Researchers Already Have a Twitter Generator That Predicts How You’ll Tweet

Twitter is great for making friends and sharing links, but researchers are also increasingly using it to study human interactions. This is more difficult than it sounds, since privacy settings and caps on server access can make it hard to gather research data from social networking sites.

Social Network Write Generator (SONG) generates data that closely replicates the behaviour of genuine tweeters. The team gathered 12 million tweets written by 2.4 million people between November 25 and December 4 2008. They cut out the 75% of users who didn't send a single tweet during the 19 day period and filtered for spammers by looking for accounts with a high tweet-to-followers ratio, leaving them with a dataset of around 350,000 users.

Analysing these users revealed a number of properties that the team replicated in SONG. They found that general tweeting levels build up during the day then die down at night, but also fluctuate in a predictable way from second to second and hour to hour.

The researchers also discovered that both the time between an individual's tweets and the variation between prolific tweeters and lurkers - non-active Twitter users - follows a standard mathematical model called the log-normal distribution.

Plugging these findings in to SONG let Erramilli and colleagues run their own version of Twitter on a network of 16 computers. By gradually increasing the number of tweets per second they discovered that CPU overload caused the network to falter at over 100 tweets per second and totally collapse at around 150. Presumably this means Twitter owns more than 16 computers.

The researchers say that this proof-of-concept shows that SONG can be used to accurately model Twitter, though beefier hardware might be necessary to get close to the real thing. They plan to release the code for SONG soon to let other researchers build their own virtual Twitters and model "what-if" scenarios such as high loads caused by trending topics or a sudden rise in popularity in particular geographical regions.

 

 

Verizon iPhone 4 Now Available to Order/Reserve For In-Store Pickup

Apple and Verizon's long-awaited partnership is nearly upon us, folks, and the final piece to the puzzle is general availability of the hallowed iPhone 4. You're now able to order or reserve your own at the online stores of both carrier and phone maker, though shipping dates for early orders are listed at a distant February 18th.

Dell promises a 10-inch Windows 7 tablet later this year

Dell's just announced that it's planning to bring a 10-inchWindows 7 tablet to market later this year. According to the press release, it will be aimed at commercial and enterprise markets. Sound familiar? Yep, it sounds like a HP Slate in the making, but let's hope this one is faster and sticks to its shipping schedule. 

 

 

Kyocera Double-Headed Echo Phone

The Kyocera Echo is the strangest phone I've ever seen. Inside, it's just mundane—but on the outside, it's a batshit bizarre, morphing, dual screen stab at DS form with iPad function.

Where it could have reveled in its strangeness, it's entirely weighed down by it. If you're adding a second full-size screen, it sure as hell better do something worthwhile. Extra space for your email. More space for contacts. It's slow. It's wasteful. It's essentially two average Androids stitched together.

It's just more glass. Multitasking—a term Kyocera and Sprint are hawking like a child who just learned a swear word for the first time is important. What's not important? Hypertasking and simultasking, two made up non-terms that Kyocera is flinging around.

Pentax reveals Optio WG-1 and WG-1 GPS rugged cameras, limited edition K-5 DSLR

Who woulda thunk it? Half a year ago, finding a conventional point-and-shoot with integrated GPS was a chore, but these days, it's growing tougher and tougher to find one without it. Pentax is joining thegeotagging frenzy this evening with its Optio WG-1 GPS, a rugged 14 megapixel shooter that's waterproof up to 33 feet, shockproof in nature and engineered with a "crushproof" body that can withstand weight force of up to 220 pounds (but not another Black Eyed Peas halftime show).

 You'll also get integrated face detection technology, the ability to snap in sub-freezing temperatures, a 5x optical zoom lens and a 2.7-inch rear LCD. There's also a 720p movie mode, HDMI output, IR control compatibility and support for Eye-Fi's wireless SD card. It'll ship this April in black or yellow-green for $399.95, and if you're uncomfortable remembering where you took each and every photograph, the GPS-less Optio WG-1 will also be available (in black or purple) for $50 less.

