You might have noticed that Facebook changed last night. Inline photos are a little bigger, the top bar a little blockier, and a news ticker now rests in the upper-righthand corner for real-time updates. Overwhelmed? We’re here to help. More »
Facebook adds real-time ‘ticker’ to overhauled news feed, donates old layout to science (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Sep 2011 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Skype brought deeper Facebook integration to its Windows application with version 5.5 this summer, and it’s now seen fit to bring the same functionality to Mac users with the beta version of Skype 5.4. As with Skype for Windows, that will let you do things like chat with your Facebook friends, read and update your news feed, and even “Like” posts — all from right in Skype. What it doesn’t bring, however, are any significant changes to the still-controversial UI, which we’re guessing will be enough to keep some folks on version 2.8.
Skype 5.4 beta hits Mac with added Facebook integration originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Your phone company is screwing you on text messaging. SMS messages cost them next to nothing, yet they charge you up the yin-yang. So how’s about sticking it to the phone company with some viable alternatives to SMS messaging? More »
A funny thing just happened over at the Bluetooth SIG’s website: the group may have just outed Motorola’s first Facebook phone. As Unwired View rightfully points out, the EX225 is likely a feature phone that’s based on BREW, as Android’s navigation buttons are nowhere to be found. The handset offers two variants, one that supports dual-SIMs and another that accommodates only one. Further, a nearly identical version, the EX226, is displayed in a separate listing that lacks the notorious “F” button. Both models share a common 2.4-inch TFT-LCD display, a 3 megapixel camera and five row QWERTY keyboard — along with a sizable protrusion at the bottom rear of the device. That’s all we have for the moment, but it seems that the Status shouldn’t be too concerned about this Moto.
Is Motorola joining the Facebook phone bandwagon with its EX225? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Sep 2011 15:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The National Labor Relations Board has weighed in on the role of social networking at the office, determining that employees can’t be fired for what they post on Facebook — as long as they use the platform to talk about improving their workplace. The NLRB’s ruling, announced on Wednesday, stems from an incident last year, when an employee at the Hispanics United of Buffalo non-profit organization went on Facebook to complain about a co-worker who accused her of slacking off at the office. Other colleagues soon chimed in on the woman’s wall post with a slew of profanity-laced comments, before the targeted employee noticed the thread and reported it to a supervisor. Citing the agency’s zero-tolerance policy on cyber harassment, the boss fired the five employees who participated in the online discussion — including one who went on to file a complaint with the NLRB.
Last week, administrative law Judge Arthur Amchan finally issued a verdict in the case, determining that the employees retained the right to talk about “their terms and conditions of employment,” as stipulated under the National Labor Relations Act. Because this particular Facebook thread involved discussion of “job performance and staffing levels,” Amchan ordered Hispanics United to reinstate the employees. The decision marks the first time that an administrative judge has ruled on a Facebook-related workplace case, though the NLRB says it’s received “an increasing number of charges related to social media in the past year” — so it likely won’t be the last. You can read the Board’s statement in full, after the break.
Judge rules in favor of employees fired over Facebook post, orders them back to work originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Sep 2011 08:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Twitter had a meeting yesterday to talk about how big it was. But what really came across was that while Facebook and Google+ value your identity, Twitter doesn’t care who you are, as long as you’ve got something to say. More »
Autumn is fast approaching — and you know what that means: it’s round about time for an Xbox Dashboard update. Sure, we got a peek of Microsoft’s upcoming harvest back at E3, but the good folks from Redmond invited us to take a closer look at what they’re calling the “most significant update to the Dashboard since NXE.” Senior project Manager Terry Ferrell was on-site to walk us through an early engineering beta and show us how an updated Metro UI, Bing search and deeper Kinect integration is going to change the way folks manage their entertainment content.
Filed under: HDTV
Xbox Live Fall 2011 Dashboard update preview: Bing search, voice control, and a Metro overhaul originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oh internet, we love your animated GIFs and sad Keanu websites, but how much attention are we really giving each link? According to a recent study by URL shortener Bit.ly, a standard link is clicked for an average of three hours until traffic subsides by 50 percent, eventually fading away into oblivion. If we’re talking about a super timely news story like an earthquake hitting the east coast, well, its half-life was a paltry five minutes. When URLs are shared on social networks, they last around 3.2 hours on Facebook and 2.8 hours on Twitter, but those on YouTube persist more than twice that long. There, link half-life is 7.4 hours — probably because it’s home to phenom bomb memes like the one found after the break.
Continue reading Bit.ly quantifies internet impatience, old links get no love
Bit.ly quantifies internet impatience, old links get no love originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Sep 2011 07:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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As any good Boy Scout would know, it is important to always “Be Prepared”, and the Japanese products giant Muji have taken this to heart in their latest campaign “Itsumo, Moshimo” (Whenever, Whatever). With the disasters in Japan 6 months ago the idea of being ready for any event is still very prevalent in society. Muji have taped into this and in the new campaign have come up with a number of different “emergency situation kits” complete with everything you would need should the moment come.
What is really interesting is how Muji have taken into account form just as much as function. They haven’t just thought about what to put in the emergency kits but actually what the kits themselves will look like and if they will be in keeping with the aesthetics placed in. For example the clear plastic briefcase emergency kit designed to be placed on a shelf at work or on a desk should the emergency happen while at the office. The kits are incredibly well thought out, within the plastic case included are the staples such as various food stuffs, batteries, bandages etc, but also polka dot handkerchief and compressed t-shirts so you can look good post emergency too!
There are plastic file box kits to fit on shelves, small nylon bag kits, food draw case kits and even a child’s version backpack which comes complete with crayons and picture book. The thought that has gone into the contents as well as the actual containers here is another example of the attention to detail that goes into design in Japan. Taking into account the small details results in products that are highly functional as well as fitting into the aesthetics they are designed to be in.
Muji have also cleverly used crowd sourcing on Twitter and Facebook asking the public to suggest the items they would find most useful in an emergency situation, and to add what they would use to fill the extra space left purposefully in the emergency kit. The end result is not just a clever marketing campaign but actually provides useful emergency tips from the public and a customized emergency kit. You can browse through other peoples suggestions and their customized kits online and gain inspiration as to just what you may need in your personal emergency kit should the time come.
Related Posts:
Designing Japan for Tomorrow
Designs Aimed at Keeping the Peace
Uncovering Hidden Japan
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
