Darrell Etherington reports for TechCrunch on Zuli’s Smartplugs that turn your phone into a proximity-based switch for your home appliances.

Zuli’s Smartplugs can detect when you walk into or out of a room, and trigger customized actions based on what you want them to do in either case. That means you could have your computer, desk lamp, space heater and more turn on when you enter your office, for instance, or have everything but the radio turn off when you leave home for the evening. The Zuli Smartplugs also work in tandem with one another, creating a Bluetooth mesh network to let them communicate with each other. A minimum of three outlets is required for accurate location tracking within a home, according to Zuli, but even without that the gadget can still be used to monitor your energy usage and manage smart scheduling and instant control of power outlets.

The is what iBeacons for the home would be like.

Like the idea? The starter kit of a three plug set costs $135 and it will be available if the [Kickstarter meets its goal of$150,000](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zuli/zuli-smartplugs).

Viber Out to challenge Skype Out

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Lightning cable, the epitome of Apple

Foursquare no longer allows private check-ins on iOS 7

Will Microsoft use Windows RT or Android for low end devices?

Spotify music streaming finally available for iOS and Android for free

Instagram Direct lets you share your photos and videos privately

IFTTT now supports location-based triggers

What can you do with iBeacons in your home?

Reddit’s new user agreement lets it use your content freely

What Medium is for

U.S. Government may never know how much Edward Snowden stole

Engadget reports that Twitter has released version 3.0 of its Mac app.

There are some of the new features:

• In-line photo preview for supported services

• Expanded tweets with full conversations

• Full user profiles with more emphasis on visuals

While the second and third are not completely new to Twitter, they are new on the Mac app.

The Next Web reports on a Twitter vulnerability that lets apps send direct messages without user permission.

Nevertheless, by using the command “d twitter_username message” the app can send a DM to anyone you can normally send DMs to. The app never has to check with the user if he or she is okay with sending a DM.

It’s worth noting that some apps block this functionality. Buffer, for example, gives the following error: “Sorry, direct messages can’t currently be sent through Buffer.” Other apps we tested, however, sent DMs without a hitch.

This means that third party apps can spam direct messages through your account without you knowing, unless you check your messages inbox.

It is a security concern because apps can exploit this for phishing.

Matthew Panzarino reports for TechCrunch about Uber’s new version of Uber Lost.

The system is nothing complex, it just provides you with a simple list of your recent trips, with beginning and end points to help you figure out where you were when you lost the item. Each ride entry contains the driver’s name and phone number so you can ring them up directly to ask them if they’ve found your item.

With the Uber system you’re presented with a way to call the driver back directly, rather than wading through the call center of a cab company and trying to cross reference time, location and cab availability.

Considering how much the NSA is currently spying, it’s a litle ironic that it wasn’t able to track Edward Snowden tightly enough when he was working for them to fully understand the amount of data taken by him.

It’s been said that Snowden passed his entire trove of data to a small group of journalists, and you can be sure those journalists are in the crosshairs of governments around the world, as we’ve already seen before this.

Officials Say U.S. May Never Know Extent of Snowden’s Leaks

Investigators remain in the dark about the extent of the data breach partly because the N.S.A. facility in Hawaii where Mr. Snowden worked — unlike other N.S.A. facilities — was not equipped with up-to-date software that allows the spy agency to monitor which corners of its vast computer landscape its employees are navigating at any given time.

Six months since the investigation began, officials said Mr. Snowden had further covered his tracks by logging into classified systems using the passwords of other security agency employees, as well as by hacking firewalls installed to limit access to certain parts of the system.