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02 Jul 06:27

doctordonna10: al-bayyinah: ahhjibbliejibblie: WHAT IF other...











doctordonna10:

al-bayyinah:

ahhjibbliejibblie:

WHAT IF other planetary bodies orbited our world at the same distance as the moon?

whoa Jupiter kinda in my personal bubble thanks

Jupiter would actually be terrifying.

Is that Earth orbiting Earth

26 Jun 07:53

Take a Look at Michael Bay's New Toy For 'Transformers 4'

by Sean Fitz-Gerald
Pagani
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The mechanical magic and special effects firepower of the Transformers saga are about to get a whole lot prettier, as Paramount Pictures and Michael Bay announced on Tuesday that a Pagani Huayra will be joining the fourth installment's roster

"Considered a masterpiece of design and engineering," reads the caption on Bay's site, "this fierce, 2013 blood red Pagani Huayra, is named after an ancient Andean God of Wind."

The @OfficialPagani #huayra The Ancient Andean God of Wind#transformers4 #tf4 #michaelbay http://t.co/hKDHcje7lW pic.twitter.com/iwpFJMuAIM

— Michael Bay Dot Com (@S4TE) June 25, 2013 Read more...

More about Films, Entertainment, Bbc, Movies, and Michael Bay
25 Jun 08:42

How to Watch Wimbledon Online

by Sam Laird
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One of the great events in tennis begins Monday morning from the All England Club in London, but constant match play and busy lives can make it hard to keep up with all the action

For sports fans wondering how to watch Wimbledon online, however, this year brings a new solution: YouTube

The video sharing network is live-streaming Wimbledon match play for the first time ever beginning Monday, dipping into big-name showdowns along with broadcasting press conferences, other interviews, behind-the-scenes content and more

You can check it all out over on the Wimbledon YouTube channel. While there's no pre-set schedule for which live matches will shown and when, the company's blog post promises coverage of "key moments" and a YouTube spokesperson assures us the live coverage "will jump in and out of the top matches." About 20 minutes per hour of the live stream — which should run for some four to six hours per day — will be match play Read more...

More about Tennis, Entertainment, and Sports
25 Jun 08:06

'Game of Thrones' Is Most Pirated Show of 2013 So Far

by Sam Laird
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Game of Thrones fans love them some Khaleesi, some Peter Dinklage and some bloody battle royales. But how many are actually watching the show illegally?

A ton — which comes as no surprise. But the website Torrent Freak breaks down the exact online piracy numbers for the spring 2013 TV season

More than 5.2 million people illegally downloaded the first episode of the most recent season, according to Torrent Freak, compared to a season high of 5.5 million legal HBO viewers

Torrent Freak cites its piracy numbers from "several sources," including public data from BitTorrent trackers. It doesn't, however, include illegal online streams or cyberlocker downloads — meaning many more people actually watched GoT illegally Read more...

More about Tv, Torrents, Entertainment, and Game Of Thrones
25 Jun 08:05

There Is No Google Reader Replacement, Only Alternatives

by Sarah Perez
reader melt

Google Reader is slowing down. Over the past few days, buttons have broken, marking feeds as read seemed to take a bit longer than usual, and the Android mobile website on some devices shifted over to the desktop view with no way to change things back. As users up until the bitter end, we can no longer complain about these events because Google doesn’t care – it’s shutting down Google Reader on July 1st and we all have to leave.

It’s the digital equivalent of bringing up the house lights when the rock concert is over. You don’t have to go home, folks, but you can’t stay here.

No one cares about RSS feeds, except for maybe 50 million of the Internet’s most voracious news readers*. Journalists, bloggers, programmers, technically-savvy I.T. workers, researchers, students, startup founders, and anyone else who has grown accustomed to a simple product that lets you – not algorithms or tweets – be in control of which news sources to track and which stories to read.

In the wake of the impending shutdown, a number of alternatives have sprung up to offer a “replacement” for Google Reader. Though some come close, none have completely nailed the experience yet.

*50 million: Digg’s estimate of those who care about RSS.

The Only Real Contenders So Far: Feedly & Digg

Feedly

Feedly has been building its RSS product for years, which gives it a huge head start in this space. Last week, it announced a reach of 12 million users as it officially launched “Feedly Cloud,” a backend infrastructure to power the ecosystem of RSS reader client applications like ReederPressNextgen ReaderNewsifygReader,  and more, left abandoned by Google’s exit from RSS. These apps had only offered a front-end RSS browsing experience, which means they needed someone else’s API to function. Feedly is one of the few to step in and serve that need.

