Hasta La Gadget!

One of the unique features of Windows Phone/Windows 8 is the Metro UI (pictured above). We admit that even though we don’t use Windows Phone devices, we like the Metro UI look and Android/iOS users who have downloaded mods/tweaks to look like Metro will probably agree too. However it seems that the name “Metro” will no longer be used in the future, according to a tipster who sent The Verge the news. An alleged internal memo was sent to Microsoft employees confirmed this and revealed that according to Microsoft’s discussion with an important European partner, the Metro branding will be discontinued. No word on what Microsoft’s UI will be called, but employees are reportedly told to refer to it as the “Windows 8 style UI” at the moment. Perhaps there were some legal issues if Microsoft had kept the Metro name, although this is merely speculation on our part for now, but in any case, we’ll keep our ears peeled for more news regarding this so stay tuned!

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Kobo to develop Metro-style apps for Windows 8, Microsoft acknowledges the risk that OEMs may abandon ship,

Facebook has launched a new editorial project which does seem to be pretty original, dubbing it “Facebook Stories“. Just what do you get when you head over to Facebook Stories? A respite from the regular food and cat photos that you see on Facebook, of course. Facebook Stories will show off a bunch of videos as well as articles which show off the many different ways where the Facebook community take advantage of the social networking platform. Having been in the pipeline since June 2011, Facebook Stories will instead focus on a different theme each month, and for the month of August, they have kicked off with the topic “Remembering.”

Stories gleaned from the Facebook community will not be the only thing though, as the site will also throw in standard features that work in tandem with a bunch of partners. Take for instance, the Bookshelf that will carry a Goodreads-supplied list of books which correspond with the month’s theme, while the Playlist will cast its spotlight on Spotify mixes that were curated by artists. No other microsites have been confirmed by a Facebook to be in the works, leaving Facebook Stories as the next expansion of the Facebook universe at this point in time.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: McAfee Social Protection for Facebook offers greater degree of privacy, San Francisco Giants and other baseball teams get their Facebook pages hacked,

Facebook is not exactly doing gangbusters on the stock exchange at the moment, and in a weird twist of fate, it was reported recently that more Zuckerbergs work over at Google instead of for Facebook. Trivia aside, here we are with news that late this evening, a bunch of baseball teams’ (from the major league) Facebook pages were hacked, with the San Francisco Giants being among other luminaries such as the Miami Marlins, Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Angels, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs.

The Chicago White Sox, which is President Barack Obama’s favorite team, was hacked to endorse Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, while the Washington Nationals’ page claimed that the team was moving back to Canada, posting, “We’re going back to Montreal. SEE YA SUCKERS!!!!!!” These messages were removed in a jiffy, and most of the teams did post up notes to explain the hacking. It is a shame, really for hacks like this to still happen in this day and age. Ah well, at least it was not the Olympics, right?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Student hacker penetrated Facebook, Facebook used to hack bank accounts,

Mouse Computer is offering you their newest gaming PC, the MASTERPIECE i1420BA3. As part of the G-Tune series, the system is packed with a 3.50GHz Intel Core i7-3770K processor, an Intel Z77 Express Chipset, a GeForce GTX 560 1GB graphics card, a 16GB DDR3 RAM, a 1TB hard drive, a DVD Super Multi Drive, a 700W power supply and runs on Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (SP1) OS. The MASTERPIECE i1420BA3 is available now for 129,990 Yen (about $1,656). [Product Page]

Boingo Wireless has teamed up with fast food chain Wendy’s to offer free Wi-Fi connectivity at all of their company-owned stores, but if your neighborhood’s Wendy’s does not have Wi-Fi, then chances are pretty good it will be part of the Wendy’s franchise community who refused the uptake. Hopefully Boingo Wireless will be able to do a good job in managing and operating Wi-Fi services at participating Wendy’s company restaurants that are scattered all over the US as well as Canada. Boingo’s operation of the complimentary Wi-Fi services will also include the installation and maintainance of networks, in addition to offering Wendy’s-branded customer support.

“Our partnership with Wendy’s is a significant milestone in our ongoing expansion into high-traffic consumer venues. Boingo has more than a decade of experience in enhancing the guest experience via our Wi-Fi, and in increasing customer engagement through collaborative marketing programs. We look forward to rolling out service to Wendy’s restaurants,” says Peter Hultgren, vice president of business development, Boingo Wireless.

It is about time that more and more public areas offer free Wi-Fi – I personally have no idea why budget motels and backpackers’ inns offer free Wi-Fi, while posh hotels tend to charge you extra for Wi-Fi connectivity. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? At least the next time you want a Frosty, you can also surf the Internet on your smartphone or notebook without having to make use of your data plan.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: O2 offers free Wi-Fi to London’s West End, Mac WiFi issues may come from OS X Lion power management,