So, What's new about Facebook Lite?

Facebook Lite is here. So what's good about it? Simple. The Slimmer the better.
The new "Lite" Facebook is available for users of US and India.
Try it out for yourself here - http://lite.facebook.com
Facebook Lite at a glance is really clutter-free version of the Facebook "Classic". Newbies and those who find the original Facebook to be just a bit too noisy, will feel at ease with this newer look. It also pushes the old-school Facebook apps off a cliff, which is just as well for the newest Facebook-connected services.

Some visual changes include the deletion of the left navigation panel alongwith the removal of the bottom taskbar. The overall look and feel is quite soothing and uncluttered. The input box is removed with buttons like Write, Post Photos and Post Videos and these pop down only when needed.
Birthdays and Friend Requests are shown right on top followed by the normal news feed.

Here is a view of the two pages of the same account:
(Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)
Facebook Lite Version





Facebook Classic




Other small hard-to-identify tweaks include that the "Friends" tab is missing in the navigation bar. That is replaced by a small Events link.

All pages are cleaner, faster and easier to read, thanks to the Facebook team.
Part of the game is the HTML optimization Facebook's been working at. Advertisements are low on FB Lite but you never know once this thing begins rocking!

Better still, its fast, its efficient, what else do we need?
Something else...reply in comments.

Google just got bigger! Its a bigger search this time.

Google's just got bigger!
Not that it wasn't a giant after all, but Google has recently increased the size of its search box that the company says "will make it easier for people to use".
Google's vice president for search products and user experience, Marissa Mayer, said this teenie-weenie change to the Google hompage symbolizes Google's "Focus on Search". She says that these tiny adjustments to the search box's height and width would make it "even easier and more fun to use."
Google said in an e-mail message that the new search box is "roughly double the size of the (original) search box." The company also made its search buttons "more similar" for those viewing Google "on different operating systems and browsers." Even with a larger search box, the company's search still only allows for up to 2,048 characters in a single query.

Here's a side-by-side view of the two looks of Google: [Click on image to view larger]

Apple rolls out Snow Leopard; Win 7 still waiting!

Reference: CNET News

Seems Apple is in real hurry!

While Microsoft has released plans for its Windows 7 this week, Apple has rolled out its Mac OS X Snow Leopard, a little earlier than expected.

According to CNET, the new OS doesn't sport many new features, rather Apple is deep into refining the exisiting code of the Operating System. Apple reports to have worked on 90 percent of the Mac OS X code for the Snow Leopord release. It does have a good box cover too! [image:Left (Credit:Apple)]

Here's the CNET Teams review for the Snow Leaopard. The team gave it a review of Excellent in its Test:

"Interface enhancements like Expose in the Dock and better file and folde viewing in Stacks make finding apps and files much easier. A completely overhauled QuickTime X now sports a cleaner interface and recording tools. The much-anticipated Exchange support across Mail, the Address Book, and iCal is huge for thise who take their Macs to work.

CNET Reviews Team however notes that Snow Leopard will work only in Intel-powered Macs; PowerPC users are out of Luck!

Experts note that Snow Leopard could have more features on the Security side, which the OS is said to be lacking. About the Popular belief that people have more Mac, that it is much safer than the Windows counterpart, experts deny. The Mac is merely safer as malware writers do not prefer to target the Apple Platform than the Windows one, according to Charlie Miller and Dino Dai Zovi, co-authors of The Mac Hacker's Handbook, which came out this spring.

"Apple hasn't implemented all the security features that Vista has," Miller said. "They made some improvements in Leopard, but they are still behind."

Better gear up!