Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Facebook Switched Your Email to One You’ve Probably Never Used

Whether you’ve noticed or not, you have a new primary email address listed as your Facebook contact and most likely, it’s an address you’ve never used.
The social-networking site has quietly replaced your default email addresses such as Gmail and Yahoo! with your @Facebook.com address, an email service option the company launched a few years ago and synced with Timeline in April.
“As we announced back in April, we’ve been updating addresses on Facebook to make them consistent across our site,” a Facebook spokesperson told Mashable. “In addition to everyone receiving an address, we’re also rolling out a new setting that gives people the choice to decide which addresses they want to show on their Timelines.”
First spotted on Saturday by blogger Gervase Markham, the email address you once listed as your point of contact is now hidden in the site’s database and your assigned @Facebook.com address is highlighted for friends to see.
If you ever changed your Facebook vanity URL, that serves as the prefix of your Facebook email address (i.e. Facebook.com/John.Smith would be John.Smith@Facebook.com). For those that never added a vanity URL, Facebook has assigned numbers to serve as your email account name.

When users send an email to your Facebook.com address, it pops up in your Facebook inbox. However, some users have experienced issues with receiving messages through Facebook, since some of them end up in an “Other Messages” folder that few people know about.
Although members have been slow to embrace their Facebook email address, the move may be a part of an effort to remind and encourage users to use it more.
If you want to switch your email contact information back to what it was, it’s easy to do. Visit your Timeline or profile page and select “About” under your contact information. You can then hide your Facebook email address from the contact page and elect to highlight another email address.
“Ever since the launch of timeline, people have had the ability to control what posts they want to show or hide on their own timelines, and today we’re extending that to other information they post, starting with the Facebook address,” the Facebook spokesperson added.
What do you think of your Facebook email address? Will you use it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Monday, June 25, 2012

HeyWire Launches BNDWGN, A Private Social Messaging App Built Around Your Interests


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BNDWGN, a new app from the makers of free texting service HeyWire, is launching what’s being called a “content messenger” service. The app is a combination of private friend-to-friend(s) chat and social media aggregation. Using BNDWGN, you can combine various streams from sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram into an interest-focused group which can be as narrowly defined as “Lady Gaga” or as broadly defined as “Tech.” And because you’re the creator of these content channels called “BNDWGNs” (say: “bandwagons”), the streams you include can extend beyond the official social media presences for the topic at hand. You can include any other things you want in these streams, like Facebook fan pages, Twitter users who share your interests, Instagram hashtags, and more.
According to HeyWire CEO Meredith Flynn-Ripley, the idea for BNDWGN sprung from watching how people were using HeyWire, the company’s social communication utility. For those unfamiliar, HeyWire’s free SMS service launched back in September 2010, and allows users to text, tweet, and Facebook chat from within one app. It now has over 3 million active users monthly who spend 10 hours in the app per month, and recently hit its 2 billionth message sent.
“It really was created out of the activity that we saw in HeyWire from the group messaging,” says Flynn-Ripley of BNDWGN’s creation. “We saw that groups would form around a particular topic or event, they’d talk and then the group would go away. It wouldn’t be this ongoing stream.” Another inspiration for the service was what she described as a feeling of being in “social network overload mode.” She was looking for a way to get the info she wanted by organizing it around topics. Some topics may be temporary – for example, news from a conference you want to track (like TechCrunch Disrupt, e.g.) – while others may represent longer-term interests.
While its ability to aggregate from social media isn’t necessarily a new invention, BNDWGN has added an additional element to its service: private conversations. In each BNDWGN created, users can add friends who can then all message each other about the content contained within. Users can only message Facebook friends running the app, however, but content stays private unless explicitly shared to Facebook.
You can also join other, public BNDWGNs submitted by the community if you’re just looking for topics to follow. The ability to publish your own BNDWGNs in this way won’t arrive until a future update, though.
As new content arrives in the BNDWGNs you’re in, you’re notified via push messaging. But, as Flynn-Ripley points out, how often you receive these messages is up to you. “You can basically say ‘notify me when new content comes into the streams:  never, every hour, or once a day,” she explains, “but more importantly, you can also just set it on ‘notify me when friends are chatting,’ that is, sending messages in the BNDWGN. That’s going alert me to ‘oh, something interesting is happening because a friend of mine is commenting on it,’” she says. A future release will allow you to configure the notification settings on per-BNDWGN basis.
The company is now reaching out to major media brands, music, celebrities, and other companies with a large number of social media fan followers in order to create partnerships that would allow the brands to create their own official BNDWGN streams. HeyWire would then share aggregate, anonymized data with their partners detailing the trends around the content in BNDWGN – e.g., what was shared, how did people react, etc. “We see this as a new level of sentiment analysis,” says Flynn-Ripley. “When brands are in social media they know how many people like them, how many people are following them, they see what people are posting publicly on their walls…but they understand that people are consuming their media and sharing it with friends privately, and they have no insight into that.”
Although HeyWire is backed by investor Lauder Partners, its founding is a little atypical in terms of tech startups. The company was founded by a merger and is now run by MediaFriends, which has $10 million in funding. But HeyWire is planning to raise funding for BNDWGN separately, and is now in the process of having conversations about a Series A.
The new app is initially available for Android only. The iOS app will arrive in July.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Sony Xperia Ion Review: Punching Above Its Weightclass

