The latest integration comes to Google Earth, as with the latest version (6.2), users can easily share screenshots to Google+ circles. When the user is logged in and clicks “share,” they can send snapshots of 3D views to Google+.

“We’ve already seen fantastic Google Earth land and cityscapes shared on Google+, not to mention solar systems, ocean topography, Street View scenes, weather forecasts, gigapixel photography and more,” says community manager Mark Harrision. “If you can find it in Google Earth, you can share it on Google+.”

“And if you’re looking to engage with like-minded cartographers, add the new Google Earth +Page to your Google+ circles and share your own Google Earth snapshots with us,” he adds. “Use the hashtag #GoogleEarthSnapshot in your image description and we could include your photo in a community album on Google+!”

The Google Earth Page already has quite a few cool images in its posts.

Google has been pretty clear from the get go that its plan for Google+ was to integrate it into the company’s various products, adding a “social layer” to them. This was made clearer than ever with the introduction of “Search Plus Your World” into search results, and the forthcoming consolidation of privacy policies.

The latest integration comes to Google Earth, as with the latest version (6.2), users can easily share screenshots to Google+ circles. When the user is logged in and clicks “share,” they can send snapshots of 3D views to Google+.

“We’ve already seen fantastic Google Earth land and cityscapes shared on Google+, not to mention solar systems, ocean topography, Street View scenes, weather forecasts, gigapixel photography and more,” says community manager Mark Harrision. “If you can find it in Google Earth, you can share it on Google+.”

“And if you’re looking to engage with like-minded cartographers, add the new Google Earth +Page to your Google+ circles and share your own Google Earth snapshots with us,” he adds. “Use the hashtag #GoogleEarthSnapshot in your image description and we could include your photo in a community album on Google+!”

The Google Earth Page already has quite a few cool images in its posts.

I guess I shouldn’t be so pessimistic though, perhaps Walmart broke down and decided to open another register. Now the wait will only be ten minutes at the checkout and Larry will be bringing home over $21,000 this year after four years of college! It’s okay Uncle Sam, we understand you had to vote yourselves a raise while still doing a horrible job of making good decisions for your people.

According to experts it is a good sign when applications stay consistently below 375,000. In fact, the economy added 243,000 jobs in January. This number is dwarfed though by the reported 13 million Americans that still don’t have jobs. Actually, the government only reports people as unemployed if they report that they are still actively looking for jobs. So you can bet that the number is much higher. Or maybe some people just neglected to renew their unemployment forms because they’re too busy trying to earn money elsewhere.

I wonder also, how many people in this country are considered to be underemployed? I see a lot of qualified people working in mindless high-turnover positions.What are the proper stats on that at the Labor Department? So to clarify the main point, using the four-week adjusted average, for accuracy, the number of unemployment aid applications fell to 366,250 this week. Why even report this? Are they trying to make us feel better?

The United State Governments Labor Department continues to bombard us with propaganda about how our economy is getting better. Their latest report specifies that unemployment aid applications have dropped by 15,000 this week. This means only 358,000 application were filed, the lowest since 2008. That’s exciting!, you mean 15,000 people finally realized they were not going to get any help and gave up?

I guess I shouldn’t be so pessimistic though, perhaps Walmart broke down and decided to open another register. Now the wait will only be ten minutes at the checkout and Larry will be bringing home over $21,000 this year after four years of college! It’s okay Uncle Sam, we understand you had to vote yourselves a raise while still doing a horrible job of making good decisions for your people.

According to experts it is a good sign when applications stay consistently below 375,000. In fact, the economy added 243,000 jobs in January. This number is dwarfed though by the reported 13 million Americans that still don’t have jobs. Actually, the government only reports people as unemployed if they report that they are still actively looking for jobs. So you can bet that the number is much higher. Or maybe some people just neglected to renew their unemployment forms because they’re too busy trying to earn money elsewhere.

I wonder also, how many people in this country are considered to be underemployed? I see a lot of qualified people working in mindless high-turnover positions.What are the proper stats on that at the Labor Department? So to clarify the main point, using the four-week adjusted average, for accuracy, the number of unemployment aid applications fell to 366,250 this week. Why even report this? Are they trying to make us feel better?

