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Apple CEO Cook gives up $75M in stock dividends

Fri, 25 May 2012 13:06:02 -0400

Apple CEO Tim Cook is giving up $75 million in dividends on restricted stock that the company is awarding to all of its employees.

Alibaba.com $2.5B privatization bid approved

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:59:20 -0400

Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group's $2.5 billion bid to take its Hong Kong-listed unit private was cleared Friday by minority shareholders, easing the way for CEO Jack Ma to gain more control over his company's destiny.

Web series touts funky concept snowboards

Wed, 16 May 2012 19:46:12 -0400

In the summer of 2010, Signal Snowboards created the Web series "Every Third Thursday" to showcase the company's experimentation with funky concept boards. Think Science Channel’s “How It’s Made” — except with a lot more sass and a funkier setting.

Dive right in with this summer’s hottest grilling gadgets

Sat, 26 May 2012 00:42:37 -0400

For many people, Memorial Day is a time to remember those who have fought for our country, enjoy a nice three-day weekend, and celebrate the unofficial start to summer. But for others — aka my family — Memorial Day sparks a … Continue reading →

Is this the world’s most epic marriage proposal?

Fri, 25 May 2012 18:53:25 -0400

Now we've seen our share of geeky marriage proposals in our day, but Isaac Lamb's insanely epic live lip-dub proposal may just be the most epically awesome "she said yes!" story of them all. The Portland actor had his brother sit girlfriend Amy … Continue reading →

7 Top Mashable Comments This Week

Sat, 26 May 2012 14:22:58 -0400

Mashable comments this week were more than fun to read. Our readers found many ways to express entertaining opinions while creating heated conversations.

Morgan Stanley may refund some Facebook investors

Thu, 24 May 2012 18:35:30 -0400

Morgan Stanley, the lead investment bank in Facebook's troubled initial public offering, will compensate retail investors who overpaid when they bought Facebook's stock in Friday's IPO, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Yahoo kills 'Livestand' just 6 months after debut

Fri, 25 May 2012 17:40:05 -0400

Yahoo has killed Livestand, a tablet magazine, just six months after its debut on the iPad.

Dragon makes history with space station docking

Fri, 25 May 2012 16:38:12 -0400

The private company SpaceX made history Friday with the docking of its Dragon capsule to the International Space Station, the most impressive feat yet in turning routine spaceflight over to the commercial sector.

New Google data show Microsoft's piracy problems

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:54:45 -0400

Google's Internet search engine receives more complaints about websites believed to be infringing on Microsoft's copyrights than it does about material produced by entertainment companies pushing for tougher online piracy laws.

Samsung Galaxy S III shines as this year’s biggest Android launch

Sat, 26 May 2012 13:00:00 -0400

It’s no shocker the Samsung Galaxy S III launch has been the talk of the town this week. Officially hitting stores May 29th, device pre-orders have taken off on Amazon and other retailers. The arrival of the Galaxy S III may have deterred other manufacturers from launching smartphones this week, but the Android PC market is still heating up. VIA has unveiled the APC 8750 with a low price to match its small stature. Even tinier is the MK802 from Rikomagic: a $74 computer hardly bigger than a thumbdrive.

Is Obama Really A 'Twoosh Master'? We Say No

Sat, 26 May 2012 16:05:17 -0400

The President called himself as a "Twoosh master," referring to when someone uses all 140 characters in a tweet, in a video from a Twitter Q&A he did on Thursday. We'd like to dispute his claim of social media mastery.

Spanish Soccer Scores a Goal on Social Media

Sat, 26 May 2012 14:56:12 -0400

When Mashable took a look at the English Premier League's social media side last week, the main takeaway was that the 2012 season marked the big social push of the world's most high-profile soccer league.

7 Top Mashable Comments This Week

Sat, 26 May 2012 14:22:58 -0400

Mashable comments this week were more than fun to read. Our readers found many ways to express entertaining opinions while creating heated conversations.

5 Startups Changing the World With Tech

Sat, 26 May 2012 13:39:37 -0400

In our social entrepreneurship series, The World at Work, Mashable interviews the faces behind the startups and projects that are working to make a global impact.

Top 10 Tech This Week [PICS]

Sat, 26 May 2012 13:21:15 -0400

Top 10 Tech is presented by Chivas. Access a world of exclusive insider benefits – private tastings, special events and the chance to win a trip for you and three friends to the Cannes Film Festival. Join the Brotherhood.

Samsung Galaxy S III shines as this year’s biggest Android launch

Sat, 26 May 2012 13:00:00 -0400

Who's Up Late Booking Memorial Day Weekend Hotel Rooms Online? [INFOGRAPHIC]

Sat, 26 May 2012 12:27:04 -0400

Did you impulsive book a hotel for Memorial Day weekend late at night, tired and groggy eyed? Whether it was because you needed an emergency place to crash for a night or you're a budget-conscious traveler who spotted an excellent last-minute deal, you're not alone. It turns out plenty of hotel patrons are reserving rooms after-hours.

