Facebook introduces ‘ask’ button for relationship statuses

Facebook Ask ButtonFacebook stalking has reached a whole new level following the introduction of an ‘ask’ button, allowing you to enquire about someone’s relationship status.

Users who have opted to leave their relationship status blank will soon be presented with a button through which friends can send a message.

You can choose whether to share your response with just the asker, or with your friends in the unlikely event you’d want your reply to be made public.

The social network began introducing ‘ask’ buttons for other sections including employer, phone number and hometowns in January, but has only now extended it to relationships.

The ask button has been rolled out across the majority of US users, and is likely to filter across the UK in coming weeks.

Earlier this year, Facebook released data proving it knows when you’re about to enter into a relationship via your interactions on the website.

Using anonymised, aggregated data, Facebook examined the average number of timeline posts shared between two people before they decided to change their status from ‘single’ to ‘in a relationship’.

During the 100 prior to this change, the researchers observed a slow but steady increase in the number of posts between the couple-to-be.

From the first day as a bona-fide couple, the amount of shared posts begins to decrease, which Facebook attributes to the couple deciding to “to spend more time together, courtship is off, and online interactions give way to more interactions in the physical world”.

Telegraph

Apple sued over disappearing iMessage texts sent to Android users

iMessageLike a Kafkaesque nightmare for the Information Age, select former iPhone users who switch over to Google’s Android mobile operating system have been suffering an iMessage fiasco without a fix — keeping texts from arriving without notifying either party of the problem. Now, Apple has been slammed with a lawsuit over its negligence to address the issue, according to a report by Bloomberg on Friday.

The problem lies in iMessage, the service rolled out in 2011 with iOS 5 that lets iPhone users communicate with each over data and Wi-Fi instead of their respective telecom networks — meaning faster messages that don’t count toward your cell plan. Denoted only by a blue bubble around the text instead of a regular green one, iMessages were seen as a technical marvel for working seamlessly within the iPhone’s native SMS client.

That is until you decide to jump ship from iOS and head over to Android, an OS now running around 80 percent of smartphones worldwide as of May 2014.

Since the 2011 rollout of iMessage, select former iPhone owners with their cell number tied up in iMessage have reported an interference in which texts sent from existing iPhone owners fall into a void in which the sender thinks thinks it was delivered and the newly minted owner of the Android handset never receives it. The issue appears to be on a device level, meaning each and every current iPhone user’s device thinks the new Android user is still using an Apple handset.

Not only is that text then lost forever — wrapped up in the iMessage account of a deactivated iPhone — but Apple has no concrete solution to prevent it from happening, an Apple tech support specialist told Adam Pash, former Lifehacker editor in chief. Pash reignited the debate around the issue Tuesday in a blog post on his personal website alleging that Apple is aware of the problem, but “is apparently clueless as how to fix it,” the Apple tech support specialist told him.

Apple declined to comment for this story.

The “iMessage purgatory” ordeal, as Pash called it, may come to a head as newly minted Samsung handset owner Adrienne Moore filed a complaint yesterday in San Jose, Calif., claiming that Apple failed to disclose its knowledge of the problem and its lack of a viable solution.

Moore is seeking class action status for her suit — meaning she is suing on behalf of a larger group and the outcome could trickle down to all affected iPhone owners, though the complaint did not specify damages.

Current fixes for the problem include deactivating iMessage in the settings panel of your iPhone before switching over the SIM card or phone number to a new Android phone — though even that has proven ineffective for numerous affected iPhone owners. Other more cumbersome fixes involve having iPhone users in your address book delete your contact and re-add it, hopefully establishing a regular connection and wiping out the iMessage relationship between the two phone numbers.

CNET

Facebook expands FbStart program

FbStartWhen Facebook launched FbStart during its recent F8 developer conference, the bootstrapping program was only open to developers who attended the conference. On Wednesday the social media giant announced FbStart has shed its exclusivity and is now open to any developer with public iOS or Android apps.

FbStart provides developers with up to $5,000 worth of developer tools for bootstrapping apps and up to $30,000 to accelerate existing apps. Developers are admitted on an application basis, but once accepted they are granted access to tools from the bevy of partner companies working with the program, as well as credits for Facebook ads and Parse services.

