Last week security researchers published a way to skim Snapchat's full database, and it appears someone did it before the vulnerability was addressed. A website called SnapchatDB! has appeared posting SQL/CSV files that it claims contain the username ...
In the publish-or-perish world of academia, the pressure can be intense for scientists to get their work out in front of peers and to secure more funding for further research — so much so that, well, let's just say mistakes can happen.
Some mistakes are innocent, such as an accidental mislabeling of data or images that leads the researchers to an erroneous conclusion. Other mistakes reflect a serious lapse in ethics or common sense.
Mistakes often result in a scientific retraction, a public removal of the flawed paper from publication. A private, U.S.-based blog called Retraction Watch keeps track of such retractions, which seem to be on the rise these days. Below are five of the more curious retractions from 2013, culled from more than 100 listed on the Retraction Watch blog. Read more...
Though the $4 billion Star Wars franchise includes manga comics and animated TV shows, no official anime adaptation has ever come to fruition
Until Lucasfilm licenses an anime series, then we'll have to rely on the Internet to make our long-ago galactic dreams a reality
YouTube comedy channel Nacho Punch just tried its hand at an anime version of the series, bringing together Luke, Leia and and, unexpectedly, Japanese video game character MegaMan.
Nacho Punch has no affiliation with Lucasfilm, but we're hoping for more of this silly, but impressive nod to the franchise. The animation is strong with this one. Read more...
Samsung couldn't wait for CES to start leaking information about its new HDTVs, starting with the remote. After rolling out larger and larger contraptions over the years with more buttons (on both sides, even), this year's "Smart Control" model is 80 ...
Since 1999, millions of people have donated time on their personal computers for the SETI@home project, which analyzes radio signals to look for intelligent life in outer space.
An entrepreneur now wants people to donate time on their mobile phones for a less high-minded pursuit.
Lookout, a San Francisco maker of security software for mobile phones, has published a warning about a free app for Android devices called Bazuc, which pays people $0.001 for each text message they allow partner companies to send from users' mobile phones.
The app, which targets people with unlimited text-messaging plans, comes with a major hitch: Using it violates the terms of service for many mobile providers, and some people's phones have been cut off. One feature of Bazuc's service is it helps companies evade spam filters by sending messages through multiple user accounts. Read more...
Netflix likes to run small tests of features and packages before it offers them widely (like its new unified UI), and that includes the "1 SD stream for $6.99" some have started seeing recently. Another offer currently in testing covers the hole ...
For many city-dwellers, the last straw was the surge pricing Uber announced Monday, which could see the cost of cars rise eight-fold at midnight on New Years' Eve. For many more, it was the various other forms of surge pricing associated with the evening: the cost of a babysitter (if you can find one); the cost of drinks (if you can squeeze through the crowd to the bar); the Happy New Year hats and 2014 glasses (worth everything today and nothing tomorrow).
Year after year of noisy, urgent revelry on the last night of the year has left many of us wanting something more fulfilling to mark the passing of 2013 — especially given that it falls in the middle of the week. Yoga studios are reporting increasing numbers for silent midnight meditation. Celebrities such as Billy Crystal are trumpeting their plans for a quiet night in; he'll be talking to the grandkids on Skype Read more...
Human beings, being human, get anxious. We all do, except psychopaths. An estimated 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety of some form at any given time. Some of us get really, really anxious, like Scott Stossel, a writer and editor at the Atlantic whose memoir of a lifelong and often paralyzing struggle with the condition is about to be published. For those of us to whom anxiety is a more occasional visitor, the condition can be crippling.
There's a reason for performance anxiety, of course; it focuses the mind, and without it some of us would never complete anything. But there are real costs, as well: Anxiety has been shown to sap our working memory and information processing, the very capacities we need to perform well in any task that requires thinking. "Anxious negotiators make low first offers, exit early, and earn less profit than neutral state negotiators," writes Alison Wood Brooks, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School. "Similarly, anxious individuals seek out and rely more heavily on advice, even when the advice is obviously bad, because they do not feel confident in their own ability to make good judgments." Read more...
Sorry, Batman and Superman — you're so last year. 2014 is the year of Spider-Man
Spidey has been dubbed the official superhero of Times Square's New Year's Eve celebrations, the Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment announced Monday
The superhero will help ring in the new year to promote The Amazing Spider-Man 2 , slated for release on May 2. An exclusive clip from the upcoming film will debut during the celebrations on the video screens in the middle of Times Square
"There's no celebration like New Year's Eve in Times Square," Marc Webb, director of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 said in a Marvel Entertainment press release. "There's the sense of energy and excitement that you can only get in New York and we certainly felt that energy and excitement as we shot the entire film here. The people of New York City truly embraced our production, and it's a wonderful feeling to be returning to Times Square to ring in the New Year." Read more...
Great discussions are par for the course here on Lifehacker. Each day, we highlight a discussion that is particularly helpful or insightful, along with other great discussions and reader questions you may have missed. Check out these discussions and add your own thoughts to make them even more wonderful!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all ...
Apple has responded to documents that claim the U.SNational Security Agency has implemented a backdoor to access communications sent via the iPhone.
The company denies working with the NSA to create any so-called backdoors — lines of code in the OS that would allow the agency to remotely access, monitor or intercept communications on the phone.
Here's the company's full statement:
Apple has never worked with the NSA to create a backdoor in any of our products, including iPhone. Additionally, we have been unaware of this alleged NSA program targeting our products. We care deeply about our customers' privacy and security. Our team is continuously working to make our products even more secure, and we make it easy for customers to keep their software up to date with the latest advancements
Whenever we hear about attempts to undermine Apple's industry-leading security, we thoroughly investigate and take appropriate steps to protect our customers. We will continue to use our resources to stay ahead of malicious hackers and defend our customers from security attacks, regardless of who's behind them. Read more...
I loved my first semester in grad school, but it was also a complete whirlwind. While I had a great time, I also didn't do as well as I could have at managing time and logistics, and I finished the semester feeling pretty exhausted. Given what I've heard from others in grad school, I imagine that I'm not the only one ready for a break now that finals are over.
Because this time of year is all about making resolutions, I've been thinking a lot about what I can do to make next semester even better than this past one. Here are my goals for the next six months — I hope they inspire you to make some changes that will make your spring much more manageable, too. Read more...
A few years back, the 'Copenhagen Wheel' was one of a few innovations in cycling that were being proposed to try to make bicycle commuting easier. While it was just a concept in 2010, it is now a real product, with pre-orders being offered by manufacturer Superpedestrian.
The Copenhagen Wheel is a combination battery and motor that is installed on a Single Speed or 9/10 Speed Free Hub bicycle, converting it into an electric bike with a range of up to 50 km (31 mi) and a top speed of 25 mph (in the US; 25 km/h in the EU). It also provides regenerative braking and Bluetooth connectivity and iOS and Android integration.
For now, Superpedestrian is only selling the Copenhagen Wheel alone, so you'll need to provide your own bike to mount it on. However, the company says that they will soon be selling bikes already equipped with the Copenhagen Wheel. The early-bird pricing for the Copenhagen Wheel is $699 (regular price will be $799 according to the website).
Also previously on EcoGeek: Rubbee Turns Regular Bicycles into Electric Vehicles
Now that Dell is once again a private company, it's trying to shake off its reputation as a member of the status quo. Appropriately, the PC builder just unveiled a new TV ad that suggests it has all the energy and vision of a technology startup. The ...
Think it’s tough to fall asleep on earth? Just try to imagine what it’s been like for all the astronauts inhabiting the International Space Station (ISS) over the last 15 years. They experience day and night light patterns once every 90 minutes. Lighting can help. Even back on terra firma, people use lights to help lift spirits and regulate sleep when, say, the light is scarce in the winter
Now, a space-age solution is, figuratively, making the trip from the ISS to Earth thanks to Lighting Science. The company developed lighting technologies that sought to mimic natural light patterns and, as a result may be helping astronauts find some semblance of circadian rhythm normalcy. Prototypes featuring similar, LED-based technology were first installed on the ISS in 2008. Read more...
As the legions of cord cutters continue to grow, companies are looking for any way to keep customers tied to their increasingly archaic (and offensively priced) pay TV subscriptions. ABC is just the latest network to get in on the frustrating ...
No matter where you're ringing in the new year, you'll be able to watch a live stream of the festivities in New York City's Times Square right here on Mashable or via mobile apps
The commercial-free live stream — which begins at 5:55 p.m. ET and ends after the crystal ball drops at midnight to celebrate the beginning of 2014 — will include musical performances, celebrity interviews and the iconic ball drop atop the One Times Square building. The live stream will also debut footage from The Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie.
Mashable's Associate Entertainment Editor Brian Anthony Hernandez will be in Times Square documenting the action live. You can follow him on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Read more...
