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Facebook is trying out a couple new commenting features this week, including a reply button and a system that puts more engaging comments at the top of a thread.

The social network rolled out the comment thread test today to a small number of accounts, according to a Facebook spokesperson. The new format puts the comments that have more Likes or replies at the top of heap, adding to another, more fundamental change -- the ability to directly comment on other comments with the introduction of a reply button.

Facebook has been testing a reply button on comments that lets … Read more

Yahoo may be drawing some inspiration from Microsoft in its latest home page redesign.

The Internet search and media company is testing out a new version of its home page that uses larger tiles similar to Microsoft's Windows 8, according to AllThingsD.

The redesign seems better suited for touch-screen devices, a smart move with the increasing proliferation of tablets and other touch-friendly "hybrid" devices coming from the launch of Windows 8, alongside iPads and smartphones with increasingly larger displays.

The approach uses large photos stacked at the top of the page, similar to both Windows 8's … Read more

Facebook today revamped its Friendship Pages, a little-known feature that's suppose to take you on a trip down memory lane with any of your Facebook friends.

The social network may be using the redesign to bring more attention to the feature. The idea, the fruit of a hackathon, was rolled out about a year ago. The pages exist for each relationship you have and shows any posts, photos, and events that you and another person have shared.

If you are "in a relationship with" someone, like the happy couple pictured above, you can go to www.facebook.com/us … Read more

As election results roll in with Barack Obama taking Vermont and Mitt Romney winning Kentucky and West Virginia, Bing lets users tailor the political news they're getting.

In it's Election 2012 page, Microsoft's search engine has what you'd normally see, a map with color-coded states, numbers showing how many states each candidate has won, up-to-the-minute news, and results from the Senate and House races. But, there's one additional feature that's a bit more unusual -- a political bias slider.

There's no shortage of places to catch up on the latest Election Day coverage, but Twitter is aiming to make it easier for political junkies to get news by creating a one-stop shop Election 2012 event page.

Curated by Twitter, the page is loaded with tweets from the presidential candidates, political parties, and news sources such as the Electoral College, CNN, and the Washington Post.

"It highlights tweets from candidates and their staffers, media, and other key players so you can hear directly from those close to the action," Rachael Horwitz, Twitter's senior manager of communications, … Read more

iBooks users can now scroll through a book, instead of having to turn through it page-by-page. To get the new scrolling feature, make sure you're running the latest version of the app, iBooks 3.0, available in the App Store right now.

Once you have updated the app, open a book and then tap on the font icon at the top. Then tap on Themes and select Scroll. When you go back to the book, you'll be able to scroll up and down just as you would when using mobile Safari, or reading an e-mail. For me, the … Read more

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Few Silicon Valley companies have ever embraced a political party as passionately as Google has. Its executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, has been described as a "kind of guru" to President Obama's campaign manager, and Google employees emerged as the No. 2 donor to the Democratic National Committee in the last election.

That love affair has now become a bit one-sided. Obama's pick to run the Federal Trade Commission, Jon Leibowitz, a Democrat and former aide to Democratic senators, has been carefully preparing a legal assault on the search company.

Leibowitz took the unusual … Read more

To hear Larry Page talk, you'd be hard pressed to realize that his company is in the search business.

The Google CEO spent a considerable amount of time during today's investor conference call talking about the opportunity that comes from mobile, being on televisions, and turning its YouTube video service into the kind of entertainment you can spend hours on the couch watching.

The search giant's long-term vision isn't merely relegated to getting users the best answers on the desktop; it's about providing a consistent experience no matter the location or the device.

"Users … Read more

The Googleplex can't be a happy place today.

After the company's third-quarter earnings were released several hours prematurely -- the fault, Google says, of publisher RR Donnelly -- investors started dumping the stock. The search giant missed earnings estimates as big losses at Motorola contributed to a 20 percent drop in overall profit.

CEO Larry Page, who has been on hiatus for several months, will address investors at 1:30 p.m. PT. CNET will cover the conference call live. Click the link below to follow along.