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Facebook Announces Video Calling With Skype, Group Chat, New Chat Design

Mark Zuckerberg announced a few new features coming to Facebook this morning live in Palo Alto: group chat (along with a new chat design) and video calling with Skype integration.

Mark Zuckerberg announced a few new features coming to Facebook this morning live in Palo Alto: group chat (along with a new chat design) and video calling with Skype integration. After a brief overview of the current state of Facebook (its now at over 750 million users), Mark got into the details of all three of these items. Find out more about each one below.

Video Calling

In a partnership with Skype, Facebook will allow video calling to other Facebook users for free. Using video calling is simple: log in to Facebook, select a friend to video chat with, then select the "Start a Video Call" button. Video calling will be one on one, unlike Google+ which allows you to video chat with up to 10 people at once. Good news is, even if your chat partner doesn't have the proper plug-ins installed, Facebook will automatically detect this, and install the appropriate software instantly. Software engineer Philip Su emphasized how simple it is to make video calls on Facebook, which will make it easy for people of all ages to see friends and family face to face. Video calling is rolling out today.

Learn more about group chat and the new chat design after the break.

Facebook

Get Your Royal Wedding Questions Answered by Expert Jerramy Fine Now!

As we count down to the royal wedding, today at 11 a.m.


As we count down to the royal wedding, today at 11 a.m. PDT / 2 p.m. EDT royal expert Jerramy Fine is hosting a live Facebook chat on our TrèsSugar page! She's thrilled to chat about the buzz in London before Friday's big day, royal etiquette, Harry Hunting, intriguing royal history, and anything else you're dying to know about! To participate, like us on Facebook and start asking your questions!

Jerramy is the author of Someday My Prince Will Come, the hilarious true story of her childhood quest to marry into the royal family, which brought her to Britain, where she rubbed shoulders with Princess Anne, Earl Spencer, and the Duchess of York. After eventually finding her nontitled yet nonetheless charming British mate and settling down in London, the expat founded Princess Prep, a regally themed London sleepaway camp for American girls. See you there!

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Daily Tech: The New iTunes 9 Is Available For Download Today

iTunes 9 includes a new interface, application management tools, and media sharing — Engadget A Facebook app for Android handsets surfaces — Gizmodo With Google Voice you can now forward emails and reply to SMS — Lifehacker The cutest video about Google Street View you'll ever watch — Boing Boing Here's how you can use Facebook Chat without having to open FB — Digital Inspiration Keep track of your fave sports teams schedules and add birthday reminders for your contacts in Google Calendar — TechCrunch

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Facebook Enhances Privacy by Adding Group Filters in Chat

Have you noticed anything different about Facebook?

Have you noticed anything different about Facebook? Yesterday when I was checking out my profile, a new chat pop up appeared showing me all of my groups of friends. I didn't think much of it and then I realized — new filter functionality in chat — yippee! Facebook has already improved friend organization with their Friends list feature, and now you can control which groups of friends see you online.

Now you can check off certain lists you want to include in the chat pane so you can be online and chat with close friends, and your work colleagues won't know you're available to chat. You can also create new lists by selecting the "Friend Lists" menu on the Chat pane, then enter the name, and drag whoever you want to be included in that list. And if you don't want to appear online to anyone, you can turn off the green switch beside a particular Friend list (they will not be able to see if you are online), or just choose Options and go offline altogether.