endorsements

Oops: BlackBerry's Alicia Keys is an iPhone user, has an iOS app

BlackBerry's newest global creative director, recording artist Alicia Keys, must have been given an offer she couldn't refuse.

Keys, who today said would help "inspire the future" of BlackBerry (formerly Research In Motion), is a longtime Apple user. That includes tweeting from iOS devices, and publishing her photography app Alicia Keys Photo Booth exclusively on the App Store. Keys also uses Facebook-owned Instagram -- which is not yet available on BlackBerry's platform -- where she has more than 1.6 million followers.

In a question and answer session with reporters following today's BlackBerry event, … Read more

Myspace gets a new face

Tuesday's CNET Update is bringing sexy back to Myspace:

Myspace is getting an extreme makeover. The former king of social media has a video teaser of what the site's relaunch will look like. It's focused around displaying your photos, videos and music in a horizontal-scrolling profile. It looks like a mash-up between Pinterest and Microsoft's Windows 8 interface.

Music is still a major part of Myspace. There's an area to create playlist mixes, and those mixes can also have photos. (You could post a party playlist along with the party photos, for example.) There's … Read more

New LinkedIn feature lets you endorse network members

LinkedIn has introduced a new feature that lets users endorse members of their professional networks.

The Endorsements feature is essentially another form of offering a reference on a LinkedIn profile. It also gives more credibility to skills and expertise listed on a profile in comparison to what might be listed on a paper resume. Similar features exist on other sites that depend on social connections, such as Airbnb.

The professional social network has tried to make offering endorsements as easy and painless as possible. LinkedIn already has programmed recommended endorsements on profile pages, so at a base level, all you … Read more

Rafe recommends: Downcast smokes iTunes for podcasts

I used to be a slave to iTunes.

It's where I put my music and where I managed my podcast subscriptions. But times change, and Apple's apps don't change fast enough. For managing podcasts, there is a far better solution than sticking with the combo of iTunes and the Music app on your iOS device. Downcast is an upbeat little app that smokes Apple's own app in the podcast department.

First of all, it's an integrated podcast player and manager. It's easy to find a podcast, subscribe to it, and play it all from … Read more

Microsoft shuts down LeBron James

In a move that might be a lesson for my beloved (and, just occasionally, beloathed) Golden State Warriors this Friday, Microsoft has shut down LeBron James.

Two years ago, MSN and the Cleveland Cavalier superhero who looks 35 and is, allegedly, 13 or 14, announced big plans.

Now the deal, just as that of Buick and Tiger Woods, has floated down the Styx with Charon the boatman.

While no one believed that Tiger Woods would ever have allowed even his Secret Service doppelganger to actually own a Buick, there was at least some reason to conjecture that a LeBron James … Read more

Dr Pepper pays pro player

The day has finally come when gamers can turn to their parents and tell them, "I can make living playing video games, and I can get a major product endorsement." Just ask Tom Taylor, professional Halo 3 gamer.

Known as TSquared in gaming circles, this 21 year old will be on 175 million 20-ounce Dr Pepper bottles from January through April. Exactly what he's going to make from this deal wasn't stated; however, he does have a lucrative three-year, $250,000 contract to play video games.