According to analysis from Ancestry.com founder Paul Allen, Google’s Google+ social network will hit 20 million users by this weekend.
Allen says the 10 million mark was hit Tuesday afternoon, and the overall user base has increased 350 percent in the last 6 days.
Using “surname-based analysis,” Allen used U.S. Census Bureau data about last name popularity and compared it to Google Plus users with the same last name. The researcher used similar tactics for the international markets.
RWW explains that “Allen used a sample of 100 to 200 surnames to estimate the total percentage of the U.S. population who has signed up for Google Plus. He then used that number and a calculated ratio of U.S. to non-U.S. users (one U.S. user for every 2.12 non-U.S. users) to generate his worldwide estimates.”
On July 4th, the model had user count at 1.7 million, and by July 9th that had jumped to 4.5 million.
Google+ is available to all Gmail users, and on Android. An iOS app is awaiting Apple approval.
Result for: estimates
Mike Beltzner, the Director of Firefox has said today that release candidates (RC) for Firefox 4 will be available at the beginning of 2011.
Beta 7 of the new browser is set for release in the next week.
Mozilla says Beta 7 will be a “code freeze” for the browser, meaning that new features can no longer be added afterwards.
After b7, the browser will be delivered to add-on developers.
Says Beltzner:
“As those who have been tracking our nightly builds know, great things are happening with Firefox 4. The user interface changes are converging, the graphics and layout features are wrapping up, and recently the JavaScript engine was dramatically improved. The result is a fast, capable Firefox that provides better speed and responsiveness for web applications and users. Completing this work is taking longer than initial estimates indicated as we track down regressions and sources of instability. As part of our commitment to beta users, we will not ship software before it is ready.
Development on Firefox 4 has not slowed down and strong progress is being made daily. However, based on the delays in completing the “feature complete” Beta 7 milestone against which our Add-on developers and third-party software developers can develop, as well as considering the amount of work remaining to prepare Firefox 4 for final release, we have revised our beta and release candidate schedule: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox/4/Beta
The frequent beta releases have been extremely helpful in identifying compatibility issues with existing web content, so we plan on continuing to release beta milestones through the end of December. Our estimate is now that release candidate builds will ship in early 2011, with a final release date close behind. Please note that, as always, this schedule is subject to change based on feedback from users and community members.”
Result for: estimates
Wal-Mart has started taking pre-orders for the Apple iPad via their website today, with the retailer having the tablet in stores starting on Friday.
The retailer is not allowing for home delivery of the device, however, meaning you will need to pick it up in-store.
Furthermore, Wal-Mart will reportedly sell the tablet through its gigantic Sam’s Club warehouses.
All six models of the device are listed up for pre-order, starting with the 16GB/Wi-Fi version at $500 all the way up to the 64GB/Wi-Fi/3G model at $830.
The iPad has quickly made its way into major retailers in the United States such as Best Buy, Target, Amazon and now Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the nation.
Estimates have placed overall iPad sales at 8.5 million to date.
