WSOF 19 Results: Silva Loses to BIG Underdog, Gaethje Retains Title

Holder Upset Silva and Advances to Finals of Tournament… Teddy Holder def. Thiago Silva by...
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Mobile Marketing Trends To Follow From The Israeli Elections

 The impact of mobile and social media on every aspect of our lives is nothing new, but certain events can really shine a light on how mobile has changed our way of conduct. The presidential elections do just that. During the 2012 elections, mobil...

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Why Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is way more than a concept

Features from concept to mainstreamEvolution teaches us many things, one of the most important being that in order to survive, we must adapt. Unfortunately, some creatures are better adapted for survival than others. Over thousands upon thousands or millions of years, a seemingly simple organism can rise to be a thriving part of its species, setting an example of the benefits of such evolution.However, all evolution is met with hardship, and obstacles. In the insanely competitive mobile world, products live and die on a daily basis. If you're lucky enough to break through all the noise, you may just live on for future generations. One such company that's evolved to the top of the food chain is Samsung.In 2009, Samsung accounted for only four percent of all Android smartphones. Today, that number has jumped to 29.3%, according to a recent comScore report. Not to mention, Android now commands just over 80% of the mobile OS market, leaps beyond its position behind Windows Mobile, RIM, and the now non-existent Symbian.Samsung may have been blasted for "copying" designs in the past, but the company hasn't been afraid to make big bets. One of the most memorable was the Galaxy Note, a phablet, a word with an increasingly shifting definition, with a completely unheard of 5.3-inch display. It was criticized as being ridiculously big and wouldn't sell, yet here we are with the fourth iteration, and 5-inch plus phones being the norm.Apple eventually saw the need with the iPhone 6 Plus, and helped reduce the jokes about Android users making phone calls with their "tablets." Just last year, Samsung made another bet with the Galaxy Note Edge, the first ever phone of its kind. A peculiar concept, the unique experience has made it center stage with the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, the latest flagship that also sports some firsts.What exactly is the Edge?While the Galaxy Note Edge had just one curve, the Galaxy S6 Edge features what Samsung claims is "the world's first dual-curved glass display." Edge is a simple marketing buzzword to advertise the curved display, and although "Curve" may sound like a better choice, it doesn't get the whole message across.For example, by swiping from the "Edge," you can access and customize a list of your five most popular contacts. Tapping on their photo, which appears as a bubble icon, lets you call or text them, and if you want to see more details such as their most recent text, you can swipe again over their photo.Going a step further, you can customize the color for each contact. Such a feature may sound trivial, that is until you leave your phone facing down. Because the screen is slightly curved, a tiny sliver is exposed. If your friend Jason calls, and his color is red, the exposed part of the screen will light up red, instantly signaling to you your friend Jason is calling.Where the Moto X 2nd Gen has front-facing sensors enabling you to wave your hand over the screen to ignore a call, the Galaxy S6 Edge allows you to ignore a call by putting your finger over the heart-rate sensor. This obviously makes a lot more sense if you often leave your phone facing down, which may or may not be the case.The Edge also functions as a stream for content that interests you. Think of it as a stock ticker of sorts, able to display tweets, text messages, weather, emails, and more. Because Samsung takes advantage of a Super AMOLED display, it can display this information when the screen is turned off, and not drain your battery. To see more details about whatever information is being shown, simple tap the Edge to be taken directly to it.More curved display features Our phones have made traditional alarm clocks a thing of the past, and the curved display takes things a step further in this case. Displayed on the Edge, an alarm clock function lets you see what time it is in the middle of the night without picking up your phone.All of this adds up to a completely new experience, both from a software and design perspective. Of course, if you could care less about the special features the "Edge" allows for, you can turn them off in settings under "Edge screen." We'll for sure see tweaks and new features added over the coming months, but where Samsung is truly betting is the curved display, and it has even bigger plans to extend beyond that.LG and Samsung are working on incorporating foldable displays into the next generation of smartphones in 2016, according to a recent report from Business Korea."LG's G Flex 2 and Samsung's curved edge displays, which can bend up and down and side to side, are between the first and second stages. An official from Samsung Display said, "The industry believes that the commercialization of foldable smartphones will be possible in 2016."Curved displays can add for a more immersive experience, and particularly in the case of the LG G Flex 2, is very ergonomic in the hand. The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is a way for the South Korean giant to test the waters on a large scale. The Galaxy Note Edge is rumored to have sold 630,000 units worldwide, which doesn't sound like a lot, except for the fact it was most definitely a concept device.The Galaxy S6 Edge on the other hand isn't another concept. It's a serious bet on what Samsung believes is the future of smartphones. So far, it's a bet that appears to be paying off, at least with carriers. Shortly after the March 1 announcement of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, Korea Times reported that Samsung received 20 million pre-orders. This is a record for the company, and five million of those pre-orders were for the Galaxy S6 Edge.This is still carriers we're talking about, and not pre-orders from actual consumers, but it's a good start. Will the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge spark a new trend in the same way the Galaxy Note did? We're about to find out.

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Top 5 Crucial Finance Tips For Start Up Companies

Nobody ever said that starting a new business should be easy. Or that transitioning from startup to small business status would be a walk in the park. The reality is that driving growth and achieving sustainability at small firms is tough but with the right approach and ambition, there is no reason these goals can’t be attained. Here are 5 finance-related ways in which you can look to give your startup a better chance of success: 1. Be obsessed with sales Unless your business is selling its products or services to paying customers then it is difficult to claim that you really have a business at all. That might sound harsh and there will always be important preparation and promotional work to be done but unless you are succeeding in closing sales then it will be impossible to establish healthy cash flows or keep your company afloat for long.   2. Measure everything that moves Financial details can be hugely revealing about how fledgling companies are developing and where they are going right or wrong. By measuring all incomings and outgoings meticulously, you can equip yourself and your new business with what can be invaluable information reflecting the progress you’ve been making or the missteps you’ve been taking. 3. Be ready for anything For startup companies in any industry financial difficulties and cash flow problems can emerge as if from nowhere and start causing serious problems very quickly. These issues can all-too easily lead to disaster unless certain contingency plans and alternative financing options are in place to guard against the worst potential impacts.   4. Focus on invoicing/payment procedures It can be easy for passionate and ambitious entrepreneurs to overlook the importance of what should be straightforward processes around invoicing and getting paid by clients and customers. After all, there are likely to be far more interesting challenges to be found elsewhere within the context of a startup operation. However, any attention paid to the business of ensuring prompt invoicing and pursuit of payments is well spent and can make a major difference in keeping your cash flows moving. “You don’t close a sale, you open a relationship if you want to build a long-term, successful enterprise.” – Patricia Fripp 5.  Keep costs down and build the right relationships Our final tip is perhaps quite an obvious one. We all know that keeping costs down can help to balance our finances but in the context of startup operating it bears emphasising and the goal should always be pursued with real determination. A key way of achieving this aim is always likely to be by establishing strong working relationships with trustworthy suppliers and partners. Hopefully you’ve found these tips useful. Financial management and operational prudence might not be the most glamorous of subjects but every startup has to start somewhere and healthy cash flows will always be essential to success in any enterprise context.  

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Hugh Jackman Hints At ‘Wolverine 3′ As Final Appearance In Role

Hugh Jackman’s tenure in the role that made him a star will be coming to an end in 2017. Jackman took to Instagram this morning with a cryptic post teasing that the upcoming third standalone Wolverine film will be his final appearance as the character:

While it’s strange to think of Wolverine not being portrayed by Jackman, when the still-untitled Wolverine 3 hits theaters March 3, 2017, it will mark his 17th year playing the character. That’s long time no matter how you…

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UK ‘Terminator: Genisys’ Trailer Elevates JK Simmons’ Profile

Paramount’s UK trailer for the latest Terminator iteration gives some well-deserved screen time to recent Best Supporting Oscar winner J.K. Simmons, who plays a sympathetic detective. Directed by Alan Taylor, the latest timeline also features Arnold Schwarzenegger (natch), Emilia Clarke as Sarah Conner, Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese and Jason Clarke as John Connor. Terminator: Genisys opens July 1.

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Daily Picdump #1333

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Continue to Daily Picdump #1332 >>>


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REPLAY! BJPENN.COM Radio — Jorge Masvidal, “Rowdy” Bec Rawlings

Check Out Sports Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with BJPenncom Radio on BlogTalkRadio Last night...
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Phuket Dreaming Season 2 – Episode 1 – “Thai Style”

Mixed Martial Art’s most watched web-series is back with Phuket Dreaming Season 2, sponsored by...
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Vintage Fight Footage — Nick Diaz vs. Jeremy Jackson II, 2003

In his third fight of the night at the UA: King of the Mountain welterweight...
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UFC Fighters Play With Heavy Firepower

Current and Former UFC fighters, Mairbek Taisumov, Zubaira Tukhugov, Roger Huerta, and Vinny Magalhaes (pictured),...
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Joe Rogan Holds Bloody Moose Leg

UFC commentator Joe Rogan makes his debut as a cover model, and he’s holding a...
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REPLAY! Warren Screams, Ref Stops Bellator 135 Title Fight

In last night’s Bellator 135 main event Joe Warren lost his world title to Marcos...
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OUCH! Machida Takes Repeated Body Kicks From Two Training Partners

Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida can take some punishment. Check it: A video posted...
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WATCH! Conor McGregor Dominates UFC President Dana White

UFC star Conor McGregor got the chance to fight his boss, and he took full...
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McGregor Gets Physical, ‘slapped Aldo’s back , Aldo went crazy’

The UFC’s world tour has been filled with entertaining banter, and back-and-forth insults between Conor...
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Benson Henderson Calls Out Anthony Pettis And Tyron Woodley

Former UFC lightweight Champion Benson “Smooth” Henderson is looking for a fight, and the former...
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Can You Guess The Celebrity By His Mustache?