Why Feedly: Google Reader uses will love Feedly because it comes closest to mirroring the Google Reader experience, and it offers a number of settings which can be tweaked to your liking. The service’s “Titles Only” view (which can be set globally in Preferences) offers the same sort of compact view, perfect for headline-scanning action, that Google Reader once provided.  It also supports a number of Google Reader’s features, including support for many of the same keyboard shortcuts, tagging, favorites (“Saved for Later”), and “Mark as Read” functionality to quickly plow through categories.

What’s wrong: Feedly currently pulled out its “search” functionality, which lets you pull up content by keyword or topic – something that’s one of the top user requests today. That’s still in the works, the company says, but it’s a big undertaking to deliver upon. In addition, though the company offers clients for web and mobile, the mobile apps are still somewhat over-designed with big, colorful category headers instead of the basic list of folders like Google Reader.

That being said, it’s hard to find a lot of fault with Feedly, and the company is quickly working to add in the few missing pieces. There will be little things here and there which you’ll need to get used to, of course (like the “t” shortcut no longer lets you tag items, but rather tweets them). However, in some cases, they’re changes for the better (like the option to set the default view by category).

Digg Reader

Betaworks’ quickly built take on Google Reader is the new kid on the block, and has a lot of potential to be a viable Feedly competitor. Though initially, the team has been working to launch something that offers the core RSS reading experience, the plan is to bring the RSS reader into the modern age, by alerting users to what’s most popular among their network and better connect users with Digg.com. In Digg Reader’s “popular” section, the service scans your feeds and then ranks them with one, two or three dots to help you discover trending articles. In practice these recommendations were hit or miss at times, but the beta build we’ve been testing is unfinished.

Why Digg Reader: Like Feedly, the app lets you organize content into folders, view unread counts, move around with Google Reader shortcuts, save posts for later, and share to social networks. With the above-described “Popular” section, it also offers something similar to Feedly’s “Today” for an at-a-glance list of what’s trending. Ex-Google Reader users will also appreciate Digg Reader’s minimalistic look-and-feel, which is almost entirely black, white and shades of gray (outside of the RSS content itself.)

What’s Wrong: Most of what’s wrong with Digg Reader is a function of time – the team had a limited number of weeks to build this service, having only started after Google’s shutdown announcement went live. That being said, there are still a number of features which ex-Google reader users likely relied on that aren’t ready in the new reader’s product at launch (planned for this Tuesday). Search is also missing here, for example, as is the ability to tag content, or share to other social services beyond Facebook, Twitter or Digg. (“Read later” services like Pocket, Readability and Instapaper are supported, however).

Digg Reader offers just two views, “list” and “expanded.” While the former is meant to give users a headline-scanning option, Feedly’s “Title Only” view is even more compact, which means its more like Google Reader’s “compact” view.

At launch, Digg Reader will have an iOS app, but the Android version will not be ready for another few weeks.

The Startups

Offering a full Google Reader replacement is no simple task, so it’s notable that some startups have tried to take on this job without the resources of a larger company like Facebook or Betaworks behind them. That being said, for power users of Google Reader, none of these smaller companies will be able to replace what it is about to be lost.

NewsBlur (unlimited feeds, $24/year): This cross-platform news reader offers Reader import, compact views, saving stories, and even an interesting “training” feature which is meant to help teach the reader what sorts of stories you like best. But NewsBlur’s interface is too busy and cluttered, it lacks search, and can be slow when you have a lot of feeds to load.

Feedbin ($2 / month): Feedbin’s paid web app is another good alternative for tracking feeds, viewing unread counts, subscribing, tags, and it uses Reader-like navigation via keyboard shortcuts. However, while it supports Reader data import, it lacks a number of key features like search or Feedly’s wide variety of layouts. But most importantly, it’s not a fully cross-platform product on its own. If you use Feedbin on the web, then to keep data in sync across mobile, you’ll need to use an app powered by its API like Reeder, Press,  Favs, Tafiti, or others, or beta test the newer Feedbin Reader for Android.

The Old Reader and Hive (previously HiveMined): These two startups sounded promising in theory as both are focusing on simply rebuilding the original Reader – the former working to bring the social aspects back, as well. Unfortunately, neither of these have made it yet, and won’t be solid replacements by the time Google Reader shuts down.

Both apps have issues with speed at times (The Older Reader is far better on this front than Hive, though). Though The Old Reader does have search, it’s title-only, not full keyword search. Hive meanwhile has no search, and struggled to import Reader subscriptions. Sometimes Hive’s buttons are so slow to register clicks that you’re unsure if the app has gone down. Sharing to outside services is either limited or non-existent. Neither service offers a mobile app.

