The newest craze in gadgets-we-don't-really-need? Wearable devices, namely Apple's hotly anticipated iWatch.
Mathius, a Youtube channel known for poking fun at technology, chose the mysterious iWatch as the target for its latest parody. And despite how excited some may be for the new product, this video proves how totally unnecessary it is.
Apple, watches are already doing a fine job telling time â€" and if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
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Stanford University, alma mater to many famous tech minds, is none too pleased with Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel at the moment.
Spiegel, a former Stanford student who dropped out a few credits short of finishing his degree, made headlines earlier this week when a string of obscene emails he sent to fraternity brothers during his undergraduate years came to light.
Among other things, the expletive-laden emails included references to excessive drinking while Spiegel was underage, drug use, and crude sex jokes at the expense of female students. (More on that here.)
Spiegel has since apologized, claiming he is "mortified and embarrassed" that the emails were made public, and on Friday, his former university weighed in on the issue with a campus-wide email to its undergraduate student body from Provost John Etchemendy. In the email, which was first published by Valleywag, Etchemendy described the need to preserve a positive culture at Stanford, which will require students to "affirmatively reject such behavior" when they see it.
Etchemendy never specifically refers to Spiegel or Snapchat by name, but does include snippets of Spiegel's apology. He also wrote that the university community is "positively ashamed" that the emails were sent by a Stanford student.
"I am asking that each of us choose the more difficult path whenever we encounter such attitudes," Etchemendy wrote. "It does not take many strong and vocal objections to communicate what we consider acceptable and what we do not. Members of our community should learn now, not many years form now, how abhorrent those attitudes are, whether real or feigned."
While the attention paid to Spiegel's emails has been decried as mere Valley gossip, by people who say we should expect nothing better from frat boys, Stanford's response goes beyond idle chatter. The university is in the heart of Silicon Valley, where missteps in the perception and treatment of women are a persistent issue.
It's no secret that women are vastly underrepresented in the tech industry, as evidenced by Google's recent disclosure of its employee demographics (it's %70 men). Part of this is systemic; influencers have a lot of work to do to make STEM education not only accessible, but also attractive for young women who may be interested in the field but don't feel welcome.
That's part of a larger problem regarding gender stereotypes in tech, where men are viewed as the tech minds and women are the supporting cast. This was on full display last Halloween when a tech community center hosted a Hackers and Hookers party. Or at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference last year when two guys presented an app, which they later said was a joke, "where you take photos of yourself staring at tits.â€
Stanford is a breeding ground for tech and business leaders who lead top startups and venture capital firms in Silicon Valley and beyond. Ignoring sexist comments by turning a blind eye to students who promote this mindset, even if only jokingly, allows it to persist. It doesn't look good for the university, and it doesn't look promising for the future leaders it produces or the attitudes they will take with them.
That's why Stanford told its entire student body in no uncertain terms that the onus is not just on the person who sends the email but, perhaps more so, on those who receive it. To "reject such behavior whenever and wherever we see it even â€" no, especially â€" if it comes from a friend, a classmate, or a colleague."
Stanford's leadership, in its response, puts forth the idea that we need to expect more from ourselves, our top universities, and the top minds within them. Spiegel may be hearing this message late, but he's hearing it loud and clear. Now it's a question of whether others will listen, and learn from his mistake.
Etchemendy's email, in full, is embedded below.
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The FCC is considering an increase in the minimum speed for broadband Internet.
The argument over fast lanes, slow lanes, net neutrality and peering has caused concern that the future of the Internet could be in danger.
But the Federal Communications Commission could have a trick or two up its sleeve.
The FCC confirmed to Mashable an earlier Washington Post report that a notice of inquiry is being circulated among commissioners that calls into question the adequacy of current broadband speed requirements.
The move comes as streaming media has caused dramatic changes in the data consumption habits of even casual Internet users. Netflix accounts for almost one-third of data traffic in North America in the evenings, followed by YouTube with 17%.
Internet service providers (ISPs) are required to provide at least 4 megabits per second (Mbps) on downloads and 1 Mbps on uploads to be considered broadband. The new inquiry would seek comment on raising those minimums to 10 Mbps of download or higher.
The FCC is tasked with monitoring U.S. consumer access to broadband Internet. Raising minimum speeds could provide the commission with more leverage to push ISPs to increase investment on Internet infrastructure.
