Google-acquired Bump shutting down this month

Some three months after being acquired by Google, Bump — a company that makes data sharing tools — is calling it quits. In a blog post today Bump CEO and cofounder David Lieb said that Bump and Flock will be shut down on January 31, 2014 given that the team working on it are "now deeply focused on our new projects within Google." After that date, the apps will be removed from Apple's App Store, as well as Google Play, Lieb says, but not before users have 30 days to export their data.

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SPLIT SHIFTS

The Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday recalled center Luke Glendening from the Griffins and assigned right wing Tomas Jurco to their AHL affiliate.



via griffinshockey.com - News Releases http://www.griffinshockey.com/news/releases/?article_id=2687

Legendary Wings didn't disappoint fans

DETROIT – The chants from the 33,425 fans congregated at Comerica Park Tuesday afternoon were enough to bring tears to every hockey fan’s eyes. “Gordie, Gordie!” “Vladdy, Vladdy!” Before Game 2 of the Alumni Showdown doubleheader between ...



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Glendening to play fifth career outdoor game

DETROIT – It will be a homecoming for Luke Glendening Wednesday, as the center will return to his alma mater, the University of Michigan, to play in the 2014 NHL Winter Classic. “It was great to be back on the ice, to be back in Ann Arbor is fu...



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Healthcare.gov enrollments surge following major repairs

Though it began with a rocky start, healthcare signups through the United States' new insurance marketplaces surged this month, bringing total enrollments to 2.1 million for the end of the year. Most notably, enrollment doubled through Healthcare.gov as the deadline for January coverage approached. Given Healthcare.gov's often-inoperable state during the prior months, that statistic isn't necessarily so impressive, but the government is encourage that enrollments will actually continue to grow from now through March, when the enrollment period ends.

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The Verge Mobile Show 074 - December 31st, 2013

Welcome to episode 74 of The Verge Mobile Show, a weekly podcast about the latest mobile technology. Join Chris Ziegler, Vlad Savov, and Dan Siefert at 4:30PM for the last episode of 2013 and a look ahead at CES.

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Here's what could have entered the public domain in 2014

Next year, not a single US copyright for a published work will expire. In fact, after two extensions in the 1970s and 1990s, virtually nothing will enter the public domain until 2019, and even that is assuming there aren't any future changes in store. Instead, Duke University has pulled together a list of the most notable works that, under pre-1978 law, could have become free for public consumption, distribution, and adaptation on January 1st, 2014: Jack Kerouac's On The Road, Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, and The Cat in the Hat to name a few. The arguably bigger problem, though, involves books, films, and music that most people have never heard of, and that copyright holders aren't going to bother preserving or reissuing — without a...

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Welcome to the Age of the Upgrade

As the 1980s came to a close, a curious thing happened to American consumers: they began to really understand what the word "upgrade" meant. This realization occurred thanks to a magical fusion of technological advancement and capitalistic opportunity: the video game console.

In the future-world of the late eighties, a post-crash video game market had firmly and finally established itself as a legitimate business sector — not a fad or addendum to the burgeoning PC market or an arcade also-ran — but a stable, viable industry unto itself. Nintendo and Sega waged war through most of the decade, battling for the hearts, minds, and dollars of the American consumer, all the while establishing brands that were becoming as recognizable as...

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Long-lost photos show Mt. St. Helens just before its devastating eruption

More than 33 years ago Mount Saint Helens blew its top, causing 57 deaths and forever changing the landscape of Washington state and its surrounding areas. One of those deaths was Reid Blackburn, a reporter on assignment for The Columbian — a local area paper — who was snapping photos inside what tragically turned out to be a massive blast area. Those images were never recovered, but The Columbian now shares photos of the slumbering volcano that Blackburn never developed, and that were tucked away for decades in an unmarked paper bag.

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The best online writing of 2013

Each week we round up some of the best writing on the web in order to cut through the flood and highlight the best original online reporting, interviews, and writing. 2013 saw fantastic coverage of the NSA leaks, Silicon Valley’s larger aspirations to change the world, DNA testing, and much more, and many publications continued pushing the boundaries of movement, video, illustration, and design. And so as 2013 draws to a close, we’re taking a look back at the stories, profiles, and characters that stayed with us: we’ve narrowed it down to 25 essential reads from Grantland, Mother Jones, domus, The London Review of Books, The Awl, Fast Company, and many more.

Grab the entire list as a Readlist.

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Watch the last Verge Mobile Show of 2013 today at 4:30PM ET / 21:30 GMT

2013 takes its final breath today, so what better way to celebrate it than one last Verge Mobile Show before we cross over into the new year. Lots of things happened in the world of mobile this year — from BlackBerry's turmoil to the rebirth of T-Mobile and Motorola, it's been quite a ride. Join us as we look back and look ahead today at 4:30PM ET / 21:30 GMT.

