Thursday, March 28, 2013

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Report: Google Glass to Be Manufactured in the U.S.”

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Report: Google Glass to Be Manufactured in the U.S.”


Report: Google Glass to Be Manufactured in the U.S.

Posted: 28 Mar 2013 02:57 AM PDT

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Google Glass will be manufactured in Silicon Valley, the Financial Times reports citing people familiar with Google's plans

The much-hyped gadget will be produced by Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn — the company that builds Apple's iPhone. However, it will be built at a facility in Santa Clara, California.

Google announced Wednesday it would soon be shipping the first batch of Google Glasses to 8,000 selected users. According to the report, it's practical for Google to keep the manufacturing operations near its headquarters due to the small scale, high cost and complexity of the initial run Read more...

More about Gadgets, Us World, Us, Project Glass, and Google Glass

Kids Talk Grown-Up Dating Problems in Adorable Video

Posted: 28 Mar 2013 02:02 AM PDT

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Even the best of us have dealt with dating woes — who hasn't gone out for drinks with the girls/boys to complain about an object of unrequited love?

But while relationships generally start post-puberty, a new YouTube video shows three kindergarteners hashing out very grown-up dating problems that most 20-somethings and up know all too well

Watching small children engage in real-talk girl talk is slightly unsettling, but mostly adorable. Check it out, above; then, let us know what you think in the comments.

Screenshot image courtesy of YouTube, Matthew Hussey Read more...

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A Test Drive Takes a Sexy Turn in Renault's Prank Video

Posted: 28 Mar 2013 01:03 AM PDT

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We've already seen Pepsi punk a car dealer in a test drive scenario. Now it's time to turn the tables.

In this ad for Renault, created by Unruly, a couple of guys take a Renault Clio for a spin. After a humdrum beginning, the salesman shows of a "va va voom" button, which initiates a tableau of a romantic scene between a couple (set against the Eiffel Tower, natch) and then, inevitably, some jiggly, lingerie-clad ladies. Before you cry sexism, though, there's also a version for the ladies (below) featuring some shirtless hunks

Conceptually, it's sort of a cross between that Pepsi ad and TNT's "Dramatic Surprise on a Quiet Square". With that sort of lineage plus lots of bare flesh, it should garner some respectable views Read more...

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Google Play Movies Come to India and Mexico

Posted: 28 Mar 2013 12:33 AM PDT

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Google Play movies are now available for rent in India and Mexico, Google has announced

Users in those countries can watch movies on the web or through the Google Play Movies & TV Android app

Google has also started rolling out support for 6 Indic languages in Gmail on the feature phone browser: Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu. Users can switch to the desired language in the browser's settings

Google has started selling its Nexus 7 tablet in India Tuesday, and these recent updates are obviously part of the company's push to one of the world's most populous countries. Nexus 7 is available in India in the Google Play store for $294, and it will start shipping to customers on April 5 Read more...

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Video Imagines World in Which Homeless Use Square

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 11:55 PM PDT

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Technology has made a lot of things obsolete — including cash

And since most of us aren't walking around with quarters and dollar bills overflowing from our wallets, the homeless have had to adopt new money-collecting tactics

Comedian John Elerick has imagined a world in which homeless people resourcefully use iPhones and Square — not to mention credit-card minimums — to prevent passersby from shrugging them off

Elerick told Mashable that he was inspired to create the video after having a similar encounter with one homeless man. Elerick said he couldn't provide help because he didn't have any cash on-hand Read more...

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Windows Phone Is Outselling iPhone in These Countries

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 11:24 PM PDT

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In terms of market share, Windows Phone-based products trail far behind the iPhone, with Microsoft's mobile OS languishing around 3%. Even Microsoft co-founder and chairman Bill Gates labelled the company's smartphone strategy a "mistake."

It's no wonder, then, that questions arose after Frank Shaw, Microsoft's head of public relations, announced in a blog post Tuesday that Windows Phone outshipped the iPhone in seven countries during the fourth quarter

The New York Times did some digging, and asked IDC, the research firm that provided the stats in Shaw's post, to elaborate. Which countries, exactly, did Windows Phone have the iPhone beat? Read more...

