Google announced some new support improvements for Google Apps admins. These include chat support, in-product help, and business Hangouts.
Google has been piloting chat support for a couple months. Now it’s rolling out an an option for English-language Apps admins globally. Google says it will be adding additional languages over the coming months. If you’re a verified domain admin, you can start a chat session from the Help Center.
“Finding help should be easy, which is why we put our support documentation and help articles at your fingertips in the product interface,” says Chris Roggenbuck, Support Program Manager for Google for Work. “Help is also useful when its contextual — if you’re having trouble in Gmail we want you to have the phone number to call Google without leaving Gmail. To access these resources, sign into one of our Google Apps products, such as Gmail, or the Admin Console then select ‘Help’ from the gear icon drop down in the upper right of your screen. You’ll see a direct link to call Google under ‘Contact Us’ and be able to search our Help Center from the same window.”
“This summer we announced that Google Hangouts is now covered under the same Terms of Service that support our other Google Apps services, like Gmail and Drive,” Roggenbuck adds. “That means we’ve got your back with 24×7 phone support and a guaranteed 99.9% uptime.”
Google has also updated its technical support service guidelines to reflect the new stuff. You can get a look at those here.
All you emoji lovers can now sleep sound knowing that your smiley faces and little piles of poop will be able to be seen by those browsing their Twitter timelines on the web.
Before today, mobile Twitter users who included emojis in their tweets were faced with hollow boxes when those tweets were viewed on the web. Now, if you include an emoji in a tweet from your smartphone, web-based Twitter users will see a version of that emoji. It’s retroactive too-all your past emojis will now show up.
You’re still going to have issues when you attempt to embed tweets with emojis, however.
Tweetdeck support for emojis seems to be inconsistent, with some users reporting that they can see them fine and other pissed that they still can’t see the colorful icons.
Twitter’s 6-second video app Vine has turned its attention to global expansion by adding support for 19 new languages in their iOS and Android apps.
Here are the new languages that Vine now supports:
Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Thai and Turkish. Vine for Android is also available in two additional languages: Filipino and Polish.
One of the more interesting things from Vine’s announcement is this little bit about working on unearthing local content:
“We’re also beginning to explore ways to surface Vine videos that are popular in a particular country. Wherever you are in the world – be it Japan, Brazil or somewhere in between – we hope this update makes it easier for you to discover and create videos that bring us all closer together,” said co-founder Colin Kroll.
Of course, adding a regional flare to Vine’s explore feature would be a move not unlike Twitter’s recent push to make trends more local.
Now if you’re confused by this, you can always check Twitter’s page on protected tweets and see what all the hubbub is, bub.
If you’re someone who shrieks at the sheer sight of a sentence containing unfamiliar terminology, then you’ll rely on someone else to lay down the idea of protected tweets in simple terms:
1) When you are signed into Twitter, your tweets are public domain; anyone and their mama can see and read your updates, even the NSA.
2) You have the option to protect your tweets. Want to write about that embarrassing time you spilled ice cream on yourself and don’t want your boss to find out? Just complicatedly navigate yourself to your Twitter settings (click the gear icon), go under Tweet privacy and check the box.
Voila, now your protected tweets are only visible by your approved Twitter followers. They cannot be re-tweeted or shared either; they’re for you and your follower’s eyes only.
“Approved” Twitter followers, you say? Yes. Normally, anyone can just go and follow you like an angry motherless Batman, but the thing is – when you enable protected Tweets, you also enable an approval system in which anyone who wants to follow you has to get your permission first. Think of it like a Facebook friend request.
It looks like this:
So now, the door you left open in which you let anyone come in and watch everything you do is now closed. People have to knock first, and you choose whether to let them in or not. On top of that, they cannot tell anyone else what’s happening. What happens in your house (Twitter) stays in your house. Even you can’t tell others what’s going on unless you let them in; replies you send to other people that aren’t following you don’t get to see them (because they’re still your protected tweets.)
However, if you have a change of heart and want to expose yourself to the world again, you always have that option to keep your door open.