We will have a video embed of the show in this post once we're closer to show time.

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Moto G for Verizon coming to Best Buy for $99.99 off-contract

Last night, a leak showed that Verizon was getting ready to sell the Moto G off-contract for $100, even less than the already-low $179 price that Motorola's currently asking for the GSM version. Now, we're getting more details on this new Moto G varient — according to The Los Angeles Times , Best Buy will sell a no-contract Moto G for Verizon very soon at the rumored $99.99 price point. "The phone is currently landing in stores and is available for sale as soon as it arrives," Best Buy spokesman Jonathan Sandler told The LA Times. Verizon didn't have any comment, so it's not clear yet if this will be a Best Buy exclusive or if cheaper Moto G will end up in the carrier's stores eventually. Either way, this is the cheapest we've seen the...

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Sony may release a Windows Phone in 2014, according to The Information

Sony is considering launching a Windows Phone sometime next year, according to a new report from The Information . If true, such a move would break Sony's current loyalty to Android and give Nokia some fresh competition in the Windows Phone segment. Both sides have reportedly held numerous discussions, with Sony going so far as to draw up designs for a prototype device. Any future product could be branded under Sony's Vaio line, according to The Information. Microsoft's takeover of Nokia's devices unit seemingly hasn't given Sony any second thoughts; talks have continued even after the acquisition was first announced. But the report notes that a deal hasn't yet been finalized and plans could come undone if Microsoft and Sony disagree over...

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Covert US drone strikes killed 253 people in 2013, report estimates

The Council on Foreign Relations has released its estimates on the year's covert drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan, based on reports from Th Bureau of Investigative Journalism, The Long War Journal, and The New America Foundation. Numbers vary from source to source, but the Long War Journal figures estimate a total of 54 strikes and 253 casualties, of whom 31 were civilians. The Council estimates a total of 3,520 casualties since the drone strike program began in 2004, of whom 457 have been civilians.

The numbers are only estimates, as data on civilian casualties is notoriously unreliable, but CFR is straightforward about its goals in releasing the report. "The current trajectory of US drone strike policies is unsustainable," author...

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US releases final Uighur detainees from Guantanamo five years after court order

The United States moved another step closer to shutting down the Guantanamo Bay detention camp this morning, announcing that it had finished relocating the ethnic Uighur Chinese nationals who had been detained there for around a decade. The Pentagon said that it was releasing the final three Uighur detainees to Slovakia, which has agreed to take them in. "This transfer and resettlement constitutes a significant milestone in our effort to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay," Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon's press secretary, says in a statement.

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Why don’t economists like Bitcoin?

Nobel prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote a blog post this weekend with a tantalizing title, "Bitcoin Is Evil," that has provoked the expected backlash from proponents of the virtual currency.

The headline over-promises, unfortunately — while you could make an argument that Bitcoin nefariously wastes computer power, enables crime, and encourages anarchy, that’s not what Krugman’s saying. (Science fiction writer Charlie Stross’ "Why I want Bitcoin to die in a fire" is more satisfying.) Instead, Krugman attacks Bitcoin’s economic fundamentals for the zillionth time.

Almost any time you see someone from a university praising Bitcoin, that person is from the computer science department. And if...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/31/5260534/krugman-bitcoin-evil-economists

Wow this is doge

When 51-year-old Japanese kindergarten teacher Atsuko Sato started seeing strange pictures of her eight-year-old Shiba Inu dog Kabosu popping up on the internet this past August, she was a little freaked out. “I was taken aback,” Sato, an elegant, brown-haired woman given to wide smiles, recalled. “It felt very strange to see her face there. It was a Kabosu that I didn’t know.”

What Sato didn’t realize was that Kabosu had unwittingly become the face of “doge,” the white-hot internet meme that plasters photos of Shiba Inu with fractured phrases written in rainbow-colored Comic Sans type. The images often feature a “wow” in one corner, then a series of intensifiers, like “so” and “such,” paired with nouns...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/31/5248762/doge-meme-rescue-dog-wow

LG Lifeband Touch fitness tracker leaks ahead of CES

A new wearable device from LG has seemingly been exposed by prolific leaker Evleaks. Allegedly called LG Lifeband Touch, it appears to be a device in the same vein as LG's announced-but-never-released Smart Activity Tracker. That device, which debuted at CES in January 2013, was able to display notifications from your phone, such as text messages and calls, and also had built in GPS tracking and a heart rate monitor.

