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Instagram has increased its Web presence with a site overhaul that includes the addition of more interactive features.

The update adds the options to like and comment on photos and the ability to log in to edit profile options from a desktop Web browser. The update also sports a new blue-and-white color scheme reminiscent of the app. However, as The Verge points out, the update still lacks feature parity between the app, and Web and photo browsing is limited.

Instagram user interface designer Maykel Loomans announced the overhaul in a tweet this afternoon:

On Day 100 in San Francisco, we … Read more

Launched yesterday, YouTube Real Time is a new site that lets you watch a YouTube video alongside a stream of its timestamped video comments. This means that right as big, LOL-worthy moments unfold before you, you can simultaneously see what people said about them.

As an example, let's take the classic viral video David After Dentist. Watch it on YouTube Real Time, and you'll see streams of comments trickle in at specific moments of hilarity. And when you hit 0:59, you'll see exactly how the masses felt about little David's Super Saiyan freak-out moment.

All … Read more

First things first, I'm referring to soft-to-loud dynamic range compression, not MP3 or other types of lossy data compression. Dynamic range compression has been around for almost as long as recorded music has existed, but over the last decade or so the public has demanded ever higher levels of dynamic range compression. The so-called lowest common denominator approach to mixing and mastering music boosts all of the softer/quieter passages to be loud all the time. That process obliterates all of the original details, subtleties, and nuances of the instruments and vocalists. Once the mix has been compressed, it … Read more

If there were any doubts that Apple CEO Tim Cook was a stickler for secrecy -- and frankly there haven't been -- he put those to bed tonight.

During a live interview at the D10 conference, which kicked off tonight in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Cook was asked about whether Apple would be less secret under his leadership.

"We're going to double down on secrecy on products," he told interviewers Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg. Cook was also asked about buying companies. "We buy companies. We don't like to make it public. It depends … Read more

The new Facebook Camera app for iPhone offers many of the features people love about Instagram, and adds new ones that Facebook users will definitely appreciate.

Right as soon as you launch the app, you can see the camera icon in the upper left for taking a picture (which I'll get to in a moment), but you can also see thumbnails of your latest shots. Below that is your Facebook feed, with great big images posted by your friends and options to Like the photo, or comment on the post in the lower left. The new layout is excellent … Read more

Awhile back I showed you how to unfollow a comment thread or post on Facebook. The process wasn't all that straightforward and required you know where to click, and what to look for once you did.

Recently, Facebook gave its notification box a revamped look, as well as a new feature. You can now unfollow a post directly from the notification box.

As you can see above, in the top-right corner of each notification you'll see a small X. When the X is clicked on, you'll be asked to confirm that you do want to unfollow that … Read more

Some sites are well known for their excellent comments section, but many more are filled with trolls, spam, and worse. Shut Up is a great Chrome extension that hides the comments sections of most Web sites by default, but makes it simple to view comments when needed. Here's how to use it:

Install Shut Up here.

That's it! Most sites should now be blissfully comment-free. If you're visiting a site you'd like to see comments on (like, say, CNET), just click the dark speech balloon icon in the upper right. By default, Shut Up remembers the … Read more

It's time for Google, as it works feverishly to improve the capabilities of Google+, to add one particular feature to its social-network tool: permanent Web addresses for each comment.

I'd like this ability, and I think it would help expand the Google+ utility to its users. But it's for Google's own sake that I think comment permalinks are important.

Google+ offers what has become a pretty standard interface for social networking: members can post updates, then hold discussions in the comments below. But if you want to direct attention to a particular comment--forget it. Your best … Read more

Your cousin just announced the birth of his child, and you're the very first to leave a congratulatory comment. The excitement for your beloved family member is quickly replaced with a steady flow of beeps and dings, alerting you to each and every comment left on the same post.

Luckily, there's a way for you to leave your comment and then politely excuse yourself from the conversation, without anyone even knowing.

Update: Facebook has since rolled out a new notification box, complete with a shortcut to unfollow posts. The method explained below still works, but you can save … Read more