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Scientists say new particle fits description of Higgs boson
Scientists said Wednesday that they had discovered a new particle whose characteristics match those of the Higgs boson, the most sought-after particle in physics, which could help unlock some of the universe's deepest secrets.
"We have reached a milestone in our understanding of nature," said Rolf Heuer, the director general of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which has been carrying out experiments in search of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's largest particle accelerator.
"The discovery of a particle consistent with the Higgs boson opens the way to more detailed studies, requiring larger statistics, which will pin down the new particle's properties, and is likely to shed light on other mysteries of our universe," said Heuer.
Announcements by scientists about their analysis of data generated by trillions of particle collisions in the LHC drew avid applause at an eagerly awaited seminar in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday.
The Swiss presentation comes after researchers in Illinois said earlier this week scientists that they had crept closer to proving that the particle exists but had been unable to reach a definitive conclusion.
Finding the Higgs boson would help explain the origin of mass, one of the open questions in physicists' current understanding of the way the universe works.
The particle has been so difficult to pin down that the physicist Leon Lederman reportedly wanted to call his book "The Goddamn Particle." But he truncated that epithet to "The God Particle," which may have helped elevate the particle's allure in popular culture.
Experts say finding the elusive particle would rank as one of the top scientific achievements of the past 50 years.
Instagram down in mass power outage
Breakfasts everywhere went undocumented on social media Saturday morning because photo-sharing site Instagram is still down after a line of powerful storms caused mass power outages across the Midwest and Atlantic Seaboard on Friday night.
Fierce thunderstorms and high winds, some topping 80 miles per hour, whipped across Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Washington and Virginia, leaving debris, hot temperatures and no power to combat the record-breaking heat.
In addition to Instagram, Mashable and Forbes reported that on Friday night Netflix and Pinterest, powered by Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud, also were down because of weather affecting the region. The majority of those accounts, and the sites themselves, appear to be up and running again.
However, on Saturday morning, people were still taking to Twitter and Facebook, complaining or poking fun at the impact of Instagram, based in northern Virginia, going dark.
Some tweets encouraged people to enjoy the blackout by leaving technology behind for the weekend, that it's OK to eat breakfast and drink coffee without sharing a photo of it with the rest of the world via social media. Other tweets joked that many people would go undocumented on Facebook or Twitter as long as Instagram was down because of the site's various photo-enhancing filters.
A similar conversation ensued when Twitter experienced a widespread outage on June 21, its largest since October 2011.
More on social media:
When losing e-mail is like a snow day
Instagram: My addiction and affliction
Viral vigilantism, Tony Hawk style
Instagram and the rise of photo apps
Instagram wants photos to be seen beyond 10-hour window
Do you fly into a panic when your favorite social media site goes temporarily dark? Or does it allow you to disconnect? Let us know in the comments below.
Overheard on CNN.com: 'CrackBerry,' Jelly Bean, Apple get just desserts
Editor's note: This post is part of the Overheard on CNN.com series, a regular feature that examines interesting comments and thought-provoking conversations posted by the community.
"Today Blackberry changed its name to Blackbury"
–QthePower
As readers discussed three popular and whimsically named mobile platforms, their commentary turned mouth-watering. Readers were reacting to a story about decline of the BlackBerry mobile device in a world of iPhones, Androids and Windows 8 phones.
"A blackberry was squished by an apple," said RKW29.
"Apples suck. Jelly Beans Rule," said Another_Fine_Mess, referring to the latest dessert-themed Android update.
From 'CrackBerry' to depressing: The BlackBerry's 5-year fall
One reader noted that the BlackBerry is popular in business settings.
jimbo0117: "People need to keep these kinds of headlines in perspective. The VAST majority of BB's users have always been business users. And for the most part, they still use the BB. BB tried, but never really got a large consumer base. Mainly because their products weren't tailored to the average teen/early 20's user – and they were/are expensive. So it isn't like BB has lost as much, but more like it never gained – just basically stagnated. And for most business watchers, they equate that with decline."
On the other hand, plenty of readers say businesses are warming up to other devices and adding support for people to "BYOD," as in "bring your own device." FULL POST
Facebook pulls location-tracking feature
Following a period of freak-out on the Internet on Monday, Facebook appears to have pulled a controversial feature that let the social network's users get a digital list of other Facebookers nearby.
The "Find Friends Nearby" feature was not accessible in a CNN test on Tuesday morning, and other media outlets, including CNET, reported that Facebook had pulled the service.
In a statement e-mailed to CNN, a Facebook spokeswoman declined to elaborate.
"This wasn't a formal release - this was something that a few engineers were testing," the spokeswoman wrote. "With all tests, some get released as full products, others don't. Nothing more to say on this for now - we'll communicate to everyone when there is something to say."
FULL STORY
Overheard on CNN.com: 'Too lazy to place our own orders? Please.'
Editor's note: This post is part of the Overheard on CNN.com series, a regular feature that examines interesting comments and thought-provoking conversations posted by the community.
swohio: "And everyone used to think technology would make our lives so much better."
seyedibar: "And everyone was right."
CNN spoke with Loic Le Meur, founder of the European Internet conference known as LeWeb, about tech companies devising "faster than real time" experiences that anticipate your needs. Such topics will be the theme of LeWeb London this year. For example, a computer might be able to select food for you before you know what you want to order. Such projects are controversial; critics say they put people's privacy at risk. Readers responded with lots of hypothetical scenarios, with many wondering how this technology could and should be applied.
Should we fear mind-reading future tech?
Some smelled a hint of dystopia.
Kynt: "We're being lulled into lazy, ignorant obedience and compliance by the promise of ultimate comfort. We readily sell our privacy and leave our brain and conscience at the door for yet more instant gratification. All those who believe they will be in control delude themselves, because the true cost for the comfort and instant gratification are the very tools that would give you control."
Are we getting lazy?
WickedTribe: "Sounds like a huge waste of time and money. I know we as a society are becoming as lazy as possible, but too lazy to place our own orders? Please."
Maybe we're just becoming less autonomous.
thecabin: "We’ve been slowly losing our freedom. This could be the device that speeds the process up. I think there’re already a lot of people who have been 'brainwashed' to a certain degree. This is how government and corporations get more 'control' over the population. Who knows? Something like this could start a war."
How much is that doggie in the window? FULL POST
Overheard on CNN.com: Streaming debate strikes chord with music fans
Editor's note: This post is part of the Overheard on CNN.com series, a regular feature that examines interesting comments and thought-provoking conversations posted by the community.
Music is an emotional connection for people. For the people who love it, their favorite songs, bands and artists weave a soundtrack for life, changing to suit growing pains and shifting moods. When one of our writers, Jareen Imam, detailed the shifting ways that people access their music, the emotions of music listeners climbed higher.
By interviewing college-age music fans, Imam discovered that an increasing number of that demographic opts to stream music instead of buy it. They stream music by using online services like Pandora, Spotify, 8tracks and The Hype Machine. Purchasing actual albums in stores or dropping $1.29 for a new single on iTunes? Not so popular with them, because it amounts to 'a lot of work.'
Young listeners opting to stream, not own music
CNN.com's readers immediately took to the comments. The debate tugged back and forth between advocates of streaming vs. downloading or buying their favorite tunes. Many wondered whether streaming is the best way to show your favorite musicians that you care. Or is a download or album purchase the best way?
But then, strains of other, and perhaps older, arguments began over the quality of music today, if artists should just focus on making money on concerts rather than albums and even if people should buy only albums or only singles. Others simply referred those against streaming to another form that has been around for a while: the radio.
For the people streaming music, they were also open to other ways of getting their music fix.
25700_Reg: I just got into st[r]eaming with Pandora. I use it on long rides, but I don't like that I can't control what plays next. Well maybe I don't know how as of yet. I let my son use my iPhone to listen while he was visiting and the next time I went to hook up, it kept playing his kind of raunchy rap crap. I hate it!
Serge Cruz Jr.: Great article... To me it's pretty simple, experience LIVE music whenever possible, own what you LOVE & stream everything else...
einZuschauer: I think people are seeking personalization and customization. If streaming suits their needs that is great but there is no guarantee that the music will always be available. Personally, I like having multiple options to find the music that fits my mood, but I always end up purchasing my favorite music.
