Crenk » facebook

Facebook Definitely Coming to the PS3

Dean Sherwin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:05:31 +0000

Some of you may remember that last week we posted a screenshot which was supposedly from the PS3 website but had been leaked unintentionally. It depicted a Facebook logo on the PS3 Home screen indicating that Facebook was coming to the popular gaming console. Now, we can confirm that story.

In an update for the PS3 is out and ready for download. Along with outer features, Facebook is included. Here is what Sony said in an official press release:

Showcase Trophies: Instantly share trophies you earn in PS3 games in your Facebook stream. Simply sync your PS3 system and easily show off your accomplishments to friends and family.

PlayStation Store Purchase Log Publishing: Let friends and family on Facebook instantly know which PlayStation 3 games you’ve purchased. The PlayStation Store, available to PS3 and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system owners through PlayStation Network, features over 200 downloadable games, many of which are exclusive to PS3 or PSP system owners, in addition to over 4,000 pieces of add-on game content.

Game Event: With a few quick clicks of the controller sharing select game events, progress and statistics is now easier than ever with the Facebook integration.

So what are you waiting for? Go get the update!

Join Crenk on Facebook and Get The Latest News and Free Invites

Steven Finch — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:24:30 +0000

If you enjoy reading Crenk and have a Facebook account, be a fan of our Facebook page and join in on the fun! You’ll be rewarded with exclusives, invites and the latest reviews of web apps.

We will also use our fan page to occasionally inform you about premium software giveaways.

In addition to that, you’ll have the chance to participate in Crenk polls and discussions; and ask our Crenk writers technically-related questions or just tell everyone how much you love reading our site!

Not A Netbook, the Litl Is A Webbook

Luis Sandoval — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:50:08 +0000

When I first say the Litl, I was somewhat underwhelmed, and the name alone does not lend itself to thinking of anything grand. It was not until the Litl is unboxed and set up that you start to see just how powerful this little device really is. Coming in at approximately $700 is “a mix between a netbook and a [digital] photoframe on steroids,” says the site.

While under the hood it packs the same hardware that a standard netbook would offer, it’s what you can do with it that makes this device so unique. Take for example the OS. The OS that comes packaged with this device is proprietary and completely customizable. Make it fit your mood, your style, or your event, no matter how you slice it, it’s the OS that can represent your needs. Now pair that with the fact that the screen goes beyond the 180-degree tilt and completely swivels back on itself to prop itself up.

The screen remains completely functional can can display data such as weather reports, Facebook feeds, photos from Flickr or Shutterfly, or just about anything that can run independenty while you and/or your audience can watch. If you’re looking to take your netbook to the next level and get something a bit more out of it, then I highly suggest the Litl and let us know what you think.

Facebook Coming to the PS3

Dean Sherwin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:50:26 +0000

The PS3 is an all round entertainment machine which in many regards it can act as a fully functioning PC for internet, movie and music usage. When it first came out all you could hear was how “it’s not just a console. It’s and entertainment centre” and all that lark. So now we’ve got our hands on an apparent screenshot of a Facebook client running on a PlayStation 3. interesting.

I mean all it is is a logo and a bit of detail which I guess could have been done by a skilled Photoshop user but here’s the interesting part:

TechCrunch claim that the image can be traced back to the official Sony website.

So was this an image uploaded too soon? A test gone wrong? Well we don’t really know for sure but I do have a gut feeling this is straight up. After all, the PS3 is essentially a computer in its own right so if anything, social networking is overdue.

Here is a screenshot of what it might be similar too. This is a screenshot of the Facebook client currently in testing for the XBOX 360 (we’re also waiting on Twitter for that console). It doesn’t look to bad indeed although a bit of cleaning up wouldn’t go amiss.

Online Tribes Can Avoid GigaTribe

Luis Sandoval — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:03:32 +0000

Online communities have since been known as tribes. Thanks to Seth Godin’s famous book of the same title, it’s forced us to think of our online networks and communities in a unique light. Much like primitive tribes of earlier times, we’ve now formed digital tribes where we’ve found comfort in connections with people of similar interests, habits, hobbies, and histories. The tribes we belong to have a simple connectivity of communication that we long to maintain, enter Gigatribes.

The concept of communicating with your tribe is easy to see in networks such as Twitter, Facebook, or even LinkedIn. What if you wanted to share files in a local depository where all of your tribe can have access to? Or what if you only wanted to share with certain members of the tribe? Gigatribes allows you to build your community, much like any other social network, but now you’re able to share large files seamlessly and with out problems.

