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New Facebook 'Connections' may expose users' likes, filter likes from profiles

Publié: avril 19, 2010, 11:36pm CEST par Scott M. Fulton, III

By Scott M. Fulton, III, Betanews

Facebook's privacy policy, like its services, is an evolving organism. Recently, that evolution has been reactive rather than pro-active. Another reaction may be in the works after today's announcement of a new Facebook feature that enables users to subscribe to personal interests or "likes," officially called "Connections," the way they connect to other users.
The company said today there's a new way for a Facebook user to block others, including friends, from seeing one's "connections" -- the list of pages that represent things one likes to do (e.g., snowboarding) or to partake in (e.g., classical music), or people they may enjoy who may not be represented by their own Facebook pages (e.g., Bertrand Russell, Elvis Presley). But someone who's perusing the page for people or things that Facebook users vote that they "Like" (which replaces "Become a Fan Of" today) may still see the list of everyone who has voted she likes something, the company also said -- indicating that one's likes may never be completely private.
"Within your Privacy Settings under the Account menu, you have a section called 'Friends, Tags and Connections.' Adjusting the drop-down menus beside each field let you determine who can see those parts of your profile," reads a post on Facebook's blog this morning from software engineer Alex Li. "These visibility settings are a direct response to your requests to be able to hide more information on your profile. Specifically, the most requested feature a few weeks ago was to enable you to hide your friend list on your profile from your friends. As part of today's changes, you can do that."
As of today, Facebook's Help Center still explains that folks who are on your friends list will be able to read the contents of the friends list. That explanation will likely change as this addition to the system filters through to users.
However, a user may find he can be discovered after all, by someone who notices his name attached to the "Connection" page for the thing he likes.
As Li (who "likes" Roger Federer, but is now "connected" to Johannes Brahms) explained, "Keep in mind that Facebook Pages you connect to are public. You can control which friends are able to see connections listed on your profile, but you may still show up on Pages you're connected to. If you don't want to show up on those Pages, simply disconnect from them by clicking the 'Unlike' link in the bottom left column of the Page. You always decide what connections to make."
Community pages are the destination points for connections, or likes (the terminology here could perhaps be streamlined just a bit). Based on the prototype picture supplied by Facebook, they appear to be crosses between the typical Facebook fan page and a Wikipedia entry. Current Facebook users may have already begun to see messages from the service asking them whether they'd like to connect to certain existing Community pages gleaned from the likes and affiliations already on their profiles, including their hometowns, their alma maters, and their bio entries. In any event, the message from Facebook's Li made clear, if you don't want people discovering you like something or someone...you can just stop liking her.
"Profiles no longer are a static list of likes and interests," writes Li. "Now, they are a living map of all the connections that matter to you."
Just exactly how community pages...get there, and what happens to them after they're there, may be a bit up in the air, even after Facebook's explanation. As the official invitation page for creating an "Official Page" or a "Community Page" or a "Group" suggests, someone creating an Official Page needs to be a representative of the subject at hand -- for example, he needs to not be a fan of Roger Federer, but to be Roger Federer, or his authorized agent. A Facebook group (something which the service has had for years) continues to be an access point for multiple folks engaged in the same hobby or interest.
But a Community Page is supposed to be an entity in itself -- something which a person can plant on his own, which can sprout forth through nurturing from whoever passes by, and can eventually be adopted by someone else entirely. "Generate support for your favorite cause or topic by creating a Community Page," the invitation reads. "If it becomes very popular (attracting thousands of fans), it will be adopted and maintained by the Facebook community."
Facebook's own developers -- who happen to be meeting next Wednesday at the f8 developers' conference in San Francisco -- aren't having much more luck than we are discerning the distinction here. A developer with the Facebook app builder Inside Network, who goes by the handle s2facebook, asked the company earlier this month and got a response...but he says it wasn't much of one.
"Facebook hasn't explained clearly what it means when it says 'adopted and maintained by the Facebook community.' When we asked, Facebook only told us that 'if, over time, it gains a large fan base, it will be adopted by the community and it will not have one specific owner,'" s2facebook wrote.
Having more hands-on knowledge of how Facebook apps operate, s2facebook came to this conclusion: While a "Group" maintains its own privacy settings, and may thus be protected from complete public exposure, a "Page" is designed to present some level of public information. "Group owners can't message members if it has more than 5,000 people; Pages provide more customizable options, designed for marketers; Pages include the Insights analytics tool; because Pages are public, information in them appears in search results," the developer wrote. "Community Pages are another way, then, that Facebook can get more content in search engines while maintaining its goals for Official Pages."
Anticipating today's initial rollout of Connections/"Likes"/Community Pages, the Financial Times ran a story this morning that said Facebook was using this new system to assemble a behavioral advertising platform. This way, the story (in its original form) said, Facebook would be able to gather more discrete data about its users to help advertisers better target services to them.
The FT later revised (extensively) that story; and a Facebook spokesperson told Betanews this afternoon that the original form of that story was incorrect. However, the spokesperson's explanation was noteworthy not for saying that Facebook isn't building such a system, but rather that no such system was being announced today.
"The Financial Times story incorrectly suggested that Facebook is launching behavioral ad targeting at f8, their upcoming developer conference," the spokesperson told Betanews. "The FT story has been corrected. As Facebook has said previously, they are moving from 'Become a Fan' to 'Like' to make the language on the site more consistent, but they have no announcements or changes planned to their ad offering or ad policies."
While the data being gathered through the creation of Community pages may not be expressly assembled for marketing purposes, it appears the ability to do so remains feasible -- something which an enterprising developer may discover as soon as Wednesday.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Palm's browser-based webOS development tool leaves beta