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Short Version:

It’s been a long time since Sony released a smartphone in the U.S. market that had a chance of hitting it off with customers — too many of their recent releases have either been meant for niche markets (the Xperia Play 4G) or were expensive and unlocked (nearly all of these things).
That said, they’re looking to give it another go with the new Xperia ion, and it certainly looks like it could go all the way. It’s the company’s first LTE-enabled phone to land in the United States, it packs an impressive camera, and it’ll only set AT&T customers back $99. What’s not to like?
Read on for all the juicy details.
Features:
  • 4.6-inch 720p Reality Display and Mobile Bravia engine
  • Runs Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread
  • 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S3 processor
  • 1GB of RAM
  • 16GB of onboard storage, can take up to an additional 32GB microSD card
  • NFC
  • 12MP rear-facing camera (records video in 1080p) with Exmor R sensor
  • 1.3MP front-facing camera
  • Runs on AT&T’s 4G LTE and HSPA+ networks
  • MSRP: $99 with a two-year contract, available June 24
Pros:
  • Rock-solid camera
  • Impressive 4.6-inch display
  • Aggressive price point
Cons:
  • Why does this thing run Gingerbread?
  • Finicky capacitive Android buttons
  • Peculiar button placement on the Ion’s side puts form ahead of function

Long Version

Hardware & Design:
Looking at the Ion dead-on doesn’t leave you with much of an impression — the Ion’s face is clad in black, and is dominated by the 4.6-inch Reality Display. A terribly small speaker grill is nestled right along the device’s top edge, and a row of small capacitive Android buttons (more on them later) sit just above the Sony logo on the Ion’s chin.
In short, it’s not much of a looker from the front, and it lacks the quirky characteristics (think the color palette of the Xperia U and the nifty transparent sliver of the Xperia P) that helped some of its recent predecessors stand out in a crowd. Lack of style isn’t my only issue with the device’s face; that row of capacitive buttons took quite a bit of getting used to.
I’m not sure if it’s just because I have weird thumbs or what, but it can be a real struggle at times to register a touch on those buttons. They’re rather small (which doesn’t help things at all), and it often takes a more concerted press than one would expect to make things work the way they should. It may seem like a minor thing to get worked up over, but the effect is cumulative — having to touch the same button two or three times to make the device bend to my will for a few days isn’t too taxing, but it could make for some real headaches for people who actually take a chance and buy the thing.