The FCC is currently taking comments on its newly proposed rules for how IPSs are allowed to handle data traffic on its networks. Net neutrality advocates have warned that the new regulation would open the door for companies to be able to solicit payments from content providers for greater speeds.
A new minimum speed for broadband would conceivably have more impact on consumers than content providers, as consumers would be guaranteed the speed at their connection. Content providers would receive no such guarantee and are susceptible to slowdowns due to factors such as limited bandwidth and congestion at peering points.
The notice circulated on Friday is different from the rules proposal about Internet regulation and would only seek to solicit comments from the public or companies in the industry. No proposed rules are being discussed.
A study by Internet content delivery firm Akamai found that average download speed in the U.S. at the end of 2013 was already around 10 Mbps.
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Apple's OS X Mac software is expected to get a big update next week at the company's WorldWide Developer's Conference, and it's expected to get another California-centric name.
Keeping in line with the state-specific theme that first popped up in OS X 10.9 Mavericks (named after a popular surfing locale), the next-generation desktop operating system could be named after California's Yosemite National Park â€" if banners at the event space are any indication.
The news comes as workers at the Moscone West center in San Francisco has been hanging banners that feature "X" (for the OS X release) and "8" (for the iOS 8 release).
Appearing behind the "X" banner is a well-known rock face called El Capitan in Yosemite, according to a 9to5Mac.com report. El Cap might sound like a silly name for an operating system, but Apple has reportedly trademarked that name too, so it could be fair game.
Other trademark filings for product names include Sequoia, Mojave, Sonoma, Ventura, Redwood, Big Sur, California, Grizzly, Monterey and others, including â€" of course â€" Yosemite.
Last year, Apple made OS X Mavericks available for free for all Apple computers back to 2007. It was the first time in nine iterations that the company steered away from giving the new software a cat-themed name. In the past, names have ranged from Cheetah and Jaguar to Mountain Lion.
According to 9to5Mac, OS X 10.10 will have a major visual redesign. In fact, members of the iOS user-interface team have reportedly been pulled in to help with the new OS X design.
Mashable will be on the ground live at the WWDC keynote on Monday. The presentation, which will likely include the OS X and iOS 8 announcements, will start at 10:00 a.m. PT/1:00 p.m. ET.
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Twitter changed its primary web font for user profiles on Friday, moving to a sleeker and narrower look.
The new font is Gotham Narrow SSm. Gotham tends to be a popular font across the Internet and was used in Barack Obama's campaign. The new logo for One World Trade Center also uses a Gotham variant.
The font is the product of Hoefler & Co. (neè Hoefler & Frere-Jones), a type foundry operating out of New York City. The font change appears on user profiles and sidebars; the text of the tweets on Twitter's homepage appears unchanged.
The shift follows on the new Twitter profiles that first rolled out publicly in February and have only recently been incorporated into most user pages.
The company has made no formal announcement on its blog, but it did share news of the change from the @Support account.
Users took notice of the change right away, and predictably, not all are keen on the change.
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Watch out, Tony Hawk. This kid is shredding her way to the top.
At age 9, most young skateboarders are just learning to ollie, happy to successfully jump their boards a few inches.
Sabre Norris from New South Wales, Australia, can't ride a bike, but has already tackled the halfpipe and landed her first 540. The trick requires the rider launch off a ramp, spin with the board one-and-a-half turns and successfully land back on the ramp.
The video shows a few failed landings, but after 75 attempts that day, Norris finally landed the 540, according to The Berrics.
Her reaction to landing the trick is just as good as the feat itself.
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European travelers have long exchanged pied-Ã -terres and fancy family abodes for their vacations, primed by generous time-off policies combined with the relative expense and scarcity of continental hotels. Now a host of American ventures want to be the Airbnb of the one percent, enticing the well-heeled to list plush condos and exclusive vacation properties as short-term rentals.
Expedia this year started showing properties listed on HomeAway, the largest vacation rental company by listings; the company also owns the VRBO rental site. Meanwhile, TripAdvisor has bought its way into the market with its recent deal for Vacation Home Rentals, which pushed its selection to more than 500,000 properties. Priceline’s European-based Booking.com unit has been aggressively expanding into apartments and villas in Europe and could decide to expand its offerings in the U.S.
HomeAway, which has about 950,000 rental properties on its website, plans soon to begin a large marketing push to help increase demand. "We're the global leader with a very cool product to sell and very little brand awareness," says Brent Bellm, chief operations officer at Austin-based HomeAway.
