THE SILHOUETTE • C5
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2011
TechBuzz
The book has a new face Facebook’s new look is sure to spark some conversation Rishi Bodalia The Silhouette
Facebook has been around for just over seven years, and has become one of the hottest social networks to date. A few weeks prior to Facebook’s Sept. 22 developers conference, known as f8, Google unleashed its own social network called Google Plus. Facebook reacted to this new service of Google by upgrading their user interface (UI) as an attempt to make it more user-friendly. There are many people that adore the new UI and all the information presented on the news feed, but, of course, just as many people detest it. The news feed includes two key features; Top Stories and the Ticker. The Top Story column pushes news about your friends on Facebook that might be relevant (according to an algorithm of what you like, hide and other activities that you perform) to you. The other feature is the Ticker, which is analogous to a Twitter feed. The Ticker displays all of your friends activities, including liking a post or picture, commenting, adding a friend, being tagged in pictures and more. The Ticker provides users with an abundance of information in relation to their friends. The aim of the Ticker is to engage you not only with your friends but with the Facebook site as well. Your Facebook profile will
SILHOUETTE FILE PHOTO
Facebook has changed once again, this time the new look is quite drastic with new interface features and applications. drastically change in the next week or two. The new profile layout is called Timeline and conveys a variety of information in a graphical and chronological layout. There are a couple key features on the timeline; Cover, View, Activity Log and Wall. The first and most obvious feature is the Cover. The Cover by default is the last picture that you are tagged in, but you can change the image to something that best represents you. For example, it could be you devouring a slice of pizza or at the beach with friends. The next change is called The
View, which displays your profile picture, information (where you work, where you went to school, your current city, etc.), photos, friends, likes and any subscriptionbased apps. The View panel offers a personal overview to your friends based on your own interests and subscriptions. The Activity feature can be as cool as it can be scary. It is a private log of your Facebook activity (likes, comments, posts and more) from the time you joined Facebook until the present. The Activity log allows you to monitor and sensor your activity to
the public. It allows you to feature an activity, allow and not allow an activity, or delete an activity altogether. But the biggest change is the Wall. The Wall allows your friends and family to see your activity on Facebook in a chronological order. With the timeline, you can now add pictures, list your parents and even provide a story of your birth. Each activity on Facebook is displayed as a node on your timeline, but if you feel that a post requires peoples’ attention, you may expand the post and feature it on your timeline.
Another neat, yet freaky feature is that your friends have the ability to view this timeline. In the top corner are years and months listed, so your friends can easily creep around your profile and view your posts from both past and present. These are just some of the changes to Facebook that will soon come into effect. Originally, the changes were to debut on Sept. 30, but due to trademark infringement with Timelines.com, it has been delayed until further notice. So keep your eyes peeled for a Facebook profile change!
Thou shall be a good housemate Monica Bialobrzeski The Silhouette
Thou shall wash thy dishes. It’s a no-brainer, but seems to be the biggest problem among all roommates. In less than twenty-four hours, the dish sink always seems to be overflowing, with no one owning up to his or her respective mess. Even when the dishes finally get washed, the rack resembles an ongoing game of Jenga, and we all know how that one ends. If you want to be a good roommate and prevent an instant headache for your fellow roomies, wash and put away your dishes. All you need is five minutes, so get to it. Thou shall listen to thy music at a reasonable level. Let’s face it, there’s nothing like coming home after a long day, finding a perfect tune and having that sweet melody bounce off the walls of your little cubical-sized room. It doesn’t help if you’re like me and feel personally obligated to add your own full set falsetto into the equation. However, your roommates will be the first to classify your attempt to cancel out external noise as … well just that; noise. Keep your music at an enjoyable level, but a level that won’t quickly and harshly seep through paper-thin walls.
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Sometimes living in student housing can be down right chaotic so try making it a little easier and be a good house mate. Thou shall not steal thy roommates’ belongings. If something is ever mysteriously missing, you can only blame it on the “house ghost” for so long. Whatever the item is, make sure to always ask for permission if you want to use, borrow or eat something of your roommates’, unless they have previously stated otherwise. This avoids future stealing wars, catfights, or having to use
your bedroom as a kitchenette. Thou shall attempt to settle disputes like “adults.” The last thing any one needs is added stress from roommate arguments and complications. Two-way communication and active listening is key here. Leaving disputes unsettled will have you walking on pins and needles at a place that is supposed to be called home, so try to deal with things im-
mediately. Thou shall try to maintain thy moans to a moderate level when fornicating.This one’s pretty selfexplanatory. Give respect to having a good time, but the humour of it dies immediately after the first offense so try to keep it on the hushhush, or do it when you’ve got the house to yourself. Thou shall have a good time.
Four years of university will fly by, so be sure to make some room for the good times. When else will you have the opportunity to live in a shitty, run down house with a bunch of university students. Make the most of these interactions and you just might be lucky enough to make some pretty spectacular friendships and once-in-a-lifetime moments by the end of it.
Election Day Oct. 6 at 9:30 a.m. Come out and be part of change. Voting stations will be set up across the province. If you’re not from Hamilton you can vote in CIBC hall. Just visit www.wemakevotingeasy.ca to find out where your polling station will be located and bring your ID. Thanksgiving Club Party Oct. 6 9:30 p.m. at TwelveEighty Come out and celebrate Thanksgivnig with up-and coming Toronto DJ TRIO, Keyes N Krates Cover is $4.50. International Observe the Moon Night Oct. 8 at 7:00 p.m. in the Burke Science Building (Planetarium) Join in and learn all about the moon. To make a reservation visit www.physics.mcmaster.ca/planetarium