Home � � Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Charlie Sheen Sets New Guinness World Record for Twitter”

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Charlie Sheen Sets New Guinness World Record for Twitter”

Posted by Ashim Adhikari on 5:41 AM // 0 comments

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Charlie Sheen Sets New Guinness World Record for Twitter”

Charlie Sheen Sets New Guinness World Record for Twitter

Posted: 03 Mar 2011 04:13 AM PST


Charlie Sheen may or may not be “winning,” in life, but he has won a rare honor: the “Fastest Time to Reach 1 Million Followers” Guinness World Record.

Guinness community manager Dan Barrett says the agency “just researched and approved” the record this morning. According to Barrett, Sheen reached that milestone in 25 hours 17 minutes. As of this writing, Sheen’s Twitter account, @CharlieSheen, has close to 1.2 million followers. Guinness did not have had a previous record for that category, Barrett says. Sheen also set a Guinness record for “Highest Paid TV Actor Per Episode — Current” at $1.25 million.

Sheen joined Twitter on March 1. In a matter of minutes, Sheen acquired more than 60,000 followers and a Klout score of 57 — without even tweeting. According to a report in Advertising Age, Sheen was able to get his account verified so quickly because Internet startup Ad.ly brokered his account with Twitter.

Sheen, of course, has been all over the news since he publicly disparaged Chuck Lorre, producer of Sheen’s successful sitcom Two and a Half Menbizarre interview with Alex Jones of InfoWars last month. Since then, Sheen has been interviewed by various other high-profile outlets making equally odd statements. The public meltdown has made Sheen a continual trending topic on Twitter and the subject of several YouTube parodies.

For Guinness, this is the second high-profile application of the brand’s records system to social media. Last month, the Nabisco cookie brand Oreo and rapper Lil Wayne squared off for the record for the most Facebook likes. Lil Wayne won that contest handily.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Ash90291.

More About: charlie sheen, guinness world records, twitter

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Google Pimps Up Personal Profiles

Posted: 03 Mar 2011 02:28 AM PST


Google has redesigned Google Profiles, the profile pages that all Gmail users can set up with pictures and information about them.

If you set your Google Profile to be visible to everyone, then it will likely be at the top of the Google search results when someone looks up your name, which makes it an important part of your personal brand.

The new Profile looks a bit more like the Info page on your Facebook profile, with your photo in the top left corner, essential information about you below, while a scrapbook of photos and more detailed info about your occupation, employment, education and whereabouts dominating the biggest part of the page. The new design is not groundbreaking in any way, but it’s much nicer than before and it gets the job done.

In a blog post announcing the new Profiles, Google reiterates that Google Profiles are designed for individuals, not businesses; Google claims it’s working on “new ways for businesses to engage with their customers,” and hopefully we can expect some updates there in the near future.

To edit your profile, visit profiles.google.com.

More About: Google, google profiles, Search

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Startup Gives Twitter a Private Messaging Option

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 08:04 PM PST


This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Name: Umagram

Quick Pitch: Umagram lets you tweet private message links to people who don’t follow you.

Genius Idea: We’ve all done the Twitter direct message dance. We look up people we’re trying to get in touch with on Google and find their Twitter handles. We send a message asking them to DM us. After they follows us, we send back another DM with our e-mail address in it. They e-mail us. We reply, and are thus FINALLY able to convey the information we wanted to.

Umagram aims to help its users skip this tedious process and instead cut straight to the private, unrestricted conversation.

Here’s how it works: A user logs in with a Twitter account. To initiate a conversation, the user composes a tweet that mentions anyone with whom that person wants to participate in the conversation. Umagram posts the tweet with a unique link to the conversation on its messaging platform. Because users need to sign in to Umagram with a specific Twitter identity, only people named in the initial tweet have access to the conversation.

The conversation looks like a commenting platform, has no character limits, and allows users to attach documents. If someone responds to the conversation, he can choose to tweet a reply message to the person who initiated to indicate he’s done so. Unlike the DM approach, the solution keeps e-mail addresses on both sides private.

Founder David Rostan built the platform, originally referred to as “Unnamed Messaging Application” (hence, UMA), when he ran into problems making professional connections for his other startup, corporate social responsibility forum Socialyell.com. While he knew the Twitter handles for the people he thought would participate on the site, the DM dance was growing tiring.

Rostan started the platform to solve this problem for himself and others, but in the future, he thinks that Umagram could be a good solution for customer service via Twitter, pitching media outlets, and a convenient way to make introductions.

Another app, Privately, is working on a similar idea, but is still in private beta.

Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark

BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

More About: messaging, startup, twitter, Umagram

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Giant Graphic Commemorates SXSW’s 25th Birthday [INFOGRAPHIC]

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 07:43 PM PST


The venerable South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival turns 25 this year. The conference has grown considerably from its humble roots as a 700-attendee music event to today’s two-week music, film and interactive behemoth that attracts greater than 36,000 people to Austin.

We found a huge infographic that illustrates the festival’s storied history, starting back in 1986 when friends Roland Swenson and Louis Jay Myers first approached Louis Black and Nick Barbaro, founders of the alternative newspaper the Austin Chronicle, pitching the idea of starting up a music festival.

And so the graphic goes, packed with events and happenings from every year since. Just like SXSW, this graphic is sprawling, larger-than-life, and sometimes contains oddities that are hard to believe. For instance, not only is SXSW the home of one of the first “Twitter riots,” it was the venue for the U.S. premiere of a film that went on to become an Academy Award Best Picture winner. Not wanting to miss out on that kind of cool stuff, we have an event there this year, too.

In the spirit of SXSW, this graphic is so large, you’ll need to interact with it to view it. Might I suggest using Picasa Photo Viewer (or your favorite photo viewer)? After you download this graphic in its original 9238 x 8063 size, you can then view it by zooming in to its various parts by simply moving your mouse wheel.

More About: infographic, south by southwest, sxsw

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iPad 2 Keynote Streaming Video Now Available

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 07:09 PM PST


Today will be remembered as the day the iPad 2 first showed its pretty face. Now the recorded video stream is available, letting you see for yourself as Steve Jobs and his cohorts deliver the news.

Watch the video here.

What else do you think this day will be remembered for?

According to Webtrends, people were commenting more about Steve Jobs than the iPad 2:

More About: apple, iPad 2, keynote, steve jobs, streaming video

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iPad 2 Rumors: Which Were True & Which Will Wait for the iPad 3

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 06:44 PM PST


Since the launch of the original iPad, we’ve been keeping you apprised of rumors surrounding the iPad 2.

