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12
Remixes / Guys and girls
« Last post by mattbatchelor on December 05, 2011, 08:04:10 pm »Name a song and ill try and mix it! See what it comes out like! 
13
Remixes / Swagger Jagger Remix - By me!
« Last post by mattbatchelor on December 05, 2011, 08:01:32 pm »Original by Cher Lloyd
http://mattbatchelor.co.uk/music/swaggerjaggerremix.mp3
Hope this works!
And it was my First attempt!
http://mattbatchelor.co.uk/music/swaggerjaggerremix.mp3
Hope this works!
And it was my First attempt!
14
Technology / How do you setup a VPN at home?
« Last post by mattbatchelor on December 05, 2011, 08:58:47 am »Whats required to setup your own VPN?
15
Whats New / Whats this all about then?
« Last post by mattbatchelor on November 23, 2011, 12:05:54 pm »Sooo! Tell me what your blog is about?
16
World News / Shake-up of unfair dismissal rules to be considered
« Last post by mattbatchelor on November 23, 2011, 11:44:36 am »Staff who work for small businesses could lose their right to claim unfair dismissal under plans being considered.
Ministers want views on whether firms with 10 or fewer employees should be able to sack staff without risk of a tribunal if they pay compensation.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said he wanted the process for getting rid of staff to be "simpler and quicker".
Unions oppose the idea. Labour called for measures to make it easier to hire people, rather than to fire them.
Announcing a consultation on changes to employment legislation, Mr Cable said he wanted to help firms expand without making existing staff feel insecure.
The key points include:
a "call for evidence" on whether "micro-firms" can dismiss staff without their agreement and without them being taken to a tribunal if they pay compensation
a consultation on "protected conversations", which would allow employers to have frank discussions about poor performance with workers without fear that they could be used as evidence in a tribunal
a "call for evidence" on the length of time required for a consultation period on planned redundancies. It is currently 90 days, but the government is considering reducing that to 30
a requirement for all claims to go to the conciliation service Acas before reaching employment tribunal
options for a "rapid resolution scheme" for more simple cases to be settled within three months
The business secretary also confirmed plans to make people work two years before they can make a claim for unfair dismissal from April - up from one year at present.
Mr Cable said the proposals would not erode workers' rights but would cut "unnecessary bureaucracy" and reduce the number of cases going to employment tribunal, which have risen 40% in the past three years.
In a speech to the manufacturers organisation EEF, he said he wanted a "radical slimming down of the existing dismissal process" which would help firms grow but protect individual rights.
Ahead of the speech, he told the BBC that he was not encouraging a "hire and fire" culture, saying that would be "unhelpful" in the difficult economic climate.
But he added: "We want to create an environment in which entrepreneurs want to start businesses, expand, take on staff and feel confident that they can do that and, if they run into difficulties with a particular employee, they can have a conversation with them without worrying they are going to be taken to a tribunal."
A recent government-commissioned report suggested that unproductive workers, should lose their right to claim unfair dismissal.
The Lib Dems were reported to have rejected these proposals from the businessman and Conservative donor Adrian Beecroft, believing they would not help the labour market at a difficult time for the economy.
Business group the CBI welcomed the overall strategy and called for it to be implemented quickly.
Continue reading the main story
?
Start Quote
This will just sweep abuse under the carpet?
End Quote
Paul Kenny
GMB union
Adam Marshall, director of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "Mandatory Acas involvement and new claimant fees will make the system fairer by ensuring that baseless claims are weeded out, and the pressure to settle is reduced.
"The proposal to investigate a fast-track scheme for simple claims could also help.
"Once these reforms are in place, firms won't have to waste time and money and can focus on running their business and delivering growth instead. It will also mean that genuine grievances get a better hearing."
But Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said the agenda was "being driven by the CBI, who want the balance of power in the workplace tilted even more against the ordinary worker".
"These changes will make it harder for hundreds of thousands of workers to bring cases of victimisation, unfairness and bullying at work," he said.
'Retrograde step'
"This will just sweep abuse under the carpet."
Mr Kenny also said a plan to require only one judge to preside over unfair dismissal cases was "retrograde" as it would remove "the voice of business and the shop floor" from proceedings.
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said Labour agreed the tribunal system needed reform.
