Facebook

1,003 'Facebook' stories December 2010 - July 2012

See All Stories

Facebook is the most popular social media service in the world with 2.32 billion monthly active users as of December 31, 2018

Facebook is the most popular social media service in the world with 2.32 billion monthly active users as of December 31, 2018. It also averages 1.52 billion daily active users as of December 2018.

Facebook was launched in February of 2004 (as The Facebook) for college students and then rapidly grew as it opened the service to more than those with a .edu email address. It was the subject of the 2010 movie called “The Social Network“.

In 2012, the social media giant offered its IPO and Facebook earned the title of the fastest company to grow to $250 billion market capitalization in the S&P 500.

In recent years, the company has been at the center of attention related to its role in the Russian interference in the 2016 US election. Since then, it’s been a continual stream of negative news for the company. They recently had all of their enterprise certificates for iOS revoked after it was discovered they had repackaged Onavo VPN as a ‘Research’ app and were paying teens $20/month to sneakily sideload it.

In early 2019, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a “privacy shift” for the company. He outlined a detailed vision for the future of the social media platform, specifically its messaging services. Notably, in contrast to how the company operates today, he says the future of the platform will be privacy-focused with features like end-to-end encryption, interoperability between its various apps like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, reducing how long it holds data, secure storage of personal data, and more.

Chart provided by TradingView

META Chart by TradingView

Reminder: QuickBooks 2011 not supported on Mountain Lion

Jordan Kahn Jul 24 2012 - 11:01 am PT

We received a tip today that may be of interest to QuickBooks users planning to upgrade to Mountain Lion this week. The email below was sent to a reader from Intuit’s QuickBooks for Mac team. It informed them QuickBooks 2011 would not be supported on Mountain Lion. While the email notes “you may find that most things in your QuickBooks for Mac work for you” after upgrading to Mountain Lion, the company will only officially support QuickBooks 2012 on 10.8. The full email is below:

Let’s talk about Mountain Lion!

Like a lot of Mac users, everyone on the QuickBooks for Mac team is excited about the upcoming release of OS X 10.8: Mountain Lion. You may be wondering how Mountain Lion will affect your version of QuickBooks for Mac.

QuickBooks 2011 and prior are not supported on Mountain Lion. (Note that QuickBooks 2012 is supported on Mountain Lion.) Read more about this on Little Square.

If you decide to upgrade your OS, you may find that most things in your QuickBooks for Mac work for you, but if you run into a problem, we may not be able to help you. To minimize the chances of running into issues, you should make sure you’ve installed the latest update for your software. To find and install an update, click QuickBooks > Check for QuickBooks Updates.

If the new features in the Mountain Lion OS aren’t a big deal for you and you don’t want to upgrade either your OS or your current version of QuickBooks, then just stay with your current OS and QuickBooks versions. We can continue to help you with any problems you may run into.

If you must upgrade your OS, but don’t want to upgrade QuickBooks, you can continue safely running QuickBooks for Mac and any other software that may not be compatible with Mountain Lion on a partition. (Note: it’s important that you check all your software on the Mac you use for your business to be sure that it’s all compatible with Mountain Lion.) You can learn more about setting up a partition at this article by Apple: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5845

If you want to run QuickBooks for Mac on Mountain Lion, you should upgrade to QuickBooks 2012 for Mac. That way if you do run into any problems, we can help you. You can find QuickBooks 2012 for Mac on our website at http://quickbooks.com/mac and at most major retailers.

We really appreciate your business and wish you happy accounting whether you choose to upgrade to Mountain Lion or stay with your current version of OS X.

You’ll find great answers to your questions and advice on our Community. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter. And Little Square will keep you up-to-date with new developments about QuickBooks for Mac on Mountain Lion.

Sincerely,

The QuickBooks for Mac Team

OS X Mountain Lion seeded to AppleCare reps ahead of launch (9to5mac.com)
Reminder: Mountain Lion will be free for 30 days for new Mac owners (9to5mac.com)
CloudApp releases beta update with Mountain Lion, Retina display support (9to5mac.com)

We’re hearing word of sporadic iMessage outages this weekend

Seth Weintraub Jul 22 2012 - 2:12 pm PT

.

