Anyone who works as a freelancer these days has to be at least a bit familiar with techie things. But it isn’t just that. When I was a kid and those vaguely SF puppet shows were on the television and all the other kids wanted to be Greg Gogetem or Steve Savetheuniverse, I wanted to be the guy in a white coat and glasses called Doc or Brains. Here are some technology-related feeds I find useful and/or entertaining.
Slashdot » Google Is Shutting Down Picasa In Favor of Photos
Google has been steadily migrating its resources towards the Photos ecosystem since the company first announced it at last years I/O developers conference. Today, Google announced that it will shut down Picasa. Starting May 1st, Google will start phasing out Picasa from its product lineup, moving over to Google Photos. 
Read more of this story at Slashdot. [Link]
Mashable » The Syria ceasefire deal looks a lot like the Ukraine truce that fell apart
If you were struck with a feeling of déjà vu by the Syria ceasefire deal, you weren't the only one. News that Western and Russian leaders had agreed to implement a "cessation of hostilities" in Syria in the days to come reminded a lot of people familiar with President Vladimir Putin's modus operandi of another peace deal Russia proposed in a … [Link]
Slashdot » Smartphones May Soon Provide Earthquake Warnings
sciencehabit writes: When it comes to an earthquake, just a few seconds' warning could make the difference between life and death. But many earthquake-prone countries lack the seismic networks that would give their citizens the lead time to find cover or shut down critical utilities. Now, a group of enterprising engineers is looking at a substitute network: smartphones. Using smartphones' … [Link]
Mashable » U.S. and Cuba plan to resume direct commercial flights by next fall
HAVANA — The United States and Cuba will sign an agreement next week to resume commercial air traffic for the first time in five decades, starting the clock on dozens of new flights operating daily by next fall, U.S. officials said Friday. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx is scheduled to fly to Havana on Tuesday to cement the deal. Barring … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Earth’s rarest minerals could hint at life on other planets
The first inventory of our planet's minerals finds that many arise from biological processes and so may serve as an indicator of life on other worlds
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Slashdot » Researchers Improve Efficiency of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles By Almost 12%
hypnosec writes: A new study has put forward claims that by working on and improving the energy management system (EMS) that decides when the switch from 'all-electric' mode to 'hybrid' mode in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, efficiency of these vehicles can be improved by as much as 12 per cent. Researchers have shown in their lab tests that blended discharge … [Link]
Mashable » Reno gets a rescue dog mayor for a day
Mayor Everett has arrived in office and he is putting his paw down — no ifs, ands or puppy butts Lucky rescue dog, Everett, became the mayor of Reno, Nevada, for one day Feb. 11. He was bestowed with the unique position as part of a special SPCA's “An Affur to Remember" event. Everett's adopted parents attended the fundraiser and snagged … [Link]
Popular Science » Scientists X-Ray Potato Chips In Attempt To Make Them More Delicious
Photo by Tamara Evans via Flickr, licensed under CC by 2.0 Tasty potato chips When I'm waiting for my dinner to finish cooking, I can't say I often think about how the way I fry it is changing the food's microstructure. But after sifting through a paper recently published in the Journal of Food Science that explores the microstructure of … [Link]
Mashable » Chaotic neutral cat effortlessly pulls off Deadpool cosplay
As Ryan Reynolds' merc with a mouth looks to tear up the box office this weekend, his feline counterpart has emerged to tear up the carpet (how do you get them to stop that?). Instagram user @Cat_Cosplay, which posts incredibly detailed cat-sized cosplay outfits, unveiled a Deadpool suit just in time for the film's release. See also: Deadpool's long, strange, f*ck-filled … [Link]
Mashable » Apple has corrected Apple Maps 2.5 million times
It wasn’t pretty. The first version of Apple Maps, a product that took the acquisition of three digital mapping companies to create, had more issues than most users could count. It was next-level bad and not something Apple is used to delivering or its customers are used to seeing. Almost four years later, Apple Maps is better, usable and, in some … [Link]
Slashdot » US Copyright Law Forces Wikimedia To Remove the Diary of Anne Frank
Today, the Wikimedia Foundation announced it's removal of The Diary of Anne Frank from Wikisource, a digital library of free texts. According to the United States' Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), works are protected for 95 years from the date of publication, meaning Wikimedia is not allowed to host a copy of the book before 2042. Rogers, the Legal Counsel … [Link]
Mashable » Apple Music adds another 1 million subscribers in 1 month
