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Tag: Facebook

  • Facebook launches virtual reality remote work app, users can be ‘avatars’ in meetings

    Facebook launches virtual reality remote work app, users can be ‘avatars’ in meetings

    Facebook Inc. on Thursday launched a test of a new virtual-reality remote work app where users of the company’s Oculus Quest 2 headsets can hold meetings as avatar versions of themselves.

    As per details, the beta test of Facebook’s Horizon Workrooms app comes as many companies continue to work from home after the Covid-19 pandemic shut down physical work spaces and as a new variant is sweeping across the globe.

    Facebook sees its latest launch as an early step toward building the futuristic “metaverse” that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has touted in recent weeks.

    In its first full VR news briefing, the company showed how Workrooms users can design avatar versions of themselves to meet in virtual reality conference rooms and collaborate on shared whiteboards or documents, still interacting with their own physical desk and computer keyboard. The app, free through the Quest 2 headsets which cost about $300, allows up to 16 people together in VR and up to 50 total including video conference participants. Bosworth said Facebook was now using Workrooms regularly for internal meetings.

    The world’s largest social network has invested heavily in virtual and augmented reality, developing hardware such as its Oculus VR headsets, working on AR glasses and wristband technologies and buying a bevy of VR gaming studios, including BigBox VR.

    Gaining dominance in this space, which Facebook bets will be the next big computing platform, will allow it to be less reliant in the future on other hardware makers, such as Apple Inc, the company has said.

    Facebook’s Vice President of its Reality Labs group, Andrew Bosworth, said the new Workrooms app gives “a good sense” of how the company envisions elements of the metaverse.

    “This is kind of one of those foundational steps in that direction,” Bosworth told reporters during a VR news conference.

    The term “metaverse,” coined in the 1992 dystopian novel “Snow Crash,” is used to describe immersive, shared spaces accessed across different platforms where the physical and digital converge. Zuckerberg has described it as an “embodied Internet.”

    In July, Facebook said it was creating a product team to work on the metaverse, which would be part of its AR and VR group Facebook Reality Labs.

    The company said it would not use people’s work conversations and materials in Workrooms to target ads on Facebook. It also said users must follow its VR community standards and that rule-breaking behavior can be reported to Oculus.

    Facebook recently halted sales of its Oculus Quest 2 headsets and recalled the foam face-liners due to reports of skin irritation in cooperation with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

    The recall notice said it affected about 4 million units in the United States, providing an estimate of Quest 2 headset sales which have not yet been officially announced by the company. Facebook reported non-advertising revenue, which comes from the AR and VR part of the business as well as e-commerce, of $497 million in the second quarter of 2021.

  • Journalists lash out at new PEMRA directives on how to cover natural calamities

    Journalists lash out at new PEMRA directives on how to cover natural calamities

    Pakistan Electronic Media and Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) issued new directives to news and current affairs television channels, on the recent coverage of torrential rain and urban flooding in the country.

    The notice issued by PEMRA says: “It has been observed with grave concern that while reporting/airing news/ footages on natural calamities, torrential rains, and flooding, news channels generally rely on videos which are widely circulated on digital platforms such a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp instead of mobilising their own field teams for providing actual /real-time footages to the viewers, which is not only the responsibility of the channels but also mandated.”

    The statement further said that these “sloppy videos” create “unnecessary panic and fear” not only among the inhabitants of the cities being reported but for the loved ones living across the country or even abroad.

    The authority said, ” All satellite TV channels are once again directed to produce their own footages/packages and train their reporters/ news teams to be vigilant, responsive and active and cover each event/ occasion themselves so that viewers could get real-time factual information rather than relying on videos available on social media platforms.”

    Journalists lashed out at the new PEMRA directives.

    Jounailt Shahzad Iqbal tweeted, “Ruling party #PTI & Govt use social media for narratives but social media footages of rain in Islamabad that killed two people can’t be used?”

    Iqbal further wrote, “It will also mean media won’t be able to air any footage of atrocities in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) or attacks on Palestinians by Israeli forces because we don’t have our reporters in the field.”

    Journalist Amber Rahim Shamsi wrote, ” Every channel in the world uses eyewitness footage from emergencies/disasters/conflict zones. It’s a bizarre directive until you realise the motive – keep TV channels on a tight leash when it makes the government look bad.”