Transifex and HootSuite were added to the partner list Wednesday, making the eclectic mix look like this:

  • Adobe – creative services
  • Appurify – mobile app testing
  • Asana – project management
  • Blue Jeans – cloud-based video collaboration service
  • Desk.com – customer support
  • HootSuite – social media monitoring
  • MailChimp – email marketing
  • Proto.io – mobile app prototyping
  • Quip – mobile productivity tools
  • SurveyMonkey – online survey platform
  • Transifex – localization
  • UserTesting – usability testing
  • Workable – recruitment

The FBStart program is just a fraction the efforts Facebook is putting toward growing its app business. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced his plans to strengthen the site’s app development platform, modeled around three core pillars: build, grow and monetize.

It seems FbStart falls into the ‘grow’ pillar, along with a new mobile Like button, also rolled out during the one-day F8 event.

ZDNet

Heroku/Node.js – parse error: Expected separator between values

nodejsAs I go through setting up a Node.js app on Heroku, I encountered some really silly issues, so I figured I would share them with the web and hopefully help someone who runs into the same problem.  This one was a really stupid mistake on my part – I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I did this.  So going through the Getting Started with Node.js on Heroku guide, I got to the section on updating the package.json file to specify which version of node to use.  And here’s where I made my mistake.  My package.json looked like this:

{
  "name": "example-app",
  "version": "0.0.0",
  "description": "", 
  "main": "app.js",
  "scripts": {},  
  "author": "", 
  "license": "ISC",
  "dependencies": {
    "express": "^4.2.0"
  }
  "engines": {
    "node": "0.10.28"
  }
}

Can you see the mistake I made?  No? I forgot a comma when I added the “engines” key to the json object.  Well, I guess I should be clear that this was the first mistake I made.  After I fixed this, I figured everything should be fine and my app would run, so I ran the git push command:

macbook$ git push heroku master

Drum roll please… “parse error: Expected separator between values…” – wanh wanh… oh yeah, I forgot to commit my changes to package.json before trying to push.  And finally, success! My app was deployed.  Again, I hope this helps someone.  Good luck with your node app.

Anyone in the US can buy Glass as long as they have it on hand

glass_framesThe Google Glass team posted that anyone in the US can now purchase a pair of Glass as long as they have them in stock.  Also looks like you can pick between sun shades or actual frames. Unfortunately, the price tag is still $1500 so it’s not anymore affordable than previously.  Pretty sure anyone who wants a pair of Glass already has one at this point, but if not, head over to google.com/glass.  Original post from Google Glass team:

Last week we told you we’d be trying out new ways to find Explorers. Well, we weren’t kidding. We learned a lot when we opened our site a few weeks ago, so we’ve decided to move to a more open beta. We’re still in the Explorer Program while we continue to improve our hardware and software, but starting today anyone in the US can buy the Glass Explorer Edition, as long as we have it on hand: google.com/glass

We’re ready to keep meeting new Explorers, and we can’t wait to hear all your experiences and feedback to continue to make Glass even better, ahead of our wider consumer release.

LG G Watch – Timeless and Waterproof

LG G WatchLG keeps chipping away at the G Watch mystery, with a new video about the Android Wear wearable ahead of its upcoming launch. The smartwatch – expected to be positioned primarily as a companion device for the new LG G3, though it will work with any Android phone or tablet – could well be officially unveiled by LG later this month, at its event on May 27th.

The new video is still scant on actual details, which LG is saving for the full launch.

However, it does name-check features like the metal body that’s waterproof for more flexibility, and show off a few of Android Wear’s screens, like the weather updates and notifications on upcoming flights. They’re powered by the Google Now engine, pulling contextual information from your various Google accounts – Calendar, Gmail, and Maps, among others – to flag up notifications when they’re most appropriate.

LG also mentions the G Watch has “a timeless look,” though it’ll be going up some well-styled competition. Motorola’s MOTO 360. That has a distinctive round display, something uncommon on today’s smartwatches.

Specifics like pricing and release dates are still unknown, though we may hear more alongside the LG G3’s official debut in London at the end of the month.

SlashGear

From $80 to $1500, the cost and value of Google Glass

Google Glass TeardownYou may be tempted to say a ‘rip-off’ but the answer is Google’s very controversial Glass wearable computer.

