Top Items:
Bruce Horovitz / USA Today:
Starbucks offers new flavor: Free Wi-Fi — Thirsty for more business during the worst slump in its history, Starbucks will try to lure more customers by offering two hours of free AT&T Wi-Fi a day. — The Wi-Fi freebie will be available starting Tuesday to customers who purchase …
Discussion:
Mashable!, paidContent.org, DSLreports, jkOnTheRun, CNET News.com, VentureBeat, Lifehacker and GottaBeMobile
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Dave McClure / Master of 500 Hats:
StarF*#ked. (or, how not to handle forgotten password recovery flow during a massive promotion) — to whomever can promise i never have to enter forgotten password flow ever again: — PLEASE ENSLAVE ME NOW. — (screen capture while trying to register my acct/card to get free wifi @ Starbucks)
Catherine Holahan / Business Week:
Auctions on eBay: A Dying Breed — As consumers opt for fixed-price purchases, what happens to the company that perfected the art of online bidding—and the scores of e-auctioneers? — Bruce Hershenson, who auctions vintage posters online, is hanging up his eBay gavel.
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Nick / Rough Type:Was eBay a fad? — We already know that the famously cute story …
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The Open Road
Rafe Needleman / CNET News.com:
Wikia Search launches the hackable search engine — This morning, Wikia is rolling out cool features on the controversial Wikia Search engine (previous review). — Starting today, if you do a search on the engine and don't like the results, you'll be able to change them.
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Andy Greenberg / Forbes:
Jimmy Wales Reboots His ‘Google-Killer’ — Last January, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales launched a search engine called Wikia Search, a purported “Google-killer” that aimed to edit and refine search results with the same methods that have made Wikipedia a Web phenomenon—the contributions of thousands of volunteers.
Discussion:
Search Engine Watch Blog, Open Source, Mashable!, The Inquisitr, CenterNetworks, VentureBeat and Valleywag
Gavin Clarke / The Register:
Gates' last act: frees IE 8 and Silverlight second betas — TechEd 2008 Bill Gates has announced the next betas of Internet Explorer 8 and Silverlight 2 while outlining plans from Microsoft on development, services. He also took the opportunity in his valedictory keynote at TechEd in Orlando …
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Joanna Stern / LaptopMag.com:
MSI Wind (Windows XP) — This 10-inch mini-notebook has good computing punch and impressive endurance. — Price as Reviewed: $499.00 — Review Contents: — In order to achieve their diminutive size, weight, and price, most mini-notebooks come with compromises: the screen or keyboard is too small …
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Eric Auchard / eWeek:
Yahoo Opposed Google Deal Before Microsoft Bid — Execs dismissed a search-advertising deal with Google due to antitrust concerns, one day before Microsoft made its takeover offer. — SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc executives dismissed a search-advertising deal with Google due to antitrust concerns …
Stephen Shankland / CNET News.com:
Goosh: a retro Web app with cutting-edge interface — If ever something was neither fish nor fowl, it's Goosh, a Web-based command-line interface for Google. — On the one hand, Goosh creator Stefan Grothkopp shows off the power of Web 2. applications, with the browser becoming …
Tristan Louis / The TNL.net weblog:
Is Techmeme myopic? — I'm a big fan of TechMeme, a web aggregation service that provides, at a glance, a few of what's being discussed in the technology-focused part of the blogosphere. It has allowed me to unsubscribe from a large number of RSS feeds that were providing me with redundant information …
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vanderwal.net Off the Top
Ggaren / Surfin' Safari:
Announcing SquirrelFish — “Hello, Internet!” — WebKit's core JavaScript engine just got a new interpreter, code-named SquirrelFish. — SquirrelFish is fast—much faster than WebKit's previous interpreter. Check out the numbers. On the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark …
Aidan Malley / AppleInsider:
All-encompassing iPhone patent filing hints at GPS, video chat — Apple has filed for a patent that addresses virtually every aspect of the iPhone, including potential additions such as GPS mapping, media messaging, video calls, and voice commands. — While Apple has filed …
Nick Farrell / Inquirer:
Nearly all returned gadgets still work — Users only think they are broken — A STAGGERING 95 PER CENT of electronic goods which are taken back to the shop are not actually broken, according to consulting and outsourcing firm Accenture. — Apparently, when punters return their electronic gear …
Susan Panico / PlayStation.Blog:
Introducing Qore: Taking you behind the curtain with PlayStation — Today we are announcing that Qore: Presented by the PLAYSTATION Network, a highly interactive, monthly lifestyle gaming program covering the world inside PLAYSTATION is on its way to PS3. Qore has been developed …
Discussion:
NewTeeVee, Silicon Alley Insider, I4U News, Opposable Thumbs, Joystiq, Things That, PS3 Fanboy, GamePro.com and videogaming247
Cory Bohon / The Unofficial Apple Weblog:
.Mac mail down, speculations abound — If you're a .Mac mail user, then you probably know that .Mac's mail system has been down for almost 6 hours. According to the .Mac system status, 100% of users are experiencing the problems. Here's what Apple says:
