People seem to think information they put on the internet is transient – here today, gone tomorrow. Increasingly, we are finding data doesn’t disappear when you delete it. It may be automatically saved by Facebook or Google.

You may think you got rid of something but it can come back to bite you. If you are 18, you don’t think about your 42-year-old self looking for a job or promotion. People don’t consider that long-term risk. I think this could become a serious problem in future. Young people seem very blasé about their privacy, but their opinions may change in years to come.

People should consider what information they are letting out about themselves and to whom. Even if you think you have secured your pages through Facebook, the data may be accessible through other routes like Google.

This is happening for this first time in Pakistan I guess. It is officially the first Corporate Gaming Tournament in Pakistan courtesy of Wiredup Gaming. The event is being organized by Wiredup with Dawn News and CityFM 89 are the media partners. Preliminaries are from Feb 5th to 13th and finals are scheduled for Feb the 14th. By the way Wiredup Gaming is located in Zamzama, Karachi. Aspiring contestants can register at the Wiredup website.

Facebook has it covered at it page. So if you happen to be a Games: Counter Strike (5vs5) or a FIFA10 (2vs2) player now is a chance to rub your shoulders with your boss. Give it a try! What’s your game?

It’s a Google Google world, that’s for sure. The Google Chrome browser has some very good extensions lined up for users. The various categories are Alerts and Updates, Appearance and Functioning, language & Translators, Music, Videos and Photos, Tabs etc etc. The basic purpose is very similar to that of add-ons in Firefox, making certain required actions easier by making them a one click effort.

In order to use these extensions one will have to upgrade to the Google Chrome 3.6b or maybe to some other Beta, depending on the type of extension you want to install. This shouldn’t be a problem, just download and start using. However, you will be asked if you want to participate in a survey which will notify each time your browser crashes. Adding an extension is as simple as downloading and installing it, again a one click process. After it is done you will see a small icon of the extension in the top right corner adjacent to the address bar. Extensions that do not shop up can be viewed/accessed from the “Extensions” in the Tools menu. Some of the extensions are really good and promise to make our lives easier. The selected ones are posted below, do try them out.

Custom Colors. For those of you who are tired of watching the same colors scroll by in the Google browser try this extension out. It will give the Chrome a new look and feel. This makes your browsing experience good and the change is definitely worth the effort. Link Custom Colors.

Firefox is not only my favourite browser, millions share this passion with me. This browser since its birth has been growing and attracting attention worldwide. Its small in size, fast and best of all free. Few years back Firefox add-ons started appearing and now there is huge library with thousands of add-ons covering various categories like appearance, toolbars, social networking, dictionaries and plugins etc to name a few. Five very useful ones are listed below.

DownThemAll. This add-on is the Firefox equivalent of leading Download managers like Download Accelerator Plus etc. Since its inception various versions and updates have been released. The latest being DownThemAll 1.1.7.Simply add to your Firefox browser and enjoy uninterrupted downloads.

Converter 0.9.3. If you want to make conversions while browsing a webpage there are easier ways then using a separate application for the purpose. Converter 0.9.3 makes it easy for users to make conversions while being online. Simply select the text and right click to view the converted value in a pop-up menu. Besides this the whole page can also be converted to various units and this app also allows users to make custom conversions. Install it now from here.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary Add-on. Everyone of us needs to use a dictionary quite frequently and if one is online then opening up the book version seems such a big chore. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary add-on makes searching for words and terms from within a page easy. Simply type the word in the search window and select the Merriam Webster dictionary tool to find its meaning. The add-on is available here.

Facebook User Search. Users can search for old friends and acquaintances on Facebook using this Firefox add-on. Searches can be made using their names or email addresses. Very handy and easy to use. Install from this location.

TwitterBar. Twitter-aholics who can’t live without tweeting several times a day will find this add-on unavoidable. Users can make posts on twitter from Firefox’s address bar using the TwitterBar. It also allows users to see how many characters are left. The add-on is available here.

Nowadays if you are not tweeting then you’re not in the circle. Most of us tweet or retweet using a PC, however, there are other options available as well. One can make use of his/her mobile phone, PDA or smart device. The Zune HD that was hit the markets sometime back created quite a stir. Then came news of the Bing app for iPhone and now there is a Twitter app for the Zune HD.

Frankly, the kind of service Twitter offers suits mobile devices. I mean most of us tweet several times a day as random thoughts hit our minds. The convenience for tweeting offered by a mobile device is much more as compared to a PC/Laptop.

