Facebook Gives Chat Details

By Digital Trends Staff March 24, 2008

Facebook Gives Chat Details Facebook carrying instant messaging is big news. And it’s not the news people at Microsoft, AOL or Yahoo want to hear, since it’s likely to affect their dominance in the IM market. However, as Facebook gave somedetails about the forthcoming service, it became obvious that it will have limitations. The chat can only be between individual members, the Financial Times stated,there will be no chat rooms, and users won’t be able to chat with those who don’t have a Facebook account. But it will be free. A few developers had put together chat programs forFacebook, taking advantage of the opportunity when the company opened up the site to applications, and they’re likely to be the big losers in this. Matt Cohler, Facebook’svice-president of product management, pointed out that users could still use the developers’ services if they desired. “We develop our applications at parity with other developers.Users can remove any of our applications if they want and swap in another feature instead.” With some 60 million users, Facebook chat could become a major online thing.

Digital Trends Staff

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Smart Home

Wagz Tagz give pups freedom while keeping them off furniture

The Wagz Freedom Smart Collar.

There are all kinds of solutions for keeping dogs off the furniture, out of the cat’s litter box, and away from the garbage, but today at CES 2022, a new option was revealed that doesn’t require baby gates, barriers, covers, or locks.

Wagz gave media the first look at the Wagz Tagz accessory, a new and smart way to let your dog know where it shouldn’t be — even if you’re not home. Paired with the Freedom Smart Dog Collar (announced last year, and selling for $249), it’s a no-harm way to correct your dog, while still letting it have some freedom around your home or in the yard.

Deals

Why you should buy a Facebook Portal this Black Friday 2021

why you should buy a facebook portal this black friday 2021

Like many of the best Black Friday deals that are already live, we're seeing a lot of outliers go live -- like Facebook's Portal devices. Facebook Portal, if you didn't already know, allows you to make video calls to family and friends, much like you would using your smartphone. The difference, of course, is that you can use the dedicated Portal device to make those calls, which come with a host of really neat features. For example, the wide-angle camera moves, pans, and zooms to keep up with you as you move around the room. It ensures that you're onscreen at all times and also creates a more interactive chat session. Grandma and Grandpa can follow your kids as they play, or even play along with them, all on streaming video chats.

There are a few different Portal devices now, beside the original. Some examples include the original Portal, a 10-inch display, Portal+ with its 14-inch display, Portal TV, and Portal Go. As you might expect, Facebook is offering some excellent deals on Portal products for Black Friday and the holidays. If you've been wanting one, now is an excellent time to buy and for an amazing price. While there are a few deals live, one of the best, right now, is for the Portal TV. Normally $149, it's just $79 with free shipping. You can check out that deal below, or keep reading for more information about the Portal video-calling devices.

Smart Home

Robot vacuums give me hope Amazon’s Astro won’t fall down stairs

Amazon Astro home robot on a cliff

Amazon’s Astro home robot undeniably stole the show during the company’s annual fall event, teasing what the future of the home will look like with a friendly bot that can rove around the place. We’ve dreamed of the day when robot butlers would help us tackle some time-consuming chores, like cleaning up the floors, but Astro is being marketed more as a security robot on wheels that can watch over your home -- and even check on important matters -- while you’re away.

Recently, however, leaked documents indicated that something was amiss with the wheeled home robot. The leaked internal development documents paint Astro as an incomplete, rushed project that’s a “disaster that’s not ready for release.” Furthermore, there’s also a strong chance that it would send itself down a flight of stairs if such a situation presented itself. That’s a scary thing to imagine, especially given that we’re talking about a $1,000 piece of tech here. You don’t want that kind of money flushed down the toilet, or in this case, hurled down the stairs.