Motorola Mobility Acquired by Google for $12.5 Billion Google announced Monday morning that it will acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. Motorola is one of 39 manufacturers of handsets that use Google's Android operating system. Buying a hardware company is an unusual move for Google. The acquisition, Google said in a statement, "will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem." SEE ALSO: Nokia & RIM Shares Jump Following Google’s Motorola Mobility Acquisition Google CEO Larry Page expanded on what that might mean in a blog post. SEE ALSO: Why the Google-Motorola Deal Is About More Than Mobile Phones "The U.S. SEE ALSO: The History of Android [INFOGRAPHIC] Android will continue to be an open platform, and Motorola will continue to be run as a separate business, Page added.
Facebook knows too much, ACLU says in warning of quizzes Privacy advocates have long warned that users of Facebook and other social networks who seek amusement from quizzes like "What Simpsons Character Are You?" might be mortified by the way creators of such applications can access and potentially "scrape" personal information -- not just about the quiz-takers, but their friends as well. Now, engaging in some online jujitsu, the ACLU of Northern California is employing a cautionary Facebook quiz of its own to illustrate how quizzes that may seem "perfectly harmless" can release an array of data to the wider world -- including users' "religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation, photos, events, notes, wall posts, and groups." The app, titled "What Do Facebook Quizzes Know About You?" delivers its answer by opening a window that scrolls biographical data, attributed comments and photos. More than 8,000 participants have taken the ACLU's quiz since it was quietly released a few days ago, the ACLU said Wednesday. The Palo Alto, Calif.
There’s an App for That (Part of Your Soul) In the past ten years, technology has found its wheelhouse: connecting us socially. A perfect storm materialized: the Internet, mobile devices and our overwhelming desire to connect with one another converged to create apps and experiences that connect us with one another. From Facebook to Twitter to Instagram, we do things online mainly for the purpose of sharing them with others. In the midst of all the social app hubbub, we haven’t bothered to consider the potential for technology to serve the other needs of the human condition. So without further ado, we bring you three brand new royalty-free application ideas that speak to the rest of the human condition. We hope they’ll cast a new light on what technology can do to make us happier. Vincetagram The immensely popular photo-sharing app Instagram does an admirable job of making it easy to share photographs on your mobile phone. It’s worth asking why Instagram is such a breakout success? Appathy All day every day, we get positive pings.
JSTN This is a VT220 serial console (circa 1983) set up as a terminal for my Mac Pro (circa 2010), a nerdy dream I’ve had for a long time that I finally made a reality yesterday. Some quick history: in the early days of office computers, it was rare that you would actually have one on your desk. Instead there might be a central mainframe (running Unix) and everyone would have a terminal that connected to it over a long serial cable or modem connection. One computer, many users. The terminal has a keyboard and monitor, but it’s not a full computer and worthless without the mainframe. It’s more like a teletype machine, all it can do is display the text sent to it (like a paperless printer) and send text back. In modern times we don’t have mainframes in the average office, but Unix is more prevalent than ever. Hardware terminals regularly crop up on eBay for around $100. At first I used the same method as Paul to get it working, gluing together the terminal and OS with a utility called screen.
Top 10 Ways to Get Cables Under Control - Lifehacker I rely on zip ties, but one of the coolest items I've ever discovered is from my favorite supply house, mcmaster-carr. (I know they're available many places, but [McMaster.com] is like nirvana for DIY'ers). The device is a small plastic anchor with a sticky back and a screw hole. The front has loops for running a zip tie through. So, you stick this to the wall, underside of a desk, surface of a desk, etc. I run these under the back edge of my desk so that the wires are totally hidden. The item is here: [www.mcmaster.com]
100 Websites You Should Know and Use In the spring of 2007, Julius Wiedemann, editor in charge at Taschen GmbH, gave a legendary TED University talk: an ultra-fast-moving ride through the “100 websites you should know and use.” Six years later, it remains one of the most viewed TED blog posts ever. Time for an update? We think so. Below, the 2013 edition of the 100 websites to put on your radar and in your browser. To see the original list, click here. And now, the original list from 2007, created by Julius Wiedemann, editor in charge at Taschen GmbH.
HOW TO Use the CTRL Key to Dominate Your Computer Jun 15, 2010 Ahoy hoy friends! Here’s my first attempt at the ever-popular infographic. I really wanted it to be helpful and informative. If you enjoyed this article, the Sifter highly recommends: HOW TO GRASP SIZE, SCALE AND TEMPERATURE WITH THREE GIANT INFOGRAPHICS
Complete list of Facebook Chat Emoticons | calebbrown.id.au While playing with Facebook Chat I wondered if it supported emoticons. Turns out it does. But when I tried the >:-) emoticon (a 'devil') and saw it printed as boring text, I wondered, "what smilies does facebook actually support?" So with the help of Safari and some javascript hacking I present to you a complete list of facebook emoticons. smile frown tongue :-P :P :-p :p =P grin gasp :-O :O :-o :o wink glasses sunglasses grumpy unsure cry devil angel kiss heart kiki squint confused o.O O.o upset >:O >:-O >:o >:-o pacman :v curly lips robot Chris Putnam :putnam: Shark Penguin Thumb (Y) (y) Some Facebook users have created their own emoticons for Facebook chat. Here is a collection of some emoticons that are created using user profile images. Rock Sign [[roxsign]] Middle Finger [[midfing]] Enjoy. Updated 21 July 2008: Moved B-) and B) from sunglasses to glasses and cleaned up formatting.
How to win Rock-paper-scissors every time I admit it. When I first heard there are actual tournaments for Rock-paper-scissors, sanctioned by the World Rock Paper Scissors Society, I laughed. I mean seriously, $50k to the winner of a game that requires no skill whatsoever? Absurd. Boy was I wrong. Rock-paper-scissors isn't just a silly game kids play or a way to decide who has to be the designated driver at parties. Males have a tendency to throw rock on their first try, inexperienced RPS players will subconsciously deliver the item that won previously, and paper is thrown least often, so use it as a surprise.