Mustache maketh man.




















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17 Instagrams You Need To See This Week

Sarah Hyland’s new ‘do, Channing Tatum cuddles a puppy, and more!













Lorde made us wish it were summer.







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Rihanna and her niece looked adorable.







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Zoe Kravitz posted a TBT of her flawless family.







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Ciara was the definition of perfection.







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Jimmy Fallon Now Has Five Wax Versions Of Himself And He Couldn't Be Happier

Too many Jimmys won’t spoil the broth.













On Friday, Madame Tussauds in New York City unveiled five new life-size wax figures of Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon.






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It's the first time Madame Tussauds has debuted so many wax figures of one celebrity.






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Because America can't seem to get enough of Jimmy, the wax figures will be sent to Madame Taussauds locations across the country.






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Jimmy seemed to really love his new doppelgängers.






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Coach Pederneiras: MMA without PEDs won’t be as spectacular

Andre Pederneiras is one of the greatest coaches in the sport of mixed martial arts....
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This Cute Monkey Playing With A Litter Of Newborn Puppies Is Perfect (Video)

Of all the cute animal videos on the Internet, this one, without question, is the best. The 55-second-long video features a baby monkey playing with a litter of newborn puppies. Not just one puppy — like, 10 puppies. It is the jackpot of cute animal videos. Our only quibble is we wish it were longer, the […]
This Cute Monkey Playing With A Litter Of Newborn Puppies Is Perfect (Video)

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The Hottest Math Teacher In The World Is Also A Male Model

Having a hot teacher is pretty much every student’s fantasy. For a handful of lucky learners at University College London, however, it’s no fantasy. Professor Boselli is every co-ed’s dream come true. If the name Boselli sounds familiar, it’s because the math professor, Pietro Boselli, is actually pretty famous — he’s a male model. Student […]
The Hottest Math Teacher In The World Is Also A Male Model

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Trailer For J.K. Rowling’s ‘The Casual Vacancy’ On HBO

HBO’s miniseries/BBC adaptation of J.K. Rowling's bestseller The Casual Vacancy unfolds in a deceptively cozy British village thrown into an uproar by the sudden death of the Parish Councillor. Michael Gambon stars with Keeley Hawes, Rory Kinnear, Monica Dolan and Julia McKenzie and Abigail Lawrie. Jonny Campbell directed from a script by Sarah Phelps. The adaptation of the Harry Potter author’s first novel for adults was produced by Rowling and Neil Blair’s Bronte Film…

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TCM Classic Film Festival: From ‘The Sound Of Music’ To Shirley MacLaine It’s Anniversary Time In Hollywood

Although the loose theme of this year’s  TCM Classic Film Festival revolves around the word “History” in every possible meaning of the word, organizers could easily have wrapped it around the word “anniversary”  since so much of it seems to be tied to celebrating landmark years in the life of the movies, actors and filmmakers being honored this year.  In fact the fest , which runs all weekend, opened Thursday night with a stunning restoration of the beloved 1965 musical, T…

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The Sharing Economy Is On The Brink Of Disrupting Business Travel

 The foundations of the business travel ecosystem are under more strain than ever before. U.S. companies are projected to spend $310 million on business travel in 2015 (up 6.2% from last year), but how they spend that money has become a source of tension and uncertainty. Sharing economy startups like Airbnb and Uber are challenging traditional travel vendors – and in the process… Read More

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Enough Is Enough: Why Airline Safety Should Be A Bigger Concern

Airline tragedies are gut-wrenching and horrible. The loss of so many lives at once is incomprehensible. The Germanwings crash is just another reminder that nothing in life is certain. Passengers board airplanes all across the globe every day all in hopes of landing safely at their next destinations. Uncertainty sets in when news breaks of […]
Enough Is Enough: Why Airline Safety Should Be A Bigger Concern

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Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Are Healthy, According To Obama Administration

Trying to eat healthier? You’re in luck! According to President Barack Obama, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos qualify as a nutritious snack — seriously. When the Obama administration debuted the new nutrition guidelines last year, its goal was to limit the amount of junk food accessible at schools. Though most of the country wrote off the guidelines as […]
Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Are Healthy, According To Obama Administration

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Activists: Islamist Rebels Seize Syrian City Of Idlib

Images on social media purport to show Nusra Front rebels celebrating Idlib’s capture from regime forces.




















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Islamist rebels seized the city of Idlib from government forces on Saturday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

The Ahrar al-Sham, Jund al-Aqsa, and Nusra Front rebel groups captured the northwestern city of Syria after four days of violent clashes, the British-based organization said.

Photos and videos shared on social media purported to show rebels climbing the statue of the late Syrian president Hafez al-Assad and defacing it, while others destroy the Syrian flag.



























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The strategically important city is close to a highway that links Damascus to the commercial capital Aleppo, and is also close to the coastal region of Latakia.

With a population of 100,000, Idlib has been the center of intense fighting between the government and the opposition groups for months. The broader Idlib province is also said to be controlled by Islamist insurgents. It is the second province to fall under rebel control after Raqqa was seized by ISIS figthers and subsequently targeted by U.S.-led airstrikes.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday told the Arab League summit in Egypt that he was angered and shamed by the failure to halt the Syrian civil war.

"Anger at observing the Syrian government, extremist and terrorist groups and terrorists relentlessly destroy their country," Ban said.

"Shame at sharing in the collective failure of international and regional communities to decisively act to stop the carnage that has afflicted the Arab brothers and sisters of Syria."

Ban promised to intensify diplomatic efforts to stop the clashes.







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NCAA Tournament Ratings Jump From First Friday, ‘Hart Of Dixie’ Finale Even

We may be in the thick of March Madness but it sure felt a bit like summer last night – and I'm not just talking about the weather in L.A. With the 2015 NCAA Tournament determining its Eight on Friday, repeats and movies were scattered over the primetime schedule last night.
However, let's get to the college basketball first and full points to Gonzaga's Przemek Karnowski who lead his team to a 74-62 victory over UCLA in the first of the NCAA Tourney games CBS had on…

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Gillmor Gang: Happy Medium

 The Gillmor Gang — Steven Levy, Erick Schonfeld, John Taschek, Keith Teare, and Steve Gillmor. Steve Jobs lives on in a new light, Periscope and Meerkat duel for attention, and Marc Benioff v. the state of Indiana. Plus, the latest G3 (below) with Halley, Mary, Francine, and Tina. @stevegillmor, @stevenlevy, @erickschonfeld, @kteare, @jtaschek Produced & directed by Tina Chase… Read More

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Germanwings Copilot Sought Treatment For Vision Issues Before Crash

As authorities continue to investigate the Germanwings crash, another troubling discovery has been made about the plane’s copilot, who allegedly crashed the jet in an apparent murder-suicide. According to a report in the New York Times, Andreas Lubitz, who was flying the plane independently at the time of its collision in the French Alps, sought […]
Germanwings Copilot Sought Treatment For Vision Issues Before Crash

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DVR Gains Raise Renewal Prospects For Sunday Newbies ‘Secrets & Lies’ & ‘Last Man On Earth’, Justify ‘Royals’ Pickup

UPDATED: TV network executives have long said that they don’t rely on Live+Same day ratings when making renewal decisions. And for good reason. Three new Sunday midseason series have performed so-so to OK in Live+Same Day but have posted solid ratings gains after 3 days of DVR viewing. That includes ABC mystery drama Secrets & Lies and Fox comedy Last Man on Earth, which look pretty hopeful for a second season pickup, and E! soapy dramedy The Royals, which had been…

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UFC Heavyweight Andrei Arlovski Throws Around Dodson Like He’s A Child

In a new social media posting, we see former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski tossing...
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More Behind-The-Scenes Footage Of Rousey vs. Rodriguez From Furious 7

“Furious 7″ Behind The Scenes – Michelle Rodriguez Versus Ronda Rousey (2015) Action Movie.
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An Awkward Threesome: The Relationship Between Iran, Israel And The US

However you want to look at it, the Middle East is complicated. It’s a region crisscrossed by borders unreflective of the distinct ethnic and religious makeup of the land and rife with disputes that have lasted millennia. From an American perspective, though, the last 30 or so years have offered at least few pillars of certainty. Simply […]
An Awkward Threesome: The Relationship Between Iran, Israel And The US

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Slack Got Hacked

 Slack, the super-slick team chat-room service, is getting popular fast. Word around the rumor mill is that they’re currently raising funds at a $2.8 billion valuation. And in the words of the late, great Biggie Smalls: Mo Money, Mo Problems. In the case of startups, success can make your databases a juicy target for hackers.
And sure enough: Slack got hacked. Read More

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PC Gaming week: Can today's gaming laptop match desktop PC performance?

In pursuit of processing powerWhen it comes to gaming laptops, desktop performance has always been the measuring stick to which gamers hope mobile gaming will finally reach. Now with this year's crop of gaming laptops, we've seen greater mobile computi...

