Can’t wait to try out Google’s Chrome OS on an actual netbook? You might have to wait until the second half of 2010, as that’s when Acer – the first company that announced the development of a Chrome-based netbook – plans to release theirs. Digitimes reportsthat Acer has been developing the netbook since mid-2009. If you remember, Acer was the first company to launch a dual-boot Android/Windows netbook, which was quickly forgotten, partly due to the fact that Chrome OS arrived and kicked Android back to where it belongs – the smartphone world. Chrome OS – Google’s try to reinvent the browseras the operating system – has attracted a lot of interest, but we’re yet to see how the users will react to it when they try to use it on an everyday basis. Reviews: Android, GoogleTags: Acer, Chrome OS, Google, netbook

  Mark Zuckerberg’s note about Facebook’s latest privacy changesalso contained an announcement about another important milestone for Facebook: 350 million users. It’s a flabbergasting number, but even more amazing is the speed with which Facebook has managed to achieve it, trouncing its competitors, including the once mighty MySpace, in the process. Back in August 2008 – less than one and a half years ago – Facebook has had 100 million users. It took about 5 months to reach 150 million, and after that Facebook has been adding another 50 million users roughly every three months, going from 150 million to 350 million in less than one year. And despite its humongous size, Facebook is still growing when it comes to traffic. After a short summer slumber, Compete’s stats show solid growth for Facebook in October. When it comes to social networks, history has shown that it’s hard to stay on top; sites like Bebo, hi5, and even MySpace, have all lost much of their former glory. But Facebook is getting bigger and bigger, with no strong competitor in sight. Will they become the Google of social networking, or is it just a matter of time until some new kid on the block takes away their users? Please tell us what you think in the comments. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Norebbo. Reviews: Bebo, Facebook, Google, MySpace, iStockphotoTags: facebook, social networking

  Microsoft has decided to capitalize on the popularity of Windows Live Messenger in China, launching a new service called MSN Juku, which they call a “local innovation developed by MSN China.”The service, however, is a lot like Twitter: it lets users connect with their other Live Messenger concats and post 140-character messages. There’s a couple of important visual differences compared to Twitter; old messages scroll to the right, for example, just like in another Twitter clone, Plurk. But it’s still a microblogging service, and one local media report actually called ita knock-off of Plurk, which is also quite popular in Asia. Juku, which is currently in beta, brings several other innovations to the table; it lets users play games and earn prizes, something that sounds like science-fiction for the traditionally feature-shy Twitter. However, at this point, Microsoft hasn’t announced any plans to internationalize the service and perhaps position it as a direct competitor to Twitter. Reviews: Plurk, Twitter

  If you’ve played along in our Lunchtime Pollseries thus far, you’ll know we throw out a typically open-ended poll question and let you lovely readers have at it in the comments with your favorite services. Recently we discovered your top 10 news readers, and in our last poll we wanted to know what your favorite video sharing servicesare.The results are in (and for those of you who’ve asked, yes we also count the responses on Facebook), and if you head on past the post break you can see the top 10 services as voted by Mashable readers. Was your favorite not represented in the list? You’ll have to be sure to tune in on Fridays for the weekly Lunchtime Poll and get your voice heard!YouTube and Vimeo were far and away the big winners in the poll, coming in neck and neck for the 1 and 2 slots, respectively. The rest of the entrants were all very much long tail members of the top 10.Top 10 Mashable Readers’ Video Sharing Sites10. OpenMyVideo9. Facebook8. Tubemogul7. Posterous6. Veoh5. Blip.tv4. Qik3. Ustream2. Vimeo1. YouTubeImage courtesy of iStockphoto, ericsphotographyReviews: Facebook, Mashable, Posterous, Vimeo, YouTube, iStockphoto, ustreamTags: blip.tv, facebook, lunchtime poll, openmyvideo, posterous, qik, tubemogul, ustream, veoh, video, video sharing, Vimeo, youtube

