Creating your own home page isn't just a useful exercise for media types or narcissists, having a little online space for basic information about you, links to your social media accounts and maybe a big picture has all kinds of benefits.

Not only does it give you control over what people are likely to find on the first page when they Google your name (whether they're stalkers or employers), but it also means you have something to write in that pesky URL box that pops up on various social networks that those without a blog usually leave blank.

There are a number of services dedicated to helping you build a pretty home page, but our two favourites at the moment are about.me and flavors.me.

Although they're completely separate services, they're both very similar in many ways. They both have slick interfaces with an intuitive dashboard allowing you to make all kinds of changes to your homepage, like add different services, write a quick bio or add a big flashy image into the background. You can make things as basic and professional or crazy and colourful as you please after just ten minutes tweaking your settings.

We've collected together some great examples and screenshots from the flavors.me and about.me directories to give you a taster of the services as well as some inspiration.

I'm not sure whether it's because they look so exciting or because adults spend so much time staring at them, but kids of all ages LOVE gadgets, especially those with touchscreens that they can swipe, pinch and manipulate themselves.

Enter the super intuitive iPad, which is much more appealing than a smart phone for teeny tiny eyes and can be wrapped up in special cases and accessories to make sure sticky hands don't ruin it.

There are thousands of games and apps that kids would enjoy playing, but we've collected together a few of our favourites (aimed very roughly at the two to ten age group) for learning, messing around and most importantly using as a distraction to stop screaming and tantrums.

Last month we explored three photo editing apps to rival Instagram and now we've been looking for apps which mirror the way Instagram lets you share with a community, but don't necessarily give you lots of lovely filters to play around with.

Granted these apps don't have the HUGE community Instagram has built up over the past year or so. BUT, they do link up with other photo editing apps, have some cool filters and give you simple sharing options if you're looking for a change.

Last week, popular video sharing platform Vimeo launched its own dedicated music store (surprisingly called Music Store) in order to give all kinds of video makers a huge selection of music that they're actually ALLOWED to use as soundtracks to their creations.

The store will offer users more than 45,000 tracks from all kinds of genres, with an advanced search tool which allows them to specify what kind of category, tempo or mood they're looking for.

When many users are making videos for platforms like Vimeo and YouTube, they don't realise they're not allowed to just use any old track. Although many people do get away with it, using something owned by a record label without its permission could well be infringing all kinds of copyright laws and COULD mean serious action is taken against you - although more often than not you'll just have to say sorry and remove it quickly.

Just like in Flickr Creative Commons, many tracks in the Music Store will be added under a Creative Commons license and you can use these completely free of charge. There'll be other kinds of license you have to pay for, like one for casual users which requires you to cough up £1.27 per track and another if you're using the track for commercial purposes which will set you back around £62 per track. Ouch. But then again it's better to be safe than sorry, or something like that.

Blake Whitman, VP of creative development at Vimeo said, "Finding music to use in your videos can be extremely hard [...] Music Store allows users to easily discover, download and/or purchase download tracks without ever needing to leave Vimeo."

It's not just tech geeks that have been keeping up with social media news today, even our grandmas know that Facebook has had / is current having a big shake up.

Our profiles are becoming timelines, our minds are becoming mushy and we're going to be using apps more and more.

So, instead of seeing someone write about an article they've read in say The Guardian, you can now go and read it yourself without having to leave the haven of Facebook. The same goes for watching films, listening to music, you name it, you can do it within Facebook in one of its new apps (within reason).

So here's a quick rundown of some of the top European app partners that will be bringing us a whole range of goodies into Facebook over the next few weeks:

Spotify
As you listen to your music in Spotify, your Timeline will tell your friends what you're listening to and they'll be able to join in and listen too.

The Guardian
Once you activate The Guardian's new app and make sure your sharing settings are all switched on, your Timeline will tell your friends what you're reading.

Deezer
Similar to the Spotify integration, new (and increasingly popular in the Shiny offices) music service Deezer will share your listening habits with your friends.

