Mashable Articles: May 2013

Friday, May 31, 2013

5 Reasons to Choose Vimeo Instead of YouTube

Two platforms clearly stand out when it comes to hosting online videos: YouTube and Vimeo.

YouTube's clearly the big dog. At 800 million unique visitors per month, with roughly 72 hours of content being uploaded each minute, it's by far the most used video-sharing platform on the web. (It doesn't hurt that it's owned by Google, either.)

But upload statistics alone don't necessarily make it the best platform out there. Vimeo, while on a smaller audience scale, has plenty of advantages over the streaming giant â€" especially for someone who's looking to receive helpful feedback or showcase their work to a community of fellow filmmakers.

Not to knock on YouTube. It's a great platform as well, and it overall depends on what type of video you're uploading and what sort of audience you're trying to reach. But, if you're struggling to decide between the two, check out our list below of reasons why Vimeo â€" not YouTube â€" might be your best fit.

1. The Community of Professionals

Unlike YouTube's massive audience, Vimeo's is a more small, niche community of film enthusiasts. It's not nearly as large â€" it gets roughly 70 million unique visitors each month â€" but its modest size creates an intimate and fully engaged community. It's a network of people who are genuinely interested in film quality, too, so you know your work is being seen by people who will appreciate it.

Plus, you're more likely to get constructive criticism in the comments section. (On YouTube, even a video of a baby owl stretching its wings for the first time is guaranteed to launch a string of off-topic, mean and flat-out racist comments.)

2. There's Less ... Fluff

GIF courtesy of WeHeartIt.com

Don't get us wrong â€" there are plenty of gems on YouTube. But the problem with a site where more than 70 hours of video are uploaded every minute is that not every hour is going to be something you'd like to watch. Haters may hate, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a 30-second clip of a man dancing in a penguin costume on Vimeo.

3. The Cleaner Layout

Aside from the difference in video genres, Vimeo offers a cleaner aesthetic than YouTube. Videos are larger and there's limited clutter around the frame, so it really feels like the primary focus of the website is on the video, and nothing else.

4. No Advertisements

No distracting banners or 30-second commercials before your video starts â€" a huge perk for the viewer.

5. Password Protection

Lastly, Vimeo allows you to password-protect your videos, so you can share them with friends before setting them as public. It differs from creating a "private" video on YouTube in that you don't need to be logged into the video's account to view it â€" you just forward the video to your recipient and make sure they know which password to type in.

Give Vimeo a look for yourself if you haven't done so already. It's free to sign up for a basic membership; Vimeo Plus is $9.95 per month; and Vimeo PRO is $199 per year.

Do you have a preference between the two video streaming services? Or, better yet, do you prefer a different uploading site? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Image via iStockphoto, cifotart

Oculus Rift Used to Simulate Decapitation by Guillotine

We've seen the virtual reality headset Oculus Rift take a 90-year old grandmother on a charming tour through Tuscany, but the device can also be used for other, much less pleasant experiences.

In one very blatant example, users are going through the experience of being decapitated by a guillotine, a device used for executions, most famously in the 18th century during the French Revolution.

This Oculus Rift experience, created during the Exile Game Jam by Erkki Trummal, AndrÃ© Berlemont and Morten Brunbjerg, is dubbed "Disunion - The guillotine simulator". It's simple â€" users put their head into the virtual guillotine, looking up as the virtual blade drops down on their necks.

We can only imagine the experience to be quite discomforting. In the video, though the users are obviously well aware that the entire process is harmless, their reactions range from uneasy laughter to moments of sheer horror.

The idea highlights the possibilities of creating frightening or otherwise unpleasant virtual reality experiences for the Oculus Rift and similar devices. An obvious usage example are horror games â€" we shudder to think what a good horror game would look like through the Oculus Rift â€" but we also have to wonder whether simulating an execution is taking the virtual reality concept a bit too far.