Although Apple’s iCloud System Status thinks all is good, clearly not all is well in Maiden. We received a load of tips over the past day or so claiming iMessages are randomly not going through, people are not able to sign in (“activation issues”), and messages are randomly deleting. Others are not having any issues (or are not aware of any). Here are just a few of our readers’ responses:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Minor app update roundup: djay for iPad, Turntable.fm, Tweetbot for iPad, more

Jordan Kahn Jul 20 2012 - 3:44 pm PT

By far the biggest app news today is the announcement that popular Mac and iOS email client Sparrow has been acquired by Google, but below is our usual list of all the notable apps and updates hitting the App Store:

djay for iPad version 1.5.1: djay for iPad received a significant updated today that brings support for Numark’s upcoming iDJ Pro controller for iPad arriving in September. The update also improves “turntable behavior for fast spinning,” slider accuracy, and some bug fixes including one for distortion issues with Split Output.

Turntable.fm version 2.1.1: Turtable.fm’s iPhone app received a small update today that allows users to log in with their turntable account instead of Facebook or Twitter. The update also added more avatars.

Tweetbot for iPad version 2.4.2: A small update for the extremely popular Tweetbot for Twitter client for iPad brings a number of bug fixes.

Netflix version 2.2.1: Another small update today goes to the Netflix iOS app with version 2.2.1 bringing much-needed stability improvements.

Quick Review: Tweetbot for Mac finally arrives in public alpha, download now! (9to5mac.com)
Try the simplest weather app for iPhone and iPad, a web app (9to5mac.com)
Apps & updates: Bolt!, PDF Expert for iPad, Vyclone, more (9to5mac.com)
Apps & updates: Xbox LIVE app updated with iPad support, Nike+ Running, Spotify, more (9to5mac.com)
Apps and updates: Little Things Forever, Diet Coda, Sparrow, Netflix, Angry Birds Space, and more (9to5mac.com)

Facebook snatches up Mac and iOS developer Acrylic Software

Élyse Betters Jul 20 2012 - 10:23 am PT

Mac and iOS developer Acrylic Software just announced that Facebook has acquired it. Founder Dustin Mcdonald unveiled the news on Acrylic’s blog:

Our Next Project: Facebook

I’m happy to announce today that we’ve packed up our small Vancouver studio and will be making the move to San Francisco in the coming weeks to join the design team at Facebook.

For the past four years, we’ve worked tirelessly on creating truly awesome products with a focus on innovation and great design, and I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve been able to accomplish during that time. Our flagship apps, Wallet and Pulp, have been used and loved by hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Building these products has been a fun and exciting ride, but the time has come to move on to newer and bigger challenges.

Facebook is an invaluable service that we all use daily, and a company I believe is one of the most innovative and important around today. After visiting late last year, I discovered that we shared many of the same core product design goals and principles, and it soon became obvious that it was a natural fit. Simply put, there’s an opportunity at Facebook to have a big impact in many people’s lives. More importantly, Facebook is full of extremely talented people who will be able to help realize its full potential in the years to come.

Our products and services have not been acquired by Facebook, and while there are no plans for further development on them, Wallet and Pulp will continue to remain available for download and purchase in their current form. We’ll certainly be the first to let you know of any updates or changes here in the future.

A special thanks to all of our customers and supporters who have helped us grow and build the best products possible throughout the last four years. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without you.

Dustin MacDonald

Acrylic Software

Acrylic Software is located in Vancouver, Canada, and its most notable products include Pulp and Wallet. Pulp presents news feeds in a clean, fresh UI for easy scanning through headlines, previews, and photos on a Mac or iPad, while Wallet allows users to track their sensitive information, such as web passwords, software license keys, credit card numbers, also on a Mac or iOS device.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Find My Facebook Friends app forced to change name – becomes ‘Locate’

Jordan Kahn Jul 20 2012 - 6:33 am PT

Developers of the Find My Facebook Friends app have had quite a rough time getting their app past Apple’s App Store review team. The app was originally called “Find My Friends For Facebook” until Apple rejected the app name and icon for being too similar to its own Find My Friends app, forcing the developers to resubmit the app with a new icon and name. While the app has been live in the App Store and steadily growing among users as “Find My Facebook Friends” since March, the developer told us today that it is once again being forced to change its name—but this time by Facebook.

After a few emails with Facebook’s Platform Operations team, Find My Facebook Friends has now been renamed “Locate”. Facebook also requested the developer remove the “f” logo, and then alter the white silhouette used in its icon. It appears Facebook’s platform policy and trademark rights allow iOS developers to use “for Facebook” in their app titles to clearly indicate the app is “for” Facebook and not an official app. However, there are many apps, such as Facebook Chat+, that seem to violate Facebook’s policies the same as Find My Facebook Friends, and they have been available in the App Store for almost a year. The developer noted Facebook contacted him after briefly testing its location-based Find Friends Nearby feature, which did not include the exact same functionality. However, it could easily be confused with Find My Facebook Friends by its title alone. The app still includes the same features, allowing you to locate Facebook friends on a map, receive proximity alerts, and more, but it is now available as “Locate: Real-time Location Sharing for Facebook” in the App Store.

