Open up your mind and say, ahh...

With just over one day left until 2012, the Internet is chock full of digital thought leaders sharing their predictions for the coming year.

Now, we want to know: What do you think will be the biggest tech and social media trends of 2012?

For some inspiration, check out Mashable Editor-in-Chief Lance Ulanoff’s tech predicitions post. He cites augmented reality, micro-payment, UltraBooks, mobile chip wars and social/digital exhaustion as this year’s top stories. Editorial Director Josh Catone recently shared where he believes Facebook is going, and Business Editor Todd Wasserman gave his take on whereTwitter is headed.

We also recently held a Google Hangout to see what the Mashable community on Google+ predicts for the coming year. There they talked about and played around with augmented reality, and discussed the future of social networking and Google+. Here are some of of our favorite moments from the Hangout:

GTD, 18 minute plans, organized folders… none of them work as well as you’d like.

The reason is simple: you don’t want to get more done.

You’re afraid. Getting more done would mean exposing yourself to considerable risk, to crossing bridges, to putting things into the world. Which means failure.

The leap the lizard brain takes when confronting the opportunity is a simple formula: GTD=Failure.

Until you quiet the resistance and commit to actually shipping things that matter, all the productivity tips in the world aren’t going to make a real difference. And, it turns out, once you do make the commitment, the productivity tips aren’t that needed.

You don’t need a new plan for next year. You need a commitment.

Whether it opens the doors of knowledge or turns us into lazy researchers, the web can instantly gratify most inquiries. So when we wondered which questions weighed heaviest on the minds of Internet users this year, we naturally turned to the same Q&A sites that they did.

We asked Formspring, Ask.com, Quora and ChaCha to compile lists of their most popular questions of 2011. Since all of the sites take different approaches to Q&A, we let them choose their own criteria for what constitutes “popular.”

Whether it’s possible to become Batman (it doesn’t look good) to who started Occupy Wall Street (debatable), here’s what the web wanted to know this year.

1. Quora

What it is: Quora is a crowdsourced social Q&A forum that tends toward long-form answers.

Criteria: The most viewed questions.

• 10. What’s the best way to escape the police in a high-speed car chase? Former patrol officer Justin Freeman details what it would take to escape from the police – and why it’s a bad idea.
• 9. What is the worst piece of design ever done? People responded with more than 100 frustrations, pet peeves and things that could be improved about the world.
• 8. Is Amy Chua right when she explains “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” in an op/ed in the Wall Street Journal? Users shared powerful personal stories about parenting and growing up Asian-American, along with follow-up questions answered by Amy Chua herself.
• 7. Given our current technology and with the proper training, would it be possible for someone to become Batman? Screenwriter Mark Hughes delivers an extraordinarily entertaining answer about whether it’d possible to be Batman in the real world.
• 6. Why did Twitter suspend UberTwitter? Bill Gross, founder of UberMedia, shares what happened to his company.
• 5. Why did Steve Jobs choose not to effectively treat his cancer? Cancer researcher Ramzi Amri takes a sad look back at the progression of Steve Jobs’s disease.
• 4. How does a programmer become a brogrammer? A discussion of an emerging Silicon Valley subculture.
• 3. What are some interesting examples of photographs which show historical figures in unexpected places or company? Unexpected pairings of historical figures: Bill Clinton with John F. Kennedy, Nikola Tesla with Mark Twain, Salvador Dalí with Walt Disney.
• 2. What’s it like to be a drug dealer? A nerve-wracking first-person account of one person’s rise and fall in drug trafficking.
• 1. What’s the most epic photo ever taken? A powerful tour of the most important, most poignant and most beautiful photographs ever taken.

2. Ask.com

What it is: Ask.com is a Q&A platform turned search engine turned back to Q&A platform. It directs questions to people who are likely to have the best answers.

Criteria: The top “trending questions” posed by Ask.com’s 60 million users from Jan. 1, 2011 to Dec. 14, 2011. Ask.com defines trending questions as those that are posed and viewed most frequently by users.

Health, Nutrition and Fitness:

• 1. Healthcare Plan: Is the healthcare plan unconstitutional?
• 2. Health Insurance: How can I get affordable health insurance?
• 3. Juice Cleanse: What’s the best juice cleanse?

TV and Movies:

• 1. Kim Kardashian: Was Kim Kardashian’s wedding fake?
• 2. Oprah Winfrey: When is the Oprah finale?
• 3. Regis Philbin: Who is replacing Regis Philbin?