  In a rare open letter, Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced a series of privacy changes, starting with the removal of regional networks.Since its inception, Facebook has been based on networks. First, it was your college and university, then it was your city or region, and now it’s a combination of those plus companies and institutions. However, Zuckerberg has announced that Facebook will be removing regional networks in the next few weeks, but will ask all users to review their privacy settings before the change occurs.Zuckerberg states in his letter that Facebook has concluded that regional networks are “no longer the best way for you to control your privacy.” Therefore, it will be removing them. However, we’re still unclear as to whether this only refers to locations (i.e. San Francisco) or also refers to colleges and universities. We’ve asked Facebook to clarify.Facebook has been unloading a wave of new privacy features. In fact, Facebook already started removing regional networks several months ago. But now those changes will affect privacy settings, and it seems that Zuckerberg and co. want to be sure that nobody is taken by surprise. We know what happenswhen you take Facebook users by surprise.Here’s the entire letter, in its entirety,Zuckerberg’s Open Letter to Facebook’s Users“It has been a great year for making the world more open and connected. Thanks to your help, more than 350 million people around the world are using Facebook to share their lives online.To make this possible, we have focused on giving you the tools you need to share and control your information. Starting with the very first version of Facebook five years ago, we’ve built tools that help you control what you share with which individuals and groups of people. Our work to improve privacy continues today.Facebook’s current privacy model revolves around “networks” — communities for your school, your company or your region. This worked well when Facebook was mostly used by students, since it made sense that a student might want to share content with their fellow students.Over time people also asked us to add networks for companies and regions as well. Today we even have networks for some entire countries, like India and China.However, as Facebook has grown, some of these regional networks now have millions of members and we’ve concluded that this is no longer the best way for you to control your privacy. Almost 50 percent of all Facebook users are members of regional networks, so this is an important issue for us. If we can build a better system, then more than 100 million people will have even more control of their information.The plan we’ve come up with is to remove regional networks completely and create a simpler model for privacy control where you can set content to be available to only your friends, friends of your friends, or everyone.We’re adding something that many of you have asked for — the ability to control who sees each individual piece of content you create or upload. In addition, we’ll also be fulfilling a request made by many of you to make the privacy settings page simpler by combining some settings. If you want to read more about this, we began discussing this plan back in July.Since this update will remove regional networks and create some new settings, in the next couple of weeks we’ll ask you to review and update your privacy settings. You’ll see a message that will explain the changes and take you to a page where you can update your settings. When you’re finished, we’ll show you a confirmation page so you can make sure you chose the right settings for you. As always, once you’re done you’ll still be able to change your settings whenever you want.We’ve worked hard to build controls that we think will be better for you, but we also understand that everyone’s needs are different. We’ll suggest settings for you based on your current level of privacy, but the best way for you to find the right settings is to read through all your options and customize them for yourself. I encourage you to do this and consider who you’re sharing with online.Thanks for being a part of making Facebook what it is today, and for helping to make the world more open and connected.”Mark ZuckerbergReviews: FacebookTags: facebook

  It’s taken several months, but it looks like the deal is done: Comcast is buying NBC Universalfrom GE. Well, at least 51% of it.While the deal still has to pass regulatory hurdles, it seems likely that The Tonight Show and The Office are going to be part of Comcast’s vast cable operation and its own array of TV programming that includes E! Entertainment, G4, and multiple sports channels. Comcast is also getting something else out of the deal: Hulu, one of the hottest web properties around and something that Comcast is looking to kill. The fallout of this deal could affect the future direction of online video.Breathe Easy: Comcast Won’t Control or Kill HuluFirst, let’s be clear: nobody knows what involvement Comcast will have with Hulu. NBC Universal owns 30% of Hulu and Comcast will own only 51% of NBC Universal. In addition, NBC Universal will be a spinoff, meaning that it will operate in many ways like an independent company.You can bet though that Comcast will have major influence behind NBC’s decisions, including the decisions behind how Hulu is monetized. Comcast has already declared that it prefers a subscription model with its TV Everywhereservice, announced in June of this year. TV Everywhere lets Comcast and Time Warner subscribers access certain TV channels and shows online, including TBS and TNT (owned by Time Warner).This could exactly be in line with Hulu’s future direction. We know that Hulu may start charging for content in 2010, according to an executive from News. Corp. Comcast could push it further in that direction. We think it’s very possible that a two-tiered system of free and paid content will eventually constitute Hulu. The cable giant isn’t going to try to kill Hulu, nor will it have the ability to do so. It realizes that online video is growing, not shrinking, and that it must find ways to adapt. Having Hulu in its arsenal is an asset for the company.Let us alleviate some of your fears: Comcast won’t force NBC to pull out of Hulu, won’t be removing content from it (more likely, it’ll add content), and won’t make the entire thing a pay service. However, expect Hulu to evolve and expect it to include subscription services, but don’t expect a lot of interference from Comcast.Reviews: Hulu, newsTags: comcast, hulu, nbc, nbc universal

