Rick Torres

Rick is a technology and social media enthusiast from the Midwest whose fondness for Chicago-style pizza is surpassed only by his penchant for tech gadgets, geek gear and consumer electronics.

has written 8 articles and left 280 comments on pinglio.

Foursquare Redesigns Its Homepage For Greater Content Discovery

by on 11/16/2011 in Foursquare, Social media with No comments
homepage

By revamping its website Tuesday, Foursquare has made it easier to discover more places, tips and deals right from your big-screen device(s). Before this redesign I never felt compelled to visit Foursquare.com. For what? Their mobile app has everything one needs… feature-rich tools for checking in, viewing one’s stats, managing friends, exploring new venues, creating lists, etc. With this makeover, Foursquare now gives us a more visually-engaging experience and reason to visit their site on our desktops. Continue reading →

Twitter Stories: Highlighting Humanity Behind Selected Tweets

by on 11/02/2011 in Social media, Twitter with 1 Comment
stories_twitter_hp

Twitter launched their first set of Twitter Stories Monday which will become a monthly portfolio of their best 140-character limit posts they have selected to remind us of the humanity behind Tweets that make the world smaller. In their first collection of stories, we learn about the first Tweet from space, a kidney disease patient who received an organ donation after tweeting sh*t, I need a kidney, and movie critic Roger Ebert who still delivers his keen insights to his followers through Twitter despite having lost his ability to speak. Continue reading →

Box.net Offers 50 GB Online Storage Free To iOS Users

by on 10/15/2011 in App Store, iOS with No comments
pinglio_boxnet

In response to Apple’s iCloud release Wednesday, Box.net launched a very favorable promotion for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad users Thursday. iOS device owners can receive a free 50 GB lifetime Box account for sharing and file storage now through December 2, 2011. To receive their automatic upgrade, users can download the Box app on their iPhone or iPad and register or sign in to their account. Continue reading →

Facebook Changes Privacy Settings With New Timeline Feature, Here’s How To Fix It

by on 09/30/2011 in Facebook, Social media with 2 Comments
fb-timeline_layout

With all the buzz circulating about Facebook’s new Timeline profile, which starts rolling out today, members are either curious or concerned about features that may raise privacy concerns. This revamped profile essentially converts your profile into a digital scrapbook of your life displaying status updates and wall posts from years past. Luckily, IT website CIO has come up with a list of steps you need to take if you’re worried about calling up past posts, photos or life events. Continue reading →

Rapportive Aggregates Gmail Contacts’ Social Data

by on 08/09/2011 in Gmail, Google, Social media, Software, Web Apps with 1 Comment
Rapportive

Rapportive is a free Gmail extension that replaces Google sidebar ads with practical social networking information about your contacts. This handy, little add-on for Firefox, Safari, Mailplane and Chrome calls up your contact’s social data such as their profile pic, job description (via LinkedIn), and location (via Foursquare or other location-based social apps). Continue reading →

Wunderlist: A Free Cloud-Syncing Task Manager

by on 08/01/2011 in Android, iPad, iPhone, Software, Web Apps with 6 Comments
pinglio_wunderlist

If you’re like me and need lists to help keep your life organized but you also use several computing platforms on a daily basis, your tasks can often be misplaced or spread across multiple devices. Personal computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones…where will the onslaught of digital device options end? Or, better yet, where will all my digital task-keeping chaos converge? Unfortunately, technology doesn’t always make life easier, much less organized. I do, however, feel much closer to achieving multi-platform, list-regulating bliss. 6Wunderkinder’s free task-managing app, Wunderlist, allows cloud-syncing for all your to-dos on Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android and the Web. Continue reading →

Facebook Relaunches Questions Feature

by on 03/28/2011 in Facebook, Social media with 4 Comments

Facebook slowly began re-releasing it’s Questions feature last Thursday to it’s members. Although not intended to compete directly with Quora, one of the leading Q&A sites focused primarily on public inquiries and discussion, Facebook Questions may be looking to capitalize on Quora’s early-year buzz. This new version will now focus on members asking friends for answers and recommendations as opposed to their original July 2010 concept of querying the entire 500+ million active Facebook user base. Continue reading →

LinkedIn reaches 100+ Million Member Milestone

by on 03/22/2011 in LinkedIn, Social media with No comments

Maybe it’s been the increased unemployment rates due to the faltering economy or maybe it’s just been the rise and popularity of social networking sites, but LinkedIn, the professional networking site, finally reached it’s major milestone today of 100+ million users worldwide. Continue reading →