Overheard on CNN.com: Unmanned drones ignite domestic surveillance debate
Editor's note: This post is part of the Overheard on CNN.com series, a regular feature that examines interesting comments and thought-provoking conversations posted by the community.
Unmanned drones have gotten many readers talking. A Monmouth University poll showed there was strong support for using unmanned aircraft to track down criminals, combat illegal immigration or carry out search missions. On the other hand, respondents oppose using drones to do routine work such as patrolling traffic. Here on CNN.com, the thought of using drones to catch speeders, for example, has made some readers a little nervous.
A commenter using the nickname "Rand Paul" (we don't know if it's really the Kentucky senator) posted what became the comment of the day on Thursday's Mash-up post:
"I saw George Orwell riding on a drone last night. He was waving."
As it turns out, the real Sen. Rand Paul's opinion article about drones got many of our readers talking. Paul writes of the legislation he's introduced:
"This bill protects individual privacy against unwarranted governmental intrusion through the use of these drones. The Preserving Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act of 2012 will protect Americans' personal privacy by forcing the government to honor our Fourth Amendment rights."
Paul: Don't let drones invade our privacy
Should we fear drones? Readers who commented disagreed. FULL POST
Poll: Catching criminals is fine, but don't use drones for speeding tickets, Americans say
Go ahead and use drones to track down criminals, to combat illegal immigration or for search-and-rescue missions. But to issue traffic citations?
No way, say Americans.
A recent Monmouth University poll showed there was overwhelming support for using unmanned aircraft in a variety of circumstances, but routine police work was not one of them.
Fewer than a quarter of the 1,708 adults surveyed last week said they would OK the use of drones to issue speeding tickets. Sixty-seven percent said they opposed the idea, and 10% had no opinion. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points (view a PDF here).
Compare that with the approval ratings for other drone applications: illegal immigration (64%), rescue missions (80%) and locating criminals (67%). The poll also indicates that 64% of Americans would be concerned about their privacy if U.S. law enforcement agencies began using drones with high-tech cameras.
Under the FAA Modernization and Reform Act, which President Barack Obama signed in February, the Federal Aviation Administration is charged with developing a plan “for the safe integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system as soon as practicable, but not later than September 30, 2015.”
The act is in response to the strict FAA regulations on drone use. It loosens those restrictions, allowing many government agencies to get swifter FAA permission to operate the unmanned aerial vehicles. It also allows any "government public safety agency to operate unmanned aircraft weighing 4.4 pounds or less," if certain criteria are met.
The FAA has authorized drone use for dozens of entities, including more than 20 universities, the U.S. military, local police forces, the FBI, NASA and the U.S. departments of Agriculture, Interior and Energy.
Drone uses vary greatly, according to an FAA document issued in March that outlines how drones will be used in six test ranges.
Not only can their objectives encompass everything from surveillance to searches to air quality testing, they can take many forms. Wingspans range from 6 inches to 240 feet. Weights run the gamut from 4 ounces to 16 tons.
"One thing they have in common is that their numbers and uses are growing dramatically. In the United States alone, approximately 50 companies, universities and government organizations are developing and producing some 155 unmanned aircraft designs,” according to the FAA.
The agency says it will select the test ranges in late 2012, with the first location becoming operational in 2013. The FAA currently has a test site at New Mexico State University, which it’s been using since June 2011.
There have been few incidents with domestic drone use, aside from an accident this month when a $176 million Navy RQ-4A Global Hawk went down in a marsh outside Salisbury, Maryland.
Outside the U.S., however, there has been widespread opposition to American reliance on drones to take out terrorists. A recent Pew Research Center poll showed that the U.S. was the only country among 20 surveyed that approved of using drones to kill extremist leaders in countries such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.
Foul-mouthed Bieber-hating mother takes over @Sweden
Sweden's tourist board decided to try to drum up interest in the country recently by handing control of the national Twitter account to a different Swedish citizen every week.
They got what they wanted.
In fact, this week, they may have gotten more than they wanted.
The current curator of @Sweden is a foul-mouthed mother of two who has tweeted photos of herself breastfeeding and of a dish she called strawberries with milk and urine. She's also made a joke about Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury having AIDS, the disease that led to his death.