Myvideo and Dailymotion
These video sharing platforms are coming to Facebook and will let you share all kinds of content with friends and discover what they're watching too.

Cinemur
Being a BIG film fan this is the one I'm most excited about. Cinemur integration will mean that you can showcase the movies you're watching to friends as you watch them too, which will be a great way to get recommendations and spark geeky film discussions.

The Independent
Not to be outdone by The Guardian, The Independent offers Facebook users a similar kind of experience, sharing and recommending different pieces of news.

Mixcloud and Soundcloud
More music integration and recommendation, but this time for those who prefer to listen to more niche mixes and tracks on the likes of Soundcloud and Mixcloud.

Artfinder
To add a little more diversity to Facebook's entertainment and culture offering, if you're into art you can now display all of your favourite pieces on your Timeline.

Although there are a few good video editing apps for the iPhone, there are HUNDREDS of brilliant behind-the-scenes apps for movie making, whether you want to figure out production costs or use your iPad as a digital clapboard.

We really had to extend this list out to iPads too, because so many of the apps really lend themselves to its compact design and big, clear screen.

So what the hell is Deezer? And do you need another music streaming service in your life? Well, chances are you hadn't heard of Deezer before last night when the French company announced its role as part of Facebook's music package. Deezer however has been around for a while. It was launched as a service back in 2007 in France (before Spotify) and since then has signed up more than 20 million users and 1.3 million subscribers. It actually debuted in the UK earlier in September, but will have got a massive new number of subscribers yesterday.

But what if you have Spotify already - do you need another music streaming service? Well here are the differences between the two.

1 Deezer is web-based. Spotify is client based.

The big difference is that Deezer is a web based service. So you don't have to download any software, you simply go to the website, create your account and the music - all 13 million tracks - is waiting for you.

With Spotify you have to have a computer with the client on board for it to work. The Facebook upgrade, which lets you listen to Spotify songs on the social networking sites, doesn't actually change this. If you try to listen to a song it then downloads the client on to the PC. Very cleverly it doesn't matter who has been using the Spotify client as it automatically logs you out of someone else's account and connects to yours.

I guess the browser based nature of the service might mean that Deezer can go a few places that Spotify can't as it might be able to skip through some work firewalls.

2 The free options are different

As you probably know the free Spotify service is one, ad funded and, two comes with a few restrictions on the number of times you can play a track. With Deezer things are a little different. You can access the radio channels and Smartradio, but music on demand is limited to 30 second clips rather than the whole song. To listen to whole albums etc you have to subscribe. However when we signed in this morning we were offered a few weeks of the service for free. I am not sure how long this will be available for.

3 The mobile service is different

Deezer wins on this one. Its mobile options are easier to use and more detailed than Spotify's and includes extra features such as radio and Smartradio. You can also listen to music on your mobile via Deezer (well the radio and Smartradio) without having to pay for a subscription, Spotify only offers its mobile service to its paying customers.

Other than those three biggies the services are fairly similar.

Spotify has the edge in number of track 15 million to 13 million, however I did keep finding things on Deezer that are not on Spotify. The big names are John Lennon (his catalogue was removed from Spotify a few months back) and Pink Floyd (whose albums are being rolled out on Deezer in the next few weeks). Neither service has The Beatles or Led Zeppelin.

The interfaces and general features (like social sharing of tracks) work in a similar way. Deezer looks a little more MySpacey to Spotify's iTunes influenced design. Deezer does have Soundcloud integration, which is a very nice touch. I guess Spotify will get this soon.

The subscription deals are virtually identical with both charging £4.99 for full PC service and £9.99 if you want to take tracks with you on your mobile. Slight moan about Deezer though - their service is 4.99 and 9.99 Euros which makes it even cheaper in France. Shame they couldn't have saved us Brits a few pence too.

Overall then, do you need both? Well probably not. Is one better than the other? Not really, it is too close to call. There might come a day when one of them offers a feature that will make me change my mind, but for now both services are well worth considering. Five quid a month for all that music? Bargain!