12 Fantastic Memorial Day Weekend Instagram Shots [GALLERY]

Sat, 26 May 2012 11:51:23 -0400

Celebrating Memorial Day

Would You Use a Viewfinder Add-On for Your iPhone? [VIDEO]

Sat, 26 May 2012 11:25:25 -0400

Have you ever struggled with taking a picture outdoors on your iPhone because of the oppressive glare of the sun washing out the Retina display? A new Kickstarter project might have the perfect solution for you.

How To Organize A Social Media Day Meetup

Sat, 26 May 2012 11:00:57 -0400

Mashable‘s third annual Social Media Day is on Saturday, June 30, 2012!

7 Apps You Don't Want To Miss

Sat, 26 May 2012 10:49:11 -0400

Facebook Camera

Qello - Watch HD Music Concerts is like an exclusive backstage pass

Sat, 26 May 2012 10:00:00 -0400

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend pulled up a video on his iPad, Classic Album: Nevermind, a behind-the-scenes mini-doc about Nirvana’s seminal album and the legacy lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain has left behind. It was fascinating to learn the concept behind the video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and to hear interviews with band members Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl speaking candidly about Cobain’s apprehensions about fame. We were watching the video on Qello - Watch HD Music Concerts; it was my first foray into the wonderful world of this streaming concerts and music documentaries app. ...

Microsoft Puts $499 Barrier Between You and Windows Desktop Apps

Sat, 26 May 2012 09:56:00 -0400

The upcoming new version of Microsoft Windows, called Windows 8, will be an even bigger change from Windows 7 than Vista was from XP. You'll be able to use something like the traditional Windows desktop, but by default you'll use something called Metro, a simplified interface which looks sort of like Windows Phone and has animated square tiles.

Noise-Canceling Tech Lets You Quietly Dine in Noisy Restaurants [VIDEO]

Sat, 26 May 2012 09:51:51 -0400

How many times have you gone out for a fancy evening of food and revelry, and ended up spending the evening yelling into the ear of your dinner companion? An accomplished sound engineer has figured out a way to solve that problem, using technology similar to that of noise-canceling headphones.

'Sing Something' Is 'Draw Something' For Singers

Sat, 26 May 2012 09:20:56 -0400

Playing mobile games with your friends just got a little more vocal. Sing Something is like a combination of Draw Something and Karaoke -- it's a social singing game that has you sing a song from a selected category, and your friends try to guess what tune you were trying to belt out.

School Cellphone Ban Spawns Thriving Niche Storage Market

Sat, 26 May 2012 08:56:45 -0400

Mobile devices have become like wallets -- among the must-have items on your person when you leave the house. Teens are no exception to this rule, but for New York City's students, this poses a real problem.

'True Blood,' 'Twilight' Sink Teeth Into Social Media [INFOGRAPHIC]

Sat, 26 May 2012 08:24:07 -0400

TV critics predict True Blood, the hit HBO series about vampires and other superhuman characters, will dominate conversations online this summer. And while the show's plot is responsible for driving much of the dialogue across social networks, True Blood's social media tactics to engage viewers propels the buzz to another level.

Facebook Rolling Out 'Trending Videos' [REPORT]

Sat, 26 May 2012 07:56:51 -0400

Facebook users have encountered "trending articles" popping up in their news feeds for the past few weeks. This new feature highlights articles that are popular with your friends, ensuring you don't miss a hot story because it gets pushed down to the bottom of your feed.

Renesas aims to sell chip plant, shed 12,000 jobs: source

Sat, 26 May 2012 07:17:54 -0400

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics Corp plans to sell off loss-making operations and cut its payroll by at least 12,000, a source close to the matter told Reuters on Saturday, as the company battles high costs and nimbler foreign rivals. Sources also confirmed that Renesas, the world's largest maker of microcontroller chips for cars, aims to raise more than 100 billion yen ($1.3 billion) to pay for restructuring costs and will take the plan to Hitachi Ltd and its other major shareholders as early as next week. ...

Astronauts: SpaceX Dragon Has That 'New Car Smell'

Sat, 26 May 2012 07:11:19 -0400

A day after the unmanned SpaceX Dragon spacecraft berthed with the International Space Station and made aerospace history, NASA astronaut Donald Pettit was the first man inside the cargo-filled vessel. His first reaction?

Facebook IPO is flashback to dot-com class action

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:58:47 -0400

This is not the first time investors in a hot tech company's initial public offering have alleged that underwriters favored their regular clients at the expense of the little guys. In the tech bubble of the late 1990s, IPO investors became suspicious of the steep run-up in prices that seemed inevitably to follow a stock's debut. Eventually, some 309 IPO shareholder class actions were rolled into a giant multidistrict lawsuit called In re: Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation. ...

