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4:50 AM ET, March 4, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Dan Frommer / Silicon Alley Insider:
Google CEO: Twitter A 'Poor Man's Email System'  —  Real-time microblogging and messaging services like Twitter could potentially become a threat to Google — whose search index doesn't keep up with conversations as quickly as Twitter's.  So what does Google (GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt think about Twitter?
RELATED:
Dan Frommer / Silicon Alley Insider:
Schmidt: Economy ‘Pretty Dire’, Google ‘Not Immune’  —  Google (GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt's gloomy comments on the economy aren't helping Google stock, which is down 3.2% after-hours.  During a fireside chat with Mary Meeker at Morgan Stanley's tech conference, Schmidt said:  — The ecomomic situation is “pretty dire.”
Discussion: Gawker and PE Hub Blog, Thanks:atul
Geoffrey A. Fowler / Wall Street Journal:
Amazon to Sell Books for iPhones  —  Amazon.com Inc. plans to release a program Wednesday for reading electronic books on Apple Inc.'s iPhone, extending Amazon's sales of digital books to devices beyond its Kindle e-book reader.  —  Amazon's software application, which can be downloaded free of charge …
RELATED:
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
That Was Fast: Kindle, Meet the iPhone.  —  Remember last month, when Amazon said that it planned to make its Kindle e-book titles available on other devices, but wouldn't say what devices, or when?  —  Now we know.  As of today, you can now read Kindle titles on your Apple iPhone (AAPL).
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
The Smart Execs Leave Before The Fall.  —  When a smart, ambitious executive who isn't the CEO leaves a company, it isn't necessarily a sign of trouble.  Sometimes that executive isn't performing all that well, or he/she wants to see if they can make it at their own startup where they call the shots.
RELATED:
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Kapur Stepping Down as MySpace COO  —  Amit Kapur, who was elevated to COO of MySpace early last year, will be stepping down from the position.  He's leaving the company to start a new venture with two other MySpace executives, Jim Benedetto, SVP of Engineering and Steve Pearman, SVP of Product Strategy.
Justin Smith / Inside Facebook:
Facebook's Redesigned Fan Pages to Compete More Directly with Twitter  —  As most brands and marketers know by now, Facebook is preparing to announce a redesigned version of its Pages product for businesses tomorrow.  —  For those that haven't seen the details on all the likely* changes …
Discussion: Charles Hudson's Weblog and The Social, Thanks:atul
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Apple 2.0:
Oppenheimer: New iMac a better deal than Dell, HP  —  In reviewing Apple's (AAPL) new desktops Tuesday, some analysts chided the company for not setting “more aggressive price points,” as Kaufman Bros.'s Shaw Wu put it, given today's “tough macroeconomic environment.”  —  But not Oppenheimer's Yair Reiner.
Discussion: MacDailyNews
RELATED:
Apple:
Apple Updates Consumer Desktop Line
RELATED:
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
Want To Know Why Newspapers Are Going Out Of Business?  Because Adding Value Never Seems To Be An Option  —  from the massive-failure-in-action dept  —  Lots of folks in the newspaper business say that Howard Owens is a guy who really gets the online news business — and recognizes the challenges and opportunities.
Declan McCullagh / CNET News:
Obama picks Net neutrality backer as FCC chief  —  President Obama on Tuesday nominated Julius Genachowski as the nation's top telecommunications regulator, picking a campaign advisor who has divided his career between Washington, D.C., political jobs and working as an Internet executive.
Ben Lorica / O'Reilly Radar:
The Fastest-Growing Category in the iTunes App Store: Books  —  At least as measured in terms of number of unique applications, Books have grown the fastest over the last 12 weeks.  (Data for this post limited to apps on the U.S. iTunes store through 3/1/2009.)
Discussion: TeleRead, Thanks:atul
Vince / Cuil Blog:
Rolling out a new look  —  Cuil is all about innovative techniques to bring you the information you are searching for and our user interface has always been an important part of this.  Right from the start we've used what we call the “magazine” layout — sorting results into two or three columns allowing …
Discussion: Search Engine Land
Google Code Blog:
Introducing Labs for Google Code  —  Tom Stocky, Director, Google Developer Products  —  As Google's developer program continues to grow — already over 60 APIs and tools on Google Code today — we credit much of this growth to a culture of exploration and rapid iteration …
Alex Payne / al3x:
Towards Better Technology Journalism  —  Rarely does technology journalism produce informed, correct, relevant, and readable content.  This is a sorry and damaging state of affairs.  —  I've been drafting this post in my head for ages, and bringing the topic up to friends and colleagues ad nauseam.
Discussion: CircleID, Thanks:atul
Michael Bettiol / Boy Genius Report:
Your first look at Facebook 1.5 for BlackBerry  —  For a while now there has been talk of Facebook 1.5 for BlackBerry.  Back in November we cited a report which indicated a January release, something that obviously did not come to fruition.  However, we can say with absolute certainty …
Paul Graham:
Why TV Lost  —  About twenty years ago people noticed computers and TV were on a collision course and started to speculate about what they'd produce when they converged.  We now know the answer: computers.  It's clear now that even by using the word “convergence” we were giving TV too much credit.
