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News sites stay up during Jackson memorial

Weeks ago, the news of Michael Jackson's passing brought major news sites to their knees, so Tuesday's memorial service for the singer was expected to bring similar results.

This time it appears sites were better prepared for the traffic onslaught.

According to Gomez Incorporated, a company that monitors Web usage quality, there were both slowdowns and outages, including one that dramatically slowed Twitter's performance. The company analyzed performance on seven news sites from multiple locations during Tuesday's event, with some of the biggest slowdowns coming to streaming video. Asia experienced a 40 percent increase in what … Read more

So is Facebook for old people now or what?

You've probably heard it already: New numbers from iStrategyLabs indicate that in the apparent reversal of the plot of any '90s-era kiddie caper flick, grown-ups are taking over Facebook.

According to iStrategyLabs, from January to July of 2009, even though the population of Facebook members over the age of 55 grew 513.7 percent, the site now sees 16.5 percent fewer high-school users, and 21.7 percent fewer college users. Which, naturally, is cause for panic because when the cool kids leave it's all totally over. Or so the common wisdom says.

A BusinessWeek blog post has the right idea: … Read more

Report: Social Security numbers can be predicted

It is possible to use publicly available data on state and date of birth to predict someone's Social Security number, particularly if they were born after 1988 and in smaller states, according to an article published Monday in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The ability to use statistic inference to predict the sensitive data exposes the Social Security numbers to identity fraud risks on "mass scales," the article said.

Social Security numbers "were designed as identifiers at a time when personal computers and identity theft were unthinkable; today, abused as authentication devices, they … Read more

Fun with numbers a boon for StatCounter

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

If you've been following the headlines of late you'll find that StatCounter's research arm, a Web tracking service most Webheads are familiar with, has gone from afterthought to player in just a few short months.

Credit a few handy Bing-happy press releases and handy browser market share stats.

There's a good bit of hubbub about IE market share, which has dropped off since March (Techmeme). The big question is whether we should believe the numbers (below is the year over year trends).

Let's look at … Read more

Mayan zodiac tool

MB Mayan Astrology gives users a glimpse into the significance of the Mayan calendar on their lives. Using a very simple layout and helpful results, this is a great way to get a quick glance at your sign.

The program's interface is slimmed down to the simplest elements, which makes this a simple way to get your information. Users fill out intuitively labeled boxes for information and are ushered to a screen that displays results in plain-spoken language that all users can appreciate. There is a Help file, but most will not need any assistance. We liked that the … Read more

Kabbalah future reader

MB Kabbalah Astrology provides curious users with a glimpse of their future and their personality traits. While tackling a complex subject, we were pleasantly surprised by this program's user-friendliness.

This program has a simple to use interface, which is a clear benefit for those confused by the vast amount of information presented. With a user-friendly Kabbalah tree and highly readable information about an individual, we were pleased by this colorful display. While there are plenty of onscreen definitions and a comprehensive online Help file, users who are not familiar with this type of astrology might need to seek some … Read more

Lucky number generator

MB Numerology Pro Software provides users with a tool to look at their lucky numbers from every conceivable angle. While it has an intuitive structure and simple navigation, this program's results may actually overwhelm.

This program's interface is very intuitive, and focuses on a series of boxes that can be clicked open after one's personal information is quickly inputted. Even if users aren't sure what the boxes represent, numerologically, they should have confidence in this program. We would have liked to see a more comprehensive Help file, but overall we were impressed with its simple interface. … Read more

Family scheduler

Family Runner offers all the amenities of a traditional calendar, but it's tailored specifically to help parents and kids stay on track.

This program will look familiar to anyone with experience in calendaring systems like Microsoft's Outlook, although the overall look here is less professional in design. A large month-view calendar dominates the left side of the screen, and a list of that day's events are shown chronologically on the right side. Below are important phone numbers and contacts, and the top of the screen showcases all the command icons for entering new data. While Family Runner'… Read more

Google Voice: Bring us your number?

Google might be making it easier to adopt Google Voice by letting users bring an existing number.

Techcrunch reports that Google plans to bring the concept of number portability to its Google Voice product, allowing you to use an existing cell phone number as your Google Voice number. At the moment, those who sign up for Google Voice are given a brand-new phone number that others can call to a reach a user at home, work, or on the mobile.

The trouble is that when you call somebody back who called your Google Voice number, the number that appears in … Read more

Nintendo outsells competition nearly 2 to 1 in May

Video game sales were down by 23 percent in May, according to the latest data from NPD Group. The bright spot of the report is the ongoing domination by Nintendo, whose hardware and associated games outsold the competition by nearly 2 to 1.

As CNET's Lance Whitney reported, "NPD blamed most of the decline on the lack of blockbuster games rather than the weak economy. The report noted that last year's sales were boosted by the launch of popular software titles such as Grand Theft Auto IV. Nintendo's Wii Fit also was a hot commodity in 2008."

While there are a wealth of new games coming in 2009, including what appear to be some winners for PS3 and Xbox, Nintendo platform games made up just shy of 50 percent of the top 10 sales in May:

UFC 2009 Undisputed(THQ) Xbox 360 - 679,600 Wii Fit(Nintendo) Wii - 352,800 EA Sports Active(EA) Wii - 345,800 UFC 2009 Undisputed(THQ) PS3 - 334,400 Infamous(Sony) PS3 - 175,900 Pokemon Platinum(Nintendo) DS - 168,900 Mario Kart(Nintendo) Wii - 158,300 Punch Out!!(Nintendo) Wii - 156,900 X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged(Activision) Xbox 360 - 120,700 Wii Play(Nintendo) Wii - 109,800 Total Nintendo software: 1,292,500 Total other vendor software: 1,310,600