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Google Me to be the Googlish answer to Facebook?
Kevin Rose, the dude who started Digg, got the Twitterverse all aflutter yesterday by suggesting that Google is working on a bona fide Facebook competitor -- to be called Google Me, according to his "very credible source." All such rumors ought to be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism, but today there's been some corroboration from one Adam D'Angelo, Facebook's former CTO. Adam, again citing reliable sources, tells us Google Me is a real project, with significant resources invested in it, and an indication that "Buzz wasn't enough" to counter the social site's growing presence. Another former Facebook exec, Richard Cooperstein, makes the astute observation that what Google's really trying to do is reclaim time that the ''book has stolen away; he notes that time spent on Facebook relative to Google search and YouTube continues to grow, and the Mountain View outfit has to retaliate to keep itself ahead. You'll find the K-Rose tweet after the break -- he deleted the original, but Google Cache can be a cruel mistress.
Cat@Log, the tiny Twitter box for tweety bird hunters
Your cat's Twitter account just got real, yo. With an embedded accelerometer, GPS and camera in a lightweight neck-mounted package, this "Cat@Log" can figure out what your feline friend is doing at any given moment, and automatically send status updates accordingly. Should Sony Computer Science Laboratories and the University of Tokyo ever commercialize the thing, we're sure they'll sell plenty -- but please don't try to friend us with one. Why? Um... we're allergic... to anthropomorphic social networking. Yes, that's it. Your cat? Cute as a button, we swear.
Tony Hawk: Shred confirmed by Activision
Thanks to a since-deleted Tweet from the skateboarding mogul himself, the name Tony Hawk: Shred has been making the rounds as the rumored title for the next game in the venerable skating series. Now, Activision's made it official, telling us, "We can confirm we've given a name to the next Tony Hawk game – Tony Hawk: SHRED, and more details will be revealed in the coming months." What we don't know is if TH:S is the peripheral-based follow-up to last year's Tony Hawk: Ride that Activision threatened promised in February. It seems like a natural evolution, right? "Hey Steve, you seem to be riding that skateboard pretty well, but aren't you ready to do more than ride? Would you, perhaps, be prepared to shred?" (Also, as our own Ludwig Kietzmann points out, Tony Hawk: Shrek would probably make a lot more money.)
Starbucks expands pay-by-iPhone pilot
About six months ago, we wrote about two free Starbucks apps for the iPhone and iPod touch. myStarbucks got you to the nearest caffeinated outlet and let you build your coffee, and The Starbucks Card Mobile app replaced your physical card, allowing you to have a bar code scanned and pay for your purchases. When the card ran dry, it could be refilled with caffeine-free money. The Starbucks Card Mobile app was tested at 16 Seattle stores in the Silicon Valley. Apparently, paying for coffee with an iPhone was a big success. Starbucks has expanded their test to all 1,002 outlets inside Target stores. The company is taking it one step at a time and currently has no plans to further expand it to the 11,000 Starbucks stores in the US -- yet. You will have to update your app to version 1.2.1 to take advantage of the expanded roll out, but if you have a Starbucks Card Mobile app, you've most likely already done that. So, the next time you find yourself at a Target, you'll have to find a way of justifying your purchase of a cup coffee that costs more than the shirt you just bought. [via Computerworld]
Twitter Time: What Cataclysm info do you want?
There's been a fair amount of new Cataclysm info trickling out of Blizzard's volcano lair lately, but of course, we still want more. There are whole systems we know next to nothing about! An entire continent whose cataclysmic changes are still a complete mystery! And just what the heck happens to Cairne Bloodhoof? Our little hearts can't take the suspense. So we did what any normal people would do: took to the nexus of short-form social networking (the Twitter) and asked you what you just had to know about Cataclysm. As it turns out, plenty. And the variance in responses tells us one thing: we need a beta, stat. Here are some sample responses, with the rest hanging out after the break. Don't forget to follow us on the official WoW.com Twitter account! promisha @WoWInsider I want to what they are specifically doing to make VC and SFK heroic, other than just level change Shad0wembrace @WoWInsider I would really like to know if they are increasing the amount of characters on a server. Balekkar @WoWInsider what happens to Cairne Bloodhoof? Thrawnseg @WoWInsider How will raids be handled? Will it be like TBC or Wrath as in 1 path or many?
