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Facebook outs Timeline, gives your profile page a new outfit (video)
Well, Mark's just unveiled Facebook's new look at his f8 keynote, and he's calling it Timeline. The idea is to make it easier to see events, pics and posts from your past by placing a, surprise surprise, timeline on the right edge of your profile page that breaks down your content by year and month. It's a much more visual experience than Facebook's previous incarnation, and Timeline Views allow you to filter the content by photos, locations (courtesy of Bing maps integration) and much more. You can also add apps, "likes", and all of your other content in neatly organized panes on your profile page to let you "tell the story of your life" in the way you want to -- including the ability to go back and add stuff to your timeline after the fact, no flux capacitor required. Timeline's going live in beta immediately for some, and a broader roll-out will be happening over the next few weeks. Get ready people, Facebook's future is here. Update: Facebook's Timeline promo vid is now embedded after the break.
We're live from Facebook's 2011 f8 developer conference! (video)
Oh yeah, we're here, live at the f8 developers conference in San Francisco, and we're going to give you a blow by blow of what's in store for all you Facebook-loving folks. The streets is talking and the rumor mill's churning at full bore about what we can expect, but Mark Zuckerberg's keynote is mere minutes away, and all will be revealed soon. So, check back here to get the scoop on all the new social-networking goodies as he dishes them out. Update: And it's underway. Head on past the break for the live stream.
Facebook adds real-time 'ticker' to overhauled news feed, donates old layout to science (video)
Facebook is about to turn your social life into an online newspaper. That's the takeaway from a new slate of changes the company unveiled yesterday, ahead of its annual f8 developer conference in San Francisco. From now on, if you log in to Facebook after a lengthy hiatus, your news feed -- much like the front page of a daily paper -- will consist of a list of "top stories," photos and updates that were posted while you were away, with each high-priority item tagged with a blue earmark. More frequent users, on the other hand, will find a list of most recent stories presented in chronological order, along with larger photos embedded directly within their news feed. The company has also introduced a new "ticker" feature that provides users with real-time updates on their friends' activity, displayed along the right-hand side of the home page. Here, you'll find the exact same updates you'd see on a real-time news feed, with the crucial difference being that you'll be able to interact with each development without missing a beat. If you see that a friend comments on a cat video, for example, you'll be able to click that item in the ticker and add your two cents, without having to navigate away from the home screen. Facebook will likely provide more details on these new features at its f8 tomorrow, but you can find more information in the demo video, after the break.
Panasonic adds Windows 7 to laptop line, unveils Let's Note N8 and S8
Oy vey! Today must be some industry-wide Windows 7 announcement day, as Panasonic is hot on the heels of Dell and Toshiba with no less than six lappies set to sport Vista's agile younger sibling. The Let's Note (ToughBook, to you and us) F8, R8, T8 and W8 models are likely to take on the new OS without alterations to their hardware, but the hot news comes in the form of the brand new N8 and S8. Powered by Core 2 Duo P8700 chips, both machines will come with 12.1-inch WXGA LCD screens, 250GB HDDs, up to 4GB of RAM, WiMAX, WiFi, HDMI and SDHC connectivity. They also share a stonking claim of 16 hours of battery life, and the one feature that distinguishes between them is the internal DVD burner on the S8. All that goodness will be out come October 22, with expected pricing around ¥200,000 (about $2,230) for the N series. You'll find a gallery of the unveiling event at the Akihabara News link below. %Gallery-74215% [Via Akihabara News]
Panasonic gets official with F8, T8, W8 ToughBooks
