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 India surpasses Britain to become world's fifth largest economy
As Britain grapples with a depreciating pound sterling in a post-Brexit era and India continues to grow rapidly since its economic liberalization in 1991, the two have swapped spots in the rankings of world economies. For the first time in 150 years, India has surpassed its erstwhile colonial master in terms of GDP, which is now the fifth largest in the world after the U.S., China, Japan and Germany. India’s Minister of State for Home Affairs declared the news on social media.
Apple extends deals meant to alleviate MacBook Pro's dongle hell
When the specs of the newly redesigned MacBook Pro were announced, Apple fans felt relegated to a new, dark dongle hell with the removal of all the ports laptop users had known and loved in favor of USB-C (aka Thunderbolt 3) connections. Apple mercifully lowered the prices of a whole range of USB-C accessories in response to criticism over the shift with a promotion through the end of 2016. But if you go to buy one of the items now, you'll see that the special prices have been extended into 2017. On the Power & Cables page of the Mac Accessories section of the Apple Store, the main image advertises "Special pricing on USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 accessories for a limited time*." Read more... More about Promotion, Dongle Hell, Accessories, Usb C, and Macbook Pro Read More »Leaked documents show Facebook's guidelines on hate speech are a muddled mess
As Facebook faces intense scrutiny from high-ranking German officials over how the platform handles hate speech, a German newspaper has shared what it's reporting to be internal documents that show a detailed yet confusing blueprint for how Facebook handles hate speech on its site. The documents were obtained and published by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, the newspaper that originated the reporting on the infamous "Panama Papers." The report was published last week, just as German politicians were threatening to create a new law that would punish platforms like Facebook for refusing to properly delete hate speech and fake news. The new law would be in addition to the country's internet censorship laws that are far more flexible compared to the United States. Read more... More about Hate Speech, Facebook, Germany, and Business Read More »Facebook for podcasting? Live audio comes to social network.
Facebook executives have said the social network could be all video and no text within the next five years. But what about sound? Facebook announced Tuesday a new option called Live Audio that will let publishers more easily go live with audio only on the network. Similar to the live video experience on Facebook, users can comment and leave reactions. Facebook users could also listen passively. "We know that people often like to listen to audio while doing other things and think the listening experience will be first class," Facebook product specialist Shirley Ip and software engineer Bhavana Radhakrishnan wrote in a blog post detailing the announcement. Read more... More about Tech, Business, Apps And Software, Podcasts, and Facebook Live Read More »Russian deep-sea fisherman's Twitter feed is filled with nightmares
Earth's most mysterious and creepiest creatures remain mostly untouched in the deep ocean. If you're into weird, strange and downright scary species normal humans rarely get to see, you should definitely consider following Russian fisherman Roman Fedortsov on Twitter. According to his profile and the Moscow Times, Fedortsov works on a fishing trawler that operates out of Murmansk, Russia, and he frequently shares some of the oddities he finds in the net while out fishing in the deep sea. Here are some horrifying highlights of the photos he's shared recently.
The 10 most endangered jobs of 2016
The year had many casualties, and some of them were jobs. The site CareerCast came out with a new report on the jobs that, as of this month, aren't quite dead but definitely endangered. It's a mix of the jobs you would expect (typists, mail carriers) and those that may surprise (DJs, computer programmers). Cashiers don't make the list, but Amazon Go hasn't opened its first store yet. The major causes are familiar: automation and outsourcing. "Job markets constantly evolve for a variety of reasons, but consumer habits and technology are two of the primary reasons why some jobs have a poor outlook," CareerCast wrote in a press release accompanying the report. Read more... More about 2017, Automation, 2016, Jobs, and Business Read More »'Overwatch' reveals its first LGBTQ hero
Overwatch has always had a diverse cast of characters that bring life and color to the otherwise monochrome and monotonous first-person shooter genre. It was only a matter of time before one of its lovable characters was revealed to be queer. Tracer, the speedy, time-shifting gunner who is always a nuisance to enemies, has a story in the latest digital Overwatch comic, "Reflections," which shows the hero kissing another woman — Emily. The Overwatch comics don't technically have any bearing on the game itself, but provide all the backstory that makes the games' playable heroes so interesting. Read more... More about Esports, Gaming, Queer, Gay, and Tracer Read More »This recut trailer of 'Fargo' is your new favorite holiday movie
Ok, maybe Joel and Ethan Coen didn't direct this particular rendition of their 1996 dark comedic film, but hey, just add it to your family holiday movie binge list. Subscribe to CineFix for more videos. Read more... More about Mashable Video, Steve Buscemi, Frances Mcdormand, William H. Macy, and Ethan Coen Read More »iPhone 8, AI and Trump: Welcome to Apple in 2017
What will Apple do in 2017? The TL;DR version is: pretty much what they did in 2016. Update popular hardware, expand services, steer clear of new product categories and make a boatload of money. However, buried inside those pat and rather obvious observations is a company that may be in search of its mojo. There is nothing wrong with Apple or its offerings, but the company that reinvented and reinvigorated numerous product categories has spent the last two years polishing its own Apples. In my totally anecdotal Twitter poll on which word best described Apple in in 2016 — Aggressive, Innovative, Slipping, Successful — Slipping won by a commanding margin. Why do people perceive one of the world's most successful tech companies this way? Didn't Apple do enough in 2016? Read more... More about 2017, Macbook, Ipads, Apple Tv, and Iphone Read More »Watch this NHL star choke up after seeing his young son celebrate his crucial goal
The first 60 seconds of this interview are some very sportsy sports-talk. The final 20 seconds are pure feels. Patrick Maroon of the Edmonton Oilers scored a crucial game-tying goal against the St. Louis Blues on Monday night, setting his team up for an overtime win. Canada's Sportsnet TV network interviewed Maroon after the game — then hit the Oilers hero with some surprise footage that left him choking back tears. What? No. We're not crying. Definitely not crying. It's just ... winter allergies, you know? Read more... More about Hockey, Sports, and Entertainment Read More »'Pokémon Go' players have walked around the earth more than 200,000 times
In the six months since the Pokémon Go mobile game dropped, players have been putting in some serious effort. Everyone seemed to drop everything when the game was released in July and all that searching for Pokémon has paid off — users have collectively walked 8.7 billion kilometers, or 5.4 billion miles, according to Niantic Labs (the company behind the game) in a blog post Tuesday. The gaming company made a video to show how far we've gone to catch the digital creatures. We've walked past Uranus, Neptune and even the dwarf planet Pluto. In terrestrial terms, that's more than 200,000 trips around the Earth. Read more... More about Pokemon, Pokemon Go, Tech, and Gaming Read More »NFL sends the wrong message over latest hit to Cam Newton's head
Cam Newton took a blow to the head on Monday night, but he got flagged. Yes, you read that correctly. The Carolina Panthers quarterback, clearly ticked off when Washington linebacker Trent Murphy took a cheap shot at his helmet, tossed the ball in Murphy's direction, which earned Newton a flag for taunting. Murphy walked away from the play unscathed and flag-less. Unfortunately for Newton, this play epitomizes his struggles with officiating this year. "Uncalled hits to the head" and "Cam Newton" have become synonymous in 2016. But more on that later. Read more... More about Football, Nfl, Cam Newton, Entertainment, and Sports Read More »Obama trumps Trump and permanently bans Arctic drilling ahead of inauguration
The Obama administration announced a permanent ban on oil and gas drilling in most of the country's Arctic waters and parts of the Atlantic Ocean, a move made a few weeks before the pro-drilling Trump administration takes over. The announcement was made in conjunction with Canada, which also is putting a five-year moratorium on new oil and gas leases in its Arctic waters. "These actions, and Canada’s parallel actions, protect a sensitive and unique ecosystem that is unlike any other region on earth," the President said in a statement. "They reflect the scientific assessment that, even with the high safety standards that both our countries have put in place, the risks of an oil spill in this region are significant and our ability to clean up from a spill in the region’s harsh conditions is limited." Read more... More about Paris Climate Agreement, Fossil Fuels, Oil, Sea Ice, and Extreme Weather Read More »Student spies on guy who stole his phone, makes film about it
There's nothing more unsettling than having your smartphone stolen from you. Your conduit to the connected world is severed, sure, but that's just the immediate problem. Your phone probably holds more information about you than any other device — photos, contacts, messages and notes — all of which are now in the hands of someone who might try to exploit you. It's not a happy thought. After having an iPhone stolen, Dutch film student Anthony van der Meer needed to know more about the underworld of snatched handsets. So naturally, he baited a thief and made a film, Find My Phone, of the ensuing adventure after the phone was taken. Read more... More about Surveillance, Short Film, Security, Stolen, and Smartphone Read More »Lena Dunham says she wishes she had an abortion, and people are really mad
Lena Dunham made some comments this week that have people all riled up —again. The actress is currently under fire for remarks made on her podcast, Woman of the Hour. In a recent episode, Dunham spoke about a conversation she had while visiting a Planned Parenthood in Texas. A young woman opened up about her decision to have an abortion and before launching into that narrative, Dunham herself said she wished she had an abortion, too. Yikes. “I wanted to make it really clear to her that, as much as I was going out and fighting for other women’s options, I myself had never had an abortion," Dunham explained on the show. "I realized then that even I was carrying within myself stigma around this issue. Even I, the woman who cares as much as anybody about a woman’s right to choose, felt that it was important that people know that I was unblemished in this department.” Read more... More about Conversations, Watercooler, Abortions, and Lena Dunham Read More »The new 'Overwatch' comic is already banned in Russia because of its LGBTQ hero
After Overwatch revealed that its star character, Tracer, is gay in a digital comic, the internet was aflutter with support and happiness flowing in from fans of the game. Not everyone was happy with the reveal about Tracer's sexuality though — including the Russian government.
