Facebook today plans to launch a new app for iOS and Android, simply titled “Work”, that will allow businesses to build their own Facebook-like social networks to facilitate interaction amongst employees.
The service, which will also available on the main Facebook website, has been beta tested in “a very small set” of businesses around the world, Lars Rasmussen, the engineering director at Facebook who is heading up the project, told TechCrunch. Today’s launch is the next step in testing the project, a continuation of a process the company has essentially been working on for a decade due to its basis in Facebook’s own employees using the service to plan meetings, share files, and collaborate on projects.
“Facebook at Work’s strength is that we’ve spent ten years and incorporated feedback from 1 billion active users,” he says. “All of that is embedded now in the same product but adapted for different use cases.”
And it’s actually used by staff. “When Mark makes an announcement he just posts it on Facebook at Work,” Rasmussen says.
No details on pricing of the app, or overall service, were given, though TechCrunch points out that Rasmussen never rules out advertisements as a future possibility for the service. Facebook at Work will also be a bit bare bones when it launches today, as the service will allow users to share and receive documents, but due to the company’s time crunch to meet today’s launch, there won’t be any in-app editing yet.
Rasmussen also gave TechCrunch a run-down of how the service functions when starting out, describing linking accounts amongst a user’s personal Facebook and an overall similarity to the company’s previously established Groups service.
“When an employer adopts Facebook at Work, they can construct it with a set of new accounts. Users can then link their work and personal accounts together so that they are logged into both at the same time.” This would work much like Groups and public profiles do today. On mobile, you would have two mobile apps running at the same time, he adds. “Even if the employee chooses to link there is no crossover. The content stays entirely within your personal or work Facebook.”
Though Facebook’s new app is decidedly business-focused, it follows the company’s recent trend of separating individual aspects of the service into multiple independent apps acting autonomously from the main Facebook app.
The nascent service has a bit of an uphill battle, with competing services already filling the market and ensuring users their personal data won’t leak over into the work side of things, but Rasmussen points out he’s already seen how a service like this can fail by working on Google Wave, a similar work-focused service. “I can say that the challenges of making work more efficient is something that has been on my mind for a long time,” he told TechCrunch, “And I come to it with a lot of passion and the knowledge of a failure of doing this at a different company.”
Facebook’s Work for iOS app is scheduled to launch later today.
Want to get your first taste of Project Ara, Google’s modular phone project? You might have to move to Puerto Rico. That’s because Google has designated the US territory as the market pilot site for Project Ara. Why Puerto Rico? Well, according to Paul Eremenko, Project Ara’s lead, the island is very “well-connected” and has a designated free trade zone that would make it easy to get developer modules from around the world. Puerto Rico also has apparently has a very diverse “mobile-first” market, and entry-level phones make up a great majority of sales. But perhaps more importantly, Puerto Rico is still under FCC jurisdiction and would therefore make a great test market for the US. The first two carriers to offer Project Ara will be Open Mobile and Claro, both of which offer 4G LTE coverage in addition to 3G. As for when exactly this will happen, well, Google didn’t say, but we’ll tell you as soon as they do.
Filed under: Google
Hong Kong-based XinGear has ramped up a Kickstarter campaign for the follow-up to its I Am Cardboard VR headset, the aptly-named XG Virtual Reality Headset. In case the name doesn’t give it away, the VR Headset is similar to many of the smartphone-based VR sets that are coming to market in the near future.
While there is little differentiate the VR Headset from others, XG has developed a separate Bluetooth clicker that they say solves the common pairing problems other VR headsets have. XG says:
“We find the google cardboard magnet clicker limiting. It only supports limited phone models. Our bluetooth clicker would work like the magnet clicker. It support google [sic] cardboard apps that support the screen touch events.”
While XR states the headset is designed to fit any phone from an iPhone 5S to a Nexus 6, it mentions that the Bluetooth clicker is Android-only.
Kickstarter backers are privy to certain perks. For example, if you pledge $250 or more, you can have the VR Headset painted in “your choice of pantone color,” as well as having a logo or name printed on the headset. (Standard models come in either black or white.)
The highest pledge level – $10,000 – will have the honor of flying to Hong Kong, receiving two nights of first class accommodation, meeting the development team, and receiving a VIP tour of the city. Oddly, this level makes no mention of receiving an actual VR Headset. This is definitely for true believers, as one can easily find airfare to Hong Kong for under $1000, and two nights in a swanky hotel isn’t going to set you back the leftover $9000. But hey, it’s about backing a company without actually owning part of it, right?
Smaller pledges will receive a free I Am Cardboard headset or the Bluetooth clicker.
Considering the similar Samsung Gear will cost a cool $199, perhaps your money is better spent pledging $49 to XR and receiving what is more or less the same product. Hit the link below to learn more.
Source: Kickstarter
Come comment on this article: XG Virtual Reality Headset Has a Kickstarter, Samsung Gear Quakes in Fear
If big things come in small packages, the SKEYE Nano Drone is a titan. At first glance most will fawn over the cuteness of the tiny quadcopter but make no mistake, this baby can move! Ready to fly out of the box, the adjustable gyro makes flight completely controllable. Its slight form factor means you’ll have access to areas where aerial maneuvers wouldn’t have been possible before. Nimble and agile, Skeye Nano Drone handles flips and stunts with ease while offering multiple flight modes for pilots of all skil-level. You’ll receive a 2.4Ghz transmitter controller that makes operating the lightweight yet stable body a breeze. Bring one of these to the office on Monday and you’ll be the talk of everyone around the watercooler (unless your office has a cat, that could get messy). Typically priced at $60, AndroidGuys readers can now take this quadcopter for a spin for only $34.99!
