Facebook’s Oldest Users Jostle for Title

Mark Zuckerberg likely never imagined this when he founded Facebook as an undergraduate in his Harvard dorm room.

The website he created as a social network for college students is now the site of a brewing battle between two centenarians over who can lay claim to being the oldest among Facebook’s more than 1 billion monthly users.

Logged on in one corner is Florence Detlor, the 101-year-old Californian who, in August, was designated Facebook’s oldest user by Zuckerberg and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. Detlor traveled to the social network’s Palo Alto campus for a personal tour.

READ MORE: Vest Promises a Hug Every Time You Get a ‘Like’ on Facebook

In the other corner is a New Mexico woman, Maria “Mary” Colunia Segura-Metzgar, who just celebrated her 105^th birthday on Tuesday and has her own Facebook page, complete with 86 friends.

Segura-Metzgar, however, is so far removed from the typical Facebook user that she had to shave a few years off her age in order to join the site, according to her 60-year-old grandson, Anthony Segura, who is responsible for signing her up.

“I tried to sign her up on Facebook a few months ago but it wouldn’t accept her birth date,” Segura told ABCNews.com today.  “Then I tried again and just put in 101 and it accepted it for the timeline, even though she was 104.”

“Now on Facebook it says she’s 102 when, in reality, she’s 105,” he said.

Segura, who said his grandmother is too hard of hearing to be interviewed by phone, said he has tried to reach Facebook to rectify the problem, but they have been unresponsive.  A call placed to Facebook by ABC News was not returned as of this writing.

Even though the title would be nice, Segura says it was a much more important reason why he got his grandmother to join Facebook.

“We want to let everybody know in the family that she’s still alive and kicking,” he said.

Segura-Metzgar, known as “Grandmother Mary” to her nearly 40 grandchildren, “too many to count” great-grandchildren and two new great-great-grandchildren born just this week, lives just a few miles away from Segura and his wife, Mayra, in Albuquerque.  They visit her frequently to let her use their iPad to log on and update her page, most recently with photos from her 105^th birthday party.

“She’s still very sharp and likes to tell stories of her life and we wanted to be able to record her life as a legacy,” said Segura.  “We’re a very large family and there’s a lot of stories that a lot of the family doesn’t know and we wanted to be able to capture those.  Since ‘Timeline’ came out we thought it was a good idea to put those [stories] on Facebook to have a timeline of her life.”

Segura is also tasked with keeping his grandmother’s friends list to just family and friends, no small task considering he had to deny more than 50 friend requests just Wednesday from curious onlookers.

That same fate befell Florence Detlor, Segura-Metzgar’s younger competition, who, after her personal visit with Zuckerberg and Sandberg was made public, had too many friend requests for the site to process new ones.

Segura-Metzgar, a twice-widowed mother of four, is one of 10 children whose 99-year-old and 97-year-old sisters and “a couple brothers” are still alive, according to Segura.  While she is the only one of her siblings to take on the World Wide Web, Segura-Metzgar hasn’t given up on the old-fashioned way of getting her news and staying in touch either.

“She loves to watch TV and read the newspaper, she’s always done that all her life and she still does it to this day,” Segura said.  ” She’s very involved in politics.  She won’t tell us who she’s going to vote for but she will be voting.”

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

SOL Republic’s college-themed Tracks headphones offer yet another way to showcase your fandom

SOL Republic's latest line of headphones let you represent your school with your ear-gear.

It’s autumn once again, and with the first semester half-over and the college football season in full-swing, school spirit is abound. Headphone-maker SOL Republic is looking to capitalize on this trend with collegiately-customized versions of its Tracks headphones geared for students and alumni alike.

Tracks phones feature an in-line mic, three-button remote and the company’s V10 Sound Engine drivers. The college line comes equipped with a fan-band if you will, as the “track” connecting the stock earpieces is emblazoned with your school’s logo and/or colors. A selection of schools are now available to ship,  offerings include: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Boise State, California Berkeley, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, LSU, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, Purdue, South Carolina, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington.

Standard Tracks HD cans retail for $130, and the school-specific versions cost the same. We’re evaluating the original Tracks HD’s now and we’ll let you know where they stand. Beyond that, you’ll just need to decide how hard you want to rep your school of choice.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Laundry detergent that creates pollution-eating clothing moves towards commercialization

How do you like the idea of cleaning up the environment simply by going about your day? The UK’s University of Sheffield together with the London College of Fashion have been working on their CatClo pollution-busting laundry detergent for some time, and this week revealed they are currently in talks to commercialize the product.

