughly two house lengths. He survived.

Now, footage of the accident has gone viral, attracting more than 350,000 views on YouTube since June 4.

SEE ALSO: Radical Skateboarding Tricks Dazzle in Super Slow-Motion [VIDEO]

"I had some cuts on my back and my hip was just really swollen and bruised," he told the Today Show Friday.

BONUS: 68-Year-Old Skateboarding Professor Becomes Viral Meme

More About: sports, trending, videos, viral videos


Follow Mashable mRank to Track NBA Finals Social Buzz

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 01:40 PM PDT





Kevin Durant and the precocious Oklahoma City Thunder have already punched their tickets to the NBA Finals, which begin next Tuesday. The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat will battle Saturday night in a do-or-die game for the right to take on the Thunder for the coveted Larry O'Brien Trophy.

Thunder-Heat or Thunder-Celtics, this season's finals will feature one of the NBA's most intriguing championship match-ups in recent history. And, as has become the modern sports standard, casual and hardcore hoop-heads alike will take to Twitter, Facebook and blogs to analyze, recap and talk trash throughout the best-of-seven series.

With so much chatter, it can be hard to discern which team an… Continue reading...

More About: Facebook, features, mrank, Social Media, sports, Twitter


How the Arab World Uses Facebook and Twitter [INFOGRAPHICS]

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 01:17 PM PDT

Social media has been often touted for the role it played in the popular uprisings that have spread across the Arab world since December 2010. Despite the buzz, you may be surprised that only 0.26% of the Egyptian population, 0.1% of the Tunisian population and 0.04% of the Syrian population are active on Twitter.

Of all the countries in North Africa and the Middle East, Twitter is most popular in Kuwait, where 8.6% of the population is active users, defined as those who tweet at least once per month. Facebook's more popular throughout the region. In its most popular country, the U.A.E., some 36.18% of the population is on Facebook.

Khaled ElAhmad (who goes by the Internet alias ShusmoContinue reading...

More About: Arab Spring, Facebook, infographic, trending, Twitter, World


iOS6: WWDC Banners Prove It’s Real

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 12:57 PM PDT





Your idevice is about to get a whole lot better.

iOS 6 banners have started go up at San Francisco's Moscone Center, indicating that the next version of the operating system will be announced next Monday.

Originally spotted by 9to5 Mac earlier today, we were still able to snag our own photos of the banners this afternoon.

The keynote for Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference is set to take play in the Moscone Center Monday morning. Beyond iOS 6 –- which we can now consider all but confirmed by the banners -– Apple is rumored to be announcing new Macs and possibly even a TV.

Apple is traditionally pretty tight-lipped about all of its announcements, so little is currently… Continue reading...

More About: apple, iOS 6, iPhone 5, trending, wwdc


Did the World’s Nastiest Virus Try to Self-Destruct?

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 12:53 PM PDT





Whoever designed the Flame malware that's been found infecting computers across the Middle East clearly doesn't want it analyzed.

Servers controlling the virus sent a self-destruct command designed to clear any trace of the code from infected computers, computer security firm Symantec, which has been studying Flame, noted in a blog post this week.

As with other similar cyberattacks, Flame's authors run the malware via Command and Control, or C&C, servers, according to the BBC. Some of those servers have fallen into the control of Symantec and other security firms -- trophies of victories won in the behind-the-scenes war being fought between cybersecurity firms and malware designers --… Continue reading...

More About: cybersecurity, flame, malware, trending, US, virus, World


Flirting Crooner Turns Bizarre Ikea Product Names into Love Song

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 12:36 PM PDT

Some people love Ikea. Other people really love Ikea.

Brad Go, it seems, is one of the latter.

In the above video, he is found frolicking through an Ikea store creeping on a woman named Laura McDonald. In his futile attempt to woo her, he uses piece after piece of Ikea furniture by the obscure name it was given by the brand.

He didn't have much success. Maybe it would have helped if he used their new entertainment system instead.

Brad, the creator of the video, told Mashable that the video was shot "guerilla style" in an Ikea store located in Brooklyn, NY.

"It was done completely independently of IKEA," Brad said. "Purely for laughs, and the things we got away with were p… Continue reading...

More About: IKEA, music video, trending


Banff Media Festival Will Stream Live [EXCLUSIVE]

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 12:12 PM PDT





If you can't make it to next week's Banff World Media Festival, never fear, the revolution will be live streamed.

The Banff World Media Festival is a media conference for television and digital professionals from around the world. The goal of the festival is to help examine many of the critical issues facing the television and digital media industries. From new forms of advertising, to new content licensing schemes, to new distribution models.

For the first time, the Banff World Media Festival will live stream major portions of the conference to viewers around the world, for free.

At this year's event, there will be special sessions with Lifetime Achievement recipient Larry King, as… Continue reading...

More About: banff, banff media festival, live streaming


Would You Vote for Your Next President on Facebook? [POLL]

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 11:57 AM PDT





Can digitizing voter registration get more people signed up to vote before Election Day? A pair of New York lawmakers think so, and they introduced a plan on Friday to do just that.

The Voter Empowerment Act of New York would digitize the entire registration process in an effort to reduce errors caused by handwriting and typographical blunders that can leave otherwise eligible citizens off the voter rolls.

"As election season approaches, government bureaucracy continues to impede too many people from voting," said New York State Senator Michael Gianaris in a statement. "Our proposal would remove these obstacles and maximize voter turnout while saving the state and its counties hu… Continue reading...

