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11:35 PM ET, December 19, 2008

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Times Online / Tech Central:
Is the internet going down?  Undersea sub-cables have just broken...  Breaking news: something's happening to the internet, right now.  We're just not quite sure what.  —  Interoute, the internet networks company, reports that three of the four internet sub-cables that run from Asia to North America have been damaged.
Discussion: The Toybox, Neowin.net and Engadget
RELATED:
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
Why Do Undersea Cables Seem To Get Severed In Bunches?  —  There's just something about undersea internet cables that seem to have them get severed in groups.  You may recall the various conspiracy theories that cropped up, at the beginning of the year, after four such cables were broken …
Discussion: BBC and VentureBeat
fibresystems.org:
3 cables cut this morning (Sea Me We3 partly + Sea Me We4 + FLAG)France Telecom Marine cable ship about to depart  —  PARIS — France Telecom observed today that 3 major underwater cables were cut: “Sea Me We 4” at 7:28am, “Sea Me We3” at 7:33am and FLAG at 8:06am.
Discussion: Threat Level and timesofmalta.com
Wall Street Journal:
Music Industry to Abandon Mass Suits  —  After years of suing thousands of people for allegedly stealing music via the Internet, the recording industry is set to drop its legal assault as it searches for more effective ways to combat online music piracy.  —  The decision represents …
RELATED:
David Kravets / Threat Level:
No ISP Filtering Under New RIAA Copyright Strategy
comScore:
comScore Releases November 2008 U.S. Search Engine Rankings  —  comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its monthly comScore qSearch analysis of the U.S. search marketplace.  In November 2008, Americans conducted 12.3 billion core searches …
T-Marco / Cell Phone Signal:
T-Mobile G2 coming on January 26th '09  —  Yesterday we told you about the new update coming to T-Mobile G1.  This update will include new features like mms, and video capable.  Unfortunately, some features will not be including for the G1.  Instead, they will be include in feature Android devices..oops.. That's right!
Ryan Singel / Epicenter:
The Huffington Post Slammed for Content Theft  —  The Huffington Post, a venture-capital-backed new media site that mixes links to other sites content with hundreds of celebrity and volunteer blogger posts, is being accused of slimy business practices by a handful of smaller publications …
Discussion: Gawker
Dave / MacBlogz:
One More Thing: Apple's New Multi-touch Mighty Mouse  —  Let's face it, the Mighty Mouse is flawed.  Luckily, Apple has filed for numerous patents directly hinting at a multi-touch Mighty Mouse, which could prove to bring us an unexpected treat sometime in the near future.
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
MySpace Puts The Hammer Down On Project Playlist  —  MySpace is getting back into the business of blocking third party widgets, it seems - today they've banned embedded music widgets from the fast growing Project Playlist.  But unlike previous 2006 and 2007 blocks of iMeem, Photobucket and many others …
Discussion: VentureBeat
RELATED:
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Facebook Stares Down Labels Over Project Playlist Takedown Demand
Discussion: The Social
Sean O'Malley / The Official Google Blog:
New search-by-style options for Google Image Search  —  Many of us use Google Image Search to find imagery of people, clip art for presentations, diagrams for reports, and of course symbols and patterns for artistic inspiration.  Unfortunately, searching for the perfect image can be challenging …
Sascha Segan / PC Magazine:
Palm CEO Confirms ‘Nova’ OS Is in the Wild  —  Both wireless carriers and software developers are already holding devices with the new Palm “Nova” OS, Palm chief executive Ed Colligan revealed in a financial earnings conference call yesterday.  —  Speaking with financial analysts …
RELATED:
Chris Ziegler / Engadget:
UPDATED: Palm doesn't confirm Nova launch at CES, but they may as well have
Discussion: Phone Scoop and Gearlog
Spencer E. Ante / Business Week:
A Wrench in Silicon Valley's Wealth Machine  —  A year ago, cash rained on tech startups like Digg.  Now their valuations are slipping, and venture capital is drying up  —  A year ago there were reports that Digg had hired investment bank Allen & Co. to put the popular news aggregation Web site …
RELATED:
Caroline McCarthy / The Social:
Report: Digg still mining for profits
Discussion: Lonely CEO Media
MG Siegler / VentureBeat:
Google Reader quietly launches a “What's hot” area.  Where's the “most shared” area?  —  Given the number of people who use Google Reader's “Starred items” and “Shared items” features, you'd think Google would have some very good data for creating a killer “best of” area for stories across the web.
