Mashable Articles: 2014

Monday, September 15, 2014

200+ Job Openings From New York to Oklahoma

Position: Sales Engineer
Company: Optimizely
Location: San Francisco, California

The Customer Success team is Optimizely's secret weapon. As a team, we provide technical expertise (pre and post sales) to help our clients fully leverage the Optimizely platform as well as strategic guidance to help our clients test in intelligent and insightful ways. In every interaction, we put our customers first and strive to exceed every expectation. Our ultimate goal is to deliver that “wow” experience that turns clients into Optimizely evangelists, and customers for life

Position: Director of Marketing
Company: Crowd Twist
Location: New York, New York

CrowdTwist provides the most comprehensive omni-channel loyalty & analytics solutions for industry leading brands such as Pepsi, Nestlé Purina, VIZIO, L'Oreal, Zumiez and others. Their software helps build more profitable and active relationships with customers, delivers a deeper understanding of how customers engage across channels and drives a measurable increase in high value behaviors and spend. Founded in 2009, CrowdTwist is based in New York City’s Silicon Alley

Position: Helpdesk & Systems Analyst
Company: Circut
Location:South Jordan, Utah

Cricut® is a world leader in personal electronic cutting machines that enable people to achieve their creative best. For 50 years, Cricut has sold tools that inspire creativity, including the Cricut electronic cutting machine, Cricut Craft Room® design software, and the Cricut Cuttlebug™ embosser and die cutter. Today, millions of people use Cricut products to create projects, and Cricut products have won dozens of industry awards. Visit www.cricut.com or call (800) 937-7686.

Position: Paid Social Media Planner
Company: HIP Genius
Location: New York, New York

In this role, you’ll help us replicate our past successes as you lead strategic recommendations and execution across intent based media. Including but not limited to Facebook Marketplace, YouTube StumbleUpon, Twitter Promoted products and emerging platforms. In our independent agency with a decade of experience, you’ll be joining a group of highly skilled professionals who remain accountable to each other on a daily basis. You will be involved in the integrated social planning and will manage campaign execution for several HIP Genius clients.

Position: Hosting Support Consultant
Company: GoDaddy
Location: Gilbert, Arizona

Providing support to hosting customers on inbound telephone calls, chats and tickets. They will be the first point of contact and provide professional consultation to customers . Their interactions will range from questions about current products/services and/or consultation of new purchases. Effectively responds and provides information to customers regarding new offerings, contract extension options, and attempts to cross-sell additional products/services.

Position: Producer, Digital Media
Company: United Nations Foundation
Location: Washington, D.C.

The Producer, Digital Media (UNF) will be responsible for the day-to-day implementation and support of cross-cutting UN Foundation digital properties. He/she will create, edit and post digital content to www.unfoundation.org and the Foundation’s primary social media outlets. He/she will support the UNF team in executing digital strategies, including but not limited to: The Foundation’s multiple issue area priorities, coordination with UN agency social media and online communications teams, Foundation event and partner engagement opportunities, and the Foundation’s Global Connections blog.

Position: Marketing Associate/Coordinator
Company: Radius Travel
Location: Bethesda, Maryland

Radius Travel, a growth company that delivers global travel programs for multinational companies through a network of best-in-market agencies, has an immediate opening for a Marketing Associate who will provide support to the Radius Marketing department. This is an exciting opportunity for a bright self-starter to join a progressive marketing team where input is valued and exposure to a wide range of departments and projects is guaranteed.

Position: Web Designer
Company: The Arc of the United States
Location: Washington, D.C.

The Arc is seeking a creative individual with outstanding graphic design, project management and quality assurance skills to design the graphical elements for new websites, email marketing templates, and mobile applications. This Position will be part of the Development, Marketing and Communications Group.

Position: Content Marketing Manager
Company: Trello, Inc.
Location: New York, New York

Trello is looking for a Content Marketing Manager who can create, curate, and manage content for Trello. This means writing high quality original posts and working with contributors to develop and edit high quality content including articles, ebooks, etc. The Content Marketing Manager will also be engaged with users directly and through social media.

Position: Creative Services Manager (Traffic and Production)
Company: Brothers & Company
Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma

The CSM is responsible for coordinating and facilitating workflow management through the agency, and with any contract creative resources. The CSM is also responsible for production, working alongside account service teams, or when applicable, the production manager, to source outside vendors demanding the best possible pricing while ensuring production quality and meeting the “almighty” deadline.

Check out more career opportunities on the Mashable Job Board. New positions are posted daily, ranging from entry-level to C-suite positions.

The U.S. government uses them to bomb alleged terrorists in far-away places. Tech companies such as Amazon, Google and Facebook are all toying with the idea of using them, and now they're a photographer's secret weapon. Drones are a big part of our lives, whether we see them or not. Drone Beat collects the best and most important stories every week.

If you want even more on Drones, subscribe to the Center for the Study of the Drone Weekly Roundup, which features news, commentary, analysis and updates on drone technology.

Drone Beat's coverage areas this week

Last update: Sept. 12, 10;05 a.m. ET

Search and rescue company gets permission to use drones to find missing woman

The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Wednesday that it was giving the Texas-based search and rescue organization EquuSearch temporary permission to use its drones to locate a missing woman.