But there is a problem. How is this different from DropBox? Or maybe ZumoBox? Or any other of the hundreds of file sharing sites. In looking at the application itself I didn’t see anything that really stood out to make this the go to community file sharing network out there.

What it’ll come down to is comfort level and ease of use for your needs. DropBox and Zumobox both have mobile apps that give you access to your files on the go. No such app was found for Gigatribes which already puts this network at a disadvantage.

Facebook and Twitter to Fight SPAM… again

Dean Sherwin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:51:56 +0000

SPAM is one of my pet hates. In fact I think that everyone reading this hates those annoying e-mails, comments left on our pages, tweets and clearly misleading advertisements that promise you a months salary in a few hours. I really, really hate SPAM. It’s useless and in this day and age it achieves nothing with its instantly recognisable language format, strange links and oh yeah, the promise of a few million bucks for transferring money.

Twitter and Facebook hate SPAM too. At the same time, both of them published posts to their blog that clearly announce plans to go on the offensive against spammers on their networks.

Twitter is due to start crating tweets and organising the trending topics section. This could mean one of two things:

Either they’ll simply remove an entire trending topic if it becomes too spammed.
Or they’ll painstakingly monitor tweets in trending topics with the first filter being a computer and the last a human.

They told us that the changes may not be apparent immediately – but I can assure you, it’s happening as you read this post.

Meanwhile, Facebook are targeting SPAM and scam ads on their network. This is a really big problem for two reasons. Firstly it lets users make their own ads and publish them – with so many it’s hard to catch all the scams. And secondly, they’ve gotten into bed with some shady advertising networks recently and are having a spot of bother breaking the relationships. Although they have assured us they’re in the process of ending two of them.

Let’s all pray for a SPAM free Internet in the mean time.

Web App Buffers Timely Online Communication

Luis Sandoval — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:53:50 +0000

Heard of Twitter? Sure the whole world has by now. Lone tribes on far islands have heard about Twitter. This massively immersive and widely used micro-blogging network has become a staple for both our personal and professional lives. The world seems to still be feeling the “Twitter effect” as industries adapt their existing messages to fit the fast paced world of this social network.

But do you ever feel like you’re being left behind? Perhaps not enough time to get the right message in a timely fashion? Now there’s a solution to that.

Twuffer presents itself as the buffer between you and your timed messages. By using the web application, you are able to preset messages on a timed schedule to be released on your network at the times you think most important. The possibilities of this type of functionality are as endless as your creativity.

The web app is easy to use and can serve you to better time your announcements, set reminders for yourself or others, engage in timed online activities, or, as the site suggests, make it appear as if you never sleep. The practicality of this app seems pretty straightforward.

The application is currently in beta, but your able to explore what it has to offer pretty seamlessly. I suggest you give it a try to announce regular days when your podcast or blog post will go live, or perhaps some other similar campaign to see if Twuffer is right for you!

Microsoft Soft Launch New MSN.com Home Page

Steven Finch — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:49:54 +0000

It has been reported that MSN.com is rolling uot a new version over time. You can preview the new version at http://preview.msn.com.

I never knew that more than 1/3 of all Internet users worldwide visit MSN every month. 400 million people per month. Thats nearly as good as Yahoo’s 600 million and killing AOL’s 80 million. But still, it’s the most popular Internet portal that no one actually ever goes to.

In the new version everything is a lot cleaner and easier to read. They have integrated Facebook and Twitter nicely and more videos. Additionally, you will notice the simplicity of the Bing search bar which provide no clutter.

Microsoft have also reported that more than half of their monthly visitors use Facebook on a monthly basis, as well as 15% using Twitter. These are the key reasons why these services are added but not much else.

Social Networking with 6rounds Expands Online Community

Luis Sandoval — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:02:37 +0000

Social networks as they exist depend on the number of friends you start off with and thus you expand your network based on your existing network and grow from there. For many, not having an online presence makes it heard to start a social network when there is no online network to utilize to start. For many this can be frustrating and for many becomes the reason why they do not adopt the social scene. What if there was simply a network that didn’t rely on existing friendships and paired you with new people based on your profile to participate in unique shared experiences?

6Rounds is the answer and the unique network is sure to make a splash in the world of social engagement.

