Blancer.com Tutorials and projects

Facebook already suggests pages to members based on the pages that their friends are engaging with in their network. But today, Facebook is now helping new members curate their interests as soon as they join the network. Now, any new member will see a list of Pages that other people in a similar demographic to them also commonly like.

Facebook says that it will only suggest Pages of people and organizations that are actually seeing engagement on the network. The new feature is powered by an algorithm, assures Facebook engineer Ziqing Mao, so the suggestions are not sponsored. It’s also unclear what demographic considerations Facebook is evaluating when making suggestions to new members.

Unsurprisingly, the new feature resembles a functionality on Twitter. It’s similar in theory to Twitter’s suggested user list, which shows a list of suggested users to follow based on topic. Like Facebook’s pages suggestions, Twitter’s suggestions are based on an algorithm that determines who users are engaging with on the microblogging network. And on Facebook’s suggested list, you can choose to like all of the suggestions

Twitter’s Suggested User List hasbeen controversial, because it guaranteed anyone on it hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers. Facebook’s new feature is expected to have the same effect. In January, Twitter actually changed its suggested user list format from just a list of users to suggestions based on topic. This could be something that Facebook might explore in the future to make suggestions of Pages more streamlined (and less random) for users.

With more than 50 million users and a recent infusion of cash, music streaming service Pandora is really hitting its stride. Founder Tim Westergren had his Charlie Rose moment last night, and one thing that really cam ethrough was how important the iPhone is to Pandora.

“It is impossible to overstate” its impact, saays Westergren. When the iPhone app launched in 2008, it was an instant hit, and it “almost doubled” Pandora’s growth rate “overnight,” says Westergren. But more than that, it freed up Pandora users from being chained to their desks. Now with the ability to run in the background, its usage on the iPhone should continue to soar. In the first clip below, Westergren talks about Pandora’s iPhone and the iPad strategies. In the second clip, he explains to Rose, Pandora’s underlying Music Genome project.

You can watch the full interview here.

Today, IBM delivered its first Aquasar supercomputer, which is cooled by water, to a Swiss technology institute. The system needs 40% less energy to run than air-cooled machines, and the waste heat it produces can be used to warm buildings.

The system works thanks to micro-channel liquid coolers that are attached directly to processors, one of the biggest culprits of computer heat generation. IBM says water is 4,000 times more efficient at removing heat than air. In the past, water was commonly used to cool mainframes and other large computing systems, but typically that water was kept at low temperatures.

Interestingly, the water used to cool the Aquasar system is warm, around 140 degrees F. This works because it’s still cool enough to capture enough heat from processors to keep them below their 185 degree F max. The water exits the system at about 149 degrees F, and can be used to heat buildings in which it is hosted.

IBM’s technology could help reduce energy costs to data centers, which use up to 50% of their energy consumption on air cooling systems to prevent processor over-heating. It could also reduce the initial costs of setting up a data center, allowing companies to pay to cool each machine as they’re added instead of needing to cool an entire room regardless of the number of machines in it.

I’ve never been quite sure what to make of the upcoming Facebook movie, The Social Network. On one hand, the talent behind the camera is pretty amazing. The screenplay was written by Aaron Sorkin (of West Wing, and A Few Good Men fame). And it’s being directed by David Fincher (of Fight Club and Seven fame). On the other hand, it’s a movie about Facebook. And the trailer is a bit cheesy. But some news today may have put me over the edge towards being very intrigued by it.

As he announces on the official Nine Inch Nails site, Trent Reznor will be doing the score for the film. It seems as if there’s entirely too much talent behind this movie now for it to fail — or at least, for it to be awful.

Writes Reznor:

I was planning on taking some time off after the continual waves of touring that ended last fall and spend this year experimenting around with what would become How To Destroy Angels and some new NIN. Well, that plan didn’t work out so well. David Fincher started inquiring about my interest in scoring his upcoming film, The Social Network. Yeah, the movie about the founding of Facebook. I’ve always loved David’s work but quite honestly I wondered what would draw him to tell that story. When I actually read the script and realized what he was up to, I said goodbye to that free time I had planned. Atticus Ross and I have been on a creative roll so I asked him if he wanted to work on this with me and we signed on.

Reznor goes on to note that the score is just about complete now and that he “couldn’t be happier with how it’s turned out.” He hints that he and Ross may even release two records based on the scoring work they did for the film, and that they’ll release the music a couple weeks before the film’s October 1 release date.

But back to the movie. Can it really be any good? “It’s really fucking good. And dark!,” writes Reznor.

This from the guy who made the video for “Closer.” Sold.

[photo: flickr/Burns!]

Child safety on the web is a significant concern for parents worldwide as kids flock to the internet for social networking, media consumption and more. SocialShield is one security option parents can turn on to protect children from predators online. The startup aims to give parents a web application to show a 360 degree view into what their kids are doing online as well as who their friends are on the main social networks.