EquuSearch will use three small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to find the 23-year-old woman who disappeared on Aug. 30 in Plano, Texas, according to local news reports. The FAA granted EquuSearch a so-called Certificate of Authorization to use the drones from Sept. 11 until Sept. 15.

This episode seems to indicate that the FAA might be warming up to the use of drones to help locate missing people. As we've noted many times, drones have a big potential in these situations, but these kind of efforts have sometimes been stifled.

Earlier this year, the FAA and EquuSearch went through a legal battle after the agency sent a series of cease-and-desist letters to the company. In the end, the judge ruled that it was legal for EquuSearch to use drones. At the time, EquuSearch announced it was going to resume flights right away. Now, legal battle aside, the FAA itself is — temporarily — greenlighting the use of drones by EquuSearch.

Canadian police use drone to find missing family

Speaking of search and rescue operations, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police used a drone to help rescue a family that got lost in a forest near the Topsai Lake in Nova Scotia, Canada.

The police deployed the drone after they weren't able to locate the family using sirens, according to Global News.

Amazon unveils online drone store

Amazon has very ambitious aspirations when it comes to drones. For now, though, while it clears all the regulatory hurdles to truly launch its delivery drones, the company unveiled an online store for flying robots — but no Amazon Prime Air delivery for now.

The Drone Store offers recreational and cheap unmanned aerial vehicles such as those made by Parrot, as well as some more expensive ones catered to photographers such as the DJI Phantom.

Interestingly, a banner in the middle of the front page of the store warns potential drone hobbyists: "Fly responsibly." The banner leads to a page with links to the FAA website as well as links to flight safety guides by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International(AUVSI), and the Academy of Model Aeronautics.

How NASA plans to make American skies safe for drones

Last week, we wrote about how NASA was working on technology to allow commercial drones to fly safely in U.S. airspace. This week, Motherboard reveals some details about NASA's plan.

The idea is to create "highways in the sky," Parimal Kopardekar, the NASA scientist helming the project, told Motherboard, with drones going in the same direction using a some sort of a "corridor." In some ways, it sounds a lot like Back to the Future 2.

Kopardear said he hopes to have a prototype for this drone air traffic management system ready in five years, And as Motherboard's Jason Koebler notes, while it sounds like a long time, "it seems pretty short when you consider the different factors the system is going to take into account."

Drone research center releases comprehensive 'primer'

If you've never heard of drones, or you don't understand some of the issues surrounding this new technology, we've got good news. The Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College has released a comprehensive and exhaustive report precisely for you.

The Drone Primer is "a short, one-stop online and print publication for the layperson" who's looking to understand the key issues concerning drones, according to Arthur Holland Michel, the founder of the Center for the Study of the Drone, which opened in 2012, before drones were all over the headlines and under much public scrutiny as they are now.

You can read the Drone Primer here.

New York City gets its first-ever drone film festival

Forget about Cannes, drones are getting their own film festival, too, now. Randy Scott Slavin, a New York City-based filmmaker, will host the first-ever flying robot film festival in 2015.

Slavin's idea is to showcase how drones can make great movies.

"This festival is about showing how kick-ass, interesting, and beautiful drone cinematography can be," Slavin, who shot the video embedded below, told Mashable. "The drone is the most amazing cinematic innovation since the steadycam and deserves its due attention."

The New York City Drone Film Festival will have various categories such as most beautiful aerial cinematography, most innovative flight technique, most epic dronie, and best crash footage.

If you have a beautiful and compelling video shot entirely with a drone, and limited to five minutes, the festival is still seeking submissions until Nov. 30. It will be held in Manhattan on Feb. 21, 2015.

By Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai is a reporter at Mashable's New York headquarters, where he covers cybersecurity, tech policy, privacy and surveillance, hackers, drones, and, more in general, the intersection of technology and civil liberties. Before Mashable, Lorenzo was an intern at Wired.com, where he wrote for Danger Room, and Threat Level. A recent graduate of Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism Lorenzo is also a Law graduate at University of Barcelona. To email him, visit: www.lorenzofb.com/contact

Can David Cameron Stay if Scotland Goes?

Prime Minister David Cameron makes his last campaign trip to Scotland on Monday. By the end of this week, he will know whether the country he was elected to run has shattered on his watch.

The polls suggest the Scots' decision whether to end the United Kingdom and go their own way is on a knife-edge. If they choose independence, it is hard to see how David Cameron could lead his party into the next general election in May 2015.

The "Rump UK" left behind without Scotland (no one even has a name for the remainder country yet) would probably end up over time with more Conservative governments as Scotland tends to elect Labour MPs to Westminster.

But the immediate thoughts of the Party of Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher would be dominated by a sense of humiliation and loss.

Even if the Scots choose to stay in the UK it looks like it would be by a narrow margin and political life will be convulsed in ways David Cameron neither predicted nor wanted.

So could David Cameron have dealt with all this differently?

Way back in 2011 when David Cameron first confronted the issue of whether he should allow a referendum (power over such constitutional matters still rests with the UK government) his advisers thought he could swat the independence cause with a hefty victory. Support for independence often didn't make it over the 30% mark in some polls.

While there was lethargy and a lack of buzz on the pro-union side, Alex Salmond's campaign team was creating a grassroots campaign that has elements of the Europe-wide anti-Iraq war campaign grafted on to the first Obama presidential campaign.