Nokia E7 Phone Finally Hitting Stores This Week

The smartphone that Nokia has been touting as its new "flagship" business model will finally reach consumers this week.

Nokia's announcement was mum on a number of launch details. However, a Nokia representative said that the E7 will be released first in Finland, the company's home turf.

The E7 includes the Symbian 3 operating system, a 4-inch AMOLED ClearBack touch screen designed to improve outdoor visibility, a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, an 8-megapixel camera with a dual LED flash and HD video capture, USB and HDMI connections, and 16GB of flash memory.

Geared for the business crowd, the phone offers built-in synchronization with Microsoft Exchange and comes with Office Communicator Mobile, a corporate instant messaging app developed by Microsoft specifically for Nokia smartphones.

Although still the world's leading mobile phone maker, Nokia has watched its dominance slowly slip over the past couple of years. Losing market share and sales to Apple and Android devices, the company reported lower earnings yet again in the fourth quarter of 2010. The E7 costs 495 euros ($674).

 

 

Inner City Bike Mates Simplicity with a Unicycle and a Fixie

The folks at Inner City Bikes put a fixie and a unicycle into a dark, sexy room, played some light jazz and let nature happen. Out popped this minimalist, chain-less bike. Practical? We'll see, but she's certainly a looker.

Now, whether that look you're giving is one of love or disgust probably depends on your propensity toward wearing a suit, Pumas and a beard while riding a bike.

She lacks the mechanical gear-shifting apparatus of her 21-speed cousins, and even the chain of her more closely related fixie brethren, but her bicycle heritage is unmistakable.

"Military Grade" iPhone Case Could Probably Take a Bullet

This one-of-a-kind $99 case, you see, is comprised of a variety of military-grade shock absorption and vibration-reducing materials.

 

 

The Seven Types of iPhone Users

Simplistic Horodron Watch Concept Hides Subtle E-Ink Secret

A concept for now, the time is displayed in white along the bottom.

 

 

Turn Your iPhone 4 Into A Video-Watching Monster With This Kickstand Battery Case

The iPhone isn't ideal for watching videos for a long period, it drains battery and is uncomfortable. The iKit Nu Charge's built-in battery and kickstand fix that.

It gives you 1400 mAh of power that can be switched on when needed. LED lights on the front show you how much power is left too.

The Nu Charge ships in March for $65 for both Verizon and AT&T iPhone 4.

 

 

The Moment You Wish You'd Paid for a Bigger Screen

The Sensation Urban lounger, by designer Alexander Christoff, looks ridiculously relaxing. That is, until you realize that looking at a 4-inch display from 6-feet away is basically the antithesis of comfort.

Nokia Bubbles lets you intelligently unlock your N8 in a pop

The humble unlock screen gets ever fancier, and Nokia Bubbles is one of the fanciest yet. Like a variety of aftermarket lock screens it enables you to control your media player or initiate calls before you even unlock your handset, but does so in an interesting way. You just grab the bubble for what you want and drop it on what you want to do. A simple unlock entails dragging the key onto the lock, and if you have a missed call you can grab that person's bubble and drag it to a phone to call them right back. Grab the music bubble to go straight to the music player and, well, you get the picture. Okay, so it's not quite as much fun as playing Puzzle Bobble, but it is ever so slightly more useful. 

 

 

The JVC GX-PX1 Is a Great Looking Hybrid Camera

Inside the JVC GX-PX1's gigantic barrel and thin, slim body is a promising camera and camcorder hybrid. There's a 10x optical zoom, 10-megapixel camera, 1080/60p HD video recording at up to 36Mbps, and can shoot at 60fps at 5.7-megapixels.

The 3-inch LCD swivels and the camera comes with 32GB of internal memory. No price or release date out yet, but it's supposed to release by the end of the month.

