The Little Cyclops camera may be as small as average adult thumb, but it has powerful features, including a timelapse mode, 12 megapixel resolution and HD video recording capabilities.

HIDE CAPTION

Little Cyclops

<<

<

1

2

3

4

5

>

>>

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• A Welsh student has invented a key-ring sized digital fisheye camera
• The Little Cyclops measures in at just 4cm long and 2cm high
• Inventor Greg Dash only plans to release 1,000 of the devices before moving on to other products

(CNN) -- Twenty-five year-old student Greg Dash was frustrated. He wanted to take "fisheye"-style camera pictures without having to pay for an expensive lens, or fiddle around with a smartphone app. He wanted something light and small that he could pull from his pocket at a moment's notice. Unfortunately such a device did not exist.

So, he went ahead and invented it.

Measuring just four centimeters long and two centimeters high, the "Little Cyclops" has only two buttons and no viewing screen.

However, an array of nifty features -- including a timelapse mode, 12 megapixel resolution and HD video recording capabilities -- have proven so popular with photography enthusiasts that the camera easily surpassed its funding target on the crowdsourcing website,Indiegogo.

The Little Cyclops had raised $100,000 as donations came to a close this morning, almost double the initial $53,000 target.

"It's all been a bit overwhelming," said Dash. "At one point I was getting an email every seven minutes and it has been just impossible to respond to everyone.

"Because the money has gone so far over the goal now though I can get other people on board to help get the cameras out," he added.

See also: The ingenious refocusing camera

Dash says he first came up with the idea for the camera late last year when he was unable to find an affordable fisheye lens to use with his own digital SLR camera.

He resolved to fashion one himself using an old camera and a lens he had custom made.

When friends were impressed with the results he decided to see if he could raise the funds to put his invention into production.

A manufacturer -- which he doesn't wish to reveal as he is still in the pre-production phase -- was then sourced to make a limited run of 1,000 devices completely from scratch which will be sold on a first-come first-served basis.

The cameras are priced at $100 each and orders have already arrived from as far afield as Japan and Taiwan.

"It's been amazing as there has been interest from everywhere really, all over the world," Dash said.

"I was even invited to go on Dragon's Den (a popular British TV show where entrepreneurs pitch their products and ideas to prominent businesspeople) but there's no way I'm going on that," he added.

See also: $30 gadget lets your eyes take control

Despite the unforeseen level of interest, Dash says he has no plans to go into the serious business of mass production any time soon.

His main priority remains studying towards a PhD on the economic and social impact of wind energy development at the University of Aberystwyth in his native Wales.

The success of Little Cyclops however has helped him pay-off mounting student fees and encouraged him to further test his powers of invention.

He now has a new limited edition camera in the pipeline which he hopes to release at the end of the summer, although he remains tight-lipped as to what exactly that may be.

"There's going to be a view finder added and a load of other features but I don't want to give away what it is yet," he said.

"It's going to be able to do something that you can't do on any smartphone and would usually cost hundreds of pounds but I can do it for about £50 ($76)."

Raspberry Pi + Arduino = $100 super PC

The UDOO (pronounced "you do") brings together the power of four Raspberry Pi's and the popular micro-controller Arduino to create a highly customizable PC for just $100.

HIDE CAPTION

UDOO, a small computer with a lot of might

<<

<

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

>

>>

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• UDOO seeks to combine the power of four Raspberry Pis and Arduino in a mini PC
• It is intended to be a powerful prototyping board for software development and design
• UDOO will be able to run with either Android or Linux
• The project has received $95,000 in six days on Kickstarter

(CNN) -- The Raspberry Pi is all the rage for hobbyists in search of cheap, credit card-sized computers that can run a full PC operating system. Arduino boards have been around nearly a decade, meanwhile, powering robots and all sorts of other creative electronics projects.

Now, a project called UDOO ("you do") seeks to bring the best elements of Raspberry Pi and Arduino together into a single mini-PC that can run either Android or Linux.