The network itself is designed to be a fully interactive experience incorporating the best of micro-messaging and video networks. There’s now a space for those not interested in hosting entire video shows, or who lack friends to build on a social profile on Facebook or Twitter.

6Rounds functions as a completely unique and diverse network that no user will get the same experience from their engagement. The network allows users to come together in a “live” setting where they will be challenged with “using a combination of webcams, real-time games, social activities and media engagements, we present a wide range of opportunities: from watching videos, playing real-time games, listening to music, Facebooking and Youtubing, to shopping together and beyond,” says the site.This sound a little like speed dating with the entertainment provided, and none of the relationship awkwardness attached. I can see how this would be appealing to both veteran and new entry supporters of social engagement.

The network is free and looks to combine the best of social networking, instant messaging, and video content to create an ever changing user experience.

Electronic Arts Acquires Faceboo Game Developer Playfish for $25 million

Steven Finch — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:52:05 +0000

It has been rumored that EA is just about acquire or has already acquired Playfish. Playfish is a Facebook game developer who produces some of the most popular games on the Facebook platform. The acquisition is rumored to be around $250 million.

This year it is expected that Playfish will have $75 million in revenues from advertising combined with virtual goods sales. Another leading social games company, Zynga, is slated to report revenues upwards of $200 million for 2009.

Although the free-to-play with microtransactions business model has been huge in the Asian video gaming industry for some time now, it’s been slow to make it over to Western shores. This year casual and social gaming companies using that business model have attracted massive numbers of players and revenue to match, unsettling the traditional video game industry.

Beyond the current revenue potential, EA could see further gains from using its muscle to more widely advertise Playfish’s game roster — which includes hugely popular Facebook titles Restaurant City, Pet Society, World Challenge, and Who Has the Biggest Brain.

App Bank: Create and Develop Your Own Facebook Application

Steven Finch — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:23:04 +0000

Im sure there are so many people out there who want to start making games and applications for Facebook, but aren’t really too sure where to start. App Bank provides everyone with the very basic tools which can not only help them get started creating a Facebook app, but will also help them to monetize their application.

AppBank is the only provider that pays you for creating and uploading social content to major social networks like Facebook. Obviously if your application is of high quality and the more users you have, then the more you can make from your application.

AppBank provides the user with free technology that they can use to develop their application and then the user will receive a percentage of their advertising revenues, with the other small percentage going to AppBank. Currently AppBank dont disclose the amount they are receiving on the site itself, which is a downside. However, if you are looking to start creating your own Facebook applications, but not too sure how to go about it, then AppBank is the first place you should call.

Facebook Adds Embeddable Live Stream Widgets and Fan Boxes

Steven Finch — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 22:27:29 +0000

Facebook is slowly moving out of the walled garden and toward public information streaming. Now admins of pages or applications on Facebook can share their Facebook activity streams on other websites via a few new widgets.

For Example the live stream box allows users to update their status from within your own site. Im not exactly too sure how this will help as a publisher, but it is a pretty cool embed widget none the less.

The Live Stream Box, works two ways, using tabs to switch between them. Friends mode displays your Facebook stream the way you’d see it, with all of your friends’ latest updates. Everyone Watching mode shows you the activity of other Facebook users who are also viewing the page where the widget is embedded. There’s also a Fan Box that shows the stream of your fan page, and people can like and comment on posts using the widget. The new widgets don’t replace Facebook badges (did anybody ever use those?), so individuals can still use those show off their Facebook accounts.

Facebook Mobile Getting Ready for Expansion

Augusto Alvarez — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:23:46 +0000

We’ve discussed before about Facebook’s future: Mark Zuckeberg said in an interview that they are not only focusing in maintaining it as a simple website, Facebook will represent the entire platform that any user will need as for identification, business and relationship, said Zuckeberg. And now they are taking another step towards that goal: Expanding the Facebook Mobile platform, that exists since 2008 for traditional websites and Apple’s iPhone, and now it will be available for any mobile platform.

Henri Moissinac, head of Facebook’s mobile operations, presented in the Nokia World about the implementation of “Facebook Connect for Mobile Web” in a new and simple method. With only 4 lines of code, any site, application and platform can use Facebook’s API, the only requirement: A web browser.

“What we did for photo sharing, we are going to do for mobile applications,” said Moissinac. And they seem that are doing it right, because in last month of August, Facebook Mobile had 65 million users.