The comic, which shows Tracer kissing the woman who appears to be her girlfriend, Emily, has been banned on the Russian version of the Overwatch media site. If you attempt to view the comic in Russian, you will see the message shown in the above photo, which translates to: "In accordance to Russian law we cannot share this comics with our players from the Russian Federation territory." Read more... More about Lgbtq, Russia, Tracer, Overwatch, and Esports Read More »Zappos site and app crash 5 days before Christmas
It wouldn't be the holidays without a new pair of kicks. But the digital shoe emporium Zappos is having technical difficulties Tuesday, making any footwear purchases difficult. Six hours into the issue and it looks unresolved.
All day, would-be shoe shoppers were writing to the company about ongoing glitches that seemed to be affecting the desktop site and a mobile app. In response, Zappos wrote that it was working on the problem and would post when everything was fixed. Read more... More about Online Shopping, Shoes, Zappos, Business, and Fashion Read More »How to get the 5 hottest tech toys for kids this holiday season
The holidays are less than a week away, which means it's officially crunch time. As people frantically try to complete their last-minute shopping, they'll likely encounter a major problem — many of this year's hottest tech toys are selling out fast. A truly terrifying reality. SEE ALSO: The best tech of 2016 If you find the toy stores and Best Buys of the world have empty shelves this close to the holidays, here are some alternative methods to get those must-have gifts of 2016. Hatchimals (ages 5+)Image: toys "r" us One of the year's top holiday toys is an electronic egg that hatches a furry little creature. The interactive toy allows its owner to care for it and teach it essential skills like how to walk, talk and play games. It's pretty darn cute and also the perfect "pet" for those who aren't psyched about the upkeep of a real animal. Read more... More about Shopping, Ebay, Amazon, Toys, and Tech Toys Read More »Your out-of-office reply can help push for an Edward Snowden pardon
Amnesty International wants you to do something for Edward Snowden before you detach from work for the holidays. The group recently launched a campaign designed to get employees, wherever they may be, to "donate" their out of office messages to the campaign to pardon Snowden. Snowden, an NSA contractor-turned-whistleblower, became famous in 2013 after he leaked a trove of information about United States government surveillance to various media outlets that then went on to publish stories that dominated headlines for months. Read more... More about Voicemail, Out Of Office, Email, Contractor, and Nsa Read More »The Daniel Craig ‘Casino Royale’ was very faithful to James Bond novels
Casino Royale is Ian Fleming's first novel in the James Bond series, and it gave readers a whole lot of gambling and spying while also grappling with Britain’s place in the world. The 2006 film adaptation was a box office success—while remaining very faithful to the novel. Our CineFix series, What's the Difference, throws down its hand to see if we can't spy all the little differences between the book and the film. Subscribe to CineFix for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/cinefix Read more... More about Mashable Video, James Bond, Whats The Difference, Movies, and Cinefix Read More »Twitter's chief technology officer Adam Messinger is leaving the company
Twitter's Chief Technology Officer Adam Messinger is leaving the company after five years, the executive publicly announced Tuesday via a tweet. He is the second C-level executive to leave in the last month without an immediate replacement. Messinger, an experienced engineer, has served as CTO since 2013, prior to when Twitter was public, and has had a significant amount of responsibility, especially during its tumultuous past year. When four senior executives (including the VP of product and VP of engineering) left Twitter in January, Messinger was put in charge of engineering, consumer product, design and research, user services and Twitter's mobile app development platform Fabric. Read more... More about Adam Messinger, Jack Dorsey, Business, and Twitter Read More »Elon Musk acted like an ecstatic child as SpaceX's rocket landed for the 1st time
SpaceX founder Elon Musk is not exactly known for being an emotionally expressive guy. Musk, when he appears in public, has a pretty laid-back demeanor, but that calm exterior goes out the window in a newly released clip from National Geographic. The nearly four minute video shows Musk watching the first stage of a Falcon 9 rocket land back in Florida. The landing, which happened almost exactly one year ago on Dec. 21, 2015, marked the first time the private spaceflight company has landed a rocket stage back on solid ground. Read more... More about Private Spaceflight, Spaceflight, Elon Musk, Spacex, and Nasa Read More »Tech can help us spot fake news, but there's only one real way to stop it
In the days after the election, apoplectic progressive journalists spent their time writing boiling hot takes, trying to find the one CNN chyron or Nate Silver tweet responsible for handing democracy over to a Putin-loving creamsicle. And while no one could ever agree (or admit that they agree) on the real enemy, nearly everyone pointed a finger at the new guy in town: fake news. Almost instantly, Chrome extensions appeared that made it easier for users to identify fake news. Last week, Facebook even rolled out some far-too-cautious tools to help stop the onslaught. Yet for all of their efficacy, none of these tools will be able to fully curtail the plague of propaganda. Read more... More about Election 2016, Fake News, Facebook, Watercooler, and Politics Read More »The artist blowing people's minds in virtual reality
Upon Salvador Dali's death in 1989, the world was reminded of his unique ability to render "the unreal world with such extreme realism that its truth and validity could no longer be questioned." The art critic responsible for that description, the late James Thrall Soby, could not have imagined that we'd one day reach a moment when Dali's melting clocks and impossibly alien landscapes would become places we could actually visit. But now, at the dawn of commercial virtual reality, that's exactly what we're doing, and a new class of artist is beginning to emerge to help us navigate this new plane of surreality. Read more... More about Oculus Medium, Quill, Sketchfab, Art, and Virtual Reality Read More »Otters sledding through the snow will make you fall in love with winter
A group of super cute otters were caught sliding through the snow in their habitat at The Buffalo Zoo. Read more... More about Mashable Video, Real Time Video, Sledding, Cute Animals, and Animals Read More »Pagan priest finally granted right to wear goat horns in license photo
After an extended waiting period, a Pagan priest finally snagged the go-ahead to wear goat horns in his new Maine license photo. As Phelan MoonSong tells the Washington Post, the ordained priest rarely removes his horns, as they serve as spiritual antennae and are part of his Pagan attire. Still, when MoonSong visited the Department of Motor Vehicles in August, he says an employee told him he'd need to appeal his photo with the Maine Secretary of State's office. This, despite the fact that his horns do not obstruct his face. Read more... More about Pics and Watercooler Read More »Here's 'All Star' sung to the Seinfeld theme and pictures of Guy Fieri
If aliens ever arrive, they'll likely want to see the finest things humans have created. You know, to check if we're intelligent or not. Forget showing them Leonardo Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa," Michelangelo's "David" or Jackson Pollock's abstract masterpiece "Blue Poles." Just show them this one minute YouTube video of Smash Mouth's "All Star" set to the theme of Seinfeld and pictures of TV chef Guy Fieri. The result will surely be eternal enslavement by our new extraterrestrial overlords, but at least we'll still be laughing quietly to ourselves about this ridiculous video while mining caves for magnesium. Read more... More about Videos, Smash Mouth, All Star, Seinfeld, and Guy Fieri Read More »3 brilliant moments in the visuals of character
There are a lot of visual techniques moviemakers use to convey a certain message. We took a look at how a film can use external appearances to give us clues to a characters inner world. These brilliant moments come from the Duplass Brothers’ Jeff Who Lives at Home, Drake Doremus’ Sundance Grand Jury winning Like Crazy and Jason Reitman’s Young Adult. After the video, make sure and go to Vudu’s Movies On Us. All three of our Brilliant Moments choices are available to watch for free right now! All the other movies we highlighted in the episode are also available to rent or own on Vudu.com. Read more... More about Supported and Entertainment Read More »Here's how to track Santa using Alexa this Christmas Eve
