10 Entertaining eBay Facts You Might Not Know

As the world’s largest marketplace, eBay has hundreds of millions of listings live at any given moment. Since its founding in 1995, the company has grown from just one curious computer programmer to over 15,000 employees. Over the past 15 years, eBay has become one of the largest companies in America, consistently ranking in the Fortune 500, and is one of the most recognized brands around the world.
Throughout the years, the world has gawked at some of the oddest items listed on eBay, including, among others, old gum, entire towns, and even spouses. The fact that anyone can list almost anything (yes, there are some restrictions), makes this site one of the most interesting places to find rare or outlandish items.
We took a deeper look at the history behind eBay and pulled together some of the most entertaining facts about the company that we could find. Here are 10 that you might not know.
Fill us in on any fun facts that you may have in the comments below.

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1. eBay was Originally Called AuctionWeb

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This screenshot is the earliest example of the AuctionWeb homepage, circa March 1997, but the basic design did not change from May 1996 to September 1997. Click the image to see the full-sized screenshot.The site we now know as eBay was launched during Labor Day weekend in 1995 as “AuctionWeb,” by entrepreneur Pierre Omidyar in his living room in San Jose, California.

Twitter to Show Photos and Videos in the Stream [UPDATED]

A new Twitter () setting called “Tweet Media” has rolled out to some of Twitter’s users, strongly suggesting that the company will soon embed videos and photos in the stream.
Tweet Media, which the Mashable () team and others have been able to access under Twitter’s account settings, asks you whether or not you want to show photos and videos from everyone. It also comes with the following description of the setting:

10 Fascinating Facebook Facts

Facebook’s astronomic rise, staggeringly large user-base, and world’s youngest self-made billionaire CEO make it one of the most fascinating companies around today.
While everyone knows the basics about the service’s Harvard dorm room origins, we’ve delved a little deeper to find out more interesting snippets of info.
Here are 10 facts you might not know about Facebook (), so read on and let us know your favorites in the comments box below.

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1. Al Pacino’s Face Was on the Original Facebook Homepage

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Prior to a major homepage redesign back in 2007, Facebook’s front page used to feature a man’s face partly obscured behind a cloud of binary code.
Dubbed the “Facebook guy,” it was not known who the mystery man was — until recently. David Kirkpatrick has revealed in his book The Facebook Effect that the image is a manipulated photo of Al Pacino created by a friend and classmate of Mark Zuckerberg.

Apple’s iPhone 4 Strategy: Free Cases for All

At its press conference to address the iPhone 4 reception issues, Apple laid out its response plan.
The first part of the strategy was the press conference itself. Apple has acknowledged that there is a problem and that it is committed to making its customers happy. Although the data shows that the rate of dropped calls on the iPhone 4 are higher than on the iPhone 3GS, the increase in dropped calls is less than 1 per 100 calls.

Apple made it clear that it is committed to making its customers happy and providing the best products it can offer. With regards to the iPhone 4, this is what the company said it was going to do:

• Release a Software Update to Better Report Cellular Signal — This was actually included in yesterday’s iOS update 4.0.1. The software fix does not actually improve call reception, however. Instead, it adjusts the algorithm to better report the actual signal. That should make the drop in bars when gripping a caseless iPhone appear less significant (even though the end result is exactly the same).
• All iPhone 4 Owners Get a Free Bumper or a Refund for Their Existing Bumper — Apple believes that part of the reason that the dropped call ratio has increased (however slightly) is because fewer users have cases for their new iPhone 4. With the iPhone 3GS, the iPhone form factor didn’t change, which meant that not only did more existing users already have a case, but more cases were available at launch. That didn’t happen with the iPhone 4, and so Apple is going to give all iPhone 4 users who purchase the phone from launch date through September 30 a a free bumper or a refund on their existing bumper. Additionally, because Apple can’t make enough bumpers to satisfy demand, customers can choose another third-party case as well. The company says it will have a form on its website late next week that customers can fill out to request their new bumper or to get a refund on their existing bumper.

• Unsatisfied Customers Get a Full Refund — If the new case or bumper still doesn’t solve the problem, Apple will provide a complete refund to the iPhone 4 owner. Presumably you can also just exchange your iPhone 4 for another unit.

Facebook’s Open Graph and Like Button are Going Mobile

Facebook’s Open Graph, the platform that extends and spreads Facebook’s social network throughout the web, is going mobile, according to Facebook’s Head of Mobile Products Eric Tseng.
At the MobileBeat 2010 conference in San Francisco, Tseng said that Facebook () “really sees mobile as the future,” and that we can expect to see Facebook’s “Like” buttons in mobile applications soon.
Tseng used geolocation as an example to illustrate the power of the mobile Open Graph. If you were to walk near a coffee shop and get a location-aware notification that there’s a happy hour going on there, you’ll probably be even more inclined to visit it if the notification comes bundled with recommendations from your Facebook friends.
He also had some interesting ideas about mobile app discovery, which he thinks will become more social. Without going into the details, Tseng said that “Inevitably, app stores will become more social. As we get more apps, that’s going to be great. But the average user isn’t going to go through thousands of apps on their phone.”
As far as Facebook’s mobile user base goes, Tseng puts the number at 150 million users, adding that mobile users have fueled Facebook’s immense recent growth.

50+ iPad Resources You Might Have Missed

Apple’s iPad is the little device that could. Any scepticism about Apple’s tablet technology was largely erased as the iPad took touchscreen technology to a larger, more robust high.
We’ve tracked the iPad through its first months in public hands with a slew of features and resources. We’ve here collected some of our best — sometimes bizarre — resources for you to get all caught up.
Whether you’re looking for the best business apps, need some decals to trick out your device, or just want to see if your iPad works in space — this collection of more than 50 iPad resources is sure to suit your needs.