Software : Actually, the EU has no issue with Facebook buying WhatsApp |
- Actually, the EU has no issue with Facebook buying WhatsApp
- Facebook's next user data tracking adventure: health?
- Salesforce launches Desk.com for Retail
- Microsoft confirms Windows 10 will ship with DirectX 12 - and you can test it today
- Facebook's second policy change this week involves News Feed fiddling
- This Google Glass app captions conversations in real time
| Actually, the EU has no issue with Facebook buying WhatsApp Posted:  It's been months and months since Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19 billion (about £9.5b, AU$17.7b), and the European Union has finally signed off on the deal. EU regulators revealed in September that they were investigating the acquisition for potential antitrust violations. That investigation included surveys sent out asking Facebook and WhatsApp competitors asking whether the deal will lead to raised prices or deter innovation. But today the EU gave the deal a great, big "OK" gesture, curling its collective index fingers and thumbs into the shape of a circle and holding them up for all to see, reports Reuters. Something for everyone"We have carefully reviewed this proposed acquisition and come to the conclusion that it would not hamper competition in this dynamic and growing market," European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in a statement. "Consumers will continue to have a wide choice of consumer communications apps." WhatsApp is reportedly poised to add voice calling to its messaging service, but nevertheless the EU found its merger with Facebook poses no threat to competition. The deal is good for WhatsApp, though, which experienced a surge of 500 million new users in the immediate aftermath of Facebook's purchase. And no doubt Facebook sees something in the service as well - even for the largest social network in the world $19 billion ain't exactly chump change. |
| Facebook's next user data tracking adventure: health? Posted:  Facebook has already conquered social media, and its other ongoing conquests range from virtual reality to messaging. But the social network may be about to embark on a new frontier: healthcare. Facebook's health initiative will be twofold, three separate sources told Reuters. One part could take shape as online "support communities" where people could congregate and discuss their ailments, while Facebook is also reportedly considering building a "preventative care" lifestyle improvement app. Private practiceFacebook will begin rolling these apps out quietly and under a different names because of the stigma surrounding Facebook's various privacy policies, a source told the site. That's pretty ironic considering the company's tumultuous relationship with its own users' anonymity. This all may have begun when Facebook changed its profiles in 2012 to include users' organ donor status, a move that reportedly resulted in more people than usual registering to become organ donors. In addition Facebook apparently noticed a trend in people with certain conditions and illnesses regularly searching the social network for information. Some users will no doubt be uncomfortable sharing such personal information online, so it's a good thing Facebook is also changing its real name policy. |
| Salesforce launches Desk.com for Retail Posted:  Salesforce has launched Desk.com for Retail, a set of CRM and e-commerce services and tools designed for small-to-mid-size retailers. Desk.com for Retail, which is generally available for $30 per month, per agent, gives retailers access to business intelligence reporting tools that can track supply chain performance. The service also provides integration tools for e-commerce platforms, such as Big Commerce and Shopify, so that retailers can take advantage of the platforms' live chat, inventory management, and customer interaction data. Additionally, retailers can take advantage of customer satisfaction scoring to help them gather feedback on customer service interactions in order to better train agents. Flex AgentAnother neat aspect of Desk.com for Retail is Retail Flex Agent, which provides retailers with an hourly pricing model for adding customer service reps during heavy traffic times, such as the oncoming holiday season. Desk.com's Flex Agent pricing offers Desk.com seats for $1.75 for each hour each additional agent uses the tool. In June, Salesforce.com updated Desk.com to include a new agent console, reporting engine and a mobile app. Last month, Salesforce updated The ExactTarget Marketing Cloud to include a content creation tool and an integration with Buddy Media and Radian6, called Social Studio. Salesforce also updated ExactTarget's Journey Builder tool to provide personalization and real-time marketing updates for mobile apps. |
| Microsoft confirms Windows 10 will ship with DirectX 12 - and you can test it today Posted:  Microsoft has bolstered Windows 10's gaming chops from the get-go by confirming that its upcoming OS will ship with the latest version of its graphics API, DirectX 12 (DX12). In a post on the DirectX Developer blog, Microsoft wrote that developers signed up to its DX12 Early Access Program can get hold of "updated runtime, API headers, drivers, documentation, and samples" by joining the Windows Insider Program and downloading the recently-outed Windows 10 Technical Preview. The company also announced that it has partnered with Epic to port a new version of the game studio's Unreal Engine 4.4 to DX12 that can be downloaded and tested by developers. Microsoft has been working with Intel to improve performance of its integrated graphics solutions. The pair recently showed off DX12's lower power drain and higher frame capabilities (compared to DX11) by rendering 50,000 asteroids colliding in space on Intel's HD4400, and Early Access subscribers can now download the source code to see how it was done, Microsoft wrote. |
| Facebook's second policy change this week involves News Feed fiddling Posted:  Facebook has really been in hot water lately. The social network already apologized once this week for alienating the LGBT community with its bullheaded real name policy. Now the house that Zuck built is serving crow for dinner once again, this time over the News Feed fiddling the company revealed back in June. Facebook had been messing with people's News Feeds to examine how its users react to different types of posts, an act that Facebook Chief Technical Officer Mike Schroepfer has now (more or less) apologized for. Full disclosureThe issue for many Facebook users is that they had never consciously agreed to be the subject of such an experiment, even if it was relatively harmless. "It is clear now that there are things we should have done differently," Schroepfer wrote in Facebook's Newsroom. "For example, we should have considered other non-experimental ways to do this research. The research would also have benefited from more extensive review by a wider and more senior group of people. Last, in releasing the study, we failed to communicate clearly why and how we did it." He outlined Facebook's new research policies, which include clearer guidelines for researchers, more extensive research project reviews, more training for Facebook employees, and a public-facing research website. "We're committed to doing research to make Facebook better, but we want to do it in the most responsible way," Schroepfer wrote. Facebook may be on the right track, unless this is an experiment too. Now if only they'd put Messenger back where it belongs. |
| This Google Glass app captions conversations in real time Posted:  For most Google Glass explorers, the wearable is a fun novelty that at best gives them an icebreaker and bragging rights. But researchers at the George Institute of Technology have developed an app that could make Glass an incredible tool for the hearing-impaired. Google Glass's microphone normally can't pick up on sounds from too far away, including the speech of people around you, but the Captioning on Glass app circumvents that limitation by the speaker talk into a paired smartphone's microphone. That speech is then converted to text and transmitted to the Google Glass display in near real time. ClarityThe app was conceived by George Institute of Technology School of Interactive Computing Professor Jim Foley. The video below shows it in action. "This system allows wearers like me to focus on the speaker's lips and facial gestures," Professor Foley told CNET. "If hard-of-hearing people understand the speech, the conversation can continue immediately without waiting for the caption. However, if I miss a word, I can glance at the transcription, get the word or two I need and get back into the conversation." The paired smartphone has the dual benefit of being much more reliable at detecting others' speech than Google Glass's microphone and also forcing participants to think more carefully about the clarity of their words, project leader Professor Thad Starner added. And if you're thinking that the next logical step is to have the app translate users' speech between languages, then there's good news for you: they're working on that as well, and they plan to release a combination translation and transcription app in the near future, according to the site. |
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