Top Items:
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
The Netflix Prize Comes To A Buzzer-Beater, Nailbiting Finish — Who knew statistical computing competitions could be so cut throat? Since we reported on the contest last night, two teams in the Netflix Prize have spent the last few hours jumping back and forth on the Netflix leaderboard …
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Netflix Prize:
Contest Closed — Thank you for your interest in the Netflix Prize. — We are delighted to report that, after almost three years and more than 43,000 entries from over 5,100 teams in over 185 countries, the Netflix Prize Contest stopped accepting entries on 2009-07-26 18:42:37 UTC.
Dieter Bohn / PreCentral.net:
Best Buy Selling the Pre for $99 with 2 Year Contract — Best Buy is now selling the Palm Pre for $99 with a 2 year contract, $100 less than the previous price. As usual, purchasing a phone at Best Buy also means that you don't need to futz around with a mail-in rebate, all rebates are instant.
Discussion:
Technologizer, Engadget, Boy Genius Report, Electronista, CrunchGear, Gadgetell, jkOnTheRun, Maximum PC all, Palm Pre Cases … and GottaBeMobile.com
Miguel Helft / New York Times:
For Mozilla and Google, Group Hugs Get Tricky — BOXES lined the cubicles and hallways in the offices of Mozilla on a recent afternoon, and its chief executive, John Lilly, seemed a bit disoriented as he looked for a place to sit. Mozilla, which makes the Firefox Web browser …
Discussion:
TECH.BLORGE.com
John Markoff / New York Times:
Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man — A robot that can open doors and find electrical outlets to recharge itself. Computer viruses that no one can stop. Predator drones, which, though still controlled remotely by humans, come close to a machine that can kill autonomously.
Matt Buchanan / Gizmodo:
Android Donut Out: Full Multitouch, Universal Search, Automated Backups AND Better Performance — Google's dropped new code for Android Donut and it sounds too good to be true. People at XDA Developers are reporting it has system-wide multitouch, universal search, text-to-speech …
Discussion:
Engadget, Boy Genius Report, MobileCrunch, AndroidGuys, geeksmack.net, Phone Arena, Android Phone Fans, PhoneDog.com, TmoNews and CNET News
Seeking Alpha:
Why Apple's iTouch Tablet Will Become Its Flagship Product — Digital content has been available for years but the right vehicle to consume the content has been lacking. We still cut down trees and hand deliver newspapers to people's homes. That worked in 1900 but 2009? Are you kidding me?
Fred / A VC:
Why Comments Matter — I was sitting at the pool in Portoroz Slovenia this afternoon and had an interesting experience. I grabbed the weekend edition of the International Herald Tribune after the Gotham Gal had finished off the crossword and started reading the opinion section.
Thanks:atul
Michael S. Rosenwald / Washington Post:
Digital Nomads Ditch Cubicles for Shared Spaces, Choosing Their Co-Workers — Teleworkers Find Camaraderie in a New Kind of Colleague — Frank Gruber's workstation at AOL in Dulles could be in any cubicle farm from here to Bangalore — push-pin board for reminders, computer on Formica desk, stifling fluorescent lighting.
Brigid Schulte / Washington Post:
Mail Volume Expected to Continue Decline; U.S. Postal Service Adapting Services — Mail Volume Expected to Decline; U.S. Postal Service Adapts by Pulling Collection Boxes — Dorothy and Andrew Yankanich moved into their $18,000 brick rambler in Wheaton in 1966 and soon began what would become …
John C. Dvorak / MarketWatch:
Is the party over for Microsoft? — Everyone knew the day would come when the fortunes of Microsoft Corp. would reverse. The company might now be in actual decline. If it's true, it brought it on itself by ignoring its core competencies, because it exhibits signs of what can only be described …
Discussion:
Howard Lindzon, Beyond Search, sparkplug 9, MacDailyNews, Screenwerk, Brainstorm Tech and ParisLemon
Brad Stone / New York Times:
The Music Streams That Soothe an Industry — LIKE many teenagers, Josh Wilson, the 13-year-old son of the New York venture capitalist Fred Wilson, has on occasion visited the Internet's peer-to-peer file-sharing services to download music and television shows.
