Smartphone makers should help stem the tide of iPhones being swiped in the state, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said today.

Schneiderman sent letters to the heads of Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung asking them to help prevent theft and questioning why phones aren’t better protected from being resold on the black market.

He cited a rise in violent street crimes including phone thefts, often called “Apple picking.”

“I would like to know what Apple is doing to combat this growing public safety problem,” Schneiderman wrote in a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

He asked why “companies that can develop sophisticated handheld electronics, such as the products manufactured by Apple, cannot also create technology to render stolen devices inoperable and thereby eliminate the expanding black market.”

The NYPD has reported that smartphone thefts are increasingly on the rise in the city, even as other crime declines.

Thieves often swipe them from their owners’ hands – the subway is a frequent setting, just before doors close or on a platform – then wipe the devices and resell them for hundreds in cash.

According to Schneiderman’s office, between January and September of last year, 11,447 smartphones were reported swiped, an increase of 3,280 from the year before.

And too many of these robberies are violent, Schneiderman said.

This month, a woman was mugged at gunpoint in Crown Heights for her Android phone. In February, three people were stabbed on a Queens subway platform in a fight over the phone, and last April, a 26-year-old Museum of Modern Art chef was killed for his phone in the Bronx.

Schneiderman asked the companies to give information about what they tell consumers regarding safety. He also requested whether they financially benefit when customers have to shell out cash to replace stolen phones.

“Cracking down on violent and dangerous cell phone thefts is important for New Yorkers,” Schneiderman said. “The companies that dominate this industry have a responsibility to their customers to fulfill their promises to ensure safety and security.”

The post A.G. asks smartphone companies to help stop ‘Apple picking’ appeared first on Metro.us.

From the governor to New Yorkers visiting an ATM, this week’s cybercrime arrests are amping up cybersecurity efforts.

After several were charged in a $45 million ATM heist, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer released a report today about cybercrime, cautioning New Yorkers to be more careful, even during routine ATM withdrawals.

The report offers consumer tips on avoiding identity theft as well as suggestions on how to toughen laws.

“The stunning scope of this crime is a sobering wake-up call for New Yorkers, from the highest levels of the financial community to millions of citizens who need to feel secure when they use ATM machines,” Stringer said.

Today, Gov. Andrew Cuomo also announced a new Cyber Security Advisory Board, which will advise state officials on how to protect state infrastructure and information systems.

Cuomo also noted this week’s arrests.

“The need to increase cyber security to guard against these threats is urgent,” he said. “In the 21st century, almost all of our daily activities are linked to the internet – from banking to shopping to using our telecommunications networks and physical infrastructure systems.”

How to protect yourself against cybercrime:

• Always use your other hand to shield your hand typing in your PIN at an ATM.
• When you can’t see your credit card, for example at a hotel or restaurant, always use a credit card instead of a debit card. Credit card companies have stronger protections against fraud, Stringer said.
• Keep a firewall on your home computer to protect from hackers.
• Never open an email attachment from someone you don’t know or even forwarded attachments from people you do know.

The post After ATM heist, officials amp up cybersecurity efforts appeared first on Metro.us.

Mobile job search apps, which enable you to apply for a position from your phone, are popping up all over. Major search sites like Monster and Career Builder offer an app that lets you to browse postings, update your status and apply right from your phone. But is all this technology making the search for a new job easier, or is it just one more thing to keep track of?

According to Luis Salazar, more mobile application programs would mean a greater chance at job placement for many hourly workers. Salazar is co-founder and CEO of Jobaline, a mobile platform that connects job-seekers with companies. “The hourly workers, which are 59 percent of our economy, are especially left behind,” says Salazar.

“These important workers often either lack Internet access or only access the Web using mobile phones. When we bridge the gap by providing mobile recruitment tools that address job search needs, workers and employers alike will have the ability to find a better fit.”

Companies that create an app need to focus on keeping it concise and user-friendly. “A well-designed mobile recruitment system can reduce the amount of time and effort necessary for a candidate to apply, leading to higher application rates and fewer orphaned applications,” explains Mahe Bayireddy, CEO of iMomentous, a mobile talent recruiter.

“By integrating with DropBox, Google Drive, and social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn, applying for a job through mobile can be simple. Forms that once took upward of 20 minutes to complete can be automatically pulled from existing profiles,” Bayireddy says. Like so many other technological advances, if you’re not keeping up with the times, you’re falling behind.

“Five years from now, it’s impossible for us to imagine a world where most job searches and applications will not happen through a mobile device,” says Proven’s CEO, Pablo Fuentes. Proven is a job search app that lets users send résumés to job sites. “Today, people are doing banking, travel, and taxes on their phone. Tomorrow, mobile will be the standard for job searches.” Julia west

The post Put the ‘app’ in job application appeared first on Metro.us.

A Dutch web hosting company has been accused of orchestrating the biggest-ever attack on the Internet that dramatically slowed web access around the world Tuesday.

The web hosting company Cyberbunker is said to be receiving support from criminal gangs in Russia and Eastern Europe to bombard servers with gigantic amounts of traffic in a bid to make the web inaccessible.

The allegations have been made by London-based Spamhaus, a company that attempts to block junk emails across the Internet.

Steve Linford, chief executive of Spamhaus, told the BBC that its servers had been hit by a denial of service attack at 300 gigabytes per second for the last week. He said attacks on the past that have blocked, for example, banking services, were only at 50Gb per second.

He said the attacks were being investigated by five national police services around the world.

The post Cyberbunker: Dutch web hosting company accused of biggest-ever attack on Internet appeared first on Metro.us.

T-Mobile is getting the iPhone 5 – finally.

The company announced Tuesday that it will offer the iPhone 5 for a $99.99 down payment and $20 each month for 24 months. T-Mobile is the last major carrier to sell the iPhone.

“This is an important day for people who love their iPhones but can’t stand the pain other carriers put them through to own one,” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile USA. “We feel their pain. I’ve felt the pain. So we’re rewriting the rules of wireless to provide a radically simple, affordable iPhone 5 experience – on an extremely powerful network.”

Customers can preorder the iPhone 5 through the pre-registration page here.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

The post Finally, T-Mobile is getting the iPhone 5 appeared first on Metro.us.

Google Reader, one of the best-known RSS feeds, is shutting down come July 1.

The feature, which users used to pull together content from their favorite websites, will only be up for a few more months.

“While the product has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined,” said Google Vice President Urs Holzle in a post on the official Google blog about the closing of Reader.

For the next four months, users can port their current content to another RSS feed by using Google Takeout.

According to CNN the move is a part of a massive “spring cleaning” that Google began n 2011. Google has shut down 70 of its products in part of the “spring cleaning.”