Now that the iPad 2 has been unveiled, we can officially start speculating about the iPad 3 — because as far as the Apple rumor mill is concerned, it’s never too soon to start gossiping about gadgets.

First, here are the rumors we ended up seeing come true with the iPad 2′s announcement:

  1. Dual-core processor. The iPad 2 gets a custom A5 dual-core system-on-a-chip that’s allegedly twice as fast as the original iPad’s processor. The graphics performance is also said to be up to nine times faster than the iPad’s.
  2. Lighter and thinner “than a supermodel on a diet.” The iPad 2 weighs in at 1.3 pounds and is 33% thinner than its predecessor –that’s even thinner than the iPhone 4.
  3. Multiple versions at launch. The iPad 2 will be available in its standard metallic hue as well as a white version, and it will launch on AT&T as well as Verizon — sans the improvised MiFi setup this time.
  4. Front- and rear-facing cameras. The Mac photo app PhotoBooth is included.
  5. Larger speakers. Can you hear it now? Good.

And now, here are the rumors that ended up being utterly false but which might — we said might — resurface in the iPad 3 bubbling cauldron of hypothesis and conjecture:

  1. Retina display.
  2. Wireless synching
  3. Flat (as opposed to curved) back.
  4. USB port. However, the iPad does support HDMI output.
  5. No Gorilla Glass. But the new covers, Apple says, should help keep your iPad 2′s screen intact and pristine-ish.
  6. A 7-inch version.

Did any of the facts (or out-and-out lies) about the iPad 2 surprise you? Let us know in the comments what you expected from this device and what changes you think we should see from the iPad 3.

More About: iPad 2, ipad 3, rumors

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Facebook Watch: App Lets You Check In [VIDEO]

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 06:10 PM PST

Remember the inPulse Smart Watch we showed you a few months ago? Now, inPulse lead designer Eric Migicovsky has created an app that lets you use the watch to check into Facebook Places with just a few taps.

The inPulse watch uses Bluetooth to communicate with either a BlackBerry or Android smartphone, and in this case, it uses the phone’s 3G connection to hook you up with Facebook Places (will there be a tethering fee?).

As you can see in the video above, this clever app uses GPS and map data from the smartphone, locating nearby establishments, and as soon as you choose your current location, you’re checked in.

The long-awaited app-running inPulse Smart Watch ($149, $199 in black) has been talked-about and anticipated since last summer, but now it’s said to be available for pre-order, and a quick peek at the inPulse website uncovers claims of watches shipping in “16 to 30 days.” Let’s hope this Facebook Places app will be available soon after the watch actually ships.

Watches that run apps: Is this a peek into the future? How about it, commenters? Could something this small replace the smartphone?

More About: bluetooth, checkin, Facebook Places, inPulse Smart Watch, smartphonem apps

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How We’ll Beat Traffic and Find Parking Spots in the Future

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 04:39 PM PST


Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. is confident that the auto industry is on its way to eliminating CO2 emissions. He's less confident, however, that the world is prepared to adequately deal with an even larger problem: the global gridlock created by a population set to grow to 9 billion people by 2044.

The growth, said Ford in a talk at the TED conference in Long Beach, CA on Wednesday, will see the number of vehicles on the road go from 800 million today to 2-3 billion by 2050. The global gridlock crisis, as Ford describes it, will "stifle economic growth and our ability to deliver food and healthcare … [and] our quality of life will be significantly compromised."

Citing the fact that the average American spends one week per year in traffic, and that the average resident in Beijing spends 5 hours per day commuting, Ford thinks the answer to the crisis is not to build more roads, but to build a smarter transportation system that makes use of real-time data and connected cars.

Ford envisions a future where all cars are connected and as he puts it, "talk to each other," such that you already have a parking spot at your destination when you leave your house, be automatically re-routed to avoid traffic based on data being sent in real-time by the cars in front of you, and find a cab via your smartphone. In theory, this data would also let you live a more efficient life, enabling you to leave your home such that you'll get to your destination precisely on time.

Ford thinks such a future "will be ready for prime time really soon," noting that tests of such systems are already under way around the world. Of course, Ford's company has been an early mover in the connected car space, with Ford SYNC technology now on board 3 million vehicles.

Ultimately though, he sees solving the global gridlock crisis as a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs of all sizes, that can both be profitable and as he puts it, "preserve the freedom to move effortlessly around the world" that has been responsible for so much economic growth in the century since his great grandfather created the Ford Motor Company.

Photo Credit: James Duncan Davidson / TED

More About: bill ford jr. ted, cars, connected cars, ford, ted2011, trending

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iPad 2 Rollout Leads to Massive Deflation in Secondary Market

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 04:05 PM PST


If you’re planning to trade in your old iPad for a shiny new iPad 2, you aren’t alone. In the hours after the iPad 2 announcement, thousands of iPad users have headed for the web to sell off their tablets of yesteryear.

This frenzy — coupled with Apple’s decision to drop the price of the original iPad to help clear out inventory — has had a drastic impact on the secondary market. That makes this a prime opportunity for savvy buyers to get a good deal on last year’s iPad.

Earlier this afternoon, reCommerce company Gazelle started promoting its buyback prices for the six original iPad units. The original prices offered sellers 70 – 75% of the original purchase price for a unit that included original accessories and in “like new” condition. Within hours, the company was forced to lower its trade-in quotes (users that managed to lock in their prices early are not affected), thanks to the price drop and significant interest in trade-ins.

Gazelle tells us that typically, a large number of device trade-ins in one day will drive prices down 3-5 days later. These market forces were perceptible with the iPad within hours. Gazelle estimates that in the first hour after the iPad 2 keynote, more than 2,000 individuals visited the site and started the trade-in process. Yesterday, the day before the keynote, only ten iPad units were submitted for trade-in the entire day.

Existing iPad owners can still use Gazelle to easily sell back their old iPads — but they can expect to get a lot less. At the time of this writing, a 16GB Wi-Fi iPad will fetch $300 from Gazelle. That’s compared with $375 earlier today. A 64GB Wi-Fi and 3G iPad went for $595 right after the keynote (disclosure: I sold my own iPad via Gazelle for this price) and now fetches $510. A 32GB Wi-Fi and 3G unit that could be sold for $522 earlier this afternoon now commands $350 from Gazelle.