While we might not spot Santa on his sleigh this year, we'll know exactly where he is at any given moment. This Christmas Eve, starry-eyed kids can follow Kris Kringle's every stop by asking Amazon's Alexa to find him. Amazon is teaming with KAYAK for this holiday promotion. Alexa's AI is smart, but KAYAK has a connection that can't be beat by any type of smart tech. According to a press release, the travel aggregator will know Santa's location "using a combination of navigation software, algorithms and insider-elf intelligence from North Pole Central Command," in order to "pinpoint Kris Kringle’s location during his holiday flight." Read more... More about Santa Claus, Amazon Tap, Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Tracking Read More »3 brilliant moments in the visuals of character
There are a lot of visual techniques moviemakers use to convey a certain message. We took a look at how a film can use external appearances to give us clues to a characters inner world. These brilliant moments come from the Duplass Brothers’ Jeff Who Lives at Home, Drake Doremus’ Sundance Grand Jury winning Like Crazy and Jason Reitman’s Young Adult. After the video, make sure and go to Vudu’s Movies On Us. All three of our Brilliant Moments choices are available to watch for free right now! All the other movies we highlighted in the episode are also available to rent or own on Vudu.com. Read more... More about Supported and Entertainment Read More »Extremely gracious teacher thanks 46 years worth of students on a billboard
Can you imagine loving a group of people so much that you would put it on a billboard? Marian Sims, a former teacher from Lexington, Kentucky, who is nearly 70 years old, did just that. She put the billboard up to honor and thank 46 years worth of her students. "Mrs. Sims still loves you & prays for you! You & your families have all blessed my life in so many ways. Be safe & continue to bless this planet. Than You & God Bless You. Remember... 'Love Love & Hate Hate,'" the billboard reads. WKYT did an interview with Sims about why she chose to put the billboard up. Read more... More about Students, Teacher, Teachers, Billboard, and Photography Read More »The real story behind this viral NBA video
When NBA stars Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade were filmed on the Chicago Bulls bench Monday night, a Viral Moment™️ occurred. Alas, the apparent real story is not as juicy as the meme (because it never is). That's why, like the RA in your freshman-year dorm, we're here to launch a full investigation and kill all the fun. Our story begins with Butler and Wade on the Bulls bench during Chicago's Monday night win over the Detroit Pistons. Television cameras caught Butler gesturing to Wade while talking to someone off-screen and across the court. Here's that video, along with the hit Vine and Twitter posts it spawned. Read more... More about Nba, Sports, and Entertainment Read More »18 soup pairings for your social anxieties
If you generally hate social interactions and would always rather be in bed than at a party, you probably know the feeling of getting extreme social anxiety over day-to-day occurrences. And while it can be hard to get over that anxiety, Mashable has figured out a temporary solution: soup. That's right – we researched the historical backgrounds and nutritional information of 18 different soups and paired them with 18 specific, cringeworthy social interactions. While these soups probably won't make the evil voice in the back of your head go away or cure clinically-diagnosed anxiety, they will be a temporary reminder that life can be warm and wonderful – when you're home alone watching TV, avoiding holiday family stuff or anything else that caused you to emotional turmoil. Read more... More about Social Anxiety, Food, Soup, Watercooler, and Conversations Read More »You'll never guess who topped Zefr's list of biggest digital stars of 2016
Gaming channels dominated the "most influential" YouTube channels of 2016, of course, but the top spot overall went to ... Brazilian comedy? Porta Dos Fundos, a Portuguese-language comedy channel, has topped this year's list of digital influencers. The end of the year round-up, released by Zefr, is largely made up of gamers including Jacksepticeye (no. 2), VanossGaming (no. 3), PewDiePie (no. 4) and Markiplier (no. 8). Zefr, which is Los Angeles-based, tracks and ranks the trending engagement of the top digital influencers across thousands of data points to find out who is the most influential. Read more... More about Aaron Deboer, Familyfunpack, Markiplier, Elrubiusomg, and Screenjunkies Read More »Jerry Lewis has no time for this interview about how hold he is
LOS ANGELES — Why? It's the eternal question, but it's also a handy answer if you're 90 years old and some pesky whippersnapper with a notepad is peppering you with questions about your age. The Hollywood Reporter this week published "Creative until you die," a series of nifty — if somewhat macabrely titled — interviews about showbiz luminaries still working after age 90. Dick Van Dyke, Cloris Leachman, Don Rickles, Betty White ... there are more than you might think. THR books editor Andy Lewis (no relation, we hope) traveled to Lewis' home in Las Vegas to interrogate, errrr, interview the famously difficult comedian, who was obviously in no mood that day to talk about how advanced age was affecting his career. Read more... More about Jerry Lewis, Tv, Movies, and Entertainment Read More »Inside 'Methbot': The massive Russian cybercrime operation stealing millions from advertisers
Security experts have uncovered what appears to be the biggest and most profitable advertising fraud scheme known to date. In a report released Tuesday, cybersecurity firm White Ops mapped out a massive operation through which Russian cybercriminals are stealing millions of dollars from publishers and advertisers in the form of fake video views. Nicknamed "Methbot" for the frequent references to the drug in its code, the ongoing scheme involves an army of bots whose sole purpose is to watch as many as 300 million video ads per day, thus tricking brand advertisers into paying millions of dollars for fake views. Read more... More about Methbot, Business, Advertising, and Media Read More »NBA star apologizes to everyone but the person he screamed at
We recently brought you the story of the strange war brewing between Sacramento Kings star DeMarcus Cousins and his local paper, which culminated in the release of a video in which Cousins is seen hurling profanities at a local reporter. The Kings announced Tuesday that Cousins has been fined. Meanwhile, Cousins released an apology — to everyone but the paper and the reporter he verbally attacked. Before we go on, here's the background if you're just getting up to speed. Andy Furillo, a columnist for The Sacramento Bee, recently wrote a column about an altercation Cousins and Kings teammate Matt Barnes are alleged to have gotten into at a New York City nightclub. In that column, Furillo mentioned in passing another nightclub altercation — this one from last summer and leading to the arrest of Cousins' brother Jaleel, who is an NBA minor leaguer. Read more... More about Nba, Sports, and Entertainment Read More »How Mariah Carey ended up in a YouTube Red Christmas special with DJ Khaled
Justin Hochberg had just five minutes to convince Mariah Carey she should do his Christmas Special for YouTube Red. "I was on the phone with her and Stella [Bulochnikov], her manager, as they were backstage on Mariah's European tour and Mariah was literally about to step on the stage," the CEO of Just Entertainment Studios told Mashable in an interview. "My elevator pitch was basically 'Mariah, you're the queen of Christmas, you've done specials in the past, what about doing It's a Wonderful Life but told through music." Carey and Bulochnikov's reaction: "Love it, let's do it, gotta go." On Monday, about nine months later, The Keys of Christmas — co-starring Carey, YouTuber Rudy Mancuso and DJ Khaled — made its debut on YouTube Red as part of the streaming service's first slate of holiday programming. Read more... More about Fifth Harmony, Lele Pons, Ciara, Dj Khaled, and Rudy Mancuso Read More »North Pole to warm to near melting point this week: 50 degrees above normal
