Ars Technica did an online investigation in 2009 and what they discovered was not positive findings. The investigation found that “deleted” photos do not necessarily delete when there is a direct link to them existing on Facebook’s servers. Users may certainly “delete” the photo from their page, but if anyone had a direct link to that photo, it can remain accessible until Facebook updates their system. Facebook says they are working with their content delivery network to reduce the amount of time that backup copies persist.

Ars Technica followed up on their investigation greater than a year later and the so called deleted photos were still accessible. Stories began to roll in; “horror” stories were told of harassment using old photos that were supposed to be deleted years ago, but were still accessible due to that direct link.

Now it’s 2012 and things haven’t really changed, numerous photos that were “deleted” at the times of the investigation and the followup are still online and Facebook still reported that they were “working” on the issue. Facebook had this to say about the situation:

“The systems we used for photo storage a few years ago did not always delete images from content delivery networks in a reasonable period of time even though they were immediately removed from the site.”

Facebook spokesperson Frederic Wolens says that photos still remaining online are “stuck” in an old legacy system that never operated properly; he stated that the company is working on a new system that will expeditiously remove the content with the span of a month and a half. For real, you guys. Wolens was quoted saying:

“We have been working hard to move our photo storage to newer systems which do ensure photos are fully deleted within 45 days of the removal request being received. This process is nearly complete and there is only a very small percentage of user photos still on the old system awaiting migration, the URL you provided was stored on this legacy system. We expect this process to be completed within the next month or two, at which point we will verify the migration is complete and we will disable all the old content.”

Mr. Wolens says Facebook is truly updating everything so that all the old content will be properly disposed in a timely period; up to 45 days. Facebook is currently in the process of building this new system and it’s said that it could take a couple of months still to complete.

Here’s what Google’s photo viewer looks like:

It’s pretty basic. The photo is large on the left side, leaving the right-hand column for comments. This is what the new version Facebook is testing looks like, almost exactly (if it’s real).

Here’s what Facebook’s currently looks like:

TechCrunch has a screen cap of the new version.

This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen Facebook add features that look suspiciously like Google+ features, but that’s ok. Google+ obviously borrowed a significant amount from Facebook as it launched in the first place. For that matter, rivals Facebook, Google+ and Twitter seem to be all getting more and more like one another as time goes on. Facebook even named Google and Twitter (and Microsoft) as major rivals as it filed for its IPO.

1) Cover Photo Sites (basic way)

Sites that carry photos that work perfectly for Cover photos are popping up like mad. Here’s one. Here’s another. And another. Simple enough. Some even offer custom photo design as a service.

2) Google Images (intermediate way)

Do a Google Images search for whatever interests you. Let’s say, for example, you’re fan of Britney Spears (work with me here). Search that. Tons of image results, but not exactly suitable for Cover photos.

Now, look down the left side of the Images results page. Specify the Exact Size of your image results to be 850px X 315px and click that little Search button.

Blizzow. Look at all those Cover photos.

Do any Google Images search with a specified exact dimension of 850 X 315 and you’re in easy. Which leads us to…

3) Edit an Existing Pic, or Build a New One (best way)

Which graphics program you choose to edit with is entirely up to you. Just make your canvas 850 X 315, or crop it so it ends up there.

With building your own pics, you can use your own face in the photos, come up with some cool coordinating layouts for the Cover and Profile pics, etc. Like this…

Have fun!

Plus Instagram allows for “likes” and comments, adding to the feel of being a self-contained social service.

But the only problem is that it’s sometimes hard to amass a huge following on Instagram. And if you want a particular photo you upload to have broader reach, you have to consider sharing it to another social network as well. Lots of people only have a fraction of the contacts on Instagram that they do on Facebook. Luckily, Instagram makes it easy to share your photos across other platforms.

And now they’ve announced some new Facebook functionality. Today, when you share an Instagram photo on Facebook, your photos will appear in full size on people’s feeds. Previously, Instagram photos would appear in your feed, but would look smaller. Users would have to click on the link to be taken to an external Instagram page to view the photo in its full size.

