Facebook on Thursday activated its Timeline feature for all users of the social network. Facebook’s Timeline totally revamps a user’s profile page and lists events, such as check-ins, new friends, photos and more, in chronological order. We registered as a developer and have been using the Timeline feature for the past few months. We love that we’re able to go all the way back to 2004 when we first joined the social network to see early posts, but it’s a bit tedious to go through years and years of content to delete or hide posts that are no longer relevant. Facebook Timeline also allows each user to set a unique “Cover” photo that sits at the top of a user’s page and is independent of a profile picture. The Cover feature makes each page feel different and allows a user to add a unique flavor to his or her profile page. Overall, it’s definitely one of Facebook’s better updates in recent memory and we think most users will like the new features. Timeline was originally unveiled in September during Facebook’s annual F8 conference.

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During the F8 conference on Thursday, Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stage to introduce a host of new features that are rolling out to the social network. The major change is called “Timeline” and it takes advantage of existing pictures and status updates to create a more visual experience of “who you are.” As you scroll down your personal timeline, you’ll be able to view pictures and updates throughout the years. There is a new option in the upper right-hand side of your profile to quickly skip to a year in time too, and many of the features are also available on Facebook’s mobile applications. Read on for more, including a video of Facebook’s Spotify integration in action.

“This isn’t all of the stuff that I did in 2007,” Zuckerberg explained while showing off his own profile. “It’s just the most important stuff.” Timeline automatically hides information that Facebook doesn’t think is important, but if it is, you can easily switch it to show that content. In addition, users can click the Timeline and add photos to earlier points in time before Facebook existed, such as their childhoods. Apps can also populate the timeline.

Facebook also added a new “Reports” feature in Timeline. Reports can be compiled every month or every year, and they provide a summary of your Timeline including everything you’ve ever done with a Facebook application. Apps can be added directly from a friend’s Timeline, too. Timeline provides an ability to “highlight and curate all of your stories so you express who you really are,” Zuckerberg said. That means you can customize your homepage with a large photo, dubbed the “Cover,” in addition to your profile picture. Lastly, you can restrict access to certain parts of your Timeline if you choose.

Facebook is also adding “verbs” to status updates which will allow people to “express themselves in new ways.” For example, a user can say they read a book or reviewed a restaurant. These will be added to a “lightweight stream” on the side of Facebook’s homepage as an activity and not in the news feed.

Facebook revamped its OpenGraph protocol so developers can include this functionality in their apps. “OpenGraph will enable apps that focus on two things,” Zuckerberg said, noting that the first is the Timeline and the second is discovering new things through your Facebook friends, such as music.

A “real-time serendipity” feature allows you to share content such as Spotify songs with friends easily. If someone is listening to a song on Spotify, you can hover over it and listen along with them or chat with your friend about it. “Developers are using OpenGraph to not only rethink music, but to rethink the whole music industry,” Zuckerberg said. Facebook partnered with other music companies for content as well, although it highlighted its relationship with Spotify. “You’ll now start seeing new music posts and play buttons all over your newsfeeds,” Spotify said in a blog post on Thursday. “Hit a play button and the music starts. Right there.”

Finally, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings also took the stage to discuss and upcoming social version of Netflix that will allow you to discuss what you’re watching with friends, though no additional details were given during the keynote.

Facebook kicked off the f8 conference with a keynote that laid out its plans to integrate the web into Facebook and Facebook into the web. The social networking powerhouse began by re-affirming its commitment to the unified login provided by Facebook Connect, and revoked the previous limitation that required Facebook Connect-enabled websites to delete cached user data within 24 hours. From today forward, Facebook Connect websites can store user data to create a seamless browsing experience that is enhanced by a single, persistent login. Facebook then presented its expanded Open Graph concept, introduced a series of new social plugins for websites, and unveiled the  new Graph API, an improved and expanded core framework for developers. Read about Facebook’s plan to literally own the web after the jump.

Here are some the tools and concepts presented today that will enable Facebook to expand beyond the bounds of its domain and and reach out to the rest of the web.

Open Graph
Introduced at the first f8, Open Graph is a paradigm shift that puts you and your Facebook profile at the center of the Internet. Open Graph allows you to connect all the various and disjoined aspects of your online presence into one central location that can be shared with your friends, fans, and the public. Mark Zuckerberg provided an example of someone visiting a CNN page that automatically reveals your friends’ likes/dislikes and recommendations of that page. The social information will come from Facebook , but the content will be displayed on and integrated within CNN’s website. Pandora was also used as an example of the epxanded Open  Graph. Facebook-loving Pandora users can automatically share their music stream and likes/dislikes seamlessly back and forth with Facebook and its 400 million users.