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Google Harnesses Knowledge Graph, Facial Recognition to Give Movie Insight

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 10:12 PM PDT

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The Google Play Movies and TV app is debuting a new feature that gives greater insight into your favorite actors, films and shows — thanks to the search giant's Knowledge Graph.

If you've ever found yourself mulling over the name of an unidentified actor or song while watching a film, the app's new "info cards" will provide facts related to any movie being watched on an Android tablet. To access them, users simply press pause, and the cards will pop up with information on the actors, soundtrack, among other details. They disappear when the movie continues.

"You can tap on an actor's face to learn more about him, like his age, place of birth, his character in the movie, and his recent work, or scroll through the info cards to learn more about the movie or soundtrack," Ben Serridge, Google Play's product manager, announced in a blog post Wednesday. Read more...

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Whoa! Mini-Supernovas Discovered

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 09:01 PM PDT

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Astronomers have discovered a new kind of supernova, a star explosion so weak that scientists dubbed it a miniature stellar blast.

Supernovas represent the deaths of stars, which collapse in powerful explosions. They generally are classified into two main types; the new class, called Type Iax, "is essentially a mini-supernova," said lead researcher Ryan Foley, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. "It's the runt of the supernova litter."

Supernovas are the most powerful stellar explosions known to science, visible all the way to the edge of the universe. The first of the two main flavors, Type Ia supernovas, happen after a white dwarf star dies from siphoning off too much mass from a companion star. In contrast, Type II supernovas occur after the core of a star about 10 to 100 times as massive as the sun runs out of fuel and collapses into an extraordinarily dense lump in a fraction of a second, blasting luminous radiation outward. Read more...

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Everything You Loved (and Hated) About the '90s in 1 Song

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 07:57 PM PDT

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Rugrats and Trapper Keepers and Fresh Prince, oh my! It's the '90s!

It was your childhood, when Lisa Frank, MTV's golden age and Nickelodeon cartoons had a place before Disney stars became a thing. It was the best 10 years in the world

No? Bad stuff happened in the '90s? Blasphemy. No one ever talks about that, we're too busy naming every Hanson song and counting our scrunchies. But Pop Roulette doesn't mind reminding you about some of the not so fab stuff of the time period

Don't love the '90s so much anymore? Eat a Lunchables and watch a rerun of Boy Meets World, you'll perk back up Read more...

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iOgrapher Turns an iPad Mini Into a Video Shooting Powerhouse

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 07:00 PM PDT

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You might scoff at someone shooting video with an iPad, but what if it were an iPad mini, wearing this sleek double-handled iOgrapher mount? It accommodates different lenses, makes it easier to hold your iPad mini steady, and if that's not rock-solid enough, it lets you mount it on a tripod.

This Kickstarter project was created by high-school media arts teacher Dave Basulto of South Pasadena, Calif. He was looking for a low-cost way to give his students the ability to shoot and edit video, take stills and stream video live on the cheap.

Enter the iPad mini, the $319 tablet that can do all these things. Unlike the iPad, it's not so bulky that it would be unwieldy while shooting in the field, but its 7.9-inch screen is large enough to give a videographer a relatively enormous viewfinder with which to compose shots Read more...

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Heisman Winner Johnny Manziel Quits Twitter Indefinitely

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 06:28 PM PDT

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Heisman Trophy winner and college-football megastar Johnny Manziel says he needs to give Twitter a break after a few digital dustups

"I've kind of just shut it all off," Manziel told ESPN.com on Tuesday. "With how the media has been with me for a while, I just shut everything off. As of [Monday], I said I was done with [Twitter] for however long. It's fun to have, but it can get to be distracting at points."

Manziel rocketed to nationwide fame last season. He led Texas A&M to a an 11-2 record, throwing 26 touchdowns and running for 21 more as sports fans came to adore the quarterback nicknamed "Johnny Football." In December, he became the first freshman ever to win the vaunted Heisman Trophy Read more...