I’d wager that there have been bigger steps in terms of getting people to actually use Wolfram Alpha – it’s integration with Siri. According to The New York Times, Siri accounts for about a quarter of its queries.

Wolfram Alpha Pro costs $4.99 a month ($2.99 for students).

“Over the two and a half years since we first launched, Wolfram|Alpha has been growing rapidly in content and capabilities,” says Wolfram. “But today’s introduction of Wolfram|Alpha Pro in effect adds a whole new model for interacting with Wolfram|Alpha—and brings all sorts of fundamentally new and remarkable capabilities.”

The pro version includes:

data in put
file upload
image input
data download
CDF interactivity
extra computation time
customizable graphs and tables
PDF/CDF report download
extended symbol keyboard
output zoom

Wolfram provides an extensive walkthrough of the new features on his blog.

“We’re certainly not finished with everything that’s possible, but already in the version of Wolfram|Alpha Pro that we’re releasing today, I think what we can do with data is pretty impressive,” he says. “Of course, it helps that we can build on all the sophisticated data and statistics-related capabilities that are now built in to Mathematica. And it also helps that we can make use of all the other parts of Wolfram|Alpha.”

The standard version of Wolfram Alpha will remain free.

Stephen Wolfram, the scientist behind Wolfram Alpha, announced that the launch of Wolfram Alpha Pro, which he calls “the biggest single step in the development of Wolfram Alpha since its original introduction.”

I’d wager that there have been bigger steps in terms of getting people to actually use Wolfram Alpha – it’s integration with Siri. According to The New York Times, Siri accounts for about a quarter of its queries.

Wolfram Alpha Pro costs $4.99 a month ($2.99 for students).

“Over the two and a half years since we first launched, Wolfram|Alpha has been growing rapidly in content and capabilities,” says Wolfram. “But today’s introduction of Wolfram|Alpha Pro in effect adds a whole new model for interacting with Wolfram|Alpha—and brings all sorts of fundamentally new and remarkable capabilities.”

The pro version includes:

data in put
file upload
image input
data download
CDF interactivity
extra computation time
customizable graphs and tables
PDF/CDF report download
extended symbol keyboard
output zoom

Wolfram provides an extensive walkthrough of the new features on his blog.

“We’re certainly not finished with everything that’s possible, but already in the version of Wolfram|Alpha Pro that we’re releasing today, I think what we can do with data is pretty impressive,” he says. “Of course, it helps that we can build on all the sophisticated data and statistics-related capabilities that are now built in to Mathematica. And it also helps that we can make use of all the other parts of Wolfram|Alpha.”

The standard version of Wolfram Alpha will remain free.

This Saturday, February 11th, for one day only, T-Mobile is offering all of their 4G smartphones for free with a 2-year contract. This deal includes the Samsung Galaxy S II, HTC Amaze 4G, Nokia Lumia 710, Balckberry Bold 9900 4G, HTC Wildfire 4G, and more. The deal also includes a selection of tablets like the T-Mobile springBoard with Google.

The “free” part will come in the form of a mail-in rebate when you sign up for a qualifying “Classic Plan.”

T-Mobile is promoting this with an ad campaign, and you can watch the video below. Full press release is available after the clip (so you can scour it for all the little fine print).

PRESS RELEASE: In the spirit of the season, T-Mobile USA, Inc. will show consumers lots of love with another jaw-dropping promotion for its “Valentine’s Day Sale.” For one day only, Saturday, Feb. 11, T-Mobile will give customers the chance to get their hands on the latest 4G smartphones and select tablets for free, making a perfect gift for loved ones or themselves. The promotion includes T-Mobile’s fastest 4G smartphones and select tablets running on America’s Largest 4G Network® such as the Samsung Galaxy S™ II1 and the T-Mobile® SpringBoard™ with Google™.

New and existing eligible customers can take advantage of this deal receiving their device for free after a mail-in rebate card when they sign up for a new two-year contract on any qualifying Classic Plan™2 or for a $0.00 down payment after mail-in rebate card when signing up on a qualifying Unlimited Value™3 plan.