“It’s been a long time since we have had this rate of change – it probably hasn’t happened since the birth of personal computing 40 years ago. To make the most of these opportunities, we need to focus – otherwise we spread ourselves too thin and lack impact,” Holzle wrote in his blog post.

Within hours of the announcement, there were multiple online petitions to save Google Reader.

As of Thursday afternoon more than 66,000 people have signed the “Google: Keep Google Reader Running” petition on Change.org.

“Our confidence in Google’s other products — Gmail, YouTube, and yes, even Plus — requires that we trust you in respecting how and why we use your other products,” wrote Dan Lewis, of New York City, who created the petition. “This isn’t just about our data in Reader. This is about us using your product because we love it, because it makes our lives better, and because we trust you not to nuke it.”

Other options:

There are other RSS feed options, some of which are recently launched. Feedly and Pulse offer web-based feeds but also have mobile apps for Apple’s iOS and Android.

Flipboard released a statement Thursday which said they will allow users to directly import their Google Reader content to their platform.

If you read your RSS Reader on multiple devices, you should probably opt for a could-based reader such as NetVibes.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

The post Google Reader to shut down, other options available appeared first on Metro.us.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been working to position New York City as one of the world’s greatest tech capitals, and his most recent initiative showcased some of the city’s youngest and most dynamic in the industry: a registry of hundreds of “Made in NY” start-ups.

The nearly 1,000 companies on the mayor’s list have harnessed the creative energy of the city to power a wide array of businesses, from online dating to eyewear, in ways that are as unique as the city they call home. Metro looked at four of the proud Made in New York businesses below.

Songza

The guys behind Songza are, in some ways, the literal posterboys for the mayor’s Made in NY platform: their photo is featured in many of the ads plastered around the city.

Songza is a music-streaming website, but Elias Roman, one of its creators, sees it as more of a “lifestyle service.” Songza offers a selection of playlists based on possible moods you could be in given the time of day.

There are no algorithms or “computer deciding what songs go on what playlists,” Roman said. The playlists featured on Songza are “hand-curated” by a team of “30 curators around New York who are just the best of the best.”

Songza has been proudly based out of Long Island City since 2007, and Roman says the neighborhood continues to perfectly suit them.

“We get our own space to be weird, to find out who we are and deliver that to users,” Roman said.

HowAboutWe co-founder Aaron Schildkrout meets with a colleague in their offices in DUMBO. (Credit: Scout Tufankjian.)

HOWABOUTWE.com

How About We is an online dating website placing more emphasis on the “dating” than the “online.”

“We had the idea that people believe in experience, they want to do things,” says owner Aaron Schildkrout. “It’s just cooler to meet based on the idea of actually going on a date in the real world than the idea of endlessly browsing profiles or chatting online forever, or ‘winking,’ whatever.”

Users sign up and propose date ideas, then are matched up with people with similar date ideas. Schildkrout describes the interface as “a lot like a Twitter stream, but it’s of dates.”

How About We is launching a new service for couples exclusively in New York: members go on free, “beautiful curated” dates monthly, Schildkrout explained.

How About We is based out of DUMBO, a location that Schildkrout said is “perfect.”

“It’s kind of the bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn, and we wanted to attract people from both areas,” Schildkrout said. “It’s kind of a great middle ground in that sense, and there’s also a really vibrant start-up culture here.”

(HowAboutWe.com.)

Warby Parker

Neil Blumenthal started Warby Parker with some friends while they were still in graduate school at Wharton in 2010, but moved the operation to the city immediately upon graduation.

As a native New Yorker, Blumenthal explained, “it’s hard to live anywhere else.”

The idea for Warby Parker came about when Blumenthal and his friends realized “glasses cost as much as an iPhone,” and decided to “find the frames that we love and make them from premium materials but charge $95 instead of $500.”

Warby Parker’s Soho showroom now brings in the same amount of sales for square foot that Tiffany’s does.

The Freelancer’s Union offices in DUMBO. (Credit: Scout Tufankjian.)

Freelancers Union

Freelancers Union is essentially an insurance company, but for the ubiquitous kind of New Yorker most insurance companies would scoff at: the (sometimes-struggling) freelancer.

Started in 1995, Freelancers Union now has over 200,000 members.

“I grew up in Brooklyn and have lived here my whole life,” said founder and CEO Sara Horowitz, explaining how she saw the need for the service. “I saw that my neighbors were piecing together their work lives in new ways — the accountant who sings opera at night, the nanny who builds websites.”

Now, Horowitz says, one in three workers is independent.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Start-Up City: a look at the city’s dynamic entrepreuneurs appeared first on Metro.us.

The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI caught everyone by surprise, except his employer.

We caught up with God, aka David Javerbaum, the 11-time Emmy winning comedian who runs the popular @TheTweetOfGod account and author of ‘The Last Testament: A Memoir by God’.

Q: @TheTweetOfGod Popes don’t resign – has ex-Benedict incurred your wrath by doing this or did you fire him?

A: @Metro I’m not angry. In the end it came down to “creative differences”, in that I am infinitely creative and he is different.

@TheTweetOfGod In his final speech he said at tough times “it seemed the Lord was sleeping”. Were you ducking his calls?

@Metro No, he was right. I was sleeping. It was the seventh day of the week. How does he not know what I do on the seventh day? #genesis1bennyboy

@TheTweetOfGod What score would you give his reign?

@Metro I’d give it an IV out of X.

@TheTweetOfGod Are you concerned about the vacuum now he’s gone? Who will you speak through on earth now?

@Metro I will continue to speak through the mentally ill and/or con men, and by “and” I mean conservative Republicans.

@TheTweetOfGod How is recruitment for a replacement going – and who would be your ultimate fantasy pope?

@Metro No comment on who the new Pope might be. Obviously My fantasy would be ‘Poprah’. But she won’t return My calls.

@TheTweetOfGod The pope had a strong social media game – how will you bring the Vatican more in line with the digital era?

@Metro It’s pretty hard to bring the “digital era” to a place where, as the names of the Pope indicate, they don’t even have digits.

@TheTweetOfGod Will you be reclaiming the Popemobile?

@Metro Not reclaiming, but fixing up. I’m giving it racing stripes, lowriders, and an engine that runs on holy water and Jesus-body.

@TheTweetOfGod Off topic but who are you most keen to send to hell?

@Metro My bill collector. Satan owes me 500 years’ back rent.

The post Exclusive interview with ‘God’: ‘Pope was a IV out of X’ appeared first on Metro.us.

Mozilla, makers of the popular Firefox Internet browser, is preparing to challenge Google and Apple’s grip on smartphone software.

A new Firefox operating system for mobile devices is set for a July release after winning the backing of 13 wireless service providers around the globe, including Spain’s Telefonica, China Unicom and America Movil.

Mozilla is betting there’s room for a software developer-friendly mobile platform alongside Apple’s and Google’s Android, which together power the majority of mobile devices on the planet.

