Thursday, March 14, 2013

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Unnamed BlackBerry Partner Buys 1 Million BlackBerry 10 Smartphones”

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Unnamed BlackBerry Partner Buys 1 Million BlackBerry 10 Smartphones”


Unnamed BlackBerry Partner Buys 1 Million BlackBerry 10 Smartphones

Posted: 14 Mar 2013 02:17 AM PDT

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An "established" partner of Canada's BlackBerry has placed an order for one million BlackBerry 10 smartphones, the company has announced

This is the "largest ever single purchase order" in the company's history, BlackBerry (formerly RIM) claims

BlackBerry has announced the first BlackBerry 10 smartphones — Z10 and Q10 — on January 30, 2013. With the new version of the platform and these devices, the company hopes to regain some of the market share it's been steadily losing since 2009

This large order, as well as the recent report of German government adopting the BlackBerry Z10, is certainly a good sign for BlackBerry, who just hasn't been able to keep up with the iPhones and the Androids in the last couple of years

What to Wear on a 100-Year Starship Voyage

Posted: 14 Mar 2013 01:28 AM PDT

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In science fiction shows like Star Trek, spacefarers can leap from planet to planet as fast as they can change a T-shirt. But star hopping is going to take a lot longer in "real life," assuming it's possible at all.

To find out, the 100-year Starship Project is promoting the technologies needed to launch humans to the nearest star (Alpha Centauri, 25.2 trillion miles away) within a century. The voyage itself could take just as long — each way — which means it would span generations, and a lot of wardrobes.

Fashion came up as one of the biggest challenges facing the voyage at panel during this week's South by Southwest Interactive conference. The gathering featured astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison, SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Chair of Research Dr. Jill Tarter and Levar Burton of Star Trek and Reading Rainbow fame.

Fan Site Demands Google Reader Be Brought Back

Posted: 14 Mar 2013 12:27 AM PDT

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Following Google's surprise announcement that it will be killing Reader this July, fans of the popular RSS service took their rage online by venting on Twitter and even mounting a petition.

One website, BringGoogleReaderBack.com, does an especially good job of expressing the collective disappointment of Google Reader fans everywhere.

The site's design is simple. Its main feature is a GIF of nerd queen and Community actress Alison Brie looking shocked, then appalled, followed by the sentence: "You should bring back Google Reader."

Check Out These Google Reader Alternatives

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 11:42 PM PDT

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With the news that Google is killing off Google Reader as of July 1, 2013, users everywhere are on the lookout for potential replacements.

Replacing Google Reader isn't easy; the service isn't just an RSS reader — it's also the de facto cloud-based RSS syncing service. Many Google Reader users don't even use the web app as their primary feed reader, instead using the service to offer subscription, read, unread and folder information to other RSS clients such as Reeder, NetNewsWire and FeedDemon.

And while services and apps such as Pulse and Flipboard are a great way to visualize news and information, those services are not conducive to the needs of the power Google Reader user.

Here's the Comic-Book Version of Steve Jobs

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 10:58 PM PDT

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Steve Jobs will be immortalized in comic-book form, as a Japanese manga series will detail his life story on its pages

Based on the best-selling biography by Walter Isaacson, the comic will appear in a magazine called Kiss, published by Tokyo-based Kodansha. Renowned manga artist Mari Yamazaki was chosen to illustrate the series. Check out her drawing of Jobs, below:

Compare that with a photo of the late Apple CEO:

For more on the manga series, watch the video, above; then, tell us in the comments: How well do you think Yamazaki captures Jobs' likeness in her illustration?

[via Pocket Lint]

What It's Like to Get Online After 25 Years in Prison

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 10:01 PM PDT

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Written by Michael Santos

The Internet did not exist when I began serving my prison sentence in 1987. I didn’t have direct access to the Internet as it dawned onto popular culture and became mainstream for many Americans, throughout the “You’ve got mail!” craze of the '90s. Years would pass, until my release from prison in 2012 before I’d be able to experience the Internet first hand

While I served my prison sentence, I frequently dreamed of using the Internet. From reading numerous technology magazines and financial newspapers, I perceived the web as a powerful tool. From my perspective, it would become more influential to the advancement of society than television, radio and the telephone combined

What to Expect at the Samsung Galaxy S IV Launch

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 09:07 PM PDT

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Samsung is gearing up to unveil its next-generation smartphone, the Galaxy S IV, in New York City on Thursday, a launch that further positions the company as Apple's biggest competitor.

