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4:40 PM ET, April 3, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Sorry to Get You All A-Twitter, but Google Is Not in “Late-Stage Talks” to Acquire the Hot Microblogging Service  —  While the “news” that Google was in “late-stage” talks to acquire Twitter, which TechCrunch reported last night, certainly sounds exciting, it isn't accurate in any way …
RELATED:
Biz / Twitter Blog:
Sometimes We Talk  —  My inbox is flooded this morning with requests for a response to the latest Internet speculation about where Twitter is headed.  It should come as no surprise that Twitter engages in discussions with other companies regularly and on a variety of subjects.
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Sources: Google In Talks To Acquire Twitter (Updated)  —  Here's a heck of a rumor that we've sourced from two separate people close to the negotiations: Google is in late stage negotiations to acquire Twitter.  We don't know the price but can assume its well, well north of the $250 million valuation …
Todd Bishop / TechFlash:
Showdown: Why Microsoft can't afford to lose Twitter to Google
Amy Schatz / Wall Street Journal:
Group Presses FCC to Back Skype  —  WASHINGTON - The open-Internet advocacy group Free Press asked the Federal Communications Commission Friday to investigate whether Apple Inc. and AT&T Inc. are violating federal rules by blocking the use of a new low-cost Skype voice service on Apple iPhones that use AT&T's 3G network.
RELATED:
Nate Mook / BetaNews:
Outcry and complaints come after carriers threaten to block Skype on the iPhone
Discussion: Macworld and iLounge
Nicola Leske / Reuters:
Internet calling companies ask EU to ensure free access
Discussion: Mashable
Chris Albrecht / NewTeeVee:
Analyst: YouTube Could Lose $470M This Year  —  A new report by Credit Suisse projects that video-sharing giant YouTube is on track to lose $470 million this year, writes Multichannel News.  —  Credit Suisse says YouTube will generate $240 million in revenue, but those revenues will be dwarfed …
Chris Davies / iPhone Buzz:
3.2MP next-gen iPhone, new 5MP Apple device later this year?  —  Apple will upgrade the next-gen iPhone's camera to 3.2-megapixels, according to market sources in Asia.  Manufacturer OmniVision is believed to have won the Apple contract to supply the 3.2-megapixel CMOS image sensor used in the smartphone …
Discussion: The iPhone Blog
RELATED:
Hans Wu / DigiTimes:
OmniVision lands CIS orders for next-generation iPhone
Matt Asay / CNET News:
VLC 0.9.9: The best media player just got better  —  If you've ever struggled to play a file you downloaded from the hinterlands of the Web, you clearly didn't try opening it with VideoLan's VLC media player, a free, hugely popular, and open-source media player.
Martin Langeveld / Nieman Journalism Lab:
Paying for online news: Sorry, but the math just doesn't work.  —  The morning's RSS scan brings another couple of entrants in the ongoing conversation about paying for news on newspaper web sites:  — As Roy Greenslade reports, News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch favors charging …
RELATED:
Staci D. Kramer / paidContent.org:
@ Cable Show: News Corp.'s Murdoch: NYT Would Do 'Fairly Well …
Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft:
Wait: Could ‘Bing’ be the new name for Microsoft's Live Search?  —  Maybe Kumo won't be the final new name for Microsoft's “Live Search” after all.  “Bing” also still seems to be in the running.  —  It was almost a year ago that I received a tip that Microsoft was considering three new names for its Live Search engine.
Abbey Klaassen / AdAge:
Google Uses Twitter to Sell Ads  —  Intuit Is First Marketer to Have Its Tweets Streamed Across AdSense Network  —  NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Twitter may still be tweaking its own business model, but Google has found a way to use the popular microblogging service to sell ads.
Yahoo! Search Blog:
Image Search Preview Page Overhaul  —  We've revamped the Yahoo! Image Search preview page to make it a lot easier to use.  Now, when you click on an image from the image search results page, the top bar opens to reveal a richer and sleeker interface that displays a larger view of the image …
Discussion: ReadWriteWeb, TechCrunch and Search Engine Land, Thanks:atul
Andy Greenberg / Forbes:
IBM And Sun: There Will Be Blood  —  With significant overlaps in the companies' businesses, a merger could trigger as many as 10,000 layoffs.  —  When titans collide, blood runs.  And as rumors circulated Friday that IBM and Sun Microsystems are inching toward a deal to sell …
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Apple 2.0:
Apple stock is up 31 percent this year  —  The stock is not what it was in 2007, when it rose nearly 136% in the space of 12 months, but Apple (AAPL) is off to a good start in 2009.  —  From Jan. 2, when it opened at $85.88, to April 2, when it closed at $112.71, Apple has gained 31.24% …
Discussion: tinyComb
Phone Arena:
Say hello to the enV3 for Verizon  —  Published on: Today by PhoneArena Team  —  First came the LG V (vx9800), followed by the enV (vx9900) and enV2 (vx9100).  Then we heard that the new successor would be the enV3 vx9200, but haven't seen any pictures or specifications...until today.