The new software is based on open Web standards and is capable of operating on devices with much lower hardware requirements than today’s existing crop of smarpthones, according to Mozilla.

Because the Firefox OS is open-source and Web-based, third-party developers will be free to sell mobile applications without needing to share revenue with Apple or Google.

“There’s a strategic imperative for the industry to have another OS that really is open and supports choice and competition,” said Mozilla’s Senior Vice President of Products, Jay Sullivan.

Mozilla will showcase some of the first hardware devices based on that software at the Mobile World Congress, taking place in Barcelona this week. Among the brands that have signed on to make devices based on Firefox OS are South Korea’s LG, China’s ZTE and Huawei.

Unlike Google and Apple’s operating systems, which are built from proprietary technology, Firefox OS uses the HTML5 standard that Web services are built with. That means anyone familiar with Web programming can create Firefox OS apps.

Whether a smartphone built on Web standards can deliver the kind of performance that consumers expect remains to be seen. Facebook famously stopped using HTML5 to develop its iPhone app last year, with Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg saying the technology couldn’t deliver acceptable quality and calling a decision to use HTML5 for its app one of Facebook’s “biggest mistakes.”

The post Firefox takes on smartphone powers Apple, Google appeared first on Metro.us.

Almost seven years after Playstation 3, Sony announced their next generation home video game console, the Playstation 4 but remained mum on a lot of the details — including what it looked like and how much it cost.
Is this a game changer, so to speak?
There will be some major changes in the digital and social gaming sphere, but only time will tell if the PS4 is exactly what the market needs to re-spark interest.
One thing is for sure: It will be fast. Sony is hoping to create the fastest-gaming network. This all aided by an 8-core CPU, enhanced PS GPU and 8GB of RAM, which will be on a newly designed console that we haven’t seen yet.
Can I stream games?
Sony is focusing on digital content. Users can “live stream” games, meaning they can play them while the rest is being downloaded. In addition, your PS4 can learn your likes and dislikes and suggest games that would be appealing to you.
You’ll also have all the traditional apps that are available on the PS Network including Netflix, Hulu Plus, Epix and Amazon.
What games do I have to look forward to?
Some titles that were previewed include “Killzone: Shadow Fall,” an MMO racing game called “Drive Club,” “inFamous Second Son,” a puzzle game by the makers of “Braid” called “The Witness,” and a new Capcom game called “Deep Down,” which will feature a new game engine codenamed Panta Rhei.
Blizzard also announced “Diablo III” for PS3 and PS4, and Bungee (the “Halo” creator) is returning back to Sony. They’ve partnered with Activision for a shooter game named “Destiny,” which will be available for PS3 and PS4.

Oh, and Square Enix will be debuting a “Final Fantasy” title at E3 this year. No big deal.
Will it still have the classic Playstation controller?
Nope! The PS4’s new controller has two notable additions: a touchpad like the PS Vita and a share button, which is explained in the social media features below.
So should I switch from Xbox?
That depends. There’s no doubt that the PS4 has made strides in the digital world both in speed and realistic gameplay. It’s quite advanced compared to the Xbox 360.
However, with Microsoft rumored to launch the next generation Xbox in time for Christmas 2013 as well, it might be worth waiting to make up your mind.
Can it play all my old PS3 games?
Sorry, PS3 games will not be supported on PS4. But, one upside is you should be able to play your PS4 games both on your TV and Vita screens. Eventually, all PS4 titles will have this capability.

Don’t mourn your PS3 games just yet: Sony hopes that cloud technology will make it possible to play Playstation, PS2 and PS3 hits on your PS4 in the future. They’re starting a cloud service that will be introduced in stages.

What are the social media features?
Sony is making a play to combine the multi-user gaming experience with social networking. You’ll be allowed to share screenshots, video clips and watch your friends play live. Friends can comment on your game play and join in on your game from a remote location.
When can I get my hands on one?
It will launch Holiday 2013.
How much will it cost?
No price yet!

The post Sony unveils new PlayStation4 console appeared first on Metro.us.

Apple Inc computers were attacked by the same hackers who targeted Facebook Inc, but no data appeared to have been stolen, the company said on Tuesday in an unprecedented admission of a widespread cyber-security breach.

Facebook revealed on Friday that unidentified hackers traced to China had staged a sophisticated attack by infiltrating its employees’ laptops, but no user information was compromised.

Apple, which is working with law enforcement to track down the hackers, told Reuters that only a small number of its employees’ Macintosh computers were breached, but “there was no evidence that any data left Apple.”

The iPhone and iPad maker said it would release a software tool later on Tuesday to protect customers against the malicious software used in the attacks.

Cyber-security attacks have been on the rise. In last week’s State of the Union address, U.S. President Barack Obama issued an executive order seeking better protection of the country’s critical infrastructure from cyber attacks.

The post Apple hit by hackers who targeted Facebook last week appeared first on Metro.us.

Will Sony announce the new Playstation 4 on February 20, six years and counting since the Playstation 3 (an eternity in tech years)?
The official word from the company has yet to come down, but several things are “known.” If announced, a new system could feature a new control with touch pad capabilities, like the PS Vita. It could allow more than one user to log in at the same time. You should be able to stream games and content, It’s probable it will have a more advanced motion support system.
One thing is a fact: This is Sony’s attempt to bring interest back into the home gaming market and quash their competitors Nintendo and Microsoft once and for all, especially in the U.S.
“Playstation 4 could potentially help reignite some interest in the retail console gaming market and top systems, much of the thunder of which has been stolen by smartphones, tablets, and alternative gaming devices,” Scott Steinberg, a consultant for the gaming industry, tells us.
In order to reenergize the video game market, Sony needs to innovate more than the power and performance they have relied on in the past. Manufactures need to consider the online multiplayer experience, expand to include more free-to-play games, provide more digital downloads and think about what sort of signature franchise — games that won’t be available on any other console — they want to provide.
“It’s not like every system doesn’t deliver top notch experiences, but if you look at where Microsoft really scored it was by delivering premium multiplayer experiences, a variety of digital media — not just games — and top notch, premium what we call in the industry “triple A” franchises,” Steinberg explains.
“They are really angling for (the Playstation 4 to be) a piece of your living room, not only as a gaming device but a digital lifestyle hub,” he adds.

Going down
Video game retail sales numbers have been going down for quite some time. In the United States — the top video game market — the NPD Group reported that sales in December 2012 dropped 22 percent compared to sales at the same time in 2011. The downward trend continued in January 2013, which was 9 percent lower than the same time in 2012.

Still, there’s plenty of potential: DFC Intelligence predicted that the worldwide gaming industry — which includes video, PC and mobile games and devices — will grow from $67 billion in 2012 to $82 billion in 2017.

The post Will a new Playstation 4 be announced? appeared first on Metro.us.

