Gadgetory

Facebook changes the rules to the name game and Siri can now be installed in your car stereo I'm Bridget Carey and this is your cnet update facebook is updating its real name policy to allow people to go by stage names or pseudonyms rather than their legal birth names facebook always had a policy that required people to use their real names on the network the reason being using a real name cuts down on acts of violence harassment and scams to other members but that policy drew fire recently from the LGBT community drag queen performer accounts for warned that they'd be suspended from facebook if they kept using stage names instead of real names this all started when an individual targeted several hundred performer accounts and reported them as fake names so then Facebook follows up on the reports and starts cracking down on hundreds of performers requiring that they submit a form of government issued ID well after several days of public outcry Facebook apologized and said it would work on a new way for accounts that don't use birth names to prove that they are still authentic users this is an issue that goes beyond performers some people don't feel safe using their real names such as domestic violence survivors or refugees from other countries and sometimes people just don't want to be found easily like a school teacher that doesn't want their account to befriended by students obviously not everyone with a pseudonym is out to scam somebody but of course there is plenty of fraud online which takes us to the next story Apple has a new online tool to help you avoid buying a stolen iPhone you can check the activation lock status of an iPhone iPad or iPod Touch you just type in the serial number on the website and in return Apple tells you if the activation lock is turned on or off and if it's on that means the password from the original owner is still required and you won't be able to use that phone so before buying a used device on Craigslist or Ebay the seller should give you the serial number you can find it in settings make sure the lock is off before you hand over the cash also in the world of Apple if you want to experience carplay you don't need to wait to buy a new car Pioneer has the first car stereos that work with carp so you can install the dashboard system in existing cars a new model called the app radio for cost six hundred dollars and features a 6.2 inch touchscreen but there are several other existing models that can get carplay by installing a firmware update carplay gives drivers hands-free Siri voice command controls for music and other apps it works with iOS 7.1 running on an iPhone 5 or newer model that's your tech news update you can get more details on these stories at cnet com and stay updated by following along on Twitter from our studios in New York I'm Bridget Carey