How do you feel about this idea? Would you undergo a virtual reality experience like this? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Image courtesy of Vimeo/AndrÃ© Berlemont

Spotify Discover Now Available to Everyone

Spotify has made its "Discover" feature, which offers personalized music recommendations to users, available to all.

Discover â€" originally announced in December 2012 â€" is showing users relevant artists and playlists, based on their current listening habits. It's also offering curated content from music sites and services such as Pitchfork, Songkick and Tunigo.

Other new feature of note is Audio Preview, which enables users to listen to new music without stopping the song they're currently playing. Click and hold over any play button on the Discover page and you'll listen to that song; release it and you return to the song you were playing before.

The Discover page is available today on play.spotify.com. It will also "gradually" roll out to Spotifyâ€™s desktop and mobile apps.

Spotify Discover Tab
Spotify Discover
User Profile
Collection View
Artist Notifications
Artist Discography
Artist Profile

Image courtesy of Spotify

How a Computer Model Could Help Fight Terrorism

When Justin Bieber tweets, 39,361,876 people (and counting) immediately jump to attention. But when one of those nearly 40 million people tweet, does the Beebs see it? Does he react at all?

Communication among terrorist cells works much in the same way as Justin Bieber's Twitter account, according to mathematicians from Ryerson University in Toronto who have built a mathematical model of the way information spreads through these hierarchical networks. Their approach may give counterterrorism agents insight into terrorism hierarchies and allow them to predict terrorist attacks and sabotage networks before the attack plans can be carried out.

Terrorist networks are often arranged hierarchically, meaning information flows in one direction: top down, from one leader to many followers. This model is called a "directed network without cycles," or a "directed acyclic graph."

The limited and one-way nature of the contact among parties in these types of networks helps preserve anonymity, and makes it easy for terrorist leaders to blast messages out to a large audience. What these "directed networks without cycles" lack in teamwork they make up for in sheer numbers â€" leaders can assume that within their huge networks, at least one person will act on their commands.

But these hierarchical social networks have serious flaws, which counterterrorism agencies could use to detect and even sabotage terrorist networks before they succeed in carrying out an attack.

In a paper describing their mathematical model, the researchers compare the way information flows top-down to the way lava flows down a volcano's side. There's no practical way to contain the lava from every possible point â€" but you can minimize the damage by blocking the lava's flow at a handful of strategic points.

The key advantage of this model is its flexibility: It's able to account for the slow spread of information over time, and also gives counterterrorism agents â€" the ones blocking the lava's flow â€" the ability to respond dynamically as new pathways present themselves.

Granted, the model does operate on a number of assumptions, including that the hierarchical social structure is consistent throughout the terrorist network.

And there will always be rogue actors who act in unpredictable ways.

"The Boston bombers are a good example of how little we know about such terrorist networks," acknowledged Anthony Bonato, a mathematics professor at Ryerson and a co-author of the paper. "Did the Tsarneav brothers act alone, or as part of a more extensive network? Further, the structure and organization of these networks are not well understood."

Image via Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

This article originally published at TechNewsDaily here

Elon Musk Wants to Build an Electric Pickup Truck

How did you spend you Friday night? Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk spent his answering questions about paying back the government and musing about the next kind of electric vehicle he might like to make.

After posting a number of tweets about his thoughts on proper taxation and how he did (PayPal and Zip2) and didn't make his fortune, Musk appeared to drop in something of a non sequitur:

While building an electric truck would be new for Tesla, it's not a new idea for the world of automobiles. There are already electric truck companies like Smith Electric and Zap World.

Still, you can't blame Musk for dreaming big. The mogul who not only builds electric cars, but is pioneering private space flight with SpaceX, is in a celebratory mood. His Telsa Model S Electric sedan was recently awarded a rating of 99 out of 100 by Consumer Reports. Plus, the company is now profitable and paying back government loans.