So what’s all the fuss about Twitter releasing that statement? Nothing really, it just got some people flabbergasted on what it meant. The fact that Twitter’s support had to tweet that your approved followers are able to search through the Twitter database to see your tweets is so simple it’s almost cryptic, because you’d think it’s self-evident and didn’t need to be announced. All it means is that your tweets are searchable by your approved followers, it’s not in the public’s eye or Google’s search engine, so don’t worry. All is well with the world.
Microsoft Windows is the go to desktop operating system for enterprise. The company is having some trouble convincing companies to upgrade to Windows 7 or 8, but they’re at least still using Windows. Microsoft is having no such luck when it comes to Windows Phone though.
To convince companies that Windows Phone 8 is the way to go, Microsoft has announced that it will extend Windows Phone 8’s support lifecycle to three years from the original 18 months. This means that enterprise customers would continue to receive security and functional updates on all Windows Phone 8 devices until January 2016.
Will an increased product support lifecycle be enough to bring enterprise customers to Windows Phone 8? Maybe not, but Microsoft has another plan to attract the ever so lucrative enterprise contract – a feature pack.
As part of the same announcement, Microsoft said that it will release an enterprise feature pack in the first half of 2014. The feature pack will “provide IT departments with more control over Windows Phones and give their employees a fuller productivity experience.” As for specific features, this is what enterprise customers can look forward to:
S/MIME to sign and encrypt email
Access to corporate resources behind the firewall with app aware, auto-triggered VPN
Enterprise Wi-Fi support with EAP-TLS
Enhanced MDM policies to lock down functionality on the phone for more enterprise control, in addition to richer application management such as allowing or denying installation of certain apps
Certificate management to enroll, update, and revoke certificates for user authentication
With an increased support lifecycle and the enterprise feature pack, Microsoft is serious about capturing the mobile enterprise market. It may be a little too late to the party, however, as many companies are now turning to iOS and Android devices that offer similar features already. There’s also the fact that many companies are now turning to BYOD instead of issuing devices to employees. At that point, the fight turns into convincing consumers to buy Windows Phone 8, and Microsoft hasn’t had much luck there yet.
Not everybody can update to the latest and greatest versions of software all the time. That’s especially true for those in work settings when it comes to software like Flash or Java. In the case of the former, the extended support release was set to version 10.3, but users will have to upgrade soon.
Adobe announced this month that all Flash users must upgrade to version 11.7 if they wish to continue receiving extended support. You have until July 9 to upgrade.
Here’s why Adobe figures you’ll want to upgrade to the latest version of Flash:
Flash Player 11.7 provides exciting new features, including Actionscript concurrency, webcam support for StageVideo and more. It also enables Protected Mode for FireFox on Windows, a sophisticated security-in-depth feature. With Protected Mode, Flash Player runs as restricted process, making it more difficult for attackers to build working exploits. Flash Player 11.7 leverages hardware acceleration for audio, video and rendering to increase performance and lower CPU usage.
It’s important that you update to the latest version of Flash Player. Without it, your organization will miss out on the frequent security updates that Adobe pushes to patch security holes in its software. Flash, alongside Java, are some of the easiest Web plugins to exploit.
Twitter has just announced that they’ve made Twitter archive available for a bunch of new languages: Danish, Filipino, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Urdu. Now, Twitter users using the service in those languages can access and download a complete archive of every tweet they ever sent.
As you may remember, Twitter opened up their archive service to English-speaking users back in December of 2012, after promising the service for a few months. With the Twitter archive, users get to look at every single tweet they ever made – including retweets. It’s a nice trip down memory lane, but beware: it’s pretty painful to see how much of a Twitter-noob you were when you first began.
If you want to obtain your Twitter archive, simply go to your settings (desktop). Scroll all the way to the bottom and you’ll see a link the says request your archive.” Once you click it, Twitter will let you know that it may take a few minutes to prepare. When it’s ready, Twitter will email you a link.
