RockMelt’s iPad Web Browser Puts Social Media Front and Center

In addition to the standard Safari Web browser that comes on the iPad, there are a few others in the App Store. Some of them make browsing faster and add a few features you don’t get with Apple’s, but by and large they look like, well, Web browsers.

RockMelt’s new browser for the iPad, which is being released today, will stand out since it looks nothing like a typical Web browser.

“Everything has been fairly uninspired equivalents of the desktop browser. There’s a URL bar and an open window for the page to load,” Tim Howes, the co-founder and CTO of RockMelt, told ABC News in an interview. “We wanted to build a whole new visual style of the interface.”

And that is what the start-up did. Similar to RockMelt’s desktop Web browser, it is built around social media.  Log in to your Facebook and Twitter accounts and it brings in the articles or sites your friends are sharing in different boxes. From that grid, you can tap to read an article or visit a site. And there’s an added social layer on top of that. You can tap one of RockMelt’s feedback buttons or “emoticodes” — such as “Like,” “LOL,” “Want,” “WTF,” or “AWW.” Pinch the article to shrink it and you’ll be back on your home-screen grid.

Of course, you can still search the Web and type in regular Web addresses by tapping on the buttons in the upper left hand corner. You can also save articles you might want to read later. In those respects it is a full-on browser and not just a news app aggregator, like FlipBoard or News360.

Howes and the CEO of the company, Eric Vishria, previewed the app for me a few weeks ago and I was impressed with the clean layout, the integrated social functionality, and the speed of the experience. Beyond all that, I was impressed with just how different it looks than other browsers out there.

The new RockMelt app will be available for free starting today for the iPad. According to the duo the company is working on bringing versions to the iPhone and other devices, so ultimately your browsing experience can be synced everywhere.


For more technology news: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/10/rockmelts-ipad-web-browser-puts-social-media-front-and-center/

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Google Releases Website Speedup Software

As part of its "make the Web fast" effort, Google has released version 1.0 of a module designed to improve the very widely used Apache software that's very widely used to host Web sites.

The Apache Software Foundation's flagship project is Web server software that delivers Web pages to people's browsers when they request it. It can be extended, and Google believes its mod_pagespeed extension for Apache is ready for use, Google said in a blog post.

"Users prefer faster sites and we have seen that faster pages lead to higher user engagement, conversions, and retention," said mod_pagespeed technical lead Joshua Marantz and Ilya Grigorik, developer advocate for Google's Make the Web Fast project. And Google offers a big incentive of its own: sites that load faster get preferential treatment on its search results and in its search-ad auctions.

Though Google only took the beta label off the software today after two years of public development, it's already in use at more than 120,000 sites and offered as an option for site hosting firms at DreamHost and Go Daddy.

The open-source mod_pagespeed software that takes actions on the fly including compressing JavaScript programs into a more compact form and resizing images to smaller size when appropriate.

For more technology news: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57530238-93/google-releases-web-site-speedup-software/

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Computer Game lets you run a Presidential Campaign

The campaign to become president of the United States is drawn-out and contentious, with key battles and strategies that can turn the outcome.

In other words, sort of like playing a game.

In both worlds there are good guys and bad guys, actions and reactions, and a prize at the end for the winners. Like a multiplayer game, a political campaign requires many people acting together to achieve an ultimate goal. Like a role-playing video game, it poses a series challenges that need to be completed before moving on to the next.

A new computer game tests this theory by letting players become campaign managers for a presidential candidate in the 2012 race. "The Political Machine 2012" tries to gamify the electoral process by assigning scores to candidates' stances on such issues as gay rights, the national debt and the war in Afghanistan, then lets players sway voters through speeches, endorsements and advertising.

The downloadable PC game lets players face off against a computer-controlled opponent or a human challenger over the Internet. Players can opt to manage Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in his quest to topple President Barack Obama, or run Obama's re-election campaign.

For those who want a greater challenge, the game also lets players run the campaigns of other candidates, such as Ron Paul or Michele Bachmann, or even a fictitious candidate (you!).

Chris Bray, the game's senior producer and lead designer, said developers tried to fill the game with timely hot-button issues and topics that would appeal equally to Democrats and Republicans.
Create your own 2012 presidential race! But why does the Mitt Romney avatar look like John Kerry?
Create your own 2012 presidential race! But why does the Mitt Romney avatar look like John Kerry?

"We wanted them a bit more tailored to what was actually in the current news cycle," Bray told CNN. "That's why, even after the game shipped, we updated with new issues or tweaks. The issues that make for the best gameplay are where they are truly split issues, like the Chick-Fil-A controversy (over the fast-food chain's opposition to gay marriage)."

