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12:20 PM ET, October 28, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Keith Ito / The Official Google Blog:
Announcing Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0  —  (Cross-posted with the Google Mobile Blog)  —  Since 2005, millions of people have relied on Google Maps for mobile to get directions on the go.  However, there's always been one problem: Once you're behind the wheel, a list of driving directions just isn't that easy to use.
RELATED:
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Google Redefines GPS Navigation Landscape: Google Maps Navigation For Android 2.0  —  If you weren't sure about switching to an Android phone in the near future, this might put you over the edge.  Google Maps Navigation is an absolutely killer app.  And it is only available for Android 2.0 phones.
Verizon:
Hello Humans: Droid By Motorola Arrives Next Week  —  BASKING RIDGE, NJ, and LIBERTYVILLE, IL - High-speed Web browsing, voice-activated search, customizable large screen, access to thousands of Android applications and hundreds of widgets and the best 3G mobile network in the country: DROID by Motorola arrives on Nov. 6.
RELATED:
Darren Murph / Engadget:
Motorola DROID official on Verizon: $199 on contract, coming November 6th (video)  —  We knew good and well this thing was coming sometime in November, and now Verizon Wireless has made it official: the Motorola DROID will hit Big Red on November 6th for $199 on contract (after a $100 mail-in rebate).
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Stalqer Peers Into Your iPhone For A New Level Of Location-Based Creepiness  —  Foursquare and Loopt have put location-based social networks on the map, and have potentially created a viable business model as well.  Now there's a new kid on the block, called Stalqer, which best described as a Foursquare on steroids.
Sam Oliver / AppleInsider:
Apple predicted to sacrifice ‘sweetheart’ AT&T deal for Verizon  —  If Apple ends its exclusive carrier agreement with AT&T next year, it will likely mark the end of its estimated $450 carrier subsidy for the iPhone, a new analysis has forecast.  —  In a new note to investors …
Todd Bishop / TechFlash:
Microsoft's ‘Signature PCs’ show its vision of computing perfection  —  People visiting Microsoft's new store in Scottsdale, Ariz., have started noticing something interesting, apart from its shameless similarities to Apple's retail outlets.  The computers on display in the Microsoft Store come without …
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Exclusive Picture Of Unlaunched Apple Tablet (circa 1990)  —  Yeah ok it isn't that Apple Tablet.  But this is a picture, taken around 1990, of the Apple Pen Mac, a little known and never launched Apple tablet project.  As far as we can tell there is no other image of this device anywhere on the Internet …
The Official Google Blog:
Similar Images graduates from Google Labs  —  Today, we're happy to announce that Similar Images is graduating from Google Labs and becoming a permanent feature in Google Images.  You can try it out by clicking on “Find similar images” below the most popular images in our search results.
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
Pound the Quality  —  “If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts.  If you have the law on your side, pound the law.  If you have neither on your side, pound the table.”  —Legal Adage  —  Much of the current hype surrounding the App Store centers around the sheer number of apps available.
RELATED:
Joe Wilcox / BetaNews:
iPhone cannot win the smartphone wars
Discussion: PC World
Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
Want 50Mbps Internet in your town?  Threaten to roll out your own  —  ISPs may not act for years on local complaints about slow Internet—but when a town rolls out its own solution, it's amazing how fast the incumbents can deploy fiber, cut prices, and run to the legislature.
David Sarno / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
Los Angeles adopts Google e-mail system for 30,000 city employees  —  The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously today to outsource its e-mail system to Google Inc., making it the largest city in the nation to make the move and handing the Web search giant a major victory in its quest …
Brian Garner / AppleInsider:
Apple releases Magic Mouse software updates  —  Today, Apple released updates for both Leopard and Snow Leopard enabling the OS to use the multi-touch capabilities of standalone versions of the Magic Mouse.  —  The updates, which weigh in at 64 and 36 megabytes respectively, require Mac OS X 10.5.8 …
Marshall Kirkpatrick / ReadWriteWeb:
Google's Eric Schmidt on What the Web Will Look Like in 5 Years  —  Google CEO Eric Schmidt envisions a radically changed internet five years from now: dominated by Chinese-language and social media content, delivered over super-fast bandwidth in real time.  Figuring out how to rank real …
Discussion: TeleRead, Techdirt, Guardian and Google Blogoscoped, Thanks:atul
Toktumi VoIP News:
Is the BlackBerry Doomed?  —  Apple's astounding 4th quarter fiscal results (reported Oct 19th) and its climb past $200 per share comes in stark contrast to Research in Motion's (RIM) earnings reported September 25th.  Their stock is now trading 20% lower than it was a month ago and the outlook for the future appears grim.
Dean Pullen / Inquirer:
Microsoft pulls the Xbox 360 Sky Player  —  MICROSOFT HAS QUICKLY pulled Sky Player support from the Xbox 360, which launched yesterday with a lot of publicity, most of it positive.  —  A statement on the UK Xbox support site reads, “The Sky Player on Xbox 360 service did successfully launch early …
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
PlaySpan Study Shows Growth In Virtual Goods Marketplace  —  Virtual goods are booming and there are various startups who are capitalizing on this growth by facilitating the exchange and e-commerce around these goods.  PlaySpan, which powers micro-payments across over 1,000 video games and virtual worlds …
Kristina Cooke / Reuters:
Facebook challenges financial regulators: FINRA  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn raise “serious new challenges” for financial regulators, the head of the largest U.S. independent securities regulator said on Tuesday.
Greg Sandoval / Media Maverick:
Paramount bets big on Web serials  —  Austin Highsmith (left) and Ryan Doom, members of the cast of “Circle of Eight,” a slick-looking Web-based show from Paramount Digital Entertainment  —  (Credit: Paramount Digital Entertainment)  —  The story begins with an attractive young woman moving …
Marshall Kirkpatrick / ReadWriteWeb:
Augmented Reality App Shows Recovery.gov Funding Near You  —  Want to see who got part of the hundreds of billions of dollars in Recovery.gov funds near you?  Now you can point your iPhone 3Gs or Android phone in any direction and see the closest recipients, thanks to the publication …
Serkan Toto / CrunchGear:
Tire maker Bridgestone shows world's first flexible e-book reader  —  Tire maker Bridgestone isn't the first company that comes to mind when thinking about electronic paper, but the company has been experimenting in this field for quite some time now.  Today, Bridgestone claimed that it has developed …
Liz Gannes / NewTeeVee:
My Treadmill Is Twittering!  The Next Frontier for Connected Devices: The Gym  —  Netpulse announced last night it had raised $3.1 million in Series A funding led by Javelin Venture Partners to bring interactive media to gyms.  We were curious about the idea of connected fitness devices …
Nik Cubrilovic / TechCrunchIT:
Neo Technology Commercializes Next Generation Graph Based Database  —  A new generation of database products and companies is beginning to emerge, and one of the more interesting examples is Swedish-based Neo Technology, the developer and vendor of the neo4j graph based database (graph in the data structure sense).
Gregg Keizer / Computerworld:
Mozilla fixes 16 flaws with Firefox 3.5.4  —  Security update also patches 9 bugs in older Firefox 3.0  —  Computerworld - Mozilla today patched 16 vulnerabilities in Firefox, 11 of them critical, as it updated the open-source browser to version 3.5.4.  —  The 11 critical Firefox 3.5 vulnerabilities …
Discussion: Mozilla.org, Zero Day and Mozilla
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Did AMD's former CEO reveal confidential secrets in Galleon insider trading case?  —  Former Advanced Micro Devices chief executive Hector Ruiz allegedly shared confidential secrets about his company to a trader involved in the Galleon insider trading scandal, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Robert Andrews / mocoNews:
Spotify Planning BlackBerry Addition In Premium Mobile Tilt  —  Spotify does plan to follow its iPhone and Android apps with a BlackBerry download, we have learned.  —  The music service recently said it saw a spike in pay-for subscriptions from the mobile apps it has released so far.
Donald Melanson / Engadget:
Dell's Latitude XT2 XFR rugged tablet gets official  —  As is often the case, the FCC spoiled the surprise on this one, but Dell's keeping its PR machine chugging along with its new Latitude XT2 XFR rugged tablet nonetheless, and it's fleshed out a few details in the precess.
Discussion: DisplayBlog
 
