This guy planned on making the blizzard a profitable one thanks to technology, and he didn't even have to plow a single driveway.

Someone in Brooklyn built an igloo in the blizzard, then listed it on Airbnb. Yes, you read that right. An igloo for rent on Airbnb.

The post described the rental as: "Dripping with ingenuity and alt-lifestyle aura lays the Snopocalypse of 2016's most desirable getaway. Hand-crafted, and built using only natural elements - we're offering the experience of a life time in this chic dome-style bungalow for you and bae."

It looks like they threw a couple blankets and plastic bagged pillows in there for good measure. Fancy, no? Especially at $200 / night!

Structural integrity aside, it does look pretty cozy inside. And they have lights!

The fresh powder on the dome's peak really sells the whole experience. As does the tiny pine tree hugging the exterior. Your own slice of Alaska in a Brooklyn backyard.

If your dream was to lodge at a site that was almost certainly added to Airbnb in jest, you're already too late. The company didn't take long before removing the listing.

Airbnb sent an appreciative and chipper take down notice to the builder: "We are happy to see that you guys are staying busy and having fun during Blizpocalypse. Unfortunately, your igloo, while very well constructed, has failed to meet our occupancy standards and has been removed from search results. Be sure to pick a place with running water, electricity, and a roof that doesn't melt."

Too bad...this could have been the most desired rental of 2016!

Paying with a credit card is so 2012. Welcome to 2013, where you can pay with your face!

You don't need your wallet if you shop at certain stores testing a new PayPal app that's prompting buzz. You instead can pay with your face and your phone.

Basically, it works this way: You download the PayPal app, which shows a list of participating stores. Upon entering a store, just check in on your phone by using a four-digit PIN. Done shopping? A clerk will see your photo and first name on his or her phone or tablet and click on your picture to charge your PayPal account.

"We very much see this as the future of money. By 2016, you'll be able to leave your wallet at home," Rob Harper, PayPal's London-based head of retail services, told The Telegraph in a video report. It's backed by the same security that PayPal has for online purchases, Harper told the BBC, so if the company thinks something looks suspicious, it will take steps.

It's getting buzz for being tested at a dozen merchants on the outskirts of London, such as Noble Jones fashion clothing store, where owner George Absi finds the system "quite useful. You can make payment anywhere in the store. You don't have to bring the customer the bill," he said in a promotional video.

A UK-based PayPal spokesperson told MSN News "it is already available in the US," but we're unclear where, so we're trying to get details. (From what we can tell so far, it looks like a different PayPal mobile-payment system in the U.S. is offered at two dozen chains and typically works as it does at The Home Depot — you pay with PayPal at the cash register by typing in a mobile number and PIN or by swiping a PayPal payment card and entering a PIN, according to PayPal's website.)

Could this cashless, credit-cardless advancement tested in Britain one day improve your life? Depends on how much hassle you consider cash and credit cards to be. Ubergizmo puts it in a snarky way:

"If you’re lucky enough to have your popular retailer accept PayPal while you’re checking out in the store, then you know what a slight hassle it can be to have to input your password or passcode, which can add seconds to your entire transaction, and as a result, can turn your life completely upside down. That’s why PayPal is testing out a new method of verifying its users by using a photo of them as verification."

Source: MSN

A lesson in social media marketing, courtesy of Amazon's latest failure.

What's the first lesson of social media? Know what you're posting!

Amazon Student recently found themselves in a situation where a post about "manscaping" was created to promote a new grooming store. Probably unknown to Amazon at the time of the posting, the word manscape is defined as: "A term used to define male grooming below the belt". However, in the following 6 hours, nearly 70 people commented with a snarky response. (Some of which are below).

So, what's the lesson to be learned here? Be sure the person in charge of your social media is up to date with the latest slang of your target audience.

Microsoft scores a slam dunk for Windows 8 tablets as Siri slams the iPad in a new ad.

In the latest Windows 8 news, Microsoft has shifted gears to take aim at Apple.

In this new 30 second ad, you see Siri taken hostage and forced to tell the truth...The truth as Microsoft sees it, that is.

Source: Windows YouTube Page

SNL takes on the new Google Glass.

Talk about a funny promotion for Google Glass...all the way from SNL!

You know you've made the big time when Saturday Night Live parodies your product. On last weekend's show, Fred Armisen demonstrated Google Glass, the all-the-rage wearable computer the tech giant with the help of volunteers. Let's just say that Armisen, as Weekend Update tech correspondent Randall Meeks, finds a few flaws in the device.

Happy April Fool's Day from Google's Gmail...

This April Fool's, Google had a little fun at Microsoft's expense. The search giant has concocted a page about a product called Gmail Blue, a dig at Microsoft's upcoming Windows Blue update and Windows 8 in general.

A spoof video for Gmail Blue features a straight-faced "Gmail Blue project manager" who says that "in trying to bring e-mail into the 21st century, we are faced with a challenge: how we do completely redesign and recreate something while keeping it exactly the same? The answer is Gmail Blue."

Touting the new e-mail program's reliance on blue fonts, blue colors, and blue buttons, the project manager says that "it's Gmail, only bluer." The Gmail team claim that inspiration for Blue came from nature but is "better than what nature created."

Given the testy relationship between Microsoft and Google, their April Fools' pranks could have easily been more vicious. But in keeping with the spirit of the day, I think the companies poked a few holes in each other without doing any permanent damage.

Source: CNET

Is it Google or is it Bing? Happy April Fool's!

Yesterday, Microsoft's Bing search engine poked a little fun at Google.

Yesterday, Bing users found if they typed "Google" in the search field, a Bing page pops up spoofing Google's pure white and stark home page (screenshot below). Hovering over the small boxes that populate the Bing page displays tips that take a few more swipes at Google.

One tip asks if you're having trouble seeing this picture of an arctic fox eating marshmallows in a snowstorm. A second one says that when there's nothing else to look at, you may take drastic measures. Clicking on that tip brings up a Bing video results page of watching paint dry. And a third tip says that if blank space is your thing, you could go low tech. That tip displays a Bing images results page of plain white paper.

Even the familiar "I'm feeling lucky" button has been replaced by an "I'm feeling confused" button that takes you to a Bing blog touting the benefits of Microsoft's search engine.

Source: CNET