While the suggestion of pollution-eating clothing may at first sound a little fanciful, or even utterly absurd, the fact is that thanks to the development of a special liquid laundry additive, it’s already a reality.

The latest news is that scientists behind the pollution-busting creation are in talks with a manufacturer of environmentally friendly cleaning products in a bid to bring a detergent containing the additive to market.

The additive, called ‘CatClo’ (short for Catalytic Clothing), is the result of a joint effort involving the UK’s University of Sheffield and London College of Fashion. Additional help came from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

The revolutionary additive contains minuscule pollution-eating particles that its inventors claim could have a real, identifiable impact on air quality.

To turn your clothes into pollution-fighting garments, all they require is a single wash in the special additive. Tiny particles of titanium dioxide attach to the fabric during the wash which, when you’re out and about, work to oxidize harmful nitrogen oxides when they come into contact with the treated fabric. The harmless oxidized substances are then removed in subsequent washes.

The scientists behind the product estimate that a person wearing clothes washed in the additive would remove approximately 5g of nitrogen oxides from the air during a typical day, roughly the same amount which is emitted by an average-sized family car in the course of a day.

Cleaner cities

Professor Tony Ryan of the University of Sheffield believes the additive could make a discernible difference to the quality of air in a town or city, provided enough people wear treated garments.

“If thousands of people in a typical town used the additive, the result would be a significant improvement in local air quality,” Ryan said. “This additive creates the potential for community action to deliver a real environmental benefit that could actually help to cut disease and save lives.”

Coming to stores

While CatClo has been in development for some time, those who created the additive believe it is now ready to be commercialized.

“We’re now working closely with a manufacturer of environmentally friendly cleaning products to commercialize our laundry additive,” Professor Ryan said.

“We believe that using the additive in a final rinse with a full washing load could potentially cost as little as 10 pence (16 cents) – a small price to pay for the knowledge that you’re doing something tangible to tackle air pollution and increase the life expectancy of people with respiratory conditions. We’re confident there’s a really big market out there for this product.”

Do you like the sound of CatClo? Would you buy it if it only cost a little more than your regular laundry detergent?

[EPSRC via Tecca] [ Top image: James Weston; bottom: Ljupco Smokovski / Shutterstock]

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Treehouse hopes to further tech education with $3 million in scholarships for future developers

Higher learning alternatives get a boost from Treehouse's new scholarship initiative.

In the last few years, the Mark Zuckerbergs of the tech world have turned the college education systems on its head. Eschewing college in favor of the path less taken — primarily, one composed of self-teaching — has become a legitimate option for talented developers. This, combined with our rising national debt and the attitude that “everyone should code!” has led to the evolution of Web-facing, easy-to-use online education systems with beautiful interfaces and game mechanics.

Chances are, you’re thinking of Codecademy, but the two year old Treehouse has also made a name for itself in this space. The platform (which recently raised $4.75 million that I’m told is going to building out the curriculum from beginner to advanced as well as some professional video upgrades) wants to give users that tools they need to develop for the Web, iOS, and Android using project-oriented learning. This week, Treehouse announced it will donate $3 million toward helping college kids use its application to further their education.

“Secondary education in the US is at an all-time high, and tuition is only increasing,” the Treehouse blog reads. “Treehouse is creating this scholarship because we believe in the power of self-learning and self-improvement. We’re giving away 2,500, 2-year long Treehouse subscriptions to students that are passionate about the Web.”

Founder and CEO of Treehouse Ryan Carson tells me that each scholarship is worth $1,176 and translates to a two year Treehouse membership where recipients will learn to mobile and Web coding as well as Web design and even startup launching skills.

Of course, all the development skills in the world only mean something if they can land you a job; the current state of hiring in this market is extremely competitive — and that’s putting it lightly. But Carson says that getting students through this program and into actual employment is the plan, and that it’s within reach.

“We think we can get people job-ready for apprenticeship roles in Web design and Web development, iOS, Android, PHP, and WordPress in three months for $150,” he says. “Our goal is to then help place them in a job through our Jobs Placement team.”

It’s an admirable and exciting proposition — especially to the college-aged among us who see this huge and robust industry but aren’t yet sure how to find their footing in it. There has been plenty of discussion and argument about the effectiveness of a traditional college education for technology focuses, and this particular route is in the process of being disrupted; according to Carson, for good reason.

