Apple says it will not tolerate manipulation of App Store rankings even if a third-party service is responsible for doing the dirty work. Making it to the top of the charts is tough, considering more than 500,000 apps are available for download. Apple knows app developers pay third-party services to increase app rankings and some of them have wiggled apps into Apple’s top 25 most-downloaded chart through illegal methods. “Once you build a great app, you want everyone to know about it. However, ...  show all text

posted by friends:  (11)

posted by friends of friends:  (3)

1. Castle in the Sky on TV Anime movie Laputa: Castle in the Sky was televised in Japan on Dec. 9, 2011. The movie was made in 1989 by famed director Hayou Miyazaki, who also directed Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. During one point in televised broadcast in 2011, viewers joined forces, sending tweets at the same time to symbolically help the movie's characters cast a spell. Data compiled by Brian Anthony Hernandez; gallery created by Chelsea Stark. Image courtesy of che_fox, Flickr. C...  show all text

posted by friends:  (4)

posted by friends of friends:  (2)

It was almost like a holiday weekend here at Mashable, but with the big Super Bowl game looming on Sunday, we weren’t just hanging around taking it easy. no sir/ma’am, we got even busier during the festivities. During Super Bowl 2012, during which our HQ favorite New York Giants barely beat the New England Patriots, a few of us got together to do a live blog with Madison Avenue advertising experts, at the same time inviting our astute commenters to join us in a chatfest about those crazy Super ...  show all text

posted by friends:  (7)

posted by friends of friends:  (1)

Samsung has made one thing clear in its “Next Big Thing” Super Bowl spot — it wants to be the anti-Apple. The South Korean electronics maker is marketing it’s 5.3-inch smartphone with stylus as the latest player in the world of connected devices. The ad — as we already new from its teaser released last week — pokes fun at Apple fanboys and fangirls who notoriously camp out in anticipation for iDevice launches. The towns of San Francisco, Calif, Boston, Ma. and Denver, Co., erupt in non-choreogr...  show all text

posted by friends:  (12)

posted by friends of friends:  (4)

It’s never been easier to get your pigskin fix on the internet than Super Bowl XLVI. The NFL’s biggest sporting event, airing Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC, is shaping up to be the most socially connected in football history. It’s also the first to feature official live video streaming over the internet. Social media is staying in lockstep with the festivities as well, leading to a vareity of options that will adequately satiate or supplement your Super Bowl 2012 coverage. From the pregame hype...  show all text

posted by friends:  (6)

posted by friends of friends:  (1)

We sell, rent, owner finance, list, and manage. We are a full service real estate company catering to all your real estate needs.

posted by friends:  (6)

posted by friends of friends:  (0)

1. Created with the Stop-Motion Camera App This simple short was made with the Stop-Motion Camera app. It's incredibly easy to use. Click here to view this gallery. Stop-motion animation used to be a complicated, time-consuming process, but the emergence of easy, automated apps make it something creative that anyone can try — for free! We have tried and tested three simple iPhone apps, and we recommend that stop-motion animation beginners give them a go. Take a look through our video gallery of  show all text

posted by friends:  (18)

posted by friends of friends:  (10)

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business. Companies that rely on a visual or photographic web presence often find it difficult to convey their media on Twitter. Take, for instance, apparel brands that need to get social media eyes on their merchandise, or a design firm that seeks exposure. How can these types of businesses ensure that Twitter followers see their ...  show all text

posted by friends:  (19)

posted by friends of friends:  (8)

SCHEDit wants to answer the question “what is going on tonight?” in the same way that Twitter answers the question “what is happening?” — with a customizable, interest-based platform that transcends personal preference. The company launched with its first partner, Boston.com, on Thursday. Here’s how it works: Users log into a new events site on Boston.com with their Facebook accounts. They set up a profile and choose specific venues and people who they want to follow. Their newsfeeds are then p...  show all text

posted by friends:  (10)

posted by friends of friends:  (5)

If you live near a Microsoft retail store, you can now pre-order a Nokia Lumia 900 with a $25 down payment, the Verge reports. Unfortunately, even if you do that, you still won’t know how much the device will cost when it finally arrives, probably in March. The Lumia 900 sports a 4.3″ AMOLED ClearBlack display with a 800×480 pixel resolution, an 8-megapixel camera (as well as a 1-megapixel front-facing one for video chat) and LTE/HSPA+ support. With a 1.4 GHz processor, an Adreno 205 GPU and 512  show all text

posted by friends:  (13)

posted by friends of friends:  (4)

