10 Facebook apps that teach you something

There are hundreds of Facebook apps that provide no real benefit. How many times can you send flowers to your friends with Flowers of Friendship before it gets old? Do you really need Pieces of Flair to show off your interests in your Facebook profile? I don't think so.

That's why I thought I'd write something constructive today. Facebook might be fun, but some of its apps can really teach you something. Let's take a look at 10 apps that stimulate your brain (or are otherwise useful).

Time to learn

Books Books is a book-sharing and discovery application that will help you find titles that interest you. When you add the app to your profile, you can immediately begin adding books you've read. You can then rate the book and write reviews for your friends to see.

Books also lets you view titles your friends are reading. If you think it's something worth trying out, you can click on its link, and you'll be brought to its Amazon.com page so you can complete your purchase. Books' listing of the most popular titles is another great thing to check out. You'll find a slew of interesting reads.

Books has a listing of all the most popular books.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

CourseFeed CourseFeed is a unique service. The Facebook app helps you find high-school and college classmates, and connect with them through the service. You might be surprised by how many people are on there.

But where it adds considerable value is in its "learner" feature. The app makes classes from major universities available to users. You can learn computer science from Stanford University professors, or nuclear warfare from Notre Dame. It gives you access to online-learning tool BlackBoard, so you can see all the documents, quizzes, and instruction the professors provide. CourseFeed is a great learning tool.

Pick your favorite class in CourseFeed.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

My Personality When you're looking for apps that teach you something, what's better than an app that teaches you about yourself? When you add My Personality to your Facebook profile, it asks you to give honest answers to questions it poses on a questionnaire. The more questions you answer, the more accurate the reading (at least by design). When you're done answering the questions, My Personality will tell you if you're shy or confident, trustworthy or untrustworthy. It provides you with a full evaluation of your personality.

Learn about your personality with My Personality.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

Teach the People Teach the People is a community of teachers who want to share their knowledge with Facebook users through classes and workshops. The app has a variety of topics. Once you pick something that interests you, you can subscribe to the class.

When you enter the course, you'll find instruction videos, audio, documents, and more. You can even share insight on the course's comment wall. Not all courses are created equal, though. Some classes you join will have little instruction. Others will be loaded with documents, videos, images, and discussions. So be sure to pick your classes carefully.

Pick your favorite topic to learn about in Teach the People.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

There Test One of the biggest issues folks have when writing is determining which "there/their/they're" to use. Thanks to the There test, they might learn how to use those words properly. The test asks you to pick the right word that would be used in 20 different sentences. When you're done, you can see how well you did and retake the test to fix your mistakes. You can also share the result with friends. It's a simple test, but it should help you remember the rules for using those words.

There, Their, or They're?

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

Typing Speed Typing Speed gives you a simple tool to see how fast you can type. It asks you to type out words it highlights in a sentence. The further you get in the test, the faster your typing speed. It also measures your accuracy, words per minute, and percentile--how much better you performed than those who also took the test. To increase your typing speed, the tool lets you retake the test as often as you'd like. Over time, your typing speed--and hopefully your accuracy--will increase.

Hurry up and type with Typing Speed.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

Veechi Classes Veechi Classes is designed for students. It tells them which classes on campus they should take, providing grade distributions for previous semesters, as well as class and instructor ratings. It uses that information to recommend the class that will help students get the best grade. The tool also finds other Facebook users who are in the class, so students can befriend them on the service. The only problem with Veechi Classes is that it doesn't apply to every college. But if you go to a big school, you should be fine.

Veechi Classes helps you choose a class.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

Visible Vote Visible Vote is a really neat tool that tells your legislators how to vote on key issues. You research those issues in the app. Every week, the app sends a fax to the legislators' offices, telling them what their constituents want them to do. Once they vote on the issue, you can see how they voted to see if your voice is being heard. Visible Vote not only gets you involved in the political process, but it educates you on all the key issues facing the United States today.