Capture Your Snowy Personal Disasters in Glorious 1080p with This Goggle Cam

A big part of success on the slopes is confidence, right? And what better way to feel confident than by knowing every deft downhill maneuver (or horrible, ankle-shattering spill) will be remembered in HD? Liquid Image's goggles do just that.

The Impact HD 1080p will be exciting for anyone with the least bit of coordination, providing a 136 degree field of view video at 30 fps. It'll hold an SD card of up to 32 GB, which should keep you stocked for your trip to the bottom of the mountain, whether you ski or tumble down.

 

 

A Better Soda Can

Aluminum cans are convenient! So why would we need a better soda can? Well because even though they're recyclable, they're not really reusable. This soda can is not only reusable, it's also biodegradable. Better for everybody!

It's humorously called the TIN CAN though its made from PLA (poly-lactic acid), which means some sort of corn starch that can retain some plastic properties (and also, one of the better eco-friendly materials around).

Paraffin Light Bulbs

Oyule Light Bulbs are filled with paraffin and use a wick instead of a filament, so basically they become what the light bulb replaced: A paraffin lamp.

To ensure they stay upright, there's a magnet placed in the base of the bulb that corresponds to one in the acrylic base. 

 

 

How to Keep Your Facebook Secure (by Enabling HTTPS)

Facebook recently announced that they're adding full HTTPS support for the site, to keep you protected from attacks like Firesheep. The feature's finally rolling out, and here's how you can turn it on. To enable it, just hit "Account" in the upper-right hand corner of any Facebook window and go to "Account Settings".

Under "Account Security", hit the change button and check the box that says "Browse Facebook on a secure connection (https) whenever possible". Hit save and exit that window. From now on, whenever you connect to Facebook, it will default to an SSL-encrypted connection, keeping you safe on open Wi-Fi networks from Firesheep-like attacks. If you don't have it yet, you should have it pretty soon—so check back frequently to see if it pops up.

USB Compatible Jackets

Columbia's Electro Amp jacket is arguably as teched out as a jacket can get really. Designed by a former Intel engineer, the jacket warms itself through the carbon-fiber threads woven into the coat. And even it recharges via USB.

According to GearJunkie, the carbon fiber threads feel like yarn, and they can keep your warm for five hours straight on it's lowest heat setting. But slick tech such as this comes at a premium, and that premium is $1200 dollars. So, how cold are you?

The Internet Is Almost Out of IP Addresses

Ifyour grandmother's Facebook account wasn't a tell-tale sign that the internet has come of age, here's another: after this week, the internet will run out of new IPv4 addresses. But don't fret, because we're moving on up to IPv6!

For those unfamiliar with what IP addresses do, they serve as the internet's navigation system in many ways. When you type in a URL/domain name to visit a site, it's attached to an IP address which handles all the dirty work of connecting you to the server the website is stored on. Just like the Wall Street Journal says, this is a lot like the moment when phone companies in the U.S. switched to 10-digit numbers.

The IPv4 addresses theoretically range between 4 and 12 digits, have a size of 32-bits and have 4.3 billion possible address combinations. I'm fairly certain all of you have dealt with IPv4 addresses, which look something like this:

68.127.78.247

(or http://68.127.78.247, when entering them into a browser)

With the change to IPv6, addresses will be 128-bits in size and up to 32 digits long, allowing for 340 trillion trillion trillion unique addresses. When it is finally implemented, it will look something like this:

2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334

(or http://[2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334] in a browser)

And with a whole gang of other notation rules, configuring your router is going to be a bitch in the future. Oh, ALSO, we'll all have to get new routers! (Naturally)

But IPv6 is still in its infancy and is still a few years from being put into use on any sort of widespread level. Until then, the Internet will get by on a diet of repurposed and recycled IP addresses. But for a single day in June, Google, Facebook, Yahoo and a couple of other internet giants will switch over to IPv6-compatible servers to test out the new protocol and find out if there are any major kinks in the system.