Reeder (paid): Until recently, Reeder was not a Google Reader replacement, it was only the front-end interface for viewing feeds hosted by Google. Since the Reader shutdown announcement, the company said it’s now making plans to continue development, but this involves major changes on its part. Today, Reeder uses Feedbin and Feedly’s APIs on mobile, and is also working to support standalone RSS (introduced in the iPhone app, but not yet the iPad or Mac apps). Because Reeder was built on top of others’ infrastructure, it’s not ready to replace Google Reader at this time. That said, it is one to watch given it has an engaged Apple user base and some traction.

The Rest: Me-Too’s, Flipboard Alternatives, Plus Aol’s Disastrous Attempt

Ever since the Google Reader shutdown announcement, our inboxes have been filled with pitches for “replacements” nearly every day. It would almost be a disservice to TechCrunch readers to list these here, because real replacements are huge investments in infrastructure, APIs, and show an attempt to honor the needs of Google Reader refugees with features like compact views, keyboard navigation, tagging and search. Simply offering an RSS-based product DOES NOT make a service an alternative to Google Reader, and attempting to position it like that is band-wagon jumping at best and dishonest at worst.

Many of these pitches look cobbled together overnight as weekend projects. None are any good. (And yes, I got your email.)

Also, several of these “me too” products tend to look more like watered-down versions of Flipboard, not Google Reader. Really, if you just want a news magazine, use Flipboard then, or wait to see what Facebook has in store with its forthcoming “newspaper for mobile” product.

Aol Reader 

Even Aol (disclosure: TechCrunch parent) bungled its RSS reader debut, and launched a product which the lot of us here at TechCrunch can’t even get to work properly. Aol’s RSS reader claims to offer Google Reader import, but refuses to upload Google Reader’s XML file in a multitude of browsers, according to several of us here who gamely tested the service anyway.

Aol’s Reader had intermittent issues in Chrome especially this morning, refusing to ever add the TechCrunch feed, for example (thanks Aol), and taking a good 30 seconds or so to do the same in Safari. This slowness may have been a launch bug, but it wasn’t promising. The reader is also missing is search, but does offer tagging, limited sharing, favoriting, four different viewing options (which are suspiciously identical to Feedly though), and oh, giant Aol On Originals video ads in the sidebar…

Well, at least they have a monetization plan.

There Is No Google Reader Replacement

In each of the products listed above, and the dozens of those we haven’t linked to which are still promoting themselves as a home to Reader refugees, there are huge gaps in functionality – like Search, for example, which no one has fully fleshed out just yet. Because of this, users will also lose their ability to search and uncover content from older websites which have long since shutdown, taking their RSS archive with them. Google Reader let you time travel into the web’s past, a personal Way Back Machine of sorts. Unless you’ve diligently been tagging or starring this older content over the years, it will essentially disappear into the ether without a search feature like Google’s, which once dug into seemingly infinite RSS archives.

Reader was also more than a web service. It was a mobile website, a mobile app and an API that allowed an ecosystem of RSS clients to flourish.

It was a quantified self tracker, who “Trends” section told you about your news reading habits, including which sites you read, clicked, shared, and emailed the most, and when, and one that kept track of the feeds that stayed fresh, or had become inactive.

It was also a discovery service, that connected you with friends, let you package up bundles of subscriptions and share them, search for content by keyword, and browse through posts that others found interesting. And it was an alerting tool which could track whenever a person, topic or keyword was mentioned on Google News, Blog Search, Twitter or eBay.

For anyone looking for a Google Reader replacement, the saddest news of all is that there really isn’t one yet.

There are only alternatives.


25 Jun 08:03

Tomás Saraceno Launches You into the Sky with His Latest Suspended Installation “In Orbit” at K21 Staendehaus

by Christopher Jobson

Tomás Saraceno Launches You into the Sky with His Latest Suspended Installation In Orbit at K21 Staendehaus installation
© Studio Saraceno & Kunstsammlung NRW

Tomás Saraceno Launches You into the Sky with His Latest Suspended Installation In Orbit at K21 Staendehaus installation
© Studio Saraceno & Kunstsammlung NRW

Tomás Saraceno Launches You into the Sky with His Latest Suspended Installation In Orbit at K21 Staendehaus installation
© Studio Saraceno & Kunstsammlung NRW

Tomás Saraceno Launches You into the Sky with His Latest Suspended Installation In Orbit at K21 Staendehaus installation
© Studio Saraceno & Kunstsammlung NRW

