Social networking

Amazon adds group gift cards to Facebook

Amazon just made it a little easier to send birthday gift cards to Facebook friends.

The Seattle-based online retail giant on Tuesday launched Amazon Birthday Gift, which allows customers to send friends electronic gift cards on their birthdays. Customers can invite mutual friends to contribute, so the gift can grow.

You start the process ahead of the friend's birthday by going to Amazon's site. After logging into your Amazon and Facebook accounts and connecting the two -- which allows Amazon to collect information about you and your friends -- you'll be shown a list of your friends … Read more

School iris-scanned students without telling parents

There's a quaint concept that seemingly every technology company dismisses as outdated.

It's called opting in.

Should you not be familiar with it, it's the notion that you ought to choose before, say, all the people in your address book are contacted by a company they've never heard of.

And wouldn't it be lovely to have a choice over whether your kids should have their irises scanned, as they get on their school bus?

The parents of around 750 kids in several Florida schools never got that choice -- because of what might be politely … Read more

Star Apps: 'The Heat' director Paul Feig

The hilarious, new buddy movie "The Heat" stars Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy as Special Agent Sarah Ashburn and Det. Shannon Mullins, respectively -- two fiercely independent crime fighters who must first forge their own connection and learn to respect and trust each other's abilities if they are ever to connect the dots on a major case.

Download.com caught up with the film's director, Paul Feig -- best known for directing the Oscar-nominated "Bridesmaids," co-producing the TV series "Freaks and Geeks," and playing science teacher Mr. Eugene Pool on "Sabrina, … Read more

'Hell is Other People': Anti-social media to keep you alone

Like most social media, Foursquare is designed to connect people, but what if you feel like being alone?

Web app Hell is Other People takes friends' check-in data from your Foursquare account and calculates what the creator calls "optimally distanced locations" to make sure you don't bump into any of them.

Scott Garner, designer of the app named after Sartre's famous "hell is other people" quote from "No Exit," made a video in which he tests the effectiveness of these safe zones. You can watch it below. … Read more

Facebook to unveil Instagram video on June 20, report says

Facebook and Instagram might have a new feature up their sleeves.

At its special press event on June 20, Facebook will unveil video support for Instagram, TechCrunch is reporting, citing a person who claims to have knowledge of its plans. Similar to Twitter's Vine, which allows users to post 6-second videos, Instagram's videos would be limited to 5 to 10 seconds.

Vine has been growing rapidly, as users have found it to be a worthwhile alternative to tweeting or sharing pictures. Users are able to record several seconds of video, and then share it with friends. Vine videos … Read more

Woz: This is not my America

As the passions and justifications swirl around the revelations concerning the NSA, the rest of the world sits and wonders.

Is only the U.S. involved? Or might, perhaps, every government on Earth be rather keen to use all technological methods to protect its interests?

What do ordinary Americans think (apparently, we don't mind too much)?

But, more importantly, what does Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak think?

It so happens that Latin American tech site FayerWayer happened upon Woz as he sat at San Francisco airport.

So often known to be obliging and spontaneous, Woz offered his thoughts. Essentially, he … Read more

Lewis Black gives middle finger to Google Glass and Xbox

Technology can be frustrating, especially when it's designed to oust you from your sense of being.

Who better, then, to offer a jaded human's perspective than Lewis Black, a man who makes lemons seems remarkably sweet?

Appearing on "The Daily Show," Black looked through a glass darkly at what he called the latest "space toys." You know, things like Google Glass that excite space boys.

You might imagine that Black's observations are both predictable and curmudgeonly.

You might conceive that he isn't the wisest commentator when it comes to new technology.

However, … Read more

Path said to be seeking valuation of $1 billion

Private social network Path is said to be going after a $1 billion valuation with its latest fund-raise.

The nearly 3-year-old startup is looking to raise between $75 million and $100 million and enter the $1 billion club, according to TechCrunch, which reported that investors are seeking out the San Francisco-based company because of its recent growth spurt. To date, the company has raised more than $41 million.

When reached for comment, a Path spokesperson said the company had nothing to share at this time.

In April, Path surpassed 10 million registered users following the release of a reworked application … Read more

TweetDeck update brings new look to Mac

TweetDeck, the popular Twitter application for power users, has been updated with a completely new design for Mac users.

Twitter, which owns TweetDeck, revealed the changes on Friday. Version 3.0.2 of the software comes with the same column-based design users are accustomed to, but adds a new sidebar on the left for more quickly navigating across columns. The new version also includes drag-and-drop rearrangement for columns and the ability to translate tweets.

TweetDeck for Mac also includes improved filtering for mentions, retweets, and other features.

The new and improved TweetDeck is available now in Apple's Mac App … Read more