Timeline: Pretty Interface, Ugly Rollout

Facebook will be disrupting the online Integrated solutions for turnkey web stores and e-commerce platforms. Learn more. lives of its members in the coming weeks with the redesign of their profile pages. The redesign, called "Timeline," has been available on a limited basis since it was announced in September, but Thursday the social network announced a system-wide rollout of the redesign. It's also available for mobile devices running Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android operating system and at its mobile website. No mention was made of when Timeline would be available to devices running Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iOS operating system. However, iPad users have been able to use Timeline since November through an app, Timelines for Facebook, produced by Loytr, which also makes MyPad, a combination Twitter/Facebook app for the iPad. I must confess that I'm still steamed over the last round of changes Facebook made to its interface, so I'm not charmed with burning more time adjusting to more changes that somebody else thinks are cool. Better Looking Profile Pages I like redesigns as much as the next person. Lord knows, I've been in the vanguard of more than one of them during my years in print publications. So from an esthetic point of view, I have to grudgingly admit that Timeline makes profile pages look more attractive. For example, Timeline lets you place a "cover photo" above your profile mug shot. Not only does it make the page more pleasing to the eye, but, depending on the subject matter, it also gives you the opportunity to make the page friendlier, too. The vertical well on the left side of the page is gone. Some of the info that used to be there is now in a horizontal information panel located below the cover photo. It displays personal data -- work history, education, hometown and relationship status -- and has thumbnail links to friends, photos, maps and "likes." Between the cover photo and info panel is a small bar that lets you update information about yourself and view the activity log. The information update page is much better organized and accessible than its predecessor was. The activity log is a new feature. Mystery Highlights Through the activity log, you can view all your activity on Facebook since you joined it. With it, you can change viewing permissions for an item, determine if it should appear or be hidden on your timeline or feature an item by "starring" it. You can also filter items in it, so you can just display your photos, for instance, or just posts from others. The actual timeline for which the redesign is named is located along the right side of the cover photo. It starts with "now" and lists significant years in your life dating back to your birth. When you click on a year, Timeline will display the highlights of the annum. How does it determine what's a highlight? I have no idea, but updating a profile picture seems to automatically rank high as a highlight. You can edit items that appear in a timeline. You can change its location, for example, or its date. You can also hide items from the timeline, as well as delete them entirely. An Inconvenient Improvement While the editing features are powerful, it's going to be a chore for people to comb through thousands of items collected over the several years to decide if something should or should not be on a timeline. Moreover, once its time for a member's account to be converted to Timeline -- and everyone will eventually have to use it -- they'll have seven days to whip their new profile age into shape. That's one week to hide things they don't want seen on their timelines and delete past posts that could be embarrassing. So not only do members have to wade through years of postings, but they're given a deadline by which they have to do it. That kind of insensitivity to the value of their members' time runs deeper than a feature on Timeline. It speaks to the high-handed attitude Facebook has taken on a number of issues, most notably its callousness toward its members' privacy. Timeline will definitely make many profile pages better looking, but it's going to be a pain in the neck for many members, too.

IPhone 4 owners can legally get Siri know-how required

1. Don Reisinger by Don Reisinger December 16,2011 7:48 AM PST 
2. The iPhone 4 can now run Siri--legally. (Credit: Apple) If you own an iPhone 4 and really want Siri on it, a new update has paved the way for you to get your wish
3. Apple yesterday launched a new version of its iOS 5.0.1 update that, according to well-known iPhone hacker MuscleNerd, leaves the platform's RAM disks unencrypted. Because of that, those with a little technical know-how can write a script to extract from the software update all the files needed to bring the virtual personal assistant to the iPhone 4. Apple's update can be automatically downloaded to devices that currently aren't running iOS 5.0.1. Those who are already running the software version will need to download the revised iOS 5.0.1 update from Apple's direct link. Related stories Siri now flirting with older iPhones--for real Developer ports Siri to iPhone 3GS Tweaked iOS 5.0.1 for iPhone 4S released; Apple TV 4.4.4 also The new method for getting Siri onto the iPhone 4 stands in stark contrast to the other methods folks have used to run the software, including obtaining an iPhone 4S' unique identifier and so-called "validation tokens." Those methods have been viewed as potentially dangerous, since Apple likely wouldn't take kindly to users obtaining another device's files. This new method, on the other hand, uses the user's device files, leaving no doubt of its legality. Exactly why Apple left ramdisks unencrypted in its latest iOS update is unknown at this point, and it should be interesting to see if they're back to being encrypted in iOS 5.1. But until then, folks hoping to run Siri on the iPhone 4 can download the new iOS 5.0.1 update and get started. (Via Cult of Mac)