“T-Mobile has a commitment to make the 4G experience affordable and accessible to everyone, so this sweet deal on smartphones and tablets is our Valentine’s gift to consumers,” said John Clelland, senior vice president of marketing, T-Mobile USA. “No matter where loved ones live, T-Mobile wants to bring them closer with unlimited talking, photo sharing, video chatting, texting, and more.”

A recent online Omnibus survey4 with Harris Interactive found that four-in-ten (44%) of first time smartphone buyers in 2012 say the cost of the data plan associated with the smartphone is the most influential reason they have not purchased a smartphone before. The value for customers extends beyond the “Valentine’s Day Sale” as T-Mobile offers the best rate plan pricing on America’s Largest 4G Network.

The following is a sample of the exceptional devices available during the “Valentine’s Day Sale” if customers choose to sign up on a two-year Classic Plan™:

The “Valentine’s Day Sale” will be available on Feb.11 at participating T-Mobile retail stores nationwide and T-Mobile will support the promotion with a national television advertising campaign. For more information about T-Mobile’s “Valentine’s Day Sale” and details about qualifying plans, visit http://bit.ly/z36M9c.

1 Devices must be supported with the following data requirements: voice phones: 200 MB data; most smartphones: 2 GB data; 42 Mbps devices (Amaze and Galaxy S II): 5 GB data.

2Standard upgrade eligibility rules apply for existing Classic customers that stay on a Classic plan; standard migration fees will apply for existing Classic customers that switch to a Value plan and have less than 18 months contract tenure.

3 $0 down payment offer not applicable in RI, CT, or Miami-Dade County, FL; customers in these regions will be eligible for a different offer. Equipment installment plans: On approved credit and 0 percent APR. Down payment and unfinanced portion required at purchase. Remaining balance paid in 20 monthly installments. Total post-rebate price of each device equals down payment amount plus monthly payment amount times 20.

4This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of T-Mobile USA from December 20-22, 2011 among 2,573 adults ages 18 and older, among whom 235 will be first time smartphone buyers in 2012, and 988 are current smartphone users who will remain smartphone users in 2012. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact kmcfadzean@waggeneredstrom.com.

5 Mail-in rebate not applicable in RI, CT, or Miami-Dade County, FL.

Looking for a gift for your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day? Are they on a diet or allergic to roses? T-Mobile thinks that nothing says I love you like a new phone.

This Saturday, February 11th, for one day only, T-Mobile is offering all of their 4G smartphones for free with a 2-year contract. This deal includes the Samsung Galaxy S II, HTC Amaze 4G, Nokia Lumia 710, Balckberry Bold 9900 4G, HTC Wildfire 4G, and more. The deal also includes a selection of tablets like the T-Mobile springBoard with Google.

The “free” part will come in the form of a mail-in rebate when you sign up for a qualifying “Classic Plan.”

T-Mobile is promoting this with an ad campaign, and you can watch the video below. Full press release is available after the clip (so you can scour it for all the little fine print).

PRESS RELEASE: In the spirit of the season, T-Mobile USA, Inc. will show consumers lots of love with another jaw-dropping promotion for its “Valentine’s Day Sale.” For one day only, Saturday, Feb. 11, T-Mobile will give customers the chance to get their hands on the latest 4G smartphones and select tablets for free, making a perfect gift for loved ones or themselves. The promotion includes T-Mobile’s fastest 4G smartphones and select tablets running on America’s Largest 4G Network® such as the Samsung Galaxy S™ II1 and the T-Mobile® SpringBoard™ with Google™.

New and existing eligible customers can take advantage of this deal receiving their device for free after a mail-in rebate card when they sign up for a new two-year contract on any qualifying Classic Plan™2 or for a $0.00 down payment after mail-in rebate card when signing up on a qualifying Unlimited Value™3 plan.

“T-Mobile has a commitment to make the 4G experience affordable and accessible to everyone, so this sweet deal on smartphones and tablets is our Valentine’s gift to consumers,” said John Clelland, senior vice president of marketing, T-Mobile USA. “No matter where loved ones live, T-Mobile wants to bring them closer with unlimited talking, photo sharing, video chatting, texting, and more.”

A recent online Omnibus survey4 with Harris Interactive found that four-in-ten (44%) of first time smartphone buyers in 2012 say the cost of the data plan associated with the smartphone is the most influential reason they have not purchased a smartphone before. The value for customers extends beyond the “Valentine’s Day Sale” as T-Mobile offers the best rate plan pricing on America’s Largest 4G Network.