But did there have to be a referendum? Did there have to be a referendum quite like this one?

The man who was Alex Salmond's policy chief until 2012, Alex Bell, says ministers at the top of David Cameron's coalition floated an offer of big new devolution powers to Alex Salmond's team in the months after May 2010. Back then, Alex Salmond's Scottish National Party didn't have a majority in the Scottish government so wasn't going to have the mandate to pressure London to demand a referendum. Big new powers, volunteered by London to Edinburgh, might have quelled the calls for independence, Alex Bell believes. But David Cameron didn't go down that route.

Once Alex Salmond's SNP had won a majority in the 2011 elections for the Scottish Parliament, David Cameron felt he had to allow them the referendum they wanted. But he could have signed up to a two option ballot paper which Alex Salmond was pushing for: offering the Scots voters independence or much more devolution ("Devo Max," as it became known). David Cameron turned that down too.

The team at 10 Downing Street (and the main Labour opposition party) were deeply suspicious of the Salmond wheeze and thought independence wouldn't appeal to enough people to be a worry. Well, it's worrying them now.

Having done down the route of a straight independence vote, senior figures in the UK government ignored advice from veterans of the Canadian government that fought and won Quebec's second referendum on independence in 1995. They said the UK government must have a clear, rival offer to independence. The UK government, along with the two other main parties in Westminster, only cobbled that together last week when the polls put independence support in the lead and when many Scots had already cast their postal votes.

In the meanwhile, a lot of Scots had come to see the debate as a binary choice between "independence" versus "no change." The "more powers" offer from David Cameron and the Labour and Lib Dem leaders may be what pulls Scotland back from independence at the last minute but it has come too late for many who've grown comfortable over time with the idea of independence, too late to avoid this heart attack moment for the Westminster establishment.

Even if he wins a narrow victory, a giant question mark will be placed next to David Cameron's judgement in the minds of many in his party. He will have to convince a restless Conservative Party that his hastily assembled plan to rush through devolution to Scotland is not unfair to England.

His plan to hold and win a referendum to keep the UK in the European Union looks a lot shakier given his stewardship of Scotland's referendum.

The referendum some in the Cameron team thought was a sideshow has turned into the main show. And main shows don't get much bigger or immediate than whether your country can survive the week.

BY GARY GIBBON

Gary Gibbon has been Channel 4 News' political editor since 2005. An award-winning journalist, he gives his take on the latest news and gossip from the corridors of power in Westminster and beyond. Follow him on Twitter: @GaryGibbonBlog.

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The First Trailer for 'American Horror Story: Freak Show' Is Short — and Terrifying

The first American Horror Story: Freak Show trailer is 20 seconds of terror. But you should have expected that.

From the moment we learned that the new season of Ryan Murphy's scare-fest would delve into the dying world of freak shows circa 1950, we knew to expect some, well, freaky stuff. But between Sarah Paulson's tweet about her two-headed character and this new sneak peek, we're gearing up for what could be the scariest season yet.

In the first look, a "fallen angel" is seen on stage, with ethereal music playing in the background. Then, a clown-jester of sorts â€" straight out of your worst nightmare ever â€" pops up behind her, and it is revealed that he's controlling the blond beauty. It's bloody; you'll see.

On the fourth season, set to debut in fall, Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Frances Conroy, Angela Bassett, and several other returning faces are set to appear, as well as new cast member Michael Chiklis. Much of the cast is expected to appear at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, taking place later this month, where more details on the new season are expected to be revealed.

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The full moon rises above the castle of Somoskoujfalu, northeast of Budapest, Hungary.

Image: Peter Kamka/Associated Press

The first of three supermoons expected to light up the sky this summer provided a breathtaking show to people around the world on Saturday night.

A supermoon, also known as a "perigee moon," occurs when a full moon comes closer to Earth on its elliptical orbit, making it brighter and bigger than a typical full moon, according to NASA.

"Generally speaking, full moons occur near perigee every 13 months and 18 days, so it's not all that unusual," said Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory. "In fact, just last year, there were three perigee moons in a row, but only one was widely reported."

While it's sometimes difficult to see a supermoon due to poor weather conditions, Saturday night's appearance produced a stunning collection of photos.

From shining onto fans during a Dodgers baseball game to lighting up the Gaza Strip, we've rounded up breathtaking photos of the supermoon in our gallery, above.

Two more supermoons will take place this summer on August 10 and September 9.

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Chrome Extension Plays Clown Music When You Read About Rob Ford

Embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford may have a reputation for bringing "his circus" wherever he goes, but in case you forgot just how ridiculous the city's top official is, there's a tool to help remind Google Chrome users.

A new browser extension for Chrome will play clown music when you read an article or news story about Ford.

The extension, called "Entrance of the RoFo," will provide appropriate "musical accompaniment for reading articles about Toronto Mayor Rob Ford," according to the extension's creator.

Specifically, it plays "Entry of the Gladiators." While the song's name may not sound familiar, listen to the following audio clip, and you'll likely recognize it as "the clown song."

Czech composer Julius FuÄÃk wrote "Entry of the Gladiators," and an accelerated version was eventually adopted by many circus bands.

Given the increasing drama surrounding Ford, clown music seems appropriate.

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Satya Nadella's Big Bid to Reshape Microsoft

Five months into his new role as CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella is ready to shake things up.