It’s almost Valentine’s Day and love is in the air, folks, it’s everywhere.

One happy couple opened up to Mashable on how they found love on Instagram.

Mashable introduced the world to Santiago Perez Grovas and Taylor Dee, both of which are Instagram sensations with more than 70,000 and 18,000 followers respectively.

Grovas owns his own architecture firm in Mexico City, and Dee is a waitress in Colorado. With so many followers, both Grovas, 26, and Dee, 22, frequently had photos featured on the ‘most popular’ page of Instagram. That’s how Dee found Grovas. Mashable calls them the “Jay-Z and Beyonce of the social photo-sharing site.”

The funny thing is, though, when Dee first saw Grovas’ photos, she thought he was a girl. Many of his photos features other females, so she assumed the user was a girl.

“Wow, this girl’s amazing! I love her pictures,” Dee told Mashable. “And then he posted a picture of himself and I realized he was a guy.”

The two finally met in person after Dee won a photo competition Grovas posted on Instagram. Many instant messages and FaceTime sessions later, Grovas visited Dee in Denver.

They spent a week together, but then reality kicked in and Grovas flew back to Mexico.

The couple told Mashable they have been dating for about eight months now and Dee plans to take flight attendant lessons so they can save money on airfare.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

The post Instalove: Here’s the couple that fell in love on Instagram appeared first on Metro.us.

Signaling his hopes for a fresh start for the company that pioneered on-your-hip email, Chief Executive Thorsten Heins also said RIM was abandoning the name it has used since its inception in 1985 to take on the name of its signature product.

“From this point forward, RIM becomes BlackBerry.” Heins said at the New York launch. “It is one brand; it is one promise.”

RIM launched its first BlackBerry back in 1999 as a way for busy executives to stay in touch with their clients and their offices, and the Canadian company quickly cornered the market for secure corporate and government email.

But its star faded as competition rose. The BlackBerry is now a far-behind also-ran in the race for market share, with a 3.4 percent global showing in the fourth quarter, down from 20 percent three years before. Its North American market share is even worse: a mere 2 percent in the fourth quarter.

RIM said the first of the new BlackBerrys will be available on Thursday in Britain, with other countries following as carriers complete their testing.

In the U.S. market, which sets trends that other countries follow, the BlackBerry Z10 touchscreen device will go on sale in March. U.S. carrier Verizon Wireless said the phone would cost $199 for a two-year contract, while Canada’s Rogers Communications is quoting C$149 ($150) for certain three-year plans.

SHARES SLUMP

RIM shares initially rallied on Wednesday, but soon fell as much as 8 percent below Tuesday’s close. The stock is down 90 percent from its 2008 peak as the BlackBerry has lost ground to rival devices. But in the last four months its volatile shares have more than doubled as buzz grew about the new devices.

“It was such a well-advertised launch date that people moved the stock up and then they took profits ahead of when it was going to be revealed,” said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at Macdougall, Macdougall and Mactier in Toronto.

“For RIM, it’s a normal stock market day. It would have been an abnormal stock market day if it had got cut in half or something.”

The legal name change to BlackBerry from Research In Motion takes affect after shareholders approve the decision, but the company already plans to do business under the BlackBerry name.

“We want our employees to say, ‘I work for BlackBerry.’ Our customers to say, ‘I own a BlackBerry.’ Our shareholders to say, ‘I own BlackBerry stock,’” said chief marketing officer Frank Boulben. “We want to become what I’d call a branded house versus a house of brands.”

The new BlackBerry 10 phones will compete with Apple’s iPhone and devices using Google’s Android technology, both of which have soared above the BlackBerry in a competitive market.

The BlackBerry 10 devices boast fast browsers, new features, smart cameras and, unlike previous BlackBerry models, enter the market primed with a large application library, including services such as Skype and the popular game Angry Birds.

The new devices are sleek black numbers, one with the small “qwerty” keyboard that RIM made into its trademark, and one a pure touchscreen device that looks much like those its competitors already produce.

“QWERTY” DEVICE IN APRIL

The Q10 “qwerty” device will launch later than the Z10 touchscreen. Heins said it would hit global markets in April.

RIM picked a range of venues for its global launch parties, including Dubai’s $650-a-night Armani Hotel, which occupies six floors of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower.

The New York event took place in a sprawling basketball facility on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, just north of the Manhattan Bridge. The Blackberry has been “Re-designed. Re-engineered. Re-invented,” RIM said.

RIM, which is splurging on a Superbowl ad to promote its new phones, also introduced Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Alicia Keys as its global creative director.

“I was in a long-term relationship with BlackBerry, and then I started to notice some new, kind of hotter, attractive, sexier phones at the gym, and I kind of broke up with you for something that had a little more bling,” Keys said at the New York launch.

“But I always missed the way you organized my life, and the way you were there for me at my job, and so I started to have two phones – I was kind of playing the field. But then … you added a lot more features … and now, we’re exclusively dating again, and I’m very happy.”

The post RIM changes name, unveils BlackBerry 10 in comeback bid appeared first on Metro.us.

Speaking to reporters at its Menlo Park, California headquarters, Zuckerberg described what he called “graph search,” which allows users to sort through content that has been shared with them.

Critics have long deemed the social network’s current search capabilities inadequate.

Available as a “beta” or early version now, the new feature – dubbed “graph search” because Facebook refers to its growing content, data and membership as the “social graph” – will initially let users sort through mainly photographs, people, places and members’ interests, he added.

“You need to be able to ask the query, like, who are my friends in San Francisco,” Zuckerberg said.

The world’s largest online social network, Facebook is moving to regain Wall Street’s confidence in the wake of a rocky IPO and concerns about its long-term money-making prospects.

Speculation had approached fever pitch over the past week about what Facebook planned to reveal in its highest-profile news briefing since its market debut. Guesses had ranged from a long-rumored smartphone to a full Web-search product.

That anticipation, as well as expectations of strong fourth-quarter financial results, have helped drive up Facebook’s stock. Its shares are up more than 15 percent since the start of the year.

On Tuesday, its stock was off 0.3 percent at $30.84.

The post Facebook’s big reveal: a search feature appeared first on Metro.us.

“Last of Us”
System: PS3
Release Date: May 7th
Uncharted and its two sequels are among the best looking, and best playing, games on the PS3. The company that created Nathan and Sully are back, this time trading in treasure hunting for, um, surviving a horrendous apocalypse. Early reports indicate this title looks and plays great, with people likening it to a video game version of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road.”

“Pikmin 3″
System: Wii U
Release Date: Spring
It’s been nine years since Captain Olimar and his lovable Pikmin have graced a video game console. What to expect with this new installment? More of the same strategy and exploration you know and love, this time with an HD coat of paint. All of the Pikmin will fight and die at your hand!