Meanwhile, we’re also seeing lots of iPad activity on eBay and Craigslist. Ebay’s Instant Sale site — which operates in a manner similar to Gazelle — is still reporting comparably high buyback prices.

This new secondary market is great news for consumers who might want a way to get an iPad in the sub-$400 range. Being a year old doesn’t change the fact that the original iPad is a fantastic gadget.

iPad owners, let us know in the comments if you plan to trade in your old model for an iPad 2. If you are considering a trade-in, where do you intend to sell your device?

More About: ebay, gazelle, ipad, iPad 2, recommerce, trending

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Simple Telephony App TellFi Gives Small Businesses More Options

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 03:29 PM PST


We’ve been playing with TellFi, a freshly launched startup from Y Combinator that makes SMB-style telephony a breeze — even for remote teams with multiple phone lines.

It lets you handle call forwarding, voicemail, extensions and even call analysis with ease and from a super simple web interface that business owners or administrators can understand.

We can see it working for the average Joe or Jane, too; however, the people who’d likely get the most utility out of the app are small and medium-sized businesses, including freelancers.

Here’s how TellFi works: You choose a U.S. or Canadian area code, then choose a phone number from a drop-down menu. This is your TellFi number. You can then configure your TellFi number to do a few interesting and useful things.

For example, you can set up your number just to take voicemails and to e-mail you an MP3 of each message. The voicemail can also be transcribed; TellFi co-founder Jason Corwin says the transcription is roughly on the level of what you’d get from Google Voice, but “we’re currently working with providers to find a solution for the best transcription quality possible.”

Alternatively, you can configure your TellFi account to do call forwarding. In that case, when callers dial your TellFi number, the service will ring one or multiple phone lines — perhaps multiple cell phones for a distributed team, or your personal phone line and home line — and, if desired, take a voicemail if no one picks up. Again, the voicemail would be e-mailed to you as an MP3.

Finally, the service offers a sophisticated extensions feature, which lets you set up a greeting (either recorded or read in a “robot voice”) and let your callers decide what they want to do. Extensions can be set up to record voicemail and ring other phones, either around the clock or within a given time frame.

For example, I set up a Mashable San Francisco office TellFi number with extensions. Callers could press 1 to leave a message, press 2 for the bureau chief, 3 for the startups reporter, etc. Choosing options 2 or 3 would ring our bureau chief’s or startup reporter’s phone between the hours of noon and 5 p.m. (You know what they say: The early bird gets tired!), and take a voicemail message during the remaining hours of the day.

Not only does TellFi offer convenient call handling on the front end, it also gives users a very handy dashboard for analyzing call volume and the breakdown of wireless versus landline calls. And we love the web interface for quickly listening to voicemail messages, also available in the dashboard.

So, what does all this telephony cost? For you, dear Mashable readers, it’s free for the first month. You can try out the service with one local line and 50 minutes; and you don’t need a credit card to sign up.

Otherwise, it’s a very simple fee structure: Pay a monthly rate, with no taxes or sign-up/cancellation fees. For $10 per month, you can get one local number and 100 minutes. An additional $14 per month adds an extra 350 minutes and a toll-free number to the package. And at the Pro level, users pay $70 per month for 1,000 minutes, two local numbers and a toll-free number.

Future features will include private and customizable conference lines, which Corwin says is “one of our most requested features. Just today, we added local Canadian numbers to TellFi, which Google Voice doesn’t offer. We’re also currently testing international calling with a limited number of customers.”

Corwin says he and co-founder Conor Lee found that traditional SMB telephony solutions were typically “painful and expensive” and that non-traditional options, such as Google Voice, didn’t offer decent features for businesses. About 100 early customers — including freelancers and other small businesses — indicated to the TellFi team that “there were many people in a similar situation that were looking for a quick and easy system for setting up their phones.”

If you try TellFi, let us know how it works out for you.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Seattle Municipal Archives.

More About: smb, telephony, tellfi, y combinator

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YouTube Video of the Day: The Strokes, “Under Cover of Darkness”

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 02:40 PM PST

We have been waiting five years for the next Strokes album, and we still have about two weeks to go until it drops. Until then, sate yourself with our YouTube Video of the Day, the band’s new vid for the single "Under Cover of Darkness.”

The song is the first track from the band's upcoming album, Angles, which drops March 22 from RCA records in the U.S. and March 21 from Rough Trade Records in the UK. The band offered it free to Internet denizens at the beginning of last month, but now images have been added to the beat.

Take a look and let us know what you think of the first visual representation of the Strokes’s new disc.

More About: angles, music, strokes, viral-video-of-day, youtube

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Why Credit Cards Are Not the Future of Online Payment

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 02:28 PM PST


Bill Zielke is senior director of Merchant Services at PayPal, which recently announced the initial rollout of Mobile Express Checkout. Bill is responsible for the development and marketing of product strategies related to PayPal, and for counseling merchants with product recommendations.

The concept of credit has been around for centuries. Starting in the early 1800s, local merchants allowed trusted customers to make purchases without paying the total cost upfront. This intuitive concept allowed sellers to reach a larger base of customers who could then pay their debt over time. The idea of enabling purchases by extending credit spread quickly, and in the early 1950s, a seminal moment occurred: the invention of the credit card.

Over the next half century, the credit card and buying on credit concept became entrenched in countries across the globe, particularly so in the United States. Today, we're beginning to see signs of changing consumer behavior when it comes to making purchases, particularly in the online world.

In fact, I'd argue we're now at an inflection point, as recent global economic woes have combined with the continued rise of alternative payment methods to finally mount a serious threat to the traditional credit card. In fact, in a recent report by Javelin Strategy & Research noted that "online use of credit cards continues to decline, representing a sustained and ongoing change in consumer behavior," before going on to state that total payment volume from credit cards fell from 44% in 2009 to 40% in 2010.

As the Internet emerged as a global marketplace where people can purchase goods and services without ever leaving their homes, the credit card, with its snazzy designs and black stripe on the back, has become outmoded. Today's savvy consumer expects a different experience, and the bottom line is the credit card wasn't designed with the Internet in mind (and certainly not with an Internet-connected mobile device).

Using a credit card to complete an online transaction is riddled with functional deficiencies. One of the most basic examples: we can all agree that it's downright painful to have to repeatedly type in your credit card number and security code every time you go to make a purchase online, right? And from a merchant's perspective, the cost of accepting credit cards — and the associated hidden fees — can make accepting payments online prohibitively expensive. Clearly it's easy to see why credit-based products that were designed from the beginning for the online experience are rapidly gaining market share.

