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10:00 AM ET, October 24, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Chris Ziegler / Engadget:
Verizon's Droid is a series, not just a phone; Droid Eris coming from HTC  —  We just got some wild information from a trusted source about Verizon's Android strategy, and let's just say this shakes things up a little bit.  Here are the big takeaways:  — Droid is the brand name being applied to Verizon's Android devices.
RELATED:
Boy Genius Report:
Motorola Droid Preview  —  If you're a Droid-chaser, you've no doubt been hooked to BGR for the past few weeks (more than normal, maybe?).  We have our very own Motorola Droid handset, and although the software isn't final, it's solid enough where we feel comfortable giving you a nice preview of the unit.
Greg Kumparak / MobileCrunch:
Motorola Droid ("Sholes") hits the FCC with AT&T-friendly 3G - for real this time.  —  Looks like Verizon might not be the only one getting the Moto Droid.  A few days ago, we wrote a post highlighting the fact that a GSM version of the oh-so-hypetastic Motorola Droid (otherwise known as “Sholes” or “Tao") had cleared the FCC runway.
Google LatLong:
Evolving the look of Google Maps  —  Today the Google Maps team is rolling out a number of refinements to the look and feel of our maps, the biggest such changes since we first launched about 4.7 years ago.  In that time we've been steadily adding details like walkways, address labels …
Om Malik / GigaOM:
Video: Symbian Executive Rips into Google's Android  —  Yesterday, Lee Williams, executive director at Symbian stopped by in our office to brief me on a new version of Symbian that is going to be released soon.  He talked about SEE09, their developer conference in London next week.
BBC:
Universal phone charger approved  —  A new mobile phone charger that will work with any handset has been approved by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations body.  —  Industry body the GSMA predicts that 51,000 tonnes of redundant chargers are generated each year.
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Full Circle In Sight As Inventor Of The World Wide Web Signs Up For Twitter  —  Sir Timothy John “Tim” Berners-Lee, credited for inventing this little thing called the World Wide Web, has signed up for Twitter in a move that could potentially rip a hole in the time/space continuum.
Nicholas Deleon / CrunchGear:
Video hilarity: Windows 7 launched on a MacBook Pro on NBC's The Today Show  —  Oh, dear.  Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was on The Today Show (international viewers: The Today Show is a morning news and entertainment program that airs on NBC, a big TV network here) to unveil Windows 7.
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
Herd Mentality  —  Conformity is a powerful instinct.  There's safety in numbers.  You have to be different to be better, but different is scary.  —  So of course there's some degree of herd mentality in every industry.  But I think it's more pronounced, to a pathological degree, in the PC hardware industry.
Discussion: ParisLemon, Thanks:atul
Tim Greene / Computerworld:
Avalanche is top phishing gang by far this year  —  A single group of attackers accounted for a quarter of all phishing in the first half of this year, according to a new study.  —  A single group of attackers accounted for a quarter of all phishing in the first half of this year, according to a new study.
Discussion: WebProNews and IT PRO - Today
AdAge:
Volkswagen to Rely Solely on IPhone App for GTI Launch  —  Automaker Says Move is Cost-Efficient Way to Reach Target Demo  —  NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Volkswagen of America is launching the newest-generation GTI exclusively on an iPhone app, a cost-efficient approach the automaker said is a first for the industry.
BBC:
EU adopts tough file-share stance  —  The European Parliament has given the green light for member states to cut persistent file-sharers off from the net.  —  It has dropped an amendment to its Telcoms Package which would have made it hard for countries to cut off pirates without court authority.
Discussion: Techdirt
Raylene Yung / Facebook Blog:
New Views for Your Home Page  —  At Facebook, one of our main priorities is helping you stay on top of what is going on with the people and things you care about most.  That's why today we are beginning to roll out some changes to the home page that simplify your experience by offering …
Douglas MacMillan / Tech Beat:
Million-Dollar Apps  —  In the course of reporting my feature story on apps for the Web and mobile phones, I asked developers how much money these little pieces of software are actually bringing in.  While they are certainly the exception in the sea of 80,000 programs on Apple's App Store …
Deborah Gage / PE Hub Blog:
Box.net's Unannounced Funding  —  The company raised another $7.1 million this month from its current investors — Draper Fisher and U.S. Venture Partners — but kept mum, allowing the new money to be revealed instead by an SEC filing.  —  Marketing VP Jen Grant told me it's not a new round …
Chris Ziegler / Engadget:
Verizon launching Storm2 on October 28 for $179.99?  —  Say you're North America's largest wireless carrier — how do you go about burying a product you're about to carry that you secretly wish didn't exist?  One creative option would be to opt out of announcing it when its manufacturer does …
Daniel Eran Dilger / AppleInsider:
Apple shuts down ZFS open source project  —  Apple's efforts to support the development of ZFS, an advanced file system originally created by Sun, were officially terminated today in a notice posted by MacOS Forge.  —  The tersely worded message only stated that “The ZFS project has been discontinued.
Wine Business:
Amazon Puts Wine Program on Hold  —  Amazon.com, considered the world's largest online retailer, may be bailing on its wine program, which never really got going, winebusiness.com has learned.  After some two years of preparation, Amazon.com appears to be pulling the plug.
Discussion: Digits and TechFlash
Elizabeth Woyke / Forbes:
Google's Navigation Bombshell  —  Location-based service providers suspect the search giant is working on a free navigation app.  —  Google has a tendency to enter a market, undercut its competitors' prices and put established players out of business.  Navigation service providers are wondering if they're next.
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
Investors Bet on Another Real-Time Start-Up.  Next Up for Hot Potato: Product, Users.  —  Here's a good way to get your hands on scarce venture capital money: Create a start-up geared around “real-time” sharing and conversations.  —  That's the core of Twitter's pitch, of course …
Discussion: NewTeeVee, VentureBeat and paidContent
Nilay Patel / Engadget:
Windows 7 student upgrade installer not working for many  —  The Windows 7 launch seems to have gone off mostly roses and sunbeams, but we're hearing today that quite a few people have had issues installing the downloadable $29 student upgrade edition on 32-bit Vista — apparently the file …
 
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 More Items: 
Kim Zetter / Threat Level:
Nation's First Open Source Election Software Released
Discussion: digg.com
Grant Gross / Computerworld:
U.S. gov't cybersecurity spending to grow significantly, study says
Discussion: Computerworld and eWeek
Michael Learmonth / AdAge:
Razorfish Execs Leave for Microsoft After Publicis Deal
Discussion: paidContent
Ryan Paul / Ars Technica:
Symbian Foundation opens smartphone kernel source code
Discussion: MobileTechWorld, Thanks:atul
Electronista:
Access launches own Linux touchscreen phone
Discussion: I4U News and Gizmodo
 Earlier Items: 
Brainstorm Tech:
Sequoia branches too far
Discussion: VentureBeat
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Infosys Co-founder Sells Part Of His Stake, Turns Venture Capitalist
Thanks:atul
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
How Much Will You Have to Pay for Hulu? …
Sarah Perez / ReadWriteWeb:
Watch Out Trolls, Your Menacing Comments Could Lead to Big Fines
Discussion: Yale Daily News and Techdirt
Stephanie Ebbert / Boston Globe:
Apple gets to fly banner, despite rules
Discussion: TUAW, EverythingiCafe and AppleInsider
 

 
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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