Facebook Messenger App Not a Requirement to Keep on Chatting

The Facebook Messenger app has taken a lot of heat over the last couple of days but it is not a requirement to keep on chatting. In fact, there are many myths surrounding the idea of Facebook forcing smartphone users to download the app after announcing the removal of messenger from the main app.

Privacy concerns are evident. To use the app, users are being asked to allow Facebook to use their cameras and even have access to control the phonebook. For those really concerned, this was also a requirement for the main app if the terms and conditions were looked into carefully.

The main way to get around these privacy issues is to not download the apps at all. But does that not mean that there is no option to communicate with friends or use Facebook? Not at all! For those who prefer the main app and refuse to download the Facebook Messenger app, there is also a way to still use this part of the social media site to keep in touch with friends.

It is still possible to access the messaging system through a desktop. For those on the go, it is also possible to go to the mobile site through an internet app and access everything on the site through there. The change has only happened to the Facebook app for smartphones, and means that the Facebook Messenger app is not a requirement to keep on chatting privately.

There have been calls to get rid of some of the scary requirements. Having access to the microphone and camera could mean that the social media giant is able to record someone without them knowing. That is not the reason for this part of the terms and conditions. It is so that Facebook can let you use the microphone and camera for the video chat function. Without access to these, it would affect the quality and value of the free app.

The access to the phone book and the ability to send text messages is not to communicate with people you do not know. It is not designed to put your safety at risk. This is in place for those who add contact numbers through messages. Facebook is able to contact a user via text to make sure this is correct.

The main app does have access to the phone book too. Facebook users are automatically added to a person’s phone book to make communication much easier. It is possible to have phone numbers of Facebook friends if they share them on the social media site, which can turn out extremely useful when on the go.

This is not a new app that is designed to affect privacy. There are some very good reasons for access to various parts of the phone. There are also ways around the situation by using the mobile site or just refusing access to the social media site completely from a smartphone. The Facebook Messenger app is certainly not a requirement to keep on chatting, but does make chatting on a smartphone much more convenient.

Intel: Small Changes Big Impact

For years Intel has been a well-known name in the technology world, but now with the advent of  a new, even smaller microchip technology, a small change could have a huge impact. Most people know that technology continues to get faster and faster. However, most are unaware of the reasons why, or even how that is possible. Understanding the basic design behind the technology consumers use every day, may go a long way in really appreciating the amount of effort being put into making everyday life a little easier.

Manufacturers may be able to pop out a new phone every couple of months like its easy as pie, but only because of the efforts of major chip companies like Intel. Many may not realize the obstacles that must be overcome in order to bring about that Note 4 or iPhone 6. Intel’s new 14 nm(nanometer) technology had to overcome the same obstacles as many before it. The main problems usually tend to center around power and space. Just so that it is understood, a nanometer is about how much a human nail grows per second, and a piece of paper is about 100,000 nm thick in comparison. While the understanding of what exactly this measurement refers to in relation to a microchip has been a bit blurred over the last few years, clarification is still possible. Basically, the smaller the measurement in nanometers, the more transistors can be fit on to any given chip.

Much of the smartphones and tablets in use today are using 22 to 28 nm technology. While Intel has not been involved to a very large degree in creating chips specifically for mobile technology in the past, following this small change to 14 nm technology, the tech giant could start to be seen far more often as the immense impact is felt around the technological world. This new technology draws half the power of current standard chips, not to mention half the space as well. This means that far more technology will be made available to each handset, tablet or other mobile device. Many flagship phones today run on quad-core processors, it is possible however that octa-core processors could become the new norm. This new technology is not simply limited to the mobile world however. Data servers, home desktops, Ultrabooks and many of the upcoming IoT (Internet of Things) technologies will no doubt be running on this new standard as well.

Intel will be making this new advancement available in new devices by the end of 2014. While billions await their new phones, tablets and many other devices, it remains important that the details are known about the trials that companies like Intel go through in order to bring about the “next best thing.” So perhaps in the future consumers will be able to appreciate just what went into making the Note 5, iPhone 7, and so on. As time goes by and mankind requires even more advancement in science and technology, companies like Intel will still be there making all the precise little changes that will have a big impact.