Previously, getting your profile deleted from Facebook took emails, phone calls, a fair amount of begging, and probably some sort of star alignment. This week, Facebook quietly launched a support channel on the site to make deactivating your account easier. A deactivation at Facebook makes your information unviewable to other members, however the information is still stored on the Facebook servers. Additional steps can be taken to completely remove your profile information from Facebook, but it requires contacting Facebook through another method.
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Netflix has choosen to go with Blu-ray after most of the biggest movie studios have picked the format. Since 2006, Netflix has stocked both Blu-ray and HD-DVDs, but with 4 out of 6 major studios deciding to back Blu-ray the future for HD-DVD seems grim. HD-DVD will be phased out by the company by the end of 2008. Blockbuster has been renting Blu-ray solely for some time now and even the porn industry has gone with Blu-ray.

“From the Netflix perspective, focusing on one format will enable us to create the best experience for subscribers,” the company said, adding that not many customers order high-def DVDs. So long HD-DVD, you will be missed.

Technorati Tags: hd-dvd, blu-ray, blockbuster, netflix

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On the eve of when Yahoo is rumored to reject the Microsoft acquisition bid, it appears that Microsoft investors don’t really see much value in Yahoo.
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The Government’s Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity has released a report that attempts to suggest that online anonymity in 3D worlds leads to terrorism. An article in the Washington Post says, “U.S. intelligence officials are cautioning that popular Internet services that enable computer users to adopt cartoon-like personas in three-dimensional online spaces also are creating security vulnerabilities by opening novel ways for terrorists and criminals to move money, organize and conduct corporate espionage.”
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About three months ago, Congress added a provision to the Higher Education Act which would require universities to create published policies to deal with illegal file sharing and also to create a plan to offer legal alternatives. There was no real purpose explained for this action then and there still doesn’t seem to be one now. But the House of Representatives has approved the bill. Read the rest of this entry »

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eBay has announced a change that is sure to devalue the eBay community. Due to problems with sellers leaving retaliatory comments when a buyer posts negative feedback, eBay has decided to ban sellers from leaving negative comments about buyers. eBay is skewing the trading process by allowing buyers to leave negative comments about sellers, but not letting sellers respond to the comments. eBay’s response so far is “if a buyer doesn’t pay, the seller can easily contact eBay, we will review any complaint and maybe remove the buyer.” eBay claims thats that only a minority of sellers leave negative feedback for buyers, so why not put a moderation system is place instead of removing the ability all together.

Technorati Tags: ebay, auctions, feedback

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I love companies that prey on the weaknesses of another company’s products. That’s just what Teneros is doing with their continuity appliances. The company has raised $84.5 million to provide “local high availability and remote disaster recovery of Microsoft Exchange.” The technology is apparently significantly cheaper than building clusters of Exchange server - 90% cheaper if you believe the numbers loosely quoted by C.V. Starr & Co. At the end of 2007, Teneros cut the price of its entry-level 100-mailbox appliance from $14,000 to $7,000. The next version of their appliance, due out in the first quarter of 2008, will expand protection of BlackBerry Enterprise Server and Active Directory. The company claims that it takes no Exchange expertise and only 15 minutes to install the device which is remotely monitored and updated 24×7.

Those are some impressive claims and investors seem to believe them with the amount of cash that is being thrown at Teneros.

Technorati Tags: microsoft, exchange, teneros, email

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