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7:50 PM ET, October 20, 2008

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Wall Street Journal:
Google CEO Backs Obama  —  Schmidt Expands Political Role by Hitting the Campaign Trail  —  Google Inc. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt will hit the campaign trail this week on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, signaling Mr. Schmidt's push for a greater voice in politics …
RELATED:
Tom Lowry / Business Week:
The Short List for U.S. Chief Technology Officer  —  Barack Obama has pledged to name a cabinet-level CTO to oversee a job-creating national broadband buildout if he's elected.  Big names abound  —  Barack Obama says that the U.S. is not doing nearly enough to create jobs through technology.
Matt Buchanan / Gizmodo:
Google CEO Wants to Be President Obama's Tech Chief
Discussion: Docu-Drama and CNET News
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
Let's Be Serious: Online Display Ads Will Fall Sharply In 2009  —  For a year, we've listened to analysts passionately explain how online ad spending will power through any broader economic and advertising weakness.  Eyeballs are moving online, this story went (goes), ad dollars will follow.
RELATED:
Michael Learmonth / AdAge:
Woe to Web 2.0 Start-Ups: Too Few Ads to Go Around
Discussion: Gawker and paidContent.org
Nick O'Neill / All Facebook:
Scott Rafer: The Facebook Platform is Dead  —  When speaking at the Facebook developer conference today in Berlin, Scott Rafer declared that Facebook platform dead.  He posted statistics including one that I posted that suggests Facebook widgets are dead.  Lookery's own statistics …
InfoWorld:
Researchers log keystrokes from afar with an antenna  —  Computer keystrokes can be snooped from afar by detecting the slight electromagnetic radiation emitted when a key is pressed, according to new research previewed on Monday.  —  Other security experts have theorized keyboards were vulnerable …
Discussion: Gizmodo
RELATED:
Mike Elgan / Computerworld Blogs:
Call it a ‘sub-subnotebook.’ New ‘PC’ is small as a cell phone!  —  SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. — IMOVIO launched today a smaller alternative to a subnotebook — much smaller.  The new iKIT is about the size of a PDA from ten years ago, but has a QWERTY keyboard and connects to the Internet at 3G speeds via your cell phone or Wi-Fi.
Jordan Golson / Industry Standard:
Harvard Prof: Google earns “$32-$50 million” annually from typosquatting websites  —  Harvard Business School professor Benjamin G. Edelman estimates Google makes between $32 and $50 million in gross profit each year — potentially much more — from placing its AdSense text ads on so-called “typosquatting” sites.
Nick / Rough Type:
The cost of First Click Free  —  The web you see when you go through Google's search engine is no longer the web you see when you don't go through Google's search engine.  —  In a note on my previous post, The Centripetal Web, Seth Finkelstein points to Philipp Lenssen's discussion of a new Google service …
Owen Thomas / Valleywag:
Wikia lays off 30 percent of staff  —  Bid goodnight to Jimmy Wales's dream of cashing out on Wikipedia, the world's largest collection of infrequently asked questions.  The vehicle for his scheme, a derivative for-profit startup called Wikia, is imploding.
Discussion: Webware.com and WebProNews
Sam Oliver / AppleInsider:
Intel shows off working Moorestown MID device  —  Intel on Monday showed off a prototype handheld based on Moorestown, its upcoming Mobile Internet Device (MID) platform designed to enable a new generation of ultra-thin, touchscreen devices with extensive battery life.
Harry McCracken / Technologizer:
Apple Ads About Microsoft Ads About Apple Ads About Microsoft  —  Apple released a couple of new “Get a Mac” ads today, and while I wouldn't usually bother to mention that here, these ones are noteworthy: They make direct reference to Microsoft's current $300 million ad campaign for Windows.
Monica Chen / DigiTimes:
MSI to launch 3.5G Wind netbook next month  —  Micro-Star International (MSI) is planning to launch the Wind U120 with a built-in 3.5G module in November this year.  The netbook will feature Intel's Atom N270 processor, 1GB memory, 120GB hard drive and Windows XP and be priced around NT$18,000 …
PBS:
Ctrl-Alt-Del: Did Apple reboot an important product announcement?  —  Apple last week introduced a pair of very nice notebook computers that, not at all surprisingly, looked like riffs on the MacBook Air.  The company in a separate announcement released 600 high-definition television episodes through the iTunes Store.
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
Judge Allows Kentucky To Seize Domain Names  —  Last month, we wrote about a judge allowing Kentucky's governor to seize 141 domain names that were somehow associated with gambling sites under a bizarre interpretation of Kentucky law.  Pretty much everyone involved admits …
Funkyguy / The Earth Times:
Worlds First iPhone Hotel  —  Its in California and I do think that the title is well deserved.  Its actual name is the Malibu Beach inn and it operates almost every little thing with Apples help.  Its great if you have an iPhone or iPod with you when you check in , if not the hotel obliges by equipping you with a 16 gig iPod touch.
Discussion: Crave, Engadget and textually.org
The Boy Genius / Boy Genius Report:
BlackBerry Storm hitting Best Buy November 16th?  —  To be fair, that's what looks to be the in-stock date, not the street date as we're told.  We got our hands on a print out of a Best Buy product sheet which clearly shows the BlackBerry Storm's store in-stock date.
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Apple 2.0:
Q4 earnings: A guide to Apple's guidance  —  Apple guides conservatively - which is to say it low-balls its earnings and revenue numbers for the coming quarter so that it can blow them out of the water three months later.  It's a game the company plays every quarter, but the market never seems to learn …
Andria Cheng / MarketWatch:
Circuit City may shut stores to avoid filing: report  —  NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Struggling electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. is mulling a plan to shut at least 150 stores and cut thousands of jobs to lower costs to avoid filing for bankruptcy protection, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday …
Jonathan M. Gitlin / Ars Technica:
Microsoft gets patent for real-time f-bomb bleeping  —  Back in 2004 Microsoft applied for a patent for real-time censoring of audio streams, and now the USPTO has granted that patent.  —  As PC gamers have known for a long time, and Xbox gamers have known for a while …
Chris Albrecht / NewTeeVee:
CBS Tries to Make Online Viewing Social  —  Mel Brooks said the hardest thing to do was to make a person sitting alone in a room laugh out loud.  Laughter is social, and that's important to consider as watching online video on your laptop or handheld device with headphones can be a pretty isolating experience.
Business Wire:
Sun Microsystems Reports Preliminary Results for the First Quarter Fiscal Year 2009  —  SANTA CLARA, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAVA - News) reported preliminary results today for its first quarter of fiscal 2009, which ended September 28, 2008.
Lewis Page / The Register:
Interpol proposes world face-recognition database  —  Old skool mugshot files too slow, say globocops  —  Interpol chiefs will propose the use of automated facial-recognition technology at borders to flag up internationally wanted suspects, according to reports.
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
Two Ways Yahoo Can Blow The Mass Firings  —  Now that Yahoo employees have had the pleasure of reading about their impending fate for weeks, management will reportedly finally announce the mass firings this week.  The exact number has yet to be released—somewhere between 1500 and 3000 …
Discussion: GMSV and WebProNews
Sean Michael Kerner:
Linux Ecosystem worth $25 billion  —  From the “not bad for Free” files:  —  The Linux Foundation is set to release a report on Wednesday estimating that the Linux ecosystem is now worth $25 billion.  The $25 billion figure is one that I'm surprised at because its lower than other forecasts I've seen over the years.
Discussion: Valleywag and Slashdot
Chris Mellor / The Register:
SanDisk's NAND flash white knight  —  Toshiba deal could help keep Samsung at bay  —  SanDisk is gaining $1bn from a Toshiba manufacturing capacity purchase deal to help prod unwanted bidder Samsung into raising its bid price.  At least, that's one interpretation of a pretty darn opaque deal.
 