But he said: "Watering down people's rights at work by doubling the service requirement to claim for unfair dismissal from one to two years is not a substitute for a credible plan for growth.
"Instead of seeking to make it easier to fire people the government should be looking to make it easier to hire people at a time when their reckless economic policies have pushed up unemployment to a 17-year high."
Some 218,000 claims were received by employment tribunals last year.
Source: BBC News
Ministers want views on whether firms with 10 or fewer employees should be able to sack staff without risk of a tribunal if they pay compensation.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said he wanted the process for getting rid of staff to be "simpler and quicker".
Unions oppose the idea. Labour called for measures to make it easier to hire people, rather than to fire them.
Announcing a consultation on changes to employment legislation, Mr Cable said he wanted to help firms expand without making existing staff feel insecure.
The key points include:
a "call for evidence" on whether "micro-firms" can dismiss staff without their agreement and without them being taken to a tribunal if they pay compensation
a consultation on "protected conversations", which would allow employers to have frank discussions about poor performance with workers without fear that they could be used as evidence in a tribunal
a "call for evidence" on the length of time required for a consultation period on planned redundancies. It is currently 90 days, but the government is considering reducing that to 30
a requirement for all claims to go to the conciliation service Acas before reaching employment tribunal
options for a "rapid resolution scheme" for more simple cases to be settled within three months
The business secretary also confirmed plans to make people work two years before they can make a claim for unfair dismissal from April - up from one year at present.
Mr Cable said the proposals would not erode workers' rights but would cut "unnecessary bureaucracy" and reduce the number of cases going to employment tribunal, which have risen 40% in the past three years.
In a speech to the manufacturers organisation EEF, he said he wanted a "radical slimming down of the existing dismissal process" which would help firms grow but protect individual rights.
Ahead of the speech, he told the BBC that he was not encouraging a "hire and fire" culture, saying that would be "unhelpful" in the difficult economic climate.
But he added: "We want to create an environment in which entrepreneurs want to start businesses, expand, take on staff and feel confident that they can do that and, if they run into difficulties with a particular employee, they can have a conversation with them without worrying they are going to be taken to a tribunal."
A recent government-commissioned report suggested that unproductive workers, should lose their right to claim unfair dismissal.
The Lib Dems were reported to have rejected these proposals from the businessman and Conservative donor Adrian Beecroft, believing they would not help the labour market at a difficult time for the economy.
Business group the CBI welcomed the overall strategy and called for it to be implemented quickly.
Continue reading the main story
?
Start Quote
This will just sweep abuse under the carpet?
End Quote
Paul Kenny
GMB union
Adam Marshall, director of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "Mandatory Acas involvement and new claimant fees will make the system fairer by ensuring that baseless claims are weeded out, and the pressure to settle is reduced.
"The proposal to investigate a fast-track scheme for simple claims could also help.
"Once these reforms are in place, firms won't have to waste time and money and can focus on running their business and delivering growth instead. It will also mean that genuine grievances get a better hearing."
But Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said the agenda was "being driven by the CBI, who want the balance of power in the workplace tilted even more against the ordinary worker".
"These changes will make it harder for hundreds of thousands of workers to bring cases of victimisation, unfairness and bullying at work," he said.
'Retrograde step'
"This will just sweep abuse under the carpet."
Mr Kenny also said a plan to require only one judge to preside over unfair dismissal cases was "retrograde" as it would remove "the voice of business and the shop floor" from proceedings.
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said Labour agreed the tribunal system needed reform.
But he said: "Watering down people's rights at work by doubling the service requirement to claim for unfair dismissal from one to two years is not a substitute for a credible plan for growth.
"Instead of seeking to make it easier to fire people the government should be looking to make it easier to hire people at a time when their reckless economic policies have pushed up unemployment to a 17-year high."
Some 218,000 claims were received by employment tribunals last year.
Source: BBC News
17
World News / UN human rights chief Navi Pillay condemns Cairo deaths
« Last post by mattbatchelor on November 23, 2011, 11:43:26 am »UN human rights chief Navi Pillay has condemned the "clearly excessive use of force" by Egypt's security forces during clashes with protesters.
Ms Pillay called for an independent inquiry into the death of at least 30 people since the weekend.
Critics of Egypt's ruling military council are still occupying Cairo's Tahrir Square despite its pledge of a speedier handover to civilian rule.
Street battles are continuing for a fifth day in the capital.
"I urge the Egyptian authorities to end the clearly excessive use of force against protesters in Tahrir square and elsewhere in the country, including the apparent improper use of tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition," Ms Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.
"Some of the images coming out of Tahrir, including the brutal beating of already subdued protesters, are deeply shocking," she added.
"There should be a prompt, impartial and independent investigation, and accountability for those found responsible for the abuses that have taken place should be ensured," Ms Pillay said.
Wednesday's street battles in Cairo are focusing on the interior ministry building, near Tahrir Square.
Security forces have been using tear gas and rubber bullets against demonstrators.
There have also been clashes in several Egyptian cities including Alexandria, Suez, Port Said and Aswan.
'Mubarak copy pasted'
The unrest continued despite the promise of a speedier transition to civilian rule by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf).
He said presidential elections would be held by July 2012 - the council had previously said they might not happen until late 2012 or 2013.
That move, coupled with a draft constitution produced earlier in the month that would exempt the military and its budget from civilian oversight, prompted the days of mass demonstrations in Tahrir Square that began on Friday.
In his address, Field Marshal Tantawi also confirmed that parliamentary elections scheduled to begin on 28 November would be held as planned.
The violence is the worst since a wave of street protests toppled President Hosni Mubarak in February, after three decades in power.
The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says that when the army first took over, they had the trust of the overwhelming majority of ordinary Egyptians - but now the protesters want them to hand over power immediately.
After Field Marshal Tantawi spoke, protesters in Tahrir Square chanted: "We are not leaving, he (Tantawi) leaves."
One protester told AFP news agency: "Tantawi is Mubarak, copy pasted. He's Mubarak in a military uniform."
Source: BBC News
Ms Pillay called for an independent inquiry into the death of at least 30 people since the weekend.
Critics of Egypt's ruling military council are still occupying Cairo's Tahrir Square despite its pledge of a speedier handover to civilian rule.
Street battles are continuing for a fifth day in the capital.
"I urge the Egyptian authorities to end the clearly excessive use of force against protesters in Tahrir square and elsewhere in the country, including the apparent improper use of tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition," Ms Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.
"Some of the images coming out of Tahrir, including the brutal beating of already subdued protesters, are deeply shocking," she added.
"There should be a prompt, impartial and independent investigation, and accountability for those found responsible for the abuses that have taken place should be ensured," Ms Pillay said.
Wednesday's street battles in Cairo are focusing on the interior ministry building, near Tahrir Square.
Security forces have been using tear gas and rubber bullets against demonstrators.
There have also been clashes in several Egyptian cities including Alexandria, Suez, Port Said and Aswan.
'Mubarak copy pasted'
The unrest continued despite the promise of a speedier transition to civilian rule by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf).
He said presidential elections would be held by July 2012 - the council had previously said they might not happen until late 2012 or 2013.
That move, coupled with a draft constitution produced earlier in the month that would exempt the military and its budget from civilian oversight, prompted the days of mass demonstrations in Tahrir Square that began on Friday.
In his address, Field Marshal Tantawi also confirmed that parliamentary elections scheduled to begin on 28 November would be held as planned.
The violence is the worst since a wave of street protests toppled President Hosni Mubarak in February, after three decades in power.
The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says that when the army first took over, they had the trust of the overwhelming majority of ordinary Egyptians - but now the protesters want them to hand over power immediately.
After Field Marshal Tantawi spoke, protesters in Tahrir Square chanted: "We are not leaving, he (Tantawi) leaves."
One protester told AFP news agency: "Tantawi is Mubarak, copy pasted. He's Mubarak in a military uniform."
Source: BBC News
18
Technology / Long-lasting all-weather night-vision material unveiled
« Last post by mattbatchelor on November 23, 2011, 11:42:19 am »A US-based team of scientists claims to have invented a material that releases over two weeks of night-vision light after just one minute's exposure to the sun.
The University of Georgia team says the near-infrared emitting substance could offer the military "secret" illumination at nighttime.
It says the all-weather material could also revolutionise diagnostic medicine.
The details are published in the latest issue of the Nature Materials journal.
The material combines the well-known near infrared-light emitter trivalent chromium ion with zinc gallogermanates - a complex oxide compound.
The chromium ions normally release all of their near infrared-light in the space of a few milliseconds after being exposed to "excitation light", such as sunlight.
However, the zinc and gallogermanates create a "labyrinth of traps" for the energy causing it to be released over an extended period of up to 360-hours.
Night-vision paint
The scientists tested this material in a variety of conditions and found it could be rapidly and repeatedly charged even if the day was cloudy, overcast or rainy.
The team said the phosphorescent substance did not need to be exposed to direct sunlight. It took on a charge in shadows, underwater or even submerged in a corrosive bleach solution. Fluorescent lights also activated the process.
Lead author, Zhengwei Pan, said the material could be added to ceramic discs or mixed into paints and inks by the army and others.
"The military and security services could use this for identification purposes - either to locate people or equipment in the night so that only people with night vision goggles could see them," Prof Pan told the BBC.
"We are also experimenting with nanoparticles of the substance to see if we can bind them to cancer cells to help researchers and doctors identify them."
Prof Pan said the substance could also help develop next-generation solar energy cells thanks to its efficiency at collecting and storing sunlight.
Source: BBC News
The University of Georgia team says the near-infrared emitting substance could offer the military "secret" illumination at nighttime.
It says the all-weather material could also revolutionise diagnostic medicine.
The details are published in the latest issue of the Nature Materials journal.
The material combines the well-known near infrared-light emitter trivalent chromium ion with zinc gallogermanates - a complex oxide compound.
The chromium ions normally release all of their near infrared-light in the space of a few milliseconds after being exposed to "excitation light", such as sunlight.
However, the zinc and gallogermanates create a "labyrinth of traps" for the energy causing it to be released over an extended period of up to 360-hours.
Night-vision paint
The scientists tested this material in a variety of conditions and found it could be rapidly and repeatedly charged even if the day was cloudy, overcast or rainy.
The team said the phosphorescent substance did not need to be exposed to direct sunlight. It took on a charge in shadows, underwater or even submerged in a corrosive bleach solution. Fluorescent lights also activated the process.
Lead author, Zhengwei Pan, said the material could be added to ceramic discs or mixed into paints and inks by the army and others.
"The military and security services could use this for identification purposes - either to locate people or equipment in the night so that only people with night vision goggles could see them," Prof Pan told the BBC.
"We are also experimenting with nanoparticles of the substance to see if we can bind them to cancer cells to help researchers and doctors identify them."
Prof Pan said the substance could also help develop next-generation solar energy cells thanks to its efficiency at collecting and storing sunlight.
Source: BBC News
19
Technology / Personal data 'lost by 132 councils'
« Last post by mattbatchelor on November 23, 2011, 11:41:14 am »Private data has been lost by or stolen from UK local councils more than 1,000 times since 2008, a report says.
The data included details relating to children and vulnerable people in care, campaign group Big Brother Watch said.
Some 132 authorities said they had had a total of 1,035 cases of data loss or theft between 2008 and 2011.
The Information Commissioner said it was vital councils kept data secure. The Local Government Association for England and Wales declined to comment.
Big Brother Watch director Nick Pickles said the research - based on answers to freedom of information requests - showed a "shockingly lax attitude" to protection of confidential information by some councils.
Some 263 councils reported no losses, while a further 38 did not respond.
The report revealed that information about at least 3,100 children and young people was compromised in 118 cases.
Lost 'in street'
At least 244 laptops and portable computers, 98 memory sticks and 93 mobile devices went missing.
Only 55 incidents were reported to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and only nine people lost their jobs as a result, according to the councils which responded.
Buckinghamshire and Kent reported the most data loss incidents with 72 cases each, followed by Essex with 62 and Northamptonshire with 48.
Cases included scanned case notes belonging to Kent council being found on Facebook and an unencrypted memory stick containing childcare data lost on a Durham street.
In Birmingham, one lost USB stick included the names, addresses, contact details, tenancy type and ethnic origin of 64,000 tenants. In that case, the member of staff was suspended and later resigned.
Mr Pickles said: "This research highlights a shockingly lax attitude to protecting confidential information across nearly a third of councils.
"The fact that only a tiny fraction of staff have been dismissed brings into question how seriously managers take protecting the privacy of their service users and local residents.