Last week, rumors circulated that LG was planning on releasing a pair of wearable devices, called the G-Arch and G-Health. The company told us it has "no products called G-Arch and G-Health in development," but it appears it is planning to announce a health-focused device soon. Little is known about the Lifeband Touch,...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/31/5259988/lg-lifeband-touch-fitness-tracker-leaks-ahead-of-ces

Dolphins caught chewing on fish to get high

A new BBC documentary will show adolescent dolphins getting high by chewing on puffer fish. The fish secrete a toxin that gives the dolphins a buzz, and the crew on the upcoming show filmed male bottlenose dolphins passing around a puffer fish before acting "most peculiarly." The program's executive producer John Downer notes the dolphin were in a trance-like state, "hanging around with their noses at the surface as if fascinated by their own reflection."

Dolphins aren't the first animals caught getting high — moose have for many years been observed getting drunk by eating fermented apples. The footage was captured thanks to a number of bizarre contraptions created for the documentary Spy in the Pod. The crew modified...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/31/5259898/dolphins-caught-chewing-on-fish-to-get-high

OneNote for Android updated with new widget and multi-window support

Microsoft is updating its OneNote Android application today, adding some useful features to its note taking app. While OneNote has previously supported simple widgets with quick access to photos, audio, and new notes, the latest update now includes a recent widget to display recent notes on the home screen. The widget supports recent notes by default, but you can also add pages, sections, or notebooks to the home screen too.

Other improvements include a new share button that allows apps like Chrome and RSS readers to simply share links and content directly into a new OneNote. Microsoft has also added in support for the multi-window mode used on some of Samsung’s Galaxy devices, allowing the app to open side-by-side with other Android...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/31/5259912/onenote-android-update-multi-window-support-recent-widget

'87 series vs. Leafs made Wings believers

On the ice, rivalries are built over time in the post-season. Once there, the historic fabric is woven tightly in the conscious of fanatical supporters by the geographic proximity of the teams, like the Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs. Though...



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MARLIES FREEZE GRIFFINS IN COMERICA SHOOTOUT

In the first-ever outdoor game in franchise history, the Grand Rapids Griffins fell to the Toronto Marlies 4-3 on Monday in a thrilling shootout in front of 20,337 at Comerica Park.



via griffinshockey.com - News Releases http://www.griffinshockey.com/news/releases/?article_id=2686

Glendening nets two in Griffins' SO loss

DETROIT – To say Luke Glendening is no stranger to outdoor hockey is an understatement. The center played in his fourth outdoor contest under the lights at Comerica Park Monday night, scoring two goals in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Toronto Marl...



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Rivalry needs more than Winter Classic

DETROIT - David Clarkson watched the Toronto Maple Leafs-Detroit Red Wings rivalry closely while growing up. He was nine years old when they played in the 1993 playoffs and a teenager when Brendan Shanahan, from Clarkson's neighbourhood of Mimi...



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Leafs' Palmateer began career at Olympia

DETROIT – Former Maple Leafs goalie Mike Palmateer has great memories of playing in Detroit, where he made his NHL debut on Oct. 28, 1976. Now an amateur scout for the Toronto organization, the 59-year-old Palmateer, hopes he doesn’t soil his f...



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Off-contract Moto G might be coming to Verizon for $100

Motorola's Moto G smartphone might soon be available to Verizon customers for as low as $100 — without a contract. Google+ user Josue Joseph, who claims to work at Best Buy Mobile, posted a picture of the Android phone in Verizon retail packaging. Joseph later commenting that it "looks like it's going for $100."

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Lidstrom joins former teammates, legends

DETROIT – There was no shortage of hockey royalty on display Monday afternoon at Comerica Park as alumni from the Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs held practices prior to Tuesday’s Alumni Showdown inside the ballpark. “It’s so cool to see ...



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Former Wings excited for Alumni Showdown

DETROIT – There weren’t a lack of smiles, laughs, jokes or hugs at Comerica Park Monday afternoon as the Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs alumni reunited for one final practice before the highly anticipated Alumni Showdown on New Year’s Eve. “...



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A Times reporter took three genetic tests and got three wildly different answers

If a recent New York Times piece is any guide, direct-to-consumer genetic testing may have more accuracy problems than we thought. Reporter Kira Peikoff ordered three simultaneous tests of her genome from 23andme, Genetic Testing Laboratories, and Pathway Genomics — and the results varied more widely than you might think. According to 23andme, she had an elevated risk of psoriasis, with a lifetime risk of 20.2 percent, but GTL put her lifetime risk at only two percent, well below average. Both firms showed her Type 2 diabetes risk as slightly below the general population, but described it as "decreased" and "medium" respectively, two very different interpretations. It's a reminder of how far genetic testing services still have to go on...