And of course, the expansion strategy keeps on going: Facebook’s television interaction it is here already. Moissinac said that one of their ambitions is to start working with games consoles, as they announced previously with Microsoft’s Xbox.

Do you still think that their goal about representing an entire platform of identification, business and relationship sounds too much?

Social Media Revolution

Augusto Alvarez — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 19:07:11 +0000

How much is Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google involved in your common day activities? Did you ever ask yourself that? Where would you be if those didn’t exist?

Well there thousands of those existential questions that you may or may not asked yourself, and there’s no need to get real philosophical about this, but we sure can be certain that those technologies, web apps and more have an important presence in most of our days.

About those presences, here’s a very interesting video about the facts of several of these social tools, technologies and media: “Social Media Revolution”

Here are some of the facts that caught my attention:

Social media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the web
1 of 8 couples married in the US met via social media
If Facebook were a country, it would be the world’s 4th largest
TV took 13 years to reach 50 million users, Facebook took less than 9 months to reach 100 millions
Ashton Kutcher has more Twitter followers than the entire population of Ireland, Norway and Panama
80% of Twitter usage is on mobile devices
Wikipedia has over 13 million articles
80% of companies are using LinkedIn as their primary tool to find employees
Only 18% of traditional TV campaigns generate a positive ROI
35% of books sales on Amazon are for Kindle

“Social media isn’t a fad; it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate”

Microsoft OneApp for Mobiles

Augusto Alvarez — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 21:58:50 +0000

The mobile market in all of its forms has, indeed, made a big impact around the world within the last few years. The ideas of stay always “connected” whenever and wherever, simplifying your life using a single device were just a few around. Big companies are focusing in these interconnections and technologies because, let’s face it: pays off. And Microsoft it’s no exception, this time presenting an interesting app: OneApp.

What’s the idea? This mobile app will let you access other apps like Facebook, Twitter (TweetLite), Live Messenger, games and more without actually installing them on your phone. Even though the application architecture and functionality are not revealed, seems that the small footprint from OneApp (150kb) will dynamically launch parts of the application and avoid installation or storage requirements; something like application virtualization for web apps, not a bad idea.

OneApp also includes cloud services that help offload processing and storage from the phone to the Internet, improving overall performance. But, as you may think, this mobile app it is only compatible with a few phones (at least in this first stage); here’s the list:

Nokia 3555, 5320, 6300, 6500, 6600, E50, E51, E63, E65, E66, E71, N70, N72, N73, N78, N80, N81, N82, N85, N95, N96
Samsung U900 Soul
Sony Ericsson C510, C902, C905, G705,K610i, K800i, K805i, T650i, W200i, W580i, W595, W660i, W980

Are you planning in using it?

Facebook 3.0 – New App Here…Finally

Dean Sherwin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:00:29 +0000

So, after what seemed like an endless few weeks or fights, press releases, rumours and delays the Facebook 3.0 app is now officially released for the iPhone. I think a celebration is in order.

So, what are our first impressions here at Crenk? Well there good. Very good in fact. When I first started up the app I noticed a few things almost instantaneously that had changed from the previous app. For example, up the top left hand corner there is a button which when pressed it will give you a search bar and down the bottom the alerts feature which tells you what your friends are up to and if you need to respond to anything will pop up.

It is also more in touch with the actual web based Facebook. For example, you can RSVP to invitations rather than just being informed of their existence and you can also chat easier with friends.

Of course there are the new features that literally work with the iPhone. You can now call and send texts to your Facebook friends without having to leave the app. I think this is a cool feature and one that Facebook will not regret making as that’s what smart phones are all about – integration.

Finally, there is the web browser. At first I though this was a little unnecessary but then it became clear why they put it there. How many of your Facebook friends send you links or how many times do you decide to follow up a news story you heard from friends? Now you don’t have to exit the whole app and start up Safari just to follow a link!

Facebook Critisizes App Store

Dean Sherwin — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:11:24 +0000

The Apple App Store is a place where you get pristine apps that are clean of any SPAM or Malware. A great place in my opinion. However, in order to keep this clean environment Apple have built up a wall made out of trained reviewers who scrutinize apps for any violation of policy before they are allowed to go live. Facebook developer Joe Hewitt said on his blog that he wants Apple to remove the screening process to make the App store more accessible to developers.

