(Photo: Wikipedia)

An "overwhelming" percentage of cyberattacks on U.S. corporations and government agencies seem to originate out of a 12-story Chinese Army complex in a rundown neighborhood of Shanghai. [NYT]

Microsoft says it has signed up 60 million active users for its free, web-based Outlook email service, and that one-third of those users switched over from Gmail. [Bloomberg]

The liquidation of Ecomom was precipitated, at least in part, by aggressive bets on how much merchandise the ecommerce site could move. [PandoDaily]

A handful of developers in San Francisco and New York had a chance to play with Google Glasses earlier this month, as Google engineers sought feedback on their API.  [ArsTechnica]

Finally, the true tale of Times reporter's John M. Broder and Tesla's Model S sedan. [AllThingsD]

This is a guest post from Gary Sharma (aka “The Guy with the Red Tie”), founder and CEO of GarysGuide and proud owner of a whole bunch of black suits, white shirts and, at last count, over 40 red ties. You can reach him at gary [at] garysguide.com.

Sooooo...it's that time of the year again. SXSW (a.k.a. Spring Break for Geeks) is right around the corner, running March 8 to 12 in Austin, Texas. And you know what that means: Parties, parties 'n more parties!! :) So, once again, we're putting together what we hope will be THE definitive guide to all this year's SXSW Interactive parties. We'll be updating this list regularly, so check back often. And email me if you're organizing an event or a party.

Of course, I'll be at SXSW ... attending all (or as many as humanly possible) of the amazing parties, mixers, networking events, lounges, panels, keynotes, BBQs, nuclear taco nights, concerts, happy hours, karaokes, food trucks, block parties and what-have-you.

So if you can't make it down to Austin this year but still wanna get the word out about your amazing startup / company / firm / service / app / project, you can do so. How, you ask? Well, by sponsoring my Red Tie of course, and covering it in your company's awesome logo stickers and giving me your company's elevator pitch. If you're interested, shoot me an email at gary@garysguide.com for more details.

In the meantime, here's my blog post / highlights from last year's SXSW to give you a little taste of what to expect.

FYI, next week is probably the most exclusive hackathon of the year. Google's Project Glass will be holding a two-day hackathon (February 1 to 2) in New York City that'll allow developers to get an early look at Glass so they can start developing for the platform. Google engineers will be on site to help at any point in the process, and developers will have the opportunity to show off what they’ve been working on.

So, how to score an invite: Your guess is as good as mine! If you were one of the smart ones who shelled out $1,500 for the early access to Google Glass you're on the list. Or you could try pinging Googler Aygul Zagidullina and hope you get lucky! Well, for those of you who don't make it, here's a pic of Sergey Brin sporting his Google Glasses on the subway.

In other news, the NYC EDC is partnering with the Lawrence Field Center for Entrepreneurship at Baruch College to create Competition THRIVE, and they're seeking original, innovative strategies and programs that help immigrant entrepreneurs succeed in business. In Round 1, $25,000 will be awarded to five semi-finalists to pilot their program and create a business plan. And in Round 2, $100,000 will be awarded to one grand prize winner to further scale their program. Submission period is February 1 to March 7. For more information, check out the website or email competitionthrive@baruch.cuny.edu.

On January 30, my buddy Haithem is organizing the Lemonade Heroes Yacht Party. It's gonna be a crazy night of dancing, drinking, mixing and mingling--on a yacht.
You'll be getting photographed on a red carpet, and you'll have a shot at an audition for an entrepreneurship TV series and book.

More stuff you don't wanna miss this week: AppNexus Speaker Series (with Fab.com CEO Jason Goldberg) on the 23rd, PandoMonthly Presents (with Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson) on the 24th and Amusemi's 1 Year Anniversary Party+Dinner on the 26th.

Last week my buddy Charlie Todd & the folks at Improv Everywhere organized their twelfth Annual No Pants Subway Ride. Over 4,000 participants showed up. Here's the recap and video. And my friends Jen and Allison are back with another hilarious edition of Blogologues, playing this week on the 24th, 25th and 26th at Under St Marks (and yes, there will be giveaways!).

And now let's see what's going down in the Alley this week...

DUMBO Improvement District Annual Meeting
All members of the DUMBO community are invited to hear the latest on hurricane recovery efforts and learn what's in store for the neighborhood in 2013. The coveted DUMBO "Magic Feather" awards will be given to Rachel Haot (New York's chief digital officer), Susan Feldman (artistic director, St. Ann's Warehouse) and Jerry Hultin (president, NYU-Poly).
Tuesday (Jan. 22), 5 p.m. @ Galapagos Art Space, 16 Main Street

Next Top Makers: The Business of Design
Join the creators of New York’s Next Top Makers for an evening of education, guidance, and networking. Hear from IDEO storytelling gurus why good design doesn’t always speak for itself, and learn about the role of a designer in a world of 3D printers.
Tuesday (Jan. 22), 7 p.m. @ 3DEA Pop-Up Store @ Eventi Hotel, 835 6th Avenue

The Future of Education #1: New Models for 21st Century Learning
Panelists include Brad Hargreaves (founding partner, General Assembly), Kane Sarhan (cofounder, Enstitute), Juliette LaMontagne (founder & director, Breaker) and Abigail Besdin (head of Skillshare's education team).
Wednesday (Jan. 23), 6:30 p.m. @ Centre For Social Innovation Pop-Up Space, 601 W. 26th Street, #360

AppNexus Speaker Series
Brian O'Kelley (CEO, AppNexus) will host a fireside chat with Jason Goldberg (CEO, Fab.com) and Jared Cluff (VP Marketing, Fab.com).
Wednesday (Jan. 23), 6:30 p.m. @ AppNexus, 28 W. 23rd Street

How to Build Great Communities: Lets Collaborate!
With Sheila Karaszewski (community manager, Airbnb), Tony Bacigalupo (cofounder, New Work City), Andrew Wagner (director & editor-in-chief, Krrb) and James Wahba (cofounder, Projective Space). Moderated by Melissa Young (founder, Let's Collaborate!)
Wednesday (Jan. 23), 7 p.m. @ Projective Space L.E.S., 72 Allen Street

#ArtsTech 4 Year Anniversary Party!
Open Bar with 3 Pernod Absinthe cocktails from 7-8 pm. Variety of grilled panini appetizers. Photobooth by Styleblaster. Tunes by DJ Winslow Porter. Video art by Sabrina Ratte, Mr. Div, Yoshi Sodeoka and Andreas Nicholas Fischer
Wednesday (Jan. 23), 7 p.m. @ The Counting Room, 44 Berry Street, Brooklyn

PandoMonthly Presents
A fireside chat with Chad Dickerson (CEO, Etsy)
Thursday (Jan. 24), 6 p.m. @ Projective L.E.S., 72 Allen Street

dd:COLLECTIVE - The Changing Retail Environment (Presented by Digital DUMBO)
Featured speakers include Philippe von Borries (Co-Founder, Refinery29), Keith George (General Manager, Gilt Man by Gilt Groupe) and Claire Mazur (Co-Founder, Of a Kind).
Thursday (Jan 24), 6:30 p.m. @ Huge, 45 Main St , Ste 220, Brooklyn

Dinner, Cupcakes, Wine & Technology!
Introducing the inaugural NJ Tech Gals meetup!
Thursday (Jan 24), 7 p.m. @ Hoboken Business Center, 50 Harrison Street (2nd Fl), Hoboken

Nike+ Accelerator (powered by TechStars) Recruiting Tour
Join the team from Nike and TechStars to hear about the Nike+ Accelerator. Some local quantified self demos. And the team from Nike will be bringing along some SWAG, including some Nike+ FuelBands!
Thursday (Jan 24), 7 p.m. @ TechStars NYC HQ , 36 Cooper Square, 6th Fl.

Power Breakfast
With Susan Feldman (cofounder, One Kings Lane)
Friday (Jan. 25), 8 a.m. @ Fordham Graduate School of Business, 113 W. 60th Street, 12th Fl.

NYC Mobile Startup Weekend
Where developers, designers, marketers, product managers and buddying entrepreneurs gather together to share ideas, form teams and spend the weekend building and launching a startup.
Friday (Jan. 25), 6 p.m. @ WeWork Soho Lounge, 154 Grand Street

2013 Brooklyn Inventgenuity Festival: Digital By Hand
A popular annual winter celebration of making things for kids and their parents. With public projects and workshops led by Beam Center’s faculty of artists, engineers and big thinkers. This year’s theme: Digital by Hand.
Saturday (Jan. 26), 11 a.m. @ The Invisible Dog Art Center, 51 Bergen Street

Amusemi 1 Year Anniversary Party + Dinner
Celebrate the anniversary of our first startup dining event. Register for Amusemi to get on the guest list.
Saturday (Jan. 26), 7 p.m. @ TBD

More events on the horizon...
TEDxBroadway: Industry leaders envision the future of Broadway on Jan. 28 @ New World Stages
NYC Gaming January: Demo Night on Jan. 29 @ Microsoft
Brooklyn Tech Meetup with Victoria Brown on Jan. 29 @ Feil Hall, Brooklyn Law School
Lemonade Heroes Yacht Party featuring a chance to Audition for a TV Series! on Jan. 30 @ Hornblower Inifinity
Entrepreneurship in the Beer Industry on Jan. 30 @ Professor Thoms
dd:SOCIAL - 4 Year Anniversary & dd:A-LIST Crowdfunding Launch on Jan. 31 @ The DUMBO Loft
Business Insider Presents: Social Commerce Summit on Feb. 06 @ Pier 60
UX Design and User Experience Optimization Trends on Feb. 06 @ Anchin
Hearst Fashion Hackathon 2013 on Feb. 09 @ Hearst
Social Media Week NY 2013 on Feb. 18 @ Metropolitan Pavilion
AIPAC Technology Division: Launch Event w/Dan Senor on Feb. 27 @ Bloomberg Tower

Until next week. Stay thirsty social, my friends! ;)

Mobile devices: For so much more than Instagramming your dinner. (Photo: flickr.com/sixteenmilesofstring)

We've all done it: An argument breaks out at the bar/dinner table/book club meeting, about a half-remembered line of poetry or factoid about the American Revolution. What was Mick Jagger's childhood nickname? Only Google can tell you for sure. So someone hauls out a smartphone and lickety-split, the matter is settled. Back to brunch! 

Well, the matter isn't settled as far as Google is concerned, reports The New York Times. Rather than being a mere 30-second in-case-of-emergency argument ender, the company wants its search products integrated ever-deeper into your socializing, like that one dude who doesn't know when to stop dropping Trivial Pursuit factoids at the cocktail party.

According to the Times:

Googling the answer to a question has become accepted social behavior, but “it’s still somewhat awkward when you see that at a dinner party,” said Amit Singhal, senior vice president in charge of search at Google. “The key to the future is how can you make such conversations socially even more normal?”

And before you say, "duh, Google Glasses," we're talking about so much more than just being able to pull up an answer quickly, without digging in your tote for your phone:

“It’s not just a question of having screens everywhere or wearing a screen, but also this whole idea of phones and devices becoming more context-aware, so they can offer information that is highly relevant,” said Pattie Maes, founder and director of the M.I.T. Media Lab fluid interfaces group, which studies how to integrate digital information into daily life.

The example used: You and your companions begin discussing monarch butterflies; your Android pulls up a map of migratory patterns, like a total know-it-all.

We're calling it now: In fifty years, there will be no more trivia nights because no one in America will be able to retain any information whatsoever.

In the future, wearable computing will hopefully look less dorky. (Photo: Science Daily)

Good news for Ray Kurzweil and his fawning, would-be immortal groupies: wearable computing like the Nike fuel band and Google's Project Glass are basically sentient technologies, so we should be merging our souls with robots any day now.

Network World published an in-depth look at the future of wearable computing yesterday, and apparently many analysts believe wearable devices will be a dominant industry within the next three years. And not only that, but technologies like vibrating tattoos and video goggles will eventually learn our basic wants and needs, predicting and serving our desires without us programming them to do so.

And so it begins.

According to an analyst at research company Altimeter Group:

Our research around this sentient world has more to do with the fact that machines and environments will begin to learn over time instead of simply anticipating our commands or making our commands easier to input. We believe that during the next 18 months, we'll see more and more mass-market applications for multiple sensors on and around us that will take advantage of our omnipresent connected computers (mobile) to gather and communicate data and, in later phases, begin to proactively serve us.

That means that you could be passing by a coffee shop while wearing Google Glasses, and your Glasses could alert you to the fact that it's around the time you usually like caffeine. Sounds pretty awesome to us.

Of course, there is a vaguely creepy element to all of that: "It will follow us wherever we are," one researcher told Network World, presumably before scaring the ever living crap out of the interviewer with ghoulish noises and gestures.

(Photo: Patently Apple)

In the race to bring a computer to your face, Google has a clear lead, with Google Glasses expected on shelves by 2013. But if Jobesian history has taught us anything, we assumed that when iGlasses (iEyes, if they want to make it easier to discuss) comes out in, oh, let's say 2014, it will be a sleeker, more socially-adjusted affair. So we were surprised to come across a patent sketch that depicts them as anything but.

The patent, unearthed by Patently Apple, is for a future heads-up display that, "focuses on delivering Retina Display like quality," but in a smaller format. The whole thing will be powered by a battery smaller than the one in an iPhone. The US Patent Office released the application today, entitled "Display Resolution Increase with Mechanical Actuation."

But before you go shaving your head, the blog warns that this isn't a design patent--the graphic merely depicts a "generic" heads-up display. No doubt Apple will find a way to make it look "magical," before it hits stores. They're like Disney that way.

(Photo: Olympus)

Bonkers sky-diving demos really have a way of invigorating your competition, don't they? Not long after Google showed the world just what its Project Glass headsets can do, Olympus, the Japanese camera manufacturer, has announced its reentry into wearable computing with a prototype called the MEG4.0.

As The Verge notes, the glasses-mounted heads-up display has Bluetooth connectivity to work with smartphones. It will use Olympus' "proprietary optical technology" to optimize visibility of the world around you. The press release also promises eight hours of battery life (if you put it in "intermittent display mode"--i.e. switching on for 15 seconds every three minutes.) And a built-in accelerometer lets the device respond to the position of the user's head.

The company has been experimenting with head-mounted displays before and working on prototypes since 2005, but it's hard not to notice the timing.

GOOG shouldn't be that worried, however, considering Olympus hasn't figured out a way to work its core competency into the device: The MEG4.0 doesn't appear to include a camera.

Mr. Starner (cs.uoregon.edu)

In this month's MIT Technology Review, journalist Farhad Manjoo got a chance to talk with a technology lead for Google's Project Glass, Thad Starner. An associate professor at the Georgia Institute for Technology, Mr. Starner has been experimenting with wearable technologies since the mid-90s, and was tapped by Google to advise them on issues surrounding Project Glass, the company's attempt to commercialize computerized glasses.

Ever the skeptical journalist, Mr. Manjoo went into the meeting expecting to find the glasses polarizing and detrimental to social interaction. Also: dorky and vaguely creepy. Instead, Mr. Starner successfully convinced him that Google's glasses will actually amplify social interaction, stripping it of those awkward phone-checking asides and lulls in conversation when we go to respond to a text. In short, Google glasses could be a socially awkward person's best friend. Sign us up!

"One of the coolest things is that this makes me more socially graceful," Mr. Starner told Mr. Manjoo.

Mr. Manjoo continued:

Starner argues that a heads-up display will actually tether you more firmly to real-life social interactions. He says the video's augmented-­reality visualizations—images that are tied to real-world sights, like direction bubbles that pop up on the sidewalk, showing you how to get to your friend's house—are all meant to be relevant to what you're doing at any given point and thus won't seem like distracting interruptions.

Imagine being able to conjure up topics of conversation when you're socially frozen at a party, or coming up with the answer to a question you didn't know in the middle of an important interview. For the socially stunted among us, augmented reality glasses seem like a fresh new hope: Never again will we pause in the middle of conversation, awkwardly casting about for something to say.

That is, if Project Glass ever gets off the ground and into affordable territory. Mr. Starner said that the device he wore in the interview with Mr. Manjoo, which is not a Project Glass prototype and instead is his own design, costs $3,000. That's more than a new Macbook Pro, though Mr. Starner did say that the device had replaced every gadget he owns except for his Android phone.

Then again, maybe it's a good thing that Google glasses have yet to hit the market and be deemed in vogue. Can you imagine a bunch of people standing around in a bar watching YouTube  videos on their own displays? Worst party ever.

Snazzy, but slightly style-challenged. (Photo: Changizi.wordpress.com)

Googlers are swanning about all over the place wearing their Project Glass specs, snapping pics with the president of Turkey and showing them off to Charlie Rose. And sure, it's a pretty cool prototype. But can it help the search behemoth's more awkward employees make sense of human emotions? Didn't think so, Mr. Brin.

In a blog post yesterday (h/t Technology Review), Mark Changizi, director of human cognition at research outfit 2AI Labs, announced that the company has just received its first shipment of 02Amps, described as "patented eyewear that amplifies one’s view of the emotions and health visible in the color and pallor of other people’s skin."

And they didn't even have to raise money on Kickstarter.  

Essentially, the glasses commercialize Dr. Changizi's research suggesting that, "color vision evolved to sense oxygenation modulations in the hemoglobin under the skin." In short, we can see in color because it helps us (or rather, it helped some predecessor primate species) read others. Blushes would be the most obvious example, but a tool like these 2AI Labs might help us pick up even subtler signals.

So it lacks the social appeal of Google Glasses, which it looks like will allow you to take and share pictures (finally, a compelling G+ use case), but it's got interesting potential for, let's say, emergency room staffers and TSA security personnel. Dr. Changizi (who, before you boast about your busy schedule, is also a writer, researcher, and Discovery Channel host) outlines three different technologies developed specifically for medical use, including a vein finder, a "trauma detector," and a "general chemical enhancer," which incorporates both of the former.

But he rattles off other could-be applications, including "sports, poker, and dating." Poker we can see, but dating? Haven't you ever heard the old adage that men don't make passes at girls who wear futuristic emotion-reading glasses?

At any rate, provided the science is as solid as Dr. Changizi claims, the biggest problem we see with the glasses is that they look like something Bono would wear. Do they come with a squashed straw cowboy hat, as well?

But new evidence uploaded by Sergey Brin on his very own social network highlight some undeniable heft in the posterior region where, presumably, the battery is stored. "Look how big Google Glasses are behind the ear," wrote one alarmed commenter who posted the photo on Hacker News.

It's partly the angle, but the frames look like they protrude even more indelicately than the pair Sebastian Thrun, the pioneering Googler behind self-driving cars, wore to the set of Charlie Rose. Mr. Thrun is also the driver in the photo above, so at least you know they're also available in a preppy salmon hue. Maybe if they match your shirt stripes, no one will notice?

*Precogs not included.

You know when people say " . . . not until they figure out how to put computer chips in our brains"? Well this is one step closer. We would smash our iPad 2 on the floor right now if we could get our money back and spend it on this instead.

Yesterday evening, the New York Times' Nick Bilton reported that Google is planning to put its heads-up display [HUD] glasses, which "stream information to the wearer’s eyeballs in real time," to the public by the end of the year at somewhere between $250 and $600.

The people familiar with the Google glasses said they would be Android-based, and will include a small screen that will sit a few inches from someone’s eye. They will also have a 3G or 4G data connection and a number of sensors including motion and GPS.

9 to 5 Google's Seth Weintraub, who first broke the news about the glasses, reported earlier that they would look something a pair of Oakley Thumps, which is  . . . unfortunate, but the future apparently comes at the price of fashion.

The Times says the glasses will have a low-res built-in camera that "will be able to monitor the world in real time and overlay information about locations, surrounding buildings and friends who might be nearby." The glasses aren't meant to replace your regular specs, but rather should be donned as needed. Who are we kidding, though, when won't you need an Internet overlay on the world around you?

Earlier this month, 9 to 5 Google also reported that the device boasts a peculiar-sounding way of navigating the glasses:

“The navigation system currently used is a head tilting to scroll and click. We are told it is very quick to learn and once the user is adept at navigation, it becomes second nature and almost indistinguishable to outside users.”

We can't wait for all the etiquette columns about cellphone use to move onto the relative politeness of head-tilting at the dinner table.