Miscellaneous

SlideShare, the online presentation property of professional social network LinkedIn, today released a new feature called Send Tracker to help presentation makers determine which of their slides are the most effective.

LinkedIn purchased SlideShare in May 2012. The online deck-hosting tool, only partially integrated with LinkedIn, accounts for 39 million monthly unique visitors, or 25 percent of LinkedIn's total monthly unique audience. SlideShare is also at the center of the public company's strategy to become a hub for professional content.

Send Tracker, a new tool for users who pay to use SlideShare, is specifically tailored toward marketers, salespeople, … Read more

A hefty chunk of taxpayer dollars spent by the government on mobile phone service for low-income Americans may have been wasted.

A federal program called Lifeline provides hefty discounts on mobile phone service to qualifying low-income households. The goal is to ensure that they can connect with families, employers, and emergency services.

How many of those households should actually have been receiving the discount?

Last year, the Federal Communications Commission started forcing mobile carriers to confirm the eligibility of their Lifelife subscribers. The agency figured that around 15 percent of users would be determined ineligible, but the tighter rules discovered … Read more

Amazon proved No. 1 among consumers shopping for the holidays via their mobile devices, according to a new report from analytics firm ForeSee.

Released today, ForeSee's "Mobile Satisfaction Index: Holiday Retail Edition" awarded Amazon a score of 85 out of 100 based on satisfaction among shoppers who used its mobile retail store.

Apple tied with QVC for second place with a score of 83. After that came NewEgg, Victoria's Secret, Barnes & Noble, Footlocker, HSN, Costco, and Hewlett-Packard to round out the top 10.

The poll specifically focused on the 25 largest U.S. mobile retailers … Read more

Imagine a day when it cost an arm and a leg to use the phone, especially for long-distance calls. Then imagine that buried deep within the telephone network infrastructure was a flaw -- a hole that allowed those who were aware of it, and capable of exploiting it, to make all the free calls they want.

These days, phone calls are free -- or nearly so -- and hackers put their energies into computer networks, jailbreaking iPhones, and other more modern pursuits. But back in the 1950s and 1960s, a new group of people emerged, people who were fascinated by … Read more

BMW is taking a page out of Apple's book with a Genius-like program, according to a report.

The car maker told Advertising Age in a story published today that it's planning to launch its BMW Genius Everywhere program nationwide next year that will aim at educating customers without actually trying to sell them vehicles. The "geniuses" will be young -- possibly college students -- who will be armed with iPads. They'll be able to answer questions about vehicles on the showroom floor.

According to BMW, which was inspired by Apple's Genius services, the program … Read more

Some people use the left, some the right, but which side of the brain do you primarily use for language? It may seem like a trivial question, but for one thing, if you ever have to undergo any type of brain surgery, the answer can help avoid damage to speech areas.

While lab tests can provide the answer, an app that involves a few minutes of concentration works just as well, according to a study in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.

Furthermore, a version of the app for patients with schizophrenia trains them to improve their focus so that when … Read more

AOL eked out just a 4 percent gain in sales last quarter, but it was the first sign of revenue growth in the past eight years.

For the final quarter of 2012, the company took in revenue of $599 million, rising from $576 million in the year-ago quarter and beating analyst estimates of $573 million, according to Reuters.

AOL attributed the gain to a boost in sales from its global advertising, which grew by 13 percent from a year ago. Ad revenue from third-party networks jumped by 31 percent, while search revenue increased by 17 percent.

On the downside, subscription … Read more

Lithium-ion batteries are notorious for overheating, catching on fire, or exploding. Yet, they're in most electronics that people use daily.

One such battery set ablaze over the weekend while in a man's pants pocket, according to the Associated Press. The man was walking around with his Samsung mobile phone in his pocket when the battery caught on fire, giving him second-degree burns and a one-inch wound on his thigh. Officials said the battery was not inside the phone when it exploded.

The incident took place in South Korea, which is where Samsung is based. According to the local … Read more

This week's show is all about those rumors that just refuse to die -- and for once we're not talking about the next iteration of the iPhone.

Some sneaky sneaks found hidden "radio" buttons in the iTunes code of a freshly jailbroken iPad. Does that mean that radio streaming is coming soon? Or is it just leftover code that someone didn't bother to take out? Rumors of Dell going private finally came true after weeks of speculation and much to nobody's surprise. The PlayStation 4 might be announced in a couple weeks, which could mean it'll be released this year, but maybe next year, but maybe who knows?

But the most upsetting of all the rumors is maybe a new one, but definitely a gross one: Facebook is said to be prepping a standalone app that will let your friends know where you are, without you having to check in to anything.… Read more