# 10 Angry Birds speaker
My colleagues almost chocked on their coffee today when I told them I haven't played Angry Birds... ever. In fact, I haven't even seen the game in action - a strange thing considering I work with gadgets, geekery and social media... But enough about me. If you are among those that can't get enough of the avian friends you might like this £49.99 Angry Birds Speaker that plugs into any mobile or MP3 player. It's still only on pre-order so you'll have to wait 3-4 weeks until you can play those tunes.

# 9 Portable Body Scales
Forget about the Kindle, this is the latest must-have when you're out and about. Perfect for those times when you just have to find out how much you weigh right then and there, these portable body scales can be yours for only £24.99. This must get the prize for most pointless gadget of the week...

# 8 HTC Explorer handset specs leaked
Newly-leaked HTC Explorer could be one for those who have less cash to part with. The smartphone formerly known as the HTC Pico has been outed by PocketNow and retailer Clove, appearing briefly on Clove's website before abruptly being removed. Luckily a few specs were revealed before it disappeared. HTC is holding a press event on October 6 and the handset is likely to be launched then.

# 7 USB powered monitor by AOC
This tiny 16inch AOC monitor doesn't look all that at first glimpse. But when you realise it is both powered by and receives video signals from a USB port alone it gets a lot more interesting. At just 2.3lbs it's highly portable and AOC promises that the power draw won't completely batter your laptop battery immediately. And it's quite affordable too at just $139.

# 6 Testing Bose's SoundLink speakers
If you think Bose is all about big, fancy speakers and headphones that most of us can't afford until we're proper grown-ups with lots of money to spend, the Bose SoundLink speakers will be welcome news. Designed to work with any mobile device or MP3 player, we were given a hands-on session of the brand's latest speakers at a preview event and were pleased with what we... well heard. These mobile speakers have the impeccable sound quality you'd expect from Bose products and also work with your devices via Bluetooth - oh and they look good too! Prices from £259.

# 5 HTC Rhyme Android phone officially unveiled
The 'girly' phone has been drifting around the internet for a few weeks now, and has finally been revealed by HTC - who still claim that it is not only for girls. Mmm, shades of 'Clearwater', 'Hourglass' and 'Plum' and a phone charm that alerts you whenever you get a call or a text doesn't sound girly at all... Rhyme is available exclusively on O2 from October 17.

# 4 Samsung's Nexus Prime handset spotted?
Oh yes it has! Apple isn't the only one leaving new, secret prototypes in bars and coffee shops... Samsung's Nexus Prime handset was seen by a blogger over at TheDroidGuy, who of course spilt the beans on its deepest, darkest spec secrets. Not sure why the Samsung executive let the blogger see the Nexus Prime at a Las Vegas conference, but TheDroidGuy describes the handset as a slightly chubbier Nexus S (pictured). It also sports an iPhone-style home button and is expected to be released in November. Well Samsung, it appears that what happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas anymore...

# 3 A 3D toy printer - can we have one!
Still only a concept, the Origo 3D printer which can turn any drawing into a 3D object would be really cool if it did become materialise. The idea is also that once created the toy could then be recycled to create another one over and over again - making it greener and less costly.

Having seen a 3D printer with my own eyes at the Science Museum a few years ago, it is highly unlikely that we'll have toy-making 3D printers in every household anytime soon. The one I saw was used by engineer and design students, cost in excess of £150,000 and was as tall as me so can't see how a tiny version would suddenly be so affordable.

# 2 Nikon launches mirrorless camera
Nikon has finally revealed the long-awaited mirrorless camera, the Nikon 1 V1 - and it looks like it's been well worth the wait. Relatively compact in size despite its tech-heavy credentials the camera is unlike anything ever put out by the brand. Check out the specs here, and it is available in the UK from October 2011 starting at £829.99.