Read: Hacking the world's cheapest computer

"With UDOO, we want to combine the winning characteristics of Arduino and Raspberry Pi in one single board. The simplicity of Arduino in managing sensors, combined with the flexibility of a microcomputer based on ARM are integrated in UDOO, giving you a powerful prototyping board able to run Linux or Android," UDOO project coordinator Bruno Sinopli, a Carnegie Mellon professor in electrical and computer engineering, said in a video on UDOO's Kickstarter page.

UDOO-based projects demonstrated in the video included a camera-equipped toy car controlled remotely with a tablet, programming education for kids, and a video game involving players running on equipment reminiscent of the Wii Balance Board. Touchscreens and various other types of sensors can be connected to the UDOO.

"Want to build an LED light-controller, an RFID reader, or a creative game controller? UDOO allows you to create any kind of project and share it with the community," the Kickstarter page states. "Combining the flexibility of Arduino with the power of Android or Linux, you can create and update tons of stand-alone solutions without worrying about the linking between the two worlds and their wiring."

UDOO's designers claim the board will have "the power of four Raspberry Pis," apparently in reference to the quad-core chip (the Raspberry Pi uses a single-core). The UDOO also has twice as much RAM (1GB) and Gigabit Ethernet as opposed to the Pi's 100 Megabit Ethernet. The Raspberry Pi has the UDOO beat on price, though, with models selling for $25 or $35.

Read: Coder club turns out tween tech prodigies

The UDOO was seeking $27,000 to jump start development of the computer. It has already received over $250,000 with 46 days of funding still to go.

Wall Street wants brokers' private Facebook posts on stock trades

Some states have banned companies from monitoring employees' social accounts, but a FINRA wants an exception for financial firms.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Despite nearly a dozen laws that prevent the practice, a Wall Street regulator wants the wiggle room to keep tabs on stockbrokers' social network postings.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a self-regulator for brokerages, says investors must be protected; if stockbrokers are chattering about stocks on Facebook and Twitter, FINRA must ensure that they must comply with Wall Street firms' policies.

Those policies involve everything from requiring brokers to disclose conflicts of interest, to ensuring they aren't recommending a stock in official company forums and trashing the company elsewhere. In order to keep stockbrokers and firms in line with those policies, both FINRA and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission require broker-dealers to keep a record of "all business communications."

If brokers use social media for those communications, FINRA says firms need to be able to access those social accounts.

Earlier this year, FINRA sent letters to about 10 states whose laws or proposed legislation ban such monitoring, according to spokesman George Smaragdis. The Wall Street Journalfirst reported these efforts on Monday.

After numerous instances of people being fired for ill-advised Facebook posts over the past few years, some states have banned companies from monitoring employees' social accounts.

Related story: Why I've had it with hedge funds

Social network login credentials were at the center of one high-profile lawsuit in 2011. In that case, an officer at the Maryland Division of Corrections -- who was applying for re-certification after a leave of absence -- said an interviewer asked for his Facebook login information during his interview. The American Civil Liberties Union took up the case, and shortly afterward, Maryland became the first state to ban this practice.

The many similar laws that were since passed or are in the works in other states generally ban employers from requiring access to employees' or job applicants' social accounts.

FINRA wants broker-dealers excluded.

Smaragdis sent CNNMoney a copy of FINRA's letter to Colorado lawmakers, in which the regulator suggested changes to a bill introduced in January.

"Prohibiting access to these accounts conflicts with a firm's responsibilities to comply with federal requirements and threatens investor protection," FINRA complained in its letter. As Smaragdis puts it, FINRA wants financial companies to be able to "follow up on 'red flags.'"

Smaragdis insists there are limits to what FINRA is seeking. The regulator, for instance, doesn't want firms to be required "to conduct routine surveillance" of employees' social media accounts, or to keep their login information on file. The regulator declined to comment on specifics about how exactly it would use the exemption, if granted.