Google warns users of state-sponsored hacking
Google has started warning users when it thinks they may be targets of government-sponsored hackers, the Internet giant announced.
Users whose accounts are compromised get a message at the top of their browser saying: "Warning: We believe state-sponsored attackers may be attempting to compromise your account or computer."
Google declined to say how it could tell that governments were behind the hacking attempts, or to say which governments it blamed.
"We can't go into the details without giving away information that would be helpful to these bad actors, " Google security engineering vice president Eric Grosse said in a post on the company's website on Tuesday.
"But our detailed analysis - as well as victim reports - strongly suggest the involvement of states or groups that are state-sponsored," he said.
Getting the warning does not mean a user's account has been hacked, the company said, but that Google believes the account has been a target of phishing, malware or other hacking tools.
FULL STORY
Toast to fallen sailor goes viral
A bar patron's toast to a fallen sailor has become a phenomenon on Facebook.
On March 28, Hannah Hobbs, a waitress at a Bennigan's restaurant near Borger in the Texas Panhandle, posted a photo of a glass of beer, with a handwritten note from the customer that read:
In memory of Lt. j.g. Francis Toner, USN.
Killed in action 27 March 2009,
Baikh Province, Afghanistan
"Non Sibi Sed Patriae"
NOT FORGOTTEN!
In her photo caption Hobbs explained:
"This guy came in today and asked if it was ok if he left this on the bar.. I cried 🙁 I left it there until like 1130 tonight.... I didn't want to pour it out but I had to. So I'm posting this pic so it can stay forever!! So can I get some likes people??"
Yes, yes she could get some likes. As of 10 p.m. ET Monday, Memorial Day, 1,239,045 people had clicked the "Like" button, and the numbers were continuing to skyrocket as the image was shared more than 117,000 times. FULL POST
Texting while walking a dangerous experiment in multitasking
By Steve Kastenbaum, CNN Radio National Correspondent
Listen to CNN Radio's podcast from Steve Kastenbaum about the dangers of texting while walking.
The old joke about a not-so-bright person goes, “He’s so dumb, he can’t walk and chew gum at the same time.”
Very little thought goes into either task. But what happens if you combine walking and texting?
“People aren’t watching where they are walking. They’re texting, they’re on their cell phones, they have their iPods on, and they’re just not aware of their surroundings,” said Thomas Ripoli, the police chief in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
CNN Radio's Steve Kastenbaum reports on the potential dangers of texting
There has been an increase in the number of pedestrians struck by cars in his town this year. Four such incidents ended in death. So Ripoli went on a mission. He told his cops to look out for people who are not paying attention while crossing the street.
“Our focus is to make people aware of their surroundings and to keep their eyes focused on where they’re going,” Ripoli said.
Is texting while walking really dangerous, though? Most of us think we’re capable of doing more than one thing at once. Professor Earl Miller said that may be an illusion.
“We’re not wired to multitask well,” said Miller, a neuroscientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “So when people think they’re multitasking, they’re actually just switching from one task to another very rapidly. And every time they do, there’s a cognitive cost in doing so.”
In the case of texting while walking, Miller says that cost is potentially the loss of life.
“The danger is that you don’t see what’s coming. The same constraints that make it a bad idea to text while you drive make it a bad idea to text while you walk.”
His studies show that the brain has a limited capacity to take in information at any one time.
“It only takes in the world little bits and chunks at a time,” Miller said. You may think that you have a seamless thread of data coming in about the things going on around you, but according to Miller, the reality is your brain “picks and chooses and anticipates what it thinks is going to be important, what you should pay attention to.”
So if you text, or look at an iPad, or even just listen to music in your headphones while walking, your brain does not receive all the information it may need to keep you safe.
Texting while driving laws are becoming commonplace across the country. So far no one has passed a texting while walking law, but that could change. In New York, a state senator wants to ban using cell phones, iPods and other gadgets while crossing the street. A local lawmaker in Arkansas has proposed similar legislation.
Overheard on CNN.com: 'I saw this one coming a mile away,' reader says of Facebook
Editor's note: This post is part of the Overheard on CNN.com series, a regular feature that examines interesting comments and thought-provoking conversations posted by the community.
