Author: Josh Wolford

I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again: if you don’t come home to find a stranger browsing Facebook on your couch, you haven’t truly lived the college experience.

CBS Atlanta reports that a woman returned to her University of Georgia residence hall living quarters to find another woman sitting on her couch, using her laptop to mindlessly browse Facebook.

When the woman confronted her unwelcome Facebooker, she reportedly “stammered and apologized” before grabbing her things and scurrying off.

Later, it was determined that the woman had also peed on the couch that she was using to browse Facebook.

According to police, the intruder was an 18-year-old UGA student.

A college student stammering, in the wrong house, mindlessly clicking around Facebook and pissing on a couch? Wait a minute, that sounds familiar. Oh yeah, that basically describes every single night of a college freshman. Sounds like someone simply had too many jello shots and wandered into the wrong house.

Or, we have something much more sinister afoot. Police say the investigation is ongoing.

Google has successfully pressured the Swedish Language Council to remove a new word because it risks turning “google” into a generic term.

It’s a testament to Google’s dominance that most people simply say “google it” when they really mean “search it.” Because of this market domination, it’s completely understandable that a word like “ogooglebar” would emerge in the Swedish language. “Ogooglebar” translates to “ungoogleable,” as in “that was so obscure that it was ungoogleable, man.”

The word, which was added to the list of new Swedish words back in December, has officially been removed.

Google exerted pressure, asking the council to amend the definition to mean searches unable to be unearthed by Google only, not just any search engine. But instead of amending the definition, which the council said would go against their values, they decided to ax it altogether.

But just from the official list. It’s not like Swedes will stop using the word “ogooglebar.”

“If we want to have ogooglebar in the language, then we’ll use the word and it’s our use that gives it meaning – not a multinational company exerting pressure. Speech must be free!” said Swedish Language Council head Ann Cederberg.

Of course, the problem for Google is that the term “Google” is constantly toeing the dangerous line of falling into generic territory. Sure, it’s nice to be such a dominant force in your area of expertise that your company’s name becomes synonymous with the product itself.

Think Kleenex, Band-Aid, or Xerox? Those are actually trademarked names that people have gradually turned into the common name for the products they represent – tissue, bandages, and copy machines, respectively.

But it’s not so nice when your trademarks are in jeopardy of being declared generic – which is what can technically happen in situations like this. And it’s not like Google hasn’t had to deal with this before.

“It would go against our principles, and the principles of language. Google has forgotten one thing: language development doesn’t care about brand protection,” said Cederberg.

[The Local via The Verge]

You thought the Harlem Shake was a dead meme, didn’t you? Well, nothing is really complete until the Backstreet Boys have a crack at it, right?

No? That’s not a thing? Either way, I’ll be willing to bet that there’s still a fairly large contingent of you out there whose heart still flutters with the mere mention of BSB. You know who you are. And this is for you:

Although Google Reader is still up and running smoothly for now, Google is continuing to slowly rid the internet of any traces of its existence.

Reader, which used to be one of the main options on Google’s omnipresent black bar menu, is nowhere to be found. Not even in the “more” tab. Google, who previously stated that they would officially kill the product on July 1st, is prepping it for the kill by making it just a little bit harder to access every day.

Last week, we told you that Google Reader had disappeared from the black bar menu inside Gmail and Google+. If you clicked on the “more” tab while on the main Google homepage or on Image search, Google Play, Google Calendar, and all of the other Google products, Google Reader was still a clickable option.

Today we noticed that this is no longer true. No matter what Google product you’re currently using, the black bar menu no longer shows any trace of Google Reader.

Google Reader link removed from Google homepage, and their “Even More” tab. The end is nigh. #sadface

— Tony (@tonyarnoldine) March 26, 2013

Couldn’t find the @googlereader tab on the dropdown bar on my calendar. TOO SOON, GOOGLE. I have until July 1st!

— Suegol Malek (@Suegolator) March 26, 2013

What is simply frustrating right now is probably for the best. Any inconvenience Google can throw up in the way of you using Google Reader will likely help you out in the long run, maybe force you to go ahead and look for an alternative. But as of now, the only two ways to access Google Reader is to go directly to google.com/reader or just search “reader.”

Google has just unveiled a Google+ update that’s sure to thrill all you GIF lovers out there.