The Korean electronics giant has created a lot of buzz surrounding the announcement, which will be live streamed online and in Times Square. First, it handed out paper invitations at Mobile World Congress conference last month — a move we'd expect from Apple — by drawing attention away from the show and onto its upcoming launch. Then, the company organized a flash mob.

This will be Samsung's first time launching a device in the U.S., and not overseas. Hyped by its "Unpacked" marketing campaign, the event will take place at Radio City Music Hall, just blocks away from Apple's flagship store on Fifth Avenue

Maintain Your Memory With Brain Fitness Games

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 08:34 PM PDT

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When was the last time you memorized a phone number? Or the last time you did simple division without help from your smartphone?

Using mobile devices as a stand-in for everyday cognitive functions has become commonplace. Unfortunately, however, playing several daily rounds of Words With Friends isn't going to cut it. But brain training games can help you work out those synapses to improve memory, attention span, focus and concentration

It's important to engage your brain in addition to maintaining an active physical lifestyle, says Dan Michel, founder and CEO of Dakim BrainFitness

"It’s a matter of use it or lose it," Michel tells Mashable.

Nice Laundry Wants to Help Men Love Their Sock Drawers

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 08:01 PM PDT

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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: Nice Laundry

One-Liner Pitch: Nice Laundry makes it easy and affordable for men to replace the holey, mismatched socks in their drawer with a completely new set of stylish socks.

Why It's Taking Off: It's like Warby Parker for men's socks.

Tech startups have tried to disrupt everything from payment processing to taxi services, but one new startup has launched a Kickstarter campaign to tackle what may be the greatest challenge yet: change the way men feel about their socks.

Twitter App Now Available for Windows 8 and RT

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 07:25 PM PDT

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The wait is over: Twitter has finally launched its native app for Windows 8 and RT.

Now available in the Windows Store, the app "introduces new functionality" that makes use of Windows 8's tiled interface, Twitter and Microsoft announced on their respective blogs Wednesday.

While its design will look familiar to users of Twitter.com and the microblogging service's other mobile apps — including the "Home," "Connect," "Discover" and "Me" tabs — the Windows 8 version also introduces new features tailor-made for the operating system

  • "Snap view": Users can "snap" Twitter to the left or right side of the screen, and start up another app. They can also adjust the size of the app to one-third, two-thirds or full-screen.

  • Photos: Images are now offered in landscape view, which lets users view a bigger version of one photo, and also swipe horizontally to view multiple photos in the Discover tab.

  • "Share charm": Users can tweet and share content from any app to Twitter by selecting the Share charm (accessible by swiping from the right edge of Windows 8).

  • "Search charm": The Search charm lets user easily find an account or see tweets by looking up certain hashtags.

The Best Swag Bags From SXSW 2013

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 07:12 PM PDT

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Everybody loves some good swag, and SXSW is the perfect place to score some cool goodies. We called for our readers who attended SXSW 2013 to take a photo of their favorite swag and send it to us using the hashtag #MashSXSW.

SEE ALSO: Watch Grumpy Cat Hate Adoring SXSW Fans

Swag bags present a good opportunity for brands and startups to get their names in front of a new audience — also, who doesn't love a new pair of sunglasses? Mashable readers collected swag bags filled with t-shirts, books, iPhone goodies and even aspirin.

If you got any swag from SXSW, tweet us a photo with #MashSXSW or drop a link to your photo in the comments below.

LG's 'Smart Video' Feature Uses Eye Recognition To Control Video Playback

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 06:29 PM PDT

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LG announced Wednesday that it will be bringing Smart Video, a feature that uses eye recognition to control video playback, to the Optimus G Pro.

