Facebook discontinuing its Messenger for Windows app on March 3rd
It looks like Facebook is getting a jump on spring cleaning. Three days after shuttering its @facebook.com email service, the company said it’s killing off Messenger for Windows. Though the Windows desktop app won’t be discontinued until March 3rd, Facebook has already removed it from the downloads page. Meanwhile, current users have been receiving notifications letting them know the app won’t be supported after Monday. Incidentally, the move comes days after Facebook confirmed that Messenger is about to arrive on Windows Phone. We guess Zuckerberg & co. can only handle so many Windows-branded apps at a time?
Filed under: Internet, Software, Facebook
Via: SlashGear
Source: The Next Web, Facebook
Create your own Flappy Bird-style game with Code.org
We’ve already told you how to get Flappy Bird on your Android device now that it’s gone, but why not just create your own “flappy” game?
Today Code.org, a non-profit organization that aims to get more students interested in computer science, crossed two milestones, celebrating its one-year anniversary and recently hitting one billion lines of code written by students on the site. In celebration, it built a drag-and-drop tutorial to help people of all ages do just that, create a custom Flappy Birds game.
Code.org also believes that anyone can learn to code and held the “Hour of Code,” a campaign to introduce 10 million students to one hour of Computer Science, in December during Computer Science Education Week.
If you head over to the site, you will find the tutorial that uses the basics of computer science to allow you to create your own version of the simple Flappy Bird game, whether you want to make a Flappy Spaceship or Flappy Santa, or create your own rules, such as speeding it up, slowing it down or reversing scoring. The tutorial runs in your browser and can run on either a computer, smartphone or tablet.
One of the neat things about the tutorial is that you can even press the “show code” button to see the code in JavaScript, “the world’s most widely adopted programming language.”
As someone who went to college for journalism, worked as a journalist for nearly four years, is now going back to school to become a programmer, I definitely recommend checking this out, as it may inspire you to want to learn to code.
It’s interesting to note that the tutorial was created thanks to engineers from Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter. It also appears that Rovio and EA had a hand in it too.
The post Create your own Flappy Bird-style game with Code.org appeared first on AndroidGuys.
‘American Idol’ betting on Google and Facebook to increase fan interaction
Expect tonight’s American Idol to come with a bit of an internet twist. In an effort to mix up the type of interaction fans can have with the show, FOX has announced a new partnership with Google and Facebook. Now, each time an episode airs live, simply searching for “American Idol” will let viewers cast a vote right from Google’s main site or its iOS and Android Search apps. Up to 50 votes per contestant can be submitted, so there shouldn’t be any problems if you have a thing for more than a single Idol.
As for Facebook, FOX plans to include data from the social network during episodes of American Idol, such as real-time voting updates and conversations people may be having about the show. Bill Bradford, SVP Digital at FOX, says that the chance to collaborate with Google and Facebook was a no-brainer, as this is a great opportunity to better engage fans and make them “a bigger part of the show.”
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Google, Facebook
Via: Variety
Source: Fox
Google denies making a bid for WhatsApp
Rumors that Google engaged in a bidding war with Facebook over WhatsApp are false — at least, if you ask Google’s Sundar Pichai. The Senior VP tells The Telegraph that his company “never made an offer” to buy the messaging giant, and that any claims to the contrary are “simply untrue.” We’re inclined to believe him, although the denial suggests that Facebook may have paid $19 billion so that it wouldn’t have to compete with Google (or anyone else) on yet another important acquisition.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Google, Facebook
Source: The Telegraph
Facebook shutters its unpopular @facebook.com email service
After three years, Facebook is killing its @facebook.com email service. When it launched in late 2010, Zuckerberg and Co. touted the system’s basic approach to messaging (think: no attachment or CC/BCC features). However, in a statement given to The Verge, the outfit confirmed that barely anyone was using the service. If you did use it, though, don’t fret: any incoming mail will now be forwarded to your primary email address.
[Image credit: Marco Paköeningrat/Flickr]
Filed under: Internet, Facebook
Source: The Verge
Live at Mark Zuckerberg’s MWC 2014 keynote
Given Facebook’s recent $19 billion purchase of WhatsApp, Mark Zuckerberg’s Mobile World Congress keynote just got a lot more interesting. Hopefully he’ll illuminate us more about how the chat app will fit into the social network’s plans, since that’ll be top of mind. Either way, we’ll no doubt hear more about Highlights, Paper and Trending Topics. To get his take on all that and catch anything juicy, tune in right here at the time below.
WhatsApp to add voice communication by summer
When the announcement hit that Facebook was snapping up WhatsApp (beating out Google in the process), the gargantuan $19 billion price tag was hard to justify. But, with 465 million active users per month, there’s a lot of potential for other, perhaps more profitable services. Today at MWC, TechCrunch has heard from WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum that a new service is indeed coming to the platform relatively soon: voice communication. Of WhatsApp’s now 330 million daily user base, those on Android and iOS will get the feature first when it rolls out in second quarter 2014, followed by those on “some Nokia and BlackBerry phones.” We’re not clear on exactly how it’ll work — whether you’ll send voice messages like Voxer, or make calls like Skype — or if we’ll be expected to pay for the privilege. (You can record and send audio clips within WhatsApp conversations already, but it’s not exactly elegant.) Given there are a number of free voice-based services available to us already, however, we imagine it being part of the standard subscription. Assuming WhatsApp actually want us to use it, anyway.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Facebook
Source: TechCrunch
Weekly Roundup: Facebook acquires WhatsApp, tablet buyer’s guide and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Do we need 4K smartphones?
Handsets with a 2,560 x 1,440 (QHD) displays have already been announced, but do we really need that kind of resolution in the palm of our hand? The answer is complicated. Read on as Engadget’s Steve Dent weighs the pros and cons of 4K smartphones.
Facebook acquires WhatsApp
Earlier this week, Facebook acquired the instant messaging platform WhatsApp for $19 billion. Sure, the app is a direct competitor to Facebook Messenger, but what makes it worth that kind of money? Read on as Engadget’s Michael Gorman explains Facebook’s interest in WhatsApp’s 450 million global users.
Tablet buyer’s guide
With numerous models and operating systems to choose from, we understand that picking the right slate can be a tough job. Fortunately, you’ll find everything you need to know right here in our 2014 tablet buyer’s guide.
Early upgrades: should you take the bait?
No one likes waiting two years for a new smartphone, but are plans like T-Mobile’s Jump and AT&T’s Next all they’re made out to be? Our own Brad Molen tallies the pros and cons of early upgrade programs from the major US carriers.
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Filed under: Misc
Facebook Messenger coming to Windows Phone in the coming weeks
Microsoft VP Joe Belfiore made an announcement that will come as a solid addition to the Windows Phone app ecosystem: Facebook Messenger will be making its way to the platform sometime in the next few weeks. No specific date was given, since it’s still in the works, but we’re told that it’s progressing well enough that Belfiore could announce it. More updates from Microsoft as we get word.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Microsoft
Facebook starts testing Highlights, a feed that shows only important life events
For some people, Facebook’s latest iOS update doesn’t only come with bug fixes in tow, it also replaces Requests with the experimental People section. According to TechCrunch, three tabs reside within the People section, including Highlights, which displays your friends’ birthdays and important life events. It’s the place to check if you want to know if someone just had a baby, for instance, without having to go through Candy Crush invites. Other than Highlights, there’s also the Everyone tab, which lists your friends in alphabetical order, and History, which shows Messenger convos from the latest to the oldest. Of course, not everything Facebook tests becomes an official feature, so those hankering to test People out will just have pray for a second round.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Facebook
Source: TechCrunch, iTunes
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