We've seen a lot of talk about the Facebook IPO's less-than-stellar debut. Some are surprised; some aren't. We decided to look back at the comments from our readers and see how views have changed or indeed whether they have changed. Here's some comments from before and after the IPO; looks like many are saying "I told you so."
BEFORE
Back at the end of January, we were seeing a lot of cynicism about the IPO. Much of it was centered around the idea that going public might affect the course of a business' mission. We also heard from a lot of readers who said they didn't like Facebook in general. To be fair, there were also plenty of folks who said they thought it was a good move for CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Co.
Facebook IPO's meaning: Zuckerberg faces reality
People at that time were talking about increased focus on profit after an IPO.
BossMoney: "Facebook is now 100% profit-driven ... expect it to turn into an advertising billboard and your personal info to be sold to commercialists as shareholders demand mega-profits from this ... Facebook and Zuckerberg are on the way out ..."
zeitsev: "This will be the end of Facebook. Just like all other companies that thought this was a good idea, a business-minded (not consumer-minded) Board of Directors will oust the CEO, and install another businessman who will ruin everything that Zuckerberg built. Like him or not, Zuckerberg has largely been consumer-oriented and won't allow ads to impede usability. That won't be the case when an MBA gets a hold of it."
Fr33Th1nk3r: "I miss the old, non-corporate capitalism. Where small business thrived, and big business didn't sell your privacy to the highest bidder."
Others were feeling cynical about Zuckerberg.
URKiddinMe: "Now he's going to have to answer to shareholders. I hope they beat him down to a pulp. Can't stand the guy or FB."
whatfor2name: "You cannot compare Zuckerberg to Gates and Jobs. The first one is manipulative and sick, the other two are creative and mature."
BanHammer: "Jealous much?"
This reader was more optimistic. FULL POST
Oh, Zuck: Facebook's bumpy start just got a little worse
To say its been a rough ride for Facebook's IPO would be an understatement.
And as the social media giant edges toward the close of its first week of trading, questions are swirling about the company's valuation, its profitability and now allegations that full details of the stock's likely value were shared with only a select group of people.
Did some people get a heads-up Facebook's IPO wasn't what it seemed?
Regulators are now looking into the possibility that Facebook's Wall Street investment banks may have tipped off some clients that Facebook wasn't necessarily a great buy or worth the hype it was receiving, according to reports Wednesday from Reuters and several other news organizations.
“Facebook changed the numbers – they didn’t forecast their business right and they changed their numbers and told analysts,” a person at one of Facebook’s banks told Reuters.
Overheard on CNN.com 'I saw this one coming from a mile away'
The big question is: Did certain privileged customers receive information about the Facebook offering that you as an individual investor might not have?
Rick Ketchum, head of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, an independent regulatory body, acknowledged in an article from Reuters that a Morgan Stanley analyst reduced his revenue projections for Facebook shortly before the offering and shared the information with institutional investors.
And now Facebook shareholders have filed a lawsuit against the social network, CEO Mark Zuckerberg and a number of banks, alleging that crucial information was concealed ahead of Facebook's IPO. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Wednesday morning, charges the defendants with failing to disclose in the critical days leading up to Friday's initial public offering "a severe and pronounced reduction."
Facebook defended themselves on Wednesday saying they "believe the lawsuit is without merit and will defend ourselves vigorously."
The report, and now the lawsuit, raises questions about whether Morgan Stanley, one of the underwriter companies that handled Facebook's IPO, or other banks knowingly offered certain investors privileged information that should have been made public. Other underwriters targeted by the lawsuit include Barclays Capital, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Merrill Lynch, a unit of Bank of America.
It is possible that Morgan Stanley may have signed off on a price that was too high or agreed to sell too many shares in the deal, CNNMoney.com reports. Then, Morgan Stanley analysts are alleged to have told certain people they had a negative assessment of the social network's offering.
"If true, the allegations are a matter of regulatory concern to FINRA and the [Securities and Exchange Commission]," Ketchum said in a statement via a spokeswoman.
The New York Times reported Morgan Stanley did more than just quietly share a negative outlook; they actually "held conference calls to update their banks' analysts on business."