There is currently a 14 day waiting period for apps so they can be reviewed by Apple. However, this is annoying Facebook as they believe Apple are using this time to block their app from the market. Here is what Hewt said in his blog, almost criticizing the iPhone along with Apple:

Oh, but you say that iPhone apps are different, because they run native code and can do scary things that web pages can’t? Again, you’re wrong, because iPhone apps are sandboxed and have scarcely any more privileges than a web app. About the only scary thing they can do outside the sandbox is access your address book, but Apple can easily fix that by requiring they ask permission first, just like they must do to track your location.

Whether or not Apple chooses to listen is up to them. Tearing down the wall could lead to an influx of Spammers, leaving it up could further delay apps or even put off developers as alternatives become increasingly available.

IsoHunt Improve Search and Indexing

Steven Finch — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:45:35 +0000

Last week isoHunt updated its indexing code and performed a thorough re-crawl of the indexed sites, resulting in an increase from 1.65 million to 3.49 million torrents. This week the team tackled another problem, namely, how to find the right torrent more effectively.

isoHunt’s founder Gary Fung mentioned that they made several changes to the search algorithms resulting in a superior quality of the search results. The changes should make it easier for the site’s users to find what they are looking for.

Aside from the improved results, the team also added option to narrow down the results to a specific source, Gary explained on Facebook.

isoHunt is currently the third largest torrent site ranked by the number of daily users.

Facebook’s New Twitter App!

Dean Sherwin — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:41:31 +0000

To be honest, I was utterly shocked when I heard the news. For months, Twitter and Facebook have been battling it out. Both have acknowledged the other as their main rival. Apps, schemes, plans and plots have come about but none have broken the stalemate between then. Now, Facebook are taking the stance of “well, if you can’t beat them, join them.” They’re launching a new app that will combine Twitter and Facebook.

Here is what they said on their blog:

“If you manage a Facebook Page, you now will be able to decide whether to share updates with their Twitter followers, and you also will be able to control what type of updates to share: status updates, links, photos, notes, events or all of them.

If you have multiple Pages, you will have the option to link each of those Pages to different Twitter accounts. This new feature will only link Facebook Pages to Twitter, not your individual profile. It will soon be available at http://www.facebook.com/twitter”

By coming out with this app, FaceBook are saying “yeah, we couldn’t beat twitter in a straight fight.” However, in my opinion this is great news. Undoubtedly, the two would have spent millions of dollars on plans to take down the other. Well if this app makes the market big enough for the both of them; even if only for six months then we could see some serious advancement in both of their services very soon.

FaceBook’s New Killer App

Dean Sherwin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:00:23 +0000

I really love Twitter. I tweet at least once or twice an hour from my phone when watching a movie, playing my xBox, out with friends our just about doing anything you can imagine; including writing for Crenk. I’d hate to see Twitter slip down that slope that few seem to be able to get back up. Kind of like MySpace is right now.

FaceBook’s new iPhone app may be just the thing that pushes it too. Over the past few months FaceBook have tried to match Twitter on all fronts. While FaceBook still markets itself as a social network they have become more twitterish and this is reflected in their new app.

You can have status updates similar to those on the new Windows Live Messenger. You can also blog and surf through your pages more easily. Furthermore, the app incorporates the ‘Pages’ idea which is to coax people to join FaceBook because of the celebrities on there – much like Twitter did…Hmmm.

This app is also really integrated with the iPhone’s call and text features. If you want to call or send a message to a friend you can do so right from your friends list on the FaceBook app rather than closing it and dialling from the phone’s interface.

As an app I think it’s really good but it’s obvious that Facebook are now trying to play Twitter’s game when it comes to status updates, celebrities, micro-blogging and the portability that comes with streamlined apps.

Silly Girl Loses Job Over Facebook Post

Dean Sherwin — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 09:38:19 +0000

Different surveys have been carried out over the past number of years about how many of us actually like our jobs. The average of these surveys tells us that around 60% of us hate our jobs. It could be the hours, the pay, the conditions, the work or in this case – THE BOSS!

It’s well-known that social networking sites and blogs have cost people their jobs because they said bad things about the company and they were discovered by chance on the web. That’s got to sting. But how about this girl who actually added her new boss on FaceBook and then decided she would virtually tear him to shreds?

Needless to say, she lost her job and perhaps rightfully so – I mean, how stupid do you have to be to do that? She might as well have sent him the link.

I’d imagine there either from the UK or the Republic of Ireland as these are the only two countries that use P45 forms when jobs get terminated.

