HBO’s ‘Ballers’ and ‘The Brink’ pilots now up on Facebook
Looks like Facebook’s video efforts have been paying off lately. The social network has scored two more series premieres after Amazon’s Catastrophe, and both are from HBO: Dwayne Johnson-starrer Ballers and political comedy The Brink. These series’ pilot episodes are now available for viewing on The Rock’s Facebook account and on The Brink’s official page for a limited time — Ballers, in particular, will feature a video intro from Johnson. The shows are already up on HBO Now and HBO Go, but this sounds like a great way to sample them for free if you’re in the US and still don’t have access to either service. Facebook has been putting more and more energy into expanding its video offerings, seeing as the platform has been helping boost the company’s active user count. Not to mention, it’s been bringing in $$$ from video ads since 2014.
.@HBO gives audiences free access to premiere episodes of @BallersHBO and #TheBrink. Available now on @facebook: http://t.co/UQDbCEYPe6
– HBO PR (@HBOPR) June 24, 2015
Source: HBO (Twitter)
You can now use Messenger without a Facebook account!
You may need Messenger to chat on Facebook, but you no longer need Facebook to chat on Messenger. The social network has just announced Messenger will no longer require users to have a Facebook account in order to join the conversation. All they will need to sign up is a phone number.
The news had the whole industry raising their eyebrows today, as the change doesn’t seem to go in line with Facebook’s constant struggle to take over the internet with their social network. What’s going on here?
It does make sense in the grand scheme of their operations, though. After all, some of Messenger’s features are only available to Facebook users, such as syncing messages across devices and having access to your Facebook contacts – think of it as an endless trial period of sorts. Giving users this capability will help them draw in more potential Facebook users they could later convince to join the real party.
How to sign up for Messenger without a Facebook account
- Download and install the Messenger app from the Google Play Store.
- Open the Messenger app.
- The Messenger welcome screen will now present you with an option that reads “Not on Facebook?”.
- Press on the option and you can then sign up with your name, phone number and a photo.
- Start chatting it up!
This new feature has started rolling out to users in the USA, Canada, Peru and Venezuela, so it’s not exactly for everyone just yet. We are sure this new signup option will continue to expand in due time, so stay put if you are not in one of these markets.
I happen to believe this is a good move by Facebook. Messenger will successfully get people to dip their toes into the platform. After all, it is a great communication tool everyone is using, and in this race all that matters is the user base numbers. Aside from regular messages, Facebook Messenger offers video calls, the ability to send money to friends, voice calls, group chats, stickers and more; all for free.
Not bad, right? Now we can finally get our Facebook-hating friends to stay in touch with us via Messenger! By the way, how many of you are still not using Facebook? Will you download the Messenger app now that you don’t need to sign up to the full social network? Hit the comments and share your thoughts with all of us!
Messenger no longer asks for a Facebook account
Want to use one of the best messaging apps but don’t have a Facebook account? Then go ahead and use Facebook’s Messenger. The app was updated to allow those without Facebook accounts to take advantage of a slew of Messenger’s features, such as sending photos and videos, placing video and voice calls, and sharing stickers. Facebook only requires you to connect your phone number.
The account-less sign up for Messenger is active in the United States, Canada, Peru, and Venezuela.
Source: Facebook
Come comment on this article: Messenger no longer asks for a Facebook account
Facebook Messenger no longer requires a Facebook account
Some people simply refuse to use Facebook for many reasons like privacy, a massive time drain, and internet trolls. With 1.4 billion active users on Facebook and over 600 million active users on Facebook Messenger, many people are left out of the giant network simply because Facebook required you to create an account with verified personal information. Just last year, Facebook removed chatting from within their social media app, and moved it to standalone Facebook Messenger, as they saw Messenger was a product all on its own, mostly likely stemming from the buyout of WhatsApp for 19 billion dollars. Facebook Messenger is currently the second most active chat app, following WhatsApp who has 700 million active users. This move by Facebook should open the Messenger app up to the millions of people who refuse to use the social media’s primary asset which should boost their user base.
This new feature is available to the United States, Canada, Peru and Venezuela and all you need to do to sign up for Facebook Messenger is to provide a phone number.
Here’s how it works:
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On the Messenger welcome screen, you will now see an option that says “Not on Facebook?”
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From there, you can sign up with your name, phone number and a photo.
The post Facebook Messenger no longer requires a Facebook account appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Facebook Messenger no longer needs a Facebook account
Facebook wants as many people using Messenger as possible… and after today, that includes people who aren’t using Facebook at all. Anyone in the US, Canada, Peru and Venezuela can now sign up for Messenger without using a Facebook account. You only need to provide your phone number to get started — after that, the mobile app can create an ad hoc friends list based on your contacts. The social network would still prefer that you enlist using one of its accounts, of course, but this lets you stay in touch with friends without registering for a service that you can’t (or just don’t want to) use.
Filed under: Internet, Mobile, Facebook
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Facebook Newsroom
Dear Veronica: Super Awkward Grandma on Facebook
I think we all know that family and social media don’t always mix: just because you love them, doesn’t mean you like to hear what they have to say about climate change, gun laws, or whether or not they prefer pie to cake (pie is clearly better, you filthy monsters).
