They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Done right, it can also help the imitator tap into the zeitgeist and pick up more followers as a result. That looks like it might have been some of the logic behind the relaunch of the website of Easy Living, a UK magazine published by Conde Nast, which relaunched this month with a Pinterest-like grid interface on its home page.

Here are some recent stories on TechCrunch Gadgets: Googlighting, Microsoft’s Latest Viral Attack On Google Docs [Video] Samsung Galaxy Note Review: Who Do You Think You Are? Mr. Big Stuff? Tokyoflash Releases The (Readable) Kisai Stencil Watch This Kit Lets You Print Out The Internet This Twin-Lens Reflex Camera Is Built Out Of LEGO

The addition of the iPad into the point of sale system or cash register isn't a new trend. Many small businesses are swapping out traditional cash registers for iPads and credit card processors like Square. But large restaurant chains and other establishments still need a complete front-to-back-of-house (i.e. a system that can send receipts to the kitchen) solution. Revel Systems hopes to be the go-to iPad-powered, comprehensive POS platform for restaurants. Launched in August 2011, Revel Systems' iPad software, cash register, weighing machine, and receipt printer are all optimized for restaurant and retail establishments. Along with the iPad friendly cash register, Revel Systems can be completely customized for payroll, inventory tracking, web ordering, email receipts and more.

Quora has fiddled around with its Credits system and unveiled some new features today, making two very notable changes. The first one is the elimination of the original "Pay to show to Topics" feature of Credits, where users would have to pay credits to have their questions show up to people following specific topics. Instead, users will have to pay 50 Credits to ask a question, any question and all topic additions are "free." Users can earn credits by having their questions and answers upvoted, in addition to answering "Ask to Answer" questions or having users gift them credits.

Last week, a Mountain Lion roared "Mac is the next big gaming platform." Apple is bringing Game Center to Mac, it will support cross-platform iPhone vs. Mac play, and the Mac App Store will likely become more prominent. It's time for mobile developers to decide if they'll bring their games to Mac OS, and how they'll port their controls and levels. Otherwise they risk having to claw their way up much more competitive charts. Tomorrow, after 100 million downloads across platforms, ZeptoLab will release its hit Cut The Rope for Mac OS. After hooking me up with a pre-release download, the Moscow-based founders gave me the low down on the biggest challenges of porting to Mac OS, and why they think it's critical that mobile developers don't get left behind on the small screen.

If you're a big website, you have a range of good options for staying protected from malicious hacks: hardware from enterprise-oriented companies like Cisco or McAfee, your own in-house support, or hosted professional blog services like WordPress VIP (which is what TechCrunch uses). If you're a smaller site out on the open web, you have weaker options -- at least if you want to get auto-updated responses to a wide range of security problems. Israeli startup 6Scan is out to change that, launching a WordPress plugin today that automatically scans and updates to protect against the latest issues coming up across the web.  By "automatically," I mean that the company's security team monitors the web and does its own research to find problems, then pushes an update to all of its users. These go out about every hour, according to co-founder and chief executive Nitzan Miron, as they're discovered and added to the company's system.

When Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom and several others in the organization were arrested in raids a month ago, it was noted by prosecutors that Dotcom's rather wild lifestyle and propensity for spontaneous international travel, combined with his vast wealth, constituted a serious flight risk. He was denied bail at the time, at least until February 22nd, when the US was to turn in its extradition paperwork. And today in New Zealand, or tomorrow rather, Dotcom was released under a number of conditions: he will have no internet access, will not travel 80km from his home except in emergencies, and no helicopters would be permitted to fly to his property.

There's a lot of noise in our social media channels. I'm busy clogging up your Twitter feed with my deep thoughts, your friends are sharing their millionth baby picture on Facebook, and Scoble is filming startups in your living room on Google+. There is an unfathomable amount of data being produced every second, as social networks, apps, chat, etc. now facilitate real-time communication and sharing -- making email feel like the Pony Express. This makes it nearly impossible for people (and their businesses) to stay on top of -- among other things -- the real-time communication happening between their customers.

Twitter has just launched a new app refresh for its mobile apps in Android and iOS, as well as expanded its offerings to the Kindle Fire and the Barnes & Noble NOOK and NOOK color. Returning to the iOS and Android apps is the ability to swipe individual tweets to reveal tweet actions like 'Reply,''Retweet,''Favorite' and 'Profile' -- a feature which was initially available in Tweetie, the app that eventually became Twitter for mobile, and then removed inexplicably. Another blast from the past is the ability to copy and paste text of tweets and user profiles, which I for one really missed.