According to Teardown.com the accurate Bill of Materials (BOM) of Google’s Glass is $79.78 or around 5% of its retail price.

Before anyone jumps to conclusions that Google is ripping off customers – a fact that they vehemently deny – let us be clear that:

  • Google Glass is a combination of hardware and software
  • It is bleeding edge (earlier than leading edge) technology that cost a lot to develop. Google’s Mirror Application Programing Interface (API) is remarkably comprehensive and complex
  • It is relatively unique
  • And it is has been sold in limited numbers mainly to developers – sorry ‘Explorers’ with the attendant support costs that entails

Conclusion – $1500 may be what the market can bear but it probably has cost Google a lot more than what they have recouped – Google is entitled to make money.

Teardown is doing Google a favour by debunking a few myths. The computing hardware inside Glass is not ‘white man’s magic’ rather it’s a relatively low powered system on a chip (SoC*), 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, 5MP camera, 570mAH battery, 5MP camera, microphone, bone conduction speaker, and a 640×360 transparent display.

*The SoC is actually several chips that provide Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, Accelerometer, compass and gyroscope, touch, audio all controlled by the older Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. Do not forget the Titanium glasses frame and USB charger, cable and soft case.

The good news – not so much for Google – is that its competitors will eventually be able to make similar specified wearables and sell them for a fraction of the price – if they can ever get around Google’s patents! Simple – licence Glass from Google or in Samsung’s case use Tizen!

iTWire

Facebook Woos Mobile Developers, but Is It Too Late?

Not so long ago, the key to building a successful app business required piggybacking on an existing big network like Facebook.

But relying on Facebook for your paycheck also meant being subject to the whims of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The “things” in Facebook’s mantra, “Move fast and break things,” frequently meant your app, your business.

So it is no surprise that as Zuckerberg took the stage at the f8 conference this week to woo developers back to the platform, his intended audience wondered if they really needed Facebook. After all, just a few weeks before the gathering, Facebook paid $19 billion for WhatsApp, a messaging company built without any help from the world’s largest social network.

In fact, an entire generation of messaging apps have established strong followings without relying on Facebook’s social graph or its powerful database of users. Aside from WhatsApp, there is Snapchat, Line, WeChat, KakaoTalk, Viber, Kik, Telegram — all with audiences in the tens of millions without assistance from a larger network.

Developing for mobile devices, where the new action is taking place, has empowered developers with one key tool — your smartphone’s phone book. These new apps are bypassing gatekeepers like Facebook and building new networks right from your own smartphone by going directly to your contacts list.

While phone books have been around for ages, one prominent app developer reminded me that it was the advent of the smartphone app, kicked off by the iPhone, that started making the phone book such a vital tool to creating new social graphs for developers to tap into.

“The address book was always there, but more people have smartphones now than they did five years ago,” this person said. “Now more of those address books can connect to apps.”

Another person intimately familiar with Facebook’s platform noted that this method of tapping into cellphone contacts works particularly well for communication-based apps, though not for all types of apps.

Those who choose to work with Facebook say it comes with strings attached. Some call it the Facebook tax. As a developer, you’re handing Facebook valuable data on the performance of your apps, the audiences that use it and how well your app is doing. And if developers choose to implement the new anonymous login tool the company introduced this week, they could be helping Facebook more than Facebook is helping them.

“Anonymous login scares the shit out of me as a developer,” the person intimately familiar with Facebook’s platform strategy told me. “So Facebook knows who my user is, but I don’t. They know more about my app and user base than me.”

Trust is at an all time low after years of neglect to their concerns, developers say. In the past, Facebook would frequently make snap changes to its platform, often breaking other developers’ integrated apps in the process with little or no immediate explanation.

Or say your app’s popularity is seen as a threat to Facebook. It has been known to suddenly shut off access.

“There has been a flurry of mobile apps that have been trying to use Facebook as an anchor to build their own ‘network’ in a sense, and Facebook then deems them competitive and blocks them or shuts them off,” said another prominent developer who has had a troubled relationship with Facebook. “That’s something everyone has been fearful of,” this person said.

