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| Instagram Tops 25M Users [REPORT] | | Friday, March 02, 2012 8:59 PM | Todd Wasserman |
|  Instagram has topped 25 million users, becoming the largest mobile-based social network in the world, according to a report. Dirk Singer, the head of U.K. social media agency Rabbit, claims on his Lies, Damned Lies & Statistics blog that the maker of the popular iPhone photo app just recently surpassed that figure, while Foursquare is at 22 million users. Singer based his analysis on two Instagram web viewers, Statigram and Ink361, both of which use Instagram's API. Singer noticed that the URLs on the sites reveal user numbers. For instance, Kevin Systrom, CEO and co-founder of Instagram, is apparently user number three: Singer cited user @holliejsmith's user number at 10 a.m. GMT was 25,973,449 on both viewers, meaning Instagram was close to 26 million users. That's a big jump for the service, which claimed 16 million users in December. Meanwhile, using the same reasoning, Singer estimates that Foursquare is now at around 22 million users. As The Next Web notes, reading URLs is far from a definitive way to get a read on Instagram or Foursquare's actual numbers. Some accounts may be closed, the site notes, while others may be merely test accounts. Moreover, there's no "number one" or "number two" account. Reps from Instagram could not be reached for comment on the report. Meanwhile, Instagram's growth is set to skyrocket soon as the company prepares an Android app, which should be hitting any day now. BONUS: Meet the Top 15 Photographers on Instagram |
| Lytro: Shooting Matrix-Style 'Bullet Time' Video Isn't Far Away | | Friday, March 02, 2012 7:53 PM | Pete Pachal |
|  The Lytro camera, which launched this past Wednesday, takes photos that the user can refocus after the fact. It's a cool trick -- and you can experience it via the photo below -- but it's really just scratching the surface of what the technology behind the camera can do. Soon users will be able to create 3D effects and even, with upgraded equipment, shoot slow-motion wraparound video like the kind seen in the Matrix movies. The Lytro creates its "living pictures" by capturing the entire light field, not just the color and intensity of light but also the direction of individual rays. The technology behind putting light-field capture into a small camera was about a decade in the making, based on research done by the company's CEO, Ren Ng, as a graduate student at Stanford. "Through a series of serendipitous moments," Lytro vice president of marketing Kira Wampler explains, "Ren taught himself how to build the camera because he was so driven by this desire to take this room full of cameras and miniaturize it in such a way that real people could take advantage of taking pictures with the light field." Now that it's released its first camera, Lytro has a long list of features and enhancements that it intends to pursue. Early adopters of the Lytro camera needn't worry too much either -- since the files the camera produces store all the light-field information of a scene, anything Lytro releases to take advantage of that data can be used on old pics. First on the agenda: 3D. Lytro has already demonstrated how it's relatively easy to use the light field to create a 3D effect on a photo. Moreover, you'll be able to click and drag the photo to change the angle of the 3D perspective. The effect will be limited to what the camera can see, however, equivalent to moving your head an few inches in each direction. A Lytro video camera is farther out, but it has the potential for an even more impressive effect. The light field, after all, is fundamentally the same idea used in the Matrix films to create the wraparound slow-motion effects often referred to as "bullet time." By using more than one camera, possibly linked via wireless, Lytro users could recreate those effects on their own. "It's not that far away," says Wampler. "If you had a camera over here and a camera over there -- that know each other -- then you can do bullet time." SEE ALSO: 13 Lytro Photos That Will Make You Look Twice Besides different ways of using the light field, Lytro also says it's going to add editing features in its desktop software, letting you do things like touch up exposure or crop photos. Pro-level features are also in the works, like being able to focus at a point in space even if there's no object there in the photo. "Editing will be very cool," says Wampler. "One of the reasons we haven't unleashed it yet is that we want it to be functionality that really takes advantage of the multidimensionality of the picture. For us, we have multiple layers. For example we could make the foreground black and white and the background sepia." Perhaps most importantly, the company says it will eventually make its proprietary file format -- the .lfp format -- available to any photo service that wants to adopt it. For example, Facebook could integrate it so instead of just sharing the photo, you could use it as your profile pic. "It is a matter of when not if," says Wampler. "Native adoption of the light field file format with other editing, sharing and organizing tools is a priority for us." What would you like to see Lytro work on next? Have your say in the comments. BONUS: The Lytro Camera |
| QR Code Condoms Let You Check In Before Getting It On [VIDEO] | | Friday, March 02, 2012 6:18 PM | Sam Laird |