PS4/Xbox 720
Neither of these next-gen consoles have been officially unveiled but the rumor mill is gristling so hard it’s about to fall off. In any event, all will be revealed by May’s E3 expo. Our guess? The Xbox will be available in time for Christmas but the PS4 will lag until next year.

The post The best picks for gaming in 2013 appeared first on Metro.us.

Have you ever been honked at by an angry cab driver after you started crossing the street against the signal because you were sending a text?

Do you automatically pull up your emails when your date excuses herself to the restroom — or while she is still sitting across from you at the table?

We’re all guilty of being tech-dependent, at least more than we were just six or seven years ago. A Tumblr that puts our society into a jarring perspective is making the rounds today. We Never Look Up features a collage of images of people staring down at their cell phones, seemingly detached from their surroundings.

The blog’s creator, a researcher who lives in Helsinki, Finland, snapped all of the photos himself. He didn’t want to share his identity, but told Metro in an email, “For a while now, I have noticed this behavior when commuting to work and back. At one point I even myself was guilty of it.”

He added, “Having read a lot of statistics and reports about the amount of smart phones/cellphones in the world I started to think that it would be great to somehow make this concrete. That’s when I got the idea for a photo project.”

He stopped short of criticizing those who are glued to their smartphones and clarified that the blog is really meant to make people more aware of their tech use.

“I’m not saying it is a negative thing, when done safely. It’s just that we need to be aware of that times change, and behavior as well,” he said. “But in social context, with friends, etc., it’s kind of rude to finger on your mobile the whole time. My message is not to judge, just to make this behavior concrete.”

Look familiar?

(Images via We Never Look Up)

The post We Never Look Up: New Tumblr illustrates our tech-dependent society appeared first on Metro.us.

The company will spend more than $100 million to build the computers in the United States, Cook was cited as saying in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek.

“This doesn’t mean that Apple will do it ourselves, but we’ll be working with people and we’ll be investing our money,” Cook said.

He told NBC in an interview to be aired late Thursday that only one of the existing Mac lines would be manufactured exclusively in the United States.

Higher-tech products are largely made overseas, often in subcontracted factories not owned by the brands whose products they are making.

Cheaper labor costs have been key in encouraging U.S. manufacturers to have move production to China, but with Chinese wage and transport costs increasing, the advantage against the U.S. has narrowed in recent years.

The post Apple to return some Mac production to U.S. in 2013 appeared first on Metro.us.

The social media giant has rolled out a brand new feature that now puts your Facebook relationship on full display in the form of a “couples page.” It’s essentially the same feature as the “see friendship” option that lets you look at shared photos, wall posts, comments and other Facebook history between you and a friend. The “couples page” just chronicles all the same things for you and your love bug specifically.

Except it comes with its own nifty little link: Facebook.com/us

Relax, this page is for the couple’s eyes only — only you and your Facebook significant other can see your own “couples page.”

The new feature, which has only been active for a few days, prompted shock and bewilderment among those clicking on the link for the first time and seeing the automatically-generated page, chronicling every interaction between the couple on Facebook.

Creepy at first for many, but the potential is there to spend hours strolling down the digital memory lane, browsing all your birthday wishes to each other, and those funny photos from Halloween senior year. And look — remember how many people “liked” your status when you announced your engagement?

If the new feature is just too invasive to bear, unfortunately there isn’t much you can do about it. The pages cannot be deleted, but you can and should adjust your privacy settings to control who sees your posts and photos on your individual walls. If certain stories are hidden from your own timeline, they will not appear on your couples page.

The post Are you in a relationship on Facebook? Introducing the ‘couples page’ appeared first on Metro.us.

“We’ve reimagined Windows and we’ve reimagined the whole PC industry,” Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer told Reuters Television early Thursday ahead of the launch.

Windows 8 devices and the company’s new Surface tablet, which aims to challenge Apple’s popular iPad head on, go on sale at midnight on Thursday.

Steven Sinofsky, head of Microsoft’s Windows unit and the driving force behind Windows 8, opened the launch event in New York in front about 1,000 media and PC industry partners.

He showed off Windows 8′s new look, but stressed that the system was built upon the base of Windows 7, Microsoft’s best-selling software that recently passed 670 million license sales.

The new design of Windows, which dispenses with the Start button and features square tiles for apps, may surprise some users. Initial demand appeared solid, but customers were wary.

Early reviews of the Surface tablet were mixed, with praise for its slick hardware, but concerns about battery life and limited software and applications available.

“We’ve seen steady pre-order sales on Windows 8 devices from early adopters,” said Merle McIntosh, senior vice president of product management at online electronics retailer Newegg. “However, we expect that most average consumers are waiting until after launch to make a purchase decision.”

Investors were uncertain about the prospects for success of Windows 8, but many feel a solid launch could help Microsoft’s stock, which has languished between $20 and $30 for much of the last decade.

Apple’s shares have significantly outperformed Microsoft’s over the past 10 years, and its market value is now more than double Microsoft’s. Microsoft was little changed at $27.87; Apple fell 0.7 percent at $612.73.

“This really is about debunking the notion that Microsoft is a dinosaur and they are relevant in a new climate of tablets and mobile,” said Todd Lowenstein, portfolio manager at HighMark Capital Management, which holds Microsoft shares.

“Extreme pessimism and almost utter failure is priced into the shares, so any kind of positive delivery on units, customer perception, would be really beneficial to the stock.”

The post Microsoft unveils Windows 8, Surface tablet appeared first on Metro.us.

The 7.9 inch “iPad mini” marks Apple’s first foray into the smaller-tablet segment. Apple also announced a fourth-generation full-sized iPad with improvements in graphics and processing speeds, just two days before Microsoft is due to show off its own “Surface” tablet.

Apple hopes to beat back their charge onto its home turf of consumer electronics hardware, while safeguarding its lead in the larger 10-inch tablet space that even deep-pocketed rivals like Samsung Electronics have found tough to penetrate.

Chief Executive Tim Cook kicked off Tuesday’s event, held at the opulent California Theater in San Jose, by touting the just-launched iPhone 5 as the fastest-selling smartphone in history. He added that there are now 200 million devices running iOS6, the fastest upgrade rate he has seen since the mobile software was launched about a month ago.

Amazon’s Kindle and Google’s Nexus 7 have grabbed a chunk of the lower end of the tablet market and proved demand for a pocket-sized slate exists. That has forced Apple into a space it has avoided and at times derided, analysts say.

A smaller tablet would mark the first device to be added to Apple’s compact portfolio under Cook, who took over from co-founder Steve Jobs just before his death.

“Apple sensed early that they had a real winner with the iPad and that has proven to be correct,” said Lars Albright, co-founder of mobile advertising startup SessionM and a former Apple ad executive. “They have a large market share, and to protect that market share they have got to be innovative.”