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The Year in Review: the biggest stories of 2013

What a year you were, 2013. Edward Snowden’s NSA leaks turned up the heat on a cauldron of privacy concerns that’s sure to boil over in the next year. Drones expanded from killing machines to potential package-delivery robots. The US government shut itself down and revealed a disheartening lack of technical competence with the Healthcare.gov launch debacle. Microsoft started down a path of completely reinventing itself by looking for a new CEO and trying to buy Nokia. From outlandish promises to dissembling politicians, the Hyperloop dreams were almost as big as the spying nightmares. It’s all a lot to remember, so we’ve put together our take on the biggest stories of the year.

What did 2013 mean and what will the next year...

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Jurco is making adjustments to pro game

Many hockey players look back on their childhood with fond memories of skating outdoors, playing pond hockey on any suitable frozen body of water until the sun set. Tomas Jurco isn’t one of them, which is why the American Hockey League matchup ...



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Power play: why your electric bill may be changing soon

Americans are buying bigger homes, using more appliances, and firing up more data centers than ever before. You’d expect electricity demand to skyrocket accordingly, but the trend is actually the opposite. Total electricity use in the US has actually declined in the past four out of five years, according to a new government study, and many analysts expect that to continue.

Electricity use was growing around 10 percent per year in the 1950s, but slowed to about 1 percent in recent years and was down almost 2 percent in 2012. There are a number of reasons why, but the change is largely due to gains in energy efficiency: new homes, office buildings, and electrical devices are more efficient than ever, especially now that new lighting...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/30/5248790/americans-are-buying-less-electricity

Mars One narrows applicant pool to 1,058 in first cut for 2025 colonization mission

Mars One, the organization attempting to send small teams of astronauts on a one-way trip to Mars, has made its first round of applicant decisions, selecting just over a thousand people to move on to the next stage of what it hopes will be a decade-long, televised training and colonization mission. Today, 1,058 of the roughly 200,000 people who applied were told that they had made the cut. Between 2014 and 2015, all but a few dozen of those will be weeded out, leaving a final set of four-person teams that will theoretically begin heading to Mars by 2025. Before then, though, there's a long process of testing, prototyping, and fundraising ahead of the company.

Applicants' 'physical and emotional capabilities' will be tested next

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FAA announces drone testing projects at three universities, one airport, and the state of Nevada

The new drones are coming, and thanks to an FAA announcement this morning, we now know exactly where they'll be. After a 10-month study of possible sites, the FAA has announced six sites where researchers will have license to test the next generation of possible drones. It's part of the FAA's ongoing roadmap for unmanned aerial vehicles, which aims to provide a full legal and regulatory framework by 2015. Still, test-site operations will continue for years beyond that, with current law allowing for operation until February of 2017.

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The NSA's elite hackers can hijack your Wi-Fi from eight miles away

Attendees at the Chaos Communications Congress in Berlin this weekend got a surprising rundown of the NSA's surveillance capabilities, courtesy of security researcher Jacob Appelbaum. Appelbaum, who co-wrote the Der Spiegel article that first revealed the NSA catalog, went into further detail onstage, describing several individual devices in the catalog and their intended purposes.

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Obama unwinds from leading the nation by watching Walter White make meth

He probably doesn't have as much time to binge watch, but President Obama still kicks back just like the rest of us: watching season after season of TV shows. According to The New York Times , Obama's latest pick is Breaking Bad, which he picked up as a DVD box set. Though the series ended in September, Obama is apparently quite far behind and has been known to warn those around him not to give away any spoilers.

The Times also reports that Obama has recently been keen on Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, Homeland, Downton Abbey, Mad Men, and House of Cards as well — series that generally trend toward darker drama. Though Obama has been known to chat about his favorite TV shows before, there's no word on whether he's been quoting...

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Eric Schmidt makes 2014 predictions, says mobile has won

While he’s not busy writing instructions on how to lead a tech company or guides for switching from iPhone to Android, Google chairman Eric Schmidt has taken some time out to provide Bloomberg TV with his predictions for 2014. Schmidt has a history of bold public statements, but his predictions for the year ahead are rather tame in comparison. "Everyone is going to have a smartphone," predicts Schmidt. "The trend has been mobile was winning, it has now won," he proclaims, before noting the trend towards more tablets and phones being sold than PCs.

The mobile trend has been clear throughout the past couple of years, but Schmidt also notes the "arrival of big data and machine intelligence everywhere" as significant bases for new...