|  The pre-coital check-in has officially arrived. Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest (PPGNW) distributed more than 50,000 condoms in QR code-emblazoned wrappers to college students in the state of Washington. The wrappers enable people to scan the QR code with their smartphone to check in to the site wheredidyouwearit.com and anonymously let the world know where they practiced safe sex. Users can also check in to the site by computer. The promotion was originally launched to mark National Condom Week, which ran from Feb. 14 through Feb. 21, but the site is still live. Planned Parenthood said the site "is like Foursquare for people who don't want a sexually transmitted infection." The site has already attracted more than 4,500 check-ins and 65,000 visitors, PPGNW's new media coordinator Nathan Engebretson told ABC News. Most check-ins are clustered in Washington, but the site's interactive map has also registered notifications from as far away as Iran, Equatorial Guinea and Bolivia. The site allows people not just to geo-tag their sexy time, but also add a bit more detail. People can record their age, gender and that of their partner, and why they use condoms. You can also rate your safe sex experience on a scale of "Things can only improve from here" to "Rainbows exploded and mountains trembled." And you can get more specific about where you did the deed -- selectable options include "the great outdoors," "at a party," "in the shower," and "someplace else." Engebretson told ABC News the QR Code condoms can be a useful tool in popularizing safe sex. "This isn't about bragging. It's not about digital notches in your bedpost," he said. "Even if people have no desire to check in, they're still getting the sense of how many people like them use condoms." Lame gimmick or great example of using tech for social good? Let us know in the comments. Image courtesy of iStock, MissJames |
| DARPA's Robot Grabs Tools, Opens Doors | | Friday, March 02, 2012 6:00 PM | Kate Freeman |
|  Showing-off 18 new human-hand-like maneuvers, DARPA's Autonomous Robotic Manipulation (ARM) project reached the second milestone in its development, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced Friday. In a video posted on March 1, ARM displays its dexterity. It can unlock a door with a key and turn the handle, grab a power drill and pick-up other tools. ARM completes 18 different "human-like" functions in the clip -- "grasping and manipulation tasks using vision, force, and tactile sensing with full autonomy -- no active human control." The goal of the project is to create an autonomous robot that functions better than human-operated robots. ARM's creators not only want it to function with less human intervention, but also complete a wider variety of tasks than other robots. "The program will attempt to reach this goal by developing software and hardware that enables robots to autonomously grasp and manipulate objects in unstructured environments, with humans providing only high-level direction," notes the website. ARM has an arm, hand, neck and head sensors. Check out this video to see it in action: The bot doesn't use the tools with much force -- at least not yet. It picks up a shovel, but its grasp is somewhat flimsy. ARM grabs a power drill and drills partway into wood, but not with as much gusto that a robot created for military or other expeditions might have to possess. But even with the current functions it has, ARM still could be useful to humans in dangerous situations. Once ARM is complete, it could serve a variety of purposes. The DARPA's website says, "Current robotic manipulation systems save lives and reduce casualties, but are limited when adapting to multiple mission environments and need burdensome human interaction and lengthy time durations for completing tasks." Other robotics are used to prevent casualties in military operations and do myriad of dangerous tasks. You can check out more information about ARM and see some cool visuals here. What uses do you envision for this robot? Tell us in the comments. Photo courtesy of thearmrobot.com/gallery. |
| NASA Was Hacked 13 Times Last Year | | Friday, March 02, 2012 5:13 PM | Alex Fitzpatrick |
|  It seems not even the high-tech NASA is safe from digital intruders: The space agency's computer systems were breached by hackers 13 times last year, according to Congressional testimony this week. "These incidents spanned a wide continuum from individuals testing their skill to break into NASA systems, to well-organized criminal enterprises hacking for profit, to intrusions that may have been sponsored by foreign intelligence services seeking to further their countries' objectives," said Paul Martin, NASA's inspector general, in his Congressional testimony released on Wednesday. "Some of these intrusions have affected thousands of NASA computers, caused significant disruption to mission operations, and resulted in the theft of export-controlled and otherwise sensitive data, with an estimated cost to NASA of more than $7 million," he continued. Martin gave Congress detailed information about some of the attacks. In one instance, the agency discovered late last year an intrusion into its system by hackers working through a China-based IP address. Martin said that the hackers gained full access to the network of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, allowing them to view, copy, delete and otherwise tamper with classified information. Before closing the door behind them, the hackers uploaded software allowing