Guitars 
Nenko IvanovMobile payments coming to a loyalty/deals app near you
Groupon is reportedly testing out its own Square rival, a mobile payment system for merchants that will undercut Square and other competitor’s transaction fees, according to a report by Rocky Agrawal in VentureBeat. Agrawal said he’s heard from a business who’s been approached by Groupon about the payment system that would work with iOS devices. That system, which is apparently already being tested in the Bay Area, would offer a 1.8 percent transaction fee plus a 15 cent per transaction charge....
GigaOMThe Day the BBC Ran Out of News — Again
On April 18th, 1930, the BBC famously informed listeners: "Good evening. Today is Good Friday. There is no news." It seems history repeated itself yesterday on the BBC website, where one of the three top stories in the "England" vertical was reserved for a heavy-breathed account of a hedgehog that got its head stuck inside a tin of carrots. From the article: "Had this hedgehog not been found he would have died a slow and painful death." She added: "I am not sure why he chose a can of carrots...
Kullect: the app for digital packrats
We collect a lot of stuff online — photos, videos, location check-ins, likes, tweets and other thoughts. But many times those things are scattered all over disparate websites or social networks or, more often than not, stay stored in our phones. So how do you build a repository of the stuff you like — or “curate” — and maintain the context in which you collected them? The guys behind Kullect have a cool idea. Kullect (pronounced like “collect”) is what they call a “social memory” app. It’s a...
Congregant Defends North Carolina Pastor's 'Godly' Plan to Exterminate Homosexuals
Considering the leader of their flock is about as despicable a person as you can hope is only a ploy to get children to finish their vegetables, it stands to reason that members of North Carolina pastor Charles "Kill the Queers" Worley's congregation would be equally horrid homophobes. And yet it still takes you by surprise when you see just how atavistic some people can be. Case in point: Providence Road Baptist Church member Stacey Pritchard who supports Rev. Worley's plot to eliminate...
Fun Friday: Routines
Someone suggested to me in the comments this past week that this fun friday be about Routines. If I could recall who it was, I would give them credit. Maybe you can identify yourself in the comments. In any case, we are going to talk about routines today. Every weekday that I am in NYC, I start my day at 5am. I get up, walk upstairs to my office, take my synthroid, put on some music (turntable or tumblr/ex.fm mostly), read the morning news (twitter #discover, techmeme, hacker news), and then...
A VCFormer Nanny Sues Sharon Stone for Abusive Behavior
It turns out working for self-proclaimed (though non-Mensa-proclaimed) member of Mensa Sharon Stone might not be the pleasant, non-crazy picnic you thought it would be. According to Stone's former nanny, the actress is racist, irrational, and just generally Sharon Stone. So she's suing her. Erlinda Elemen began working for Stone in October of 2006, when she was hired to act as an assistant nanny to one of Stone's three children. In September of 2008, around the time Stone lost custody of her...
L.A. Votes to Ban Plastic Bags, Faces Still Okay
If you live in Los Angeles and are a forgetful person, trips to the grocery store are about to get 100 percent more annoying. L.A. will soon become the largest city in the United States to implement a controversial ban on single-use plastic grocery bags, after its city council voted in favor of the proposal 13-1 on Wednesday. The ban will affect 7,500 stores and 4 million residents, who now have sixteen months to get really good at balancing groceries (or devise a system by which they never...
Etan Patz Murder Update: Suspect Arrested
The New York Times reports that police have now arrested Pedro Hernandez, the man who earlier confessed to choking 6-year-old Etan Patz to death in 1979, on charges of second degree murder. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said during a news conference that Hernandez seemed "remorseful," and appeared to experience "a feeling of relief" after confessing. Hernandez told investigators he lured the child into the basement of a bodega where he worked on the promise of a soda. Said Commissioner...
Food Critics Are Worthless
For some reason, I decided to torture myself the other day by reading Pete Wells' four-star review of Le Bernardin in the New York Times. The Times sent Wells there to reaffirm that Le Bernardin is a really good place to eat and — SURPRISE! — it still is. Not that you'll ever be able to afford to eat there. There are only three people who can afford to eat at a place like Le Bernardin: Rich assholes, food critics, and other chefs who run other restaurants that only serve rich assholes, food...
Kanye West Just Premiered a Short Film Experience at Cannes. Here's What You Need to Know About It.
Kanye West debuted a 26-minute film titled Cruel Summer at Cannes Wednesday night. He is credited as a writer, producer, and director on the project. Here's what you need to know about it:"At Cannes" First off, the film premiered at Cannes in the same way you "went to Harvard" if you have ever walked by the campus of Harvard or "work on Wall Street" if you operate a small food cart selling warm nuts (delicious) on Wall Street. It was screened in the parking lot of a casino at Cannes, inside a...