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TWO RETURN BEFORE OUTDOOR GAME

The Detroit Red Wings on Sunday assigned center Luke Glendening to the Griffins and reassigned left wing Trevor Parkes from the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye to their AHL affiliate.



via griffinshockey.com - News Releases http://www.griffinshockey.com/news/releases/?article_id=2685

Russia's version of GPS could be doomed in the US

The New York Times reports that Russia's efforts to expand Glonass, Russia's version of the widely-used Global Positioning System, could be all but halted in the US due to the nation's latest defense budget bill. The bill, signed into law on Thursday, would require the US secretary of defense and the director of national intelligence to provide a waiver ensuring that data transfer between the Glonass stations is not encrypted, and certify that they pose no threat to national security, among other requirements. "The idea was to make it next to impossible, if not impossible, to do this," a House Republican aide told the Times.

As the Times points out, several nations in Asia and the EU have been working to compete with the dominance of...

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The best writing of the week, December 29

We all know the feeling. You're sleepless in the sad hours of the night or stumbling around early on a hazy weekend morning in need of something to read, and that pile of unread books just isn't cutting it. Why not take a break from the fire hose of Twitter and RSS and check out our weekly roundup of essential writing from around the web about technology, culture, media, and the future? Sure, it's one more thing you can feel guilty about sitting in your Instapaper queue, but it's better than pulling in vain on your Twitter list again.

Grab the entire list as a Readlist.

On Edward Snowden

In a wide-ranging interview conducted over 14 hours in Russia, The Washington Post's Barton Gellman talks to Edward Snowden.

The Washington Post:...

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Overcast and chilly for Winter Classic?

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- From snow to rain to blinding sunshine to uncharacteristically warm days, the NHL has dealt with just about everything Mother Nature can toss its way in previous outdoor games. The hope based on early weather reports for New...



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Artist Vincent Fournier recreates animals as technological organisms

In the project Post Natural History , French artist Vincent Fournier draws on speculative fiction to reimagine the Animal Kingdom after it merges with modern technology. The resulting creatures show how humanity might engineer nature to suit technological progress and our everyday needs. "These creatures are simultaneously familiar and strange," explains Fournier. "[We] ‘know’ the rabbit, lizard or dragonfly we see, but upon closer inspection, we realise there are certain differences. Together, they surmise how humans could intervene in evolution." Here, a scorpion is remodeled to aid in semi-automated and remote surgery. Explore the rest of Fournier's menagerie on his website.

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Western's Kovacs, Hafner shine in GLI

DETROIT – The last time Western Michigan won a Great Lakes Invitational it took nearly three decades for the Broncos to return to the annual tournament in downtown Detroit. “We’re concerned,” Broncos coach Andy Murray joked, “because the last t...



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The Dogecoin community is raising money for victims of Christmas hack

Users of the half-serious virtual currency Dogecoin are raising 30 million coins, worth about $13,545, in order to reimburse victims of a massive Christmas heist. Two days ago, hackers broke into two major wallets, Dogewallet and Instadoge, and made off with dogecoins belonging to "shibes," the community's term for Dogecoin users.

"In order to reach the moon we have to take care of each other and keep the spirit of community and faith in each other and the services that help spread the love of dogecoin," writes Ben Doernberg, one of the eight members of the Dogecoin subreddit who started the fundraising effort. "Thus, we are launching an effort to reimburse as many shibes as possible who lost their savings in the hacks."

The effort has...

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Berry hits 'home run' to lead Spartans' win

DETROIT – Michigan State junior Matt Berry thought long and hard about what his goal celebration would look like should he score against archrival Michigan in the consolation game of the Great Lakes Invitational at Comerica Park. The inspiratio...



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What's the best photo you've ever shot with a phone?

What's the absolute best you've ever done?

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Crew overcomes weather to paint lines, logos

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The sun began its ascent in the blue Michigan sky Saturday morning, but Dan Craig, the NHL's facilities operations manager, and his team were ready. Half of Craig's crew, led by his son Mike, put all of the lines and logos o...