It's happening again: The temperature at the North Pole is projected to spike to around the melting point, or 32 degrees Fahrenheit, on Wednesday into Thursday, despite the complete lack of sunshine that far north in December. Such temperatures would be about 50 degrees above average for this time of year, exceeding the color scale on some weather maps. (Typically, air temperatures at the pole don’t start periodically rising above freezing until at least May.) In other words, this is not normal. But it's a fitting conclusion to a year of unprecedented global warming milestones in the Arctic. Read more... More about Global Warming, Arctic Sea Ice, Climate Change, North Pole, and World Read More »Lawsuit claims Google has internal 'spying program' to stop leaks
It might not all be free snacks and massages at Google headquarters. A lawsuit filed by an anonymous product manager Tuesday alleges the Silicon Valley search company is violating California labor laws with its stringent confidentiality policies that include a "spying program," according to a report Tuesday from news site The Information. The suit says Google encourages employees to rat out other employees for leaking information. It also claims Google forbids employees from writing a novel about working at a Silicon Valley tech company without Google giving the fiction an OK. More about Lawsuit, Google, Tech, Apps Software, and Us Read More »White House says AI could cost U.S. millions of jobs if social services not improved
Artificial intelligence will be essential to the future economic growth of the United States, but if education and social services aren't improved, American workers could lose millions of jobs. That's the conclusion of a new report from the White House examining the economic impact of artificial intelligence and increasing automation. The report, released by the White House Tuesday, details the enormous potential benefits as well as the enormous potential job loss that could occur as a result of the rise of artificial intelligence. The solution, according to the report, is to invest more in improving education and the "social safety net" to help prepare American workers for the changes. Read more... More about Artificial Intelligence, Us, Tech, and Apps Software Read More »People in Iceland are being left off the weather map and they're pissed
People in East Iceland have found something unexpected blocking their view of their nightly weather report: the presenter himself. Residents on one side of the country have found their local region occluded by the oblivious man on the RUV channel, who's spent night after night standing in front of their homes on TV. The locals are so angry, they've taken to Facebook to vent their fury and share their displeasure with likeminded souls in a group reportedly entitled: "Stop standing in front of East Iceland, dear weather forecasters." More about Weather Report, Iceland, and Watercooler Read More »Richard Marx subdues violent passenger to help 'ill-equipped' airline crew
A passenger on a Korean Air flight got violent on Tuesday, but lucky for the crew, pop singer Richard Marx was on board. The '80s balladeer and his wife, TV host Daisy Fuentes, were onboard Korean Air Flight 480 from Hanoi to Seoul, when a guy started attacking the flight attendants and passengers, Fuentes said on Instagram. The crew apparently struggled for four hours to subdue him. Marx was first to get out of his seat and help, she added, posting a picture of her husband holding a rope. More about Korean Air, Daisy Fuentes, Richard Marx, Entertainment, and Music Read More »Survivalist's YouTube account was almost the only good thing about 2016
Please excuse me while I watch a man make a prawn trap with his bare hands, for what's left of 2016. The YouTube account Primitive Technology has only 22 videos, but each is a gem. More than 20 million views prove it — watching someone build a mud hut with only rudimentary tools is excellent viewing. The man behind the account, who has remained anonymous, says on his blog he lives in far north Queensland, Australia. So far he seems to have passed on media interviews, including my own. Perhaps he knows where his charm lies. The appeal of the videos is bound to their silence. There is no speaking. No Bear "everything about the desert will suck you dry" Grylls narration. All you hear are the sounds of Australian bushland and stone against wood. Read more... More about Primitive Technology, Youtube, Australia, and Watercooler Read More »You can bet on pugs racing in Christmas costumes to brighten your day
We love all dogs, but there's a special place in our heart for the French Pug.It's hard not to gush over their squidgy face, boisterous manner and general adorableness. They make an okay racing dog too. And while they'll never match the speeds of a greyhound, at least you can count on pugs to be entertaining. 50 pugs sprinted down City Walk in Canberra, Australia, on Monday as part of the Christmas in the City celebrations. The track was 15 metres long, and owners were encouraged to dress up their dogs. To help their precious pugs get across the finish line, people could bring a toy or favourite item to use during the race. Read more... More about Pug, Pugs, Dog, Dogs, and Animals Read More »Hong Kong is scrapping visa-free entry for Indians
Starting next month, Indian travellers visiting Hong Kong will not be able to clear immigration without a visa. The visa-free facility enjoyed by Indian travellers, which allowed them to roam the Chinese special administrative region for up to 14 days, will end on Jan. 23, the Immigration Department of Hong Kong announced on its website. Post this, Indians visiting Hong Kong will be required to pre-register themselves online. "Indian nationals must apply for and successfully complete pre-arrival registration online before they can visit or transit the HKSAR visa-free (if seeking to enter the HKSAR during transit)," the notification read. Read more... More about Asylum, Asylum Seekers, Airport, India, and Hong Kong Read More »Watch: Robot offers a very colourful glimpse beneath Antarctica's sea ice
Antarctica may look like a forbidding white expanse, but life below the sea ice is full of colour. Scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division sent a robot down to take a look, capturing a small forest of underwater organisms in bright purples, yellows and pinks. The Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) was submerged at O'Brien Bay in east Antarctica. According to biologist Glenn Johnstone, the organisms survive in water that is -1.5 degrees Celsius (29.3 degrees Fahrenheit) and covered in thick sea ice for most of the year. "This footage reveals a habitat that is productive, colourful, dynamic and full of a wide variety of biodiversity, including sponges, sea spiders, urchins, sea cucumbers and sea stars," he said in a statement. Read more... More about Climate Change, Ocean, Antarctica, Australia, and Science Read More »Hilarious Instagram devoted to chubby babies is a must-follow for 2017
There's nothing like a chubby 'lil baby to turn your frown upside down, and 2016 had plenty. First, there was the "rice ball baby" meme, then it was "bread or baby arm?" — but prepare to squeal with with delight with this cute and hilarious Instagram account to end all cute and hilarious Instagram accounts: Tiny Gentle Asians. The account's creator, Mel Kenny, is a Thai Australian editor and social media consultant with a noble mission: To fill your feed with the best baby content around. Specifically, she's obsessed with the way Japanese and Korean mothers take "dramatised, humorous or unflattering pictures of their babies," as she puts it. Read more... More about Babies, Mel Kenny, Tiny Gentle Asians, Watercooler, and Australia Read More »Someone's invented a way to prevent losing your new Apple AirPods
Well, this is one way to keep those new Apple AirPods safely in your ears. When the wireless earbuds debuted, people couldn't stop cracking jokes about losing the little things. With no wire attaching them to each other, it seems just a matter of time before you lose one side — which will cost $69 each to replace. Well, Twitter user Andrew Cornett posted a picture of his new solution:
Paytm outage, internet shutdown give India a reality check on its cashless dreams
In the aftermath of India invalidating much of its cash, many have resorted to mobile wallets to pay for their daily chores. But this week, Indians got a glimpse of how an Internet-reliant economy can fail them sometimes. Users of Paytm, India’s most popular mobile wallet app, couldn’t pay for their food or cab Tuesday evening after the service suffered an outage. The service, which has over 170 million registered users, couldn’t handle the sudden surge in transactions, a spokesperson told Mashable India. Paytm observed three times increase in the traffic on its platform, the company said. Read more... More about Epayment, Cashless, India, Paytm, and Tech Read More »James Taylor scraps Philippines concert plans over its extrajudicial killings of drug offenders