In a 3,300 word memo sent to employees and the press Thursday, Nadella laid out the most clear vision yet for how he sees the future of Microsoft. There's a lot to unpack in the memo, but dissecting it and reading through the lines, a few central themes come into shape.

First, Nadella is very clearly differentiating his vision for Microsoft from the vision put forth by former CEO Steve Ballmer. That starts with a new mission statement.

A new mission: productivity

Nadella writes that it is no longer appropriate to call Microsoft a products and services company, instead laying out a new mission statement for the company:

At our core, Microsoft is the productivity and platform company for the mobile-first and cloud-first world. We will reinvent productivity to empower every person and every organization on the planet to do more and achieve more.

Nadella has used the phrase "mobile-first and cloud-first" in the past to describe Microsoft, but in his latest memo, he adds an new word to his oeuvre, "productivity." In fact, "productivity" is used 20 times in the memo. Mashable Tech Editor Pete Pachal summed it up best, remarking that Nadella's Microsoft is "unapologetically productive."

Using a word like "productivity" intimates that Microsoft sees its strengths as resonating more with the enterprise or the business customer rather than the pure consumer. In an interview with The Verge, after the release of the memo, Nadella clarifies his approach a bit. He said:

You're defining the market as 'It's already done, Apple and Google have won, because they won the consumer side.' And I'm going to question that. I'm going to say 'No, any thinking consumer should consider Microsoft because guess what, you're not just a consumer. You're also going to go to work, you're also going to be productive and we can do a better job for you in there.' And that's what I want to appeal to.

In other words, Microsoft knows it can't win if it tries to compete against Apple or Google as a purely consumer-focused company. Where its real strengths are is as a company that can support both the consumer world and the business world.

The best example of that strategy is actually the Surface Pro 3. The Surface Pro 3 represented a fundamental shift in strategy for Microsoft. By deciding to compete with the MacBook Air â€" rather than the iPad Air â€" Microsoft was able to release a truly great device that is differentiated in the market.

The same is true for the platform and traditional services side of Microsoft's business. Bringing Office to the iPad â€" and to Android â€" increases the value of Office 365. Historically, Microsoft excelled as a company because its products were ubiquitous and available on multiple platforms. It wasn't until Microsoft started losing ground on mobile â€" and desktop sales started to sag â€" that the company became more territorial about where its services could be accessed.

Returning to a more device-agnostic approach â€" that is, truly hyping the underlying platform rather than the specific operating system or device type â€" is a smart move. At Build, Microsoft's developer conference, the company even highlighted Vesper, an iPhone app from John Gruber, Dave Wiskus and Brent Simmons. Vesper is an app that will probably never come to Windows or Windows Phone, but its new sync structure was built on Azure, Microsoft's cloud platform.

The old Microsoft would have tried to convince the Vesper developers to build an app for Windows Phone. The new Microsoft, under Nadella, wants to highlight that everyone can use their platforms to build apps â€" whether they run on Windows or not.

Reaffirming a commitment to Xbox

Nadella also makes a point to call out the Xbox and reaffirm Microsoft's commitment, going forward, to its gaming console.

He writes:

Xbox is one of the most-revered consumer brands, with a growing online community and service, and a raving fan base. We also benefit from many technologies flowing from our gaming efforts into our productivity efforts â€" core graphics and NUI in Windows, speech recognition in Skype, camera technology in Kinect for Windows, Azure cloud enhancements for GPU simulation and many more. Bottom line, we will continue to innovate and grow our fan base with Xbox while also creating additive business value for Microsoft.

It's a curious message inside a memo that seems to be focused on productivity, but it also makes sense.

Microsoft botched the launch of the Xbox One. The Xbox 360 was a phenomenally successful console and won the hearts of gamers and non-gamers alike. And then Microsoft managed to make every flub known to man when introducing its successor.

In a few years, we might look back at the future living room Microsoft was trying to create with Xbox One and feel sad about what could have been â€" everything from cloud-based game libraries to deep-personalization with Xbox Kinect. But the vocal reaction from the early adopters spoke and Microsoft has slowly but surely backtracked on almost all of its most innovative ideas surrounding the Xbox One.

I saw Microsoft's E3 2014 presentation as the company's attempt at a "do-over." In contrast to last year, where the focus was on cool (but also creepy) features and home entertainment, this year was all about games and franchises that gamers already know and love. Plus, the company dropped the console's price by $100 and got rid of the Kinect requirement.

The additional statement from Nadella, affirming his support for Xbox, shows me that at the very top, they recognize just how vital Xbox is to the future of the company. Xbox might not be one of the core pillars â€" like cloud, Office and Windows â€" but make no mistake, it's one of Microsoft's best assets.

Even after a problematic launch, Xbox is still one of the best-known brands in the living room. It is arguably the company's only successful consumer brand. If the company were to play its cards correctly, Xbox could be the halo product that allows Microsoft to capture the next generation of users. Much as Apple was able to attract non-Apple customers by way of the iPod, Microsoft could do something similar with the Xbox.

The key to actually making that transition, however, comes down to culture.

