Facebook Launches Messaging App for iPhone & Android

Facebook has unveiled Facebook Messenger, an Android and iPhone app dedicated to sending messages and texts through the world’s largest social network.
 

The mobile app, which is now available in the Android Marketplace and iOS App Store, is the direct result of its March acquisition of group messaging app Beluga. Facebook Messenger is the first mobile application the company has developed and released outside of its official Facebook app.

“It’s a mobile app about real-time communication. All messages are sent and received in real time no refreshing required.The app, much like Beluga, is simple and straightforward. Once users log into Messenger with their Facebook credentials, they’re taken to a screen with all of their recent Facebook chats and messages. Users can jump into any of their past conversations or create a new one. Messages can either be sent via Facebook Messenger or via SMS. 

Users can also send photos to their friends with the app. It also lets you give message threads a name, for easier organization.One of the key elements of Messenger is its alert system. Users can choose to receive alerts for new messages, or they can turn them off. They can also delay alerts for an hour or until 8:00 a.m. the next day. The alert settings can be tailored for individual message threads or for all messages through Messenger.

Facebook admits its official mobile app will eventually have all of Messenger’s functionality, but the company believes that having an app dedicated to quick messaging on the Facebook platform is something that will benefit its millions of mobile users. And it could give other group messaging apps like GroupMe a run for their money.

Hurrey !!! Now HTTPS Is Everywhere

The Web is an insecure place and getting more insecure all the time. The latest threat, the Firesheep add-in for Firefox, is particularly dangerous because it is exceedingly simple to use. Someone with absolutely no hacking experience can grab your private login information to sites such as Facebook and Amazon, and then log in as you and do anything they want, as if they were you. The free Firefox add-in HTTPS Everywhere helps protect against that threat and other privacy invaders by effectively encrypting information when you visit certain Web sites.

A collaboration between the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Tor Project (which employs a network and free software to help protect people's privacy), HTTPS Everywhere ensures that when you visit certain sites, all of your communications are encrypted and secure.

To use it, all you need to do is install it. Once you do that, HTTPS Everywhere does its work invisibly. Among the sites it works on are Facebook, Twitter, Google Search, Wikipedia, Paypal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and others. It works only when the sites themselves use the HTTPS protocol, and works only on a group of specific sites. So it won't protect you everywhere. And it won't protect you when you use other Internet services, such as an instant messaging client, or use client-based email such as Outlook.

For a more comprehensive security tool, you'll want to use a Virtual Private Network, such as the free Hotspot Shield, or the for-pay AlwaysVPN. But for quick-and-easy free protection at popular Web sites, HTTPS Everywhere is a great choice.

Note: This link automatically installs the file from the developer's site into your Firefox browser.

To download for free click here  : http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_download/fid,157688-order,4/download.html

Google+ App is Out Now , Works On iPads And iPod Touches

 

The last time we’ve reported about Google+ app hitting the iPhone platform but no support on iPads and iPod Touches. This time, the official Google+ app is now compatible and works for iPads and iPod touches not to mention it was ready for download. However, we’re reading few complaints that the iPad versions was just an iPhone app, no full resolution for the iPad. Now if you’ve already download it, you can tell us your experiences yes, just below in the comment line.

Apple releases Lion Recovery Disk Assistant

Apple on Monday released a utility that builds a Lion recovery disk on a USB flash drive, giving users a way to restore their Macs if the machine's hard drive fails completely.

The Lion Recovery Disk Assistant is a free download, and requires a flash or "thumb" drive of 1GB or more, or an external drive connected to the Mac via a USB cable and port.

"This drive can be used in the event you cannot start your computer with the built-in Recovery HD, or you have replaced the hard drive with a new one that does not have Mac OS X installed," Apple explained in an accompanying support document.Unlike previous editions of Mac OS X, Lion is available only as a digital download, so its recovery "disk" is actually a separate partition on the drive. That's sufficient for restoring the active partition that contains Lion, applications and data, but would be worthless if the hard drive itself dies.

Many Windows PCs use the same strategy, relying on a recovery partition rather than bundling a CD or DVD recovery disc. Typically, those machines offer tools that can create a physical recovery disc on the user's own media.On the newest Macs -- the recently-revamped MacBook Air and Mac Mini -- Lion also offers an online road to recovery. Dubbed "Lion Internet Recovery," it lets users start their Mac directly from Apple's servers even when the system won't properly boot. The online approach, however, isn't available on older systems, like those that have been upgraded from Snow Leopard.While do-it-yourself techniques for creating a Lion recovery disk -- usually on a flash drive -- have circulated on the Internet, this is the first time Apple's provided its own utility.

To use the recovery disk, Lion owners must reboot the Mac while holding down the Option key while the flash drive is plugged into a USB port or the external USB drive is connected to the computer.A recovery disk created on a Mac upgraded from Snow Leopard to Lion can be used with any similar system, but one built on a machine that came with Lion pre-installed only works with that Mac.

Acer is planning to launch Ultrabook Laptop in this october to compete with MacBook Air

Acer plans to rival the MacBook Air this October with a new 13.3-inch Ultrabook laptop featuring Intel Core Sandy Bridge chips, longer battery life, and solid-state or hard disk storage options, according to the latest rumors. The supposed Acer Aspire 3951 is clearly a MacBook Air-inspired device including design choices such as silver aluminum casing, large trackpad, and chiclet keyboard. Images of the purported new laptop recently leaked online through the Vietnamese site Sohoa.

Rumored specs for the Aspire 3951 include the previously mentioned 13.3-inch display (no word on resolution), Sandy Bridge Core i processors, 6 hours of battery life, 30 days of standby time, less than two seconds of response time from sleep, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI and USB ports, Dolby Home Theater sound, and a card reader. Storage options include a 160GB SSD or an HDD with either 250GB or 500GB capacity. The new laptop reportedly measures about 0.51 inches thick (the Air measure 0.68-inches at its thickest point) and weighs less than 3.10 pounds. No word on pricing, but Ultrabooks are supposed to be priced at less than $1,000.
 
All about Ultrabooks  

Intel in May announced a new class of ultraportable laptops called Ultrabooks that would feature longer battery life, be less than 0.8-inches thick and priced at less than $1,000. The first round of Ultrabooks should hit shelves this fall with Sandy Bridge Core i5 or i7 laptops. In early 2012, the new laptop class will switch over to Ivy Bridge chips -- Intel's follow-up to Sandy Bridge and the first Intel chips to use the company's new 22-nanometer (nm) manufacturing technology.  

So far, only Asus has officially announced an Ultrabook called the UX21. Asus' ultraportable laptop shares similar features to the rumored Aspire 3951, especially when it comes to design. Asus' 2.4-pound laptop has a unibody design, measures 0.67-inches at its thickest point, and can support up to a Core i7 processor. The UX21 features an 11.6-inch display with 1366-by-768 resolution, glass trackpad, mini-HDMI, one USB 2.0 port, and one USB 3.0.

Just like the rumored Aspire 3951, the UX21 is very much inspired by the MacBook Air, which is nice if you're a Windows user looking for something sleek to tote around town. But considering Apple's current suit against Samsung over ripping off the iPhone's look and feel, you have to wonder how the Mac maker will react to two (and possibly more) Air clones hitting store shelves by the end of the year.