Developers didn't consult political advisers but relied on news reports and their own research into the strengths and weaknesses of the various candidates.

They also researched previous elections to understand how voters reacted to issues and candidates. Over time, they were able to develop maps and grids, much like board games, to overlay candidates' political powers and their positions on issues.

"The main thing we wanted to know for the game purposes was the starting scenario of the game," Bray said. "What is a solid Republican state? What is a solid Democratic state? And what's really up for grabs?"

The gameplay offers players many options on how to sway voters in key swing states, such as Ohio. Speeches by your candidate on local topics may win you hearts and minds in that state, but how will they play on the national stage? Do you sink your advertising dollars into a positive campaign or get dirty with your ads?

Different strategies play out depending on your candidate's strengths and weaknesses, which states you think you can win and which you are willing to concede.

For example, if you play as a Republican candidate, you can sink a bunch of resources (upgrade your campaign headquarters, pump money into the ads, etc.) into taking a huge, traditionally Democratic state such as Illinois. But then you've blown your entire campaign taking one state, sacrificing other states you might have won instead.

The key, Bray said, is managing the game and realizing you don't need to win everything to be victorious, much like in real campaigns.

"As you play the game and learn the strategies, it's kind of clicking in your head that this is exactly how it works in real life," he said. "No one really cares about this Republican state with two electoral votes. It's going to go Republican. It's not worth that much effort anyway, so you find yourself throughout the game making those calls."

Bray hopes players of the game will gain a better understanding of the nuances of the electoral process -- why voters are hearing certain messages from the candidates over and over, for example, and why candidates are only visiting certain states.

"The Political Machine 2012" is designed to be balanced, making it equally challenging for candidates of both major parties. But fringe candidates will have an uphill battle.

"Someone like Michele Bachmann, if you have her as your candidate, it is going to be more difficult versus Obama or Clinton or whoever else," Bray said. "If you play as (Ohio congressman Dennis) Kucinich, you've got a bit of a harder road. It is accurate to real life as to their chances to win."

Bray said it was striking to his team how the real-life political process lends itself to gaming and how the elements of campaigns (strategy, moving pieces, resource management) is in line with most games.

Like real life, the game also forces candidates to sometimes decide between standing up for what they believe in and what might get them more votes.

"It's interesting to see as you are playing the game how quickly that just turns into 'What are the mechanics of what I need to do to win,'" he said. "In the game, you often find yourself very quickly going with what's politically popular, which I think speaks to the state of politicians' thinking in general."


Source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/27/tech/gaming-gadgets/2012-election-video-game/index.html

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Freaked out about Facebook Privacy?

We've seen this script so many times already.

A rumor gets started about a Facebook privacy breach. It matters little whether the story turns out to be true because we're hooked on the stylized drama guaranteed to follow: Before long, all kinds of folks are running around as if their hair's on fire, screaming about how Mark Zuckerberg is a rat fink who betrayed his oath to protect their online identities. Then old farts like me, who still remember what it was like when our world was not an open book, chime in with thumb-suckers decrying what's lost in our overshared, increasingly cyber connected lifestyle. Blah, blah, blah. Zzzzz.

OK, it's a complicated relationship -- and not just with Facebook but also other social networks. More about that in a moment.

The latest uproar started early Monday after French newspapers reported that private Facebook messages had mysteriously popped up on user Timelines. On this side of the pond, the rumor picked up speed and it wasn't long before the general freak-out was underway. Turned out it was another case of much ado about nothing. The problem had to to do with the format of wall posts that read like direct messages as Timeline now makes it easier to locate previous wall-to-wall interactions.

But this was just one example of the weird direction that discussions about user privacy and Facebook often take. I don't feel sorry for Facebook, which has itself to blame for the lousy reputation. After years taking a sometimes indifferent approach to user privacy it shoulders the burden of proof. But concern is one thing, paranoia's something else. Writing in PandoDaily, David Holmes offered the spot-on observation that a fresh Facebook privacy scandal seems to roll off the transom each week. Even when it's a faux scandal, we're still left with the impression that somehow, Facebook screwed up again.

Turn off, tune out, drop out?

Let's at least be honest with ourselves. Companies are collections of imperfect beings, and try as they might, they'll always disappoint when it comes to making good on privacy protection guarantees. When you decide to post information on Facebook, it's out there, for better or for worse. Sam Biddle of Gizmodo had it just right when he tweeted the other day about people's shortsightedness when it comes to privacy tolerance as "we're outraged by things we ourselves did."