Apple Music now has more than 11 million paid subscribers. Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, shared the figure during the latest episode of John Gruber's podcast, The Talk Show. See also: Apple's first scripted TV effort will reportedly star Dr. Dre Gruber was joined by Cue and Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software … [Link]
Mashable » Customizing your iPhone vibrations is the coolest way to tell who's calling
Your phone vibrations are pretty important. Did you know you could customize your iPhone vibrations so you’ll know when mom is calling or bae is texting? Well, you can and it's fantastic. Read more…More about Iphone, Tech, Dev Design, Mobile, and Standalone Video Template [Link]
Mashable » Teen wins Valentine's Day, buys 900 flowers and gives one to every girl at school
A 17-year-old from Utah spent hundreds of dollars and months of planning to ensure a happy Valentine's Day for all the girls at his high school. Hayden Godfrey of Smithfield, Utah, bought 900 carnations to distribute to every girl at Sky View High School, a purchase that set him back $450. See also: 8 Valentine's Day ideas you can even dominate … [Link]
Popular Science » Watch DARPA'S Drone Dodge Obstacles, Fly At High Speed
DARPA DARPA Fast Drone The drone revolution needs fewer pilots. Most small unmanned aerial vehicles need at least one human operating them to fly correctly, with the pilot simply removed. That’s fine for many things, but if we want drones to do new tasks, they need to fly on their own. Fast Lightweight Autonomy (FLA) is a program from the … [Link]
Mashable » Jim Gilmore ends 2016 presidential campaign
Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore ended his long-shot bid for the Republican nomination, saying saying that while he is ending his presidential run, he will "express my concerns about the dangers of electing someone who has pledged to continue Obama's disastrous policies." See also: Who is Jim Gilmore? Twitter wants to know "My campaign was intended to offer the gubernatorial experience, … [Link]
Slashdot » French Court Rules That Facebook Can Now Be Sued in France
An anonymous reader writes: A Paris court of appeal has ruled in favor of a French complainant whose account was suspended, because he linked to an image of the 1866 Gustav Courbet nude 'L'Origine du monde', currently residing at the Musee d'Orsay. The appeals court not only agreed that the user's suspension by Facebook constitutes censorship, but the ruling itself … [Link]
Mashable » Service dog's day is made when he meets Pluto at Disneyland
Dreams come true at Disneyland, and that certainly proved to be the case for this pup. Ace, a service dog in training got to meet his doggy idol, Pluto. Towards the end of last year, Sandy Steinblums, the volunteer who owns and is training Ace, took him on a trip to Disneyland in an attempt "to socialize and provide him with … [Link]
Mashable » Greek farmers ride tractors through Athens and swing shepherd staffs at police to protest tax hikes
More than a dozen tractors rolled through Athens on Friday, honking horns and flashing lights outside parliament as thousands of Greek farmers thronged the capital's main Syntagma Square to protest tax hikes and pension reforms. The two-day protest kicked off Friday morning with clashes between riot police and Cretan farmers wielding shepherds' staffs that left 10 policemen slightly injured and smashed … [Link]
Mashable » Bye, Philae: Scientists give up hope for comet lander
Europe's Philae lander, a washing machine-sized robot that captured the imagination of the world when it landed on a comet, has likely entered its "eternal hibernation," the European Space Agency (ESA) confirmed Friday The spacecraft was a little more than one year old, and passed away after a long and courageous battle against darkness. “The chances for Philae to contact … [Link]
Mashable » Daniel Webber as Lee Harvey Oswald is the best reason to watch Hulu's '11.22.63'
LOS ANGELES — Before Daniel Webber tackled the role of Lee Harvey Oswald in Hulu's 11.22.63, he was a stalker At least, that's how fans of the Australian soap opera Home And Away knew himHis character, Ryan, was a mysterious, creepy guy infatuated with Phoebe Nicholson, one of the show's leads. Now the fresh-faced 27-year-old actor is tackling a more complex … [Link]
Slashdot » Ask Slashdot: Do You Still Have a Pager? Do You Find It Useful?
New submitter Chance Callahan writes: I am starting a business, helping a friend with his own startup, and volunteering regularly with a major political campaign (#feelthebern). One thing I have noticed is that my phone likes to die at the most inconvenient times and leaves me out of touch with people. With the business I'm starting requiring clients to be … [Link]
Mashable » Here’s who would be president if Facebook likes counted as votes
What if instead of going out to cast our votes at the polls, the U.S. chose its presidential primary winners with Facebook likes? In that case, Ben Carson would be up against Bernie Sanders come November. And, assuming each candidate's proportion of likes remained the same, Carson would win it all. FiveThirtyEight published an interactive map showing which presidential primary candidates … [Link]
Mashable » Black holes colliding remixed as Justin Bieber. Sorry, we had to.
