Facebook Tries to Simplify Privacy Policy

In an effort to take some of the legalese out of a legal document, Facebook Inc. unveiled a new draft of its closely watched privacy policy.

The new policy doesn't change the social network's data-handling practices, said Edward Palmieri, a privacy and product counsel at Facebook. Rather, the goal was to "apply the Facebook design experience that we bring to everything we do and extend that to our privacy policy."

In place of an existing document that Facebook admitted was "longer than the U.S. constitution – without the amendments," the draft policy contains chunks of information organized around more practical headings such as "Your information and how it is used" and "how advertising works."

"We struggle with really hitting home to users that we do not sell their data to advertisers," said Mr. Palmieri, so the new policy includes screen shots that show what advertisers see about Facebook users.

Privacy policies are often written by lawyers in notoriously vague language to provide companies legal cover for required notice about user data that's required by the Federal Trade Commission and other regulatory bodies. But in a recent report, the FTC noted that it was difficult for the average person to understand privacy policies – and that many people assume that just because a company has one, their privacy is being protected.

LinkedIn website working again in China

Access to the networking site LinkedIn has been restored in China, a day after it was blocked following calls for Middle East-inspired protests in the country.

A spokesman for LinkedIn based in the United States said: "We are seeing indications that access to the LinkedIn service is being restored in China. We will continue to monitor the situation."

On Thursday, Web users in China were not able to visit the social networking website. While it was unclear whether the site was blocked due to government censorship, the disruption followed detentions in China after an overseas Chinese website, Boxun, spread a call for demonstrations to protest to the Communist party for democratic change.

LinkedIn, with its relatively small user base of adult professionals, has been accessible in China through the local Internet service, unlike Facebook and other social websites with a much larger number of users. It recently surpassed 1 million users in China.

LinkedIn has been planning for an initial public offering in the United States and is preparing to raise up to $175 million.
Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us

Google search formula gets more discerning

Google has changed its secret search formula in the United States to be more discerning when it comes to which websites are worth recommending and which should sink in the rankings.

The move announced late Thursday was part of an ongoing duel between the search titan and low-quality websites that feature only content copied from elsewhere on the Internet or use techniques to trick their way high in results.

"Many of the changes we make are so subtle that very few people notice them," Google principal engineer Matt Cutts and Google fellow Amit Singhal said in a blog post.

"But, in the last day or so we launched a pretty big algorithmic improvement to our ranking."

They said the search formula change affects 11.8 percent of search queries, dropping low-quality websites in results while elevating high-quality websites with original content such as research, analysis, or in-depth reports.

"We do have a responsibility to encourage a healthy web ecosystem," Cutts and Singhal wrote.

Online system replaces 6,000 files for budget making

Run up to the annual state budget was less taxing for principal secretary SK Nanda. Babus from other departments did not hurry to tag respective files to be sent to the seniors and the peons were spared of the sprints across state secretariat corridors.

Instead, the regular participants in Gujarat’s budget-making exercise just clicked to enable country’s first online system that would help administration better utilise the funds.

Integrated Financial Management System, an online tool, has not only changed the way the budget is being prepared has also facilitated real time monitoring of expenditure incurred after the budget is passed by the state assembly. Importantly, the manpower of officials has been reduced by 60%, said an official in the state’s finance ministry.

While many states have adopted systems similar to IFMS, what makes Gujarat different from its peers is the real time tracking of the expenses.

"The movement of files is synchronised now. It saves a lot of time and energy and we can focus more on nuances of budget making rather than running from one department to other. Now there is no piling of files," says Nanda who takes care of the environment and forest department.

PS1 telescope discovers 19 near-Earth asteroids

The Pan-STARRS PS1 telescope on Haleakala, Maui has created a new record, discovering 19 near-Earth asteroids on the night of January 29.

“This record number of discoveries shows that PS1 is the world’s most powerful telescope for this kind of study,” said Nick Kaiser, head of the Pan-STARRS project.

“NASA and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s support of this project illustrates how seriously they are taking the threat from near-Earth asteroids.”

Pan-STARRS software engineer Larry Denneau and his colleagues came up with 30 possible new near-Earth asteroids during the night and the next afternoon.

To confirm asteroid discoveries, scientists must carefully re-observe them several times within 12-72 hours to define their orbits, otherwise they are likely to be “lost.”

Denneau and colleagues quickly sent their discoveries to the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass., which collects and disseminates data about asteroids and comets, so that other astronomers can re-observe the objects.

Apple iPad 2 to be unveiled on March 2

It's the launch of the decade. And it's happening in London on March 2, 2011. At around 6:00pm local London time on that day, the world will get to see the successor to the fastest selling gadget of all times-Apple's iPad.

After selling a record 15 million units of iPad in less than a year, Apple is unveiling iPad 2. Like all things Apple, the details of the iPad 2 are a closely guarded secret. But a few tweaks are near certain: it will have a faster processor (the current iPad has 1Ghz single core processor), capability to render better graphics, a higher resolution display (probably 1280 x 800 pixels) and dual cameras; a rear camera for HD video recording and a front-facing camera for FaceTime - Apple's term for video conferencing. There could be another surprise 'killer' feature that's beyond the realms of intelligent guessing.

The iPad 2's sooner than expected launch can be attributed to one important fact-Motorola's first tablet Xoom went on sale in the US this week. According to Walt Mossberg, the Wall Street Journal's tech guru, Xoom is the first real challenger to iPad, although he admits that it makes sense to wait and see what Apple has in store with the iPad 2 before making a buying decision.

To be clear, Apple's official invite for March 2 doesn't specifically mention an iPad 2 launch. Almost every tech-pundit and 'Apple watcher' has confirmed that the iPad 2 is what we'll get to see next week. Apple could spring a double surprise on us and launch the iPhone 5 as well.

Following the raging success of iPad, every electronics and telecom major has jumped on to the tablet bandwagon with some very impressive hardware. The pressure was building on Apple to deliver a knockout punch again. Samsung has already launched the second version of its tablet Galaxy Tab, the first version of which was launched after the iPad.

What's in all this for iPad fans in India who got to legally buy the device in the country only less than a month ago? We'll probably have to wait for at least 8-9 months till the iPad 2 is launched in India. The early adopters can do what they have done with several Apple products in the past-hit the grey market or buy from overseas.
Disclaimer: All information on this news has been compiled from their respective official websites or through public domain sites and leading newspapers. Although, we have taken reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate information, but we assumes no responsibility for the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the Information and would advise you to verify it from the official product provider. We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. If you would like to advertise on our site please contact us