At this stage in the info sharing revolution, I'm not offering any revelation by noting there's always a risk that someone other than your friends will be able to take a gander at your Facebook posts -- either because of user error or due to a real privacy glitch. For most of us, that's not a big deal. Some 900 million-plus people continue to share messages and pictures because they get value out of using a social network to keep up with family and friends. If the minority out there still can't take the privacy jitters, my advice is to delete your Facebook account and use the phone. In 1999, Sun CEO Scott McNealy caught a lot of flak after declaring that "you have zero privacy anyway. Get over it." He was blunt and he offended a lot of people, but he was right.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57519407-93/freaked-out-about-facebook-privacy-then-break-up-already/

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Be Fluent in Social Media

Pittsburgh police plan to train their officers to be fluent in social media, joining other departments nationwide, days after a man armed with a hammer and kitchen knife used a hostage's computer to post Facebook messages lamenting his troubles.

The case of Klein Michael Thaxton, who is accused of picking a hostage at random in a downtown office tower and then kept authorities at bay for hours before surrendering and releasing the hostage, was a first for the Pittsburgh department.

There is some reflection about whether officials did the right thing by not immediately shutting down the suspect's Facebook page. Police say they want to make sure officers are prepared for such judgment calls down the road.

"I think it's something we will train for in the future," said Lt. Jason Lando, who acted as a coach to the primary negotiator, Officer Matt Lackner.

Members of law enforcement are finding variations of the Pittsburgh situation nationwide. The International Association of Chiefs of Police now has a Center for Social Media to help officers prevent and solve crimes using social media. The center's website contains training tools for law enforcement, and a list of crimes where social media played a role. Special software applications are even being created to help monitor and solve crimes.

Gary Noesner, a former chief of the FBI's Crisis Negotiation Unit, said his instinct would have been to shut the Facebook page down immediately, though he agreed it might also have provided some useful information to law enforcement.

"The whole social media situation is really fascinating, the impact it is having on operations," Noesner added.

Pittsburgh police wouldn't detail their specific conversations with Thaxton, 22, whose defense attorney didn't return calls for comment.

But, in general, Lackner said negotiating with a hostage taker is like "riding a seesaw," as authorities try to "reduce the emotionality and raise the rationality" of their subject.

"When one goes down, the other goes up," Lackner said.

But until police got federal authorities to intervene and shut down Thaxton's Facebook page about four hours into the ordeal, the negotiators couldn't control how many other people might be riding that see-saw. Thaxton's posts drew about 700 responses, most from family members and friends expressing concern and the hope that he'd do the right thing. But other messages were "ridiculous," Lando said, and had the potential to incite Thaxton.

Lackner said that even seemingly positive messages could have posed a problem because police were primarily concerned with establishing a one-to-one rapport and building trust with Thaxton.

"Any outside influence is distracting and, generally speaking, does not help our cause," Cmdr. Scott Schubert said. "We want our subject speaking to us."

Last year, a Utah man posted updates on his Facebook page during a 16-hour standoff with police. According to reports at the time, some of his friends and relatives urged him to "be careful" while at least one tipped him off to the location of a SWAT officer.

In another Utah case last year, a woman used Facebook to seek help after she and her 17-month-old son were held hostage at a residence for nearly five days. According to police, the woman hid in a closet with a laptop computer to post her plea for help, saying she and her son would be "dead by morning" if they were not rescued.

Thaxton, who remains jailed unable to post $1 million bond, faces a preliminary hearing Oct. 17 on charges of kidnapping, aggravated assault and terroristic threats in the confrontation at a financial services firm on the 16th floor of Three Gateway Center, a 24-story office tower in Pittsburgh.

Although police were vitally concerned about the hostage's welfare, and did what they could to check up on him, the negotiators were careful not to ask Thaxton too much about his hostage.

"Clearly we're always very concerned about the hostage," Lando said. "But when we're doing negotiations, we have to make it all about the hostage taker."

Too many questions about the hostage and the suspect "might feel like, 'You don't care about me. You just want to say whatever you need to say to get this person (the hostage) out of here,'" Lando said.

Instead, negotiators try to find people the hostage taker cares about who will help the negotiator build empathy.

"People want to tell their story," Lando said. "Listening to them is a cheap concession."

In Thaxton's case, key issues were his inability to find a job and his feelings for an ex-girlfriend he hadn't seen since 2008. Police arranged for her to speak with Thaxton, but only once the hostage was released. Thaxton surrendered, and police were sure they could keep the woman safe with Thaxton handcuffed and in custody.

"We try to find hooks — their schooling, work history, personal relationships," Lando said. "Oftentimes personal relationships are the source of why they find themselves in crisis."

To get more updates visit: http://news.yahoo.com/pa-hostage-call-prompts-social-media-training-062744292.html

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