The Week's Funniest and Most Intriguing News (week starting June 13)
As the weekend gets closer and closer, your productivity goes out the window. You don’t feel like working and you’re not really willing to go over serious news about serious topics.
So, just like the weeks before, I invite you to check out 10 news that will put a smile on your face, make you laugh, and probably even make you say wow or what the f...
1. Mark Zuckerberg might be a lizard, despite him denying it
Earlier this week, Mark Zuckerberg held his first townhall Q&A entirely on Facebook Live. During this Q&A, Zuckerberg answered questions on a variety of topics, like virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and whether he is a reptilian or not.
"Are the allegations true that you’re secretly a lizard?" someone asked. After a brief moment of hesitation, Zuckerberg answered with "I’m going to have to go with no, I am not a lizard."
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld made an appearance as well. One of the things he asked Zuckerberg is what he does first thing in the morning. Turns out it’s checking his phone.
2. Facebook Messenger has an interesting soccer game to offer
With the UEFA European Championship in full swing, it’s the ideal time for Facebook to introduce a new Messenger game. To start playing the game you have to type the soccer ball emoji and on tap it. Then keep on taping to see for how long you can keep the ball in the air.
This is very similar to the basketball game Facebook Messenger introduced a few months ago.
3. Logitech has some new, fun and colorful mice to offer
Logitech’s 2016 Party Collection is here. If you want a fun and colorful mouse for your PC, Mac or Linux computer, this is it.
"This year, anything goes and everyone is invited to the party," said Anatoliy Polyanker, global portfolio and brand director for Logitech. "The 2016 Party Collection mice are designed to brighten up any task. We took all of your favorite things and mixed them together to create a wacky and unexpected mash-up that is on-trend and inspires individual expression."
The 2016 Party Collection mice, which retail for $29.99, will last up to 18 months on a single battery and.
4. Google teases Android N’s name
We don’t have an official name for the next Android release, just a codename – Android N. In the latest version of the Android N Developer Preview, there’s an Easter Egg that claims Android N’s name is… Namey McNameface?!
While that’s obviously a joke and a Boaty Mcboatface reference, we have something that might turn out to be the real deal. Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google’s senior vice president for Android, Chrome OS, and Google OS, said on Twitter that he’s "testing some stuff out." In the image that accompanies the message we can see that Lockheimer googled the word Nutella.
Is that a hint that Android N will be called Nutella? We already had Android KitKat, so I don’t see why not.
5. Oh Carl’s Jr, that’s not how you use CGI
CGI is great – when it’s used right. The Carl’s Jr. ad embedded below certainly doesn’t fall in that category. The CGI burger is so bad that it’s hilarious.
Geek.com’s Ryan Whitwam raises an interesting question: "How bad are Carl’s Jr’s burgers that they couldn’t use a real one? Editing in the fake burger was surely more expensive than just buying a couple burgers for different takes, right?"
6. AVA gives new meaning to taking food photos
So you want to watch what you eat, but you find it a bit too hard to count calories? Then you need to know about AVA, a startup that works like this: snap a photo of your food and AVA will tell you how many calories you’re about to consume.
"AVA solves one of the most frustrating aspects of healthy eating -- tracking and managing what you eat -- by providing the first auto calorie estimation tool combining image and human recognition," said AVA’s CEO and co-founder, Ian Brady. "We're putting intelligent systems in the hands of skilled nutritionists to provide users with highly personalized eating programs based on individual preferences, accessibility to food and most importantly, nutritional goals."
7. Google paid half a million for Android security holes
Google’s Android Security Rewards Program celebrated its 1st anniversary this week. To mark this joyous occasion, Google released some interesting statistics:
8. Microsoft dropped a staggering $26.2 billion to buy LinkedIn
On Monday, Microsoft announced that it entered a definite agreement to purchase LinkedIn for $196 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $26.2 billion. With a B!
"Just as we have changed the way the world connects to opportunity, this relationship with Microsoft, and the combination of their cloud and LinkedIn’s network, now gives us a chance to also change the way the world works,” said LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner. "For the last 13 years, we’ve been uniquely positioned to connect professionals to make them more productive and successful, and I’m looking forward to leading our team through the next chapter of our story."
9. The Galaxy S7 Active can really take a beating
Samsung’s Galaxy S7 is dust and water resistant, which is enough ruggedness for most people. If you’re not like most people and you need something that is properly rugged, then you need the water and shatter-resistant Galaxy S7 Active, available exclusively at AT&T.
PhoneBuff decided to see how much more rugged the S7 Active is, compared to the regular S7. Turns out that the Galaxy S7 Active can really take a beating.
On the outside, the Galaxy S7 Active and the Galaxy S7 are two different phones. On the inside, they’re the same, except for one important difference: the Galaxy S7 has a 3,000mAH battery while the Galaxy S7 Active has a 4,000mAH battery – the largest battery of any Galaxy device.
10. Enjoy PornHub videos, even if you’re blind
PornHub wants everyone to watch its videos, even the blind and visually impaired. Wait, what?!
To help the visually impaired, PornHub introduced Described Video, a new category in which professional voice actors explain what’s happening onscreen.
"Each video includes special narration that has been tailored and crafted to give the user full enjoyment of the scene and includes descriptions of the models, their actions, position changes, outfits, and settings—the original audio remains intact but will act as an underscore to the scene," explained PornHub.