Things get a little better upon turning the device over, which reveals a similarly understated design. Strangely though, I think this is where the Ion actually shines a bit. A handsome dark metal backplate (that’s sadly prone to attracting smudges) takes up most of the Ion’s rear end and is bound on the top and bottom by a pair of removable plastic caps that hide both a microSD and a micro-SIM slot. The only bit of branding back there is the iconic green Sony orb plopped right above the Xperia logo, and I frankly like it that way.
The other thing to note about the Xperia’s back is that it gently curves to fit your hand, something that helps hide its 11.68mm waistline. That curve coupled with that metallic backplate imbues the Ion with a sturdy, comforting feel in spite of the fact that it weighs in at only 4.9 ounces. That said, I take some issue with the way Sony crafted the sides of the device — the edges were designed in such a way that the power, volume, and camera buttons are mounted at an angle. The buttons themselves aren’t any harder to physically press, but their angled placement means they’re not quite where your fingers expect them to be.
This is especially prominent when trying to use the two-stage camera shutter button — my finger naturally gravitates to the highest point on the edge of the device, which often tricks me into applying pressure exactly where the shutter button isn’t. Again, it may seem like a minor thing to get worked up over (and users may get used to it in time even if I didn’t), but it’s annoying to see how Sony’s sense of aesthetics have made it slightly more difficult to use the phone the way I want to.
Software:
Gingerbread, I wish Sony knew how to quit you.
Perhaps I’m a bit jaded — after having used an Ice Cream Sandwich device as my daily driver for the past few months, going back to a lightly-tweaked take on Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread for nearly a week didn’t seem like a tempting proposition. Sony maintains that the device will gets its Ice Cream Sandwich update in due course (the Xperia S just got its own ICS update a few days ago), but really — it’s the middle of 2012 and Ice Cream Sandwich first hit the scene toward the end of last year.
It may just be one of the pitfalls that needs to be dealt with when mid-range devices are concerned, but I can’t quite shake the feeling that a solid handset isn’t quite living up to its potential because of Sony’s decision on this front.
Anyway, I’m not going to get too caught up in pondering the sort of device the Ion might have been, and Sony has done their part to try and freshen up this stale cookie. Longtime readers may know that I’m no great fan of what manufacturers do to the stock Android experience, but Sony thankfully hasn’t gone too crazy with their custom UI — save for a few particularly heinous widgets (Timescape and the large, love-em-or-hate-em Tools widgets in particular) I actually found myself enjoying some of what Sony came up with.
The app launcher in particular seemed nice and clean, with apps being arranged on multiple horizontal scrolling pages a la Ice Cream Sandwich. What made the whole thing even better was the fact that Sony didn’t completely load the device up with bloatware or plugs for their myriad media services — Sony only preloaded a few apps and at least some of them are rather useful.
Sony’s LiveWare manager app for instance is a scaled down version of Tasker, which prompts user-defined apps to spring to life when accessories like headphones or power cables are connected to the Ion. And just like clockwork, Sony’s Timescape social app makes yet another appearance here. The app pulls in tweets, Foursquare check-ins, Facebook status updates, and LinkedIn updates into a vertical stream of social information that’s at the same time visually striking and super smooth to scroll through. Just do yourself a favor and stay away from the fugly widget.
Of course, since AT&T is selling this thing, you can expect the full complement of carrier bloatware apps to round out the package. All the usual suspects are present and accounted for (I’m looking at you especially, Yellow Pages), but to my great relief, tapping a small grid icon in the bottom right corner of the app launcher lets you delete most of them quickly and without prejudice. Kudos to Sony for making that process dead-simple.
Camera:

One of the Ion’s biggest claims to fame is its 12-megapixel rear-facing camera, which makes the device second only to HTC’s Titan II for the title of “beefiest cameraphone” on AT&T’s store shelves. Thankfully, I’m pleased to report that Sony’s claims aren’t just marketing fluff — this is one of the nicer smartphone cameras I’ve used in quite a while.
But first, let’s address some of the mechanical bits. Holding down the two-stage shutter button while the phone is locked lets users jump straight into the camera app while the device is locked, which sounds great except for one thing — by default the camera app is set to snap a picture as soon as someone uses the shutter button to unlock it. That’s right, it just takes a picture as soon as the phone wakes up, which means that you’ll have no clue how well you’ve framed the shot or if the camera focused on the right subject until it’s too late.
Thankfully all that requires is a quick settings tweak, and the rest of the camera experience is quite solid. The process of auto-focusing and actually snapping a photo was awfully quick — just under three seconds to focus, shoot, and return to standby mode. Once inside the camera app proper, users can select from a number of different scene modes (though the default scene recognition mode is smart enough to accurately handle most situations) and shoot panoramas to boot, but there isn’t much in the way of manual controls outside exposure and metering settings.
Of course, all that would mean nothing if the photos didn’t turn out well. Fortunately, colors were bright and vibrant, though perhaps to the point of being slightly over-saturated at times (more on that in a moment). Low-light performance wasn’t too shabby either, but the Ion’s Exmor R sensor isn’t a miracle worker — there was still quite a bit of grain present in shots taken in darker locales. C’est la vie.
The Ion can also record 1080p video at 30fps, and results were generally quite nice — test recordings displayed plenty of detail, and additional features like image stabilization and the ability to light up the LED flash came in quite handy. The process isn’t entirely flawless though, as the camera tends to take a few extra moments getting into focus when you’re ready to begin shooting.
Now, about that over-saturation issue I was talking about — it’s not entirely the camera’s fault. It’s worth noting that the images look extra vivid on the device itself thanks in part to Sony’s use of their Mobile Bravia engine, and that their level of vibrance will vary once you move those photos onto other devices. And speaking of which…
Display:
Since the Ion is the first Sony smartphone I’ve worked with in a while, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from its 4.6-inch, 720p Reality Display. As such, seeing the bright, crisp display come to life for the first time was actually a bit of a surprise — sure, it lacks the deep blacks seen on AMOLED displays but the LCD panel Sony’s using is no slouch (especially since at 342 ppi it beats the Galaxy S III and the iPhone 4S at the pixel density game). The display’s viewing angles are actually quite good, though prepare for the colors to wash out a bit the further you move away from dead center.
The screen’s performance in daylight seemed respectable at best. Since Sony doesn’t include an option to automatically set screen brightness, you’ll have to manage that yourself should you decide to venture into the outside world, and the screen tends to get overwhelmed unless brightness is cranked up full blast.
As I’ve mentioned before, Sony’s Mobile Bravia engine plays a significant role in how images and video appear on that sizable screen. With the Bravia option on (note: it’s on by default) colors were vibrant and vivid to the point of being slightly lurid at times — this was especially apparent in one of my test videos, where the Xperia ion tended to make a stage lit mostly in blue take on a notably purple cast.
It wasn’t necessarily a bad change (I actually think it gave the video some cinematic flair), but not everyone may enjoy the effects engine has. In addition to pumping up colors, the Bravia engine also sharpens the image, leading to the double-edged sword of slightly crisper images and video versus the potential annoyance of seeing more jaggies. Occasionally nuclear colors aside, I think leaving the Bravia engine on is generally a plus; it adds a bit of pop to the viewing experience, and it’s simple enough to shut down if it gets to be too much.
For a closer look at the difference, take a look at this image — the left side is a screenshot of a photo I took with the Bravia Engine off, and the right is a screenshot of same image with the Bravia Engine on (click to enlarge).