Changing the culture

To that end, Nadella is quite explicit that the culture within Microsoft has to change. He writes:

Nothing is off the table in how we think about shifting our culture to deliver on this core strategy. Organizations will change. Mergers and acquisitions will occur. Job responsibilities will evolve. New partnerships will be formed. Tired traditions will be questioned. Our priorities will be adjusted. New skills will be built. New ideas will be heard. New hires will be made. Processes will be simplified. And if you want to thrive at Microsoft and make a world impact, you and your team must add numerous more changes to this list that you will be enthusiastic about driving.

I am committed to making Microsoft the best place for smart, curious, ambitious people to do their best work.

Culture is an interesting and difficult challenge for a company such as Microsoft. The company has over 100,000 employees and countless divisions. Managing the culture across that many people can be a challenge for any company, but it gets even more challenging when you look at the changes Microsoft as a company has made over the last two years.

The leadership regime has totally changed â€" from the top down. Beyond that, the hierarchy and corporate structure has gone through multiple changes, too.

As an example, think about the Xbox division. That group has always run relatively autonomously within Microsoft. On the one hand, you might argue that this is why Xbox has remained successful â€" it hasn't had interference from the suits. On the other hand, that separation means that when products do try to integrate across devices or platforms, the results aren't always as good as they should be.

If Microsoft is going to really embrace and recommit itself to Xbox, maybe that means that the company as a whole should take on more elements of the Xbox team's culture â€" rather than trying to simply tack Xbox-features onto other products.

Culture will likely be Nadella's biggest challenge. It's difficult to reset the bar and make a company that has always operated in multiple divisions and silos into something more organic. Ultimately, however, for Microsoft to truly transform as a company, its culture must transform first.

Nadella says as much himself. He ends his memo, writing:

With the courage to transform individually, we will collectively transform this company and seize the great opportunity ahead.

This memo is likely just the first public-facing step into what will likely be a long process of evolution. Nadella has a clearly formulated vision for where he wants to see Microsoft in the future. Now the question becomes: Does he have to leadership skills to make that transition happen?

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Iphone-china — Customers look at iPads near an advertisement for the iPhone 5C at Apple's retail outlet in Beijing Monday, Dec. 23, 2013.

No, Apple isn't using your iPhone to track your location in China.

That's Apple's response to a recent report from China's state-run television station alleging the iPhone could potentially threaten the country's national security.

Apple published the lengthy statement on its China website Saturday, one day after Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported the iPhone posed a threat to the country's national security.

Specifically, the report called into question Apple's "frequent locations" feature. The feature, which is built in to iOS 7, keeps tabs on places iPhone owners visit as well as how often they go there "in order to learn places that are significant to you."

The report quoted researchers who claimed "those with access to that data could gain knowledge of China's economic situation or 'even state secrets,' " according to a Wall Street Journal report.

In a statement, the Cupertino-based company refuted this idea and explained that Frequent Locations is used solely to provide information relevant to individual users, such as traffic conditions for their daily commute, and is not shared with Apple or other third parties.

Frequent Locations are only stored on a customerâ€™s iOS device, they are not backed up on iTunes or iCloud, and are encrypted. Apple does not obtain or know a userâ€™s Frequent Locations and this feature can always be turned â€œOff" via our privacy settings.

Apple does not have access to Frequent Locations or the location cache on any userâ€™s iPhone at any time. We encrypt the cache by the userâ€™s passcode and it is protected from access by any app.

Apple went on to emphasize that it feels "strongly" about protecting its customers privacy and would never allow a government organization or agency to access user data.

Apple has never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services. We have also never allowed access to our servers. And we never will. Itâ€™s something we feel very strongly about.

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No, Apple isn't using your iPhone to track your location in China.

That's Apple's response to a recent report from China's state-run television station alleging the iPhone could potentially threaten the country's national security.

The report quoted researchers who claimed "those with access to that data could gain knowledge of China's economic situation or 'even state secrets,' " according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Frequent Locations are only stored on a customerâ€™s iOS device, they are not backed up on iTunes or iCloud, and are encrypted. Apple does not obtain or know a userâ€™s Frequent Locations and this feature can always be turned â€œOff" via our privacy settings.

Apple does not have access to Frequent Locations or the location cache on any userâ€™s iPhone at any time. We encrypt the cache by the userâ€™s passcode and it is protected from access by any app.

Apple went on to emphasize that it feels "strongly" about protecting its customers privacy and would never allow a government organization or agency to access user data.

Apple has never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services. We have also never allowed access to our servers. And we never will. Itâ€™s something we feel very strongly about.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

Bra-ned — Netherlands' Arjen Robben fights for the ball with Brazil's Paulinho, right, and Brazil's David Luiz during the World Cup third-place soccer match between Brazil and the Netherlands at the Estadio Nacional in Brasilia, Brazil, Saturday, July 12, 2014.

Brazil entered the consolation match of the World Cup against the Netherlands looking to salvage some respect after its disastrous loss to Germany.

With not much at stake, the match seemed to provide little opportunity for Brazil and a healthy dose of danger. Lose again and the massive defeat from Germany that dashed the country's hopes of celebrating a World Cup victory on its own soil would only be magnified.

While it was not the 7-1 thrashing that will be talked about for decades, the 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Netherlands had the feel of a game that only reopened the wounds of Brazilians that had just begun to heal.