Tomás Saraceno Launches You into the Sky with His Latest Suspended Installation In Orbit at K21 Staendehaus installation
© Studio Saraceno & Kunstsammlung NRW

Tomás Saraceno Launches You into the Sky with His Latest Suspended Installation In Orbit at K21 Staendehaus installation
© Studio Saraceno & Kunstsammlung NRW

Tomás Saraceno Launches You into the Sky with His Latest Suspended Installation In Orbit at K21 Staendehaus installation
© Studio Saraceno & Kunstsammlung NRW

In one of his most ambitious suspended installations to date, artist Tomás Saraceno (previously) launches visitors at the K21 Staendehaus museum in Düsseldorf more than 65 feet (20 meters) above the main piazza with a taunt, multi-level web of netting. Titled In Orbit the giant interactive piece is constructed from three separate levels of safety nets accessible from various points in the museum separated by enormous PVC balls measuring almost 30 feet (8.5 meters) in diameter. The resulting aerial landscape is an interesting hybrid between science fiction, spider webs, neural pathways and cloud formations.

Known for breaking the boundaries between art and science, Saraceno often refers to his interactive pieces as living organisms. In fact, over a period of three years Saraceno consulted with arachnologists (experts in the study of spiders), as well as architects and engineers to achieve the final design for In Orbit. Via the museum:

This floating spatial configuration becomes an oscillating network of relationships, resonances, and synchronous communication. When several people enter the audacious construction simultaneously, their presence sets it into motion, altering the tension of the steel wires and the intervals between the three meshwork levels. Visitors can coordinate their activities within the space, and are able – not unlike spiders in a web – to perceive space through the medium of vibration. Saraceno himself speaks of a new hybrid form of communication.

The installation opened to the public starting today. To enter In Orbit patrons must be at least 12 years old and are asked to wear special grip-soled footwear while traversing the webbing. You can read much more over on Art Daily. All imagery courtesy K21 Staendehaus.

19 Jun 12:16

The Offline Glass Ensures You Talk, Not Text, At The Bar

by John Biggs
Offline-Glass-3

Tired of your friends texting on their phones while they should be getting schnockered? This clever hack is called the Offline Glass and it’s designed to ensure that you and your friends don’t sit at the bar checking Wikipedia for who starred in The Greatest American Hero and whether Tabitha will totally come out tonight oh my god she won’t she and Christian just broke up oh god she’s with Raul and Paula and maybe she’ll come in an hour! In fact, you can’t hold your phone because of the unique shape of the glass’ bottom.

The glass has a notch cut out of it so it will only stand if it’s situated on top of a phone (an iPhone works best) and you can only use your phone if you’re also holding your beer. Knowing the average drunk person I suspect a) this will destroy hundreds of iPhones a night and b) this will result in lots of spilled beer, but by gosh if it isn’t a clever idea.

The glass is being used in the Salve Jorge Bar in Sao Paolo and was created by the Fischer & Friends ad agency in Brazil. You can’t buy one but, with the right tools, you could probably make a few. I’d like to see someone 3D print a few of these for house parties.

Whenever I go out with the TC team I make everyone play the phone game which consists of piling up all the phones in one place so no one can reach them. It helps encourage conversation and, unless they’re wearing Google Glass, the pained expression after the first few minutes of the game is mesmerizing. Here’s to anything that helps recreate that experience.

The Offline Glass from Mauricio Perussi on Vimeo.

via PSFK


08 Jun 10:18

7 Things You Didn't Know About Starbucks

by Jessica Fee
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The next time you need to smuggle an entire bottle of wine outside with you, Starbucks' elusive Trenta cup can help you get the job done. The coffee corporation's largest cup size can fit more than 916 milliliters of coffee — the equivalent of an entire bottle of wine, and more liquid than the human stomach can hold.

We've rounded up seven interesting facts about the coffee corporation that's taking over the world, one shop at a time. In this video, you'll learn where the name "Starbucks" really comes from (no, Herman Melville's character wasn't the original inspiration), the prices of Starbucks coffee in different countries and the name of its literary magazine (before it was quickly discontinued). Read more...

More about Video, Starbucks, Features, Coffee, and Watercooler
08 Jun 09:56

This Amazing Bear Performs Better Tricks Than Your Dog

by Brie Hiramine
Bear
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When you see Fido catching a Frisbee or playing dead, it might seem like an impressive trick — but you haven't seen this bear

A YouTube video has been circulating online that features a Russian grizzly bear performing a series of tricks with his trainer that go beyond any simple fetch or obstacle course.