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Tumblr’s Mobile App Will Now Add ‘Buy,’ ‘Pledge,’ And ‘Get Involved’ Buttons To Select Posts

 Tumblr today introduced a change to its service that will encourage users to purchase or fund products and campaigns on other websites, including Etsy’s online marketplace and Kickstarter, for example. With an update to its mobile application for iOS, posts that link to those sites as well as DoSomething.org will now automatically be given buttons that let others “Buy,” or… Read More

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Kerry Washington Wants Media To Be More LGBT-Friendly And She’s Right

“Scandal” star Kerry Washington wasn’t just celebrating when she walked on stage to receive her Vanguard award at the annual GLAAD Media Awards. She used her speech as an opportunity to demand the need for more LGBT representation in the media and the responsibility all minorities share in demanding such justice. Washington said, as the crowd gave her a […]
Kerry Washington Wants Media To Be More LGBT-Friendly And She’s Right

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Vine Courts The Embed With High Res Video

 Vines just got bigger with a higher quality video upgrade today. A new post on the company blog announced a technical change that allows Vine users to upload the higher-resolution 720p HD video to the app. That’s a significant improvement from the 480p resolution. Video is increasingly viewed on mobile devices and across the web. Facebook rolled out the ability to embed video on other… Read More

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Tyrese And Paul Walker Became Bros After Sleeping With The Same Woman

It looks like Tyrese and Paul Walker ended up becoming buddies because they were Eskimo brothers. For those unfamiliar with the term, it means they had sexual relations with the same woman. Tyrese revealed this interesting tidbit while making the rounds for “Furious 7.” Tyrese mentioned this realization occurred while he and Walker were working […]
Tyrese And Paul Walker Became Bros After Sleeping With The Same Woman

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Taylor Swift And Calvin Harris Were Just Spotted Together For First Time (Photos)

Taylor Swift may have finally filled that blank space in her love life: Rumor has it she’s hooking up with none other than Calvin Harris. Though there’s been speculation for a while that the two may be dating, last night they were spotted together — in matching outfits, no less — outside Whole Foods in Nashville, […]
Taylor Swift And Calvin Harris Were Just Spotted Together For First Time (Photos)

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Join Ron Conway And Fred Wilson At Disrupt NY

 It’s no secret that the incredible wealth of the technology industry has attracted critics in recent years. In this country’s two capitols of capital, San Francisco and New York, influxes of tech workers are reshaping neighborhoods, and accelerating tech salaries are ramping rent prices in entire area codes. Technology promises change, but not all change is popular.
Startup… Read More

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ElecFreaks Is Selling (And Giving Away) A DIY VR Drone

 A new 3D-printed drone called the ELF VR Nano is available for pre-order on Indiegogo and for download on Thingiverse. That’s right: you can either buy the product and receive pre-printed parts or you can simply print it yourself. It’s one of the purest open source hardware plays I’ve seen in a long while and it just goes to show how cool it is to be able to print your own… Read More

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‘Happyish’ Gets Preview After ‘Shameless’ Finale On Showtime

Showtime will sneak the pilot for its new comedy Happyish on Sunday, April 5, following the season finale of hit dramedy Shameless. The move should provide solid sampling for the new series as Shameless is one of the premium cabler’s highest-rated series and has a similar offbeat sensibility as the newcomer. Showtime is expected also to put the Happyish pilot on multiple digital platforms ahead of its premiere for additional sampling, something the network does with all…

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Sammy Hagar is Stoked: Dodge Now Offering Radar Red Leather on 2015 Durango R/T

Radar Red. No, M*A*S*H’s Gary Burghoff never went over to the North Koreans. No, the Dutch dudes in Golden Earring did not overrev their automobile while the radio was playin’ that forgotten song. It’s nothing more than an interior color that’s now available on the Dodge Durango R/T for 2015. Originally applied to a concept […]

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The Redeemer: 2017 Infiniti Q60 Dissected – Feature

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Bill Hader Joins Steven Spielberg’s Giant Film “The BFG’

EXCLUSIVE: Bill Hader has joined the case Steven Spielberg directed The BFG and will star as one of the giants in the tale about a little girl who leads a friendly giant and the Queen of England on an adventure to stop other mean giants from gobbling up others. The project is being co-financed by Walden Media and is co-producing with DreamWorks Studios. The project will shoot in Vancouver.
The adaptation of Roald Dahl's 1982 kids novel of the same name was completed by…

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The Redeemer: 2017 Infiniti Q60 Dissected

Infiniti’s hot, Nissan GT-R–powered Q50 Eau Rouge concept is dead. Cooler heads have prevailed now that itinerant luxury czar Johan de Nysschen has decamped for Cadillac. So shed some tears. Pour some Red Bull on the curb. But grieve quickly because Infiniti has something more tangible—and more important—coming relatively soon. READ MORE ››

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Crazy Sauce from Stuttgart: Mercedes-Benz Pickup to Arrive by 2020

It was bound to happen eventually. Mercedes-Benz has been fortifying its commercial- and consumer-truck lineup, filling niches and expanding product capabilities in an attempt to cover all the bases and the outfield too. Even so, when today’s announcement that the German automaker has plans to produce a mid-size pickup crossed our news desk, we immediately […]

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34 Speakers, No Marble Columns, No Chandeliers: Bose Leaks Cadillac CT6’s Interior

Prior to its debut next week in New York City, Cadillac’s new CT6 has been leaking in dribs and drabs. First it appeared in an Oscar-night television commercial. Then division boss Johan de Nysschen revealed that it will eventually receive a twin-turbo V-8. And now, courtesy of the sound engineers at Bose, we’ve got our […]

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Chrysler Goes To Trial Over Fiery Jeep Crash, Defends Fuel Tanks

A 2006 fatal crash involving a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee and another four-year-old child burned to death, Cassidy Jarmon, is pictured in Cleburne, Texas. Older Jeeps with fuel tanks located behind the rear axle might lead to explosive testimony in case against Chrysler starting trial in Georgia. This month, a family whose four-year-old son burned […]

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Yemenis Vine, Instagram, And Livetweet Two Days Of Bombardment

Yemen’s citizens are capturing the Saudi-led military campaign as it happens.













In the very early hours of Thursday, Saudi Arabia launched a military campaign to restore the Yemeni president Abd Mansour Hadi to power. Hadi had fled to Saudi Arabia the previous day in the face of rebels know as the Huthis.







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Yemenis quickly began capturing the experience on social media, taking pictures and video, and tweeting about the experience.







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Harry Reid: The Senate Institutionalist Who Burned Down The Institution

The retiring Nevada senator and minority leader wielded incredible influence over the last decade — and helped tear up the rules.




















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WASHINGTON — It was well past midnight on Election Night 2004 when my phone rang. Posted up in a corner of the watch-party-turned-political-wake for Minority Leader Tom Daschle, I walked out to take the call.

"You'll never believe what Dodd is doing," said the Democrat on the other side, before claiming that Sen. Chris Dodd was already making calls to colleagues to lobby them for the job of Minority Leader. Daschle's political career wasn't even cold yet and members were finding the calls tasteless, said the operative — who was tied, indirectly, to Harry Reid.

And so a whisper campaign was born. Reporters in South Dakota, Nevada, and Washington, D.C., began working their phones, pestering members and top staff for details on what, exactly, Dodd was up to with these calls.

By the next day, Dodd had been smoked out of the nascent campaign, and the other Senate reporters and I were covering the quick demise of Chris Dodd, Minority Leader, and the clear ascendancy of Reid to the party's top job in the Senate. After nearly losing his seat six years before, Reid had become extremely risk adverse, and he and his cadre of close-knit advisors were leaving nothing to chance. It was still classic Harry Reid, bringing to bear a combination of bare-knuckle politics and a deep, instinctual understanding of the Senate's quirks to get what he wanted.

For the bulk of his career, Reid has used that sort of combination — decades spent on personal relationships, legislative favors for even the most difficult members of conference, and keeping the earmarks flowing — to build the kind of power base that most politicians only dream about.

But over the last 12 years, Reid has increasingly leaned on his pugnacious side as he picked often personally bitter fights with Republicans. And as Reid became increasingly consumed with fighting first President George W. Bush, then Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and then Mitt Romney, his conference — and the Senate — followed suit.

At the behest of the White House, Reid used his political muscle to force through Obamacare with virtually no Republican support, eschewing the time honored traditions of the chamber.

Following the 2010 rise of the Tea Party, legislating essentially came to an end in the Senate, which held fewer and fewer votes as partisan warfare took hold. Then, Reid spent most of 2012 using the Senate as a platform to wage war against Romney and any Republican who happened to be in his way.

And, again, the chamber followed suit. Aside from a bipartisan immigration bill that died in the House, the Senate essentially ground to a halt. Days, weeks would go by between procedural votes as Republicans filibustered virtually anything Reid put on the floor.

True, Reid had plenty of help from Republicans. Immediately following President Obama's election, McConnell and other top Republicans vowed to blockade anything the new president sought to pass. And when Republicans retook the House in 2010, conservatives insisted on a brand of confrontational politics that essentially precluded the notion of compromise.

But Reid's role in transforming the Senate into a partisan Thunderdome is all the more remarkable because of his past devotion to the institution's rules and social mores. Last year, the same man who railed against former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist for considering changing the filibuster rules and who bitterly criticized Bush's use of signing statements and executive orders, suddenly championed not only the end of filibusters for most nominations but President Obama's use of executive power in the absence of congressional action.

And that's how it will likely end, too. Reid made clear in his Friday announcement that he isn't going to leave the chamber quietly or is planning on changing his combative ways.

"My friend, Sen. McConnell, don't be too elated. I'm going to be here for 22 months, and you know what I'm going to be doing?" Reid warned. "The same thing I've been doing since I first came to the Senate."