With Smart Video, the phone will recognize the position of your eyes, and automatically play or stop a video based on whether or not you’re looking at the screen. So, if you get distracted while watching the latest "Harlem Shake" video, it will stop; when your eyes return to the monitor, however, it will pick up right where you left off.

LG says the feature will help set it apart from competitors in the coming months.

“LG is continuously innovating to offer creative ways to offer a user experience that adds value to our customers,” said Jong-seok Park, company president and CEO. “It’s the positive user experience that will differentiate smartphones in 2013 and beyond, not only cutting-edge hardware specs.”

Hey Google, We Still Love Reader

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 06:11 PM PDT

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Mashable OP-ED

Hear that clunking sound? That's thousands of jaws dropping at the news that Google Reader is going to be retired come July 1, 2013. That whooshing sound is "Google Reader" shooting to the top of Twitter's worldwide trends, even on a day when a new pope was picked

And that giant "NOOOOOOOO" sound is the Internet's reaction to Google's most unpopular decision in — well, as far back as I can remember.

Admittedly, I'm biased. I work in a newsroom, and we journalists love our RSS feeds. But judging by widespread outrage on social media (and the fact that "RIP Google Reader" is the most popular story on Mashable as I write this), we don't think we're alone

Life Before and After Cellphones

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 05:59 PM PDT

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In the digital age, we tend to rely on our phones for everything: communicating with others, finding the best directions, passing the time with apps. The list goes on and on

What was life even like before our iPhones, Androids, Windows Phones and BlackBerrys? In this comic, Angela Liao of 20px reminds us of landlines, collect calls and — oh yeah — human interaction.

Life Before and After Cellphones

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

Quora Users Share Secret Acts of Kindness

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 05:42 PM PDT

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In an era in which online discussion boards can sometimes become contentious cesspools of bickering or breeding grounds for misinformed political rantings, it's refreshing when an online forum becomes positive and inspirational.

A thread on question-and-answer site Quora is asking the question: "What is the nicest thing you've ever done that no one knows about?" So far, the question has generated more than 200 responses from users sharing stories of their anonymous acts of kindness, some of which are highlighted in the video above.

Currently, the top response on the site is from an anonymous user who sold a tech company in 2010 and then drained his or her bank account to buy his or her wheelchair-bound father a one-story house in Texas.

America's 3 Biggest Cybersecurity Vunerabilities

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 05:23 PM PDT

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When James Clapper, the country's top intelligence official, visited Capitol Hill this week to discuss the major threats facing America, he put cyberattacks at the top of the list

The lengthy discussion of cybersecurity marked a change from testimony Clapper gave in 2012 and 2011. In his annual assessments of worldwide risks in the two previous years, digital threats were mentioned only briefly and were further down on the list of dangers

Cybersecurity is a top priority this year for President Obama, who was planning a meeting Wednesday in the White House Situation Room with business executives to discuss the issue. Concerns are growing about a potential attack that could cripple the nation's infrastructure

Heisman Winner Johnny Manziel Bickers With Twitter Trolls

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 05:07 PM PDT

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Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel has been enjoying spring break down in Cabo San Lucas this week, but he took a little break from the R&R to talk some smack to Twitter trolls

The kerfuffle started when a photo of Manziel posing shirtless on the beach with some buddies surfaced online. An innocuous enough shot, until you take a closer look at the left side of Manziel's rib cage, which appears to sport a tattoo of the Texas Longhorns logo

Manziel plays quarterback for Longhorn rival Texas A&M, so the apparent ink touched off a bit of a controversy. Fans online wondered whether it was, in fact, the real deal or just a mischievous bit of Photoshop. So Manziel took to Twitter on Monday afternoon to dispel the speculation with a tweet reading, "FAKE tattoo.."

RIP Google Reader

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 05:03 PM PDT

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Google Reader, one of the world's most popular RSS readers, is shutting down on July 1, 2013, Google announced Wednesday.

The search giant is pulling the plug on the 7-year old project citing "declining usage." Google says it is shuttering Reader and deprecating or shutting down a number of other services as part of the company's "spring cleaning" initiative — one that seeks to help the company focus on the features that need the most use.