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Two tablet companies launch manufacturing in Haiti

A new pair of tablet companies are setting up in an unexpected place: Haiti. Surtab and Handxom SA both began production last month on a new brand of seven-inch android tablets which are being sold direct to various Haitian government ministries and made available for retail through Digicel. Both founded by europeans (from Belgium and Denmark respectively) with the help of development funds, the companies are hoping to bring new life to the stagnant Hatitian economy, still reeling from the 2010 earthquake that left more than a million and a half homeless.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/28/5251126/two-tablet-companies-launch-manufacturing-in-haiti

DETROIT MAKES ROSTER MOVES

The Detroit Red Wings on Saturday assigned center Riley Sheahan to the Griffins and reassigned center Louis-Marc Aubry and left wing Trevor Parkes from the Griffins to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye.



via griffinshockey.com - News Releases http://www.griffinshockey.com/news/releases/?article_id=2684

California man pleads guilty to volunteering for Al Qaeda on Facebook

If you run into an Al Qaeda recruiter on Facebook, there's a good chance they're actually working for the FBI. It's a lesson 24-year-old Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen of Garden Grove, California learned the hard way. Between August and October, Nguyen met several times with a man he'd met on Facebook who he believed to be a recruiter for a Syrian Al Qaeda campaign — but on October 11th, the recruiter revealed himself to be a federal counterterrorism officer.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/28/5251008/california-man-pleads-guilty-to-volunteering-for-al-qaeda-on-facebook

Watch this: 'Space Dandy' is a swashbuckling, madcap sex caper

Shinichiro Watanabe is already a legend in anime circles for Cowboy Bebop, but his latest project, Space Dandy, is making headlines for different reasons. The series, which follows a pompadoured alien hunter as he collects exotic species, is being broadcast in Japan and the US simultaneously, an unprecedented move for a Japanese series. And to drum up interest for the January 4th premiere, the creators have released a ten-minute preview of what viewers can expect. The bad news: it's in Japanese, neither subbed nor dubbed. The good news: a bar full of weird-looking aliens needs no translation.

Dandy 10min Preview by pKjd

For a more gaijin-friendly explanation of the show, here's Toonami's trailer for the January 4th premiere.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/28/5250868/watch-this-space-dandy-is-a-swashbuckling-madcap-sex-caper

GLI championship headlines Day 2 fun

DETROIT – Day 2 of Detroit’s hockey celebration kicks off this afternoon when 2013 SiriusXM Hockeytown Winter Festival opens to the public at 1 p.m. The event covers more than 100,000 square feet outside of Comerica Park with all things hockey ...



via Red Wings Recent Headlines http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=697801&cmpid=rss-roose

France ponders extending 'culture tax' to YouTube and Facebook

A new report from France's Superior Audiovisual Council (CSA) has opened the door to possible taxes on large web video outlets like YouTube and even more general content providers like Facebook. The report concerns France's current culture tax, which taxes movie theaters, broadcasters and ISPs, using the 1.3 billion euro of annual revenue to fund French film and TV production. If viewers are skipping the cinema in favor of YouTube videos, the report reasons, then why not include web video in the tax too? If Facebook is deemed to be a content provider, the report says it could also take a hit form the tax.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/28/5250660/france-ponders-extending-culture-tax-to-youtube-and-facebook

98-year-old photo negatives discovered in Antarctica

In 1915, an ill-fated expedition known as the Ross Sea Party took to the New Zealand side of Antarctica to establish supply depots for explorers. After their ship broke loose from the moorings, the six men were stranded and struggled to survive, spending three years on the continent before they were eventually rescued. Now, nearly a century later, a new discovery suggests the men may have left behind more than we realized.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/28/5250574/98-year-old-photo-negatives-discovered-in-antarctica

Jones is back on track in Plymouth

The third time’s the charm for Mitch Jones. After recording just six assists in his first two seasons with the Plymouth Whalers, the defenseman has hit a stride in his third year, scoring three goals and adding eight assists through 29 games i...



via Red Wings Recent Headlines http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=695854&cmpid=rss-nelson

The Weekender: tweaking Twitter, broadcasting Batman, and cutting up California

Welcome to The Verge: Weekender edition. Every Saturday, we'll bring you some of the best and most important reads of the past seven days, from original reports, to in-depth features, to reviews and interviews. Think of it as a collection of some of our favorite pieces that you may have missed — or that you may just want to read again. You can follow along below, or keep up to date on Flipboard.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/28/5249468/the-weekender-twitter-redesigns-bbc-classic-batman-six-californias

Play practically every game for five vintage consoles in your web browser

The Internet Archive is on a mission to ensure that decades-old software isn't lost to the vicissitudes of time — and that anyone can use it on the web for free. In October, that meant releasing a Javascript port of the extremely nimble MESS computer emulator, and 25 choice apps and games. This week, it means that nearly every Atari 2600, Atari 7800, ColecoVision, Magnavox Odyssey², and Astrocade game is now playable on the web. It's part of the Internet Archive's new Console Living Room section.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/28/5249606/play-practically-every-game-for-five-vintage-consoles-in-your-web