"Analysts at Morgan Stanley and other firms soon started advising clients to dial back their expectations," the article says. "One prospective buyer was told that second-quarter revenue could be 5 percent lower than the bank’s earlier estimates."
Sallie Krawcheck, Bank of America's former head of wealth management, took to Twitter to share her outrage about the allegations.
[tweet https://twitter.com/SallieKrawcheck/status/205090084373008384%5D
A glitch leaves investors not knowing if they have Facebook stock
Facebook's debut on the market was hindered by early confusion when trading was delayed by two hours after what Nasdaq called a "technical error."
"People didn't know where their orders stood, and it became a big guessing game," one trader, who had put in an order to buy Facebook shares ahead of the opening bell, told CNNMoney.com. "Nasdaq couldn't handle it - they blew it."
Stellar week for SpaceX founder Elon Musk
It’s officially a stellar week for Elon Musk, the billionaire engineer behind SpaceX, the company that made history Tuesday launching the first private spacecraft bound for the International Space Station.
The rocket, originally set to hit the stratosphere Saturday, might have taken to the sky a few days late, but the excitement Musk expressed on Twitter about the launch extends a victory streak that also includes more earthly passions.
On Monday, Musk tweeted that Tesla – the luxury electric car company he co-founded in Silicon Valley - had reached a “major milestone” by completing crash testing and gaining approval for sale to the public.
Girl grew from online punishment, mom says
When ReShonda Tate Billingsley let her daughter open an Instagram account, the Houston novelist made clear to her what would be appropriate to post to the picture-sharing site.
So the mother wasn’t impressed when she saw a couple of weeks ago that the 12-year-old took a picture of herself with unopened alcohol bottle from her father’s bar and posted it with the caption, “Wish I could drink this vodka.”
Billingsley decided the online faux pas should also be punished online.
She not only temporarily banned her daughter from Instagram, the mom took a picture of her daughter holding a sign announcing her punishment (but not showing most of her face). She posted it to her daughter’s Instagram account to chastise her and to the mother’s own public Facebook page, hoping to persuade other parents to monitor their kids’ online activity.
“Since I want to post photos of me holding liquor, I am obviously not ready for social media and will be taking a hiatus until I learn what I should and should not post. Bye-bye,” the sign read.
Within hours, more than 10,000 people shared Billingsley’s Facebook post, and hundreds of others shared it on Twitter. She says she didn’t expect so much attention, but she thinks it’s made the lesson more effective.
“She saw how this picture has gone viral, but … now she sees that if it had been the picture of vodka that went viral, it could have ruined her life,” Billingsley said Tuesday. “It’s vodka today, but it could be underwear five years from now if this isn’t nipped in the bud (and she doesn’t learn) the consequences of posting on social media.”
Overheard on CNN.com: Friday funnies
Editor's note: This post is part of the Overheard on CNN.com series, a regular feature that examines interesting comments and thought-provoking conversations posted by the community.
It's Friday. Let's end the week by taking a look at some funny comments about stories in the news. First, we venture backwards in time to your teenage years.
New French PM's name causes Arab giggles
Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault's name sounds like Arabic slang for male genitalia. Some thought this story might inspire kids to learn foreign languages.
Uncle_Dutch: "Some people never get out of junior high. On a positive note, it might be just the spark to get the Beavis & Butthead types of this country to finally learn a foreign language."
readerz: "Vastly educational. We just learned two new words in Arabic, in the long-standing tradition of every foreign-language student who looks up all of 'those' words first. I hope that Mr. Ayrault and (Pakistani diplomat Akbar Zeb) continue to educate. At least the article did not use Victorian English, where there is another word used in place of the word 'said.' Reminds me of something produced by Congress, but maybe the language would need to be aborted."
Politicians with dirty-sounding names are nothing new, readers say.
Niki Bush: "If we can get over the fact that two of our presidents were Bush, then we can get over the fact that the French (prime minister) president's name means penis in the Arabic world. I had an uncle named Richard Head, and when you go through your entire life with the last name that is an euphemism for the downtown area, every other wacky name just isn't really all that funny."
Some people are all too familiar with this issue.