At long last, we're here to solve a problem mankind has had for about five hours how After the world received proof that gravitational waves exist from the impact of two black holes colliding, scientists converted the signal from the impact into sound. Well, you're welcome, you no longer have to choose between the two soundtracks of your meaningless existence: … [Link]
Slashdot » Fresh Wayland Experiences With Weston, GNOME, KDE and Enlightenment
jones_supa writes: Software developer Pavlo Rudyi has written a blog post about his experiences with the various desktop environments currently supporting Wayland. The results are not a big surprise, but nevertheless it is great to see the continued interest in Wayland and the ongoing work by many different parties in ensuring that Wayland will eventually be able to dominate the … [Link]
Mashable » LinkedIn CEO gives soothing pep talk to employees after stock gets obliterated
LinkedIn may have lost half of its market value during its most brutal week as a publicly traded company, but it's still the same business as before. At least that was the message LinkedIn's CEO had for employees days after Wall Street quickly and brutally sold off the stock following a disappointing earnings report. "We are the same company we … [Link]
Mashable » Dick Nixon on Henry Kissinger: He's cold, mean and needs a short leash
“Friends” are cheap in politics. It’s often necessary to call a fellow your friend in public, or even to his face, knowing full well he’d cut your throat, lay your wife, and send your kids to Siberia if given the chance. But Mrs. Clinton calls Kissinger her friend so damn much that I worry she believes it. If so, she’s in … [Link]
Mashable » The 1946 police beating that made President Truman pay attention to civil rights
On the evening of February 12, 1946, Isaac Woodard, a 26-year-old black Army veteran, boarded a bus in Augusta, Georgia. Earlier that day, he’d been honorably discharged, and he was heading to Winnsboro, South Carolina to reunite with his wife. The bus driver made a stop en route. When Woodard asked if he had time to use the bathroom, the driver … [Link]
Mashable » Kendall Jenner sues acne treatment company for millions
You definitely can't say a celebrity endorses a product if they don't. "Face and body solutions" company Cutera is learning those legal lessons the hard way. The company published an advertisement featuring a photo, quote and endorsement from Jenner in an attempt to sell its Cutera Laser Genesis product. SEE ALSO: Kylie Jenner and friends made a super dramatic Snapchat soap … [Link]
Mashable » Apple's first scripted TV effort will reportedly star Dr. Dre
According to a new report, Apple is producing a new scripted television series with Dr. Dre. The Hollywood Reporter broke the story about the series, titled Vital Signs. The show is said to be semi-autobiographical; Dr. Dre will reportedly executive produce and star in the project. Apple acquired Beats — a company Dre co-founded — in 2014. See also: Study: People … [Link]
ProgrammableWeb.com » Daily API RoundUp: Insight360, Planwise, Dell, Planwise, Leftronic
Every day, the ProgrammableWeb team is busy, updating its three primary directories for APIs, clients (language-specific libraries or SDKs for consuming or providing APIs), and source code samples.
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Slashdot » iPhones Bricked By Setting Date To Jan 1, 1970
lightbox32 writes: Beware of a hoax circling the interwebs, which can be seen by setting your iPhone's date to January 1, 1970. Many people are reporting that doing so will brick the device. It's unclear what exactly causes the issue, but could be related to how iOS stores date and time formats. Jan. 1, 1970 is a value of zero … [Link]
Mashable » Pope Francis got a fancy new sombrero on his trip to Mexico
Pope Francis was given a sombrero on Friday while he flew from Rome to México City. The pope, who is making his 12th trip abroad, delighted journalists traveling aboard the papal plane when he placed it atop his head and smiled for the cameras. See also: 6 questions about why Pope Francis is meeting with Google chairman Eric Schmidt Journalists on … [Link]
Popular Science » You Can Now Sense Earthquakes On Your Smartphone
Japanexperterna.se/Flickr CC by SA 2.0 Smartphone Your phone, yes, the one you're (probably) reading this on, can detect earthquakes. All you need is an app. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley announced today the release of a new app called MyShake, available as a free download for Android smartphones in the Google Play store. It uses the accelerometer in … [Link]
Mashable » Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance' gets a swingin' new sound
After her exceptional performance of the national anthem at Super Bowl 50, everyone wants some more Lady Gaga in their lives. Postmodern Jukebox is here to help with their second cover of Gaga's hit song, "Bad Romance." The swingin' 1920s-inspired video is the first in Postmodern Jukebox's Reboxed series, which remakes covers of previous PMJ covers This latest arrangement of … [Link]
Mashable » Teacher breaks down into tears when his students give him a birthday cake
A high school class turned their teacher's birthday into a special day. Kyle Simpler, an English teacher at Burleson High School in Texas told his student earlier this week that he couldn't remember the last time that he had a birthday cake, so in celebration of his special day on Thursday, the class gave him a cake he will never … [Link]
Mashable » Han Solo and Kylo Ren have the same fights as you and your dad
Every family has their problems — especially the Solos. Poor Han and Leia have their hands full when it comes to their son, Ben (or, rather, Kylo Ren, as he'd like to be called). It's not easy raising the currently most evil Sith in the galaxy. See also: Han Solo, Princess Leia and Kylo Ren finally get a corny family photo … [Link]
Mashable » Finally, the Westhamster Hamster Show is here and it's hoppin'
The Westhamster Show is here to celebrate the best of the most lovely creatures around: hamsters. Prepare yourself for an exciting show that will keep you on your feet.Read more: http://on.mash.to/1o79qty Read more…More about Animals, Cute Animals, Watercooler, Videos, and Hamster [Link]
Slashdot » UK GHCQ Is Allowed To Hack