Learn How to Fail

By Emeka  | Dec 16, 2011

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Synopsis

Failure is only a word that means you have produced some other result instead of your original goal. This article has some of the more famous failures in history and how they learned to succeed through failing.

When people speak of a "fear of failure," they are really describing a hazy free-floating malaise and feeling of worry or discontent which induces lethargy and explains lack of effort. This malaise protects us from the anxiety that comes with freedom and taking risks. We tranquilize our lives by limiting the amount of anxiety that we experience by not trying anything new or different that might fail. Whenever we attempt to do something and fail, we end up doing something else or producing something else. You have not failed; you have produced some other result. The two most important questions to ask are: "What have I learned?" and "What have I done?" Failure is only a word that human beings use to judge a given situation. Instead of fearing failure, we should learn that failures, mistakes and errors are the way we learn and the way we grow. Many of the world's greatest successes have learned how to fail their way to success. Some of the more famous are:
• Albert Einstein: Most of us take Einstein's name as synonymous with genius, but he didn't always show such promise. Einstein did not speak until he was four and did not read until he was seven, causing his teachers and parents to think he was mentally handicapped, slow and anti-social. Eventually, he was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. He attended a trade school for one year and was finally admitted to the University. He was the only one of his graduating class unable to get a teaching position because no professor would recommend him. One professor labeled him as the laziest dog they ever had in the university. The only job he was able to get was an entry-level position in a government patent office.
•  Robert Goddard: Goddard today is hailed for his research and experimentation with liquid-fueled rockets, but during his lifetime his ideas were often rejected and mocked by his scientific peers who thought they were outrageous and impossible. The New York Times once reported that Goddard seemed to lack a high school student's basic understanding of rocketry. Today rockets and space travel don't seem far-fetched at all, due largely in part to the work of this scientist who worked against the feelings of the time.
• Abraham Lincoln: While today he is remembered as one of the greatest leaders of our nation, Lincoln's life wasn't so easy. In his youth he went to war a captain and returned a private (if you're not familiar with military ranks, just know that private is as low as it goes.) Lincoln didn't stop failing there, however. He started numerous failed businesses, went bankrupt twice and was defeated in 26 campaigns he made for public office.
•  J. K. Rowling: Rowling may be rolling in a lot of Harry Potter dough today, but before she published the series of novels, she was nearly penniless, severely depressed, divorced, trying to raise a child on her own while attending school and writing a novel. Rowling went from depending on welfare to survive to being one of the richest women in the world in a span of only five years through her hard work and determination.
•  Walt Disney: Today Disney rakes in billions from merchandise, movies and theme parks around the world, but Walt Disney had many personal failures. He was fired by a newspaper editor because, "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." After that, Disney started a number of businesses that didn't last too long and ended with bankruptcy and failure. He kept trying and learning, however, and eventually found a recipe for success that worked.
•  Harland David Sanders: Perhaps better known as Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame, Sanders had a hard time selling his chicken at first. In fact, his famous secret chicken recipe was rejected 1,009 times before a restaurant accepted it. He learned not to fear rejection and persevered.
• Thomas Edison: In his early years, teachers told Edison he was "too stupid to learn anything." Work was no better, as he was fired from his first two jobs for not being productive enough. Even as an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. One day, an assistant asked him why he didn't give up. After all, he failed over a thousand times. Edison replied that he had not failed once. He had discovered over 1000 things that don't work.
•  Ludwig van Beethoven: In his formative years, young Beethoven was incredibly awkward on the violin and was often so busy working on his own compositions that he neglected to practice. Despite his love of composing, his teachers felt he was hopeless at it and would never succeed with the violin or in composing. In fact, his music teacher told his parents he was too stupid to be a music composer.
•  Michael Jordan: Most people wouldn't believe that a man often lauded as the best basketball player of all time was actually cut from his high school basketball team. Luckily, Jordan didn't let this setback stop him from playing the game and he has stated, "I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
