The world’s largest chip maker wants to see a new kind of economy bloom around personal data

Intel is a $53-billion-a-year company that enjoys a near monopoly on the computer chips that go into PCs. But when it comes to the data underlying big companies like Facebook and Google, it says it wants to “return power to the people.”

Intel Labs, the company’s R&D arm, is launching an initiative around what it calls the “data economy”—how consumers might capture more of the value of their personal information, like digital records of their their location or work history. To make this possible, Intel is funding hackathons to urge developers to explore novel uses of personal data. It has also paid for a rebellious-sounding website called We the Data, featuring raised fists and stories comparing Facebook to Exxon Mobil. Read more...

After several reports over the weekend, an official press release Monday morning confirmed that Yahoo has acquired Tumblr for $1.1 billion — all in cash.

SEE ALSO: More Comics on Mashable

The news is surprising, leaving many Tumblr users anxious about how the acquisition will affect them (Marissa Mayer promises that Yahoo won't "screw it up"). But in this comic, Krishna Sadasivam of PC Weenies shows us the real reason why all of this is so surprising. Is Yahoo finally back in the game?

Comic illustration by Krishna Sadasivam, PC Weenies. Published with permission; all rights reserved. Read more...

Whether you're unemployed, underemployed or just looking for something a bit more interesting, the Mashable Job Board is full of listings to take your career to the next level.

Since 2005, Mashable has been committed to bringing the top digital, social and tech news and resources to our readers. Over time, we've built a readership of 20 million people who are well versed in digital trends, social media and all the hottest technologies. So when the world's best companies are looking to fill open positions, they post them on the Mashable Job Board. New jobs are added every day, and many positions are exclusive — employers know that if they're going to find the right person for the job, they're going to find them reading Mashable. Read more...

What if there was a way to send and receive text messages via your business landline? Would you use it? A Cambridge, Mass. company is betting you and millions of others will.

The service is called HeyWire, a seven year old free texting app already boasting 3 million monthly users and one billion page views. The app enables SMS and texts to be sent and received by landlines. Now the company is expanding its service from individuals to the business sector, an underserved market that HeyWire's CEO Meredith Flynn-Ripley calls antiquated.

"There are over 100 million business landlines in the U.S. today," Flynn-Ripley says. This new tool will allow those businesses the ability to text-enable their landline numbers for mobile messaging via iOS, Android, Windows 8 Phones and the web. The idea is a separation of personal and business communications—and it could amount to some big money for its creators. "Adding a messaging component is a big opportunity in sheer numbers of business lines." Read more...

The Dove Real Beauty Sketches clip that went viral on YouTube just one month ago has become the most watched video ad of all time, Dove announced Monday.

The three-minute ad — which has also become the third most shared ad of all time — teaches a vital lesson about how we view ourselves compared to how others see us. It has been viewed more than 114 million times and was uploaded in 25 languages to 33 of the brand's YouTube Channels.

Dove said the Real Beauty Sketches campaign bumped the previous record holder for most viewed online ad — the Evian Roller Babies — from the top spot.

SEE ALSO: Dove Experiment Aims to Change the Way You See Yourself Read more...

What kind of computer comes with an explicit warning not to rest your coffee cup on it?

A computer like Lenovo’s new IdeaCentre Horizon PC does -– and with good reason. This 27-inch computer transforms from a standard all-in-one into a giant touchscreen tabletop display.

When the Horizon is upright, it’s running Microsoft’s Windows 8. Clamp down the stiff kickstand in the back and lay the thing flat on your coffee table, and it automatically jumps to “Aura” mode, a Lenovo-created interface for playing games with friends and family.

I’ll admit that I was quick to poke fun at the Horizon when I first saw it at the International CES trade show earlier this year. I enjoyed giving the games a test drive at the time, but I was wondering if a computer this size could really have a place in my small Manhattan apartment. I don’t even have a coffee table.

[ See post to watch video ]

After using the Horizon on a dining table for the past week and a half, I’ve been able to fully assess it. I like it, mostly because having a second large display at home is great for media consumption. But I still wouldn’t buy it. At the end of the day, it’s a niche product.

And, it’s pricey: Lenovo is currently selling its top model, which has a third-generation Intel Core i7 processor and eight gigabytes of memory, for $1,849. A slightly less powerful model, with a Core i5 chip, costs $1,699.

On June 23, Best Buy will begin offering the Horizon for slightly less: $1,599 for the Core i7 configuration, and $1,499 for the i5 model with only 6GB of RAM.

