Google Launches Animated GIF Search

Google is making it easier to search the web for animated GIFs, the latest proof that the rudimentary image format is making a comeback. The search engine giant has added new filters to its Image Search page, including clip art, line drawings, photos and faces. But the option to search for animated GIFs caused the most buzz among advertisers and Internet users alike.

Once thought to be a relic of the early Web 1.0 era, the crude animated images have returned to the spotlight thanks to sites like Reddit and Tumblr, where GIF memes like Grumpy Cat and Infomercial Failsfirst went viral. “GIFs have been around since 1987 and have become the de facto standard for short animations on the web, from pony glitter text to grumpy cat memes” the company wrote on its Google+ page.

How to Customize Your Facebook Page for Free

Facebook is in the process of rolling out yet another interface revamp. As Sharon Vaknin described in a post earlier this month, the new look for the Facebook News Feed provides many new options for viewing your friends' posts. You can add your name to the waiting list for the new-look News Feed, but you don't have to wait to enliven your Facebook page's appearance.

While the company provides only a handful of options for tweaking the look of your Facebook profile, Matt Kruse's free Social Fixer browser add-on (formerly named Better Facebook) takes Facebook customization to a new level. Social Fixer lets you update the social network's interface with a tabbed news feed, feed filters, image previews, and many other options.

New BlackBerry PlayBook is in the Works According to BlackBerry Exec

It seems there may be some confusion up at the BlackBerry headquarters about whether or not there is a new PlayBook tablet in the future.

BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins recently told Australia’s Herald Sun that tablets are “a very difficult business.” He went on to suggest that the company won’t be releasing any new tablets unless it can find a niche that needs to be filled. It seems, however, that someone forgot to send out that memo to the rest of the company.