New Innovations from Facebook

Looking to the Future, Facebook Digs Into Your Past

A day after shaking up the way its News Feed is presented, Facebook has introduced yet another new feature: Timeline. It collects posts, photos and information from the past to assemble a virtual timeline of a user's life. Perhaps anticipating another round of privacy shock, CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized that users "have complete control over everything" in their Timelines.

A closer look at the Facebook Timeline and the Open Graph

Facebook today announced a new Timeline feature and a new type of social app under its Open Graph. They’re not available yet, but almost all the details are finally official.

Parsing Netflix's 'Apology’

This columnist once called Netflix “a shining example of a dot-com that’s still in business because it’s an indisputable consumer win, not just a greed play.” O.K., I stand corrected. In July, Netflix enraged its 25 million customers by abruptly jacking up the price of its DVD plus streaming-movies plan by 60 percent — from $10 a month to $16. When I wrote about the turnabout, I noted that the most frustrating part was the incomprehensible explanation that Netflix provided.

iPhone, Android users worry about security, but don't know what to do

iOS and Android users don't seem to share the same views on much when it comes to the mobile space, but they both appear to have concerns about security threats to their devices. According to recent data from the NPD Group, users of both platforms are worried about having their credit card info stolen, device theft, hackers accessing personal information, harmful apps, and unwanted location tracking. Very few have chosen to do anything besides worry, however.

FTC Targets Mortgage and Debt Relief Websites

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has asked a court to shut down websites that falsely suggested they were federal consumer assistance agencies or affiliated with government agencies focused on mortgage or debt relief, the agency said Thursday.

Using Gmail, Calendar and Docs without an Internet connection

The great thing about web apps is that you can access all of your information on the go, and we’ve introduced ways to use Google Apps on a variety of devices like mobile phones and tablets. But it’s inevitable that you’ll occasionally find yourself in situations when you don’t have an Internet connection, like planes, trains and carpools.

Faceoff: Facebook vs. Twitter vs. Google+

In theory, all social networks—including Facebook, Twitter, and Google+—share a similar goal: To provide you with a platform to communicate online with your friends, followers, and encircled. In reality, each network has a considerably different culture, and as such, each is useful in very different ways. Here's a look at what each network does best.

Windows 8 Boot Screens Get a Classy New Look

One of the many notable new features in Windows 8 is how quickly it boots--it can start up in under 7 seconds, in fact. With such a short booting time, what will you get instead of a ton of speeding BIOS text?

Best Free Media Player

Editor George.J has been busy expanding the Best Free Media Player section with new products plus full stand-alone reviews of individual players. That's a really handy feature as users' needs in this category are so different that global recommendations don't work well. Much better that individuals choose products whose features best meets their personal requirements.