Then the focus shifts to the price. When the dorky iPad owner points out to the hot, bikini-clad Kindle owner that he can watch movies, she points out that her kids can do the same on their Kindle Fires, and that her Kindle and their Kindle Fires together cost less than his iPad.

Whatever your feelings about the iPad, the Kindle Fire, Amazon has taken pretty much the only option open to them from a marketing standpoint. A recent survey showed that the iPad ranked much higher than the Kindle Fire in terms of customer satisfaction. In fact, the feature Kindle Fire owners said they were most satisfied with about their device was its price tag.

What do you think of the commercial? Check it out below and let us know in the comments.

In December, Microsoft’s Bing unseated Yahoo! to become the #2 rank among search engines and in January Bing cemented that second rank a little further. The percentage of shares among all search engines remained largely unchanged in January from December, which if you’re Microsoft is probably good news. Consistency like that demonstrates that Bing’s bump to the second most-used search engine in December wasn’t just a fluke. Also, any argument about how the holidays inflated Microsoft’s market share in December’s would appear to be largely unfounded.

Given Yahoo’s recent top-level shake-ups, it’ll be curious to see if the percentage shares of the search market change much for the company in February.

Lastly, yes, Google remained Boss Hogg of the trough search engines.

“Now, even if phone lines and the Internet are inaccessible — for example, in a war zone or after a natural disaster — people will be able to share news and stay informed via Twitter,” the company says on its blog.

“We work with as many carriers as we can to support SMS around the world,” Twitter says. “If your carrier does not currently support Twitter SMS, you can still Tweet. Just use one of our long codes.”

Those can be found here.

As the company points out, Twitter did begin as an SMS service. Over the years, Twitter has become even more SMS-friendly, as evidenced by today’s update.

For example, in 2010, Twitter started letting users in the U.S. follow Twitter accounts via SMS without actually signing up for Twitter.

According to an internal NOAA memo obtained by The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple, BlackBerry will officially be struck from the rolls of NOAA’s supported mobile devices on May 12 of this year. Joseph Klimavicz, NOAA’s Chief Information Officer said that new employees will begin receiving the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2, each running iOS 5 or higher. There is no word on whether employees will be allowed to supply their own devices.

This is another blow to RIM, which has been practically hemorrhaging market share to Android and iOS over the past several years. While BlackBerry once owned the mobile enterprise market, they have never managed to properly respond to the threat posed by the extremely popular iOS and Android devices.

Chris Hardwick, actor and comedian, has taken to the YouTube blog to announce Course of the Force. Nerdist Industries is partnering with Lucasfilm and Machinima to host the event which will see a five-day Olympic-torch-style lightsaber relay run that will begin on Santa Monica pier on July 7 and end in San Diego on July 11 – just in time for the San Diego Comic Con.

About 500 people are going to line up along the California coastline as runners pass off a lightsaber one person at a time. Segments can be purchased in quarter-mile increments and all proceeds will go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Hardwick details the inspiration behind the event:

Here’s some backstory you didn’t ask for! In 2012, I will be attending my 9th San Diego Comic-Con. While I always look forward to that extended weekend of Nerdvana, I sometimes feel a bit like the commercial shininess of it slightly eclipses its intended spirit. To me, going to Cons as a kid was all about having a safe haven—a place where like-minded folks could come together to celebrate nerdly passions and accept each other for the oddball (by the larger and more boring sector of society’s standards) stuff we were all into. Ultimately, it should be the most fun thing of the year. For poop sake, most of you save up your whole year of cash and vacation time to go to SDCC sowhy not run at it screaming?? This is a rare opportunity to dress like a Sith (or ANYTHING of your choosing, Star Wars-y or not) and run down the beach while power chanting with a glowing sword made of light in your hand. On ANY OTHER DAY that would easily get you arrested or at the very least, detained. Don’t feel like running but want to support someone who is? FINE! Join us for parties, live music and comedy each night along the way.

For those interested in taking part in Course of the Force, you can claim a running spot at the official Web site. Those who buy a part on the course will receive a limited edition lightsaber and a swag bag that would apparently “make a scavenging Jawa jealous.”

The entire relay is going to be streamed on the Nerdist channel for those who can’t make it out.

