The tech world and Facebook users are angry. The company crossed deep into the dark side of corporate greed and manipulation. Frankly, what they did was despicable. Briefly put, they tried to manipulate the emotions of nearly 700,000 of their users to see if it could be done. How?
For over 3 years, they manipulated their newsfeeds…half of the group got stories designed to make them feel good, while the other half got stories designed to depress. And they did it all without asking user’s permission. Those 700,000 people were just unwilling lab rats. Facebook quietly changed their terms of service after the experiment to include “research” to try and make what they did legal.
The scientists involved found, by rigging the users' news feeds, the ones who got less positive news were inclined to be more negative in their own posts while those who got less bad news were inclined to be happier. What a shock!
And to make matters worse, experts in psychology say the way they conducted their research makes the results nearly worthless with no real world meaning. In other words, people lives and emotions were toyed with for nothing! I truly hope that Facebook pays the ultimate price for this transgression.
Our first story covers their wrong-doings and contains links to other stories to give you the full picture. I hope you will read them. You need to know what these giant corporations are capable of (ie: all the large fast food places are adding wood pulp to their hamburger meat as filler).
The good news is that there are other stories here designed to be informative and helpful. So read on. -JRC
News and Opinions
Facebook: Unethical, untrustworthy, and now downright harmful
News of Facebook experimenting on its users' emotional states has rattled everyone. Worse, the tool used to perform the experiments is so flawed there's no way of knowing if users were harmed. What they did was dangerous.
Microsoft's new encryption makes it tougher to spy on your email
Microsoft said last year that it was tightening security to fend off the NSA and others who would scoop up your data, and today it fulfilled that promise with moves that should improve real-world security. The company now encrypts both incoming and outgoing Outlook.com email when it's in transit.
Windows 'Threshold': Microsoft's plan to win over Windows 7 users
One of Microsoft's main goals with 'Threshold,' (AKA) Windows 9) the next major version of Windows, is to win over Windows 7 hold-outs. Here's the latest on Microsoft's plan.
Twitter 'Buy Now' Button Appears for First Time
It looks like shopping within your Twitter Timeline isn't far off. A new "Buy now" button appeared on multiple tweets Monday, all of which included products that link back to a shopping site called Fancy.
Google kills off word-processor app Quickoffice
Mobile editing app Quickoffice, which lets you open and edit Google Docs and Microsoft Office files, is no more.
Computer Tips and Tricks
How to reinstall Windows like a pro
By starting over with a clean copy of the operating system, you can remove bloatware, wipe out malware, and fix other system problems.
What You Need to Know About Creating System Image Backups
System images are complete backups of everything on your PC’s hard drive or a single partition. They allow you to take a snapshot of your entire drive, system files and all.
12 Advanced Tricks for Mastering iTunes
There was a time when iTunes was a simple little program for managing music and copying it over to iPod MP3 players. That was it, and it was good. Times have changed!
5 Ways to Access Your PC’s Files Over the Internet
Homegroups and network file sharing make it easy to access your PCs file from another PC on the same local network, but accessing your PC’s files over the Internet takes a bit more setup. There are many ways to make files available over the Internet. The real challenge here is finding a secure, easy-to-use solution.
The Demise of Aperture and iPhoto: What Does it Mean?
The shoe has finally dropped. Apple confirmed today that it’s ditching Aperture, its photo management tool, and iPhoto, its consumer photo editing app, in favor of Photos, a brand new desktop and iOS duo slated for debut in 2015.
Mobile Computing
Apple Releases iOS 7.1.2 With Mail Fixes, iBeacon Improvements
Apple today released iOS 7.1.2 to the public, more than two months after releasing iOS 7.1.1. It is a a minor update that focuses primarily on bug fixes and security improvements.
How to Manage Contacts for iPad and iPhone
The Contacts app and settings in iOS 7 make it easy to access and organize your address books. You can import details from various sources, then find people from any group, quickly create a correctly addressed email, and more. Getting it all organized can take some effort, however; but don't worry — we'll guide you through it.
10 iPhone Tweaks To Make Your Life Easier
You think you know your iPhone? Here are 10 iOS tips to optimize your experience you wish you knew about last year.
Android Simplelocker ransomware encrypts SD card files
Eset reports that the Trojan - called Simplelocker - targets SD cards slotted into tablets and handsets, electronically scrambling certain types of files on them before demanding cash to decrypt the data.
The Best Android Apps & Games: June 2014
Even though we had possibly the biggest Android related event in June, quite a few major apps and games were released on the Play Store.
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