"Despite having access to increasing amounts of data and being responsible for even more services, local authorities are simply not able to say our personal information is safe with them."
New powers
The ICO has called for new powers to carry out compulsory audits in the local government sector.
An ICO spokesman said: "It's vital that local authorities properly live up to their legal responsibility to keep personal data secure, particularly where it is sensitive information about children and young people.
"Our concern isn't just that councils have the right policies and procedures in place; it's about bringing about a culture among staff whereby everyone takes their responsibilities seriously and effective data handling becomes second nature.
"We're calling for powers to conduct compulsory audits in the local government sector and will this week submit a formal business case to the Ministry of Justice asking the government to give us such powers."
Local government minister Grant Shapps welcomed the report saying it "reinforces the need for steps to protect the privacy of law-abiding local residents".
In October, MPs on the justice select committee called for tougher personal data abuse laws, suggesting courts should have the power to jail people who breach the Data Protection Act.
Wource: BBC News
The data included details relating to children and vulnerable people in care, campaign group Big Brother Watch said.
Some 132 authorities said they had had a total of 1,035 cases of data loss or theft between 2008 and 2011.
The Information Commissioner said it was vital councils kept data secure. The Local Government Association for England and Wales declined to comment.
Big Brother Watch director Nick Pickles said the research - based on answers to freedom of information requests - showed a "shockingly lax attitude" to protection of confidential information by some councils.
Some 263 councils reported no losses, while a further 38 did not respond.
The report revealed that information about at least 3,100 children and young people was compromised in 118 cases.
Lost 'in street'
At least 244 laptops and portable computers, 98 memory sticks and 93 mobile devices went missing.
Only 55 incidents were reported to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and only nine people lost their jobs as a result, according to the councils which responded.
Buckinghamshire and Kent reported the most data loss incidents with 72 cases each, followed by Essex with 62 and Northamptonshire with 48.
Cases included scanned case notes belonging to Kent council being found on Facebook and an unencrypted memory stick containing childcare data lost on a Durham street.
In Birmingham, one lost USB stick included the names, addresses, contact details, tenancy type and ethnic origin of 64,000 tenants. In that case, the member of staff was suspended and later resigned.
Mr Pickles said: "This research highlights a shockingly lax attitude to protecting confidential information across nearly a third of councils.
"The fact that only a tiny fraction of staff have been dismissed brings into question how seriously managers take protecting the privacy of their service users and local residents.
"Despite having access to increasing amounts of data and being responsible for even more services, local authorities are simply not able to say our personal information is safe with them."
New powers
The ICO has called for new powers to carry out compulsory audits in the local government sector.
An ICO spokesman said: "It's vital that local authorities properly live up to their legal responsibility to keep personal data secure, particularly where it is sensitive information about children and young people.
"Our concern isn't just that councils have the right policies and procedures in place; it's about bringing about a culture among staff whereby everyone takes their responsibilities seriously and effective data handling becomes second nature.
"We're calling for powers to conduct compulsory audits in the local government sector and will this week submit a formal business case to the Ministry of Justice asking the government to give us such powers."
Local government minister Grant Shapps welcomed the report saying it "reinforces the need for steps to protect the privacy of law-abiding local residents".
In October, MPs on the justice select committee called for tougher personal data abuse laws, suggesting courts should have the power to jail people who breach the Data Protection Act.
Wource: BBC News
20
Technology / Facebook users average 3.74 degrees of separation
« Last post by mattbatchelor on November 23, 2011, 11:40:33 am »There are on average 3.74 degrees of separation between any one Facebook user and another, a study suggests.
The number of degrees represents the number of people in a friendship chain, excluding the people at either end.
Or, as the authors put it: "When considering another person in the world, a friend of your friend knows a friend of their friend."
The study was carried out in May and involved all of the social network's active members.
Facebook defines a user as active if they have logged on at least once over the past 28 days.
Some journalists misreported the news claiming there were 4.74 degrees of separation. However, this confused the number of degrees with the distance - or hops - between each of the people on the friendship chain.
The authors of the report say that they "assume that 'degree of separation' is the same as 'distance minus one'".
Kevin Bacon
The experiment is the biggest test to date for an idea first proposed by the Hungarian author Frigyes Karinthy in 1929.