Facebook adds new Find Friends Nearby feature to apps, makes it easy to add new friends (9to5google.com)
Former Apple employee discusses the App Store review process (9to5mac.com)
Facebook adds new Find Friends Nearby feature to apps, makes it easy to add new friends (9to5mac.com)

IMDb iOS app eyes 20M+ downloads, celebrates with massive update

Élyse Betters Jul 12 2012 - 8:10 am PT

IMDb, the unofficial resume for everyone and everything Hollywood, just announced its iOS and Android apps have experienced more than 40 million total downloads. The iOS counterpart claimed half of those downloads, and IMDb is celebrating with today’s launch of “highly anticipated discovery, personalization and social features.”

Version 2.7 now includes:

– Movies & TV shows: check in and share what you are watching to Facebook and Twitter
– Message Boards: access general boards, or dive into discussions about your favorite people, movies, and shows
– Filming Locations & Soundtracks: find even more IMDb data to satisfy your curiosity
– More Like This: discover new movies and shows while you browse
– Watchlist: tap the plus sign on posters to build your Watchlist
– TV shows: easily dive into each season, and tap ‘previous’ and ‘next’ to browse through episodes
– Your History: long-press on the Back button from any page to access pages you’ve recently viewed
– Various bug fixes and performance improvements

The IMDb Movies & TV app is a free app at the App Store. It rates 4 stars, based on more than 112,000 reviews, as of press time.

The press release is below.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Facebook releases SDK 3.0 Beta with iOS 6 integration & new iOS Dev Center

Jordan Kahn Jul 11 2012 - 11:34 am PT

Facebook announced today that it is releasing its biggest iOS SDK update yet with the release of SDK 3.0 Beta for iOS, which also includes iOS 6 integration for native Facebook login. It is also rolling out a completely refreshed iOS Dev Center with tutorials, concepts, and reference docs to help iOS app developers build great Facebook-integrated apps for iOS devices.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apps & updates: Vimeo, Facebook Messenger, more

Jordan Kahn Jul 6 2012 - 1:11 pm PT

We already told you about a big recent update to Scanner Pro that brings iCloud integration and new iPhone interface, and below is our usual roundup of other noteworthy apps and updates released today. In other app news, sources told VideoGamer that Activision Leeds will be heading development of new new Call of Duty titles for iOS devices, which we can only hope means a full-blown COD game is coming to iPhones and iPads sometime soon. There are also a ton of developers on our list extending their 4th of July day sales into the weekend.

Vimeo version 2.0.5: The universal Vimeo iOS app received a decent update today that “adds initial support for vimeo:// url scheme” with support for projects, camera, featured, my_videos, likes, watch_later, feed, stats, and help. The update also includes fixes for bad localizations and the usual bug fixes.

Facebook Messenger version 1.8.1: Facebook Messenger was updated today with a few small fixes following updates to many of Facebook’s iOS apps in recent weeks. Version 1.8.1 includes a bug fix that was causing profile photos and friend pages to load slowly, something many FB iOS users have been complaining about. You will also now be able to see more of your top friends from within a compose window.

Yelp version 5.9.1: Yelp received a minor update today that includes a fix causing issues for Italian users.

Analytiks 2.0: Analytiks was recently updated to version 2.0. The app is an iOS-based hub for Google Analytics stats, and it provides a unique, stylish user interface unmatched by any other Google Analytics application.

Related articles

Scanner Pro updated with iCloud integration, revamped iPhone interface (9to5mac.com)
Apple launches updated iCloud website for developers with Notes, Reminders, improved Calendar and Find my iPhone (9to5mac.com)
How long does an iOS beta period last? (9to5mac.com)
iOS game, Angry Birds Seasons, (full version) temporarily FREE (9to5toys.com)

Former Apple employee discusses the App Store review process

Jordan Kahn Jul 4 2012 - 8:23 am PT

There are many examples of flaws in Apple’s App Store review process. We know Apple is quick to reject apps that mimic the core functionality of iOS, such as Voice Answer, Find My Facebook Friends, or Airfoil, but those developers all made tweaks to their apps and were later accepted into the App Store. Perhaps a bigger problem is apps sneaking their way into the store as offensive or stolen content. We came across an example of each with two apps recently accepted into the App Store: Bulimia Duck (pictured above), which is a Yelp-like restaurant finder with an obviously offensive name, and Dragon Ball Z Jump, which is a hybrid of stolen IPs including Dragon Ball Z and popular iOS title Doodle Jump. These are just two examples of the type of apps making their way into the App Store every week.