When it comes to mobile commerce the differences between credit cards and alternative payment methods are even more pronounced. Sure, a little device that allows you to take credit card transactions via a mobile phone is nice, but it's far from revolutionary.

Meanwhile, so-called alternative payment providers with their digitized, multicurrency networks are enabling consumers to transact by simply swiping a mobile device or even bumping mobile phones together. This is the notion of the “mobile wallet” starting to be realized.

The mobile device holds the key to the future of payments, for both consumers and merchants, because it blurs the lines between online and offline. I predict it won't be long before the credit card will be the alternative payment method and services that were designed for the online experience from the start will become the norm.

Don't buy it (pun intended)?

Consider the following from the Javelin report:

  • The total dollar volume of online alternative payments sales grew to almost $43 billion in 2010, up from approximately $34 billion in 2009.
  • The total dollar volume of online alternative payments sales is projected to reach $86.6 billion by 2015.
  • 46% of online consumers have used an alternative payment within the past year.
  • 36% of online shoppers use an online alternative payment option due to "greater protection from fraud or other misuse of my information."
  • 91% of online consumers have used PayPal, while 24% have used Checkout by Amazon and 9% have used Google Checkout.

So what do you think? Will you still be using a credit card in five years or will the mobile wallet be your reality?

More Business Resources from Mashable:

- Why Data Mining Is the Next Frontier for Social Media Marketing
- Creative Constraint: Why Tighter Boundaries Propel Greater Results
- 10 Ways to Turn Your Local Business Into a Global Success
- 6 Top Tips For Managing a Coworking Space
- 3 Podcast Success Stories from Creative Small Businesses

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, idrutu

More About: business, credit cards, Mobile 2.0, online payment, payment

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Morgan Spurlock Sells Out At TED

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 02:05 PM PST


Data-storage firm EMC got quite the bang for $7,100: The title sponsorship of Morgan Spurlock’s talk at TED today.

Spurlock sought a sponsor for the speech a few weeks ago with an ad on eBay. As the filmmaker noted in today’s talk, the response from advertisers to that ad and subsequent attempts to get marketers to integrate their brands into his upcoming film, POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, was an uphill struggle.

The film, which opens on April 22, details Spurlock’s tongue-in-cheek quest to make a movie completely branded from start to finish. Spurlock initially tried to line up deals via advertising agencies but then decided to cut out the middleman and go directly to the brands. He wound up getting 17 advertisers, including POM Wonderful (of course), JetBlue, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, and Mini Cooper.

Spurlock presented clips from the movie at TED, including a scene where he’s presenting the idea to incredulous Ban antiperspirant marketers, one where Spurlock polls New Yorkers on the street about their personal “brands” and another where brand gurus attempt to define Spurlock’s brand.

Spurlock’s message for marketers who rejected the idea of appearing in the film is that they missed out. The film, he said, has received 900 million media impressions since it premiered at Sundance. Part of that was no doubt because of Spurlock’s marketing of the film, which included a stunt to try to remove all ads from New York’s Times Square last month.

Speaking to TED attendees, Spurlock turned uncharacteristically earnest when addressing conservative marketers: “If you take risks, in those risks will come opportunity. We have to embrace fear, embrace risk and, most of all, embrace transparency.”

Photo Credit: James Duncan Davidson / TED

More About: advertising, MARKETING, morgan-spurlock, TED

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Bill Gates Talks About Knowledge Revolution at TED [LIVE BLOG]

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 01:51 PM PST

bill gates image

Bill Gates has led ambitious philanthropic efforts in global health, development and education through his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Gates will curate a TED Session called "Knowledge Revolution." Speakers include Salman Khan, the founder of popular “YouTube university,” Kahn Academy. Historian David Christian, development worker Amina Az-Zubair and epidemiologist Bruce Aylward will also be on hand.

Interested in hearing about the “Knowledge Revolution” as it happens? Because a live video stream is not available of the event, Mashable's Social Good Assistant Editor Zachary Sniderman and Education Reporter Sarah Kessler will be live blogging the event today from 5:15 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. ET. Join us here at that time for live updates, discussion and analysis. Join in to share your questions and add your voice.

Image courtesy of Flickr, OnInnovation

More About: bill gates, coveritlive, education, Khan Academy, social good, social media, startup, TED

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How Does the iPad 2 Compare to the Tablet Competition? [INFOGRAPHIC]

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 01:45 PM PST


At Wednesday’s iPad 2 event, Apple took some time to revel in the success of the original iPad. The company moved nearly 15 million iPad units in 2010. Moreover, Apple absolutely dominates the emerging tablet space, holding 90% of the market.

Of course, with iPad 2, things are a bit different. Apple no longer has the luxury of being the only game in town as competitors from across the consumer electronics space prepare to take on the incumbent.

Now that we know the specs, price and release date for the iPad 2, we decided to see how the new device stacks up against not just the original iPad, but also some of its competitors.

Some of these competing devices — like the Motorola Xoom — are shipping. Others, like the HP TouchPad, won’t be available for a few more months.

What tablet are you most excited about getting in 2011? How do you think the iPad 2 compares with the avalanche of competitors? Let us know.

Note: This inforgraphic has been updated to correctly reflect the price drop for the first generation iPad.

Infographic by Kelli Shaver

More About: hp touchpad, infographic, ipad, iPad 2, tablets, xoom

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Palace Launches Official Website for Royal Wedding

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 01:21 PM PST


St. James’s Palace launched Wednesday an official hub for the forthcoming wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

As anticipation builds for the event, which is scheduled to occur on April 29 at Westminister Abbey, visitors can get their royal fix via a stream of news, pictures and videos at officialroyalwedding2011.org. People are also invited to follow updates via Twitter, YouTube, Facebook (launched in November) and Flickr. New content from those properties is included in a right-hand sidebar.

The first details about Kate Middleton’s wedding dress will be posted on the site, a spokesperson for St. James’s Palace wrote. It might even live stream a broadcast of the big day.

The site was built by Accenture, with creative input from the Reading Room. Google’s App Engine is hosting the site, chosen for its ability “to handle large, global peaks in web traffic,” a spokesperson explained.

Whether you’re enchanted or repulsed by the hype surrounding the Royal Wedding, we can at least applaud the British Monarchy’s progressive use of social media to keep the world abreast of one of 2011′s most highly anticipated events. Clarence House originally announced the engagement on Twitter in November, and again used the service to name the maid of honor, best man, bridesmaids and page boy.