Publié: avril 19, 2010, 9:50pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

In addition to its more traditional Mojo software development kit for WebOS, Palm introduced a novel browser-based development environment for webOS last December called Project Ares. Users can drag-and-drop to create apps in Ares, and then hit "launch" in the browser to package, upload and launch homemade apps on a USB-connected Pre or Pixi.
Today, Palm alerted developers that the first full version of Project Ares has launched.
Ares 1.0 includes, as Palm says, "lots and lots of new features.," including Components, which are widgets that access low-level functions (service calls, sensors, etc.) without any user interface. These components can be dragged and dropped onto the design canvas where they become icons at the bottom of the screen that can be selected, configured, and called in a single line of code.
Registered Palm developers can simply sign in to the Ares website to start working with it. Having the full SDK installed is recommended, but not mandatory.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Microsoft fixes Windows: Automated troubleshooter encourages assistance

Publié: avril 19, 2010, 7:43pm CEST par Scott M. Fulton, III

By Scott M. Fulton, III, Betanews

At about this time last year, we received some skeptical comments from folks who questioned whether it was wise for Betanews to declare Windows 7's automated troubleshooting system one of the new operating system's Top 10 features -- #8, to be specific. Saying a software publisher has improved its product by making it easier to find out what's wrong with it, is in one sense a bit ironic, and in another the sort of thing that typically smacks of the kind of messages brought to readers directly from the vendor without any filtering whatsoever.
The reason I declared what Microsoft is now calling its "Fix-It Center" (now with its own Support page) #8 is the same reason I declared Action Center #1: It has the potential for refashioning users' impressions of Windows, so that they come to understand that troubleshooting one's computer is as much a part of life as repairing little things in one's home.
The automated portion of Windows' new troubleshooting feature premiered over the weekend. Although Fix-It Center is being described as a Web site that's accessible from Vista-based browsers as well, more importantly from my vantage point, it's accessible from something more important than a Web browser: from the Windows 7 Control Panel. That fact removes one critical step from the process of identifying something wrong with the system, and attempting a legitimate remedy.
I know it's a bit early in the week to remind folks of painful times in history, but if you'll recall just briefly for a moment the era of Windows Me, with its stockpile of irritating grievances that Microsoft addressed with pat answers ranging from "Thank you for your feedback..." to the jaw-dropping, "This behavior is by design." At the darkest moment of the Windows Me era, a hero emerged in the form of Annoyances.org -- at the time, the best single independent source for suggestions from the outside world.
The first thing I noted about Annoyances.org once it became prominent is that many of the steps that advisors suggested users follow, often became the same steps. Wouldn't it be nice, I said, if the service were capable of detecting what the user was typing, and respond with, "Stop right there -- If I read you right, you're having trouble getting Windows to recognize your modem..." The second thing I suggested at that horrible time was, wouldn't it be wonderful if Annoyances.org became a control panel applet in itself.
It ended up being Microsoft that took my suggestions to heart, although Fix-It Center doesn't have to parse your problems as you type them. As company engineer-in-residence Mark Russinovich has pointed out on numerous occasions since Windows 7 was first made public, the system is getting smarter about recording its own telemetry, and making it easier for not only administrators but automated scripts to determine the symptoms that users are seeing, find the patterns in those symptoms, and make possible changes that can be undone if they're the wrong ones.
What converts incidental problems into annoyances is the time that accumulates between their discovery and their remedy. Having direct access to a potential solution minimizes the chances that annoyances can fester. And enabling others to post troubleshooting scripts (written with PowerShell) that may address problems Microsoft hasn't discovered yet, or that may affect only a small number of Windows users, helps users to feel that trying Microsoft's solution might not be futile.
That said, I tried Fix-It Center today with a problem I had ascertained beforehand might be futile to try to solve: I have a voice modem for which no driver has ever been written for Vista, let alone Windows 7. It works fine with Windows XP, though. (I know what you're thinking -- He has a voice modem? Show me a better device for recording phone interviews, and I'll use it.)
