Facebook flooded with complaints after messages 'bug'

Facebook has denied claims that a software bug caused private messages dating from 2009 to be displayed on profiles overnight, insisting that the messages were left in public originally, but that members have since become more privacy-conscious.

Some Facebook users said that messages they had sent privately on the social network between 2007 and 2009 were being republished into their public timelines on the site Photo: REX FEATURES

The social network was deluged with complaints from members who claimed their old private messages have been re-published publicly on the social network.

Facebook admitted old messages were reappearing on profiles but quickly denied that there had been a privacy breach, as the messages were old public messages.

It appeared that members were shown old public "wall" postings that they wrongly believed were private messages. Observers said the outcry showed how the way people use Facebook has changed, as they have become more aware of their privacy online.

Facebook’s director of engineering, Andrew Bosworth, aimed to calm the panic.

"In case there was any concern, these are just wall posts and not personal messages… people just forget how we used to use the wall!," he said.

Some users had claimed that messages they had sent privately on the social network between 2007 and 2009 were being republished into their public timelines on the site. Though it was not clear how many people were affected, there were complaints from users in Britain, America and in Europe.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder and chief executive, was hit by the bug. His profile showed a message to a friend that said "2009 is going to be a huge year".

A Facebook spokesman said: "A small number of users raised concerns after what they mistakenly believed to be private messages appeared on their Timeline.

"Our engineers investigated these reports and found that the messages were older wall posts that had always been visible on the users’ profile pages. Facebook is satisfied that there has been no breach of user privacy."

Some were unconvinced by the denial, however. Colleen Taylor, a writer for an American technology website, said that she had confirmed with friends that messages appearing in their timelines were originally sent as private messages.

Last week, Facebook added a new feature that shows members of the site their search history and lets them delete searches they do not want Facebook to retain. The feature is part of Facebook's Activity Log, which lets members of the social network see what information Facebook holds on them.

Facebook said: 'It's important to remember that no one else can see your Activity Log, including your search activity."

One Facebook user in London said last night messages from 2006 to 2008 which had been sent to her by other users had appeared on her wall and messages she had sent as private were showing up on her friend’s wall.

She said: “This is worrying. I’m trying to figure out how to fix it. It’s scary. They are private messages and my friends and I used to dicuss private things on facebook.”

One user wrote on Facebook: “It happened to me and I’m in London. Having checked a few other people, I’m now wishing I hadn’t!”

Another added: “This Facebook Message thing is a huge mess. Confirmed for me. Found some private messages fully exposed on my timeline.”

Facebook has recently added a new feature that shows members of the site their search history and lets them delete searches they do not want Facebook to retain. The feature is part of Facebook’s Activity Log, which lets members of the social network see what information Facebook holds on them.

The greater emphasis on search has been interpreted as a bid by Facebook to take on the might of Google. Zuckerberg said: “Facebook is pretty uniquely positioned to answer the questions people have.”

Facebook agreed to turn off the feature in Europe. The feature has long been controversial and was turned on by default last year, meaning that users who did not want to be identified would have to opt out.

Earlier this year, Facebook angered some of its members when it forced them to adopt a new Timeline page, changing the layout of all the photos and messages they had ever posted to the social network. When the feature was first launched, in September last year, it was a voluntary feature but Facebook began making it compulsory in January.

Source: The Telegraph

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Hydrogen fuel cell for phone charging set for 2013

Hydrogen Generating Sheet. Credit: Rohm

(Phys.org)—A three-way collaboration between Japan-based Rohm, Aquafairy, and Kyoto University has resulted in the development of a smartphone-charging fuel cell—a compact, high output, portable hydrogen powered fuel cell that can generate electricity by producing hydrogen. This is achieved through a chemical reaction between calcium hydride sheets and water. The fuel cell can generate five watt hours of electricity, to charge an average smartphone within two hours. The fuel cell will be promoted for a variety of uses, from charging a smartphone to serving as a 200-watt portable generator delivering backup power.

Rohm said the new hydrogen fuel cells use a solid that creates hydrogen by adding water, generating power through "hydro-synthesis." No harmful byproducts such as carbon dioxide or VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) are involved. The fuel cells can be disposed of as general waste.

If the sheets are laminated and sealed, they last for twenty years, claimed a spokesman. Lithium ion batteries lose their charging ability in four to five years. Aquafairy had been developing a small fuel cell some years ago when they then started to exchange information with Rohm. Also, Rohm and Aquafairy have launched a joint project for a compact, lightweight 400-watt fuel cell system with Kinkei System.

Credit: Diginfonews

The fuel cell announced this month is promoted as advanced in its use of calcium hydride in place of magnesium hydride. Calcium hydride has high reactivity with water at a wide range of temperatures. Stable reactions are possible just by taking measures to suppress reactions. A resin is added to calcium hydride. ROHM and Aquafairy succeeded in solidifying calcium hydride in a sheet configuration, generating approximately 4.5 litres of hydrogen from a sheet less than 3cc in volume (measuring 38 x 38 x 2mm), providing a power output of 5Whr, said Rohm.

All in all, collaborative efforts of Rohm, Aquafairy and Kyoto University have resulted in plans for (1) the cover type and card case type of fuel cell, which have a generation capacity of 5Wh for smartphones, (2) a portable power generator with an output power of 200Wh and (3) a 400Wh fuel cell for seismometers, developed in collaboration with Kinkei System.

Enlarge

Hydrogen fuel cell. Credit: Rohm

In describing the special nature of fuel cells, Aquafairy has said that a fuel cell doesn't store electricity, but generates it like a power-generating plant. It can continue to supply electric power as long as hydrogen and oxygen fuel are supplied.

"Fuel cells can be made smaller, lighter, and more efficient than conventional storage and rechargeable cells, and thus are expected to drive expansion into new markets and applications, said a Rohm release.

Rohm, Aquafairy, and Kyoto University will continue to work on their development. They plan to evaluate the reliability of the fuel cell, make improvements and commercialize it in 2013.

The fuel cell will be shown at CEATEC in Japan early next month and at Electronica in Munich, Germany, in November.

Foxconn Riot Much Worse Than First Thought: 10 Reported Dead

More than 2,000 Foxconn workers were involved in the riot.

Earlier today, we reported on the Foxconn riot that broke out at the company’s Taiyuan, China, plant on Sunday evening. More than 2,000 employees were involved, and it took more than 5,000 police several hours officers to bring the disturbance under control.

Although many were injured, it was first thought that there were no deaths. Unfortunately the riot was much worse than initially reported, and ten workers have now been pronounced dead, according to reports.

According to CPCW — via Chinese blog MIC Gadget — the disturbance resulted in ten deaths, and the plant has now been closed for at least three days while investigations take place. However, Foxconn has denied that were any fatalities.

“We can confirm that there have been no employee deaths related to the incident which took place at an employee dormitory in Taiyuan last night. Reports to the contrary are inaccurate,” the company said in a statement.

This particular plant employees more than 79,000 people, and it specializes in the assembly of manufactured components and stamping metal. It is currently producing the new aluminum rear panels that feature on Apple’s iPhone 5, and at least one production line was damaged during the riot.

This is the same plant where workers rioted back in March, and MIC Gadget claims it’s notorious for its strict overtime requirements, which are forced upon its workers. But one of the biggest complaints is that security personnel are abusive to staff, which is said to be the cause of Sunday night’s brawl.

Our sources indicated that one of the security guards hit a Foxconn worker and this made even more of the workers angry and they started to beat up the security guard and others who tried to stop the fighting. Eventually as the Foxconn hired security was overwhelmed rather quickly, they called for backup. They have said it is a dispute between “workers” that started between 10-11pm on September 23rd. However it rapidly escalated from there.

Gang members from Shandong and Henan also became involved in the fight when news spread, and it took 5,000 police officers until 3 a.m. to bring it under control.

In an effort to keep the fight under wraps, employee cellphones were confiscated and erased, and around 100 people were arrested. In addition to this, Chinese authorities moved quickly to have photographs and videos of the incident removed from microblogging site Sina Weibo.

As workers fled the scene, many were trampled, and around 40 individuals are now in the local hospital with injuries, though MIC Gadget suspects the actual number may be greater than that.

Apple also has four of its own employees located at this plant, which are working to improve efficiency and quality control. It’s unclear where these workers were at the time the riot started.

With the plant now closed for three days, and at least one production line damaged, it could be that Apple’s iPhone 5 shipping delays get worse before they get better.

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Microsoft faces fine over browser commitment: EU

US software giant Microsoft faces yet more heavy fines after it promised to offer clients a choice of web browser but has failed to do so, the EU's competition commissioner said.

US software giant Microsoft faces yet more heavy fines after it promised to offer clients a choice of web browser but then failed to do so, the EU's competition commissioner said Monday.

Microsoft apologised in July for a "technical error" as the EU launched a probe into why 28 million users of the Windows 7 operating system were unable to choose between the company's default Internet Explorer and other browsers.

The company had committed in 2009 to provide Windows users in Europe a "choice screen" enabling them to pick an alternative web browser until 2014.

The screen, however, was missing from an update to Windows 7 posted in February 2011 and when it failed to appear, the Commission ran out of patience and launched the formal probe in July.

Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said that as result, Microsoft would be fined.

"The fault is there, it has been there for more than a year and it is clear that we need to react," he said.

"It is not only the distortion of competition during this period which concerns us; it is very serious, from my point of view, that the remedies imposed on Microsoft have not been applied," he said.

"It is easier to make progress in our investigation if a company which has broken competition rules recognises the fact," Almunia added.

A company that is found by the Commission to have breached legally-binding commitments can face fines of up to 10 percent of total annual turnover.

A Microsoft spokesman said the company had responded in July by agreeing to "extend the time period to show the browser choice screen by the time that we failed to show it".

The company has "already sent the browser choice screen to every user who hadn't seen it; all new users will see (it)," the spokesman added.

The EU fined Microsoft 899 million euros ($1.2 billion) in 2008 for failing to comply with an order to share product information with rivals so that their software can work with Windows.

GMO, Global Alert