Thumbnail courtesy of Flickr, The British Monarchy

[via What Kate Wore]

More About: british monarchy, clarence house, kate middleton, prince william, royal family, royal wedding, st. james's palace

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What’s New in iOS 4.3

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 01:10 PM PST


While much of the focus at Apple’s iPad 2 event might have centered around the sexy new hardware, Apple showcased some of the new features in the upcoming iOS 4.3 as well.

Developers have had the opportunity to work with beta versions of iOS 4.3 for several months. The new OS release isn’t going to introduce as many features as the iOS 4.0 update or the unifying iOS 4.2 release, but the improvements should be appreciated across the iOS line.

Better Performance

In recent years, browser makers have found that optimizing the JavaScript engine is the best way to increase speed and performance when loading web pages on the desktop. We’re now starting to see these optimizations applied to the mobile browser.

In iOS 4.3, Apple has migrated its Nitro JavaScript engine from Safari 5.0 on the desktop to Safari for iOS. Apple says that these performance tweaks mean that JavaScript will run up to twice as fast in iOS 4.2. As more websites take advantage of JavaScript to provide interactive features and animations, a faster JavaScript engine should equal a more responsive web browsing experience.

iTunes Home Sharing

Apple didn’t announce the cloud-based media service many of us were hoping to see, but the company will be making it easier to access iTunes data from iOS devices.

iTunes for Windows and Mac has had the Home Sharing feature for quite some time. This feature makes it easy to stream media from one iTunes library to another. iOS 4.3 will bring that feature to the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Apps like Air Video [iTunes link] already offer a great way for users to access video content on their Mac or PC from an iOS device, but the iTunes Home Sharing feature will let users interact directly with iTunes.

That means that music, videos, podcasts and audio books can be streamed from a Mac or PC onto an iOS device across a shared network.

AirPlay Gets Better

Apple introduced AirPlay with the new Apple TV in October 2010 as a way to watch content from an iPhone or iPad on the big screen.

iOS 4.3 opens up AirPlay a bit and it now supports music, movies and photos. It also lets users stream videos recorded with the iPhone or iPad camera directly to the Apple TV.

What we’re really excited about is that more third-party apps can now take advantage of AirPlay and that websites can get in on the fun too. Increasingly we hope to see the AirPlay API open up more so that things like the Dark Knight movie app can make their way to our Apple TV devices.

Personal Hotspot (iPhone 4 Only)

The Verizon iPhone introduced a new feature that lets iPhone users share their 3G data connection with other devices via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or USB. This is a popular feature on Android 2.2 devices and one the iPhone can really benefit from having.

As we’ve reported before, Personal Hotspot isn’t a feature that is limited to the Verizon iPhone — other iPhone 4 units can utilize the feature too. Pricing and data caps will vary by carrier, but true hotspot sharing (as opposed to the previous tethering option) for up to five devices (three over Wi-Fi) is coming soon.

iPad Switch Options

My least favorite part of the iOS 4.2 update for iPad is the alteration of the side button, which now functions as a mute switch rather than an orientation lock. Double tapping, sliding to the right and hitting a button is just more complicated than flipping a switch. It’s fine on the iPhone — where the side button really does make sense as a mute switch — but on the iPad it’s an annoyance.

In a very un-Apple move, the company is giving users the option to have the side switch act as a mute switch or an orientation lock. We say un-Apple because the company tends not to go back on software design decisions and generally opposes creating multiple options for the same function.

In any event, we’re very happy Apple has made this a user choice. And while most users will be fine with the defaults, I know I will be happy to bring back to the side orientation lock function to my iPad.

Calm Before the Storm

iOS 4.3 might be lacking some of the spark that we’ve seen from previous Apple releases — but remember, Apple will likely unveil the next major version of iOS alongside the next iPhone this June.

In the interim, iOS 4.3 will give developers and users more functionality to an already solid OS.

More About: airplay, apple, iOS, ios 4.3, ipad

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What 90,000 Hours of Home Video Can Teach Us About Ourselves

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 01:08 PM PST


"Imagine if you could record your life … so you can go back and find memorable moments and relive them." So began the talk at TED from Deb Roy of MIT Media Labs on Wednesday, a revelation of fascinating findings from more than three years of continuous data capture of his family's home life.

Starting with the birth of his son, Roy began recording every room in his home using bird’s-eye-view cameras, feeding that data back to an array of servers. In all, he collected more than 90,000 hours of video and 140,000 hours of audio, which Roy jokingly referred to as "the world's largest home video collection."

While all of that will help us "experience moments your [natural] memory could never find," it has also led to some significant research findings.

Roy showed a number of visualizations showing what he calls "the birth of a word." By connecting motion analysis from the video and time-lapse audio, for example, Roy is able to show his son's use of the word "water" takes place primarily in the kitchen, while use of the word "bye" is heaviest near the front door of his house. He's also able to see the impact different caregivers (himself, his wife and his nanny) had on the development of his son's language.

In another impressive display of the possibilities created by his setup, Roy delighted the TED crowd by playing audio that shows how the word "gaga" transformed into "water" over a six-month period. In all, Roy identified 503 words his son had learned by his second birthday and the patterns leading to their birth.

Of course, creating the type of environment that Roy did is not yet feasible for most of us, and the product has not yet been commercialized. The first application of it, however, is Bluefin Labs, a startup Roy launched back in February that analyzes social media conversations around television content using the same type of data and pattern correlation he used in researching his family.

Roy said he also sees potential applications in science, commerce and government but left the audience with a moving example from his initial experiment that points to the possibilities of capturing our whole lives digitally: video of his son's first steps.

More About: deb roy, mit media labs, TED, TED Talks, ted2011

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iPad 2 From All Angles [PICS]

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 12:22 PM PST


Apple’s iPad 2 made its big debut Wednesday, and immediately following the event in San Francisco, Apple released a variety of product shots featuring the new tablet and its accessories.

In this gallery, get a close-up look at the new, thin profile of the iPad 2, 33% slimmer than its predecessor at 8.8mm. Take a look at the new white iPad 2, the new front and rear-facing cameras. (Unfortunately, note that the iPad 2 lacks the rumored “Retina Display,” instead using the same 1024-by-768-pixel screen as its predecessor.)

