Facebook lets users login to apps anonymously
In an attempt to quell privacy concerns, Facebook has announced that users can
now login to third party apps without sharing their data
In recent years, Facebook has successfully encouraged a growing number of
third-party app makers to allow users to log in with their Facebook identity
rather than by entering an email address or creating a dedicated account.
However, users have become increasingly concerned about these app developers
gaining access to their private information.
Speaking at Facebook's F8 developer conference in San Francisco, a new version of Facebook's log-in
tool, called Anonymous Login would let users control what information they
allow third-party apps to see.
The developers told that the tool would let users feel more comfortable about
logging into apps using Facebook.
"By giving people more power and control, they're going to trust all the apps , and over time use them more. And that's positive for everyone,"
With Anonymous Login, users can login to any app using their Facebook login, and the only information that will be shared is their name and gender.
The revamped login screen will let users select which personal information stored on the social network, such as an email address, birthday or items that they have 'liked' on Facebook, can be accessed by any particular app.
People can decide later if they want to share any additional information, once they understand more about the app.
"The changes Facebook announced today regarding Facebook Login mark a major milestone for trust and transparency between brands and consumers,"
"It's hugely important that brands understand that capturing user data needs to be part of a 'virtual handshake' where the users not only understand what data they are providing but also how their data will be used and what value they will receive in exchange for it."
Facebook also announced a new service that enables advertisers to extend their campaigns beyond Facebook and into other mobile apps.
The Audience Network uses the same targeting available for Facebook ads today, including custom audiences, core audiences and lookalike audiences. It also features the same measurement tools marketers use for their Facebook ads.
"This is really the first time that we're going to help you monetize in a serious way on mobile,"
Facebook generates the bulk of its revenue from ads that appear on its own Web pages and within its own mobile app. By distributing ads across a constellation of independent mobile apps, Facebook effectively expands its advertising space, opening the door to more revenue.
To get access to the extra ad space, ad networks typically share the revenue with their partners. Facebook will share most of the ad revenue with apps makers, as is standard in the industry, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
"By giving people more power and control, they're going to trust all the apps , and over time use them more. And that's positive for everyone,"
With Anonymous Login, users can login to any app using their Facebook login, and the only information that will be shared is their name and gender.
The revamped login screen will let users select which personal information stored on the social network, such as an email address, birthday or items that they have 'liked' on Facebook, can be accessed by any particular app.
People can decide later if they want to share any additional information, once they understand more about the app.
"The changes Facebook announced today regarding Facebook Login mark a major milestone for trust and transparency between brands and consumers,"
"It's hugely important that brands understand that capturing user data needs to be part of a 'virtual handshake' where the users not only understand what data they are providing but also how their data will be used and what value they will receive in exchange for it."
Facebook also announced a new service that enables advertisers to extend their campaigns beyond Facebook and into other mobile apps.
The Audience Network uses the same targeting available for Facebook ads today, including custom audiences, core audiences and lookalike audiences. It also features the same measurement tools marketers use for their Facebook ads.
"This is really the first time that we're going to help you monetize in a serious way on mobile,"
Facebook generates the bulk of its revenue from ads that appear on its own Web pages and within its own mobile app. By distributing ads across a constellation of independent mobile apps, Facebook effectively expands its advertising space, opening the door to more revenue.
To get access to the extra ad space, ad networks typically share the revenue with their partners. Facebook will share most of the ad revenue with apps makers, as is standard in the industry, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Supergiant galaxy hurls entire star cluster out at superspeed
The supergiant galaxy known as M87 has hurled an entire star cluster out at more than three million kilometers per hour. The outcast cluster, made up of thousands of stars, is now doomed to drift through the void between the galaxies for all time.
"Astronomers have found runaway stars before, but this is the first time, found a runaway star cluster,"
The speeding star cluster has been named HVGC-1, the initials standing for hypervelocity globular cluster. Relics of the early universe, such globular clusters usually contain thousands of stars crammed into a ball a few dozen light-years across. The Milky Way galaxy is home to about 150 globular clusters. The giant elliptical galaxy M87, in contrast, holds an estimated 15,000 star clusters.
M87 is a monstrous elliptical galaxy, home of several trillion stars, and at least one supermassive black hole. It weighs as much as 6 trillion Suns, making it one of the most massive galaxies in the nearby universe. It is located about 5.3 million light years away from Earth.
How did HVGC-1 get ejected at such a high speed? Astronomers aren't sure but say that one scenario depends on M87 having a pair of supermassive black holes at its core. The star cluster wandered too close to those black holes. Many of its outer stars were plucked off, but the dense core of the cluster remained intact. The two black holes then acted like a slingshot, flinging the cluster away at tremendous speed.
