Facebook is holding its first conference since its IPO. Mark your calendars

Dammit, Internet. You left me hanging once again.

The point is, Facebook is holding f8, its non-annual, whenever-it-feels-the-need developer conference, this year. Fun fact: Facebook hasn’t held an f8 since 2011, when CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the all-new profile redesign and media integrations.

The date is April 30, 2014; the location is San Francisco. Around 1,500 developers are expected to attend. Topics will include technical talks as well as hands-on labs. If you check out the f8 page on Facebook, you can sign up for your very own ticket.

And of course, there’s the big Zuckerberg keynote, which functions as a sort of State of the Union for the Facebook platform. If there’s any big product news, the f8 stage is likely going to be where we hear about it.

This time around, the shindig will include both the Facebook and Parse (a relatively recent acquisition) developer communities.

And of course, your humble VentureBeat correspondents will be on the scene to provide you with news of the latest changes to the platform as they’re announced from the f8 stage.

More info on content from the official announcement:

This year, we’re going back to our roots and having a pure developer conference. F8 will open with a morning keynote, followed by four tracks that will cover getting started guides, technical best practices, infrastructure strategies, engineering deep dives, and advertising tips  for making your app or game highly successful. We’ll also have sessions  dedicated to exploring how developers can take advantage of open source  technologies.

We’ll close F8 with a celebration where people can unwind with drinks and  entertainment. Facebook and Parse engineers and product team members will be available throughout the conference to provide 1:1 help and  advice.

And here’s a fun update from Parse CEO Ilya Sukhar:

In September, my team put on Parse Developer Day to talk about building great apps with Parse. I thought talking with 600 developers from all over the world was pretty awesome, but now we get to be part of F8 – over twice that size.

App development is happening at such a crazy pace these days. Almost every day I find a new app that is solving problems or providing entertainment in a really creative way. My favorite app of the moment is Threes. I can’t stop playing it.

But building a hit app and finding people who will love it is really hard. Turning that app into a money making venture is even harder. Helping developers solve these problem is why we’re doing an F8. Between the Facebook and Parse teams, we have a lot of new developer-focused products to show off. We’ll have a day full of technical content, engineers all over the place to help out, and a sweet party to close it out.

News Source: venturebeat.com

Posted by Editorial Team on 11:35 PM in CEO Mark, Dammit, Facebook, Facebook platform, first conference, holding f8, Internet, IPO, San Francisco, Zuckerberg

Microsoft Windows 8.1 Update Surfaces

Microsoft inadvertently leaked its Windows 8.1 update for a few hours Thursday. When it arrives in April, can the update overcome doubts about the future of Windows?

Windows XP Shutdown: 10 Facts To Know

(Click image for larger view and slideshow.)

Will Microsoft have any surprises left for Build?

The company is expected to use the conference, which begins April 2 in San Francisco, to launch Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone updates. But Microsoft inadvertently made the former available for several hours Thursday, and details about the latter continue to leak online. Meanwhile, a new report from the research firm Forrester emphasizes the stakes Microsoft faces with the updates, arguing the company must "go big" in 2014 or risk losing its world-beating influence.

Windows 8.1 Update 1, as it is known online, is intended to make the touch-oriented OS more palatable to mouse-and-keyboard users. Additions include new right-click options on the tiled Start Screen, the ability to access Modern apps from the taskbar, and the inclusion of minimize and maximize buttons within those apps.

Microsoft reportedly released Update 1 to manufacturers earlier this week, after which it was supposed to roll out to select internal groups for further testing. But for a period Thursday, anyone willing to modify their computer's registry could gain access to the illicit bits. Microsoft has since removed the Update 1 files, but many have successfully installed the update, according to accounts posted online. Some reported that Update 1 failed to boot, however, and others reported bugs once the updated OS was up and running.

[For more on what you can expect in Windows 8.1 Update, seeWindows 8.1 Update: 10 Key Changes.]

New details have also emerged about Microsoft's evolving Windows strategy -- specifically, the purpose of "Windows 8.1 with Bing," a new SKU whose existence was recently revealed by Russian blogger ZWor, a notorious source of pre-release Windows information. Purported documentation related to the SKU has since surfaced online. It claims Windows 8.1 with Bing offers OEMs a cheaper license option but requires that Bing be set as the OS's default search engine. Users, however, can still choose any search engine.

Recent rumors claim Microsoft has heavily slashed Windows OEM license costs in order to stimulate production of sub-$250 devices. Well-connected Windows expert Paul Thurrott said Thursday that Windows 8.1 with Bing is the program references in those rumors. Other reports had claimed Windows 8.1 with Bing might be a free option targeted at Windows 7 users.

Whatever the case, by limiting OEMs to Bing, Microsoft ostensibly hopes to drive more users into its online offerings. As the most popular apps and services become decoupled from the OS and move into the cloud, Microsoft arguably needs to compensate for falling consumer Windows revenue by boosting adoption of Skype, OneDrive, Office 365, and other products.

Windows Phone 8.1 has also been the subject of leaks, including a recent video that allegedly shows Cortana, Microsoft's rumored answer to Apple's Siri and Google's Google Now. The digital assistant is expected to provide personalized information gleaned from the user's Microsoft account, which potentially ties Cortana's success to the success of initiatives like Windows 8.1 with Bing. Derived from a leaked SDK, the latest Windows Phone 8.1 chatter states the OS's Action Center will allow up to 20 notifications per app, and that something called Windows Phone 8.5 might already be in the works.