James Taylor has cancelled his upcoming concert in the Philippines, in protest of the country's extrajudicial killings of suspected drug offenders, he announced on social media Wednesday. The folk music legend is set to play an Asia-Pacific tour next year, and Manila was added to the line-up for February. But he's decided to scrap those plans and refund tickets, to make a political stand against Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs. It's been estimated that over 6,000 people suspected of drug trading have been killed since July by police or by ordered hitmen, without undergoing trial. Read more... More about Manila, Extrajudicial Killings, Rodrigo Duterte, Philippines, and James Taylor Read More »This virtual fireplace full of burning Samsung Galaxy Note7s will keep you warm
While Samsung's Galaxy Note7 flagship phone has long been discontinued and (mostly) rendered unusable, the jokes about its occasionally flaming battery still keep on coming. The latest is ingenious in its simplicity. It's a virtual fireplace in the form of a YouTube video, in which a pile of Note7 devices is burning instead of logs. The video, created by Anthony Antonellis, is accompanied with soothing ringtone music and it's just perfect to play on your TV during the holidays. We only have one complaint; the video is just eight minutes long. Can we get an 800-minute version, please? Read more... More about Youtube, Samsung, Fireplace, Note7, and Watercooler Read More »Dramatic footage of explosion at Mexico's fireworks market
A gigantic chain-reaction explosion has ripped through Mexico's best-known fireworks market in Tultepec, on the northern outskirts of the capital, killing at least 29 people. A dramatic video, filmed by a motorist on a nearby highway ramp, showed the moment the blast sent huge clouds of smoke, fire and fireworks into the air: After the explosion, a huge plume of charcoal-gray smoke could be seen billowing in the sky. This drone footage, originally streamed on Facebook, shows an overhead view of the open-air bazaar, reduced to ashes, rubble and charred metal of fireworks stands. Read more... More about Explosion, Market, Footage, Fireworks, and Mexico Read More »Want an Amazon Echo for Christmas? Sorry, it's sold out
It appears that Amazon did a poor job of judging the demand for its smart speakers, the Echo and the Echo Dot. Both devices are currently sold out on Amazon's website, with the Echo Dot slated to be available again on Dec. 27, and the larger Echo only coming on Jan. 19, 2017. According to The Wall Street Journal, however, both devices were still available in some retail stores Monday, meaning there's still a chance to grab one if you don't mind a little walking. Image: Stan Schroeder/Mashabl Amazon spokeswoman Kinley Pearsall told Bloomberg that the Echo still might be available at a number of other places, including Amazon bookstores, Best Buy, Lowe’s, Staples, Sears and Toys "R" Us. Read more... More about Amazon, Echo Dot, Echo, Sold Out, and Amazon Echo Read More »J.K. Rowling answers your burning 'Fantastic Beasts' FAQs on brand new website
LONDON — Splendid news, fellow wizard enthusiasts: not only has J.K. Rowling launched a brand new website, but it also contains a handy FAQ section for our nagging Fantastic Beasts questions. The site launched on Tuesday evening, and — despite tottering under an early surge of traffic — it all seems to be running smoothly today.
"I wanted to bring my website back to what it used to be: something real and personal," wrote Rowling in an introductory piece. "This is a faithful representation of my writing desk, except that I haven’t put on the bits of stale popcorn and biscuit crumbs that usually litter the surface. Read more... More about Uk, Twitter, Fantastic Beasts, Harry Potter, and Jk Rowling Read More »There's a hidden easter egg on J.K. Rowling's new website
LONDON — J.K. Rowling's new website may be fairly light on content at the moment — it did only launch on Tuesday — but it does have a cool little easter egg to discover. In Rowling's introductory welcome message, the Harry Potter author explains her reasons for launching the site, and gives a brief overview of its features — including the intriguing sentence below, about a "debunking function". Image: jkrowling.com The debunking function was a feature of her old website in which Rowling could turn the tables on any rumours circulating about her work. Read more... More about Uk, Harry Potter, Debunking, Easter Egg, and Website Read More »Facebook is making it easier for Android users to sign into other apps
Facebook wants to make it easier for you to sign into all the other apps you have on your Android smartphone without having to wait for an SMS with a one-time password. The social media juggernaut has introduced a new feature, called Instant Verification, to its developer tool Account Kit, which it claims can allow users to log into other Android apps by simply feeding their phone number. The new addition doesn’t require people to enter a one-time password sent via text message or act on any push notification to get authenticated, till the time they are signed in to their Facebook account on their phone. Read more... More about Apps And Software, Android, Facebook, and Tech Read More »Bill O'Reilly talked about the 'white establishment' and Twitter went into meltdown
Twitter descended into a meltdown after Fox News' commentator Bill O'Reilly lashed out at an alleged "liberal conspiracy" from the left to take power away from the "white establishment". "This is all about race. The left sees white privilege in America as an oppressive force that must be done away with. Therefore white working class voters must be marginalised," he argued on the O'Reilly Factor.
10-year-old autistic girl singing 'Hallelujah' will give you goosebumps
LONDON — A 10-year-old girl from Northern Ireland has wowed people around the world after a video of her singing in her school choir went viral. The video of the choirs's version of Leonard Cohen’s "Hallelujah" — recorded at the school's Christmas show — has gained almost 170,000 views in three days According to the National Autistic Society, autism is a "developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people". The NHS defines ADHD as a group of behavioural symptoms including "inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness". Read more... More about Viral Videos, Uk, Singing, Children, and Watercooler Read More »One woman's mission to tackle period poverty this Christmas
LONDON — Films can have a powerful impact on the way we view the world Milner — who is a children's book illustrator from Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, UK — set up a social media campaign with the help of her 13-year-old son. The aim? To get people donating sanitary products to food banks for those who couldn't afford them. Read more... More about Food Bank, Uk, Holidays, Homelessness, and Menstruation Read More »These Hogwarts House prints could be the perfect 'Harry Potter' Xmas present
LONDON — We've all taken the Sorting Hat test. Whether or not we're happy with the results, we all know what Hogwarts House we belong in. The question is, how do we brighten our hopelessly drab muggle existences and proudly display our House allegiance? Well MinaLima, the graphic design studio that worked on both the Harry Potter and the Fantastic Beasts films, may have the answer. In the run-up to Christmas they've released a range of Hogwarts House-themed prints on their website... Read more... Here's the Hogwarts Crest.More about Uk, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin Read More »11 tips for pooping at work when someone's in the next stall
You get up from your desk, and take a leisurely walk to the office bathroom and every stall is miraculously empty. You contently saunter into your favorite one – the one on the end. You carefully line the seat with toilet paper. You sit down and pull out your phone to settle into some reading – perhaps a think piece, or a long Facebook post from someone you went to high school with. Then all of a sudden, the turn of a doorknob. The click of a sensible office shoe. Other people have entered the bathroom. They could be settling in to put on makeup, just taking a quick pee, or even worse: pooping themselves. Read more... More about Office Life, Work, Pooping, Watercooler, and Humor Read More »People are overwhelmed by Christmas cards from the less fortunate
LONDON — The holiday season is a time for giving thanks to the people who've supported us over the past year. But for some people, that support can play a more significant role in their quality of life. Vendors of the Big Issue, a street newspaper that is sold by homeless or poor individuals in the UK, are giving thanks to their loyal customers by giving them Christmas cards.