Many discussions are being debated with Visible Vote.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

WeRead Reading books is an important part of life. But too many people aren't reading as much as they should. That's where WeRead comes in. When you first add it to your profile, WeRead asks you to click on the books you like from a list. Based on those choices, it automatically generates a list of books you might like to read. It even lets you search friends' profiles to see which books they recommend. If you read a lot of books, you might want to take the WeRead "Never ending book quiz." It asks you questions about hundreds of books to see how much you comprehend after you finish a book.

Pick what you like on WeRead.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

What's Your Philosophy? Philosophy is one of those topics that teaches you about yourself. But defining your philosophy can be difficult. That's why the What's Your Philosophy? app is such a useful tool. It asks you a variety of thought-provoking questions. When you're finished answering the questions, it gives you a listing of philosophies that might interest you. What's Your Philosophy? is a great way to learn more about yourself.

What's your philosophy?

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

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Russia said to probe Microsoft over XP halt

(Credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft is reportedly facing another antitrust inquiry, this time from the Russians.

According to a Reuters report Thursday, regulators there argue that Microsoft is violating Russian antitrust law by limiting supplies of Windows XP while demand exists and forcing people to buy Windows Vista.

Microsoft has largely stopped selling Windows XP for use on new computers, although it is still allowed in some emerging markets as well as for very low-cost machines, such as Netbooks.

The software maker says it has yet to be notified of the complaint.

"Microsoft has not yet received notice of any new investigation," Microsoft spokesman Jack Evans said in a statement to CNET News. "However, we will cooperate with any inquiry and remain committed to full compliance with Russian law."

In April, Russia said it was looking into whether Microsoft deserved closer scrutiny under its antitrust laws.

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Mobile video market to grow five-fold by 2014

Those of us who pay to watch online video on our mobile devices are about to be joined by a lot more people.

The number of users globally paying for mobile video and TV services is expected to jump to 534 million by 2014, a five-fold increase from 2008, says a report released Thursday by market researcher Pyramid Research. Much of the recent growth has been fueled by increased bandwidth, lower data costs, and more advanced handheld devices, and that trend will continue.

(Credit: Pyramid Research)

In the report, mobile video includes paid video clips, music videos, TV episodes, TV programming, and online movies that are delivered directly to a mobile device.

In the U.S. alone, Pyramid estimates that revenue from mobile video services will reach $16 billion by 2014. However, much of the demand will come from Europe and Asia/Pacific.

"The availability of improved devices and networks are contributing to a higher level of adoption and spending on mobile video services," says Derek Medlin, senior analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report. "Pyramid Research believes that a substantial proportion of mobile Net additions in the next five years will come from emerging markets, especially in Asia/Pacific, and will drive a 37 percent growth in total mobile subscriptions from 2009 to 2014."

In the Asia/Pacific region, countries such as Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea already lead the way in the number of mobile video subscriptions. However, Pyramid also forecasts higher growth from India and the LATAM region over the next five years.

"Looking ahead, Asia/Pacific will remain in the top spot, attaining more than 281 million subscriptions by 2014," says Medlin in the report, "although we expect Latin America to grow at the fastest pace, increasing at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 39 percent from 2009 to 2014."

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ATM malware lets criminals steal data and cash

Malware has been found on ATMs in Eastern Europe and elsewhere that allows criminals to steal account data and PINs and even empty the machine of its cash, a computer forensics expert said.

About 20 ATMs have been compromised in that manner, mostly in Russia and the Ukraine, but there are "early indications" of compromised ATMs in the U.S., said Nicholas Percoco, vice president and head of SpiderLabs at Trustwave, which provides data security and payment card compliance services.

Nicholas Percoco heads up Trustwave's SpiderLabs, the forensics team that discovered the malware on the ATMs.

(Credit: Trustwave)

Percoco said he could not elaborate further on where the compromised ATMs were located and how they were used.

