The Story of Friendships

One of my favorite Facebook moments is browsing photos from friends in the News Feed after they've begun a new relationship, gotten engaged or gotten married. It gives me a fun and meaningful glimpse of the friendship between two people I know.

I realized that a similarly magical experience was possible if all of the photos and posts between two friends were brought together. You'd remember that first Wall post with your best friend or the funny photo from a night out. You may even see that moment when your favorite couple met at a ... party you all attended.

When it's between two people who share a lot, the page really starts to reflect their friendship. You can find a friendship page from links under relevant Wall posts, under relationship stories and under the main photo on a friend's profile page.

A few months ago, I began a small project to build a page devoted to friendships. A few interns and I started a prototype during an all-night hackathon, and then one of our designers jumped in. For all of us, it's been a labor of love.

Today I'm excited to be launching Friendship Pages. They contain the public Wall posts and comments between two friends, photos in which both are tagged, Events they RSVP'd for together and more. You'll be able to see a friendship page if you are friends with one of the people and have permission to view both people's profiles.

For those of us who have worked on it, the best part is the human side of these pages. They can bring back memories, conversations and times spent together. Browsing just a few friendship pages, I was reminded of a long Saturday when a friend and I made a pie together, a memorable trip to Disneyland where I got dizzy riding a teacup, and the elaborate birthday party my friend threw for his dog--streamers, candles and all.

It's remarkable to see how information can be transformed into something new and meaningful. I hope you enjoy using this with your friends.

Wayne, a Facebook software engineer, is re-reading the friendship page between himself and his friend Irene, who he's known since childhood.

RADAR TECHNOLOGY

Basic Principle of Operation

The basic principle of operation of primary radar is simple to understand. However, the theory can be quite complex. An understanding of the theory is essential in order to be able to specify and operate primary radar systems correctly. The implementation and operation of primary radars systems involve a wide range of disciplines such as building works, heavy mechanical and electrical engineering, high power microwave engineering, and advanced high speed signal and data processing techniques. Some laws of nature have a greater importance here.

Radar measurement of range, or distance, is made possible because of the properties of radiated electromagnetic energy.

1. Reflection of electromagnetic waves
   The electromagnetic waves are reflected if they meet an electrically leading surface. If these reflected waves are received again at the place of their origin, then that means an obstacle is in the propagation direction.
2. Electromagnetic energy travels through air at a constant speed, at approximately the speed of light,
   • 300,000 kilometers per second or
   • 186,000 statute miles per second or
   • 162,000 nautical miles per second.
   This constant speed allows the determination of the distance between the reflecting objects (airplanes, ships or cars) and the radar site by measuring the running time of the transmitted pulses.
   
3. This energy normally travels through space in a straight line, and will vary only slightly because of atmospheric and weather conditions. By using of special radar antennas this energy can be focused into a desired direction. Thus the direction the reflecting objects can be measured.

These principles can basically be implemented in a radar system, and allow the determination of the distance, the direction and the height of the reflecting object.

Screenshots of Radar's Screen

Google Bars Data From Facebook As Rivalry Heats

Google Inc will begin blocking Facebook and other Web services from accessing its users' information, highlighting an intensifying rivalry between the two Internet giants.

Google will no longer let other services automatically import its users' email contact data for their own purposes, unless the information flows both ways. It accused Facebook in particular of siphoning up Google contact data, without allowing for the automatic import and export of Facebook users' information.

Facebook, with more than 500 million users, relies on email services such as Google's Gmail to help new users find friends already on the network. When a person joins, they are asked to import their Gmail contact list into the social network service. Facebook then tells the user which email contacts are also on the social network.

In a statement, Google said websites such as Facebook "leave users in a data dead end." Facebook did not immediately provide a comment on Friday.

While Google framed the move as an attempt to protect its users' ability to retain control of their personal data on the Internet, analysts said the move underscored the battle between Google, the world's largest search engine, and Facebook, the dominant Internet social network.

"The fundamental power dynamic on the Web today is this emerging conflict between Facebook and Google," said Gartner analyst Ray Valdes. "Google needs to evolve to become a big player in the social Web and it hasn't been able to do that."

"If people do search within Facebook, if they do email within Facebook, if they do instant messaging within Facebook, all of these will chip away at Google's properties."

RECIPROCITY

Google said that while it makes it easy for other Web services to automatically import a user's contact data, Facebook was not reciprocating.

"We have decided to change our approach slightly to reflect the fact that users often aren't aware that once they have imported their contacts into sites like Facebook, they are effectively trapped," Google said in an emailed statement.

"We will no longer allow websites to automate the import of users' Google Contacts (via our API) unless they allow similar export to other sites," Google said.

Some technology blogs were reporting that Facebook still appeared to be allowing users to import their Google Gmail contacts into Facebook as of mid-day Friday.

A Google spokesman told Reuters that the company had begun enforcing the new rules "gradually."

Google also stressed that users will still be able to manually download their contacts to their computers in "an open, machine-readable format" which can then be imported into any Web service.