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12:05 AM ET, March 11, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
innerfence:
Google to Shut Down Infinite SMS  —  Got an email from Google.  They say they're going to start blocking sometime tomorrow, 11 March 2009.  —  Google will soon block Infinite SMS and all other non-Google software from sending free text messages.  —  For now, Infinite SMS will continue to work …
RELATED:
Josh Lowensohn / CNET News:
Google's free SMS gravy train dries up  —  Google on Wednesday will close off access to the part of Google Talk that lets third-party developers send and receive text messages.  Third-party applications, such as Infinite SMS for the iPhone and desktop chat software that made use of this XMPP pathway …
Discussion: TechSpot
Ulysses Shi / Outdustry:
The Chinese iTunes Gift Voucher Trick  —  While there are some legitimate digital music download sites in China - including 9Sky, Top100 and the recently launched Wawawa - digital music is proving to be a tough sell in the P.R.C, partly because of the market dominance of Baidu's free mp3 search.
RELATED:
Stuart Dredge / Music Ally:
Chinese hackers selling $200 iTunes vouchers for $2.60
Rene Ritchie / The iPhone Blog:
Tweetie 1.3 Rejected by Apple for Returning “Offensive Language” in Search Results (NSFW-L)  —  So, who could it be running the approval process for the iTunes App Store at Apple?  Hmm.  Tough one.  Let us put on our little thinking caps here for a moment.... SATAN?!
RELATED:
MG Siegler / VentureBeat:
Apple backs down: Tweetie with swear words for all!
Discussion: The iPhone Blog and Ars Technica
Christian Zibreg / TG Daily:
Apple's App Store analysis: This Titanic is actually unsinkable … Chicago (IL) -With nearly 27,000 applications now available on Apple's App Store, the number of iPhone applications has now exceeded what it took Windows Mobile nine years to amass.  With an addressable market …
Discussion: Macsimum News
RELATED:
Sam Oliver / AppleInsider:
Apple's App Store already nearing pace of $1 billion business?
Discussion: VentureBeat
Joshua Topolsky / Engadget:
In case you missed ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’ last night  —  If you didn't get to see Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night, here's your second chance!  Up above is NBC's edited segment, and after the break we've got our own video (for completists and international readers).
Adriana Lee / PhoneDog.com:
Rumor: Samsung A877 to launch 3/29 for AT&T  —  This just in ...  According to an anonymous source, it looks like Samsung A877 will be launching through AT&T on March 29.  If you're in the market for a sweet messaging phone, this might be one worth waiting for.  — 3.2" WQVGA AMOLED touchscreen
Bill Gurley / abovethecrowd.com:
How To Monetize A Social Network: MySpace And Facebook Should Follow TenCent  —  Everybody had to pay and pay"  —  The consensus seems to be that social networks have a monetization problem.  On this topic, both the leading technology industry blogs and the world's top news organizations agree.
Thanks:atul
Matthew Lasar / Ars Technica:
FCC promises open process on national broadband strategy  —  Get ready for an excruciatingly inclusive process in figuring out how the government will implement its national broadband strategy.  —  Interim Federal Communications Commission Chair Michael Copps was clearly feeling his oats …
RELATED:
Stephanie Condon / CNET News:   High interest in broadband stimulus spurs public meetings
Mary Lu Carnevale / Washington Wire:
It's Standing Room Only for Broadband Stimulus Meeting
Discussion: DSLreports
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Sony cuts deal with NBC Universal for film/TV shows on PlayStation Network  —  Sony's PlayStation Network is getting a boost today as the company announces its deal to add movies and TV shows from NBC Universal to its nascent online video store.  —  This development follows the addition …
RELATED:
Grace Chen / PlayStation.Blog:
NBC Universal Premieres on PSN Today
Discussion: VG247 and Engadget
John Paczkowski / Digital Daily:
Palm: Put a Sock in It, McNamee. … Roger McNamee's hyperbolic predictions about iPhone-to-Pre conversion rates didn't go over too well at Palm.  Appalled by McNamee's inflated, indecorous claims about its forthcoming smartphone, the handset maker on Monday filed a Free Writing Prospectus …
RELATED:
Swa Frantzen / SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON:
conspiracy fodder: pifts.exe  —  Several readers wrote in with samples of a file PIFTS.exe that seems to be related to a Norton update and gets flagged for its behavior.  —  The file has been confirmed to call home to stats.norton.com .  —  The truly bizarre are the mentions that the support forums …
RELATED:
Bull3t's Blog:
The mysterious Norton cover-up and pifts.exe
Discussion: The Register and Slashdot
Dan Frommer / Silicon Alley Insider:
Ex-Googler Launching iPhone App For Popular Barflies  —  Dennis Crowley's mobile social networking service Dodgeball — est. 2004 — was ahead of the game, but never took off.  And Google (GOOG) — which bought the service in 2005 — shut it down last Friday.  So what's next?
InfoWorld:
Microsoft patches Windows DNS, kernel flaws  —  Microsoft has released software patches fixing a handful of critical bugs in the Windows kernel, as well as flaws in the Windows Directory Name System and SChannel security software.  —  The software vendor rates the three Windows kernel bugs as …
RELATED:
Juan Carlos Perez / Computerworld:
Gmail down; outage could last 36 hours for some  —  Google calls outage ‘minor’  —  IDG News Service) Google Inc.'s Gmail e-mail service is down for an undetermined number of users, and while the outage has been partially fixed, some people could be locked out of their accounts for many more hours.
Discussion: eWeek, Silicon Alley Insider and BBC
Randall C. Kennedy / Enterprise Desktop:
Is IE8 the end of the line for Internet Explorer?  —  Dropping IE in favor of a newer rendering engine may be not be as easy as it seems  —  IE8 is the last version of the Internet Explorer Web browser.  At least, that's what I'm hearing through the grapevine.
Discussion: TechSpot
Gavin Clarke / The Register:
Concerted Linux-netbook effort needed to beat Microsoft  —  When it comes to Linux netbooks, PC manufacturers should act more like cell-phone makers and telcos by selling customized and subsidized machines with online services.  —  That's according to Linux Foundation executive director Jim Zemlin …
Discussion: OSNews
Timothy High / High T:
Do we need Yet Another Method to communicate?  —  Lately I've been looking into Web 2.0-type tools to improve our commumication and workflow at work.  There's been some Enterprise 2.0 buzz about Twitter as a possible tool for communication on projects, and I've been scratching my head trying to figure out exactly how.
Thanks:atul
Alina Dizik / Wall Street Journal:
Windows Into Lives After a Layoff  —  Rachel Levy had 10 years of marketing experience and an M.B.A. from a top business school when she was laid off in July.  Rather than keep her feelings about the situation private, Ms. Levy started a blog to chronicle her life post-layoff.
MG Siegler / VentureBeat:
San Francisco to be “Twitterfied”  —  I'm not entirely sure what Twitter chief executive Evan Williams means when he tweets “We are twitterfying SF!,” but I'm just a little terrified of it.  —  Williams sent the tweet following a meeting with San Francisco's mayor Gavin Newsom this morning at Twitter's offices.
Thanks:atul
Richard MacManus / ReadWriteWeb:
Sensors, Smart Content, and the Future of News  —  Nick Bilton from The New York Times R&D Labs was at ETech today, talking about how NYT is preparing for the future of news delivery.  His presentation explored how “sensors in every part of our lives [are] helping us aggregate smart content that is relevant to the device we are using”.
Jane Wakefield / BBC:
Last.FM joins Google's rights row  —  Online music service Last.fm has waded into the row between YouTube and the Performing Right Society.  —  Founder Martin Stiksel said he hoped a resolution could be found to avoid illegal services from taking over.  —  He urged both parties to find a …
Discussion: MediaFile and Reuters, Thanks:miad
Nicholas Carlson / Silicon Alley Insider:
27 Huge Publishers Join To Replace The Banner  —  27 publishers with a reach of about 109 million unique visitors per month — that's 66% of the total U.S. Internet audience — have agreed to try one of three new online ad formats sometime before July.  The publishers are all members of the online publishers association (OPA).
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
AOL Layoffs In Progress  —  As expected, many AOLers in Dulles started receiving “the email” yesterday afternoon.  The email asks them to attend an “important meeting” this morning—at which they will be fired.  —  This is the way AOL's layoffs have been handled over the past several years, with depressing regularity.
Discussion: BoomTown, The Register, Gawker and Post I.T.
Adobe:
Security Updates available for Adobe Reader 9 and Acrobat 9  —  Vulnerability identifier: APSB09-03  —  A critical vulnerability has been identified in Adobe Reader 9 and Acrobat 9 and earlier versions.  This vulnerability would cause the application to crash and could potentially allow …
 