This change looks as though it was made at least partly in response to the Facebook Timeline. With the larger photo uploads, your Instagram photos will now look a lot more elegant in your new profile view.

Your photos that you upload to Facebook will now be automatically added to a Facebook album titled “Instagram Photos.” And you can also share your friend’s Instagram photos to your own timeline or in a private message.

Remember, if you forgot to upload any of your Instagram photos to Facebook and wish to do so, you can always go back and add old photos to your new Facebook Instagram album by visiting your Instagram profile, clicking on the “Your Photos” section, and clicking the “…” link next to the photo you would like to share.

Enjoy the funny photos of the day, found around the internet.

Even if this were photoshopped, it would be funny. The fact that Jesus Toasters actually exist makes it even funnier. Buy 3 Jesus toasters, and get a Virgin Mary toaster for free. No, I’m not making that up.

(Credit: StyleForum.net)

The most epic boss fight of all…

(Credit: Explosm.net)

If you haven’t seen this Rick Perry video, then the joke will be lost on you. If you have seen it, then enjoy this sweet, sweet, irony.

(Credit: http://i.imgur.com/)

Nothing says Christmas, quite like shiny, silver hand grenade ornaments. Though they are for a good cause; raising awareness for violence in war-torn countries.

(Credit: Wearedorothy.com)

This image was shared by a Facebook friend of mine who actually lives in DC. I’m not sure if this is a photo she took, or shared it from somewhere else. There was no creditable link, so not entirely sure where it came from. Either way, one of these Wireless Networks doesn’t seem to belong.

ZDNet describes how it worked:

Users are able to report “inappropriate profile photos” on a user’s profile. By checking the box ”nudity or pornography,” the user is granted an opportunity to help Facebook “take action by selecting additional photos to include with your report.” Facebook will then display a number of additional photos that are not otherwise publicly available to the user. … This flaw appears to expose private photos of any person on Facebook. We tried this out for ourselves: Sometimes, private photos were exposed; others times they weren’t.

It’s frighteningly easy, but it does require you to report someone for “nudity and pornography.” The folks at ZDNet demonstrated the flaw by accessing Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s account and viewing his personal photos (spoiler alert: it worked). They go on to detail some more of the limitations or uncertainties in exploiting this flaw but at this point it’s all moot because the flaw in the Report/Block option appears to be fixed. Facebook issued the following statement to CNET regarding the bug:

Earlier today, we discovered a bug in one of our reporting flows that allows people to report multiple instances of inappropriate content simultaneously.

The bug, was a result of one of our most recent code pushes and was live for a limited period of time. Not all content was accessible, rather a small number of one’s photos. Upon discovering the bug, we immediately disabled the system, and will only return functionality once we can confirm the bug has been fixed.

I can confirm Facebook’s solution because I tried to duplicate ZDNet’s softcore hack on Zuckerberg’s account and it didn’t work so if you’re reading this Mr. Zuckerberg, I apologize for reporting you for “nudity or pornography” and hope you will understand the action was taken only under the cause of investigative journalism.

Unsure if this was a Facebook-wide fix or if Zuckerberg got priority and the rest of us would be tended to later, I attempted to access the photos behind the privacy setting of a couple of my Facebook friends but, alas, it was a fruitless endeavor. As far as I can tell, while in the process of a report, a user would reach this window in the second step:

However, contrary to ZDNet’s instruction on how to access the private photos, the option to assist Facebook and “take action by selecting additional photos to include with your report” is no longer an option. You just simply submit the report and the window closes. So, as with Mark Zuckerburg, I apologize to any of my friends who might get some Facebook admin heat because I reported you in an attempt to see if this bug was fixed.

In a new update to that original announcement on the Official Facebook Blog, Facebook’s Justin Shaffer writes:

We’re excited to announce an update to Photos that makes it faster and easier to share photos on Facebook. Now, when you upload photos to an album, you can see each photo as it uploads and watch the upload progress in real-time. In addition, we’ve made some improvements so you don’t have to wait for the album to finish uploading to start adding details and stories.