The first minute of the video is nothing special, but it soon gets pretty astounding, if a little unbelievable. Prompted by vocal commands and treats, this bear can hula hoop, sit properly on a chair and even play the trumpet. Amazed yet?

It might be a toss-up as to what's the most talented species on the Internet, but this well-trained grizzly is definitely bolstering the bear competition. You know an animal is pretty special when its coordination beats that of some humans. Read more...

More about Viral Videos, Videos, Animals, and Watercooler
07 Jun 21:54

Burger King's Whopper Holder is the Ultimate in Lazy Dining

by Todd Wasserman
Burger-king-whopper-holder
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Labor-intensive Whopper eating is a thing of the past with the Whopper Holder.

The Hands-Free Whopper is an actual product, which was distributed by the chain to celebrate its 50th anniversary in Puerto Rico. As the video above shows, there are some practical advantages to the device.

However, the major function of the Whopper Holder is promotional, just like the burger-scented cologne the chain released in 2008

Image courtesy of YouTube, Burger King Read more...

More about Business and Marketing

05 Jun 07:48

Anonymous Joins Istanbul Protests, Attacks Government Websites

by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai
Anonymous-turkey
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As clashes in Turkey continue, the hacker collective Anonymous has decided to join the protests

Yesterday, on Anonymous' "official" Twitter account YourAnonNews, the hacktivists announced #OpTurkey. The group also set up a website, Operation Turkey, to boasts their online exploits.

"Because you should have expected us fuckers," read the tweet, which also had a link to the usual Anonymous YouTube video featuring a robotic voice — and anti-government rhetoric.

The voice in the video intoned: "We will attack every internet and communications asset of the Turkish government. You have censored social media and other communications of your people in order to suppress the knowledge of your crimes against them. Now Anonymous will shut you down, and your own people will remove you from power. Let the 'Turkish Summer' begin!" Read more...

More about Anonymous, Turkey, Ddos Attack, Hacktivists, and Us World

05 Jun 07:45

YouTube's 10 Most-Shared Ads in May

by Eric Larson
Cod-nail
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"Hey, man, did you catch that new coconut water commercial? The one where Charles Barkley plays basketball against a minotaur?"

"Wait, what? No! I definitely would've remembered seeing that. Here, let me check YouTube real quick ..."

Does that sound like a conversation you've had at some point? YouTube is undoubtably a hotspot for sharing ads with friends — each month, millions of page views are directly obtained from commercial views alone

Our friends at Unruly Media put together a list of last month's most-shared ads on the website. Flip through the gallery above to see the top 10. Just like April, May's most viral ad was Dove's "Real Beauty Sketches," which has been a viral sensation since it first hit the web two months ago. In total, it's amassed almost four million shares across all social networks Read more...

More about Youtube, Advertising, Marketing, Videos, and Business

01 Jun 08:59

Turkish Spring: Taksim Gezi Park protests in Istanbul

by Cory Doctorow


(Estimated 40,000 people cross the Bosphorous Bridge to join the protests/OccupyGeziPics)
Taksim Gezi Park in Istanbul is alive with protest at this moment. The action began on May 28, when environmentalists protested plans to remove the park and replace it with a mall, and were met with a brutal police crackdown. Since then thousands have taken to the streets in Istanbul and other Turkish cities (though there's a media blackout on the protests, and poor Internet penetration in Turkey, which means the news is slow to reach other parts of the country).


("Gotta love the creativity of Turkish people clashing with tear gas shot by the police in Istanbul"/@Selintifada)
An excellent summary of the events can be had in the 2013 Taksim Gezi Park protests Wikipedia article. The Occupy Gezi Pics Tumblr is a great clearinghouse of astounding photos from the protests. Here's @MashallahNews's list of English-language tweeters from the protests.


("A protester stands proud after a hard day’s night."/OccupyGeziPics)
If you're on the ground in Taksim Gezi, here's a list of nearby WiFi passwords you can use. Reportedly, the local Starbucks is offering shelter, supplies and toilets to demonstrators.

On Twitter, Jacob Appelbaum sends this advice to protesters:

"Photograph radios and communications gear of the police or any other violent thug - what are they using to communicate?"

"Try to use anonymous pre-paid SIM cards and throw away phones; use secure communications software to avoid likely interception."

"Remember that the police and the telecommunications companies will work together to identify every #OccupyGezi person during and afterwards"

"Consider using TextSecure, RedPhone, Orbot, Orweb, Gibberbot and ObscuraCam on Android cell phones; protect yourself!"

