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8 Mainstream Celebrities Who Invest in Tech Startups

1. Lady Gaga


Startup Investments: Lady Gaga and fellow celebrity Kanye West invested $7.5 million in Turntable.fm - a website that allows you to experience and discover music online with your friends. Users can rate music with their friends by clicking either the "Awesome" or "Lame" button, or become a DJ by spinning tunes with other DJs on the site.

Image courtesy of LadyGaga.com

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These days, top celebrities aren’t just spending money on Hollywood mansions and private yachts — they’re also investing millions of dollars in startup tech companies.

From websites that let you show off your best dance moves to ecommerce solutions that help you find the perfect shoes, check out this gallery to see where celebs are putting their money in the startup scene.

More About: celebrity, startup

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from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2011/11/07/celebrities-tech-startups/?utm_source=feedburn...

Must See HDTV (November 7th - 13th)

It'll be hard to find a sports matchup that equals last weekend's 'Bama/LSU showdown, but Fox will try as it dives into the octagon with some MMA this weekend. There's also a few family-friendly Blu-ray 3D titles on deck, and the final edition of some series called Harry Potter hitting stores on Friday (pick up Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim while you're there, you'll thank us later). Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
The king is back. The Modern Warfare series has reigned over the console shooter pile for the last few years and it's no secret why. A combination of fast-paced action and precise controls make it the online game of choice for many (some prefer the Battlefield games, it's a matter of taste). This year's edition once again hails from the offices of Infinity Ward, birthplace of the best this series has to offer so this one is a must-buy. The only thing giving us pause? A new "Elite" feature, which adds online stat tracking and more for hardcore players, but comes at a hefty price of $49 a year. (Update: A peek at the official list reveals most of the features, including stat-tracking are free, and that $50 does buy all the DLC for a year so it may come in handy, check out more info from our friends at Joystiq here. Thanks @ejalcantera!)
(November 8th, $56.99 on Amazon)

UFC on Fox
CBS tried bringing MMA fighting to network TV a couple of years ago but hasn't had any bouts in a while, opening the door for this weekend's heavyweight match on Fox. Cain Velasquez is one of the scariest human beings alive, but he appears to have a worthy competitor coming for his title in Junior Dos Santos. We've been fans of UFC for a little while, if expensive PPV matches and reality TV-styled The Ultimate Fighter have been the only thing keeping you on the outside, this could be the one that makes you a fan -- or disgusts you beyond words. Check out a trailer embedded after the break.
(November 12th, Fox, 9PM)

Death Valley
Looking for a a zombie alternative to The Walking Dead (which actually improved this weekend -- apparently someone finally told the writers that less is more)? You've found it. MTV's Cops-style mockumentary follows officers around an alternate reality Los Angeles populated by werewolves, vampires and more otherworldly creatures with a campy sense of humor throughout. Beware however, here anyone can become a meal for the people they're pursuing, including members of the camera crew.
(November 7th, MTV, 11PM)

Continue reading Must See HDTV (November 7th - 13th)

Must See HDTV (November 7th - 13th) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/07/must-see-hdtv-november-7th-13th/

Nielsen: Soon-to-be seniors adopting smartphones faster than any other age group

If your granny recently purchased her very first smartphone, she's not alone. According to the latest Q3 figures from Nielsen, Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 are adopting smartphones at a faster rate than any other age group. Just about 30 percent of all mobile-equipped, soon-to-be seniors now own a smartphone, marking a five percent jump over Q2 of this year. But they still have a long way to go before catching up with the 25-34-year-old population, 62 percent of which wield an intelligent handset -- higher than any other age demographic. Overall smartphone penetration stands at 43 percent across US cellphone owners, with Android (still) leading the way with 43 percent of the OS market, and Apple leading all manufacturers, with a 28 percent share. Check out the full report at the source link below, or head past the break for a more graphic demographic breakdown.

Continue reading Nielsen: Soon-to-be seniors adopting smartphones faster than any other age group

Nielsen: Soon-to-be seniors adopting smartphones faster than any other age group originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/08/nielsen-soon-to-be-seniors-adopting-smartp...

Dish Network's Q3 profits rise 30 percent, but subscriber base diminishes

The third fiscal quarter of this year saw the best of times and the worst of times for Dish Network. On the positive side of the ledger, the company saw net revenues grow by 12.3 percent since Q3 2010, reaching $3.6 billion. Profits, meanwhile, jumped by 30.3 percent over the year to $319 million, compared with the $245 million it raked in during the third quarter of 2010. Dish said the jump in revenues could be partially attributed to its acquisition of Blockbuster and the subsequent launch of Blockbuster Movie Pass, which the company hopes to expand and build upon going forward. The report wasn't entirely rosy, however, as Dish Network saw a net loss of about 111,000 subscribers during the quarter (about 20,000 more than analysts had predicted), bringing its total to approximately 14 million customers. By contrast, during the third quarter of last year, the company added about 327,000 users. But this decline didn't stop Dish from doling out a rare $2.00 per share dividend to investors, which may make its less savory results a bit easier on the stomach. Check out the full report, after the break.

