"I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride
Something touched me deep inside... the day the music died."
R.I.P. Ping (09.01.2010 - 09.30.2012)
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Apple
Apple's Ping no longer pinging back, leaves memories of white noise in its wake originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Earlier this year, Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner, a body whose decisions impact Facebook's policies in Europe at large, made several recommendations to bring the website in line with regional privacy laws, calling for greater transparency on how users' data is handled and more user control over settings, among other things. The DPC just officially announced that Zuckerberg et al. have for the most part adjusted its policies accordingly. The biggest change involves the facial recognition feature, which attempts to identify Facebook friends in photos and suggest their names for tagging. The social network turned off this functionality for new users in the EU -- and it will be shutting it down entirely by October 15th. It's not like Ireland, home to Facebook's European HQ, is the first to give the site flack about such features: Germany was having none of it when the site introduced facial recognition last summer.
Filed under: Internet
Facebook shutting down facial recognition in the EU, gets stamp of approval from Ireland DPC originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 10:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Ping, Apple's foray into music-centric social networking, hasn't seen much in the way of updates since it was announced two years ago, and now the folks in Cupertino are set to shut it down on September 30th. Struck with the sudden urge to sign-up for the service and take it for a spin before it goes offline? You're out of luck. Visiting the network's home in iTunes reveals that Cook and Co. are no longer accepting new members. From here on out, you'll just have to find other avenues to keep tabs on what tunes are playing within your social circles.
Filed under: Internet, Software
Ping going dark on September 30th, no longer accepting new members originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 20:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Emergency services are embracing technology as new ways to investigate, send alerts and receive reports of crises. And now, the Japanese are looking at social networks to support communication in disaster scenarios, especially when traditional services fail. The local Fire and Disaster Management Agency put together a panel discussion on just that topic, with representatives attending from the likes of Twitter, Yahoo, Mixi and NHN Japan, as well as various government and emergency bodies. The talk was motivated, in part, by the March tsunami, when the internet was the sole means of information for some, and with initiatives like Google's Person Finder playing a role in the aftermath. Any formal implementation of the ideas discussed is probably a long way off, and this is the first of three planned meets to hash it out. In the meantime, however, Twitter's Japanese blog posted some suggestions on how their network could be used in emergencies -- we just hope they won't be needed anytime soon.
Filed under: Internet
Japan considers using social networks in disaster situations originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 01:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |PCWorld, Twitter blog (Japanese) | Email this | Comments 
We've had Google's Chrome browser on iPad and iPhone since June and now it has received its first update. After a recent update for the Google+ iOS app added sharing of links to Chrome, the lead feature in the new version is the ability to share from Chrome to "your favorite social network" (Google+, Facebook or Twitter). There have been a few other tweaks that the team says are in response to user reports including better sync sign in error messages, language detection and a fix for blank pages in incognito mode. While a share function that's limited to just a few apps and not being able to use it as the default browser still doesn't quite match the Android edition, users who prefer it to Safari can snag Chrome 21.0.1180.77 free in the usual place.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs, Software
Google Chrome for iOS update brings sharing to G+, Facebook and Twitter originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 21:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Google Chrome Releases, iTunes | Email this | Comments 
Data backups come in all shapes and sizes. For some, they take the form of external hard drives or a slice of the amorphous cloud. As for Facebook, its upcoming solution is low-power deep-storage hardware contained within a 62,000 square-foot building in Prineville, Oregon near its existing Beaver State data center. Unofficially referred to as "Sub-Zero," the facility will store a copy of the social network's data in case its primary servers need to be restored in an emergency. Rather than continuously power HDDs that are only occasionally used, the new setup can conserve energy by lighting-up drives just when they're needed. One of the company's existing server racks eats up around 4.5 kilowatts, while those at Sub-Zero are each expected to consume approximately 1.5 kilowatts once they're up and running. Tom Furlong, Facebook's vice president of site operations, told Wired that there are hopes to create a similar structure alongside the firm's North Carolina data center. Since the Prineville project is still being planned, Zuckerberg & Co. have roughly six to nine months to suss out all the details before your photos are backed up at the new digs.
Filed under: Storage, Internet
Facebook to backup its servers with low-power storage devices at 'Sub-Zero' data center originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Aug 2012 20:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
PermalinkThe Verge | Wired | Email this | Comments 
For those who haven't kept track, Facebook has had a years-long history of only maybe-sort-of-more-or-less purging our photos: they could be removed from a profile, but they would sometimes float around the site's content delivery networks for months or years, just waiting for a prospective employer to spot those embarrassing frosh week snapshots by accident. As Ars Technica discovered through experiments and official remarks, that problem should now be solved. In the wake of a months-long photo storage system migration and an updated deletion policy, Facebook now won't let removed photos sit for more than 30 days in the content network stream before they're scrubbed once and for all. The improved reaction time isn't as rapid as for a service like Instagram, where photos vanish almost immediately, but it might be a lifesaver for privacy advocates -- or just anyone who's ever worn a lampshade on their head in a moment of insobriety.
Filed under: Internet
Facebook starts really, truly deleting removed photos originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 19:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Ars Technica | Email this | Comments 
While Mark's network had already flipped the App Center switch in a number of parts around the globe, there was still a large chunk of its abundant user base missing out on the recently unveiled application hub. That's all about to change starting today, however, as a Facebook rep has announced on Twitter the social app shop is now available to every single one of its signees worldwide. In other words, this means now you'll have yet another thing to keep track of during your daily internet browsing routine.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Software
Facebook App Center goes full circle, rolls out to all users worldwide originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 16:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
PermalinkAllThingsD | malliegator (Twitter) | Email this | Comments 
Those who extol the virtues of keeping one's personal and professional life separate probably never had to juggle two Google+ accounts. Folks saddled with a Google+ profile for both their personal Gmail account and their organization's Google Apps account can now migrate circles, blocks and other information from one account to another using Google Takeout. The new tool won't eliminate your double digital life completely, however -- content such as posts, profile information and comments don't migrate. The process takes time, too, kicking off with a seven day waiting period before restricting the user's Google+ access for 48 hours while Takeout boxes up the data. Still, this should make managing Circles across multiple accounts a little simpler. Check out the official Google help page at the source link below.
Filed under: Software
Google Takeout introduces transfer tool for Google+ circles, merges your work and personal life originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Jul 2012 22:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
PermalinkGigaom | Google | Email this | Comments 
It's been nearly a month since we saw Facebook officially introduce us to its newly minted App Center, and now Zuck & Co. are taking the application-loaded service to internet grounds over in the UK. Facebook's App Center in the Kingdom (or, as UKers call it, App Centre) won't be much different in comparison to its American counterpart, thus you'll still be able to grab all those big-name apps like the network's own Instagram, Draw Something, Spotify and Pinterest -- of course, there's over 600 others to choose from. In addition to these, though, there are some Euro-specific additions to the application mix, including Deezer's music streaming goods. Eager to find out what all the App Centre fuss is about? Then head over to the source below, where you'll be able to poke around it yourself.
Facebook's App Center pokes its way into the UK, now available to you and your friends originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jul 2012 17:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
PermalinkTelegraph | Facebook | Email this | Comments