Social networking

It's always good to stop and smell the roses, but sometimes you have to tweet to access them.

At least that's how it works with an interactive Internet-connected garden created by the U.K.'s University of Lincoln. Familiar plants greet onlookers, but when they tweet using a specific hashtag, electronic paneled screens dividing the plot into two distinct areas shift to reveal an area containing more exotic foliage.

The garden, called "Digital Capabilities," just won a gold medal at this year's prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which runs through Saturday. But its architects hope to keep it up and blooming as a permanent installation. … Read more

Award-winning journalist Om Malik leveraged years of tech and business media experience -- senior editor at Forbes.com, senior writer at "Red Herring" and later "Business 2.0," and contributor to "The Wall Street Journal," "The Economist," and "MIT Technology Review" -- to found leading indie tech blog GigaOM, back in 2006.

Offering news and opinion on startups, social media, cloud computing, mobile gadgets, and of course, software, Malik's CNET Blog 100-recognized Web magazine has since spawned numerous conferences such as GigaOM Structure (cloud computing and Internet infrastructure), GigaOM … Read more

If you don't have (white) headphones in your ears, what kind of human being are you?

How can you possibly even classify yourself as human if you don't have a thousand playlists and ensure that every step you take, someone is playing to you?

The modern world is about creating your own soundtrack, in order to navigate its troubling paths and irritate fellow travelers.

Yes, you might be hugging your lover, but you have to be wearing your headphones and so does he. Otherwise, this isn't love. It's just a passing fling, free of melody.

This … Read more

In our philosophy class today, we will be discussing this existential question: What is the opposite of a Genius Bar?

In Jon Stewart's view, it's a group of senators attempting to fawn all over Apple CEO Tim Cook, instead of heating him up next to their goat steak and their veal sausages.

It was inevitable, perhaps, that Stewart might have an observation or two about Cook's odd appearance in front of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. (I say "odd appearance" because he was wearing a tie.)… Read more

Google may be driving forward with a plan to purchase Waze for $1 billion or more, according to a new report.

Bloomberg reported Thursday that Google is considering a bid for the mobile mapping and navigation company. The search giant perked up to the idea only after learning that Facebook was in talks to buy Waze, Bloomberg reported.

When reached for comment, Waze spokesperson Julie Mossler said that the startup does not comment on rumors or speculation.

Waze, founded in 2007, makes a mobile application for getting directions and routing around traffic with the help of other drivers. The app … Read more

Twitter announced on Wednesday that they've started supporting two-factor authentication, joining a growing list of major Web services that offer the more secure login method.

Two-factor authentication, or 2FA as it's commonly abbreviated, adds an extra step to your basic login procedure. Without 2FA, you enter in your username and password, and then you're done. The password is your single factor of authentication. The second factor makes your account more secure, in theory.

"Twitter made the decision to use SMS [to deliver its second factor] because it makes sense from their position," said Jon Oberheide, … Read more

Foursquare is now selling unfettered access to its real-time stream of check-ins through Gnip, a popular reseller of social-media data.

The companies announced the partnership Thursday in separate blog posts that celebrate the possibilities for "data nerds" who can now use Foursquare's data pool for their cool research products. But advertisers and marketers are obviously desired buyers.

"Retailers will be able to study the results of local advertising campaigns," Gnip Product Manager Steve Perella said. "Financial analysts will have another valuable data point to forecast Black Friday sales. Real estate development groups will be … Read more

UCLA Health isn't the first hospital to live-tweet a brain surgery, but it may be the first to employ 6-second video medium Vine as part of the proceedings. Surgeons on Thursday implanted a brain pacemaker to counteract the effects of Parkinson's disease in a patient and sent out Twitter updates using both Instagram and Vine.

The procedure has generated such memorable tweets as "Removing the skin and drilling through the skull for electrode placement." and "Electrode is prepared for implantation. Patient is being woken up at this time."

… Read more

Looking for a picture you took at your sister's bridal shower? Google's search engine will now help you find it -- so long as you've posted the shot to the company's companion social network.

The company announced Thursday that Google+ members can log in to Google.com and search for their own photos or query for a buddy's pictures stored on the social network. Just plug in queries such as "my photos from Vegas" or "Angie's wedding photos" and Google will scour through Google+ photo albums and return matching images … Read more