Performance:
The Ion’s spec sheet would’ve been considered top-tier just last year, but my how times have changed since then. We’ve since entered the age of the quad-core chipset (even though most of them don’t end up on U.S. soil), but the 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S3 processor nestled inside the Ion’s curved frame still has plenty of game. The device seemed plenty responsive when put to the usual gamut of daily tasks — swiping between menus was buttery smooth, as was pulling down the notification drawer and scrolling through my innumerable contacts. Similarly, I had no trouble at all watching Top Gear reruns on Netflix or building obtuse structures in Minecraft Pocket Edition.
If you want to break things down numerically, the Ion managed to squeeze out an average Quadrant score of 2872, which roundly put to shame my trusty Galaxy Nexus (average: 1812). It’s still a long ways off from HTC’s ostensibly mid-range One S (generally around 4-5000 depending on the circumstances), but the Ion certainly has enough horsepower to be a daily driver for all but the most demanding users.
In terms of network performance, I’m loath to admit that I couldn’t latch onto an LTE signal in my particular corner of New Jersey (a problem that I imagine isn’t unique to me considering AT&T’s LTE network is only live in 41 cities), but I managed to pull down an average of 7.3 Mbps down and 1.3 Mbps up. It doesn’t sound great, but the Ion actually performed slightly ahead of other AT&T devices — namely an iPhone 4S and an unlocked Galaxy Nexus — I tested alongside it.
Though one of the Xperia Ion’s main draws is going to be that nifty camera, Sony is positioning it as more than just a media creator — it’s also a media hub. As you might expect from a company that launched the working group behind it, the Ion is DLNA certified, and it was a snap to get it linked up with my DLNA-compatible LG smart television and media server. From there, I was able to fire up the included Connected Devices app and sling my media onto the big screen. Streaming videos from my media server proved to be a breeze too, and it didn’t take long before Plex was serving up (dorky) content to the Ion.
If you’ve got a micro-HDMI-to-HDMI cable handy, you can also connect the Ion directly to your television at which point something very interesting happens. Once the connection is in place, the Xperia swaps its stock launcher for an upscaled version meant to be displayed on a television, allowing users to fire up apps and generally do
Provided you’ve got an HDMI-CEC (or SIMPLINK, or Viera Link, or whatever) compatible television, you’ll also be able to control the Ion with your television remote. The ability to take any compatible television and effectively turn it into a smart television set certainly has its appeal, and while it’s gimmicky and it’s fun, it’s hardly the kind of thing I’d want to use for any extended period of time.
When it comes to sound, the Ion is actually sort of a mixed bag. Call quality was generally very clear, but even with the volume cranked all the way up, I still had trouble hearing the person on the other end of the line. The same goes for the Ion’s main rear-mounted speaker — for a device that’s so centered around media, you would think that Sony would have bothered to pop a better speaker in the thing. Even at maximum volume (which, again, doesn’t seem that loud) the speaker produces sound with muddy middles almost non-existent lows. I’ll admit that I can’t be too surprised as it’s relatively rare to get an unabashedly good speaker in a smartphone, but I was a tad disappointed nonetheless.
Battery:
For better or worse (I usually lean toward the latter), Sony has opted to seal the Ion’s 1900 mAh battery under that black metallic plate I’m so fond of. Though the road warriors among you may miss the ability to swap out spare batteries as needed, the Ion does a fine job of chugging along throughout the day.
Since I started using the Ion as my go-to phone earlier this week, I’ve averaged about eight to nine hours of consistent use each day — checking my email, firing off text messages, watching the same clip of a tap dancing broadway starlet over and and over — you know, my usual routine. If you’re not the sort to check your phone at every possible moment, you can expect to squeeze closer to 13 hours out of the thing before needing to juice up again.
If you’re planning to binge on some video content though, expect that figure to plummet to roughly six hours, and that’s if you’re mighty careful with all the rest of your settings.

Head-To-Head With The HTC One S And iPhone 4S:


Conclusion:

For all of the Ion’s foibles (and there are quite a few), there’s still plenty to like here. The Xperia Ion definitely leans to the more premium end of the mid-range spectrum, and it tries valiantly to punch above its weight with features like its solid camera, media functionality, and great display. Its price tag too makes a pretty compelling statement — there are far worse things you could get for $99.
Ah, but the real question is whether or not it’s worth your money. I was originally going to say that if you’re in the position where you really can’t justify spending an extra $100 on a top-of-the-line smartphone, then the Ion will do in a pinch. Now that I’ve thought about it a bit more, that’s selling the Ion a bit short.
Despite how harsh I may have been with some of my comments, I really do think the Ion is a good phone. The problem here is that like with many mid-range phones, the Ion straddles that very fine line between “good” and “great,” and it doesn’t seem to have quite enough oomph to push it over the edge. Strangely enough, this may well change down the line — with a few minor tweaks and perhaps a helping of Ice Cream Sandwich, the Xperia Ion may eventually grow to become a must-buy, but it’s not quite there yet.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Apple’s Retail Army, by the Numbers

