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Adrian Belew Quits Nine Inch Nails

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Rock,

Adrian BelewAdrian Belew has quit Nine Inch Nails.

The 63-year-old guitarist has parted ways with the band after a discussion with frontman Trent Reznor - who was inspired by Adrian to reform the group - in which the pair concluded his involvement was "not working" and he has apologized to fans for letting them down.

Adrian - who previously fronted band King Crimson and has worked with the likes of Frank Zappa, Talking Heads and David Bowie - wrote on his official Facebook page, "hey folks, before this goes too far let me say this: I greatly respect trent and the music he makes. no one is at fault. we both agreed it just was not working. I'm sorry to disappoint anyone. that really hurts. but NIN will do an amazing show and I am back where I belong: creating FLUX. (sic)"

His departure comes just a month after bassist Eric Avery quit, admitting he was "overwhelmed" at the thought of a long tour and instead wants to remain in Los Angeles to focus on his solo career.


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Vin Diesel Says Facebook Owes Him Billions of Dollars

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Movies, Features,

Vin DieselVin Diesel believes Facebook should pay him for having millions of followers.

The Fast and Furious actor - who has over 41 million likes on his page on the social media site - joked he should receive the money from the company because he has so many fans and he believes the key to his popularity is he takes the time to talk to his followers.

"So, when I had started my page, the only person that had a million fans was Barack Obama. Because it was first-quarter 2009, and he'd just got elected as President, because of social media. So, when I started talking to the fans, I became the No. 1 page in the world. Over Coca-Cola, over huge companies. And it was only because I said, 'Hi, guys, I love you.'"

The 45-year-old star insists he updates his Facebook page himself and he admits the social network giant was shocked by how many followers he has gained. "Facebook used to ask me to come up to their office to explain what the f**k I was doing, and why I had so many fans. What was unique was: I never let anyone do a post, I never let anyone post for me in the last four years. My audience knows me so well on the page that if my producing partner's in the room when I post, they'll know somebody was around me. That's kind of cool, that's how sophisticated they are. Facebook really owes me billions of dollars. But whatever," he told Entertainment Weekly.


Instagram 3.5 adds “Photos of you” tagging feature

Instagram 3.5

The ever so popular photo filtering social app Instagram has gone version 3.5 and introduces the "Photo of You" feature. Basically, it's a photo tagging feature borrowed from their parent company, Facebook. So, narcissists of the world rejoice as a new section will be dedicated in your profile to photos of a very important person, you guessed it, you!

What's New in Version 3.5

  • Introducing Photos of You! Add people to your photos & share who's with you
  • Send us feedback about bugs & errors using the new "Report a Problem" feature
  • Privacy settings can now be found on your Profile screen under Edit Your Profile.

Click to continue reading Instagram 3.5 adds “Photos of you” tagging feature

Read More | Instagram

Facebook 6.0 for iOS adds chat heads, stickers, and iPad News Feed redesign

Facebook App 6.0 for iOS (2)   Facebook 6.0 App for iOS

Facebook has updated its iOS app to version 6.0 and has introduced two new features that are from the Facebook Home experience: Chat heads and stickers. Basically, chat heads are avatar icons of Facebook friends. They take up a small part of the screen whenever a user is messaging another Facebook friend, no matter where the user happens to be in the app. We assume that the goal is for it to be a frictionless experience when communicating with others friends; rather than having the chat feature limited to silos or in sections within the app. Along with the update, Facebook added a sticker feature, like emoticons, while messaging, seemingly aimed at teens and adults who might never publicly admit that they like the feature. Facebook for the iPad also sees a News Feed redesign that is cleaner with a bolder, more legible typeface. Gear Live tip: users might have to delete the old version first, or reboot the iDevice, in order to activate these new features now since Facebook is slowly rolling the feature out to users. Facebook 6.0 for iOS is now available in the App Store.

 

Click to continue reading Facebook 6.0 for iOS adds chat heads, stickers, and iPad News Feed redesign

Read More | Facebook for iOS

Facebook Home now available for download on Google Play store

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Software,

Facebook Home

Facebook Home is now available for download on Google Play, as promised last week at the Facebook Home announcement event. If you're the owner of an HTC One X, HTC One X+, Samsung Galaxy S III, or Samsung Galaxy Note II, you are good to go and can download and apply Facebook's launcher right away. You can also pick up the HTC First, which ships with Facebook Home built right in. The HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S 4 will also be capable of running Facebook Home.

