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3:45 AM ET, September 3, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Wall Street Journal:
YouTube in Talks to Stream Rental Movies  —  Google Inc.'s YouTube is in discussions with major movie studios about allowing users to stream movies on a rental basis, according to people familiar with the company's plans, marking one of the video giant's first moves towards charging …
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Oh, RSS Is Definitely Dead Now: Feedburner CEO Dick Costolo To Become Twitter COO  —  Former Google exec and the cofounder/CEO of RSS service Feedburner Dick Costolo is Twitter's new chief operating officer, we've heard from multiple sources.  Costolo, who sold Feedburner to Google for $100 million in 2007, left Google in July.
RELATED:
Dan Frommer / Silicon Alley Insider:
FeedBurner Is Google's Biggest Screw-Up To Date  —  No wonder FeedBurner cofounder Dick Costolo left Google.  After the search giant bought his RSS startup FeedBurner in 2007 — for a reported $100 million — it has since squandered it.  —  The idea was that by merging FeedBurner's neat RSS tools …
Ryan Tate / Gawker:
Google Patents World's Simplest Home Page  —  After a five-and-a-half-year fight, Google and its attorneys have managed to convince federal bureaucrats to bestow a patent on the company's iconic home page.  We always thought the page was brain-dead simple, but apparently it's an innovative “graphical user interface.”
Tom Krazit / CNET News:
Amazon: Google Books deal an ‘unprecedented’ copyright hack  —  Amazon came out swinging Tuesday against Google's proposed settlement with book authors and publishers.  —  Amazon's opposition was made public last week when it joined the Open Book Alliance, but the company filed its own brief …
RELATED:
Paul Sweeting / GigaOM:
Google's Colonization of e-Book Devices Continues Apace
Discussion: TechFlash, WebProNews and Reuters
Michael Learmonth / AdAge:
Want 5,000 More Facebook Friends?  That'll Be $654.30  —  USocial Will Sell You Followers and Friends  —  NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — If you're a Gmail user who also happens to use Twitter, it's probably been about five minutes since you've seen an ad promising to boost your follower count.
Dan Primack / PE Hub Blog:
RSS Is Dead, So Is The RSS Fund  —  Three months ago, Steve Gillmor wrote that “it's time to get completely off RSS and switch to Twitter.”  Sam Diaz piled on last week, calling RSS a Web 1.0 application whose time has passed.  And things got even worse today, when news leaked …
Jesus Diaz / Gizmodo:
This Is How You Steal 23 MacBook Pros, 14 iPhones, and 9 iPods In 31 Seconds  —  Quick: How can you get 23 MacBook Pros, 14 iPhones, and 9 iPods in 31 seconds, for free?  Tip: According to this security video, you need four friends, a brick, and a visit to the Apple Store in Marlton, NJ.
Erin Pettigrew / Gawker Advertising:
Then and Now, Seven Years of Blogging as Business  —  When Nick Denton launched the proto gadget blog Gizmodo in August 2002, it arrived on scene to a milieu of early web confusion.  Until then, blogs were low traffic outlets for personal thought-flinging to be visited by friends …
Discussion: Shooting at Bubbles
Chris Foresman / Ars Technica:
Do minor UI changes mean Snow Leopard is tablet-ready?  —  Among Snow Leopard's many refinements are some changes to how Mac OS X displays windows in Exposé—with a regular grid arrangement—and Stacks, which are much easier to scroll through when they become large enough.
RELATED:
Edible Apple:
Apple responds to Psystar lawsuit, calls it a delaying tactic
Discussion: Psystar and OSNews
Eric Savitz / Tech Trader Daily:
Palm: Pre Sales To Whiff Targets?  —  Is the Palm (PALM) Pre a bust?  —  Town Hall Investment Research analyst David Eller asserted in a research note this morning that sales of the Pre “are continuing to slow,” and “likely will come in dramatically below” Sprint's (S) reputed target of 1 million to 1.5 million customers for the year.
Discussion: IntoMobile and Daring Fireball
Steve Perlman / OnLive Blog:
OnLive Opens the Beta Program  —  Hey there...  It's been a very busy and productive few months for OnLive.  We've been focused on evolving the OnLive technology, installing lots of servers in our data centers and tuning the OnLive® Game Service based on feedback from our internal Beta testers.
Jim Dalrymple / The Loop:
Sources confirm no Apple TV at Apple's September event  —  Piper Jaffray Senior Research Analyst, Gene Munster, on Tuesday said he feels an Apple TV may be introduced at next week's Apple event.  However, that is not going to happen.  —  The Loop has learned through very reliable sources …
Jason F. / Signal vs. Noise:
The bar for success in our industry is too low  —  This weekend the New York Times published a piece called Using ‘Free’ to Turn a Profit.  The piece focused on Evernote, a web-based and smart-phone based application for taking notes, snapping pictures, and storing stuff you want to remember later.