SEE ALSO: Hey Google, We Still Love Reader

In addition to Google Reader, the company is also ceasing sales and updates for the Snapseed Desktop apps for Mac and Windows, shutting down its CalDAV API, as well as ending support for Google Voice for BlackBerry.

Brain-Scanning Headphones Match Songs to Your Mood

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 04:47 PM PDT

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Compiling the perfect song playlist has a well-known reputation for being a transcending, yet agonizing, form of art. But what if we could could delete the agony of finding the perfect song and tap into the ecstasy of having it chosen for us?

That’s where Mico headphones enter the picture. Developed by Neurowear, the headphones feature a protruding electroencephalograph (EEG) sensor that scans brain patterns to match a person’s mood with an appropriate song.

When plugged in to a smart device running Mico’s app, the headphones detect the wearer’s state of mind and select a “neuro-tagged,” mood-fitting song from Neurowear’s database. The sides of the ear pieces illuminate when music plays and even show symbols — such as Zzz — if the user is sleepy, stressed or focused.

New Pope Fails to Beat Obama's Twitter Record

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 04:32 PM PDT

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If it felt like your Twitter feed earlier Wednesday was nothing but tweets about the new pope, well ... that's because it probably was.

Twitter said it had seen some 7 million tweets related to the new pontiff, a number that seems sure to grow by the end of the day. At its peak, the papal tweeting reached a crescendo of 132,000 tweets per minute.

That's not quite a groundbreaking number, howeverPresident Obama's 2012 election victory set the record at 237,000 tweets per minute back in November. Some 20 million tweets were sent on election night.

If a new pope can't beat that number, we doubt anything will for some time.

The 10 Commandments of Social Media for Brands

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 04:21 PM PDT

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Scott Steinberg, a top-ranked international event speaker on the lecture circuit, is a bestselling expert on leadership and innovation, and the head of strategic consultancy TechSavvy Global. His website is AKeynoteSpeaker.com.
 
Fleeting as social media exchanges may seem, they can have a pronounced impact on business and their influence can echoe far beyond a simple post or retweet.
 

While the anonymous, public and often informal nature of Internet dialogue often leads corporations to relax their guard, it’s important to note: Managing a brand’s social media presence is a tricky balancing act. The key to being successful? Keeping things polite and professional, and constantly acknowledging your audience’s voice, while adding value or insight to customer exchanges.
 
Looking to enhance your corporate social media efforts? Here are 10 simple rules every corporate social networking team should follow to better connect with fans and maximize the value of their online presences.
 

'Nekci Menij Show' Spoofs Pop Stars' Twitter Habits

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 04:11 PM PDT

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Pop stars each have their own personalities and foibles on social media. To fans, the tweets and Instagram pics that stars send can be laughable. In the episode "Quen Of Twattir," exclusively premiering on Mashable, The Nekci Menij Show pokes fun at the way singers such as Madonna, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga use and abuse social media.

Beyoncé is notorious for her silence toward her followers on Twitter — the singer has more than 7 million followers yet has tweeted only four times. Rihanna is known for including a multitude of hashtags on her party-fueled Instagram photos. And Cher's Twitter account is infamous for being largely indiscernable and outright bizarre.

Get Spooked by This New 'Monsters University' Trailer

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 03:54 PM PDT

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Disney/Pixar is making a lot of children equally scared and happy this summer — they're releasing a prequel to Monsters, Inc.

Monsters University follows Mike and Sulley before they were incorporated, when they were just young adult monsters getting a degree in (what else?) scaring

The studio released a trailer for the film Tuesday, and it seems like the movie has a bit of a plot twist. Mike and Sulley aren't the best buddies we've all grown to love (or be scared of). Back in their collegiate days, these two monsters were constantly competing to try to prove who was the best monster on campus.

10 Celebrities Who Look Like Pope Francis

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 03:35 PM PDT

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Pope Francis will live in Vatican City, but his celebrity doppelgängers reside in Hollywood, New York City and Jersey.