It’s a good cause that should provide plenty of awesome content for Star Wars and general nerdy fans everywhere.

While it’s hardly surprising anymore to hear about how much money Apple has (hint: it’s more than the GDP of most countries), one fact puts it into perspective: Apple’s worth more than Google and Microsoft combined.

I am an ignoramus when it comes to the stock market, but I can at least add this much.

Apple’s market capitalization: $459.66 billion.
Google’s market capitalization: $199.03 billion.
Microsoft’s market capitalization: $256.10 billion.

Granted, Apple is “only” worth $4.53 billion more than the combined financial worth of Google and Microsoft, but that’s still enough money for them to get into the interplanetary real estate market. But let’s arbitrarily compare Apple’s value to lots of other things that are worth a lot of money:

Budget of NASA: $17.8 million
GDP of Romania: $161.62 billion
GDP of South Africa: $275.5 billion
Total military budget of U.S.: $683.7 billion

Actually, that’s all of the expensive stuff I can think of. At any rate, you get the picture. Apple is ridiculously wealthy.

Today’s videos feature a thin ice skating, a weatherman for the kids, and a Twisted f*****g Metal ad.

No matter your stance on the debate, you have to hand it to Rep. Maureen Walsh (R). Not only did she go against the tide of her party affiliation, but she delivered the most personal, heartfelt, and powerful speech I’ve seen from a politician concerning the topic of gay marriage. With a small bit of humor as well.

When you think of Star Wars nerds, the last thing you relate them to is an Olympic tradition. However, they’re stealing one to conduct a cool charitable event. May the force be with you…as you pass out from running 10 feet (hat tip to Triumph the Insult Comic Dog for the joke). If you want more details about the event, Zach Walton has a nice write-up

Sarah Palin vs. Moon Nazis, these are the kind of ideas we need more of Hollywood.

Hey there bud, you’re skating on…thin ice. (I’ll be here all evening, folks)

One of those videos where you hate the guy in it for the first 20 seconds, then he starts to grow on you, then you laugh at his Snoop Dogg needs an umbrella for the drizzle joke at the end.

So much going wrong in this video. First, the owner didn’t have the dog vaccinated for rabies and then you have a reporter getting directly in the face of a dog she doesn’t know. However, I love the look of reporters when they cut away from a segment that goes awkwardly wrong.

She prefers the plastic worms used as lures on fishing poles to actual gummie worms. At least there’s no sugar rush.

One of the greatest sounds you’ll ever hear in nature, sounds almost unnatural.

This is Twisted Metal…you f***er (Warning: NSFW – language)

Essentially, both groups lost an average of 33 pounds in the first 16 weeks. The difference came in the second 16 weeks. By the end of the 32 weeks, those who skipped the dessert regained an average of 22 pounds. Those who were in the dessert-eating group continued weight loss and shed an average 15 pounds more. In the end, the dessert group lost an average of 40 more pounds more than the others.

The layman’s explanation is simple. The people who abstained from sweets experienced more cravings throughout the day and gave into the cravings more often. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it is also when our appetite is smallest. So if you get your metabolism jump started early and eat that snack first, you have all day to burn it and you won’t be distracted by your cravings.

Keeping extra weight off long term is one of the biggest challenges. This finding could be a key component to helping people eat a steady balanced diet. If you combine this type of strategy with some moderate exercise, weight loss doesn’t have to be a mystery equation. Eat light at night and have sweets early in the day.

Let’s see what the reaction is on Twitter:

I’m here to serve … cake. MT @Cljohnst: Cake for breakfast? To lose weight? Thanks @gangrey for brightening my day. tampabay.com/news/health/re…

— Ben Montgomery (@gangrey) February 9, 2012

Yay! I have an essay in here! MT @avilandie: advanced reading copies of Wedding Cake for Breakfast arrived-gorgeous! twitter.com/avilandie/stat…

— Kristen Weber (@kristenwEditor) February 9, 2012

[new post] I made King Cake Cupcakes. And had one for breakfast today. j.mp/zKjRb1

— Shawnda (@foodiebride) February 9, 2012

It sounds like people are happy with the idea so far. Speaking of Twitter, I just read an article where a man had the idea to use Twitter to track his diet progress. The main gist is that, at first he was inspired by his idea, but he quickly became embarrassed by his late-night fatty food feasts and long periods of inactivity on Twitter do to his shameful diet.