Today, we get a bit of insight into what goes on behind the scenes during Apple’s review process. A former senior engineer at Apple, Mike Lee, talked to Business Insider about the app review team:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Parallels celebrates its birthday by dropping price to $28, giving away iPads and other schwag

9to5 Staff Jun 28 2012 - 6:00 am PT

From 9to5Toys.com:

From 9am-11am PT, Parallels drops the price of its flagship Parallels 7 desktop virtualization product to just $28 to celebrate its 6th birthday. The price will increase 5% every 2 hours, so obviously you’ll want to jump on this soon. Parallels is the best-selling, most-trusted solution for running Windows applications on your Mac – without rebooting.

It is also nice for running Linux or even another instance of the Mac OS and for $28 why not?
As an added bonus, Parallels is giving away a few ‘party favors’: just by sharing, you’ll have a chance to win an iPad 3, Parallels Mobile, and Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac.

More information is also available at the Parallels Consumer Tech Blog, or by following Parallels Desktop on Facebook and @ParallelsMac on Twitter.

Update: Originally story said 9am ET.

Parallels app is now iPad 3-optimized with iOS 5 compatibility (9to5mac.com)
Convertible Flip Case For Apple iPad 2 / New iPad w/ $2 credit for $14 + $3 s&h (9to5toys.com)
HHI Re-Elegant Stand Case for New iPad for $10 + $3 s&h (9to5toys.com)
Custom Case for iPad 2, New iPad for $40 + free shipping (9to5toys.com)
KEYDEX Hard Shell Ventilation Case for iPad 2 / New iPad for $6 + free shipping (9to5toys.com)

Facebook launching “blazing fast”, rebuilt iPhone app next month

Jordan Kahn Jun 27 2012 - 9:18 am PT

The New York Times’ Nick Bilton reported today that Facebook is planning on doing something about its “painfully slow” iPhone app. Citing unnamed FB engineers, the report claimed Facebook is going to release a new, “blazing fast” iOS app that is rebuilt “primarily using Objective-C”. However, according to Bilton who tested the unreleased app, it will be largely the same design as the current iOS app:

According to two Facebook engineers who asked not be named because they are not authorized to speak about unreleased products, Facebook has completely rebuilt its iOS application to optimize for one thing: speed… Many of the components of the current version of the Facebook app are built using HTML5, a Web-based programming language… The current version of the app is essentially an Objective-C shell with a Web browser inside. When it comes to speed, this is like putting the engine of a Smart Car in the body of a Ferrari…. Objective-C takes the opposite approach, taking full advantage of the hardware in the iPhone and then building most of the functionality directly into the application so it has to collect less information from the Web.

Apple adds Avenir typeface to iOS 6 in Maps

Élyse Betters Jun 26 2012 - 12:55 pm PT

[tweet https://twitter.com/NathanBowers/status/212803875114201088]

Apple seems to now feature the Avenir typeface in iOS 6.

An interesting Reddit discussion popped up about the discovery of the font in both Maps and Siri, check it out:

I’m a big fan of the new typeface in iOS 6 maps

Avenir is completely new to iOS, because it does not appear in Apple’s font list for earlier versions of the mobile operating system. According to Fonts.com, designer Adrian Frutiger first released the sans-serif typeface nearly 25 years ago.

What do you think of the typography choice?

Expand
Expanding
Close

San Diego Unified School District purchases $10M worth of iPads for students

Jordan Kahn Jun 26 2012 - 8:37 am PT

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJTZ_G7PpLI&feature=youtu.be]

According to several local media reports, including the one above from ABC 10News, the San Diego Unified School District recently purchased almost 26,000 iPads at a cost of over $10 million. The order, which will put iPads in approximately 340 classrooms for around $370 each ($30 off retail per unit), is the largest iPad rollout for a K-12 school district, and it will benefit children from fifth-grade to high school. SD Unified will also buy support and app packages, which likely explains the $15 million purchase reported by news outlets. 10News said some have questioned the district’s decision:

Some have questioned SD Unified’s purchase of $15 million worth of iPads for 340 classrooms. One 10News Facebook fan wrote: “I’m so confused. I thought we couldn’t afford to even pay the teachers, how can they afford 26,000 iPads???… 10News learned the district is paying for the iPads through Proposition S funding. The measure, passed in 2008 by 69 percent of the vote, specifically sets aside money for “up-to-date classroom technology.”