Let us know in the comments what you think of this latest rollout from Apple — called a “completely new design” by Steve Jobs, and selling for exactly the same price as its predecessor. The iPad 2 is available March 11 in the U.S. and March 25 elsewhere.


iPad 2 details hit Apple.com




Credit: Apple.com


Apple.com touts iPad 2 design




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 has two cameras




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 has a dual-core A5 chip




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 adjustable "Smart Cover"




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 is thinner and 15% lighter




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 is available in black and white




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 FaceTime




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 rear-facing camera




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 iMovie




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 Photo Booth




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 back view




Credit: Apple.com


GarageBand on iPad 2




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 video mirroring




Credit: Apple.com


"Smart Covers" for iPad 2




Credit: Apple.com

More About: apple, gallery, iPad 2, pics, tablets

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Apple’s iPad 2 Cover Attaches With Magnets, Wakes iPad When Opened [VIDEO]

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 11:41 AM PST

Apple‘s created the iPad 2 Smart Cover, offering protection using magnets that easily attach to special metal spots on the company’s new tablet.

While it doesn’t seem to offer a lot of protection from dropping, this clever cover automatically wakes iPad 2 when it’s unraveled.

As you can see in the video above, the Smart Cover has an origami-like way of folding so it can prop up the iPad in an optimal typing position. It’ll be $39 in plastic (in five colors), and $69 (also with a choice of five colors) for the more upscale leather version.


As we noted earlier, this new case won’t work for the original iPad, because there aren’t magnets in place that allow it to connect.

More About: apple announcement, Apple Case, ipad, iPad 2 Announcement, iPad 2 Smart Cover, ipad2

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PepsiCo CEO, Filmmaker & Ford Executive at TED [LIVE BLOG]

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 11:03 AM PST


PepsiCo has launched some innovative social media initiatives under CEO Indra Nooyi’s watch, including Pepsi Refresh, an ambitious program that sought to fund various philanthropic initiatives.

Nooyi will speak today during a TED session that will also include filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, who is promoting two movies this year — The Greatest Movie Ever Sold about branding and marketing, and a documentary about Comic-Con. In addition, Ford Motors executive chairman Bill Ford will be on hand.

Because there is no live video stream available of the sessions, Mashable’s business and marketing editor Todd Wasserman will be live blogging the event this today from 2 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. ET. Be sure and join us at that time here.

More About: business, liveblog, MARKETING, TED

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Want Next-Gen Support for Your Node Apps? Joyent Launches No.de

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 10:43 AM PST


Joyent, which literally sponsors Node.js by, among other things, employing Node creator Ryan Dahl, has just launched No.de, a new hub for the company’s Node.js-specific hosting services.

Joyent’s No.de hosting service uses Git revision control and is backed by Joyent SmartMachines.

Joyent is placing particular emphasis on these Node SmartMachines, which the company says “are what virtual machines would be if they were optimized for software applications instead of being designed to replicate hardware.” SmartMachines are particularly designed with real-time web apps in mind, and they are intended to give better performance and better utilization of hardware resources than traditional server options.

And since Node was built from the ground up for real-time communication, the company figures its SmartMachines are a good fit.

We wrote about open-source Node hosting platform Nodester back when it was NodeFu. Nodester competes with No.de somewhat, but it’s hard to make an apples-and-oranges comparison between a slick, corporation-backed project and a relatively scrappy one from three developers.

If you’re building Node apps of your own, we’re particularly interested to know what you think of Joyent’s latest offering.

As an added bonus, here’s Dahl talking at Joyent’s Node Camp in December:



More About: joyent, node.js, ryan dahl

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iPad 2: The Hardware

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 10:35 AM PST


Apple introduced the iPad 2 today, and as CEO Steve Jobs appeared on stage, he said this new model is not a tweaked or marginally improved piece of hardware, but a completely new design.

Under the hood is what Apple calls a “dramatically faster” processor, Apple’s custom-designed 1GHz dual-core A5 chip that uses the same amount of power as its predecessor, the A4, but it’s twice as fast, and Apple says its graphics processing is “up to nine times faster.” Job says that despite that new power, battery life will be the same at 10 hours.

Jobs said the iPad 2 is 33% thinner than the first iPad, and a mere 8.8mm thick (down from 13.4mm of the original iPad) — thinner even than the iPhone 4. It’s also lighter, 1.3 lb as opposed to the 1.5 lb weight of its predecessor. There will be both of front and rear facing cameras on board, with the back camera capable of video recording at 720p at 30 frames per second, and the front camera is a VGA quality camera for videoconferencing.

Along with the new hardware, Apple will offer a $39 HDMI adapter that will allow users to output 1080p video in a mirrored configuration. That will allow users to watch iPad content on an HDTV while still viewing that same content on the iPad’s screen (which is the same as its predecessor at 1024 x 768 pixels).

Ordering starts for the iPad 2 in both white and black on March 11 in the U.S. (March 25 in 26 more countries). It’ll be offered in 16GB, 32GB of 64GB models, either with Wi-Fi or both Wi-Fi and 3G, all for the same prices of the original iPad:

Full iPad 2 specs from Apple here.

Images courtesy Engadget and Macworld

More About: apple, iOS, iPad 2, steve jobs

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Apple: 100 Million iPhones Sold

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 10:27 AM PST


Apple announced, at its event in San Francisco Wednesday, that it has sold its 100 millionth iPhone.

When the iPhone first launched in June 2007, many questioned the long-term success of the product — could Apple, a newcomer to the mobile space, make a name for itself. The answer, unequivocally, is yes.

Last month, Verizon became the second U.S. carrier to sell the iPhone and some analysts have posited that Big Red has already moved 1 million units. Apple didn’t break out any carrier-specific numbers, however, by pointing out that 100 million iPhones — the company is pointing out its success in the market.

Other interesting numbers from the event:

  • More than 200 million iTunes Store accounts exist — Apple believes that they may have the most accounts with credit cards anywhere online.
  • $2 billion cumulative has been paid to developers in the App Store.
  • 100 million books have been downloaded from iBooks
  • 15 million iPads were sold in the first 9 months of release

Today’s event is all about iPad 2 and Mashable will be reporting more about the new device throughout the day.

More About: apple, iphone, sales figures, stats

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iPad 2 Is Coming to Verizon

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 10:26 AM PST


Mere weeks after the iPhone 4 came to Verizon, the iPad is arriving as well — or the iPad 2 is, at least, Steve Jobs announced at a press event Wednesday.

The iPad 2 will be carried by both AT&T and Verizon. The device begins shipping in the U.S. on March 11, and in 26 more countries on March 25.

