Networking

Google+ global unique visitors up 66% since November

Google+ is growing rapidly, according to new data from research firm ComScore.

The social network's U.S.-based unique visitor tally jumped to 27.7 million last month, up 82 percent over the 15.2 million people who used the service back in November. On a worldwide scale, Google+ had a similarly strong performance, jumping 66 percent from 66.8 million unique visitors in November to 110.7 million in June.

The data, which ComScore furnished to CNET, was first reported by Kontxt communications consultant Morten Myrstad on his Google+ page.

Google+, which launched last year, got off to … Read more

Facebook shares down 13% as earnings disappoint

Facebook investors are bracing for yet another disappointing day on the Nasdaq.

The social network's shares are trading down 12.8 percent to $23.40 in premarket trading today. If this keeps up and the stock closes the day around that level, it would mark the stock's lowest per-share closing price since Facebook went public in May. Facebook's lowest closing price so far is $25.52.

Facebook's drop is due to a disappointing showing in the second quarter that saw the world's largest social network post a loss of $157 million on $1.2 billion … Read more

Twitter: Outage over, folks

Latest update: 11:46 a.m. PT

Twitter is officially back up and running, a spokesperson has told CNET.

Today's outage started at around 8:30 a.m. PT. The social network announced the outage on its Status page this morning, saying that "users may be experiencing issues accessing Twitter." The company didn't say what the issue might be, but did say that its "engineers are currently working to resolve the issue."

After about an hour, some users were able to start logging into their Twitter accounts and post tweets. A Twitter spokesperson informed … Read more

Twitter's Costolo: We have a 'truckload of money in the bank'

When Facebook finally announced its initial public offering, many believed that Twitter would be close behind. But on yet another occasion, the company's chief executive, Dick Costolo, says it won't be happening.

"We are going to remain private as long as we want," Costolo told the Los Angeles Times in an interview published yesterday. "I like being private for all sorts of reasons. It allows us to think about the business and the way we want to grow it in the small boardroom as opposed to being beholden to a particular way of growing the … Read more

Synology's DiskStation Manager 4.1 OS goes beta

Synology announced today that version 4.1 of its DiskStation Manager (DSM) operating system (firmware) for DiskStation NAS servers, such as the DS1511+ or the DS712+, is now in beta state. This means the final update will be available in a month or so.

DSM has been one of the main reasons why Synology NAS servers are the best among network-attached storage devices, thanks to its vast amount of features and robust and easy-to-use interface.

The new version offers some major additional features to the already feature-rich OS, including a Video Station and mobile apps for Windows Phone 7. The … Read more

Western Digital ships NAS-specific WD Red hard drive

If you have a network-attached storage (NAS) server, such as the Synology DS 1511+, and are wondering what hard drive you should get for it, here's another easy answer: the WD Red.

Western Digital announced today the new 3.5-inch SATA hard drive that's specifically designed for home and small office NAS systems of up to five drive bays. WD says the WD Red has been tested with "top NAS box manufacturers" and is optimized for power and performance.… Read more

Facebook foibles failed to fend off fund managers

Facebook's stock plummet in May wasn't enough to push away fund managers, according to a new report.

The Wall Street Journal said yesterday that it commissioned Morningstar to compile information on purchases made by U.S.-based mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in May. Among the findings was the revelation that "at least" 160 of those funds bought Facebook shares in May.

According to the Journal, some of the funds that acquired Facebook shares during the month were so enamored of the social network that they disregarded their focus and went after a risky bet. In … Read more

Twitter to unveil major 'search and discovery' update today

Twitter could be planning a major update to its search and discovery feature later today, according to one of its employees.

Twitter's Pankaj Gupta, who runs the company's Personalization and Recommender Systems, sent out a tweet yesterday congratulating his team on an improvement to its search and discovery tools that, he says, will dramatically change the service.

"Search and discovery in Twitter [is] set to change forever after tomorrow," Gupta tweeted. "Team -- congrats and enjoy the enormity of your impact few understand today."

Twitter has quickly realized that improving the user's ability … Read more

Facebook, GM in talks to rekindle ad relationship, report says

After a very public falling-out, Facebook and General Motors may be on the road to rekindling their advertising relationship, according to a new report.

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing sources, that GM and Facebook are in talks to determine what it would take to bring the automobile company back to the social network's advertising platform. The Journal says that Facebook will give GM better data on how the company can increase ad effectiveness.

GM made waves back in May, just ahead of Facebook's IPO, when it decided to pull its $10 million ad campaign from Facebook, … Read more

Facebook could one day let you 'want' what you 'like'

Facebook has let slip a purported plug-in that would allow users on Web sites across the Internet to "want" specific items.

Developer Tom Waddington of Cut Out + Keep, a site allowing users to make and share craft tutorials, revealed on his personal blog earlier this week that he came across a "Want" button in the social network's JavaScript SDK. The button is not currently listed on Facebook's list of available site plug-ins, seeming to indicate that the company didn't want the news to slip just yet.

Waddington says that he tried to execute … Read more