Behold the London Olympics' Creepy 'Brand Exclusion Zone'
Everyone knows the London Olympics are going to be an advertising shit-show. But a full understanding of the Olympics' all-enveloping corporate embrace requires a trip into the "Brand Exclusion Zone," a desolate region of London where only Official Olympic Sponsors can survive. One of the key terrors of Olympic organizers is that a logo that doesn't belong to one of the Official Sponsors like Coca-Cola or McDonald's might sneak into the frame of a camera documenting the Olympics. These sponsors...
Propaganda Contractor Admits to Running Smear Campaign Against USA Today Reporters
Camille Chidiac, the minority owner of Leonie Industries, which we identified last month as the Pentagon information operations contractor that ran an operation against two critical journalists, has admitted playing a role in the subterfuge. "I take full responsibility for having some of the discussion forums opened and reproducing their previously published USA Today articles on them," Chidiac said of USA Today reporters Tom Vanden Brook and Ray Locker in a statement released to the newspaper....
Nicole Kidman Will Semi-Erotically Pee on Zac Efron in Actual Scene from Actual Movie that Is Real
Clockwork ballerinas Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron are starring in a new movie called The Paperboy, directed by Precious' Lee Daniels; it just premiered at Cannes, and Vulture's Kyle Buchanan saw it. Tell us, Kyle, what was the best part? Was it... the part where Nicole Kidman pees all over Zac Efron? Later in the movie, as Efron's romantic ardor for Kidman is at its peak, the two head to the beach, where he decides to cool down with a dip in the ocean. Naturally, he is attacked by CG jellyfish....
Unabomber Sorry He Can't Make Harvard Class Reunion But He's Still In Prison
Ted Kaczynski, better known to mail recipients everywhere as the Unabomber, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing three people and injuring nearly two dozen others, so it came as little surprise to his former Harvard classmates that he was unable to attend their 50th class reunion. Still, Kaczynski was kind enough to send along a very necessary update to his bio for the Class of 1962's alumni report. In his succinct entry for the so-called "red book," Kaczynski listed his...
Here's TBS' New Bro-tastic Sitcom Men at Work in 30 Seconds
Gawkershared 6 hours ago
Alison Brie Discusses Her Clothing Optional College on Conan
Gawkershared 6 hours ago
Woman Finds Bike She Lost 40 Years Ago and, Oh Yeah, SHE’S A LESBIAN
Big news out of Cape Cod today, where a woman who lost her first childhood bike in a river 42 years ago has just been reacquainted with it. More importantly, as The Daily Mail, your number one source for Cape Cod news, points out: THIS WOMAN IS A LESBIAN. Here's their headline: "Lesbian reunited with bike she lost FOUR DECADES ago after her own wife spots it in a muddy stream" What will the lesbians do next? Most of the Mail article appears to be a direct transcription of The Lesbian's...
DailyDirt: Build It And They Will Come...
Certain kinds of science fiction could almost be considered far-out predictions. Star Trek crew members used tablet computers decades ago, and now the tablet computing market looks like it could take over PCs. Certainly, there's a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy for some sci-fi technology, and here are just a few examples. Practical fusion is always just 30 years away, but a dilithium-powered Star Trek Enterprise could take just 20 years to build. Okay, we're joking about the dilithium...
Techdirt.
Best Tablet Drawing App? [Hive Five Call For Contenders]
Whether you have an iPad or an Android tablet, you've probably been tempted to doodle a bit on it, or open up an app to make sketches or take down a few freehand notes with your finger or a stylus. Maybe you just love to draw, and you found the perfect drawing app to express your creativity. This week we want to know which app you turn to when you want to do a little drawing on your tablet screen. More »
Facebook market makers' losses total at least $100 million
(Reuters) - Claims by four of Wall Street's main market makers against Nasdaq over Facebook's botched IPO are likely to exceed $100 million, as they and other traders continue to deal with thousands of problems with customer orders.
Reuters: Internet ...Today's Scuttlebot: Zuckerberg's Hoodie, and Nightmare in Belize
The technology reporters and editors of The New York Times scour the Web for important and peculiar items. Thursday's selection includes Facebook announcing a new camera app, a 19-year-old entrepreneur moving in to AOL to work on his start-up and the software founder John McAfee's story of how his home was raided and he was arrested in Belize.