“The problem with learning technology at a two year or four year university is that your skills are out of date by the time you graduate,” he tells me. “A skills-based model like Treehouse allows you to stay up to date. Not only that but Treehouse is extremely more affordable than traditional college fees. Also, you can learn at your own pace in bite-sized chunks.”

He says that Treehouse currently does not have an apprenticeship program within its own hiring structure, but that the team would like to introduce this soon.  

For all of the positives of programs like Treehouse, Codecademy, Khan Academy, and the rest of these learning alternatives, they’ve also been accused to undermining educators and in some cases offering second-rate courses. The criticisms aren’t without merit, but neither is the argument that our higher education systems needs to be evolved, especially for the technology sector. Students are getting left behind while accruing serious debt — and often without amassing a portfolio that leads to hiring. It’s a cruel cycle, and that’s exactly why there’s been such an influx of learning alternative startups recently, Treehouse included.

If you’re interested in this supplementary coding education, all you need is to be a U.S. college student with a valid .edu email address. You can fill out this form to get started.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Apple has enough money so it announces nothing in a cool parody video, and one more thing

What if at yesterday’s event Apple announced nothing? Literally. Check out this hilarious College Humor parody video of that exact thing happening.

College Humor’s Christopher McDonald takes the stage as Apple’s CEO and shocks the audience with his statement that the guys over at Cupertino need a well deserved break, so they announce… nothing. Here’s the video in question.

This is so well made that if you show it to someone who is not so up to speed with Apple’s latest endeavors they might actually believe it. In any case, if you have 2 hours to spare, you can watch the real deal as well.

Hopefully you found it as amusing as we did.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

The Battle for Bandwidth [Infographic]

The prevalence of smartphones, tablets, and digital media players, has resulted in a battle for bandwidth on college campuses. Have a look at who’s hogging the bandwidth and why, in addition to the highlights I picked out for you below.

• 68% of institutions allow students unlimited internet connectivity.
• 77% of institutions report increased bandwidth usage as significant issue for their network.
• 41% of students have 3 or more devices connected to the internet at any given time.
• The three largest bandwidth consumers are tablets, smartphones, and digital media devices.
• 50% of IT departments claim they do not recover costs of bandwidth supplied to students.

Take a look at the infographic below

Presented By: OnlineColleges.net

Source : techtalkafrica[dot]com

Frugality for the win: Amazon now offers textbook rentals

Amazon is introducing a Textbook Rental center to loan college students physical textbooks for up to 70 percent off the retail value.

Just in time before college begins, Amazon has launched a textbook rental program that will allow students to borrow physical books for periods of 30 to 360 days. Is there anything Amazon won’t do to become the online superstore?

Much like competitor textbook rental sites such as Chegg or Half.com, Amazon is offering book rentals for a fraction of the cost of actually buying the book. Take for example this Media and Culture textbook I remembered purchasing back in college (albeit a much older edition). Amazon currently sells it for $90 new, $62 used, or $29 to rent until mid-December. Surely this beats buying the book only to sell it back for 30 percent of what you originally paid, especially when Amazon only sells back in gift cards.

“College is expensive, and students are always looking for ways to save money on textbooks, which is why we’ve long offered great prices on both new and used textbooks,” said Ripley MacDonald, Director of Textbooks at Amazon.com. “With Textbook Rental, Amazon gives students yet another great option for saving money — it’s now easier than ever for students to get the books they need, in the format they want, at affordable prices.”

Amazon also pays for return shipping, meaning that students who have signed up for their free Amazon Prime membership can oftentimes get textbooks with a complimentary two-day shipping and pay nothing to send it back. Students will also get e-mail alerts of when their textbooks are close to their due dates to avoid any late fees. Alternatively, they can also extend the rental period if they want to bump the 30-day loan to a semester-long borrow. Depending on availability, renting textbooks could mean receiving new books if the version you need happens to have been recently published.

“All this means more money in your pocket for the things in life that can’t be learned from a book,” Amazon.com’s Textbook Rental FAQ reads.

Physical textbook rentals isn’t the first of Amazon’s efforts to help college students save money. For the tech-savvy, students have been able to loan Kindle e-books since last summer though textbook options may be limited in such format. The convenience there is, of course, not having to worry about shipping books back in time. Wonder if Amazon will get into game rentals in the near future as well?

Amazon’s Textbook Rental program is currently only available for students in the United States. If you want to stick with reading off your Kindle or e-reader of choice, check out our comparison guide to e-book rental services.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com