Starting today, you can now use an animated GIF as your profile picture. The GIF will animate on profile pages on both mobile and desktop. As of now, the GIFs don’t animate in the stream – so make sure that the still image for your new profile GIF is also presentable.

Matt Steiner54 minutes ago

You can now use an animated gif for your profile photo!  It will animate on the profile page on both desktop and mobile

edit:  like newspapers in Harry Potter 197    60 Powered by socialditto

Google software engineer Matt Steiner has implemented the new profile GIF, and you can check it out here.

Speaking of Google and GIFs, they recently made it easier to find animated GIFs by adding a new “animated” search filter in Image Search.

Ever since the White House changed the rules on their We The People petition site, forcing petitions to reach the 100,000-signature threshold before warranting an official response, “successful” petitions have been a lot more scarce. Only a handful of petitions have crossed the barrier, the most recent being two important tech petitions – this one asking the White House to legalize cellphone unlocking and this one attacking CISPA.

Today another one nears that 100,000-signature mark, and it’s a little bit funnier than the aforementioned petitions – but no less important, really.

With nearly 80,000 signatures and over three weeks to grab the remaining 20,000, it looks like the petition titled “Require Congressmen & Senators to wear logos of their financial backers on their clothing, much like NASCAR drivers do” will receive an official response from the Obama administration.

Here’s what the petition’s creator, J.S. of St. Louis, Missouri, has to say:

Since most politicians’ campaigns are largely funded by wealthy companies and individuals, it would give voters a better sense of who the candidate they are voting for is actually representing if the company’s logo, or individual’s name, was prominently displayed upon the candidate’s clothing at all public appearances and campaign events. Once elected, the candidate would be required to continue to wear those “sponsor’s” names during all official duties and visits to constituents. The size of a logo or name would vary with the size of a donation. For example, a $1 million dollar contribution would warrant a patch of about 4″ by 8″ on the chest, while a free meal from a lobbyist would be represented by a quarter-sized button. Individual donations under $1000 are exempt.

Sure, we’ve been hearing this joke for years – the ol’ sponsorship suit for Senators. But who out there (other than the Congresspeople and their contributors) would say that this isn’t a great idea.

Completely unrealistic or not, I hope the petition succeeds just so I can see an official response.

[BoingBoing, photo via mtsofan, Flickr]

Facebook is currently testing a new look to chat on desktop – one that looks nearly identical to the way chat appears on the Facebook Messenger app.

The new design has blue and white chat bubbles, instead of the simple text that users currently see. According to AllFacebook, Facebook looks to be testing the new desktop chat for a small set of international users.

Here’s what it looks like:

Compare that to the current format:

Which format do you prefer?

As expected, Facebook has just rolled out their new Replies feature for Pages.

Starting today, you can choose to turn on Replies for your page. The new feature changes the way post comments are shown and organized, and it allows users to reply directly to other comments on the post, creating comment threads.

“Today, we’re improving the quality of conversations on Pages with Replies. Reply directly to comments left on your Page and start a conversation thread. The most active and engaging conversations will be shown at the top of your posts,” says Facebook.

The new Replies feature is pretty self-explanatory. Instead of commenting on the post in general, or tagging a user in your comment in order to show that you’re responding directly to them, now you can simply reply to their comment inside the page post. It’s a feature that Facebook has had for a while on their Facebook commenting plugin for sites, and it will no doubt make conversations inside heavily-commented page posts much easier to follow.

The new ranking system that sorts conversations should also help to bring the best comment threads to the top. Facebook says that the new system is based on which conversations are the most “active and engaging,” which most likely means the conversations that contain the most likes and individual replies. We heard last week that the algorithm also takes into account your connections, so you could see a different comment on the top of a post than your friend does – depending on who you know. We’ve reached out to Facebook for more explanation on this and will update you when we hear back.

Starting today, you should be able to opt-in to the new comment structure. Simply go to your page, click “edit page,” and go to “manage permissions.” If you scroll all the way to the bottom, you should see you should see a Replies filter box you can check off to “Allow replies to comments on my Page.” It should be under “Post privacy gating.”

For now, the new replies are opt-in only. But starting July 10th, Facebook says they’ll be rolling it out to all pages.

Previously, a TechCrunch source said that the feature will only be rolling out to pages with over 10,000 followers. We don’t yet have confirmation on this, and will let you know when Facebook gets back to us.