Whether or not Microsoft has anything new to show at Build, it will face pressure to impress. The company's enterprise portfolio is strong but consumer prospects are shakier. Microsoft's mobile presence is still weak, and it might be running out of time to correct matters, given that both the tablet and smartphone markets are rapidly maturing. Microsoft has enviable assets in cloud-based services and the Xbox, but it arguably trails competitors in other next-gen platforms, such as wearable technology, smart cars, and other Internet of Things-themed applications.

Analysts have argued for the last year that Microsoft's overall influence could be vulnerable if its consumer efforts don't pick up. In "The Clash Of The Digital Platforms," a study published Friday, Forrester analyst James McQuivey said Google is arguably the best-positioned platform player, and that "Apple can take its brand and its cash anywhere it wants." He described Microsoft less bullishly: "Microsoft has to go big in 2014 or risk falling off the list."

Engage with Oracle president Mark Hurd, NFL CIO Michelle McKenna-Doyle, General Motors CIO Randy Mott, Box founder Aaron Levie, UPMC CIO Dan Drawbaugh, GE Power CIO Jim Fowler, and other leaders of the Digital Business movement at the InformationWeek Conference and Elite 100 Awards Ceremony, to be held in conjunction with Interop in Las Vegas, March 31 to April 1, 2014. See the full agenda here.

Michael Endler joined InformationWeek as an associate editor in 2012. He previously worked in talent representation in the entertainment industry, as a freelance copywriter and photojournalist, and as a teacher. Michael earned a BA in English from Stanford University in 2005.

News Source: www.informationweek.com

Posted by Editorial Team on 7:39 AM in April 2, company, Forrester, Microsoft, OS, released, reported, San Francisco, Update Surfaces, Windows 8.1

Clash over Google Glass shows hurdles facing wearable tech

A confrontation at a San Francisco bar involving a Google Glass tester points to the public's growing concern over the invasive nature of new technologies such as wearable gadgets and drones.

Google Glass Base Camp (Peter DaSilva, For The Times / July 15, 2013)

By

SAN FRANCISCO — A tussle involving a woman wearing Google Glass in a San Francisco bar is just the latest incident to highlight growing tensions over the new wearable technology even before Google Inc. begins selling it to the public.

Sarah Slocum, a 34-year-old technology blogger and social media consultant, said she was "verbally and physically assaulted" over the weekend by patrons of a bar in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.

A man allegedly ripped the Glass off Slocum's face and ran out of the bar with it. She got the Glass back but says someone stole her purse and phone. Slocum put video footage of the incident that she filmed using Glass on YouTube.

Several witnesses told KPIX-TV Channel 5 in San Francisco that bar patrons were excited to see how Glass works, but some became upset about the possibility of being recorded by the device and asked Slocum to remove it.

A man who identified himself only as Brian said he was not surprised things got out of hand.

"You know, the crowd at Molotov's is not a tech-oriented crowd for the most part," Brian said. "It's probably one of the more punk rock bars in the city. So you know, it's not really Google Glass country."

That a bar in San Francisco is not Google Glass country shows just how tough it may be for Google to get the public to accept smartglasses the way it has accepted smartphones.

"There is more visceral reaction to this technology than most, and part of that has to do with the fact that you are wearing it on your face," University of Washington law professor Ryan Calo said.

Google Glass performs many of the same functions as smartphones: You can read and reply to emails and text messages, take photographs and film snippets of video.

But the in-your-face nature of the technology has touched a nerve in a society growing increasingly concerned about the invasive nature of new technologies such as wearable gadgets and drones.

Google has gone to great lengths to educate the public about Glass. It has extolled its benefits in media interviews, demonstrated the technology for lawmakers on Capitol Hill and put the technology in the hands of so-called Explorers, early testers who essentially act as "positive ambassadors" for Glass.

The Internet giant also put out basic etiquette and safety tips for Explorers, reminding them to be respectful and to ask permission before taking photos or filming, just as they would with a smartphone.

"New technology raises new concerns, which is why educating Explorers and those around them is a top priority for the Glass team," a Google spokesman said. "The point of the Explorer program is to get Glass in the hands of people from all walks of life and see how they use it out in the world."

Slocum is one of the early testers of Glass. She said she has been wearing the device for about a month and says the reaction has been largely positive.

"Some people think, 'Oh, it's a privacy invasion.' But it's really no different than the smartphones people carry in their pockets," Slocum said. "People just don't understand the technology.... Once I allow people to try it on and show them how it works, they love it. They say, 'Wow, that's so cool.'"

Slocum said some people still don't like it when she wears the device. But she was stunned by the "venom" she experienced while bar hopping with friends. She says several bar patrons insulted her, shouted obscenities and even threw a bar rag at her.

Calo, a privacy expert who has tested Glass, said that that kind of reaction to the head-mounted computer "has a large measure of irrationality."

"Glass in its present state is not capable of the kind of privacy invasion worth beating someone up over," Calo said.

Many Glass wearers report little or no negative reaction. But high-profile incidents such as the bar conflict have given the technology a negative perception.

Glass users have been tossed from movie theaters, and a San Diego woman was pulled over for driving with Glass. A few states are considering banning drivers from using Glass out of concern that the small screen will distract them on the road.

And Glass has had its share of run-ins in bars. In November, Lost Lake Cafe & Lounge, a 24-hour diner and bar in Seattle, said it had to ban Google Glass after a customer refused to stop wearing and operating the device inside the restaurant. Another bar in Seattle, the 5 Point Cafe, was the first to ban Google Glass. The two establishments are owned by the same restaurateur.

jessica.guynn@latimes.com

Twitter: @jguynn

News Source: www.latimes.com

Posted by Editorial Team on 11:21 AM in 34-year-old, 5 Point Cafe, facing, Glass, Google Glass, KPIX-TV Channel 5, San Francisco, smartphones, technologies, YouTube