Thanks:javurek
Andrew Donoghue / CNET News:
Microsoft pushes for single global patent system  —  A senior lawyer at Microsoft is calling for the creation of a global patent system to make it easier and faster for corporations to enforce their intellectual property rights around the world.  —  In a blog posting on Tuesday …
RELATED:
Mscorp / Microsoft On The Issues:
Improving Global Patents: Think Locally, Act Globally
Discussion: internetnews.com, BBC and The Register
Todd Bishop / TechFlash:
Microsoft calling on thousands to host their own Windows 7 parties  —  Microsoft is putting a Tupperware-style twist on the upcoming Windows 7 rollout — launching a new initiative to encourage thousands of employees, partners and technology enthusiasts to throw parties in their homes …
Discussion: Engadget and Gizmodo, Thanks:johnhcook
Greg Sandoval / CNET News:
Apple to offer ready-made ringtones  —  Apple has obtained the rights to offer ready-made ringtones for the iPhone and managers are trying to have them available in time for next week's press conference, music industry sources told CNET News.  —  Owners of Apple's iPhone have long had the ability …
Discussion: MacRumors and MacNN
Nilay Patel / Engadget:
Sony announces VAIO X ultraportable  —  Sony just announced the VAIO X at IFA 2009, a half-inch thin ultraportable with an 11.1-inch screen and a new all-day battery that “will set the new standard for stamina.”  The machine's built of carbon fiber, so it weighs just a pound and a half …
Heather Hopkins / Hitwise Intelligence:
Bing Leads in Successful Canadian Searches  —  A couple of weeks ago we posted data on the success rate of Canadian searches, noting in particular that only 30% of Canadian Internet searches are “successful”.  A couple of readers asked us to share success rate by search engine.
Discussion: Technology Live
Joseph Tartakoff / paidContent:
Taking The Plunge: How Newspaper Sites That Charge Are Faring  —  As more newspapers kick around the idea of charging for content, much of the attention has been focused on the pay models employed by the bigger players like the WSJ and the Financial Times.  But quietly, some small …
Discussion: Bend Bulletin
Mark Milian / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
After ‘Obama Joker’ debacle, Flickr changes takedown policy  —  Flickr came out looking like the bad guy when it removed an image of President Obama portrayed as the Jokerfrom “The Dark Knight.”  Onlookers accused Flickr of having a “political agenda” and being a “bully.”
Discussion: Technology News, Thanks:electricwaffles
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Google Voice Alternative Line2 Is Now Live On The App Store  —  The Apple/Google Voice fiasco just got more interesting.  Toktumi, a startup that lets small businesses build office-caliber phone systems with their mobile phones and computers, just had its application Line2 approved by Apple …
Nicholas Carlson / Silicon Alley Insider:
Google's Most Profitable Business Gets New Leadership  —  Google (GOOG) exec David Fischer is moving on as the search leader's quiet sales shake-up continues.  —  David is an exec who, from 2002 on, helped build Google's self-service advertising business into a 4,000 employee-strong powerhouse …
Rick Broida / CNET News:
iPhone app tracks swine flu outbreaks  —  I'm writing this from under the covers.  I mean, I know swine flu is going to get us all eventually, but I didn't know there were reported cases just 35 miles from where I live.  Thank you, Outbreaks Near Me!  —  OK, I don't mean to make light …
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
Is Google Getting a Hollywood Tour Guide?  Former William Morris Boss Jim Wiatt May Take YouTube Consulting Gig.  —  Does Google need a Hollywood guide?  —  It may be getting one: Jim Wiatt, the former head of the fabled William Morris talent agency, has been talking to the company about a consulting gig for its YouTube video site.
Discussion: WebProNews, Company Town and Gawker
 
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 More Items: 
Clint Boulton / eWeek:
eBay CEO Is Confident Joltid Litigation Won't Disrupt Skype Sale
Discussion: Forbes and Business Week
William Kanaan / Google News Blog:
Google News is fluent in Arabic!
Red Hat:
Innovation Without Disruption: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4 Now Available
Greg Sterling / Search Engine Land:
Idearc Brings True Local Search To Twitter
Discussion: ResourceShelf
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Digg Starts Nofollow-ing Links That It Doesn't Trust
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
YouTube U.K. Settles Royalty Fight, Turns Music Videos Back On Again
Discussion: Music Ally, Telegraph and Guardian
Ben Nuckols / Associated Press:
Every Baltimore patrol officer to get a BlackBerry
Discussion: NBC Washington
 Earlier Items: 
Nick O'Neill / All Facebook:
Zynga Blows Past 100 Million Users Thanks To FarmVille's Dominance
Lee Mathews / Download Squad:
More Chrome OS clues - and it's sure sounding like a bootable browser
Discussion: Softpedia News, Thanks:downloadsquad
Rachel Gordon / San Francisco Chronicle:
SFO boarding passes go paperless
Amy-Mae Elliott / Pocket-lint.com:
Nokia creates 3D mobile phone