Google has just launched a major update to Google+ for iOS and Android, bringing photo filters, a brand new profile design, new features for communities, and much more.

First off, the big, flashy new addition Google+ for iOS is photo filtering. It’s part of a photo editing update that also lets you rotate and crop your photos. There are now 9 different filters to choose from, including black & white, warm, cool, and “retrolux.” In this regard, Google+ is catching up to other apps like Facebook and Twitter in capitalizing on the filtering craze spawned by Instagram.

This is the result of Google’s September, 2012 acquisition of Snapseed.

Google says that with the new editing software, you’ll be able to “do basic edits like rotate and crop, as well as select filters like Drama and Retrolux; adjust saturation, contrast, brightness and lots more by sliding your fingers up-and-down, then left-and-right; single tap at any time to compare your creation with the original.”

Other useful improvements include the ability to control the volume of posts from each of your circles or communities and a new search filtering option that lets you sort by best and most recent.

The last feature to get retooled in both the iOS and Android apps is Google+ Communities. Now, you can broadcast specific communities to your connections by sharing it of sending them an invite. You also have to ability to re-share posts with specific communities. Also, Google now shows you counts for unread community messages.

There are also some Android-specific updates for the Google+ app, including some improvements to how you view content in your stream:

• Posts include more text up front—from the original message, and from comments
• Tapping video, photo or link attachments takes you directly to a watch page, lightbox or website
• Image previews are rarely cropped, so you’ll see portrait photos (for instance) in all their glory
• Key actions like +1, reshare and comment are displayed more prominently in each post
• You can swipe through photo albums inline

Profiles on Google+ for Android now have location sharing. If you enable it (via desktop or mobile), you can now show where you currently are on your profile.

And on Google+ for iOS, you’ll find redesigned user profiles and the notification tray – both of which are cleaner. If you’re new to Google+ for iOS, Google wants to make it easier to get started with a new set-up flow when you launch the app.

You can snag the update today over at the App Store and Google Play.

“We are Spotify, and we are for music.”

That’s the tagline of a new ad campaign for Spotify, the first major ad campaign from the music streaming service in the U.S.

The campaign is the work of NYC-based Droga5, and it will feature TV, digital, and social media spots. This is the first of the three new ads, called “For Music.” It’ll debut on Monday night during The Voice on NBC.

Spotify says that is shows viewers “the journey of one individual being carried on a sea of people, speaking to the emotions that music inspires in each of us: the way music sets you free and unites us all.” It also features a nice “I am the Walrus” reference. Check it out:

Here are the other two ads, “Her Song” and “Getting Weird.”

Spotify is rolling out their new ad campaign as rumors surfaced that the company is planning on getting into the business of original video content.

Just hours after Google made the unsurprisingly unpopular decision to kill off Google Reader on July 1st, Digg announced their plans to build their own RSS reader – one that will serve as a replacement both in functionality and in spirit. Although Digg said that they were “confident [they] can cook up a worthy successor,” it appears that they have combed through the user feedback and constructed an outline of the product they hope to build, based on what former Google Reader users really want.

And there was a lot of feedback. According to Digg, their blog post announcing the Google Reader replacement received over 800 comments – more than when Digg announced the big Digg redesign back in July.

Here’s what Digg says were the four overarching trends they found in the user feedback, meaning these are the things that former Google Reader users want to see in a Digg Reader:

1. Keep it simple, stupid
2. Make it fast (like, really fast)
3. Synchronize across devices
4. Make it easy to import from existing Google Reader accounts

As we know, simplicity is one of the things about Google Reader that users seem to be the most fond of.

“Google did a lot of things right with its Reader, but based on what we’re hearing from users, there is room for meaningful improvement. We want to build a product that’s clean and flexible, that bends easily and intuitively to the needs of different users,” says Digg.

And they are also planning on building a reader that better incorporates content from Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, reddit, LinkedIn and other, more social places.

Digg says that they have been planning on building their own Reader for some time, but were forced to expedite their plans after Google dropped the hammer on Reader.

“We’re confident we can ship a product that meets the principles above, but if a feature is missing on Day 1 that you were really looking forward to, we ask that you 1) tell us and 2) be patient.”

For those of you who love Twitter and wish to have influence on the network, the sad fact is that you’ll probably never be verified. No matter how hard you try, Twitter isn’t likely to contact you directly, expressing their wish to add that little blue check mark next to your name. Sorry man, it’s just not going to happen (for most of you).