Having two supermassive black holes at its core must be the result of a long-ago collision between two galaxies, which merged to form a single giant galaxy. The same fate awaits our own Milky Way, which will collide with the Andromeda galaxy in a few billion years to create an ellilptical galaxy that astronomers have dubbed Milkomeda
Beta Pictoris B
Exoplanet Beta Pictoris b was discovered through the use of direct imaging by a team led by Ignas Snellen of Leiden University in the Netherlands. It is a 20-million-year-old planet in the Beta Pictoris star system just 65 light-years from Earth. Beta Pictoris b has some unique qualities including an orbit that is significantly distant from its star estimated to be approximately double the distance from the to Jupiter.
“Beta Pictoris b rotates at 25 kilometers per second at its equator.” This is actually faster than any of the planets in our solar system. It’s 50 times faster than Earth despite the fact that Beta Pictoris b is 3,000 times more massive than Earth as well as 16 times wider. A day there lasts for just eight hours.
“Beta Pictoris b rotates at 25 kilometers per second at its equator.” This is actually faster than any of the planets in our solar system. It’s 50 times faster than Earth despite the fact that Beta Pictoris b is 3,000 times more massive than Earth as well as 16 times wider. A day there lasts for just eight hours.
Beta Pictoris b’s rotation rate by studying how infrared light passes through carbon monoxide in the exoplanet’s atmosphere. As it rotates half of Beta Pictoris b spins towards Earth and the other away from Earth. The light from the far half shifts into longer, redder wavelengths while the light from the near half shifts into shorter, bluer wavelengths.
The shifts in light broaden the absorption line of carbon monoxide within Beta Pictoris b’s light detected here on Earth. The amount of widening allowed the exoplanet’s rotation rate which will reportedly increase as it gets older, cools then shrinks.
Beta Pictoris b’s rate of spin will rise to 40 kilometers per second over hundreds of millions of years. By that time a day on the exoplanet will be only 3 hours long. In our solar system—with the exception of Mercury and Venus—the larger planets spin faster.
It’s theorized that this is due to the fact that bigger planets took on more material as they formed which would make the forming planets move faster. The significance of knowing the rotation rates of comparatively young exoplanets like Beta Pictoris b, will permit researchers to create weather maps of their atmospheres.
stocks markets
The Sensex ended 165 points lower at 22,466 while Nifty fell 46 points to 6,715. According to analyst Sanjeev Bhasin, Indian markets are poised at crucial levels. He says Nifty has support at 6,710 and if its breaks this level, the next support level exists at 6575.
Except consumer durables, all the other sectoral sub-indices on the BSE were in the negative territory.
Metals, banking and FMGC sub-indices saw strong selling pressure. JSPL 7.5 per cent to Rs. 253 to be the biggest loser among the Nifty stocks, after its Q4 net profit came in below estimates at Rs. 402 crore vs estimates of Rs. 618 crore.
Another metal stock Tata Steel also fell nearly 4.8 per cent to Rs. 405. Sentiment in metal stocks was also dented after reports said that the Supreme Court could impose an interim ban on some iron ore mine leases in Odisha.
Eastern Ukraine
15 Russian officials announced Tuesday lacked the punch of the preceding US sanctions, since they did not target officials overseeing Russia's state-owned oil giant Rosneft or the assets of Kremlin-connected oligarchs.
However, they did target General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian general staff, deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak, who has been charged with developing Crimea, and several leaders of the pro-Russian militia and protestors who have been occupying buildings in eastern Ukraine. EU countries depend heavily on Russian oil and gas exports.
Among the pro-Russian leaders, most of whom were little-known before the wave of unrest, was Igor Strelkov, cited by some media as the head of the Donbass People's Militia. He is also reputed to be one of the “little green men” Russia has allegedly sent to promote unrest in eastern Ukraine, and EU officials identified him as a Russian military intelligence officer and an advisor to Crimean PM Sergei Aksyonov.
Denis Pushilin, the prime minister of the self-declared “Donetsk People's Republic,” was also included on the list. Little-known before the occupation of the Donetsk regional administration building, Pushilin previously worked for MMM, a company that ran a notorious pyramid scheme in the 1990s.
The EU sanctions on However, they did target General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian general staff, deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak, who has been charged with developing Crimea, and several leaders of the pro-Russian militia and protestors who have been occupying buildings in eastern Ukraine. EU countries depend heavily on Russian oil and gas exports.
Among the pro-Russian leaders, most of whom were little-known before the wave of unrest, was Igor Strelkov, cited by some media as the head of the Donbass People's Militia. He is also reputed to be one of the “little green men” Russia has allegedly sent to promote unrest in eastern Ukraine, and EU officials identified him as a Russian military intelligence officer and an advisor to Crimean PM Sergei Aksyonov.
