By Gilbert Falso :: 3:22 PM
Facebook users are reporting a breach of privacy this afternoon as private messages from 2009 and earlier are suddenly appearing on their public timelines and Facebook walls. According to a report on TechCrunch, the messages are appearing as  Timeline messages “posted by friends.â€
A Facebook spokesperson told the blog that, “A small number of users raised concerns after what they mistakenly believed to be private messages appeared on their Timeline. Our engineers investigated these reports and found that the messages were older wall posts that had always been visible on the users’ profile pages. Facebook is satisfied that there has been no breach of user privacy.”
However, it seems as if Facebook’s explanation is not true, as many users are reporting on Twitter that their private messages have been compromised.:
This Facebook Message thing is a huge mess. Confirmed for me. Found some private messages fully exposed on my timeline. techcrunch.com/2012/09/24/rep…
— Matt Galligan (@mg) September 24, 2012
Facebook has a problem on it’s hands……I just had to go and hide all the private messages being displayed. #fail
— Jason Keith (@jaykeith) September 24, 2012
Re: last retweet. It’s not a hoax. Facebook have screwed up an update, and private messages are appearing in some people’s timelines!!
— Ian S (@ianon_) September 24, 2012
Facebook had posted all my 2008 private messages & others’ to me on timeline. So this is true for me at least techcrunch.com/2012/09/24/rep…
— Judith Evans (@JudithREvans) September 24, 2012
We’ll keep our ears open for an update on this.
By Cynthia Herbert :: 8:42 PM
The iPhone 5 shattered all previous iPhone records when it sold out of preorders in only one hour last night. Despite bumps in the preorder process (the Apple Store and AT&T site both experienced glitches for the first half-hour after launch), this clearly beat out the previous two iPhone launches, with the iPhone 4 selling out in 20 hours, and the 4S in 22.
After one hour, Apple changed the date of the preorder delivery from one week to two weeks. Now, the Apple store shows shipping dates from two to three weeks.
“We’ve been completely blown away by the customer response,” an Apple spokesperson told AllThingsD.
By Gilbert Falso :: 3:08 AM
Update: At 3:45 AM, the Apple Store appears open again for mobile users. Some users now reporting issues with AT&T’s site, displaying messages about being overloaded, or timing out when orders are placed.
Update: At 3:32 AM, some users are reporting that the Apple Store site does not load when visited from a mobile device, but will load on a desktop browser. This has been confirmed by at least three users.
Update 3:21 AM: If the Apple and AT&T sites are still displaying “down” or error messages, close out your browser, and re-open it to clear your cache. Both sites now load with no problems in the greater NYC area.
Update: As of 3:17 AM, the AT&T website appears to allow iPhone 5 orders, although load time is much slower than usual.
Update: As of 3:11 AM, the Apple Store appears to be up and allow iPhone 5 orders, but AT&T’s site remains down.
At the time of this article, both the Apple Store and AT&Ts website are down, preventing customers from ordering the iPhone 5.
When the new phone was announced earlier this week, customers were promised access to order it beginning on midnight (pacific time) today.
The Apple Store site displays an error message, although the rest of Apple’s site seems to be online, while AT&T’s entire website seems down at the moment.
We’ll continue to update this article as we discover more information.
Below is a screenshot of the message on AT&T’s site:
By Tyler C. Forbes :: 12:12 PM
The Nintendo Wii U, the company’s new console gaming system, will hit shelves in U.S. stores on November 18, just in time for the holiday shopping season.
It will be priced at $299, with a deluxe model selling for $349 — Nintendo is hoping to copy its success with the Wii.
The Wii U will feature Nintendo’s TVii service, that will allow gamers to organize all of their video services, like Hulu and Netflix into once single access point. It will also boast a table-like controller called the GamePad, that users can also take advantage of as stand-alone playing platform and a remote for the TV.
This new console is the latest offering for Nintendo in the gaming space since the introduction of the original Wii
At least 50 game titles are slated for the platform by next spring. Many of them are being ported over from Sony and Xbox consoles, while others, like Assassin’s Creed III
By Gilbert Falso :: 12:54 AM
The latest infographic below, from digital publishing start-up Uberflip, comes on the heels of Apple’s iPhone 5 announcement yesterday. It takes a look at how the iPhone has grown exponentially in many ways since its inception just five years ago in 2007.
Some interesting facts:
- It was in January 2002 when Steve Jobs brainstormed a device to combine an MP3 player and a BlackBerry.
- The iPhone 5 will be the first generation that has an increase in screen size.
- The new iPhone is projected to sell 10 million units in just a few weeks.
- Revenue from the iPhone alone is more than what established companies like Microsoft and Disney generate.
