Hasta La Gadget!

Yowza, it hasn’t been the best month for Instagram. After changing their terms of service to allow them to use images for advertising purposes – and facing a huge backlash by its users, Instagram came back and redacted the changes. Apparently, this didn’t placate everyone. It actually doesn’t surprise me, ever since Instagram was bought by Facebook, I’ve been expecting this kind of upheaval.

Now, Instagram is facing a class-action lawsuit, which was filed by the San Diego-based law firm Finkelstein & Krinsk. Instagram user Lucy Funes, on behalf of all others against Instagram, claimed a breach of contract and other claims. The claims say that Instagram is also attempting to cover its tail by prohibiting users from seeking legal injunction against the service, adding a mandatory arbitration clause, and a $100 limitation of liability. In addition, they are demanding that users be allowed to export images should they decide to leave the service – something not currently permitted.

Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes simply responded to the lawsuit as follows: “We believe this complaint is without merit and we will fight it vigorously.” 

[via Ubergizmo]

This trip around the sun has been a monumental one for crowdfunding, marked by big projects and astronomical numbers. Take Kickstarter wunderkind OUYA, for example, which raised more than $8.5 million in funding from 63,416 backers. Kickstarter itself has even grown and matured, expanding to the UK and putting its foot down when it comes to pitching hardware by requiring working prototypes and assessments of risks and challenges. Out of the 60 crowdfunding efforts that crossed our desks as Insert Coins in 2012, 47 were successfully funded, four still have time to rake in funds and nine fell short of their goals or were otherwise stymied. We’ve handpicked and placed the top 10 projects that won our hearts and, on occasion, our hard-earned scratch after the break.

Continue reading Insert Coin: 2012’s top 10 crowd-funded projects

Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Gaming, Wearables, Storage, Software

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If you’re familiar with Foursquare then you know all about the “badges” that the service awards its users for checking into specific types of places multiple times. This time around, though, NASA and Foursquare have teamed up and launched a Curiosity rover-themed badge that users can earn for checking into science-related places frequently.

To earn the new Curiosity Explorer badge, users must “like” NASA on Foursquare and check in at a NASA visitor center or other venue categorized as a science museum or planetarium. The launch of the badge follows the October check-in on Mars by NASA’s Curiosity rover, which marked the first check-in on another planet.

This isn’t the first time that NASA has been involved with Foursquare, though. NASA has been a member on Foursquare since 2010, thanks to a strategic partnership with the service. The partnership launched with astronaut Doug Wheelock’s first-ever check-in from the International Space Station, and it has allowed users to connect with NASA.

This also isn’t the first time that NASA has its own badge. The now-expired NASA Explorer badge encouraged users to explore NASA-related locations across the country, and it also included the launch of a NASA Foursquare page, where the organization continues to provide official tips and information about the space program.

Foursquare and NASA launch new Curiosity Explorer badge is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Being seated in a wheelchair to get around does take some getting used to, and it is safe to say that most of the time, you are bound to the seat’s elevation if you want to reach out for a particular object, which say, is on a shelf or on top of a cabinet. What do you do then? Get a robotic arm to do the job on your behalf, or perhaps ask someone else in the house for assistance? Perhaps if you were seated in the i-Transport robot wheelchair, things might be very different as you gain more independence on your side.

The i-Transport robotic vehicle is said to be able to raise the person seated in it to an upright level, while shifting their body into a more optimal position to grasp objects that remain out of arm’s length if not for the i-Transport. Not only that, the i-Transport will also come with its very own blood pressure and breathing monitors so that checkups are kept to a bare minimum. No idea on whether the i-Transport will enter mass production or not, but we sure as heck hope that it does, and at an affordable price, too.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Goosinator Scares Pooping Geese Away, Astroboy (Roboy) A Future Possibility?,

Open-source games console start-up OUYA has begun shipping out its first batch of developer hardware, with eager recipients told to expect their new toys before January 10. The first shipping notifications began to hit inboxes today, according to the official OUYA forums, with sample dev kits consisting of the console itself and two controllers.

OUYA was one of the most high-profile Kickstarter successes of 2012, closing its public funding round with more than $8.5m in backing. Consumer units aren’t expected until March or April 2013, but developer kits were promised to begin shipping before 2012 was through, to give coders an opportunity to get their Android apps up to speed ahead of the official launch.

In fact, OUYA is slightly ahead of schedule, having initially said the first batch would go out tomorrow. The SDK is also expected to be released on Friday, allowing even those without a dev console to begin creating games and other software.

Adoption of OUYA hasn’t been slow from existing game studios. The company announced a further ten titles earlier this month, and has previously muttered about ongoing talks with Namco Bandai. Even before the Kickstarter finished, OUYA had announced it would feature Final Fantasy III as well as non-gaming titles.

Developers will begin receiving their consoles anytime from December 31 to January 10.

OUYA begins shipping developer consoles is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.