On the other hand, this and any other late-night Friday musings by the active entrepreneur should, perhaps, be taken with a grain of salt. Later that evening, he also tweeted this:

Whatever the case, Musk can whistle a happy tune and dream big about a low center of gravity (CG) electric pickup truck that handles like a sports car. Would you buy an electric pickup truck from Musk?

Would You Enrol Your Child in a LEGO School?

Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen is the billionaire grandson of the founder of LEGO. He was born in the Danish town of Billund â€" a rural municipality in Jutland that Copenhagen residents refer to as "hicksville" â€" and has made it his mission, given his means, to turn the area into the "Capital of Children." In addition to sponsoring an airport, several community centers, a church, a theater and a library in Billund, Kirk Kristiansen is also developing more kid-friendly fare: a parkour area. And an interactive park called the Dance Arch. And a playground filled with rubberized toys known as bObles. Oh, and a LEGO house. Oh, and Legoland.

In August, however, Kirk Kristiansen will take an even bigger step toward developing a town that emphasizes its pint-sized citizens: He's opening a school. The International School of Billund will focus on inquiry-based, Montessori-style education. "Collaboration, problem solving, and learning through play are embedded into our learning philosophy," the school says of its curriculum, "and we believe that a fusion of these highly acknowledge learning methods mentioned above will strengten our students' ability to engage in life as creative, critical thinkers."

The campus will feature bicycle routes, learning labs, music studios and playgrounds. And also, yes, lots of LEGOs. As the school explains of its approach to what it calls "Systematic Creativity":

When the LEGO system is used in a learning environment young people become creative, active and collaborative learners. They take ownership and are self-driven. They express their originality. They also learn from the interpreted experiences of other people as they share their ideas. They learn by reflecting on experiences and discussing how things work and they help each other to learn through the shared language of the brick.

Before you get too jealous of the children of Billund, though, it's worth noting that the school will still be ... a school. Students will learn, the school emphasizes, under standards set by the International Baccalaureate (IB) with the Danish school system. (The student body will likely be about half international and half Danish.) And the Billund school will be headed by the British physicist and international educator Richard Matthews, who has led several schools at different locations around the world.

When it opens this summer, the school will accommodate 3-to-7-year-olds; by 2015, if all goes according to plan, it will expand to include 8-to-16-year-olds. Tuition for the school itself will also be, this being Denmark, subsidized by the government, which will pay 66% of school fees while parents pay the remainder. That works out to a per-kid charge of $517 US dollars a month â€" less than what most U.S. private schools charge for tuition, but still a lot of LEGOs.

Image courtesy of LEGOLAND Florida

This article originally published at The Atlantic here

Who Are the 3 Big Winners in the Smartphone Market?

Alexis Madrigal for The Atlantic 2013-05-26 02:51:44 UTC

Benedict Evans, a consultant at UK-based research firm Enders Analysis, has a great post describing the market for smartphones (and phones more broadly) in three charts and about 600 words. Admirable economy! Let me try to compress the argument even further.

If one looks at profits, only two companies make a substantial amount of money: Apple and Samsung. (Check out the chart, below.)

If one looks at market share in smartphones, Google's Android platform is increasingly dominant. The Android operating system is grabbing an ever-larger share of an ever-larger market.

"To put this another way, looking at 'smartphone share' or 'profit share' or 'platform share' all tell you something about the industry, but all three metrics mislead you if you try to treat them as a way to see who's 'winning', because 'winning' means different things for Apple, Samsung or Google," Evans concludes. And in one way or another, all three are making out all right.

One thing is clear from these charts, though, is who is losing, and that is everyone else.

Homepage image courtesy of Flickr, Kai Hendry; above image courtesy of Benedict Evans

This article originally published at The Atlantic here

The Atlantic is a Mashable publishing partner that is a multimedia forum on the most-critical issues of our times, from politics, business, urban affairs, and the economy, to technology, arts, and culture. This article is reprinted with the publisher's permission.

Former Thief Invents Theft-Proof ATMs From His Cell

Who knows security better than a thief?