Supporters of the social-monitoring bans argue the slope is too slippery: If your employer can check out your Facebook (FB) posts to make sure you're following the rules, what's to stop them from cruising through your photos and using those against you? The ACLU deemed the practice "an abuse of power" during the Maryland Department of Corrections case.

FINRA's request to states comes at a time when other financial regulators are grappling with the issue of how to deal with social network posts.

The SEC investigated Netflix (NFLX) last year after CEO Reed Hastings posted a statistic about viewer habits on his Facebook page -- with no formal press release or SEC filing. After a four-month probe, the SEC decided companies may turn to Facebook and other social media outlets to release important information, as long as they alert investors in advance about which platforms they will use.

Regulators clearly understand the impact social media can have on investors' decision-making. But figuring out how to manage social-network posts has FINRA and the SEC playing a game of catch-up. 

Van Persie treble fires Manchester United to 20th title

Manchester United striker Robin van Persie celebrates after scoring the opening goal in Monday's 3-0 win over Aston Villa.

HIDE CAPTION

Dutch delight

<<

<

1

2

3

4

5

6

>

>>

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Robin van Persie nets all three goals as Manchester United clinch English title
• Monday's 3-0 win over Aston Villa ends the Premier League reign of Manchester City
• Win puts United 16 points clear of second-placed City with four games to play
• Van Persie moves to top of EPL scoring charts with 24 goals this season

(CNN) -- All the talk this season has been that Robin van Persie is the difference between winning the English Premier League title, or not.

Roberto Mancini wanted to sign him after his Manchester City side won a first championship in 44 years on the final day of the 2011-12 campaign. Much to his chagrin, even the deep pockets of the club's Abu Dhabi owners could not tempt the Dutchman.

Even worse for the Italian, and for Arsenal fans hoping he would stay in London, the 29-year-old decided to join Manchester United for what has proved to be a bargain initial $34 million.

Having never won a title at any of his previous clubs, the striker opted for Old Trafford -- and it has paid off handsomely.

Sharapova: Struggles made me stronger

Maria Sharapova won the French Open last year to become the 10th woman to claim all four grand slams. But she plans on playing for several years before pursuing her business interests.

HIDE CAPTION

Still motivated

<<

<

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

>

>>

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Having overcome a shoulder injury, Maria Sharapova plans on playing for 4-5 more years
• She won her first major post-surgery at last year's French Open to complete her collection
• Russian says she enjoyed proving her doubters wrong by returning from injury
• She competes on tour while balancing business interests, including candy line

Open Court is CNN's monthly tennis show. Click here for screening times and follow on Twitter @cnnopencourt

(CNN) -- When Maria Sharapova underwent shoulder surgery five years ago, many thought her tennis career wouldn't last. But there is now a good chance the four-time grand slam winner will play into her 30s before fully turning her attention to her numerous business interests.

"I think she's going to play another four to five years and through the Rio Olympics (in 2016) if she stays healthy and hungry," her long-time agent and close friend Max Eisenbud told CNN's Open Court.

Sharapova's motivation has never been an issue in the past, and the Russian -- who turned 26 last week -- is now fully fit.

That, however, wasn't the case in 2008, when the shoulder injury ruled her out for nine months and cast doubt on Sharapova's professional career, which began on the day she turned 14.

Justin Bieber Ask Eminem , If he Want To work with Him. Eminem Decline the offer

Twitter launches music app

Twitter's new music service is set to debut on Thursday.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Twitter has finally unveiled its much-anticipated music app.

Twitter made the app available to every iPhone user via Apple's (AAPL, Fortune 500)iTunes App Store. Users will also be able to access the service on the Web later in the day at music.twitter.com. Twitter said an app for Google's (GOOG, Fortune 500) Android is coming soon.

The announcement of Twitter's music app was first made on ABC's "Good Morning America" program. The company launched the service last week exclusively to musicians.

Twitter's new app, which is separate from its primary social network, helps users find music based on the bands and artists they follow. The app suggests bands you might like, and it shows what music the people you follow are currently listening to. Users can also search popular music enjoyed by the universe of other app users, and Twitter surfaces what it calls "emerging" trends and artists.

