What with Facebook being a public company these days, making money just so happens to be one of its primary objectives, but while we're more than used to seeing ads every time we log into the social network, the new auto-playing video ads feel just a little obtrusive. If you're irritated by these recently-introduced advertisements, then you'll be pleased to know that, for the time being, at least, there's a way out. Below, we take you through the steps on how to deactivate them, regardless of whether you're on Android, iOS or the Web.
Facebook has just rolled out a new feature called Nearby Friends which, as the name suggests, helps you to connect with those on your friends list who happen to be close-by. The tool is optional, however, so if you do wish to remain off the radar, you're not obliged to participate.
Google took a much needed step on Monday to update its terms of service that govern the use of its many products and offerings. As part of the update, and more than likely as part of a direct response to the numerous privacy lawsuits that are underway against the company, Google has provided some clarity on its automatic email scanning tools that form an integral part of its mail service, Gmail. Whether or not the new terms of service will be enough to appease those who have brought claims against the company via the legal system is still unknown.
Those looking to attend Google's big I/O developer conference can now register their interest in obtaining tickets for the event. The Big G is holding a lottery for tickets, so there's no need to rush over to the registration page, and you have the next three days to sign up for a chance to win.
Thanks to extensions, browsers like Firefox and Chrome can be tailored to suit the needs of the individual users. Once a mere component of the wider computing experience, our browsers are like an OS unto themselves, and every element – irrespective of whether it may be aesthetic or function-related – can be adjusted by means of the many thousands of extensions available.
The company has been applying a lot of man hours and internal resources into not only polishing and fine tuning the Messenger app, but also implementing, testing and experimenting with new features. This month's introduction of free-of-charge VoIP calling has finally accelerated the product to the point where Facebook feels comfortable enough to remove chat from its main app, a move that will be rolling out over the next eight weeks.
Essential activities like banking, shopping and sending emails can all be achieved from the palm of our hands through a device that fits snugly in a trouser pocket. But with all that power comes an increased level of responsibility to protect ourselves and the people we communicate with online. Malicious groups that have previously attempted to target Apple ID holders through official looking phishing scams are at it again with a new "account validation" scam.
We've had more than our fill of Google Glass coverage during the past twelve months, and with Facebook having recently purchased Oculus VR, even Sony has been teasing the virtual reality tech Project Morpheus that it hopes will enhance the PlayStation experience. With this sudden interest in face-worn computers, SEGA wasn't going to be left out, and while other companies seem to be looking into the future, SEGA has taken us on a trip down memory lane with its own Mega Drive head-mounted wearable.
Oculus had already caused a storm in the start-up community having generated a strong following on Kickstarter, but it was the acquisition earlier on this week by Facebook for $2 billion that really thrust the virtual reality gadgeteer into the spotlight. With a current emphasis on gaming, Mark Zuckerberg made it clear that he has big plans to integrate Oculus' VR technology across the wider digital spectrum, revolutionizing the way we communicate and interact with the world around us. Today, a neat concept by Chaotic Moon has thrown up an interesting idea, showing a user navigating through a virtual shopping mall using a VR headset, and giving an early insight into just how Zuck and co. might eventually utilize Oculus.
Those of us that use social networks on a regular basis are well aware of the fact that even though we frequently delete status updates, tweets, photos and other such fodder, they're probably stored in a vault somewhere to incriminate us at some point in the future. But in the case of Facebook, messages you thought you deleted by hitting that 'x' button in the corner have actually just been archived, and as such, are still easy to go back, recover and re-read. If you want to find out how to locate this secret archive and recover your messages which you thought soared into oblivion, we've got a little tutorial below.