Jemima Kiss / Guardian:
Revenues this year, Twitter's Biz Stone tells Stephen Colbert  —  Biz Stone must've been a bit overwhelmed to be invited onto The Colbert Report, but it was never going to be an easy ride.  But his comments don't sound like a Google takeover is imminent.  —  When he got a word in …
Discussion: BoomTown, TechCrunch and Fast Company
Digits:
How Will Armstrong Fare at AOL?  —  By Scott Morrison and Nat Worden  —  Tim Armstrong had a charmed run as one of Google's top advertising executives.  Now, some observers are asking whether his streak will continue when he assumes control of AOL.  —  On April 7, he becomes chief executive …
Discussion: Tech Trader Daily
DSLreports:
Is Wolverine Leak Investigation Causing Collateral Damage?  - Whatever the cause, FBI raids in Dallas hurt a number of businesses...  Earlier this week, an unfinished copy of the upcoming Wolverine movie was leaked via BitTorrent.  It's been interesting to watch just how quickly …
Fred / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
iPods, First Sale, President Obama, and the Queen of England  —  President Obama reportedly gave an iPod, loaded with 40 show tunes, to England's Queen Elizabeth II as a gift.  Did he violate the law when he did so?  —  You know your copyright laws are broken when there is no easy answer to this question.
Google Research Blog:
Predicting the Present with Google Trends  —  Can Google queries help predict economic activity?  —  The answer depends on what you mean by “predict.”  Google Trends and Google Insights for Search provide a real time report on query volume, while economic data is typically released several days after the close of the month.
Discussion: Google Blogoscoped and Network World, Thanks:atul
Dan Primack / PE Hub Blog:
Kleiner-Backed Terralliance Begins To Implode  —  Kleiner Perkins is on the verge of having a massive crater in its energy portfolio, but it has nothing to do with cleantech.  Instead, the trouble involves Terralliance, a stealthy oil and gas exploration company that quietly raised $295 million …
Discussion: alarm:clock
Ernesto / TorrentFreak:
Two Swedish File-Sharers Arrested  —  Yesterday we reported that, after the Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED) came into force earlier this week, Swedish Internet traffic dropped by 30%.  Now, just a day later, the first file-sharing related arrests have been announced.
Liz Gannes / NewTeeVee:
Break Acquires HBOlab  —  Break Media has purchased HBOlab, a.k.a. Runawaybox, Break CEO Keith Richman confirmed to NewTeeVee today.  This was a deal we've been following for a couple months now, but according to Richman, this morning he is meeting with HBOlab team for the first time as Break employees.
 
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 More Items: 
Paul McDougall / InformationWeek:
IBM Cuts Internet Reimbursement For Home Workers
Rafat Ali / paidContent.org:
Microsoft Sells Franchise Gator To Landmark Interactive; Price Around $20 Million
Discussion: TechFlash
Wendy Davis / MediaPost:
Law School To Intervene In Google Book Settlement
Discussion: Search Engine Land
Chadwick Matlin / The Big Money:
The Anatomy of a Web Advertising Scam
Stephanie Condon / CNET News:
Senators introduce bill to curb mobile spam
Discussion: Gadgetell, Thanks:atul
Mark Walsh / MediaPost:
Facebook Tests More Than Three Ads Per Page
Discussion: All Facebook
Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
France approves main section of tough anti-P2P bill
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
Consumer Interest Groups Ask Obama To Stop Appointing RIAA Lawyers
Discussion: Threat Level
 Earlier Items: 
Rob Hof / Business Week:
A Sign of Slowing Search Ad Spending
Discussion: MediaPost, Thanks:atul
Laurie Sullivan / MediaPost:
Bar Codes In Newspaper Ads Link To Web Content Via Mobile App
Discussion: dailywireless.org
Marguerite Reardon / CNET News:
AT&T and Verizon tout wireless gadgets
Steve Rosenbaum / Silicon Alley Insider:
Can ‘Curation’ Save Media?
Discussion: Recovering Journalist, Thanks:mrinaldesai
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Microsoft's Stephen Elop Speaks!
Discussion: Between the Lines