them access to other NASA systems and managed to adeptly hide their digital tracks. In a separate event, hackers managed to grab computer access codes from more than 150 NASA employees. According to Martin, the agency failed to move quickly enough to ensure that those hackers wouldn't be able to use the codes to gain access to its networks. According to Martin, the "sophistication" of cyberattacks against NASA has been steadily increasing. He added that NASA spends more than $1.5 billion annually on "IT-related activities," which includes approximately $58 million for "IT security." Martin also pointed out what NASA stands to lose when its computer systems are compromised by hackers. "Some NASA systems house sensitive information which, if lost or stolen, could result in significant financial loss, adversely affect national security, or significantly impair our nation's competitive technological advantage," said Martin. "Even more troubling, skilled and committed cyber attackers could choose to cause significant disruption to NASA operations, as IT networks are central to all aspects of NASA's operations." The news of the NASA hacks comes at a turbulent time for cybersecurity in the U.S. On Friday, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said that hackers could top terrorists as the main threat to the U.S. in the near future. Meanwhile, Congress is debating two competing cybersecurity bills intended to bolster the government's defenses against digital attacks. Does the news of the successful hacks against the high-tech NASA come as a surprise to you? Let us know in the comments below. Images courtesy of iStockphoto, LaserLens |
| Someone at Apple Is Surfing the Web on iOS 6 | | Friday, March 02, 2012 4:24 PM | Pete Pachal |
|  Apple appears to be testing the next version of its operating system for mobile devices, iOS 6. At least, that's what device access logs to websites, including Mashable, seem to indicate. The initial report came from Ars Technica, which says it discovered something unusual in its web logs. The technology site recorded several visits from browsers running on devices that claimed to be running iOS 6. There were also devices that were accessing the site on screens with a resolution of 2,048 x 1,536 -- the rumored pixel count of the iPad 3. Mashable checked its own logs and indeed found a few visits from devices claiming to be running iOS 6. Some claim to be iPhones and others iPads. Checking the IP address info of those visits with an online database revealed they came from Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California. However, the only machines with 2,048 x 1,536 resolution seen in Mashable's logs were running Google Chrome, so they couldn't be iPads. Here's a sample of some of our logs (apparently the Apple testers liked our compilation of the Best Sh*t People Say Videos): 17.202.39.47 - -"GET /2012/01/27/best-shit-people-say-videos/ HTTP/1.1" 200 15974 "http://m.digg.com/newsbar/topnews/15_best_sh_t_people_say_videos" "Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 6_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/535.8 (KHTML, like Gecko)" 17.202.39.47 - -"GET /2012/01/27/best-shit-people-say-videos/ HTTP/1.1" 200 15975 "http://m.digg.com/newsbar/topnews/15_best_sh_t_people_say_videos" "Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 6_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/535.8 (KHTML, like Gecko)" The current version of Apple's mobile software is iOS 5. Apple typically previews new versions of its mobile OS at a developers conference in the spring. Apple reps didn't respond immediately to a request for comment. As Ars notes, there's at least one other product on the market with the so-called "retina" resolution that the iPad 3 is expected to have. But, obviously, nothing runs iOS 6 -- unless it's an Apple employee testing software by browsing the Internet. The most recent version is iOS 5.1, but that's only been made available to developers. On Tuesday, Apple sent out invitations to an event on March 7. The company holds upcoming products to the utmost secrecy. Apple almost never reveals product information until it is on the verge of release. It's a big part of the allure the company's brand has cultivated, and why Apple rumors have such currency. SEE ALSO: Apple's iPad 3 Event Invitation: 7 Clues You Might Have Missed Still, it's impossible for Apple to keep everything it's doing under wraps. It needs to test its products in real-world environments to ensure that the work properly. That can lead to information being released prematurely, which most notoriously happened when an Apple employee lost a prototype iPhone in a bar in 2010 only to have it fall into the hands of tech blog Gizmodo. Whereas that was a careless accident, the discovery of retina iPads running iOS 6 is more of a natural consequence. After all, Apple must test its software with the real Internet at some point, and that testing will leave tracks. Apple isn't expected to release iOS 6 at Wednesday's event, but is probably testing it now in advance of a spring unveiling. What would you like to see in iOS 6? Give Apple some tips in the comments. BONUS: Why iPad 3 Might Cost More Than iPad 2 |
| 10 Bad Tech Habits and How to Break Them | | Friday, March 02, 2012 3:56 PM | GeekSugar |