Now, you can start adding captions and location details to each of your photos right away. You can also add an album title, description, and location at the top of the uploader. Just as before, you can choose who can see your album before you post and adjust your selection later if you change your mind. You can also continue to track how long your upload will take.

If you don’t see this version of the Photos uploader yet, you can expect to see it over the coming weeks as the rollout continues.

So there you have it. If you’re impatient about Facebook photo uploading, today’s your lucky day.

You can watch the scene below, for reference –

Johannes Wagener, a participant in the Boston Music Hack Day has developed an app that uses this scene from Mad Men to give you a nostalgic trip through your favorite Instagram photos.

The app, Carousel, connects you your Instagram account. Once you allow access, you are presented with the “carousel builder,” where you choose which photos from your collection you want to feature in the slideshow as well as the order in which you want them to be displayed.

From there, you can let Don Draper narrate your slideshow, or you can record your own voice-overs for each photo. The Don Draper dialogue is pulled straight from the scene.

Each user is given a specific URL they can share with their friends. You can check out mine here, although I realized while trying out this app that I probably drink too much beer. Oh well. It’s a really fun use of Instagram and can be appreciated by everyone – but Mad Men fans will get an extra kick out of it.

[Hat Tip to The Next Web]

They also launched the Creative Kit, a simple set of photo editing tools that builds upon the basic tools already available in Google+. With the creative kit, you can run your photos through filters, add stickers and items, or even add text. On first glance, it looks a lot like Picnik, an online photo-editing service that was acquired by Google in 2010.

As part of their rollout of these new creative functions for photos, Google wants you to get in the Halloween spirit on Google+. They have added Halloween-themed photo effects to the Creative Kit for a limited time only, and they have also announced a competition to go along with these effects.

Through the end of October, simply add some spook to your photos, and share them publicly on Google+ with the hashtag #gplushalloween. We’ll assemble a surprise panel of celebrities, and next Thursday, Nov 3, they’ll announce their favorites. In the meantime, you can see early submissions from community members below. After all: we take our fun very seriously.

So far, Google has offered up this collage of celebrities who have taken the #gplushalloween challenge:

I’m sure you recognize celebs like Britney Spears, Snoop Doog, Tyra Banks and Rose McGowan. A quick hashtag search for #gplushalloween gives you a nice stream of people halloween-o-fying their photos for the contest.

Here’s a masterpiece, of fellow WebProNews writer Chris Crum:

Wanna learn more about the new Creative Kit for Google+ photos? Watch this video. and be sure to get in on all the #gplushalloween fun.

The patent-pending Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera allows you to obtain full spherical panoramas with a simple toss and catch.

The ball camera is actually 36 separate 2 megapixel mobile camera modules that face outward from all points on the sphere. The ball-enclosure is 3D printed and it padded with foam – for easy throwing. Users toss the camera into the air and the snapshot is triggered when it reaches its highest point – the built in accelerometer handles that task.

When your Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera is full of pictures, you can transfer them with a USB cable and start checking out your awesome new panoramic views.

The product was developed by Computer Graphics Group in Berlin, and here’s what they have to say about the motives behind the device –

Panoramic photography creates fascinating images. Very wide angle images are closer to the human field of view than conventional pictures. If seen through a panoramic viewer they let us experience a location as if we were there. Panoramic image stitching can create panoramas from pictures taken one after another. Unfortunately, acquiring the images takes a lot of time and moving objects may cause ghosting. It is also difficult to obtain a full spherical panorama, because the downward picture cannot be captured while the camera is mounted on the tripod.

Check out this video of the camera in action –

And here’s a closeup of the device itself-

This looks pretty damn fun – but if I had to make one suggestion I would suggest that they try a little harder with that name.

What do you think? Something you could see finding its way on your holiday wish list? Let us know in the comments.