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| 12 Adorable Google Doodles for Valentine's Day | | 5:47:01 AM | Amy-Mae Elliott |
|  Love it or hate it, Valentine's Day is upon us once again. And one thing we definitely adore about the holiday is Google's love-themed Doodles. The first V-Day-inspired Google Doodle appeared in 2000, and we've seen classic designs ever since. We've taken a look back at all the love-themed logos Google has shared over the last 12 years. SEE ALSO: 10 Valentine's Day Cards for Your Special Tech Geek Take a look through our gallery. Let us know in the comments if you prefer this year's video design over the still images from years gone by. |
| You Can Now Play Angry Birds on Facebook | |  Popular multi-platform game Angry Birds is now available on Facebook, hours ahead of the official launch in Jakarta at 12AM EST. The Facebook app, as you might imagine, features the same disgruntled avians and addictive gameplay you've seen in mobile and desktop version of the game. It will also feature added social components, brand new power-ups, and Facebook-exclusive levels. Angry Games has been downloaded over 700 million times since its release for Apple's iOS in December 2009, and with Facebook's 800 million users, it's bound to hit one billion soon. Thanks to the success of the Angry Birds, game maker Rovio emerged as a gaming powerhouse, and it's looking to go public as soon as 2012. Right now, the company is worth more than $1 billion, according to CMO Peter Vesterbacka. Check out the trailer for the Facebook version of the game below, and try out the game here. |
| Valentine's Day Google Doodle Depicts All Forms of Love [VIDEO] | | 2:08:02 AM | Brian Anthony Hernandez |
|  Cupid's big day is upon us again, and Google is celebrating the Feb. 14 holiday with an animated Doodle that demonstrates the limitations of the company's search engine when romance is thrown into the mix. The 71-second Valentine's Day animation on Google's homepage tells the story of a boy's attempt to swoon his crush. He initially turns to Google Search for tips, but everything it suggests doesn't work. We won't spoil the rest, so watch the clip above to find out what happens next. Near the end, the animation pieces together a collage showing all types of love, including what appears to be a same-sex couple, which many Twitter users have already noted in their tweets. Tony Bennett's "Cold, Cold Heart" accompanies the animation. SEE ALSO: 10 Clever Marriage Proposals Using Social Media, Tech, Games and Memes Google's first Valentine's Day Doodle went live in 2000. Check out all of them since then in the gallery below, or learn more about how Google Doodles are created here. What do you think of Google's latest Valentine's Day Doodle? Sound off in the comments. On a fun sidenote: If you type a certain algebraic equation into Google search, you'll get a special surprise. |
| Hotmail Top Spam-Stopping Email, Hotmail-Commissioned Study Says [VIDEO] | | Monday, February 13, 2012 9:47 PM | Sam Laird |
|  Hotmail is the top spam-stopping major email service, says a study commissioned by Hotmail. According to findings released on Monday by Cascade Insights, Hotmail ranked ahead of Gmail by a hair in spam percentage. Hotmail inboxes used in the study were 48.57% spam, while Gmail inboxes were 48.88% spam. Yahoo Mail inboxes were more than 58% spam. If those numbers seems high, it's because they don't reflect the average spam percentage of a typical email inbox. But the numbers do reflect what Cascade Insights found to be each service's spam-deflecting capability. Cascade conducted its study by opening email accounts with Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo. The research and analysis company used the same username with each. Then, to attract spam messages, it posted the addresses on dating and debt-help sites, as well as public blogs and Facebook pages. The non-spam email in the case-study inboxes was comprised of newsletters and other announcements that didn't fall into the junk category. Hotmail has endured a negative reputation in recent years for users having spam-infested inboxes, while Google's Gmail service has gained in user base and reputation. In 2006, the average Hotmail inbox was nearly one-third spam, according to The New York Times. An identical study by Cascade Insights in 2009 had Gmail as the best anti-spam email service, and Hotmail second. Predictably, Microsoft (Hotmail's parent company) has not been shy about trumpeting the results of the latest study on its corporate blog. "Hotmail has come a long way in spam protection and is now among the best in the industry in keeping spam out of your inbox," writes Hotmail's group program manager Dick Craddock. "Our own internal metrics, customer feedback, and even a recent third-party report confirms that no mail service offers better protection than Hotmail." You can check out the entire Cascade Insights report here. Do you think this is a credible study? What email to you use? How do you feel about its spam-fighting abilities? Let us know in the comments. |
| 'Baseball Boyfriend' App Lets You 'Date' The Players | | Monday, February 13, 2012 8:59 PM | Kate Freeman |