Someone had to manually install the malware on the machines, so it's likely that an insider is responsible; either an employee at the bank, the ATM vendor, a company that services the machines or someone close to an insider, Percoco said in a telephone interview late on Wednesday.

The machines, all running Windows XP, had an executable on them that was masquerading as a legitimate Windows protected storage service, he said. The malware looks at all the data being processed by the ATM and records account information that is stored on the magnetic stripes on cards inserted into the machine and encrypted PIN blocks that are generated when someone types in their personal identification number, he said.

Although the PINs are encrypted, criminals could potentially intercept the encryption keys exchanged with the bank and use them to decrypt the PINs, he added.

Once the malware has been hidden on the ATM for a period of time, the criminal can return to the machine and use a special "trigger" card to control the ATM and print out the stolen data directly from the machine or instruct the ATMS to dispense all the cash it has, according to Percoco. ATMs can hold as much as $600,000 at a time, he said.

"There is evidence that (trigger) cards were used," he said, adding that he could not comment on the number of accounts affected or amount of money stolen. The malware was first installed on at least one of the machines in July 2007, he said.

This is not the first time malware has been discovered on ATMs, Percoco said. "But this is probably the most sophisticated malware found on an ATM," he said. "In all the versions we've looked at (the criminals) are enhancing the application as they go. They must be getting feature requests from someone."

The latest version of the malware code found on some of the machines includes a function for writing the stolen data onto a card with a memory chip on it, which are commonly used in Europe, he said. However, that function does not appear to work, he added.

Although the malware was installed on the ATMs manually, it's possible that future attacks would involve the propagation of the malware through the ATM network, he said.

Consumers should avoid using any ATM that does not "look right," Percoco said, for instance, if the screen has a different interface or strange commands.

Also, criminals use "skimmers" over the slot where the card is inserted that steal the data that way and can record PINs with a hidden video camera positioned nearby.

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Solar bus shelters for San Francisco

Mayor Gavin Newsom unveiling San Francisco's new bus shelters.

(Credit: Office of the Mayor of San Francisco)

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) have unveiled new energy-efficient bus shelters for the city.

The first of these bus shelters has been put up on the corner of Geary Boulevard and Arguello Boulevard with plans for four more to be rolled out in the coming weeks. The city plans to evaluate the five bus shelters throughout the summer to see what, if any, changes need to be made to the existing design.

Following the evaluation, SFMTA plans to replace a minimum of 1,100 existing bus shelters throughout San Francisco beginning this year, with plans to have them all in place by 2013.

The pilot bus shelters, which were designed by Lundberg Design, incorporate a bright red plastic wavy roof containing photovoltaic panels, two maps, LED lighting, Wi-Fi, space for two advertisements, and a NextMuni display that informs users of impending arrivals.

Many will power lights and info systems via organic dye-based photovoltaic solar film that's free of heavy metals and be encapsulated in bright red plastic made of 40 percent recycled content. The bus shelter structure itself is made from steel consisting of 60-70 percent recycled material.

The LED lights being used in the new bus shelters use about 74.4 watts, making them four and half times more efficient that than fluorescent lighting in the old shelters, which uses about 336 watts, according to the Mayor's office.

The new shelters will be installed and maintained by billboard advertising giant Clear Channel Outdoor.

While the San Francisco bus shelters are progress in terms of energy efficiency, they're arguably not as high-tech as the EyeStop bus shelters recently unveiled in Florence, Italy.

The EyeStop bus shelters designed by Carlo Ratti include touch-screen computers offering real-time mapping of buses, mobile alerts for bus schedule changes, Web access, and tall beacons that brighten as buses near to alert approaching pedestrians in the distance. All the Florence, Italy, bus shelter computers can also be accessed in several languages to accommodate tourists.

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Neil Young Archives Blu-ray: Rip off?

