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At a glance, Facebook Home looks like a complete operating system. Cover Feed replaces your home screens, "Chat Heads" pop up as you receive new messages, and even your lock screen is ruled by a slideshow of Facebook updates.

Luckily, Home is nothing but a launcher -- a custom interface that lays over your existing Android operating system. It's an excellent insurance policy, allowing you to enable it and disable it as often as you'd like.

Barring that, Home still demands you relearn most of what you know about navigating Android. Gestures, settings, and customization options … Read more

Facebook neglected to mention at its press event last week where Facebook Home was announced, that it would also update the Android version of Facebook Messenger to bring Chat Heads to all devices that have the app installed.

Chat Heads is a feature that allows you to access an SMS or Facebook Messenger conversation from any screen on your Android device by tapping on small circles that contain a profile pic of whoever it is you're conversing with.

There aren't too many Android devices that will be getting access to Facebook Home today once it's released in … Read more

For Facebook, all signs point to mobile. Hot on the heels of the social network launching its new Android skin, Facebook Home, the company confirmed to CNET that it has acquired mobile software startup Osmeta.

While Facebook is declining to comment further on the acquisition, TechCrunch reports that the buyout happened sometime in the month before last week's launch of Facebook Home.

Not a lot is known about Osmeta because it hadn't yet launched a commercial product, but its Web site says that it was "working on really, really interesting software technology."

As I understand it, Bitcoin is the currency we will all use to buy gruel and grits when the current financial world's gills turn green.

It seems to be based on the idea of one person trusting another, which is an idea that has caused more wars, divorces, tears, and surgeries than any other.

Recently, Bitcoin endured something of a correction in value. This has not stopped those who have ideas ahead of their time, and even above their station, to invest.

The New York Times tells me today that the Winklevoss brothers -- yes, they who claimed Facebook was their idea … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Hi-fi reviews based purely on the feel of the knob .

- Which celebrities can you pay to message on Facebook?

- Can you bully a celebrity? Short answer: no.

- How the hell do you pronounce GIF anyway?

- Follow Emily Dreyfuss on Twitter.… Read more

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has launched a new political action group, FWD.us, to focus on immigration reform.

Zuckerberg, who announced the move through an editorial in The Washington Post, called U.S. immigration policy "strange" for a nation of immigrants and "unfit for today's world."

As a result, a deep roster of tech executives have banded to together to push a bipartisan policy agenda to change how the U.S. approaches immigration. The group has vowed to work with members of Congress from both parties, the administration, and state and local officials. It plans … Read more

The Facebook-powered HTC First can count on at least one close friend: AT&T.

The Dallas-based wireless carrier, which is the exclusive partner to Facebook and HTC for the First, is promising to give the device its most prominent position in stores when it launches on Friday. That's because AT&T considers the HTC First its flagship smartphone for the spring, Claudia Knop, a device executive with the carrier, told CNET.

It's a curious decision by AT&T, which also has the HTC One and Galaxy S4 waiting in the wings. While AT&T … Read more

Facebook's signature app is updated often but still manages to be too slow for many users. Sadly, most of the apps that offer a faster experience don't have much else to offer. You can add FB Plus for Facebook to that list as well. Not only is it slower than Facebook's own app, scrolling can make you a little green around the gills.

This app doesn't offer any big improvements over Facebook's app. FB Plus for Facebook offers a layout Facebook abandoned a few updates ago, with a few weirdly placed buttons and annoying banner … Read more

Need to talk with a friend but don't want to waste precious time on Facebook? This nifty app can alert you when they sign on. Facebook Online Notifications works well overall, but you may find it to be a drain on your battery.

In our tests, it seemed like the app was only able to tell if someone was online if they had their chat on. While most Facebook users leave it on by default, you'll still have some who have it turned off, so you could miss some of your circle when they get on the site. … Read more