Here’s an interesting article, as Twitter is working with the innovative Stripe payment service to make it easy for people and companies to sell things through Twitter.

It will be interesting to see how this evolves and whether it will affect the user experience on Twitter in a bad way. I guess anyone who send sout to many “buy this” tweets can risk losing followers. The game is changing . . .

Do you realize that there are more than a million mobile apps in the Apple and Google app stores? How many fo them do you think end up being huge financial successes for their developers? That figure is less than one percent according to a recent study. Huge hits like Smapchat gets tons of buzz, and naturally that gets programmers and entrepreneurs excited, but the odds of success are much lower than many would expect.

All of this makes sense of course. There are many areas in the app universe that are very mature these days, like productivity apps and dating apps. Then you have tons of apps for successful online services, news feeds and games. The options are practically unlimited. If you want to play Online Bingo Games Get £40, Spend £10 | William Hill Bingo you now have app options along with web options. Consumers have so many options now to be enterained by apps. This crowded space makes things very difficult for app developers to break through.

In order to gain success, several thresholds need to be met, with creativity and originality being at the top of the list. But many apps actually meet that standard as every aspect of our lives are being analyzed to see if they can be made easier or more fun through an app. This of course is a very healthy process and leads to a ton of innovation.

But marketing is also critical. Sure, some apps just explode like wildfire as soon as they are released. And it helps to have connections to influential angels who can turbocharge a product just by sending out a tweet. But if you don’t have a Kevin Rose involved, then you need to think long and hard about your marketing plan. Some companies budget serious dollars for the tech development but then hardly have a budget for marketing. In many cases that is a recipe for failure.

So it’s great to dream about creating that killer app that will make you rich, but the game of being successful here may be much harder than you think.

I have a question. Can you understand what dogs are saying?

You can’t huh? That’s absolutely crazy you say? I see, I see.

Well until very recently I would have agreed entirely. However, that was until a project called “No More Woof” exceeded its funding goal on indiegogo and got me thinking that perhaps we have all been too quick to jump to such a seemingly obvious conclusion.

“No More Woof” is an EEG reader and speaker system that your dog wears around their neck and on their head. From there it is able to read their neuro signals and brain waves in order to form and relay a basic idea of just what is going through their mind. Now while that does mean you won’t be having a conversation with your dog regarding the modern societal relevance of “Catcher in the Rye,” the device will be able to tell you if your pooch is tired, hungry, curious, and some other basic thoughts.

Believe it or not the technology fueling this idea is actually very much legitimate. However it has never been put together in such a fashion, for such a purpose, and on the consumer level. You’re perfectly justified then for maintaining a skeptical outlook regarding the prospects of this device’s functionality. However, there is enough in place to hint that this device may just be feasible, though on an admittedly simple level.

With 48 days left during its funding period, “No More Woof” is already $5,000 over its asking goal. If you want to get in on it early, the basic model is still available for an $85 contribution.

Way back when during a less hi-tech time of car ownership, if you wanted to impress someone with your car keys alone they either had to have a Ferrari logo on them, or had to be accompanied by a particularly humorous key chain attachment. Otherwise, they weren’t likely to generate much of a reaction on their own.

The new BMW i8 key, though, is more than capable of doing just that.

Resembling your basic smartphone design, the i8 key features a built in LCD screen which relays some vital information about your car when in use. As the i8 is a hybrid, its main purpose is to relay how much charge and fuel is left in your car, which is a handy little trick that isn’t hard to imagine becoming standard in the near future.

Function aside, though, the real selling point of this key is honestly its uber sleek looks. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the car its attached to looks to be one of 2014′s best and among the more exciting hybrids released to date.

Now, its very much worth noting that this doesn’t appear to be an official design at this time, and more of a highly circulated rumor of what the official model will look like. In any case, even if this is just an enthusiastic fan design, its not hard to imagine this being a good representation of the future of this technology and a very exciting one at that.

If you own a garage then the one thing you can probably attest to is that for all the space in it, the moment you start using it for storage of any additional items is just the first step towards the day that you look a the clutter where your car used to be and think “Where did it all go wrong?”

Even if you’re an expert at keeping your garage from looking like a cut episode of “Hoarders,” you will probably agree that there is too much wasted space in your garage that is just out of range from being useful.

There’s a project on Kickstarter now, though, that aims to improve the storage effectiveness of any garage owner whether they be the meticulous planner, or the stuff it to stow it type.

It’s called the myLIFTER and it’s essentially an easy to assemble and use electric winch and pulley. Controlled by an iPhone app (or optional remote) and designed to take advantage of the higher, traditionally empty, space in your garage, each myLIFTER can support up to 50 pounds and can be combined for larger items. That means that a single unit may be good for holding some extra bags like this:

Wheras multiple units can easily hold any number of unbelievable things such as this:

Besides durability, ease of installation and use seem to be the biggest objectives of the myLIFTER designers. From everything shown, they seem to have accomplished that as this looks to be the simplest design of this type on the market that is still completely capable.

While that will obviously be easier to determine once the myLIFTER actually hits the market, considering that it has already passed its Kickstarter goal with some time to go, at least we know that a release date will come.

Of course if you’ve been looking at the pictures of this device in action and already formulating uses for it in your own garage, then be sure not to hesitate and pre-order one now while the funding is still going on.

I personally never got into all-in-one computers. As someone who primarily games on their PC I usually require a computer that can make virtual worlds tremble, and all-in-ones typically aren’t built with those kind of high specs in mind.

That being said, I do love the minimalistic style of their design and also very much understand their usefulness for certain demographics and needs. You’ve also got to appreciate the variety of all-in-one options on the market today, ensuring that there is usually the perfect option available for anyone in the market.

If that is you, be prepared to consider a new contender as LG has now unveiled the first all-in-one Chromebook called the Chromebase.

Besides being a real looker (the Mac influences in the design are immediately apparent), the Chromebase runs off of Chrome OS which means you should expect the reliable performance and smoother navigation that comes with the well designed platform. As usual, it’s power is pretty middle of the road (its 2GB RAM and the Intel Celeron CPU are the real buzzkills), but it should be able to handle average programs with relative ease.

Of course, while the price isn’t available yet, you should expect to see that as another selling point considering the low cost philosophy of the Chromebook line.

Otherwise, this is one sleek machine that should definitely be on the radar of all-in-one shoppers everywhere.

While I’m not sure when exactly ugly Christmas sweater went from genuinely dreaded gift from a well meaning grandmother, or perhaps maniacal aunt, to a hipster fashion trend that is now a highly coveted holiday accessory so popular that entire parties are themed around them, there’s no denying the shift did happen.

Should you find yourself falling victim to this trend this holiday season or perhaps even invited to one of those said parties, you’re going to naturally want to find yourself an ugly sweater of your own. While all of your favorite online outlets and shady thrift stores most likely offer some, there’s only one site that is offering an ugly Christmas sweater worthy of the modern age.

Designed by Digital Dudz and available through morphsuits.com, these sweaters each feature a velcro pocket that stores your Apple or Android phone and, in conjunction with an app, allows you to display a variety of animated Christmas themed images. The final effect gives off the, very convincing, illusion that your sweater image is animated on its own accord. In the case of the fireplace sweater, you can even interact with the animation by double tapping your phone to extinguish and ignite the fire at your will.

Going for around $55 a piece, this will likely become the most expensive sweater you’ll ever own and only wear maybe once a year for a laugh. However, in that pursuit,  they are incredible successes that are sure to draw a significant amount of passerby attention, or make you the unofficial “winner” of any ugly sweater party should that be your thing.

When famed game company Valve announced the introduction of the open source linux based “Steam OS” earlier this year to compliment their new line of Steam Machines, they made it clear that they have every intention of bringing PC gaming to the living room in a way never thought possible.

While nobody who’s ever glanced at their success record would ever doubt Valve’s ability to accomplish this goal, the lack of specifics on the subject at the time of announcement left some questioning just how they’d accomplish such a herculean effort within the industry.

Since then, however, the unveiling of a few Steam Machine prototypes to go along with some additional details regarding the OS, have cleared up the picture somewhat and rightfully raised expectations.

However no prototype has personally intrigued me more than the recently announced Jetpack PC from PiixL.

Described as a slimline PC, the Jetpack is capable of sliding into your TV frame whether it is mounted or propped up on a stand. Once installed it allows you to instantly start using your TV as a PC that can support either Windows or Steam OS. While the specs are not currently available, PiixL has said the Jetpack has universal GPU compatibility and looks to be more or less as customizable as a standard desktop (though some parts like power supplies are likely not interchangeable).

Starting at a $1,000, the practicality of the Jetpack as a gaming PC solution is going to depend largely on whether or not on the built in specs and exactly how customizable and accessible it is.

Regardless of the specifics though, the Jetpack is an amazing example of the creativity inspired by Valve’s big move into the living room. If this is only an early example of the technology that will be fueling that move, then the coming years should be very interesting for the PC gaming revolution.

The mobile gaming industry has made significant strides in terms of technological development and animation. The industry, once secondary to that of console and desktop games, now dominates the market with more than £20 million mobile gamers in the UK alone.

Many argue that the rise in mobile gaming is thanks to the launch of the very first iPhone back in 2007. The release of this product and the invention of the App Store soon after revolutionised the world of mobile gaming, and games at large.

The rise of mobile gambling

The iPhone was also one of the first to launch a mobile gambling product, and the industry has taken flight ever since. The mobile gambling sector has specifically managed to lead the way graphically, which is surprising considering the gambling industry as a whole has always been lagging slightly behind when it comes to its animation. Mobile casinos like Fortune Frenzy have impressed most users with their excellent game play, smooth animation and great graphics. Having updated most of their games in HD this year, 2014 will see the mobile casino upgrading all of their games in high definition, as well as a variety of new releases.

The improvements that Fortune Frenzy has made to its games both reflects the mobile gaming market now, and anticipates its development for 2014. The industry is due for massive expansion thanks to the increasing amount of smartphone owners, the rise in mobile games, and the amount of mobile gamers opting to gamble on their phone.

A study produced by the relatively new mobile casino shows that there is a rise in smartphone owners who gamble on their devices, or would consider gambling in the future. This statistic may be skewed by the overall increase in smartphone owners, but does point to the fact that attitudes to mobile gambling are beginning to change. Once considered a pastime that only a few indulged in, now many smartphone owners are far more tempted to have a spin or place a bet.

Whether you find them behind suspiciously hollow walls, buried in suspiciously placed staircases, or at the end of a suspiciously long corridor filled with more enemies from hell with the capability to rip your throat out through your feet than you knew could ever exist, it has always been a constant joy to discover video game treasure chests.

Unfortunately treasure chests in the real world tend to be far more rare, meaning the joy of discovering one doesn’t really enter your day to day life. You can let this fact bum you out, or you can do something about it by picking up one of the 8-bit treasure chests available from Think Geek.

This 4” wide box painted in a pixelated art style runs off of two AA batteries, and stores the various items you can fit into it. Adding to the video game motif is a “Pulp Fiction” style glow that emits when you open it, along with an 8-Bit style tune that plays when you do the same (though it sadly isn’t the “Legend of Zelda” secret discovery tune).

Sure it’s not exactly discreet, but many things that are bad ass rarely are. At $29.99 this is the perfect gift for the gamer in your life, even if it does just serve as a desk decoration.