An anonymous reader writes: A security tribunal has just decreed that hacking by the UK security agency GCHQ is legal. [The case was launched after revelations by Edward Snowden about the extent of US and UK spying. Campaigners Privacy International claimed GCHQ's hacking operations were too intrusive]. The legal challenge that they were violating European law was rejected. Read more … [Link]
Mashable » Cop put on leave after allegedly calling activist's suicide a 'happy ending'
An Ohio police officer will be put on paid administrative leave after allegedly calling a Black Lives Matter activist's suicide a "happy ending" in a Facebook comment Fairborn officer Lee Cyr is said to have posted the comment under a link about the activist's suicide, writing, "Love a happy ending," though it has since been deleted See also: Don't automatically believe … [Link]
Popular Science » New Sea Legs For A Robot Firefighter
John Williams, U.S. Navy, via Wikimedia Commons Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot (SAFFiR) In Testing Where there’s smoke, there should be firefighting robots. At least ,that’s the aim of the humanoid Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot (SAFFiR, yes, pronounced “safer”) in development by the Office of Naval Research. The Navy demonstrated the robot last winter, and it was one of the competitors … [Link]
Popular Science » Why Google's Stand-Alone VR Headset Could Be A Game-Changer
Google Google VR Unlike Google Cardboard, the company's actual VR headset could let the user enter a virtual world without attaching to a PC or inserting their smartphone Current virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Playstation VR all require help. While VR headsets get all the glory, the PC's behind them do all the heavy lifting. … [Link]
Mashable » A company says Apple stole its patents for 3D Touch and Force Touch
Apple is in the hot seat once again in a patent infringement case. A haptic technology company has filed a series of complaints against Apple for infringing on patents related to the 3D Touch and Force Touch technology used on Apple devices. See also: Apple will finally let you cash in your broken iPhone The company, Immersion, said in a press … [Link]
Mashable » Cabbage Patch Kids from your childhood are back — with bizarrely cool LCD eyes
Children of the '80s are about to get a major case of the feels: Cabbage Patch Kids are coming back. The iconic toy getting a high-tech reboot that meets kids how they play today: It's loaded with tiny sensors, comes with LCD eyes, talks and coos, and works with a corresponding app. A prototype of the doll will be on display … [Link]
Slashdot » Scientists Say Goodbye to Philae Comet Lander
Today, scientists from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) announced that they are saying goodbye to Philae, the comet lander that is currently perched on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as it races toward the sun. According to Stephan Ulamec, Philae's project manager, "Unfortunately, the probability of Philae re-establishing contact with our team at the DLR Lander Control Center is almost zero." Philae first … [Link]
Popular Science » Welcome Three New National Monuments In The California Desert
President Barack Obama announced today that his administration would add 1.8 million acres of public land to the list of protected national monuments. During his time in office, Obama has protected more than 265 million acres, both on land and water. Under this new designation, the public land will be closed to new mining and and oil extraction, and will … [Link]
Mashable » Bill Cosby, erased from 'The Cosby Show'
Since 2014, reruns of The Cosby Show have been pulled from most networks airing them, in response to the more than 50 women who have accused Bill Cosby of rape and sexual assault. Now, a Brooklyn filmmaker has gone a step further, erasing Cosby from the show entirely Anthony Sneed of 85 North Productions deftly edited Cosby out of the … [Link]
Popular Science » Watch: Could We Live On Mars?
For as long as we've known about other planets, we have dreamed of living off-world. Some scientists argue that one of the best places to establish a human colony could be Mars—but there are some serious obstacles we'll have to tackle before sending astronauts to the red planet. In this video, a collaboration between animation studio Thought Café and Popular … [Link]
Mashable » Forget Tinder, your iPhone will be your V-Day bae
No need to swipe for a shot at love on Tinder any more. In our new episode of Max's Macs, our most adorable uninformed Apple fanboy helps you find a love that will never end — as long as your phone is charged. Read more…More about Valentines, Valentine, Valentine S Day, Iphones, and Youtube [Link]
New Scientist – News » Gravitational waves open door to universe’s most exotic objects
LIGO's breakthrough discovery offers up new ways to test relativity, black hole collisions, dark energy, the first stars in the universe, and more
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Slashdot » OCZ Toshiba Breaks 30 Cents Per GB Barrier With New Trion 150 SSD
MojoKid writes: OCZ's Trion 150 SSD is an update to the company's Trion 100, which was the first drive from OCZ to feature TLC NAND and all in-house, Toshiba-built technology. As its branding suggests, the new Trion 150 kicks things up a notch over the Trion 100, thanks to some cutting-edge Toshiba 15nm NAND flash memory and a tweaked firmware, … [Link]
Popular Science » Win Winter With These Jet-Powered Projects
Illustration by Chris Philpot Snowblower Train Retire the reindeer—and fire up the jet engines. These three vehicles will put your average sleigh to shame. Snowblower Train When winter storms threaten to shut down commuter trains, New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority blasts snow off the switches with jet engines. Built and mounted on railroad vehicles by mechanic Olie M. Ericksen, … [Link]
Mashable » Flood alerts issued for London as River Thames waters rise
LONDON — Waters rose on the iconic London banks of the River Thames on Friday as flood alerts were issued in the wake of Storm Imogen The Thames Barrier was closed as waters overflowed the banks in Greenwich. The big steel gates of London's flood defense system have now been closed 176 times in 34 years. See also: Storm Imogen is … [Link]
Mashable » Runaway airport van goes rogue, striking a parked JetBlue plane
A driverless van rolled away and struck a parked JetBlue plane early Friday morning at Boston's Logan International Airport. Shortly after passengers boarded a 6 a.m. flight to Tampa, Florida, a nearby van went rogue, causing damage to the aircraft. There were no injures on board, according to JetBlue. According to reports, it was either a fuel van or a delivery … [Link]
Mashable » Martin Scorsese shares intimate photos from behind the scenes of HBO's 'Vinyl'
Martin Scorsese is taking us behind the scenes of his new HBO series Friday Scorsese, an executive producer on Vinyl who also directed its pilot, will be taking over the show's Instagram, sharing photos and insight from set Mashable has a first look at one of his snaps above, while Scorsese himself introduces the takeover in the video to your left. … [Link]
Mashable » Kanye West drops new song '30 Hours,' announces 'The Life of Pablo' download is coming
Soon, The Life of Pablo will finally come to life online. Kanye West announced that his seventh studio album will officially be released on Friday. He also released a new, new tracklist for it, including songs like "Silver Surfer Intermission" and a new version of the song "Facts." The rapper also released new song called "30 Hours" on his SoundCloud page, … [Link]
Mashable » Ted Cruz pulls attack ad that featured a soft core porn star
Ted Cruz pulled his most recent ad on Thursday after learning one of the actresses, Amy Lindsay, has also appeared in soft core porn films. The ad itself has nothing to do with porn or sex whatsoever. Entitled "Conservatives Anonymous," an attack ad aimed at Marco Rubio, takes place in a faux group support meeting with conservative voters who feel … [Link]
Popular Science » Watch PopSci Play "Firewatch," A Mystery In Wyoming
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Mashable » Syria ceasefire in danger after Assad vows to retake 'the whole country'
Syria’s embattled President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to retake "the whole country" mere hours after world leaders in Munich said an agreement had been made to cease hostilities in the war-torn country. See also: Drone video from Turkey-Syria border shows the colossal scale of the refugee crisis Speaking to the AFP in Damascus, Assad said his army would try to retake … [Link]
Popular Science » Snake Hunt
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Slashdot » Did a Timer Error Change the Outcome of a Division I College Basketball Game?
New submitter javakah writes: Controversy has erupted from the February 10th basketball game between Boise State and Colorado State, and speculation is that a timer may have made an incorrect assumption about the number of frames per second the game was recorded in, and ultimately lead to an erroneous result. With the game tied in overtime, Boise State had the … [Link]
Mashable » Backstage takes center stage in official trailer for Cameron Crowe's 'Roadies'
Ahead of Sunday's Grammy Awards, Showtime is shining a spotlight on some unsung heroes by releasing the new trailer for Cameron Crowe's Roadies The show, which Crowe produced alongside J.J. Abrams and My So Called Life creator Winnie Holzman, delves into the tumultuous personal and professional lives of a tight-knit concert crew who work with a successful group called The … [Link]
Mashable » Dancing dog sashayed her way right into a forever home
An adorable dancing dog has found her forever dance floor. Crystal Kincaid posted this adorable and heartbreaking clip of a dog at the Orange County Animal Services, a shelter in Orlando, Florida. SEE ALSO: Dog steals owner's sled, takes back dignity But a short time later, the shelter posted an update to their Facebook page, saying that the pup, named Ginger … [Link]
Mashable » Iran cracks down on 'decadent' Valentine's Day celebrations
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran says it is cracking down on Valentine's Day celebrations and shops engaging in them will be guilty of a crime. Iranian news outlets reported the police directive Friday warning retailers against promoting "decadent Western culture through Valentine's Day rituals." Police informed Tehran's coffee and ice cream shops trade union to avoid any gatherings in which boys and … [Link]
Mashable » Video of cop shooting Laquan McDonald didn't have audio because batteries were upside down
The dashcam video of the fatal Chicago police shooting of Laquan McDonald, released in November, painted a clear picture of what had happened: Former officer Jason Van Dyke shot McDonald 16 times, even though McDonald made no move to assault him. But many who watched the video were puzzled by the lack of sound. What was said before and after the … [Link]
Mashable » The Westhamster Hamster Show is our favorite new animal competition
Though the 140th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is nearly upon us, the real show we're watching with bated breath is the 1st Westhamster Hamster Show. In this showcase of agility, coordination and hamster-wheel spinning, there are no winners or losers— Just a bunch of adorable little hamsters doing their thing on the main stage. Special thanks to Westchester Rescued … [Link]
Slashdot » Google Brain Researchers Make Significant Progress On Language Modeling
New submitter integralclosure writes: Using neural networks, Google Brain researchers have significantly improved a computer's ability to model English (achieving extremely low perplexity score on a large dataset). Using the model they were able to generate random sentences, such as the following: 'Yuri Zhirkov was in attendance at the Stamford Bridge at the start of the second half but neither … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Mice watching movies on iPods prefer action to mouse erotica
If you play them mouse movies, mice spend more time watching the ones showing fights than the videos of mouse sex
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New Scientist – News » White shark’s diet may include biggest fish of all: whale shark
The great white shark is a voracious feeder, and now one has been found with the bones of an 8.5-metre-long whale shark in its stomach
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Mashable » Facebook could be sued for censoring this 19th-century nude painting
PARIS — Facebook lost a crucial legal battle Friday as a Paris court ruled the social network can be sued in France over its decision to remove the account of a French user who posted a photo of a famous 19th-century nude painting. The ruling by the Paris appeals court could set a legal precedent in France, where Facebook has more … [Link]
Mashable » Like these books? Read these classics of black literature next.