International Space Station gets 'Man Cave,' Robonaut 2
In the narrow confines of the International Space Station, every cubic inch counts, but that won't necessarily keep NASA from building a rec room. When the Leonardo Pressurized Multipurpose Module (PMM) launches in September 2010, NASA is considering turning it into a internet-connected "man cave" isolated and quiet enough for astronauts to tweet in privacy. The connection's nothing special -- science officer T.J. Creamer compared it to that of a 14.4K modem capable of only tweets, text articles and basic browsing -- but Universe Today reports that they will also have a robotic servant, the Robonaut 2, to play with. Imagine a cramped world without fresh water or YouTube, but where you can program a state-of-the-art robot to perform monotonous tasks... We think that's a fair tradeoff, don't you? [Thanks, Robert P.]
Analog Tweet-O-Meter shows city-specific Twitter activity the old fashioned way
Never mind keeping track of how many gold medals Bermuda, Cayman Islands and Monaco rack up during the Winter Olympics; the real nerds are watching to see exactly how many tweets are being pushed out per minute from a smattering of cities around the world. CASA's Tweet-O-Meter has been running on a webpage for awhile now, but frankly, the novelty tends to wear quickly. These, however, are far more tempting to the retinas. What you're looking at above are a few analog Tweet-O-Meters, which do exactly what you think they do: showcase the amount of tweets that are leaving New York, London and Paris at any given time by moving a needle within a conventional gauge. Head on past the break for a video, and be sure to express your reaction on your favorite up-and-coming social networking site. [Thanks, Dr. Andrew]
Send tweets automatically during a Keynote presentation with Keynote Tweet
Imagine if, as Steve Jobs moves through each slide of his Keynote presentation, he also has the telepathic powers to automatically tweet information related to the slide. But even the almighty Steve Jobs can't do that. Fortunately for him, there's Keynote Tweet. An open source AppleScript app, Keynote Tweet will automatically tweet the text from your presenter notes (accessible by clicking on "view" and selecting "show presenter notes"). Keynote Tweet was exposed to me while reading a piece by IDEO Labs' Gentry Underwood, who highlights the idea of large presentations increasingly occurring within the context of a backchannel in which audience members are responding to what's being presented. Getting Keynote Tweet up and running is fairly straightforward. Simply download the app, and then add the following entry into the Keychain Access app: Keychain Item Name: http://twitter.com Account Name: Your email address Password: Your Twitter password Now, with the Keynote Tweet app running, any text between the [twitter] and [/twitter] tags will automatically tweet when that slide is displayed (while in slideshow mode). For example, "Jay Leno lacks the charm, wit and red headedness of Conan O' Brien" will be tweeted the moment I reach the slide showing the percentage of people that hate Jay Leno. Keynote Tweet is available as a free download here. [via IDEO Labs]
Twitter for Zune coming tomorrow, @Facebook where are you?
Poetically enough announced via a tweet, the Zune team has given word that the long-awaited Twitter app is coming to Microsoft's little media player that could. Coupled with November's release of 3D games, by our count that leaves only Facebook left as the promised Zune app officially registering M.I.A. More details for tomorrow's release in the morning, and with so many Twitter apps available on other platforms as case studies, we'll be expecting some good things here, mkay Redmond? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Twoddler lets your toddler twitter and summon the Fail Whale #cute
So you think your baby's all Twitter-ready with that Kickbee while chilling in the womb? Nah, only practice makes perfect, so the folks at Belgium's Hasselt University came up with the Twoddler: a hacked Fisher-Price activity board with buttons linked to predefined Twitter messages. Obsessive parents can put photos of themselves on the buttons, so that whenever those buttons are hit the Twoddler tweets something like "@mommy I miss you." We like this idea, but then again you'll never know if it's just someone else's kids bashing the buttons -- you'll still feel good anyway. Watch some Twoddler action after the break.