In a rarity for a company that tightly controls events, Apple live-streamed its invitation-only presentation – where it is expected to unveil the mini tablet – to Apple devices such as the iPad and Macintosh computers.

Apple Inc will sell its new 7.9-inch “iPad mini” for $329 and up, higher than some industry observers had expected.

The company said online sales will begin on Friday and shipments start a week later.

Wall Street analysts have said for months that Apple was planning a less expensive version of the iPad to take on cheaper competing devices, a move they say might hurt its margins but prevent its rivals from dominating an increasingly important segment.

The post Apple unwraps mini-iPad to take on Amazon, Google; will go on sale Friday appeared first on Metro.us.

Facebook has faced a rough debut since its May initial public offering. Investors and analysts have fretted about a sharp slowdown in its revenue growth. Shares of Facebook remain well below the $38 debut price.

Facebook, based in Menlo Park, California, hit the 1 billion milestone on September 14 at 12:45 p.m. Pacific time, the company said on its website. It added that it had 600 million mobile users, according to a fact sheet posted on its website.

In an interview on NBC’s “Today” show broadcast on Thursday, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg was asked by co-anchor Matt Lauer about how, with 1 billion users, the company wasn’t “killing it,” making money.

“I think it depends on your definition of ‘killing it.’ I mean we are making billions of dollars,” Zuckerberg said. Facebook reported that revenue increased by 32 percent to $1.18 billion in the second quarter.

The 28-year-old CEO talked about the growth potential from mobile users. “There’s 5 billion people in the world who have phones, so we should be able to serve many more people and grow the user base there,” he said.

The 1 billion user count is up from the end of June, when it had 955 million active monthly users.

The company also said it has seen 1.13 trillion “likes,” or endorsements by users, since the company launched the feature in February 2009. Many advertising campaigns that companies conduct on Facebook are designed to garner “likes.”

It said 219 billion photos were uploaded as of September. Excluding deleted photos, about 265 billion photos have been uploaded since 2005.

About 17 billion location-tagged posts were made on the website, Facebook said, and 62.6 million songs have been played 22 billion times since September 2011.

The median age of a Facebook user was 22, it said, and the top five user countries were Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico and the United States.

The new data came a day after the company said it was letting U.S. users pay a fee to boost the visibility of their postings – its latest effort to look beyond advertising for revenue.

Advertising accounted for roughly 84 percent of the total revenue in the second quarter.

With Facebook’s revenue growth rate slowing sharply in recent quarters, analysts and investors believe it needs to find new ways to make money.

Shares of Facebook rose 1.8 percent to $22.23 in premarket trading on Thursday.

The post Facebook reaches one billion monthly active users appeared first on Metro.us.

While sales were solid, analysts were concerned that Apple was unable to produce the new phone fast enough to meet demand.

The early total for the iPhone 5 topped sales of the iPhone 4S, which sold more than 4 million units in its first weekend after Apple introduced it in October 2011.

Expectations for new Apple products are so high that Wall Street appeared not to be wowed by the latest numbers. Investors sent shares of the stock down 1.4 percent at $690.14 in mid-morning trade.

“It appears investors were disappointed with the slowdown in growth in the first weekend,” said BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk.

Apple said while the majority of iPhone 5 pre-orders have been shipped to customers, many were scheduled to go out in October.

The world’s most valuable technology company is being closely watched for any supplier problems that may slow down the smartphone production.

“We believe that sales could have potentially been much higher if not for supply constraints,” William Power, an analyst with Baird Equity Research, wrote in a note.

He forecast Apple selling 8 million to 10 million units in the fiscal fourth quarter ending in September.

One of Apple’s key suppliers for screens, Sharp Corp, is struggling with high costs and scrambling to raise funds to pay debt.

Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group, which assembles iPhones, closed a plant in China on Monday after about 2,000 workers were involved in a brawl in a company dormitory. It was not clear how long the shutdown would last.

Additionally, Apple is facing stiff competition from smartphones that run on Google Inc’s Android software, which has become the most-used mobile operating system in the world. Apple’s key supplier as well as rival, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, has taken the lead in smartphone sales.

The iPhone 5 has been one of Apple’s most aggressive international rollouts to date. The phone will be available 31 countries on September 28 and in more than 100 countries by the end of the year.

“Expectations for Apple are always white hot,” said Colin Gillis, a research analyst with BGC. “It’s not just enough for them to break records but to smash them.”

Apple signaled last week that pre-orders outstripped initial supply and that many phones would not be available until October.

The iPhone is Apple’s highest-margin product and accounts for half of its annual revenues.

On Friday, fans lined up at stores in cities around the world to get their hands on the new phone, which is thinner and lighter and has a bigger screen.

The post Apple sells out iPhone 5, investors worry about supply appeared first on Metro.us.

CEO Tim Cook, who took over from the company’s late co-founder Steve Jobs last year, faces pressure to introduce a gadget that can help Apple remain at the forefront of the industry. The iPhone 5 sports a larger 4-inch “retina” display, ability to surf a high-speed 4G LTE network, and is 20 percent lighter than the previous iPhone 4S.

The latest iPhone comes as Apple tries to fend off competition that has reached fever-pitch. Google Inc’s Android has become the most-used mobile operating system in the world, while key supplier and rival Samsung Electronics has taken the lead in smartphone sales.

Now, Microsoft Corp is pushing its Windows Phone 8 operating system as a third alternative to Apple and Google’s.

Rivals have been first to market with phones that have bigger displays or run on faster wireless networks. Apple will try to close that gap with the unveiling of the newest iPhone, widely reported to offer 4G LTE for the first time and a 4-inch display, up from 3.5 inches.

MORE APPS

Cook began Wednesday’s event by saying the company’s notebooks now rank tops in U.S. sales, leading in market share in the past three months.

But it is the iPhone that carries the weight of Apple’s future on its slim frame, especially with the company continuing to play its cards close to the vest about future growth drivers, including an oft-rumored TV device.

Apple has sold more than 243 million iPhones since its 2007 arrival, after which the device proceeded to upend the industry and helped usher in the current applications ecosystem.

Cook told the audience at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco that its apps store now has more than 700,000 on tap — the industry’s largest library.

Apple also is making a lot of headway in a corporate market that has been dominated by struggling Canadian smartphone maker Research in Motion. Cook said almost every Fortune 500 companies was testing or using its iPhones and iPads.

Globally, Samsung leads the smartphone market with a 32.6 percent share followed by Apple with 17 percent, according to market research firm IDC. Both saw shipments rise compared to a year ago, with Samsung riding its flagship Galaxy S III phone.

The post Apple takes wraps off 4G-ready iPhone 5 appeared first on Metro.us.