|  If you've ever been interested in participating in fantasy sports but also wanted to combine a teenage-like element of crushing on professional athlete, Baseball Boyfriend is just the app for you. For $2.99 you can create your own "BBBF" (that's Baseball Boyfriend) through CBS Sports, then follow his stats or dump him when his team does poorly. Anyone who has a CBS Sports fantasy sports account can access Baseball Boyfriend. The app has received a lot of online criticism since it launched about one week ago. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote an article titled, "A fantasy baseball game for girls who happen to live in the 1950s." Schulman said he first thought news of the app was a joke put out by the Onion. A post on NBC Sports said, "Women do not need to be treated like love-struck teenagers to be drawn in." Here's the description from CBSSports.com: "Baseball Boyfriend is a single draftee, fantasy sports, mini game for those who love baseball. Pick your boyfriend for the season or a day. BBBFs earn you points daily. Player with the most points at the end wins." With Baseball Boyfriend you can have one boyfriend per league and participate in up to three leageus. The number of boyfriends you go through per season is up to you; choose a new boyfriend each day or stick with one the entire season. You can choose from the "clean" design that just features players' photos, or the "a pirate" design so the players look more reminiscent of Captain Jack Sparrow. The original design also features red hearts around the players' pics -- just like you'd draw in a notebook if you were 10 years old. Baseball Boyfriend was created by husband and wife team Frank and Missy Panko. Frank told Mashable his wife Missy created Baseball Boyfriend and he developed the web app. "The game itself started three or four years ago, jokingly between nine-to-12 women," Panko says. "Last season we turned it into a website so everyone could keep up with their favorite players through the season. It also gave us the opportunity to come up with the algorithms that level the playing field between pitchers and batters." Panko says the initial goal with the first version of the app was simply to make tracking "baseball boyfriends" easier for his wife and her friends. "We wanted something fun for us, we weren't trying to get rich or target a new market," he said. "Making it an app through CBS Sports simply made it possible for me to automate stats so we wouldn't have to plug them in by hand every day. At the same time, we didn't see the need to keep this all to ourselves. It's something we've enjoyed for years, we thought others might enjoy it as well. So we opened it up to everyone." Panko does admit, though, they hope the success of this app will bring attention to their main project, aviewfrommyseat.com. That app that lets fans share photos from their seats at sports games and view sports venues before buying tickets. The Wall Street Journal reported this month that CBS Sports opened its site to developers to create fantasy apps in an effort to tap into a lucrative market. When the app launched the site went from 24 visitors to 10,000 in 24 hours, Panko says. At this time, he can't give out any specific numbers for downloads but said fans have been asking if the app will be available for other sports, too. Panko says if BBBF turns out to be a success this season, they'll likely release other versions. "As far as I know, no players have commented on the app," he says. "I don't expect to ever hear from any of them, just know that they are admired in a myriad of ways." The Baseball Boyfriend season officially starts on March 28th. You can earn points through October 3rd, notes the site. The app is not yet available on iOS or Android. Mashable followed up with Panko to ask what he thought about all the criticism surrounding the app. We also emailed CBS Sports to get its takes on the controversy. We are waiting for a response. This app isn't the first time a sports news organization was linked to sexist behavior. Until just a few days ago, visitors to ESPN's website could complain about a female announcer by selecting, "commentator -- dislike female commentators." Yes, this was actually an option on the site. What do you think about Baseball Boyfriend? Is it just a fun way to add something new to the experience of watching America's pastime or do you think it's sexist? Tell us in the comments. Photos courtesy of BaseballBoyfriend.com |
| Unboxing the Samsung Galaxy Note [PICS] | | Monday, February 13, 2012 7:21 PM | Pete Pachal |
|  Samsung is excited to bring its Galaxy Note "superphone" to the U.S. It's so excited that it's giving Mashable a sneak peek of the phone before it becomes available to AT&T customers Feb. 19. We took a few pictures when we unboxed the phone, and we couldn't resist comparing the Note's gigantic phone screen (5 inches!) to the most popular phone out there, the Apple iPhone. From a pure size perspective, it's clearly a David-and-Goliath fight. Besides the gargantuan screen, the Galaxy Note is, uh, notable for including a stylus, letting users do things such as write notes while running any app or draw their own directions on maps. The stylus hasn't been entirely well received, with many criticizing it for being a throwback to the Palm Pilot days after Samsung ran a Super Bowl ad for the Note that prominently featured the "pen." SEE ALSO: Samsung Shipped 1 Million Galaxy Note Devices in Two Months While there's been some discussion of the Galaxy Note blurring the line between tablet and phone, it's clearly the latter. It's sold through AT&T ($299 with a two-year contract), and there is no Wi-Fi only version. It's a phone, just one with an enormous screen. We'll have a review of the Galaxy Note up soon. But in the meantime, please browse our photos of the unboxing (sorry if any look upside-down -- it's a bug in our photo-editing software). And if it excites you enough already, you could always just pre-order it now. |
| Google+ Users Get a Rare Look Inside the Googleplex [PHOTOS] | | Monday, February 13, 2012 6:54 PM | Chelsea Stark |
|  In an unusually intimate move, Google posted these photos on their Life at Google account Monday afternoon -- offering Google+ users a glimpse at their Mountain View, Calif., headquarters. Google has always been known for being a leader in fun offices with plenty of perks for employees -- and the photos don't disabuse that notion. Included are shots of one of the many cafeterias, a golf course and a basketball court. There are also plenty of places to relax and get done away from your cubicle, including outdoor seating and comfortable couches. The search giant clearly uses its office to lure in potential employees, and it's easy to see why. Check out the gallery above, and tell us what you most liked about the Google offices. |