Look out, Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut — there's a new generation of writers revolutionizing the book world. Though many works of literature have made an indelible mark on the zeitgeist, the work they started is hardly over. Today's black writers are taking the book world by storm, continuing and expanding on the literary conversations started by the classics — all … [Link]
Mashable » Want to help manufacture self-driving cars? Google is hiring.
How long are we going to believe Google when it says it doesn't want to be a car manufacturer? See also: Faraday Future's 1,000-horsepower concept car should make Tesla very, very nervous The tech giant has posted dozens of jobs for its self-driving Google X car project with an emphasis in manufacturing, Reuters reports. For a company that insists it won't … [Link]
Mashable » Adele graces the cover of Vogue and it's absolutely flawless
Adele is Vogue's March cover girl. The verdant cover, shot by Annie Liebovitz, features the 25 singer lounging in a Burberry dress and Dior earrings. Natch She's an open book in the interview, chatting about everything from her son Angelo and boyfriend Simon Konecki to her writing habits (she handwrites lyrics in a notebook). See also: 'The Life of Pablo': Here's … [Link]
Mashable » Beloved Etch A Sketch brand finds a new home with BB-8 maker
A 60-year-old toy icon is officially shaking its screen and starting all over again. Ohio Art, the company that introduced Etch A Sketch in 1960, announced on Friday that it has sold the brand, including all remaining inventory, production tools, patents and trademarks to Spin Master Spin Master is a fairly well-known Toronto, Canada-based toy manufacturer that makes robot toys like … [Link]
Mashable » An innocent visit to a Thailand ATM sparks a new meme
A simple photo of a man innocently visiting an ATM in Thailand with two women who we can only assume are his good friends, has sparked an odd trend on Reddit. The photo, which was submitted to r/pics on Thursday was normal enough. This man just needed some cash. We don't know why. SEE ALSO: 'Be like Bill' is the passive aggressive meme … [Link]
Mashable » Tweet what makes you smile this Valentine's Day and help a child in need
It may be cold outside this Valentine's Day, but Operation Smile and Random House Children's Books want to see what warms your heart. The children's medical charity and the book publisher have joined forces on a new social campaign called SmileKind, inspired by the main character in one of Random House Children's Book's bestselling novels, Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Starting Friday, … [Link]
Popular Science » An Albino Sea Turtle, Animated Gravitational Waves, And Other Amazing Images Of The Week
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Slashdot » Hackers of Ukrainian Utilities Probably Hit Mining and Railroad Targets, Too
itwbennett writes: Trend Micro said Thursday that its latest technical research shows that the same malware — dubbed BlackEnergy and KillDisk — were likely used in attacks on a mining company and a railway operator that preceded the devastating power-company hacks and that those earlier attacks may have been test runs. 'The malware used in the attacks, known as Black … [Link]
Mashable » Spanish worker skipped job he hated for 6 years, and no one noticed
Modern folk hero, or menace to society? You decide. Joaquin Garcia, a 69-year-old civil Spanish servant, has been fined $30,000, or one year's salary, for not showing up to his job for six years. SEE ALSO: Man fired after not coming to work for 24 years Garcia, tasked with overseeing the construction of a waste treatment facility, claimed he was … [Link]
Mashable » Drone video from Turkey-Syria border shows the colossal scale of the refugee crisis
Drone footage recorded by the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation gives a sense of the size of the refugee crisis at the Turkey-Syria border, where tens of thousands of Syrians are holed up. The aerial view shows dozens of white tents on an otherwise brown and empty expanse of land. People can be seen milling around parked trucks brought in to … [Link]
Mashable » Ronan Keating wants to create a Westlife-Boyzone supergroup for some reason
LONDON — Ronan Keating wants to go down the same path as McBusted and combine Westlife and Boyzone. Although the idea of a successful reunion in this current music climate seems very unlikely, Keating believes it would be "fun for Boyzone and Westlife to follow in McBusted's footsteps and join forces." See also: Harley Sylvester from Rizzle Kicks slams Brits for … [Link]