# 1 iPhone 5 rumoured to be launched October 4
Big news for all Apple fans; Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 5 on October 4 - that's only 11 days until! This time it was Al Gore, a member of Apple's board, who let slip that the "new iPhones [are] coming out next month. That was a plug" writes The Guardian. Unsurprisingly Apple didn't respond to the newspaper's request for comment.

(Image source)

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Long gone are the days of antiquated personnel records in manila folders with hand written forms, holiday charts and disciplinary letters - the world has moved on. Forward looking companies are moving to HR software to bring efficiency to the Human Resources Department and more importantly to personnel management.

It is astounding how many companies remain stuck in the mud of personnel management but it is even more astounding to see how many organisations worldwide are now using HR Software. HR Software makes personnel management an efficient and effective way to manage people employed in an organisation. HR software can provide a record about individual employees to include all information that is important for personnel management.

The efficiency of such software makes you wonder why all companies are not utilising its powerful organisational capabilities. For HR departments that need to access information and need a fast response to personnel queries there is no excuse not to be utilising HR Software and all that it can bring to a busy department. Some companies worry about utilising HR Software that is downloaded from an outside company but long gone are the days of insecure sights. HR Software can be purchased from a HR software specialist organisation and they will keep the software updated in terms of downloads etc. It is very economical as individual companies do not have to purchase their own specific server or for that matter to remember to back up data, the software provider will take responsibility to make sure the software is operating efficiently and that it is backed-up as per regulations. Storage of data is therefore kept secure and the most secure software providers will guarantee that all data is secure from external threats.

This method of HR Software solutions - that is - remote installation and monitoring is the way of the world in many different areas of business progression. Remote installation requires no on-site equipment, no huge secure, temperature controlled server room and no need to purchase software disks and all the hassle this involves. It maybe however, that Human Resources employees will need some training in using a remote installed HR software solution - but once training is completed the software offers a complete personnel management system that is so efficient it reflects in the competency of the HR staff. HR software can store huge amounts of data and provides HR staff with time efficiencies to concentrate on issues like staff development and staff training. The software can be accessed to indicate where skills gaps are within employee groups, or an individual's personal development requirements - making the job easy for HR staff to arrange future training. Such software can make payroll simple and effective as HR software and Payroll Software can easily link to provide accurate data and ultimately reduce payment errors. For instance an employee beginning maternity leave can have their data entered in the HR software and automatic links will then update Payroll. HR Software is a means to an ends in terms of efficiency and effective personnel management and for those companies that remain blowing the dust of old manila files, HR software solutions are leaving them behind.

***May contain spoilers***

Last night at Facebook's f8 developers conference, the social network changed in a big way.

Our profiles are now timelines stretching back to the day we were born and in the next few weeks apps will be super sociable, allowing us to tell our friends EVERYTHING we're doing ALL of the time.

Now I'm sure we're not the only ones who quickly drew parallels between the way the new Facebook will work and some of our favourite films...

1. The Final Cut
What happens in the film?
It's set in a world where rich people are fitted with memory implants which record everything they've EVER done. Robin Williams plays a "cutter" who goes through people's implants after they've died and creates a sickly sweet and succinct video for their grieving relatives.
How do we know Zuckerberg rented it out?
Because the memory implant is essentially what Facebook has become, a record of EVERYTHING you do dating back to the day you were born. Of course we can cherry pick what people see, but who knows whether there's a "cutter" sat in Facebook HQ making a note of all the dubious things you've been doing...

2. The Matrix
What happens in the film?
A computer hacker discovers that the world he thought was real is actually a big computer programme he's been plugged into called The Matrix.
How do we know Zuckerberg rented it out?
Because Facebook is slowly becoming everything to everyone. In the next few weeks you won't really need to go outside of the platform for anything, from reading news to listening to music and we're pretty sure this is how The Matrix would have started out.

3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
What happens in the film?
A couple undergo a kind of memory erasing therapy to try and forget one another.
How do we know Zuckerberg rented it out?
Because he clearly saw that forgetting people just doesn't work in the long run and made the new Facebook timeline so every relationship you've ever had, hell even every conversation you've ever had, will be recorded FOREVER.
Thanks to @timwhitlock for this little tip.