That’s still more expensive than the Sony Vaio Tap 20, a hybrid PC/tablet that starts at $880. And Asus’s 18-inch Transformer AiO, a similarly-designed computer that runs both Windows 8 and Google Android operating systems, costs $1,300. So if you’re looking for a PC that can also be used like a large tablet, there are more reasonable options. 

And if you just want a tablet for game playing and watching videos, well, you can spend $400 and get a pretty good one.

Lenovo says there are a few reasons why the Horizon is so expensive. First, and most obvious, is the size of the display. Then, there’s the preloaded game software — nine games total, including three from Ubisoft, one from EA and five developed by Lenovo. Some of those games require accessories, like e-dice, joysticks and strikers, which are thrown into the mix. Lastly, it comes with a one terabyte internal hard drive.

Let’s say you’re willing to splurge for all this, and the family-centric games are a big draw for you.

As I mentioned, it’s running on Windows 8, and if you’re not super familiar with Microsoft’s newest operating system, there will be a learning curve as you adjust to all of the new swipes and gestures, designed with touchscreens in mind.

I tested the Core i5 model. It measures 27.2 by 16.9 by 1.17 inches, and weighs 18 pounds. Lenovo envisions that users will want to move this computer around the house, but I lugged it from room to room just once, and “lug” is the appropriate description here. It’s definitely not portable. I am not, for example, going to bring it to a friend’s house, or travel with it on a plane to the D11 Conference next week, as I would a tablet.

On the left side of the Horizon is the power button. The right side is loaded with two USB ports, an HDMI port, a media card reader and jacks for headphones and the power cord.

The 27-inch diagonal display is a full-HD multitouch display. It’s nice but not particularly brilliant. Games looked fluid and bright, but when I watched a couple episodes of ABC’s “Scandal” on Netflix, colors were a little washed out.

On to gaming, the main event: The Horizon has a respectable Nvidia processor and 2GB of processing RAM, enough for all of your needs with this computer, but not the kind of power you’d expect with a hardcore gaming machine.

Preloaded game titles include Lenovo Air Hockey, Lenovo Tycoon (Lenovo’s version of Monopoly), Lenovo Fishing Joy, Lenovo Texas Hold ‘Em, and from other publishers, the original Monopoly and Ubisoft’s Raiding Company. It also comes with BlueStacks, an app interface that lets you play Google Android games.

I laid the PC flat on the table, prompting the Aura desktop overlay to appear, and “convinced” my boyfriend to geek out and play games with me. We played a few intense games of Air Hockey, sliding the strikers along the surface of the PC to score. He got hooked playing Lenovo Fishing Joy. Then we started games of both Lenovo Tycoon and the much-better Monopoly.

Rolling the e-dice was, at first, pretty cool. A set of virtual dice in the game would spin and stop moving when the physical dice did. As we took turns in Monopoly, the game zoomed in to show us different spots along the boardwalk, then zoomed back to the whole game board again when it was the next person’s turn to roll.

But I encountered a glitch with the e-dice: When I rolled the physical dice, the virtual dice on screen kept rolling … and rolling …

After a minute or two of excitable dice, we finally unplugged the Bluetooth dongle to disconnect the dice entirely, then started over again.

Overall, playing the games was fun, and I’m sure I could entertain my young niece and nephew for awhile with this. I’d like to see more brand-name games on the Horizon. On a few occasions I went back to the Windows 8 desktop — which appears when you stand the computer upright again — to load up Angry Birds. Lenovo says that more Horizon-optimized game titles are in the works.

When it comes to non-gaming activities on this machine, the touchscreen on a 27-inch display creates a unique dilemma: Sit close enough to touch it, and you’re really, really close to a giant screen. Sit further back to avoid eye strain, and you might not be close enough to comfortably use the touchscreen.

Fortunately, the Horizon also comes with a wireless mouse and keyboard, which I did end up using for email and productivity apps, allowing me to use tactile keys and sit further back from the screen.

Finally, battery life is less than that of the similar hybrids I mentioned earlier, but this is a bigger machine. In the first test I conducted, I bumped up the display to full brightness, played iTunes and had an email application running, and the battery lasted two hours and 22 minutes. During the second test, I streamed videos and played a couple games, and it lasted two hours and 10 minutes.

Now that I’ve tried the Horizon, I’d like a bigger display in my living room. But I wasn’t blown away by the game experience, and I wouldn’t want to pay $1,700 for it.

