Mashable: Latest 7 News Updates - including “10 Crazy Gadgets for Cats and Dogs” |
- 10 Crazy Gadgets for Cats and Dogs
- WikiLeaks Cables Show a China Obsessed with, Afraid of the Internet
- 5 Crafty Tricks for Creating Killer Photo Memes
- Weekend Gaming: Epic Mickey and More [OPEN THREAD]
- Rock Your Next Party With Djay for iPad
- If You Were Groupon, Would You Have Taken Google’s Offer? [POLL]
- 37 New Social Media Resources You May Have Missed
- Top 10 Twitter Trends This Week [CHART]
| 10 Crazy Gadgets for Cats and Dogs Posted: 04 Dec 2010 04:32 PM PST      Why should we have all the fun with our great human gadgetry? Thanks to the plethora of available pet-themed gadgets, our four-legged friends can enjoy some awesome tech action too. From the ridiculous (a doggie treadmill?) to the sublime (bacon-flavored bubbles!) we’ve got a great selection of 10 products that we think you’ll find fascinating — even if you don’t have a pet. Go for a walk through the gallery below, bark out any points you’d like to share in the comments, but please do keep those claws in if you see something you don’t like. 1. Top Tag Pet ID This 64MB USB flash drive will keep all of Fido (or Fluffy's) essential data safe in one place, and act as a high tech pet tag should your critter ever make a break for it. Cost: $34.99 2. Fling-ama-String This motorized cat toy hangs on a doorknob (or similar protrusion) and draws a bit of dangly string repeatedly around a plastic track. It sounds simple, but it will have your kitty transfixed. Cost: $25.99 3. GoDogGo Automatic Ball Launcher Notwithstanding the question of why you have a dog if you can't be bothered to play fetch with it, this ingenious invention can be set up on a timer or can be controlled via remote. It will chuck tennis balls for your pooch up to 30 feet away while you sit back and relax. Cost: $119.99 4. Drinkwell Pet Fountain You know how pets like drinking from a faucet? Well this replicates the experience, offering constantly filtered, aerated running water. Cost: From $54.99 5. Bubble Buddy This will surely lead to hours of fun. It's a bubble-making gun that will pop out bacon-flavored bubbles for your best friend to burst. Cost:: $22.98 6. FroliCat Bolt Cats (and some dogs) go mad for lasers. You can sit the Bolt on a suitable surface and let the random patterns drive Mr. Tiddles to distraction. Cost:: $19.95 7. Pet's Eye View Camera See the world from a dog's or cat's view with this digital camera that attaches to your pet's collar and takes pics at regular intervals. Cost:: $19.99 8. Jog a Dog Treadmill These treadmills are available in small to extra large to suit all breed sizes. Although ridiculous at first glance, we suppose they could make sense in certain situations. We're drawing the line at a canine cross trainer though. Cost:: From $1,195 9. Pet Chime Doorbell If your pooch is the intelligent type, you can teach him to ask when he wants to come in or out with the Pet Chime. With full instructions included on how to train your dog to comply, the only hard decision is whether you want Rover to activate it with his paw or nose. Cost:: $43.95 10. Zoombak Dog GPS Locator The dog-locating Zoombak system offers peace of mind if your dog ever gets out. It can be set up to provide you with an alert if it does so. Cost: $9.99, plus monthly fee BONUS: Cat Attack! Scratch Post Perhaps not technically a gadget, but we had to include this ace scratching post. If your cat is bent on world domination (and let's face it -- most of them are), this skyscraper set-up will let them believe, for the duration of a good scratch, they are Catzilla -- 900 feet of pure kitty evil! Cost:: $29.99 More Pet-Related Resources from Mashable:
More About: animals, cats, dogs, gadgets, galleries, gallery, List, Lists, pet gadgets, pets, tech For more Tech coverage:
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| WikiLeaks Cables Show a China Obsessed with, Afraid of the Internet Posted: 04 Dec 2010 03:02 PM PST   While WikiLeaks goes through a very public period of turbulence and political pressure, its most recent set of leaked documents are giving journalists something to write about. The Chinese state has long shown a certain uneasiness about allowing free access to uncensored information. In light of cables sent from the American Embassy and diplomats, China’s relationship with the web — and with Google, in particular — becomes even less certain. According to a new report from The New York Times, these cables reveal that Chinese leadership turned against Google as they discovered search results critical of the country, the government and specific party members. Political leaders in China began pressuring Google to censor results, to downgrade the resolution of images of government property on Google Earth and more. Some of the cables even seem to confirm that this year’s infamous attack on Google, which was supposed to have originated in China, was conducted with the knowledge and support of members of the Chinese government. One cable reads, "A well-placed contact claims that the Chinese government coordinated the recent intrusions of Google systems. According to our contact, the closely held operations were directed at the Politburo Standing Committee level." According to other cables, similar hacks were conducted on German government computers in 2006, something German officials disclosed to Americans in 2008. Hacking incidents aside, China’s attitude toward the web, as characterized by the cables quoted in the above-linked article, comes across as simultaneously paranoid and confident — paranoid that freedom of information, be that web pages with politically delicate keywords or images of government buildings, would only be used negatively; confident that the Internet can and will be controlled by the Chinese government. While we have definitely questioned the public usefulness of WikiLeaks’s work in the past, these findings from The New York Times make us wish for the resources to read through all 250,000 cables ourselves. Does this news affect your opinion of WikiLeaks — or of China’s government? Let us know in the comments. Reviews: Google, Google Earth, Internet, Wikileaks More About: china, Google, trending, wikileaks For more Tech coverage:
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| 5 Crafty Tricks for Creating Killer Photo Memes Posted: 04 Dec 2010 01:39 PM PST   If a photo-based meme has ever amused you so much that you wanted to jump in and add your version to the online collective, you first need the skills to make one. Adding text, cropping an image and merging pics isn’t rocket science, but if you’ve never learned how to use Photoshop, you might need a helping hand to get started. We’ve found five fabulous videos that will teach you the basic skills required to get the LOLs rolling with viral images. Have a look through the tips below and then get creating! Who knows — you might well be the creator of the next big viral hit. Good luck! 1. HOW TO: Add Basic Text The most obvious and basic example of a photo meme is the simple addition of text, à la the LOLcats phenomenon. While the Cheezburger network kindly offers an online LOLcat pic generator, this video will show you how to overlay words on any of your photographs. 2. HOW TO: Add Advanced Text Some memes call for a more advanced use of text. In the example above, a USPS flyer’s wording was changed to great comedic effect. For maximum effect, the text has also been made to look like the same style as the original. This tutorial will teach you some more advanced text tricks to give your creations more impact. 3. HOW TO: Cut Out a Person or ObjectMemes can branch off into sub-directions. A great example of this is the “Courage Wolf” variation on the “Advice Dog” meme. The video below will show you how to successfully cut out an object from a photo, which could potentially offer you a way to alter existing memes. With the text skills you’ve learned above, you’re well on your way to a finished product. 4. HOW TO: Remove Objects or People Removing objects and people from photos can be a hilarious way to offer a new variation on a classic format — as seen in the “Garfield Without Garfield” example above. This tutorial will show you an easy way to remove elements from a photo for dramatic, or funny, effect. 5. HOW TO: Add One Image to Another This final lesson will help you pull all the skills you’ve learned above into the finished product, as well as enable you get involved with humorous photo-based memes that place characters in different scenarios. This is one of the most popular types of memes and has been seen recently with Sad Keanu (with or without helmet!), Strutting Leo and Prancing Cera, to name just a few. More Meme Resources from Mashable:
Images courtesy of Shirt Woot, ICanHasCheezburger, Know Your Meme, Urlesque/Reddit user Jellymeat More About: culture, how to, how tos, List, Lists, Meme, memes, photography, Photoshop, tutorials, viral, web culture For more Social Media coverage:
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| Weekend Gaming: Epic Mickey and More [OPEN THREAD] Posted: 04 Dec 2010 12:40 PM PST   Epic Mickey was the biggest title to come out over the past week and the first big Wii title to come out in some time. Development was overseen by veteran designer Warren Spector, the creator of games such as Deus Ex and Thief. The Disney platformer sees Mickey Mouse at his most rambunctious title and more in the realm of Fantasia than his more cutesy modern films. While it is very much a Disney game, Epic Mickey isn’t necessarily a game that’s “just for kids.” If you’re still committed to your Nintendo Wii, it’s definitely worth checking out. I’ve gotten very little gaming in this week, but Fable 3 for the Xbox 360 is on my agenda for the weekend. What are you playing? Comments are open to tips, critiques, (good-natured) smack talk and basically anything else related to gaming. The weekend gaming open thread is intended to bring Mashable gamers together through conversation about games. This thread is for those of us who had the first NES and for those whose first gaming experience happened on an Xbox 360, so let’s try to keep it fun for everyone. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, shino-b Reviews: Mashable, iStockphoto More About: disney, Epic Mickey, fable 3, nintendo wii, trending, video games, Warren Spector, Xbox 360 For more Tech coverage:
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| Rock Your Next Party With Djay for iPad Posted: 04 Dec 2010 11:33 AM PST   We’ve already seen what a DJ can do with an iPad, but what about the rest of us? If you’ve long held the dream of rocking a crowd from a pair of decks but haven’t been able to muster the scratch for the gear to hone your craft, you should check out djay for iPad. For just $20, djay can turn Apple’s tablet into a fairly robust DJ setup. The user interface is laid out like an actual DJ system, with two turn tables and a mixer. There are a ton of mixing options, like automatic beat and tempo detection, as well as visual mixing with audio waveforms. But let’s be honest: You’re not here for the mixer; you came here to scratch. With djay, you can mix in any track from your iPad music library. An auto-cut scratching feature enables you to hit the ground spinning without ruining anyone’s night. And when your hands get tired from dropping phat beats, you can switch to Automix mode, and djay will keep the party going by spinning through your iPad music collection — automagically. Djay might not teach you every trick on the scene, but it could set you on the right track. And hey, if the iPad is a good enough platform for the Gorillaz to produce an album on, it’s probably good enough for you to figure out what’s what. More About: DJ, electronica, music, techno For more Tech coverage:
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| If You Were Groupon, Would You Have Taken Google’s Offer? [POLL] Posted: 04 Dec 2010 09:48 AM PST   The Internet is abuzz with speculation and opinions about the reported rejection of a $5.3 billion acquisition offer Google made to Groupon, a successful startup in the location/group buying space. This isn’t the first time we’ve watched a startup shy away from serious money offered by a big tech company; these startups’ reasons for doing so are often more complicated than simply being too big for their britches. Very often, they do it out of concern for their own products, which they feel might stagnate or be shuttered once acquired (see: MySpace and imeem, Apple and Lala, Google and Dodgeball). However, Groupon doesn’t seem to be the kind of product Google would shut down. The startup fits perfectly with the larger company’s newfound emphasis on local advertising — in fact, Google recently put the high-profile Marissa Mayer in charge of all location-based services at the company and shortly thereafter unveiled Hotpot, a consumer-friendly Yelp competitor. According to all indicators, Google is ready to play the location-based ad game. So why would Groupon have held out? As longtime entrepreneur and current Graphic.ly CEO Micah Baldwin writes, “It all changes when the founder drives a Porsche.” Baldwin’s salient point — that the Groupon founders are already rolling in cash and can afford to turn down a big offer — is one worth considering. “Basically,” he continues, “the motivation for a big exit is no longer motivated by ‘how much money can I get;’ it is motived by ‘what is my legacy.’ That simple shift makes their rejection of Google's $6 billion offer not that surprising.” If you were Groupon’s founders, what would your reaction to such an offer be? Vote in the poll below, and tell us more about your thoughts and opinions in the comments. Image based on a photo from Flickr, amagill. Reviews: Flickr, Google, Yelp More About: acquisition, Google, groupon, poll For more Business coverage:
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| 37 New Social Media Resources You May Have Missed Posted: 04 Dec 2010 08:30 AM PST   The holidays are coming, and there’s nothing that’ll quite get you in the spirit like a big ol’ list of tools and resources from your friendly neighborhood Mashable HQ. Our Social Media section provides tips for making your music video go viral, ways to empower your social giving this season, and the perils of digital snooping. Tech & Mobile features the top 10 gadgets Mashable readers want for the holidays, photo sharing alternatives to Flickr, and five of the best user experiences of 2010. Finally, for the business-savvy reader, check out six promising companies of 2010, essential steps in executing your social media strategy, or how to sell your expertise online. Looking for even more social media resources? This guide appears every weekend, and you can check out all the lists-gone-by here any time. Social Media
For more social media news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s social media channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Tech & Mobile
For more tech news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s tech channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Business
For more business news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s business channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Image courtesy of Webtreats Etc. Reviews: Facebook, Flickr, Hacker News, HootSuite, Internet, Mashable, Path, Twitter, Wikileaks, instagram, news More About: business, facebook, Features Week In Review, List, Lists, Mobile 2.0, small business, social media, tech, technology, twitter For more Social Media coverage:
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| Top 10 Twitter Trends This Week [CHART] Posted: 04 Dec 2010 06:03 AM PST   Brazil takes home the top Twitter trend this past week, though not for its sports upsets, celebrity gossip, or heated political discussions as we’ve seen in the past. This week, news of escalating violence in the city of Rio de Janiero prompted enough chatter to send the topic to the number one spot. The death of comedy legend Leslie Nielsen came as sad news to tweeters last Sunday. Remembrances, condolences and classic movie quotes propelled Nielsen’s name into the trending topics for some time, and earned him the number two spot for overall trends this week. Sports news and holidays round out the big chart below, compiled with care by our friends over at What The Trend. Because this is a topical list, hashtag memes and games have been omitted from the chart. You can check past Twitter trends in our Top Twitter Topics section as well as read more about this past week's trends on What The Trend. Top Twitter Trends This Week: 11/27 – 12/3
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, ricardoinfante Reviews: Twitter, iStockphoto, sports More About: black friday, Brazil, football, hanukkah, List, Lists, nfl, soccer, social media, sports, thanksgiving, Top Twitter Topics, trending, trends, twitter, twitter trends, world cup For more Social Media coverage:
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