4. Nineteen Eighty-Four
What happens in the film?
It's based on George Orwell's famous novel about a totalitarian society.
How do we know Zuckerberg rented it out?
Now we're not comparing Mark to Big Brother here, but it does seem as if Facebook has been taking pointers from the Ministry of Truth, which controls all kinds of information in Oceania including news, education and the arts.

5. Memento
What happens in the film?
Leonard has anterograde amnesia which means he can't make new memories after a particularly disturbing event and ends up getting REALLY confused, making a lot of mistakes and drawing tattoos all over himself in an attempt to remember important facts.
How do we know Zuckerberg rented it out?
The new timeline means that anyone going through a similar experience to Leonard can look back through what's been going on to find out just who's telling the truth about past events.

[Image via The Movie db]

#FollowFriday, or #FF if you're short for space, has become a pretty standard and widespread convention on Twitter.

Some people use it a little differently to others, cramming all of their favourite people into a number of tweets or just writing a long list of compliments about that special someone.

But where did it all begin? And why every week without fail on a Friday morning do so many of us include it in our tweets?

According to Mashable, the convention began back in 2009 with just a solitary tweet from @micah:

Of course it helped that Micah had a lot of followers, that Follow Friday rolls so nicely off the tongue AND that it's just plain nice (and not at all schmoozy).

And there you have it. A convention was born.

There are a few reasons why it's stuck and more and more people use it every week:

1. It's useful because you click on the links your network pump out everyday because you know there's a good chance you'll be interested in them and this works the same for recommendations of people too. Often they ARE people that are worth following.

2. It's easy, just type #ff and a username.

3. It's nice to be nice.

However, we shouldn't go thinking that it's TOO easy, after all some people get pretty angry if you don't use the #FF correctly (yes these people have too much time on their hands) so here's a quick rundown of #FollowFriday etiquette, which you can take or leave really it's only Twitter after all:

1. Give a reason why you're nominating people for #FF. Now this isn't really necessary in my opinion, but it's true that more people are likely to actually follow the people you recommend if you say why they're so brilliant.

2. Don't retweet Follow Fridays that people have included you in unless there's a VERY good reason for it. After all we're living in a society where to be proud of yourself and a little arrogant is very much frowned upon. Hate yourself like the rest of us.

3. Don't include the same people every week. Well unless they're REALLY amazing.

There have been countless tweets, live blogs, live streams and video clips shared around the web already revealing the details of Facebook's f8 developer conference this evening that it's been really hard to make sense of everything that's going on.

But don't worry, Shiny Shiny were invited to attend a private screening of the conference (in London, not San Francisco unfortunately) and we've left out all of the jokes, "awesomes" and cringeworthy high-fives from the event to tell you what the new products and features ACTUALLY mean to the regular Facebook user.

Profiles replaced by timelines
Mark Zuckerberg began by explaining that Facebook users have an intense ownership over their profiles and feel proud of these spaces, BUT they fall short because really interesting things you did months or even years ago disappear into the ether rather quickly.

In response to this problem, Facebook will be introducing timelines.

Now a timeline is basically the new word for a profile, so don't worry, your profile page won't just be thrown away. Instead your timeline will act as a home for all of the really interesting things you share that you feel reflect you in a continuous chronological stream.

I hate to say it as I'm forever comparing things to Tumblr, but timelines do look a bit like Tumblogs in the way they consist of a grid-like layout and in each box there's a piece of content relating to you.

The good thing about your timeline is you choose what goes on it, which photos, updates and links show up and which don't and the Facebook team kept stressing all the way throughout their presentation that it's to build a big picture of you and your life. Or at least the life you'd like people to think you have.

There's even random stalker gold, like a big map of all of the places you've ever visited and checked-in to!? Please deactivate this aspect of your timeline ASAP.

