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News

• Facebook adds new controls for third-party apps

  Facebook has revamped the way its users share information with third-party applications and Web sites in an effort to make the process easier, the company said Wednesday.

• Building a Facebook killer won't be easy for Google

  Hearsay in recent days that Google is working hard on a project to better compete against Facebook has captured the attention of industry observers, who wonder what shape this initiative might take and what is its likelihood of success.

• PS3 update will add PlayStation Plus, Facebook integration

  Sony's monolithic cell-powered console is getting a new software update via firmware that's planning to bring some significant additions and tweaks to the Playstation 3 user experience--namely, the addition of the subscription-based PlayStation Plus service and a version of Facebook customized for the PS3.

• Web abuzz on talk of Google Facebook killer

  Speculation is spreading around the Web that Google is building a site that could be a Facebook-killer.

• SharePoint 2010: Four Big-Name Social Networking Rivals

  Microsoft became decidedly more social with SharePoint 2010, adding social networking tools like improved wiki and blog integration, tagging and microblogging into its SharePoint MySites feature.

• You Are Here: Scary New Location Privacy Risks

  Location-based services on a mobile phone are terrifically helpful when you need to find a nearby business or directions to the freeway.

• Facebook stands by its homegrown infrastructure

  Facebook regularly reviews whether to continue using its own data centers or hand off its processing to a cloud service provider, and its operations remain on homegrown infrastructure.

• Google Docs creates expectations CIOs can't meet, Red Hat CEO says

  As chief executive of Red Hat, Jim Whitehurst spends much of his time traveling the world and talking to CIOs, and he constantly hears one thing: that they are "under siege" by user expectations.

• Facebook engineer: Going large requires thinking small

  When managing a constantly expanding system with many moving parts, it is crucial to break the system into large numbers of small pieces and manage them with lots of small, dedicated teams, advised Bobby Johnson, who is director of engineering for Facebook, at the Usenix Annual Technical Conference in Boston.

• Facebook Chides Privacy Coalition Over 'Open Letter'

  Facebook released a point-by-point rebuttal to an open letter about privacy from consumer watchdog groups this week, saying that it already created measures to protect user privacy and that its instant personalization pilot program has been greatly misunderstood.

• Firefox add-on encrypts Facebook and Twitter

  Firefox users worried about Internet eavesdropping are being offered a new way to encrypt their interaction with a range of popular websites, including Facebook and Twitter.

• Not safe for work: What's acceptable office computer use

  How many minutes, or hours, did you spend on Facebook today? Even if you spent just a few minutes on the popular social networking site during office hours, you're not alone. Data from Nucleus Research finds 77 percent of workers who have a Facebook account use it during work hours.

• Facebook slammed again over privacy

  Just when it seemed that Facebook's privacy tumult was quieting down, more fuel was added to the fire this week.

• How Will Facebook Make Money?

  For many of people, Facebook is the first stop in any Web surfing session. It has developed into a highly engaging combination of online bulletin board, personal scrapbook, and group communication network. But did you ever wonder why, being all those things, Facebook is free?

• Facebook poses mobile working 'security threat'

  Remote staff using Facebook are seen as the biggest security and productivity threat to mobile working, according to research.