Chanoatx

Larry Ellison has tried —and failed—to purchase an NBA franchise before, but his dream may soon come true thanks to the suddenly for-sale Clippers. The founder of Oracle is something like the world's fifth-richest man. His net worth is $50 billion, give or take a few billion dollars (and something is very skewed when you can ballpark billions). He makes Donald Sterling look like a pauper. Hell, he makes Paul Allen look like he's barely scraping by. Add to his personal wealth the involvement of David Geffen and Oprah Winfrey, and you've got a group that's capable of winning what's sure to be a bidding war.

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Your local Best Buy is about to get even more crowded. Sony is set to join other companies in building its own store-within-a-store at the huge retailer. Starting in May, the "Sony Experience at Best Buy" will come to 350 locations and be staffed by Best Buy employees with specialized training around Sony's products. Home theater seems to be the primary focus; Sony says it will use the space to showcase its 4K TVs, 4K media players, surround sound systems, and consoles including the PlayStation 4 and PS3. Shoppers will be able to switch between Blu-ray and HD cable feeds when testing out Sony's latest ultra high-def sets.

Since TVs will get top billing, the Sony Experience will most often be found near Best Buy's TV section — at least...

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You've probably seen most (or all) of these before, but should you have put any of them on your to-do list and haven't gotten around to trying them, here they are again, 33 useful life hacks that is. First up, there is the interesting method of resetting an ink printer cartridge with a paperclip so you can get a few extra (possibly hundred) pages from it. Continue reading to see them all.

There’s too much great new stuff to watch on Netflix this month: a handful of Godzilla movies, more classic Bond than you can shake a shoe phone at, both Kill Bills, the newest Star Trek — and the one movie Disney definitely doesn’t want you to see.

As new-on-Netflix announcements go, Thursday’s was a doozy.

There are great ‘80s movies ...

Image: Ron Galella

Adventures in Babysitting (1987)

La Bamba (1987)

The Big Chill (1983)

Eddie Murphy: Delirious (1983)

Great ’90 movies, too ...

Image: Hector Mata

As engineers and scientists work hard to build technologies that astronauts could one day use to live and work on Mars, the future of spacesuits is looking stylish too. Or at least, fittingly, like something out of a science-fiction movie.

NASA recently asked the public to vote on its next three generations of spacesuit prototypes, and it announced its first winner: the "technology" suit, a gray body with splashes of vibrant turquoise. The torso emits light so crew members can spot the wearer during dark spacewalks. The design resembles an outfit from the film Tron, while the previous suit took more of a Buzz Lightyear approach. Read more...

At some point or another, everyone goes to a new mall. Maybe it's an old mall in a new town, or a new mall in an old town. The point is the same: it's a mall you've never been to before. Half of the fun is finding out what outlets are eager and waiting to empty your wallet...but that also requires a lot of walking around most of the time. Tragic, I know.

• Gmail Can Now Search Text Inside Of Your Attachments
• [New Game] Become The King Of All Malls In Kairosoft's 'Mega Mall Story'
• Google Maps App Updated To 6.7 - Brings Google Offers, Indoor Directions, 360 Panorama Views For Businesses
• [Rumor] Wall Street Journal Corroborates Report Of Google Retail Stores In The Works

Going To The Mall? You Can Now Use Google Now To Find Out What Stores It Has was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Phan Favs is a recurring feature that turns the tables and asks you, the readers, about the best apps and games. It’s your turn to drop some knowledge on us! Read more.

Communicating with people is one of the biggest functions of a smartphone. There is an almost infinite amount of apps that can be used to communicate in some form. Which ones are the best? Last week we asked you to tell us which messaging apps you use. These apps could be used for SMS, instant messaging, video chat, or all three. After one full week we have tallied the votes. Here are your picks for the Top 5 Messaging Apps for Android.

1. Hangouts

In a landslide victory Google’s own SMS/instant messaging app was your top pick. Hangouts started life as Google Chat/Talk, but recently was converted to a proprietary messaging service. In the past year Google has also added the ability to send SMS with Hangouts, and made it the default messaging app on Nexus devices. It can do video chat, voice calls, group chats, send photos, and just about everything else you’d expect.

2. Textra SMS

Coming in at second place is Textra, a beautifully simple SMS replacement. This app aims to be a replacement for the bland SMS apps that come on most Android devices. It has a few different themes to choose from, over 800 emojis, animated GIF support, a quick reply pop-up window, group messaging, and so much more. If you just want something a little more feature-packed than the stock SMS app this is a nice choice.

3. Handcent SMS

Handcent calls itself the “most popular messaging app on the Android platform.” It has certainly been around for a long time, and apparently people are still using the crap out of it. What Handcent lacks in design it makes up for with features. It has a handy pop-up quick reply windows, Facebook profile photo sync, tons of themes and skins, group chat, cloud backup, and so much more.

4. Stock

Sometimes the SMS app that comes on your phone is good enough. Samsung, HTC, LG, and others all have slightly different stock SMS apps. If you don’t do a lot of texting you might not care what it looks like. Apparently a good portion of you fall into this category. There’s nothing wrong with that. Just because you can change the SMS app doesn’t mean you have to.