Like the game against Germany, the pain started early. A controversial penalty to the Netherlands in the second minute gave Robin Van Persie the opportunity to bury his fourth goal of the tournament. Not long after, an errant David Luiz header found Daley Blind who made it 2-0 to the Netherlands in only the 16th minute.

The score held for the remainder of the half, as boos and tears chased the Brazilian team into the locker room.

Brazil threatened in the beginning of the second half, taking much of the possession. A shocking decision in the 68th minute, in which Oscar appeared to be fouled inside the box, resulted in the referee giving a yellow card to the Brazilian for diving.

The refereeing decisions were widely criticized, although few seemed to think Brazil deserved a better scoreline.

With the 2-0 score holding past the 85th minute, boos and whistles from the crowd increased.

A 90th minute goal from Geroginio Wijnaldum sealed Brazil's humiliation and its tournament. The home team played out the final five minutes of extra time to jeers from the crowd. Brazil and its fans will now hold out hope that their brutal World Cup finish will not be exacerbated by a win from their rivals from Argentina over Germany.

One piece of trivia popped up late in the game after a goalie substitution:

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The Art of Dating: Past and Present

Once upon a time, dating meant finding the right person to share a lifetime of romantic meals and intimate conversation.

Today, dating means finding someone to sit next to while you play Candy Crush on your iPad.

In these comics, artist Maria Scrivan shares the difference between dating before and after the technological boom .

Comics by Maria Scrivan. See her daily panel Half Full at Go Comics.

BONUS: 12 Cliched Online Dating Photos Every Guy Should Dump

1. Abs.

Why even bother filling out the part of the profile that describes your interests? At this point, you are a talking slab of meat that has somehow acquired a webcam and computer. Unless you are physically restricted to communicating exclusively through your belly button, you have no excuse for using this photo.

Image: Mashable Composite. Julie Jacobson/Associated Press
2. You with your car.

Nothing is more promising than a man who loves his car more than he could ever love you.
3. A casual laptop pic in your messy room.

First appearances are as important in dating as they are in a job interview. So when you upload a fuzzy photo of yourself in your dirty room, where I can see an old sock hanging on the bookshelf, you are basically saying, â€œI have no desire to take care of myself or anything else!â€
4. A headshot taken by a paid professional.

Sure, itâ€™s at least a clear photo of you. But, letâ€™s be real -- people pay someone to take their Glamour Shots for a reason. No one actually looks like they do in a black-and-white photograph thatâ€™s Photoshopped all of your flaws away.
5. You with an attractive woman at your side.

It could be your â€œplatonicâ€ best friend, sister or even your mom, but the truth is that most women see a photo of you looking happy next to another lady and immediately start to move on to the next one because you seem preoccupied. Kind of gross unless youâ€™re a Lannister, isnâ€™t it?
6. A photo you donâ€™t actually remember because you were too drunk.

Meeting at a bar is one of the most common first dates known to man, so avoid the blurry photos from your best friendâ€™s bachelor party. You can still come off as carefree without being surrounded by dozens of empty glasses. A guy who likes beer is sexy -- a guy who lacks self-control is not.
7. You in a group shot.

We get it, you want to assure potential mates that you actually know people IRL. But how am I supposed to know which one is you in a photo with 25 of your closest bar-crawling friends?

Image: Mashable Composite
8. An outdated photo of you.

When youâ€™re in your 30s, donâ€™t post a photo of you at 22. Online dating isnâ€™t for your #TBT. If you want to relive your college days, go to a football game. Accept that your hairline isnâ€™t what it used to be, and move on. If youâ€™re not confident enough to like how you look now, how can you expect anyone else to?
9. An exaggerated photo of your "extreme" lifestyle.

Did you go whitewater rafting one time, like three years ago? Cool. Tell me all about it over drinks. But donâ€™t use this photo because you feel obligated to show you like outdoors every now and then.
10. You holding your neighborâ€™s baby.

You know how politicians are sort of obligated to be seen kissing babies because then maybe people will find them likable? Yeah â€¦
11. Multiple selfies of you in the same position, making the same face.

What are you trying to tell us? Youâ€™re reliable? Consistent? Committed? What does it mean?
12. A photo of anything but you.

It seems unnecessary to even have to say this, really. Just accept the face you have and get it over and done with already. Youâ€™re going to have to come clean sooner or later, and it will only make things more awkward than whatever weird mole or bad haircut youâ€™re trying to hide.

Image: Mashable Composite/Associated Press

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Australian Olympic Swimmer Ian Thorpe Comes Out as Gay

Australian swimmer and Olympic gold medalist Ian Thorpe revealed in an interview that he is gay, confirming years of speculation about his sexuality.

Thorpe sat down for an interview with British broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson, which will air Sunday night in Australia on Channel Ten, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Thorpe reportedly discussed a wide range of issues, including his battle with depression. Channel Ten released a 30-second preview of the interview, above, last week. In it, Parkinson asks Thorpe, "You've always said that you're not gay. Is all of that true?"

Nicknamed the "Thorpedo" for his speed in the water, Thorpe won a total of five gold medals in Olympic competition, becoming one of Australia's most visible athletes.

He retired twice, in 2006 and again in 2012, but has had a rocky time recently. Thorpe's autobiography, This is Me, was published in August 2013, and detailed his struggles with alcohol and depression. In the book, Thrope denied he was gay.