The interactive nature of Fix-It Center's scripts should comfort users who will be put off by the very idea of a robotic repairman. The script I ran this morning did not gallop uncontrollably from step to step before giving me an opportunity to cancel. Instead, it gave me a full checklist of active changes the script could possibly make, enabling me to disable those I wasn't certain about before proceeding.
The script did notice my "PCI Simple Communications Controller" (a generic ID for a voice modem) was disabled. In trying to enable it, the script noticed then that there was no device driver for it. Now, it could have made that determination in advance, but then it would have had to try enabling the device without asking me permission first. From a security standpoint, that would have been bad -- nothing automated in your system should attempt any substantive changes to your operating system without notifying the user (or, in the case of an enterprise, the admin).
There was a hint of a possibility that Fix-It Center could find a compatible driver for me online, but I was fairly confident that no such beast exists. What I was interested in was, what happens when the automated script runs out of options? As it reported: "We detected some problems with your system and were able to successfully apply the fixes. However, our verification shows that the problem still exists." This isn't exactly right: The script re-installed a generic driver for "PCI Simple Communications Controller," and guess what, it doesn't work.
Now, don't get me wrong: I'm not complaining about this script not being able to solve an unsolvable problem (the manufacturer of this modem would have to resurrect itself from the dead). What I'm concerned about is how problems are made to become annoyances, and one way of doing that is by fluffing them up with euphemistic language. The final report rendered by this particular script is only half-right.
It also missed one more step: Perhaps there's someplace I could have gone, or been sent, to download a driver or at least search for one. Microsoft itself does have such a service online, and linking directly to it should not have been a problem.
The good news here is, since third parties are just as capable of writing and publishing support scripts to Fix-It Center as Microsoft, some enterprising person who can improve upon the way Microsoft responded to this issue, can actually do so without just sitting back and remaining annoyed. I'm actually very pleased by the release of this service, although now is the time for everyone who used to capitalize on annoyance to start investing in solutions.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Fourth-gen iPhone prototype leaks, looks like an EVO 4G copy

Publié: avril 19, 2010, 7:06pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Apple's aloofness is world famous. The company doesn't exactly buddy up to the media like Microsoft does, and it doesn't keep a running dialogue with the public like Google does. It communicates directly with only a handful of reputable media outlets, and uses a predictable routine of product launches where it can address the public in measured doses.
One of these doses is Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) expected to take place on June 28, 2010. In 2007, this was the event that Apple used to debut the original iPhone and its availability on AT&T. Then in 2008, Apple used WWDC to unveil the iPhone 3G. In 2009, it was used to unveil the 3G S. It is essentially Apple's annual "iPhone event."
So with WWDC just a few weeks away, an interesting "leak" of the next version of the iPhone has turned up on the popular gadget blogs Gizmodo and Engadget.
Apparently, this fourth generation iPhone prototype disguised as an iPhone 3G S was found in a San Jose, California bar, and according to blogger John Gruber, Apple wants it back.
Of course, the authenticity of the whole story is in question because these blogs are privileged enough to have advance knowledge of Apple's products and could have known about this update, but were legally bound to nondisclosure. Frequently, these sites use unauthorized leaks as a loophole to talk about a product they already know about, but cannot break themselves.
The model has a slightly smaller screen than the iPhone 3G S and weighs 3 grams more. The edges are all much more severe than previous iPhone models, making it flatter and thinner overall. Reportedly, it has a front-facing video camera in addition to an improved rear-mounted camera with a flash, a micro SIM port, a noise-canceling mic, redesigned power and mute buttons, a larger battery and smaller internal components.
The storage capacity has not yet leaked, and the phone has not yet been shown running. If this is what the fourth generation iPhone will look like, it is only a moderate change in design for the handset; but one which makes it look more like the HTC HD2 and EVO 4G.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
10 questions to ask before buying iPad