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10 Technologies You Don't Need to Upgrade

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 05:59 PM PDT

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The tech industry is in constant flux. There's always a new laptop, smartphone or tablet (or, dare we say, "phablet") to make you and your devices feel ancient.

But did you know you use technologies every day that don't require any upgrades?

In this comic, Angela Liao of 20px highlights the different objects and "gadgets" that our generation hasn't really grown out of using. Can you think of anything else?

Tech You Don't Need to Upgrade, 20px

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

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45 Oddball Facts About U.S. Presidents

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 05:46 PM PDT

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You voted for these men (or maybe not) and they led your country and are forever chiseled into U.S. history, but what do you really know about the Presidents of the United States?

Sure you might know their political party, views on important issues and maybe the name of their wife, but do you know their deepest darkest fears? Their likes and dislikes? The secrets they shield from all branches of government?

Well, Mental Floss does, and they have gathered 45 of those little factoids to share with you. And OK, they aren't so much deep dark secrets as goofy, questionable moments in each commander-in-chief's history, but they are rarely known. Facts like how Ulysses S. Grant was once pulled over for speeding on a horse, Bill Clinton knew a lot about My Little Pony and Richard Nixon's favorite snack was cottage cheese and ketchup Read more...

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Ford Challenges Developers to Tackle Car Data

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 05:25 PM PDT

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Ford is taking what may be the first step in creating a new, cohesive, multi-screen, contextually aware experience between smartphones and cars. The automaker announced this week at the New York International Auto Show, the Ford Personalized Fuel-Efficiency App Challenge, an app-development contest that will let developers tap into Ford’s OpenXC API and give them direct access to data collected by Ford cars.

The contest, which launches this summer, is narrowly focused on using that data to create apps that help improve and/or track fuel efficiency. According to Facebook’s Global Head of Automotive Doug Frisbie, that matters more to consumers than the car's price by a factor of 10Ford also settled on fuel efficiency because its executives believe there may be more accurate ways of finding real-world MPG ratings via a combination of crowdsourcing and real-time car data. Read more...

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10 Things on the Internet That Don't Make Any Sense

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 05:00 PM PDT

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The Internet can be a scary and confusing place filled with error pages, pop-up ads and nervous-looking cats. Navigating the world wide web without a map (or a helmet) can lead you to weird places.

YouTube puppet duo Glove and Boots reveal the 10 things on the Internet that just don't make any sense to them. Even though their brains are made of cotton, you can probably still relate.

What's something about the Internet that really confuses your noggin? Share your oddities in the comments.

Homepage image courtesy of JimCarrey.com Read more...

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8 External Battery Packs to Charge Your Phone on the Go

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 04:42 PM PDT

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It wasn't too long ago that we didn't need to worry about our cellphones dying at inopportune moments. In fact, the batteries could last us for days without needing a charge.

But now that our smartphones are, well, smarter, and we use them for dozens of functions, their batteries drain a lot faster.

Companies like Tylt and Jackery have acknowledged this problem and have come up with a wide array of products to charge our phones on the go. We've compiled a list of great external battery packs for your smartphone or tablet to help you stay powered during a long commute, a tiring conference or even in emergencies when the power goes out. Read more...

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Inside the Biggest Cyberattack in History

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 04:16 PM PDT

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A cyberattack originally targeting a single company is now being described by experts as one of the biggest Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks in Internet history. The assault, which recently began impacting elements of the Internet's physical infrastructure, has been dragging down Internet speeds in Europe — but what makes this type of attack different from all other attacks?

First, some background: The attacks originally targeted a European anti-spam company called Spamhaus, which blacklists what it considers sources of email spam and sells those blacklists to Internet Service Providers. The attack began early last week as waves of large but typical DDoS assaults shortly after Spamhaus blacklisted Cyberbunker, a controversial web hosting company. Cyberbunker has not directly taken responsibility for the attacks against Spamhaus. Read more...

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Can T-Mobile Change Wireless in America?

