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Star Apps: Courtney Love

If Courtney Love were an app, she'd be one that's potent, durable, and endlessly fascinating. It's been almost 20 years since Hole's fearless leader--the blonde rocker in the baby doll dress, always strapped to a guitar--body surfed her way into our hearts across such hits as "Miss World," "Doll Parts," "Violet," "Celebrity Skin," and "Malibu." Although Love has always been a polarizing figure, there's no denying her legacy as a rock 'n' roll star who's endured tremendous loss, addiction, and media scrutiny.

2013 will … Read more

Getting started with Video on Instagram

Facebook on Thursday held an event to announce a "big idea," according to the invitation sent out last week. Immediately rumors started circulating that Facebook and Instagram were going to take on Twitter's Vine service by adding video to the popular filtered-photo social network.

The rumors were true.

As of today iOS and Android (the Android version has yet to show up in the Google Play store, but it should be there sometime today) users will be able to install Instagram 4.0, complete with a new Video on Instagram feature.

Once you have the update installed, … Read more

Vine videos provide clues to new design, features

Tinkering https://t.co/8qbqp0QLMh

— Dom Hofmann (@dhof) June 19, 2013

Vine, the popular 6-second video app from Twitter, appears to be readying the release of reworked mobile applications that look completely different and introduce new features.

Wednesday, Vine co-founders Dom Hofman and Rus Yusupov used their quirky video app to hint at what's to come. The men posted three Vine videos that seem to highlight an entirely new design with larger, full-screen videos.

Bleep boop https://t.co/zuyoAq0h3t

— Rus Yusupov (@rus) June 19, 2013

The stitched together clips also hint at curated video categories and maybe even … Read more

Microsoft Xbox One policy switch makes user forums explode

Relief, disbelief, and some leftover bitterness surround Microsoft pulling a 180 on its Xbox One "always-on" policy.

Gamers have taken to forums, comment threads, and social media to express how they feel about the tech giant flip-flopping on the series of rules and restrictions that would have required Xbox One gamers to connect their consoles to the Internet once a day to prevent game piracy.

Microsoft announced Wednesday that it was backtracking on this much-derided policy, causing a flood of user reaction.

On Xbox's Facebook and Twitter accounts, tens of thousands of users have commented on the … Read more

NBA star turns to Twitter to sells his bulldog

There's a certain imaginative depth in the relationship between the wealthy and the Web.

Zach Braff, David Fincher, and Kristen Bell are merely three of the star-kissed who have learned how to take back and tried to get money from their fans on Kickstarter.

Kendrick Perkins, meanwhile, also decided that the personal touch might help him out of a tiny bind.

The center for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder wanted to sell his bulldog. But not for him stooping to eBay or Craigslist. Those would be a long, long distance for Perkins to stoop.

Instead, as the terriers of Deadspin report, … Read more

Twitter acquires Spindle and shows more interest in local discovery

Twitter has acquired Spindle, a mobile application for learning about what's happening nearby, the companies announced Wednesday.

"We've spent the past two and a half years building a product that helps you answer the question: 'What's happening nearby right now?'," the startup said in a blog post announcing its sale. "Every time we've experimented and looked beyond local discovery, we've been amazed by the breadth and quality of content shared on Twitter. By joining forces with Twitter, we can do so much more to help you find interesting, timely, and useful information … Read more

Rumor Has It: Instagram video is so cool, we're already over it

It was a slow week in rumorland, but a couple stories managed to make their way onto the scene.

HTC's long-rumored HTC One Mini is back, now with leaked pictures and specs. The miniature version of HTC's flagship would be thinner, shorter, but still sporting that unibody aluminum design. And now it'll fit into your pocket!

Samsung could also be hopping aboard the mini train, possibly announcing a Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini at an event in London on Thursday. This version of the Galaxy will have a 4.3-inch screen, and will fit nicely into smaller hands.

Also on Thursday, Facebook is hosting a supersecret event, where it might unveil its answer to Twitter's Vine: Instagram videos. What do you think? Is Facebook just being a copycat, or is it really onto something here? Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts.

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Twitter and Viacom announce social video marketing pact

Twitter has signed a deal to begin delivering social video ads built around Viacom's most popular TV shows.

In the announcement, put out by Viacom, the two companies said that the campaigns would center around shows aired on networks like MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, VH1, CMT, TV Land, Spike and more. The first ads will appear during the MTV Video Music Awards on August 25. During that show, MTV will tweet a series of the most notable moments, as well as backstage access, interviews, and more, all with integrated advertising.

Bloomberg first reported in April that a deal between … Read more

Apple could include LinkedIn for deep iOS 7 integration

Even though Twitter has been Apple's pick of social networks to be integrated into iOS 7, it's looking like LinkedIn could also make it to the chosen circle.

Developers have found code-based references to deep LinkedIn integration in the beta version of iOS 7, which was supplied by Apple, according to 9to5Mac. This code shows that a single sign-on system is in the works for the professional social network -- much like how iOS currently works with Facebook and Twitter.

The developer that supplied 9to5Mac with the code sheets said that certain bits of code are missing for … Read more

Facebook to unveil Instagram video on June 20, report says

Facebook and Instagram might have a new feature up their sleeves.

At its special press event on June 20, Facebook will unveil video support for Instagram, TechCrunch is reporting, citing a person who claims to have knowledge of its plans. Similar to Twitter's Vine, which allows users to post 6-second videos, Instagram's videos would be limited to 5 to 10 seconds.

Vine has been growing rapidly, as users have found it to be a worthwhile alternative to tweeting or sharing pictures. Users are able to record several seconds of video, and then share it with friends. Vine videos … Read more