As his tweets will reveal, he persisted and did lose weight. One thing that struck me about his story is how others began to tweet their diets to him. They would share tales of high calorie meals and compare weight loss secrets.

Here’s a brief chronology of his work with the Twitter diet:

Last nite: asparagus sted of fries, but too much alcohol. Today: fruit; then sushi, little bit of soy sauce, 1 cookie sted of usual 3.

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter25) March 4, 2010

Until last month, I sometimes ordered 2 melts, 2 hash browns — 88% of day’s fat, 100% of saturated fat — for breakfast. Disturbing.

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter25) April 28, 2010

In exactly two months, I have dropped 25 pounds. Now, my new goal: to lose 25 more pounds by my 25th birthday, 9/3.

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter25) May 3, 2010

I started this Twitter feed at 270 pounds. I think I maxed out between 275 and 280. But now I’m at 220. I’d like to be under 200.

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter25) June 28, 2010

The company saw a 105% increase in revenue for the fourth quarter compared to the same period last year. Q4 revenue was $167.7 million, up from last year’s $81.7 million.

For the entire year 2011, revenue increased 115% to $522.2 million (from $243.1 million).

“Q4 once again exceeded our expectations for member engagement and business growth. It was a fitting end to a memorable year in which we reinforced our position as the pre-eminent professional network on the web,” said CEO Jeff Weiner. “We believe continued focus on our members and technology infrastructure positions us well for accelerated product innovation in 2012.”

The company went public last year.

Here’s the release in its entirety:

Mountain View, Calif. — February 9, 2012 – LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD), the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 150 million members, today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2011:

• Revenue for the fourth quarter was $167.7 million, an increase of 105% compared to $81.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2010
• Net income for the fourth quarter was $6.9 million, compared to net income of $5.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2010; Non-GAAP net income for the fourth quarter was $13.3 million, compared to $5.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2010. Non-GAAP measures exclude tax-affected stock-based compensation expense and tax-affected amortization of acquired intangible assets
• Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter was $34.4 million, or 21% of revenue, compared to $16.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2010, or 20% of revenue
• GAAP EPS for the fourth quarter was $0.06; Non-GAAP EPS for the fourth quarter was $0.12
• For the full year 2011, revenue increased 115% to $522.2 million from $243.1 million.  GAAP EPS increased to $0.11 from $0.07 and Non-GAAP EPS increased to $0.35 from $0.24.  Adjusted EBITDA increased to $98.7 million from $48.0 million

“Q4 once again exceeded our expectations for member engagement and business growth.  It was a fitting end to a memorable year in which we reinforced our position as the pre-eminent professional network on the web,” said Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn. “We believe continued focus on our members and technology infrastructure positions us well for accelerated product innovation in 2012.”

Fourth Quarter Financial Details and Operating Summary
LinkedIn reported revenue of $167.7 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, an increase of 105% compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, and the 6th straight quarter of greater than 100% year-over-year growth.

• Hiring Solutions: Revenue from Hiring Solutions products totaled $84.9 million, an increase of 136% compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. Hiring Solutions revenue represented 50% of total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to 44% in the fourth quarter of 2010.
• Marketing Solutions: Revenue from Marketing Solutions products totaled $49.5 million, an increase of 77% compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. Marketing Solutions revenue represented 30% of total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to 34% in the fourth quarter of 2010.
• Premium Subscriptions: Revenue from Premium Subscriptions products totaled $33.3 million, an increase of 87% compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. Premium Subscriptions represented 20% of total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to 22% in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Revenue from the U.S. totaled $112.0 million, and represented 67% of total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2011. Revenue from international markets totaled $55.8 million, and represented 33% of total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Revenue from the field sales channel totaled $95.8 million, and represented 57% of total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2011. Revenue from the online, direct sales channel totaled $71.9 million, and represented 43% of total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2011.

GAAP net income for the fourth quarter was $6.9 million, compared to net income of $5.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2010. Non-GAAP net income for the fourth quarter was $13.3 million, compared to $5.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Adjusted EBITDA was $34.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, or 21% of revenue, compared to $16.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, or 20% of revenue.