Publié: avril 19, 2010, 5:44pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

On Friday night, I bought an iPad nearly three months after giving 12 reasons why I wouldn't. An unexpected reason came up: My wife's MacBook Pro died. I reckoned she could temporarily use the tablet (which cost way less than any new Mac laptop) and give me a chance to better test the device (than using the Apple Store display models). I'm not among Apple's inner circle of reviewers, nor on any of its other reviewers' lists. I'd have to buy an iPad to test one and pay the restocking fee should I decide not to keep it. The MacBook Pro failure presented reason to join the iPad Generation.
Before getting to those 10 questions to ask, first it's the story of the failed MacBook Pro. I bought the computer used -- somewhat scratched and nicked but in excellent operating condition -- in summer 2009. Early last week, the laptop started acting strangely, with scrolling display or pixelated frozen screen that required reboot. Thursday, the computer rebooted to kernel panic -- Apple's version of the Windows blue screen of death -- every other reboot before freezing up again. So I hauled the ailing laptop into the local Apple Store, expecting prognosis that the graphics chip had failed; I'd already read on the InterWeb that generation of nVidia graphics chip was defective.
At the Apple Store, the Genius confirmed what I expected but said something I didn't. The graphics chip is the only part "covered out of warranty," which in Genius Bar lingo meant free repair. Apple would replace the logic board. After handing over my wife's vintage 2008 MacBook Pro, I took another look at iPad, which I really wasn't interesting in buying (Hey, I gave 12 reasons why not, remember?). But I often swap computers, operating systems, cell phones and other gadgets to break up my routine, to minimize falling into habits. The finger-licking-good user interface certainly would disrupt how I normally interact with a computer. So I decided to buy an iPad. What's 700 bucks between frienemies? But there were none in stock. No problem. An Apple Store employee took my name to reserve one for whenever more shipped in.
Next day, I got email that my iPad was waiting. Whoa, that was fast. I bought the 64GB WiFi model hours later, using money from my meager tax refund. My wife and I both used the tablet over the weekend, but she less time than either of us expected. About 6:15 Sunday evening, someone from the Apple Store called to say that my wife's laptop was ready for pick up. Whoa, that was pretty good service. Turnaround was less than 72 hours after I had been told the repair would take five-to-seven days.
Based on my early iPad usage, I've formed some questions potential buyers should ask when considering the big purchase. I'm not ready to review or even recommend iPad, and I may yet return the device. It's an expensive toy for my budget, fun as iPad may be to use. Now for those questions:
1. Can you rub your tummy, wave your hand, chew bubblegum and blink your eyes at the same time? If so, iPad isn't for you. The device is a multitasking-free zone. OK, some Apple applications kind of work at the same time -- on par with rubbing your tummy and chewing gum together. But iPad is, for now, mainly a one-thing-at-a-time device, which is one of several reasons why in early March I singled out the 55-and-older set as a viable market segment.
2. Do you watch videos at places other than YouTube? If so, forget iPad. For me, the device generated scathes of frustration because the browser doesn't support Adobe Flash. Just try watching videos at MTV.com, Engadget or any (other) Wordpress.com site using the built-in video streaming service. They're Flash-based, baby, so they poop out using iPad's mobile Safari.
Apple has gone on the offensive against Flash, and Macheads have joined in, justifying the attack. What a load of crap. For all the BS about Apple protecting the user experience, Flash is all over the Web. The Flash flap is like Apple releasing a digital-only TV four years ago and arguing that analog is inferior and has a monopoly on broadcasting standards. Digital is better, so Apple won't support analog. This is exactly the kind of argument applied to Flash, ignoring it is the major means by which video is delivered over the Web.
3. Do you like to eat with your fingers? Then iPad is for you. The Apple demos don't lie. The tablet is pure finger food. Are you ambidextrous or would you like to be? Apple is a two-handed device, if rightly used. Think "Minority Report" for the kind of sweeping movements that make iPad fun to use and a remarkably more productive tool than mouse and keyboard.
4. Do you have trouble managing your inbox? I sure as hell do. The mail just piles up for months before I finally get around to deleting and filing. On Saturday night, I cleaned up about six months of @me.com email, using iPad. It was unfraking believable. Using my fingers, I blew through the work in about one-third the time of using keyboard and mouse. Bee-Jesus!
