Facebook ends 'invisibility cloak' for users

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook is ending a feature that allowed users to hide from the billion-plus members of the social network.

The feature, akin to Harry Potter's invisibility cloak, will be removed, meaning that someone looking for another Facebook user can more easily find that person.

"The setting was created when Facebook was a simple directory of profiles and it was very limited," said Facebook's chief privacy officer, Michael Richter.

The setting made Facebook search "feel broken at times," Richter added in a company blog Thursday.

"For example, people told us that they found it confusing when they tried looking for someone who they knew personally and couldn't find them in search results, or when two people were in a Facebook Group and then couldn't find each other through search."

Facebook announced last year it was ending this feature for new users, but allowed a transition for a "small percentage" of users who had that feature enabled.

Richter said the change should not have an impact on overall privacy.

"Whether you've been using the setting or not, the best way to control what people can find about you on Facebook is to choose who can see the individual things you share," he said.

Facebook, which has been under scrutiny by privacy advocates, recently revamped its search functions to include so-called "graph search" that allows users to search through a wide range of posts on the world's biggest social network.

In a separate development, Google announced Friday it was following the lead of Facebook to allow users' pictures and endorsements to be used in product ads.

The change will take effect November 11, Google said in its updated terms of service.

"We want to give you -- and your friends and connections -- the most useful information," the document said.

"Recommendations from people you know can really help. So your friends, family and others may see your profile name and photo, and content like the reviews you share or the ads you (liked)."

Google said users can opt out of this feature, however, and added that it will not use endorsements from users under 18

Another underage girl sexually assaulted in Lahore

The reports of alleged molestation of underage girls continue to pour in from across the country with the latest being of another teenager who became the victim of a sexual assault here on Monday night, Geo News reported.

Reportedly, a 14-year old girl was found unconscious near Expo Center in near Jauhar Town where she was apparently left there by her alleged molesters.

The rescuers ambulanced her to Jinnah Hospital’s emergency room where an initial examination confirmed she was raped.

According to hospital sources, at the moment, the girl was too traumatized to record her statement.

"The police have kicked off an investigation and are waiting for the girl to speak so that they can take further action" the sources added.

It must be mentioned that a few weeks back a minor girl was also ravished in Lahore and dumped near a hospital.

 

Obama rejects Republican plan on debt ceiling: report

 

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama rejected a Republican plan that would postpone a possible US default because it would not also reopen the federal government, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

The report came after a group of House Republican leaders met with Obama at the White House.

Space 'graveyard' reveals bits of an Earth-like planet

WASHINGTON: Astronomers have autopsied a distant, broken apart planet and revealed signs of water and a rocky surface together for the first time, delighting scientists on the hunt for alien life.

In a planetary system some 150 light years away, the right conditions for life appear to have once existed, and planets like Earth may have orbited a star known as GD 61, British astronomers reported in the journal Science.

"This planetary graveyard swirling around the embers of its parent star is a rich source of information about its former life," said co-author Boris Gansicke of the Department of Physics at the University of Warwick.

Around 200 million years ago, GD 61 lost its power and began sucking in the nearest planets with its extreme gravitational pull, devouring them to pieces.

Now that Sun is what is known as a white dwarf, or a dying star that is circled by planetary debris.

Victor Moses Is The Newest Globacom Ambassador , What a deal?

National Telecommunications operator and Africa’s biggest supporter of football, Globacom Tuesday in Lagos announced the appointment of Nigerian International and Liverpool Football Club player, Victor Moses, as its newest brand ambassador.

Moses was unveiled to the public at a press conference held at the Mike Adenuga Towers headquarters of the company in Victoria Island, Lagos.