With stories of Terminator-esque Google glasses making headlines these days, you'd think a basic task like screen sharing would be something that'd be pretty well solved by now. But while there are many different ways to share your desktop (or some portion thereof) with your friends or coworkers, more often than not the process isn't something you'd call easy. It's bad enough that many people (including me) often find themselves steering their peers around computers the old-fashioned way: voice instructions over the phone ("Okay, now look in the Dock, do you see the Settings button? The one with metal gears, right. Click that...") ScreenLeap, a new startup out of the latest Y Combinator batch, wants to make this process a lot less painful, so that next time you're confronted with an issue that could be better dealt with via screen-share, you actually take advantage of it.

Chinese firm’s legal challenge threatened to prevent Apple from selling one of its most popular products in one of its fastest growing markets.

Research in Motion on Tuesday finally brought e-mail to its tablet computer, the BlackBerry PlayBook, which initially could send or receive e-mails only by being connected to a BlackBerry phone.

Google is currently making a pair of glasses that will be able to stream information to the wearer’s eyes in real time.

As Facebook’s first artist-in-residence, Jet Martinez has been busy creating a floral-inspired mural at the company’s Menlo Park, Calif., offices.

Meet Joe Moses, Eminem impersonator and Severus Snape interpreter.

A new policy allows some celebrities to use their stage names, even on their personal accounts.

The Council of the District of Columbia repealed its iGaming program after a lawsuit and an inspector general’s report highlighted questionable conduct over the contracting process.

The symbiotic relationship between Facebook and its users came into sharp focus when it filed for its initial public offering — revealing just how valuable that codependency is.

The Washington Post, shrinking its scope as it looks to a digital future, is undergoing one of the most sweeping reorientations of any newspaper in the country.

Why are there so many more men than women contributing to a "free encyclopedia that anyone can edit"?

At several major companies, the outlook for ad spending is even sunnier than earlier forecast.

Under a proposal by Square, a mobile payment company, riders in New York City could play games or swipe credit cards with embedded tablet computers.

Some Republican candidates are said to be using microtargeting, a sophisticated technology that allows campaigns to tailor messages to specific voters.

In the current digital environment, The New York Times is deconstructed and reassembled by others. The paper needs to use its Web site to protect its core values.

How an Egyptian Google executive’s Facebook page helped spark a movement.

A compulsion to weigh in on a news event is endemic among people who use social media, according to one professor who has studied it.

A dozen writers over the years have given their prose and advice, but mostly not their names.

A British student who stole information from Facebook’s internal network was sentenced to eight months in prison on Friday.

The video-content business is offering marketers opportunities amid the struggle to adapt to the greatest shift in media habits since television began.

The need to finance economic relief has pushed Congress to embrace a shift in the media landscape: the sale of airwaves now used for television to create more wireless Internet systems.

(TrendHunter.com) American journalist and author of 'Stealth of Nations' Robert Neuwirth discusses points from his latest book which focuses on the informal economy or "system D." Neuwirth defines the informal economy as...

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(TrendHunter.com) Apocalyptic imagery and science fiction fashion become one in the latest Fernando Cabral editorial for Open Lab #6, 'The Minimalist Issue.' Captured by Warren Bryce, the model dons futuristic looks from...

(TrendHunter.com) The Guess Spring/Summer 2012 campaign shows just how much fun you can have under the sun, turning up the heat with actress Amber Heard and Guess regular Silviu Tolu. Shot by Ellen von Unwerth, the photos...

(TrendHunter.com) A diversity in prints, colors and cultural influence is the focus of the latest fashion editorial by Dean Isidro for Out Magazine. Starring model Armando Cabral, the photo set makes use of stylist and...

(TrendHunter.com) If you're getting sick of the hustle and bustle of a big city, the Cato Van Ee L Officiel Paris photo shoot will drop you in the middle of a tropical jungle for some fun with nature. The editorial captures...

(TrendHunter.com) The Net-a-Porter Spring 2012 lookbook has been released and it is a treat for the eyes. Although a simple studio shoot, the fashion itself is far from basic. Instead, it is coloful, dynamic and extremely...

(TrendHunter.com) The Marie Schmidt 'Step Ahead' editorial is the latest fashion exclusive for Ben Trovato. Featuring strong silhouettes, rich textures and bold statement accessories, this artful editorial embraces the...