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 More Items: 
Frederic Lardinois / ReadWriteWeb:
Microsoft U Rank: Personalize Your Search Results
Scott Moritz / Techland:
Texas Instruments cuts sales target
Eric Krangel / Silicon Alley Insider:
Second Life Offers Business Teleconferencing, Now Penis-Free
Discussion: Techdirt
Shawn Brown / Android Community:
Google removes applications just before launch
Discussion: Gizmodo and Engadget Mobile
Jeff / Venture Chronicles:
Blu-ray Fights the Last War
 Earlier Items: 
Simon Sage / IntoMobile:
RIM stock drops on poor Pearl Flip sales
Discussion: Reuters and Electronista
Karl Bode / DSLreports:
We've Got Exclusive Details On New Comcast Speeds, Prices …
Discussion: GigaOM
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
SearchMe Adds Music Search With Unlimited Streaming Via Imeem Widgets
Discussion: Webware.com and ReadWriteWeb
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
RIAA Calls Another Critic Vexatious After She Points Out Flaw In RIAA Logic
Discussion: Threat Level and BetaNews
Ryan Paul / Ars Technica:
Hands on: Fennec alpha 1 puts Firefox on your handheld
Scott Ferguson / eWeek:
Intel Slashes Desktop, Server Processor Prices
Discussion: The Register and Hardware 2.0
Greg Sandoval / CNET News:
MPAA slams EFF on RealDVD
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Ofcom rules that five GB News programs presented by Conservative politicians have broken its due impartiality rules and puts the channel “on notice”

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Authentic Brands licenses Sports Illustrated's publishing rights to The Players' Tribune owner Minute Media for 10 years, with plans to keep the print edition

Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTuber MrBeast announces a deal with Prime Video for Beast Games, a reality-competition show with 1,000 contestants, promising the winner a $5M cash prize

 
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