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YouTube's Rewind 2018 becomes the site's most disliked video ever
YouTube's latest Rewind video, the annual recap touting "the videos, music and trends that defined YouTube in 2018," has become the most disliked video ever in the website's history. The previous holder of this dubious title was Justin Bieber's Baby, which over the course of eight years racked up an impressive 9.8 million dislikes. YouTube's 2018 Rewind, meanwhile, charged ahead of this figure in less than two weeks, passing 10 million dislikes (according to LikesCounter) early on December 13th.
iTunes offering a big $6.99 sale on some music bestsellers
Just in time for the new year, Apple is offering a big iTunes sale on some of the best-selling albums of 2012. Over on iTunes, you can grab some great (like Macklemore's The Heist and the new Mumford and Sons) and/or popular albums (like Justin Bieber, Ke$ha and One Direction) for just US$6.99 each. That's a solid deal on some great tunes (and some not-so-great, but to each their own, right?). The deal runs through January 3, so grab 'em quick. If you want even more music to listen to in 2013, iTunes is also offering a big number of other popular albums for just a dollar more. And of course, once you buy these tracks, Apple will let you download them on whatever devices you'd like, so there's no better way to spruce up your music library and get it all ready for another year.
Vevo's website redesign simplifies the video watch page, adds artist pages
Chances are you've enjoyed Vevo's music video catalogue in one form or another, and purists who prefer .com access are being rewarded today with a fresh website design. The "video watch page" was previously littered with related clips, a playlist and other distractions, which have now been dispatched for greater focus on the tune at hand. Much of this has been moved to "artist pages", a new pop-up hub (pictured above) which is full of extra info on your chosen act. Head over to Vevo to see the enhancements for yourself, and with impending OUYA support, you might want to consider it your primary dispensary for that daily dose of Biebzilla.
Facebook's new Recommendations Bar pops up, just wants to be liked
Facebook's Recommendations Box sits passively on many websites, allowing us to engage or ignore as we see fit. But too much of the latter option has led to something slightly different: the new Recommendations Bar -- a pop-up variant which, when integrated by your favorite page, plugs site-specific links based on your friends' thumbs and shares. The Bar is similar to the in-house recommendation pop-ups we're all familiar with, but adds a like button for posting the current page to your timeline. It shouts much louder than the Box, so it's no surprise that in early tests the new plug-in produced a three-fold increase in click-throughs. In this case, privacy wasn't an afterthought -- Bar integration, like the Box, is at the site's discretion and sharing pages is very much on your terms. Just try not to accidently hit that like button during your daily scan of Bieber's homepage.
Google's gunning for web spammers, bans us from mentioning Bieber
Google's changing its search algorithm to punish sites that emphasize search-engine optimization over quality. Mountain View's data centers will exclude sites that offer no useful content, have articles written in keyword-sprinkled gibberish or only link to sites within a cluster. If the computers find it, the site's pagerank will be demoted, with the company expecting to affect around three percent of all English language queries when it goes live later this week. The company isn't providing more details (lest it help those trying to game the system), so just get all of those gratuitous Justin Bieber references out of your system before Friday, okay?
Sony dashes Dash development: is Bieber's favorite tablet on the way out?
The towering cultural colossus that is Justin Bieber giveth, yet he must also taketh away. Merely days after appearing as the pitchman for dancing crotch-speaker robot Tosy mRobo, the last tech-product he was tasked with selling might have been quietly put to sleep behind Sony's barn. The Dash was a pseudo-tablet powered by Chumby OS that, perhaps inexplicably, never caught on, angering the floppy-haired Canadian infant. A developer who was signed up to produce apps for the platform received the following email from Sony's HQ, which subsequently appeared on the Dash Developer's website: Beginning February 29th, 2012, the Sony Dash developer website will close and no longer support development of new applications. This closure includes the Dash developer forum and Dash developer support, which will close on March 31st. Sony Dash applications will remain available. Thank you for your contributions and we encourage you to continue your development activity on Sony's other platforms available at SonyDeveloper.com Again, thank you very much, Team DashThere's been no official word (yet) if this is the end for the device, but it doesn't augur well for future revisions. If you'll excuse us, we're going to go pour one out for the beloved little, erm tablet-thing.[Thanks, Darwin]
CES 2012: headphone and speaker roundup
Audio-wares may not be on the forefront of many geek's minds during CES, but that doesn't mean you won't find a bevy of sound-pumping gizmos while traversing across the crowded show floor. From giant AirPlay and iPod dock systems to premium audiophile headphones (and a bevy of dinky iDevice-compatible buds), we've picked out a few of our favorites. Whether you're focused on getting great sound or something packed with technology, jump past the break to visualize it all for yourself.
Monster and Beats Electronics discontinue partnership, audiophiles rejoice
Color us surprised, but word on the street is that Monster and Beats By Dr. Dre are soon going to be a thing of the past. After years of pumping out fashion-forward, bass and treble pumping headphones that (debatably) changed the landscape of personal audio products -- and spawned a slew of imitators -- both companies have reportedly decided not to renew their five-year contract. Businessweek notes that two sources have confirmed that disagreements over "revenue share" and "who deserved the most credit for the line's success" stemmed the decision between the companies -- not surprisingly, Beats Electronics wanted more of both. In the followup, Monster will pump out eight new headphone lineups this year independently. Monster is noted to have brought in 60% of its own revenue from Beats by Dre, and now plans to shift its focus on older demographics, such as executive types, which the brand never exactly catered to. Notably, Businessweek also states that Beats Electronics will retain the rights to the headphone's iconic design, sound-signature and branding. Considering Beats' partnerships reign far with companies like HP and HTC, things probably won't be all doom and gloom for the company -- but the amount of time left to pick up your very own JustBeats likely just got very slim.
Facebook launches 'listen with friends' feature, lets others shame you for poor taste
While Facebook's Open Graph might have exposed you as a Belieber way back in September, you couldn't chat and stream that questionable musical taste to your friends, Turntable.fm style, until now. Listening to tunes on music services that integrate with Facebook's API -- like Spotify and presumably Rdio, amongst others -- populates the ticker adjacent to the news feed and the chat overlay with clickable "Listen with" buttons (as seen above). Upon clicking those, you're slung into a group chat window whereupon you can listen and discuss those beats with your friends. Don't fret if you can't see it just yet, as it'll roll out in the following weeks, but while you wait a link explaining all awaits at the source.
TOSY and Justin Bieber announce mRobo: we go hands-on, dance-off (video)
Beethoven's Fifth. Michelangelo's Pietà . Plato's Republic. Cornerstones of human civilization, to be sure, but they all pale in comparison to what we saw today at CES: TOSY's new mRobo robot, inspired by none other than the Cultural Colossus of our time, Justin Bieber. The Vietnamese manufacturer and pubescent Prince have just taken the wraps off their latest collaboration: a petite, portable speaker-robot that dances -- nay, transcends -- just like his only slightly larger progenitor counterpart. When in speaker mode, the mRobo weighs in at just 3.3 pounds, stands a little under eight inches tall, and boasts 2GB of internal memory. Its integrated speaker pumps out the jams at bass levels of 40Hz, but the real magic happens once the music starts playing, automatically prompting the system to transform into an 18-inch tall robot and start dancing. Unfortunately, the bot is still in prototype mode, but it's expected to retail for about $200 when it launches during the fall of 2012.Today, though, we were lucky enough to get a sneak peak of the mRobo, courtesy of a mic'd-up Messiah with sweepy bangs and a leather jacket. Upon taking the stage to roars of applause and Jelly Bean sunshowers, Bieber went on to do a brief demo of the bot, displaying its ability to sync its dance moves to whatever tunes blare out of its abdomen speaker -- in this case, Billie Jean. The mRobo looked admittedly clumsy at times, and was especially awkward when onstage with the teen phenom, but, as TOSY repeatedly reminded us, it's still in prototype phase. (Bieber, for his part, did a good job of looking completely awestruck throughout much of the experience.) Before descending from his bubblegum pulpit, Bieber reminded his acolytes to "follow your dreams." Ours, at least, have just been realized. Follow yours past the break, straight to our hands-on video.Mat Smith contracted Bieber Fever from this report.
JXD releases S7100 Android-based gaming tablet, manages to steal from everyone
If you're going to steal, steal from the best. JXD has just released its S7100, a fairly conspicuous 7-inch Android-powered gaming tablet marketed towards playing old-school arcade games. The device features a D-pad, face buttons, an 800 x 480 capacitive touchsceen, ARM Cortex A9 CPU, Mali 400 GPU, 512MB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 0.3 megapixel front camera, 2.0 megapixel rear camera and HDMI-out. A video trailer shows the unit playing a variety of touchscreen games and classic ROMs including Metal Slug, Mario Kart 64, Angry Birds, Plants Vs. Zombies and Fruit Ninja HD. Not to be undone, the device also features the actual PlayStation button icons on its own buttons (sound familiar?), while the marketing website for the device sports icons from Apple, Google, Microsoft and others. If you're thus far undeterred, there's a must-watch promotional vid hosted just after the break -- nothing justifies a $140 price tag like Bieber, right?
YaCy's gunning for Google with free-software bullets
YaCy's a new free-software search engine aiming to wrest control of your private data back from the Googles and Bings of this world. There's no targeted advertising here, just a global network of peers all connected with the site's software. It currently has 600 peer operators servicing 130,000 queries monthly, with each user able to create individual search rankings so results improve over time. Project head Michael Christen said it's important no person decides what is listed, or in what order -- which makes us wonder what would happen if the Justin Bieber fan club decided to game the system. The software is available on GNU/Linux, Windows 7 and OS X and you can try a web-based tester (if you can get it working) at the source link below.
Best Buy's Buy Back Program to be made official during the Super Bowl... by Justin Bieber and Ozzy Osbourne
We heard about this during the news avalanche that was CES early last month, but today Best Buy has started making its new Buy Back Program official in emails sent out to valued Reward Zone customers. The gist of the scheme is that Best Buy will offer you set "Buy Back" prices for goods you purchase from its stores, advertising it as a reassurance that your electronics won't depreciate too much during your ownership. The leaked info we saw in January showed that you'll have to pay an extra fee at the point of purchase to enroll into the Program and Best Buy's highest re-purchase offers were capped at 50 percent of the initial price, so don't expect this to be any great favor to you, Mr. Consumer. For more info, keep your eyes locked on the Super Bowl this Sunday, when Justin Bieber and Ozzy Osbourne (no, seriously) will do their best to explicate Best Buy's new venture. [Thanks, Jeff and John]
Beats by Dr. Dre launching Beatbox iPod dock, along with LeBron and Bieber-branded headphones
Dr. Dre knows a hit when he sees one, and the already sprawling Beats lineup is getting five new products to hit just about every demographic you can imagine. First off is the Beatbox, a high-end portable iPod dock with 5.25-inch bass drivers and 2-inch high frequency drivers which will retail for $400. Next up is a LeBron James-branded set of athletics-friendly earbuds dubbed the Powerbeats. The $170 headphones include dual drivers and a design that lets in external noises. Meanwhile, the Beats Pro blows the lid off with a $450 pricetag and audio pro-style quality and performance. At the cheap end we have iBeats, a $120 pair of i-device friendly cans for the less discriminating, and our personal favorites: JustBeats. JustBeats are better than all the other headphones and we heart them and they're totally worth $200 for the on-ear and $120 for the in-ear versions because Justin Bieber is totally down to earth and sexy and probably the best singer ever. All of these should be landing in the next few weeks; we know you'll make the right decision. Update: Oh, and just so you know: we still hate Monster. You just can't pass up some Bieber, you know? %Gallery-103656%
Engadget's celebrity iPhone app showdown
It all began on a lark, really. When we realized that Jersey Shore's very own Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino had an iPhone app (and he had the temerity to charge $5 for it), we started thinking: Which other celebs have apps? How bad can they get? And who would win in an app store shoot-out between Kim Kardashian, Shaq, and Justin Bieber? The answer, as they say, will shock you. Journey past the break for Engadget's guide to the best and the worst (well, actually, just the worst) of the celebrity iPhone apps. %Gallery-103158%
Evil teen Bieber finds revenge is a dish best served on Twitter
Saturday night, from the depths of his subterranean cave, teen idol Justin Bieber took revenge on someone (who seems to be a minor so we're not going to bother naming names) who had allegedly hacked the Twitter account of the star's childhood friend. How best to get back at someone who has wronged you in your world 2.0? By Tweeting their phone number to your four and a half million followers, of course! We've seen this nerd fleeing throngs of girls on a Segway in the past -- which made him seem rather cool in our eyes -- but now we must ask ourselves... is Justin Bieber as innocent as he appears to be? Either way, nice burn.
Justin Bieber attempts daring Segway escape from mob of screaming tweens
Yes, you've undoubtedly heard about the YouTube sensation-turned-teen-heartthrob Justin Bieber's ability to attract mobs of screaming teenaged girls wherever he goes, but you've probably never seen a scene quite like this one. In the video, Biebs tries to make his getaway from the mob on a Segway, renowned only for its ability to send women screaming away from you. It's worth a few viewings, we assure you -- the video is below.
Caption Contest: Justin Bieber is an eenie meenie miney mo lova... of the Sony Dash
Here's a little inside baseball on why yours truly typically works alone at night: when in control, I give writers some, erm, creative mandates. Such as watching an entire Justin Bieber / Sean Kingston music video to contribute to this caption contest... but not telling them when exactly the Sony Dash and Sony Ericsson X10 make their respective cameos. Blatant abuse of authority? Probably, but as we sow, so shall you reap. The unfortunately US-only music video (and a picture of Kingston totally geeking out on subpar smartphone technology) after the break. Nilay: "Is there a widget that alerts me when I'm not a trending topic?" Ross: "You don't need to roll the dice... there's already a widget for that." Chris: "It's small, fits in any decor, and makes a great gift for mom. The Sony Dash also appears in the video." Joanna: "The stars, err, prepubescent boys are just like us: they'd rather play with tech than party." Richard Lai: "This Sony Dash should make.believe I've reached puberty." Sean H: "Not trying to rewind... I've just got to turn down the color temperature, it's ruining my tan." Sam: "Meh, by the time I reach puberty this thing is going to be obsolete." Tim: "I'm glad you're not a real Chumby. This way I'm still the cuddliest thing in the room." Thomas: "Who the hell is Justin Bieber?" Paul: "And I was like baby, baby, baby ohhh, baby, baby... oh, were we supposed to come up with something funny here? [Thanks, Kristopher Piersiak]