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8:50 AM ET, May 5, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Nilay Patel / Engadget:
Amazon Kindle DX to feature 9.7-inch display?  Update: Pictures!  —  [It's still an elusive target for our old friend Mr. Blurrycam, but ]We just got some basic specs on the new, decidedly more newspaper- and college textbook-friendly Amazon Kindle DX.  Here's what we know: it's got a 9.7-inch display …
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Amazon Plans Kindle for Textbooks  —  Amazon.comInc. on Wednesday plans to unveil a new version of its Kindle e-book reader with a larger screen and other features designed to appeal to periodical and academic textbook publishers, according to people familiar with the matter.
Om Malik / GigaOM:
Why the Kindle HD Can't Save Newspapers
Discussion: GadgetLab
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Twitter Mania: Google Got Shut Down.  Apple Rumors Heat Up.  —  Twitter!  Whether you use it or not, or understand it or not, it's the hottest thing in Silicon Valley right now.  It's brought up in every conversation.  And no wonder - the service has exploded to somewhere north …
RELATED:
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Ignore the Twitter Buyout Rumors: Here's the Facts in Five Beyoncé-Madonna-Approved Steps  —  Was it more than a month ago that the Google was rumored to be in “late-stage negotiations to acquire Twitter”?  —  Not so much late-stage, I guess, with a gestation period that seems interminable …
Discussion: Silicon Alley Insider
Owen Thomas / Gawker:
Could Apple Buy Twitter?  —  Facebook tried to buy Twitter.  Google and Microsoft have been giving the red-hot Internet-messaging startup the eye.  But we hear it's Apple that's closest to sealing a deal, possibly for as much as $700 million.  —  A source who's plugged into the Valley's deal scene …
Harry McCracken / Technologizer:   Twapple?  Let's Recap a Dozen Other Apple Acquisitions That Aren't Going to Happen
New York Times:
F.T.C. Looks Into Ties Between Apple and Google Boards  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The Federal Trade Commission has begun an inquiry into whether the close ties among the boards of two of technology's most prominent companies, Apple and Google, amounts to a violation of antitrust laws, according to several people briefed on the inquiry.
David Talbot / Technology Review:
Wolfram Alpha and Google Face Off  —  Our exclusive test shows how the two Web engines compare when given the same queries.  —  Last week, as physicist Stephen Wolfram was demonstrating his new Web-based “computation engine”—Wolfram Alpha—to the public, Google announced a data-centric service of its own.
Discussion: Gizmodo and Memex 1.1
Ed Bott / Ed Bott's Microsoft Report:
What to expect from Windows 7  —  It feels odd to be writing a review of Windows 7 this early.  Normally, software reviews don't make sense until the code is officially released and you have to make a buying decision: upgrade, pass, or buy a new PC with the new OS.
RELATED:
Gregg Keizer / Computerworld:
Microsoft: We're not ditching Vista until at least 2011
Erik Palm / Webware.com:
Google launches stand-alone contacts manager  —  Google has launched a contacts manager that users of services like Google Docs, Picasa, and Calendar can use, without having to be a Gmail users.  —  Aimed at letting users share contacts more easily between different services, Google Contacts works like any other contacts function.
Discussion: Mashable! and Lifehacker
Mark Walsh / MediaPost:
Growth Curve: RIM Device Surges Past iPhone In Q1  —  Thanks to a “buy-one-get-one-free” promotion, Research in Motion's BlackBerry Curve overtook the iPhone 3G as the top-selling smartphone in the first quarter of 2009, according to market research firm NPD Group.
RELATED:
Wojtek Dabrowski / Reuters:
RIM plans next-gen Storm as it eyes untapped market
Dan Nosowitz / Gizmodo:
“Apple Netbook” Student Project Is a Pencil-Drawn Beauty  —  This little project has been making the rounds as the “new Apple netbook,” which, unfortunately, is way off.  But the truth is pretty cool anyway: It's a beautiful pencil-drawn, wooden model.  —  Student Kyle Buckner …
Jacqui Cheng / Ars Technica:
Researchers hijack botnet, score 56,000 passwords in an hour  —  The Torpig botnet was hijacked by the good guys for ten days earlier this year before its controllers issued an update and took the botnet back.  During that time, however, researchers were able to gain a glimpse into the kind …
Liz Gannes / NewTeeVee:
Vudu Goes Box-free for Entone  —  “Over the top” video services carry the implication of going behind the backs of existing television operators.  But two of the (admittedly smaller) players in IPTV and web-delivered video on demand are teaming up to give us a glance of what a united future could look like.
Discussion: L.A. Times Tech Blog
John Nack / John Nack on Adobe:
Some thoughts about the PSD format  —  Here's what I think people want to know: Is Photoshop's PSD format a goofy, antiquated piece of crap, and by extension is Photoshop slow, clumsy, and/or outdated?  —  No. (Read on for details.)  —  The questions arise because various Web sites1 …
Dan Tynan / InfoWorld:
True believers: The biggest cults in tech  —  You may be a member of one of these IT cults or simply know someone who is.  Here's what makes each cult tick.
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Yahoo and Microsoft Deal Progress “Meaningful"-Plus the Deal Team Rosters  —  Recently, BoomTown reported that talks between Microsoft and Yahoo had gotten “hot and heavy.”  —  That mood seems to be continuing, as many sources close to the situation on both sides said that the pair …
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
CrossLoop's Screen-Sharing App Comes To The Mac  —  After nearly five million downloads of its Windows PC client, CrossLoop brings its screen-sharing app and growing pro-am computer support community to the Mac (download here, for Intel Macs running OS X 10.4 or higher).
Discussion: Digital Inspiration and VentureBeat, Thanks:mrinaldesai
Arn / MacRumors Page 2:
Apple Looking to Takeover Electronic Arts?  —  TheStreet's David Tong relays that FastMoney's Guy Adami claims that there is “chatter” that Apple is eyeing an Electronic Arts takeover.  —  Adami noted that there is chatter that Apple (AAPL Quote) is eyeing Electronic Arts(ERTS Quote) as a takeover target.
Anne D'Innocenzio / Associated Press:
Recession forces new focus in e-commerce marketing  —  NEW YORK -  —  Online retailers are shifting their marketing from traditional advertising to less expensive tools like Facebook.com and Twitter and e-mail as they seek market share or just work to retain customers, according to an industry study being released Tuesday.
Discussion: Between the Lines
Code Android Singapore:
Leaked Image of G3 aka HTC Hero Surfaced  —  An anonymous reader sent us these photos of the G3, aka as the HTC Hero, that will be released probably in Q3 this year.  This device look very similar to the HTC Magic in terms of the form factor and possibly slightly slimmer …
Alexei Oreskovic / Reuters:
Hope and fear mark Yahoo at crossroads  —  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Four months into her fix-it job at Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O), Chief Executive Carol Bartz has worked through an impressive checklist.  —  The 60-year-old executive has moved swiftly to rebuild the Internet company to her specifications …
Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:
Why Hasn't Google Cleared, Fired Or Suspended Accused AdWords Employee?  —  Google takes plenty of well-publicized heat for things it hasn't really done or concerns that get hyped.  But in the case of one of its AdWords employees being accused of bypassing AdWords policies for his own benefit …
Thanks:atul
Gabriel Madway / Reuters:
Apple's cash grows, but no hint of its plans  —  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc has nearly $29 billion of cash on hand, a pile of money exceeded at only one other tech company, but if the past is any guide stockholders aren't likely to share in the wealth any time soon.
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
Italy's Troubling View Of The Internet  —  For some unclear reason, this weekend there was a fair amount of press coverage of the fact that Italian officials are suing The Pirate Bay in court.  This lawsuit has been ongoing, so there really isn't much new — other than the recent verdict in Sweden …
Sean Bradford / Neowin.net:
Exclusive: Windows 7 RC download goes live  —  The wait is over folks, Microsoft has published the download page for the Windows 7 RC.  As we noted earlier, the download was scheduled to launch tomorrow and was to be available worldwide.  Coming straight from the download page, here are Microsoft's notes for the release candidate:
Discussion: Beyond Binary, Thanks:rebelsean
Lidija Davis / ReadWriteWeb:
McAfee: Enabling Malware Distribution and Fraud  —  McAfee, widely recognized as one of the leading providers of online security software for both home and business, appears to be struggling to secure its own Web sites, which at the time of writing this post, allow anyone with enough tech savvy …
Thanks:atul
Charles Arthur / Guardian:
Google Chrome on the Mac: what's the holdup?  (UpdateD)  —  Want Google Chrome for Mac?  You can have it - though note that there's plenty that's not actually, um, working just at the moment.  It's odd how many months it's taking Google to do this port (and how the shine seems to have come off Chrome …
Discussion: Technologizer
 