Nicholas Carlson / Silicon Alley Insider:
Google's Secret Revenue Weapon Revealed (GOOG)  —  All quarter long, Wall Street has been trying to figure out why Google has introduced a slew of new revenue-generating products and suddenly developed new religion with regard to costs.  The obvious answer is that Google is light on revenue and desperately trying to make the quarter.
Discussion: HipMojo.com
Jenna Wortham / Bits:
Filtering Twitter, One Tweet at a Time  —  This is part of a series of posts this week on happenings in the sprawling but always succinct world of Twitter.  —  Here are a few that caught our eye:  —  As the San Francisco-based Twitter grows in popularity, third-party developers have jumped …
Discussion: Twist Image and TheNextWeb.com
Zach Epstein / Boy Genius Report:
iPhone 3G goes on sale for two weeks only at Best Buy Mobile  —  One of our trusty Best Buy Mobile ninjas just hit us with some good news for all you last-minute holiday shoppers out there.  Starting today (December 19) through Saturday January 3, the iPhone 3G will be available from Best Buy Mobile for the lowest price in the country.
Matt Richtel / Bits:
Job Losses Hit the Tech Sector  —  In the fine print of a jobs report published today is some mixed news for Silicon Valley.  —  For the first time in this downturn, the region lost jobs; it has 4,000 fewer jobs than it did a year ago at this time, and its unemployment rate is 7 percent …
Eric Savitz / Tech Trader Daily:
Google: Is The Search Ad Business In Trouble?  —  It has been the conventional wisdom in the online advertising sector that while the display ad business was headed for rough time as the economy eroded, search-based ads would hold up better.  The theory is that display ads, paid for on a CPM …
Discussion: Clickety Clack
Alexis Madrigal / Wired Science:
Google Shutters Its Science Data Service  —  Google will shutter its highly-anticipated scientific data service in January without even officially launching the product, the company said in an e-mail to its beta testers.  —  Once nicknamed Palimpsests, but more recently going by the staid name …
Discussion: Google Watch
David Meyer / CNET News:
Google reveals upcoming Android features  —  Imminent enhancements to Google's Android mobile platform have been revealed this week, in the form of a development effort called “Cupcake.”  —  Android is in the process of being turned by Google from its own development project into open source.
Discussion: TECH.BLORGE.com and Obsessable
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Meebo Passes IMs Between MySpace And Facebook  —  MySpace and Facebook may be frenemies forever, but now they have a new mutual friend that will pass notes between them.  Meebo, the Web-based IM service, now supports IM accounts from both social networks.  That means you can enter your Facebook …
Colin Barras / New Scientist:
Fat fingers no problem with ‘see-through’ touchscreen  —  Video: The new NanoTouch device in action  —  Electronic devices have been shrinking for years, but you might be forgiven for thinking that one that's only a centimetre across would be just too difficult to operate.
Discussion: Engadget
Rory Cellan-Jones / dot.life blog:
Five grand for Sock And Awe  —  Who says entrepreneurship is dead in the UK?  The week began with an Iraqi journalist throwing a pair of shoes at President George Bush.  On Monday, a few people traded ideas on Twitter for what might be a good tabloid headline for the story - and came up with “Sock and Awe”.
Discussion: GamePolitics News
 
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 More Items: 
John Cook / TechFlash:
Mag regrets Count Me In CEO story, says it went to press before scandal
Connie Loizos / PE Hub Blog:
FreedomPay Raises More $$  —  FreedomPay, a 9-year-old cashless …
Eric Eldon / VentureBeat:
AOL using AIM chat to boost Bebo, challenge Meebo
Abbey Klaassen / AdAge:
Google Leads in Ad-Serving Share
Discussion: Search Engine Land
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
YouTube's Music Videos: Popular, Money-Losing. For Now.
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Lloyd Braun's Not Going to Take It Anymore: “I Am Not an Umbrella …
Discussion: Valleywag
Michelle Maltais / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
New question for iPod: Am iDrunk?
 Earlier Items: 
Stephen Shankland / Webware.com:
Search results show Delicious remains a tech niche
Noah Shachtman / Danger Room:
Online Jihadists Plan for ‘Invading Facebook’
Discussion: Techdirt and GMSV
Steve Poland:
Evan - Twitter needs a better policy on Usernames
english.etnews.co.kr:
Samsung Electronics will launch Google Phone in Q2
 

 
From Mediagazer:

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

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”

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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