5. Evolve SMS

One of the best looking SMS apps available for Android is Evolve SMS. This app fully embraces all of the Android design guidelines, and looks great doing it. The interface allows you to slide easily between conversations, and a pop-up makes it easy to quickly respond. There is group messaging, gestures, widgets, themes, tons of emojis, customizeable notifications, and much more.

***

Those are your picks! Thanks for sharing your favorite apps with us. If you think your pick got snubbed make your case for it in the comments. Check out the chart below to see how the voting went for the top ten apps. We’ll be back next week with another edition of Phan Favs. Don’t miss it!

Comment on why you need ECCO shoes or boots for a spring adventure…

An Improv Everywhere prank at a Manhattan Gap store earlier this month featured some unexpected players after a manager called police to report a flash mob.

Participants entered the store's Fifth Avenue location wearing white Morphsuits underneath Gap-style clothing to imitate mannequins. All 40 people were instructed to zip up the suits at a pre-determined time, and pose next to real mannequins for about five to 10 minutes before leaving the shop. Gap patrons and employees appeared to be amused by the hijinks, but before the prank was completed, the police arrived and began handcuffing participants. Read more...

A small Canadian town of 600 people is dealing with a colossal 60-ton problem.

The rotting carcass of a giant blue whale washed ashore near Trout River, Newfoundland, last week and is now spreading its stench throughout the town, according to multiple reports. What's worse, some fear the 85-foot-long whale may explode as a result of combustible methane gas brought on by decomposition, the Associated Press reported

"I'm not sure with the heat and gases that are trapped inside of this mammal if at some point in time it will explode," Emily Butler, Trout River's town clerk, told told the AP Read more...

The spectacular Spider-Man's full-body spandex suit is one of the most iconic superhero outfits ever designed. Even so, the writers and artists who have told his story for more than 50 years have tinkered with it now and again. The web-slinging wall crawler has worn black, white and armored suits — even a ruffled collar

Mild-mannered Peter Parker hasn't always worn the tights, but the bug eyes, web shooters and commitment to justice remain the same (usually).

As Spidey swings back into theaters this weekend in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the hero has a brand-new suit with a few tweaks since his last outing. Check out 24 of his classic looks from the comic book page and the big screen below. Read more...

It's Wednesday, and you know what that means – yes, Google is updating apps. This week we've got a search update to version 3.4 and it has some good stuff going on. We're still checking it out, but it looks like automatic parking detection is a go. Or stop... whatever.

What's New

Download

The APK is signed by Google and upgrades your existing app.

• Google Play Newsstand Updated To v3.2 With New My Library Section, Multiple Action Bar Colors, And More [APK Download]
• Google Play Games Updated To v1.6 With Redesigned Slide-Out Navigation Bar And Some Minor Tweaks [APK Download]
• Google Play Music Updated To v5.5 With On-Device Playlist Editing And Sharing [APK Download]
• Download: Latest Google Play Store v3.7.15

Google Search Updated To v3.4 With New Google Now Parking Card And More [APK Download] was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Survivors and witnesses of the Sept. 11 attacks and the World Trade Center bombing of 1993 now have a digital venue to share their stories, thanks to a new initiative the National September 11 Memorial and Museum launched on Wednesday.

The 9/11 Memorial Registries collect and share the personal experiences of survivors and rescue workers, as well as information about existing Sept. 11 memorials around the world. The interactive site, which technology and design company Infusion engineered and Microsoft sponsored, also invites the public to share firsthand testimonials from the attacks.

How scary is the latest Internet Explorer security vulnerability? Even the U.S. government says not to use IE until the browser is fixed.

The flaw, which affects Internet Explorer versions 6 and up, allows bad guys to gain complete access to a PC via a malicious website. Dubbed "Operation Clandestine Fox" by the security firm FireEye, the threat is real. And dangerous.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security doesn't issue security alerts for computer software very often, but this time, it made an exception. Many agencies within the U.S. government use versions of IE. Read more...

A police officer in Knox County, Tenn., was fired Sunday, just one day after he allegedly choked University of Tennessee student Jarod Dotson until he passed out.

The Knox County Sheriff's Office also placed on leave two officers who were standing behind Dotson, 21, while Officer Frank Phillips allegedly strangled him. The incident happened while Dotson's hands were cuffed behind his back.

The sheriff's office accused Phillips of using excessive force after he and a team of Knox County officers responded to a backup request; the request was made by University of Tennessee officers after a party they were supervising reportedly became unruly. Several students including Dotson were arrested, and some partygoers hurled beer bottles at the officers, according to British media outlet Daily Mail, which first published photos of the incident. Read more...

If you train with a Suunto Ambit model GPS watch, you can now join the Strava community and easily share your tracks on the popular site.

The long-rumored wearable computer from Apple, affectionately known as the iWatch, has reportedly gone into production.

