In the age of Reddit and BuzzFeed, it seems like everybody wants to know the secret to making things go viral. Even the military wants to know how to make things go viral, and one research team says they’ve figured it out—using an algorithm they tested on social networks like Digg and Foursquare. Wait, why does the military want to know the secret to viral marketing? You’d be surprised.
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BlackBerry shares ceased trading today, with the stock frozen as the struggling Canadian company announced 4,500 job losses and plans to “refocus” on enterprise and prosumer customers rather than the mass market. The decision to hold stock, which had dropped 2.4-percent on Friday, comes as BlackBerry predicts a huge operating loss in fiscal Q2 of […]
Leaked from today’s 404 episode:
– How “The Simpsons” fixed Apple’s iPhone keyboard.
– “The Simpsons” parodies the Apple Newton.
– People are now crowdfunding their funerals online.
– Creative Coffins saves you money with a cardboard resting place.
– Slate: Best Buy is an awful store and deserves to die.
– This video is really motivating me to play Grand Theft Auto V for the first time.
– You only have three more days to enter CNET en Español’s “Mucho Dinero” contest for a chance to win $5,000!
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That's astronaut Mike Fincke participating in the third of four spacewalks performed by the Expedition 9 crew during their six-month mission.
(Credit: NASA)
If you just can’t get out of bed, NASA might have a mission for you.
A NASA study is recruiting volunteers to to lie in a bed that’s tilted downward at a 6-degree angle for 70 days. Subjects who complete the entire bed rest project can earn up to $18,000.
The study is meant to test the conditions astronauts might experience while traveling in space. NASA hopes to find out what physical changes occur to scientists on these missions and how much body function is required for a person to complete a specific task. The information will be used to develop methods that make it easier for astronauts to physically acclimate to daily life following space exploration.
Since there is no gravity in space, astronauts don’t exert as much effort and might not get the exercise they need to stay in shape.
Researchers are requiring participants to stay on a slight tilt, which is intended to allow fluids to move toward the upper part of the body. That would allow researchers to study cardiovascular symptoms similar to what might be experienced during a space expedition.
Things haven’t been going well at BlackBerry for awhile, what with lackluster adoption of BB10 and the hardware running it, and rumors that massive layoffs are coming before the end of the year. Today, the company confirmed the latter rumor, announcing that it will lay off around 4,500 employees as a part of a plan to reduce its operating expenditures by half over the next year. The plan’s necessitated by an expected Q2 2014 net operating loss of almost one billion (955-995 million) dollars, driven primarily by the lackluster sale of its BB10 phones — the company will take a pre-tax charge of $930-960 million which can be attributed mostly to the failure of the Z10 to sell. BlackBerry expects revenue for Q2 to be $1.6 billion, which is roughly half of the $3.1 billion it pulled in last quarter.
Needless to say, the financial outlook for the company isn’t good, and some changes are in order. In the near term, the Z10 will be priced “ to make it available to a broader, entry-level audience,” leaving the Z30 as BlackBerry’s all-touch flagship. To try to turn things around in the long term, the company’s going to refocus on its enterprise offerings and will reduce its device portfolio from six devices to four, with two high end and two entry level phones. And, don’t get it twisted, the days of BlackBerry courting mainstream consumers is all but over — its future phones will be aimed at the “enterprise and prosumers.”
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry
Microsoft is letting the world of Windows Phone 7 (not to be confused with Windows Phone 8) know today that it’s time to move on. With Windows Phone 8 being released to smartphones for just under a year, Microsoft has decided that it was time to stop development on their top video chat app Skype. […]
Ouch. BlackBerry announced a quarterly net operating loss of nearly $1 billion and plans to cut 4,500 jobs on Friday afternoon, shortly after trading was halted. By 2015, the company plans to cut operating expenditures by 50 percent.
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Apple TV didn’t even warrant a mention at the iPhone event earlier this month, but as expected
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In a process that started back in January of this year, the FCC has given the thumbs-up to AT&T on its proposed $780 million acquisition of Alltel assets. The package includes retail stores, approximately 620,000 customers in the midwest, network equipment and spectrum in the 700MHz, 850MHz and 1900MHz bands. AT&T isn’t getting away scot-free, however, as the FCC will only approve the deal based on a few conditions: first, the network needs to deploy HSPA+ and LTE in the new areas within 15 and 18 months (respectively); second, AT&T must keep Alltel’s 3G EVDO network alive and kicking until at least June 15, 2015. Third, AT&T needs to ensure that every affected customer gets a comparable phone for free without a contract extension. These types of conditions are nothing new for network acquisitions; such transitions are never fun for the customers involved, so it’s refreshing that the FCC isn’t forgetting their immediate needs in the process. The full details of the approval are located in the FCC docs, which we’ve included in the source link.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, AT&T
Via: PhoneScoop
Source: FCC
Valve has talked a lot in the past about shifting PC gaming to living rooms, it has now launched a new teaser website which promises three separate announcements related to such a shift. Right now, the website contains a countdown clock for the first announcement, its counting down until 10 a.m. PT on September 23rd. Clocks for the remaining announcements haven’t been added as yet.
Is it possible that Valve might finally be making a Steam Box related announcement? This was first reported a few days ago, when Valve co-founder Gabe Newell referred to Linux as the “future of gaming” at LinuxCon 2013. He also said that the company will reveal more information about the opportunities it sees for bringing Linux to the living room, next week. A representative for Valve reiterated that they’ll be talking about the steps they’re taking to make Steam more accessible on TVs and in the living room. Valve says on its teaser website that this year it has been working on more ways to “connect the dots for customers who want Steam in the living room,” it also says that soon “we’ll be adding you to our design process.” We’re certainly curious how Valve intends to include users in the design process, hopefully it’ll explain in detail come Monday.
Valve Launches Teaser Website, Rekindles Steam Box Speculation original content from Ubergizmo. 
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