Technology:

• 1. iPhone: When will Apple release the iPhone 5?
• 2. Google: How can I join Google+?
• 3. Facebook: How can I keep my Facebook wall private?

Business:

• 1. Occupy Wall Street: Who started Occupy Wall Street?
• 2. Facebook: Is Facebook going public?
• 3. Unemployment: Is the unemployment rate getting lower?

3. Formspring

What it is: Formspring is a social Q&A platform that lets users ask and answer questions.

Criteria: Most “smiles” to a response. Smiles are similar to Facebook Likes.

• 5. When was the last time you listened to that little voice in your head and what was it? Five minutes ago and it told me to eat 14 Oreos, which I did. – Sarah Lane, 1,182 Smiles.
• 4. Who do you look up to? <>People taller than me. – Fred Figglehorn, 1,327 Smiles.</>
• 3. When in 2012 is the part 2 of Breaking Dawn on screens? November 16, 2012 – Taylor Lautner, 1,453 Smiles.
• 2. What do you think of Brazil? I love Brazil! – Enrique Iglesias, 1,702 Smiles.
• 1. Who’s the smartest woman you have ever known? Justin Bieber – 30H!3, 3,358 Smiles.

4. ChaCha

What it is: ChaCha is an ad-supported service that employes 180,000 freelance “guides” to answer your questions immediately.

Criteria: Most answered questions (in no particular order).

• Is Justin Bieber a father?
• What are the lyrics to Super Bass by Nicki Minaj?
• When will The Hunger Games come to theatres?
• What is a Gleek?
• Who is Steve Jobs?
• When does Modern Warfare 3 come out?
• Is Osama Bin Laden dead?
• How did Amy Winehouse die?

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, fotosipsak

The forward fuselage of the new Airbus A350 XWB composite airliner has been delivered to the factory. This particular airframe – MSN5000 – will never fly, but it’s still a milestone for Airbus’ first airliner made largely of composite materials.

MSN5000 will be used for ground testing to confirm the strength of the composite paneled airframe and wing structures. It’s in line just ahead of MSN001, which is slated to be the first flying airframe.

The wide-body airliner is slightly larger than the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, but instead of having a large composite tube for a fuselage, the A350 uses composite panels attached to an aluminum frame. The plane will use a composite wing with a span of more than 219 feet, compared to 197 feet for the 787.

Based on size and seating, the A350 competes more closely with the Boeing 777. That said, it’s often compared to the Dreamliner because of its extensive use of composite materials. Like the Dreamliner, the new Airbus will provide substantial fuel savings thanks to the new designs and new engines.

Because the various A350 components are manufactured throughout Europe, Airbus uses a heavily modified A330 known as the “Beluga” to transport sections of the wings and airframe.

The forward fuselage of MSN5000 is expected to be joined with the center fuselage section early next year in Toulouse, France. Like other new designs, the finished airplane will be tested and tortured to validate the strength and longevity of the structures and systems.

Like the Boeing 787, the A350 has been hit with some delays, though the first flight of an A350 is expected in 2014.

The forward fuselage of the A350 fits nicely into the A300 Beluga transport aircraft.

Easy does it..

The forward fuselage of Airbus A350 XWB, airframe No. MSN5000.

Photos: Airbus

An EV conversion company with a solid track history has debuted a prototype drivetrain and exterior design for a new 2+2 EV concept.

The Kar is the brainchild of the engineers at KleenSpeed, the same folks who brought us the record-setting WX10 racer. They’ve also performed countless conversions, our favorite being the Mazda Miata they turned into a battery powered “Eiata.” They know emissions, but they’re also fans of how much torque an EV can put out off the line. Now, they’re planning to build a universal vehicle platform and a car — er, Kar — to go with it.

According to KleenSpeed spokesperson Dean Seven, Kar is being readied for a 2015 public debut, and will be built on an interchangeable platform that offers a 40kWh lithium polymer liquid-cooled battery pack, 120-150 mile range and a top speed governed at 85 mph.

Right now, KleenSpeed is in talks with several Asian manufacturers to build the Kar, which features an exterior penned by lead designer Brian Rhim. The next phase of the design process includes digitizing it for tooling and engineering studies. Seven said that KleenSpeed will take advantage of other automakers’ surplus manufacturing capacity rather than build their own factories.

Judging by the struggles that other EV-only startups have faced (see Aptera for the most recent example), the Kar has a long road ahead. Plus, there are those same difficulties of developing an automobile from scratch that have plagued would-be automakers from Preston Tucker to John DeLorean.

