An anonymous reader writes "Bad news for Brazillians. Google's first social network, Orkut, will be shut down at the end of September. A farewell message on the Orkut blog reads in part: "Ten years ago, Orkut was Google's first foray into social networking. Built as a '20 percent' project, Orkut communities started conversations, and forged connections, that had never existed before. Orkut helped shape life online before people really knew what "social networking" was. Over the past decade, YouTube, Blogger and Google+ have taken off, with communities springing up in every corner of the world. Because the growth of these communities has outpaced Orkut's growth, we've decided to bid Orkut farewell (or, tchau). We'll be focusing our energy and resources on making these other social platforms as amazing as possible for everyone who uses them."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

It's adorable.

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If the thought of turning on your oven this summer makes you cringe, head outside and fire up the grill instead. From salad to seafood, must-have juicy burgers and rotisserie chicken, even pizza and dessert, here's 15 delicious dinners (and desserts!) you've got to try this summer.

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Hot on the heels of the news that the many-armed, grabby beast that is Amazon is set on providing local services for its customers, it’s reportedly working on another foray into the e-commerce world, this time with its test of an online local takeout service, similar to GrubHub, Seamless and others.

According to TechCrunch, the service will start out as part of Amazon Local, which offers customers daily deals, coupons and discounts from businesses in their community.

Sources tell TechCrunch that the takeout part of the equation was supposed to launch first in Seattle and on iOS devices went live last night on its app, but was taken down shortly after.

The details so far are hazy, but it apparently is going to be a “VERY gradual expansion unless things go gangbusters,” a source told TechCrunch, akin to the Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service rollout.

And while it’s been called a “takeout” service, we’re going to go ahead and guess that customers will also be able to order food for delivery, because really if you’re not willing to call someone to order your food, you might also be unwilling to walk anywhere to pick it up yourself.

Clearly Amazon is trying its best to carve itself a piece of the local pie across multiple service areas, from plumbers to pizza delivery. Which might make for some grumbling at companies already providing many of those local services like Angie’s List, Yelp and now GrubHub, Seamless, Delivery.com and the rest. But at the same time, we don’t mind it whenever consumers have more choices about where to go when they need something.

Amazon Is Quietly Launching A Local Takeout Service To Rival Seamless And DeliveryHero [TechCrunch]

Because even when you are home, you are constantly wanting to see the world.

Turn off the lights and let the message of travel shine through.

Get this night light.

Via fancy.com

Open the door to new worlds every time you step outside your room.

See it here.

Via enquanto-isso.com

Get this massive world map to remind you of all the land you've yet to discover.

Get this wall decal.

Via fancy.com

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How many trips do you take each year that you really didn’t want to take in the first place? It could be anything from your brother’s destination wedding on a tropical island to your friend’s kid’s graduation party a few suburbs over. What these trips have in common is that you didn’t pick the date or venue and are going because you feel you have to. Hotwire.com has coined a word for these trips: obli-cations.

Get it? Like a staycation, but with the concept of “obligation” smushed in there. Using an utterly unscientific survey of 2,000 adults, the company determined that American consumers spend about $185 billion per year on trips that they take only out of a sense of obligation.

The good news, of course, is that there are ways to save money on travel even when you really, really don’t want to be traveling in the first place. Marketwatch points out one trick that comes in handy when shopping online, especially for flights: if you’ve been researching different airlines and travel sites, clear your browser’s cache or use a different computer to order, since the mere act of looking up flights and then later returning to the site may get you higher prices than a fresh first-time visitor.

‘Obli-cation’ trips are making you broke [Marketwatch]

Chrome: Corporate email systems often have ways of telling you if an email is read. For users of Gmail in Chrome, MailTrack creates easy read receipts.

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If you thought yogurtmania had already reached its inevitable fever pitch, you clearly haven't been eating enough yogurt to keep your brain strong. Now, instead of just eating all those active cultures in Fage and two-bit hack yogurt Chobani , you can rub Greek yogurt all over your body for cleanliness and moisturizing.

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As GoPro celebrates its IPO today, its founder explains how he got the idea to make mountable, action video cameras.

“Things are changing.”

The start of Downton Abbey's fifth season is still a ways off — it's expected to air in September on ITV in the U.K. and in January on PBS's Masterpiece Classic in the U.S. — but British broadcaster ITV has released the first teaser for Season 5, which is long on atmosphere if short on actual new content from the upcoming season.

Set against the backdrop of familiar scenes of everyday life at Downton (i.e., shots taken directly from the now-iconic opening credit sequence), the unwavering voice of trusted butler Carson (Jim Carter) offers some foreboding words of dread about what might be coming to the great house and its inhabitants this season:

"I feel a shaking of the ground I stand on. The nature of life is not permanence, but flux. Things are changing."

Pretty ominous, no?

Among the new faces set to appear this season on Downton Abbey: Richard E. Grant (Girls, Gosford Park), Anna Chancellor (The Hour), and Rade Sherbedgia (24), while Dame Harriet Walter and Peter Egan will reprise their respective roles as Lady Shackleton and Lord Flintshire.