The short-term home-rental market has grown in recent years, helped by rising hotel room rates, homeowners' desire to make money from their vacation properties, and the publicity generated by Airbnb's rapid growth. For many travelers, it's simply a matter of personal finance: A fancy four-bedroom condo can be cheaper than a tony hotelâ€"and everyone loves a bargain, regardless of how fat one's wallet may be.
"Why pay out money when I can use my asset when I travel?" says E. Wade Shealy Jr., founder and chief executive officer of 3rdHome, in explaining the appeal of his membership club for people who own multiple luxury homes. Listings on 3rdHome include properties at Napa Valley's Calistoga Ranch, where lodging can top $5,000 per night.
In many ways, 3rdHome seems to cultivate an image as the high-rolling alternative to Airbnb, touting the average appraisal of its rental homes of $2.4 million. The Tennessee-based company lists more than 22,000 properties worldwide and focuses its recruitment efforts in popular destinations such as London, Manhattan, Paris, Aspen, and Caribbean beach resorts. 3rdHome charges members an initial $2,500 to join, as well as home-exchange fees of $395 to $995 per transaction. It oversees about 200 exchanges each month, and Shealy expects to increase both the number of members and the amount of swapping over time. Using 3rdHome, he says, "lessens the commitment to a destination."
There's also the matter of how much it costs to spend a week away. Last year, U.S. hotels reported record sales of $163 billion and are likely to enjoy even better times in 2014 as they control costs and yield more profit from each room, according to a new report from lodging industry research firm STR Analytics. Among luxury hotels, 89% reported higher profits in 2013.
The climbing prices at hotels are helping turn many affluent travelers toward the so-called sharing economy, in which people swap houses or otherwise make arrangements to stay in the home of stranger when on vacation. About 50 million people worldwide own more than one home, Shealy says, by way of illustrating the potential size of growth in the market. "In 10 years there will be a lot of clubs like us out there," he says, including new resort developments that offer property buyers free membership in home-sharing clubs. 3rdHome claims it is in talks with more than two dozen developers about including membership in it as part of their sales pitch.
Shealy, a former luxury real estate developer, sees the phenomenon as driven by the growing number of people who purchase a second or third home as investments, not just as relaxing getaways near the slopes or beach. In many cases, listing the house as a rental property can help meet a large portion of the mortgageâ€"and sometimes all of it, HomeAway's Bellm says.
"People are realizing you can do this and make money," says Bellm, who bought a vacation home last year in the Great Smoky Mountains, near Knoxville, Tennessee. He predicts his family will use it a month or so annually and hopes to rent it as much as possible the rest of the time.
This article originally published at Businessweek here
Bruce and Esther Huffman kiss during a interview Thursday, Sept. 15, 2011, in , McMinnville, Ore.
Image: Rick Bowmer/Associated Press
Tinder, the dating and hookup app, has become a runaway success over the past year and spawned plenty of offshoots.
Now, one Australian entrepreneur thinks there's room for a competitor targeted at the 50-plus demo.
Andrew Dowling is behind Stitch, an online dating service that nominally aims to provide "companionship" for users (rather than the one night stands Tinder is renowned for). This, plus a focus on interests over appearances, set the new service apart from Tinder. After running closed trials for the last few months, Stitch is accepting registrations in several locations. The site will be free for the time being, while it's in closed trial.
"Unlike the big dating companies which treat their users like cogs in a machine, we’re here to talk," the site explains. "Stitch is about people, not matching algorithms. We’re on a mission to eradicate social isolation for mature adults which means we honestly care about you."
The U.S. Census reports that 13.7% of the country's population â€" about 43.6 million people â€" are over the age of 65. (There are no stats about the over-50 crowd.)
Stitch's introduction follows other Tinder copycats like BarkBuddy, which is billed as the "Tinder for dogs," and "Hot or Not," which is more of a direct competitor.
Introduced last year, Tinder uses Facebook's social graph and geolocation data to match potential partners.
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Bryan Cranston stars as antihero Walter White in AMC's Breaking Bad.
Image: Gregory Peters/AMC
AMC's Breaking Bad ended its acclaimed five-season run last year, but the final zoom-out scene featuring antihero Walter White may not have represented what you think it did.