Romanian computer expert Valentin Boanta used to supply thieves with the skimmers they used to gather information to create fake bank cards and then steal cash from ATMs.

Boanta, 33, was caught in 2009. And now, six months into his five-year sentence, the former thief has developed a technology that would safeguard ATMs from the very attacks in which he used to participate.

"When I got caught, I became happy," Boanta told Reuters. "This liberation opened the way to working for the good side."

Skimming is the act of copying a credit or debit card by scanning the magnetic strip on the card's back. Thieves then use these cloned cards to withdraw money from the cardholder's bank account at an ATM.

Boanta supplied a Romanian criminal gang with gadgets that hid any evidence of foul play and made the cloned cards seem almost exactly like the originals.

His invention, called Secure Revolving System or SRS, can prevent skimming from happening in the first place.

Users insert their card into the SRS long edge first, instead of the narrow end. That way, any attached skimmer or other surveillance gadget would be unable to scan the card's magnetic strip. Once the card is safely inside the ATM, the device rotates it, reads it and spits it back out â€" long edge first.

Essentially, the SRS is a long-overdue upgrade for ATMs whose aging hardware can't compete with modern digital theft technologies.

Boanta designed the SRS from his cell in a Romanian prison, which he shares with five other burglars and a shelf full of books and technical manuals.

But he's not without outside help: His research is funded by Romanian tech firm MB Telecom, which has patented the SRS and says it will be available soon, though an exact release date has not yet been announced. MB Telecom President Mircea Tudor also told Reuters that Boanta would definitely have a job with the company when the reformed thief gets out of prison in four and a half years.

Romania is a frequent source of computer hacks, scams and malware. The former communist country has a history of both social unrest and technical education. The combination has made the country a haven for hackers; it's second only to China in incidents of reported cyberattacks, according to Verizon's 2013 Data Breach Investigations Report.

Image via iStockphoto, robyvannucci

This article originally published at TechNewsDaily here

Learn About Overfishing With This Interactive Web Aquarium

The human race has had a profound effect on the planet. Unfortunately, it hasn't always been positive. One of the overlooked issues we've caused is overfishing. By fishing too much, we have diminished the population of fish in a way that, according to many scientists, can even threaten oceanic ecosystems.

To highlight this issue, which is often poorly understood by the general public, Sam Slover, a 28-year-old student at the New York University Interactive Telecommunications Program has designed an interactive web aquarium that lets users see how the fish population has changed from 1910 until 2010.

"My goal was to take important data that at first glance can be a bit dry and turn it into something fun and visually appealing," Slover told Mashable. "Overfishing is a huge problem, and my hope is that this project can be a playful way for people to become more informed."

The project is called The Nature of Overfishing, and it was made for a programming course that Slover took at NYU. On the interactive website (check it out here), made with ProcessingJS and custom Javascript, a visitor can scroll through the past 100 years of fishing history. As years go by, the animated representations of big predatory fish and small prey fish either vanish or multiply.

Slover explains that overfishing has decimated mainly predatory fish, the ones humans eat. Their decrease has directly led to an increase in the population of prey fish. In 2010, there were 78% less predator fish than in 1910, whereas the population of small fish has increased 133%. The study and the website show the decline was initially slow (up to 1970 it was just 0.2% a year), but it picked up from 1970 to 1990 with a 4% annual decline. After that, the decline has slowed down to 2.9%.

The data on which the visualization is based comes from a study (PDF) by Villy Christensen and the University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre.

"Overfishing has absolutely had a 'when cats are away, the mice will play' effect on our oceans," said Christensen, who presented the research findings at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual conference in Washington. "By removing the large, predatory species from the ocean, small forage fish have been left to thrive."

Take a look for yourself at Slover's digital aquarium. His website will also be featured Monday at the NYU Interactive Telecommunications Program Spring Show.