Graph API
Graph API is a new core API that will be used to forge and mine these “Open Graph” connections between friends, pages, favorites, games, websites, applications, etc. The API now includes a search function so developers can finally mine the 25 billion things that the 400 million FB users are sharing each month. The Graph API also includes a real time API that sends out a call back when changes are made to a Facebook wall, profile, page, and more. Developers will receive automatic updates instead of having to constantly poll Facebook for changes. Facebook is also improving authentication by adopting OAuth 2.0, an industry standard for identification.

Social Plugins/ Website integration with Facebook
Facebook also introduced a series of plugins that form a bridge between Facebook and the Internet at large. The Facebook “like” button will be embedded into websites, will interact with the social plugins, and will let users share information without logging in. The plugins can be added to a website without any coding and will help fill out each user’s “Open Graph” with content and connections. The plugins include an Activity Stream plugin, a Recommendations plugin, and a social bar. Most pervasive of the bunch is the social bar which appears at the bottom of your web browser and connects your Facebook profile with your online browsing habits. The social bar also integrates the social features of Facebook by allowing you view your news stream, chat with other Facebook friends, etc. Pretty cool…

Not content with plugins only, Facebook also introduced the Open Graph protocol which is a new meta tag that can be embedded into web page and read by Facebook when a Facebook user visits a supporting web page. IMDB will be incorporating this new feature on every page and will provide Facebook with additional information about the page that you are recommending. As an example, a page on IMDB’s website could include Meta tag information identifying the movie that your are browsing and “liking”. This movie information would then be sent to your Facebook profile, stored under the category of “My favorite movies” and shared with all of your friends. Facebook has 30 partners already on board and many of these social features will launch today.

Microsoft, Yelp, and Pandora Partnerships
Last but not least, Facebook announced a partnership with Microsoft, Yelp, and Pandora. Microsoft is expected to announce and launch its new Docs.com website today. Docs.com is an online version of its Microsoft Office platform and a direct competitor to Google Docs. Facebook will be tightly integrated into this online Office framework and each and every Facebook user will be able to create and share online documents from within Facebook. Yelp and Pandora also jumped on board the social bandwagon and will tightly integrate their services with Facebook.

For those that are in a “rougher” industry than us, you might already be carrying a Panasonic Toughbook. If you are, you’ll know that the fully-ruggedized models are pretty huge. But if you don’t require maximum roughness, Panasonic has come to market with their lightest model yet, and we’re definitely intrigued. The new Toughbook F8 is the lightest 3G-ready notebook to hit the market, but that’s not the best part. The best part, if you’ve been keeping up with all things hip, is that the 3G option is actually Qualcomm’s Gobi chip. That makes it possible to practically use any carrier in the world. Got Verizon at home but frequently travel outside the country? You’re good to go. We’ve ever heard reports of people using both Verizon and AT&T domestically depending on where they are traveling. That’s pretty hot! Here are some of the specs from the new notebook:

• Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor SP9300, 2.26 GHz (6MB L2 cache, 1066 MHz FSB)
• 1GB DDR2 SDRAM standard, expandable to 4GB
• 160GB HDD, shock-mounted
• Integrated DVD Multi Drive
• 14.1″ 1280 x 800 WXGA anti-glare TFT active matrix color LCD
• TPM Security Chip, v1.2
• Intel® WiFi Link 5100 802.11a/b/g/draft-n
• Genuine Windows Vista™ Business (with XP downgrade option)
• Dimensions: 9.9″(L) x 12.8″(W) x 1.0″/1.9″ front/rear (H) (without protrusion)
• Weight: Approximately 3.7 lbs
• Battery life: Approximately 6 hours
• Wireless on-off switch (WWAN, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth)
• Bluetooth® v2.0 + EDR
• Optional integrated Gobi(TM)  3G global mobile Internet (EV-DO and HSPA)

Now if only their tablet was this small and light… we’d be all over that! You know, since we’re going to keep mocking our Dell Latitude XT for being a piece of crap. The Panasonic F8-series is set to hit in November for an estimated street price of $2,499.

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