Apparently unable to wait until Facebook introduces Timeline for brands, Lexus has rolled out its own Timeline-like experience in an app. The Points of No Return app, which launched Thursday morning, looks much like a Timeline brand page would. The app/page includes features a chronological unrolling of events starting with the introduction of the company’s GS 2008 model. The app also highlights other milestones like “Virgin Galactic’s Spaceship Two Makes Maiden Flight (December 2008). It’s a m...  show all text

posted by friends:  (7)

posted by friends of friends:  (1)

One video game developer is hungry to see a “Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow” as soon as possible. Stephen Colbert’s Super PAC (Political Action Committee), “American’s for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow” has raised more than $1 million since its creation in June, 2011. A vast majority of that amount came in small donations — less than $200 — but one donation stood out from the rest. Alex Rigopulos, co-founder and CEO of Harmonix Music Systems, the game studio behind the Rock Band and Dance Central seri...  show all text

posted by friends:  (10)

posted by friends of friends:  (2)

Fresh off reaching 3 million users in January, HootSuite is adding three apps to its App Directory and releasing its Engagement API.

posted by friends:  (13)

posted by friends of friends:  (8)

How much do you know about the NASA space program, Earthling? NASA has launched a multi-player Facebook game to test just that. Space Race Blastoff poses a series of surprisingly tough questions — for example, who launched the first liquid-fueled rocket? — that cover a range of space-related topics including history, technology and science. There’s even a pop culture category. Users play the game by choosing an avatar then answering a series of 10 multiple-choice questions. They can compete with  show all text

posted by friends:  (6)

posted by friends of friends:  (5)

Mobile payment services have been a game-changer for small businesses and retailers, and now they’re about to change the political fundraising scene too. President Obama’s re-election campaign announced this week that it will begin using the mobile device credit card reader attachment Square to accept campaign donations. “Squares are being sent to our campaign offices across the country,” said a spokeswoman for Obama’s re-election campaign. Eventually, the campaign expects to release its own app  show all text

posted by friends:  (13)

posted by friends of friends:  (4)

Leigh Van Bryan claims his tweets about “destroying America” and digging up Marilyn Monroe’s grave were jokes, but the U.S. Department of Homeland Security isn’t laughing. The British man and his friend, Emily Bunting, who flew to Los Angeles for vacation, were detained and questioned by Homeland Security at the airport. Anti-terror agents held the travelers because they believed Van Bryan was going to commit crimes based on the tweets the Department of Homeland Security flagged in mid-January....  show all text

posted by friends:  (9)

posted by friends of friends:  (3)

Online magazine Slate is giving readers more control over the news discovery process with the Monday launch of MySlate, a personalized newsfeed made up of stories from the topics and authors of their choice. The newsfeed, which is modeled after similar systems from The Huffington Post and Forbes, functions as an on-site RSS reader, letting registered readers subscribe only to the sections, blogs and writers they’re interested in. It’s both a useful tool and a way for Slate to drive more engagem...  show all text

posted by friends:  (11)

posted by friends of friends:  (4)

Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom can’t defend his top-spot score in the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 from behind bars — he was recently bumped to the no. 2 spot by a player named Azaros. On Wednesday, a judge denied Dotcom bail, meaning he likely won’t be able to usurp Azaros’ Modern Warfare 3 title anytime soon. But Kim Dotcom, 38, has more troubling concerns than his gaming title. Last week, Dotcom appeared in court to face charges of copyright infringement to the tune of $175 million, and  show all text

posted by friends:  (5)

posted by friends of friends:  (4)

posted by friends:  (7)

posted by friends of friends:  (0)

If you’re looking for a new job, but you’re also a friend of the environment, there could be a perfect position for you in the tech sector. More than ever before, tech companies are committed to sustainability — they’re developing greener devices, increasing the life cycle of products and developing meaningful partnerships. In fact, seven of the top 10 green companies are in the tech sector, and IBM leads the way, with a greenscore of 82.5%. This year, there will be more than 3 million green jo...  show all text

posted by friends:  (15)

posted by friends of friends:  (5)