|  As we get overwhelmed with work, kids, school, extracurricular activities and social events, it's easy to forget about the maintenance and health of our tech and ourselves. Since spring is the time to refresh your home, it's also the perfect time to refresh your habits where your tech is concerned. Are you guilty of these 10 bad habits? Find out how to turn things around, below. Working in poor ergonomic conditions - Sitting for hours in front of your computer - whether you're at an office or working from home - is bad enough, but throw in the poorly positioned monitor, a chair that's not supporting your back, and a desk that's too small for your stature, and you have a cocktail for body aches and pains. Check with your HR department to see what kinds of ergonomic assessment services are available to you so you can get your desk in tip-top shape. Working from home? No sweat - let this Osha ergonomic evaluation checklist help you set up a healthy home office. Letting your tech get dirty and grimy - Your tech is pretty disgusting. Sixteen percent of phones have feces on them, while home keyboards hold 60 times more germs than a public toilet seat. Make a habit of cleaning your tech once a day, or even once a week with proper cleaning agents to cut down on viruses and bacteria that could make you sick. Obsessing over your phone at improper times - We've grown quite accustomed to our smartphones helping us in our everyday lives, but they can easily drive a rift between you and your friends, family members, and fellow Earth-dwellers at large. Keep your phone off the dinner table, don't chat in the bathroom stall or the gym, and keep your voice down when having a conversation on the bus. You know, just use common sense. Not backing up your data - A majority of you probably still aren't backing up the contents of your computer on a regular basis, am I right? Let this serve as another reminder. Backing up your data to an external hard drive (that you keep in a safe place) ensures that you won't lose precious memories, documents and information you might need later. Regular, hours-long video game sessions - Going on hour four of an epic gaming marathon? I'm sure you're just waiting until the next level to take a break (which is what you said 10 levels ago), but not taking a break to stretch, get your blood moving, and drinking water isn't just bad for your back. It could actually kill you. Sitting for long periods of time can be dangerous for your heart and create fatal blood clots, while inactivity can lead to weight gain. Wouldn't you rather stretch every 15 minutes than deal with all that? Not maintaining a proper shutdown routine - Laptops are awesome because you can just close the lid and go, right? Well, not if you want your machine to live a long and healthy life. Actually putting your laptop to sleep instead of shutting the lid will keep your computer from overheating as all action will be brought to a halt. But don't forget to actually shut down your computer on the regular, too. Bringing the tech to bed - Not getting enough sleep lately? Your tech could be to blame. Bringing your tablet, smartphone or laptop to bed at night has been linked to sleep problems. The light these electronics omit is likely to stimulate your brain into thinking it's daytime, delaying your body's ability to fall asleep. Try to keep your tech away from the nightstand, and shut down all your gadget goodies well before you hit the hay. Skipping your system updates - Clicking that "cancel" button when you see a system update might be easier than having to restart your computer in the middle of a project, but it spells bad news for your machine. Making sure all your programs, antivirus and operating system updates are current is essential to keeping your computer running smoothly and securely. Having a weak password - Is your password 1234 or abcd? You're at a big risk for getting hacked, my friend. Creating hacker-proof passwords for all of your most-visited websites isn't as hard is it seems, and putting in the effort is infinitely easier than trying to deal with the aftereffects of getting your identity stolen. Forgetting to optimize your tech batteries - It's easy to plug-n-play when it comes to your tech, but optimizing your battery the first time you use your new gadget, then every few months thereafter will help keep your battery a top performer. First, fully charge the battery, then let it run down completely before fully charging again. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, MotoEd |
| How To Hire a Great Developer [FLOW CHART] | | Friday, March 02, 2012 3:39 PM | Lauren Drell |
|  Thomas Edison once said that "genius" is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. In the world of technology startups, that 99% involves a heck of a lot of coding and wireframing. If you've got an idea for a startup, that's great -- but odds are that an idea is all you have. (Well, maybe you have passion and some savings, too.) But you'll need more than that to bring your idea to life -- you'll need a developer who can transform your vision into an elegant app or website. If you're just foraying into the land of entrepreneurship, you may wonder where the to even start looking for such a person. And even if you do find a developer, how will you know the extent of his talent and whether he's a good fit for you? From trolling your network to attending meetups, there are myriad ways to meet skilled developers. When you find one you like, you should have an informal meeting -- you'll be spending a lot of time with the person, so it's good to get to know him on a more personal level. Plus, you can determine whether he's