FULL POST
Facebook: Use it. 'Like' it. But, buy it?
It started as the little engine that maybe, possibly could. Facebook swirled around college campuses and became a way to find out a little bit more about your classmates. But when the site went mainstream, it spread like a digital wildfire and in eight years it has gone from the little engine that could into the juggernaut tank in the social media world.
Now, the company's long road to an initial public offering is officially coming to an end. And today it will fill in one last piece of the puzzle: It's final IPO price.
Timeline: Mark Zuckerberg's rise from child prodigy to Facebook billionaire
It's not just the talk of the town or Silicon Valley, but about to be the talk of .... well, everyone. Want perspective? Facebook could raise as much as $16 billion in its IPO. That would make it the largest tech IPO in history - and the third largest U.S. IPO ever, trailing only the $19.7 billion raised by Visa in March 2008 and the $18.1 billion raised by automaker General Motors in November 2010, according to rankings by Thomson Reuters.
Why Facebook won't start trading at the opening bell
So as the big day approaches we wanted to give you a little insight into the company and the ins and outs of going public.
A look at the hottest ticket in town
Some days you love Facebook. Some days you want to delete your profile, run away and never, ever return. Since Facebook's big foray into mass-market appeal, you'll always hear arguments for both.
It's been lauded for helping connect generations. It's also been called things that make you think it's the devils spawn.
Timeline: Mark Zuckerberg's rise from child prodigy to Facebook billionaire
You know him as the man behind the mega social media site Facebook. But do you know about how he got there?
As his company prepares to go public, we wanted to take a look back on his life and how he ended up as one of the most prominent tech company founders.
CNNMoney is trying to buy Facebook IPO shares
Personal details:
* Birth place: Dobbs Ferry, New York
* Birth name: Mark Elliot Zuckerberg
* Parents: Edward, a dentist, and Karen, a psychiatrist, Zuckerberg
* Education: Phillips Exeter Academy, 2002
Harvard University, 2002 – 2004, dropped out
Facebook: Use it. 'Like' it. But, buy it?
Other Facts:
* Is red-green colorblind.
* Took a graduate computer course at Mercy College when he was eleven.
* Became captain of the fencing team at Phillips Exeter Academy.
* Considered a prodigy by his early computer tutor David Newman.
* Co-created a software program named Synapse, which learned a listener's music habits.
* Met long-term girlfriend Priscilla Chan during his sophomore year at Harvard University.
Timeline:
* 1996 – Creates an instant messaging service for his dad's dentist office called ZuckNet.
* 2003 – Creates facemash.com at Harvard, a website rating system to rank the physical attractiveness of those whose pictures he had downloaded from the school directory – without permission. The site garners lots of attention, both positive and negative, from the student body, and negative attention from the school administration. Zuckerberg is forced to take the site down.
Overheard on CNN.com: Wild times on Wall Street, busy day for business news
Editor's note: This post is part of the Overheard on CNN.com series, a regular feature that examines interesting comments and thought-provoking conversations posted by the community.
Things have been eventful in the business world. Readers are certainly talking about these recent developments.
Ina Drew, JPMorgan Chase's chief investment officer, has left the bank after revelations of a $2 billion loss sustained over the past six weeks. Readers talked about the fact that she is retiring.
Cliff Eden Gardner: "Wow, wish I could still be set for life after costing my company billions."
dcjohnny: "Go to school, then work 80 hours a week, then go back to school, then work even harder. Ascend to the respect level she commanded via an extraordinary career, and then – if you find yourself at the tail end of a bad decision gone haywire – you will most likely be able to retire with more money than any of your friends. You know how not to reach that potential? Complain about others and elect people who will throw you the occasional scraps from their table every election cycle."
Melissa Walker: "Someone costs your company $2 BILLION and you're allowed to retire? With a golden parachute and pension and everything? Sheesh, even after the financial collapse, it's clear the Fat Cats don't get it - FIRE THE WITCH-RHYMES-WITH and let her enjoy the wide world of unemployment and looking for a job at her age with her 30 years of experience."
mwilder: "Until we have regulations in place this will continue to happen. Plain and simple."
Similar conversation, with a dash of wisecracks, followed this story. FULL POST
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