When you were a kid your mom made you eat brussels sprouts. They were awful. But you ate them because you had to. Similarly, Facebook employees are reportedly being forced to use Facebook for Android. But not because it’s great and they just don’t see it, because they need to be reminded what a piece of steaming garbage it is. More »
In a relatively giant update for the Facebook app for all Apple iOS devices, the development team behind the mobile version of the social network have emphasized one thing above all else: speed. This update has the app rebuilt from the ground up, with those responsible for making sure the app is top-notch assuring users that this is indeed the best way to view the Facebook universe from your Apple device. This update also has a brand new banner to tap right in your most-viewed page for refresh of stories – news feed forever!
Facebook’s mobile representation has not yet been updated with these changes for Android or Windows Phone, but given the update schedule the developers have followed behind the scenes thus far, they’re probably not far off. This update also has users now able to get instant access to notifications – a slight upgrade if you’re otherwise less than impressed with the bit of lag otherwise in place.
Photos now open faster than ever and there’s a new gesture in play as well. Once you do open a photo in a gallery, you’ve only to swipe downward to make it minimize once more. Scrolling through your news feed has been made faster by a significant factor, and the whole application is just a bit swifter at loading media of all kinds.
Facebook is available for download or update – depending on your Facebook situation, of course – right this minute. This update came down for iOS just today, August 23, and should be available around the world throughout the day.
[via iTunes]
Facebook 5.0 hits iPhone and iPad is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Experience a more fluid experience on Facebook if you are using Facebook for iOS, which means you are checking out the social network on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Well, the latest version of Facebook for iOS is said to make keeping up with friends faster and easier. Installing this latest update will bump up the version number to Facebook 5.0 for iOS, making it twice as fast compared to its predecessor, especially when it comes to launching the app, scrolling through the entire news feed and opening up photos in the feed.
The Facebook team had rebuilt the app from ground up in order to achieve this effect, and stories will scroll smoothly. I have not tried it myself, but for those of you who already have, how has the experience been like for you? In fact, there is also a banner that informs you whenever there are new stories that trickle in, where all you need to do is to tap just once in order to check out the latest updates. Opening a photo requires just a tap, and you can always pull down to close it with but a single swipe.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Facebook 5.0 for iOS hands-on, Facebook for iOS gains a new Save feature,
Facebook just released its updated iOS app, which it says is twice as fast as before. The reason for the speed boost? Instead of serving as a container for HTML5 content, its now fully native. More »
There’s no visual overhaul as it just did yesterday with Facebook Messages, but Facebook has now announced an update for its iOS app that promises some fairly big improvements of its own. According to the company, the app was “rebuilt from the ground up,” and is now twice as fast as the previous version. That includes a faster opening of the app itself, smoother and faster scrolling, and photos that are said to load “instantly” — changes that are largely due to a switch from the old HTML5 code to iOS’ native programming language. Unfortunately, we’re not able to test those claims ourselves just yet, but Facebook says that the update (version 5.0) will be available later today.
Update: The app is now available to download from the App Store, and it does indeed appear to be quite a bit speedier.
Filed under: Internet, Software
Facebook updates iOS app, says it’s ‘rebuilt from the ground up’ to be twice as fast originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 13:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If you ever step back and really think about how much data massive online services such as social network Facebook and search engine Google generate and store during any given day, it’s hard to fathom. All you need do is look at your own Facebook newsfeed to see the huge amount of data added constantly each and every day. That day includes things from status updates with simple text to large videos and photo files.
Facebook recently unveiled some statistics on the amount of data its system processes and stores. According to Facebook, its data system processes 2.5 million pieces of content each day amounting to 500+ terabytes of data daily. Facebook generates 2.7 billion Like actions per day and 300 million new photos are uploaded daily.
Breaking the data down a bit, Facebook says that it scans roughly 105 TB of data each half hour. While 500 TB is a lot of data, that’s a mere drop in the bucket compared to the amount of data stored in a single Facebook Hadoop disk cluster. According to Facebook’s VP of engineering, Jay Parikh, Facebook’s Hadoop disk cluster has 100 petabytes of data. A single petabyte is 1,048,576 gigabytes.
That is simply staggering amount of data. Parikh says that Facebook believes it operates the single largest Hadoop cluster in the world. That certainly sounds accurate to me. That’s more data than I can wrap my brain around.