First wave of recreational pot businesses in Denver get their papers

Stores in Denver, CO are gearing up to begin selling marijuana for recreational use early next week. The first wave of 14 businesses and 17 growers received licenses today, The Associated Press reports, the latest in a years-long process to legalize the recreational drug in the state. It was cleared for personal use more than a year ago, but it's taken longer to get businesses up and running due to a permit process that involves inspections and security requirements. There's also been a moratorium on sales that lifts next week. More licenses are expected to be doled out as state officials approve additional applications from businesses that hope to capitalize on the policy change.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/27/5249650/first-wave-of-recreational-pot-businesses-in-denver-get-their-papers

ROCKIN' IN ROCKFORD

A power-play goal by Calle Jarnkrok in the third period lifted the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 4-2 win over the Rockford IceHogs on Friday at the BMO Harris Bank Center.



via griffinshockey.com - News Releases http://www.griffinshockey.com/news/releases/?article_id=2683

Encrypted chat service Cryptocat for iPhone rejected by Apple

Encrypted chat service Cryptocat has spent the past two years blocking outsiders from reading private conversations, and now it's facing a block of its own trying to get onto Apple's App Store. Developer Nadim Kobeissi took to Twitter today to blast the iPhone and iPad maker for unjustly rejecting Cryptocat for iPhone, software that was announced earlier this month. Kobeissi says he's under a non-disclosure agreement as part of the Apple developer program and cannot go into specifics, but claims that the reasons the company gave for its rejection were "illegitimate," and could threaten similar apps. "One of the reasons for Cryptocat for iPhone's rejection by Apple strongly implies that any other encrypted group chat app can be rejected,"...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/27/5249402/encrypted-chat-service-cryptocat-for-iphone-rejected-by-apple

Mars Curiosity Rover becomes a Lego set, while real rover wheels suffer damage

Here's another use for your newfound holiday cash: On New Year's Day, the Mars Curiosity Rover will become an official Lego set. It's the latest success from the crowdsourced Lego Cuusoo project, which previously brought us the Back to the Future Lego DeLorean and — fittingly — a miniature Minecraft world. Now, the company's offering an articulated version of the six-wheel Mars rover designed by an actual NASA engineer who worked on the Mars Curiosity project. It'll cost $29.99 on January 1st.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/27/5249170/mars-curiosity-rover-becomes-a-lego-set-real-wheels-suffer-damage

US military sees more drones, 'cyber weapon' non-proliferation in the future

The $552 billion 2014 military defense budget signed by President Barack Obama will continue to fund high-tech cyber and unmanned aircraft operations. The budget, which grants central Cyber Command $68 million in operational costs alongside more money for research and individual unit operations, instructs agencies to work towards controlling the proliferation of "cyber weapons." That means stopping the sale or spread of malicious code for "criminal, terrorist, or military activities" while allowing governments and businesses to use it for "legitimate" self-defense.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/27/5248702/military-drone-roadmap-and-cyber-weapon-non-proliferation-announced

Indian feds raid Bitcoin exchange as other traders suspend service

On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of India sent out a stern warning against trade in Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, stating that the currencies were not approved by the central bank and more ominously that "the traders of VCs on such platforms are exposed to legal as well as financial risks." It was an ambiguous message, seen by many as a restatement of the fundamental risks of virtual currency, but just a few days later, one exchange found out about those legal risks the hard way.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/27/5248942/indian-feds-raid-bitcoin-exchange-as-other-traders-suspend-service

Pupil reflections in photographs could help investigators solve crimes

The eyes are more than windows to the soul, thanks to technologies that can reveal reflected faces in pupils of photographs. Dr. Rob Jenkins of the University of York's Department of Psychology published a study that showed how pupils in photographs of faces can be "mined" for hidden information.

The study simulated crime photos, in which victims are photographed by attackers, to examine the reflections in the eyes of those being photographed. Jenkins and co-researcher Christie Kerr of the University of Glasgow's School of Psychology photographed eight people who were looking at four other individuals behind the camera. By zooming in on the high-resolution photos, Jenkins and Kerr were able to recover bystander images that were then...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/27/5248442/university-of-york-pupil-reflection-study

Zetterberg, Abby set to return vs. Panthers

DETROIT – A pair of Red Wings are positive that they’ll be in the lineup when the Red Wings travel to South Florida to take on the Panthers at BB&T Center in Sunrise on Saturday night. Both Henrik Zetterberg and Justin Abdelkader indicated Frid...



via Red Wings Recent Headlines http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=697693&cmpid=rss-roose

Sherlock Holmes and John Watson aren't protected by copyright, US court rules

Sherlock Holmes' status as a copyrighted character is easily as complicated as any of the cases he's had to solve. Created over 125 years ago, Holmes would remain a fixture in author Arthur Conan Doyle's work until the late 1920s. In the UK, that means that all Sherlock Holmes stories are in the public domain, where they can be used and adapted by other authors. But under American law, ten stories remain copyrighted, and Conan Doyle's estate has argued that this is enough to keep Holmes and Watson under their jurisdiction. Earlier this week, though, a lawsuit changed that, as Judge Ruben Castillo found that the two characters were no longer protected by copyright in the US.