For this week’s episode, we cover awkward familial Facebook requests, how to break into the world of voice-over work with actor Liam O’Brien, and take a look at the latest Google Cardboard offerings. Don’t forget to send me in your questions (especially video ones) to #DearVeronica on Twitter, Facebook, and wherever else hashtags be tagging.
Facebook v37 lets you move app to SD card… sort of
A lot of Android devices have SD cards but a criticism often leveraged towards Android is that it doesn’t really manage apps on the microSD card very well. The feature has been present on the past couple of versions of Android but required developers to enable support for moving their app to the SD and some major apps have avoided doing so.
Facebook is one of the most popular – and biggest – apps on Android and the app alone takes up 200MB, with more added in the cache once you sign in and start using. With many users limited by the amount of internal storage on their devices, such a large app can be troublesome and it looks like the developers at Facebook have been listening.. sort of.
Facebook for Android v37 beta brings support for the moving the app to the SD card but the implementation is rather strange. Instead of moving the entire app, only about 50MB is moved to the SD card – which is presumably the APK file – while the remaining 150MB sits on the internal flash storage. Splitting the app across both storage mediums also means the size of the app increases slightly and while the update is likely to be helpful if you’re running low on storage, it’s unclear why Facebook didn’t let you move the whole app to the SD card.
You can get Facebook v37 from APK Mirror or alternatively, existing beta testers should find the update waiting in the Play Store. Like most betas, there are probably features that won’t make it to the final release and it will be interesting to see whether the final release will still let you move the app to the SD card.
Facebook can see you even when you can’t be seen
Facial recognition software is becoming the norm now, but Facebook is taking it a step farther. Normally you need to be in the photo with a clear view of your face for the software to pick up on you. Now, Facebook has created a new algorithm that can see you even when you are hidden.
The way it works is by picking up details other than the face to tell who it is. Just like we do everyday it can pick up details such as their body features, hair style, clothing, etc. I am sure all of you have taken a photo when out with friends only to realize later that you cut someone’s head off in the shot. Even without their face directly showing you can still tell exactly which friend that is based on other characteristics. That is exactly what Facebook plans to do with their new software.
Yann LeCun, head of artificial intelligence at Facebook said:
“There are a lot of cues we use. People have characteristic aspects, even if you look at them from the back. For example, you can recognize Mark Zuckerberg very easily, because he always wears a gray T-shirt.”
Facebook has already tested this with 40,000 photos taken from Flickr. Most of the photos showed only parts of people’s faces or photos where the subjects had their face fully turned away. The algorithm scored a 83% success rate. Very impressive results for brand new software.
Facebook released a new photo app called Facebook Moments just last week. Moments searches a phone’s photos and sorts them into different categories such as friend’s wedding, recent trips, outings with friends, etc. It then tags whoever it recognizes as a Facebook friend. We would imagine that this new facial recognition algorithm would fit in perfectly with it.
I am sure many of you are reading this feeling quite worried about your privacy. You can no longer hide your face to avoid being recognized. Tell us in the comments what your views are towards Facebook’s new software.
Source: New Scientist
Via: Android Authority
Come comment on this article: Facebook can see you even when you can’t be seen
Facebook can see you even when you can’t be seen
Facial recognition software is becoming the norm now, but Facebook is taking it a step farther. Normally you need to be in the photo with a clear view of your face for the software to pick up on you. Now, Facebook has created a new algorithm that can see you even when you are hidden.
The way it works is by picking up details other than the face to tell who it is. Just like we do everyday it can pick up details such as their body features, hair style, clothing, etc. I am sure all of you have taken a photo when out with friends only to realize later that you cut someone’s head off in the shot. Even without their face directly showing you can still tell exactly which friend that is based on other characteristics. That is exactly what Facebook plans to do with their new software.
Yann LeCun, head of artificial intelligence at Facebook said:
“There are a lot of cues we use. People have characteristic aspects, even if you look at them from the back. For example, you can recognize Mark Zuckerberg very easily, because he always wears a gray T-shirt.”
Facebook has already tested this with 40,000 photos taken from Flickr. Most of the photos showed only parts of people’s faces or photos where the subjects had their face fully turned away. The algorithm scored a 83% success rate. Very impressive results for brand new software.
Facebook released a new photo app called Facebook Moments just last week. Moments searches a phone’s photos and sorts them into different categories such as friend’s wedding, recent trips, outings with friends, etc. It then tags whoever it recognizes as a Facebook friend. We would imagine that this new facial recognition algorithm would fit in perfectly with it.
I am sure many of you are reading this feeling quite worried about your privacy. You can no longer hide your face to avoid being recognized. Tell us in the comments what your views are towards Facebook’s new software.
Source: New Scientist
Via: Android Authority
Come comment on this article: Facebook can see you even when you can’t be seen
Instagram’s revamped photo exploration helps you follow trends
Want to see all the Instagram shots coming out of that big music festival? It should be much easier after today. Instagram is releasing new versions of its Android and iOS apps whose overhauled Explore and Search features help you follow trends as they happen. You’ll see the most recent trending hashtags and places, and a new Places Search shows the buzz in just about any location on the planet — helpful if you want to know what your vacation spot looks like in real life. Both app updates should be available today, so you’ll find out what’s hot in very short order.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Facebook
Source: Instagram Blog
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