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 More Items: 
Andrew S. Ross / San Francisco Chronicle:
Obama riles high-tech exec over outsourcing
Discussion: Associated Press
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
New Zealand Denies It's Scrapping Copyright Laws
Discussion: Stuff.co.nz
Dave Kansas / Wall Street Journal:
Why Tech Stocks Are on a Tear
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
SMSGupShup (India's “Twitter") Grows To 20 million Users, $150,000/month Revenue
Seth Weintraub / 9 to 5 Mac:
New Application Parental Controls to let Apple put adult content on iPhone
Corey McKenna / Government Technology News:
States' Attorneys General to Meet with Craigslist
Discussion: CNET News
Association of Research Libraries:
Library Associations Ask Judge to Assert Vigorous Oversight …
Nick O'Neill / All Facebook:
Facebook Begins Heavily Promoting Mobile Services
Discussion: TechCrunch and Local Mobile Search
 Earlier Items: 
Jason Pontin / Technology Review:
A Manifesto  —  Newspapers and magazines won't vanish.  But they must change.
Discussion: Screenwerk
Kevin J. O'Brien / New York Times:
E.U. to Hear Proposal for Cross-Border Net Copyright
Discussion: The BFF
Marshall Kirkpatrick / ReadWriteWeb:
Facebook Shuts Down RSS Feed App
Discussion: Techdirt and VentureBeat
Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft:
The logistics: Windows 7 RC public download to last through July
 

 
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”

Sam Wolfson / The Guardian:
A look at the rise of celebrity-hosted interview podcasts, whose long running times mean guests delve into deep and personal topics, resembling therapy sessions

 
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