Movies, Music, Video Games, Social Networks and Lifestyle News And Reviews
Product reviews and news of digital entertainment products and services in movies, music, video games, game streaming, social networks and lifestyle products.
Times are tough all around these days, but shop wisely, and you can stretch a dollar into a double cheeseburger from McDonald's, a song on iTunes, or any number of items from your local dollar store. You can even buy the HTC First, otherwise known as the Facebook phone, with a dollar bill and have a shiny copper penny left over to toss in a wishing well where you can wish you would have purchased an HTC One instead. We're speculating here, but it appears AT&T and HTC are desperate to draw attention to the HTC First after a lackluster debut. Otherwise, it's hard to imagine AT&T dropping the price to $0.99 less than a month after debut, whereas previously it was selling for $100 with a...
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Do I look a little crazy to you? If I do, it's probably Facebook to thank, since I, and apparently many others, have "Internet addiction". Well, truth be told, I don't have an addiction to the extent that some do, as Dr. Uri Nitzan exposed in a paper published to the Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences this past fall. Some can become so addicted, that they become dependant on it, and can even head toward psychosis. In his study, Nitzan evaluated three people who became addicted to social networks - Facebook, namely - with all three recovering in the end thanks to proper treatment and care. Across his patients, Nitzan found three common links; these people felt lonely or vulnerable...
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Avast, makers of the popular free antivirus software of the same name, today announced that it has acquired Secure.me, a privacy protection company that's mostly focused on social network security and helping users to keep sensitive information private. Secure.me's Facebook security app, which uses sophisticated algorithms to analyze and alert Facebook users to actions that could harm their privacy, security, and reputation, is actually the most popular of its kind on the world's largest social networking site, making it an attractive target for Avast. "The acquisition reinforces AVAST's position as a worldwide leader in security,” said AVAST Chief Executive Officer Vincent Steckler. "By...
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At this point in time, it's pretty-well assured that the vast majority of people are getting a little annoyed by North Korea's ongoing antics, and while we'd love to see things settle down and people be reasonable, that's not the restrictive state's way. It seems that the country has only one outcome in mind, and for that reason, hacktivist group Anonymous has stepped-in in an attempt to annoy it right back. In the best way it knows how, Anonymous has begun targeting social networking accounts and websites related to the country, such as news site Uriminzokkiri and its related Flickr page. It also claims to have 15,000 usernames and passwords snatched from a North Korean university...
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We hardly need a study to tell us that mobile users are addicted to Facebook, but lest there be any doubt, a survey by International Data Corporation (IDC) puts the issue to rest. The survey, which was commissioned by Facebook, focuses on how smartphones and social keep us engaged, and there are some interesting findings. One in particular is just how far up the mobile food chain Facebook has climbed. The online survey pinged 7,446 U.S. adults ages 18-44 years old that own an iPhone or Android smartphone and found that 70 percent check Facebook on the go. There were only two other activities that were more popular: web browsing (73 percent) and email (78 percent). Facebooking from a smartphone...
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A few weeks back, the enthusiast community was abuzz after news broke that AMD’s Radeon HD 7000 series would remain “stable throughout 2013” and would be the company’s focus “for quite some time”. The wording of the initial news made it sound like AMD wouldn’t be releasing any new GPUs for the rest of the year and that it would further differentiate its offerings with only new game and software bundles. AMD convened a conference call to try and quell the rumors and better explain the company’s position at the time, but short of saying there were some new products in the pipeline, not much was said to clarify the situation. Well, here we...
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Microsoft has just joined the small list of companies that have experienced a cyberattack this past month, made all the more interesting due to the fact that it's the same one that Apple and Facebook suffered. Compared to Facebook's informative post, Microsoft's could be considered minimal, with the bulk of what's important seen below: "Consistent with our security response practices, we chose not to make a statement during the initial information gathering process. During our investigation, we found a small number of computers, including some in our Mac business unit, that were infected by malicious software using techniques similar to those documented by other organizations. We have no...
