iPhone hookups go straight with new meet market

He's credited with sparking a sexual revolution in the gay community and now Joel Simkhai thinks he can evolve the way heterosexual people meet each other as well.
Simkhai is the creator of Grindr, a homosexual pickup app for the mobile phone that connects people with others in their immediate vicinity. Launched in 2009, Grindr now has almost three million users around the world including almost 150,000 in Australia, of which 41,500 are in Sydney.

 

Blendr uses smartphone GPS to connect you with people in your immediate vicinity.

Today Simkhai and his now 100-strong team took the wraps off their latest creation, Blendr, which is designed to be used by both gay and straight people to meet others who are nearby and who have similar interests.

Ultrabooks harness the best of tablets to fight Macbook Air

Looks a lot like a Macbook Air ... Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook.

PC makers have a new weapon in their battle to stop tablets stealing laptop market share and prove Apple doesn't have a monopoly on design: Ultrabooks.
Acer, Asus, Samsung, Lenovo, Toshiba and others have all unveiled plans for new ultraportable Windows 7 laptops that are thinner, lighter, faster and have longer battery life than previous efforts. Acer is the first cab off the rank with new models due out next month starting at $1200.
Ultrabooks is the umbrella term for the new category, which was created by chipmaker Intel to guide vendors with a series of stringent rules.

 

Facebook doubles first-half revenue to $1.5b: source

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo: AFP

Facebook's revenue doubled to $US1.6 billion ($1.5b) in 2011's first half, a source with knowledge of its financials said, underscoring its appeal to advertisers while it grapples with intensifying competition from the likes of Google.
Net income in the first half of 2011 came to almost $US500 million ($469.6m), according to the source, who wished to remain anonymous because privately-held Facebook does not disclose its results.
Facebook's stronger results come as investors have pushed its valuation to roughly $US80 billion ($75.14b) in private markets, with many industry observers expecting the world's No. 1 internet social network to go public in 2012.

Facebook to launch music platform: sources

This post was originally published on Mashable.com
Facebook intends to launch its long-rumoured music service next month with Spotify, MOG and Rdio as three of the company’s launch partners, Mashable has learned.
The music and media platform will be announced at Facebook’s f8 developer conference on September 22. It will allow users to listen to music from within Facebook.com. Evidence of Facebook’s music platform first surfaced in the code of Facebook’s video chat service.

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According to two sources familiar with the matter, Facebook will not directly host or stream any music or media. Instead, it will rely on partners to provide the content. This is in contrast to Apple, Google and Amazon’s strategy of hosting music content on their servers. Facebook’s plan is to become a platform for media content in the same way it is a platform for applications and games.

Sony unveils $732 wearable 3D personal theatre

A model demonstrates using Sony's head mounted display "Personal 3D Viewer HMZ-T1" at its product launch in Tokyo. Photo: Reuters

Sony says it will start selling a head mounted display that provides a 3D theatre of music videos, movies and games, targeting people who prefer solitary entertainment rather than sitting in front of a TV with family or friends.
Sony said that the 60,000 yen ($732) "HMZ personal 3D viewer" is set to go on sale November 11 in Japan, and is planned for the US and Europe, perhaps in time for Christmas, although dates have not yet been set.
Resembling a futuristic visor, HMZ, which stands for "head mounted display", is worn like chunky goggles-and-earphones in one.

Reporters try Sony's head mounted display. Photo: Reuters

Outage hits Hotmail and MSN.com

Microsoft email services are gradually being restored following a worldwide outage that knocked email services including Windows Live Hotmail and MSN.com offline.
Australian customers reported problems logging on to the email services on social networking site Twitter from about 1pm.
Microsoft is now scrambling to bring its services, including its cloud-based software Office 365,  back online.

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‘‘We’re aware of an outage impacting Hotmail, SkyDrive, and our other properties. We are actively working to resolve this issue,’’ a Microsoft spokesman said via Twitter.
It is understood services were restored to some customers about 3pm, although the outage is still affected thousands of customers.
‘‘We are slowing coming back online. Please hang in there if you are still not getting to the site, Hotmail, etc,’’ a spokesman for Hotmail told Twitter users.