The best you can do is to live vicariously through Anil Dash, who sat down with the Kondabolu brothers to discuss the process, and it’s a pretty entertaining watch.

[Hari Kondabolu via The Next Web]

We’ve known this was coming since reports emerged that Amazon had snatched up the rights back in January, but today the company officially announced that the new Zombieland TV series will land on Prime Instant Video.

Zombieland is the 7th comedy pilot greenlit by Amazon Studios. Eventually, all will make it to Prime Instant Video and LOVEFILM UK, at which point user feedback will determine which ones make the cut. Zombieland was originally rumored to be coming to CBS, but it will find its home on the subscription streaming service.

Zombieland the series is a continuation of the film of the same name, and it has some of the film’s original creative team working on it, including writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The pilot is being directed by Eli Craig, who wrote and directed Tucker and Dale vs Evil.

“Zombieland will strive to break the rules—action, adventure, thrills, chills and laughs and all packed into a half hour format,” said creator Paul Wernick. “This is not your average show but Amazon is not your average network.”

The pilot stars Tyler Ross at Columbus, Izabela Vidovic and Little Rock, and Kirk Ward and Tallahassee.

“Zombieland is a fan favorite and we can’t wait to see where this story line goes in a serialized format,” said Roy Price, Director of Amazon Studios. “We’ve been announcing a lot of exciting exclusive content for Prime Instant Video, like Downton Abbey, Under the Dome, and Justified, and we think adding original shows to that lineup is going to make Prime even more enticing for customers.”

When you think about upcoming Google technologies that state legislatures may be looking to regulate on their roadways, the first thing that pops into your head is likely self-driving cars.

But it’s another upcoming Google product that you may want to use in your car that one U.S. state is trying to ban.

H.B. 3057, introduced in the West Virginia legislature a few days ago, looks to add language to existing rules on traffic safety to include a ban on “using a wearable computer with head mounted display,” described as “a computing device which is worn on the head and projects visual information into the field of vision of the wearer.”

Sound like anything that Google is preparing to launch?

Although the bill doesn’t actually mention Google Glass by name, it’s fairly obvious what the lawmakers are referring to in their language.

Plus, one of the bill’s authors explicitly told CNET that it was a response to Google Glass. But it appears that at least one the bill’s authors, Gary Howell (R), doesn’t hate the technology – he simply sees it in the same way he sees texting.

“I actually like the idea of the product and I believe it is the future, but last legislature we worked long and hard on a no-texting-and-driving law. It is mostly the young that are the tech-savvy that try new things. They are also our most vulnerable and underskilled drivers. We heard of many crashes caused by texting and driving, most involving our youngest drivers. I see the Google Glass as an extension,” he says.

Fair point, but Google Glass’ possible applications while driving have already been tested – by Sergey Brin nonetheless. Last summer, Brin tested a new feature of Glass while driving. The feature automatically snaps a photo every 10 or so seconds, documenting your life (or more specifically, road trip) as you go. Here’s a picture from that test:

If the legislature is serious about passing this bill, they’ll have to do it sooner rather than later. Google Glass should be popping up on the market later this year. Although, if the bill’s authors are concerned about teenagers hitting the road with Google Glass strapped to their faces, they may want to reconsider their motivations. When Google Glass launches, it’s likely to cost nearly $1,500.

Some Silicon Valley leaders, led by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, are looking to form their own SuperPAC to tackle a variety of issues in Washington.

According to sources quotes by the San Francisco Chronicle, Zuckerberg has already pledged as much as $20 million into the new group – and has already gotten others to pledge a few million dollars of their own.

The group looks to be leaning heavy to the right (at least in its initial leadership), according to the reports. The group will include a well-known Republican strategist, Jon Lerner, who is tied to Grover Norquist (of the no tax pledge) as well as Rob Jesmer, who previously worked with Republican Senator John Cornyn. Apparently, the whole thing was set into motion by Zuckerberg’s old Harvard roommate Joe Green (co-founder of Causes and NationBuilder).

As you may remember, Zuckerberg was among 100 tech presidents, CEOs, and chairmen who penned a letter to President Obama and Congressional leadership earlier this month asking for them to move on comprehensive immigration reform. They argued that immigrant entrepreneurs have founded thousands of companies, and that our outdated system is forcing out highly-skilled, great minds. Basically, better immigration policy is good for business.