Twitter has been busy adding language support for Twitter archive. Earlier this month, they added support for another 12 languages: Dutch, Farsi, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, & Spanish. That brings the total up to 25 languages supported by Twitter’s archive feature.
The traditional Windows operating system has a mainstream support lifespan of at least five years. During that time, Microsoft will continue to update the OS with security and stability updates. It seems that Microsoft will be bucking that trend with its mobile OS.
Microsoft unveiled its support timeline for Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 7.8 recently, and both operating systems will have their mainstream support ending sooner rather than later. In fact, both will stop receiving support next year with Windows Phone 8’s support running out July 8, 2014; and Windows Phone 7.8’s support running out on September 9, 2014.
This short support lifespan pretty much confirms that Microsoft plans to take Windows Phone into an annual release cycle. A job posting from earlier this month suggested as much, and there’s the persistent rumor of Windows Blue. The latter could prove interesting if it cuts support for desktop Windows earlier than usual. Windows 8 should be in no danger of that for the time being, though, as its mainstream support ends in 2018.
Some consumers may be a bit sore over Microsoft ending support for Windows Phone 8 so quickly, but the company is just following the lead of its competitors. It’s rare to see any manufacturer support a mobile operating system more than two years after its launch.
It will be interesting to see if Microsoft updates Windows Phone 8 devices to the latest Windows Phone operating system, or if it will require consumers with older phones to upgrade to hardware. We can only hope for the former, but don’t be surprised if Microsoft pushes for the latter.
Twitter has just announced that they’ve expanded the reach of their archive service to 12 new languages: Dutch, Farsi, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, & Spanish. Now, users using Twitter in those languages can download a full archive of all of their tweets.
Your Twitter Archive is now avail. in: Dutch, Farsi, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, & Spanish.
After making promises for a few month, Twitter finally began to allow English-speaking users to download browsable tweet archives back in December. These “Twitter Archives” contain all types of outgoing communications including tweets and retweets – from the very beginning. “Tweet Zero,” if you will.
“We know lots of you would like to explore your Twitter past,” said Twitter last year.
In order to obtain your Twitter Archive, just go to your setting, scroll to the bottom, and click the “request your archive” button. Twitter will warn you that it may take a little while to prepare, but when it’s done they will email you a link.
Google announced the launch of a new set of support packages for services on the Google Cloud Platform today. These cover App Engine, Compute Engine, Cloud Storage, Cloud SQL, BigQuery, etc.
“While you can go to Stack Overflow or Google Groups, we realize some of you may need 24×7 coverage, phone support or direct access to a Technical Account Manager team,” says Brett McCully from Google’s Cloud Platform team.
There are four tiers:
Bronze: All customers get access to online documentation, community forums, and billing support. (Free)
Silver: In addition to Bronze, you can email our support team for questions related to product functionality, best practices, and service errors. ($150/month)
Gold: In addition to Silver, you’ll receive 24×7 phone support and consultation on application development, best practices or architecture for your specific use case. (Starts at $400/month)
Platinum: The most comprehensive and personalized support. In addition to Gold, you’ll get direct access to a Technical Account Manager team. (Contact Sales for more information)
Netflix has recently added a new support site, as a primary resource regarding frequently asked questions and service error resolutions, according to Mike D. Kail, Vice President of IT Operations, per the Netflix official blog. An example given describes what a user might do if they are having an issue with Silverlight. A user can just search for “Silverlight,” and get a narrow result:
Netflix adds that in the coming months, it will be adding more help topics to the new knowledge base.
Netflix was recently in the news, along with a slew of other companies, after pulling advertising from the embattled Rush Limbaugh Show. Netflix made a statement on the matter, after some subscribers complained about an alleged affiliation with Limbaugh:
“Netflix has not and does not purchase advertising on the Rush Limbaugh show. We do buy network radio advertising and have confirmed that two Netflix spots were picked up in error around the Rush Limbaugh show. We have instructed our advertising agency to make sure that this error will not happen again.”