Timelines aren't just about keeping memories and making interesting things more accessible, they're also designed to look good too. A big part of this is the addition of the cover photo, a big banner kinda thing along the top of your timeline where you can put anything you please. Mark Zuckerberg had a picture of his dog in his, hmm he's one crazy character isn't he?!

So that's the basics of what a timeline is covered off, a different way of displaying loadsa stuff about you which looks like a Tumblog.

What's next?

Apps can be added into your timeline
The idea behind the timeline is that it'll paint a big, pretty picture of you and your life.

However, it's not just about the photos you take or the updates you write, it's about what you do day in and day out.

So, Facebook's new Open Graph will allow you to share EVERY (and we mean every) aspect of your life on your timeline with a new revolution of social apps that tell people about what you're up to and even let them join in, something which Zuckerberg called real-time serendipity.

Apps are now much more than things you "like" on Facebook then use elsewhere, they'll play a big part in the way you use Facebook far beyond the boring like button.

Facebook wants you to use verbs to interact with these apps much more. So "Becca is listening to Jessie J on Spotify" would show up on my timeline or "Becca is running in Hyde Park on Nike+". And for those who don't know verbs are "doing" words. We're KIDDING, but the way the Facebook team spoke about verbs at the conference you'd have thought they'd invented them or something.

There will be all kinds of apps available, like music and entertainment services with the likes of Spotify, Souncloud and Cinemur through to big media outlets like The Guardian and The Independent. Certain partnerships with these big companies will also mean that not only will you be able to see I'm listening to something on Spotify, or watching something on Cinemur but you'll be able to do it with me too AT THE SAME TIME.

There are other interesting bits and pieces too, but we'll have a look at those in more depth later. Too. Much. To. Take. In.

So what do you think? Excited? Angry? Or just confused? Us too.

Over the past few days the social network everyone loves to hate has made some big changes and although there are a few dotted about here, there and everywhere, most of them have been made to the News Feed.

The Facebook team wrote up a detailed blog post about what's different, but the basic premise is that you can now keep up with your friends regardless of when you last signed in. So this means even if you haven't checked Facebook in a whole week, the stories that matter to you the most (or so Facebook thinks) will be at the top of your News Feed.

As well as these featured posts and stories, there's also a 'ticker' which lets you see all kinds of activity instantly in real time.

Now as an avid Facebook user I get that these changes are a bit strange. I don't think they suit me in many ways, but at the end of the day, they're just a few changes here and there to a free social network that no one is tying you down at gun point to use, so why have SO many users been getting SO irritated and SO agressive?

The backlash has been huge with many voicing their opinions on their personal profiles and thousands more expressing their disgust in the comments under the official blog post we mentioned earlier.

Many of the users that aren't swearing and speaking ONLY IN CAPS are making some good points, the changes just don't seem to work for everyone.

The first problem is that Facebook is trying to understand what we want to read, but take a look at the featured stories in your feed, are they all things you really care about more than the other things lurking at the bottom? Probably not. We get that Facebook is trying to make things easier and help us out, but we want control over what we see, what we read and over what we think is important to us or not.

The second problem is the news ticker, it doesn't seem very Facebook does it? Instant news flashing up in real time looks more like a Twitter feature or something we'd expect to see on the BBC website.

However, I'm sure you'll find if you rewind back a few years the beloved things you're so sad are changing now were things you complained about in the past too. After all, things can't just stay the same forever now can they, especially when Facebook is trying to set itself apart from its competitors and evolve into something more useful.

So, you have a few options:

The first one is something I know you're not going to like and that's to just learn to love the changes, you've done it before and you're still using Facebook so it can't be THAT hard.

The second is to wait to see if you can tweak settings in the future, Cnet has already written up a way to get rid of the ticker if it's really annoying you, so expect more workarounds from Facebook itself or other places in the next few weeks.

The third option is to admit defeat and stop using the social network. It'll be a hard habit to kick and you may regret it if there are some amazing announcements made at Facebook's f8 developers conference later, but if it's making you that angry, why not?