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines:
Yahoo's Bartz: Search data critical to us; I use Google Maps  —  Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz on Tuesday gave no indication that the company was going to punt on the search business.  She said the data the search business provides is “extremely important” to Yahoo and is information the company has to have.
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Facebook Connect + Facebook Ads = A Social Ad Network  —  The push to ramp up revenues is clearly on at Facebook.  If Mark Zuckerberg wants to prove Facebook's valuation (something he won't budge on for new investors), he is going to have to start showing some serious revenues.
Dave Winer / Scripting News:
Fractional Horsepower Twitters?  —  Fractional Horsepower is a very powerful idea.  It says that sometimes you can make a new product by taking an old one and scaling it down.  —  The originator of the concept, in my experience (he may have borrowed it from someone else) is Steve Jobs …
Thanks:atul
Live Search:
Testing...One...Two...Three!  —  Many of you have probably seen the press coverage in the last day or so about the internal testing Microsoft employees are doing on our search product.  There's a good deal of excitement brewing over this test, both internally and externally, which we're always glad to see.
Suzanne Tindal / ZDNET.com.au:
RIM records all employee calls  —  BlackBerry maker Research in Motion admitted yesterday that it recorded all employee conversations in the interest of maintaining control over intellectual property.  —  RIM CIO Robin Bienfait (Credit: RIM)  —  RIM chief information officer Robin Bienfait …
Thanks:kalpeshk
Dan Lyons / Real Dan Lyons Web Site:
Tech blog roundup  —  I wrote recently about how the economics of blogging kind of sucks.  But I neglected to mention the fine contribution to journalism and world knowledge that blogs represent.  One of the great things about the blogosphere is the unique information that each blog provides.
Discussion: ParisLemon
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
DEMO: Jadoos creates a web universal remote control and social operating system  —  One of the more ambitious companies here at DEMO 2009 is Jadoos, which has started promoting its offering here as the beginning of Web 3.0.  —  If Web 2.0 was all about user-generated content and social networking sites …
Discussion: Webware.com and CNET News
Eric Krangel / Silicon Alley Insider:
Microsoft Planning Ad-Supported Model For Office 14  —  An ad-supported Microsoft Office 14?  —  That's what Microsoft Business Division Chief Stephen Elop said was coming at a presentation to analysts at the Morgan Stanley Technology conference today.  —  It's an anti-piracy initiative.
Hunter Walk / YouTube Blog:
Won't You Adopt a Feature?  —  Raise your hand if you've watched a YouTube video.  Cool, the “play” button definitely works but that's just the start of where the YouTube experience can begin.  Every week we release new tools, or enhancements to current ones, to help you make better videos …
Discussion: Neowin.net and TechCrunch
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
TheFunded Founder Creates A Startup Camp For Young CEOs  —  What this economy needs to get out of its rut is more startups.  Adeo Ressi, the founder of VC-rating site TheFunded, wants to do his part to help jump start the economy with fresh ideas and leaders.
Discussion: TechFlash, Thanks:atul
Ryan Kim / The Technology Chronicles:
Comcast now offering 50 Mbps service in the Bay Area  —  Comcast is bringing high-speed love to the Bay Area.  —  The cable provider is expanding its rollout of the new DOCSIS 3.0 technology, which will provide customers with speeds up to 50 megabits per second for downloads and up to 10 megabits per second for uploads.
Discussion: DSLreports
Ernesto / TorrentFreak:
The Pirate Bay - Innocent or Guilty?  —  Yesterday the prosecutor called for jailtime, while the prosecution presented its closing statements.  Today the defense had its say and the trial officially ended.  —  The Pirate Bay trial started on February 16 with lots of press coverage …
 
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 More Items: 
Jeff P Howe / Epicenter:
Berkman Center Rides Herd on Censorship
Ryan Singel / Epicenter:
Another ISP Ad Snooper Hit With Lawsuit
Philipp Lenssen / Google Blogoscoped:
Google Tasks, a Standalone App
Josh Lowensohn / Webware.com:
Web video round table sheds light on upcoming problems
Discussion: Beet.TV
Reid J. Epstein / Newsday:
Oceanside teen sues Facebook, ex-classmates for $3M
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
Hollywood's Napster Moment Arrives, Courtesy of MegaVideo
 Earlier Items: 
Yukari Kane / Digits:
Layoffs at Apple? Unlikely
Discussion: Gawker, PC World, Gawker and tinyComb
Jin / DisplayBlog:
ASUS Eee Top: 15.6″ Touch All-In-One Available for Pre-Order $599.99 at Amazon
Craig Donato / Facebook Blog:
The New Facebook Marketplace Powered by Oodle
Matthew Lasar / Ars Technica:
Broadcasters sue FCC over white space broadband decision
Seth Rosenblatt / Download.com editors:
Skype announces voice-to-text messaging