GAAP EPS was $0.06 based on 108.6 million fully-diluted weighted shares outstanding compared to $0.03 for the fourth quarter of 2010 based on 49.4 million fully-diluted weighted shares outstanding; Non-GAAP EPS was $0.12 based on 108.6 million fully-diluted weighted shares outstanding compared to $0.05 for the fourth quarter of 2010 based on 95.0 million fully-diluted weighted shares outstanding.

“LinkedIn grew over 100% for the sixth consecutive quarter and posted all-time high adjusted EBITDA,” said Steve Sordello, CFO of LinkedIn.  “Our fourth quarter results underscore the company’s success in 2011, which saw revenue and adjusted EBITDA more than double.  In 2012, we will continue to invest in our product, engineering, and sales infrastructure to capitalize on our long-term opportunity.”

For additional information, please see the “Selected Company Metrics and Financials” page, updated through the end of the fourth quarter of 2011, on LinkedIn’s Investor Relations site.

Fourth Quarter Highlights and Strategic Announcements

• LinkedIn completed the latest phase of the re-architecture of its software development and deployment process, known internally as InVersion, which is the foundation for accelerated product innovation in 2012.
• LinkedIn continued its international expansion and localization with the addition of three new offices (Tokyo, Japan; Bangalore, India; and Sao Paulo, Brazil), and five new languages (Japanese, Swedish, Indonesian, Malay, and Korean.) 
• At its Talent Connect conference in October, LinkedIn announced Talent Pipeline, a new solution that allows recruiters and hiring managers to manage, track, and stay in touch with active and passive candidates, regardless of source. Talent Pipeline is currently in pilot testing phase with select Hiring Solutions customers.
• LinkedIn unveiled two new offerings for Marketing Solutions customers at Connect:11 in October. Company Status Updates and the Certified Developer Program give brands more powerful ways to connect and engage with LinkedIn members. 

Business Outlook
As of today, LinkedIn is providing guidance for the first quarter of 2012 and for the full year 2012 on revenue, adjusted EBITDA, depreciation and amortization, and stock-based compensation. 

• Q1 FY12 Guidance: Revenue for the first quarter of 2012 is projected to be in the range of $170 million to $175 million. For the first quarter of 2012, the company expects to report adjusted EBITDA of $25 million to $27 million. The company expects depreciation and amortization in the range of $15 million to $17 million, and stock-based compensation in the range of $13 million to $14 million.
• Full Year FY12 Guidance: Revenue for the full year of 2012 is projected to be in the range of $840 million to $860 million. For the full year of 2012, the company expects to report adjusted EBITDA of $155 million to $165 million. The company expects depreciation and amortization in the range of $70 million to $80 million, and stock-based compensation in the range of $65 million to $75 million.

Quarterly Conference Call
LinkedIn plans to host a webcast/conference call to discuss its fourth quarter 2011 financial results and business outlook today at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Jeff Weiner and Steve Sordello will host the webcast, which can be viewed on the investor relations section of the LinkedIn website at http://investors.linkedin.com/. This call will contain forward-looking statements and other material information regarding the company’s financial and operating results. Following completion of the call, a recorded replay of the webcast will be available on the website. For those without access to the Internet, a replay of the call will be available beginning at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on February 9, 2012 through February 16, 2012 at 9:00 p.m. Pacific Time. To listen to the telephone replay, call (855) 859-2056, access code 45016554.

Upcoming Events
Management will participate in upcoming financial Q&A discussions at investment industry events on February 14th, February 27th, and March 13th.  LinkedIn will furnish a link to these events on its investor relations website, http://investors.linkedin.com/for both the live and archived webcasts.

About LinkedIn 
Founded in 2003, LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful. With more than 150 million members worldwide, including executives from every Fortune 500 company, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network on the Internet. The company has a diversified business model with revenue coming from member subscriptions, marketing solutions and hiring solutions. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, LinkedIn has offices across the globe.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement its consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP, the company uses the following non-GAAP financial measures: adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income, and non-GAAP EPS (collectively the “non-GAAP financial measures”). The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. The company uses these non-GAAP financial measures for financial and operational decision making and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons. The company believes that they provide useful information about operating results, enhance the overall understanding of past financial performance and future prospects, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in its financial and operational decision making. 