But KleenSpeed has an ace in the hole: their VX-1 platform, a prototype chassis and battery setup that can be applied to many vehicle types. The VX-1 will be ready mid-2012 and will be used for pre-production testing, followed by an improved VX-2 platform that would underpin the Kar and also be made available for other automakers to license or purchase.

“We are a technology company first, a visionary design firm next and not planing to become a manufacturing corporation,” said Seven. “Not only will we be able to sell KleenSpeed vehicles, we can sell KleenSpeed EV platform technology to other volume automakers.”

Seven foresees a return to the “coachbuilding” days of automaking, where the likes of Fisher Body, H.J. Mulliner and Ghia topped chassis from Cadillac, Rolls-Royce and Alfa Romeo. In this case, automakers without an existing EV design could take advantage of KleenSpeed’s engineering expertise and fit their designs onto a VX-2 chassis.

Unlike coachbuilders of yore, KleenSpeed’s platform won’t just be for luxury automobiles. There’s no word on pricing yet, but Seven says the Kar will “hit the sweet spot of price, performance, functionality, style and social awareness.”

Photo: KleenSpeed

You may or may not know that I’m pushing my Google+ for Business book. One reason is that THIS WEEK is the big push, and that’s a marketing method. The other reason is that I think that picking up the Google+ knowledge now, in the turn of the year, will help you as a business person.

But now I want to talk to you authors out there, especially the aspiring authors.

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Name: Plukka

Quick Pitch: Social shopping with a group buying twist — more jewelry buyers means a lower price for everyone.

Genius Idea: Applying the group-buying model to the manufacturing process, not just the final product.

Today’s group buying sites often exist to get rid of leftover inventory from last season; both the designer and the website get a cut, while you get the last season’s threads for half the price, three months late. Jewelry site Plukka turns that model around — it doesn’t manufacture the item until there’s demonstrable interest in it. And the more people want to buy it, the lower the price dips, like a reverse auction. Each flash sale presents images of a David Yurman-esque item, such as 14k gold, diamond and gemstone rings, necklaces and earrings. Interested consumers can “buy” the item for 24 to 48 hours (or until the item sells out). “Buying” it blocks off the current price — the card isn’t actually charged later, when the final, low price is set. Prices range from $200 to $5,000, with most falling within the $500 to $700 range.

Plukka founder Joanne Ooi says that its test-demand-before-you-create-supply model means that the designs are riskier and more creative, since the company isn’t investing in manufacturing until sales are locked in. Traditional jewelry designers have to predict trends and hope people will like the designs — Plukka knows there’s interest before the gold is melted down. The jewels are designed by Plukka’s in-house team, but the spring collection will feature collaborations with fashion bloggers, too.

Because manufacturing cost-per-unit drops as the number of units increases, the site can pass the production savings onto the consumer, thus making high-end jewelry more affordable. Plukka’s patent-pending sliding scale calculator determines how the price should lower as more people purchase the item — and everyone gets the same final price. The minimum is around 25 units, and if that threshold isn’t met, the item isn’t manufactured — so there’s no unwanted inventory lying around. Plukka’s tagline is “what we make is what you want,” and its business model reflects that.

 

The leaked subpoena sent to Twitter this month by the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office in Boston is causing some hoopla on the web and raising the issue of law enforcement’s access to online personal data.

On Dec. 14, the D.A.’s Office issued a subpoena to Twitter in order to access the account information of two users who tweeted a list of personal information they allegedly obtained by hacking into the Boston Police Patrolmens’ Association. The hackers stole identifying information and Tweeted it to followers. The subpoena requests “available subscriber information, for the account or accounts associated with the following information, including IP address logs for account creation.”

In the subpoena, assistant D.A. Benjamin A. Goldberger requests that the investigation be kept from the Twitter users as to not impede the ongoing probe. But the information was leaked. We reached out to Twitter for comment, but have yet to hear back.

On Dec. 23 one of the accounts under investigation, @p0isAn0N Tweeted, “Haha. Boston PD submitted to Twitter for my information. Lololol? For what? Posting info pulled from public domains? #comeatmebro.”

The D.A.’s office requested details of two Twitter users and also listed the name Guido Fawkes, which is the name but not handle listed for one of the accounts under investigation, as well as the hashtags #BostonPD and #d0xcak3.

One of the accounts being probed is listed in the subpoena as @OccupyBoston, however that account appears to be inactive. It’s likely they meant @Occupy_Boston, which Tweets about the occupy movement. Targeting this account has lead some to speculate that the police are monitoring the online activity of occupy protestors.