Dell’s first Windows 8 tablet revealed

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:15:07 -0400

After a number of failed attempts in the Android tablet market, Dell is looking to readdress the tablet space with Windows 8. According to a leaked document obtained by Neowin, Dell will launch a 10.8-inch tablet with 1,366 x 768-pixel resolution and a dual-core Atom processor later this year. The slate will also be equipped with a fingerprint reader, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, Intel graphics, 2GB of RAM and a massive 128GB solid-state drive. Unlike many other tablets, Dell has included a removable battery that will come in two sizes. A smaller battery will get between six and eight hours of battery life, while a larger one will offer between 10 and 12 hours of usage

Sony confirms Xperia Play will remain on Gingerbread due to gaming issues

Fri, 25 May 2012 22:00:20 -0400

Sony Mobile on Friday confirmed that it no longer plans to update its Xperia Play smartphone to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich due to compatibility issues with the device’s gaming features, Phone Scoop reported. “Ice Cream Sandwich demands more from the phone hardware than Gingerbread,” a Sony spokesperson said. “Android 4.0 is a more powerful OS and thus, more resource intensive – applications require more RAM, CPU power, and network bandwidth. From internal testing and feedback from the developer community on the beta ROM software release, we have seen a significant decline in user experience when running high performance games, as they are more demanding on the hardware. As gaming content is so integral to the core Xperia Play proposition, we cannot

PayPal inks mobile payment deal with 15 retailers

Fri, 25 May 2012 20:45:53 -0400

PayPal earlier this year announced a partnership with The Home Depot that allowed customers to make point-of-sale transactions with their smartphones in more than 2,000 locations. The e-commerce company on Thursday announced that 15 new national retailers have signed on for PayPal’s in-store mobile payment service. These include, Abercrombie & Fitch, Advance Auto Parts, Aeropostale, American Eagle Outfitters, Barnes & Noble, Foot Locker, Guitar Center, Jamba Juice, JC Penney, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Nine West, Office Depot, Rooms To Go, Tiger Direct and Toys“R”Us. “We can’t wait to launch with these great retailers, and help them serve their customers better through PayPal,” PayPal president David Marcus said. “Consumers are relying on technology now more than ever to simplify their lives when it comes

New telescope to be in South Africa, Australia

Fri, 25 May 2012 20:19:05 -0400

Australia and South Africa will share hosting of a giant radio telescope made up of thousands of separate dishes and intended to help scientists figure out the make-up of the universe, the international consortium overseeing the project announced Friday.

DigitalGlobe, GeoEye jump on nod for imagery funding

Fri, 25 May 2012 20:03:45 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - DigitalGlobe Inc and GeoEye Inc on Friday welcomed a decision by the Senate Armed Services Committee to authorize continued funding for commercial imagery purchases, a move that sent the two companies' shares sharply higher. Shares of DigitalGlobe rose as much as 10 pct while those of GeoEye jumped 9 percent in response to the first positive news for the sector in quite a while. Both DigitalGlobe and GeoEye provide digital imagery services to U.S. military and intelligence agencies and are working on next-generation satellites to double their capacity. ...

SEC eyes Nasdaq compliance in Facebook debacle

Fri, 25 May 2012 19:33:08 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Securities regulators are looking into whether Nasdaq violated any technical exchange rules when it botched Facebook Inc's market debut last week, according to people familiar with the matter. The review of potential technical violations is part of the Securities and Exchange Commission's broader look at how Nasdaq handled its part of the initial public offering, including its decision to proceed with trading despite glitches, these people said. The SEC is also reviewing Nasdaq's communications with market participants, one of those people added. ...

Facebook hit with another class action suit, this time over IPO debacle

Fri, 25 May 2012 19:30:36 -0400

Pennsylvania-based law firm Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP on Friday filed a class action lawsuit against Facebook regarding the handling of its initial public offering, which was made on March 18th. On the day of its IPO, the company was hit with a privacy-related class action lawsuit seeking $15 billion in damages. This new complaint, which was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges Facebook and multiple officers, directors and underwriters with violating the Securities Act of 1933 by failing to disclose or disregarding material adverse facts that were known to them. “The Complaint asserts that defendants failed to disclose at the time of the IPO that Facebook was then experiencing a severe and pronounced

Fallout from New Orleans Times-Picayune Announcement of Downsizing

Fri, 25 May 2012 18:54:00 -0400

Without a doubt, the Times-Picayune newspaper played a vital role in gathering and dissemination of news and information in Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina. The Pulitzer Prize-winning paper has served the New Orleans community for the past 175 years.