It's pricey. The "Neil Young Archives, Vol. 1: 1963-1972" Blu ray box goes for $349; the DVD is $250; and the CD set a mere $100. The Blu-ray box contains a sprawling 11-disc collection. Young's been working on this set for what feels like decades; was it worth the wait?

There's a beautifully bound, embossed-"leather," covered book with tons of cool pictures. Hard-core fans will love it, everyone else will look through it once and be done with it.

There's only one unreleased live disc, "Live at the Riverboat 1969." The Blu ray box also includes "Live at Canterbury House" (not a Blu-ray, just a DVD and CD), "Live at the Fillmore East 1970," and "Live at Massey Hall 1971," which have been individually released over the past couple of years. I already bought them, as I'm sure many fans have. What a rip off to make us buy them again.

Most discs have music running times of under 60 minutes, so why oh why didn't Neil fill up more of the discs' capacity, or did he just need to justify an exorbitant MSRP? $350 for 11 discs? Strange, Hollywood movies that cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make retail for under 20 bucks a pop, so why does Neil charge $31 for a disc for music he made nearly 40 years ago? Rip off.

The Blu-ray features ultrahigh resolution 24-bit /192 kHz stereo sound, which you can play over some newer AV receivers, but I'm not so sure that any high-end electronics can access the superduper-sounding PCM tracks. Surround sound? Only one disc has surround. Blu-ray sound quality is about the same as the previously released 24 bit/96 kHz sound on the DVDs that came out years ago. Don't buy the Blu-ray box for the sound; the DVDs are fine.

I had a rough time navigating the Blu-rays' stupidly designed menus and accessing some of the "bonus" material and "hidden" tracks. Hey, I paid my money, why do I have to go round and round to find the music I paid for?

As for video "content," I don't know about you, but watching an LP playing on a turntable or reel-to-reel tapes spinning gets old really fast. Reading pages of text off my TV is also less than entertaining. The photo galleries are nice.

Young's film "Journey through the Past" is included, but the Blu-ray's video quality is wasted. You might as well be watching a blurry VHS tape. The film's audio quality varies between awful and decent. Songs are interrupted by dialogue and edits, and there's no shortage of pointless imagery. There's a shot that goes on for five minutes of Young and a woman eating berries, smoking a joint, and drinking from a large jug, while sitting on the bumper of an old car. Can you say "self indulgent?"

Summing up, I can't recommend "Neil Young Archives, Vol. 1: 1963-1972" on Blu-ray. If you really love Young, get the CD box. Then again, if Young really cared about his fans he'd ditch the filler and put out a killer two-disc set of just the unreleased stuff.

Yes, of course, the Blu-ray, DVD, and CD sets are heavily discounted. Amazon has the Blu-ray for $279. It's still a rip off.

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Hybrid ship ahoy: Valence to supply Siemens

Lithium ion battery company Valence plans to supply batteries to Siemens for hybrid ships and to Chicago utility S&C Electric for grid storage.

Its deal with Siemens Drive Technologies calls for Valence to develop energy storage for a planned hybrid marine propulsion system from Siemens. Valence will hook up its lithium iron magnesium phosphate batteries to Siemens' drive system via a standard interface, the company said.

The two companies have already supplied a hybrid drive train for double-decker buses from Wrightbus.

Valence on Wednesday said it intends to supply grid-connected storage systems for S&C Electric, which will enable the utility to use more wind and solar power.

Austin, Texas-based Valence is one of several small battery companies vying for business from large industrial companies in transportation and the power industry. Making deals with large corporations is vital to their success.

A123 Systems, for example, signed a deal with Chrysler for electric vehicles, though that deal is now in question, as Chrysler may be acquired by Fiat. Boston Power last week said it is already testing its Swing car battery packwith automakers.

Grid storage, too, has become a potential market, as more utilities look to large-scale storage--on the order of 1 or 2 megawatts of capacity--to stabilize the flow of electricity on the grid, and to store solar and wind powe

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