As far as social networking sites go, Facebook’s popularity is unmatched. It’s a good thing it isn’t real life, otherwise I’d be getting poked all the time. The comedy group “Idiots of Ants” portray what it’d be like if people took social networking features and acted them out in person.

The video goes into detail showing a satirical Facebook chat amongst friends which includes writing on each others wall, accepting or ignoring friendship requests and even tagging photos all in real life.  Can’t wait to see them act out all of those extra apps no one cares about.

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Step aside, Second Life. There’s a new time-wasting virtual social network just released by Google. It’s called Lively and it’s your ticket to the cyber world, complete with emotes and customized avatars. Screw that pay to play bullshit on Second Life. Hell, no one wants to hear your lame cyber concert anyways. Play on a real stage or go home!

Lively’s client is free to download and runs with IE or Firefox. Images and videos are viewable in Lively, as well as the ability to embed websites, like your Tumblr or other blogs into your Lively “living space.” Though the content isn’t quite there on Lively (lacking an economy like that of Second Life), it’s still free to play and you’ll feel less dorky playing it than you would with Second Life. Give it a try and let us know how it is.

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When Facebook announced that they would be rolling out their new Facebook Chat service, all that was said was that it would be rolled out very gradually to the public. What we didn’t know is that the social networking service was systematically rolling out the new service to their favorite group of Ivy Leaguer’s first.

The first people who were gifted with the new service were members from the Harvard, Stanford, University of Chicago, Berkeley, Brown, Dartmouth and MIT networks within Facebook, who were all among the first communities to give Facebook a following. We guess allowing those users to get first dibs is there way at giving back to the community. By the way, I’m still banned from requesting new friends, thanks to the “You might know these people” feature, and me, adding 5 people in successive fashion. Come on, Facebook! — Andrew Dobrow

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Been wanting to turn your Mac mini into a home media center, but don’t have enough storage space for all your movies and music? You’re in luck, as Kuroutoshikou of Japan has announced four new external drive enclosures designed to compliment the Mac mini. Done in the same silver-and-white style as the mini, the enclosures also match the mini’s dimensions, allowing you to stack them. Best of all, these enclosures have room for a full-sized 3.5″ drive, enabling you to pair your mini with one of those 750GB vertical drives.

The GW3.5MM-U2 ($25) connects via USB 2.0 for PATA disk expansion; the GW3.5MM-U2/HUB ($30) adds a 3-port USB 2.0 hub; the GW3.5MM-U2/S ($34) adds support for SATA drives for faster data transfer; and the GW3.5MM-U2/LAN ($51) adds an Ethernet port for network accessible storage. Know which one you want? Hope you’ve got a contact in Japan, because they’re only available there, and not until the end of the month. — Mike Payne

[via Engadget]

Well, almost. The new AS-8800 wireless router from AlphaShield provides 108Mbps speeds over a range of 1,200 feet indoors and 3,900 feet outdoors. In addition to its tremendous range, the AS-8800 comes equipped with 5 GigabEthernet ports, a Stateful Packet Inspection firewall, USB print server, VPN support, and a dedicated CPU for optimal P2P performance. It’s also capable of prioritizing bandwidth for online gaming. This little wonder is set to drop in January for a hefty $250. Hope you didn’t spend your whole Christmas budget. — Mike Payne

[via Engadget]

Belkin has announced that their Cable-Free USB Hub will be released in mid-December. The device employs UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) technology to transmit data from USB devices to your computer. Belkin claims the hub can reach speeds of up to 480MBps at a range of up to 30 feet. The Belkin Cable-Free USB Hub will retail for $200, and will be available in mid-December. Accessing your USB devices over a network would seem to be simpler, especially with the short range of this product, but it’s a good solution if your laptop is your only computer. — Mike Payne

[via Engadget]