| TweetDeck updates web-based client with sleeker profiles, enhanced mentions and hashtags Jul 27th 2012, 17:29  Now that yesterday's sudden Twitter outage is behind us, it's now time to focus on the blue bird's own, and very popular client, TweetDeck. The all-you-can-tweet service has quietly updated its internet-based client with some minor, but rather eye-pleasing tweaks. For starters, users profiles have received a slight design improvement for an overall "cleaner" look, while hashtags and mentions are now #clickable throughout TweetDeck's web offering. These changes are now live, so head over to the TD site, enter your microblogging credentials and you should be all set to give 'em a whirl. Filed under: Internet TweetDeck updates web-based client with sleeker profiles, enhanced mentions and hashtags originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 13:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  The Next Web |  TweetDeck | Email this | Comments | | Vizify offers free infographics all about you, makes you feel like a big shot Jul 27th 2012, 17:05  Infographics. The stuff of high turnover websites and news channels, right? Well, yes, but now you can bring the same white space and pastel shades to your own internet footprint, courtesy of free infographic web app Vizify. It's still in its trial period for now, which means you'll have to wait for an entry code to tap into the breezy visualization generator, but we managed to plug in as many social networks as we could to see how it all works. The service is definitely centered around those that are very connected to the internet. Vizify will draw information from Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, LinkedIn and also connect through work-based websites you add yourself. It will then populate a clickable front page with circles including images, quotes and links to your profile elsewhere. The service, which is geared at recruitment, crafts a convenient short link to offer up on resumes or job emails. Edit options include a choice of color palettes, and the ability to tweak the layout of the information circles [seen above] and the larger pages that follow it, bringing either more career-centric (or interesting) content to the forefront. Sign up for an access code at the source to give it a try for yourself, or take a stalker-esque trip down an Engadget editor's social network tracks at the second link below. Filed under: Internet Vizify offers free infographics all about you, makes you feel like a big shot originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 13:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Mashable | Vizify (1), (2) | Email this | Comments | | Defcon 20 badges meld hieroglyphs, circuitry and cryptography for hacker scavenger hunt Jul 27th 2012, 16:19  Every year, the world's hacker population descends upon Las Vegas to trade notes, sit in on informational talks and compete in friendly contests -- all in the name of Defcon. But this time, it's the conference's ever-evolving smart badges that've caught our eye, owing mostly to what lurks beneath. Designed by Ryan Clarke -- the mastermind behind the gathering's Mystery Box challenge -- these hackable IDs, issued according to status (Press, Human, Goons, vendors, etc), come embedded with an LED, a multi-core processor, IR transmitter and accompanying hieroglyphic graphic. But that's not all that makes these high-tech tags so special. Turns out, each one contains a game, buried within its open source software, that's encoded with several cryptographic, linguistic and mathematical layers. Shying away from hardware-focused hacks of the past, Clarke built this year's scavenger hunt-like game to be more inclusive of attendee skills, as it'll force conference-goers interested in cracking its code to break down social barriers and collaborate with other highly-specialized nerds. What's the end game, you ask? Well, according to Clarke, the puzzle is a continuation of last year's secret agent story (played out by a real-life actor) involving "a [mysterious] society of computer elites." It's not the sort of payoff we'd be after -- something greener and covered with a certain Ben Franklin's face would suffice -- but it sounds intriguing enough. Click on the source below to read more about the makings of this geek sport. And may the pastiest neckbeard win! Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Software Defcon 20 badges meld hieroglyphs, circuitry and cryptography for hacker scavenger hunt originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 12:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Wired | Email this | Comments | | Pantech Star Q for Verizon surfaces, offers QWERTY, LTE and Snapdragon S4 Jul 27th 2012, 15:57  This one still isn't completely official just yet, but Android and Me has managed to obtain some pictures and fairly complete details for the Pantech Star Q headed for Verizon -- a device that was first spotted in FCC filings back in April. As you can see, it's a QWERTY slider, and it's said to pack Android 4.0.4, a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, front and rear-facing cameras (just 3-megapixels 'round back, though), LTE connectivity, and a 4-inch WVGA display. About the only key details missing are a price and release date, but Android and Me surmises it'll run $99 on-contract with a launch any time now -- both of which seem like safe guesses. Filed under: Cellphones Pantech Star Q for Verizon surfaces, offers QWERTY, LTE and Snapdragon S4 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 11:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Android and Me | Email this | Comments | |