I survived the baby food diet
I made my coworkers eat baby food for a week. Things got a little weird. Netflix's Twitter account hacked by OurMine
Hacker group OurMine, known for taking over high-profile social media accounts, has struck again. This time, the victim is Netflix's U.S. Twitter account, which has tweeted several messages mentioning OurMine in the past hour. One of the tweets contains OurMine's typical note about "testing your security," while others advertise its security services. Image: Stan Schroeder/Mashable OurMine appears to sit in a weird place between a security company, an activist group and a hacking group. The group has hacked the social accounts of many high-profile persons and companies this year, including Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter's Jack Dorsey and Evan Williams, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales, BuzzFeed and, most recently, Forbes. Read more... More about Ourmine, Twitter, Hack, Hacked, and Netflix Read More »Skateboarding is much more fun from a dog's perspective
Everything looks more exciting from a dog's perspective, and that goes double for skateboarding. Filmed at the skatepark on London's South Bank, the clip above shows a cheerful, GoPro-toting dog galloping after its owner. The best bit? The way the dog bounds up to him after he takes a tumble at the end. India's largest mobile wallet app disappears from the App Store
With new users comes new responsibilities. India’s largest mobile wallet app is quickly realising this in both good and hard ways. Paytm has delisted its iPhone and iPad apps on the Apple’s App Store after stumbling across bugs and other technical issues. The company says it has pushed an update for the app and is waiting for Apple to approve it. The disappearance of Paytm app from the App Store comes hours after the service suffered from an outage Tuesday evening. The service was triggering issues for several users even today. Read more... More about App Store, Ipad, Iphone, India, and Paytm Read More »Jimmy Fallon and The Roots join Paul McCartney, Tori Kelly and more for 'Wonderful Christmastime'
By now, you know: if a bunch of celebrities appear onscreen in a box configuration, a delightful a cappella song is about to happen. Here's the Tonight Show's latest take on the format, with Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, Paul McCartney and the cast of Sing — Reese Witherspoon, Matthew McConaughey, Scarlett Johannson and Seth MacFarlane — teaming up to perform "Wonderful Christmastime." Bonus: some animated animals even make an appearance. This student's genius bath hack has taken the internet by storm
LONDON — Your bath-time snacking habits will never be quite the same again. On Tuesday, a British student tweeted an image with a simple nine-word caption that's since been shared over 7000 times — an image that could be set to change the face of bath-based snacking as we know it. Alexandria Morton is a university student living in Manchester, UK. On Tuesday, she shared the following discovery with the world.
Enjoy 2016 reimagined in gingerbread form
LONDON — 2016 has been quite a year, to say the least. There's been some good times, some bad times, and some really, really bad times. In fact, it's been so eventful, it's hard to remember just half of the things that happened. Thankfully, someone's come up with an excellent — and delicious — way to help you look back over the year that was. Podcaster Helen Zaltzman holds an annual gingerbread decorating afternoon with her friends, which started out as a way to create Christmas ornaments for an oversized tree. Zaltzman appeared on BBC Radio Four's Woman's Hour to showcase her efforts to capture 2016 through the prism of gingerbread people. Read more... More about Brexit, Theresa May, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and Beyonce Read More »'OlabeatsUber' trends on Indian Twitter for all the wrong reasons
Since morning on Wednesday, #OlabeatsUber started trending on Twitter in India. Not as Ola, Uber's local rival, would have intended it though. The trend seemed to have stemmed from a recent report on India's cab-hailing industry by Truecaller which said that Ola recorded more customer calls than Uber in the third quarter of the year. According to Truecaller, Uber's call volumes were a third of rival Ola's. But most of India's Twitterverse used the trending hashtag to point out Ola’s service flaws. Read more... More about Ecommerce, Taxi, Cabs, Uber, and Ola Read More »Menstruation-themed coloring book wants you to stop blushing about periods
Instead of silently struggling to open tampons in bathroom stalls, Cass Clemmer is busting wrappers open and welcoming tampons into the world — complete with googly eyes. Clemmer, an artist from Washington, D.C., started carrying around "Toni the Tampon" about a year ago and has been documenting the inanimate object's adventures "outside the wrapper" on Instagram. SEE ALSO: 8 times Instagram policed women's bodies "I went from hiding my tampon in my sleeve to taking photos of it in public," Clemmer tells Mashable. Now, Toni and an accompanying cast of menstruation-themed friends are starring in a 20-page coloring book called The Adventures of Toni the Tampon, illustrated by Clemmer. And it's all an effort to destigmatize menstruation for the masses. Read more... More about Reproductive Health, Women, Lgbtq, Activism, and Coloring Read More »10 marketing predictions for 2017
2016 was not the year for faint-hearted marketers as they pushed to measure and prove the ROI of their content marketing efforts in order to fight for larger budgets. Google and Facebook continued to dominate, while the rest of the industry may have shrunk. Concerns around ad blocking, viewability, and measurement accuracy continued to dominate conversations about social platforms. 2017 will be the year of “a little less conversation and a little more action.” Marketers will demand visibility, whether results are coming from publishers, agencies, technology providers, etc., and if they don’t get it, they’ll move on. Marketers themselves are under more scrutiny from CEOs and CFOs than ever before. Read more... More about Media, Brands, Ads, Mobile, and Marketing Read More »I survived the baby food diet
Two people ate nothing but baby food for a week. Things got a little gross. Read more... More about Mashable Video, Gwyneth Paltrow, Gerber, Baby Food, and Funny Read More »YouTube prankster claims he got removed from Delta plane 'for speaking Arabic'
YouTube star Adam Saleh has claimed he was removed from a Delta airlines plane along with his friend, Slim Albaher, for speaking Arabic. Saleh recorded a video as he was removed from the aircraft after other passengers complained. A number of passengers can be seen waving at Saleh during the video.
This site will provide 'Star Wars' autographs that are 100% real
In an unlikely alliance, Major League Baseball and Star Wars will partner to identify authentic photos and autographsstarwarsauthentics.com launched Wednesday morning, a new entertainment authentication program introduced by Topps and Authenticators Inc. Autographs are verified through tamper-proof holograms attached to the photos and witnessed by an A.I. representative. (How much more Star Wars can it get?) On the website, fans can order authentic Star Wars photos and autographs from the cast of The Force Awakens and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. This site will be the first and only place to secure items signed by Felicity Jones and John Boyega, as well as items signed by Boyega with Daisy Ridley. Read more... More about Autographs, Mlb, Authenticator, Star Wars, and Movies Read More »Here's the 'cat rapper' freestyling to his cat Ravioli during bathtime
Cats generally do not like bathing, but at least this feline gets a personalized freestyle alongside his soap. Ravioli's owner is self-proclaimed "cat rapper" iAmMoshow, who raps about his cats on a delightful Facebook page. On Saturday, Moshow went live on Facebook with a clip of him freestyling while giving Ravioli a bath. Ravioli does not look particularly happy, but that's to be expected — at least he can listen to perfect lyrics like "I'm sorry / I gotta keep you clean / Ravioli, don't treat me mean" during his sudsy nightmare. Read more... More about Cats and Watercooler Read More »11 good things of 2016
Admittedly, 2016 was a rough one, but it wasn't all bad. The Olympics happened, with the U.S. dominating the medal standings. Netflix wowed us over and over throughout the year. And Prince George taught us it's all about the little things in life. 1. #no-DAPL MovementBeginning in April, protesters stood strong at Standing Rock Reservation fighting the oil pipeline running through sacred ground. The months of activism paid off, as it was finally announced Dec. 4th that the pipeline would not run through the reservation. Image: Photo by Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images Read more... 8 Riz Ahmed rap videos you need in your life right now
We are living in Riz Ahmed's moment, and it is a glorious time to be alive. Not only is the rising actor everywhere from blockbuster films to talk-of-the-town TV, but his visibility turns on the lightbulb connecting Riz Ahmed the actor with Riz MC the rapper. Ahmed isn't cagey about his rap career (though he's no Scott Patterson with the shameless plugs), but there's a guaranteed initial shock when you realize that Bodhi Rook can spit rhymes that are out of this world. We dove into Ahmed's musical appearances to give you what your day needs: His best rap videos, all in one place. More about Riz Ahmed, Entertainment, and Music Read More »Watch the first surgery ever recorded using Snapchat's Spectacles
A surgeon from the U.K. just live-streamed a hernia operation using Snapchat's Spectacles. (warning: graphic content) Around 200 students tuned in to check out the procedure from his point of view, but more than 80,000 have seen the full clip on YouTube. Read more... More about Hernia, Real Time, Real Time Video, Snapchat, and Hospital Read More »The best 'Mega Man' games ever are going mobile
Time to make sure your phone insurance is paid up, because lots of phones are going to be hurled into walls come January. Capcom is bringing the first six games in the Mega Man series to Android and iOS devices next month. The infernally challenging side-scrolling classics from the NES era will sell for $1.99 apiece. It sounds like all six releases will be direct ports of the original games. Capcom's announcement notes that "each game has been optimized for the mobile devices with adjustments to game speed," but there's no mention of any other changes. Read more... More about Mobile, Android, Ios, Gaming, and Entertainment Read More »Rumor: iPhone 7S and iPhone 8 might both be coming in 2017
We're still over nine months from the unveiling of the iPhone 8 (or 7S, or just plain iPhone, or whatever Apple decides to call the next one), but the rumor mill is churning at nearly full power. So far, reports have told us the newest model line will likely have a curved OLED screen, come in three variants and could debut a hot new red color. The latest rumor? Apple is hard at work on a luxe new version of the phone, codenamed "Ferrari." According to Chinese tech blog cnBeta in a post first surfaced in the U.S. by AppleInsider, leaked documents suggests three iPhone models are in development for 2017, with working designations of D20, D21 and D22. According to the report, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus were developed as D10 and, for some reason, D20. Read more... More about Curved Screens, Ferrari, Leaks, Rumors, and Iphone 8 Read More »Probably the most absurd toy to hit the market...
