Facebook Lite to challenge Twitter

Facebook yesterday started testing a light-weight version of their social service in a move that could unseat rival microblogging service, Twitter.

Facebook recently acquired FriendFeed, following their failed attempt to purchase Twitter last year. FriendFeed is a service that allows users to see what their friends are doing online and share content; it has  also been described as a possible rival to Twitter in it’s ability to conduct real-time searches.

Facebook caused a buzz around the internet, when, late on Tuesday, the URL lite.facebook.com was briefly and accidentally opened to an expanded audience. Facebook caught on pretty quickly, and the URL was redirected to the standard Facebook login page.

The initial test was started in India, with initial impressions being that it’s a lot faster than Facebook. Some are referring to it as Twitter with friends, and also doesn’t have the 140 character limit that Twitter enforces.

In a reply to a question by AFP, Facebook stated that “We are currently testing a simplified alternative to Facebook.com that loads a specific set of features quickly and efficiently,” the Internet star said in reply to an AFP inquiry.

“Similar to the Facebook experience you get on your mobile phones, Facebook Lite is a fast-loading, simplified version of Facebook that enables people to make comments, accept Friend requests, write on people’s Walls, and look at photos and Status updates.”

It’s basically a stripped down version of Facebook, and the guys over at DeviceMag provide us with some early screenshots. For the full story, see this link

Social sites under attack

Social sites Facebook and Twitter yesterday stumbled as they became the targets of a massive DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack. In fact, Twitter did more than stumble; the social tool was actually offline for an extended period of time – no doubt causing large amounts of panic amongst Twitter addicts.

Apparently, Google itself was also targeted by these attacks, but the internet giant was able to fend it off.

At this point in time, Facebook seems to be running without problems, although Twitter is still experiencing intermittent failures throughout the day. Twitter co-founder, Biz Stone, had the following to say on the company blog: “The continuing denial of service attack is being mitigated, although there is still degraded service for some folks while we recover completely.”

According to the Internet Advertising Bureau, the attacks were thought to be targeted against one individual blogger who has been an outspoken critic of the conflict between Russia and Georgia. Other theories include a simple stunt pulled by a hacker to prove he could or an attack against Twitter due to software that blocks tweets with malicious links.

Facebook and Twitter have now both teamed up with Google in order to investigate the cyber-assault.

DDoS attacks are typically carried out by large botnets, networks of infected PC’s that send simultaneous requests to the targeted server, effectively overloading it so that it can’t respond to legitimate requests.

Gmail tool to save drunken mailers

We all know about drunken e-mails, right? You know, you go out with the guys (or girls), get back home late after knocking back a few and with a sudden burst of inspiration send off those e-mails that you really, really shouldn’t be sending off. You’re either going to be confessing, breaking up or swearing at your boss (anyone remember the movie Eurotrip?) – and once that send button has been clicked, it’s much too late.

Google has decided to step in to help – and launched Mail Goggles – which aims to prevent you from going too far, or at the very least make it very difficult for a drunk person, by presenting them with a series of fairly simple math problems:

Activating the feature is simple enough – simply go to your settings and click on the Labs link, scroll down, and enable Mail Goggles:

Once your account has reloaded – the following section will be added to your mail settings:

By default it’s set to those times where people tend to be a little more vulnerable (or inebriated) – so if you’re a slightly more regular drinker you might want to adjust it a little. There’s a difficulty setting too – just in case you happen to be one of those math geniuses who solve problems in their sleep.

In any case, a useful little tool which will helpfully go a long way in preventing people from shooting themselves in the foot by e-mailing their boss and telling them exactly what they think of him.

Vodacom WirelessG Wifi

With the launch of the new Vodacom WirelessG Wifi, modern technology just got a whole lot more convenient. Consumers will now be able to surf the internet at various hotspots around world, making browsing the internet both cheaper and easier.So what does this new service enable you to do?

Well, if you are a Prepaid, Top-up or Contract customer at Vodacom, have a laptop, and a wifi account and wifi credits, you are able to connect to the internet at one of the
110 000 local and international hotspots situated around the globe. These hotspots are set up in places like hotels, restaurants, airports and conference centres.

But who will benefit from this service?

Any Vodacom subscriber with a laptop. People travelling abroad can also enjoy the convenience of quick and easy connection, and business people can stay in touch with their business networks from anywhere in the world.

How much will it cost me?

Vodacom WirelessG Wifi boasts highly competitive rates, making browsing the internet much more affordable. Vodacom also offers various pricing plans, so you can choose the right price package for your needs.

The ‘Pay as you surf’ plan charges 86c per MB for local usage, and R1.50 per MB for international usage. Another option would be the ‘Once off bundle’ option, which allows you to pay a once off fee for a specified number of MB. For example, it will cost you R79 for 100 MB and R144 for 200 MB. If you should translate it, you will be paying 79c per MB for 100 and 72c per MB for 200 MB. So in essence, purchasing the ‘Once off bundle’ will actually work out significantly cheaper.

What makes this a good deal?

• Wifi is faster – you can easily access you mail, browse the net, download music and videos or connect to your business network in record time, without the hassle of dial up connection

• Wifi hotspots are easily accessible – there are over 110 000 hotspots across the globe in places like airports and hotels

• Anyone can afford it – Compared to other broadband options, Vodacom offers the most competitive rates

• It is ideal for international travelers wanting to keep in touch

• All Vodacom customers can access Wifi, whether you are a Prepaid, Contract or Top-up customer

• Purchasing wifi bundles is quick, easy and secure

This Wifi service is one of the most convenient and affordable options you have in connecting to the internet. This is just another innovative step that Vodacom is taking in its bid to provide the best, cheapest and most convenient means of connecting people.

Microsoft and Yahoo! resume talks.

Microsoft Resumes Talks with Yahoo

With the battle between Microsoft and Yahoo continuing, many people are wondering exactly how this will pan out. This is after Microsoft returned interest to Yahoo after pretending to tender an offer and walked away. And if Microsoft gets its way, they will claim almost complete acquisition of Yahoo, the second largest internet search company in the world.

Microsoft initially backed out after Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang was not sold on the $47.5 million offer. Consequently, shares in the company dropped by 15%. If a partial deal is brokered, Yahoo may still have some control over the company. However, Yahoo’s priority is to make sure that they choose the option that best benefits its shareholders. Everyone knows the deal will happen; it is just a matter of when. Both Microsoft and Yahoo need this deal if they are to compete against the likes of Google. But the longer they take to make their decision, the longer Google will benefit.

So what does Google have to say about all this? Google bosses, including CEO Eric Schmidt and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, have told journalists that they have only recently heard about Microsoft’s latest move and needed time to consider their reaction. They also insisted that they have no reason to worry about Google’s dominant standing in search advertising. ‘Google is doing very well in what is a very small part of a very large industry’, said Mr. Schmidt. Sergey Brin stated that the reason Google is in such a strong position is because it delivered a better product and does not resort to ’strong-arm’ tactics like other firms.

Recently, Yahoo and actually joined forces with Google on a pilot of its rival’s search advertising technology and are said to be working very well together. And when asked whether Google will consider hiring Jerry Yang should he lose his job, they said they would be excited with the prospect, but were doubtful whether it could actually happen. 

The two Google founders also insisted that it is social networks, not search engines that were a main concern with regards to privacy. ‘Social networking is a big problem’, said Page, and further explains that when is came to search data, ‘there has been very little evidence of damage’.