So, just like the weeks before, I invite you to check out 10 news that will put a smile on your face, make you laugh, and probably even make you say wow or what the f...
1. Mark Zuckerberg might be a lizard, despite him denying it
Earlier this week, Mark Zuckerberg held his first townhall Q&A entirely on Facebook Live. During this Q&A, Zuckerberg answered questions on a variety of topics, like virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and whether he is a reptilian or not.
"Are the allegations true that you’re secretly a lizard?" someone asked. After a brief moment of hesitation, Zuckerberg answered with "I’m going to have to go with no, I am not a lizard."
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld made an appearance as well. One of the things he asked Zuckerberg is what he does first thing in the morning. Turns out it’s checking his phone.
2. Facebook Messenger has an interesting soccer game to offer
With the UEFA European Championship in full swing, it’s the ideal time for Facebook to introduce a new Messenger game. To start playing the game you have to type the soccer ball emoji and on tap it. Then keep on taping to see for how long you can keep the ball in the air.
This is very similar to the basketball game Facebook Messenger introduced a few months ago.
3. Logitech has some new, fun and colorful mice to offer
Logitech’s 2016 Party Collection is here. If you want a fun and colorful mouse for your PC, Mac or Linux computer, this is it.
"This year, anything goes and everyone is invited to the party," said Anatoliy Polyanker, global portfolio and brand director for Logitech. "The 2016 Party Collection mice are designed to brighten up any task. We took all of your favorite things and mixed them together to create a wacky and unexpected mash-up that is on-trend and inspires individual expression."
The 2016 Party Collection mice, which retail for $29.99, will last up to 18 months on a single battery and.
4. Google teases Android N’s name
We don’t have an official name for the next Android release, just a codename – Android N. In the latest version of the Android N Developer Preview, there’s an Easter Egg that claims Android N’s name is… Namey McNameface?!
While that’s obviously a joke and a Boaty Mcboatface reference, we have something that might turn out to be the real deal. Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google’s senior vice president for Android, Chrome OS, and Google OS, said on Twitter that he’s "testing some stuff out." In the image that accompanies the message we can see that Lockheimer googled the word Nutella.
Is that a hint that Android N will be called Nutella? We already had Android KitKat, so I don’t see why not.
5. Oh Carl’s Jr, that’s not how you use CGI
CGI is great – when it’s used right. The Carl’s Jr. ad embedded below certainly doesn’t fall in that category. The CGI burger is so bad that it’s hilarious.
Geek.com’s Ryan Whitwam raises an interesting question: "How bad are Carl’s Jr’s burgers that they couldn’t use a real one? Editing in the fake burger was surely more expensive than just buying a couple burgers for different takes, right?"
6. AVA gives new meaning to taking food photos
So you want to watch what you eat, but you find it a bit too hard to count calories? Then you need to know about AVA, a startup that works like this: snap a photo of your food and AVA will tell you how many calories you’re about to consume.
"AVA solves one of the most frustrating aspects of healthy eating -- tracking and managing what you eat -- by providing the first auto calorie estimation tool combining image and human recognition," said AVA’s CEO and co-founder, Ian Brady. "We're putting intelligent systems in the hands of skilled nutritionists to provide users with highly personalized eating programs based on individual preferences, accessibility to food and most importantly, nutritional goals."
7. Google paid half a million for Android security holes
Google’s Android Security Rewards Program celebrated its 1st anniversary this week. To mark this joyous occasion, Google released some interesting statistics:
- We paid over $550,000 to 82 individuals. That’s an average of $2,200 per reward and $6,700 per researcher.
- We paid our top researcher, @heisecode, $75,750 for 26 vulnerability reports.
- We paid 15 researchers $10,000 or more.
8. Microsoft dropped a staggering $26.2 billion to buy LinkedIn
On Monday, Microsoft announced that it entered a definite agreement to purchase LinkedIn for $196 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $26.2 billion. With a B!
"Just as we have changed the way the world connects to opportunity, this relationship with Microsoft, and the combination of their cloud and LinkedIn’s network, now gives us a chance to also change the way the world works,” said LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner. "For the last 13 years, we’ve been uniquely positioned to connect professionals to make them more productive and successful, and I’m looking forward to leading our team through the next chapter of our story."
9. The Galaxy S7 Active can really take a beating
Samsung’s Galaxy S7 is dust and water resistant, which is enough ruggedness for most people. If you’re not like most people and you need something that is properly rugged, then you need the water and shatter-resistant Galaxy S7 Active, available exclusively at AT&T.
PhoneBuff decided to see how much more rugged the S7 Active is, compared to the regular S7. Turns out that the Galaxy S7 Active can really take a beating.
On the outside, the Galaxy S7 Active and the Galaxy S7 are two different phones. On the inside, they’re the same, except for one important difference: the Galaxy S7 has a 3,000mAH battery while the Galaxy S7 Active has a 4,000mAH battery – the largest battery of any Galaxy device.
10. Enjoy PornHub videos, even if you’re blind
PornHub wants everyone to watch its videos, even the blind and visually impaired. Wait, what?!
To help the visually impaired, PornHub introduced Described Video, a new category in which professional voice actors explain what’s happening onscreen.
"Each video includes special narration that has been tailored and crafted to give the user full enjoyment of the scene and includes descriptions of the models, their actions, position changes, outfits, and settings—the original audio remains intact but will act as an underscore to the scene," explained PornHub.