Mashable » What women around the world take to the hospital when they give birth
LONDON — Most mothers-to-be put a lot of thought into what they pack in their maternity bags before they go to the hospital. But, depending on where in the world women are giving birth, the items women choose to take to the hospital might be life-savers, or simple luxuries. See also: These historical photos communicate how huge the Baby Boom was … [Link]
Mashable » Listen to two black holes colliding in deep space
Scientists announced on Thursday that they have detected the telltale "chirp" from gravitational waves produced by a collision between two black holes 1.3 billion years ago. If the discovery is successfully replicated by other researchers, it will be known as one of the seminal achievements in physics. Scientists working with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) instruments in Washington and Louisiana … [Link]
New Scientist – News » App tries to fetch medical help before cardiac arrest kills you
The London Ambulance Service has started using an app called GoodSAM that alerts nearby trained responders to race to the site of a life-threatening emergency
[Link]
Popular Science » Drones Learn How To Find People Lost In The Woods
University of Zurich, Università della Svizzera italiana, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland Pathfinding Drone Trails are narrow ribbons of civilization cutting through wilderness. They are as much about what is worth exploring as they are about what’s off limits. A hiker loses a trail, and suddenly they’re in a deep wilderness, unmoored from the world until … [Link]
Mashable » Europe prepares to restrict passport-free travel for another 2 years
BRUSSELS — European Union countries are poised to restrict passport-free travel by invoking an emergency rule to impose controls at several borders for two more years because of the migration crisis, according to EU documents seen by The Associated Press. The switch will reverse a decades-old trend of expanding passport-free travel in Europe. Since 1995, people have been able to … [Link]
Mashable » Senate bans U.S. companies from selling products made with slave labor
For 85 years, the U.S. government has turned a blind eye to companies that import goods derived from slavery — so long as domestic production couldn’t meet demand for those goods. That’s about to change. The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to close a loophole in the Tariff Act of 1930, which bars goods made by convict, forced or indentured labor, amid … [Link]
Mashable » Report: Google's VR headset won't need a phone, PC or game console
The current state of virtual reality isn't elegant. There are headsets like Samsung's Gear VR and Google Cardboard that require a smartphone. Then there are the beefier VR headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, which connect to an expensive PC, and the PlayStation VR, which connects to a PlayStation 4. A new report from the Wall Street Journal says … [Link]
Popular Science » Ground Control Says Goodbye To Philae
ESA Philae Lander The last time we checked in on Philae, the small spacecraft that landed on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in November 2014, things were not looking good. And now, after being silent since July 2015, ground control is saying a final farewell to Philae. “We are not sending commands any more and it would be very surprising if we were … [Link]
Mashable » Good Samaritan's profanity-ridden rant strikes a chord with Singaporeans
SINGAPORE — One guy's colourful and passionate rant on Facebook about his good deed has gone viral in Singapore. See also: This story of a bus driver's sweet act of kindness is cheering up Ireland Kai Sheng Si saw a visually-impaired man at an MRT station looking lost, and decided to help when he realised passers-by were ignoring him. After helping … [Link]
Slashdot » Austrian Minister Calls For a Constitutional Right To Pay In Cash
New submitter sittingnut writes: Bloomberg reports that Austrian Deputy Economy Minister Harald Mahrer has called for a constitutional right to use cash to protect their privacy. According to the report, Mahrer said, "We don't want someone to be able to track digitally what we buy, eat and drink, what books we read and what movies we watch. We will fight … [Link]
Mashable » Black superheroes saved a real life: mine.
