News

Facebook Brings Back The MarketPlace

Cyrus Farivar writing for ArsTechnica

Facebook has begun rolling out its “Marketplace” feature to users, allowing people to buy and sell items locally through the app.

Marketplace has existed for some time as part of Facebook Groups. (I’ve bought and sold some items through a local parents’ group for the last few years, and it works well.) Delivery and payment is handled separately from the app, just like similar ads posted on Craigslist.

The company said in a Monday press release that the feature would be “rolling out to everyone over 18 years old in the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand on the Facebook app for iPhone and Android.”

The new “shop” button will replace in-app real estate currently occupied by Messenger, Facebook’s standalone messaging app. On Sunday, the company rolled out “Messenger Lite,” a stripped-down version released to users in Kenya, Tunisia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela, with more countries coming soon.

Facebook had a marketplace early on it’s life (almost 10 years ago), but decided to get rid of it.

From Wikipedia:

Marketplace

On May 14, 2007, Facebook launched Marketplace, which lets users post free classified ads.[196] Marketplace has been compared to Craigslist by CNET, which points out that the major difference between the two is that listings posted by a user on Marketplace are seen only by users in the same network as that user, whereas listings posted on Craigslist can be seen by anyone.[197]

If they would have kept it in 2007 I think Craigslist would never come to exist.

The Microsoft Wearable Band is DEAD

Juli Clover writing for MacRumors:

The Microsoft Band, the wearable device Microsoft first introduced in late 2014, is being quietly phased out of existence. As of today, Microsoft has removed all Microsoft Band models from the Microsoft Online Store and has eliminated the Band Software Development Kit.

Following the Microsoft Band’s 2014 release, Microsoft continued development on the device and released a second-generation model in October of 2015. Priced at $250, the second-generation Microsoft Band featured an optical heart rate monitor for measuring heart rate, an accelerometer and gyroscope for measuring movement, GPS, skin temperature sensors, and more.

It received poor reviews for its price point, design, battery life, and lack of utility, and despite Microsoft’s efforts to push sales with an Apple Watch trade-in program, the Microsoft Band 2 failed to catch on.

Previous information shared by ZDNet has suggested Microsoft disbanded the team that was working to bring Windows 10 to the Microsoft Band and has relocated some of the hardware team. Sources have also told the site that Microsoft is planning to phase out the fitness band and has no plans to work on a Band 3.

These are embarrassing times for Microsoft.