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12:20 PM ET, March 12, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
The Official Google Blog:
Here comes Google Voice  —  We've just started to release a preview of Google Voice, an application that helps you better manage your voice communications.  Google Voice will be available initially to existing users of GrandCentral, a service we acquired in July of 2007.
RELATED:
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
GrandCentral To (Finally) Launch As Google Voice.  It's Very, Very Good.  —  GrandCentral, a phone management service that first launched in 2006 and was acquired by Google for $50+ million in 2007, hasn't been in the news much lately.  Other than a few good natured jabs at their marketing gimmicks and coverage of outages, that is.
David Pogue / New York Times:
One Number to Ring Them All  —  If Google search revolutionized the Web, and Gmail revolutionized free e-mail, then one thing's for sure: Google Voice, unveiled Thursday, will revolutionize telephones.  —  It unifies your phone numbers, transcribes your voice mail, blocks telemarketers …
Miguel Helft / New York Times:
Google's Free Phone Manager Could Threaten a Variety of Services  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Google stepped up its attack on the telecommunications industry on Thursday with a free service called Google Voice that, if successful, could chip away at the revenue of companies big and small, like eBay …
Google Voice Blog:
Moving to Google Voice!  —  We are happy to announce that we have made a number of improvements to GrandCentral and are relaunching the service as Google Voice.  GrandCentral users have the first opportunity to start using Google Voice, which is a private beta.
Amazon Web Services Blog:
Announcing Amazon EC2 Reserved Instances  —  Earlier in my career, I thought that innovation was solely about technology.  If you wanted to address a new market or to increase sales, writing more code was always a good option.  Having gained some wisdom and experience over the years …
RELATED:
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines:
Amazon tweaks EC2 pricing; Takes next step in its enterprise evolution  —  Amazon has tweaked its Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) pricing model to be more enterprise friendly.  The move is significant enough to sway IT executives to adopt more of Amazon's Web Services-especially when they have tight budgets.
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
Hoops to Go: CBS Streaming March Madness to iPhone  —  More catnip for the convergence optimists, who dream about getting to watch anything they want on any device they choose: In addition to streaming all of its March Madness coverage on the Web, CBS is also letting iPhone and iPod touch owners watch …
RELATED:
Michelle Kessler / Technology Live:
Watch live NCAA basketball on an iPhone
Darren Gladstone / PC World:
Dell Studio One 19: All-in-One Stunner Takes Japan  —  There's been a bit of a rebirth in the all-in-one desktop category lately and from the looks of it, Dell is onto something with its Studio One 19.  This new machine — starting at $699 — melds together a wish-list of what I'd hoped I'd see in my Kitchen of TomorrowTM.
RELATED:
John Herrman / Gizmodo:
Multitouch Dell Studio One Just Slightly Too Sexy For American Shores
Discussion: eWeek, Electronista and Crave
Jefferson Graham / Technology Live:
Hulu launches social networking  —  Fast-rising video site Hulu celebrates its one-year anniversary Thursday, and plans to mark the occasion by introducing social networking features to inform your inner circle about TV shows and movies you like to watch.  —  In the past, you could share Hulu shows …
Discussion: The Social, Thanks:brickandclick
RELATED:
BBC:
BBC team exposes cyber crime risk  —  Spencer Kelly looks at how hackers use hijacked home PCs to send out millions of spam e-mails  —  Software used to control thousands of home computers has been acquired online by the BBC as part of an investigation into global cyber crime.
Discussion: Zero Day and BBC
RELATED:
John Leyden / The Register:   BBC botnet investigation turns hacks into hackers
Brooke Crothers / CNET News:
Fusion-io touts ‘fastest’ solid-state drive  —  Fusion-io also claims Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak as its chief scientist.  —  Targeted primarily at business applications such as database servers, capacities range from 160 gigabytes to 640 gigabytes.  And by the second half of this year, this will increase to 1.28 terabytes.
Jennifer Kwan / Reuters:
Nortel in talks to break itself up: report  —  TORONTO (Reuters) - Ailing telecom equipment maker Nortel Networks Corp, which filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year, is looking to break itself up by selling off major divisions, the Globe and Mail reported on Thursday.
RELATED:
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines:
Sirius XM: We're developing an iPhone app for second quarter launch  —  Sirius XM said Thursday that it is developing an application so its satellite radio service will be streamed to Apple's iPhone and iPod touch.  The company said it expects to launch the application in the second quarter.
