Apparently, Facebook is gearing up to show off something “awesome” next week. At least, that’s what CEO Mark Zuckerberg told reporters while he was visting the Seattle Facebook offices yesterday. Reuters reports that whatever it is, it has been developed by the 40-person team based in Seattle. And they think it might be in the mobile or tablet space.
All we know for sure is that it won’t be Project Spartan, the HTML5-based app platform that Facebook has been working on with a small group of outside developers in secret for months. Spartan will not be ready to go before the middle of July at the�earliest, we’re told � nor is it based in Seattle.
What is based in Seattle are teams with deep ties to mobile. Earlier this year, the team up there put a lot of work into merging the m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com sites together. Given that part of what we’ve seen in the leaked Facebook mobile photos app closely resembles a part of the new photo experience on m.facebook.com, it’s possible Facebook will unveil their new mobile photos offering from Seattle. All we’ve heard recently is that the pictures we leaked were somewhat old (but very real). We also believe that there will not be a stand-alone app when it’s released, but rather, it will be a part of the current Facebook app experience.
We also know that the Facebook team in Seattle has been trying to build up a desktop software team. But the hiring is ongoing for that, so don’t expect any news out of that department for quite some time.
The wildcard is the iPad app. We know it’s coming soon, and have spoken with multiple people who have seen it now. It’s not clear if the Seattle team built it or not, but it’s certainly possible.
Update: One source says it “highly unlikely” that Facebook’s announcement next week is the iPad app.
Originally published on Youthradio.org, the premier source for youth generated news throughout the globe.
By: Sayre Quevedo
During the beginning of my freshman year, the carbonated citrus drink Orangina was big on campus. When I had extra change to spare, I would schlep across the school quad to the vending machines and grab one. Then one day, Orangina and sodas disappeared from vending machines at my San Francisco public high school in compliance with a state law banning the sale of soft drinks in high schools during the school day.
Now, a new California law aims to promote even healthier drinking habits by making water more accessible to students throughout the state. SB1413 requires schools to provide access to free fresh water in cafeterias by July 1st, 2011.
Some schools have gone as far as installing full-blown hydration stations, allowing students to fill reusable bottles (preferably not plastic) with filtered water. Other schools are making due with water fountains. And then there are schools that plan to utilize an opt out provision that allows schools to claim financial hardship. Many critics call the provision an unnecessary loophole that will adversely affect students' health.
My school, Ruth Asawa School of the Arts in San Francisco (SOTA), is going the route of relying on water fountains to comply with the new law. But rumors of lead-laden pipes and germ-covered spouts keep many of my fellow students from actually using the fountains. Instead, a lot of my friends tend to drink minimal amounts of water, taking sips from the fountain only when absolutely necessary or buying bottled water or energy drinks from the vending machines.
This month, I put water fountains across San Francisco Unified School District to the test with the help of Darleen Franklin, a researcher in San Francisco State University's biology department. She examined the bacterial content of fountain water in three district schools. Our reporting also looks into the water supply at Oakland Unified School District. For more than six years, the East Bay Academy for Young Scientists at UC Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science has enlisted students to test mineral content in samples from water fountains across that district, where they've reported lead levels above EPA standards.
Check out the slide show to find out the results of our water tests, and to learn more about the challenges of getting students and schools to make water a priority.
[ED NOTE: CLICK "SHOW INFO" TO SEE CAPTIONS]