As a reminder, Facebook Home is a replacement lock screen, home screen, and chat experience for compatible Android smartphones, bringing pictures feeds to the forefront, and the new Chat Heads feature that will allow you to stay manage Facebook messages in a much more efficient way.

Read More | Facebook Home

Why Google will stop developing Android

Google will kill Android

"It's important that Apple not be the developer for the world. We can't take all of our energy, and all of our care, and finish the painting and have someone else put their name on it." - Tim Cook, Apple CEO

The same statement rings true for Google. If others are reaping the rewards, and little to nothing is left for oneself, then what's the point? If a product does not meet the expectations set before it, then developing for it doesn't make much sense. If any given product is not self-sustainable, then it is not cost effective and eventually becomes a burden to the maker--even if users appear to enjoy using it. Make no mistake about it, Google is in the business of making money, and everything else is secondary (including good will.)

Google's co-founder and now recently-minted CEO, Larry Page, bought Android in 2005. He also brought along Andy Rubin, one of its creators, over to Google, who recently renounced his post as Senior Vice President of mobile Digital Content. Basically, the guy who was leading Android. It has been said that Sergey Brin, the other tandem co-founder, was not enthusiastic about the purchase. Former Google CEO at the time, Eric Schmidt, now Chairman at Google had a similar reaction. These somewhat pessimistic receptions were also shared by Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President of Engineering. However, he recanted these thoughts at Google I/O 2010.

Click to continue reading Why Google will stop developing Android


Facebook Home leaked promo video (parody!)

Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Smartphones, Software, Videos,

Facebook Home Parody

It didn't take long for the tech parody video for the Facebook Home to hit the interwebs. An exclusive interview with some of the designers of the Facebook Phone. Click through for the video.

Click to continue reading Facebook Home leaked promo video (parody!)

Read More | YouTube

Watch This: Facebook Home and HTC First launch event

Facebook Home & HTC First Event

We told you all about today's unveiling of Facebook Home and the HTC First, and now Facebook has made the video recording of the announcement available for your viewing pleasure. Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg is on his A-game in this one. Check out the full video after the break.

Click to continue reading Watch This: Facebook Home and HTC First launch event


HTC First: Facebook Home, 4.3-inch display, LTE, $99 on April 12

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Handhelds,

HTC First

During today's Facebook Home announcement, HTC and AT&T announced the HTC First, a new smartphone set to launch in just over a week that was built from the ground up to run Facebook Home as its main interface. Aside from being the, um, first phone to launch with Facebook Home built-in, it'll also be the first smartphone to ship with Instagram pre-installed (although the Samsung Galaxy Camera does, too, but it isn't technically a phone.) The phone itself is a beautifully simple device from a design perspective, and on the inside runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor keeping things humming along, and status updates flowing across the 4.3-inch display. It also runs on AT&T's 4G LTE network, which Ralph de la Vega made sure to pimp as the fastest LTE network in the country. You'll be able to pick up the HTC First on April 12 (hey, the same day that the iPhone 5 hits T-Mobile!) for $99.99 in the US, and you'll have a choice of four colors: black, white, sky blue, or red.

Read More | HTC First

Facebook Home: Turn your Android device into the ultimate Facebook smartphone

Facebook Home

This morning Facebook revealed a new Android-based mobile initiative called Facebook Home. Mark Zuckerberg was on hand to talk about what would happen if your phone was made to be about "people, not apps," and the result is Facebook Home.

While many assumed that Facebook would be releasing its own hardware device (despite our assurance that it wouldn't!), Home is, instead, a suite of Facebook apps that work together to put Facebook front and center across your entire Android device, making it feel like a "Facebook Phone." For example, in the Coverfeed app, it takes over both the Android homescreen and lock screen, and then provides a regular stream of updates from your friends--all without you tapping a Facebook app icon or even swiping to unlock. From the home screen you can even comment and like the updates that flow across your display.

Click to continue reading Facebook Home: Turn your Android device into the ultimate Facebook smartphone


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