Let’s get right to the news.
1. Facebook updates iOS apps to 6.0
Remember Facebook’s new News Feed conference a few months ago? Part of Zuckerberg’s push was the unification of the social network across all devices. That is, Facebook should look near-identical regardless of where you view it.
And while the new News Feed hasn’t rolled out to everyone in the desktop version, the latest update brings it to iPhones and iPads everywhere.
At first, you may not notice anything different — other than the obnoxiously long initial load — and that’s intentional. Just imagine the completely reasonable and not at all irrational backlash if Facebook changed anything on mobile.
But there have been modifications: swiping to the left reveals the chat menu and swiping to the right shows a Facebook “app” drawer, containing Messaging, groups , likes and more.
Additionally, scrolling to the top of the News Feed shows an option to view a stream of only pictures, only groups, etc. Basically, you can customize your feed anyway you see fit.
The biggest addition are “Chat Heads” for the Messaging service. Like I said last week, Chat Heads are small bubbles that appear on screen to notify you of a new message. On Android and Facebook Home, they can appear in any app at any time.
Even though it only works inside the Facebook app on iOS, Chat Heads might be the best feature added to the social network since the original News Feed. The bubbles can be flung anywhere on the screen or thrown away at the bottom.
Unsurprisingly, jailbreakers have already brought Chat Heads to the rest of iOS. Though buggy, users with jailbroken iPhones can get the convenience of Facebook Messaging anywhere.
Overall, it’s a welcome update to a mobile app that was on the verge of feeling outdated. And it means (hopefully) the new News Feed will roll out to desktops everywhere soon.
2. Please don’t sell your Google Glass
Google Glass Explorer Editions began shipping to developers this week and at least one unit appeared on eBay with an asking price of more than $90,000.
Fortunately, no one paid that much for a device that the buyer wouldn’t be able to use, per Google’s end user license agreement, which reads:
“Unless otherwise authorized by Google, you may only purchase one Device, and you may not resell, loan, transfer, or give your Device to any other person. If you resell, loan, transfer, or give your device to any other person without Google’s authorization, Google reserves the right to deactivate the Device, and neither you nor the unauthorized person using the Device will be entitled to any refund, product support, or product warranty.”
So not only can you not resell it, you can’t even give it to anyone else without Google’s permission. Not that you would want to — the Explorer Edition is strictly a pre-market device, only intended to generate buzz and developer interest.
