Facebook To Lazy Developpers, Fix Authentication Leaks Or Else.

Facebook is serious about autentication leaks that Symantec discovered last week. Facebook also had a blog post on Oauth 2.0 requirement that will go in to effect on September 1 this year. Oauth 2.0 is supposed to be more secure.
But Facebook is not letting those leaky apps that Symantec exposed, sit idle till September 1, 2011. Those developers have received the following email from facebook;

Our automated systems have detected that you may be inadvertently allowing authentication data to be passed to 3rd parties. Allowing user ids and access tokens to be passed to 3rd parties, even inadvertently, could allow these 3rd parties to access the data the user made available to your site. This violates our policies and undermines user trust in your site and Facebook Platform.

In every case that we have examined, this information is passed via the HTTP Referer Header by the user’s browser. This can happen when using our legacy authentication system and including

Would you “Like” the name Like?

After hearing some people naming their babies with likes of "facebook", and other dumb things, it is less painfull to hear about the Israeli couple who named their baby "Like" after facebook's like button.At least it is more likable than the rest!
I am sure Google must be waiting for someone to name their child "Googlie" or Twitter looking for "Tweetie". In any case I feel these are insane decisions made without thinking about the child it self.
I always wondered why most kids say that they hate their parents because I did not. I think now I am begining to understand.
Via Mashable

Google Bloggers Get Buzzed With Dynamic Templates And Views

Most our blogs on Blogger are boring by design :) not because we lack the capabilities to make the more attractive and beautiful. But you don't have to, because Google Blogger is introducing five new dynamic blogger templates that will allow a greater degree of customization.
The new templates uses the latest in the technology like AJAX, HTML5, CSS3 and delivers following benefits to you and your readers;

• Infinite scrolling: read more posts without having to reload or click to a second page
• New layouts: different views suited to different types of blogs
• Speed: download images as you view them, not all at once in advance
• Interactivity: there are now more ways to experience and engage with blog content

You can also view these dynamic views by following these links to some blogs, Flipcard, Mosaic, Sidebar, Snapshot and Timeslide.
Get to work and let people see you and in turn say WeSeePeople.
 

Blogger Buzz: Fresh new perspectives for your blog

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

Google Services For New Zealand, Christchurch earthquake resources, maps, news + Person Finder

Google Map

On February 22, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake occurred very close to Christchurch, New Zealand causing extensive damage. We will continue to update this page with maps, links, and other useful resources.


Emergency assistance number: 0800 779 997
For local emergencies, call: 111
For missing people: Google Person Finder or 0800 733 276

Google Resources 

Google Social Search Updated To Include Your Social Associations .

Updates to Google Social Search, that rolled out new improvements enable you to get even more information from people you are connected to. If they're publishing on Twitter, Flickr, Blogger or other publicly available sites, their results will appear in your results. When you sign in to your Google Account, you can get ideas and recommendations from people you trust, right in your search results. If unwanted results from spam showing up in your search results, you can use this chrome extension Personal Blocklist to fight those spam sites.
Official Google Blog: An update to Google Social Search

IBM Supercomputer WATSON Will Take On Jeopardy Champs.

Watson, a supercomputer named for IBM founder Thomas Watson, will take on two human champions of the long-running Jeopardy! television quiz show in two games over three days next week, starting from February 14th, the Valentine day. Watson, An IBM Power7 computer, a work-load optimized system that can answer questions posed in natural language over a nearly unlimited range of knowledge. Watson, which is not connected to the Internet, plays the game by crunching through multiple algorithms at dizzying speed and attaching a percentage score to what it believes is the correct response.

Like Kasparov, who lost a six-game match to IBM's "Deep Blue" in 1997, Ken Jennings, who holds the Jeopardy! record of 74 straight wins, and Brad Rutter, winner of $3.25 million on the show, are expected to have their hands full.

In a practice match at IBM Research headquarters in upstate New York last month, Watson came out on top in terms of prize money, although the computer and the two human contestants correctly answered all of the 15 questions.

Jeopardy!, which first aired on US television in 1964, tests a player's knowledge of trivia in a range of categories, from geography to politics to history to sports and entertainment.

In a twist on traditional game play, contestants are provided with answers and need to supply the questions.

During the practice match, for example, one of the clues was: "The film Gigi gave him his signature song 'Thank Heaven for Little Girls.'"

Watson, represented by a large computer monitor, sounded the buzzer a split second ahead of Jennings and Rutter and answered correctly in its artificial voice "Who is Maurice Chevalier?"

Bangkok Post

Google Weddings Makes Wedding Planning A Piece Of Cake!

When I saw the Google news yesterday, I did not think much of "Google Weddings" as a wedding is not even in the horizon for me! But it was not the case for some friends of mine, actually a FoF, friend of a Friend.
So I told them about the Google weddings and went about my work. This morning I got an email from the bride to be of FoF, thanking me profusely for the information. Apparently she found it very useful. So I visited the blog and the Google weddings site today.
Then only I realized how well Google has put together all the necessary things for a couple to start their journey together. From a unique introduction of "Our Story" to "wedding Events", Location, RSVP and Guest boo, Photo gallery and of course, the registry.
It is all there. Too bad I am not getting married next year, other wise I would have entered for a chance to win $25,000 and have a dream wedding (see Official Rules). Plus, Michelle Rago, a renowned wedding planner, and her team would have advised me / us on location, flowers, food and other design elements to create a day that is uniquely their own. So go ahead and enter.
You will find all the information at google.com/weddings
Official Google Blog: More “I do”s, less “to-do”s: wedding planning simplified

TinyUmbrella For Verizon iPhone 4.

TinyUmbrella has been updated to support iPhone 4 CDMA aka Verizon.

Selling Democracy, "Hey Arianna, Can You Spare a Dime?"

"Hey Arianna, Can You Spare a Dime?" Looks like Ariana forgot the ideals she speaks of!
New Facebook page: "Hey Arianna, Can You Spare a Dime?" http://on.fb.me/ex44Df
‎"My share of the Huffington Post sale, zero dollars, was a little disappointing," tweeted comedian Andy Borowitz

20,000 leagues under the sea, Jules Verne, Honored By Google Doodle

Update: Use the controls on the right (On Google Home Page)  to dive!
One of the people I will not forget is Jules Verne, I think I read and reread most of his books, including Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Vingt mille lieues sous les mers, 1870) that was honored by Google with a doodle today. I think Verne set off millions of people into the center of the earth or 20000 leagues under water and around the moon and back. It is good to read about the man at anytime. When I saw the Google Doodle, I saw right away, myself in that submarine, Nautilus. I was also glad to find a post on Google blog about it, not many times that you read a blog post from a Google Doodler, with this commemoration of Verne’s 183rd birthday, Jennifer Hom, Google Doodler, did,

Thanks Jennifer, for sending me back to my own child hood and reminding me of the great writer, Jules Gabriel Verne.
Official Google Blog: Happy birthday from 20,000 leagues under the sea