Castillo was responding to a case against the Conan Doyle...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/27/5248252/sherlock-holmes-and-john-watson-are-in-us-public-domain

Australia taps Twitter to alert beach-goers of incoming shark threats

You may be able to see a Sharknado from miles away, but not necessarily the creatures lurking right off the beach. To solve that, Australia's using transmitters attached to some 320 sharks, and Twitter, to warn beach-goers when big sharks are near. That's only if those sharks get within a kilometer or so of major beaches, where they can become a threat to swimmers who are mistaken for a meal. The system's designed to alert swimmers before they get in the water, as well as lifeguards and other beach patrols.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/27/5248484/australia-taps-twitter-to-alert-beach-goers-of-incoming-shark-threats

'Top Gun' and 'Braveheart' among movies disappearing from Netflix on January 1st

Over the years, Netflix's customers have grown accustomed to a revolving selection of movies and TV shows. The company's licensing deals often result in some films disappearing after spending time in Netflix's streaming library. Unfortunately, it looks like the beginning of 2014 will mark the end of Watch Instantly rights for dozens of popular titles including Top Gun, Braveheart, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Netflix displays an "expiration date" whenever content is added to your personal queue, but the company has made it difficult to monitor those losses on a larger scale.

Thankfully some Redditors have proven up to the task; they've assembled a list of notable titles that are due to be removed as we ring in 2014. The...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/27/5248302/top-gun-braveheart-among-movies-disappearing-from-netflix-january-1-2014

Apple files another request to ban older Samsung phones and tablets

Apple is once again seeking a sales ban on over 20 different Samsung smartphones and tablets that were found to violate its patents last year. Though such a ban was initially rejected, last month Apple was given another chance to argue for one when an appellate court vacated the earlier ruling. Apple filed its renewed request for a permanent injunction yesterday, arguing that Samsung's ability to sell the infringing devices puts a potential burden on its smaller lineup of smartphones and tablets. Though Samsung has ceased selling all of the devices in question — such as the Galaxy Tab and AT&T's Galaxy S II — Apple argues that a ban is still important for preventing Samsung from selling them again in the future.

This time around,...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/27/5247898/apple-renews-permanent-injunction-request-infringing-samsung-devices

New York City moves closer to pay-by-phone parking

New York City officials have announced that motorists will "soon" able to pay for parking by phone and via the internet. But there's still plenty of work to be done before paper receipts start disappearing from car dashboards. The city yesterday began searching for the company that can best offer drivers "a means to use their cell phones to pay for parking at all 14,000 parking meters across the five boroughs." And while it may be some time before a contract is awarded, local officials have already revealed a framework for how the system will work.

Motorists will be able to pay for parking using a smartphone app or by calling a toll-free number. From here, you'll enter a number displayed on the nearest muni meters to verify your car's...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/27/5247872/new-york-city-moves-closer-pay-by-phone-parking

Federal judge rules NSA metadata collection is lawful, dismissing ACLU case

In a surprise ruling today, a federal judge dismissed the ACLU's lawsuit against the NSA's metadata collection program, closing a major legal avenue for NSA reform. Handing down an unusually sweeping ruling, Judge William Pauley III ruled that the NSA's phone record database was fully lawful under section 215 of the Patriot Act. Beyond that, the judge ruled, "the question of whether that program should be conducted is for the other two coordinate branches of Government to decide."

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/27/5248004/federal-judge-rules-nsa-metadata-collection-is-lawful-dismissing-aclu

'Kung Fury' pits Hitler against the greatest '80s action hero that never was

"He's a kung-fu renegade cop. Now, he must defeat the most evil kung-fu master in the world: Adolf Hitler, aka Kung Führer."

That, in a nutshell, is Kung Fury, a proposed short action movie currently seeking $200,000 in funding on Kickstarter. An homage to the '80s, its nostalgia-driven trailer features everything from skateboard-toting punks to an NES Power Glove. With a plot involving time travel, dinosaurs, Norse gods, and Nazis, the film relies on green screen magic for almost every scene. Most of the raw footage has already been shot, but it's the reliance on special effects work that requires additional funding to help wrap up the project.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/27/5247268/kung-fury-kickstarter-b-movie-trailer