Samsung to Apple: Kubrick made first iPad

The iPad-like devices in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Stanley Kubrick, not Apple, designed the iPad, Samsung says in a bizarre patent defence that cites 2001: A Space Odyssey as an argument for why its copycat tablet shouldn't be pulled from sale in the US.
Even more surprising is the fact that a senior patent lawyer argues that "Samsung probably has a viable defence here".
Apple and Samsung are suing each other all over the world for patent infringement after Apple accused Samsung of "blatant copying" of its products.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Photo: Supplied

Facebook revamped to combat Google+ threat

The changes mean users can approve or reject all posts depicting or referencing them.

Facebook has today launched a significant privacy-led revamp of the social networking site in a move that's being interpreted as a direct response to the threat posed by Google+.
The site said the changes, designed to make it easier for users to control what personal details are revealed on the site and to whom, would be rolled out to users "in the coming days". Rectifying a major privacy flaw, Facebook users can now approve photos they are tagged in before they appear on their profile
Google+ is still in its early stages - 25 million members at last count compared to Facebook's 750 million - so Facebook isn't in immediate danger but many have remarked about how the Google social network, by grouping friends in "circles", makes it easier to control who you share with.

'This is war': tech giants battle over mobile patents

Among Motorola Mobility Holdings's more than 17,000 patents, a group of 18 may prove most useful in Google's effort to fend off litigation targeting the Android mobile platform.
The inventions date back to 1994 and form the heart of three Motorola lawsuits against Apple, making them among the stars of the portfolio, said David Mixon, a patent lawyer at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings in Huntsville, Alabama in the US. They cover technology essential to the mobile device industry, including location services, antenna designs, email transmission, touch screen motions, software application management and third generation wireless.
“Any patent owner, before they consider litigation is going to carefully evaluate their patents to withstand an attack,” Mixon said in a telephone interview. “You don't want to hold any back. You want to pick your strongest patents.”

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Google is counting on its $US12.5 billion acquisition of Libertyville, Illinois-based Motorola Mobility to strengthen its patent lineup as Apple and Microsoft challenge Android, the best-selling smartphone operating system in the second quarter. Google had been issued fewer than 1000 patents as of the start of this year. Motorola Mobility would add another 17,000, as well as about 7500 pending applications.
“There are a lot of sweet patents in that portfolio,” said Dean Becker, chief executive officer of Palm Beach, Florida-based ICAP Patent Brokerage, the world's largest. He said Google only needs a few to bolster its legal position.

8 Best Practices for Deploying a Top-Ranked Mobile App

Developing a mobile app is the easy part. Getting that app noticed is difficult. And getting the app to go viral is like winning the lottery. Yet many developers get millions of downloads time after time. How?

 It's all about app store SEO, and some developers have mastered it. Here are a few tips and tricks of the trade to help get your app to the top of heap.

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Time Is of the Essence

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The first two weeks of an app’s life are critical and will likely determine its future visibility in the app store. Top applications develop popularity within two weeks of release, and most applications have a tendency to drop in chart position over time. Remember, whatever you do — marketing campaigns, cross distribution and so on — the quicker you do it, the bigger the impact.

Note: A time series analysis provided findings around top application behavior and their statistical differentiation from other applications over time. Rank represents a normalized score to gauge application success on the same scale across different categories. App rank data was leveraged from the top 100 App Store (iOS) apps.

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Pricing: Free, Paid or In-App Purchasing?

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Woman who was assaulted settles Match.com lawsuit

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A woman who sued Match.com after being sexually assaulted by a man she met on the dating website settled her lawsuit on Tuesday when she saw proof that the site screenings its members for sexual predators.

Carole Markin sued the website when she found out her attacker had been convicted of sexual battery. She did not seek monetary damages in her lawsuit, just a court order requiring the site to check its members' backgrounds to weed out convicted sex offenders.

"If I save one woman from being attacked, I'm happy," Markin said. "I went into this lawsuit to protect other people, and it worked."