'Pony Up Daddy' is a saddle specifically designed for kids to legit ride on their caregivers... like they were an animal. Read more... More about Mashable Video, Horse Riding, Real Time Video, Saddle, and Pony Ride Read More »You can now use 3 new Snapchat filters while riding in an Uber
Uber and Snapchat, two of Silicon Valley's most-valuable startups, have teamed up. Starting Wednesday, Uber users can unlock exclusive filters to use on Snapchat within the ride-hailing app. The update is part of Uber's push to make its app more personalized and was released this week along with the ability to set a person, not an address, as your destination. The feature is available in the feed of the Uber app after you start your ride. You can swipe between three different cards, "Your ETA," "Your Ride" and "Mystery." When you click on "Unlock filter," Snapchat will automatically open if you have the app. Read more... More about Tech, Business, Apps And Software, Ride Sharing, and Ride Hailing Apps Read More »More people would rather keep using a defective Samsung Note7 than buy an LG
Never bet against Samsung. Despite successfully recalling 93 percent of Galaxy Note7 phones in the U.S., there are still more active Note7's being used than its closest competitors, including the very capable LG V20. The data comes from the research firm Apteligent (via AndroidPolice), and shows the on-its-deathbed Note7 still sitting pretty above the LG V20, HTC Bolt and OnePlus 3T. The chart is interesting, considering how Note7 users have had months to return and exchange their phones as part of Samsung's global recall. But then again, as Mashable learned, there are avid groups of Note7 owners who continue to resist new software attempts aimed at disabling their phones. So the fact that less than 10 percent of remaining Note7s are still actively using their phones shouldn't come as a big surprise. Read more... More about Lg, Galaxy Note 7, Note 7, Samsung, and Android Read More »Uber now lets you set a person, not a place, as your destination
Say you land on a Friday night flight from New York City to San Francisco and you're meeting up with a friend who's already started the night out. Rather than text him to have him tell you where he is while you take an Uber into the city, you can now set your destination to a person — not a place. Unless you think of people as places — as Uber CEO Travis Kalanick does — and then just think of it as you're plugging in a person, not an address. Welcome to Uber's latest update: Uber to Person. "With Uber, you are going from point a to b. The new Uber to Person feature recognizes that people aren't just going to point b, they are trying to get to each other," Uber product manager Yuhki Yamashita told Mashable. Read more... More about Apps And Software, Tech, Business, Ride Sharing, and Ride Hailing Apps Read More »Tom Hanks sent this fan a Polaroid selfie and letter, because that's just what he does these days
Tom Hanks might be everyone's favorite Hollywood nice guy, but lately, the Academy Award-winning actor has instead embraced the role of everyone's favorite pen pal. After a fan shipped Hanks a letter along with a selfie, the actor took some time to respond back with a note (written on a typewriter, of course). He even included a Polaroid selfie with the fan's own photograph. In the letter, posted to Reddit, Hanks tells the fan his thoughts about Toronto ("Growing fast, all those condo towers down on the lake") and asks her whether or not she's prepared for Christmas. Read more... More about Polaroid, Conversations, Watercooler, and Tom Hanks Read More »'Through the roof' Christmas trees are the season's most festive prank
If you want a 20-foot tree, you get that 20-foot tree. In true holiday spirit, a few festive pranksters are displaying "through the roof" Christmas trees, much to the confusion of Twitter and, we're sure, their neighbors. It's not a new trend — the practical joke has been popping up for years — but it's causing particular cheer this season. To make your tree go through the roof, do as Twitter user @aidanswalt did: buy a tall fir, cut it in half, then display half the tree inside and half the tree on the roof — creating the illusion that it's breaking through. Read more... More about Twitter, Christmas, and Watercooler Read More »French grocery store Monoprix parodies Amazon Go in new ad campaign
Amazon Go just got owned — in French. Monoprix, one of France's biggest grocery store chains, has a new ad campaign that parodies the Amazon service that promises to do away with cashiers and other pesky features of grocery shopping. The nearly shot-for-shot video mimics Amazon's video introducing its plans for Amazon Go stores nationwide, which will let customers grocery shop without checkout and then charge their Amazon accounts for what they take. "Over 10 years ago, we were wondering, what would shopping look like if you could walk into a store, grab what you want and just go?" a French narrator says, translating the explanation of Amazon Go before offering a different message. Read more... More about Advertising, France, Grocery Shopping, Grocery Store, and Amazon Read More »This geyser erupting on a frigid day will make your winter solstice
The famed Old Faithful geyser erupts into a clear blue sky in a new video shared by Yellowstone National Park. The steam shot forth by the geyser matches the snow blanketing the ground on the frigid winter morning this was filmed, with the cold, dry air causing a billowing cloud to condense and rise high into the sky. SEE ALSO: Watch Hawaii become a winter wonderland Old Faithful — so named for the regularity with which it erupts — is not the largest or even the most predictable geyser in the park, but it does "erupt more frequently than any other of the large geysers," Yellowstone says on its website. Read more... More about Earth Science, Winter Solstice, Geysers, Old Faithful, and National Parks Read More »MashReads Podcast: Exploring the bravery and resistance of 'Cloud Atlas'
"Yet, what is any ocean but a multitude of drops?" So asks David Mitchell in his post-modern masterpiece Cloud Atlas. In many ways, it's a fitting question that sums up the book entirely. Cloud Atlas is composed of six stories, each about bravery and resistance in their own ways. Throughout the book, each story looks at the figures on the cusp a revolution, turning the tide of either personal or far-reaching history. (i.e. the individual drops that form the ocean of revolution). Each story is told in a different style and genre, all nested within each other, creating a larger novel about how seemingly disparate narratives come together to tell a much larger and richer story (i.e. drops forming an ocean.). Read more... More about Cloud Atlas, Mashreads, Mashreads Podcast, Books, and Entertainment Read More »A glossary of 2016, the words that defined the year
LONDON — It's been an eventful year. From Britain voting to leave the European Union to Donald Trump being elected president of the United States. No one can accuse 2016 of being dull. Some words and terms grew in prominence over the past twelve months, some new words were invented and some existing words gathered fresh meaning. Here's a selection of the words that encapsulate 2016. Alt-RightAlt-right is a term used to described various groups including white supremacists and white nationalists who place an emphasis on "preserving" and "protecting" the white race in the United States. It has been described as a mix of racism, white nationalism and populism and exists online in the form of online harassment and hate memes and IRL. Read more... More about Dabbing, Alt Right, Trump, Brexit, and Spectacles Read More »Watch the first surgery recorded with Snapchat Spectacles
You can now watch a surgery filmed via Snapchat Spectacles. Shafi Ahmed, a teaching surgeon in the United Kingdom, put on a pair of Spectacles earlier this month to record a hernia procedure for his students. Around 200 students watched as he explained the procedure in 10-second snippets, showing different parts of the anatomy and detailing various procedures such as the initial incision. He had an assistant hit record, so he didn't have to keep pulling off his gloves or re-washing his hands. You can watch the shortened and blurred version above, or watch the full four-minute video (which has more than 82,000 views as of this writing, even though it was only uploaded on Dec. 11), below. If you aren't into medical content, maybe give it a miss. Read more... More about United Kingdom, Surgery, Spectacles, Snapchat, and Tech Read More »Holy sh*t snow just fell in the Sahara Desert for the second time in living memory
The last time snow was recorded in this town in the Sahara Desert was in 1979. Read more... More about Mashable Video, Real Time Video, Weather, Snow, and Nature Read More »Man's live tweets from a café prove love isn't dead
It's not everyday that you find yourself in the middle of a timeless love story. Twitter user @notjerryclayton, however, might have found himself in just that. While sitting in a café in Brooklyn, Jerry witnessed the shop's female barista bravely confess her romantic feelings for her male coworker and, well, you'll have to read the live tweets for yourself. Grab a cappuccino, sit back, and enjoy this adorable tale of a coffee shop romance. First, Jerry set the scene.
