It was announced and demoed back in March, and now it’s finally here: the Wired Magazine iPad application. When iPad was first announced, many thought that Wired Magazine’s version for the device would be the one to redefine the way we look at magazines. From the looks of it, it doesn’t disappoint: there’s a lot of interactive content (June issue features an interactive map of Mars), as well as slide shows, video and music. It’s also a hefty download: 527 MB is more than enough to store a lot of multimedia content, but you might want to download it over Wi-Fi instead of 3G. The app is available in the App Store for $4.99. For more mobile coverage, follow Mashable Mobile on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Reviews: App Store , Facebook , Twitter Tags: apple , conde nast , ipad , Wired
This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here . The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. Name: Quirky Quick Pitch: Quirky is a social product development company founded in June 2009 by 23-year-old entrepreneur Ben Kaufman. Genius Idea: At its core, Quirky builds consumer products. It sells cable organizers , a modular spatula system , and double-sided USB sticks . It’s how they create and develop their products that really makes them stand out, though. Quirky describes itself as a “social product development company.” It essentially crowdsources product ideas and then places them at the mercy of Quirky’s thousands of users. The community votes on which ones they want to develop and then adds its input on things such as product aesthetics, design, logo, and even its name. The best ideas are then taken by Quirky’s team of engineers and designers and turned into 3D renderings. The next step is the most important one: the product is then placed on pre-sale, where anyone can buy the product. However, Quirky will only sell something if it hits a minimum number of sale commitments (usually under a thousand). Once that number is reached, the product is made and person who submitted the original idea gets a piece of the revenue pie. There are a few things to know before you go off designing tons of products for Quirky. First, it costs $99 to submit an idea. Second, even if your product is selected by the community, it doesn’t mean it will become a major hit. Finally, many products on Quirky still have yet to hit their minimum purchase requirement, and some of the products on sale on the site aren’t cheap. In the end though, we believe that Quirky is a killer tool for both entrepreneurs without the means to bring an idea into production and for geeks looking to buy useful — if not odd — products. The best ideas find their way to the top and are vetted by the community, which brings multiple perspectives and opinions to a product’s development. Quirky was founded by Ben Kaufman, who is the creator of Mophie , the popular iPhone and iPod accessory company, so it has some serious brainpower behind the company. You can learn more about the Quirky process here . Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today . Entrepreneurs can take advantage of the Azure Services platform for their website hosting and storage needs. Microsoft recently announced the “new CloudApp()” contest – use the Azure Services Platform for hosting your .NET or PHP app, and you could be the lucky winner of a USD 5000* ( please see website for official rules and guidelines ).” For more technology coverage, follow Mashable Tech on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Reviews: Facebook , PHP , Twitter Tags: bizspark , Crowdsource , Product Design , Quirky , shopping
AT&T is rolling out a stopgap solution to its ongoing service woes in at least one major market: they hope to alleviate data congestion issues by blanketing New York City’s Times Square with free Wi-Fi. Any current AT&T customers with 3G smartphones or mobile broadband cards, or who have AT&T as their high speed Internet provider, will be able to hop on to what is essentially a giant hotspot being installed in the north central area of Times Square. Smartphone users should even automatically be switched over from 3G service and connected to the hotspot when they come within acceptable range. For now it’s just a pilot project, but if all goes well the company has said it will be considering free Wi-Fi implementations in other congested major markets in the U.S. It’s an interesting solution that shows the carrier is more than well aware of the service issues faced by customers in crowded locations, but it does leave other parts of the city (and country) out of luck for now. What do you think of the idea of alleviating cell bandwidth woes by providing free Wi-Fi? And would it be enough to prevent mass exodus if AT&T were to lose iPhone exclusivity? [via Boy Genius Report ] Image courtesy of iStockphoto , SVLumagraphica For more mobile coverage, follow Mashable Mobile on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Tags: 3g , att , iphone , new york , NYC , smartphones , times square , wi-fi
MTV is using a novel approach to generate buzz for their upcoming new television series The Hard Times of RJ Berger : the company is launching a casual game that will tie into the show via episodic content. The “Chain of Thought” game centers on the theme that it’s “difficult to talk to one’s crush.” Players get points and level up by completing “conversation challenges” in which objects must be connected in the correct order to produce a sentence that elicits a positive response from the crush character. The game introduces new users to the show about an unpopular 15-year-old boy who deals with a sudden influx of newfound popularity at school and wants to figure out how to talk to his object of affection, Jenny. The title also features a “build mode” that brings in an aspect of user-generated content. Players are invited to set up their own conversation challenges along with positive or negative responses, and see them played out in a level of their own creation. The idea is to help break the ice with an actual crush or at least have fun with a friend