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Groom Tries To Drown Himself After Seeing ‘Ugly’ Wife The First Time

To a commitment-phobe, marriage can seem like a death sentence. For one man, it almost was.  After meeting his future bride for the first time, who he’d been set up with through an arranged marriage, 33-year-old Kang Hu reportedly jumped into a nearby river to drown himself. The groom, from Shiyan in China’s Hubei province, apologized to […]
Groom Tries To Drown Himself After Seeing ‘Ugly’ Wife The First Time

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Footage Shows The Moment The Building Exploded In NYC’s East Village

Three East Village buildings were obliterated in a sudden explosion Thursday afternoon. The inferno on Second Avenue and East Seventh Street started as a gas leak from a nearby sushi restaurant and spiraled out of control. According to The New York Times, at least 19 people were injured, four of whom are in critical condition. A man […]
Footage Shows The Moment The Building Exploded In NYC’s East Village

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Insane! Research Team Figured Out How To Give Humans Night Vision (Photos)

With just a few eyedrops and a blink, Gabriel Licina could see in the dark. Licina is a key member of biohacker group Science for the Masses, a group that recently discovered a way to enable enhanced low-light vision in the human eye for up to 50 meters (164 feet). With the help of 50 microliters of […]
Insane! Research Team Figured Out How To Give Humans Night Vision (Photos)

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Model Wears A Corset Every Single Day To Achieve Her 20-Inch Waist (Photos)

If you think Kim Kardashian’s seemingly obsessive commitment to waist training is crazy, wait until you see Aleira Avendano. The model, who hails from Caracas, Venezuela, wears a corset 23 hours a day, seven days a week — and has been for the past six years. The result? She’s shrunk her waist down to an […]
Model Wears A Corset Every Single Day To Achieve Her 20-Inch Waist (Photos)

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Shocking Footage Shows What Really Happens To Distracted Teen Drivers

Blaring the new Drake album and texting your friends can wait, teen drivers. Nothing is worth taking your eyes off the road, even for a moment. A new, large-scale data analysis conducted by AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety shows 60 percent of “moderate to severe” teenage car crashes result from daydreaming drivers who’d rather dish gossip […]
Shocking Footage Shows What Really Happens To Distracted Teen Drivers

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Man Allegedly Super Glued Wife’s Vagina Over Concern She Was Cheating

One South African woman was left scarred for life after she says her husband brutally abused her over suspicions that she was cheating. The alleged attack against the 40-year-old woman occurred in 2013, but news of it only surfaced this week after she told her story to African news service, News24. According to the victim, […]
Man Allegedly Super Glued Wife’s Vagina Over Concern She Was Cheating

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Dad Unknowingly Eats Daughter’s Pot Brownies, Calls 911 For A ‘Stroke’

A 58-year old man was sent to a hospital in Michigan after eating his daughter’s pot brownies and mistaking his high for a stroke. The father discovered he truly could not hang after eating several of the brownies that must have been left out after his daughter’s innocent little baking party. Apparently, he had no idea […]
Dad Unknowingly Eats Daughter’s Pot Brownies, Calls 911 For A ‘Stroke’

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Ultrasound Shows Exactly What Happens To A Fetus When The Mom Smokes

When a pregnant mother smokes, her unborn child is the first person to feel the effects. High-definition ultrasound photos from a small study out of Durham University and Lancaster University show fetuses with cigarette-smoking moms “touch their [faces] and [mouths] much more than fetuses of nonsmoking mothers.” According to a press release, researchers think this could […]
Ultrasound Shows Exactly What Happens To A Fetus When The Mom Smokes

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PC Gaming Week: The evolution of PC graphics will blow your mind

PC game graphics through the yearsFrom Ultima Underworld to Doom, Far Cry and Metro: Last Light, the PC has led the gaming world in graphics since the 1980s, when the last Silicon Graphics workstations were hunted to extinction by the wild-eyed tribe of Carmack. Since then some PC games have pushed boundaries like no others, requiring all-new graphics hardware; others have made cunning use of existing tech to create stunning experiences.But there's always been a relentless chasing of that cutting edge in PC games, due to the endless growth of the hardware. Before the indie revolution, every AAA developer would look at the latest graphics card, or in some cases at the putative graphics cards of three years in the future, and make plans to max it out. What else is going on during PC Gaming Week?1991: Hovertank 3DThough Hovertank 3D wasn't the first 3D game, being preceded by Microsoft Flight Simulator and the wire frames of amongst others, it's significant because of the games it led into; Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake. After all, this was id Software's first pseudo-3D game engine, combining flat coloured walls that were projected by John Carmack's revolutionary 3D engine, and hand-drawn sprites. Raycasting meant that the game only drew the elements the player could see, saving on processing power tremendously. The game is simplistic, to say the least. Players take the part of mercenary Brick Sledge, rescuing humans from cities threatened by nuclear attack. Presumably because those cities are full of mutants, monsters and enemy hovertanks hunting down the human populace. You've got to grab any remaining humans before the enemies do, and get to a teleporter exit. The more-important game that followed on from it was the similar, but much more successful Wolfenstein 3D, released in 1992, which introduced textures to the engine. 1992: Ultima Underworld: The Stygian AbyssInterestingly, John Carmack told CVG that his engine for Wolfenstein 3D was based on seeing a tech demo for Ultima Underworld (presumably at CES in 1990 or 1991), which released two months earlier than idv Software's game. The reason for how close they were was the crazily-ambitious engine behind Underworld, which had first started development in early 1990. The game was inspired by dungeon crawling games like Wizardry and Dungeon Master (which shared the first person perspective) and rejigged to fit into the existing Ultima fantasy universe. Unlike the quick-and-dirty Wolfenstein 3D, which had been designed to run on low-spec machines, Underworld is a true 3D environment, with varied ceiling and floor heights, sloped floors, true lighting, transparent surfaces, and the ability to look up and down. It had 3D objects alongside 2D sprites, and it was also the first 3D game to let you jump. The game is survived by spiritual successors such as Arkane's Arx Fatalis and the forthcoming Underworld Ascendant, by the original design team. 1992: Alone in the DarkFrédérick Raynal's masterpiece came out the same year as Ultima Underworld and was similarly ambitious - though it took just a year in development, aided mainly by a serious lack of sleep on the development team's part. It featured true 3D characters in a hand-drawn 2D environment (to save on power), with the engine and tools built entirely by Raynal himself.Players take on the roles of either Edward Carnaby or Emily Hartwood, both investigating the mysterious death of the owner of Derceto mansion. The game swiftly turns into a tough adventure, as the protagonist battles H.P. Lovecraft-inspired monsters in the then-stunning surroundings of the manor. The environment was extremely hostile - so much so that walking down a corridor or reading a book could kill the protagonist - which, combined with effect sound effects and music, gave the game a truly-terrifying feel.1993: MystMyst was a curious game and much-hated by the hardcore gaming community, presumably because it was neither dynamic nor violent. Despite that, the advent of CD-ROM allowed its use of high-quality assets, rooms that were fully-rendered in 3D. However, unlike Underworld, they weren't dynamically generated but pre-built, so individual scenes looked amazing but were mostly static, and the game played like a mildly-interactive slideshow. Despite that, the depth of the puzzles, the complex, dark world, the unparalleled use of in-game video, the rich ambient soundscape, and the careful maintenance of immersion meant that Myst was immediately popular and became a flagship game that sold CD-ROM drives. The game went on to sell more than six million units, the top-selling PC game of all time, until The Sims in 2002. 1993: DoomEven though in retrospect it seems a small step on from Wolfenstein 3D, Doom was a revolutionary game at release, as much for its ultraviolence as for its looks. The new generation of fast processors meant that reaction-focused games like this exploded, running at the then knock-out VGA resolution of 640 x 480. Moreover, Doom introduced variable lighting and different elevations, following on from Ultima Underworld.But the real area of Doom's excellence was in starting the concept of engine licensing. Several other games were built on what's now called the id Tech 1 - the Doom engine - by other developers. These included Heretic, Hexen, Strife, Freedoom and more. None of these were particularly innovative or interesting, but the concept of licensing itself makes the game significant. 1996: Tomb RaiderUnderworld was also an inspiration for Toby Gard's ground-breaking dungeon-exploring game, which entered development in 1993, as he told the BBC. "I was a big fan of an old first person game called Ultima Underworld and I wanted to mix that type of game with the sort of polygon characters that were just being showcased in Virtua Fighter. I thought by mixing that up we could make it a sort of real-time interactive movie and that was basically the concept for Tomb Raider."The game is a true 3D game, with true 3D character models, viewed in a third-person perspective, something that we'd only seen in absurdly-powerful arcade machines at that point. Players control English explorer Lara Croft, as she scours the world for ancient artefacts, jumps between platforms, fights wildlife and monsters, and falls to her death repeatedly. Other titles that stunned at the time were the amazing 3D world of Descent and Bullfrog's beautiful but incomprehensible Magic Carpet. 1996: Quakeid's engine licensing may have started with Doom but it peaked with the Quake series, with the important first three games coming out between 1996 and 1999, and providing the foundation for the Half-Life Source engine. The first game was an almost-plotless shooter, with then-astounding true 3D environments inhabited by polygonal monsters that could attack from any direction. The follow-ups took on a more science-fiction theme, culminating in the outsourced and mediocre Quake IV in 2005, which almost killed the series.But the engines of the Quake games were spectacularly popular; now called id Tech 2 and id Tech 3, most of the 3D shooters of the era were built on them, including Half-Life, Daikatana, Anachronox, Soldier of Fortune, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Enemy Territory, Star Wars: Jedi Knight II, Star Trek: Force, American McGee's Alice, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, and Call of Duty. By contrast, id Tech 4 and 5 had a handful of games between them.1998: UnrealThe reason that id Tech declined was down to Epic Megagames. Their new games Unreal and Unreal Tournament broke id's monopoly over game engines. By the time of Doom 3 (AKA id Tech 4) - the Unreal engine proved to be useful for games other than just shooters. Their 'Make Something Unreal' contest encourage modders to be original and creative in the hope of a life-changing prize - and many of the contest's mod teams are still developing games today, such as Red Orchestra. Unreal itself was very much a Quake clone, albeit an impressively attractive one. It had coloured lighting, huge environments, and detailed textures - but it was one of the first games to really need a graphics card. Unreal Tournament's fixes to its netcode meant that it rapidly became an attractive engine to use. By the time Doom 3 emerged belatedly in 2004, Unreal had already taken its crown.There are literally hundreds of games made on the various Unreal engines, including Deus Ex, Bioshock, Duke Nukem Forever, Brothers in Arms, Star Wars: Republic Commando, Thief: Deadly Shadows, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and almost every Asian MMOs that ever existed.1998: Half-LifeValve's Half-Life needs no introduction. Combining complex agile combat with superb in-engine story telling, Half-Life has you controlling scientist and cart-pusher Gordon Freeman defeating an alien invasion of a hidden research lab. Alongside its successor games like 2004's Half-Life 2, 2007's Team Fortress 2 and 2007's Portal, is perhaps the most famous, most-respected game series around. The Source engine that powers Half-Life was originally built on the Quake engine, but Valve has heavily modified it over the years. Indeed, though they recently announced Source 3, the aim of the engine was to avoid those compatibility-breaking version jumps of its competitors - theoretically, developers never need upgrade as the Steam engine distributes updates automatically. Despite its obvious power, the engine has met with limited success, and only a few developers have recently used it - though the few who have, have made stunning games like The Stanley Parable, Dear Esther or TitanFall.2004: Far CryNew developer Crytek really wanted to make game engines for licensing, so it made Far Cry as a showcase of its tech. It was immediately impressive for the time, letting players explore a mostly-open tropical island, complete with smart enemies and vehicles you could drive. It was only marred by a poor plot and some dreadful super-mutant enemies that emerged towards the middle of the game.More impressive was its drop-in editor; players could literally create a map in an editor, drop the assets in, then drop straight into it to test it, with almost no loading time. It was a truly beautiful game and was a great sales pitch for the new engine. Crytek has followed up Far Cry with their Crysis series, which has produced some of the most testing graphics for PCs, even if the game has, again, been rather dull. All of the resulting CryEngines have been heavily licensed, for everything from MMOs like Aion to third-person action games like State of Decay.2005: UnityAn independent cross-platform development suite, Unity has successfully challenged Unreal's effective monopoly of 3D game development. That's mainly it's genuinely free, but also because you can get beyond its distinctive look, unlike Unreal. You can always tell when a mediocre game has been built in Unity - but great games, like Kentucky: Route Zero, Endless Space, Cities: Skylines, and Pillars of Eternity show that it doesn't have a dominant style. The much-anticipated Unity 5 was released in March, 2015, and does an awful lot of the work for a developer. A huge array of complex graphical techniques are included, like real-time global illumination, bump mapping, reflection mapping, SSAO, dynamic textures and full-screen post-processing effects. It also allows developers to export to almost any system, from Adobe Flash to the iPhone to the PS4 - and of course the PC. 2011: The Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimThe Elder Scrolls games have been astounding benchmarks for what games are capable of, far exceeding games that are more testing for PC systems, such as Metro: Last Light. With a huge open world waiting for you to explore, the games since Morrowind let you go anywhere and kill almost anyone and anything. Unusually, they're not built on a standard engine. Though Bethesda's earlier games (Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas) were built partly on outsourced components like Gamebryo and SpeedTree, Skyrim was built on an entirely in-house new system called the Creation Engine, allowing for a much larger draw distance and better graphical detail.

