Technology

Facebook Home, unveiled today, is the company's attempt to stop what it sees as an alarming trend:

Facebook users actually spending less time on Facebook.

So what is Facebook Home? To quote the video below:

Facebook Home

“Home isn’t a phone or operating system, and it’s more than just an app. Home is a new experience that lets you see the world through people, not apps.”

Basically, it's a suite of apps that constitute an interface for Android users willing to let FB mediate pretty much everything they do on their mobile devices.

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Google. What those web geniuses won't think of next.

A video introducing Google Nose (below) explains that the company's new BETA program allows users to "search for smells." Google Nose what it's doing!

How does it do this? Essentially, the product intersects "photons with infrasound waves" and "temporarily aligns molecules to emulate a particular scent."

There's even an Android version. These guys think of everything.

Google Nose

Once again, Google is redefining what's possible.

Or not. It's obviously not a real thing. April Fools!

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People on Facebook and Twitter have been changing pictures and avatars en masse to an image of a red equal sign. You've probably noticed. But why?

The Human Rights Campaign, which advocates for equal rights on behalf of LGBT Americans, has been promoting the image in lieu of its usual blue-and-yellow logo.

A symbol of "equality, it's part of an effort to mobilize supporters online with Supreme Court hearings on gay marriage underway in Washington, D.C.

The simple photo of the equal sign has racked up more than 25,000 “likes” and 78,000 “shares” on the group’s Facebook page in the last 24 hours alone.

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Yahoo has announced its acquisition of Summly, an app that lets users easily skim through news and articles on mobile devices, for $30 million.

Its founder is only 17 years old.

Nick D’Aloisio, who founded the company when he was 15, launched it in December 2011, backed by investors including Yoko Ono and Ashton Kutcher.

The service sums up news articles in 400 characters, making it easy for users to scan for information and get to full articles if they want a more in-depth read.

Born in 1996, D’Aloisio is younger than Yahoo itself (1995).

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Sarah Silverman, Michael Cera, Tim and Eric (from Tim & Eric Awesome Show) and Reggie Watts have launched a new, Google-funded YouTube channel, JASH.

Each of them will get their own section within the channel where they have creative control as well as production and editing equipment at their disposal.

The channel's name, "JASH," stands for "Just Attitude So Hey."

JASH

The channel is one of 60 Original Channels that are essentially a blank check to each individual or group, funded by Google, YouTube's parent company.

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Social networks are built on the language of "likes" and positivity.

Until now, thanks to the Hater App developed by Jake Banks.

He decided to develop an alternative app - intended for sharing the things you don't like - because he feels Facebook et al. restrict us from being ourselves.

"It's really an answer to everything out there. All you can do is 'like' things," Banks told Mashable. "I don't want to be the guy pretending to be someone I'm not."

"I want to be real and say, 'I'm sitting in traffic and I hate this.'"

While you can post a comment like that anywhere, Banks says a "dedicated community" for dislikes frees up users to re-think the content they share.

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Today, February 24, is Steve Jobs' birthday. The visionary Apple co-founder, who died of pancreatic cancer in October 2011, would have turned 58 today.

The man responsible for technology innovations that shape our lives on a daily basis remains as beloved as any figure in the history of American business.

Steve Jobs' Best Clips: Keynotes & Interviews

Steve Jobs wasn't merely a creative genius far ahead of his time, but was revered as a dear friend and an inspiring mentor by those who knew him.

He was also a showman who could give a keynote address like no other.

Whether he was introducing the world to a new product idea or discussing ones already created, he turned speeches and interviews into art forms.

Check out the awesome montage of Jobs clips from 1978-2011 above.

Microsoft CEO Bill Gates hosted an AMA ("Ask Me Anything") session on Reddit yesterday, and actively engaged with members of the popular online community.

A few notable responses/gems from one of the world's richest people:

Gates usually gets books for his birthday. Asked what his favorite is, he said “My favorite of the last decade in Pinker’s Better Angels of our Nature."

"It is long but profound look at the reduction in violence and discrimination over time. I review a lot of the books I read at gatesnotes.com“

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The Death Star, undoubtedly a worthwhile undertaking but not on the Obama administration's radar, is now on Kickstarter if you want to help build one.

A recent White House Death Star petition was denied, citing Obama's “we don’t blow up planets” political stance and the potential fiscal nightmare.

Now, a new Kickstarter project wants to pick up those plans, using an open source design effort and trying to raise funding to help make it happen.

A LOT of funding.

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Unknown hackers besieged Twitter this week and may have gained passwords and personal information of up to 250,000 users during the cyber-attack.

Twitter confirmed it was hacked in a blog post, saying that the passwords were encrypted and that it already reset them as a "precautionary measure."

The social network is "in the process" of notifying affected users.

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