Twitter couldn't wait to pinpoint the new pope's famous look-alikes. Famous faces that apparently bear a resemblance to the newly selected pontiff include Jeffrey Tambor, Woody Allen and the old guy from UP.

Did Twitter users miss an obvious papal twinsie? Tell us in the comments.

1.

The new pope totally looks like George Sr. in Caged Wisdom shar.es/esxrg #arresteddevelopment #newpope

— The Bluth Company(@BluthCoBlog) March 13, 2013

'Automatic' Is Your Smartphone Driving Assistant

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 03:30 PM PDT

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Back seat drivers can be overbearing. You're always breaking too hard or driving too fast, either miles above the speed limit or not even close. One device aims to help you be a smarter driver without the constant, distracting nagging by wirelessly linking your car to your smartphone

Automatic, a driving assistant app, monitors users' habits to help save on gas and ensure a smooth ride for each trip. It uses Automatic Link, a device that plugs into your car's data port to access the auto's onboard computer. Check out the video, above, to see how it works.

What if Superheroes Were Sponsored by Brands?

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 03:24 PM PDT

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Artist Roberto Vergati Santos has had quite the startling idea — what if brands got their hands on the superheroes of the world? What if, instead of representing the Justice League and the Avengers, these masked vigilantes represented companies like McDonald's and Nike?

It's a scarier thought than the actual comic book bad guys they battle with on a regular basis

Not to say there isn't blatant product placement in most of our beloved superhero blockbusters, but there's something about branding these iconic get-ups with corporate logos that makes capitalism seem like the real villain

Spectacular Bay Bridge Lights Controlled by Macs Running Windows

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 03:01 PM PDT

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As anyone who's been in or around San Francisco recently knows, it's hard not to spot the Bay Lights. After dusk, the western span of the Bay Bridge fills with a jaw-dropping display comprised of 25,000 LEDs, mounted on vertical cables 30 feet apart

Each LED can be controlled individually by computer, and turned on or off 60 times a second via a 1.8-mile fiberoptic cable. This allows spectacular and unique patterns to sweep across the bridge, as they did during the official opening of the Bay Lights project last week (and for weeks of sporadic testing before that.)

To put that in perspective, it's more lights than you will find on the entire Eiffel Tower at its most shimmering. An estimated 50 million people will see the Bay Lights over the next 2 years; it's one of the signature features of the forthcoming Americas Cup.

How Sharethrough Is Redefining Ads on the Web

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 03:01 PM PDT

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AUSTIN — Native advertising is the big buzzword of 2013, and it's seeking to redefine the way consumers interact with ads on the web. And though just about everyone in advertising and media is talking about native ads, the concept can be hard to define and understand. In fact, there was an entire panel devoted to defining the term and how it manifests on the web at the Native Advertising Summit last month, and there still was no resolution among panelists after 30 minutes of discussion.

But well before it had a name, the idea native advertising was on the rise. One of the big players in the space is Sharethrough, which was founded at Stanford in 2008 with the lofty goal of fixing advertising by making it more thoughtfully integrated into web content and less obtrusive to consumers. Co-founder and CEO Dan Greenberg describes a native ad as one that echoes the core form or function of the site or platform — it's a promoted video on YouTube, a promoted tweet on Twitter and a Sponsored Story on Facebook.

Exact Moment the World Knew It Had a New Pope

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 02:53 PM PDT

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See the world react to the white smoke finally rise

Homepage image courtesy of NowThisNews

SXSWi 2013: A Great Show About Nothing

Posted: 13 Mar 2013 02:42 PM PDT

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Jerry Seinfeld would have loved SXSWi 2013: It’s a show about nothing. This is not to say it’s without substance. Like Seinfeld’s classic show, which wove together three or more threads that usually intersected in hilarious ways, SXSWi weaves together thousands of threads that are all interesting, but not necessarily thematically cohesive.

While most regard SXSWi as the coolest of all trade shows, it’s not as different as people think. I noticed, for instance, that there was a distinct lack of buzz about any one specific thing. There were a handful of products and companies people were talking about, but I could not readily identify this year’s Highlight or a trend like “near me” apps.

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