Facebook users: Not even the English(UK) can save you now.

If you’re wondering why ENGLISH UK was trending on Twitter, it’s because the word was spreading as to how to revert back to the previous version of Facebook before a new set of changes were rolled out less than a day ago. For whatever reason, users who had their languages set to “English(UK)” were still seeing the old design – prompting a whole lot of people annoyed with the new design to decide they wanted to start seeing their social network alerts in the Queen’s English. (Apparently this was also the case for most every language but “English(US)”.)

This was a short-lived solution, however, because though it still seems to be working for some people, it’s not for others (including me). So if you hate the new Facebook design, you’re stuck with it.

There are two major differences in the new style. First, the “News” and “Most Recent” feeds have been conflated, essentially boiling down to a few “top stories” at the top of the feed, followed by all the rest in chronological order below. And second, there’s now a box in the upper righthand corner of all of your friends’ most recent activities. This is the third big change that Facebook has rolled out in less than two weeks, including a “lists” feature that seems a lot like Google+ circles. Interestingly, the timing corresponds to Google+ going public (no more invites needed).

The major complaint to the latest Facebook change seems to be that many users don’t want Facebook deciding who and what are most important to them. Fair enough, and I almost wonder if it might be helpful for their algorithm to have some personal training, rather like marking spam in an email account.

In the end, we’ve seen this before. (1) Social network makes changes; (2) Everyone freaks out because they don’t like change; (3) Everyone keeps using it anyway because it’s too much effort to go elsewhere; (4) Complaints die down and everyone gets used to it. And then there’s a change to that, and the cycle starts all over again.

Roll call: Who’s using Facebook vs Google+ these days? Both? Neither? And if you haven’t checked out Google+ yet, again, now is the time to sign up!

Image: Facebook button count is wrong, use RealShare / birgerking / CC BY 2.0



Star Wars Pancakes: The AT-AT Edition [Picture]

Jim from Jimspancakes.com made this absolutely delicious-looking AT-AT pancake creation. You can check out how he made the thing on his site right here.

[Jim’s Pancakes]



Jennifer Landa’s Star Wars Blu-ray Rap

Jennifer Landa, the Star Wars fangirl who got that interview with that 8-year-old girl who knelt before Darth Vader at Disneyland, has just released a rap talking about some of the changes in the new Blu-ray edition of Star Wars. Check it out!

[Via NA]

Now Playing: Diablo III is in Beta Testing

It’s been more than a decade since Blizzard announced Diablo III, and the years between then and now have been mostly spent waiting, and then raging. But now, for a select few, the day has come: Diablo III is in beta testing. If you’ve been pining away the better part of your adulthood for a chance to play, head on over to Battle.net and opt in. Odds are long you’ll get an invite (what with the cult hysteria and all), but if you do happen to get a DIII beta invite, tell us all about it!

Official release:

The fiery gates leading to the Burning Hells have begun to swing open, and the Diablo III beta test is officially underway. Invitations to participate in the beta test are now being delivered to the chosen heroes. As with beta tests for other Blizzard Entertainment games, the testing process for Diablo III will occur in phases. In addition to selecting players who have opted in via their Battle.net accounts, we’ll also be providing keys through beta promotions and giveaways — stay tuned for more info. We welcome those invited to provide feedback or report bugs on the official forums.

If you have a beta license, you are free to show, share, or talk about any portion of the beta content to which you have access, as this beta test is not confidential.

We’d like to remind those looking forward to an invite to be wary of phishing attempts. If you believe you’ve received an invite to the Diablo III beta test, it’s best to refrain from clicking on any links in the email, and instead log in to your Battle.net account to see if a Diablo III beta game account was granted. Or, if you were sent a key, attempt to add it manually by going to the Add or Upgrade a Game section of the Battle.net account management page.

For those who have received an invite to the beta test, we thank you for helping us test out our server stability and hardware. For those of you still hoping for an invite, we wish you the best of luck and hope you’ll keep an eye out for some of the beta-key giveaways and promotions we’ll have right here on the Diablo III community site.

Changing Education Paradigms [Video]

This animate was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA’s Benjamin Franklin award. While you may or may not agree with his reasoning, Sir Ken Robinson does raise a lot of good points on why the current education system just doesn’t work anymore for many people, young and old.

[Youtube]