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Virgin Media's speedy router is 86% faster than competitors

Virgin Media has unveiled its latest wireless Super Hub that it claims is at least 86% faster than its competitors.The Super Hub 2ac is a combined modem and router that uses the 802.11ac standard, supports concurrent access over the 5GHz and 2.4GHz wir...

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Teen Girl From Uruguay Looks So Much Like Cara Delevingne It’s Unreal (Photos)

Earlier this week, we showed you Taylor Swift’s doppelganger extraordinaire. Now, the Internet has come upon a teen who is the spitting image of Swift’s bestie, Cara Delevingne. The look-a-like’s name is Olivia Herdt, and she is a 14-year-old from Uruguay. Herdt has an active Instagram account and has over 13,000 followers. The resemblance between […]
Teen Girl From Uruguay Looks So Much Like Cara Delevingne It’s Unreal (Photos)

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The Difference Between Hating Someone And Not Giving A Sh*t Anymore

Many people confuse hatred and apathy, but they are two very distinct things. There is a big difference between saying “I hate you” and saying “I don’t f*ck with you anymore.” Hatred is a complicated animal; it is the child of dark forces. When you hate someone, he or she has power over your life and […]
The Difference Between Hating Someone And Not Giving A Sh*t Anymore

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Lululemon’s Anti-Ball Crushing Pants Are A Huge Hit With Guys

Lululemon has been quietly adding extra space to its stores in Canada and the United States, but what’s even more interesting is the extra room it’s been adding to its men’s pants to ensure top comfort for a guy and his, um, jewels. In fact, the company is hoping to redefine the way men think of […]
Lululemon’s Anti-Ball Crushing Pants Are A Huge Hit With Guys

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Free the Knees: 6 Skirts You Absolutely Need For Spring Weather

F*ck tights. F*ck jeans. And f*ck leggings. This winter has gone on too long and my wardrobe — and mental health — are in need of a change. I wake up every morning hoping it’ll be the day I can wear my Alexa Chung-inspired jean skirt to the office without having to rifle through my drawers […]
Free the Knees: 6 Skirts You Absolutely Need For Spring Weather

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Which Kylie Jenner Selfie Are You?

#Kylizzle






























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18 Perfectly Hilarious Snapchats From Mariah Carey

Often imitated, never duplicated. Wishing the diva of all divas a happy birthday!













When she was feelin' like a superhero:






Anthony Harvey / Getty Images

















When she felt like being a mean girl:






V...

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Kristen Schaal Would Stop At Almost Nothing If She Was Tasked With Repopulating The Earth

The future of humanity would be safe in her hands.




















Macey J Foronda /














Kristen Schaal is currently starring in The Last Man On Earth, the show that takes place just a few years into the future where well, there's no one left on earth except for Carol (Schaal) and Phil (Will Forte)... and also other people as we are finding out episode by episode. Since Carol and Phil are tasked with repopulating the planet, we decided to find out what it would take for Kristen Schaal to screw humanity and utter the phrase "I wouldn't sleep with you even if I was the last woman on earth and you were the last man on earth." She stopped by to test her limits and here's what happened.






































Who clips their toenails at the dinner table?



"Absolutely."


Macey J. Foronda /




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Cisco Backs Video Ad Startup Innovid In New $10M Round

 Innovid, a startup that helps advertisers create, target, and measure video ad campaigns, is announcing that it has raised $10 million in new funding. As part the round, the startup is bringing on Cisco Investments as a new investor. (Previous ba...

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Facebook Is Down For Many Users Right Now (Update: It’s Back!)

 Update: Service is now fully restored according to Facebook.
Facebook has been down for at least an hour for some users, according to reports on social media and downrightnow. The outage has affected some but not all users of the platform, with an informal survey of TechCrunch staffers revealing that those outside the U.S. and attempting to connect via the desktop site are most likely to… Read More

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SEC Rule Change Gives Startups An A+ For Capital Formation

 Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a new set of rules implementing Title IV of the JOBS Act. The release of these final rules further advances one of the core principles and goals of the 2012 law: to create ...

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The Live Stream Goes Mainstream

 In early 2011, Skype bought a mobile video startup called Qik, which had developed an app that let mobile users record and stream videos in real-time which others could be alerted to and then view. If that description sounds similar to the newly hot live-streaming apps Meerkat and Periscope, it’s because the overall concept introduced then is not all that far off from what’s… Read More

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Tech Titans Blast New Anti-Gay Law In Indiana

 It’s hard to believe, after how far the gay rights movement has come, that we’re still doing this. But here we are.
Indiana Governor Mike Pence has signed into law a bill that allows private businesses to discriminate against gay and lesbian consumers, according to CNN. The “Restoration of Religious Freedom Act” is meant to allow businesses and corporations to cite… Read More

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Here's Ryan Reynolds Seductively Modeling The New Deadpool Suit

It’s working.





























But obviously the most amazing thing about this photo is GAMS, DAMN RYAN REYONLDS.






Twitter: @VancityReynolds





































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Are You More Like Meredith Or Olivia?

Which one of Taylor Swift’s cats are you? Find out now!




















taylor-svift.tumblr.com


















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Can You Guess The Famous Cities That Own These Skylines?

Concrete. Jungle.






























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9 Movies That Will Inspire Your Wanderlust

Indescribable feeling.













1. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty



This is a definite must-see for those needing an epic escape from the monotony of everyday life. If skateboarding through Iceland's insane beauty isn't liberating enough, then what is?


Twentieth Century Fox / Via timon-and-pumbaa.tumblr.com





















Destinations Greenland, Iceland, The Himalayas

DIY tips
-Completing Iceland's Ring Road is absolutely doable, however, watch out for road closures during the winter.

-You can do as Walter Mitty did and skateboard/bike through Iceland, but consider also renting your own car. It's the most convenient way to explore the country.

-Do not jump off a helicopter into choppy, shark-infested waters.


Thinkstock
























Klikk / Getty Images


















2. Wild


Walking solo for three months might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's definitely enough time to find yourself and change. Not many get to complete the trail, but those that do get to cross the Bridge of The Gods.


Fox Searchlight / Via foxsearchlightpictures.tumblr.com




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Melbourne On Instagram Vs. In Reality

Frankston definitely needs a filter.













Public transport on Instagram.







instagram.com

















Public transport in reality.






imgur.com

















Melbourne cup on Instagram.





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21 Totally Breathtaking Trails To Hike Before You Die

Hit the dusty road.