| U.S. Department of Justice Approves Google Purchase of Motorola Mobility | | Monday, February 13, 2012 5:41 PM | Sam Laird |
|  The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) approved Google's proposed acquisition of Motorola Mobility Monday afternoon. Earlier on Monday, Google announced via its corporate blog that the European Union had approved the $12.5 billion deal as well. The two major milestones make Google's acquisition of Motorola all but certain. The deal will enable Google to produce its own line of smartphones to go with its immensely popular Android platform. Motorola is one of the leading producers of Android-based phones, and holds one of the mobile industry's largest collections of patents. Google's Vice President and Deputy Council Don Harrison said in his blog post announcing the EU approval that, "the combination of Google and Motorola Mobility will help supercharge Android. It will also enhance competition and offer consumers faster innovation, greater choice and wonderful user experiences." The DOJ's Antitrust Division announced its approval of the Google-Motorola deal in a statement that also announced approval for acquisitions by Apple of certain Novell patents, and acquisitions by Apple, Microsoft and RIM of certain Nortel Networks patents. "After a thorough review of the proposed transactions, the Antitrust Division has determined that each acquisition is unlikely to substantially lessen competition and has closed these three investigations," the DOJ statement read. "The division's investigations focused on whether the acquiring firms could use these patents to raise rivals' costs or foreclose competition," the DOJ said later. Like the EU earlier Monday, the DOJ's antitrust regulators did not impose any restrictions on the acquisition. But Europe's competition commissioner Joaquín Almunia said in a statement that the blessing "does not mean that the merger clearance blesses all actions by Motorola in the past or all future action by Google." The Motorola acquisition would be Google's first expansion into the technology hardware business. The search giant has seen waves of antitrust criticism in recent years as it moved into other online sectors, including daily deals and shopping. Do you think Google should be allowed to acquire Motorola and move into the hardware business? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments. See the DOJ's full announcement here. |
| We Didn't Warn Apple Off iTV Name, Says UK Broadcaster [VIDEO] | | Monday, February 13, 2012 5:35 PM | Pete Pachal |
|  The rumored name for the television set that Apple is supposedly working on is iTV. Trouble is, that's also the name of one Britain's biggest broadcasters -- ITV, or Independent Television, the main ad-driven alternative to the BBC. ITV has been around since 1955; it hosts the nation's most popular and long-running soap opera Coronation Street, among other shows. Clearly, worldwide demand for an iTV would be something of a problem for ITV. But the channel is denying a British newspaper report that it tried to warn Apple away from the name. In a statement sent to Mashable, ITV says it never wagged its finger at Apple, and that there's "been no recent dialogue between ITV and Apple." The rumor began when The London Telegraph claimed that ITV CEO Adam Crozier had raised the naming issue with Apple in early 2010. Apple had just unveiled the iPad, and as rumors began circulating that the company might soon branch into making TVs, Crozier wanted to head off any dilution of his company's brand. The report says Apple made assurances that it wouldn't market anything called "iTV" -- at least, not in the U.K. SEE ALSO: Will Apple iTV Trade the Remote for Kinect-Like Control? Now ITV says the report is "entirely speculative," denying any exchange took place. It seemed believable that the two might be talking; after all, "iTV" has been a suspected name for Apple's device ever since the original Apple TV set-top box came on the scene. More recent rumors brought up the name again. Since the label "Apple TV" is being used by the hockey-puck box that Apple sells, the company will need a differentiating name if ever comes to market with a TV. Given the naming of its other products, iTV is the natural choice. Apple's run into local trouble of the names of other products, most recently the iPad in China. A Taiwan-based company claims to have the right to the name iPad name, and some iPads were reportedly seized to enforce the rights holder. That could lead to Apple marketing the tablet under a different name in that country. If something similar happens with the iTV, what do you think Apple should call it in the U.K.? Shout out your suggestions in the comments. |
| 10 Last-Minute Valentine's Day Gift Ideas You Can Get Online | | Monday, February 13, 2012 5:05 PM | Christine Erickson |
|  So, you forgot about Valentine's Day, huh? Whether you intended to or not, there's still time to let your sweetheart know how much you care. If you did forget to make those reservations in advance, just know you're probably not alone. Zooey Deschanel lamented Valentine's Day forgetfulness on Saturday Night Live, just in case you're looking for the worst possible last-minute gifts. (We recommend not following any of these.) But if you're looking to give more than unlimited breadsticks from Olive Garden, we've rounded up 10 suitable last-minute gifts that you can buy (or make) right from your computer. Try to remember, the holiday started as a celebration of courtly love. In other words, don't worry so much about buying a gift, but think more about the person you love. Here are 10 quick and easy online ways to show someone you care. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, adamkaz |
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