Any hopes that Hurricane Irene might swing further east and somehow avoid smacking into the U.S. along the Eastern Seaboard have nearly vanished. While the storm’s weakened somewhat from a Category 3 (111 to 130 mph winds) to a Category 2 (96 to 110 mph winds), it could well strengthen again before it makes landfall in North Carolina …
Apps & Web
Facebook Gives Location-Based ‘Places’ Check-ins the Axe
No more check-ins for you. Facebook Places is being phased out, so you can forget telling everyone that you were at the most magical place on Earth (Disneyland) or that you were busy buying plates at IKEA.
Basically what’s happening is that the mobile check-in feature is getting killed, so you won’t be able to broadcast your …
Study: E-Readers Win the Hearts of Your Mothers
In a world filled with tablet computers, smartphones and the like, it can sometimes seem as if e-readers are yesterday’s news. But there’s one particular demographic who, according to a new survey, is gleefully embracing the device over any other—your mothers.
Nielsen has released the results of a new study of e-reader users and it …
Price Drop: $250 Xbox 360 Kinect Bundle at Walmart Next Week
Price drops. They can be handy. Just ask Nintendo. The company’s challenges with the just-launched 3DS have been well-documented, but their recent price drop on the handheld has spiked sales.
Sony’s said that fans shouldn’t expect the Vita handheld this year but quelled disappointment by announcing their own price drop for the …
Two Minute Video: Steve Jobs, This Is Your Life (at Apple)
The world is a little less geeky today, friends. Here’s a quick look back at Steve Jobs’ career at Apple.
MORE: Steve Jobs Resignation Coverage on Techland
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Facebook Adding Vintage Photo Filters Similar to Instagram’s
When Google Plus was first unveiled, lots of photo geeks applauded the social network for its big 2,048 pixel resolution and ease of use. One of the more damning complaints leveled at Facebook was the way it compressed photos, at least until late last year. It was a long overdue upgrade, but along the way, Facebook earned a poor …
Jobs Resigns, Apple’s Stock Drops and RIM’s Goes Up?
Gauging the U.S. stock market’s like refereeing a game of psych-out, so caveat reader, but as short-term signals go, it looks like Apple’s misfortunes—say the world’s most illustrious CEO resigning—are not-so-disguised blessings for Research in Motion.
RIM shares surged more than 2% Thursday morning after the Blackberry …
Why Facebook’s New Privacy Features Won’t Bury Google+
Kudos to Facebook for introducing a bunch of new privacy controls. Users may now review tagged photos, easily control who sees each post and change who sees a post after it’s gone live. Facebook has also cleaned up the way privacy options are displayed in several areas of the site.
Although Facebook claims these privacy changes have …
Watch a Young Steve Jobs Introduce the Original Macintosh
He had hair. Hear the music. The crowd’s going positively nuts. This is the moment that Steve Jobs unleashed the Macintosh out into the world, and sealed his fate as one of the most well-known CEOs to date. Larry who?
MORE: Steve Jobs Resigns As Apple CEO, Will Become Chairman
[via YouTube]
Erica Ho is a reporter at TIME. Find …
App of the Week: ‘Greplin’ Searches Social Media on the Go
I got into a bit of a debate with my brother the other day about how reliant we are on technology to go about our day-to-day business. He’s hardly a luddite, but from his point of view, there’s just way too much stuff to keep track of: Email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Plus… and the list goes on.
Admittedly, he’s right. …
Facebook and Twitter Will Say No to Social Media Blocking in Wake of Riots
Good news for rioters and social networking ne’er-do-wells (and, those groups notwithstanding, anti-censorship folk in general): Facebook and Twitter won’t knuckle under to calls they be shut down when citizens get unruly—as England’s citizenry did just a few weeks ago in London and several other British cities.
Yes, we’re talking …
New Springpad Feature Corrals ‘Friends Stuff’ from Facebook
I’m a man of swift, decisive action, with nary a moment to comb through Facebook to round up all the movies, books, music, places, recipes, products, TV shows, bookmarks and fine wines that my friends are bullish on—excuse me, upon which my friends are bullish.
That’s no longer a problem now that Springpad, the self-described “app …