The new phone, to be introduced tomorrow by Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, will probably have a new hardware design, including a bigger screen and thinner body, as well as new mapping software and compatibility with speedier next-generation data networks. Analysts predict the iPhone may be among the biggest consumer-electronics releases in history. Still, Apple’s reliance on the device leaves Cook little margin for error.

“The iPhone is the make-or-break product for Apple,” said Sarah Rotman Epps, a mobile-phone industry analyst at Forrester Research. (FORR) “Apple has the undeniable lead, but to stay on top they need to keep innovating.”

Apple could sell as many as 10 million iPhones by the end of September alone, according to Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray Cos. (PJC) By contrast, it took Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) about 50 days to sell 10 million of its flagship Galaxy S III smartphone.

“Until they do something really unimpressive, which I don’t see happening this time around, Apple has a serious hit on its hands,” said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst at IDC.

Competing Army

Almost one year removed from the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, the newest iPhone faces a growing army of competitors looking to grab a piece of a smartphone market that Bloomberg Industries estimates was worth $219.1 billion last year. Samsung, Google Inc.’s Motorola Mobility, Nokia Oyj (NOK1V) and HTC Corp. (2498) are among those taking aim at Apple by introducing dozens of new devices each year, instead of just one.

The new iPhone will be Apple’s first change to the handset’s hardware design since 2010, raising anticipation among customers who have been holding off on buying a new smartphone.

The company garnered 43 percent of its $108.2 billion in sales last year from the iPhone. And because wireless carriers such as AT&T Inc. (T) and Verizon Wireless subsidize the roughly $620 Apple gets for each iPhone sale, the device accounts for about 70 percent of its profits, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. IPhone sales last quarter alone reached $16.2 billion, 33 percent higher than Google Inc. (GOOG)’s total sales and almost as much as Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)’s $18.1 billion.

Apple’s new iPhone could contribute as much as a half a percentage point to U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter, according to analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Closely Watched

IPhone sales also are what investors watch the most closely. Apple’s shares fell in July after the company reported disappointing sales of the handset. The shares have since recovered ahead of the new iPhone release, gaining 64 percent so far this year. They rose less than 1 percent to $663.96 at 1:58 p.m. today in New York.

“A lot is riding on this,” said Chris Jones, an analyst at market-research firm Canalys. “They have to make sure it’s as good as people expect.”

Apple’s once-a-year iPhone introduction also helps build anticipation for each upgrade, with news outlets and websites speculating about what new designs and features will be unveiled. Glyde Corp. and Gazelle Inc., two companies that facilitate the trade-in of older gadgets, said they’ve seen a surge in business in recent weeks as people look ahead to upgrading to the newest iPhone.

Supply Challenge

One of the biggest challenges for Apple may be manufacturing enough devices to keep up with demand. Shortages from screen manufacturers LG Display Co. (034220) and Japan Display K.K. may limit how many iPhones Apple can ship, according to Barclays Plc. That may hinder Apple’s ability to sell about 50 million iPhones by December, as many analysts have predicted.

Apple’s event starts at 10 a.m. local time at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in downtown San Francisco. It will be the company’s first iPhone introduction since Jobs died last October on the day after the iPhone 4S was unveiled.

With the newest iPhone, Apple will attempt to balance giving existing customers a design different enough from previous models to inspire purchases, while also remaining true to the style that has made it a market leader among first-time buyers, said IDC’s Llamas. Adding a bigger screen will be a critical new feature for consumers who want to use their phones for basic tasks that were once completed on laptops and personal computers, he said.
Data Demands

Data demands of new iPhone users could also put a strain on mobile data networks being introduced by wireless carriers including Verizon Wireless and AT&T. Known as long-term evolution, or LTE, the communications technology allows users to watch video, stream music or perform other data-intensive tasks at a faster speed than existing 3G networks.

“Apple is going to sell a lot of LTE phones. If the network doesn’t perform, it could put a cloud over LTE,” said Walter Piecyk, an analyst at BTIG LLC. “The network operators will say the networks are ready, but in wireless, you never really know.”

Apple previewed some new software features for iPhone’s operating system in June, including a partnership with Facebook Inc. (FB) so that members will be able to quickly post photos, comments and other content to the world’s largest social network. Apple also has built its own mapping software that will replace Google’s technology, as well as a new feature for consolidating all of a user’s digital loyalty and gift cards.

App Developers

The software upgrades will give developers new tools for making shopping and navigation applications as well as others for Apple’s App Store, said Matt Murphy, a partner at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

“There are a ton of developers that are very excited,” said Murphy, whose firm invests in companies that make iPhone applications.

To get ahead of Apple’s iPhone event, Nokia and Motorola introduced a lineup of new smartphones last week with features such as edge-to-edge screens and a spring-mounted camera for steadier pictures.

Samsung, which uses Google’s Android mobile operating system and offers several different models, has emerged as Apple’s biggest competitor in smartphones. The South Korean manufacturer, which is also one of Apple’s biggest suppliers of components, accounted for 19.1 percent of global smartphone shipments last year, compared with Apple’s 18.8 percent, according to Bloomberg Industries data. Samsung said last week that it has sold 20 million Galaxy S IIIs.

Design Dispute

The two companies also are battling in court, with Apple winning a more than $1 billion verdict last month from a California jury, which said that Samsung copied the iPhone’s design. Samsung said it will appeal.

Apple, Samsung and smaller rivals are racing to win over customers who will be upgrading to smartphones from older phones. By 2013, smartphones will for the first time account for the majority of global mobile-phone shipments, two years earlier than expected, according to IHS.

Apple’s growing popularity in China and elsewhere outside the U.S., as well as its built-in fan base, will help make the new iPhone one of technology’s biggest debuts, said Canalys’s Jones.

The post New iPhone redesign to sell 10 million units within weeks appeared first on Metro.us.

The typically cryptic invitation said “It’s almost here”, sported a number 12 – corresponding to the date of the event – and cast a large shadow of the number 5, a clue that the fifth version of the popular smartphone could be in the pipeline.

Apple’s iPhone launches are among the most-watched events on the tech industry calendar. The latest version of the company’s main product — generating more than half its revenue — may sport a larger, higher-end screen, sources have said.

The new screen could measure 4 inches from corner to corner, one source has said, an increase from the 3.5-inch display that has been held constant since the smartphone began selling in 2007 and revolutionized the mobile industry.

Some analysts say the larger screen may be a response to rival Samsung Electronics, whose larger, Google Android phones have helped it become the world’s biggest smartphone maker.

Speculation had also arisen in past months that the company might offer details about a smaller version of its iPad, but the emailed invitation offered no hint of that on Tuesday.

The event will take place at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the preferred venue for the unveiling of past products such as the iPad.

The new iPhone will hit store shelves in time for the crucial holiday season. Shares in the company edged 0.6 percent higher to $669.44.

The post Apple likely to release iPhone 5 on September 12 event appeared first on Metro.us.