Through partnerships with streaming music companies Rdio and Spotify, subscribers to those services can listen to music straight from Twitter's new app. They can also hear previews of music on iTunes and purchase songs, if they wish. Twitter said it will continue to add new music services to its app.

The app comes a week after Twitter announced it had purchased "We Are Hunted," an Australian music streaming and recommendation service.

Related story: Can Twitter become a multimedia powerhouse?

Twitter's dive into music is part of its new strategy to become more immersed in content delivery business. Bloomberg reported this week that Twitter is in final negotiations with media giants Viacom (VIA) and Comcast's (CMCSA) NBCUniversal to let the social network distribute TV clips from those companies' TV and cable networks and sell ads alongside them.

In January, Twitter launched Vine, a six-second video-sharing app. 

Google earnings top estimates, despite mobile problems

Google CEO Larry Page should be pleased with the company's first quarter results. But mobile is still a challenge.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Mobile continues to be a problem for Google, as the company struggles with how to make money off mobile ads and its Motorola smartphone unit. But earnings still beat Wall Street estimates.

Overall, Google's first-quarter revenue jumped to nearly $14 billion, in line with Wall Street expectations. Net income rose to $3.9 billion, or $11.58 per share, handily beating estimates.

Shares of Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) initially rose 3% in after-hours trading, but they lost some gains as investors digested the lackluster details on mobile.

Though Google is a dominant mobile player thanks to Android, the shift away from desktops has caused the company some problems. Of particular concern is a metric called cost-per-click, or the average amount that advertisers pay to Google each time a user clicks on an ad.

Mobile ads command lower prices than desktop ads do, so the average cost-per-click has fallen even as the number of paid clicks increase.

In the first quarter, Google's cost-per-click fell 4% compared with the prior year. That's the sixth consecutive quarterly decrease. The number of paid clicks rose 3% over the year.

Early in the quarter, Google announced it would reduce the number of ads on its mobile search page to avoid overwhelming users. At that time, the company wrongly predicted a higher cost-per-click and a drop in paid clicks.

Related story: Google's new bid to avoid EU fine

On a conference call with analysts, CEO Larry Page spoke only generally about mobile advertising in his prepared remarks.

Instead, Page spent most of his time talking about an area of concern for some analysts: Google's expansion into side businesses not related to its core search business, which made up 92% of the company's sales in the first quarter. Those projects include the wearable computer Google Glass, driverless cars and the high-speed Google FiberInternet and TV service.

"Companies tend to get comfortable doing what they've always done with a few minor tweaks," Page said. "It's only natural to work on what you know."

Google, on the other hand, wants to do things "no one else is crazy enough to try," Page said.

Page also alluded to potential hardware innovations from Motorola, including improved battery life and a screen that won't shatter when dropped.

"Having seen Motorola's upcoming products myself, I'm pretty enthusiastic," Page said.

But Motorola is still very much a turnaround story. The business logged an operating loss of $179 million in the first quarter. During the fourth-quarter results conference call, Google CFO Patrick Pichette warned that he expects Motorola's financial results to be volatile "for quite a while."

While Android market share remains strong, even that business underwent turmoil in the first quarter. Android co-founder Andy Rubin stepped down in March to take on unspecified new projects at Google. (Page declined to reveal Rubin's new role when asked on Thursday's call.) Sundar Pichai, former Google head of Chrome and Apps, took Rubin's place at the Android helm.

Google rival Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) reported results earlier this week, and a sales drop -- led by an 11% decline in display ad revenue -- overshadowed a jump in profit.Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) also released its quarterly results Thursday, announcing profits that topped forecasts.

Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500), which has suffered a stock slump on concerns about declining profit margins, competition from Samsung and others with phones running on Android as well as the lack of an exciting new product, will report earnings next week.Facebook (FB), which competes with Google on the display ad front, is on tap to report results the following week.