It has come to out attention that the latest iTunes update including QuickTime is interfering with the ability to view Flash, games and graphics. It could be the latest round of Windows updates too. They both came around the same time December 18-20 2010.
So if you’re having these issues, go back one step by uninstalling iTunes and reinstalling the latest copy from their website.
If that doesn’t work, do a System Recovery and go back a day prior to installing those updates.
San Diego, how is the rain affecting you? We are loving it with a mind towards those who are affected by the record rain we have received during this storm system. We hope you’re all safe and warm.
Facebook has announced tag suggestions. Justin Mitchell, a Facebook engineer, announced on the Facebook blog that it will “make tagging multiple photos even more convenient”. This will be achieved by using face recognition software to match new photos to other photos in which a user may be tagged.
Facebook will group similar photos together and, whenever possible, suggest the user’s name in the photos.
For example, if you upload photos of an event with a friend, Facebook will group photos of your friend and suggest her name. Instead of typing her name a few hundred times, all you’ll need to do is click “Save” to tag all of your friend’s pictures at once.
Users will be able to disable suggested tags in their Privacy Settings. Click “Customize Settings” and “Suggest photos of me to friends.” Bear in mind though that Friends can still tag you manually (you may always remove unwanted tags as you see fit).
Tag suggestions will be rolled out to users in the US over the next few weeks.
What do you think of this new feature?
Facebook users are complaining that the new smaller font size is too small.
Try holding down “Ctrl” while clicking “+” to increase the font size.
To reduce the font size hold down “Ctrl” while clicking “-”
Two articles about Facebook glitch and your privacy on the internet. Yahoo/AFP article in full because their links are broken after some time has passed from the date of publication.
New York Times: Facebook Glitch Brings New Privacy Worries
by Jenny Wortham
On Wednesday, users discovered a glitch that gave them access to supposedly private information in the accounts of their Facebook friends, like [private] chat conversations.
From Yahoo/AFP
Facebook Glitch Exposes Private Chat by Glenn Chapman
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – Facebook temporarily shut down its online chat feature after a software glitch let people’s friends in the online community see each others’ private chat messages.
For a “limited period of time” chat messages and pending friend requests could be made visible to friends, according to Facebook.
For peeks at the usually walled-off information Facebook users had to manipulate a “preview my profile” feature in a particular way, according to Facebook.
“When we received reports of the problem, our engineers promptly diagnosed it and temporarily disabled the chat function,” a Facebook spokesman said in an email response to an AFP inquiry.
“We also pushed out a fix to take care of the visible friend requests.”
Chat was back in action for most Facebook users by 1900 GMT on Wednesday.
The software glitch struck as the world’s top online social-networking service is increasingly scrutinized regarding the privacy of its users.
The survey indicated that 23 percent of Facebook’s users “either didn’t know that the site offered privacy controls or chose not to use them.”
Facebook has evolved into an online repository for personal information and the company should protect user data as vigilantly as banks treat contents of safe deposit boxes, said Andrew Brandt, lead threat research analyst at computer security firm Webroot.
“They shouldn’t be leaving the vault unlocked even for a few hours,” Brandt said, referring to the chat feature glitch.
Internet users need to realize that any information they put online can escape into the wild, according to Brandt.
“If you have embarrassing photos from spring break that could get you in trouble now or in the future, just don’t put that stuff there,” Brandt said.
“Remember that everything that goes on the Internet essentially stays there. Even if Facebook hides it away, that stuff might be retrievable in the future.”
Last week, four US senators expressed concern to Facebook over recent changes to the social network that they say compromises the privacy of its more than 400 million users.
In a letter to Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, the senators said they worried that personal information about Facebook users is being made available to third party websites.
They also said the Palo Alto, California-based Facebook should make sharing personal information an “opt-in” procedure in which a user specifically gives permission for data to be shared.
One of the letter’s signatories, Democratic Senator Charles Schumer, has urged the US Federal Trade Commission to look into the privacy practices of Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other social networking sites and to issue guidelines on the use of private information.
Facebook on April 21 rolled out a series of new features including the ability for partner websites to incorporate Facebook data, a move that would further expand the network’s presence on the Internet.
Facebook vice president of global communications Elliot Schrage has been adamant that online privacy is taken very seriously at the company.
“These new products and features are designed to enhance personalization and promote social activity across the Internet while continuing to give users unprecedented control over what information they share, when they want to share it, and with whom,” Schrage said.