Angel's Landing in Zion National Park, Utah






Flickr: sackton / Creative Commons









































Flickr: 23155134@N06 / Creative Commons




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Screw The Popularity Contest: 5 Reasons Obama Is Being Bold With Iran

If you believe the United States needs to be more aggressive in its dealings with Iran, you are among the majority of Americans, according to a Fox News Poll directed by both Democratic and Republican research organizations. Democratic and Republican Congressmen alike have aligned themselves against President Obama’s willingness to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran. […]
Screw The Popularity Contest: 5 Reasons Obama Is Being Bold With Iran

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You’re Not Alone: 28 Signs You Are Just Genuinely Bad At Real Life

Talking to adults has never been my thing. I used to (OK, still sometimes do) pitifully pay my friends to pretend to be me and make my uncomfortable grown-up phone calls, like canceling the fitness class I no longer want to go to way past the deadline or inquiring about the return policy at some […]
You’re Not Alone: 28 Signs You Are Just Genuinely Bad At Real Life

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William Petersen Joins WGN America’s ‘Manhattan’ For TV Return

Former CSI star William Petersen is returning to television with a series regular role on the second season of the WGN America drama series Manhattan.
Created and written by Sam Shaw and directed by Thomas Schlamme, Manhattan is set against the backdrop of the mission to build the world’s first atomic bomb and follows the brilliant but flawed scientists and their families in Los Alamos. Petersen will play Col. Emmett Darrow, the enigmatic new ranking military officer at…

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All3Media Nearing Deal To Acquire Sam Mendes’ Neal Street Productions

All3Media is closing a deal to acquire Sam Mendes’ Neal Street Productions. A deal is expected to close within days for the company, which Mendes founded in 2003 with former BBC Drama commissioner Pippa Harris and theater veteran Caro Newling. Neal Street has been for sale since last November, when Mendes and his partners had reportedly put a $60 million price tag on the company.
Though launched as a film, theater and TV company, Neal Street has enjoyed its most…

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‘Wolf Hall’ Review: Damian Lewis Rules As Henry VIII

With the beginning of the end for AMC's Mad Men, the debut of NBC's Biblical A.D. and American Odyssey plus the premiere of The Lizzie Borden Chronicles on Lifetime, Easter Sunday's primetime is a very crowed place this year. Among the offerings, I recommend in the video review above that  you check yourself into Wolf Hall on April 5. The 6-part series on PBS' Masterpiece provides some very compelling television.
Based on Hilary Mantel’s award-winning novels and…

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Saudi Bombs Begin Falling In Yemen With No Clear Endgame

Saudi Arabia has a coalition in place but nobody is quite sure how the military offensive will restore Yemen’s internationally recognized president to power.

















A Yemeni man wearing a military fatigue sits above debris at the site of a Saudi airstrike against Huthi rebels near Sanaa Airport.


Mohammed Huwais / Getty Images














Dozens of Saudi jets conducted a late-night raid into Yemen on Thursday, launching an operation that has no clear end.

The strikes started around 1:30 in the morning local time, hitting targets in Sa'dah, in the country's northwest, and the capital city of Sanaa. Thirty minutes later and nearly 7,000 miles away, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir, announced the beginning of Operation Decisive Storm.

The military action, Jubeir said during the press conference in Washington, is "designed to protect the people of Yemen and its legitimate government from a takeover by the Huthis."

But that takeover has already happened. The Huthi rebels targeted in the strikes are in control of what is left of Yemen's fracturing bureaucracy, and Yemen's internationally recognized president, Abd Rabu Mansur Hadi, has reportedly fled the country.

At least 18 people were killed and 24 wounded in the raids according to Yemeni state media, which is controlled by the Huthis. In the capital of Sanaa, bombs pounded neighborhoods around the international airport, which is also used by the Yemeni military. In Sa'dah, near the border with Saudi Arabia, the strikes centered on known Huthi weapons depots and homes. The Huthis responded by firing rockets over the border into Saudi Arabia, one source in the area confirmed to News.

"Yemenis were saying final good-byes to loved ones who were killed by al-Qaeda last Friday in the mosque bombings at the same time Saudi and-US-led attacks were killing more people," Hussain al-Bukhaiti, a Huthi spokesman told News in a reference to a mass funeral that took place earlier on Thursday.

How exactly Saudi Arabia planned on restoring Hadi to power was not immediately clear.

Hadi came to power in February 2012 as a transitional president for what was supposed to be a single, two-year term. In February 2014, he extended that term another two years. Throughout his tenure, Hadi, who suffers from heart troubles, has refused to appoint a vice president. That decision may now prove problematic if the Saudis are unable to reinstall him.

"The use of force is always the last resort and it is with great reluctance that we took this step," Jubeir said in Washington.

One possibility, that will now go unexplored, would have been to allow the Huthis to attempt to govern the country. The militia group, which comes out of the Yemeni highlands near the Saudi border, is desperately overstretched. It has enough strength to seize territory south of the capital, but not enough to hold it.

And as an opposition group, the Huthis have never been forced to contend with the compromises of governing. Whether the Huthis inevitable failure to form a broadly supported government would have forced them into power sharing talks is now one of history's counterfactuals.

Instead, the Saudi-led coalition of 10 countries is now attempting to bomb the Huthis back to the bargaining table. This is likely to be much more difficult and take more than just air power to accomplish. Later on Thursday, a Saudi official acknowledged to Reuters that "a land offensive might be needed to restore order." Egypt soon after confirmed to the Associated Press that it would help lead the ground assault alongside the Saudis.

But Saudi Arabia has been down that road before with poor results. In 2009, the Saudis fought a series of border skirmishes with Huthi guerrilla fighters. During those clashes, the Huthis frequently embarrassed their more polished opponents, outflanking Saudi units and stealing Saudi military equipment, which they later broadcast on videos uploaded to YouTube.

This time the Saudis have put together a coalition of Sunni states, both inside and out of the Gulf region, including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan, Egypt, and Pakistan. It is unclear to what degree, if any, these countries participated in Thursday's airstrikes. The U.S. did not participate, but the White House announced that it was coordinating military and intelligence support with Saudi Arabia through a "joint planning cell." The U.K. also said it supports the Saudi-led airstrikes.

Yemen has a history of resisting foreign military interventions, and none — from the Romans in 24 AD to the Egyptians in the 1960s —have succeeded. "This attack has united most Yemenis," Bukhaiti said.

With reporting from Casey Coombs in Sanaa and Maged Atef in Cairo.




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Tom Stoppard & ‘Charlie Hebdo’ Staff Lauded By PEN As Free-Speech Exemplars: Media

Stoppard, a fevered friend of free expression and foe of bad writing, will receive the PEN/Allen Foundation Literary Service Award for his “extraordinary career as a dramatist and his abiding commitment to the defense of creative freedom worldwide.” It’s the highest honor bestowed by the American chapter of the global human-rights organization of writers and editors. Stoppard’s plays include Arcadia, The Real Thing and most recently, The Hard Problem, currently running at…

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The Germanwings Crash Is Likely The Second-Biggest Murder-Suicide By Pilot On Record

The revelation from a French prosecutor that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately crashed a Germanwings flight into the French Alps would make the disaster the aviation murder-suicide with the second-biggest number of fatalities.













On Thursday morning, Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin revealed that Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately locked his pilot out of the cockpit and descended into the French Alps, suggesting the cause of the crash may be murder-suicide.






Franck Pennant / Getty Images

















The news caused shock throughout the aviation industry, and it means that doomed Flight 9525 appears to have become one of only a handful of aviation disasters to have been willfully caused by a pilot or co-pilot, and the second biggest in history.






Denis Bois / Getty Images

















One of the most notable previous incidents was when SilkAir Flight 185 — travelling from Jakarta to Singapore — crashed into the Musi River near Pelambang, Indonesia, in December 1997, killing all 107 people on board after descending from 30,000 feet.






Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC)/Public Domain














In a letter to its Indonesian counterpart, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it failed to find anything wrong with the plane, adding that "the accident can be explained by intentional pilot action."

Indonesian investigators had launched their own parallel investigation, and did not accept the suicide explanation due to what was deemed insufficient evidence.

According to the cockpit voice recorder, Tsu left the flight deck after asking his co-pilot Darren Ward, a New Zealand national, if he wanted a glass of water.

Minutes later, both flight data recorders had stopped, and a short while after that, radar data showed that the aircraft began to make a swift descent, without issuing a distress call, before disappearing off the radar screen entirely, the New York Times reported.

The Indonesian report into the incident said Tsu had suffered heavy financial losses before the accident and had been reprimanded three times and demoted for breaches of discipline by SilkAir, the NYT said. Singaporean police confirmed that Tsu had been experiencing monetary problems.

However, a separate report by Singaporean police failed to find evidence that Tsu had any suicidal tendencies.







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Oblivion And Fear At The Corner Where Mexican Students Were Ambushed

IGUALA, Mexico — The memorials are shrinking and fading. A handful of candles stand dusty and unlit. Hand-written posters blaming the government are yellowed. A flyer asking Pope John Paul II for justice lies crumbled next to a couple ...

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Everything We Know About The Captain Of The Germanwings Tragedy

Captain Patrick Sonderheimer, identified by several European news outlets, was locked out of the Airbus cockpit while co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately crashed the aircraft.




















Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses














The captain of the Germanwings flight that crashed into the French alps on Tuesday has been identified as Patrick Sonderheimer, the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia reported.

The flight's co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, is believed to have deliberately crashed the aircraft after having locked the captain out of the cockpit, French prosecutor Brice Robin said in a press conference on Thursday. All 150 people on board the flight from Barcelona to Düsseldorf were instantly killed.

The prosecutor did not identify the captain by name. A spokeswoman for Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, told News that the airline would not confirm the identity of the captain "out of respect for his privacy."