The following is a sample of the exceptional devices available during the “Valentine’s Day Sale” if customers choose to sign up on a two-year Classic Plan™:

The “Valentine’s Day Sale” will be available on Feb.11 at participating T-Mobile retail stores nationwide and T-Mobile will support the promotion with a national television advertising campaign. For more information about T-Mobile’s “Valentine’s Day Sale” and details about qualifying plans, visit http://bit.ly/z36M9c.

1 Devices must be supported with the following data requirements: voice phones: 200 MB data; most smartphones: 2 GB data; 42 Mbps devices (Amaze and Galaxy S II): 5 GB data.

2Standard upgrade eligibility rules apply for existing Classic customers that stay on a Classic plan; standard migration fees will apply for existing Classic customers that switch to a Value plan and have less than 18 months contract tenure.

3 $0 down payment offer not applicable in RI, CT, or Miami-Dade County, FL; customers in these regions will be eligible for a different offer. Equipment installment plans: On approved credit and 0 percent APR. Down payment and unfinanced portion required at purchase. Remaining balance paid in 20 monthly installments. Total post-rebate price of each device equals down payment amount plus monthly payment amount times 20.

4This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of T-Mobile USA from December 20-22, 2011 among 2,573 adults ages 18 and older, among whom 235 will be first time smartphone buyers in 2012, and 988 are current smartphone users who will remain smartphone users in 2012. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact kmcfadzean@waggeneredstrom.com.

5 Mail-in rebate not applicable in RI, CT, or Miami-Dade County, FL.

Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert, the original duo behind Monkey Island, wanted to make an adventure game. Adventure games don’t sell that well these days and large publishers wouldn’t fund such a thing. Schafer took to Kickstarter, the crowdsource funding Web site, to hopefully raise $400,000 to make their dream game. Little did they expect to raise that amount and then some in less than 24 hours.

Perhaps the reason for their success is that Kickstarter allows companies to offer tier-based rewards depending on how much they donate to the project. Double Fine’s game was offering a free copy of the game with a gift of $15, the donator’s name in the credits for $100 or a private dinner with Schafer and Gilbert for a gift of $10,000. If you’re wondering, the $10,000 has already been pledged.

With yesterday’s Twitter chatter about funding Psychonauts 2 to this Kickstarter funding story, it’s showing that the relationship between developers and publishers is changing. It used to be that any potential game would need a publisher to advertise the game and market it for mass consumption. Double Fine will be releasing their game on their own terms on Steam funded by their fans. That’s an amazing strategy and one that will probably be emulated more now.

For those wondering, Double Fine has already raised over $535,000 for their new game. While the required budget was only $400,000, they will use any extra money to do more voice work or localize the game into more languages. The more they get, the better the game will be. If you want to pledge a donation, you can do so at their Kickstarter page.

This signals the beginning of a new model of game funding and game creation. While indie game development has been done this way for many years now, this is the first time a major developer has taken to crowdsourced funding. It will be interesting to see if more developers take to this instead of using publisher’s money.

Finally, Schafer took to Twitter last night to comment on how just how amazing this whole ordeal has been:

You may remember yesterday’s news that Double Fine was in talks with Minecraft’s Notch to fund a potential sequel to Psychonauts. Tim Schafer, perhaps unintentionally, built on that momentum to do something incredible.

Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert, the original duo behind Monkey Island, wanted to make an adventure game. Adventure games don’t sell that well these days and large publishers wouldn’t fund such a thing. Schafer took to Kickstarter, the crowdsource funding Web site, to hopefully raise $400,000 to make their dream game. Little did they expect to raise that amount and then some in less than 24 hours.

Perhaps the reason for their success is that Kickstarter allows companies to offer tier-based rewards depending on how much they donate to the project. Double Fine’s game was offering a free copy of the game with a gift of $15, the donator’s name in the credits for $100 or a private dinner with Schafer and Gilbert for a gift of $10,000. If you’re wondering, the $10,000 has already been pledged.