Reports of the highly anticipated device's production run cropped up in the Tuesday edition of Taiwan-based China Times

Citing sources in Apple's supply chain in Asia, the site claims that part of the production includes advanced SiP (system-in-a-package) modules, which can contain a processor, DRAM and flash memory

Such a module, used in mobile devices like MP3 players and smartphones, could be useful in producing a wearable computer. However the China Times report doesn't offer further technical details beyond that. Read more...

A Mississippi tornado chaser met his match on Monday when a massive twister barreled directly over his car — while he was strapped inside

Luckily, he survived the tornado that swept through Tupelo, Miss

Even better, he filmed the whole thing.

In the video, which was posted to YouTube on Monday (and has now been made private), a man is seen driving alongside a tornado, when he suddenly pulls off the road and into a field.

Image: YouTube

Soon, the tornado is directly upon him, and debris shatters the windows, while the man continues to film inside the car. Eventually, the storm passes — but another storm was waiting for him online. Read more...

These things are so much easier to say after the fact, so take this with a grain of salt

That being said: Daaaaaaaaaamn

The Golden State Warriors reportedly had a powerful protest planned had they not been satisfied with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's response to racist comments made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Something so powerful the Internet would have likely melted down upon itself, resulting in a pixelated pile of hysteria, admiration and live-tweeted shock

Here, according to a Tuesday evening report from Bay Area News Group columnist and former Warriors beat writer Marcus Thompson II, is the gist of what Warriors players were prepared to do before their playoff game against the Clippers: Read more...

Outfitted in bright orange spacesuits and a full pack of oxygen, three astronauts push open the foot-thick door and step outside onto the rusty red landscape. Though it's zero degrees Fahrenheit outside, they're pouring sweat as they push their way toward the plunging cliffside a half mile away. With civilization a world away, the astronauts have only one mission this very moment: stay alive.

We're not on Mars. We're in the middle of the freezing desert of southeast Utah in December, where Mashable followed a six-person team living in a tiny habitat called the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS). Every two weeks during the winter, crews like this pay $500 each to rent the module and conduct experiments as though they were living on the Red Planet Read more...

[Update: Patent law firm-employee Peter Hurley told Mashable that despite this document arriving in the USPTO's "Latest Patent" feed, it does not represent a granted patent. Instead, it's notice of a currently rejected (though not dead) patent. Apple, which apparently was trying to augment a previously accepted patent, has the option to rebut or give upMashable has contacted Apple for comment and will update this post with their response.]

There have long been rumors that Apple is working on its own virtual reality goggles, and now we have proof: A lengthy, image-soaked head-mounted display patent was awarded to the Cupertino company earlier this month. Read more...

Nearly 30 people are dead after three days of extreme storms slammed the central and southern United States.

As of Tuesday, there were at least 15 tornado-related deaths in Arkansas, six in Alabama, seven in Mississippi and one in Oklahoma. Another death was reported in Iowa. Throughout the course of the outbreak, Vine users were there to record the sirens, the twisters and the destruction the tornadoes left in their wakeMashable collected 20 Vine videos that tell the story

1. "Tornado sirens going off in Little Rock. No wind. No rain. Just dark, and super humid." - Jessi Hardy

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2. "THIS VOICE SCARES ME MORE THAN A TORNADO." - Jake McCartney

Even after years on the market and innumerable would-be competitors, GoPro remains the standard for "action cameras." A big part of that is the excellent smartphone integration that GoPro's devices have maintained, and today the official Android app gets a little better in a lot of small ways. The most obvious is the new user interface, which is visible on Android 4.0 and above. The all-black UI keeps its focus on minimalism and utility, but gets rid of some of the gradients of the former interface.

• [New App] Official GoPro App Lets You Wirelessly View And Control Your GoPro Camera
• Instagram Feeds Will Start Displaying Ads In The Next Couple Of Months For Users In The US
• Instagram To Release Version 5.0 With 'Instagram Direct' To Google Play Today [Update: APK Download]
• Instagram Announces Video, Lets Users Record 15-Second Clips And Apply Video-Specific Filters

GoPro App Updated To Version 2.4 With Automatic WiFi Connection, A New User Interface, And More was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

We don’t need to tell you that we live in a mobile world, seeing as you happen to be visiting a website dedicated to reporting on the greatest mobile operating system on the planet. However, that doesn’t mean that everyone got the memo a few years back. Better late than never, self proclaimed front page of the Internet, Reddit, has posted a job listing for going mobile and plans on hiring mobile application developers. The job listing specifically mentions a candidate should have strong Java skills for Android and knowledge of Android design.

Currently, Reddit has plenty of successful third-party applications on the Google Play Store. Some of our favorites, in no particular order, include BaconReader, Reddit Sync, and Reddit is Fun. The job listing did mention that the Reddit team would work closely with existing third-party developers, to help them build upon their already successful applications.

While having an officially supported application is great news, one can’t help but think of Twitter and what happens to successful applications over there. Due to API limits, once a  third-party Twitter app makes it big, no additional users can sign up without going to drastic measures such as resetting everyone’s account and asking them to sign in again. Hopefully Reddit’s official response to third-party applications is of a different, more friendly tune.

If you think you have what it takes to tackle Reddit’s mobile scene, then hit the source link below.

Source: Reddit