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Morgan gets slap on wrist over botched Facebook IPO

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has fined Morgan Stanley $5 million over the botched Facebook initial public offering, according to terms of a consent order. In case you're wondering, that's about half the bonus of a starting secretary at the investment house. OK, we're exaggerating for effect, but this is the textbook definition of a slap on the wrist for Morgan, which last year posted $32.4 billion in revenue.

Morgan, the lead underwriter in Facebook's IPO this past spring, has faced criticism from Facebook shareholders who claimed that certain material information was concealed prior to the … Read more

Instagram to start sharing user data with Facebook

Instagram, the photo-sharing service that Facebook bought out this year, is changing its privacy policy to allow it to share user data with its new corporate overlord.

The company said today in a blog update that the changes will go into effect on January 16, and won't alter how it handles photo ownership or who is able to see a user's pictures. But the updated privacy policy will allow Instagram to share user information with its corporate overlord, Facebook.

"This means we can do things like fight spam more effectively, detect system and reliability problems more quickly, … Read more

Facebook cozies up with Walmart for mobile-ad blitz

Some users may have noticed that on Black Friday, Walmart was ever-present in Facebook's mobile news feed. That's because the massive retailer was trying out an experiment -- it took out 50 million ads on the social network in an effort to drive users to its Web site for holiday deals.

This experiment was Facebook's biggest mobile advertising campaign ever, and it's looking like there will be more to come, according to the Wall Street Journal. The social network is apparently thinking about letting other companies partake in similar experiments.

Walmart's collaboration with Facebook was … Read more

Netflix, RIM, others get boot from key Nasdaq stock index

The shakeup that landed Facebook on Nasdaq's top 100 list is also leading to the departure of other prominent tech players.

Facebook was added last week to the Nasdaq 100, the collection of the largest 100 nonfinancial companies trading on the stock exchange. Facebook's addition to the index came with the departure of IT consulting company Infosys, which is moving over to the New York Stock Exchange.

However, Infosys is not the only tech company leaving the index. A handful of other prominent tech players, including Netflix and beleaguered handset maker Research In Motion will be dropped from … Read more

The 404 1,184: Where we'll kick you apart (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Analyst: Instagram will be big moneymaker for Facebook.

- NY Senator drafts bill to make ticket scalping at benefit concerts illegal.

- The most expensive, useless, awesome 3D-printed object ever.

- Home invasion plot foiled by Xbox 360.… Read more

Upload a photo to a specific Facebook album on Android, iOS

You can now upload a photo to a specific Facebook album using the iOS and Android apps. There have been various methods in the past to get a photo into a preferred album, but the process is now streamlined.

iOS users will have the ability to add a photo, or photos, to an existing album or create a new album during the upload process. Android users will only be able to upload photos to an existing album. Before uploading a photo, however, Android users can create an album by visiting the Photos tab from the menu and tapping on the … Read more

Google Maps rides to iOS users' rescue (week in review)

Google Maps returned to the iOS platform this week, but that was not enough to rescue Apple's map app rep.

Banished from Apple's iOS earlier this fall, Google Maps returned to the mobile platform in the form of a standalone app. The official Google Maps app returned to Apple's App store Thursday evening with turn-by-turn navigation, as well as public transit directions, integrated Street View, and a 3D-like Google Earth view. Google Maps didn't take long to capture the top spot among free iPhone apps.

The release came a few days after Apple again became the … Read more

How to disable all Facebook apps

There are many apps that can tie into your Facebook account. These are not just mobile apps, but also those directly offered on the desktop Web site. This option is for those who are serious about removing apps or Web sites from performing actions associated with their Facebook account.

You may want to take special consideration before you disable all apps, and not just some of them. For instance, if you use Foursquare to post the places you check in to on your Timeline, you won't be able to anymore. And if you use Facebook to log in to … Read more

Get a no-contract mobile hot spot that 'pays' you for sharing Wi-Fi

You've heard of FreedomPop, right? It's the Clearwire-powered 4G service that gives you a "free" mobile hot spot and 500MB of data per month, with the option of earning extra by referring friends.

FreedomPop is still in beta, but already it has some interesting competition. Karma offers a Clearwire-powered 4G mobile hot spot with 1GB of free data, with the option of earning extra by referring....strangers.

It works like this: You pay $79 for Karma's compact, 2.1-ounce hot spot, which can share its 4G goodness with up to eight devices. After you activate … Read more