In addition, the iPad 2:

  • Is one-third thinner than the first iPad: 8.8mm thick, down from 13.4 mm.
  • Is lighter: 1.5 lbs from 1.3 lbs.
  • Comes in both black and white.
  • Sports a dual-core processor, up to 2x faster CPU. Graphics are up to nine times faster.
  • Has both front and rear-facing cameras.
  • Comes in six different versions (16GB, 32GB, 64GB, with and without 3G support), priced the same as the corresponding iPad 1 models.
  • Has the same battery life as the original iPad.

Apple sold nearly 15 million iPads in 2010, Jobs revealed.

More About: ipad, verizon

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Apple Sold Nearly 15 Million iPads in 2010

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 10:14 AM PST


Apple sold nearly 15 million iPads last year, generating $9.5 billion in revenue in the nine months after its launch, Steve Jobs announced on stage at a press event Wednesday.

Apple previously announced that it sold 3.27 million iPads in the first quarter of sales, and another 4.19 million in the second.

Recent research from eMarketer estimates that consumers will purchase 81.3 million tablets in 2012, up from 15.7 million this year, 34 million of which could be iPads. Gartner estimates that 19.5 million tablets have been purchased this year, and will multiply to 54.8 million in 2011 and more than 208 million by 2014, “driven by sales of the iPad,” the firm claims.

In the U.S., Forrester expects 24 million tablets will be sold, a full 20 million of which will be iPads.

Apple also announced that it has now sold more than 100 million iPhones to date.

More About: apple

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Apple’s iPad 2 Launch: What You Need To Know [VIDEO]

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 10:06 AM PST

Greetings from rainy San Francisco, where Apple’s long-anticipated launch of the iPad 2 is about to get underway at the Yerba Buena Center For the Arts Theater. We’ll be bringing you the important details as they come in — no need to scroll down pages of breathless liveblogging. If you’re just interested in the hardware, go here. And check out our gallery of the event at the bottom to see all the photos you need in one place.

Security is high for the event, which is surrounded by police and guarded at multiple checkpoints. Can the product live up to the hype? We’ll find out in less than an hour. Check back for updates.

Ladies and gentlemen: Steve Jobs is in the house. He has “something great to announce today,” he says, but as ever, begins with a recap of how well other Apple products have done. This, folks, is how you make a reality bubble. “We’ve been working on this product for a while, and I didn’t want to miss today.”

To pump the buying temperature some more, Jobs shows a video explaining how 2010 was the “year of the iPad.”

It’s official: the new device is called the iPad 2. The design hasn’t just been tweaked, Jobs says. It’s all new from the bottom up.

Firstly, there’s a new processor, Apple’s custom A5 dual-core system-on-a-chip. That will be two times faster than the original iPad and its graphics will be “up to nine times faster” than that of the iPad 1.

Secondly, iPad 2 is thinner — 33% thinner. Thinner than the iPhone 4. Thinner than a supermodel on a diet. It’s 8.8 mm, as opposed to 13.4 mm for the original iPad. And it’s slightly lighter at 1.3 lbs.

It will also come in white, from day one, and the 3G version will be available on Verizon and AT&T from day one. And when is day one? March 11 in the US, March 25 in other countries.

Front and rear cameras will be built in. How well will they work? We’ll have to wait and see. Photo Booth, the Mac app that lets you take fun pictures of yourself, is included.

Also, the iPad is now HDMI compatible, which means you can plug it into your TV or a large screen. That, says Jobs, will work with “every app.” It’ll cost you an extra $39 for the HDMI cable converter.

Also notable, says Jobs, is what hasn’t changed. The battery life is still in the 10-hour range. And the price is the same: $499 for the basic 16GB Wi-fi version, heading up to $829 for the 3G model with 64GB.

Apple has also made a couple of cool new iPad 2 cases. They have magnets on them that attach automatically to the screen. The iPad 2 will automatically wake when the case is opened, and the case folds back to put you in prime typing position. Cost: $39 for the plastic version, $69 for leather. Sorry, folks, this will not work with the original iPad: the case connects to magnets that are inside the iPad 2.

Finally, something us iPad owners have been asking for since iOS4 came out: you can tell the iPad 2 whether the button on the side will lock the rotation or mute the device. Thanks, Apple!

And that’s it for the hardware. Jobs moves on to software: the slightly tweaked iOS 4.3, and an improved version of Air Play, which lets you share media (such as songs and slideshows) between the iPad and other devices. iTunes sharing is built in — so you can stream your whole music library to your iPad, at least when your iPad and your computer are on the same network. FaceTime is now available on the iPad. The video editing software iMovie also gets a significant update, and will be available in an iPad version for $4.99.

Also, there’s a $5 version of Garage Band, which looks very cool and will let you plug in your guitar to the iPad, among a host of fully-fledged Garage Band features.


iPad 2 details hit Apple.com





Credit: Apple.com


Apple.com touts iPad 2 design




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 has two cameras




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 has a dual-core A5 chip




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 adjustable "Smart Cover"




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 is thinner and 15% lighter




Credit: Apple.com


"Smart Covers" for iPad 2




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 video mirroring




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 rear-facing camera




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 back view




Credit: Apple.com


GarageBand on iPad 2




Credit: Apple.com


iPad 2 release date in U.S.




Credit: Macworld


iPad 2 pricing




Credit: Macworld


Steve Jobs




Credit: Macworld


iPad 2 front view




Credit: Macworld


Steve Jobs




Credit: Macworld


iPad 2 specifications




Credit: Macworld


Steve Jobs




Credit: Macworld


iPad 2 Invitation




More About: apple, iPad 2, launch, trending

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Random House Embraces Agency E-Book Model & iBooks

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 09:45 AM PST


Fans of Apple’s iBooks app now have more content to choose from, thanks to the infusion of Random House titles to the iOS digital storefront.

Random House announced Monday that as of March 1, 2011, it would adopt an agency model for e-book sales. Random House was the last of the six major book publishing houses still using the older wholesale model for e-book sales.

The shift away from the wholesale e-book model started last year when Apple unveiled the iPad. Five of the major publishers switched models, with Random House the lone holdout. Now that Random House has embraced the agency model — which provides retailers with 30% of the sale and gives publishers the remaining 70% — many of its titles are available in iBooks.

Apple is promoting the new additions under a new banner that says “Bestselling Books Just Added” in the iOS application.

At the iPad’s launch in 2010, Apple made a point to highlight its publishing partners associated with iBooks. Perhaps we’ll hear more about this new partnership at today’s iPad 2 event — maybe in association with the next version of iBooks.

