Facebook's 'new home on Android' announcement on April 4th could, if the latest reports are to be believed, take the form of a home screen dedicated to the social network. The WallStreetJournal has learned that next week's event will give us an overview of the home screen which will apparently "display content from users' Facebook accounts on a smartphone's home screen." More details after the jump.
Facebook has sent out press invitations to an event set to be held on Thursday, April 4th at its Menlo Park HQ in California, and although it would appear from the invite as though the topic of conversation will be Android-related, all sorts of theories are already being offered as to what Mark Zuckerberg's company has up its sleeve. It may well just be that the social network has overhauled the Android app, bringing a series of new and cutting-edge features. But with previous movements and rumors suggesting the company is keen to release a new round of Facebook-branded smartphones or perhaps its own, Facebook-centric OS based on Google's ecosystem, the potential for things to get really interesting is perhaps higher than usual.
Facebook is already the biggest social network on the planet, but that doesn't mean it has everything its own way. For every user that actively updates their feeds with new content for their friends to read, there must be many, many more that simply visit Facebook in order to keep up with what their old school pals are doing.
It's a predicament many of us face on a frequent basis; our friend wants to connect to your Wi-Fi, and we're left scrambling around for that torn up piece of paper on which we scribbled that long and elaborate, alphanumeric code. Either that, or we're left playing the guessing game, trying to remember a password we only ever think about in these very situations. Sure, there are ways to make this system a whole lot smoother, but by far the easiest method is to generate a QR code and stick it on top of your router. Is this a new technique? No. Is it particularly groundbreaking? Definitely not. But the fact is, you don't do it, and if you don't ever want to bother reeling off your Wi-Fi password ever again, check out the very simple method outlined after the break.
In this Digital Age, we're certainly using paper a great deal less than we used to. Whether reading, writing or corresponding, the ease in which one can send an e-mail, purchase and read a new book or create a document is something often taken for granted, but as one French company has correctly pointed out, there are still plenty of uses for paper in our day-to-day lives. Humorously portrayed in an advertisement, a husband constantly taunts his bemused partner by enjoying a more efficient, digital life than his altogether more traditional other half; but soon comes a cropper in a certain situation where a tablet simply cannot be of any use.
Sometimes a story comes along that requires more than a few deep breaths before being written. This one needed some deep breaths, some coffee and some strong words. But before we launch into the absolute stupidity of the whole thing, let's get into the nuts and bolts of the story first.
Google has just announced that Andy Rubin, chief of the search company's Android mobile platform, is stepping down from his role, with Chrome and Apps Vice President Sundar Pichai taking his place. Rubin has been at the helm of Android since the company acquired it way back in 2005, and has helped it become one the most widely-used mobile OS in the world. Pichai will take the reigns at Android, but will also continue his role as VP of Chrome and Apps for the foreseeable future.
If you live in the United States and have signed a contract with a major phone carrier, chances are that your device is permanently locked into your network, stopping you from switching networks long after your contract has expired. A new petition calling for legalizing phone unlocking has been officially endorsed by the White House, following a decision by the Library of Congress late last year to make the practice illegal.
Angry Birds has been a huge success story of the modern mobile platform, and the franchise has branched out considerably since starting out as a simple game for iOS. As I write this, I am surrounded by several Angry Birds plush toys, but products have ranged from phone cases, to speaker docks, to books. The natural progression would probably be a movie, but with that particular venture scheduled to be happening in years to come, fans will have to make do with a new Web cartoon series, which premieres on March 16th and 17th.
An announcement by Microsoft has officially signaled the demise of the famed email service Hotmail, with Outlook moving in to fill its place having finally shaken off its seemingly everlasting Preview status. Although the end of Hotmail will perhaps be a poignant for a few within the Redmond camp, it has been a long time coming, and even though it seems like a big transition, the look and feel of Hotmail has borrowed from Outlook for a while now.