• Stephen King: The first book by this author, the iconic thriller Carrie, received 30 rejections, finally causing King to give up and throw it in the trash. His wife fished it out and encouraged him to resubmit it, and the rest is history, with King now having hundreds of books published and the distinction of being one of the best-selling authors of all time.
• Bill Gates: Gates didn't seem destined for success after dropping out of Harvard. He started a business with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen called Traf-O-Data. While this early idea for a business failed miserably, Gates did not despair and give up. Instead he learned much from the failure and later created the global empire that is Microsoft.
• Henry Ford: While Ford is today known for his innovative assembly line and American-made cars, he wasn't an instant success. In fact, his early businesses failed and left him broke five times. He was advised by countless people not to get into the manufacturing of automobiles because he had neither the capital or know how.
• F. W. Woolworth: Some may not know this name today, but Woolworth was once one of the biggest names in department stores in the U.S. Before starting his own business, young Woolworth worked at a dry goods store and was not allowed to wait on customers because his boss said he lacked the sense needed to do so. Woolworth also had many ideas of how to market dry goods - all of which were rejected by his boss. His marketing ideas became the foundation of his phenomenal retail success with his own stores.
• Akio Morita: You may not have heard of Morita but you've undoubtedly heard of his company, Sony. Sony's first product was a rice cooker that unfortunately didn't cook rice so much as burn it, selling less than 100 units. The rice cooker was the object of scorn and laughter by the business community. This did not discourage Morita and his partners as they pushed forward to create a multi-billion dollar company.
• Orville and Wilbur Wright: These brothers battled depression and family illness before starting the bicycle shop that would lead them to experimenting with flight. They were competing against the best engineering and scientific minds in America at the time, who were all well financed and supported by the government and capital investors to make the first airplane. After numerous attempts at creating flying machines, several years of hard work, and tons of failed prototypes, the brothers finally created a plane that could get airborne and stay there.
• Vincent Van Gogh: During his lifetime, Van Gogh sold only one painting, and this was to a friend and only for a very small amount of money. While Van Gogh was never a success during his life, he plugged on with painting, sometimes starving to complete his over 800 known works. Today, they bring in hundreds of millions of dollars each.
• Fred Astaire: In his first screen test, the testing director of MGM noted that Astaire "Can't act. Can't sing. Slightly bald. Not handsome. Can dance a little." Astaire went on to become an incredibly successful actor, singer and dancer and kept that note in his Beverly Hills home to remind him of where he came from.
• Steven Spielberg: While today Spielberg's name is synonymous with big budget, he was rejected from the University of Southern California School of Theater, Film and Television three times. He eventually attended school at another location, only to drop out to become a director before finishing. Thirty-five years after starting his degree, Spielberg returned to school in 2002 to finally complete his work and earn his BA.
• Charles Darwin: Chastised by his father for being lazy and too dreamy, Darwin himself once wrote that his father and teachers considered him rather below the common standard of intellect. When Charles Darwin first presented his research on evolution, it was met with little enthusiasm. He continued to work on his theory of evolution when all of his colleagues called him a fool and what he was doing "a fool's experiment."
The artist genius of the ages is Michelangelo. His competitor's once tried to set him up for failure or force him to forgo a commission because of the possibility of failure. Michelangelo's competitors persuaded Junius II to assign to him a relatively obscure and difficult project. It was to fresco the ceiling of a private chapel. The chapel had already been copiously decorated with frescoes by many talented artists. Michelangelo would be commissioned to decorate the tunnel-vaulted ceiling. In this way, his rivals thought they would divert his energies from sculpture, in which they realized he was supreme. This, they argued, would make things hopeless for him, since he had no experience in fresco, he would certainly, they believed, do amateurish work as a painter. Without doubt, they thought, he would be compared unfavorably with Raphael, and even if the work were a success, being forced to do it would make him angry with the Pope, and thus one way or another they would succeed in their purpose of getting rid of him.