Twitter’s website contains an information section for law enforcement. It states that if a subpoena is issued for a user’s information, the company will inform that user before they hand the information to the authorities, unless it is prevented from doing so by court order or statute. According to its site, Twitter was following protocol by informing the user of the subpoena, and, perhaps later providing that user’s information to the Boston D.A. This isn’t the first time Twitter has been reluctant to hand-over user information to law enforcement.

It’s possible Twitter does host some personal information about the owners of the accounts who tweeted the hacked materials. At the very least, it might have IP addresses. However, Twitter doesn’t verify identities or email addresses of its users, so using Twitter for detective work might be more harmful than helpful to an investigation, especially if the subpoena is leaked. We contacted the Boston District Attorney’s Office and are waiting for a reply.

Do you think Twitter should surrender user information for hackers? Please tell us in the comments.

Image courtesy of Flickr, eldh

The only standard is impermanence.

It’s very easy to believe that the world we live in has always been this way.

Your ethnic group has always had a similar standing.

Technology has always permitted certain kinds of interactions and is always improving.

Real estate values always rise from decade to decade. (Until they didn’t).

A job has always been the standard way to make a living.

Your chosen religion has always been practiced the way you practice it.

People in positions of authority and leverage have always had degrees from famous colleges.

Information has always been widely available.

As soon as you accept that just about everything in our created world is only a few generations old, it makes it a lot easier to deal with the fact that the assumptions we make about the future are generally wrong, and that the stress we have over change is completely wasted.’

When sitting down for a job interview at a top U.S. tech company, you’d typically expect the interviewer to hammer you with questions testing your abilities, past history and knowledge of the company. You wouldn’t think it was the time or the place to start exploring solutions to world hunger, but that’s exactly what happened to one candidate looking to be a software developer at Amazon.

In Glassdoor‘s annual review of the top 25 oddball questions asked in job interviews in 2011, tech companies feature highly. Although there’s just one question from Google on the list, the Wall Street Journal recently profiled the search giant’s interview process, highlighting the trademark strangeness of some of the questions.

Google’s odd questions range from relatively straightforward mathematical brain teasers like, “Using only a four-minute hourglass and a seven-minute hourglass, measure exactly nine minutes–without the process taking longer than nine minutes,” to truly head-slapping queries such as, “A man pushed his car to a hotel and lost his fortune. What happened?”

Google isn’t alone in this practice. Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and many others have challenged the brains of prospective job candidates in some truly odd ways for a long time. Glassdoor has been publishing a compilation for only since 2009, but the idea has been around a lot longer than that.

The “oddball question,” of course, is meant to challenge the job candidate to think on his or her feet. It forces the interviewee to reach beyond prepared remarks and start engaging in problem solving on the spot. The best “weird” questions still have some relation to the kind of work the position entails. (For example, questions about finding the correct sequence could relate to jobs involving organizational systems.)

What’s the weirdest interview question you’ve ever gotten? Let us know in the comments, and browse the strangest interview questions from tech companies on Glassdoor’s list below.

“How many people are using Facebook in San Francisco at 2:30 p.m. on a Friday?” — Asked at Google, Vendor Relations Manager candidate

“If Germans were the tallest people in the world, how would you prove it?” — Asked at Hewlett-Packard, Product Marketing Manager candidate

“Given 20 ‘destructible’ light bulbs (which break at a certain height), and a building with 100 floors, how do you determine the height that the light bulbs break?” — Asked at Qualcomm, Engineering candidate

“How would you cure world hunger?” — Asked at Amazon.com, Software Developer candidate

“You’re in a row boat, which is in a large tank filled with water. You have an anchor on board, which you throw overboard (the chain is long enough so the anchor rests completely on the bottom of the tank). Does the water level in the tank rise or fall?” — Asked at Tesla Motors, Mechanical Engineer candidate

“Please spell ‘diverticulitis’.” — Asked at EMSI Engineering, Account Manager candidate

“You have a bouquet of flowers. All but two are roses, all but two are daisies, and all but two are tulips. How many flowers do you have?” — Asked at Epic Systems, Corporation Project Manager/Implementation Consultant candidate

“How do you feel about those jokers at Congress?” — Asked at Consolidated Electrical, Management Trainee candidate

“If you were a Microsoft Office program, which one would you be?” — Asked at Summit Racing Equipment, Ecommerce candidate