With yesterday’s Twitter chatter about funding Psychonauts 2 to this Kickstarter funding story, it’s showing that the relationship between developers and publishers is changing. It used to be that any potential game would need a publisher to advertise the game and market it for mass consumption. Double Fine will be releasing their game on their own terms on Steam funded by their fans. That’s an amazing strategy and one that will probably be emulated more now.

For those wondering, Double Fine has already raised over $535,000 for their new game. While the required budget was only $400,000, they will use any extra money to do more voice work or localize the game into more languages. The more they get, the better the game will be. If you want to pledge a donation, you can do so at their Kickstarter page.

This signals the beginning of a new model of game funding and game creation. While indie game development has been done this way for many years now, this is the first time a major developer has taken to crowdsourced funding. It will be interesting to see if more developers take to this instead of using publisher’s money.

Finally, Schafer took to Twitter last night to comment on how just how amazing this whole ordeal has been:

The company also stated it had a net less of $275 million for 2011, compared to $413 million last year.

One explanation for the financial results of Groupon’s 2011 is its effort to expand into other areas of commercse as well as other regions of the world. These efforts were evinced with their sales, which increased %500 to $1.6 billion.

The financial impact of the report sent Groupon shares up as high as $25.70 earlier today before falling back down to $24.58 by the end of the day. Still, despite the tumble after initially rising, shares are still up $0.39 for the day.

The full statement of Groupon’s 2010 fiscal earnings as well as their first quarterly results can be accessed on their website.

Groupon released their Q4 2011 report today, revealing a year-to-year 194% increase in revenue from $172.2 million in 2010 to $506.5 million this year. However, the online purveyors of collectively bargained daily deals had a net loss of $37 million in the 2011 fourth quarter – also it’s first quarterly results since becoming a public company this past November.

The company also stated it had a net less of $275 million for 2011, compared to $413 million last year.

One explanation for the financial results of Groupon’s 2011 is its effort to expand into other areas of commercse as well as other regions of the world. These efforts were evinced with their sales, which increased %500 to $1.6 billion.

The financial impact of the report sent Groupon shares up as high as $25.70 earlier today before falling back down to $24.58 by the end of the day. Still, despite the tumble after initially rising, shares are still up $0.39 for the day.

The full statement of Groupon’s 2010 fiscal earnings as well as their first quarterly results can be accessed on their website.

Whale sharks are a protected species and are in danger of extinction. While they appear to be dangerous, whale sharks are gentle giants. The whale fish is the largest fish in the sea and spends most of its time in warm water.

The man who brought the fish in has supposedly sold the creature for $18,000.

A pakistani fisherman has caught a 40 foot long whale shark. The shark weighs about 6.5 tons and was found floating unconscious about 150 kilometers off the shore. It was dead by the time it was removed from the water. It took five cranes to pull the massive fish from the water onto the docks.

Whale sharks are a protected species and are in danger of extinction. While they appear to be dangerous, whale sharks are gentle giants. The whale fish is the largest fish in the sea and spends most of its time in warm water.

The man who brought the fish in has supposedly sold the creature for $18,000.

Now trolling is never nice, but to film the tracking of an Internet troll like it was “To Catch a Predator” is just odd. It’s obvious that trolls use the anonymity of the Internet to attack people they don’t know to make themselves feel superior. It’s the bullying of the Internet era. Does it make it right? No. Does it make entertaining television? It sure does.

Check out the clip from the episode below where they confront the confirmed troll in public as he is getting onto a bus. The reporter tries to convince the man that what he is doing is hurtful to others and the troll just responds, “It ain’t illegal.” That’s pure comic gold, dear readers.

We don’t condone trolling at WebProNews, but for it to be taken so seriously just boggles the mind. Enjoy.

What happens when the BBC tracks down an Internet troll? Pure hilarity.

Now trolling is never nice, but to film the tracking of an Internet troll like it was “To Catch a Predator” is just odd. It’s obvious that trolls use the anonymity of the Internet to attack people they don’t know to make themselves feel superior. It’s the bullying of the Internet era. Does it make it right? No. Does it make entertaining television? It sure does.

Check out the clip from the episode below where they confront the confirmed troll in public as he is getting onto a bus. The reporter tries to convince the man that what he is doing is hurtful to others and the troll just responds, “It ain’t illegal.” That’s pure comic gold, dear readers.