Continue reading Dish Network's Q3 profits rise 30 percent, but subscriber base diminishes

Dish Network's Q3 profits rise 30 percent, but subscriber base diminishes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Nov 2011 05:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/08/dish-networks-q3-profits-rise-30-percent-b...

Engadget Primed: HDTV technologies detailed, past and future

Primed goes in-depth on the technobabble you hear on Engadget every day -- we dig deep into each topic's history and how it benefits our lives. You can follow the series here. Looking to suggest a piece of technology for us to break down? Drop us a line at primed *at* engadget *dawt* com.


Like so many things in life, when it comes to high-definition televisions, size matters. So, too, does picture quality -- we like watching the devil in crisp detail, after all. As the centerpiece of home entertainment systems, today's flat big-screen HDTVs pull triple duty. They're the preferred display when you're braining zombies during a flesh-tearing PS3 game of Dead Island. They're ideal for watching zombies (er, walkers) get brained on AMC's hit The Walking Dead. And in terms of social status, big HDTVs serve notice that, yes world, you've arrived. So join us as we explore and demystify the acronym-filled habitat of HDTVs -- and in the process maybe save your bank account from getting bitten.

In this installment of Primed, we'll examine the two main breeds of flat-panel HDTVs, including a look at liquid crystal display and plasma technologies. We'll also put screen size, resolution and frame rates under the microscope. We'll wrap things up with a view of what's on the high-def horizon and close out with a critical assessment of 3D HDTV. Strap yourselves in, couch jockeys, it's time for Primed.

Continue reading Engadget Primed: HDTV technologies detailed, past and future

Engadget Primed: HDTV technologies detailed, past and future originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/11/engadget-primed-hdtv-technologies-detailed...

How Hashtagging the Web Could Improve Our Collective Intelligence


Laura Larsell is the information ontologist at Trapit, a content discovery, personalization and curation platform currently in beta. Laura holds an M.A. in library sciences from the University of Texas at Austin.

I rolled my eyes when the Library of Congress announced in the spring of 2010 that it would be archiving Twitter. Great, I thought — drunken tweets about burritos preserved for eternal posterity.

But the Library of Congress, as it turns out, was more forward thinking than I could have imagined. Twitter data, presumed to represent the pulse — and sometimes the future — of popular consciousness, now commands big bucks from hedge funds that in turn use Twitter data to make investment predictions. Even scientists are tapping into Twitter data for research purposes.

Why all the fuss over tweets? Twitter hosts valuable, communal conversation in real-time. And Twitter trends become more powerful the more users contribute to the dialogue. Finally, Twitter allows the chatter of millions to be parsed into channels (hashtags) of real-time conversation that covers widely varying topics. Jokes, rumors, political movements, pop culture fanaticisms, the collective screaming of teenagers — they all bubble to the surface and shift and change like an oil slick, much like a collective human consciousness.

While Twitter generates mass interest and curates collective thought, until usage stats rise significantly, its trends cannot represent the true pulse of world conversation. That needs to change.


Applying Twitter Logic to the Web


Twitter captures an admittedly small slice of the collective world consciousness — in the U.S. only 78.2% of households have access to the Internet, and only 13% of online Americans actively use Twitter. It is also a platform as much about stats and bot spammers as it is about honest conversation.

Despite the clutter, Twitter continues to generate an abundance of sociologically interesting data every day. Researchers from Cornell University recently used Twitter data to look for and examine trends in mood over time. They determined that collective mood patterns fluctuate in predictable ways over the course of the day and year. While this conclusion may seem obvious, before Twitter came along, documenting this type of pattern would have required a massive survey and multiple studies.

One thing that makes Twitter so powerful is its use of a standard language: hashtags. Any hashtagged tweet is automatically linked to every other tweet that shares the same tag. This allows for consistent dialogue and measurement.

However, the Internet as a whole is not a very consistent medium. Patterns emerge in specific areas of the web, but no uniform underlying structure exists to merge these patterns. Content may go viral or score a high page rank, but it doesn’t easily connect to related topics or encourage a larger conversation. It is a frustrating vestige of print culture that my web curation should be limited by my search ability.

Furthermore, what happens to long form digital conversation in the era of Twitter? Consider especially that long form conversations include more invested and potentially expert perspectives. These perspectives are different from the collective consciousness, and yet, are not easily parsed into mainstream channels.


The Watermelon Story


A big part of what I do every day is train an algorithm to tag documents in the manner of my choosing. The software is in beta, and is presently only culling from a selection of web content, but it does pretty well with simple concepts.

Early on, I set the machine to find content relevant to the subject/tag “watermelon.” It’s a limited data set, but this is what I’ve found so far: People write about watermelons consistently throughout the summer, most frequently in mid-summer. Again, this may seem an obvious conclusion, but proving it would have taken an incredible amount of time and effort on my part.

So what do people write about watermelons online? Recipes involving or featuring watermelons are by far the most popular watermelon content, and the most popular serving suggestions feature various kinds of boozy drinks and popsicles. The second most popular posts are how-tos that guide readers through the watermelon selection process (knock on it, listen for the right sound).

More niche discussions about watermelon include analyses of racial stereotypes, a story about Palestinian prisoners’ daily fruit allowance, and a report on a new variety of cold weather watermelon grown in Turkey.

What conclusions can we draw from this sampling of watermelon content? Over time I’ll be able to draw quantitative conclusions about the state of watermelon journalism on the web. Watermelon may not be aggregated often (there are no watermelon sections of the newspaper), however, the ability to easily track more important ideas involving watermelon (like racial stereotypes) over time could prove illuminating.


Content Organization = Collective Knowledge


Twitter can gather direct, mass conversation into subject categories like #watermelon, but the conversation is limited by the short form nature of the platform. If longer form methods of online communication could be aggregated into a similar form of direct conversation, it would serve both spectators and authors alike.

For that to happen, citation must be standardized. Current citation methods like hashtags are rarely, if ever, exhaustive, and they often take on the subjective viewpoint of the author or sharer.

Imagine the level of constructive debate and creativity that we might achieve when we organize and bucket all web content into Twitter-like categories. Imagine the kinds of things we might learn about our collective culture.

Images courtesy of Flickr, misspixels, D Sharon Pruitt

More About: algorithm, content curation, contributor, data, features, trending, Twitter, web


from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2011/11/11/hashtag-web-data/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_me...

In-Vitro Muscle Cells, It's What's For Dinner

wanzeo writes "Within the last decade, many of us have experienced the encroachment of ethics into our mealtime. Phrases such as vegetarian, vegan, organic, bST, GMO, etc. have become part of common grocery store advertising. The most recent addition to the list of ethically charged food is in-vitro meat, or meat that was cultured in a petri dish, and was never part of a live animal. The project has been brought to fruition by Mark Post, a biologist at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. Grown using animal stem-cells on a nutrient medium, the nearly see-through strips of muscle would need to be stacked nearly 3,000 times to approach the thickness of a burger. The practice promises to be more humane, sustainable, and efficient than conventional meats, with one analysis suggesting it would, 'use 35 to 60 percent less energy, emit 80 to 95 percent less greenhouse gas and use around 98 percent less land.' In a world where nearly half of all crop production is used to feed livestock, a move towards artificial meat may be inevitable."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

from Slashdot http://science.slashdot.org/story/11/11/13/1312235/in-vitro-muscle-cells-its-...

Ask Slashdot: Crowdfunding For Science — Can It Succeed?

jearbear writes "Can crowdfunding work for science? Having raised nearly $40,000 for scientific research in 10 days for projects as diverse as biofuel catalyst design to the study of cellular cilia to deploying seismic sensor networks (that attach to your computer!) to robotic squirrels, the #SciFund Challenge is taking off like a rocket. Might this be a future model for science funding in the U.S. and abroad? What would that mean?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

from Slashdot http://ask.slashdot.org/story/11/11/12/2052238/ask-slashdot-crowdfunding-for-...

Hack an Ikea Lamp into an Adjustable Computer Speaker Mount [Weekend Project' ]

If you're particular about where your computer speakers are placed for optimum sound and/or want to avoid cord clutter you can make flexible speaker mounts using two $9 Ikea TERTIAL work lamps. All you have to do is remove the light socket and wiring and attach the speakers to the lamp mount with screws. More »


from Lifehacker http://lifehacker.com/5859030/hack-an-ikea-lamp-into-an-adjustable-computer-s...

Logitech drops Google TV

Logitech Chief Executive Guerrino De Luca says his company's dance with Google TV was a "big mistake" and says it will stop producing the set top box.

The Verge website quotes De Luca as saying the introduction of the Logitech Revue with Google TV "cost us dearly" and when supplies are sold out, that will be it for the ill-fated venture.

It is estimated that Logitech spent about US$100 million on the product and has little to show for it. While some other companies, notably Sony, are still selling Google TV boxes, the little Apple TV is still in stores and apparently satisfying buyers, even if it hasn't been a blockbuster hit either.

The second-generation Apple TV, announced in September of 2010, has experienced much better sales success than the original model. The reason? Most likely it's because of the addition of other services like Major League Baseball and Netflix. Apple says it has sold more than 2 million of the units so far.

Now rumors are flying that Apple will produce a complete TV solution, and quotes in the recent Steve Jobs biography have added to the speculation that something might be on the way.

[via The Verge]

Logitech drops Google TV originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 13 Nov 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog http://www.tuaw.com/2011/11/13/logitech-drops-google-tv-leaving-apple-tv-as-d...