There was an article published today in The New York Times entitled ‘Apple’s Retail Army, Long on Loyalty but Short on Pay‘, discussing what the publication asserts is a huge disconnect between the money Apple retail employees make and the amount they bring in for the company.
This is the fourth part of The New York Times’ long-running iEconomy series, the earlier portions of which took a deep dive into Apple’s manufacturing processes in China and the reasons Apple doesn’t manufacture in the U.S.. Those caused a wave of discussion over the issues, which you may remember was later muddied by the revelation that monologuist Mike Daisey had fabricated some of his experiences in China, which he included in an editorial for the same paper. Even before those articles, Apple had been working to audit working conditions in China and now supplies monthly updates on its efforts to improve them.
I’m frankly not all that convinced of the overall premise of this particular article, although I have spoken to many members of its retail workforce which do back up what is said about working conditions there. Specifically, since the iPhone was released in 2007, there has been a major change in the day-to-day workload of retail employees. The emphasis is now on replacement of devices and speed, with some technicians juggling up to three or more customers at a time.
There are a lot of interesting tidbits in the article about the Apple Retail Store environment though, and I’ve collected a few here:
  • 30,000: Out of 43,000 Apple employees in the U.S., about 30,000 of them work in Apple Retail Stores and make around $25,000 a year. Though discussions with workers and others lead us to believe that number is a bit lower than the current reality.
  • $473,000: On an average, Apple store employee’s including sales and support staff, brought in $473,000 each for Apple last year.
  • $5,647: By RetailSails numbers, Apple’s stores brought in $5,647 per square foot, more than any other U.S. retailer.
  • $11.91: Many Apple retail workers earn around of $11.91 hourly, although we’ve heard this is on the low end. It also does not take into account recent wage increases.
  • $16B: Apple stores worldwide sold $16 billion in merchandise last year.
  • $3M: The best performing sales people at Apple stores can move as much as $3 million in wares in a year.
  • 2.5 years: The average tenure for an Apple retail employee is is 2.5 years.
  • 6 years: The tenure that Apple recruiters tell new employees that they would like to see from them.
  • 90%: The average year-over-year retention rate for Apple Geniuses, or technicians.
  • 65%: Although there are no commissions at Apple stores, both Apple Care and One to One training sessions are tracked in order to gauge performance. Employees are expected to achieve a 40% ‘attachment’ rate of training and 65% rate of Apple Care sales for products.
For me, the article’s basic premise, that Apple workers should be earning more because the company makes so much money, falls apart right on the first page, with this passage:
By the standards of retailing, Apple offers above average pay — well above the minimum wage of $7.25 and better than the Gap, though slightly less than Lululemon, the yoga and athletic apparel chain, where sales staff earn about $12 an hour. The company also offers very good benefits for a retailer, including health care, 401(k) contributions and the chance to buy company stock, as well as Apple products, at a discount.
Holding Apple to a higher standard because it is so successful makes for an interesting discussion, but most of the things that the article says about Apple can be said of almost any retail job. The article also makes some odd comparisons between Apple and other retailers that offer commission, which Apple does not do.
It also compares the money Apple workers bring in to those working at Costco and Tiffany’s, both of which are bizarre for their own particular reasons. Tiffany’s because diamonds are a significantly different retail item than consumer electronics, with massively different margins, and Costco because memberships bring in an immense portion of that company’s profits.
Apple itself provided a statement to the Times:
Thousands of incredibly talented professionals work behind the Genius Bar and deliver the best customer service in the world. The annual retention rate for Geniuses is almost 90%, which is unheard-of in the retail industry, and shows how passionate they are about their customers and their careers at Apple.
As we were able to confirm earlier this week, many Apple Retail employees received a raise of up to 25% after their personal performance evaluations this year.

Here’s a geeky ranking of Latin America’s most connected airports

The digital marketing agency Ressac has released an interesting report about Latin America’s main airports. Rather than looking at passenger traffic, it decided to set an entirely different set of criteria – and find the region’s most connected hubs.
Titled “Aero-Social Ranking 2012,” the study was conducted by Ressac’s intelligence department during 2012′s first quarter. What makes it interesting is that it went beyond checking whether or not airports offered the free wi-fi connection we all dream of; as a social media firm, the company also took into account each airport’s presence on Facebook, Twitter and the like. In addition, it also looked into accessibility, attributing extra points to airports that had an app or mobile-friendly website.
Unfortunately, the results are fairly disappointing in many respects – for instance, travelers will still have to pay for wi-fi in most airports. As for social networking, while some airports are using Twitter, very few of them are present on Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and Foursquare.
Still, some airports fare way better than others when it comes to connectivity, with Argentina’s Ezeiza International Airport leading the regional ranking. Here are Latin America’s top airports according to Ressac:
airport ranking latam 520x410 Heres a geeky ranking of Latin Americas most connected airports
In other words, while the region’s airports still have progress to make, some of them are starting to adapt to the needs of modern travelers. As for Ressac, it now hopes that its document will serve as a checklist for other airports to follow the same path.
Image credit: Gisela Giardino

Google Doodles Alan Turing, the father of computing

Today, marks the 100th anniversary of Alan Turing, who is universally considered the father of modern day computing. And in true Google, style, the search giant has honored the legend, on it home page with a trademark doodle.
Turing, in particular is a role model for a number of Google engineers and the doodle honoring him is an interactive doodle, which requires users to break a set of six codes and each successful code break adds color to a letter of the greyed out Google logo on the doodle.
The British mathematician laid the foundations for mathematical foundation and limits of computing. He was also a key contributor to the Allied cryptanalysis of the German Enigma cipher during World War II.
He was born on June 23, 1912 in London, England and he graduated with mathematics from King’s College, University of Cambridge in 1934.
He joined the British government’s Code and Cypher School in the second world war and later he was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire for helping break the cryptic messages used by the Germans during the war.
After the second world war the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), where he designed the electronic computer. Eventually, he quit the NPL to head the Computer Machine Laboratory, where he designed the Ferranti Mark I, which was the first electronic digital computer to be commercially available.
Alan Turing was also a pioneer of in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and in 1950 he proposed the Turing test to extrapolate whether a machine can think.
His career went through many ups and downs and he hit a plateau when he was convicted of gross indecency under laws, which banned homosexuality and was sentenced to chemical castration involving a series of injections of female hormones.
After losing his security clearance he was unable to work which lead to committing suicide at the age of 41 in 1954.
The genius of the man cannot be underestimated and frankly but for his work, we perhaps would have been living in a very different world. Google has also dedicated a whole blog post to his work, make sure to check out the link.

How to install the new Swype beta on Android

New Swype beta (Credit: Screenshot by Ed Rhee/CNET)
Swype, which was bought by Nuance recently, has released a new public beta for Android. It has some interesting new features, including the capability to learn as you go and built-in Dragon voice recognition. If you're interested in trying it out, here's how to install and enable the new Swype beta for Android:
Install Swype beta
Step 1: Register for the Swype beta at http://beta.swype.com/android/create.
Step 2: On your Android device, go to Settings > Application settings and tap on the box next to Unknown sources. This will allow you to install apps that weren't downloaded from Google Play.
Allow unknown sources (Credit: Screenshot by Ed Rhee/CNET)
Step 3: From your Android device, open the Swype beta e-mail and tap on the Swype Installer download link. Once Swype-Installer.apk completes downloading, tap on it to begin installation.
Step 4: After the Swype beta installer finishes installing, open it and log in.
Step 5: Select the version of Swype you want to install, then tap the Download Swype button. You may only have one option, depending on your version of Android.
Download Swype Beta (Credit: Screenshot by Ed Rhee/CNET)
Enable Swype beta
Step 1: At the Swype beta setup screen, tap on the Enable Swype button, then select Swype Beta from keyboard settings.
Enable Swype Beta (Credit: Screenshot by Ed Rhee/CNET)
Step 2: Go back to the Swype beta setup screen, then tap the Select Swype button to select Swype as your input method.
Step 3: When you get to the congratulations screen, tap Finish.
Swype install complete (Credit: Screenshot by Ed Rhee/CNET)
That's it. Keep in mind that this is beta software, so there's no official tech support should something go awry. If Swype's not your thing, you might want to take a look at the new SwiftKey3.

Facebook ads make their way to Zynga's site

(Credit: Screenshot by Donna Tam/CNET)
Zynga users may have noticed something unfamiliar on the Web site -- Facebook ads have crept over to the gaming platform's site, filling the space that used to house Google ads.
The change was first noticed by Inside Facebook and it has the media speculating up a storm about whether this is the beginning of Facebook's advertising service empire.
Now when you connect with Facebook on Zynga.com, you'll see personalized ads and sponsored stories just like they appear in Facebook, the social network says. According to Facebook, you'll see only sponsored stores about activity that's been shared with you, and you can remove ads you don't like by clicking the X in the corner, in the same way that you can on Facebook. Also, Facebook won't share your information with advertisers, the company said.

 
  Facebook has been building out its various advertising tools. It recently unveiled Facebook Exchange -- which creates targeted ads based on users' activity on the Web -- but swore that it wasn't an ad network. Facebook has not commented on whether it would be rolling ads out to other sites or if this is a Zynga-only endeavor.
But, as All Things D points out, a Zynga/Facebook advertising partnership isn't really a surprise. Zynga's S-1 filing last July noted a revenue sharing agreement where Facebook's ads would appear on Zynga properties.

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