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It can be pretty easy to fall into a rut on the grill. After all, burgers, steaks, and the standard veggie-on-a-stick kabobs are all very delicious. As the old saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it right?

Well, maybe you don't need to fix it, but you might need to change it up. If you're in a grilling slump and sick of hot dogs, check out these five creative things to make on the grill.

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By now, you already know that prolonged sitting is bad for your body . But what exactly goes on when you sit for hours every day? This graphic from the Washington Post explains.

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Any good hobby requires investment, through time or money. Gaming requires both.

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Roy Choi's been teasing Twitter with hints about a possible New York restaurant, according to Eater NY. The Pot/Chego/Sunny Spot/A Frame/Kogi chef tweeted this photo plus the following words: "been searching 4 a sign 2 tell me it's time 2 open a place in NYC. I think I found it after 5 years. I'm ready to try." Is New York ready for Roy Choi?

The consulting chef for Jon Favreau's recent Chef movie also tweeted earlier:

'Don't know how long it will take but I know I'm ready to try and make New York happen. Should be a fun journey. #next"'

With a bevy of restaurants spread across Los Angeles, it makes sense for the white-hot Korean American chef to bring his brand of tasteful fusion and authentic homage to Asian flavors to Gotham City.

He also wouldn't be the first chef to jump from L.A. to NYC this year, with Ilan Hall finding Brooklyn's Urban Outfitters as a second home for The Gorbals.
· All Roy Choi Coverage [~ELA~]
[Photo: Twitter]

Amalgamated is a new series of vessels by studio markunpoika constructed from assembled pencils. Taking advantage of the pencil’s unique hexagon shape, the pencils are first tightly glued together at each facet to form a solid block. The final pieces are then carved on a machine lathe to reveal the insides of each pencil. Via studio markunpoika:

“Amalgamated” is a collection which explores the relationship of a mass produced ‘tool’ and its individual purpose. The beauty of the pencil as an object seems to go unnoticed if utilised only for their primary purpose. “Amalgamated” is a visual and tactile investigation by using pencils as a raw material. This holistic principle has been the fundament for creating this set of vases; let the pencils become a thing themselves.

The vessels are part of a collaboration between Gallery FUMI and Faber-Castell and were recently on view as part of Design Miami/Basel 2014. (via designboom)

Despite the growing movement to get more young students to learn computer science, the majority of schools don't teach it. (One estimate says only 10 percent of US schools do.) That means, until we're up to speed, it's up to us parents to teach our kids.

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A new study finds that the most nutrient-dense vegetable is watercress. Also, the best fruit is blueberry , and the best pie is sweet potato .

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The founders of Uber will indeed be treating themselves this weekend after announcing a mammoth $1.2 billion investment round.

The US-based, private car rental service has secured its latest injection of capital from round leader Fidelity Investments alongside Wellington Management, Summit Partners, BlackRock and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Existing investors Google Ventures and Menlo Ventures also participated in a deal which Uber CEO Travis Kalanick says values the company at $18 billion.

The company says a further $200 million will be announced shortly in a second tranche from other investors.

Uber’s earlier round was in the region of $360 million in August 2013.

It now has operations in some 128 cities in 37 countries around the world, an extraordinary growth rate given the company was only formed in 2009.

But with rapid expansion and a new take on an existing car rental/taxi hire model, like its fellow relative newbie Airbnb, have come a string of concerns from existing players as to its legality in various jurisdictions.

Kalanick says:

“With our growth and expansion, the company has evolved from being a scrappy Silicon Valley tech startup to being a way of life for millions of people in cities around the world.

“This ‘Uber’ way of life is really a reflection of our mission to turn ground transportation into a seamless service and to enable a transportation alternative in cities that makes car ownership a thing of the past.”

The company has faced protests from taxi drivers in cities such as Paris, France, over the course of the past year, but Kalanick claims Uber is creating 20,000 new jobs every month around the world.

Kalanick ads:

“Four years in, we are just at the beginning of the Uber story. We are working hard to improve what we do every day and are focused on making our great potential a reality.

“We appreciate the confidence that investors, riders and partner drivers have shown in us and we intend to deliver.”

To put Uber’s valuation into context, long-standing car rental brand Hertz has a market capitalisation of $12.4 billion, Avis is in the region of $6.3 billion and Expedia close to $10 billion.

When in America.

You constantly have to translate and spell your name out phonetically.

Because if you've had to deal with immigration, it only takes one person to fuck it up on all your documents.

tumblr.com

Especially during introductions. Wait for it...

olyfantastique.tumblr.com

Smiling politely as they tell you just how "beautiful" and "exotic" it is and just how much they "loooove" it.

Fox / Via alissaerin.blogspot.com

Being asked what your name means in your native language.

"Very little. What does 'Joe' mean in English?"

poppyclub.tumblr.com

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That's right: female Lego figurines will soon do more than shop and go to the beach.

While everyone has a different definition of professional success, the one thing all successful people share in common is a drive to be better than the day before. Forward momentum is key, and you can keep yourself in check by asking the right questions.

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Three years after T-Mobile was left at the altar by AT&T, the wireless company looks to have another suitor – Sprint Corp. According to a report by Reuters, company insiders say Sprint has agreed to pay $40 per share, or $32 billion, for T-Mobile.