But La Vanguardia, the a large daily newspaper in Barcelona, and Bild, Germany's largest tabloid, have identified the captain as Sonderheimer and Patrick S., respectively.

Europe1, a French radio station, interviewed a former colleague of the captain, who said that the pilot had a lot of experience and was well-regarded among his co-workers. The radio station did not name Sonderheimer, but refer to him as "the commander" of Airbus.

"He was one of our best pilots," said the former colleague, identified only as dieter. "I'm 100% sure that he did everything he could. I knew him very well. He had a lot of experience, more than 6,000 of flight. He was a very good man, he had a great sense of humor."

Dieter, the captain's colleague, said that the pilot was married and had two small children.

















LINK: Germanwings Co-Pilot Had “A Will To Destroy” Plane By Deliberately Descending It Into The Alps




















LINK: Here Are The Chilling Details Of How The Germanwings Co-Pilot Intentionally Crashed The Plane










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Man Gets Lottery Ticket In Get Well Card From Dad And Wins $7 Million

Joseph Amorese wasn’t feeling too great when his dad slipped a lottery ticket in a “Get Well Soon” card. Well, Amorese is feeling a whole lot better now, thanks to winning $7 million. The Pennsylvania native was home recovering from a recent surgery after experiencing a hernia when he received his father’s card. That’s when […]
Man Gets Lottery Ticket In Get Well Card From Dad And Wins $7 Million

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DEA Agents Accused Of Sex Parties With Hookers Hired By Drug Cartels

Numerous agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) allegedly had sex with prostitutes hired by drug cartels in Colombia. According to Politico, the encounters took place at the DEA’s Colombia office in between 2005 and 2008. Some of the agents were additionally provided money, weapons and unspecified extravagant gifts from the cartel. These revelations are […]
DEA Agents Accused Of Sex Parties With Hookers Hired By Drug Cartels

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Tempt Fate, Taste Life: Why An Adventure Is Good For The Soul

What is it about an adventure that moves us and, yet, scares us silly? What is it about an unfamiliar quest that is so intriguing and, yet, so terrifying? There is nothing like the fire that burns in your belly upon the possibility of a new experience. For some, just the thought of saying “Yes” […]
Tempt Fate, Taste Life: Why An Adventure Is Good For The Soul

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7-Year-Old Boy With Rare Disease Says ‘I Love You’ To Mom For First Time

After years of signing “I love you,” 7-year-old Tait Sherman found his voice. According to the Mirror, the English boy suffers from a rare neurological disorder called Bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria (BPP). Because of it, Tait’s language skills are slower than other children his age. For Tait, he knows what he wants to say, but his mouth […]
7-Year-Old Boy With Rare Disease Says ‘I Love You’ To Mom For First Time

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The Beautiful Connection Between Music, Health, Happiness And Efficiency

Music makes everything better. It brings people together, and reminds them what a gift it is to be alive and breathing. Good music is like good food, it’s just plain good. It doesn’t matter where it originated, it’s universally palatable. It transcends both space and time. It unifies people, breaching seemingly impenetrable cultural and generational divides. Music […]
The Beautiful Connection Between Music, Health, Happiness And Efficiency

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Abandoned Kitten And Puppy Become The Most Adorable Best Friends Ever (Photos)

The beginning of Chip and Adele’s young lives was not easy. Chip, a 5-week-old Chihuahua, was abandoned by his human family. Adele, a 4-week-old kitten, was abandoned by her feline family. On March 20, both were brought into Operation Kindness, a no-kill animal shelter in Texas, just north of Dallas. That day, both of their […]
Abandoned Kitten And Puppy Become The Most Adorable Best Friends Ever (Photos)

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People Are Asking For Time Off To Mourn Zayn Leaving One Direction

I understand people are saddened by Zayn Malik’s departure from One Direction, but this is just goddamn ridiculous. Apparently, people are calling their bosses and asking for compassionate leave from work due to the fact Zayn left the band. An employment law and HR service in the UK called Peninsula Business Services received over 200 phone […]
People Are Asking For Time Off To Mourn Zayn Leaving One Direction

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Chael Sonnen Roasts Randy Couture

We have finally tracked down video from last week’s roasting of former UFC champion Randy...
The post Chael Sonnen Roasts Randy Couture appeared first on BJPENN.COM.

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Machida Interested in Light-Heavyweight Return

Lyoto Machida toys with a return to the division he was once champion of.
The post Machida Interested in Light-Heavyweight Return appeared first on BJPENN.COM.


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UFC 189 World Championship Tour Embedded: Vlog Series – Episode 4

On Episode 4 of UFC 189 World Championship Tour Embedded, headliners Conor McGregor and Jose...
The post UFC 189 World Championship Tour Embedded: Vlog Series – Episode 4 appeared first on BJPENN.COM.

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Rousey Re-Ups Her UFC Deal, But Wishes She Could Box Ali

“I’m a UFC fighter. I just renegotiated. I have a lot of fights that I have...
The post Rousey Re-Ups Her UFC Deal, But Wishes She Could Box Ali appeared first on BJPENN.COM.

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Caliber Debuts A Messaging App Designed For Business Professionals

 A number of startups in years past have tried to carve out their own niche in the business networking space under the looming shadow of LinkedIn by offering an alternative way to connect with industry colleagues, often on mobile. But today, a new app called Caliber is offering a slightly different take on the concept: instead of trying to compete with LinkedIn directly, its service offers… Read More

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Microsoft’s Azure Backup And Recovery Services Come Out Of Preview

 Microsoft today announced that its Azure Backup and Azure Site Recovery services are now generally available. The two services were previously in preview (Microsoft’s terminology for its public beta programs).
The company is clearly gearing both of these services toward enterprises and notes that they will be especially interesting to companies making the move to hybrid cloud deployments. Read More

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Facebook Fights Info Overload With AIs That Identify What’s In Videos And Sentences

 Facebook has made some breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. Today at its F8 conference, its CTO Mike Schroepfer described new systems for identifying the content and context of videos and sentences. The video AI prototype can not only identi...

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Facebook’s Aquila Drone Will Beam Down Internet Access With Lasers

 As the second day of its F8 conference began here at Fort Mason, Facebook announced the first hardware it plans to use to beam Internet down to billions of people around the world. Codenamed Aquila, the drone has a wingspan comparable to a Boeing...

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Facebook Open-Sources React Native

 Facebook today announced that it is open sourcing its React native framework for building native apps at its F8 developer conference in San Francisco today. React Native is Facebook’s version of its React JavaScript framework for building native mobile applications. Today’s announcement doesn’t come as a huge surprise to anybody who has followed along with the development… Read More

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Indiegogo Leads Investors To Hardware Gold

 The venture world is hunting for the next batch of billion dollar unicorns in the hardware market, and investors are turning to the crowd to source their deals. VCs have already committed $516 million in funding for hardware companies this year, according to CrunchBase data — a significant jump from the $398 million captured in Q1 of 2014. Projects that win over consumers on… Read More

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PC Gaming Week: How does the ultimate PC of 10 years ago compare to the best today?