BitsNo, The RIAA Is Not Asking For $72 Trillion From Limewire (Bad Reporters, Bad)
In the last day or so we keep seeing people send over variations on this story claiming that the RIAA claims it is owed $72 trillion dollars from Limewire. Many of the reports appear to originate from the NME post I just linked to, though I don't think that's accurate. The story is bogus in almost every way possible, and it's kinda sad that a ton of websites are repeating it as fact. If the basic statement sounds familiar, it's because the RIAA member labels did make an extreme request on...
Dish, TV networks take fight over ad zapper to judges
(Reuters) - A legal battle erupted between DISH Network and some of the major broadcast networks Thursday as the two sides traded lawsuits over the satellite distribution company's "Hopper" DVR, which threatens to bring down the television business model by allowing viewers to skip over commercials entirely.
What to Do When "Doing What You Love" Isn't an Option [Careers]
Lifehackershared 15 hours ago
Why San Francisco is a test bed for transportation tech
You may have noticed there’s a growing amount of alternative, tech-focused, ways to get around San Francisco these days. Car sharing groups Zipcar and City CarShare have big communities here, there’s the new car sharing 2.0 groups like RelayRides and Getaround, and the next-gen taxi services of Uber. Then there’s some even newer experiments like the electric scooter sharing network Scoot Networks, ride sharing service Zimride and its new real time mobile app, and company-focused Wi-Fi-friendly...
Remains of the Day: Android Developers Can Now Offer In-App Subscriptions [For What It's Worth]
Lifehackershared 15 hours ago
As Usual, Media Outlets Mindlessly Parrot BSA Press Releases With Zero Scrutiny
When the BSA released its annual report on software piracy, Mike dubbed it "Bogus Stats Again", because as usual it employs plenty of ridiculous methodologies and unfounded assumptions to inflate the supposed economic loss. The BSA doesn't have to worry, though, because most members of the media just obediently parrot their highlighted "findings" without even bothering to read the report, let alone read it critically. As reader Robert points out, this is certainly the situation in Canada,...
Apple CEO Tim Cook declines RSU dividends worth over $75M
It was learned through Apple's 8-K filing with the SEC on Thursday that CEO Tim Cook specifically declined to be included in a dividend award program being offered to those employees who hold restricted stock units (RSUs).
AppleInsiderMeta Widget Turns Nearly Any Web Page Into a Widget on Android [Video]
Lifehackershared 16 hours ago
Gadgetwise Blog: An App for Art Lovers
The artwork-collection app artCircles belongs on every art lover's iPad, but owners of the third-generation tablet can have even more fun with the app than others.
NYT > Techn...Dish’s “Auto-Hop” ad skipping device in legal showdown with TV networks
Here we go again. Another disruptive TV technology, another major lawsuit. This time Dish Network and the major TV networks are suing each other over what Dish calls its “best in class DVR” technology that lets viewers skip over tv commercials with a single click. “Ultimately, this case is about consumer choice,” said Dish in a complaint filed Thursday in Manhattan federal court. The satellite TV provider wants the court to declare that it is not infringing copyright or breaching the terms of...
Put Your Pants On Without Your Underwear Bunching Up [Clothing]
Lifehackershared 16 hours ago
5 key takeaways from paidContent 2012
It’s all about the platform — except when it isn’t: Many speakers at paidContent 2012 spoke about the opportunities, challenges and constraints of creating digital content. Here are five key takeaways from the day. Jim Bankoff, Chairman and CEO, Vox Media Data helps destroy containers, and that’s a good thing. Data creates new content and information experiences and helps bring an end to the notion of content silos, Betaworks’ John Borthwick said: “The moment you start thinking about it as...
TSA looks to spend $3M on Macs, iDevices in pilot program
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration is set to initiate a pilot program to purchase up to $3 million dollars worth of Apple hardware over the next three years, including 1,000 Macs and 1,000 mobile devices.
Aperture update brings minor fix to editing software
By AppleInsider Staff Published: 04:31 PM EST (01:31 PM PST) Apple on Thursday rolled out version 3.2.4 of its Aperture photo editing and management software, patching a small bug that affects Macs running OS X Snow Leopard.Following Wednesday's OS X Lion update that brought system-wide RAW support for six new digital cameras, Apple has released Aperture 3.2.4 to fix a minor issue with the program's viewer.From the release notes:What's New in Aperture 3.2.4- Improves...
DealBook: Facebook Debut Raises Questions on I.P.O. Process
Rival bankers and big investors have complained that Morgan Stanley botched the debut by setting the price too high and selling too many shares to the public.