Robert Platt, an attorney for the site, said Match.com has begun checking its members against state and federal sex-offender databases.

Last week Alan Wurtzel, 67, pleaded no contest to assaulting Markin. He could face a year in jail, five years of probation and a lifetime registration as a sex offender when he is sentenced Sept. 19.

Prosecutors said that on their second date last year, Wurtzel drove Markin to her home and followed her inside where he sexually assaulted her while holding her down.

Source: Yahoo 

Facebook to let users pre-approve photo tags

 

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Drunken revelers rejoice: Facebook will now let you decide whether your friends can attach your name to a photo before it is circulated.

Currently, your friends can add your name to a photo on Facebook without your consent or knowledge. You can remove it later, but only after lots of others may have seen the embarrassing shots. Now, you can insist on pre-approval.

This won't affect whether your friends can add a photo of you, only whether your name is attached to it. Still, not having the name, known as a tag, can make it more difficult for people to find a potentially embarrassing photo in a search.

Third Rail's Powered iPhone Case is Shockingly Clever

The high-voltage third rail that runs next to a set of train tracks is, of course, something to be avoided. The Third Rail System for the iPhone 4, however, is to be welcomed.

Photo courtesy of Third Rail Mobility

Third Rail System for iPhone 4
$90

This friendly breed of Third Rail combines a skin-tight phone case and a surprisingly light battery pack you attach to your cell phone when you need a recharge.
We’ve seen charging cases before, but most have problems. Powered phone cases usually add too much extra heft and bulk to a cell phone. If you need extra battery life, you have to turn your svelte, five-ounce iPhone 4 into a pocket-stretching doorstop that adds a half inch to the phone’s length and almost doubles the weight.
Third Rail’s system is comprised of two parts — a bantamweight (0.8 ounce) black case that’s slim and comfortable, and a backup battery that snaps onto the case, but only when the phone needs extra juice.

List: Web older than incoming college freshmen

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Mention Amazon to the incoming class of college freshmen and they are more likely to think of shopping than the South American river. PC doesn't stand for political correctness and breaking up is a lot easier thanks to Facebook and text messaging.

These are among the 75 references on this year's Beloit College Mindset List, a compilation intended to remind teachers that college freshmen born mostly in 1993 see the world in a much different way: They fancied pogs and Tickle Me Elmo toys as children, watched televisions that never had dials and their lives have always been like a box of chocolates.

Once upon a time, relatives of the current generation swore never to trust anyone over the age of 30. This group could argue: Never trust anyone older than the Net.

The college's compilation, released Tuesday, is assembled each year by two officials at the private school in southeastern Wisconsin. It also has evolved into a national phenomenon, a cultural touchstone that entertains even as it makes people wonder where the years have gone.

Remember when the initials LBJ referred to President Lyndon B. Johnson? Today, according to the list, they make teenagers think of NBA star LeBron James. And speaking of NBA legends, these kids didn't want to be like Mike — they fawned over Shaq and Kobe.

Apple to teach the world to sing

ISing? Karaoke application could soon come to your iPod.

It found global success with a device that transformed the way people listen to music, but now the company behind the iPod wants to teach the world to sing.
A patent application submitted by Apple has revealed its plans to turn the iPod and iPhone into a mobile karaoke system that can help to teach amateur singers how to hit the right pitch and key.
There is also good news for those forced to listen; the technology will be able to make off-key warblings sound in-tune.

The device will allow users to select songs to sing along to, displaying the words as a video on screen. As the user sings, the technology will analyse their voice, comparing it with how the song is supposed to sound.
If the singer hits the pitch and key perfectly, they will be rewarded by having their performance enhanced to give a ''concert hall'' effect.

Google Maps takes armchair explorers to Amazon

Google team members sail a boat with a 360-degree camera system mounted on a Trike on its top to record the "Street View for the Amazon" on the Negro River, around Tumbira Community, Amazonas State. Photo: AFP
Tumbira, Brazil — Two women washed clothes in the dark water of the Rio Negro as a boat glided past with a camera-laden Google tricycle strapped to the roof, destined to give the world a window into the Amazon rain forest.
A "trike" typically used to capture street scenes for Google's free online mapping service launched last week from the village of Tumbira in a first-ever project to let internet users virtually explore the world's largest river, its wildlife and its communities.

