JHU's Newest Nobel Laureate →
In a day chock-full of metaphors used to explain universe-sized science, Adam Riess employed a simple image to convey to his 7-year-old daughter the life-altering award he had just won. It's like getting a "great big gold sticker" on your school folder, he told her.
That and $1.49 million dollars. But well-deserved for one of the greatest discoveries of astrophysics.
Facebook Fixes and Explains Logout Issue →
Facebook has fixed a "bug" where a cookie containing your account ID persisted after logout. But the remaining cookies...
...by the very purpose they serve, uniquely identify the browser being used - even after logout. As a user, you have to take Facebook at their word that the purpose of these cookies is only for what is being described.
At a press event today in New York and San Francisco, we announced and previewed a selection of new Windows Live Hotmail features that will be rolling out to users in the coming month, including better tools for managing newsletters like unsubscribe and scheduled inbox cleanup, improvements to flagging, custom categories for filters and quickviews, a new Android app with full email, contact, and calendar syncing, and my favorite, instant actions that appear when hovering over messages. The official blog post has details a few of these, WinRumors has a writeup with some other details and screenshots, and http://anotherlookathotmail.com has video of the new features in action along with facts and stats, performance numbers, info on security, and why you should give Hotmail another look.
Continual connectivity has led to a new sensibility. People move from a way of thinking in which they say, 'I have a feeling, I want to make a call,' to one where they say, 'I want to have a feeling, I need to send a text (or post on a social network).' Social networking nurtures a way of thinking about the self in which one constitutes a feeling by sending out for comments.
— Sherry Turkle, Plazm
Real Competition From Redmond: Windows Phone 7 "Mango" →
With Mango, Microsoft has got the smartphone operating system right. It's fast, it's fun, it's easy to use, it does everything you need, and it looks great. It takes the things that made the original release unique and makes them better, and it addresses nearly every criticism made of that version. As a piece of software, it's a triumph, and it's more than good enough to take on Android and iOS.
I really love mine, and the update is fabulous.
Samsung to Pay Microsoft for Every Android Device They Sell →
Google's dream of making a free and open mobile operating system is starting to look like a nightmare. While it is still true that no one has to pay Google to put Android on their phone or tablet it seems as though they will have to pay Microsoft.
So, Microsoft's making money off of Android but Google's still not.
Lollipops may be 75 cents, but how much for the gumballs?
Eric Schmidt Admits Google Monopoly
Senator Herb Kohl: Do you recognize that in the words that are used and antitrust kind of oversight, your market share constitutes monopoly, dominant ... special power dominant for a monopoly firm? You recognize you're in that area?
Eric Schmidt: I would agree, sir, that we're in that area.
Eric Schmidt: I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding of monopoly findings is this is a judicial process.
Facebook Defends Getting Data From Logged-Out Users →
Facebook responds to the tracking allegations with comments to the Wall Street Journal:
Facebook on Monday defended its practice of gathering data from "Like" buttons even after users have logged out, saying that the collection is part of a system to prevent improper logins and that the information is quickly deleted.
Sounds like no one's denying this is actually true.
Arturo Bejar, a Facebook director of engineering, said that the data is required to prevent spam and phishing attacks and to help keep users from having to go through extra authentication steps every time they log in.
"The onus is on us is to take all the data and scrub it," said Bejar. "What really matters is what we say as a company and back it up."
That's funny, Facebook. I really don't trust what you say.