    Journalist Zebunnisa Burki criticised the new directive and tweeted, “Pemra seems to have gone completely off the rails.”

    Journalist Benazir Shah questioned, “Guess PEMRA has not heard of ‘citizen journalism.’ If a video has been verified by channel why can it not be aired?”

  • PM Khan’s advisor Dawood hails launch of Facebook Marketplace in Pakistan

    PM Khan’s advisor Dawood hails launch of Facebook Marketplace in Pakistan

    Advisor to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Trade and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood has commended the launch of Facebook Marketplace in Pakistan.

    He said that the opportunity could prove to be a lifeline for small enterprises as well as women entrepreneurs during Covid-19.

    Dawood, in a series of tweets said, “I am happy to see that, after Amazon, Facebook has recently launched market place for Pakistan.” Dawood was of the view that the launch will encourage small enterprises and entrepreneurs in Pakistan to sell online.

    “Such opportunities during Covid-19 could be a lifeline for micro-enterprises,” said Dawood.

    Facebook Marketplace is a digital platform where users can arrange to buy, sell and trade items with other people in their area using their Facebook ID.

    Over the years, Pakistan has seen a rapid rise in the growth of ecommerce. Back in May, Amazon added Pakistan to its sellers’ list, which means that local Pakistani sellers can now list and use Amazon’s platform to sell globally, a massive boost to the country’s e-commerce landscape.

    Meanwhile, Dawood added that that the launch of the platform will also help women entrepreneurs and that it is a first step towards eCommerce.

  • Court directs judicial officers to avoid using social media

    Court directs judicial officers to avoid using social media

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) has issued a code of conduct for judicial officers across Punjab, directing them to avoid using social media, reports Dawn.

    The instructions come days after Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti took oath as the 51st LHC chief justice.

    The court has taken notice of those displaying misconduct and asked officials to adhere to the given instructions.

    “A judicial officer is supposed to lead a reserved social life, therefore, he should avoid using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and such other social media applications,” the order said.

    It also barred judicial officers from being included in “unofficial WhatsApp groups” and other “social media modes”, along with sharing of “privileged” information. The use of mobile phones during court hours, apart from during intervals, was also prohibited.

    “Keeping and displaying a blue light on an official or private vehicle of any judicial officer, or putting green plates on private vehicles shall also amount to misconduct and shall be strictly dealt with.”

    It added that judicial officers were bound to strictly observe punctuality and wear an official uniform.

    The court warned that if a judicial officer is found violating the instructions issued, strict disciplinary action will be taken and the misconduct would also be added to their personal file, which will be considered during the time of their promotion.

  • Bangladeshi cleric issues fatwa against Facebook’s laughing emoji

    A cleric in Bangladesh has issued fatwa against Facebook’s laughing (haha) emoji, Geo News has reported. The cleric named, Ahmadullah, has huge social media presence, with more than three million followers on Facebook and YouTube.

    On Saturday (June 19), he posted a three-minute video in which he discussed the mocking of people on Facebook and issued a fatwa, explaining how it is “totally haram” (forbidden) for Muslims.

    “Nowadays we use Facebook’s haha emojis to mock people,” Ahmadullah said in the video, adding, “If we react with haha emojis purely out of fun and the same was intended by the person who posted the content, it’s fine.”

    “But if your reaction was intended to mock or ridicule people who posted or made comments on social media, it’s totally forbidden in Islam,” he added.

    “For God’s sake, I request you to refrain from this act. Do not react with ‘haha’ to mock someone. If you hurt a Muslim, he may respond with bad language that would be unexpected.”

    The video has at least two million views.

  • Web designer names his son HTML

    Web designer names his son HTML

    A newborn in Philippines was given a very unique name by his father who is a web designer by profession.

    A Facebook post that has gone viral announced the birth of a newborn who is introduced to the world with his name Hypertext Mark-up Language Rayo Pascual or HTML for short.

    The newborn’s aunt has reportedly introduced her nephew as ‘HTML’ through a Facebook post.

    As per reports, the child’s web developer father Mac Pascual has chosen the unusual name to honour his profession.

    Pascual told a local news site Inquirer.net that unusual names run in his family, explaining that his own name is short for Macaroni 85.