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Unidentified hackers have taken a bite out of Apple by infecting several Mac computers belonging to employees, the Cupertino company revealed today. The machines were infected when employees visited a hacked website intended for software developers. Apple believes those responsible are the same ones who attacked Facebook and other companies in recent days. According to Reuters, which has been in contact with Apple throughout the ordeal, the malware infects Mac machines by exploiting a flaw in Oracle's Java software used as a plug-in on web browsers. It's the same dirty code that was used in attacks against "other companies," though Apple refrained from specifying exactly how many firms had been...
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Here's an interesting idea: buying things on Twitter. And not just on Twitter, but through Twitter -- as in, Twitter is the transactional medium. It sounds like a crazy, bold idea, and it is. But, that's not stopping American Express from giving it a whirl. As many major corporations look for ideal ways to utilize social media to better service and engage clients as well as potential clients, AMEX is taking its "Sync" program to the next level. AMEX was already fairly savvy with technology. It already utilizes Sync in order to link AMEX cards to Foursquare accounts, allowing cardholders to receive occasional discounts if checking in at a location and then making a purchase with their AMEX card...
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Just as Instagram finished making its dramatic exit from Twitter, Pinterest stepped onto the scene with Twitter Card support. The feature means that you can put Pinterest photos in expanded tweets. Twitter has been working to improve the way images appear in its famously short messages, leading to Twitter Cards. This is good news for Twitter, which is likely to benefit from tweets in which users can see larger images without opening new tabs or pages. And Pinterest isn’t the first to get on board with Twitter Cards – in fact, Instagram was using the Cards API as well before leaving Twitter. But I have to wonder about how well this will work for Pinterest. If you can see an interesting...
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Calling the Alienware M18x R2 a laptop is like referring to a Harley Davidson as a bicycle. Both have handlebars and ride on two wheels, but when the rubber hits the road, the Harley's going to leave a Schwinn in the rear-view mirror. So it goes with the Alienware system we abducted from Dell. Technically, it's a gaming laptop, but more accurately, it's one hell of a desktop replacement that leaves lesser systems in the dust. Large and in charge, the 2012 model M18x retains the same spacious 18.4-inch LCD panel from last year. The display features a Full HD 1080p (1920x1080) screen resolution, which is nothing to write home about compared to the Retina Display Apple's been putting in...
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Security outfit Avast Software has partnered with Facebook to share its Virus Lab data with the social networking service. In doing so, Facebook now has access to Avast's real-time cloud database, which it will use to block malware from being shared unwittingly by its users. When you click on a link within Facebook, the URL checked in the cloud to determine whether its safe or infected, and if it's found to be compromised, a warning message will appear. "Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our users and their data. Beginning today, Facebook will be able to leverage Avast's feed of malicious URLs to augment our existing site integrity systems and those in our community will be able...
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Does the world have room for another Twitter? And moreover, does the world even want another Twitter? We're about to find out. What started as a nifty idea and a Kickstarter project has now been fully funded, with "App.net" reaching its $500,000 funding goal overnight. That means that Dalton Caldwell's project has enough money to really kick into overdrive, with a Twitter-like atmosphere of real-time global information streaming hitting its users. What's the primary difference? Well, it's a service dedicated to users, and devoid of advertisers. Many have questioning the stability and genuineness of Twitter now that advertisers are getting more deeply involved, and App.net seems to be an answer...
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By and large, Apple doesn't really "do" partnerships. The company likes to play pretty much all of its cards close, hence the vertical integration between software and hardware. So, it came as something of a surprise when Apple not only allowed access to Twitter on iOS 5, but integrated it so tightly into the mobile OS. Users can tap into Twitter as if it's a first-party service, which is hugely rare and unique in the Apple universe. Apple even tried its hand at a social network once with Ping, but that clearly went nowhere. Now, with iOS 6, Apple is enabling the same level of tight integration with Facebook. But, it seems the company's true love may be Twitter. As for now, Twitter is still a...
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