ProCon.org, a nonpartisan 501(c)3 nonprofit public charity dedicated to promoting critical thinking, created the new website http://www.socialnetworking.procon.org to explore the core question “Are social networking sites good for our society?”

Social networking and blogging sites accounted for 17% (about one in every six minutes) of all time spent on the Internet in Aug. 2009, nearly three times as much as in 2008. The popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Classmates.com more than quadrupled from 2005 to 2009. As of Sep. 15, 2009, Facebook had 90 million users in the US and 300 million users worldwide.

Uniden America Corporation, a leading manufacturer of wireless consumer electronics, today announced their new lines of wireless video surveillance products and two-way radios for the North American market. These introductions mark Uniden’s entrance into the wireless video surveillance category and the expansion of its already robust line of two-way radio solutions with the addition of two new floating, waterproof models.

“Making consumers’ lives easier through the creation of innovative, wireless products has always been the focus at Uniden,” said Rex Holloway, vice president of new product development at Uniden America Corporation. “Our new wireless video surveillance products and first-ever waterproof, floating two-way radios are natural extensions of our World Without Wires brand philosophy and perfect examples of Uniden’s continued commitment to innovation.”

Apple® today introduced the new wireless Magic Mouse, the first mouse to use Apple’s revolutionary Multi-Touch(TM) technology. Pioneered on iPhone®, iPod touch® and Mac® notebook trackpads, Multi-Touch allows customers to navigate using intuitive finger gestures. Instead of mechanical buttons, scroll wheels or scroll balls, the entire top of the Magic Mouse is a seamless Multi-Touch surface. Magic Mouse comes standard with the new iMac® and will be available as a Mac accessory at just $69.

“Apple is the Multi-Touch leader, pioneering the use of this innovative technology in iPhone, iPod touch and Mac notebook trackpads,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Apple’s Multi-Touch technology allows us to offer an easy to use mouse in a simple and elegant design.”

Virgin America, the airline that is reinventing domestic travel, today announced an exclusive partnership with Google to offer free in-flight WiFi to all of its guests during the holidays. The two California-based companies known for innovation, entrepreneurialism and for connecting people in new ways, have again joined forces to give Virgin America fliers the gift of in-flight connection during the holiday travel season. From Nov. 10, 2009-Jan. 15, 2010, guests on all Virgin America flights will be able to check email, gift shop online, stay in touch with family and friends via social media, or just go wherever the web takes them - all for free. In May, Virgin America became the first airline to offer Gogo® Inflight Internet service on every flight.

“Since the launch of WiFi on all of our planes, we’ve seen an overwhelmingly positive response from travelers,” said Porter Gale, Vice President of Marketing at Virgin America. “We’ve found that both business and leisure travelers are using the service at a growing rate, and many consider the availability of in-flight WiFi one of the key factors in their booking decision. We’re thrilled to team up with Google to deliver this special holiday gift to our loyal guests. We also hope it persuades more new users to try out the service -as once people try Gogo, they rarely go back.”