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 04:00 PM PDT

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Mashable OP-ED

T-Mobile wants to kill the wireless contract. I think I speak for everyone in America when I say, "Have at 'em, cowboy." The company's plan to change the way the U.S. wireless industry does business is bold — and it might even have a shot — but as the nation's fourth-largest carrier, it's got a big uphill battle on its hands.

The idea is simple: Instead of selling cheap phones tied to two-year contracts that most customers loathe, instead sell the phone at full price and keep the price low by letting customers pay off the phone (interest free!) over two years.

Isn't that a contract by any other name? After all, if you want to switch carriers or buy a new phone, you'll still have to pay off the old phone, which is akin to an early termination fee. So your carrier gets your money either way, right? Read more...

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Legendary Coach Phil Jackson Is a Hit With Cryptic First Tweet

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 03:48 PM PDT

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Hall of Fame NBA coach Phil Jackson is known equally for his 11 championship rings and incredible ability to play mind games that manipulate foes and allies alike into doing his bidding

Nicknamed "The Zen Master," Jackson was found on Twitter by Twitter by sports fans Wednesday morning. It's a verified account, which means Twitter knows it's the real deal. According to Twbirthday.com, he's been on the service since March 11

Hours passed, and Jackson racked up tens of thousands of followers without posting a single message. Then, finally, this:

11 champ;ipnsikp[ ringhs

— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) March 27, 2013 Read more...

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Smartphone Users Check Facebook 14 Times a Day

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 03:45 PM PDT

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Think you use your phone to look at Facebook a lot? Unless you're doing it at least 14 times a day, you're actually below average.

That's just one of the surprising revelations in a research report by IDC released Wednesday. The study tapped 7,446 iPhone and Android users in the U.S. between 18 and 44 — representative of the 50% of the population that uses smartphones — and asked them questions about their phone usage across one week in March

Depending on your perspective, many of the results are either depressing or confirm what you knew all along. For example, it seems that 79% of smartphone users reach for their devices within 15 minutes of waking up. A clear majority — 62% — don't even wait 15 minutes, and grab their phones immediately. (Among 18-24 year olds, the numbers rise to 89% and 74%.) Read more...

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'Actresses Without Teeth' Tumblr Will Send You Running for the Dentist

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 03:34 PM PDT

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Chew on this: A terrifying new Tumblr page took the disturbing liberty of removing the teeth from famous actresses and musicians — in photos, not in real life

Still, it's just something you need to see for yourself

Cameron Diaz, Emma Watson, Taylor Swift and Beyonce all get the tooth-snatching treatment. Check out the gallery up top to see some of our favorites

Stay up to date with the new posts here. And sleep tight, everyone

[h/t Grantland]

Image courtesy of Tumblr, Actresses Without Teeth Read more...

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Create Your Own 'Game of Thrones' Coat of Arms With HBO Tool

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 03:29 PM PDT

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HBO is drumming up more online buzz for Game of Thrones season three with a tool that lets you build your own family arms — sigil, house name and motto included.

Available in two dozen languages, JoinTheRealm.com helps you create a coat of arms, or the tool can generate one for you. After all, you can't be a Lord in Westeros battling for the Iron Throne without a sigil for your bannermen to proudly wear

To feed your GOT addiction further, you can join Mashable's Game of Thrones meme contest in which winners will receive show-themed prize packs. Or you can download the free "A World of Ice and Fire" Android and iOS app, which will help you keep track of characters, places and timelines from the George R. R. Martin books that inspired the HBO series Read more...

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March Madness Is the Most Emotional Sporting Event on Earth

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 03:05 PM PDT

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Ready for the Sweet 16? March Madness's second weekend begins Thursday afternoon, and by Sunday night we'll be down to a Final Four

The first two rounds last weekend were marked by surprising upsets (top-seed Gonzaga got ousted early), charming Cinderellas (high-flying Florida Gulf Coast became the first 15-seed to survive the tourney's first weekend) and more jaw-dropping plays than we can count

But actual basketball plays second fiddle to March Madness's real intrigue — the human drama that unfolds before our very eyes as college athletes compete for fleeting moments of glory and once-in-a-lifetime shots at athletic immortality Read more...

