This May, sleuths at IEEE Spectrum revealed something exciting — Facebook appeared to be secretly working on an experimental satellite that could beam internet down to Earth using millimeter wave radio signals. Now, Facebook has confirmed to Wired and CNET that the satellite, dubbed Athena, is indeed a Facebook project — and that Facebook is a …
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Facebook Messenger can now fill out your contact list by syncing with Instagram. You can find the “Connect Instagram” option under Messenger’s “People” tab, and use it to sync up your profile with your Instagram contacts. The addition — first noticed by Twitter user @wongmjane and reported by TechCrunch — makes your Instagram username and account visible to others on …
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AMC Theatres is working with Facebook to allow US users to find and buy movie tickets without leaving the social network first. Using a new ticketing platform recently launched on Facebook, you’ll be able to search movies by location and showtime from the “movies” tab under your Explore options. Once you’ve settled on a showing, you’ll be able to choose …
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Facebook allegedly protected the pages of far-right activists from deletion despite their owners engaging in behavior that warranted moderation, a documentary says. Pages are normally deleted if they contain five or more items violating Facebook’s code of conduct, but Channel 4’s Dispatches series reports that popular ones are protected by “shielded review,” according to the Guardian. The documentary Inside Facebook: …
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At around 3 p.m. ET, photo-deprived Instagrammers headed to Twitter to see if it was just them. Nope, Instagram was down for everyone. About an hour and a half later, it was back up for everyone. You can see the party with the #instagramdown hashtag. Me running to twitter because Instagram is down and can’t survive without social media #instagramdown …
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Germany’s highest court ruled Thursday that personal Facebook profiles should be made accessible to people’s heirs after they’ve died. A judge made the ruling as part of a case brought by the parents of a 15-year-old girl who died after being hit by a train in 2012, according to Reuters. The girl’s parents were told Facebook should grant them access …
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Facebook is bringing augmented reality (AR) to its ads by letting you “try on” clothes and makeup before you buy. The AR ads appear the same way as any other in News Feed, with a new “Tap to try on” option in the photo. If you do so, Facebook accesses your phone’s camera and allows you see how the item …
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Pinterest says you can now plan events better with friends and family on the site. The visual discovery app on Wednesday launched new collaboration tools that make it easier to plan events and projects on the platform, according to the company’s blog. On group boards, now you can converse with other members of the board via the new activity feed …
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India’s Department of Telecommunications reportedly approved net neutrality rules on Wednesday, which require that all users must have equal access to legal online content at the same price and speed. The laws prohibit blocking, degrading, slowing down or giving preferential treatment to users, The Times of India reported. India has long pushed for net neutrality laws, which follow the principle that all traffic …
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If you don’t do it often (or ever), traveling to another country can be challenging. Scary, even. During a recent trip to Italy, I found myself staring down the barrel of a language I couldn’t speak, read or understand. Thankfully, I had modern technology at my disposal, and that made the travel life infinitely easier. You do need to plan …
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