Which is your favourite social networking site? If you are one of 750 million
users of Facebook, chances are you're fuming at their recent makeover.
Dozens of
Facebook groups have come up against the change. And, unlike earlier times, the 'Like' button hasn't been pressed too often.
With the update, Facebook splits news into "top stories" and a news ticker on the right of the screen - this looks suspiciously similar to the Twitter feed. What seems to have got the users' goat is the arbitrary way the top stories seem to be chosen for each individual.
Get ready for even more changes on your FB account "I want to choose my own news and my own friends. I do not need Facebook to choose these items for me," a comment on the site said.
Facebook engineer Mark Tonkelowitz had written on the company's blog: "When you pick up a newspaper after not reading it for a week, the front page quickly clues you into the most interesting stories. In the past, News Feed hasn't worked like that. Updates slide down in chronological order so it's tough to zero in on what matters most. Now, News Feed will act more like your own personal newspaper."
Facebook introduces Photo Tags approval Clearly, users aren't impressed.
"News Feed is awful. It's taking me much longer now to find the news I want, now that Facebook has decided incorrectly that some algorithm knows better than I do," another user commented.
Most users vented their fury at the site for getting the top news wrong most of the times. Others were distracted by "too much info" being displayed on a single page. Still others thought that the blazing fast news ticker was more suited for microblogging sites such as Twitter.
SPECIAL: How to use Facebook's video calling It wasn't brickbats all the way. Some users appreciated the fact that the news ticker, updating automatically, kept them abreast of the latest, while they were busy commenting on others' posts.
Others appreciated the fact that Facebook had a few days earlier decided to stop sending email updates if you didn't opt for the service. Some users were happy with pictures on home pages appearing bigger than the tiny thumbnail picture which they were used to earlier.
One feature was appreciated universally. Taking a page out of Google+, Facebook now gives you the option to make a post on your wall public or limited to friends. So you'll save yourself the blushes by hiding those sweet nothings you wrote on your girlfriend's wall from the prying eyes of your boss!
MUST READ: Vodafone launches Facebook phone A Farmville fanatic said that now one could add as neighbours people who played Farmville and were friends of friends. But isn't an unknown neighbour a security threat? Will we have more cases of cyber stalking with this loophole? The ability to hide updates on your home page is another plus.
So when your girlfriend checks out your Facebook wall, she won't be able to check out the wild pictures from the office party you attended last weekend, which were uploaded by a colleague.
A dip-stick survey among friends and colleagues revealed that people either hated the revamp or loved it. Some also sneered at the fact that a behemoth like Facebook decided to make changes which weren't necessary in the first place.
A case of feeling threatened by the 25-million strong new kid on the block - Google+?
While on Facebook, here's some bad news. Many offices have started blocking the website, citing loss in productivity. This is a dangerous trend as those addicted to the site have found workarounds, for example by using proxies. But employees, who actually use the site to boost productivity, have been hit hard.
A simple solution would be to make employees aware that their browsing habits were being tracked and snapshots of systems being taken. People would have curbed their tendencies.
Self-regulation, after all, is the best bet in a democracy.
HERE'S SOME HOPE for the visually impaired. MoS for IT Sachin Pilot recently released text-to-speech software for six languages - Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu. The engine is based on open source software and thus free to use.
It has been funded by the Dept of IT and is the result of participative design between IIT-Madras, IIT-Delhi, Punjabi University and the visually impaired. The system, which runs both on Windows and Linux, could also go a long way in helping the illiterate use technology to their advantage.
Kudos to those behind the idea of "inclusive growth".
Courtesy: Mail Today 
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