If the deal, which still must gain the approval of U.S. regulators, goes through it would combine the third- and fourth-largest U.S. mobile network operators and create a formidable opponent for Verizon Wireless and AT&T.

Gaining the approval of the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice may be difficult for the two companies. Analysts tell Reuters that the agencies have expressed a desire to have at least two network operators competing against Verizon and AT&T.

The companies need to iron out a number of issues before the deal can move forward, including agreeing on an executive to run the combined company and settling on a termination fee if the proposed deal goes south.

According to Bloomberg, T-Mobile CEO John Legere is the leading candidate for the top spot, while Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has expressed that not being at the head of the table wouldn’t bother him.

Officials close to the deal tell Bloomberg that Japanese telecom giant SoftBank Corp., which owns 80% of Sprint, is seeking a $1 billion termination fee, while Deutsche Telekom, which owns 67% of T-Mobile is seeking closer to $3 billion.

Securing a high termination fee would be one way T-Mobile could protect itself if the deal takes the same unsuccessful path as the 2011 proposed AT&T merger.

In that failed deal, AT&T agreed to buy T-Mobile for $39 billion. However, AT&T withdrew from the deal after the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust called for regulators to block the merger, because it “because the deal would “likely cause substantial harm to competition and consumers.” And the FCC and DOJ did just that, saying they would both fight the merger.

This past January, the DOJ’s antitrust chief said the decision to block the merger in 2011 has only helped wireless customers, “competition in the wireless sector has flourished and consumers have benefitted.”

So, would the new proposed deal between Sprint and T-Mobile only serve to reverse the progress the DOJ touted? It’s a likely possibility.

Back in February, Consumerist broke down just why a merger between the two wireless companies might be logical but still bad for consumers.

T-Mobile and Sprint networks are not compatible, meaning that customers with single-band phones would not enjoy the benefits of a combined network, and that the company would need to spend even more to make this change.

So for any merger between the two companies would need to offer deep discounts and make large capital improvements in its network to be successful.

However, just last month Sprint chairman Masayoshi Son gave a speech that implied regulators should be happy to bless such a merger between the two companies, because it would mean valid competition for internet-controlling Comcast should that company acquire Time Warner Cable.

If Sprint does buy T-Mobile, the company would have more reach and resources with which to improve its network. However, that still wouldn’t be enough leverage to make mobile data a meaningful replacement solution for most consumers, since mobile broadband is known to be inconsistent and too slow for a reliable replacement.

Bloomberg reports that a deal could be announced in June or July.

Sprint, T-Mobile Said Near Price, Termination Fee Accord [Bloomberg]

Sprint agrees to pay about $32 billion to buy T-Mobile: source [Reuters]

It’s better for an online retailer to send an item packaged incorrectly than to not send it at all, or to wait around for the perfect box or envelope to show up. Right? That’s the founding principle behind the Stupid Shipping Gang, who sent reader Veganman a box of tiny door bumpers that could have fit in an un-padded manila envelope.

The Stupid Shipping Gang, as you may remember, are the people who work inside fulfillment warehouses and send comically oversized boxes to unwitting customers.

Veganman, a Consumerist reader who may or may not be a superhero, purchased on Amazon some tiny plastic sticky door bumpers. We mean really tiny: they’re as thin as a few sheets of paper and 5/16 of an inch around. Naturally, these items that are meant to protect the shelf and cabinet from each other needed protecting from the mail system.

“I guess they were out of envelopes that day,” concludes Veganman. “It could have shipped in a plain envelope just as well. This is laughably inefficient.” Yes, it is.

You can leave Amazon feedback on the packages of questionable packaging that they deliver to you, but they’ve been gathering data for some time and don’t seem to have improved.

Do you believe in ghosts? The dance-craze video for Psy's "Gangnam Style" has become the first YouTube video to ever reach 2 billion views. The only video to ever come close is Justin Bieber's "Baby," with a meager 1 billion views.

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Underwater travel is the next frontier of international transportation — if you are the kind of futurist who would believe a report made by a state-run Chinese news outlet. The Washington Post, citing this Bejing Times story, reports that the train of our nautical dreams is (maybe) happening:

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The cupcake era is drawing to a close, with Crumbs in Beverly Hills calling it quits a week ago. One of the first of the chains to open in L.A., the cupcakery's only remaining outlet in SoCal is on Larchmont. [EaterWire]

Similar to drawings of old men that when flipped upside down look like beautiful women, this bunny eating raspberries, when watched through perceptive eyes, looks like a bunny in lipstick. Recommended while listening to Missy Elliott's "Meltdown". Nothing is exactly as it seems, etc.

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Rio isn't ready. It wouldn't be the first time London took over for other cities.

Eighteen-year-old Brazilian Elisany de Cruz Silva, 6'8", announced her engagement to her boyfriend of three years, Francinaldo da Silva, 5'4". My favorite part of the video is in the grocery store because it has a lot of fruits I've never seen before!

The latest intellectual property grab by Jeff Bezos is a huge gift to advocates of patent reform