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Google Friend Connect Now Allows Deeper Integration with APIs  —  Google Friend Connect Is trying to catch up with Facebook Connect, and just now released its first set of APIs, which will let developers integrate Google Friend Connect more deeply into their sites and applications.
Discussion: Social Web Blog and AdAge
Darren Murph / Engadget:
So it begins: Klipsch, Scosche unveil VoiceOver-compatible iPod shuffle earbuds  —  We knew we'd be hearing more about all those third party VoiceOver-compatible headphones today, and sure enough, the flood has begun.  In an admittedly cute attempt to be first out of the gate …
Eric Eldon / VentureBeat:
Spoon feeding: Facebook redesign brings feeds (and ads) to the masses  —  Facebook began rolling out a new design of its homepage today, with a number of subtle features intended to make feed-based social networking more intuitive to the typical user.  When the company first showed off its plans last week …
D.C. Wire:
Breaking: D.C. Tech Official Busted in Federal Bribery Sting  —  An official in the D.C. government's office of the chief technology officer has been arrested in a federal bribery sting, according to law enforcement sources.  —  Yusuf Acar, 40, was taken into custody this morning by FBI agents …
PC Authority:
First Look: Kogan Agora Netbook, a super-cheap Wind lookalike  —  Ruslan Kogan (the same Kogan behind the $900 KEVIN37 TV, and a yet-to-be-released Google Android phone) came into the PC Authority offices today to show us pre-production models of the Kogan Agora Netbook.
Discussion: Engadget, Liliputing and SlashGear
Ina Fried / Beyond Binary:
Microsoft's complex Netbook dance  —  With Windows 7, Microsoft has done the technical work to make the operating system work on Netbooks, but the low-cost laptops still pose a challenge to the way Redmond does business.  —  As the only fast-growing part of an otherwise sluggish PC market …
Sara Schaefer / Late Night with Jimmy Fallon:
KEVIN ROSE & ALEX ALBRECHT ON LATE NIGHT  —  Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht made their official late night television debut on LNWJF tonight and turned it into a mini episode of Diggnation (if you've never seen Diggnation before, you must check it out).  Even Russell Brand got in on the action.
Discussion: jkOnTheRun and Gawker
Ronald Grover / Business Week:
MySpace: A Playbook for Beating Facebook  —  CEO Chris DeWolfe outlines his strategy for expanding profits, luring advertisers with “hyper-targeting,” and keeping MySpace's U.S. edge over rival Facebook  —  Hunched over a small conference table, MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe is in full spin mode.
Discussion: The Social
Eric Krangel / Silicon Alley Insider:
Sony: The PS3 Will Always Have Blu-ray  —  Late last month Janco Partners' Mike Hickey said that:  — “Recent channel checks indicate increased speculation for a PS3 price cut announcement from Sony in the next couple of days.”  (We're still waiting.)  — Sony was planning a PS3 without a Blu-ray drive.
Discussion: CrunchGear, VG247 and Joystiq
Douglas MacMillan / Business Week:
Mozilla Contemplates a Future Without Google  —  Mozilla Chair Mitchell Baker says the Chrome browser is making the foundation behind Firefox rethink its reliance on revenues from Google  —  From the head offices for Mozilla in Mountain View, Calif., executives can see Google (GOOG) in several directions.
 
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 More Items: 
PC World:
OLPC Set to Dump X86 for Arm Chips in XO-2
Discussion: Electronista and Engadget
Emil Protalinski / Ars Technica:
Microsoft's own speed tests show IE beating Chrome, Firefox (Updated)
Discussion: TG Daily
Douglas MacMillan / Tech Beat:
Hulu's Greatest Hits
Discussion: Hulu Blog, Thanks:dmac1
Dan Nystedt / PC World:
Intel Kept Global Chip Crown in 2008, AMD Fell From Top Ten
Discussion: Engadget
Rob Pegoraro / Washington Post:
Tax-Prep Software Doesn't Add Up
 Earlier Items: 
Saul Hansell / Bits:
The Broadband Gap: Why Do They Have More Fiber?
Discussion: DSLreports and Broadband Politics
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
The Digital Divisions Are Dead At Big Media
Discussion: HipMojo.com, Thanks:mrinaldesai
Chris Anderson / The Long Tail:
My Two Cents on Charging for Content
Zach Spear / AppleInsider:
Apple releases iTunes 8.1, Front Row Update 2.1.7
Discussion: Security Watch, Macworld and iLounge
 

 
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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