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 More Items: 
Steve Lohr / New York Times:
Wal-Mart Plans to Market Digital Health Records System
Thanks:atul
Erica Naone / Technology Review:
An Upgrade for the Web  —  Browsers are changing to accommodate powerful applications.
Tom Abate / The Technology Chronicles:
Woman computing pioneer wins prize
Discussion: MIT News, Ars Technica and acm.org
Arik Hesseldahl / Business Week:
Where AMD's New CEO Is Heading
Mary Kathleen Flynn / Dealscape:
Q&A: Roger Ehrenberg on startup shutdowns
Theresa Howard / USA Today:
Coupon search clicks: Sweet sound for Web marketers
Ashlee Vance / Bits:
EMC Tightens Its Embrace of VMware
Discussion: The Register
 Earlier Items: 
Eric Savitz / Tech Trader Daily:
Apple: Was February The Bottom For Mac Sales?
Robert Buderi / Xconomy:
Paul Graham on Why Boston Should Worry About Its Future as a Tech Hub …
Discussion: SiliconAngle
Wei Yi Lim / Dow Jones Newswires:
Apple Plans To Launch Netbook With Touch Screen - Sources
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Jennifer Schuessler / New York Times:
PEN America cancels its 2024 literary awards ceremony, set for April 29, after months of protests over the organization's response to the war in Gaza

Adam B. Vary / Variety:
The Blair Witch Project cast requests retroactive residuals and “meaningful consultation” on future projects, after Lionsgate and Blumhouse announced a reboot

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Puck hires veteran journalist and TV commentator John Heilemann as its chief political columnist and partner, as the outlet expands its presence in Washington

 
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