Top Items:
Brandon LeBlanc / The Windows Blog:
Update on Windows 7 Beta Availability — Due to very heavy traffic we're seeing as a result of interest in the Windows 7 Beta, we are adding some additional infrastructure support to the Microsoft.com properties before we post the public beta. We want to ensure customers have the best possible experience …
Discussion:
TorrentFreak, TechFlash, TG Daily, Microsoft Help and Support, PC World, ChannelWeb, internetnews.com, blogs.chron.com, VentureBeat, Gadgetell, open, Obsessable, P2P Blog, Lifehacker and AppScout
RELATED:
Ina Fried / CNET News:
Microsoft holding off on Windows 7 public beta — Microsoft has postponed, at least for a short time, making the beta of Windows 7 publicly available. — The move comes as Microsoft has struggled to keep its Windows 7 Web site up on Friday. — “Due to very heavy traffic we're seeing …
Gina Trapani / Lifehacker:
In 2009, Microsoft Still Underestimates the Web — You'd think that getting soundly beaten by Google and Yahoo over and over in the online space would mean that Microsoft would take the web a little more seriously. You'd be wrong. — Case in point: Today's epic failure around the distribution of the Windows 7 public beta download.
Michael Calore / Epicenter:
Windows 7 Public Beta Delayed, Due Later Friday Afternoon — Microsoft was expected to release the first public beta of Windows 7 mid-day Friday, but ended up delaying the release for several hours after overwhelming demand for the free download crippled the company's web servers.
Discussion:
Computerworld, All about Microsoft, Lifehacker, MAKE Magazine, Download Squad, ZDNet, Technologizer and ReadWriteWeb
Microsoft TechNet:Welcome to the Windows 7 Beta Customer Preview Program
Discussion:
Download.com editors, Gizmodo, CyberNet, Computerworld, Lifehacker, I4U News, Engadget, Lockergnome Blog Network, Hardware 2.0, Redmond Pie, One Microsoft Way, the Econsultancy blog, Alice Hill's Real Tech News, Electronista, All about Microsoft, Obsessable, techblog.dallasnews.com, Steve Clayton, CrunchGear, Technologizer, jkOnTheRun, greg hughes, The Tech Report, BetaNews and The Microsoft Blog
Prince McLean / AppleInsider:
Source: Apple plans to attend CES in 2010 — On the heels of announcing its plans to bail on Macworld Expo next year, Apple will be instead attending the more generic Consumer Electronics Show in 2010, according to sources familiar with the matter. — The blogosphere has been passionately arguing …
Discussion:
GottaBeMobile.com, I4U News, The iPhone Blog, Edible Apple, 9 to 5 Mac, MacRumors, New York Times, Infinite Loop, Gizmodo, The Apple Core, Obsessable, Cult of Mac and digg.com
RELATED:
Tom Krazit / CNET News:Apple at CES? Unlikely
Discussion:
Reuters, TechFlash, PC World, Microsoft Pri0, Computerworld, NEWSFACTOR, Between the Lines and Electronista
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
Twitter Squatters Take Over Where Domain Squatters Left Off: Resolution Policy Needed? — from the conflict-resolution-in-140-characters dept — In 1994, reporter Joshua Quittner famously registered the domain name mcdonalds.com, and wrote a whole article about how so many top brand names …
RELATED:
Electronista:
Palm Pre to go GSM, cost $399 at Sprint? — The Palm Pre is already poised to run on more widespread GSM networks but may be more costly regardless of network, according to separate reports. Company European sales VP Paul Ghent tells site Pocket-lint that while the initial version of the Pre …
Discussion:
PC Magazine, MobileCrunch, GPS Obsessed, SlashGear, Digital Daily, Industry Standard, Ubergizmo, CNET News, MobileBurn.com, Gadgetell, Gizmodo and dailywireless.org
RELATED:
Miguel Salcido / E-Commerce Times:
What Search Needs Is Healthy Competition — As Google continues to overwhelmingly dominate the search space, and with the Department of Justice just looking for a reason to file antitrust lawsuits, it is safe to say that any serious competition to Google would be widely accepted.
Elinor Mills / CNET News:
Lawsuit over Yelp review settled — The lawsuit filed by a San Francisco chiropractor against a patient who wrote a negative review of him on Yelp was settled on Friday, according to the attorney for the defendant. — “This case was settled with the mutual satisfaction of both parties,” …
Jon Stokes / Ars Technica:
RAMBUS suffers major legal setback, stock drops 39 percent — A lot of companies have seen their share prices drop by around 40 percent recently, but RAMBUS' brutal plunge over the course of about an hour today was spectacular even by global meltdown standards.
BBC:
Games will ‘eclipse’ other media — Video games are poised to “eclipse” all other forms of entertainment, according to games studio boss Mike Griffith. — The Activision chief made the bold call during a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The Official Google Blog:
Google's new favicon — Back in June, we rolled out a new favicon — the small icon that greets you when you access Google on your URL bar or your bookmarks list — and we encouraged our users to submit their ideas for this important piece of Google branding.
Discussion:
Google Operating System
RELATED:
Schneier on Security:
Impersonation isn't new. In 1556, a Frenchman was executed for impersonating Martin Guerre and this week hackers impersonated Barack Obama on Twitter. It's not even unique to humans: mockingbirds, Viceroy butterflies, and the mimic octopus all use impersonation as a survival strategy.
Anthony Ha / VentureBeat:
Winners of the 2008 Crunchies — Here are the winners of this year's Crunchies, which honor the best tech companies from 2008. More than 170,000 people voted to select the nominees, and more than 350,000 people voted to select the winners. The awards were sponsored by TechCrunch, GigaOm, Silicon Alley Insider, and this very blog.
Kevin C. Tofel / jkOnTheRun:
Mio's MID: Sony P Look Outside, Windows Mobile 6.1 Inside — Buried way back in the massive automotive section is where Mio hides at the CES. I just happened to be going through for a meeting when I stumbled on this MID under glass. Since it's encased, I can't get within a foot of it …
David Colker / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
CES: Flying high with Wi-Fi — surfing the Web at 4,000 feet — I'm flying 4,000 feet above the desert on a cloudless day. There's a spectacular view of majestic mountains, dramatically stark landscapes and shimmering lakes. — But what am I looking at? A dog riding a skateboard.
Discussion:
Bits
Nilay Patel / Engadget:
Dell Adamo hands-on! (Update: now with video!) — Looks like our puppy-dog eyes have served us well yet again — we just got to spend some time with Dell's ultra-hot Adamo. It's really small, less than an inch thick, we'd say — and although we didn't measure, we'd say that 13-inch screen rumor was spot on.
Discussion:
bub.blicio.us, eWeek, Maximum PC all, PC World, I4U News, Digits, Obsessable, Ubergizmo, Gizmodo, Crave, TechSpot and Boy Genius Report
Eric Eldon / VentureBeat:
Rumor: Travel site Expedia may go private — Expedia, a publicly traded travel planning site, may be going private, we're hearing from within the financial bowels of New York. This is just a rumor but we're publishing it anyway because the move could make sense, and our readers deserve to know the idea is out there.
Discussion:
TechFlash
Doug Aamoth / CrunchGear:
Interview with Mark Cuban and Bud Mayo — We had a chance to chat with billionaire entrepreneur, Mark Cuban, and CEO of Cinedigm, Bud Mayo, about their work together to bring live 3D entertainment into movie theaters across the country. The technology promises to be a completely different theater-going experience.