See more at deals.androidguys.com
If big things come in small packages, the SKEYE Nano Drone is a titan. At first glance most will fawn over the cuteness of the tiny quadcopter but make no mistake, this baby can move! Ready to …
Imagine the horror of a bricked or water-damaged phone and the sudden realization that all of your valuable photos, contacts, and sensitive information are drifting away in the digital wind. We …
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That’s right! We’re giving away a free Nexus 6 phone and Nexus 9 tablet to one lucky AndroidGuys reader. Why, you may ask? How about why not?! There’s no purchase necessary so …
The post SKEYE Nano Drone: The smallest quadcopter you’ve ever seen, $34.99 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
If you’re looking for some high quality Bluetooth headphones, you may want to take a look at Staples today. The Jabra REVO Bluetooth Headphones are on sale for $99 on the official Staples website. The normal price for these headphones (on Amazon and other retailers) is usually $130, so this is a pretty good deal considering how much you’ll save. One thing to note: if you can’t get Staples in your country, unfortunately you won’t be able to take advantage of this deal. The discount runs until January 20th, so be sure to head to Staples and pick some up before your time runs out. Oh, and Staples is also throwing in free shipping to sweeten the deal.
The headphones connect to your mobile device via Bluetooth and can be easily paired using NFC. If you’re concerned about losing battery, though, you can always use the removable 3.5mm headphone cable to connect to your device. One of the nicest aspects about buying from Jabra is the ability to pair the headphones with the Jabra Sound app, which gives you HD Dolby Digital Plus enhanced sound and advanced EQ controls. If you’d like to grab a pair of these headphones, head to the link below.
Microsoft has quietly launched a Twitter account dedicated to helping people with questions or issues with their Surface tablets, including the Surface Pro 3. The page is a more direct way for customers to communicate with Microsoft on Surface hardware and software matters.
Google today announced a forthcoming update to its Google Translate app for iOS that will bring instant camera-based translation and automatic language recognition to Apple’s mobile devices. This will be Google’s first update to the translation app in nearly a year.
The updated translation app improves upon the current text recognition feature by incorporating the real-time translation technology that Google acquired with Word Lens last year. Instead of capturing a photo for translation, users can point their phones at signs, menus and other text and immediately view overlays containing the translated phrases.
At launch, this Word Lens feature will support a limited number of languages (English to and from French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish) with additional languages expected in the future. It also will work even when there is no available Internet connection.
Google has also added a new real-time conversation mode that is available for the first time on the iOS platform. Previously incorporated into Android, this real-time mode improves the flow of a conversation by automatically detecting the languages being used by the participants. Once language identification is complete, users can speak at a natural pace without needing to tap the mic between each side of the conversation.
Google is rolling out the Translate update across its platforms with the iOS version debuting in the next few days. Google Translate is a universal app and available for free in the iOS App Store. [Direct Link]
AcDisplay, or Active Notifications as some of you may know it by, has just been updated to version 3.0. After few months in development, the popular open-source lockscreen replacement now offers initial Lollipop support and comes with a polished up Material Design user interface.
As well as bringing the app in line with the latest Android OS, AcDisplay has been patched up with a ton of minor and major bug fixes and plenty of under the hood changes. Although, one or two bugs may still persist in the beta-ish build for Lollipop. Android Jelly Bean 4.1 and 4.2 support has also been updated, but the API is proving to be a severe limitation on these Android versions.
The video below give us a little look at what the latest app version is capable of.
You can download the AcDisplay v3.0 APK from the GitHub source right now, or wait a little while until the update appears on the Play Store.
The 2nd Project Ara Developer Conference is taking place this week, and you don’t want to miss the keynote which starts at 11:00am ET. With the release of the Ara Modular Developers Kit (MDK), we are that much closer to seeing a consumer product. The keynote could bring us the news as to when, plus a whole lot of other useful information. We have the live stream for you right after the break.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Come comment on this article: The Project Ara Developer Conference Keynote starts at 11:00am ET today and you can watch it right here
Google wants to build some extravagant new offices at London’s King’s Cross, but after putting those plans on ice, the firm seems to be looking at other options. It had already agreed to rent half of a 350,000 square foot site at 6 Pancras Square, but CityAM reports that it’s now taking the other half too. The offices, set to be completed later this year, will be a far cry from what Google originally envisioned. The company had planned to build its own, 950,000 square foot offices at a different site in King’s Cross, complete with roof-top running track, swimming pool and connected cycling ramps. But apparently the project wasn’t ambitious enough and Google’s architects have been told to go back to the drawing board. It’s now delayed until at least 2017 — that doesn’t mean the project has been abandoned completely, but while those plans are in flux Google is clearly settling for plan B.
[Image Credit: BNP Paribas]
Via: Business Insider
Source: CityAM
AIVAnet 