As of now, Netflix and Rush Limbaugh are no longer affiliated.
After being blocked by Facebook from sending friend requests, David Fagin has decided to sue the company for…a dollar.
It sounds silly, but Fagin, actually brings up some fairly interesting points. He even went so far as to issue a press release. It begins:
There aren’t too many words that exist in Webster’s New Millennium Dictionary that conjure up more offensive and sleazy images than that of a “spammer.” It’s pretty much the equivalent of an online pickpocket or con artist.
Nonetheless, the first time David Fagin saw he was being blocked from sending friend requests on Facebook, as well as being labeled a spammer, he didn’t think much of it. Then, when it happened again, and he was informed that he was in danger of having his account deleted, he tried to resolve it by reaching out to Facebook’s support department – only to discover they don’t have one.
He also put out an opinion piece for AOL News, where he included the above screenshot of messages he received from the social network. “When Facebook labels you a spammer, the first thing you must do before you’re allowed to use the site again is go through a humiliating ‘checklist’ of boxes, in which you’re forced to admit you’ve been a bad boy and promise not to do it again,” he writes. “I, like many others, have no life, and sometimes spend hours a day on Facebook. So tell me, what is the point of a feature that hits you with dozens of friend suggestions every hour, then clamps down on you and treats you like a registered sex offender when you take them up on it? Isn’t what they’re doing, for all intents and purposes, entrapment?”
I’m no lawyer but getting rejected from the site and unjustly being labeled a spammer would almost seem a bit libelous. Nobody wants to do business with a spammer.
“Some might say ‘What’s the big deal? It’s just a stupid social networking site,” he says. But, when you’re talking about arguably the biggest online presence the world has ever seen, one that’s currently worth more than Microsoft, and there’s no way to reach a live human being, that might be something for the FTC and/or congress to at least think about.”
The worth more than Microsoft thing has been questioned, but that’s not to say he doesn’t have a valid point. Facebook is becoming more and more a directory of where to find a person or a business online. It’s huge and growing. “Half the world now uses Facebook as a primary means of communication,” Fagin writes. “With the other half surely to follow by next Tuesday. So, If you don’t think being threatened with banishment from Facebook is a big deal, try to imagine what it would be like to live in the ’70s and be accused of making phony phone calls and banned from using AT&T.”
He says (despite the link to let the company know in the message at the top) he was unable to reach a human about the issue. Some of these big Internet companies are notorious for the difficulty involved with getting them to hear complaints, even when said complaints are completely valid. Certainly plenty of people have had similar issues with Google, but Facebook’s whole existence is based on communication and friendships. It couldn’t hurt to be a little more open on the support side of things.
It’s not like they can’t afford a team to handle support in an adequate fashion. WebProNews and parent company iEntry aren’t anywhere near the size of a Facebook or a Google, but we do have millions of subscribers, and our modestly sized team (compared to these giants) is able to respond to any emails they get with support-related issues.
“It’s not just the support issue, either,” Fagin said. “Facebook is actively contradicting their own policies. On one hand, they tell you not to ‘friend’ anyone you don’t already know. On the other, the site constantly bombards you with names of people that Facebook themselves suggests you should ‘friend’, as you already have multiple friends in common. This also runs in direct contradiction with the spammer label. If everyone on the site is only supposed to be friends with people they know, then everyone is a spammer. As, no one knows two thousand six hundred and eighty-eight people, personally. Not even Donald Trump. Not to mention, Facebook wants you to connect with as many people as possible. That’s how they get their advertisers salivating; by everyone ‘sharing’ and ‘liking’ their favorite things. Only being connected to thirty-six people doesn’t really do much for the folks at Coke or Starbucks. But a thousand connections, who can all spider off to another thousand, now that’s viral marketing at its finest.”
Clearly, Fagin’s whole suit is simply to make a point – hence the $1.00 amount. The story’s probably already picked up enough coverage in the press for that point to have been heard. Whether or not it will have an impact remains to be seen. Facebook certainly has plenty of more pressing legal matters to attend to:
