New acquisitions and innovations dominate today’s Tech Round-Up. Madison Ave. company uses Twitter to recruit interns, NASA puts the comethunter Stardust to sleep, Arianna Huffington and AOL plan to take over the digital media world, and Vid.ly plans to centralize video embedding programs.
Arianna Huffington and Tim Armstrong: king and queen of content. The founder of the Huffington Post and her new boss plan to reinvent AOL through quality journalism [Guardian]
Encoding.com opens Vid.ly – a single URL to watch videos on every browser. Sick of downloading multiple plug-ins for every web browser? Different videos require different codecs (a decoding device that allows access to a stream or channel) and screen sizes. With Vid.ly, Encoding.com aims to eradicate that middle step and create a universal video URL. [TechCrunch]
When to Whip Out the Cell – A Practical Do’s and Dont’s Guide for Proper Phone Use. Are you annoyed with the way our cellphones interrupt and throw off our social interactions? So are a lot of people. This article provides a list of offenses with illustrative situations below, just as an Ill-Timed FourSquare check-in, why are you so slow to respond to my text message, and the offensive cell phone glow at the marquee. [Gizmodo]
Twitter Contest Helps 6 Land Internships. Campbell Mithun Agency has turned to a new form of communication to find interns. Conducted via Twitter, interns were asked to submit thirteen reasons why they wanted one of the six paid internships this summer. After sifting through the applicants, the finalists were interviewed via Skype. Although it seems impersonal, this company’s experiment tests the norm of the social age.[NYT]
Japan creates a Twimal, the adorable Twitter Toy Pet! Local toy maker Takara Tomy has created a toy pet, a round thing with enormous eyes that reads your tweets out loud to you. The white version is female, and the blue version is male. Once connected via USB to your computer, the Twimal can track and read your tweets and follow up to three hash tags. [CrunchGear]
Members of Parliament have received official approval to tweet updates from the House of Commons. Politics straight to your mobile updates. [PressGazette]
SmartBird, the new robotic scavenger seagull boasts a 6.4 ft wing span. No need to shoo this replica off the beach, because Festo has designed the SmartBird to autonomously land and propel itself on a set pathway. Festo believes that scientists will learn a tremendous amount about the flight of the bird. Watch the latest addition to the robotic menagerie! [Gizmag]
Meet the iCade, an arcade for your iPad! ThinkGeek originally created this design as an April Fool’s spoof, and now models will be released starting June 2011. The iPad connects to the arcade cabinet via bluetooth, so you can control what happens on the screen. Partnering with ION and Atari, ThinkGeek has created a wide variety of arcade games. You can purchase the accessory for $99. [Design]
NASA burns up the last of Stardust. NASA recently announced that this old comet hunter’s engine will burn to depletion, and her radio will be turned off. Why, NASA, why?. [Gizmodo]
Lady Gaga worships YouTube star Rebecca Black. If you haven’t seen the meaningless teen video “Friday, Friday” you’re lucky. During an interview with Google, when asked whether YouTube stardom for teens is a good or bad thing, Gaga defended the teen star (without having seen the video herself):[TheDirt]
I say Rebecca Black is a genius and that anybody telling her she’s cheesy is full of shit.
Mark Zuckerberg changes his status from “single” to “in a relationship.” Bought time, since he’s been dating Priscilla since Harvard! [Gawker]
Wooden iPad 2 Cover- Smart, savvy, worth an investment. Miniot has revealed a new flexible design for the iPad 2. Similar to Apple’s SmartCover, this product magnetically aligns with the iPad screen and can bend easily to prop the iPad for easier typing or to watch a movie. [Mashable]
CityBook – the ATM inspired Photobooth. The Belgian company designer Holocube designed CityBook for guests at special events like Bar Mitzvahs, weddings, etc. to instantly take and print photographs. CityBook functions as an ATM. Guests activate the camera via touchscreen, and can print photos instantly in color or special color options. [TrendHunter]
In Mississagua, Ontario, the architectural design of Absolute Condos features delicate twists and light-reflecting panels. [Design]
Ford’s Comuta Concept from 1967. What an adorable cube! [Gizmag]