We don’t condone trolling at WebProNews, but for it to be taken so seriously just boggles the mind. Enjoy.

As part of this morning’s story I contacted Google’s PR department about the program. Shortly after the story ran, a Google spokesperson got back to me with the following statement:

Like many other web and media companies, we do panel research to help better serve our users by learning more about people’s media use, on the web and elsewhere. This panel is one such small project that started near the beginning of the year. Of course, this is completely optional to join. People can choose to participate if it’s of interest (or if the gift appeals) and everyone who does participate has complete transparency and control over what Internet use is being included in the panel. People can stay on the panel as long as they’d like, or leave at any time.

So it looks like Screenwise is a fairly ordinary market research panel, just with a browser extension in place of a questionnaire. Participants have a high degree of control over exactly what Google sees and for how long. Google is apparently also shooting for a small focus group-type program. In fact, the Screenwise sign up page no longer has a place to put your email address. Instead visitors to the site are greeted with the message, “We appreciate and are overwhelmed by your interest at the moment. Please come back later for more details.”

What do you think of Screenwise? Did you sign up for the program? Tell us what you think in the comments.

This morning we brought you news of Google’s Screenwise program. Participants in Screenwise install an extension in their Google Chrome browser that lets Google monitor their internet activity. Participants are compensated with a $5 gift code to Amazon as soon as they install the browser extension, and another every three months for a year, totally $25 in Amazon credit for participating in the program.

As part of this morning’s story I contacted Google’s PR department about the program. Shortly after the story ran, a Google spokesperson got back to me with the following statement:

Like many other web and media companies, we do panel research to help better serve our users by learning more about people’s media use, on the web and elsewhere. This panel is one such small project that started near the beginning of the year. Of course, this is completely optional to join. People can choose to participate if it’s of interest (or if the gift appeals) and everyone who does participate has complete transparency and control over what Internet use is being included in the panel. People can stay on the panel as long as they’d like, or leave at any time.

So it looks like Screenwise is a fairly ordinary market research panel, just with a browser extension in place of a questionnaire. Participants have a high degree of control over exactly what Google sees and for how long. Google is apparently also shooting for a small focus group-type program. In fact, the Screenwise sign up page no longer has a place to put your email address. Instead visitors to the site are greeted with the message, “We appreciate and are overwhelmed by your interest at the moment. Please come back later for more details.”

What do you think of Screenwise? Did you sign up for the program? Tell us what you think in the comments.

Not an incredible amount of information is known, but it has been reported by a couple of sources that Klarna executives Jens Saltin and Niklas Adalberth have been charged with allegedy molesting a young woman in a hotelroom. Popular website TechCrunch reports that officials released a report giving sparse details of the alleged act. The report reads:

“defendant Adalberth straddled informant, both defendants removed informant’s clothes, and defendant Adalberth grabbed informant’s breast. Deponent is further informed that she did not consent to said conduct.”

The New York Post reports similarly saying the Swedes allegedly pinned the woman to her bed while Adalberth straddled her as Saltin ripped off her clothes. Not much else is known about the case besides the very sparse details, apparently representatives want to keep everything on the down-low. Saltin and Adalberth have been released on 10,000 dollars bail.

If any other details should emerge, WebProNews will sufficiently report on the subject to bring the case into more concise light.

Not an incredible amount of information is known, but it has been reported by a couple of sources that Klarna executives Jens Saltin and Niklas Adalberth have been charged with allegedy molesting a young woman in a hotelroom. Popular website TechCrunch reports that officials released a report giving sparse details of the alleged act. The report reads:

“defendant Adalberth straddled informant, both defendants removed informant’s clothes, and defendant Adalberth grabbed informant’s breast. Deponent is further informed that she did not consent to said conduct.”

The New York Post reports similarly saying the Swedes allegedly pinned the woman to her bed while Adalberth straddled her as Saltin ripped off her clothes. Not much else is known about the case besides the very sparse details, apparently representatives want to keep everything on the down-low. Saltin and Adalberth have been released on 10,000 dollars bail.

If any other details should emerge, WebProNews will sufficiently report on the subject to bring the case into more concise light.