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23 Must-Have Gadgets For Students

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Summer is coming to an end and that means students across the country are prepping for the trek back to school.

Pencils, notebooks, and binders are the basic necessities for any pupil, but students shouldn’t forget to gear-up with this year’s latest tech as well. From note-taking apps and noise-canceling headphones to soda-powered alarm clocks and digital textbooks, we’ve compiled a wide-ranging list of high-tech school supplies for students to help them ease the stress of a busy schedule, study for exams, write papers, take notes in class, and much more. The items in this guide are meant to be practical, affordable, and fun.

Whether you’re in college, high school, middle school or simply a caring parent, these tech accessories will help any student achieve high-marks in class–and unwind when the cramming is over.

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The 11 Best Free iPad Video Apps

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The ever-popular Apple iPad, with its wide, high-resolution screen, is a great device for watching video (better than the tiny iPhone, anyway); and yet the options for video discovery are surprisingly limited, given how tailor-made the iPad seems to be for media consumption of all kinds.

Sure, you’ve got YouTube for your standard viral video-viewing pleasure, iTunes for individual purchases and rentals, and Netflix and Hulu Plus for those with subscriptions. But what about for us freeloaders?

Here are eleven zero-dollar apps we found that can be quite useful both for finding new videos online and for watching them full-screen on your iPad, or hooked up to your wide-screen television at home. Just be sure you plan ahead: you’ll need an Internet connection to stream the clips, as the free apps don’t allow for downloads.

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Want a Deal? oBaz Will Do the Haggling For You

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The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

Name: oBaz

Quick Pitch: oBaz lets users band together in groups to get discounts on the products and services they want.

Genius Idea: Social haggling.

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Apple – The Most Valuable U.S. Company

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Image via CrunchBase

Apple briefly surpassed Exxon Mobil on Tuesday as the nation’s most valuable company.

The iPhone and iPad maker had the lead for much of the afternoon before its stock closed just behind Exxon‘s. The two companies are so close that Apple is likely to keep the top spot soon.

Apple Inc.’s stock gained 5.9 percent to $374.01 on Tuesday, bringing its market capitalization to about $347 billion.

Exxon Mobil Corp.’s stock, meanwhile, closed up 2.1 percent at $71.64. That gives the oil company a market cap of $348 billion. Its stock was down earlier in the day, allowing Apple to take the lead.

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Kenneth Cole Talks ‘Antisocial’ Social Media, New ‘Where Do You Stand’ Site

PARK CITY, UT - JANUARY 23:  Designer Kenneth ...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Fashion designer Kenneth Cole’s latest project isn’t a line of shoes or a fall collection: it’s a new site, “Where Do You Stand,” that aims to spark debate on social issues, from gun control to same-sex marriage.

Where Do You Stand marks a continuation of Cole’s socially conscious—and sometimes controversial—ad campaigns that have promoted not only bags, shoes and apparel, but also political issues. For example, a past ad featured an illustration of a condom with the caption, “Our shoes aren’t the only thing we encourage you to wear.”

On the Where Do You Stand website, visitors are prompted to select one of two portals: “What You Stand For,” where people can participate in varying degrees of debate on several topics, and “What You Stand In,” which is the more fashion-oriented portion of the site consisting of video style guides hosted by editors from GQ and Vogue. A link to Kenneth Cole’s online store is featured throughout.

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3 Terrific Tools for Social & Mobile Viewing Audiences

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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.

Each weekendMashable hand-picks a few startups we think are building interesting, unique or niche products.

How we as consumers of physical and digital content view and experience the world around us is changing, and the startups highlighted here are all dedicated to helping us better find, discover and consume content.

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