5. Did you rebuy music or movies you already purchased to get the content in a new format? You know, moving from vinyl to CDs or VHS to DVD or DVD to Blu-ray (or, gasp, defunct HD DVD). If so, you'll be primed to rebuy many iPod/iPhone touch apps as iPad versions, which typically cost more in the larger formatted size. Not only will you pay twice, but higher price, too. Welcome to the iPad economy!
6. Do you like to read while sitting on the toilet? Wonderful, iPad is the ideal bathroom reader. You can choose from e-books, magazine apps or the Web -- even watch a TV show or (gasp!) movie if you need that long in there.
7. Is your music library bigger than a cereal box? Mine is 78GB of music, and video content consumes a little more. The iPad offers storage capacity of 16GB, 32GB or 64GB, which is underwhelming for big content consumers. Since there are no USB ports, digital content stored on portable drives isn't a real solution either. Streaming music could be an option while you work, but -- whoops -- Apple prohibits third-party apps like Pandora from doing so.
8. Have you pined for an Apple laptop but couldn't justify, or afford, $999 for the white MacBook? Well, well, for half that price iPad could be yours. It's the cheapest Mac you can buy. The tablet easily provides more than 90 percent of everyday portable PC functionality -- better than a Windows netbook, in my testing. But there is the puny storage (16GB) for $499, Flashless browser, no peripheral ports (OK, Apple sells extra-cost camera and VGA adaptors) and singletasking to consider. But if you can live with these compromises, iPad has plenty of appeal. The screen is so beautiful, you will want to lick it (and your fingers, too).
9. Do you enjoy reading bulky magazines, like Brides or the old Computer Shopper? Then you'll love iPad for its heft, on the order of a later series Harry Potter book, but, of course, nowhere as thick. The iPad measures 24.28 cm by 18.97 cm by 1.34 cm (9.56 inches by 7.47 inches by .5 inches). The WiFi model is .68 kg (1.5 pounds) and the 3G model .73 kg (1.6 pounds).
For my tastes, iPad is too large, about as long as a hardcover book and much wider, by about 3 cm. The black border surrounding the viewable part of the screen is about 2 cm around. By removing the border, iPad's length and width would be about the same as a hardcover book. The iPad doesn't compare well to ultra-thin, electronic paper screens, making it not nearly as "revolutionary" as advertised. In two or perhaps three years, Apple will unveil an iPad nano that is super thin with smaller dimensions.
10. Do you travel often by air and find annoying and time wasting the security process of removing your laptop from its bag? Like me, perhaps you worry about notebook theft while going through the security line. If the answer is yes, iPad could save you time and troubles. In the United States, the TSA has deemed iPad as security check-in friendly. You can leave it in your bag. Yesterday, Altimeter Group analyst Michael Gartenberg tweeted: "Going through security with iPad was a breeze. Easiest pass through since 9/11. Nice to lose five pounds that quickly." That could be you!
Wrapping up, do you have any questions to ask about iPad or perhaps others you think potential buyers should ask? Please offer them in comments. As for my iPad, I'm still weighing options. If you live in the San Diego area and would settle for a slightly-used Apple tablet, make me a reasonable offer.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Adobe now taking beta testers for Flash Player 10.1 and AIR 2.0 for Android

Publié: avril 19, 2010, 4:33pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Even if Apple CEO Steve Jobs says nobody will be using Adobe Flash in the future, and that the world is moving to HTML5, there's still a place for Adobe's browser plug-in on Android, the fastest growing mobile platform out there.
After putting Flash 10 on the HTC Hero last year, Adobe is ready to test the next iteration of Flash on all Android devices. Over the weekend, the company began accepting beta testers for the Android versions of Flash Player 10.1 and AIR 2.0.
"There are going to be so many interesting things that you will be able to do on Android and there are also going to be many new skills that you will need to learn, especially if you are new to mobile design." Flash Evangelist Lee Brimelow wrote in the Flash Blog over the weekend.
To have access to Adobe Labs and participate in the betas, you must first sign up to be an Adobe.com user (The signup pages are located here and here,) and you will be notified when the betas will be available.
The actual date that the beta will begin has not yet been specified.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010