In the NSA age, being paranoid really doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you, so placating your fears has suddenly become a cottage industry. BitTorrent, for one, has just spilled more beans about Chat, it’s peer-to-peer, encrypted messaging service …
A war is brewing between machines and snow, and its battle tactics are being studied—rehearsed, practiced, mapped, rerun, and mastered—in the vast parking lot of New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, home of Super Bowl XLVIII.
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That sound you just heard was millions of credit cards simultaneously maxing out: Steam’s annual winter sale has just begun, and you can see all the deals right here.
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What could be more amazing than a Pokémon whose tail and mane are made of fire? I’m talking about Rapidash of course. Well, since this fiery horse doesn’t really exist, this LEGO version is the best thing ever. It may not be able to run so fast that flames burst from its back and legs, but you can practically see it happening in the image here.
This amazing LEGO Pokémon was made by Mike Nieves aka Retinence. The look is just amazing. I would love to see a stop-motion LEGO pokemon movie with Mike’s creations.
Awesome job, sir. You are a true Pokémon and LEGO master. Ash is just a wuss.
[via Brothers Brick]
The Snapchat homepage.
(Credit: Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)
Honestly, they’re talking about nothing else in Wentzville, Mo.
A teenage girl took a picture of her mom and her 14-year-old sister in the family’s hot tub. Both were topless (although how topless is the subject of much conjecture. No nipples were allegedly visible).
As KMOV-TV reports, the mom says she told the daughter taking the shot to delete it.
Instead, the daughter allegedly propelled it on Snapchat.
This resulted in severe fulmination and the mom being charged with child endangerment.
“It sure appeared that the picture was posed and it certainly had some sexual overtones,” St. Charles County prosecutor Tim Lohmar told KMOV. The unnamed mother insists this isn’t the case.
Still, this was Snapchat. The photos are supposed to disappear after a few seconds. How can it be that they were circulated so widely that the authorities got involved?
[Read more]
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There are a plethora of cross-platform instant messaging services out there but none is as popular as WhatsApp. It has been catering to hundreds of millions of users for quite some time now, but today WhatsApp announced that it has achieved a significant milestone. The service now has 400 million users across the globe, up from 350 million back in October. 100 million active users were added in the last four months alone. It clarifies that this figure doesn’t show the number of people who have registered for the service, it shows how many people use it every month.
Without naming any names, CEO of WhatsApp Jan Koum writes that his team has been able to offer the best possible user experience without having to rely on “annoying banner ads, game promotions, or all those other distracting features,” that are present in various other popular messaging applications. One can only assume that its a jab towards Asian rivals LINE and WeChat, both of them have several hundred million users among them and have a number of in-app monetization features through which they generate revenue. Its true that WhatsApp offers a distraction free messaging experience, but its rivals are raking in serious money. LINE alone is expected to be worth $30 billion after its Tokyo IPO next year, whereas its revenues from in-app “features” might cross $1 billion in 2014. Though in terms of sheer user stats, WhatsApp is the undisputed king.
WhatsApp Crosses 400 Million Users, Lashes Out At Rivals original content from Ubergizmo. 
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There are something like one million Android phones for every person on the planet right now (plus or minus one). Most of them suck. Many are great. Here’s the definitive list that tells you which is which.
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Ever rush to identify a song with Shazam with your phone, only to be frustrated as the tune ends before you’ve even reached into your pocket? That won’t be a concern with the latest update to Shazam’s iPhone app. Much like on the iPad, the new audio …
WebOS couldn’t make its mark on tablets and smartphones when Palm and HP both tried their best, perhaps it might fare well on TVs. After being on a long hiatus, and being picked up by LG, a new webOS product is on the horizon. LG has confirmed that its very first product running this OS is a TV, which is going to be unveiled next month at the Consumer Electronics Show 2014 in Las Vegas.
Hong Sung-pyo, a LG researcher, made these comments at an event in Seoul, South Korea. It is believed that the LG webOS TV is going to have a 2.2Ghz dualcore processor under the hood with 1.5GB of RAM. Multitasking features will reportedly be supported. There’s no saying what the webOS user interface will look now, LG had previously confirmed that it was revamping the interface and that it would be a “game changer.” Perhaps we might see the “cards” interface being resurrected in some form, but its too soon to be sure right now. LG’s reason to put so much time and resources into a new TV OS is that users will no longer feel compelled to use third-party set-top boxes, that they’ll have a much better experience through its webOS powered smart TV. This is not all LG has up its sleeve for CES 2014, if this doesn’t tickle your fancy, perhaps the company’s 105 inch curved ultra HD TV will.
LG WebOS TV Will Be Unveiled At CES 2014 original content from Ubergizmo. 
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MyGlass, an app that pairs Google Glass with iOS devices
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