The speculation is overYahoo has acquired Tumblr, according to official statements from Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and Tumblr CEO and Founder David Karp

In a somewhat odd press release, Yahoo promises it will not "screw up" the popular microblogging service

"Per the agreement and our promise not to screw it up, Tumblr will be independently operated as a separate business. David Karp will remain CEO. The product, service and brand will continue to be defined and developed separately with the same Tumblr irreverence, wit, and commitment to empower creators," says Yahoo in the release

The total price Yahoo paid for Tumblr is approximately $1.1 billion, all of it in cash. Read more...

You already know all the details, but here’s the official word from Yahoo on its $1.1 billion Tumblr deal. Note the touches of Tumblr-like whimsy in the release, and Yahoo’s tacit acknowledgment that this sort of thing is easy for a big company to botch.

Summer isn't just the season of love — it's also the season of travel. If you're planning a getaway in the next few months, either large-scale or small, you most likely have a budget to abide by (if not, you might want to look into drafting one.)

We did some research and in-staff sourcing to track down the best digital resources to help you, the traveler, save money during your upcoming summer journeys.

SEE ALSO: The 20 Most-Clichéd Tourist Photos

Granted, they do depend in part on the type of travel you're planning. Some are great if you're looking to crash for free or find last-minute rooms; others are more ideal for long-term trips where you'll be working for the roof over your head. You can try one, two or a combination of them all — it's a win-win regardless Read more...

Sprint’s bid to acquire network operator Clearwire is up for a shareholder vote Tuesday, but the deal’s fate remains uncertain.

While Sprint already owns 51 percent of Clearwire, the deal requires the approval of the majority of shares voted by Clearwire’s other owners.

And the biggest of those–Crest Financial–strongly opposes the deal and has been soliciting votes against the deal, arguing that Clearwire is worth way more than the $2.97 per share that Sprint has offered. According to a Reuters analysis, the current deal is unlikely to pass. Wall Street also seems to be betting on a higher bid as Clearwire shares closed trading last week at $3.20.

Crest has also sued to block a Sprint deal, hiring noted law firm Quinn Emanuel to make its case.

Pass or not, though, Sprint itself is still the subject of competing offers. Its board approved a deal with SoftBank. However, Dish countered with its own offer. Both sides say their offer is the better one.

Sprint shareholders are due to vote June 12 on the SoftBank deal, an offer that has the backing of Sprint’s board and management. However, a special committee of Sprint directors is considering whether Dish’s intent is likely to lead to a “superior offer.” If so, it could change its stance on the SoftBank deal.

So, basically it’s all clear as mud. We’ll see if things look any clear after Tuesday’s vote than they do now.

You can count on it – when a deal works out spectacularly everyone involved will take credit for it.

This behavior is particularly annoying to the entrepreneurs who put the sweat, blood, and tears into the Company.

– “Union Square Ventures’ Fred Wilson, one of Tumblr’s earliest investors,celebrating the Yahoo deal without celebrating.

Yahoo will announce its $1.1 billion all-cash acquisition of the Tumblr blogging service this morning, said sources, likely just before the markets open.

But Wall Street likes the deal so far. Yahoo shares were up in pre-market trading this morning, close to two percent, to reach $27. The stock of the Silicon Valley Internet giant closed Friday at $26.52.

After the announcement of the news AllThingsD.com already told you about several times over the past few days, let the opinions begin over a range of the entirely unknowable right now, including:

Whether it is a good deal or whether Yahoo has just bought themselves GeoCities 2.0; whether Tumblr’s tetchy young audience would bolt at the Yahoo ownership.

Whether Tumblr CEO David Karp — he of the sad-puppy-dog eyes and fantastically floppy hair would wither or bloom under the leadership of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer.

And, of course, who got rich in the whole shebang.

Karp, for sure, garnering $250 million in cash.

So sit tight to get the final word and all the quotes praising the deal as the best thing since, well, Instagram got picked up by Facebook for a mere $1 billion. Apparently, $1.1 billion is the new $1 billion.

We will cover the news, of course, despite not being invited to Yahoo parties (and somehow we’ll survive).

Samsung will be displaying some of its latest and greatest notebook and tablet screens at the Society for Information Display's Display Week 2013. Among them, one stands out: a 13.3-inch notebook display with a 3,200x1,800 (WQXGA+) pixel resolution

For those keeping count, that's quite a bit better than Apple's 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, which has a maximum 2,560x1,600 pixel resolution. To make things even better, Samsung claims that LCD can deliver "30 percent" greater power savings than existing LCD displays

Of course, we're not quite sure what we'd do with such a high resolution on a 13.3-inch screen, but it's comforting to note that the 1,600x900 pixel resolution — exactly half of the screen's maximum and much better suited for 13-inchers — will be perfectly crisp Read more...