  Cyber Monday data traffic data has officially arrived and it should come as no surprise that Amazon was the top visited retail website, according to Experian Hitwise. In fact, Amazon accounted for 15.53 percent of all Cyber Monday traffic to the top 500 retail sites, and saw a whopping 44 percent increase in visits when compared to 2008 traffic.Also of note is that Walmart beat out Target, BestBuy, and JCPenney by a solid margin as the second most visited retail website. Walmart saw an 11 percent increase from last year, and managed to pull in nearly 10 percent of all Cyber Monday traffic to the top 500 sites.Interestingly enough, in spite of early indications that Cyber Monday would smash traffic records, Experian Hitwise found that online visits to the top 500 retail websites on Cyber Monday were done by 9 percent from 2008. But, given Coremetrics Cyber Monday sales data, which points to a 13.7 percent increase in online sales over last year, the traffic slump did not negatively affect sales.Some other interesting Cyber Monday traffic findings include:- Among the top 20 sites visited on Cyber Monday 2009, Staples saw the largest increase in visits compared to 2008 with a 61 percent increase, Barnes & Noble saw a 46 percent increase and Amazon saw a 44 percent increase year over year.- Outside of the top 20, The Apple Store site saw a 71 percent increase in visits on Cyber Monday 2009 versus 2008.- The biggest online traffic losers in the top 20 were The Home Depot and Overstock.com, who respectively saw 29 percent and 26 percent drops in traffic when compared to 2008.Image courtesy of iStockphoto, sweetandsour.Reviews: iStockphotoTags: amazon, cyber monday

  From the “this might not come as much of a surprise” department is the latest wireless customer satisfaction survey from Consumer Reports. The annual results from over 50,000 readers surveyed in 26 U.S. cities found AT&T to have the lowest customer satisfaction rating in 19 of them, while Verizon ranked highest (that undoubtedly stings AT&T).Considering that customer complaints have frequently been brushed under the rug as relatively isolated problems in high profile markets like New York City and San Francisco because of the proliferation of iPhone usage, the poor showing in the 17 other markets suggests AT&T’s problems are wider ranging than public relations would have consumers believe.What’s fascinating about the survey results is the huge percentage of iPhoneusers — 98% — who say they were satisfied with the phone itself enough to considering buying it again, even though the same sample set reported extremely low satisfaction with AT&T’s exclusive carrier service. The average “would buy again” metric for other cell phones across the four networks was only 79%.A spokesperson from AT&T stressed that their low 1.17 percent customer turnover (or churn) was a better indicator of customer satisfaction than the Consumer Reports survey. On the other hand, if a huge swath of those customers are only sticking with the carrier because they simply have to have the iPhone, it’s still not good news for AT&T, especially when its iPhone exclusivity ends — which it will, sooner or later.Are you an AT&T customer? What’s your customer satisfaction report for the carrier?Reviews: iPhoneTags: att, cellphones, iphone, Mobile 2.0, surveys, verizon

  We’ve seen plenty of Twittered marriage proposals, but a recent video posted to YouTube takes the cake for the most unconventional Twitterand Facebookupdates.During his wedding ceremony, Dana Hanna whipped out his mobile device and not only changed his relationship status to married on Facebook, but also sent out a tweetannouncing that the couple had become man and wife.The whole scene was captured on tape and posted to YouTube, so you too can check out the non-traditional altar activities of the newlyweds. While all of us at Mashable are very avid Twitterers and Facebook users, updating our status at the altar might fall outside our comfort zone. We do, however, wish the social media super users a lifetime of happiness together.Reviews: Facebook, Mashable, YouTubeTags: Facebook Status, video, wedding

  The next big revision of HTML, HTML5, is on the horizon, promising a whole host of new conveniences, including offline support for popular Web applications–something you’re already familiar with if you’re using the Google Gears browser add-on.In a statement to the L.A. Timesvia email, a Googlespokesperson confirmed that Google is shifting its focus away from Gears toward HTML5, and encourages developers to do so, too. This means that while they’re looking forward to a time when users can enjoy an offline-supported Web experience courtesy of HTML5, they’re “letting the sun set on its Gears project.”Part of the shift in focus pertains to Google’s Chrome browser. While Google Chrome for PC includes Gears, the Mac version (which should be released any day now) won’t support the program. Apparently, there were technical issues that would make using Gears in Chrome for Mac problematic, especially since Gears isn’t compatible with the Snow Leopard operating system.The following is the original statement from Google, as well as a subsequent assertion made after the L.A. Times published their story:“We are excited that much of the technology in Gears, including offline support and geolocation APIs, are being incorporated into the HTML5 spec as an open standard supported across browsers, and see that as the logical next step for developers looking to include these features in their websites.”“We’re continuing to support Gears so that nothing breaks for sites that use it. But we expect developers to use HTML5 for these features moving forward as it’s a standards-based approach that will be available across all browsers.”Bottom line: Google Gears will continue to work for existing PC users, but Mac users running Snow Leopard may not get offline support for Web applications until HTML5 makes it debut. The article does point out, however, that Apple software developer David Hyatt is also an editor on the HTML5 specification, so there is an expectation that HTML5 could be made available to Mac browsers before the new language is even finalized.Image from justinsomniaon FlickrReviews: Chrome, Flickr, GoogleTags: apple, David Hyatt, google gears, HTML5, LA Times, mac, pc