Here what the post and the bosses reply said. (Obviously their names have been removed).

Twitter is for Old People

Augusto Alvarez — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:35:13 +0000

Only around 15% of all the Twitter users are less than 25 years old, who would know? An official report from Morgan Stanley says that teenagers just don’t use Twitter.

You won’t be surprised if I tell you that people under 25 years are the main Internet users, only this group of people takes the 25% of all population; but they also just represent 16% of all Twitter.

And which age group takes the majority on Twitter? 25-54 years old, they take up to 64% of the Twitter population (me included of course). 20% for people over 55 years and 16% for those under 25. Yeap, you read it right, 20% of Twitter users are over 55 years.

If you start thinking about it (and when I say “thinking” I mean checking your list of followers and following) you would probably notice that you have a bunch of friends, a selected group of celebrities (yes, I know, we all have @aplusk), and would probably see a large number of marketers, companies, brands, channels, journalists or even PR guys. And that’s not exactly the main focus of teens these days.

It doesn’t feel like the teen wave didn’t appear just yet in Twitter? Can we expect a new teen market for Twitter as it was for Facebook?

US Marines Ban Twitter, MySpace and Facebook

Dean — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:26:29 +0000

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) are currently deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq, fighting day in day out against insurgency and terrorism under the constant threat of IEDs and enemy Kalashnikov or RPG fire. They bravely soldier on throughout.

However, when it comes to Web 2.0 they’re left quivering in their combat boots. The USMC has just announced that it is placing a network wide ban on Web 2.0 sites such as Twitter, MySpace and FaceBook in an effort to make their systems more secure.

They say that these sites are easily hacked and used by hackers and scammers and indeed those against US operations to post links to malicious sites in the hope a marine on R&R or a USMC staff member might click on them.

This would expose the soft underbelly of the USMC’s network and would lead to disaster. Here is what the USMC order read :

“These internet sites in general are a proven haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due to information exposure, user generated content and targeting by adversaries…”
“The very nature of SNS [social network sites] creates a larger attack and exploitation window, exposes unnecessary information to adversaries and provides an easy conduit for information leakage that puts OPSEC [operational security], COMSEC [communications security], [and] personnel… at an elevated risk of compromise.”

Progress Thru Processors – The New Way to Help

Dean — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:09:05 +0000

Donating to charity or even volunteering can be tough. You either don’t have the time, the cash or simply don’t want to. However, most of us will want to help a good cause in some way or another. Intel, Facebook, and Grid Republic have teamed up to allow Facebook users to do exactly that with their new app ‘Progress Thru Processors’.

This app, which was launched yesterday and is available to all Facebook users will utilize extra processing power from their computers when it is not in use and use that power on a huge network of other donators to run many different programs on central computers in labs and research facilities. The reason why these labs such as Africa@home and Climateprediction.net can’t simply do it themselves is because the amount of power needed to examine protine particles or predict theretical weather simulations is huge and extremely expensive.

The whole operation could not have been done without Grid Republic who had the technology to link up the PCs with extra processing power and use them properly giving each one a small crumb of the huge task, which will hopefully all come together to solve sciences big questions.

“By simply running an application on your computer, which uses very little incremental resources, you can expand computing resources to researchers,” Deborah Conrad, Intel vice president and general manager of corporate marketing, said in a statement.

Intel says that the application will not affect performance and thus will not be noticed by the user. Progress Thru Processors is available to download right here.

Martha Stewart Hearts Twitter, Not Facebook

Dean — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:46:41 +0000

Martha Stewart – probably one of the most famous names in the last fifteen years for her less than scrupulous past. The home-decor queen has now made even more waves by calling Facebook “dippy” and saying that she much prefers facebook.

In an interview she commented on how she has grown to dislike Facebook. This is the second major celebrity to do so in just two days – on Saturday Bill Gates admitted to abandoning Facebook.

She said that she like the micro-blogging platform because it’s easier, you can reach more people and it doesn’t take up too much time.

“I just love it so much more than Facebook … First of all, you don’t have to spend any time on it, and, second of all, you reach a lot more people. And I don’t have to ‘befriend’ and do all that other dippy stuff that they do on Facebook.”

She called Twitter the Walmart of the internet – hopefully referring to its success not its large stocking of canned goods which is far from plenty.

Twitter just keeps growing with thousands of celebrities now gathering huge followers.

Crenk on Twitter – here

My Twitter – here