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Virtual Game Helps the Blind Navigate New Environments

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 02:26 PM PDT

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Learning to navigate a new home or location can be a challenge for the visually impaired, but a new project may help the process

Researchers in the Department of Ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School developed a virtual game to help the blind find their way through new surroundings using computer generated layouts of public buildings

Participants can interact with the virtual environment with a keyboard and rather than relying on visual cues, the game uses auditory cues to help orient the playerAccording to a new report, the team of researchers are looking to incorporate other interfaces and tools such as a Wii remote or joystick. Read more...

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Celebrate Mariah Carey's B-Day With a Lifetime of Awkward Moments

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 02:12 PM PDT

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In honor of the songstress' 43rd birthday, here's a mashup full of rainbows, ice cream and Mariah Carey.

Image via Getty Images Read more...

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Google Maps Adds Real-Time Public Transit Info

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 01:53 PM PDT

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Good news, New York City-based commuters: Google Maps added Wednesday real-time subway departure times for the seven lines that have such data available. These include the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and Times Square - Grand Central shuttle. The Metropolitan Transit Authority's other lines require an expensive overhaul before they'll be able to provide real-time data.

Metrorail riders in Washington, D.C., will also now receive up-to-the-second service alerts via Google Maps. That'll be handy for capitol denizens, who will be able to use the app to find routes that avoid any unplanned delays or schedule changes. Read more...

More about Google, Google Maps, New York City, Apps Software, and Mobile

New Technology Could Engineer the Perfect Baseball Swing

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 01:43 PM PDT

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What if a baseball coach could truly determine what a player must do to hit the ball out of the park? New technology is underway that fuses physics and real-time data to help develop the perfect swing.

The University of Michigan has been working on a small device that looks at the entire three-dimensional motion of the bat as you swing, and measures reaction time, speed and control

"We can report the metrics of a swing that are of great interest to players, coaches and recruiters, such as the bat speed at ball impact, the batter's reaction time, whether the swing is level or exhibits any upper cut or chop, the entire path of the batter's hands during the swing, the bat's swing plane and much more," Noel Perkins, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, told Mashable Read more...

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Watch Al Pacino's Best Screaming Moments in 6 Minutes

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 01:37 PM PDT

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In a recent interview with Forbes, actor Robin Williams dished out a handful of tidbits about his most famous roles throughout his 30-plus-year career

Working with Al Pacino in 2002's Insomnia, he said, was especially memorable: "[His] character was crazy. Before every take, he would roar like a lion."

Roar like a lion. "Roaring," of course, might be a bit of an extreme characterization — but Pacino certainly isn't known for his whispering roles.

Chicago-based filmmaker Nelson Carvajal threw together the above compilation — appropriately called "Pacino: Full Roar" — of some of the actor's most memorable movie meltdowns. He originally produced the clip as a video essay for Press Play. Read more...

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Tyrion Lannister's 9 Most Epic Lines

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 01:32 PM PDT

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Peter Dinklage's character returns on Sunday with the season three premier of Game of Thrones. This mashup of his nine best lines should tide you over until then.

Homepage image courtesy of NowThisNews Read more...

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Announcing a Live Chat With Disqus Founder Daniel Ha

Posted: 27 Mar 2013 01:22 PM PDT

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Streaming live on Mashable, Disqus founder Daniel Ha will answer questions from readers at 3 p.m. ET (12 p.m. PT) Thursday, March 28. As part of the Young Entrepreneur Council’s #StartupLab initiative, a virtual mentorship program, Daniel will appear live via video chat broadcast on this site.

Daniel Ha is the CEO and cofounder of Disqus. Daniel studied computer science engineering at UC Davis and interned at big companies before deciding to drop out of school to pursue the startup world. Disqus is the web's discussion network, reaching over 700 million unique visitors every month and spanning nearly any topic or type of community imaginable. Disqus is funded by Y Combinator, Union Square Ventures, North Bridge Venture Partners, as well as many great angel investors. Read more...

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