Introduction, CPU and GPUYes, you may have a brand new PC with a Titan on graphics duty, Gigabytes of RAM sitting spare, and both a hard drive with near unlimited storage and a big SSD – one that makes everything fly. Could it be, though, that a seemingly humble machine from 2005 could keep up… or even, just maybe, even out-power it?Of course not – what a ridiculous idea! But how far have we come in just 10 years? This was the year both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were unveiled, and the former actually came out. It wasn't a great gaming year for the PC, though we did get a few notable releases like Psychonauts and Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy – and Carol Vorderman's Sudoku – along with the almost instantly forgotten damp squib that was Quake 4.If you wanted a game to show your rig at its best, chances are your game of choice was either Far Cry, to see how well it could render a gorgeous tropical island, or Doom 3, where systems competed to render the blandest of horror.Engine of the beastLet's start our retro system with the processor. 2005 was when dual-core processors ruled the day, with AMD's Socket 939 and Intel's Socket 775 taking point. AMD64 was popular with gamers at the time, but for simplicity's sake, we'll compare one of Intel's higher spec CPUs with today. The Pentium 4 Extreme Edition, running on a Prescott core, was a 64-bit CPU – though 32-bit was still the home standard – running at 3.7GHz with a 2MB cache. Back to today, and let's look at the recommended specs for one of the year's most demanding games, The Witcher 3 – an Intel Core i7 3770. Perhaps surprisingly, this is only a quad-core chip, running at 3.4GHz with an 8MB cache – a big improvement to be sure, but not one that necessarily feels like a 10-year upgrade. In the nineties for instance, we had the far more impressive jump from the Intel 386 through 486, with graphics going from simple 2D images to the likes of Doom and then full 3D experiences. Even if we raise our level to CPUs like the Core i7 5960X and 5820K that offer eight cores – far more than most people are using – there isn't the same raw feel of a generational leap.Instead, while of course every task has its own requirements, in non-specialist environments processors and architectures have recently been more noted for other factors, like low power usage. Home applications at least haven't really benefitted from the jumps in years, with heavy lifting tasks increasingly a job for graphics cards.Graphic detailThat seems like a good next stop. Your card of choice in 2005 was likely the GeForce 7800 GTX – 512MB of throbbing graphical muscle, compared with the 4GB of NVIDIA's current top-end (excluding the Titan X), the GTX 980. Needless to say, that card doesn't so much crush its decade-old predecessor as atomise it. To pick just one stat, the 7800 GTX had a memory bandwidth of 54.4Gb/sec, while the GTX 980 boasts 224Gb/sec.What really makes the difference though is how much more modern cards do. In 2005, for at least a while, there was talk of graphics cards being joined by another heavy-hitter, the 'physics' card. At the time even basic cloth simulation remained a showpiece technology (though given that Tomb Raider's next-gen console release is still making a big deal out of one of its characters having something approaching realistic hair, we probably shouldn't tut too much at that), to say nothing of throwing around debris and fancy effects. Cue the Ageia PhysX card, which was seen around this time as destined to be either the next 3DFX card – the PC's most successful pioneering GPU – or a complete bust. In the end, it found a middle-ground, with Nvidia buying the company and integrating the physics support into the 3D cards everyone now needed. It's a little old now, but this demo of Arkham City shows the kind of difference this can make.Updated GPUs have also added many new strings to their bows, including better shaders in games, and Nvidia's CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture), which allows its GPUs to take some of the weight off the CPU even while not throwing around 3D graphics – rendering video footage for instance, or crunching numbers for cryptography.Memory laneAs for the rest of a 2005 PC, 512MB of RAM was still considered ample for most purposes. Then technical showpiece Doom 3 requested it, but would tolerate 256MB. It wasn't long before that began rising though, most notably with the horror FPS F.E.A.R in that year recommending 1GB of RAM (along with a 256MB 3D card and a Pentium 4 3.0GHz processor – high, high specs at the time).Even so, it's only this year that we're really starting to see games asking for more than 4GB – our old friend The Witcher 3 for instance demanding a minimum of 6GB and ideally wanting 8GB to play with. Cue an upgrade even for many hardcore fans.The reason for this is that in 2005, and the next decade, developers had to work on the assumption that gamers would be running a 32-bit operating system like Windows XP. In 32-bit, it's ordinarily (though not always) impossible to use even 4GB to its full, never mind anything more. It's only now that 64-bit is well enough embedded for companies to expect it, with even most high-end PC games still slumming it as 32-bit apps. Last year's Dragon Age Inquisition was one of the first major mainstream games to finally cut that cord. Regular, albeit typically professional-grade applications, have been quicker off the mark, but not by much. Adobe's Premiere Pro CC? 64-bit only. The consumer Premiere Elements? Installs a 32-bit version as needed.From the past to the futureSo what can we say of our plucky PC from 2005? It's certainly less of a jump from it to today than you'd see from 1995 to 2005. Not only did that take us from the death-throes of DOS to a world where most folks would never even need to know that CD stood for 'change directory', that was a period where bulky CRTs were consigned to history in favour of flat LCDs, when 3D graphics grew up and took over the gaming world, and of course, when internet access finished its shift from modems to broadband for at least most lucky souls. As for the next 10 years? Who can say. While the PC of 2025 will inevitably be far more powerful and capable of wonders we've yet to fully appreciate (in much the same way that good looking games in 2005 looked near photo-realistic but now look like crayon scribbles), it seems unlikely that its basics will be radically different.Popular as phones and tablets and at least some of the ideas behind technologies like VR, Google Glass and HoloLens are, the good old monitor, keyboard, mouse and tower still have plenty of life left in them.That said, it's impossible to predict with any real certainty. Luckily, being surprised is always part of the fun.Check out what else is going on during PC Gaming Week

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PC Gaming Week: Console gaming is still dead - and the PC is only getting better

Last August, when considering the PC vs consoles debate, we planted our flag on the side of the PC after a year of being underwhelmed by the current next-gen consoles. Now of course, things are very different. Both Xbox One and Playstation 4 are properly bedded into the market, with all kinds of exclusives to tempt players to one side or the other. Why, for six whole hours, Playstation 4 owners had The Order! Both systems are also supplementing their existing line-up with an exciting range of remastered versions of beloved games, a couple of which aren't even just the PC versions from a couple of years ago! Truly, we live in a golden age.Okay, so that's said with tongue firmly in cheek. Both Xbox One and PS4 finally have some notable exclusives, like Bloodborne, with more on the way. The fact that more and more traditional console developers have finally bitten the bullet and begun developing for PC also doesn't mean an end to long waits. GTA V has had two different outings on Playstation and Xbox systems, with the PC version still not out. Ground Zeroes took almost a year to make the jump, with Metal Gear Solid V not arriving for two weeks after launch. Goodness only knows what's happening with the new Tomb Raider and when it'll break free of Xbox One. If you want a few specific games, increasingly cheap hardware, and a nice sleek wrapper, consoles still have a solid sell.Check out the rest of our PC Gaming Week coverageStill, we stand by what we said last August. Outside of those precious few experiences, you just can't beat the PC - and, honestly, the Wii U's small but scrappy library is probably its best accompaniment. It doesn't hurt that both Microsoft and Sony tend to translate 'exclusive' as simply 'not on our main corporate rival', meaning that the PC is still ready to be a secondary market that doesn't make anyone look weak for supporting it, even if it isn't a particular company's normal platform of choice. The only real reason not to support it and get the money left on the table is if either Sony or Microsoft has footed the bill.For the playersOn a consumer level, the savings alone more than justify the potential extra outlay or occasional graphics card upgrade. For the price of a single console game you can get entire libraries during Steam sales, to say nothing of free-to-play games that generally continue, shockingly, to almost not even be evil at all!You're also opening up the wonderful world of indie games, free online play as standard, and a back catalogue of great games so extensive that you could play nothing new until you die and never run out of classics. (Though it will still probably be worth taking a quick pause for Arkham Knight this summer. And definitely The Witcher 3).That being said, things could be a little rosier in some areas. Last year was supposed to feature the triumph of Valve's Steam Machines, breaking away from Microsoft's control in favour of a more open Linux based world. So far, Valve's apparently found it a struggle just to make a gamepad, with even initial supporters having given up waiting. Nobody is talking about Linux any more, while early machines like the Alienware Alpha that were supposed to be part of the vanguard have ended up just shipping with Windows instead. Likewise, after years of waiting, we're still holding out both for a release date of the Oculus Rift and for some real hints about whether the software will truly herald the return of VR. The DK2, while a prototype, has led to lots of cute demos like Sightline and a few games like Shufflepuck Cantina and at least one site devoted to selling 180 degree virtual reality porn. Still, it would be good to have something truly visionary to look forward to.Promising projectThis is one area where the Playstation 4 at least stands to make some real ground. Sony's Project Morpheus has been getting great press, but its biggest advantage is that it'll be the only game in town for console VR next year. On PC, we already have an incoming clash between Oculus, HTC/Valve, and potentially Microsoft with its augmented reality approach, HoloLens.Competition is great for pushing forward technology, but the different design philosophies and experiences provided by all these devices (Oculus for instance is focused on sit-down experiences, while Valve/HTC are trumpeting the ability to walk around in their Vive) could easily lead to expensive confusion in the market. It wouldn't take much disappointment to torpedo the whole thing.That said, on PC the basic technology can stick around as long as people are interested in it, and developers are willing to support it. On Playstation 4 it could easily end up being dropped as quickly as the Xbox One's love affair with Kinect, while the nature of the console market means that generation-level updates would likely have to be saved for the next console cycle. The PC is a much better place for early adopters to help work out the inevitable issues and for everyone else to jump in once the teething problems are fixed.For the developersPC is also increasingly the best platform for developers to work on. This GDC saw Unity 5, Unreal Engine 4 and Valve's upcoming Source 2 engine made free to at least a point, with tools like Gamemaker Studio and interactive fiction creator Twine having largely shaken off the snobbery that greeted them a couple of years ago. Some will still sniff at that, yes, but unless they've personally made better games than Gunpoint, Spelunky and Hotline Miami, there's no reason to respond with anything but a Kleenex for their nasty cold.Both Sony and Microsoft meanwhile have a vested interest in keeping things limited, even when it's in such self-destructive ways as Microsoft's 'parity clause' - a petulant (if occasionally flexible) refusal to publish indie games on Xbox One that have previously appeared elsewhere, which might give the shocking impression that the world doesn't revolve around its shop. Sony meanwhile has no such silly rule, but of course still controls the Playstation's only shop and indies wanting to get onto it still have to jump through hoops to do so.The result is that while you can get indie games on consoles, their spiritual home remains on PC, where they can be sold, bundled, given away and promoted, or take advantage of innovative ways of selling games like Early Access that neither console has shown any interest in risking touching with the proverbial barge-pole. Nor has either even half-heartedly embraced the joys of modding, despite the huge success of games like Skyrim and Minecraft and services like Valve's one-click Steam Workshop for making games better.All things consideredSo, what does that all that give us? Unless you're a player that only plays a couple of exclusive games like Halo, the PC wins hands down. Even a mediocre machine comprehensively canes the competition in scope. Any additional cost is more than covered by the cheap price of games once inside (ignoring the fact that you don't need a dedicated games PC to play great PC games) and, while it's possible to spend a fortune squeezing every pixel and frame out of a rig, doing so absolutely isn't required.If you do have an eye on the future though, it's where the most exciting stuff is happening, from VR to cool peripherals to 4K graphics. Neither console is ready for that right now, and even if they were, there's little reason to upgrade a whole TV just for that. A desktop monitor however is another story, especially since you can lie to yourself that it's really for work.The one big advantage consoles do currently have? It's unquestionably more more comfortable to play games on the sofa than at a desk, save for a few specific genres that demand a mouse and keyboard. By the end of the year though, even that problem will have gone away, with Steam Link boxes available for the cost of a new game.If anything, what's surprising about this generation is what an easy fight it is. Historically, new consoles start by knocking everything else into a cocked hat, with PC owners having to wait a year or two for first parity, and then superiority. This time though, it's been less a battle of technologies than ecosystems, and one where the PC holds all the trump cards. Game catalogues, prices, ongoing system potential… the decision to be a PC gamer may not always feel like the easiest or most stylish, but it's absolutely the best one. A year and a half after release, neither Xbox One nor Playstation 4 even have a real answer to it, never mind a good one.

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