Young adults and the evolution of modern food culture
Paid Content by AflacFrom a financial perspective, young adults are a relatively future-focused, financially savvy group. Millennials do, however, spend more money on dining out than any previous generation. Recently, an Australian writer made headlines when he asserted that millennials can’t afford homes — because they’re spending too much on avocado toast. This blanket statement, however, misses the point. There’s so much more to those cafe moments than simple indulgence. Below, we dig into a few of the reasons why the foodie movement has gained so much momentum among this generational cohort. Read more... More about Foodies, Millennial Trends, Supported, Millennials, and Lifestyle Read More »Chrismukkah this year is more perfect than normal. Allow 'The O.C.' to explain.
As everyone who loyally watched seminal Fox dramedy The O.C. from 2003-07 (or knew someone who loyally watched The O.C. from 2003 to 2007) is well aware, Chrismukkah time is nearly upon us. Chrismukkah has been a popular term in pop culture for over a decade at this point, but just in case you've somehow forgotten the holiday, here's your high school television boyfriend Seth Cohen giving you a rundown. While people can (and do) celebrate Chrismukkah every year, 2016 is extra special because for the first time in 28 years, the dates for Hanukkah and Christmas actually overlap: The first night of Hanukkah this year is Christmas Eve. The last time that this exact Christmas-Hanukkah overlap happened was in 1978, and the next time it will happen will be in 2027, per Time. Read more... More about Hanukkah, Christmas, Television, The O.C., and Chrismukkah Read More »Prove your undying allegiance to 'Harry Potter' with golden snitch engagement rings
Listen up, Harry Potter nerds. If you're having a HP-themed wedding and think that's big enough to show how you're dedicating your life to the Wizarding World, you're mistaken. So you have a baby and give it a mandrake-themed photoshoot, maybe you get a HP tattoo. But no. There's more you can do. To prove your commitment to Harry Potter, you must marry the spirit of J.K. Rowling (along with your husband or wife, probably) and wear a Harry Potter-themed engagement ring. Sapphire Studios, a jeweler based in Melbourne, Australia, is known for their unique engagement rings – and their Golden Snitch collection of diamond rings just might be enough to prove yourself. Read more... More about Jk Rowling, Beauty, Entertainment, Watercooler, and Diamond Read More »This smart exoskeleton could help paraplegics walk again
Hyundai is venturing into robotics with the H-MEX exoskeleton system that will allow people with limited mobility to walk. Read more... More about Mashable Video, Robotics, Disabilities, Technology, and H Mex Read More »Cosplayers pull a 'Nightmare Before Christmas' prank on mall Santa
Former mall goths will feel a certain fondness for the excellent Nightmare Before Christmas prank these cosplayers played on a local mall Santa.
For those who didn't spend 2006 holed up in a Hot Topic, these cosplayers are dressed as Lock, Shock and Barrel, a trio of mischievous trick-or-treaters tasked with kidnapping Santa. SEE ALSO: Merry Christmas, from hell: Santa army fights penguin empire in epic virtual war Read more... Duck chasing laser pointer thinks it's a cat
Animals - and occasionally, small humans - chasing laser pointers will always be entertaining. At first, this duck appears to be diving, but at a closer look, you can see that it's chasing a laser pointer just like a cat. We're now wondering if it loves playing with balls of string as well. After hacking Netflix, OurMine hits Marvel accounts
After accessing Netflix's Twitter account, the collective OurMine has now logged in to several Twitter accounts associated with Marvel, including the company's main account and those associated with several Marvel Cinematic Universe films. The tweets sent by the group from the accounts were very similar in nature to the ones sent from Netflix's Twitter earlier on Wednesday in offering help to the companies which had been hacked.
Where to watch your favorite Christmas movies this holiday
Christmas means fighting with your family about what to watch after a day of incessant eating and unwrapping presents (best case scenario). We've narrowed that list to some of our favorites, and only the ones available on streaming. Merry Christmas, ya' filthy animals. Love Actually - NetflixCelebrate the holiday with this classic Christmas rom-com, and speak up if you want to watch it again and again (because on Christmas, you tell the perhaps tipsy truth). Home Alone - HBOWhat captures the Yuletide spirit more than abandoning a child and booby trapping a suburban home to life-threatening scale? Read more... More about Scrooged, White Christmas, Miracle On 34th Street, While You Were Sleeping, and Love Actually Read More »If you wanted to watch a man get stung by a bullet ant before the holidays, you're in luck
Okay, you clicked on this, which means you're the type of person who wants to see some ants sting people today. Good. Welcome to the club. Here's a long video in which animal expert/wildman Coyote Peterson finds a bullet ant and makes it sting him. The bullet ant packs the 15th most painful insect sting in the world, which is described as, "Like walking over flaming charcoal with a three-inch nail embedded in your heel." Suffice it to say, the sting looks painful. Skip to about 10:30 to get to the good stuff. 'The Bachelor' gets its own show on Snapchat
Now you can get your Bachelor fix on Snapchat. On Wednesday, Snap Inc. and Disney ABC Television Group announced they will partner up to create original episodic shows for Snapchat Discover. The programming will kick off with Watch Party: The Bachelor, a complement to ABC's popular franchise which kicks off its 21st season on Jan. 2. The Snapchat show will show celebrities, comedians, super fans and Bachelor and Bachelorette alums as they get together to watch the season. The rotating Bachelor enthusiasts will "hang out, eat snacks, crack jokes and hilariously react to the crazy/wild/romantic storylines that are sure to unfold this season," ABC and Snap Inc. said in the press release. Read more... More about Digital Shows, Snap Inc, Snapchat, Abc, and The Bachelor Read More »Liam Hemsworth makes an adorably awkward appearance in the Cyrus Christmas photo
Is it really even a Christmas gathering without an awkward family photo? Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus posed for a family portrait on Wednesday and the Aussie actor looks very adorably out of place in the picture. Between Trace's band Metro Station, Miley and Billy Ray, the Cyrus family is a clan full of musicians with rockstar personalities (and a burgeoning young pop voice now, too). It's a rare to witness them all together, but as confirmed by Hemsworth's grimace, the holidays are a very serious time—and when you're in a relationship, there's no way to avoid the trappings of the classic Christmas 'gram. Read more... More about Conversations, Watercooler, Instagram, Christmas, and Miley Cyrus Read More »Why Snap opened an office in China
Snap Inc. has been staffing up and expanding globally ahead of its highly anticipated public offering next year. The startup, formerly known as Snapchat, most recently opened an office in Shenzhen, China. The new office, which currently has about 20 employees, is focused on the development of Spectacles, Snap's recently-released video-camera sunglasses, the Los Angeles Times reported. The manufacturing of the devices also takes place in China, but is led by the Chinese company Goertek in other facilities. The expansion comes even as Snapchat and other U.S.-based social apps Facebook and Twitter are blocked in China. Furthermore, the platforms have behemoth would-be competitors such as WeChat (Facebook), Weibo (Twitter) and Snow (Snapchat). But that hasn't stopped these companies from opening up shop in China. Read more... More about Apps And Software, China, Business, Snap Inc, and Snapchat Read More »Steelers kicker given "random" drug test after making 6 field goals
The NFL randomly selected Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell for a drug test on Wednesday morning, but oh, does the timing seem far from "random." Responsible for 18 of his team's 24 points on Sunday, Steelers kicker Chris Boswell pretty much "put the team on his back," as they say. His six field goals mark a career best, which makes this "random" drug test suspiciously not random. Boswell tweeted the note taped to his locker, and seemed pretty skeptical.
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srijeda, 21. prosinca 2016.
FeedaMail: Mashable
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