After his recent trip to Vegas, racy photos of the Prince — who apparently lost in a game of strip billiards — surfaced online showing him completely naked in the company of at least one topless woman in a hotel room. Now, rumors are circulating that there is also a video being shopped around that shows much, much more of the prince’s nude adventures in Vegas.

While his father, Prince Charles, brother, Prince William, and grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, are reportedly furious with Harry over the scandal, he has garnered quite the following of Facebook fans who are showing support by taking his lead — and stripping down.

The Facebook page “Support Prince Harry with a naked salute!” calls on people to, well, salute — nakedly:

If you have served or are serving in the military I want to see a naked salute in support of Prince Harry uploaded on this group at some stage this bank holiday weekend *NOW OPEN TO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO SHOW SUPPORT*, please cover your crown jewels, tag yourself in your photo as proof of your support to the nations favourite Royal!

Hundreds of people obliged, uploading photos of themselves saluting in the buff, along with messages of support for Prince Harry, who is undoubtedly snickering about the page, sprawled out on a leather couch behind a laptop somewhere.

Here are some of his loyal supporters:

(Photos via Facebook)

(via Daily Dot)

The post PHOTOS: Facebook fans pay homage to Prince Harry’s wild romps with naked salutes appeared first on Metro.us.

Our athletes have come a long way in the four years since the last Olympic Games and so has the Internet. Fans are much more likely to be equipped with smart phones this summer than they were in 2008. With advances in technology, comes a more enhanced level of participation for Olympic enthusiasts both in and out of London.

The team at Netted by the Webbys set out to sift through the heap of apps that are springing up ahead of the Olympics and narrow them down to a list that could win a gold medal in user satisfaction.

“Over the past year or two, we’ve really seen a general viewing experience enhanced by social media and the internet,” David-Michel Davies, the executive director of Netted and the Webby Awards, told Metro. “Nothing is more exciting with that than really big live events.”

The last Super Bowl is a perfect example of how crucial the internet has become to fans during their live experience, Davies explained. The most ever tweets per second were recorded during the game. With the Olympics being the “Super Bowl of the world,” as he put it, the digital experience will prove to have its biggest impact on fans yet.   

Check out this list for the essential Olympic apps you need to download now.

London 2012: Official Results App

As the official app for the Olympics, users can find results, live updates, schedules, medal tables and athlete profiles. It can also be tailored to provide info and official news on specific countries. Bonus: It’s available on all smartphones and it’s free.

NBC Olympics Live Extra

A revolutionary advancement in apps, this one allows users to view live streaming footage of the Olympics with replays and push notifications for event start times. It’s only available in the U.S. on Android, iPhones and iPads.
 
BBC Facebook and Apps

Where better to experience the happenings in London than the U.K.’s leading news source? The BBC’s social networks and apps are best for people attending the games, as they’re only available in the U.K.

London 2012 Live Wallpaper 

This fun app enables users to download the London Skyline and @London2012 tweets creatively displayed in the background. Reviews for the app have been overwhelmingly positive so far. The downside? It’s only available on Android.
 
ESPN Sport by Sport Rules

Looking for an education in Olympic sports before you set out to follow them? This site offers rules for every Olympic competition, important moments in history for the sport and profiles for star athletes.
 
Facebook Olympics Hub

Isn’t it nice when you can find everything you need in one place? This Facebook page features athlete profiles and a rundown of teams, sports, and events — all easily sharable information.
 
Tweetheletes

A quirky twist to experiencing the Olympics, this app lets users “race” athletes participating in the 100 meters. Since one tweet is about 2.5 cm high, users are encouraged to send the 4,000 tweets needed to cover that space in the time it takes the athletes to run it. Hurry up and download it — race day is August 5.

Flickr and Instagram

If you’re looking for authentic photos from behind the scenes at the games or from the middle of all the excitement, look no further than these photo-sharing options. These two sites will have crowd-sourced photos of the games.
 
London_2012

If you’re a visual person, you’ll love this app that offers a comprehensive collection of videos from the Olympic Games. Connect with other fans through the app’s chat rooms. However, this app is available only on iPhones and iPads.
 
Shazaam

You know this app by its ability to decipher a song that’s playing when you can’t quite remember the title. For the games, though, this app will let you unlock additional coverage during the Olympic broadcast.
 
2012 Summer Games Offline

What makes this app great is that once it’s downloaded on your smartphone, you can use it any time, whether or not you have cell service on your phone. It’s perfect for travelers coming to London for the games, who may not have international data plans enabled. For just 99 cents, it provides schedules, information on events and venues and key basics on Olympic sports.

Timista

Trust your peers through reviews on this site that lets you keep your options open when it comes to your plans in London. You can easily find what you need based on your schedule and location. It’s perfect for choosing activities that let you maximize your free time during the games (if you have any!).
 
Fitocracy

Watching the world’s most athletic people compete at the international level might just be the inspiration you need to get in shape. This website can help you do just that by offering features that motivate you to train like an Olympian.

The post The best apps for experiencing the 2012 Olympic Games appeared first on Metro.us.

Company spokeswoman Dana Lengkeek did not identify the other companies whose credentials were stolen or say how many of the stolen logins were for Yahoo’s sites.

She said the data was included in “an older file.”

“We are fixing the vulnerability that led to the disclosure of this data, changing the passwords of the affected Yahoo! users and notifying the companies whose users accounts may have been compromised,” she said.

A hacker group had previously posted hundreds of thousands of user accounts and passwords on a public website.

The theft comes in the wake of a breach reported last month by the business networking service LinkedIn, which resulted in the release of some 6.4 million member passwords.

The post Yahoo reports theft of 400,000 accounts appeared first on Metro.us.

Filmmaker Jeremiah McDonald apparently caught the video bug at an early age and recorded himself at age 12 asking questions directed to himself in the future. Twenty years later, McDonald sat down for a candid conversation with… himself.

The contrast between the adolescent McDonald and the adult McDonald is charming and touching, and serves as a reminder that we were all kids once and, perhaps, still kids at heart.

The video is edited as a hilarious back-and-forth between the two Jeremiahs. Young Jeremiah asks the older Jeremiah whether his pets are still alive, while adult Jeremiah is reminded by his younger counter-part that he once had a love for drawing. Their banter is heart-warming.

“You’re interviewing yourself, look at you!” the young Jeremiah cries, before he lets out a burp.

“Oh, charming. No wonder I’m single,” adult Jeremiah responds.

Adult Jeremiah leaves his younger self with words of wisdom from “Dr. Who,” which they both love: “Don’t blink. Blink and you’re dead.”

Check out the entire video below and get in touch with your own inner kid.

The post VIDEO: Filmmaker Jeremiah McDonald answers questions from his 12-year-old self appeared first on Metro.us.