Does the addition of Random House titles make iBooks a more attractive reading platform? Let us know.

[via ReadWriteWeb]

More About: e-books, iBooks, ipad, publishing, random house

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Posterous Brings Group Feature to iPhone & Android

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 09:30 AM PST

Posterous is launching new iPhone and Android apps Wednesday that fully integrate its new group feature, which turns e-mail lists into groups.

Currently, users can only set up a group by e-mailing newgroup@posterous.com to receive a group e-mail address and URL. After that, any member of the group can send text, video, photos, music and other file types to the entire group by e-mailing the group address.

Adding mobile to the mix makes it easier for members to manage groups away from their computers. Users can add group members using their mobile contacts, create groups, use one-tap posting and view groups from within the apps.


The move signifies a new focus on private group sharing for Posterous. The company, which had previously focused on post-by-e-mail blogs, launched its group feature in December. By default, groups are set to private, and the new product challenges group communication tools by competitors like Yahoo, Google and Facebook.

Since launching the feature, Posterous says that the average number of new users each day has doubled; 76% of groups use the tool for private communication, and 25% of them have used it in place of an e-mail chain at work.

In addition to the updated apps, Posterous revamped its homepage to highlight the new private network feature.

As Posterous continues to emphasize its group feature with mobile, it has a lot of competition. Group chat app GroupMe recently added location and photo sharing, and Fast Society helps groups communicate during events.

Group photo sharing — the most popular use of Posterous groups thus far — is also heating up. The personal networking startup Path added the ability to share photos with anyone via e-mail in February, and photo apps like Instagram allow users to save e-mail groups for efficient photo sharing. Cooliris creates private photo “streams” that groups can add to.

What posterous has going for it is its flexibility. Users can now access it from the web, mobile app or e-mail. They can use it for public group blog posts or to communicate within groups. Instead of focusing on photos, it allows users to upload almost any file format. It will be interesting to see whether customers gravitate toward this flexibility or opt for a menagerie of niche apps.

More About: cooliris, instagram, posterous

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Mashable Geek Games: Get Your Geek On for a Good Cause

Posted: 02 Mar 2011 09:18 AM PST


The countdown is on for the Mashable Geek Games on Sunday, March 13, and Monday, March 14, at the Mashable SXSWi House in Austin, Texas.

At the two-day, single-elimination tournament, geeks from all over will test their skills at skeeball, Twister, shuffleboard and trivia for all the geek glory and for a good cause: helping to fund a mentoring program for children in Central Texas.

The $25 participation fee per team will go to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas. Proceeds collected from the 2011 Geek Games will allow Big Brothers Big Sisters to match more children in Central Texas with mentors. $25 funds a full week of mentoring for a child and help the next generation of children become the next generation of geeks!

Register for Mashable House Geek Games sign-up in Austin, TX on Eventbrite

Each round of the tournament will require at least 2 participants from each team to compete. Each team will consist of 2 to 5 players, allowing for alternates for a team. Sign ups are limited so secure your spot now!

Comedian Chris Hardwick of Nerdist.com and Web Soup will interview participants for .TV throughout the tournament. We’ll be announcing a special guest host for the Geek Games shortly, so stay tuned!

Geek Games Schedule
Sunday, March 13, 2011 (Invite-only for registered teams)
2:45 – 3:45 p.m. — Geek Games check-in
3:45 – 4:00 p.m. — Welcome & Rules
4:00 – 5:20 p.m. — Round 1: Shuffleboard
4:20 – 5:00 p.m. — Round 2: Skeeball
4:40 – 5:30 p.m. — Round 3: Pepsi MAX Pong

Monday, March 14, 2011 (Open to the public)
2:45 – 3:45 p.m. — Geek Games check-in
3:45 – 4:00 p.m. — Welcome & Rules
4:00 – 4:30 p.m. — Round 4: Skifta Twister
4:20 – 5:00 p.m. — Round 5: Geek Trivia on Sony PS3
4:50 – 5:30 p.m. — FINALS: SingStar Dance on Sony PS3

To register your team for the Geek Games, click on this link: http://geekgames.eventbrite.com/

To learn more about Big Brothers Big Sisters visit: www.bigmentoring.org

Located at Buffalo Billiards, the Mashable SXSWi House is hosting a variety of public and private events ranging from VIP dinners to open networking opportunities and parties, including the third annual MashBash SXSWi party on Sunday, March 13, with music from DJ Chicken George, and the official Mashable Night 2 SXSWi 2011 Party with music from Eclectic Method.

Register for public events at the SXSWi Mashable House on Eventbrite. The event is open to all SXSWi badge holders who are older than 21.

Thanks to our sponsors

Come check out the Pepsi MAX Lot at 3rd Street and San Jacinto Boulevard! Follow @PepsiMAX on Twitter for the daily schedule for huge concerts, happy hours, BBQs, games, and giveaways! And, well, lots of free soda..

Sony Electronics is a leading provider of audio and video electronics and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Sony is noted for a wide range of consumer audio-visual products, such as the BRAVIA® LCD and 3D high-definition televisions, Cyber-shot® and α (alpha) digital cameras, Handycam® camcorder and Walkman® personal stereo. Sony is also an innovator in the IT arena with its VAIO® personal computers; and in high-definition professional broadcast and production equipment, highlighted by the XDCAM® HD and CineAlta™ lines of cameras and camcorders, and the SXRD™ 4K digital projector. Join the Sony Conversation at Sony.com/Blog.

Skifta is an app-based media shifting service that turns your Android phone into a global remote control. Easily access your digital media from virtually any source and stream to connected electronics in the home. With the DLNA Certified® Skifta app on your phone, you can easily access music, photos and videos from your phone, the cloud, or remotely from your home and stream that media to connected DLNA and UPnP consumer electronics including TVs, IP-stereos like Sonos systems, PlayStation® 3 consoles, Windows 7 PCs, and thousands more. No wires, downloading or side loading. Check it out at skifta.com.

If your website has a play button, it belongs on .TV. Stand out from the crowd with a .TV domain name; tell people you create and share great video content on your site even before they visit. Come visit us in the Mashable House at Buffalo Billiards on March 13-14 for a chance to register a FREE .TV domain name. And, mark your calendars: the .TV AUCTION starts March 9. Bid on desirable, sought-after domain names including air.tv, stocks.tv, who.tv, and more at moniker.com/tv or register the .TV of your choice for while you're there.

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