SocialShield offers a number of features that target various security risks on social networks. “CyberBullying Promise” helps assist parents in identifying a cyberbully on a social network, and documenting the harassment.

“Friend verification technology” investigates a child’s friends on Facebook or MySpace and checks them against more than 50 Internet databases to see if parents should be concerned. Parents are also notified of any risky behaviors that could cause lasting damage to their child, such as posting inappropriate photos or content.

An Alerts Engine will find all accounts a child owns, including ones that parents may not know about, and examines all information and posts. Activity and Photo Engines documents every single posting their children make on all of the main social networks.

SocialShield’s technology, which costs $96 per year, is undoubtedly comprehensive. And the startup is backed by an impressive group of investors including Playdom founder Rick Thompson,comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni Offerpal CEO George Garrick, and Adify CEO Russell Fradin.

There’s no doubt that as the web becomes an integral part of children’s social interactions and even education, services like SocialShield and competitor SafetyWeb will become necessary for parents across the world.

On the face of it a good idea: four days in the beautiful Tuscany shooting the breeze about tech and entrepreneurship between European and US delegates.

However, try organising that from the U.S., not locking down the sponsors so they couldn’t pull out at the last minute and then telling the delegates the event is officially cancelled, but so late that some of them have already arrived in Italy.

The HP webOS Slate is one-step closer to the market now that HP officially owns Palm. It has a real chance to be the iPad-alternative of choice when it launches later this year. Hopefully HP engineers and designers have been taking notes about the iPad from the beginning because even though the iPad is selling like Girl Scout cookies, it’s far from perfect.

The Apple branding alone is part of the successful launch, but HP is, well, HP and a major player in the consumer market with deeper distribution channels than even Apple. If any one company can stand up to Apple in the tablet space, it’s HP — but only if they take advantage of learning from Apple’s mistakes and success.

Update: Tickets are sold out (it took only 30 minutes!). Tune in next week for our next batch.

The first batch of 100 tickets to our TechCrunch summer outing at August Capital are on sale now through ticketing partner Eventbrite. They’ll go fast, so get them now.

The party is July 30 from 5:30 – 10 pm on the beautiful back deck of August Capital.

Additional tickets will be released weekly, so stay tuned. Contact Heather or Jeanne for creative sponsorships and demo tables.

Of course, we’d rather spend the whole day with you, so consider attending the Social Currency CrunchUp being hosted nearby on Stanford’s Campus. We will explore the intersection of social commerce, geo-marketing, virtual currencies, and game mechanics. Tickets to the CrunchUp include attendance to the summer outing too, with expedited door entry.

About the Social Currency CrunchUp:
July 30, 2010
9 am – 4:00 pm
Arrillaga Alumni Center, Stanford University
326 Galvez Street, Palo Alto, CA 94305
Get CrunchUp-Party Combo Tickets Now @ Eventbrite: $295 INCLUDES admission for one (1) to the August Capital party and expedited fast-pass door entry. You DO NOT need to purchase a separate August Capital Party ticket if you purchase a CrunchUp ticket. Tickets are non-transferrable, based on availability. Capacity limited to 500 attendees.
All details here.

As early adopters of technology, we all know that at our opinions and product picks are not necessarily indicative of what might appeal to the average consumer. So what happens when we hit an inflection point and the masses matter?

Do we really know what local merchants and smaller enterprises need to support their businesses? What do we need to know about consumer psychology so our digitally delivered discounts resonate with consumers? What retail rules of the road do we need to honor to close a sale? How do we blend the best of virtual and real currencies to entertain and engage consumers?

That’s what we’re going to explore at the Social Currency CrunchUp. We’re going to mix up real-world consumers and traditional retailers and marketers alongside the hottest new startups to debate the future.

Photo credit: SiliconValleyBlog.

I trust by now you’ve read Apple’s letter claiming that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the antennae on the iPhone 4, and that any real reception issues are inexistent and merely a result of faulty displaying on Apple’s part, which it intends to fix in the coming weeks.

Unimpressed by that statement? You’re not alone.

Mason LLP, one of the multiple firms that have filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of customers who recently purchased the iPhone 4 alleging that the antenna on the phone is in fact defective by design, isn’t terribly impressed either.

The firm, which filed the lawsuit seeking an order requiring Apple to ship a protective case for the iPhone 4 to all consumers who purchased one as well as monetary damages, provides us with the following statement after reading and analyzing Apple’s letter:

Our investigation revealed that users lost reception when gripping the phone in a conventional manner. We believe that the problem is not merely how the signal strength is displayed but involves a physical blocking of the antennae which cuts off calls.

In other words, don’t expect those lawsuits to go away now that you’ve written up your version of the truth, Apple.