That's a wrap on this year's Cyber Monday, which by all accounts appears to have been a bigger hit than Black Friday, which itself was overshadowed by so many retailers opening their doors for business on Thanksgiving this year. We actually didn't find too many amazing deals yesterday, but hopefully readers got a good start to the holiday buying season over the long weekend. Without further ado, here's a peek at some of the stories you might have missed while you were shopping online yesterday...
Apple Posts Holiday Shipping Deadlines
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday now behind us, the holiday shopping frenzy is officially in full steam. If you plan on making purchases from Apple.com this year, you'll have one less thing to stress about now that Cupertino has posted its delivery cutoff dates to make sure your Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod or accessory order will arrive in time for Christmas Eve on December 24. Most products can be ordered as late as December 18, although Apple cautions that if an iPad mini with Retina Display is on that shopping list, you'll want to get those orders in by December 5, with the iPad Air cutoff on December 9. You've been warned!
Facebook Finally Embraces Concept of "Unfollow"
Facebook announced subtle changes to the way it displays relevant articles in the News Feed on Monday, many of which will now be shown as links rather than the "high quality articles" the social network previously featured. According to TechCrunch, there's also another welcome new feature from this change: Users will soon be able to "unfollow" others, similar to the existing "Hide All" button. Although the end result is largely the same -- to keep chatty friends from vomiting all over your News Feed -- a Facebook spokesperson claims "the goal of this change is to help people curate their News Feed and see more of the content that they care about." Translation: Eradicate the junk we don't care about.
WhatsApp Messenger Latest to Debut iOS 7 Redesign
Although its iTunes screenshots have yet to be updated, popular instant messaging app WhatsApp Messenger has a fresh new iOS 7-inspired look with the latest version 2.11.5 released on Monday. In addition to the flat user interface, the update also brings the ability to create broadcast lists for group messaging, improved location sharing, larger thumbnails, new notification alerts and sounds, blocked contacts improvements and the ability to crop an image before sending. Last but not least, the app now uses iOS 7's built-in settings for Text Size. WhatsApp is a free download, but requires an in-app purchase of 99 cents per year after the first 12 months.
V.I.O. Launches Real-Time Stream Camera
Looking to capture hands-free video and stream it to the world at the same time? On Monday, V.I.O. launched Stream, a new high-definition video camera with the option to convert to a wearable, offering point-of-view content capable of being recorded directly to an SD card or live streamed via Wi-Fi, RTSP and HTTP. Priced at $499.99, Stream delivers full 1080p HD video wireless or via IP over USB in a waterproof, rustproof and shockproof rugged form factor. Stream is now shipping and can be purchased directly from the V.I.O. website.
Unloved VoIP Provider Jajah Announces Shutdown
TechCrunch reported Monday that VoIP provider Jajah is finally shutting down next month, nearly four years after being acquired by Telefonica for the princely sum of $207 million. The shutdown is effective January 31, 2014, at which point users "will no longer be able to make any calls through Jajah's website or using any Jajah Direct numbers you have set up." The onetime Skype competitor offered no real explanation as to why it's closing up shop, but the report offers as good a reason as any: "Nothing of any interest whatsoever going on at Jajah, and no one seems to notice or care that that's the case." RIP, Jajah...
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