Skip to Content

10 days of gadget giveaways at Gadling!
AOL Tech

Google Brings LIFE Magazine Photo Archives to the Web

by Thomas Houston, posted Nov 19th 2008 at 11:01AMBreaking News



Google continues its march towards organizing all the world's information. Just what has it done this time? Google worked with LIFE magazine to digitize and distribute LIFE's enormous archive of photographs, which span over a century and countless cultural, political, scientific sporting, and other historical moments.

Since this was released, we've spent far too much time browsing the archives, and we've found everything from Hitchcock to Billie Holiday, from 'The Third Man' to '2001,' and the historic Lindbergh flight to the Apollo 11 launch. The majority of the photos have titles, descriptions, photographer information, and dates, which makes searching for photos from "World War 2" and "New York," for example, surprisingly easy. You can search by decade, by year, and by pretty much any other search term you can think of. Paul Newman? Check. Dresden, Germany? Got it. Picasso wearing a cow's head mask? Of course!

Continue reading Google Brings LIFE Magazine Photo Archives to the Web

Facebook 101: 25 Tips and Tricks

by Thomas Houston, posted Nov 13th 2008 at 1:45PM



Manage your online profile, because potential employers and college admissions may be checking

In the early days of the 'book, you didn't really have to worry about everyone having access to your friend lists, photos, profile, etc... Now, anybody can join the site, and we're not surprised to hear that college admissions departments and employers are using Facebook as research for applicants, thanks to its treasure trove of information on people. While you don't have to be incredibly uptight and formal about it, it's probably a good idea to fill out your education, work, and interests on your profile, because it just could snag you that job interview.

On the cautionary side, use a bit of common sense when posting images and messages to the site. It's probably best not to post those pictures from that crazy party last weekend -- you know, that one that you don't fully remember.





Facebook 101: 25 Tips and Tricks

by Thomas Houston, posted Nov 13th 2008 at 1:45PM



Add your blog, Twitter account, and more to Facebook

Do you have a blog? Use Twitter? Many Facebook apps have been built to allow you to pull in content from all over the Web. Instead of manually posting your latest blog post into Facebook as a note to share with your friends, you can set up an app to automatically share your newest posts whenever they go live on your site. The more you update, the more your friends will keep coming back to your page, which is kind of the essence of social-networking.

Facebook 101: 25 Tips and Tricks

by Thomas Houston, posted Nov 13th 2008 at 1:45PM



Edit your 'networks'

In your account settings, you can set up additional networks. Just what is a network and why should you care? It can be a group of folks from places as far flung as your school(s) or company to your region, city, or hobby, and adding networks lets you manage your privacy settings on the site. By selecting your networks (e.g. Stanford and San Francisco), you'll then be able to set your profile's visibility within different networks -- for example, you can let people in your city see partial contact information, while you can give full access to everyone from your college.

Facebook 101: 25 Tips and Tricks

by Thomas Houston, posted Nov 13th 2008 at 1:45PM


Fine-tune your e-mail notification settings

As any Facebook veteran will tell you, it's well worth your time to adjust your e-mail notification settings so that you're not flooded with hundreds of Facebook updates as you begin to use the service. Click the account menu and then 'notifications,' and you'll be greeted with a huge list of Facebook events. Sick of receiving an e-mail every time someone sends you a message? Switch the radio button to 'off,' and you won't have to worry about it ever again. In case you've totally caught the Facebook bug and are looking for nonstop updates, go to the 'Mobile' tab and activate your phone -- you'll now be able to receive friend requests, messages, status updates, and more on your cell phone

Facebook 101: 25 Tips and Tricks

by Thomas Houston, posted Nov 13th 2008 at 1:45PM



Set up your News Feed preferences

Assuming you've added a couple friends on the site, you've probably started to notice the never-ending 'News Feed' on the home page pumping out updates on your friends' activities. If you're like us, you may have grown tired of seeing when friends add new apps or when that old friend from middle school posts slightly embarrassing poetry.

You have several options. First, hover your mouse to the right of a note within the news feed, and you'll see a pencil icon pop up. Clicking the icon reveals the option to read more or less about the person posting the update, which lets you adjust the frequency that you hear from certain people.

You can also scroll down to the bottom of your feed and edit feed options by clicking on 'Options for News Feed.' Sick of status updates? Just drag the equalizer-esque button all the way down. Don't want to miss any of the photos uploaded by your friends? Drag it to the top.

Pranks and Cranks

by Thomas Houston, posted Nov 3rd 2008 at 2:55PM

Watch more YouTube videos on AOL Video


Tony Blair Gets A Crank Call

An impressionist pretending to be William Hague, a British politician, managed to get ahold of Tony Blair live on the air. Listen in to hear how the former Prime Minister reacts.

Pranks and Cranks 4

by Thomas Houston, posted Nov 3rd 2008 at 2:55PM



Miami-Based Radio Station Pranks Fidel Castro

In 2003, DJs from a radio station in Miami, Florida crank-called Cuban leader Fidel Castro. The jokers (from radio show 'El Vacilion de la Manana' (Morning Joker)) at El Zol 95.7 posed as an aide to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and used audio clips of Chavez himself -- the conversation went on for 25 minutes, until the DJs broke into the conversation and informed Castro he'd been pranked. [From: ABC.net]

Pranks and Cranks 3

by Thomas Houston, posted Nov 3rd 2008 at 2:55PM

Flash Mob in Sydney

Back in summer of '08 in Sydney, Australia, over two thousand 'flash mobbers,' organized via the Web, froze in place at exactly the same time all over the city.

Pranks and Cranks 5

by Thomas Houston, posted Nov 3rd 2008 at 2:55PM

Operation: Best Buy

 Improv Everywhere, the group of New York City pranksters, gathered over 80 people dressed up in Best Buy uniforms. The group simply entered a local Best Buy all at the same time and mingled about -- watch what happens.

Most Commented On (7 days)

Switched Video

 



Featured Galleries

30 Reasons a Girl Should Call It A Night - Facebook Group
Nabaztag / Tag
Prince's Fan Sites

Switched Photo Galleries

AOL Tech Network


Latest Reviews from CNET.com

CNET provides the latest tech news, unbiased reviews, videos, podcasts, software, and downloads, making tech products easy to find, understand and use.

Top Product Reviews

Weblogs, Inc. Network

AOL News

Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in:

Joystiq
Download Squad
The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
BloggingStocks
Xbox 360 Fanboy
Autoblog
Big Download Blog
Fanhouse NFL Blog