The make-believe town of Beckinfield is the setting for the Mad Libs-style show of the same name, which uses crowd-sourced amateur actors from all over the world who create the show’s story by posting videos. Writers outline the plot and email a “town happenings” newsletter to actors each week. Each actor tells a small piece of the story in their video, adding their own flair. Related segments are linked together to create a kind of webisode that will be unique to every viewer depending on which  show all text

posted by friends:  (13)

posted by friends of friends:  (9)

Most member states of the European Union have signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) at a ceremony in Tokyo, Japan on Thursday, Jan. 26. ACTA is a global treaty that tries to normalize copyright protection and IP standards. It’s similar to SOPA and PIPA, proposed U.S. laws which have recently been dropped after massive internet protests, but in many ways even more dangerous. Unfortunately (and unlike SOPA and PIPA), ACTA has been signed by many states without a wide, open public ...  show all text

posted by friends:  (14)

posted by friends of friends:  (6)

Game-maker Zynga is launching a new way to connect and play with your friends on Facebook, with a mass participation Bingo game. The game is being released on Thursday in beta to a small group and gradually rolled out to millions on Facebook in the next few weeks. The game is visually beautiful and the community aspect is designed to make you feel like you’re stepping into a Bingo parlor. Players can earn coins, cards and keys to move up levels and unlock rooms within the game. The rooms include  show all text

posted by friends:  (5)

posted by friends of friends:  (3)

European Internet users may be getting better control over information posted online, thanks to some proposed sweeping reforms lawmakers proposed Wednesday designed to protect digital privacy. The suggested law calls for a “right to be forgotten” and a “right to data portability.” The former would require Internet companies such as Facebook and Google to completely wipe all of a user’s info from their servers if such a request was made. The latter demands users be allowed to easily transfer data  show all text

posted by friends:  (6)

posted by friends of friends:  (1)

Mashable’s Davos coverage is presented by BMW i, a new concept dedicated to providing mobility solutions for the urban environment. Documented@Davos The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, has been called one of the most important conferences in the world. Once a year, heads of state, politicians and leaders from across the world join together for a week to discuss the key global economic, societal and political issues that will shape the coming year. There’s often a debate about the ...  show all text

posted by friends:  (7)

posted by friends of friends:  (5)

Today, mobile apps enable a business owner to manage his entire operation from the palm of his hand. Try these 11 mobile app suggestions.

posted by friends:  (9)

posted by friends of friends:  (3)

Gearing up for Twitter’s self-serve advertising launch — currently in beta stage with only a small selection of advertisers — the company announced its acquisition of spam and malware protection service Dasient on Monday. Dasient will be integrated into Twitter’s “revenue engineering team because they have a deep understanding of advertising-platform security issues,” says Rachael Horwitz, a spokesperson for Twitter. The team will be very valuable as Twitter continues to expand its ad products....  show all text

posted by friends:  (16)

posted by friends of friends:  (9)

Music-sharing platform SoundCloud has reached 10 million registered users, the company announced. SoundCloud also boasts 5 million downloaded mobile apps and 10,000 apps developed on SoundCloud’s open platform. The service hit the 5 million users landmark back in June 2011, having risen to that number quite quickly since its launch in 2008. Perhaps the biggest strength of SoundCloud, however, lies in adoption by musicians, both big and small. Artists such as Radiohead, Ryan Adams and 3 Doors Do...  show all text

posted by friends:  (15)

posted by friends of friends:  (3)

Following weeks of speculation, it appears Research in Motion (RIM) is finally ready to oust Co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis. The two are, according to a press release from RIM, stepping aside on Monday and will be replaced by company insider and former COO Thorsten Heins. Heins, who also joins the company’s board, is already listed as President and CEO on RIM’s executive bios page. The change in leadership may have come at the behest of Lazaridis who explained in a statement, “There c...  show all text

posted by friends:  (5)

posted by friends of friends:  (6)

Windows Phone will surpass iPhone in market share in 2015, according to research firm iSuppli. iSuppli attributes the giant increase in market share over the next few years "largely" to the introduction of the Nokia Lumia 900, which Nokia launched at CES last week in Las Vegas. In 2015, Android will lead the two runners up by a very hefty margin with 58.1% market share.  iSuppli joins Gartner and IDC, which made the same prediction last year (in April, and in March, respectively). See below for...  show all text

posted by friends:  (5)

posted by friends of friends:  (1)