May 05

Got Gadget Questions? We’ll Answer Them on Facebook

Posted in: Miscellaneous, Today's Chili

The pensive and gadget-savvy Mike Calore. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

Join Wired.com’s product reviews editor Michael Calore on Facebook Thursday starting at 1 p.m. Eastern time (10 a.m. Pacific) as he answers your tech questions and gives a behind-the-scenes look at Wired.

When we passed the 200,000 fans mark on Wired’s Facebook Page last month, we asked our readers what they’d like to see more of. You gave us more than 600 comments, and one of the top responses was learning more about the Wired staff, including what goes on behind the scenes and what gadgets we use.

You asked and we deliver, as Michael will be revealing his list of favorite gadgets, posting photos, and answering questions. He might even reach into the way-back machine to find the last five Webmonkey hats from the swag closet (since his last position here, before moving to the gadget side, was Webmonkey editor-in-chief).


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May 05

Facebook, Google rumored to be vying for Skype deal

Posted in: advertising, Android, business, Google, money, rumor, skype, SocialNetworking, Today's Chili, VoIP

Like two knights jostling for the hand of a fair maiden, both Facebook and Google appear to be courting the graces of Skype. A source close to Facebook recently told Reuters that CEO Mark Zuckerberg is thinking about buying Skype outright, as part of a deal that could be worth $3 to $4 billion. A second source, meanwhile, claimed that both Facebook and Google are more interested in forming a joint venture with the teleconferencing company, which has yet to issue an IPO. With discussions still in a nascent stage, both suitors are playing their cards close to their chests, while Skype, rather coyly, has declined to comment on the speculation. At this point, details are still hazy and rumor-infused, though it’s certainly not shocking to hear these kinds of murmurs buzzing around. Skype’s been integrating Facebook more deeply into its software for a while now and has gradually branched out to Android, as well (albeit with mixed results). Both Facebook and Google would also stand to benefit from Skype’s millions of users and all the targeted advertising potential they’d offer. Until we receive more substantiated reports, however, all discussions of possible unions remain restricted to the realm of conjecture.

Facebook, Google rumored to be vying for Skype deal originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 May 2011 06:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 04

How to Respond to Facebook Birthday Wishes [Etiquette]

Posted in: networking, Today's Chili, top

Today is my birthday. Yeah! But unlike when I turned 18 (old enough to bet the ponies) or when I turned 21 (duh), I don’t really care. And like many of us on our *special days*, I’m getting a lot of love on facebook: from old friends, family members, professional contacts—that random guy whose friend request I accepted while drunk and who now invites me to “ragers” almost every weekend. It’s actually quite touching, and I totally appreciate it. But also: a puzzle. How do you properly acknowledge all of this good will? Unless you have like 4 friends, answering each post is a losing proposition. More »

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May 04

Massachusetts court opens up to social media and live video, Ice-T expected to cameo

Posted in: Law, legal, Today's Chili, twitter
This story ripped from today’s headlines: the Quincy District Court, just south of Boston, Massachusetts, will now stream live video online. Dubbed OpenCourt, the experiment will also offer WiFi and encourage liveblogging and social media reporting — all in an attempt to help the judiciary understand and accommodate new digital reporting tools. Funded with a $250,000 grant from the Knight News Challenge, it proposes a more transparent philosophy for the legal system, which has often banned cameras and restricted access. But the court won’t become an open free-for-all. There will be no video for restraining order cases and those involving minors, among others, and judges can disable the video feed at any time. Said executive producer John Davidow,”The idea is to bring the courts and what goes on in the courts closer to the people so they understand how the law and the justice system work in this country.” With such high-minded goals, expect viewing that’s closer to C-SPAN than Law & Order.

Massachusetts court opens up to social media and live video, Ice-T expected to cameo originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 11:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MobileBurn  |  sourceAssociated Press  | Email this | Comments

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May 02

BlackBerry PlayBook to get Video Chat and Facebook apps in May (updated)

Posted in: app, apps, BlackBerry, blackberry playbook, BlackberryPlaybook, breaking news, playbook, RIM, Software, tablet, Today's Chili

Who’s going to get the very first “tablet-optimized” Facebook app? Why, it’s RIM and the PlayBook! The Canadian company has today revealed it’s bringing a native Facebook app to its 7-inch, QNX-based slate, which will also be joined by a new Video Chat application. The latter will be available to download on May 3rd, with an over-the-air update dishing it out to current PlayBook owners. Its functionality will be no different from what we’ve come to expect from such clients — both voice and video calls will be available anywhere you can find a WiFi connection. As to the Facebook app, it’s coming some time later in the month, and will let you view and add your friends, share photos and videos “seamlessly,” access Facebook Chat, and view and interact with the news Feed. Both should be getting extensive demos at BlackBerry World, which is taking place this week, and we’ll be sure to have a gander and report our findings. Skip past the break for the full press releases.