[Thumbnail image via]

So tonight is a huge one for Facebook as the network reveals what many hope will be a truly revolutionary music service. But do we know what's coming already? It appears that a Facebook employee accidentally revealed a killer feature of the service.

According to TechCrunch Ji Lee, Facebook's creative director tweeted this yesterday.

The "Listen with your friend" feature in ticker is blowing my mind. Listen to what your friends are listening. LIVE.

As TechCrunch reports 'Within minutes, Lee deleted the tweet, but not before Mitchell Holder grabbed a screenshot. Yes, Lee is describing a key feature of Facebook Music launching tomorrow. Not only will all music you're listening to appear in the just-launched right-side ticker, there will be a link to "Listen with your friend", that when clicked, will allow you to listen along to the same song at the same time (thanks to the magic of scrobbling and track matching).'

If this is right then it will be an amazing thing to be one click away from snooping on your friend's music collection.

Google's email service is so popular because it has a crazy 7GB of free storage, it's super simple to use AND hotmail and yahoo accounts are just so 2008.

You may be familiar with all of Gmail's Labs features and the little tweaks to the way you can use the service, but if you're constantly drowning in emails and haven't had chance to eat today, let alone mess around with settings, then here are five cool things you might want to activate now to make Gmail just that little bit better:

1. Stars, icons and COLOUR CODING
The ability to add different coloured stars used to be in Gmail Labs but when I went to find it today IT HAD GONE. That's because Google has realised just how much everyone loves organising and colour coding, so it's been added as an actual feature.

You can choose from different coloured stars and a range of icons too, just make a note of what everything means or things will be even more chaotic.

Go to: Settings > General > Stars

2. Snake
Remember when everyone had a Nokia 3210 and the best EVER game was Snake? Ahh that addictive, elusive little reptilian is missed isn't he? Well he's back, you can now play Snake anytime you please while you're browsing through your emails by hitting the '&' key. We can't take any responsibility for how long this makes you procrastinate today.

Go to: Settings > Labs > Old Snakey.

3. Text styling
Sticking with the default font can be boring and not in keeping with your brand if you use Gmail for work purposes, so try playing around with it a little. Just please don't go overboard, HUGE, pink, bold and underlined is not a good look.

Go to: Settings > Labs > Default Text Styling.

4. Undo send
We've all been there, you've hit send and you didn't mean to. Your heart sinks, you feel sick and you just want the world to swallow you up. Well Gmail has brought a little miracle into our lives in the form of Undo Send, a Labs feature that gives you up to 30 seconds to change your mind.

Go to: Settings > Labs > Undo Send.

5. ROBOTS
Once you activate this Labs feature your chat icons turn into little robots if someone is using an Android device. It's handy, but also a cute little addition to your mailbox.

Go to: Settings > Labs > Green Robot!

Well, Jessie J didn't launch BBM Music all on her own, she had a bit of help from RIM.

The popular UK artist performed a set at a swanky London nightclub last night as part of the big launch, which is in beta at the moment but we're told it'll be rolled out officially to Blackberry users across the UK in the next few days.

RIM announced the BBM Music service at the end of last month and it aims to become "a social music sharing and discovery service."

Due to the popularity of the brand's BBM messaging and music streaming services like Spotify, BBM Music could well be the big hit that RIM needs after what could be described as a pretty tough year.

We'll be sure to write up a review of the new service as soon as it officially launches.

Hugely exciting news today - well for cycle fans anyhow. Karbon Kinetics has announced the launch of the 2011 Gocycle G2 the second-generation model of its award-winning electric bike.

We loved the original version. It was light, worked really well, had decent battery life and unlike almost every other electric bike looked very cool in a contemporary way.

So what's new? According to GoCycle designer Richard Thorpe (interview here), 'Customers will notice the user enhancements, lighter weight, increased performance and further design integration.'

The GSR2, as it will be known, has electronic shifting, hydraulic brakes and KKL's patent-pending seamless internal cable routing technology.