He suggested there were six degrees of separation between any two people in the world.
The theory was made popular by a play, movie and later a trivia game in which players try to link the actor Kevin Bacon to another Hollywood star within six steps.
Testing that the hypothesis proved true for the wider population has long posed a challenge.
Deep data
A previous attempt by the psychologist Stanley Milgram in the 1960s involved delivering a letter. Volunteers were asked to make sure it reached a specific person, but they were told to only pass it through personal acquaintances who already knew each other.
The problem was that this only involved a few hundred initial subjects, and there was no way to know that the routes the letters took were the most direct ones possible.
Facebook's data scientist Lars Backstrom was able to work with a much bigger data sample.
His social network had 721 million members at the time of the experiment - representing around 10% of the global population - with a total of 69 billion friendships between them.
Despite the vast quantity of data, Mr Backstrom and four researchers from the University of Milan were able to crunch the data using a 24-core computer with a 1 terabyte hard disk. They said the hardware cost no more than a couple of thousand pounds.
Celebrities' "Facebook Pages" were excluded and the test was carried out before the network introduced "Subscriptions", a feature designed to link users to other people they might be interested in, even if they are not acquaintances.
Stabilising
Facebook limits users to having 5,000 friends, but the median figure was far lower at just 100 contacts, or 0.000014% of Facebook's total membership.
Despite this relatively small number, the results showed 99.6% of all pairs of users were connected by five degrees of separation, and 92% were connected by four degrees.
On average, the distance between any two members was 3.74 degrees.
That was shorter than the average 4.28 degrees of separation registered by Facebook's 2008 membership, when the network was smaller.
However, the researchers say the average distance "appears now to be stabilising", suggesting that even if the other nine tenths of the world join Facebook, our degree of separation will not get much smaller.
Source: BBC News
The number of degrees represents the number of people in a friendship chain, excluding the people at either end.
Or, as the authors put it: "When considering another person in the world, a friend of your friend knows a friend of their friend."
The study was carried out in May and involved all of the social network's active members.
Facebook defines a user as active if they have logged on at least once over the past 28 days.
Some journalists misreported the news claiming there were 4.74 degrees of separation. However, this confused the number of degrees with the distance - or hops - between each of the people on the friendship chain.
The authors of the report say that they "assume that 'degree of separation' is the same as 'distance minus one'".
Kevin Bacon
The experiment is the biggest test to date for an idea first proposed by the Hungarian author Frigyes Karinthy in 1929.
He suggested there were six degrees of separation between any two people in the world.
The theory was made popular by a play, movie and later a trivia game in which players try to link the actor Kevin Bacon to another Hollywood star within six steps.
Testing that the hypothesis proved true for the wider population has long posed a challenge.
Deep data
A previous attempt by the psychologist Stanley Milgram in the 1960s involved delivering a letter. Volunteers were asked to make sure it reached a specific person, but they were told to only pass it through personal acquaintances who already knew each other.
The problem was that this only involved a few hundred initial subjects, and there was no way to know that the routes the letters took were the most direct ones possible.
Facebook's data scientist Lars Backstrom was able to work with a much bigger data sample.
His social network had 721 million members at the time of the experiment - representing around 10% of the global population - with a total of 69 billion friendships between them.
Despite the vast quantity of data, Mr Backstrom and four researchers from the University of Milan were able to crunch the data using a 24-core computer with a 1 terabyte hard disk. They said the hardware cost no more than a couple of thousand pounds.
Celebrities' "Facebook Pages" were excluded and the test was carried out before the network introduced "Subscriptions", a feature designed to link users to other people they might be interested in, even if they are not acquaintances.
Stabilising
Facebook limits users to having 5,000 friends, but the median figure was far lower at just 100 contacts, or 0.000014% of Facebook's total membership.
Despite this relatively small number, the results showed 99.6% of all pairs of users were connected by five degrees of separation, and 92% were connected by four degrees.
On average, the distance between any two members was 3.74 degrees.
That was shorter than the average 4.28 degrees of separation registered by Facebook's 2008 membership, when the network was smaller.
However, the researchers say the average distance "appears now to be stabilising", suggesting that even if the other nine tenths of the world join Facebook, our degree of separation will not get much smaller.
Source: BBC News