It's been nearly a year since Panasonic rolled out its 7-series ToughBooks, and it looks like they're now finally being shoved aside for some new and improved 8-series models -- namely, the F8, T8 and W8, which, among other things, each include Qualcomm's Gobi dual-3G chipset. At the top of the heap is the 14-inch F8 (pictured above), which boasts a more than adequate 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor, a ruggedized 160GB hard drive, a DVD drive and, yes, a handle, all in a surprisingly lightweight 3.7-pound package. The T8 and W8, on the other hand, take things down to the 12-inch form-factor, and each pack a low-voltage 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor along with mostly identical specs, with the notable exception of a touchscreen that's exclusive to the T8 and a DVD drive that's only available on the W8. Look for all three to roll out in November, with the F8 setting you back $2,499, and the T8 and W8 each running $2,099.[Via Electronista]
ASUS launches a slew of new laptops
ASUS took a break from cranking out an endless series of Eee PCs to revamp some of its traditional laptop lines today, here's what you need to know: B50A business laptop: 15.4-inch screen, Penryn Core 2 Duos on Intel's GM45 Express chipset with ASUS's Expressgate SplashTop implementation and integrated X4500 graphics, max 4GB RAM and 320GB drive, spill-resistant keyboard, Bluetooth, WiFi, dual-layer burner, 1.3 megapixel webcam. F8 laptops (pictured): 14.1-inch WXGA screen, Penryn Core 2 Duos with 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 graphics with Express Gate, TV tuner with remote control, up to 4GB RAM and a 320GB drive, 1.3 megapixel swivel webcam, five available colors. F6 "scented" laptops: 13.3-inch screen, lids feature five available graphics and fragrances (really), Penryn Core 2 Duos with 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 graphics with Express Gate, TV tuner with remote control, up to 4GB RAM and a 320GB drive, fingerprint scanner. G71V and G50V "Republic of Gamers" laptops: 17-inch (G71) and 15-inch (G50) gaming laptops with up to Intel Core 2 Quad QX9300 processors and 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GT graphics, 4GB of RAM, 2x 500GB hard drives, dual-layer burner, 2.0 megapixel swivel webcam, LED lighting effects, gaming hotkeys. No pricing or ship dates yet, but we'll get you those as they come in. Read - B50A Read - F8 Read - F6 Read - G71V and G50V [Via i4u, thanks Vinit]
Samsung's IFA press conference recap
We're just back from the WiFi-less Samsung PR space here at IFA in Berlin, and the report may be less than thrilling to most of our readers. Nevertheless, here's a quick recap of the events. First up on stage was Dr. Jong Woo Park, president of Samsung, who didn't have much to offer in the way of groundbreaking news, though he did emphasize his company's dedication to "user experience" with their products.
Samsung announces F8 LCD lineup at IFA
Among many other things, Samsung has unveiled its F8 series of oh-so-sexy LCDs at IFA in Berlin. Focusing on the LE46F86BD in particular, this display touts 100MHz Motion Plus technology to sharpen up those images, 1080p support, a baffling 25,000:1 contrast ratio, and a superCLEAR panel coating to boot. Furthermore, you'll find a USB 2.0 port, a trio of HDMI 1.3 sockets, an eight-millisecond response time, and CCFL backlighting. Notably, this set looks awfully similar to the 71 / 81-series that Sammy loosed last month, so the possibility of a name change to suit different markets could be the case here -- nevertheless, we'll keep an eye out for pricing and availability details.[Via PRAD, thanks Tony C.]
Asus announces the F8 Infusion laptop
Our good buddies over at Asus have decided to get all press-release-y on us about the F8 "Infusion" laptops which we mentioned recently. According to the very busy manufacturer, the 14.1-inch widescreen laptop is going to feature the ubiquitous Santa Rosa 965 chipset, a selection of Intel's Core 2 Duo processors (T7700, T7500, T7300, T7100), and will sport 802.11a/g/n connectivity. Additionally, you can expect either an ATI Mobility Radeon HD2600 or an NVIDIA GeForce8600M GS for graphics, up to 2GB of RAM, a SATA hard drive up to 160GB, plus a built-in webcam, hybrid TV tuner, and fingerprint reader. No word yet on pricing or availability, but you'll know when we do.[Via Laptoping, thanks Danijel]