[via TechCrunch]
Facebook data grows by over 500 TB daily is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
If you were wondering what features would be on the way after Facebook ditched pre-Froyo Android support for its app your questions have been answered. This revision lets users easily create events from their mobiles, share photos quicker and annoy their friends across platforms thanks to the kind of emoji iOS users have been annoying each other with for ages. In the screenshot above you see the new event creation pages and messaging screen where friends can toss in the icons or a picture while chatting privately, although updating to v1.9.8 will require a manual approval since it also seeks permission to obtain your location via coarse network-based methods. Assuming you’re already down with Facebook’s Open Graph-enabled tendrils snaking their way throughout your digital life (and, as an existing user already allowed it access to precise GPS-based location data) that’s probably not too much of an issue, hit the Google Play link below to upgrade.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software
Facebook for Android app updated with messaging emoji, easy event creation and a bit more originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 01:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
If you were ever curious to how many photos get uploaded to Facebook everyday or how many likes happen across the entire social network or the sheer size of data booking the face is responsible for, look no further. Facebook gave a state of the union (of sorts) that detailed just how big Facebook data is. More »
Welcome to Wednesday, folks. This particular hump day saw news that the Department of Justice and the FBI have brought down a trio of websites that dealt in pirated Android apps, while a picture of a mini dock USB cable for the iPhone 5 surfaced as well. Microsoft announced a number of things related to the Xbox 360 today, kicking off a search for people to beta test its new dashboard update, permanently dropping the price of the Kinect by $40, and announcing Xbox 360 Essentials packs, which come packed with accessories to accommodate Xbox 360 owners.
The FTC has ended its investigation of Facebook’s Instagram purchase, though the FTC wrapped things up rather silently. LG has a massive new 4K HDTV available now in South Korea, HP posted less-than-stellar results for quarter 3 of its fiscal year, and today NASA talked about how the Curiosity rover has been getting around on the surface of Mars. Today also brought some new sample shots of the Nikon CoolPix S800c Android camera, along with a new video demo for the device.
We got a closer look at the Archos Gen10 XS tablet line today, and the struggling HTC is planning to cut the price on its One series of phones after the line posted disappointing sales. T-Mobile announced that it will begin offering nationwide unlimited 4G next month, while Rockstar delivered a new round of Grand Theft Auto V screenshots today, and we have a feeling that move screenshots are coming sometime later this week, so keep an eye out for those.
AT&T has reiterated its decision to block FaceTime, and cited an FCC ruling in support of it. Verizon looks be gearing up to offer a Nokia Windows Phone 8 later this year, and sadly, Nintendo confirmed that Nintendo Power magazine will be shutting down in December. NASA has kicked off a simulation meant to test landing on a near-Earth asteroid, and there’s a new iPhone app on the scene that will help you determine which Super PACs are putting out those constant political ads. Black Isle Studios appears to have risen from the dead, but no one seems to know the circumstances surrounding the re-opening.
Finally tonight, we have a review of the new Archos 101 XS tablet by Chris Burns. Enjoy the rest of your evening, everyone!
SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: August 22, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Today an investigation into the proposed purchase of the photo sharing app Instagram by the social network Facebook has been ended as silently as it was started. The acquisition of Instagram was made famous earlier this year as Facebook payed a reported $1 billion dollar sum to take over the brand in its entirety. The FTC’s Bureau of Competition worked with the Bureau of Economics to investigate the deal to make sure no anticompetitive business practices were taking place – they found nothing to write home about.
Now that the FTC has approved of the deal here in the United States, Facebook and Instagram may move forward – of course there’s always your international regulatory groups snooping around the deal, but once the FTC has had their say, generally a deal such as this pretty much hits the afterburners. The Commission this week voted to close the investigation of the deal with a vote of 5-0 to complete – to a degree.
April J Tabor, Acting Secretary for the Federal Trade Commission’s letter to Councel for Instagram read in part as follows:
“Upon further review of this matter, it now appears that no further action is warranted by the Commission at this time. Accordingly, the investigation has been closed. This action is not to be construed as a determination that a violation may not have occurred, just as the pendency of an investigation should not be construed as a determination that a violation has occurred. The Commission reserves the right to take such further action as the public interest may require.”
The same letter was sent to Councel for Facebook, citing in both cases a possible violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act or Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Have a peek at our timeline below to track this deal back to its roots, and let the Instagram flow through you, you Facebook-loving socialite!
BONUS: the image you see at the head of this post comes from a conceptual design rendering of a Facebook phone designed by Tolga Tuncer – complete with an Instagram button!
[via FTC]
FTC Facebook Instagram investigation ends silently is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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