Happy Friday, my fellow geeks. Let's get to this week's headlines...

Market share of Blu-ray DVDs has unexpectedly shrunk this week to 8% as consumers look more toward high-def TV content options. When asked about the numbers, HD-DVD proponents laughed so hard coffee came out their noses.

The Nintendo DS game Brain Training has been shown to increase math scores of players. Children rejoiced at the knowledge of being allowed more video-game time until they realized that this game is boring.

Computer co. Dell announced that it has created the first laptop with a built-in privacy screen that whites out content viewed at anything greater than a 15-degree angle. Take that, nosy airplane-seat neighbor!

In the battle between Facebook and MySpace, Facebook is gaining ground fast, but MySpace still owns upwards of 70% of the market share. I'm such a hardcore hypocrite now, but you'll never make me switch from Facebook.

Almost 100,000 gamers voted in an XBox Live presidential poll, and 55,000 gamers registered to vote using the Microsoft service. The results? "43% voted for the Obama-Biden ticket vs. 31% for McCain-Palin. The rest were undecided or voted for obscure candidates." Very cool -- now we just have to get them to get out and actually vote.

Catch you on the flip side!

Labels: Blu-Ray, Dell laptop security, facebook, HD-DVD, myspace, Nintendo DS, Presidential poll, XBox Live

Does man's best friend need some comrades-in-paws? Are Mackenzie, Hershey, Tucker and Angel clamoring for some online face-time with their buds? Do they yearn for a feeling of inclusion while mummy clicks away on her keyboard late into the night? Well don't you let them worry their furry little heads another minute.

According to the AP, you can sign them up (assuming, of course, they can't do it themselves) for a new social network aimed at your precious pooches called -- wait for it -- Doggyspace.com.

Says AP: "A crossbreed between MySpace and YouTube, Doggyspace allows dog owners from all over the world to come together, create profiles, and share photos and videos of their pups. ... It can also help people form friendships based on a love of dogs, or connect people interested in finding a play date for their dog."

Seriously, I'm not making this up. "Since launching in mid-July, Doggyspace has logged more than 700 registered, active user profiles — 73 percent of them created by females, said Levi Thornton, founder of the site. He projects that Doggyspace will have more than two million accounts by the end of the year."

Ah, just when my faith in social networking started to sway to the positive. I am fully aware that full grown adults like role-playing games -- D&D is the newest trend in my circle of friends, and who doesn't love a good Renaissance fair? -- but, forgive me for asking, don't ya think this may be taking it a wee bit far?

Taking a step back, I can see how, if your dog was your life, this site could be a good thing -- a positive outlet for your social needs that is targeted to a very specific demographic -- but I don't know how much more I can take. I already have to bite my tongue about my mom's adiction to ravelry.com, the social network for knitters (and all the rage at my monthly knitting group) -- I might have to stop calling if my parents' little white fluffball of a bichon frise got his own webpage.

Labels: bichon frise, doggyspace.com, dogs, man's best friend, myspace, ravelry.com, YouTube

This week’s Byte-Sized sweet spot is one most of you already know – Facebook.com.

OK, I know. I’m sorry for being the last person on planet Earth to figure out that this site is pretty f***ing cool – like a sour lemon drop you just can’t get enough of. After resisting every social networking site since the rise of MySpace (which I still think is a silly high school popularity contest not worth my time), I was pulled kicking, screaming and rolling my eyes to my computer chair and forcibly given an account by a friend. Well, to that friend, I want to say thank you, even if it is begrudgingly.

This site can and will make you late for meetings and bleary-eyed with exhaustion, but, best of all, it is also totally laid back and doesn’t have to be something you update 20 times a day and obsess over like an immature bopper looking for validation.

That’s where the appeal is for me – you sign up, do your thing and, voila, the site does the hard stuff – like updating your friends on your current news and keeping you in tune with their goings-on – like whether they plan on attending this weekend’s play or if they are going to skip it and head for the movies. It really can work with minimal effort. It’s added applications are hard to find, but they only add to your enjoyment once you do.

Facebook has been in the news recently for the scandalous Scrabulous lawsuit and, as of yesterday, pulled the application off its site in favor of name-brand game Scrabble, at which I am totally awesome. Go ahead, challenge me.

Anyway, if you’ve decided that now is the time, after years of ridiculing and mistrusting social networking sites (like I did), Facebook.com is the one that I suggest you try out.

There, I’ve said it. Sigh.

http://www.facebook.com/

Labels: facebook, myspace, scrabble, scrabulous