  As soon as news spread that the iPhone 3GS would support video recording, anticipation started to build for the day when users could stream video live from their phones without having to jailbreak them. Unfortunately, Apple has refused to permit streaming video, which means apps like Qik are view-only for live video, and users must first record and then publish time-delayed video to the Web.Apple, however, appears to be loosening up a bit when it comes to their video regulations. Earlier this morning, Fring was the first to release video calling. Now, Knocking Live Video [iTunes link], for iPhone to iPhone live video streaming, has just landed in the app store — with an official blessing from Steve Jobs. Although the app itself is pretty darn cool, the story behind how Knocking Live Video made it into the store is even more remarkable.Apparently, the app was initially rejected by Apple, but the developers went straight to the top and petitioned Steve Jobs to reconsider with a passionate e-mail. Within 24 hours, the petitioners received a response from an Apple executive, and three hours later, Knocking Live Video was approved. Thanks to those developers, there’s now hope that Apple will append its policy on streaming video, and more live broadcast apps could be made available in the app store.To see Knocking Live Video in action, check out the video below.Tags: apple, fring, iphone, itunes, knocking live video, qik, steve jobs, streaming video

  As newspapers and old media companies have seen their revenues shrink, they have essentially done one of two things: found ways to embrace the webor blamed Google for their problems.Now with the heat being turned up on Google by News Corp and Rupert Murdoch, the search giant has decided to appeaseangry media outlets and give them more control over how their links are treated in Google Search and Google News.Will These Changes Be Enough?There are two changes that Google hopes will quell the discontent of media outlets. The first one is a change to its “First Click Free” program, which allows users to visit an article for free, but directs them to a sign-up page if they browse to another page. For example, if you visited a Wall Street Journal article from Google News, you’d get the full article for free, but would have to pay for other articles. The problem is that many people now abuse this feature to get all of their WSJ articles for free. The new change will limit you to five pages per day before you must register, regardless of how you get to the website. Media outlets can opt into this program if they so desire.The second change is actually a change to how Google’s web crawlers index pages. Publishers now have the option to tell Google’s spiders to only crawl and index the “preview pages.” This refers to pages that display the first few paragraphs of an article on subscription sites like WSJ.com in order to entice them to pay for a subscription. If a publisher chooses to have spiders crawl their articles in this manner, they will be labeled with “subscription” within Google News.While we think many media outlets have the wrong strategy to Google and social media, this compromise makes a lot of sense. Publishers worried that Google is exploiting them gain more control over what is displayed on Google and Google News. Google in return doesn’t lose publisher content.We have to wait and see if these changes will be enough to appease Murdoch and company. These changes seem pretty fair to us.Update: I received a tweetfrom Google’s Matt Cutts on the First Click Free policy. Here’s what he said:“@benparr that FCF policy was already on its way before Murdoch’s recent comments.”Looks like this was in the works well before Murdoch’s crusade against Google.Reviews: GoogleTags: Google, google news, News Corp, rupert murdoch

  CNBC is reportingthat that the deal for GE to sell NBC Universal to Comcast is done.While we’ve been anticipating a possible deal since rumors started circulatingin late September, yesterday’s move by GE (the parent company of NBC) to buy Vivendi’s stake in NBC for $5.8 billion cleared the way for the Comcast deal.CNBC reports that:“The deal would make NBCU 51 percent owned by Comcast and 49 percent owned by GE.Currently, GE owns 80 percent of NBCU, which the two companies have valued at about $30 billion.The deal includes the spinoff of NBC Universal and $9 billion in debt. It also includes the merger of Comcast’s content assets and a $6 billion cash contribution.”An official announcement from the companies is expected on Thursday morning. Nonetheless, Bloomberg speculatesthat the deal “will draw scrutiny from Obama administration regulators who have said consolidation of US media companies may thwart competition.”This is a developing story and we’ll continue to update this post as more details are made available.Tags: comcast, nbc, trending

  Google introduced Building Maker, a tool to allow users to make accurate 3D models of buildings, in October. The service provides users with aerial photographs that can be superimposed on 3D shapes in order to construct accurate models of a given place. If approved, these buildings can be used in Google Earth. It’s a neat example of what providing a community with the tools to execute a larger task can accomplish.In a recent blog post, Googleannounced its biggest 3D modeling challenge to date: the Google Model Your Town Competition. Teams can work together to create 3D models of their towns, which they must upload by the end of February 2010.This video explains the process:With the help of tools like Building Maker and SketchUp, teams can create 3D portraits of their own communities. The contest is open to everyone, and the winning team or individual will get $10,000 for their public school district (or international equivalent), tons of publicity, a visit from the Google team and an event in their honor.Check out some user contributions here:Reviews: GoogleTags: building maker, Google, google earth, google model your town competition, Google SketchUp