More About: election 2012, Facebook, trending, vote


Android Phones Help Brazilian Tribe Save Amazon Rainforest

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 11:11 AM PDT





Brazil's Surui tribe became the first indigenous group to receive validation for their carbon offsets project last month, after four years of collaboration with the Google Earth Outreach team.

With the help of Google tools such as Android smartphones, members of the Surui tribe measured the carbon stock of their lands in the Amazon Rainforest. The tribe members submitted a proposal to the Rainforest Alliance, which was approved last month, enabling the tribe to sell their carbon offsets on the global carbon market.

The approval makes the Surui's project the first emmissions reduction effort in Brazil to be certified by both the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and the Climate, Comm… Continue reading...

More About: android, Brazil, environment, google earth, Social Good, World


‘I’ll Have Another’ Tweets, ‘I Am Out of The Belmont’

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 11:05 AM PDT





The racehorse I'll Have Another has pulled out this weekend's Belmont Stakes due to injury and will miss a chance at the sport's highest achievement.

But his popular Twitter feed lives on.

I'll Have Another, a three-year-old colt, won the Kentucky Derby in May as a 15-1 longshot, then the Preakness Stakes two weeks later. Winning Saturday's Belmont would have made him just the 12th horse to win horse racing's elusive Triple Crown since 1919. Instead, fans will have to settle settle for more sassy, humorous tweets from the @Ill_HaveAnother Twitter account.

He used the social network to address fans directly about Friday's sad news and announce a press briefing:

I am out of the… Continue reading...

More About: sports, trending, Twitter


Twitter Can Track Disease — Can It Predict Outbreaks?

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 10:49 AM PDT





After analyzing 17 million mentions of illness in Facebook posts and tweets (separating "Bieber fever" from actual fever) and plotting genuine ailment mentions on a map, founder of Sickweather, Graham Dodge, has noticed trends in how disease spreads throughout the United States.

For one thing, disease spreads most quickly between Hartford, Conn. and Washington D.C., an area he has dubbed "contagion alley."

And it is impacted by big events like the Super Bowl. When the New York Giants played the New England Patriots in Indianapolis this February, Twitter mentions of illness in Indianapolis spiked, more than doubling those in demographically similar city Dayton, Ohio.

Several studiesContinue reading...

More About: disease, features, health, lifestyle, Social Media, Twitter


Jimmy Fallon, Carly Rae Jepsen Sing ‘Call Me Maybe’ With 12 Instruments [VIDEO]

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 10:42 AM PDT

A backstage video of late-night host Jimmy Fallon, Carly Rae Jepsen and The Roots surfaced Friday showing the gang performing Jepsen's infectious "Call Me Maybe."

We spy 12 instruments throughout the clip: triangle, wood block, tambourine, bass drum, washboard stick, kazoo, recorder, bongos, ukulele, melodica, toy xylophone and tambourine.

"Call Me Maybe," which hit number one on the iTunes singles chart and Billboard's Digital Songs chart in May, has been covered, lip-dubbed and danced to by countless athletes (see gallery below), musicians, digital versions of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, a public relations agency and many more people on YouTube.

Most recently, a mashup ofContinue reading...

More About: celebrities, Entertainment, jimmy fallon, Music, music videos, trending, viral videos


Travelers Are Fed Up With High Roaming Charges [INFOGRAPHIC]

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 10:03 AM PDT

Just when you thought you'd paid the last booking fee and covered the final rental car transaction, you're suddenly hit with an outstanding roaming charge. Harummph.

Connected travelers who can't go without their mobile devices are facing associated fees that seem to be higher than ever -- or maybe it's because they're using more data than ever before. Either way, travelers have found ways to get around the dreaded roaming charge, or at least, reduce it as much as possible.

Communications app textPlus surveyed 500 respondents who use their mobile devices when traveling both domestically and internationally. The company created the infographic below based on its findings.

SEE ALSO:Continue reading...

More About: infographics, lifestyle, Mobile, Tablet, travel, trending


Parody of Bieber’s ‘Boyfriend’ is Stalkerific, Spawns Memes [VIDEO]

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 09:24 AM PDT

An awesomely creepy parody of Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend" has gone viral, netting 1.4 million YouTube views in two days. The wide-eyed singer, known as "Laina," in the video also now stars in text-over-photo memes.

Her song -- about a possessive girlfriend -- spawned from Bieber's online contest that asked fans to take the music from "Boyfriend" and write lyrics to it from a female perspective.

"If I was your girlfriend, I'd never let you leave without a small recording device, taped under your sleeve," Laina sings. "And you'll only look your best and shave your face for me. Don't hide secrets in your house, 'cause boy I stole the key."

SEE ALSO: Bieber Fans Break Social MediaContinue reading...

More About: celebrities, Entertainment, humor, justin bieber, music video, parody, trending, viral videos


17 Homegrown Photos Plucked From Your Backyards

Posted: 08 Jun 2012 09:13 AM PDT


Gitte Stark




"Lovely yellow rapeseed against a clear blue sky"

Click here to view this gallery.

You may not realize it, but every day you come in contact with a far-off corner of the world. We wake up to alarms manufactured thousands of miles away, we buy food grown in faraway orchards, and thanks to technology, we can instantly interact with one another from across the globe.

It's amazing how much technology has changed and enriched our lives. The world feels like it is shrinking as technology opens doors and expands our global reach and familiarity.

However, to quote Dorothy, there is still no place like home.

In last week's Mashable Photo Challenge, we invited you to send in pictures of anything homegrown, meaning anything from backyard blueberries to a device you created… Continue reading...

More About: community, Mashable Photo Challenge, photography, Photos, trending


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