"BLACKBERRY IS NOT SECURE! #occupygezi RIM sold out their users and only care about carriers/government "security" concerns."

"The police have detailed location information from cell phones - use burner phones/sim cards; they likely intercept sms/calls."

    


01 Jun 06:51

Science- And Tech-Focused ‘STEAM Carnival' Hits Its Kickstarter Goal

by Anthony Ha
steam carnival

Looks like Kickstarter can add “reimagined” carnivals with “robots, fire, and lasers” to the list things that its users have crowdfunded.

Earlier today, an event called the STEAM Carnival, put together by a company called Two Bit Circus, reached its $100,000 Kickstarter goal. The initials are a twist on STEM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math — the A adds Art to the equation.

Here’s how the Kickstarter page outlines the vision:

You’ve heard of STEM… but we agree with John Maeda of RISD and MIT that Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math aren’t complete without Art. Our culture isn’t doing enough to get kids interested in STEAM. As professional inventors, we rely on these disciplines every day, and want to share our excitement about them with kids young and old. Through years of building and demonstrating fun games we’ve learned no better way to get kids into STEAM than to show them an amazing time. When you say ‘engineering’ to most kids they zone out. But when you say ‘lasers, robots, and fire,’ you have their undivided attention.

As planned, the event will include a number of high-tech, educational games that are currently being developed by Two Bit Circus, such as the “Motion Capture Spinning Bull” and “Laser Maze Limbo”. It will also showcase the kids’ work. Apparently something that combined a traditional hammer carnival game with lots of electricity was demonstrated on-stage at the D11 conference earlier this week.

Two Bit Circus is led by Brent Bushnell and Eric Gradman — Bushnell is an engineer and an entrepreneur who was featured as an inventor on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (he’s also the son of Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, who’s on the advisory board), while Gradman says his background includes experience as a circus performer, professional whistler, roboticist, and inventor.

The current plan is to hold events in San Francisco and Los Angeles next spring. And even though the STEAM Carnival has hit its funding target, the team is hoping to raise more money for a pretty straightforward stretch goal — bringing the event to more cities.


02 May 09:20

Is This Local Auto Ad the Best — or Weirdest — of All Time?

by Sam Laird
Basil

looool

Arlenstransmission Feed-twFeed-fb

Chances are the average Internet-goer hadn't heard of Arlen's Transmission in Burbank, Calif., before before this week. Now the local auto-repair shop is the talk of the web — or at least some of its more offbeat corners

SEE ALSO: Time For This? Sweet Brown Stars in Local Commercial

Why? The music video ad you see above. Between the catchy beat, dancing women and suggestive lyrics, it's easy to see why the spot is getting shared far and wide on blogs and social media. Will all that attention actually get Arlen's Transmission more customers? Who knows, but either way it's some pretty good Internet Read more...

More about Watercooler and Videos
01 May 11:50

'Gangnam Style' Goes Bollywood for Samsung Galaxy S4

by Eric Larson
Basil

WTF!!!

Samsung-style Feed-twFeed-fb

Hey, sexy Samsung consumers! "Gangnam Style" may be well, well past its prime, but it didn't stop Samsung from performing its own version of the song over the weekend during its Galaxy S4 launch in Mumbai.

The song, re-dubbed "S4 Samsung Style," was led by Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh. It featured the same background music and horse-style dancing as the original — just more S4-tailored lyrics, like, "If you liked the S3, then this phone is even better; it has an HD screen and it's just a lot slimmer" (sung in the melody from the song's first verse).

SEE ALSO: This 7-Month-Old Has Mastered 'Gangnam Style' Dance Moves Read more...

More about Viral Videos, Videos, Samsung, Mobile, and Watercooler
20 Apr 18:19

Durex's New Long-Distance Sexy Time Fundawear Is Exactly That

by Jordan Crook
Screen Shot 2013-04-18 at 6.27.55 PM

The thought of buying underwear from the same company that makes your condoms might sound shocking at first. But don’t be so quick to judge, especially where sex is concerned, as Durex has just announced its latest innovation. Fundawear.

Fundawear represents the condom company’s first foray into the land of connected devices, and the name explains quite well how it works. You put on special (read: vibrating) underwear that connect to a smartphone app. You can control the vibrations yourself with a smartphone as a remote, or pair the panties with your partner’s smartphone, so they can control the fun.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that long-distance sexy time has been explored by the tech community. There are a whole host of startups, as well as established sex toy brands, that are working to connect people digitally and physically at the same time.