who knows about the situation — and MTV hopes that aspect of the game will encourage players to virally share it with their friends. We spoke with VP of MTV Digital Colin Helm and Supervising Producer at MTV Digital Tom Akel about the project and wanted to know what led to the idea behind introducing a game before the series launch. Early on the team was looking for a way to “raise awareness outside of what we normally do.” As one of the first scripted shows that MTV has produced in some time, they had the benefit of a longer lead time with available assets including visuals and scripts. Using a viral casual game to promote a television series seemed like a timely play in the context of interactive digital entertainment. As the TV show progresses, new “episodes” of the game will be unveiled as well, featuring actual dialogue and plot themes from the series. This type of tight integration between a television show and its companion game is a novel approach to episodic content, and we’ll be interested to see how much repeat interest is generated from the series to the game and vice versa. The game itself is live now, so if you have a chance to check it out on MTV.com be sure to let us know what you think in the comments. The Hard Times of RJ Berger series itself premieres on June 6 at 11 p.m., and you can check out a trailer to get a sense of the show as well. For more entertainment coverage, follow Mashable Entertainment on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Tags: casual games , facebook , games , Hard Times of RJ Berger , mtv , MTV Digital , tv
LinkedIn already syncs status updates with Twitter , but now the business social network is taking its Twitter integration to the next level to help users better track and follow their connections. LinkedIn’s Tweets application, which the company announced has over one million users, has gotten a major upgrade. It is now divided into four parts: Overview, Connections, My Tweets and Settings. The overview tab shows you a basic outline of what your friends are tweeting, which people you are following and even suggests LinkedIn connections that you can follow. Of course, you can also update your Twitter status right from LinkedIn. Connections is one of the more interesting parts of the updated Tweets application. It shows all of your connections that also use Twitter and whether you follow them. If you don’t, you have the option to add them to your Twitter stream right from LinkedIn. LinkedIn has also launched Twitter List integration. You can now save your LinkedIn connections as a dynamic Twitter List. It will even update the list when you add new connections to your LinkedIn profile. The business social network has made a big bet on Twitter as a source of growth. While LinkedIn has more than 50 million users, growth has stagnated, according to Compete . Deeper integration with Twitter should be good for its growth, but we do wonder if Facebook integration could be in the works, or if the social networks compete too much for the same users for that to happen. For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Tags: linkedin , tweets , twitter , twitter list , Twitter Lists
Not everyone can pull off an iPad vest , which is why we’re relieved that someone finally came out with a line of fashion staples that will look good on anyone — well, anyone who wants to carry around their iPad on their person at all times, that is. iClothing is described on its website as “a modern take on old classics,” and features a line of t-shirts and little black dresses outfitted with massive, massive pockets. Next up, the iPad tux? One can only dream… [via TUAW ] For more technology coverage, follow Mashable Tech on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Reviews: Facebook , Twitter Tags: Gadget , ipad , tech
Dating site OkCupid sent an e-mail to some of its users late last week informing them that they’ve been placed in the top half of users in terms of attractiveness by its algorithms. As a result of the categorization, the attractive users will be more likely to see one another in match searches, while the users who are in the lower tier will not see a change. The e-mail (which was sent by the “OkCupid Summer Interns”) specified that the determinations were made through analysis of clicks on users’ photos and reactions in the Quiver and QuickMatch features. Those two tools ask users to quickly respond positively or negatively to photos accompanied by segments of profile text. When users are presented in searches, QuickMatch or Quiver, their pictures are featured most prominently, but some profile data is included as well — usually just one paragraph. You can’t get a sense of who someone really is from that paragraph, of course, but a user may write someone off because of poor spelling or other factors that are apparent in the clips. So sure, it’s not entirely based on looks, but they’re probably the biggest factor. Is OkCupid Shallow? People who don’t believe in “leagues” of attractiveness might find this division a little crass, but others will see it as a win-win move for the dating site and its users. A dating site needs attractive users to thrive, of course. They’re more likely to remain active on the site if they’re easily able to reach men and women they consider desirable prospects. And since they’re attractive themselves, their continued presence will drive pageviews. Just think: When an attractive user’s photo shows up in a search of currently active users, it’s more likely to receive clicks than a photo of an unattractive member. OkCupid is primarily ad-supported, and those extra clicks and pageviews generate more revenue. Unattractive users won’t notice a difference — except, perhaps, fewer messages from attractive ones, but they probably weren’t receiving those messages to begin with. The Thinking Person’s Dating Site The Boston Globe called OkCupid “the Google of online dating.” That’s not because it’s the biggest dating site (it’s not), but because it’s arguably the most innovative and cerebral in its approach and features. OkCupid tracks