Photo via Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, screenshot courtesy of Sam Slover

Facebook for Android: 10 Tips for Power Users

Facebook is a lot like crystal meth â€" it's highly addictive and will probably cause your teeth to fall out.* Android users are always one tap away from a snarky status update or a friend's vacation pics.

SEE ALSO: 20 Things Your Most Annoying Friends Do on Facebook

Facebook's Android app has come a long way from its humble beginnings. The most recent iterations are packed with features, from personal settings to page management to power sharing.

Here are a few tricks we use to keep up with Facebook pals on the go.

*Not clinically proven.

1. Sort your News Feed by "Most Recent"

If you don't trust an algorithm to sort your updates for you, use this feature to arrange things chronologically. The setting is not apparent â€" likely by design. Find it by tapping the three bars on the top-left to bring up the menu. Then tap the gear to the right of "News Feed." This will let you toggle between "Top Stories" and "Most Recent."

The feature occasionally resets itself to "Top Stories," so if your feed gets messy again, check here for a reset.

2. Quick Post Widget

Facebook's Android app has a home screen widget that lets you quickly share a status update, photo or location check-in without launching the full feed. Add it by long-pressing an empty space on your background.

3. Edit Favorites

The left-hand menu probably highlights a few options you have no use for ("Discover Places?" No thanks.). Optimize this real estate by starring your favorite features, feeds, groups, pages and apps. Ditch the ones you don't need.

Organize the starred items by dragging the right-side handles up and down.

4. See the last time your friends logged in on mobile.

Admittedly, this feature is rather creepy, and it's available on both Android and iOS versions of Facebook's app. Log in to chat by tapping the icon in the top-right corner. Your list of friends will appear, along with the minutes since they last accessed Facebook mobile â€" whether they're logged into chat or not.

SEE ALSO: 5 Things We'd Change About Facebook Mobile

That's right; your stalkers will know â€" to the minute â€" the last time you checked Facebook on your phone.

Facebook hides the option to log out of chat after you've activated it (sigh), so you'll have to go into the app's settings and turn it off if you don't want people messaging you.

5. Manage Notifications

Notification settings are surprisingly granular in Facebook's app. In the left-hand menu, go to Account > App Settings and find Notification Settings. From there, you can uncheck less important activity. Uncheck Notifications completely if you do not want to receive push messages from Facebook. Turning off notifications will improve your phone's battery life.

6. Share to Facebook from any context.

One of the best Android features is the ability to share almost any item directly to an installed app. This certainly holds true for Facebook.

Tap the share function on a photo, video or link and select Facebook from the pop-up menu. You'll be taken directly into the app, where you can write your epic caption.

You can do the same within other apps. Here, I'm sharing a link from a Reddit app to Facebook mobile via the context menu.

7. Access app settings from (almost) anywhere.

You don't have to sidle over to the left-hand menu every time you want to change a setting in Facebook's Android app. The bar with three vertical dots at the bottom of most screens is an easy access point for the settings menu.

8. Promote your page's posts directly from mobile.

If you're managing a brand page from your phone, you might notice the option to "Boost This Post" below the content you're sharing. Tapping this link lets you pay for increased visibility. A menu will show you a few pro-rated prices and the estimated reach you can buy. Pop in your credit card and promote away, without leaving the comfort of your phone.

9. Improve performance.

Like all software, Android apps can accrue junk in their data caches. If left unchecked, Facebook's cache can bog it down.

Go to your phone's Settings > Apps > Facebook and clear it out every few days. This should make the app feel "lighter" when running. Don't confuse "Clear Cache" with "Clear Data." The latter will erase your username, password and settings from the app. If you accidentally tap it, you'll have to re-enter them.

If you use many apps simultaneously and switch between them, it's never a bad idea to kill them outright for better performance. If you find Facebook (or your phone, in general) is getting sluggish, select the often-used apps from that menu and "Force Stop" them. They will boot fresh for you next time.