    He told that one of his sisters’ official names was Spaghetti 88 and her two children are called Cheese Pimiento and Parmesan Cheese, though they go by Chippy and Peewee for short.

    Read More: Student names Emraan Hashmi, Sunny Leone as parents in admit card

    HTML was born healthy, weighing 4.9 pounds. The infant’s mother said that she is pleased to welcome her child and said relatives were happy with the choice of name.

    HTML’s aunt shared a picture of the newborn on Facebook with the caption ‘Welcome to the world HTML.’

  • ‘A conspiracy could be hatched against Pakistan from abroad if social media not controlled’: CJ Lahore High Court

    ‘A conspiracy could be hatched against Pakistan from abroad if social media not controlled’: CJ Lahore High Court

    Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice (CJ) Muhammad Qasim Khan, while hearing a case on offensive content on social media, observed that a conspiracy could be hatched against Pakistan from abroad if social media was not controlled.

    CJ LHC asked if a person could be tried in Pakistan for uploading hate material on social media from abroad or if a person was killed in Britain, could a trial be held in Pakistan. According to a report in The News, when the petitioner’s lawyer said that the law does exist under which a person could be tried in Pakistan for uploading objectionable material on social media while sitting abroad, CJ Qasim Khan got angry. He asked the lawyer to complete his preparation before coming up with arguments.

    CJ LHC observed that people can be instigated to rebel if social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram were not controlled.

    In April, CJ Khan had observed that civil servants should submit details of their cellular numbers and social media accounts to their relevant departments. He also asked departments to make a code of conduct for civil servants for social media use. He was hearing a petition against running a social media campaign against the judiciary after the arrest of an assistant commissioner on the orders of a civil judge in Sahiwal. Back in February, CJ LHC had ordered the director general FIA to constitute a committee to examine all YouTube channels as well as other social media accounts with videos against the judiciary and asked that proceedings against them should be initiated.

  • Five million people follow PM Khan on Instagram

    Five million people follow PM Khan on Instagram

    Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Instagram family grew to a staggering five million followers on Saturday.

    The premier maintains an active social media presence. Which allows his followers to stay up-to-date with his activities. He has become the first Pakistani politician to hit such a large following on Instagram.

    PM Khan’s post on his Instagram account right before amassing 5 million followers was a quote by Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani as saying: “I looked into spiritual works and have not found anything better than giving food to people. Had the world been in my hands, I would not entertain anything except feed the hungry.”

    The post gathered nearly 400 comments and 36,000 likes in an hour of it being shared.

    PM Imran Khan also has 13.6 million followers on Twitter  and has 10.3 million followers on Facebook.

  • Data of 533 million people hacked from Facebook servers

    Personal data of more than 533 million people (half a billion) was breached in a massive cyber hack on Facebook. The data includes names, phones numbers, emails and other sensitive information.

    According to reports, the data comes from people across 106 countries — 32 million Americans, 11 million people from the United Kingdom (UK) and around six million Indians.

    On the other hand, Facebook responded that there is nothing to worry about as this data breach was part of a leak that happened years ago.

    Liz Bourgeois, the spokesperson at Facebook, said the vulnerability that caused this data breach was discovered and fixed in August 2019.

    On the contrary, many users have expressed anger against the social media giant by saying that Facebook is trying to downplay the mass data breach.

    Alon Gal, chief technology officer (CTO) at Hudson Rock (Cyber Security firm), said that the leaked data can be used by hackers to scam people with fake schemes and for other illegal activities.

    Facebook has a lot to answer, and a simple “it’s been fixed” is not enough, he said.

  • Facebook in talks with PTA to set up office in Pakistan

    Facebook in talks with PTA to set up office in Pakistan

    Facebook is reportedly planning to launch three new projects, including an office, in Pakistan. 

    Speaking on the development, Advisor to Chief Minister (CM) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Science, Technology and Information Technology (ST&IT) Zia Ullah Bangash said that a meeting was held between officials of Facebook’s management and representatives of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). 

    Both sides also discussed issues of legislation and compliance. While the meeting made good progress on numerous fronts, Bangash explained that Facebook intends to assist the country by setting up an office in the near future.

    Similar to YouTube, Facebook is planning on monetizing its entertainment model so that individuals and video content creators who want to earn big could benefit from it.