Denis Pushilin, the prime minister of the self-declared “Donetsk People's Republic,” was also included on the list. Little-known before the occupation of the Donetsk regional administration building, Pushilin previously worked for MMM, a company that ran a notorious pyramid scheme in the 1990s.
After Russia, Ukraine, the United States and the EU negotiated a plan in Geneva
to defuse the crisis in Ukraine, Pushilin refused to recognise the
agreement, saying the Donetsk protestors would refuse to leave the
buildings they've taken until the Kiev government leaves its buildings,
and they hold a referendum on the region's fate
Several other pro-Russian leaders from Donetsk also fell under sanctions. Little is known about Andrei Purgin, besides the fact that he is a pan-Slavic activist who has agitated against the new pro-western government in Kiev. According to a social network page apparently belonging to him, he holds an IT degree from a Donetsk university and is now the co-chairman of the Donetsk People's Republic.
Sergei Tsyplakov is reportedly the deputy head of the Donbass People's Militia and is also apparently a long-time pro-Russian activist. He told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that he was “extremely proud” of his inclusion on the list, adding that the sanctions are laughable.
Two protest leaders from the neighbouring Luhansk region, where heavily armed men have been holding the regional security service headquarters, also face visa bans. Valery Bolotov, a commander of the Army of the Southeast group that has been occupying the building, was announced as the “people's governor” of Luhansk last week. The protestors soon followed Donetsk's example and declared a “Luhansk People's Republic.”
German Prokopyev is also reportedly a leader of the Luhansk militia, but even less is known about him than about the other pro-Russian leaders.
Samsung Electronics the needs of active social media.
The camera-specialised smartphone, had its global launch in Singapore.
It features a timer that allows users to take selfies, or photos of themselves, with the back camera using a timer.
Most smartphones allow users to take selfies with the camera at the front of the phone, which typically has a lower resolution.
The phone features a new retracting lens that offers 10 times optical zoom, enabling users to take pictures of distant objects by zooming into them using lenses, and an optical image stabiliser that helps to produce sharper photos by adjusting for shakes that may be caused while holding the device.
The pricing and availability of the Galaxy K zoom were not immediately announced.
The camera is designed for users of social media such as Facebook and Twitter “to record every precious moment in their daily lives,”
The phone’s camera has a larger, 20.7 mega pixel BSI CMOS sensor, which is bigger and allows more light to be captured, making it ideal for low-light photography, the company said.
The launch of the Galaxy K zoom follows the recent introduction of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S5 model and comes as the South Korean company seeks to consolidate its position as the world’s largest maker of smartphones.
Mobile phone makers shipped more than 1 billion smartphones in 2013, according to the International Data Corporation’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.
Samsung’s share of the market exceeded 30 per cent, followed by Apple with over 15 per cent share.
The company’s Galaxy K zoom is equipped with a Xenon flaw and has five optimised filter settings.
“With the introduction of the Galaxy K zoom, Samsung continues to demonstrate our commitment to creating products that meet the diverse demands of our consumers,”
The phone is 20.2 millimetres thin and weighs 200 grams. It records video at 60 frames per second.
Samsung said it has tied up with Twitter to provide the Vine app pre-loaded on the K zoom. This will allow Twitter users to upload photos.
The company also unveiled audio products branded Samsung Level, which consists of three types of headphones and a Bluetooth-enabled portable speaker.
Keywords: Samsung Electronics, Samsung smartphones, Galaxy K zoom, Social Media
OARFISH
Last
month, two oarfish washed up on the shores of Southern California. While these
large deep water fish are rarely seen by humans because they live so far below
the surface, some think their presence might actually be a warning sign of an
upcoming natural disaster. A group of oarfish washed ashore in Japan shortly
before the 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck the country in 2011. Some scholars
believe that deep-sea fish are particularly sensitive to fault movements and so
their presence near the surface suggests seismic activity down below. But the
belief that animals can predict earthquakes is not new. In 373 B.C. historians
recorded that animals, such as snakes and rats, abandoned the ancient Greek
city of Helice before a massive earthquake struck. And in 1975, Chinese
officials ordered the evacuation of a city called Haicheng after earthquake
warning signs, which included hibernating snakes waking up unexpectedly. A 7.3
earthquake hit the region soon afterwards. There’s no consensus on how animals
might know an earthquake is coming, but a 2011 study published in the Journal
of Environmental Research and Public Health theorizes that rocks stressed by
active fault lines release various particles into the groundwater which animals
– but not humans -- may be able to sense. The stressed rocks are a precursor to
larger seismic activity. This theory may explain why a colony of around 100
toads abandoned its pond before an earthquake struck L’Aquila, Italy in 2009.
As for the oarfish, whether or not they can sense seismic activity, they’ve
already gotten lots of media attention – and in Los Angeles that’s as common a
skill as predicting earthquakes.
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