10. Get a faster Facebook.

Ultimately, if Facebook's official offering is too slow for your taste (and let's face it, it is), there's a free Android app called Fast for Facebook, which does exactly what you think.

It will connect to your Facebook account (no login/password required) and provide a stripped down (if ugly) version of your feed that's lightning fast. An app by the same developer called Fast Home Widgets for Facebook lets you drop the feed right on your home screen.

The apps are sorely lacking in the UI department. For example, if someone writes on a friend's Timeline, it appears in your feed as a regular status update, confusing the context. Images and link thumbnails get pretty funky as well. But if you're looking for the most efficient, lightweight way to access Facebook from Android, these apps are a good bet.

Images by Mashable; Mashable composite, logo courtesy of Facebook.

When to Back Off the Social Media Baby Train

We all have those Facebook friends who seem to make a living posting pictures and video clips of their kids.

How cute is little Johnny eating a banana?
Hereâ€™s Johnny at the playground going down the slide!
Oh, poor Johnny is upset because mommy wonâ€™t give him another cookie.

We get it, your kid is cute. But truth is, no one is really interested.

Useless kid information is one of the many reasons I quit Facebook over a year ago. Of course I care about my friendsâ€™ kids and want to see pictures of them, but unbelievable inventions like email and SMS help me access all the updates I want.

Whether youâ€™re the offender in this case (i.e., parent oversharer) or the casual News Feed browser bombarded with napping pictures, these tips will make your social media experiences more pleasurable.

1. For Oversharers

Less Is More

Do you post one video per day, maybe two? Are your pictures getting an errant comment or like here and there, even when you know your friends are online? Take the hint that youâ€™re overposting â€" people are scrolling past your updates, not interacting with them.

Quality, Not Quantity

People are much more receptive to photos of your kids' milestones than to snapshots of their daily minutiae. First birthday, first steps, first words: all good. First time eating an animal cracker: not so much.

Have Some Respect

I have seen posts of kids in the bathtub, using the potty, getting changed and running wild in their birthday suits. Those really arenâ€™t necessary. You wouldnâ€™t want someone to post pictures of you doing the same, so why do it to your kids?

Keep It Clean

Speaking of potty shots, graphic details of potty training, diaper blowouts or puke-fests are best left to the pediatrician and close family (if theyâ€™re even interested). People really donâ€™t need to see documentation of your ruined shirt, because thereâ€™s â€œvomit ALL over it.â€

Donâ€™t Complain About Your Kids

We all have those â€œCalgon, take me awayâ€ moments as parents, but to constantly berate your kids online and complain about what â€œfreakinâ€™ pains in the assâ€ they are (yes, I have seen this status update) is just poor taste.

Take It Outside

Outside Facebook, that is. If after reading these tips, you still have a penchant for hourly/daily posts of your kids, take it to a site or app created for this exact purpose. A website like FamilyLeaf or a mobile app such as Notabli lets you create private social networks so you can share, share, share as much as your heart desires.

2. For Bombardees

Be Selective

Just because you are Facebook friends, donâ€™t feel obligated to like or comment on every single baby picture. The first shot of the kid after its birth? Yes, of course. The 15th pic of the kidâ€™s footprint? Leave it alone. Go with your gut. If you really want to comment on something, do.

Take With a Grain of Salt

Maybe some of your Facebook friends complain about their kids. But you also know a few whose kids get straight As, speak fluent Thai and enjoy live-in nannies. Donâ€™t become jaded and depressed by othersâ€™ seemingly perfect lives.

Check Your Settings

You may only see updates from people with whom you recently interacted, which might explain the umpteenth baby photo in your feed. Go to your homepage and pull down the Options menu to make sure youâ€™re seeing updates from â€œAll Of Your Friends and Pages.â€ That may dilute the barrage of kid updates.

Cut and Replace

In drastic situations where babies are taking over your feed, try a Chrome extension like Unbaby.me to replace those baby pictures with ones of, say, cats, cars or ball-juggling seals.