Blog Posts by Tecca

If the common ice cream cone no longer poses a challenge, might we suggest you step up your game to this?

Have your taste buds ever wanted to blast off into outer space? Want a dessert treat that's out of this world? No need to try to shoot the moon this holiday season — we've got a scrumptious delight that's sure to please. With numerous apologies for the onslaught of puns, we present to you this: The Haagen Dazs Ice Moon ice cream cake, formed in the shape of the Earth's moon.

The dairy treat comes in two different flavors: white moon and orange moon. The white moon is constructed of macadamia nut ice cream, merengue, and a coating of raspberry ice cream. The orange moon is layered nutty ice cream and caramel, with a coating of vanilla.

Here at Tecca, we're pretty torn. The idea of an edible ice cream moon is simply mind blowing, and we absolutely desperately and with all our hearts do want. On the other hand, how in the sweet merciful hell are we supposed to eat this thing? With a knife and fork? That's simply un-American.

[via Gizmodo]

This article was written by Fox Van Allen and

The Canadian sensation knows way more about your kids than you'd like to think

He knows when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows when you've been bad or good. But we're not talking about Santa Claus here — we're talking about barely legal pop sensation Justin Bieber, whose official fan website was part of a government crackdown of sites that illegally collect data on underage visitors.

According to an Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report, the company that owns the official Bieber fan club (You can join for just $99 a year! What a bargain!) has been collecting information pertaining to over 100,000 visitors to the site aged 12 and younger. That's a big no-no, and a direct violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. The same company also maintains — and illegally collected data via — RihannaNow.com, SelenaGomez.com, and DemiLovatoFanClub.com.

Terms of the settlement require Artist Arena LLC to pay a $1 million fine for their transgressions. It's the second high profile internet victory for the FTC this week: Just yesterday, the

Could the smaller tablet really be unveiled this month?

Our Apple rumor sense is tingling! The Wall Street Journal cites unnamed sources who claim that Apple's suppliers in Asia have started production on components for the mysterious iPad mini. For an as yet unconfirmed gadget, there has been a lot of talk in the tech community about the specs for the hypothetical tablet. But maybe Apple is ready to take some risks after its iPhone 5 took off with strong sales following its September launch.

And the speculation keeps coming. The Foxconn plant in Brazil allegedly began work on the parts for a 7.85-inch tablet earlier this week, and we heard similar rumblings of production in Asia earlier this summer. Also, Apple will supposedly send out invitations for the unveiling of the pint-sized device next week. We'll just have to wait and see.

If the iPad mini does appear on the market, it will be interesting to watch how it performs in sales. We want to know what you think about Apple's smaller tablet. Check out our poll and tell us whether or not

You won't believe how many people wound up getting caught up in her scams

You've probably never heard the name Kristy Ross before, but we're willing to bet you're very familiar with her work. You may have even given her money. For the last five years (at least), Ross has been flooding the internet with pop-up ad after pop-up ad, all claiming that your computer — yes, yours specifically — is infected with viruses. That's illegal, and it turns out the law has finally caught up to her: The Federal Trade Commission has just fined Ross a staggering $163 million dollars for her crimes.

The infamous fake computer scan ads encourage you to download "free" anti-virus software under the names Winfixer, DriveCleaner, FreeRepair, WinAntivirus, WinAntispyware, or System Doctor. Once you're hooked by the fraudulent warning, the advertisements redirect you to a page trying to sell you anti-virus software for $40 to $60 a pop. According to the government, "more than a million" were victims of Ross's scam. And given the size of the judgement — almost surely proportional to

The fledgling map program is in such dire need of help that Apple's recruiting everyone to correct errors

Though many of us like the app and use it regularly, it's hard to argue that there aren't problems with Apple's new Maps application bundled in its latest iOS 6 operating system. Between melted bridges, closed restaurants, and farms being listed as airports, it was all so bad that Apple's CEO Tim Cook apologized for Maps' blunders. So what's the largest corporation in the world to do? Recruit its hourly retail associates to fix the problem.

According to a new report from MacRumors, multiple Apple Store locations are participating in a new initiative where 40 staff hours per week will be devoted to fixing Maps. Teams of Apple blue shirts will be roaming the streets, double-checking the Maps app's accuracy to make sure your local Burger King isn't really a plant nursery. These employees will report back to their store's designated "subject matter expert," who will submit needed fixes into an internal company database.

The crowdsourcing effort is somewhat unprecedented, and a really good

Vague online libel law means you could face up to 12 years in prison for a re-tweet in the Phillipines

You might want to think twice the next time you Like those Facebook pictures of your cousin's new baby or retweet something funny from your friends — especially if you live in the Philippines. According to the new Cybercrime Prevention Act, you can go to jail if you participate in cybersex, identity theft, hacking, spamming, pornography, and yes, even social media in the Philippines.

The new law, signed into effect on September 12 by President Benigno Aquino III, is vague in its explanation of what online libel even means. "Who is liable? It isn't clear. The one who made the original post? The ones who share? The ones who tweet? Even you, if you post a simple, 'hehehe,' right? Does that mean you agree?" Filipino Senator Teofisto Guingona III said.

Of course, this law has caused quite a protest among the 35 million Filipino social media users. Hackers have sent an ironic message by defacing government websites while other lawmakers are penning petitions to stop the law. Currently,

Another bright new idea from the younger generation

We've heard some great stories about smart kids building cool things, but here are two teenagers building a business. Tyler Simpson and Brandon Keller launched a startup called OrbitFront that's designed to connect companies with people who will review their products and get a commission when their reviews generate a purchase. The two founders are just 14 and 15 years old.

Their thought is that customers are more likely to be swayed by a personal experience than an advertising campaign, so OrbitFront gives retailers a place to find those reviewers. The duo is hoping to list 20 partners and 50 products on their fledgling site by the end of the year. They've been selected to launch at VentureBeat's DEMO Fall 2012 event for new startups, and startup events like that one often generate serious money and publicity for cool ideas.

[Image credit: Satoru Kikuchi]

This article was written by Anna Washenko and originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:

• 16 insanely smart young people that

It takes former Apple and NASA engineers to create the world's best coffee

Coffee drinkers sure are passionate about their coffee, as three engineering masterminds have proven with their newest $11,000 coffee maker, the Blossom One Limited. MIT graduate Jeremy Kuempel, former NASA intern Matt Walliser, and all-around industrial design expert Joey Roth have combined their collective resumes to create what they call the greatest coffee machine in the world.

After running into some frustratingly inconsistent cups of coffee during a college all-nighter, Kuempel turned to his thermodynamic studies to discover what was causing the variation in coffee made from the same beans. He discovered that there were no coffee appliances out there that could brew a cup perfectly each time. The Blossom One aims to solve this problem with certain programmable factors that will determine the perfect cup of coffee for each coffee drinker: water temperature, amount of stirring over the course of the preparation, ratio of coffee to water, pressure, and amount of time the coffee is