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Boot up: Facebook 'reduces degrees of separation', Spotify heads in new direction, and more(Guardian Web Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) A quick burst of 7 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team Anatomy of Facebook >> Facebook Two studies on Facebook promoted by, er Facebook. Worth bookmarking, at the very least. Separating you and me? 4.74 degrees >> NYTimes.com ...And this is what it found: "Adding a new chapter to the research that cemented the phrase "six degrees of separation" into the language, scientists at Facebook and the University of Milan reported on Monday that the average number of acquaintances separating any two people in the world was not six but 4.74." ITC dismisses S3 Graphics complaint against Apple: no violation >> FOSS Patents HTC is acquiring S3 Graphics and had hoped to use its complaints against Apple as weaponry in Apple's attack dating back to the HTC Hero in 2010 which so infuriated Steve Jobs. However: "The US International Trade Commission has dismissed S3 Graphics' first complaint against Apple in its entirety. "The official notice states that "no violation [...] has been shown [...] and that the investigation is terminated". Today's notice does not specify for which reason the ITC overruled the Administrative Law Judge and found no violation. This could be based on a finding of invalidity of the asserted patent claims (from four different but somewhat related patents) and/or a finding of non-infringement and/or patent exhaustion." We haven't been keeping enormously careful score, but in lawsuits with Android sellers, Apple seems to have had the best of it. Can the iPhone 4S replace a "real" digital camera? Ars investigates >> ArsTechnica Slightly predictable conclusion - that the iPhone 4S benefits from its convenience, but that DSLR lovers won't be trading in their lens any time soon - but worth reading in full to see where this is going. Spotify Says It's Headed in a "New Direction" >> AllThingsD More partners? Erm.. an iPad app? Erm.. We're scratching our heads a bit, here. The OS Wars: We Have A Winner >> SourceForge.net "We combed through about two years' worth of data on SourceForge, looking at the platforms of the users who downloaded projects, and millions more Mac users are downloading open source projects now than were in February 2010. In the same time, Windows downloads have increased by a much smaller percentage and Linux downloads have actually declined." Galaxy Nexus hit with volume bug in Britain >> The Washington Post "The problem, according to reports on the Samsung UK Facebook page and on developer forums, is very specific, but widespread on a 2G band. Apparently the volume control changes erratically when the phone is on 2G in the 900 Mhz frequency, which is common throughout Europe. Users can't control the volume with the hardware controls and are unable to make calls." You can follow Guardian Technology's linkbucket on delicious (c) 2011 Guardian Newspapers Limited. |