Monday, November 1, 2010

Facebook holding mobile event on november 3


Facebook's event invite
Facebook's event invite
(Credit: Facebook)
The much-rumored and quickly denied Facebook phone could finally be unveiled next week--or at least something new relating to using the social network on mobile devices.
Earlier today the company began sending out invites to members of the press for a mobile-focused event next Wednesday at its headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif.
Back in September, rumors began swirling that the company was working with device manufacturers on a Facebook-branded handset. A Facebook spokesperson quickly responded by saying that it was flat-out false, and that "building phones is just not what we do."
Recent numbers made public by the company had said more than 150 million of its 500 million active members use the site from their phones. Facebook maintains both a mobile-friendly version of the site, and native software applications--both of which could end up being the focus of Wednesday's event, among possible hardware developments and partner tie-ins. CNET will be on the scene to bring you the news.

Google's 10 Best and Worst Innovations of 2010


Hot: Google's Self-Driving Car 

Self-driving cars might seem like a thing of the future, but not anymore. In October, Google revealed that it had, in fact, developed technology for cars that can drive themselves.
The cars use video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range finder to "see" other traffic, plus detailed maps to navigate the road. Google says its cars have logged over 140,000 miles

Hot: Google TV 

At Google I/O this year, "a new way to think about TV" was announced: Google TV, a platform that combines TV programming and the Internet.
Here's how it works: On your TV screen, type in what you're looking for, and Google TV will find it by searching all your channels, recorded shows, YouTube videos and other Websites. You can save your favorite things—such as photo albums, channels, websites and more—to your home screen for easy access.
Some new TVs will have this feature built in. Otherwise, you'll be able to purchase a separate box for the TV you own.

Not: Google Buzz 

Back in February, Google announced Buzz, messaging tool that integrated into Gmail where users could share links, photos, videos, status messages and comments that were organized into "conversations" and appeared in the user's inbox.
Not long after the rollout, however, Google found itself under fire for its privacy oversight: By default, Google Buzz publicly disclosed a list of contacts that the user has most frequently e-mailed or chatted with, thus revealing sensitive information about themselves and the contacts. After settling the lawsuits,Google merged Buzz functions into Gmail.

Hot: Google Replay 

Twitter has become the go-to source for breaking news and social commentary. Realizing the historic value of these commentaries and first-hand accounts (such as from the Haiti and Chile earthquakes), Google began archiving every tweet in what it calls Replay -- a search function that presents in bar-chart-form the popularity of tweets throughout a period in time and lists associated tweets for you to browse chronologically.

Hot: Priority Inbox 

If you receive a high volume of e-mails on a daily basis, you know how time consuming it can be to sort through it all.
This summer, Google announced the beta release of Priority Inbox, a feature that essentially separates the junk from the important stuff, and organizes it to help you focus on the messages that matter.
To help Gmail recognize which e-mails are important to you, you click a (+) button to indicate it's relevant or a (-) button to send the message to a lower priority. The more you use the buttons, the better Gmail becomes at, well, prioritizing your inbox.

Not: Google Wave 

Not all of Google's innovations are adopted successfully. Case in point: Google Wave, to which we bid adieu this summer.
Google Wave, a Web app intended for real-time communication and collaboration, just didn't garner the adoption Google hoped it would, it said. Google Wave's site is still being maintained through the end of the year, however the company ceased developing it as a standalone product.

Hot: Google Street View 

Google first introduced Street View, a feature of Google Maps that let you explore street-level imagery, in 2007. At that time, it only included images of five U.S. cities. Fast-forward three years and now Street View has visited all seven continents, including Antarctica.
Check out the beaches of Brazil, the moors of Ireland and Antarctica's icy terrain-very cool stuff.

Hot: Calling Phones from Gmail 

If you work in an office, you probably spend a good chunk of time -- if not all of it -- at your computer. This summer, Google announced a feature that uses your computer's microphone and speakers to call anyone with a phone right from Gmail.
Calls to the U.S. and Canada will be free through the rest of the year. Calls to other countries can be as low as 0.02 cents per minute. Gmail users were quick to take Google up on its offer.

Hot: Google Reader Play 

Combing through your Google Reader each morning can get...well...a little monotonous. Google Reader Play is a new way to browse articles, blogs and more on the Web. To get started, visit the site and scroll through the items by clicking the arrow on the right, or just use the right and left arrow keys on your keyboard to browse.
Reader Play uses the same technology as the "recommended items" feed in Reader to identify the most interesting pages on the Internet. Google tracks what you star, like or share, and shows you similar items the next time you visit the site.

Not: Google Nexus One 

The iPhone was a hit. The BlackBerry is still popular. But the Google's foray into mobile...not so much.
In the same amount of time it took Apple to sell 1 million iPhones, Google sold a measly 135,000 units of its Nexus One. On July 16, Google announced that it received its final order from the phone's manufacturer, discontinuing the phone in the U.S. The Nexus One will still be sold in Europe and Korea.