The company excludes the following items from one or more of its non-GAAP measures:

Stock-based compensation. The company excludes stock-based compensation because it is non-cash in nature and because the company believes that the non-GAAP financial measures excluding this item provide meaningful supplemental information regarding operational performance and liquidity. The company further believes this measure is useful to investors in that it allows for greater transparency to certain line items in its financial statements and facilitates comparisons to competitors’ operating results.

Amortization of acquired intangible assets. The company excludes amortization of acquired intangible assets because it is non-cash in nature and because the company believes that the non-GAAP financial measures excluding this item provide meaningful supplemental information regarding operational performance and liquidity. In addition, excluding this item from various non-GAAP measures facilitates internal comparisons to historical operating results and comparisons to competitors’ operating results. 

Income tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments. Excluding the income tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments from the provision for income taxes assists investors in understanding the tax provision related to those adjustments and the effective tax rate related to ongoing operations.

Assumed preferred stock conversion. As a result of the company’s initial public offering, all outstanding shares of preferred stock were automatically converted into shares of Class B common stock. Consequently, non-GAAP diluted net income per share has been calculated assuming the conversion of all outstanding shares of preferred stock into shares of Class B common stock. 

For more information on the non-GAAP financial measures, please see the “Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP Financial Measures” table in this press release.  This accompanying table has more details on the GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to non-GAAP financial measures and the related reconciliations between these financial measures. Additionally, the company has not reconciled adjusted EBITDA guidance to net income guidance because it does not provide guidance for other income (expense) and provision for income taxes, which are reconciling items between net income (loss) and adjusted EBITDA. As items that impact net income (loss) are out of the company’s control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted, the company is unable to provide such guidance. Accordingly, a reconciliation to net income (loss) is not available without unreasonable effort.

Safe Harbor Statement 
“Safe Harbor” statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-looking statements about our products, including plans for 2012 and our Talent Pipeline product, our planned investments in key strategic areas, and our expected financial metrics such as revenue, adjusted EBITDA, depreciation and amortization and stock-based compensation for the first quarter of 2012 and the full fiscal year 2012. The achievement or success of the matters covered by such forward-looking statements involves risks, uncertainties and assumptions.  If any such risks or uncertainties materialize or if any of the assumptions prove incorrect, the company’s results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements the company makes.

The risks and uncertainties referred to above include – but are not limited to – risks associated with: the company’s short operating history in a new and unproven market; engagement of its members; the price volatility of our Class A common stock, including in connection with the release of any restrictions on trading in the company’s stock; general economic conditions; expectations regarding the return on our strategic investments; execution of our plans and strategies; expectations regarding the company’s ability to timely and effectively scale and adapt existing technology and network infrastructure to ensure that its website is accessible at all times with short or no perceptible load times; security measures and the risk that the company’s website may be subject to attacks that degrade or deny the ability of members to access the company’s solutions; members and customers curtailing or ceasing to use the company’s solutions; the company’s core value of putting members first, which may conflict with the short-term interests of the business; privacy issues; increasing competition in the market for online professional networks; and the dual class structure of the company’s common stock.

Further information on these and other factors that could affect the company’s financial results is included in filings it makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the company’s Form 10-Q that was filed for the quarter ended September 30, 2011, and additional information will also be set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011.  These documents are available on the SEC Filings section of the Investor Information section of the company’s website at http://investors.linkedin.com/. All information provided in this release and in the attachments is as of February 9, 2012, and LinkedIn undertakes no duty to update this information.

Lovestagram is being billed as Trigger’s Valentine’s Day gift to Krieger. It allows Instagram users to create custom Valentines Day cards from their photos on Instagram.

It’s a sweet gift and potentially great new service for those who want to make something a little special for their significant others this Valentine’s Day.

Trigger built Lovestagram from scratch after learning Python, Django, Jinja, HTML, CSS, jQuery and Photoshop. It’s an impressive feat and makes the idea behind Lovestagram all the more sweet.

The only downside of course is that it requires an Instagram account to use and the service is only on the iPhone. Us Android users are just left out of the romance, but hey, at least we go straight for the lovemaking instead of wasting time on Valentine’s Day cards.

Here’s an example: