In Brazil, Domino's makes rented DVDs smell like pizza

In Brazil, Domino's makes rented DVDs smell like pizza

Don't forget the napkins when you watch a DVD in Brazil.

In Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Domino's has teamed up with 10 rental stores to use movie DVDs for an unusual marketing push.

Users pop in a rented DVD like they would any other, and after they've watched the film and take the disc out, the DVD disc shows a picture of a pizza and emits the aroma of one of Domino's pies.

The DVDs have thermal ink and flavored varnish to create the effect. When the DVD is played, both materials react to the DVD player's heat. That changes the DVD from a standard gray disc into an aromatic piece of advertising.

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Also visible on the discs after their transformation is a bit of text in Portuguese that translates into, "Did you enjoy the movie? The next one will be even better with a hot and delicious Domino's Pizza." 

The advertising can be found on popular new releases such as "Argo," "Skyfall" and "The Dark Knight Rises," according to Ad Age.

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Yahoo is to hold a news conference Monday in New York to announce "product-related news." Above, Yahoo headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif.

Yahoo plans announcement Monday in N.Y., Tumblr's hometown

Yahoo is set to hold a news conference Monday, and many believe the company might announce it is acquiring Tumblr.

Rumors began swirling Friday about the possible acquisition, saying Yahoo is interested in buying Tumblr, a social network whose popularity has soared recently, especially among teens and young adults. According to reports, the deal could be worth as much as $1 billion.

Since Marissa Mayer took became chief executive of Yahoo last year, the company has been buying small start-ups, including one by a 17-year-old British entrepreneur for $30 million. Tumblr would be Mayer's biggest purchase yet.

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Yahoo did not say much about the event other than that it will be announcing "product-related news." The official event invitation says, "Join us as we share something special."

Adding intrigue to the event is the conference's location. It will be in New York City, where Tumblr is based. Additionally, Mayer herself will be speaking.

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A watchdog group has filed a complaint against Snapchat with the FTC, asking it to investigate the mobile app company and require it to improve its data security.

Privacy watchdog EPIC files complaint against Snapchat with FTC

SAN FRANCISCO -- A privacy watchdog group is going after Snapchat for deceiving users about self-destructing messages that don't actually self-destruct.

The smartphone app has become popular with young people for sending messages that a few seconds later disappear. That clever disappearing act has made the Los Angeles start-up a hit with users and some prominent investors in Silicon Valley.

But it turns out that photos sent over Snapchat have a longer shelf life than people think. They don't vanish -- at least not entirely -- and can be retrieved in some cases.

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The Electronic Privacy Information Center on Friday filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

"Snapchat is the app that promises to delete photos but it doesn't," said Marc Rotenberg, EPIC's executive director. "We have no problem with apps that make photos vanish. But they should work as promised, and if they don't the Federal Trade Commission should investigate."

Snapchat does...

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Fake Chrome ad from Microsoft mocks Google

Fake Chrome ad from Microsoft mocks Google

For months, Microsoft has been going after Google with its Scroogled ad campaign, but a new ad that reportedly came from Microsoft is the harshest yet.

[Updated, 2:46 p.m. May 17: A spokesman for Microsoft has confirmed that the company did make the video, but it was for internal purposes.]

Right in the middle of Google's annual developers conference in San Francisco this week, a new ad made its way onto YouTube, criticizing Google's Chrome browser.

The ad, which can be seen above, closely mimics Google's real Chrome ads, but instead of playing up the browser's features, the ad warns users that Chrome tracks everything they do.

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"Everything everywhere is tracked to target you with ads, to monetize your personal info," the ad says.

The ad then goes on to say users get tracked even while they surf the Web using Chrome while they're in bed, at the doctors and even when they use the restroom.

"Google watches everything you do," it says. "And uses it to...

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The iPhone 5 and other Apple products might not just be for civilians anymore.

Pentagon approves military use of iPhones and iPads

The U.S. Defense Department on Friday approved the use of iOS devices for its network and systems, setting up a fight among Apple, Samsung and BlackBerry for the department's business.

The Pentagon said it will allow the use of Apple devices running iOS 6, the tech company's latest version of its mobile operating system. That approval comes as part of what the Pentagon said was a way to boost competition and allow its personnel to use the latest and greatest consumer devices.

Approval of Apple's devices comes two weeks after the Pentagon OK'd BlackBerry and Samsung devices for military use.

READ: Pentagon OKs Samsung, Blackberry devices for government use

The approval of Apple, BlackBerry and Samsung's "operating systems demonstrate [Defense Information Systems Agency’s] commitment to validate a range of devices that meet DoD security standards so the best technology is available to achieve DoD mission requirements," the department said in a statement Friday.

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AT&T blocking cellular video calls made with new Google Android app

AT&T blocking cellular video calls made with new Google Android app

Google's Hangouts messaging app has been receiving generally positive reviews since it was launched Wednesday, but when it comes to Android users on AT&T's network, it's hit a bit of a snag: The carrier isn't allowing users to make cellular video calls.

Google introduced the new Android and iOS app during the keynote at its annual developers conference. The app is designed to make it easier for users to communicate with their friends through Google by sending messages or making video calls, whether from their smartphone, tablet or computer.

When the app is used on a smartphone or a cellular-connected tablet, Hangouts can also send messages using an individual's data plan. Making video calls over cellular networks is also allowed by most major carriers, but when Android AT&T users try the feature, they are getting a message telling them they must be on a Wi-Fi network to make a video call.

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When asked why this is happening, AT&T blamed Google and the...

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Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer may be looking at acquiring the blogging service Tumblr.

Will Yahoo splurge on $1-billion acquisition of Tumblr?

SAN FRANCISCO -- Will Yahoo buy Tumblr?

That's the $1-billion question du jour courtesy of All Things D.

The struggling Internet giant is reportedly in serious talks to buy the blogging service in a deal that could be worth as much as $1 billion.

Yahoo declined to comment. Tumblr could not be reached for comment.

Since former Google executive Marissa Mayer took over Yahoo last year, she has snapped up 10 small companies including Summly, which summarizes news stories, and Snip.it, a content curation site. She has also sized up a lot of potential mega-deals including Pinterest, DailyMotion and, yes, Tumblr.

All of these targets have something Yahoo does not: They are popular with the highly desirable 18-to-34-year-old set.

"There was a kid in my high school who used to buy the popular kids lunch so he could sit with them. Yahoo has become that kid," TechCrunch's Alexia Tsotsis wrote in response to the Tumblr reports.

Trendy Tumblr would be a real splurge for Yahoo. But it is hip with...

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Samsung says the 10 millionth Galaxy S 4 will probably be sold next week.

Samsung on the verge of selling 10 millionth Galaxy S 4 smartphone

It hasn't even been on sale for a month, but already the Galaxy S 4 is about to sell its 10 millionth unit.

Shin Jong-kyun, Samsung's co-chief executive, said the company believes the GS4 could hit that mark as soon as next week, according to the Korea Times.

"It is selling much faster than the previous model S3,” Jong-kyun said on Thursday in Seoul. Samsung's Galaxy S III was one of the most popular smartphones to hit the market before the company rolled out the successor, GS4.

Last year Samsung was also quick to hit the 10-million mark with the Galaxy S III, but that took all of two full months. The GS4 is on track to be Samsung's fastest-selling smartphone of all time.

VIDEO: Samsung Galaxy S 4 review

"The S4 will be Samsung’s first 10 million seller device less than a month after its official debut,” the co-CEO said, according to the report.

The popular phone debuted in various parts of the world in late April. It is currently available in the U.S. from AT&T,...

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Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) tries Google Glass after a meeting of the Republican Party caucus.

Lawmakers ask Google's Larry Page to address Glass privacy issues

SAN FRANCISCO -- Months before the futuristic glasses become publicly available, Google Glass is already getting scrutiny from Capitol Hill.

Eight members of Congress on Thursday sent a letter to Google Chief Executive Larry Page to ask what his company will do to protect people's privacy.

The letter landed on the second day of Google's annual conference for software developers, many of whom are already wearing an early version of Google Glass. Developers paid $1,500 a pair for the Explorer prototype and are learning how to write software for the wearable computing device. During the conference Google announced new apps for Glass from Facebook and Twitter, among others.

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The letter from Rep. Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, and seven other lawmakers raised privacy issues and asked what Google would to prevent Google Glass from "unintentionally collecting data about the user/non-user without consent."

"Is it true that this product would be able to use...

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Bill Gates can afford to smile -- he's once again the richest man in the world.

Bill Gates is once again the richest man in the world

He may be retired, but that's not kept Bill Gates from regaining the top spot as the richest man in the world.

Gates, 57, who co-founded and led Microsoft to the top of the tech world before retiring from day-to-day operations in 2008, has a fortune valued at $72.7 billion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.

The feat was reached because Microsoft's stock has been on a tear and increased Gates' fortune by $10 billion. Since the start of 2013, Microsoft shares have climbed 28%, despite the struggles of the company's latest operating system, Windows 8.

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At the same time, Mexico's Carlos Slim has seen his fortune's fall as a result of a bill passed by Mexico's Congress that loosened the stranglehold his company, America Movil SAB, had on the Mexican telecommunications market, according to Bloomberg. Slim's fortune fell by $2 billion to $72.1 billion. 

Gates previously held the title of richest man in 2007, when he was unseated by Warren Buffett,...

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The Apple App Store hit 50 billion downloads this week, but Google Play isn't too far behind.

Apple reaches 50 billionth app download with Google on its tail

It has been five years since Apple's App Store launched, and on Wednesday, the digital store reached a new milestone: 50 billion app downloads.

The Cupertino tech company celebrated the occasion by rewarding the person who downloaded the 50 billionth app with an App Store gift card worth $10,000, a practice Apple does each time one of its digital stores reaches a major milestone.

“The App Store completely transformed how people use their mobile devices and created a thriving app ecosystem that has paid out over $9 billion to developers," Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet software and services, said in a statement. "We’re absolutely floored to cross this milestone in less than five years.”

PHOTOS: The top smartphones of 2013

The lucky downloader was Brandon Ashmore of Mentor, Ohio, who chose to download the app "Say the Same Thing," a game where users try to guess the same word as a friend who they are playing with. The app was created by Damian...

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