The letter was also signed by Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, HP CEO Meg Whitman, and Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer.

This new SuperPAC won’t be an immigration-minded entity, however. Sources say that the group’s focus will be “more far-ranging and deal with an agenda of topics related to economic growth and vitality.”

Zuckerberg, who up until recently had not made huge waves in the political arena, hosted a big fundraiser for Republican Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie as his Palo Alto home.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is looking for new innovations in round 11 of it “Grand Challenges Explorations” initiative. And one of the areas that they want to improve is contraception – specifically the condom.

Basically, the project looks to develop a better, more enjoyable condom so that people will be more apt to use it – thus preventing unwanted pregnancies and tons of STIs including HIV.

We are looking for a Next Generation Condom that significantly preserves or enhances pleasure, in order to improve uptake and regular use. Additional concepts that might increase uptake include attributes that increase ease-of-use for male and female condoms, for example better packaging or designs that are easier to properly apply. In addition, attributes that address and overcome cultural barriers are also desired.

People have been using condoms for hundreds of years, and the condom that we know and love tolerate today hasn’t really been improved upon in five decades. That’s a problem, according to the Gates Foundations.

“Material science and our understanding of neurobiology has undergone revolutionary transformation in the last decade yet that knowledge has not been applied to improve the product attributes of one of the most ubiquitous and potentially underutilized products on earth,” they argue.

And it’s relatively easy to develop and get better condoms out on the market. Condoms using new materials can be prototyped quickly and easily, and huge clinical trials aren’t really necessary. Plus, there’s already plenty of distribution channels and a marking niche already built in.

“To overcome persistent health and development problems, we need new, game-changing ideas,” said Chris Wilson, Director of Global Health Discovery & Translational Science at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Inspiration can come from anywhere and we are hopeful that this new round of Grand Challenges Explorations will uncover innovative approaches to improve lives around the world.”

The Gates Foundation says that initial grants for selected projects will be $100,000, and there’s a chance that they could receive up to $1,000,000 in additional funding.

If you have a idea, you can file your proposal here.

[Image via Paul Keller, Flickr]

In honor of William shatner’s birthday (he’s 82 today), Hulu is looking to kill your productivity this month by making nearly every Star Trek episode free until the end of the month.

This includes Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Enterprise, and Star Trek: Voyager.

In all, this is 693 episodes. And you have just under 10 days to catch them while they’re still free.

You do the math.

“Resistance is futile. Almost as futile as controlling a population of tribbles,” says Hulu.

The last limited time deal that Hulu ran was a little more up my alley. On Valentine’s weekend, Hulu opened up over 800 Criterion Collection films for free.

To get started on all 693 episodes, head here.

Comedian and MADtv alum Will Sasso is doing Vine right. What does it mean to do Vine right? Well, Twitter’s 6-second-video app is so young, that it’s hard to know exactly what it’s for. Is it for porn? Is it for keeping your constituents up to date on your Congressional activities? Maybe, and maybe.

But one thing that it is definitely for is lemon videos. Yeah, lemon videos. Will Sasso is making a lot of them, and here’s a handy compilation of them all. Make sure to follow Sasso on Twitter for more fun Vine videos. They’re not all about lemons, by damnit if they aren’t brilliant.

[via reddit]

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and in this case a chilling picture is worth at least 14,000 retweets.

In an effort to bring attention to gun violence in the U.S., Yoko Ono tweeted a photo of John Lennon’s bloody glasses. Lennon, as you know, was shot and killed on December 8th, 1980 outside the Dakota apartment building by Mark David Chapman.

“The death of a loved one is a hollowing experience. After 33 years our son Sean and I still miss him. Yoko Ono Lennon,” read the tweet.

So far, tweet has received over 14,800 retweets and over 4,000 favorites.

The death of a loved one is a hollowing experience. After 33 years our son Sean and I still miss him. Yoko Ono Lennon twitter.com/yokoono/status…

— Yoko Ono (@yokoono) March 20, 2013

The tweet was even retweeted by President Obama’s Twitter account.

Whatever your feelings are about the current battle between gun control activists, 2nd amendment activists, and everyone in between, it’s hard to argue against this image as a particularly powerful one.