There’s the LovePalz duo kit, which seems to be the most intense of all, with parts for both the male and female to simulate sex across long distances and still feel each other’s movements in real time. Vibease, along with various offerings from Ohmibod, come to mind, as well.

However, this is the first time we’ve seen a condom company throw their hat in the ring, which means that a lot of R&D and resources went into the Fundawear. You know, along with careful consideration over the name.

Fundawear comes in both male and female versions, so you fellas don’t have to be worried about a one-size-fits-all kind of situation.

The Fundawear undies and app companion aren’t available just yet, but frisky explorers interested in joining the testing program can head over to Durex’s Australian Facebook page.

Warning: The following video is kind of sort of NSFW.

[via BetaBeat]


20 Apr 08:17

World's Strangest Flowers

by David Pescovitz

Sierra magazine selected "7 of the World's Strangest Flowers." Above is video of the Touch-Me-Not, native to Central and South America but now growing many other places:

You might easily overlook this herb, with its dainty pink flowers and delicate, fern-like leaves. The mimosa pudica doesn’t just look demure, though. Barely touching its leaves causes them to fold inward and droop downward—hence the flower’s species name, pudica, Latin for “shy, bashful, or shrinking,” as well as its nicknames, “touch-me-not” and “shy plant.” The leaves usually reopen in a few minutes. Other stimuli, including warming and shaking the plant, produce the same phenomenon. The leaves fold and wilt in the evening, too, but they stay that way until sunrise…
"7 of the World's Strangest Flowers" (Thanks, Orli Cotel!)
    


20 Apr 08:06

Pac-Man hoodies

by Cory Doctorow

From IfIndustries, an (apparently?) unavailable but rather clever line of Pac-Man hoodies (one ghost shown, all ghosts in set).

Pac-man & Ghosts Hoddies (via Geeks Are Sexy)

    


18 Apr 10:46

Watch 10,000 iPhones Fall Like Dominoes

by Samantha Murphy
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Be prepared to be blown away as you watch 10,000 iPhones beautifully fall like dominoes in this epic visual masterpiece.

Aatma Studio — the makers behind the viral iPhone concepts that envisioned the device with a stunning laser and a 3D multiplayer hologram for gaming — created a virtual office environment with 10,000 iPhone 5s standing on end. (Yes, these iPhones are computer-generated, so the company didn't actually buy 10,000 iPhones for the project.)

As the first one tips over, rows of phones fall like dominoes over the other, revealing new patterns as the phones fall from room to room — and even take a ride in an elevator. Read more...

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18 Apr 10:21

Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion Captured in Viral Video

by Anita Li
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Warning: The content of this video is graphic in nature. Please watch at your discretion.

An explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant Wednesday night has reportedly left 60 to 70 people dead and hundreds injured, according to KWTX.com. A viral video capturing the blast, above, has been circulating online. It is unclear whether the YouTube user who uploaded the video is the same person who filmed it

The disturbing footage shows the West Fertilizer plant in the town of West, 18 miles outside Waco, Texas, engulfed in flames. An unidentified man whose face is obscured by a camera, sits in his car (along with another person who self-identifies as his child), while filming the scene. Halfway through the 30-second video, the plant explodes, appearing to impact the vehicle Read more...

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16 Apr 08:10

HOWTO wrap a pigeon for aircraft drop

by Cory Doctorow


If you need to wrap a pigeon for aircraft-drop, this will help. From the surprisingly useful Pigeon Service Manual, Air Ministry, 1919 (featuring "Some meritorious performaces," "Writing the message," and more).

Could prove useful

    


16 Apr 07:58

Sony Just Launched a Ludicrously Fast Internet in Japan

by Stan Schroeder
Basil

and we r so happy with the 20 MB

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So-net Entertainment, a Sony-backed Japan ISP, has launched a fiber-based Internet service that reaches download speeds of 2 Gbps, making it the fastest home internet in the world

The Nuro, as the service is called, is available to homes and small businesses in Tokyo and six surrounding prefectures, Computerworld reports. The upload speed is a little slower than download — 1 Gbps — but it's still faster than most of us get, even at work

For comparison, the ultra-fast Google Fiber broadband Internet service offers a "mere" 1 Gbps download speed — and that's still some 100 times faster than today's average home internet connection Read more...

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16 Apr 07:47

Fujitsu Develops Technology That Turns Paper Into a Touchscreen

by Stan Schroeder
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We're quickly getting used to the fact that computer, smartphone and tablet screens are meant to be touched — but what about paper?

