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9:30 PM ET, December 26, 2008

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Jessica Wohl / Reuters:
Wal-Mart to start selling iPhones on Sunday  —  CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Friday it will start selling Apple Inc's iPhone on Sunday, but the popular cell phones that can surf the web will not be priced as low as some anticipated.  —  Wal-Mart plans to sell …
RELATED:
Chris Foresman / Infinite Loop:
Walmart publicly confirms iPhone sales, $197 price  —  Rumors had been flying for months that retail juggernaut Walmart would be selling iPhones in its US stores.  That rumor had all but been confirmed when leaked memos revealed that sales would begin on December 28.
Discussion: Agence France Presse and Macworld
Amazon.com:
Amazon.com's 14th Holiday Season Is Best Ever  —  Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced the 2008 holiday season finished as its best ever, with over 6.3 million items ordered worldwide on the peak day, Dec. 15, which is a record-breaking 72.9 items per second.
RELATED:
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
Amazon: Our Holiday Sales Were Great.  Just Don't Ask Us to Tell You About Them
Discussion: GigaOM, Business Wire and TUAW
David Chartier / Ars Technica:
Microsoft, Apple, Google sued over icon software patent  —  Cygnus Systems, Inc., a networking company based in Michigan, got into the holiday spirit by suing Microsoft, Apple, and Google for violating a patent it was recently awarded, which covers the navigation and access of files based on representational thumbnails.
MG Siegler / VentureBeat:
The $99 iPhone lives!  (Through AT&T, not Wal-Mart)  —  Some of you are likely upset that we now know for certain that Wal-Mart won't be selling the iPhone for $99, and instead will give it a measly $2 discount when it goes on sale on Sunday.  So I'm happy to report today …
Discussion: Engadget, 9 to 5 Mac and Gizmodo
Michael Martin / Google Android News:
G1 Phone Owners May Get a Battery Replacement Christmas Gift from T-Mobile  —  A replacement extended life battery may be a late Christmas Present to frustrated G1 owners from T-Mobile.  —  As polled here and elsewhere, the main concern with the G1 is the short battery life as with only moderate use …
Discussion: IntoMobile, TmoNews and MobileCrunch
Aidan Malley / AppleInsider:
iPhone nano knockoffs already on sale in Thailand (photos)  —  Those eagerly anticipating next month's Macworld and the prospects of a smaller iPhone should beware, as a slew of tiny clones are introducing confusion as they reach store shelves.  —  While silicone case molds have surfaced …
Discussion: iPhone Buzz and Edible Apple
Priya Ganapati / Wired News:
Top Technology Breakthroughs of 2008  —  The economy may be tanking, but innovation is alive and well.  —  When it came to products, incremental improvements were the name of the game this year.  Phones got faster (iPhone 3G anyone?), notebooks turned into netbooks and pocket cameras went …
Emil Protalinski / One Microsoft Way:
Rumor: three options for upgrading from Vista to Windows 7  —  Back in November, I explored the number of editions of Windows 7 that Microsoft was working on.  While the company has not officially given a list yet, it was clear that Windows 7 Enterprise Edition and Windows 7 Ultimate Edition were definitely coming.
Fred / A VC:
Bits Of Destruction  —  The news is full of stories this year end about the impending bankruptcies of retailers, newspapers, auto manufacturers, banks, and a host of other businesses that have been the mainstay of corporate america for the past 100 years or more.
Rajat Agrawal / Cellpassion:
RIM grabs the most absurd QWERTY keyboard patent  —  USPTO Patent Application 20080318617 should go down in the history of patents as the most absurd QWERTY keyboard.  Okay, this is how it works — In the original position it looks like a normal alphanumeric keypad and then there are two hinges …
RELATED:
Steve Rubel / Micro Persuasion:
Google Now Features WordPress Blog Thumbnails  —  Twice this week when I searched for a blogger's name and some other related keywords, I noticed that Google is running a little thumbnail alongside the first links.  I have verified that this is not an experiment but rather a new mini feature.
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Voicetag Brings Voicemail To Facebook  —  For those of you who don't think voicemail is counterproductive, there is a new app on Facebook called Voicetag that lets you send voicemail messages to individuals or groups.  This is not the first such app on Facebook (see Voicemail or TringMe) …
Discussion: Webware.com
 
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 More Items: 
Justin Smith / Inside Facebook:
Widget Entrepeneurs Await Clarity from Facebook on 4th Party Connect Policy
BBC:
How an old phone can make money
Discussion: digg.com
Tanalee Smith / Associated Press:
Uproar in Australia over plan to block Web sites
Liz Gannes / NewTeeVee:
Wii to Get Video on Demand...Sorta
Discussion: Gizmodo, The Register and Japan Today
Jesus Diaz / Gizmodo:
iPhone to Run Windows and Get Copy and Paste (It's Not What You Think)
 Earlier Items: 
Michael V. Copeland / Fortune:
Oracle's edge  —  The software giant will no doubt feel some pain …
Ernesto / TorrentFreak:
uTorrent Grows to 28 Million Monthly Users
Discussion: digg.com
Rafat Ali / paidContent.org:
Sign Of The Times: NameMedia and Eyeblaster Withdraw IPOs
MG Siegler / VentureBeat:
MG's 10 favorite iPhone games of 2008
 

 
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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