equally excited about your vision. If you're not jibing, let him go -- there are other dev fish in the sea, and it's not worth it to force the partnership. When you find a personality match, move into the formal interview. If all goes well there, you can confidently extend an offer. Throughout the search, there's plenty of room for missteps, and you might not know the right questions to ask. But there are some pro tips you can employ to make the dev hunt more efficient and successful. The folks at General Assembly have created this easy-to-follow flow chart as part of the curriculum for its "Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship" program. If you're serious about your startup idea, this chart can help you navigate your dev search and find someone who'll turn your napkin sketches into a reality. And if you have any personal experience hiring a dev, tell us about it in the comments below. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, nullplus, Infographic courtesy of General Assembly |
| Must See: Windows 8 Running on an 82-inch Touchscreen | | Friday, March 02, 2012 3:10 PM | Lance Ulanoff |
|  One of the highlights of this week's Windows 8 Consumer Preview event was when Microsoft Windows lead Steve Sinofsky turned a giant HD display into the world's largest touchscreen, Windows 8 "computer." OK, he didn't actually transform anything when he unveiled Windows 8 Consumer Preview during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Sinofsky, who is Microsoft's president of Windows and Windows Live Division, simply revealed the true nature of the 82-inch display. It hung almost unnoticed at the back of the stage for much of the presentation, until he and Michael Anguilo, Corporate VP of Windows Planning and Ecosystem, walked over and started touching the Windows 8 Metro interface on the giant display. The screen is not a computer by itself. It still has to connect to a computer, in this case running Windows 8. See Also: Windows 8 Consumer Preview: The Good, the Bad and the Metro Built by Perceptive Pixel, the 82-inch panel of optically bonded Gorilla Glass beat the previous optically bonded Gorilla Glass leader, Microsoft's own 40-inch Surface 2, which it built with Samsung. Sinofsky and Anguilo explained that the screen can accept up to 10 people touching it at once, though Perceptive Perceptive Pixel's own site puts the number of touch points at "unlimited." That bonding, by the way, essentially removes the parallax, putting your fingers as close as possible to the pixels. As a result, the screen makes it look like you're actually touching and moving on-screen objects. It also works with a stylus, where the "sub-millimeter touch precision" can come in particularly handy. During the demonstration, the Windows 8 metro interface operated smoothly and the Microsoft exec explained that it doesn't take a big, powerful PC to drive the big screen. They showed off a hand-sized AMD, Dual-core block of a system that could run the Perceptive Pixel screen. They never said, though, that such a box was running the demonstration we saw that day. Check out the short video and then drop into the comments to help us envision what you'd do with a giant, 82-inch touch screen in your home or office. Inside the Windows 8 Consumer Preview Event |
| Apple TV Sold Out at Amazon, Best Buy: New Model on the Way? | | Friday, March 02, 2012 2:44 PM | Christina Warren |
|  Reduced availability of the Apple TV gives credence to rumors that a new product release may be imminent. On Tuesday, Apple officially sent out invitations for a media event on March 7. While the unveiling of the iPad 3 will certainly take center stage, it's looking more likely that the company will also take an opportunity to refresh the Apple TV. Online retailers -- including Amazon.com and Best Buy -- are sold out of the device with no expected restock date. The Apple TV is also unavailable for in-store pickup at Best Buy stores in the tri-state area. Amazon.com does not have the item in stock and is only offering used or refurbished models. I actually purchased an Apple TV on Jan. 29, when it was available for immediate shipping. As I am barely within the 30-day return mark, I am sending my unit back to Amazon tonight. 9to5Mac reported that new versions of the Apple TV will be available almost immediately after next week's event. This is further bolstered by Apple TV stock shortages at various Apple retail stores and third-party retailers. As The Verge notes, while users can order an Apple TV directly from Apple.com, many retail stores are showing an availability date of March 7. Our own tests show that the Apple TV is in-stock at two of New York City stores, however the busier locations (including the Fifth Avenue Apple Store and the Grand Central Apple Store) show "Available Mar 8." Of course, stock shortages aren't a guarantee that Apple is releasing a refreshed product. Still, the company tends to keep its supply chain full, especially with low-cost items such as the Apple TV. The lack of availability on Amazon.com is our best sign yet that a new model -- or new service -- could be on its way. Earlier today we covered reports that Apple is struggling to get content companies to agree to the terms of its unannounced but much-rumored TV streaming service. Whether this content strategy is tied to new Apple TV devices remains to be seen. What would you like to see in the next Apple TV? Let us know. |
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