Fujitsu has developed a technology that detects objects your finger is touching in the real world, effectively turning any surface — a piece of paper, for example — into a touchscreen, DigInfo reports

"This system doesn't use any special hardware; it consists of just a device like an ordinary webcam, plus a commercial projector. Its capabilities are achieved by image processing technology," explains Taichi Murase, a researcher at Fujitsu's Media Service System Lab Read more...

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15 Apr 12:12

Google: Tell Us What to Do With Your Account After You Die

by Chris Taylor
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You've written your will. You've talked to your family about end-of-life care. But have you told Google what you want to happen to your Gmail or YouTube accounts?

That's the stated purpose behind a tool the search giant announced Thursday: Inactive Account Manager. (In a blog post, the company admitted it was "not a great name.") It covers all Google accounts, including Blogger, Drive, Google+ and Picasa

Inactive Account Manager lets you set a "timeout period" of three, six, nine or 12 months. After that, Google will either delete your data or pass it on to a trusted friend or family member

In case you just happen to be on extended (rather than permanent) vacation, the Account Manager will send a text to your cellphone and an email to a designated non-Google account before taking action Read more...

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15 Apr 10:55

Video: Indian kids joyride in Ferrari F430

by Jeffrey N. Ross

Filed under: Etc., Safety, Videos, Ferrari, India



Cars and kids. A lot more people out there have both when they should probably have neither, and this is apparent with this latest video coming out of India. While we can't say for sure who these kids and this car beautiful Ferrari F430 belong to, it's at least the worst display of adult supervision we've seen since last month when two Russian parents let their 8-year-old daughter drive an Audi on snow- and ice-slicked roads.

A young boy who can barely reach the pedals drives up and down the public road with an equally young passenger drive the Ferrari while two adults (Dad of the Year behind the camera?) record the whole event. It seems almost silly to point out, but neither of the juveniles appear to have their seat belts on, as well. As bad as this person's decision making skills are to let a kid drive a car under these conditions, though, his video recording abilities are even worse. Scroll down to check out the video for yourself.

Continue reading Indian kids joyride in Ferrari F430

Indian kids joyride in Ferrari F430 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 11 Apr 2013 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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15 Apr 10:24

Honeywell Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat Adjusts to Your Decor Like a Chameleon

by Charlie White
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There are plenty of smart thermostats available, but the Honeywell Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat can match its touchscreen display's background color to the wall behind it, or any other color. And that's just its most obvious trick.

Honeywell Wi-Fi Smart thermostat

How smart is it? Show it what your temperature and humidity extremes are, and it will send you an email if your home exceeds them. It'll nag you when it's time to change its filter, determining the optimum time according to your usage and filter type

SEE ALSO: 4 Smart Thermostats That Save Energy and Money

It's smart enough to notify your smartphone — via a free iPhone or Android app — if your Internet connection is down or if your power is out. The app also lets you control all your home's environmental settings from afar. That'll be a boon for those with vacation homes, or when you've been on vacation and want to walk into a comfortable preheated or pre-cooled climate when you return home. Read more...

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14 Apr 13:38

The Internet's Favorite Astronaut Cries in Space

by NowThisNews
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Astronaut Chris Hadfield, who currently lives on the International Space Station, shows us what would happen if you felt sad in zero gravity.

SEE ALSO: This Song Was Recorded in Space

Homepage image courtesy of Chris Hadfield/NowThisNews Read more...

More about Space, Nasa, Astronaut, International Space Station, and World
08 Apr 15:18

Short video about latte portrait artist

by David Pescovitz
Basil

Salam & Bassam this is your next level

NYC barista Mike Breach paints milk portraits in lattes.

    


08 Apr 15:16

ETC: Espresso Veloce V12 coffee maker is ready to crank up your morning

by Jonathon Ramsey

Filed under: Etc.



We're not sure Espresso Veloce makes anything else, but we're also not sure it needs to. This is the V12 coffeemaker, a java-dispensing chunk of aluminum, magnesium and titanium with pistons for cups. There will be just 500 of these made, sprung from the forge of the Arte Meccanica Mastrogiuseppe, after company founder Paolo Mastrogiuseppe.

It's the espresso maker for letting guests know that you're a car guy just in case your greasy, chewed up fingernails and the long-term rebuild project on the lawn isn't enough of a giveaway. Pricing on the Espresso Veloce V12 hasn't been divulged but you can expect it to provide the same kind of jolt as the product it dispenses.

Espresso Veloce V12 coffee maker is ready to crank up your morning originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 03 Apr 2013 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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