The week in gadgets


20 Jun 2011

A look at the week in gadget happenings, as US President Barack Obama takes control of his own social networking, the New York Post blocks Safari access on iPads and Firefox 5 may arrive 21 June.

US president to manage his own Twitter and Facebook pages

US President Barack Obama has begun to write his own tweets and Facebook updates.

His social media accounts were previously managed by his staff, however, Obama will now write some updates himself, which will be signed off with “BO” to show it is a personal tweet.

His first tweet was a message for Father’s Day: “Being a father is sometimes my hardest but always my most rewarding job. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. –BO,” read the tweet.

In spite of the fact Obama has been famous for engaging with social media in his campaigns, he previously stated he has never used Twitter himself as his thumbs were “too clumsy to type in things on the phone.”

This move aims to personalise his online presence prior to the upcoming US presidential elections.

New York Post blocks Safari access on iPads to sell subscriptions

The New York Post has reported blocked access to its website through Safari on iPads in a bid to drive up paid subscriptions to its app.

According to paidContent, the News Corp-owned publication will only display an ad for its iPad app instead of its normal website for Safari users on the Apple tablet.

It has also reportedly blocked access to its Facebook page, bringing users to the same app advert as before.

However, it has apparently not blocked access through other iPad browsers, such as Opera Mini or Skyfire.

Firefox 5 coming 21 June?

Reports suggest Mozilla will release the final version of Firefox 5 to the web on 21 June.

According to Technobolt, Mozilla’s release page showed that the next version of the browser will arrive tomorrow, just a few months after Firefox 4.

Mozilla has released seven betas for Firefox 5. The updated web browsers will not bring any GUI changes, but will bring support for CSS animation and will make it easier to access the do-not-track setting.

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