Thorpe also says, 'We have also worked on improving the electric drive system in terms of smoothness, efficiency and reliability--without compromising on weight and compactness.'

A limited number of top-of-the-range G2R models will go on sale in November for around €2,999.

Now how about a proper electric Brompton?

One of the main reasons an iPad is so appealing is because it's slim, compact and easy to hold.

But sometimes you just don't have enough limbs to hold it still, like when you're following a recipe or driving and other times you just don't want to because you're trying to relax.

Sure there are thousands of special stands on the market, but it might look better, prove to be more secure AND less annoying in the long run to mount the iPad to something, whether that be a wall, a fridge or even your own body.

Facebook's f8 developers conference takes place tomorrow and there are SO many rumours flying around about what the social network has up its sleeve.

We have a number of confirmed bits and pieces, including the roster of speakers from TechCrunch, which reveals that the focus will be on content and entertainment.

Here are three of the key things we think will be high on the agenda tomorrow, but if Mark and his gang end up revealing something out of the blue (New religion? Clothing line?) then don't blame us.

1. Music
The first panel of the conference is The Future of Digital Music with speakers including Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify and Bob Pittman, chairman of Clear Channel Media and Entertainment. This will mainly be about the current state of digital music and where the industry is headed.

One of the biggest rumours of the past few weeks, even months, has been that Facebook will be announcing a music partnership with Spotify soon, which would now make even more sense considering Ek's showing up for the music panel. However, it might not just be exclusively Spotify that Facebook is teaming up with, as last week Cnet revealed a piece of code hidden in the depths of the social network suggesting that other streaming services such as MOG, Rhapsody and Soundcloud are all preparing for Facebook integration too.

2. Video and Film
To go with music sharing and streaming, there have been suggestions that users will also be able to do something similar with video content as well as big movies if the tech executives who spoke to the New York Times are anything to go by. We've certainly heard rumours that Facebook is making inroads into the glittering movie industry in the past, so this would all tie together quite nicely.

3. Redesign
Mashable reckons it's got hold of details from Facebook insiders about a BIG redesign which will really shake up our personal profiles, including an integrated media platform, to tie in well with the rumoured music, video and film partnerships. Although we can imagine this will ruffle a lot of feathers, Facebook WILL need to really re-think how things look if it's going to start integrating lots more content onto the site - it's already starting to look a bit cluttered with all of its newfangled lists and subscribe buttons, isn't it?

The BBC has unveiled a new beta version of its home page today and although we do love the revamp, it does look a LOT like a Tumblr theme, doesn't it?

The home page is full of large, no-nonsense typography, lots of lovely photo content and everything can be scrolled from side to side, much like we're playing around with one big iPad. There are also a few cool new features too, like location based preferences.

It seems that over the past year or so more and more brands and organisations have begun to use their websites as places to showcase all kinds of rich content in a grid-like format. Of course we don't REALLY think the BBC is ripping off Tumblr, but it's quite interesting that the blogging platform stood out from its competitors early on because it made innovative decisions about design, as apposed to adopting a more conventional look.

The interesting thing about presenting content in this way is what it's doing to the way we consume information. Now I'm not making some sensationalist claim that blogs are eroding our brain cells in true tabloid newspaper style, but what I'm saying is it'd be interesting to find out what we look at first and whether we're really quite overwhelmed by content all over and prefer it fed to us in a more linear, straightforward fashion or whether bits and pieces in a busy little grid actually suits the way we learn... Interesting stuff.

I'm sure these are all considerations that the BBC's web team has been musing over for years. After all, the home page gets around nine million unique visitors a week, so it wasn't a snap decision made one boring afternoon because everyone fancied a change. In fact the thinking behind all of the BBC's design and user experience decisions is really interesting and if typography, colours and layout fascinates you as much as it does me, even though it's a whole year old now it's worth reading the new global visual language for the BBC's digital service post written by big BBC design and UX bod Bronwyn van der Merwe.