Also, Lenovo recalls cables, the Xbox One beats the PS4, Spotify listens to your friends, and Star Wars fan reacting to the new trailer get parodied.

Facebook Dislikes Dislikes

http://youtu.be/IQC6MTPP4XE

Like everyone else on the social network, you have probably wondered why Facebook has a Like button but no Dislike button. It's a mystery. Surely a Dislike button is the Yang to the Yin of the Like button, and therefore absolutely essential if we're to maintain balance within the force.

Not so, at least according to Mark Zuckerberg, who, rather ironically, dislikes the very idea of a Dislike button. Zuckerberg was asked about the possibility of adding a Dislike button to Facebook during the Q&A with Mark held at the company's headquarters in California.

Zuckerberg curtly replied:

Some people have asked for a dislike button before. They want to be able to say that a thing isn't good and that’s not something that we think is good for the world. So we’re not going to build that. I don’t think there needs to be a voting mechanism on Facebook whether posts are good or bad. I don’t think that’s socially very valuable or good for the community.

He then added that while the Dislike button was a non-starter, other options for responding to a status update may be added in the future, saying:

We've been thinking about it for quite a while. What’s the right way to make it so people can easily express a broader range of emotions, to empathize. Or to express surprise or laughter or any of these things. You can always just comment. But there’s something that’s so simple about the like button.

I think giving people the power to do that in more ways with more emotions would be powerful. But we need to figure out the right way to do it so it ends up being a force for good and not a force for bad and demeaning the posts that people are putting out there.

This is all rather logical. With trolls being a very real problem online, having a quick and dirty way of expressing displeasure at someone else's Facebook posts risks turning Facebook into a playground for bullies. YouTube, in other words.

Ed Sheeran Loves Spotify

http://youtu.be/lp-EO5I60KA

There have been rumors of Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift being romantically linked, but if their opposing views on the merits of Spotify are anything to go by, such a relationship would be doomed to failure.

Taylor Swift famously hates Spotify, giving the streaming music service a verbal roasting after removing her back catalog from it in November 2014. But while Swift condemned Spotify as “an experiment that I don’t feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists, and creators of this music," Sheeran has not only defended Spotify, but actually praised it.

Speaking backstage at the inaugural BBC Music Awards, the British pop crooner said:

My music has been streamed 860 million times, which means that it's getting out to people. I'm playing sold-out gigs in South America, I've sold out arenas in Korea and south-east Asia. I don't think I'd be able to do that without Spotify. For me, Spotify is not even a necessary evil. It helps me do what I want to do.

He also addressed the question of who's at fault for artists seeing less money, telling BBC News:

I think Spotify are paying the right amount. We're just not seeing it, because the labels aren't making as much as they used to, so they want to keep a lot of the money that Spotify give them, and not pay it out to us. Which is the truth. It is the truth. I get a percentage of my record sales, but it's not a large percentage. I get [the profits from] all my ticket sales, so I'd rather tour.

This gets to the heart of the matter, which is that the record labels are controlling the flow of money between streaming services and artists. Perhaps Swift needs to direct her ire towards her record label rather than Spotify, which, like it or not, is likely to be at the heart of the music industry of the future.

Lenovo Recalls Laptop Cords

My new Lenovo Tablet has an actual hook hole built into the back of it. Surprisingly useful #youinspired pic.twitter.com/OCkpV7zBl4

— James Whatley (@Whatleydude) December 7, 2014

Lenovo has recalled more than half a million laptop power cords: 500,000 in the U.S., and 44,000 in Canada. The reason for the recall of power cords, manufactured between February 2011 and December 2011, is a risk of overheating and catching fire.

If you own a Lenovo laptop you should check the AC adapter immediately. Those at risk of overheating have "LS-15" molded into them, with the date of manufacture printed on the label attached to the cord. Anyone who thinks they have one of the faulty cables should unplug their laptop and contact Lenovo for a free replacement. Do it. Now.

Xbox One Beats PS4, Finally

http://youtu.be/bxS7LxaY2q4

The Xbox One outsold the PlayStation 4 and Wii U in November 2014. This is according to Microsoft itself, citing numbers released by NPD. These numbers suggest Microsoft sold 1.2 million Xbox Ones in the U.S. during the month, but until Sony releases the numbers for the PS4 (which is unlikely) we won't know how significant of a beating this was.

Spotify Steals Your Friends' Music

I'm trying to figure out this Spotify thing... I'm properly awful at technology though!

— Amy Best (@AmyCardinals) December 11, 2014

Spotify is now taking more notice of what music your friends are listening to, and then using that data to compile a constantly updating 'Top Tracks In Your Network' playlist. Top Tracks is already available on iOS and Android, and is due to hit the desktop app soon.

This is yet another way of discovering new music on Spotify, and paring the 30 million tracks in its catalog down to something more manageable. Which is often harder than you may imagine. However, my favorite method by far is still Forgotify.

A Star Wars Trailer Fan Reaction Parody

http://youtu.be/BJgLa3eKMYs

[NSFW: Contains Cursing & More]

And finally, someone has made a parody of the OTT fan reactions to Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Yes, not content with merely making parodies of the trailer for the new Star Wars movie itself, this guy parodies the reactions from fans.

It's extremely funny, with unfettered excitement giving way to mild disappointment giving way to an epic fanboy-fueled nerdgasm where toys and artwork are destroyed. It's clear George Lucas is done, and it's time for the J.J. Abrams era to begin.

[H/T Geekologie]

Your Views On Today’s Tech News

Would you like to see Facebook add a Dislike button? Do you side with Ed Sheeran or Taylor Swift when it comes to Spotify? Did you buy either a PS4 or Xbox One in November? If so, why?

Let us know your thoughts on the Tech News of the day by posting to the comments section below. Because a healthy discussion is always welcome.

Image Credit: Geoff Livingston via Flickr