"I am not gay and all my sexual experiences have been straight," he wrote, according to The Independent. "The thing that I find hurtful about it is that people are questioning my integrity and what I say. That's the only part I find hurtful, that this is something I would be embarrassed about and that I would hide ... I try to explain it but I don't know either, but I think it's because I don't fit into the typical stereotype of what a straight athlete would be in the past."

Thrope was admitted to rehab in February for his depression, according to CNN.

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Garmin Forerunner 15: a Good GPS Fitness Watch With Room to Improve

For Garmin, GPS has always been the key to setting its fitness devices apart from much of the competition. And with a starting price of $170, the Forerunner 15 watch delivers that functionality at a relatively low price point.

The device, which is expected to ship sometime this quarter, also brings with it more trackable details than its predecessor. You can track running distance, calories, personal records, even sleep patterns â€" and, with the right hardware add-on, heart rate. All of this is complimented by the companyâ€™s tracking and networking app, Connect.

But first thingâ€™s first when weâ€™re talking about a wearable: how does the thing actually look?

On the face

Before receiving my unit, I was warned by my ever-vigilant Mashable editor that the watch was purple. Even still, I was caught unprepared by the full extent of the Forerunner 15's purplenesss. Itâ€™s not that Iâ€™m not secure enough in my masculinity to rock a purple watch, of course, but even still, for most, the more extreme the color scheme, the less likely they'll wear the watch at all times â€" itâ€™s not going to match a business suit.

If youâ€™re looking for something less conspicuous, the black versions are decidedly more subtle, but still donâ€™t exactly scream â€œwork watch.â€ It's also available in red and teal. The Fitbits of the world are far more versatile as far as fashion is concerned. So is, for that matter, the the Basis. The Forerunner 15, on the other hand, is a fitness watch that looks like, well, a fitness watch, which is a bit of a bummer for a device thatâ€™s intended to track your activities all day long.

Thankfully, along with the aesthetic comes many of the other traits one looks for in a fitness wearable: itâ€™s water resistant up to 50 meters (for sweat, rain and a swim, if youâ€™re so inclined), rugged and lightweight at 1.3 or 1.5 ounces, depending on the size. It's worth a quick mention here that the watch comes in small and large sizes â€" a fact I learned after squeezing a small version of the aforementioned purple version around my wrist.

Itâ€™s no Fitbit, but the Forerunnerâ€™s relatively small footprint comes in handy particularly when itâ€™s time to catch some shuteye. (After all, the watch has built-in sleep tracking.)

Around the back, there are four metal dots. Youâ€™ll be lining those up on the included plastic cradle when itâ€™s time to charge the battery.

According to Garminâ€™s numbers, you can get a full five weeks on a charge if youâ€™re just using it as a plain old watch. Using it for its intended exercise functionality, on the other hand, knocks that time down to eight hours. For almost everyone, itâ€™ll get through the day just fine.

The dock also serves as your connection for syncing all of the info youâ€™ve collected to your computer via USB. Unfortunately, thereâ€™s no Bluetooth or other wireless on-board, so you have to wait until youâ€™re in front of a PC before seeding all of that information into the cloud.

There are four buttons around the watchâ€™s face â€" all quite large for easy access mid-exercise. The top left turns the light on and off, while the bottom left scrolls through your stats for the day, including mileage, calories burned, steps taken and your daily step goal.

The bottom right button scrolls through settings, options and your workout history. Itâ€™s great having all of that information at your finger, but given the limited screen real estate, actually finding something takes a lot of scrolling â€" youâ€™re really better off pulling out the old smartphone to access your stats.

The top right button with the little image of a running man on it is the time. Thatâ€™s the button youâ€™ll want to hit when itâ€™s time to get started.

Going for a run

Unfortunately, unlike some of the competition, the Forerunner itself wonâ€™t monitor your heart rate. Youâ€™ll need the special heart rate monitor, a device that straps around your chest while you run. Thatâ€™ll set you back an addition $30 if you get it bundled with the watch, or $60 as a standalone.

To get started, youâ€™ll need to pair the watch with the monitor via ANT+ by holding them next to each other until the watch beeps. Next up, you tap the run button and then itâ€™s a matter of going outside and waiting until the watch locates the appropriate satellite for GPS tracking â€" the deviceâ€™s real bread and butter. Locating can take as long as a couple of minutes, but it usually takes less.

Once youâ€™re done, you'll need to tap the running man again to turn off the timer. The watch gathers a lot of info while the timerâ€™s on, including time spent running distance, pace, calories burned, heart beats per minute and your general heart rate zone.

The GPS functionality, meanwhile, tracks your path. You can also run without GPS tracking on â€" if youâ€™re a treadmill user or you just need a little extra privacy for whatever reason, but letâ€™s be honest, satellite tracking is a huge part of the reason for going with Garmin in the first place. Oh, and thereâ€™s also an optional pedometer, if you really want to go the treadmill route (thatâ€™ll set you back another $70).

Oh, and should that bright purple paint job not be enough to get you outside and running, the watch flashes the word â€œMove,â€ after long periods of inactivity, a not-so-subtle reminder of why you shelled out the $170 for the wearable in the first place.

Who watches the fitness watch?

As nice as it is having all of that information on your wrist, thereâ€™s only so much info you can get in less than an inch squared. As such, youâ€™re going to want to download all of the requisite software to your devices, namely Garmin Express for syncing and Connect for viewing that data.