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 More Items: 
Grant Gross / Computerworld:
Smart-grid money could assist broadband
Jeremy Toeman / LIVEdigitally:
The TwitterPeek is Real? Cmon! No, seriously?
Discussion: Forever Geek and Twitterrati
Farhad Manjoo / Slate:
How GeoCities Invented the Internet
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Mobile Phone Software Company Not Pleased With Courgette, Sues Google
Tarmo Virki / Reuters:
Nokia-Apple row may last more than 1 year
Discussion: AppleInsider
 Earlier Items: 
Liz Gannes / GigaOM:
Vdopia Adds $4M for iPhone Ads
Discussion: paidContent
Dancho Danchev / Zero Day:
New LoroBot ransomware encrypts files, demands $100 for decryption
John Resig:
Google Groups is Dead
Discussion: Google Blogoscoped
Boy Genius Report:
Motorola Droid and HTC Droid Eris launching November 6th on Verizon
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Paramount Global's board is considering replacing CEO Bob Bakish with an “Office of the CEO” made up of division heads on an interim basis

Andrew Marchand / The Athletic:
Sources: Amazon Prime Video has a framework deal for NBA broadcast rights for at least a decade, starting in 2025-26; ESPN/ABC is expected to keep the finals

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Memo: CNN's Poppy Harlow is leaving the network; she joined in 2008 and most recently co-hosted CNN This Morning, which was effectively canceled earlier in 2024

 
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