Scoble And Zuckerberg Discuss New Facebook Features

Robert Scoble, Scobelizer.com (also from Rackspace and  building43) and Mark Zuckerberg discuss Facebook's new Groups, Dowload Your Data, and Platform Apps Dashboard features released to the site over the past day or so. Here is the recorded discussion:

While Groups seems to be the one feature that is attracting the most attention, I'm impressed by Download Your Data and the Platform Apps Dashboard. Not to say that Groups is not a cool feature, but for a company who has had it's share of criticism regarding personal data giving the user the ability to make copies of their data and an easy way to see who is looking at what is a big step towards being open and accountable. If nothing else, it may make users more aware of what they are sharing and just what's out there for others to see.

Quebec Man Ordered To Pay Facebook $873 - million For Spamming The Social Network

A Quebec court has upheld a 2008 California ruling ordering Adam Guerbuez to pay a fine of $100 per spam message sent and another $100 per message in damages to Facebook. Guerbuez's company Atlantis Blue Capital used Facebook to spam users with ads for erectile dysfunction cures a move that has put him and his company in the Guiness Book of World Records for the largest fine ever levied. 

“My client has already filed under the bankruptcy act, so [Facebook becomes] one of his creditors,” said Mr. Guerbuez’s lawyer, Éric Potvin.

“Facebook becomes the biggest one of his creditors,” he added.

Guerbuez had hoped that moving the appeal to his home Province would provide him with some relief from the huge fine, but the court showed no sympathy and upheld the previous ruling. Of course, Facebook doesn't expect to ever receive the full amount of the decision but it certainly has created, at least to some, a deterrent for any such future actions.

Source: The Globe and Mail

Spray On Clothing Demonstrated

I'm a little speechless over this one, it's like technology you'd expect to see in an episode of The Jetson's in a can... you have to see it to believe it.

I wonder how it fairs in the washing machine, or in the rain for that matter?

Microsoft Stock Down Graded By Goldman Sachs

It sounds as if Wall Street is taking a cautious approach when it come to Microsoft stocks these days and according to the Globe and Mail that's due to the software giants failure to play an important role in the mobile market place. While analysts are still recommending the share as a buy the company's share value is down a reported 22% in 2010. It appears as though it's losing it's luster and it will be interesting to see if it can wrestle it's way back to the top of the tech world. Check out this report from The Globe and Mail's Market View:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/markets/markets-blog/market-view-video/giving-up-on-microsoft/article1741460/

I Just Saw The Social Network, As Did Facebook's Many Employees

I have just returned home from watching The Social Network with my family and we all agreed that it was a fine movie, there was even sympathy expressed for Mark Zuckerberg as we discussed the film over dinner. While I suppose we'll never know just how much was truth and what was fiction, those who are much closer to the story, the Facebook employees, were treated by the company to a movie day. Yes, Zuckerberg and company paid for Facebook's HQ employees to see the movie on opening day at a local Palo Alto theater complex.

“To celebrate a period of intense activity at Facebook, we decided to go to the movies,” a spokesman, Larry Yu, wrote. “We thought this particular movie might be amusing.” It's actually quite a testament to the company, in my opinion.

You grow up the day you have your first real laugh, at yourself. ~Ethel Barrymore

Source: NYTimes bits blog

Google Open-sources Liquid Galaxies

The engineers at Google put together a great traveling road show that they dubbed Liquid Galaxies. It's a series of 8 55" LCDs that are synchronized to display a field of vision type immersible experience with Google Earth. The panels are arranged around the user to encircle them and cover their entire field of vision. A 3D joystick allows the user to navigate from outer space to under the oceans and through cities and countryside alike. Knowing that only a select few would be able to visit Liquid Galaxies at trade shows or in the Google complex, the company has "decided to put the features that make Liquid Galaxy possible into the latest release of Google Earth, and open-source all the supporting work, from our Ubuntu sysadmin scripts to the mechanical design of our custom frames."

It will still require some technical know how, but if you are so inclined (and have 8 55" lcd's kicking around) you too can bring Liquid Galaxies to life! I'm salivating just thinking of it... but then again that's just me. If only I had 7 more tv's...

Gliese 581g - There's Life Out There

An Earth sized planet circling a near by star is said to have the proper conditions for sustaining life, and according to at least one expert it's almost certain that it does. 

Gliese 581g is said to have a surface and has enough gravity to hold an atmosphere. "Personally, given the ubiquity and propensity of life to flourish wherever it can, I would say, my own personal feeling is that the chances of life on this planet are 100 percent,"  Prof Steven Vogt said during a press briefing. "I have almost no doubt about it." Vogt led the team of scientist who discovered the planet.

Gliese 581g is located 20 light years away from Earth in the constellation Libra and is said to have an estimated average surface temperature of between -24 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-31 to -12 degrees Celsius). So, it's no vacation hot spot.

All of a sudden I'm not so skeptical about the UN's Alien Ambassador appointment :) 

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

On The Lighter Side - Total Distraction Video

I find this video simply mesmerizing and thought I'd share it out of pure enjoyment. Created by Mike Winkelmann, aka beeple, Instrument Video Nine is one of the finalists in the upcoming Vimeo Festival and Awards event. Scan it for total sweetness :)

Company Alleges CIA Knowingly Bought Flawed Software For Use In Drones

Two Massachusetts companies are at the center of a debate over whether or not the CIA willingly purchased flawed software to run in tandum with illegally re-engineered hardware for use in predator drones. The combination is said to impact the accuracy of missiles fired from the drones, by up to 39 feet. 

A lawsuit has been filed by Massachusetts-based Intelligent Integration Systems (IISI) and involves Netezza, a data warehousing company who's software is said to be incompatible with current versions of IISI's code. According to the allegations Netezza  "illegally and hastily reverse-engineered" IISI's code and the CIA knowingly purchased the offering.

"My reaction was one of stun, amazement that they want to kill people with my software that doesn't work," IISI Chief Technology Officer Richard Zimmerman is quoted as saying in a deposition.

In it's defense Netezza CEO Jim Baum is quoted as writing "We believe that the claims made against Netezza by IISI are without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves against those claims in court," a statement said. "We did not rely on IISI's trade secrets or confidential information in developing our own geospatial product."

The CIA obviously considers 39 feet an acceptable margin of error when it comes to lobbing explosives at important targets, that's about the distance between my house and my neighbours. Yikes!

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20017809-245.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20#ixzz10ojhSPwj

Personal Computers Of Iranian Nuclear Plant Employees Infected By Stuxnet Worm

"An electronic war has been launched against Iran", Mahmoud Liayi, head of the information technology council at the ministry of industries, told the state-run Iran Daily newspaper. This, in response to reports that a sophisticated computer worm had infected the personal computers of staff at the country's first nuclear power station, the Bushehr plant, due to come on line in the coming weeks. Officials claim that the operating system at the plant has been unaffected by the Stuxnet worm, so sophisticated that it is believed to be the work of "a nation state".

Stuxnet targets systems made by the German company Siemens, these systems are typically used to manage water supplies, oil rigs, power plants and other utilities. The Iranians claim that computers operating on some 30,000 IP addresses within the country have been infected.

Western nations fears Iran's goal is to build nuclear weapons while Iranian officials says its programme is aimed solely at peaceful energy use.

Source: BBC