Facebook calls for payment platform

Facebook has posted a set of small announcements on its developer blog, most notably a call for alpha testers for the virtual currency platform that it's finally unveiling after much speculation, reports cnet.

"We are currently conducting an alpha test in which select applications can accept Facebook Credits from users," the post wrote.

"Our 250 million users can now buy Facebook Credits in 15 currencies and we believe that, as Facebook Credits become more broadly available on Platform, they will meaningfully improve developer monetisation and provide a great experience for users."

Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.5, its upcoming operating system for mobile devices, includes a number of new features seemingly tailor-made to counter similar offerings from Apple's iPhone, the Palm Pre, and other attention-grabbing smartphones, states eWeek.

The new features include improved touch capabilities, including gestures such as tapping, tapping and holding, panning, and flicking in order to navigate through the Mobile interface, in direct response to the touch-screen capabilities of the iPhone and Palm Pre.

In addition, Mobile's Start screen offers access to customisable widgets, as well as fast access to e-mail, and phone and instant messages. The screen has been divided into a honeycomb configuration for easier finger manipulation.

Palm has confirmed Pre owners can no longer use Apple's iTunes to sync their smartphones to Macs or PCs, according to Computer World.

Apple updated iTunes to Version 8.2.1 and, in its usual cryptic style, said the new version "provides a number of important bug fixes and addresses an issue with verification of Apple devices".

Pre users quickly began reporting on Palm's support forum that the reference to "verification of Apple devices" meant iTunes syncing was broken.

There is a critical JavaScript vulnerability in the Firefox 3.5 Web browser, reports cnet.

The zero-day flaw lies in Firefox 3.5's Just-in-time JavaScript compiler.

Proof-of-concept code to exploit the vulnerability has been posted online by a security research group, Mozilla said in a post on its security blog.

As the iPhone becomes a popular mobile gaming device, large game publishers with deep pockets are going head-to-head with smaller developers that found early success on the Apple phone, states Reuters.

With name recognition and financial resources, publishers like Electronic Arts, Gameloft and Glu Mobile have a huge advantage.

But up-and-coming companies, such as ngmoco, Digital Chocolate and Tapulous, have proved adept so far at building their brand.