Facebook recruits Apple’s UI Design Manager

Jordan Kahn Jun 22 2012 - 9:10 am PT

As noted by InsideFacebook, Facebook recently picked up former Apple employee Chris Weeldreyer as its new product design manager. Weeldreyer previously worked as the UI Design Manager at Apple for over eight years since joining the company in November 2003. According to his Facebook page, he officially started his new role at Facebook on June 18, 2012.

In May, the New York Times reported Facebook “has already hired more than half a dozen former Apple software and hardware engineers who worked on the iPhone” and tied it the old Facebook phone rumor.

As for Weeldryer’s work at Apple, he certainly worked on at least iWeb. He is listed as an inventor on several Apple Inc.-filed patents including iWeb for iPad, multi-touch and gesture-related inventions, as well as a number of security related patents. Weeldryer’s LinkedIn lists his specialties as: industrial design, interaction design, user interface design.

Facebook working on ‘major update’ to its SDK for iOS, acquires Face.com

Élyse Betters Jun 18 2012 - 10:12 am PT

Facebook just teased more iOS integration in a short post on the company’s Developers page amid buzz that it bought another successful company with an iOS app at its core.

According to the social network, it is working on a “major update” to the Facebook SDK for iOS that will launch soon:

We’re very excited about the Facebook integration in iOS 6 that Apple announced last week at WWDC 2012. We’re working on a major update to the Facebook SDK for iOS that will launch in the coming weeks. It includes significant new features and enhancements that make it easier to add Facebook to your iOS apps, along with support for the Facebook integration in iOS 6. Stay tuned!

There are no details on the update, but TheNextWeb speculated it involves the Open Graph, “allowing iOS developers to easily hook into your Timeline and its News Feed and Ticker products has become a way to send an app’s growth into the stratosphere.” The publication also wondered if the update would help developers launch apps in the App Center more easily.

Integration between Apple and Facebook unveiled last Monday for both iOS 6 and Mountain Lion during the Worldwide Developers Conference.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Phil Schiller: App Store is more democratic than traditional retail, Passbook is not a direct payment service

Jordan Kahn Jun 13 2012 - 9:39 am PT

In a recent story about growing concerns among app developers who want better ways to promote their apps in the App Store, The Wall Street Journal published quotes from an interview with Apple’s Vice President for Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller about the “tremendous amount” of work Apple does to help new apps get discovered. Schiller also talked about how things will improve with the redesigned App Store, Facebook integration, and new user tracking tools for developers in iOS 6:

Expand
Expanding
Close

UN’s ITU wants to tax biggest US websites including Google and Apple

Jordan Kahn Jun 8 2012 - 7:37 am PT

The United Nations is considering a new Internet tax for U.S. websites and content providers including Google and Apple, according to leaked proposals from the European Telecommunications Network Operators Association:

The United Nations is considering a new Internet tax targeting the largest Web content providers, including Google, Facebook, Apple, and Netflix, that could cripple their ability to reach users in developing nations…The European proposal, offered for debate at a December meeting of a U.N. agency called the International Telecommunication Union, would amend an existing telecommunications treaty by imposing heavy costs on popular Web sites and their network providers for the privilege of serving non-U.S. users, according to newly leaked documents.

Facebook’s iOS App Center going live tonight?

Jordan Kahn Jun 7 2012 - 10:28 am PT

[tweet https://twitter.com/sondheim4dinner/status/210812155879096320]

Update: Facebook confirmed to TechCrunch it has been “testing it with a small percentage of users” since it launched last month, but the social network has “no further details to announce at this time.”