Bryan Cranston hinted Thursday night during an interview with Ashleigh Banfield on CNN that his character could still be alive â€" having possibly survived his bloody gunshot wound.
"Spoiler alert for all of you who are going to watch Breaking Bad on Netflix â€" shut your ears right now," Banfield warned viewers. "I'm going to ask you, really, seriously, I wasn't so sure that you died, I really wasn't. Your eyes were open and I thought, 'What if the police just take him into custody, he gets better, breaks out and just goes nuts?'"
"Hey, you never saw bags zip up or anything," Cranston quipped.
"Is he dead?" Banfield asked more directly, to which Cranston replied, "I don’t know."
Banfield continued prodding: "No movie? No nothing? No Walter White ever again?"
“Never say never," Cranston said.
Cranston, who stars in the summer blockbuster Godzilla and in the Tony Award-nominated All the Way, could someday bring Walter White to theaters in some form, though a movie spinoff is unlikely. But what about a Breaking Bad play or musical? Also unlikely anytime soon, seeing as Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan is already conjuring up a spinoff series for AMC about quirky criminal lawyer Saul Goodman.
Here's the Cranston-Banfield interaction in all its glory (skip to the 3:38 mark):
The Breaking Bad finale attracted 10.3 million viewers â€" the highest viewership in series history â€" and significant social buzz. Now, we won't be surprised if you go running to Netflix to re-watch the final scene after reading this awfully mean tease from Cranston.
BONUS: Walter White Battles Rick Grimes in 'Breaking Bad' vs. 'Walking Dead' Rap
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Bryan Cranston stars as antihero Walter White in AMC's Breaking Bad.
Image: Gregory Peters/AMC
AMC's Breaking Bad ended its acclaimed five-season run last year, but the final zoom-out scene featuring antihero Walter White may not have represented what you think it did.
Bryan Cranston hinted Thursday night during an interview with Ashleigh Banfield on CNN that his character could still be alive â€" having possibly survived his bloody gunshot wound.
"Spoiler alert for all of you who are going to watch Breaking Bad on Netflix â€" shut your ears right now," Banfield warned viewers. "I'm going to ask you, really, seriously, I wasn't so sure that you died, I really wasn't. Your eyes were open and I thought, 'What if the police just take him into custody, he gets better, breaks out and just goes nuts?'"
"Hey, you never saw bags zip up or anything," Cranston quipped.
"Is he dead?" Banfield asked more directly, to which Cranston replied, "I don’t know."
Banfield continued prodding: "No movie? No nothing? No Walter White ever again?"
“Never say never," Cranston said.
Cranston, who stars in the summer blockbuster Godzilla and in the Tony Award-nominated All the Way, could someday bring Walter White to theaters in some form, though a movie spinoff is unlikely. But what about a Breaking Bad play or musical? Also unlikely anytime soon, seeing as Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan is already conjuring up a spinoff series for AMC about quirky criminal lawyer Saul Goodman.
Here's the Cranston-Banfield interaction in all its glory (skip to the 3:38 mark):
The Breaking Bad finale attracted 10.3 million viewers â€" the highest viewership in series history â€" and significant social buzz. Now, we won't be surprised if you go running to Netflix to re-watch the final scene after reading this awfully mean tease from Cranston.
BONUS: Walter White Battles Rick Grimes in 'Breaking Bad' vs. 'Walking Dead' Rap
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Admit it, you aren't watching local news for the hard-hitting facts â€" you're watching because the bloopers are downright hilarious.
For all its virtues, live TV has an infinite number of pitfalls which any unsuspecting anchor or reporter can fall into. May's bloopers may even be worse/funnier than April's supercut, which is a hard feat to manage.
See also: Local News Is the Best, Because Bloopers
This compilation includes a reporter awkwardly being asked on a date, a reporter falling into a mud pit and plenty of cringeworthy eyewitnesses using foul language. And don't forget about the weatherman who just can't keep it together.
Who wouldn't stay up until 11:00 p.m. for all that fun?
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BONUS: 15 News Reports Made Way Better With Videobombs
If these GIFs could talk, they'd sound nothing like this.
GIFs are a silent medium, which can have its drawbacks. These dubbed GIFs cross your favorite movie scene with a new script that makes no sense at all.
See also: 15 Combined GIFs That Prove Two GIFs Are Better Than One
This is what happens when bad lip readings meet your favorite reaction GIF Tumblr. In a way, they leave us speechless.