data very closely, just as Google does in many cases, and it maintains a blog called OkTrends where it applies user data research to come to fascinating and helpful conclusions about how people approach online dating. Subjects have included how different approaches to profile pictures affect the amount of messages received, why young men should try to date older women and what the best first messages say. OkCupid also just launched a site called MyBestFace , which is like a very elaborate, almost-scientific Hot or Not -type tool that invites users to tag themselves and then vote on photos. The person who uploaded his or her photos eventually receives a report sharing which photos fared best with which kinds of people so he or she can make an informed decision about which ones to feature more prominently. Add that to the blogging features, a newsfeed and detailed matching algorithms, and you have an approach to dating that’s unique to the web-driven twenty-first century. Just don’t screw it up with any Facebook dating faux pas after other websites have found you the love of your life, alright? image courtesy of iStockphoto , CREATISTA For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Reviews: Facebook , Google , Twitter , iStockphoto Tags: dating , okcupid , online dating , romance , sex
For someone who has been famously wary of the web — to the point where he called Twitter a “tool of terror” — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is becoming quite the social media maven. That’s right, in addition to (surprisingly) getting hip to Twitter , Chavez now has his very own blog . Before you go adding the pres’ blog to your RSS in anticipation of juicy gossip or amusing commentary, let us assure you that Perez has nothing to worry about — the site basically contains news about meetings with Chinese officials, columns by Fidel Castro (who Chavez has already urged to join Twitter ), as well as speeches, photos and videos. In short, this is a pretty standard political website — there’s even a comments section (although all comments are suspiciously positive). According to the AP , the president launched his website and accompanying blog today mainly to combat untruths that he says people are spreading online. This sentiment falls in line with statements he made two months ago when he called for greater regulation of the Internet after a website posted a story falsely suggesting that Diosdado Cabello, a senior minister and close aide of Chavez, had been assassinated. Back then, he was quoted by Reuters as saying: “The Internet cannot be something open where anything is said and done. Every country has to apply its own rules and norms.” Now it seems that Chavez is taking the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” approach — jumping into the Internet trenches and taking control of his own image. What do you think of the president’s foray into social media? Let us know in the comments. For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Reviews: Facebook , Internet , Twitter
Most Facebook users have no idea that the social network giant has a D.C. office full of lobbyists and policy wonks. But that office will be staging a Congress staffers-only briefing this week to address issues of — you guessed it — user privacy. Like any major corporation that plays footsie with public and private data, large amounts of money, mergers and acquisitions, and other hallmarks of big business, Facebook must stay abreast of policy changes and try to influence legislators in its favor. To help with the launch of its “new suite of simpler and easier-to-use privacy tools,” Facebook is inviting House and Senate staff to the Capitol Visitors Center to “learn about what these tools mean for your constituents and the future of sharing online.” The briefing will take place on Thursday, May 27 at 4 p.m. ET and will include a Q&A. This announcement comes in the wake of what can only be described as a “hoopla” around Facebook and privacy. One senator went as far as penning a letter to the FTC , urging them to create privacy guidelines for Facebook and other social networking sites. Here’s Kara Swisher of All Things D on a tour of Facebook’s D.C. office back in November 2009, when Facebook’s primary reason for being in D.C. was “privacy, privacy, privacy.” While we wait to hear back from Facebook reps on the specific talking points and goals for this briefing, let us know what you think Facebook should say to Congress representatives about privacy and how much you think Washington needs to be involved in the matter. For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Reviews: Facebook , Twitter Tags: briefing , congress , DC , facebook , Washington
We joked last week when Google changed its logo to a playable game of Pac-Man that the world’s collective productivity would take a sharp plunge, but it turns out that’s exactly what happened. The blog for time management tool RescueTime did the math and determined that Google Pac-Man consumed 4,819,352 hours of time, or $120,483,800 in productivity. The cost was determined by looking at how much time was spent on Google’s homepage the day the Pac-Man logo was up (48 seconds) versus the average amount of time spent on other days (11 seconds) and multiplied by the number of visitors to the site that day (503,703,000). The cost seems like a bit of a stretch, though. RescueTime assumed that the average Google user makes $25 per hour; that’s considerably higher than median income in Internet-connected nations. Also, you probably can’t assume that everyone who visited the site Friday was on the clock at work. If you haven’t wasted time at work playing Google Pac-Man already, you still have a chance to add to that lost productivity tally. Google has preserved the Pac-Man game logo at www.google.com/pacman (you can also download the game ) even though the front page has returned to normal. For more business coverage, follow Mashable Business on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Tags: Google , online games , pac-man , productivity , rescuetime , search engine