The image above is a screenshot just posted by TechCrunch. A reader who claims to be seeing the Facebook App Center already live in the iOS app sent it. As noted in the report, Facebook has an “app-themed” event in San Francisco tonight where we could see more of the App Center. The company announced the new HTML5-based App Center last month and said the iOS and Android Facebook apps would have access to the app marketplace in the coming weeks.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple to include Facebook integration in iOS 6

Jordan Kahn Jun 1 2012 - 1:12 pm PT

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook hinted this past week during his interview at D10 that we could expect closer ties with Facebook and to “stay tuned” when asked about Twitter-like integration in iOS. Now, according to a report from TechCrunch, the much-anticipated integration of Facebook will happen in “the latest version of iOS.” There are not many details provided by the report, but it did note Apple is still trying to decide “exactly how sharing will work” and that things could change before iOS 6 is unveiled:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Tim Cook hints at improvements to Siri in coming months, says ‘We have a lot that Siri can do’

Jordan Kahn May 29 2012 - 7:44 pm PT

Some more noteworthy comments from Apple’s CEO Tim Cook coming out of tonight’s interview with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at D10 in California. We just heard Cook’s thoughts on deeper Facebook integration and Apple TV sales, and a few moments ago he hinted improvements to Siri will arrive “over the coming months.” He also noted that there is “a lot that Siri can do,” and he said they are doubling down on the tech with “a lot of people working on it.”

“I think you are going to be really pleased with where we take Siri.”

Cook’s comments via The Verge:

Customers love it. It’s one of the most popular features of the 4S. But there’s more that it can do, and we have a lot of people working on it. And I think you’ll be really pleased with some of the things coming over the coming months. The breadth of it. We have a lot that Siri can do… That’s what I’m talking about. People have dreamed of this for years, and it’s here. Yes it could be broader, but Siri as a feature has moved into the mainstream. So I think you’re going to be really happy with where it’s going. We’re doubling down on it.

Spotify updated with push notifications

Jordan Kahn May 29 2012 - 8:10 am PT

Spotify just released version 0.5.1 of its universal iOS app. The new version adds push notifications for updates to playlists that you are subscribed to, new subscribers, and when a friend joins Spotify. The update also brings a number of fixes, updated artwork for Retina displays, and Retina graphics for offline playlists. We are not so sure how many people will find push for Spotify useful, because those subscribed to many playlists will likely be bombarded by notifications. The good news is you can switch them off from Settings. Unfortunately, you cannot specify notifications for specific playlists. You can check out the full list of changes from the update below:

Expand
Expanding
Close

NYTimes: Facebook is hiring Apple iPhone hardware and software engineers to build its own phone

9to5 Staff May 27 2012 - 12:36 pm PT

Stop us if you have heard this one before: Facebook is building its own smartphone, claim “employees of Facebook and several engineers who have been sought out by recruiters there, as well as people briefed on Facebook’s plans,” according to the New York Times.

The company has already hired more than half a dozen former Apple software and hardware engineers who worked on the iPhone, and one who worked on the iPad, the employees and those briefed on the plans said.

This is the third effort for Facebook, according to the report, with a HTC joint venture codenamed “Buffy” still in progress. HTC released a set of Android phones last year named “Salsa” and “Status” with deep Facebook integration on the way to hugely disappointing sales and earnings.

One engineer who formerly worked at Apple and worked on the iPhone said he met with Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, who then peppered him with questions about the inner workings of smartphones. It did not sound like idle intellectual curiosity, the engineer said; Mr. Zuckerberg asked about intricate details, including the types of chips used, he said. Another former Apple hardware engineer was recruited by a Facebook executive and was told about the company’s hardware explorations.

Apple was mere betas away from releasing iOS 4 with Facebook integration—the way Twitter is currently built into iOS. Something at the last minute, perhaps related to Facebook pulling support for Ping, made Apple pull the plug. Apple then integrated with Twitter a year later.

Facebook recently announced a cross-platform web App Center for mobile device application distribution that is aimed at building a smartphone platform, an updated Messenger app with read receipts, a Pages Manager, as well as a specialized photo application that replicated features of Instagram (which it purchased just weeks before).

Facebook is approaching 1 billion users globally with more than half of them being mobile. Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed appreciation for Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apps and updates: Mule Radio, Sonic the HedgeHog 4 Ep. 11, The Daily, and more

Élyse Betters May 18 2012 - 2:12 pm PT

[slideshow]

A few of the most noteworthy apps in the iOS ecosystem either landed on the App Store recently or received much-welcomed updates, such as the launch of Mule Radio, CNNMoney, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II, and LA Clippers, or performance enhancements for Official UEFA EURO 2012 and The Daily.

Check out the full slate of notables below.

Expand
Expanding
Close

‘Details matter at Apple. A Lot’

May 16 2012 - 12:10 pm PT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob1rKcC3cgc

On the award that is given to employees who have been at Apple for 10 years:

[tweet https://twitter.com/markkawano/status/202797380129660929]

[tweet https://twitter.com/markkawano/status/202835462535118848]

Apple patent details steering wheel remote control (9to5mac.com)