To soothe developers, Facebook announced a series of improvements, including offering up to $30,000 worth of development services to promising a “stability guarantee” that it would continue to support apps for two years even if it made changes to its platform. So significant was the latter that it inspired Facebook to modify its motto to a less catchy “Move fast with stable infra” (short for infrastructure).

Facebook will also make better use of Parse, a startup it acquired last year that is beloved by developers. Parse sells tools and back-end support to smaller mobile apps developers.

The most powerful tool in Facebook’s arsenal could turn out to be the creation of a new open-source code standard called App Links. With App Links, clicking a link in one app will send you directly to another a page or section on another app and bypass the clunky mobile browser altogether.

Though it is open source, this process, called mobile deep linking, could give Facebook more control over how the future of smartphone usage will play out.

Think of it in terms of how one Facebook ad competitor put it to us: “That whole deep-linking product that Facebook just announced? If that works? God, that’s Google search,” this person said. Facebook could become the thread that connects all mobile apps together.

To be fair to Facebook, some industry insiders think the social network can still make a strong case for many other kinds of apps to work with it.

“Most kinds of apps, especially content-based apps, tend to leverage FB to grow,” the person familiar with Facebook’s platform strategy said. “Instagram and Pinterest certainly did. And I think a lot more will.”

But convincing developers to hand over more control will be a challenge for Facebook as it mends its relationship with the community.

“I’d say we should all be taking this news with a grain of salt, but it’s more like buckets of salt,” one prominent Facebook development partner, who did not want to be named, told Re/code.

It will take more than dropping the L-word.

“My goal over the next 10 years is to build a culture of loving the people we serve,”  Zuckerberg told a packed room full of developers at the f8 event on Wednesday, far gushier than the 29-year-old CEO has ever come off in public.

Re/code

SVN E195016: Cannot merge into a working copy with a switched subtree

As a developer, I’m pretty accustomed to getting error messages.  I think the number of errors I’ve seen is probably greater than the number of lines of code I’ve written.  I definitely have seen the same error 20 times in a row as I try to debug a single line of code.  So is the life of a developer.  Anyways, this fun error message was seen when I was trying to merge a branch into trunk after a release with the following command:

svn merge --reintegrate

I guess I should also mention that the weekend before this happened, I had just updated my Macbook Pro from Lion to Mavericks.  A little research revealed that this was due to the upgrade and my version of SVN being updated to version 1.7.  So the proposed solutions were mainly around updating my branch and removing the mergeinfo property files in each folder.  This wasn’t a great idea and seemed really manual.  So after more research, I found that it would be easier to just do a manual merge:

// from the destination where you want to merge changes into
svn merge -r N:M SOURCE

N and M are the start (N) and end (M) revision numbers you want to merge into your destination project.  And SOURCE is the url to the project you want to merge changes from.  So, in my original example of merging changes from a release branch into trunk, I would run the following command from my trunk directory:

svn merge -r 1:100 http://svn/project/trunk

Hope this helps someone.

Amazon Spotlights Wearables With New Store

Amazon Wearable StoreFrom smartwatches to connected spectacles, new wearable computing devices are hitting the market left and right. And now, your go-to online seller wants to make it easier than ever to help you find the perfect wearable.

Amazon on Tuesday launched a new online hub where you can find and buy everything from activity trackers and smartwatches to wearable cameras and more. The new Amazon wearable technology store offers gadgets from established brands like Samsung, Jawbone, and GoPro as well as newbies like Basis and Misfit. Amazon said it would also offer devices from brands like Narrative and Bionym in the future.

The store is currently promoting Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatches and Fitbit activity trackers front and center, though you can browse products in several different categories, including fitness & wellness, healthcare devices, cameras, watches, and family-friendly wearables. If you’re not sure which wearable to choose, the store features a learning center and video library so you can get a good look and compare different devices.

“Wearable technology is an exciting category with rapid innovation and our customers are increasingly coming to Amazon to shop and learn about these devices,” John Nemeth, director of wireless and mobile electronics at Amazon, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to bring our customers a store with the largest selection and great prices that helps eliminate the guesswork when deciding which wearable devices best fit their needs — whether that is tracking activity, staying connected through smart watches or capturing their next adventure with wearable cameras.”

PCMag