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A U.S. spaceflight company is hoping the third time's the charm in order to launch a brand-new rocket into space on its maiden flight on Sunday (April 21). After two delayed launch attempts, the privately built Antares rocket is once again poised to blast off from a seaside pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore. Liftoff is set for 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT). Read more »
60 Minutes Twitter has been compromised. We are working with Twitter to resolve. — Matthew Polevoy (@CBSMatt) April 20, 2013 At least 3 CBS-affiliated news accounts have been hacked , apparently by a rabid conspiracy theorist who wants the world to believe that President Obama is aiding Al-Qaeda. Accounts for @60minutes @48hours , and @ CBSDenver have all been hacked, some tweeting suspicious links (don’t click on them). Screenshots below. CBS is apparently working with Twitter to get the situation under control. Read more »
Have you got, or are planning to get, an HTC One ? Then we congratulate you. The flagship Android handset is going to be very popular We've taken a look at what cases are available for the One. We've found 10 options that we'd seriously consider using to protect the new phone SEE ALSO: 10 Awesome Accessories to Organize Your Office Have a browse through our selection in the gallery above. Let us know in the comments below how you're planning to shield your shiny new HTC handset Image courtesy of Speck Read more... Read more »
Dow Jones Venture Source released its quarterly report on the state of venture capital, including data on number of VC deals, funds raised, M&As and IPOs in the technology sector. According to the report, U.S.-based companies raised $6 billion from 752 venture capital deals in Q1 2013, an 11% decrease in capital and a 6% decrease in number of deals from the previous quarter. Compared to the same period in 2012, there was an 11% decrease in deals and a 12% decrease in amount invested. Additionally, median pre-money valuation dropped 79% from 4Q 2012. Deals in Information Technology (IT), Healthcare, Energy and Utilities, and Industrial Goods all declined, and deals in Business and Financial Services, Consumer Goods, and Consumer Services investment increased from the previous quarter. Read more »
The IRS refuses to deny whether its Criminal Tax Division rummages through suspected tax dodgers’ emails without a warrant. In response to the American Civil Liberties Union request for its privacy policy, the IRS dumped 247 records, revealing that the agency definitely believed it could access emails without a warrant before a court deemed the practice illegal. The agency is conspicuously silent on whether it still applies those old spying rules. “The Fourth Amendment does not protect communications held in electronic storage, such as email messages stored on a server, because internet users do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in such communication,” wrote IRS Criminal Tax Division’s Office of Chief Counsel in 2009. Under a law widely acknowledged as an antiquated privacy law called the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), governments can access emails opened or older than 180 days without a search warrant. The giant loophole was responsible for the notorious resignation of General David Petraeus after the FBI gained access to his mistress’ incriminating emails. Recognizing that people now regularly store email in the cloud indefinitely, a federal court in U.S. Read more »
Bwin , the online gaming giant that is powering Zynga’s first foray into real-money gambing , in the UK , today is spinning off its payments platform Kalixa . In turn, Kalixa is launching new mobile and online wallet products to further its concept of being a one-stop shop for those seeking an e-commerce solution. The move is a sign of how companies are digging in further to tap revenues in the fast-growing world of e-commerce, which passed sales of $1 trillion for the first time last year and is projected to hit $1.3 trillion in 2013 . The move will mean that Bwin can concentrate more resources on building out its gaming operation, while 12-year-old Kalixa can separate itself from being associated with an online gambling company to focus on expanding its own customer base for products to better compete against the likes of PayPal, Amazon and Google. Kalixa says that in 2012 it processed €2.7 billion ($3.5 billion) of transactions for more than 300 merchants, and its prepaid credit cards, which it provides with MasterCard, are being used by some 150,000 people in Europe. Read more »
If you’re into 3D printable stuff, or into remote control cars, then the OpenRC Project is for you. A gentleman in Sweden named Daniel Norée is sharing his progress on a 3D-printed Truggy, as well as sharing the recipe with the OpenRC Project group that he created. A truggy is an off-road vehicle, in case you weren’t sure. The cost of 3D printers are dropping both for at-home use and enterprise, so it’s a very real possibility that consumers all over the world could soon have these devices in their living rooms. Crazier things have happened. We’ve seen 3D printed iPhone docks , violins , pottery and even a robotic hand for a child . If you can print out your very own customized remote control car with one, count me in Read more »
Computers keep shrinking, and with the introduction of Google Glass , it seems we're getting closer to the realization of a gadget that fits in your eyeball. While the gadgets keep changing, the older generation's perspective on this newfangled technology stays pretty much the same SEE ALSO: More Comics on Mashable In this comic, Josh Mecouch of Formal Sweatpants offers a look at what future grandpas might think about computers the size of a contact lens. Don't worry — we'll all be there someday. Comic illustration by Josh Mecouch, Formal Sweatpants . Published with permission; all rights reserved. Read more... More about Comic , Comics , Tech , Humor , and Gadgets Read more »
The Obvious Corporation , the startup incubator and investment vehicle headed up by Twitter co-founders Evan Williams , Biz Stone , and former Twitter exec Jason Goldman that has become an umbrella company of sorts to a number of buzzy startups including Medium , Branch , and Lift , is shifting gears, according to a blog post written today by Williams. What exactly is happening comes across as a bit vague — which is fitting, as Obvious’ mission was purposefully vague at the time that it was launched (or rather, re-launched) in 2011 , and over the years those involved have mostly preferred to let the corporation’s work and products speak for themselves. But the general gist is that as far as the focus of its founders, Obvious as an entity is taking a backseat to the individual startups it has produced and funded. Medium, the Obvious-incubated next-generation publishing platform , is now operating as its own standalone company with Ev Williams spending “98 percent” of his time there. Some 30 staffers who previously were hired as Obvious employees are now working as full-time Medium employees. Meanwhile, as we’ve reported previously, Stone is working on a new company called Jelly . Read more »
If Facebook Home flies — and that’s a pretty big if — Zuckerberg’s freshly announced landgrab for Android owners’ eyeballs, is going to create a lot of losers. The big winner of course will be Facebook itself, as users who chose to install this alternative Facebook reality on their phone are inevitably going to be spending even more time within its walled garden (and they already spent a lot of time in Zucksville), feeding it even more data to power its ad business. Facebook Home tucks other apps out of sight (and thus out of mind) in a little drawer where they can easily be forgotten, and replaces homescreen and lockscreen widgets with Facebook and Instagram photos and updates. Even if they’re still technically available , all other social distractions are banished from this kingdom, with the exception of SMS — but even that is dressed up to look like a Facebook service as it is assimilated into the Chat Heads messaging game . It can’t be long before those regular monthly updates Zuckerberg said would be coming to Home pile in even more Facebook sanctioned functionality — which, cuckoo like, will push out even more native and third party app offerings. Read more »