Upgrade Your Life: Revive a dying laptop battery

Laptop battery wearing down? In this week's episode of Upgrade Your Life, Yahoo! News' Becky Worley shows us how to help batteries last longer ... and what to do when they run out!
First, the basics
Most laptops use batteries that can last for 3-5 years, or about 1000 charges. (A premium laptop's battery might last longer.) Every time you charge your battery, the total capacity of the battery is diminished. Originally it may have had a run time of 3.5 hours, but after a year it'll run out of juice at 3 hours, even on a full charge.
If your battery capacity has diminished, there are a few things you can do about it. First, you have to correctly gauge how much capacity has been lost. There are free downloads to do this job, like Battery Bar (for Windows PCs) or Coconut Battery (for Macs). These will compare your battery's current maximum capacity to how long it lasted when it was new.
(UPDATE- we originally recommended Battery Eater and while the program works great, their download site has been compromised and we are recommending an alternate program, Battery Bar downloadable from CNET.)
Calibrating your Battery

Facebook sex scandal with girl, 16, topples German conservative politician

Christian von Boetticher, Schleswig-Holstein's Christian Democratic Union leader and top candidate for regional state elections in 2012, wipes tears as he gives a statement to the media after a board meeting in Kiel, Germany. Photo: Reuters

BERLIN — German voters may be willing to tolerate a politician's having an affair with a teenager, but not when that politician — a leading conservative, no less — met her on Facebook, where he also flaunted immodest details of his life.
Christian von Boetticher, 40, the successful state legislator at the top of the Christian Democratic Union's ticket in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, resigned as head of the party there during a tearful news conference on Sunday. He admitted to the affair, which was legal under German law, and to making a misjudgement, but insisted that he had nothing to be ashamed of because it was "a very unusual love".
It is also an unusual scandal — not only because of the girl's age, which was at the border of permissible and punishable, but also because of the role played by the social-networking site.

In some ways, the fact of her youth was less strange to conservative voters and colleagues "than that a grown man with more important things to do would spend so much time playing around on this network with nothing better to do than trade messages with a young girl," said Rudolf Koetter, director of the Centre for Advanced Ethics and Science Communications at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany.

Space vacation: orbiting hotel ready for guests by 2016

Commercial space station.

This post was originally published on Mashable.com
The age of space tourism might be closer than you think. In fact, if you have an extra $US1 million ($964,041) lying around, five years from now you could be one of the first off-world adventurers to stay for five days in this orbiting hotel built by Russian company Orbital Technologies.
You’ll get there via a Russian Soyuz rocket, taking you about a day to reach the Commercial Space Station 217 miles above the earth. Once you catch up to the orbiting abode, you’ll settle in with your comrades — up to six other space tourists (or researchers) — for an unparalleled adventure, residing in four cabins aboard the space station.

In nod to IBM, HP overhaul minimizes consumers

 

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hewlett-Packard Co. is surrendering in smartphones and tablet computers and has put its personal computer division up for sale, as new CEO Leo Apotheker tries to transform the Silicon Valley stalwart into a twin of East Coast archrival IBM Corp.

The restructuring contains an unmistakable message: HP has failed to cater to both consumers and corporations. As a result, it needs to exit most of its consumer businesses, just as IBM did six years ago.

The overhaul will have three parts:

— HP will stop making tablet computers and smartphones by October.

— It will try to spin off or sell its PC business, the world's largest. By the end of next year, HP computers could be sold under another company's name.

— The company plans to buy business software maker Autonomy Corp. for about $10 billion in one of the biggest takeovers in HP's 72-year history.

HP, the largest technology company in the world by revenue, will continue to sell servers and other equipment to business customers, just as IBM now does. Those businesses currently don't generate as much revenue for HP as PCs, but they have higher profit margins.