The application is free! It allows users to read updates as well as update their posts from the Twitter account. The Zune HD requires a WiFi connection so connectivity can be limited depending on where one is located.

Previously users had to use the Browser, now the app will make it easier to cache pages and view their tweets offline. I guess not we are waiting for a Facebook application. More info the app is available here.

Just today I logged in to my Facebook account and was presented a with rather odd looking screen. Instincts told me to hit the cancel button, but alas there was none. It was not something optional, instead it was a requirement, off course the option for looking in to it later was also present.

Facebook privacy concerns have been the subject of debate for quite some time and this new addition aims to address these issues by giving users with more control on who can view what, regarding their personal information. in some ways the procedure is more simplified while at the same time members have to make public some info to others. An in all I think it is a good idea to give users more control over their privacy settings at least. See the screenshot below. (Click to enlarge)

Various options available are to keep on going with the old settings or select new settings regarding members phone numbers, email address, work and education info, family etc.

First there was blogging and now emerges micro blogging concept with emergence of Facebook live feed, twitter and other lightweight/micro blogs where you can quickly log your rants, thoughts, shouts and social blah blah instantly and that to all for free.  These micro blog services enable you to keep in contact with your friends and colleagues on Facebook, twitter, typepad, tumblr, allowing you to post anything like images, videos, audio clips, and above all text. Posting on these micro blogging services is simple, easy and there are multiple ways to do that such as email, mobile applications, and anywhere from the web. Above all these micro blogging services let you customize your micro blog with hundreds of free themes and if you are a design savvy person you might want to cook up your own customized theme.

Micro blogging is a form of blogging that allows users to write brief text updates (usually less than 200 characters) and publish them, either to be viewed by anyone or by a restricted group which can be chosen by the user as described by Wikipedia . Now let’s look at which services are available for free micro blogging and what they offer. There might be lots of them, cropping up everyday but few most popular are these.

Sometime back it was Symbian OS which gave users the flexibility of installing hundreds of thousands of applications, then iPhone overshadowed everything by making available thousands of applications at the Apple website, now its Android’s turn. The Google based OS for smart phones that is poised to take the world by storm has an equally impressive number of applications lined up for its loyal followers. Some of the most wanted are described here in not so fine detail. The applications/games introduced here have been selected after much surfing and browsing.

• Wapedia. Originally developed by Taptu Limited the application makes it possible for users to access Wikipedia contents on their Android based phones. The application is fast in accessing content even on 2G Networks. This is a must have utility for Wikipedia fans. Its features included news items, image rendering, auto-complete feature for article titles, support for multiple languages and links to alternative wikis.

Facebook provides four options for content displayed on users pages these are “like, comment and share”. Now there is unofficially a dislike option, thanks to a Frenchman Thomas Moquet. The evil genius worked out a smart way to display this feature for users through a Firefox extension. This obviously means that you will have to use Firefox browser to avail this facility.

To do this he had to use his own server, one which logs a users “disliked” clicks and stores them. So users will be able to see who disliked a particular item or content, till the time the Frenchman’s servers are up. So if you’re not using Firefox or the servers are down you won’t be able to see this nifty mark, which happens to be a thumbs down image, quite similar in proportion to the like but exactly its opposite.

The add-on is available at the Mozilla add-on page. What is Facebook’s response? Well it will simply send out a message to the person who’s post you did not like, informing him/her so, cool isn’t it? See the screenshot below.

Is this the age of specialization or what? I mean just days ago we heard about the TwitterPeek and now there is this dedicated device for reading Wikipedia content called as the WikiReader. It is a 3.9 x 3.9 x 0.8 inches device with a touch screen monochrome  LCD screen and three buttons placed right under it. There’s 32 MB of storage on board, besides 64 for firmware and expansion option up to 8 GB via the microSD. The gizmo weighs a mere 127 grams. Two AAA batteries power it and will keep it working for up to 12 months, at least theoretically. It has scratch resistant screen as well as a high quality plastic casing.

Updates can be received by mail on a new microSD card twice a year costing $29, plus taxes and shipping off course. Yes and the device is being shipped worldwide, thanks to Amazon. In the extreme case one might as well download updates to his/her PC and then save them on the microSD card for use in the Reader. The unit is priced at $99.

The big question? Why do we need to buy this thing? Why not access Wikipedia over the Internet using same old PC or even a Smartphone/mobile phone? Portability? nope, this might be useful for kids then. This is a little confusing! And if that be the case then when are we going to have a FaceBook specific device?