First look: Echofon for Mac beta version
Echofon (formerly TwitterFon) has been a favorite for many iPhone users for tweeting on the go. naan studio, the developers behind Echofon for iPhone and Firefox, have brought Echofon to the Mac with a newly-launched beta version. Like Tweetie (which launched for iPhone and was later released for Mac) and other Twitter apps for Mac like Twitterrific and TweetDeck that started on the desktop, Echofon intends to provide tight integration with Twitter. Echofon is also aiming at integrating their new Mac offering with Echofon for iPhone. Read on to see what Echofon for Mac offers... %Gallery-79160%
Patch 3.3 PTR: Speedier Northrend reputation grinds [Updated]
The official Blizzard World of Warcraft Twitter account made the above announcement today. It is great that they are thinking of increasing the speed in which Northrend reputation is gained, but they aren't saying much more than that. Blizzard is only planning (not promising) to test (not implement) the increased rep for many (not all or even most) factions. So, while this is likely to appear on the PTR sometime in the not too distant future, what factions it will affect and when (or even if) it appears on live realms is anybody's guess.I love Twitter and it's great that Blizzard has been making use of their account for more than just their version of a Breakfast Topic, but I would prefer if they would link to more details when they release info like this. Perhaps follow it up with a forum post giving some facts or a link to a recent forum discussion of Northrend Factions.
Win prizes in Blizzard's Twitter contests
If you are following Blizzard's Diablo, StarCraft and Warcraft Twitter accounts, then you already know that Blizzard has announced three new Twitter contests.For all three of them, you must be following the appropriate account. Here is a summary of each contest: Starcraft: Tweet how you are the biggest StarCraft 2 fan using the #SC2fan hashtag for a chance to win one of 500 Starcraft 2 beta keys. Diablo: Tweet an item name using the #D3unique hashtag to win one of many Diablo 3 prizes. Warcraft: Using the #Battlecry hashtag, tweet "For the Horde" when the background of the @warcraft twitter page shows a Horde flag and "For the Alliance" when the background is Alliance. Horde or Alliance prize packages are up for grabs in this sweepstakes. These contests end August 24, 2009. Good luck everyone!
DSS surveillance tech from Japan makes George Orwell upset
We take a break from reporting on the impending doom of the human race to bring you news of the latest innovation designed specifically for making our pre-apocalypse lives miserable. Japanese firm DSS is now offering to snap video cameras and ankle sensors -- yes, the same kind that convicts under home arrest have to wear -- onto your employees for the ultimate in workplace surveillance. Sure, you might find out Bob in accounting takes a really long lunch, but do you really need to spend $20,000 and piss off your entire workforce to prove that? Just stalk his Tweets and Facebook status updates like a good old-fashioned employer would do.
World of Warcraft trends big on Twitter video games
TweetMyGaming is a site started up by our friends over at gamerDNA (they routinely contribute to our sister site Massively, including sharing some great information on WoW's demographics), and while the site is designed to track all mentions of video games on Twitter, one game has more or less dominated the discussion since the site debuted about a month ago. Well, actually, it was The Sims 3 -- apparently as big as World of Warcraft is, it still can't stop EA's Sims series for sheer popularity (or top the series in sales). But still, WoW is sitting at a respectable number two in tweets, and watching the feed go by over on the game's page lets you in on all the different slices of the game's community, from the hardcore raiders to the folks just trying to grab some time to play.Of course, all of the values on the site are constantly changing, and we're sure they're still tweaking the formula of how games move up and down the list -- The Sims 3 is coming hot off of its release a few weeks ago, and while WoW has a vibrant twitter community for sure, the news about mounts and the new patch 3.2 information last week probably helped keep it up on the radar (just wait and see what happens over BlizzCon -- I wouldn't be surprised to see WoW-related topics trending over Twitter at large).But WoW is definitely a game that people talk about no matter what's in the news lately. Interesting, but not surprising, that it's holding its own even among the trendiest games on Twitter.