After downloading Express, I was prompted to download a patch for the Forerunner 15 â€" an issue the company will hopefully address for retail units. Once installed, syncing is a simple matter of plugging the phone into your PC and letting the software take care of the rest.

As for Connect, thatâ€™s all a bit more complicated â€" in a good way, mostly. Connect is the software Garmin uses across these fitness watches, and as such, the company has had plenty of opportunity to bake in features. All of the information can be a little overwhelming the first time you sign in.

Garminâ€™s done a good job unifying the experience across devices and OSes, so for the sake of simplicity, Iâ€™ll focus on the web version here, accessible via browser. After all, I was already in front of my computer to sync the thing in the first place.

When signing in, Garmin will ask you some personal details, both to help improve your experience and to create a profile, should you want to use Connect to actually, you know, connect with others. Thatâ€™s a big part of the experience here â€" in fact, Connect is something of a social network, where you can compete with other users, see friendsâ€™ progress and brag about your own. What's the point of doing all of that working out if you're not going to brag about it?

Even if you chose to go it alone, thereâ€™s a lot you can do with Connect. For each run, the software displays distance, time, pace, calories, elevation and tracks your movements on a Garmin map. You can name the runs to help you keep track and attach notes about specific run details.

Thereâ€™s a calendar module for a quick view of how often youâ€™ve been running and graph showing how far youâ€™ve run on each day of a given week. You can choose training plans, plot courses, create workouts and check out your own personal records. There are also a series of â€œbadgesâ€ to unlock for completing different fitness activities like walking a certain number of steps in a given day.

The sleep tracking is probably the weakest link here at the moment (though the company has promised more functionality on that end down the road). The sort of in-depth REM details you get with other devices is absent. Instead, it focuses solely on how much you tossed and turned while in bed, mapping that activity on a graph. If youâ€™re looking for some real insight into your nocturnal activities, youâ€™re going to have to find it elsewhere.

One watch to rule them all?

At $170 as a standalone, the Forerunner 15â€™s pricing falls in between the Fitbit Force and Basis Carbon Steel Edition. For the money, itâ€™s a pretty capable little thing. For those who run far, the GPS functionality is a great feature, and thereâ€™s plenty of additional information for you to pore through via Garmin Connect.

The device also comfortably straddles the line between fitness band and sports watch, offering a face for all of those workout details on the go. Still, youâ€™ll want to pull out the old smartphone occasionally, lest you find yourself scrolling forever. But youâ€™ll have wait until youâ€™re in front of your computer to upload the latest info â€" an odd throwback.

If youâ€™re looking for a device that can track your heart rate, thatâ€™ll cost you a bit extra â€" and youâ€™ll have to wear yet another device. Ditto the pedometer for more accurate step accounting. Sleep tracking still leaves a bit to be desired at the moment.

If those things are less important to you than GPS functionality, however, the Forerunner 15 offers solid bang for the buck.

Garmin Forerunner 15

The Good

GPS functionality â€¢ Lightweight and rugged â€¢ Good info via Garmin Connect

The Bad

No Bluetooth functionality â€¢ Heart-rate monitor requires an add-on â€¢ Aesthetic

The Bottom Line

At $169, the Forerunner is on the low-end of the GPS-enabled fitness tracker spectrum, but that price comes with a few sacrifices.

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Plane Diverted to Island Due to Burning Smell, No Smoke Monster Reported

It's not a good sign when passengers compare their airline experience to the TV show Lost, especially when smoke may be involved.

While traveling to Guam over the Pacific Ocean, a United Airlines flight was diverted to a small island after reports of electrical problems and a burning smell.

Originating in Honolulu, the Boeing 777 plane was delayed for three hours due to a burning smell, but was eventually cleared, according to ABC News. Problems began five hours into the flight when the smell returned, and pilots reported electrical issues, including a loss of the plane's radar. No passengers were harmed.

After landing on Midway Island in the North Pacific Ocean, passengers waited for six hours in a gymnasium. Island residents brought food and drinks to the stranded travelers, one of whom compared the situation to ABC's hit TV show Lost, in which survivors of a plane crash are marooned on a tropical island. The passengers eventually made it to Honolulu on a replacement plane, although their luggage remained in Midway at the time.

United said the original plane was still on Midway. The company has not revealed what caused the smell, attributing the problem to a mechanical issue.

Midway Island is extremely remote, located 1,486 miles from Honolulu, 2,627 miles from Japan and more than 3,300 miles from the west coast of the continental United States.

Midway is home to a wildlife sanctuary and an abandoned U.S. military base. It played an important role in World War II as a strategic base, and was the impetus for a major battle that turned out to be a turning point between the U.S. and Japan. Chicago's Midway International Airport is named after the battle.

United Airlines did not immediately respond to Mashable's request for comment.

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15 Crazy Things You Never Thought About

A small piece of useless knowledge can completely rattle your brain.

Tiny bits of information and thoughts may leave you pondering your very existence. Or at least give you a genuine "woah" moment.

See also: 20 Simply Genius Shower Thoughts

Expand your brain, Internet. We apologize in advance if this list leaves you questioning every mundane thing on this planet, in search of something meaningful. Or maybe this is all a dream ...