This is a story about how black superheroes can save your life In 1987 at the age of 7, my twin brother, John, was accused of shoplifting from a big box store in Greensboro, N.C., by an older white lady. Even as numerous employees confirming that he had not stolen anything, my mother and I watched as John was patted down … [Link]
Mashable » Don't expect the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge to be cheap
Samsung's flagship phones come with a premium price tag, and that's not likely to change this yearThe starting price for the Samsung Galaxy S6 at launch was $199 with a contract and around $700 without. The curved-screen Edge variant started at around $100 more. Judging from a rumor coming from Dutch site Tweakers, Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S7/S7 Edge phones will follow the … [Link]
Mashable » Hayden Panettiere gets Christina Aguilera to costar during 'Lady Marmalade' lip sync
In 2001, "Lady Marmalade" brought a ragtag group of pop stars together. But they really dropped the ball by only including one Christina Aguilera. And do we even dare to dream of two Lil' Kims? Lip Sync Battle looked to correct history's wrongs when the real X-Tina dropped by during Hayden Panettiere's performance of the song. Not since the heyday … [Link]
Mashable » Grammys 2016: How to keep up with the awards show on social media
LOS ANGELES — The Recording Academy is ramping up its social media efforts in order to attract younger viewers to the 58th Annual Grammy Awards This year, for the first time ever, the Academy is utilizing a number of Internet influencers to help produce content across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Vine and Snapchat in the three days leading up to the show. … [Link]
Mashable » 6 special Valentine's Day customs from around the world
The origins of Saint Valentine and Valentine's Day are a bit murky, but we know it started in the ancient Roman days. Since then, cultures all over the world have adopted the holiday and interpreted their own customs Learn how people all over have united in their love, or disdain, of the romance holiday. See also: Spend Valentine's Day 2016 having … [Link]
Mashable » Keeping in step, Asics buys fitness tracking app Runkeeper
Japanese athletic equipment company Asics has acquired sports app maker Runkeeper, the company has announced. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. SEE ALSO: Apple names the best iOS apps of 2015 Not much will change for Runkeeper app users. According to a blog post from Runkeeper CEO Jason Jacobs on Friday, the acquisition will help the company "move even faster." "By … [Link]
Mashable » Determined ninja cat will stop at nothing to get his treats
Most humans can't reach that awkwardly placed cupboard that sits above the oven. People usually use it to store things that are rarely used or as a hiding place for sweets. Here, they use the cupboard as a place to store some cat treats, because their feline is a straight-up ninja. Try as they might, they can't stop their cat … [Link]
Mashable » Betty White gives two thumbs up for 'Deadpool' and Ryan Reynolds in red leather
It’s been seven years since Betty White played Ryan Reynolds' grandmother in The Proposal. And sure, White is a nonagenarian superstar — but she could never forget the premiere of her fictitious grandson's new film Deadpool. See also: 'Deadpool' review: Bring a gnarly date, definitely leave the kids at home White reviewed Deadpool in a video on her Facebook page; it's … [Link]
Mashable » AIDS campaigners slam UK government for not making sex ed compulsory
LONDON — Education secretary Nicky Morgan has been criticised by AIDS campaigners after she announced the government's decision not to make sex and relationships education compulsory in schools. "The number of young men diagnosed with HIV has doubled in the past 10 years, yet the government seems willing to continue to allow a situation where some schools simply don’t have to … [Link]
Mashable » Kanye West has another tweetstorm, says his Taylor Swift 'diss' was actually her idea
Taylor Swift, her squad and just about everyone else who heard Kanye's new song, "Famous," took his lyrics — "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / I made that bitch famous" — as a diss, misogynistic or both So naturally, Kanye decided to share his take in more than a dozen new tweets on the subject, claiming … [Link]
Slashdot » Pirate Bay Browser Streaming Technology Is a Security and Privacy Nightmare
An anonymous reader writes: Last week the Pirate Bay added support for streaming video torrents inside the browser in real-time. Kickass Torrents followed the next week. The technology they used is called Torrents Time. A security researcher has discovered that this technology which is a mix of client and server side code is actually a security and user privacy disaster. … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Inside a wasp’s head: Here’s what it sees to find its way home
Video reconstructions of what wasps look at when flying are helping us to understand how they navigate and learn about their habitat
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ProgrammableWeb.com » How to Implement Basic Search with Google Maps API
Google Maps has always been at the forefront of JavaScript technology, and over the years it has evolved into several APIs that go beyond simple maps–offering the ability to, for example, convert addresses to geographic coordinates, locate named places, calculate directions and even determine distances.
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Popular Science » A Simple Way To Brick Almost Any iPhone
Youtube User Zach Straley Brick your iPhone If you set the date back far enough on your iPhone, you might ruin it forever. Apple's products are known as devices that "just work." Unless you set their date to January 1, 1970, that is. The bug was discovered by Reddit user vista980622 and posted to the r/jailbreak subreddit. To replicate vista's … [Link]
Popular Science » Pirates Of The Near Future Will Use Drones
U.S. Coast Guard Coast Guard Vessel Intercepts Smugglers Aircraft carriers are gigantic, lumbering vessels, the biggest among them powered by onboard nuclear reactors. Putting aircraft on these ships means a considerable amount of resources and a long supply chain, putting aircraft carriers out of the reach of almost everyone. Today, only a handful of navies operate any carriers at all. … [Link]
Mashable » Out of special V-Day ideas? Try taking your date to this sewage treatment plant.
Every love story is beautiful, but one that starts with a tour of a sewage treatment plant is something elseMashable Reporter Heather Dockray took a plunge with this first date, accompanying a very special lady on a Valentine's Day tour of the one and only Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Brooklyn, New YorkFull love story: http://on.mash.to/1WgQtQj Read more…More about Valentine, … [Link]
Mashable » Schea Cotton, the NBA All-Star who wasn't, is finally ready to tell his story
Back in the mid-'90s, two teenagers matched up at a summer camp for the top basketball prospects in America. You know the first kid's name well: Kobe Bryant. But you might be hearing the other kid's name for the first time: Schea Cotton Fast-forward more than two decades. Bryant is in Toronto, set to star in his 18th and final NBA … [Link]
Popular Science » Watch: The Zika Virus Explained, In Three Minutes
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