Tweet for your nation, win real life rings
Readers of Massively, ask not what your Final Fantasy XI nation can do for you, but how you can best tweet for your nation! Oh, and did we mention that there's fabulous prizes?FFXIclopedia and Square-Enix have teamed up for a fun Twitter oriented contest, giving away three real life replicas of the nation rings in Final Fantasy XI. These nation rings aren't just cheap replicas either, as each ring is made of silver and retails for 115 bucks!All you have to do is simply follow @ffxiclopedia and tweet why you support #windurst, #bastok, or #san d'oria in the form of a sentence. The contest will run until July 4th, and winners will be chosen on July 5th. The three winners, one from each nation's supporters, will win a replica of their nation's ring -- so choose your support wisely!
Tweetmygaming.com tracks the Twitterverse of gaming
Last week GamerDNA launched TweetMyGaming.com, a Twitter stat tracking site covering games. Using fancy mathematicals and internet juice, TweetMyGaming follows the 140-character conversations in the Twitterverse in real-time.Tweets and play patterns are graphed by the site, with the percentages on the homepage displaying the daily increase or decrease of tweets for that particular game. The "attention numbers" found on specific game pages are based off gamerDNA data. We're definitely curious to see how the site evolves, not to mention that we love statisticals.
MapleStory joins the wild world of Twitter
Twitter needs to be classified as an addictive drug, we think. We seem to be using it, and we just can't stop ourselves anymore. We keep telling ourselves that it's just a simple RSS feed where we're limited in what we can type out to others, yet we keep going back to that internet street corner, begging for just one more tweet...But hey, we've gotten company recently! MapleStory has created their own Twitter page as well, joining the rest of the world in answering the question "what are you doing right now?" If you're interested in the 2D MMO, just drop by their page and sign up for their tweets to stay atop of in-game news. Right now, they seem to be flaunting their recent gold farmer bannings (remind us to never get on MapleStory's badside), as well as talking to some of their fans regarding their MapleStory achievements.Now, if you could excuse us, we feel we need to tweet again.
Follow the patch day news as it happens with WoW Insider on Twitter
Patch days bring about major game changing news, and the WoW Insider crew is hard at work to bring you the very latest.As we gotten the news in we've been tweeting about it left and right, and we'll continue to do this throughout the day. We're also responding to as many questions via tweets as we can. And as a special treat for all you twittering people out there, we'll be giving away some WoW TCG Loot Card codes (courtesy of our good friends at WoWTCGLoot.com) over the next week or so. But the only way for you to get them is to follow us on Twitter and wait for the sign.Of course, another good reason to follow us on twitter is that when we reach 9,000 followers, we'll be doing a video version of our podcast, The WoW Insider Show. Ever wonder what Mike Schramm looks like while talking? Want to see if Turpster really is a gnome warrior? And do writers here at WoW Insider really grow horns and walk around with pitch forks chanting monotone devilries while sacrificing baby Murlocs to Ghostcrawler in exchange for new patch information?Follow us and find out!
BakerTweet, the Arduino-based pastry early warning system
Usually when we cover the baked goods beat 'round here it's in the form of a gadget-themed confection, so anything that actually empowers our sweet tooth is not only brilliant, it's dangerous! That's why we were really excited (and a little scared) to come across BakerTweet, a WiFi-enabled, Arduino-based prototype that one mounts on the wall of their bakery. Items are added or removed via web interface, which you can later select by simply spinning the dial. When the sweets come out of the oven, press the button to Tweet your eager customers and await the stampede. The prototype unit is being used at Albion's Oven in London, but we're looking forward to seeing it hit the streets Stateside at some point in the near future (even if our waist isn't). Video after the break.[Via SlashGear]