Update: Well, that was quick — looks like Facebook for PlayBook is already up for grabs, and Canadian Reviewer has posted several screenshots for your amusement.

Continue reading BlackBerry PlayBook to get Video Chat and Facebook apps in May (updated)

BlackBerry PlayBook to get Video Chat and Facebook apps in May (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 May 2011 08:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 30

Royal wedding livestream breaks hearts, records

Posted in: Google, live, social networking, SocialNetworking, Today's Chili, uk, video, YouTube

No frogs transformed into princes and no wicked stepmothers were vanquished — not on camera, at least — but today’s royal wedding managed to capture the world’s imagination. Thanks to partnerships with CBS, the Associated Press, UK Press Association, and Entertainment Tonight, the marriage between Prince William and Kate Middleton broke viewing records on Livestream.com, maxing out at 300,000 simultaneous viewers and a total of “at least 2 million” unique users, according to Max Haot, the site’s CEO. We reached out to YouTube and Facebook to see how they did on the streaming front, but neither site has a final tally — though a Facebook spokesperson did tell us that 6,819,072 people have commented on the wedding in the past 24 hours. We don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, but we hear News Corp. has secured the rights to the Royal Divorce — just in case.

Royal wedding livestream breaks hearts, records originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Apr 2011 06:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceMashable  | Email this | Comments

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Apr 26

The Facebook Box Prints Every Post in Your News Feed

Posted in: Retro, Today's Chili, Weird News

Facebook Box

Checking Facebook on the Web or on your phone is so last week. Why not do it the retro way and sift through reams of printed sheets to read what your friends are up to? The Facebook Box, an invention of product designer Steve Murray, gives you a way to read and keep every status update and any of your friends posts: on paper. 
The Facebook Box is essentially a printer that’s connected to your Facebook account, and every time a new post appears in your news feed, the tiny receipt printer in the device whirrs to life and prints it out on a tiny slip of paper. You can read it, toss it out, or file it in the space just to the right of the printer slot. When closed, the blue envelope-shaped box has the Facebook logo on the top and your name on the top, so everyone knows that your wall lives inside. 
If you can’t tell, the Facebook Box is a bit tongue-in-cheek. The product page for it is rich with phrases like “social networking no longer needs to be restricted to the confines of a digital display.” Still, there may be a market for the Facebook Box, especially for those people who tend to print every e-mail they get and document they want to read.
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Apr 26

Visualized: ring around the world of data center power usage

Posted in: Google, power, Today's Chili
Facebook may have recently boasted about how energy efficient its data centers are, but it is still Facebook, and that means it consumes plenty of power regardless — more than anyone else, in fact, according to Peer1’s recent survey of the world’s most visited websites. As you can see above, that bit of data has also been conveniently visualized by the company in a colorful chart (with a noticeable lack of green), and there’s plenty more details where that came from for you to dive into in the infographic linked below.

Visualized: ring around the world of data center power usage originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 04:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Boing Boing  |  sourcePeer1  | Email this | Comments

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Apr 25

T-Mobile’s Bobsled temporarily suspends service in first week (updated)

Posted in: app, apps, t-mobile, TMobile, Today's Chili, VoIP

It’s a sad day for Bobsled’s one-eyed chat bubble monster, as T-Mobile has just announced it’s temporarily shuttering the recently launched VoIP service. A statement released on Bobsled’s Facebook profile revealed it is “voluntarily and temporarily suspending service” of its week-old app to “ensure that the Bobsled experience is clearly differentiated and is not mistaken for a Facebook created property.” The news comes at a particularly inopportune moment, as Vivox just made its own announcement (embedded after the break) last Wednesday saying it will power the seemingly ill-fated app. No word yet on when the service will be back up and running, but this doesn’t bode well for T-Mo’s foray into the VoIP market.

[Thanks, Elad]

Update: We just received word from Vivox saying its announcement was actually released last Wednesday. In any case, it’s safe to say the news is still a downer for the magenta monster.

Continue reading T-Mobile’s Bobsled temporarily suspends service in first week (updated)

T-Mobile’s Bobsled temporarily suspends service in first week (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 14:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceBobsled (Facebook)  | Email this | Comments

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Apr 21

Get Ready For Earth Day With New Facebook App

Posted in: Today's Chili

Billion Acts of Green on Facebook.jpg

With Earth Day just one day away, many people are thinking about different ways that they can show their support for the environment. And a new Facebook app, called A Billion Acts of Green, lets users do just that.

The idea behind the app is to get lots of people to do small, but meaningful, acts. You simply go to the app, type in what green act you plan on doing, and it gets added to the ever growing list. Things like taking public transit, or switching to LED light bulbs, or even organizing an Earth Day event of your own.

So far a little over 72 million green acts have been logged, so there’s still quite a ways to go to reach a billion. But considering the size of Facebook, it doesn’t like it’s impossible.

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